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We are not one country, in this view. Progressives have no sense that the United States has created one people out of citizens with many disparate roots. |
Instead they see a country divided — and one that needs to be further divided — by race, wealth, education, geography and identity. The American dream has been redefined according to the European experience of class confrontation. |
It is of course ironic that the progressive movement seeks this goal, since most people who arrived here came as immigrants seeking to escape the concept of class. For most of America’s history, we have sought mobility, not class confrontation, as a keystone of our way of life. |
Another element of the Obama legacy is of course the massive expansion of the federal government. By this means, the few exert their influence over the many, in part through federal regulations that are activist-driven. |
Whether the figures behind the curtain are the environmental elite or the labor union bosses or the teachers’ cabal, we have seen a massive expansion of the federal bureaucracy as a result of their influence. |
This fulfills the belief of most progressives that they simply know better than ordinary Americans when it comes to how people should live their lives. |
It is a fundamental tenet of a socialist society that the State knows best. Hillary has always been vested in this view, as was most aggressively on display when she developed the massive healthcare proposal commonly known as HillaryCare during her husband’s administration. |
Obama has expanded the infrastructure of government, and now Clinton hopes to seize the reins so she can advance her progressive views with relish. |
Another key element within the progressive worldview is the idea that we simply do not need to worry about the cost of a massive expansion of government programs. |
Debt, according to this school of thought, is more of an inconvenience than a problem. And a tax burden is not stifling if you do not have to pay it. |
Bernie has again been honest. He has offered $18 trillion in new spending programs as a way to move forward the progressive agenda: Free college, free healthcare, free this, free that. |
Hillary Clinton is matching him, if not dollar for dollar at least in her overall stance. An explosion of debt would be inevitable under either a President Sanders or a second President Clinton. |
The problem for progressives is that there are typically no good answers to confronting evil that do not in some way involve the use of significant force. Force, by progressive standards, simply is not an option. |
America — the strongest nation on earth, the country which has stood between tyranny and evil time and time again to the betterment of our own lives and people around the world — has been reduced to almost a sideshow of inconsistency and tentativeness in the most threatening parts of the world, especially the Middle Ea... |
Progressives are comfortable with this, for they cannot countenance answers that violate their inherent aversion to the use of force. |
Passivism and progressivism have gone hand and hand for a long time and have lead to some staggeringly horrible outcomes for democracies when confronting nations and movements that are not democratically structured or ruled. |
Progressivism is now the call to arms for the Democratic Party as it seeks to retain the White House. Republicans need to meet this challenge, by pointing out that this approach produces neither prosperity nor a safer world. |
Sir Elton John has become the latest high-profile musician to tell American presidential wannabe Donald Trump to stop using his music for campaign purposes. |
Following in the footsteps of Adele, R.E.M. and Neil Young, Elton John was displeased by the Republican politician using his 1972 hit Rocket Man at political rallies. |
A publicist for the English singer-songwriter confirmed to entertainment website WENN that John is not endorsing Trump's political campaign. "Elton's music has not been requested for use in any official capacity by Donald Trump. Any use of his music should not be seen as an endorsement of Donald Trump by Elton," the pu... |
Earlier this week, Adele made clear that she had not given permission for anyone to use her music for political campaigns after Trump played her 2011 hit song Rolling in the Deep at rallies in Iowa. |
R.E.M. hit out last September at Trump for using their hit song It's the End of the World at a rally. |
In this March 1, 2013, file photo, Sen. Robert Menendez listens during a news conference, at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J. |
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez said Friday amid a federal investigation that he has always behaved appropriately in office. |
The New Jersey Democrat spoke Friday night in his home state. |
A person familiar with a federal investigation into Menendez's relationship with a Florida doctor and political donor says the Department of Justice is expected to bring criminal charges against him in the coming weeks. |
The person discussed the expected filing of charges on the condition of anonymity on Friday because the investigation is pending. |
Menendez has been dogged by questions about his ties to the ophthalmologist, a friend whose medical office was raided by authorities two years ago. Menendez's office earlier issued a statement saying all of his actions have been appropriate and lawful. |
Attorney General Eric Holder has declined to say whether he has authorized criminal charges against the senator. |
Menendez, who served for more than a decade in the House of Representatives before his appointment to the Senate in 2006, is the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has been critical of the Obama administration's negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program and outspoken in opposition to normali... |
He has been dogged for more than two years by questions about his ties to Dr. Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist as well as a friend and political donor whose medical office was raided by Florida authorities two years ago. |
In particular, Menendez has faced questions about trips he took to the Dominican Republic aboard Melgen's private plane. He has acknowledged taking several actions that could have appeared to benefit Melgen, including contacting the Medicare agency to urge changes to a payment policy that had cost Melgen millions. |
Reps. Bill Pascrell, left, and Donald Payne, right, listen to Sen. Robert Menendez during a news conference Friday, March 1, 2013, at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J. |
His failure to reimburse Melgen for flights between New Jersey and the Dominican Republic on the eye doctor's Canadair Challenger 600s luxury jet was the first serious signal of Menendez' legal troubles in early 2013.Menendez and Melgen had flown at least twice in 2010 between New Jersey to the Dominican Republic, but ... |
The flights were just one vestige of the close relations between Menendez, who took over the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2013 when previous chair John Kerry left to become Secretary of State, and Melgen, a multimillionaire who was willing to lavish campaign donations on his friend and allied causes. |
The two men often appeared together at Democratic Party and Latino political functions from Washington to Miami. Melgen contributed nearly $200,000 to Democratic Party candidates since 1998, including $14,200 directly to Menendez. And in 2012, during Menendez' re-election campaign, Melgen gave $700,000 to the Majority ... |
Menendez has reimbursed Melgen for three plane trips. Last year, the senator disclosed that his campaign accounts had paid a law firm $250,000 for legal costs related to Justice Department and Senate Ethics Committee investigations of his ties to the Floridian. |
For his part, Melgen earned renewed scrutiny when government data last year showed he had gotten more money in Medicare reimbursements in 2012 than any other doctor in the country. |
Federal law enforcement officials carry boxes Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, after FBI agents late Tuesday night raided the West Palm Beach, Fla. business of Dr. Salomon Melgen. |
Menendez's spokeswoman, Tricia Enright, earlier issued a statement saying "any actions taken by Senator Menendez or his office have been to appropriately address public policy issues and not for any other reason." |
She said Menendez and Melgen have long been friends and attended one another's family events and exchanged personal gifts. |
"We know many false allegations have been made about this matter, allegations that were ultimately publicly discredited. We also know that the official investigation of this matter is ongoing, and therefore cannot address allegations being made anonymously," Enright added. |
A glimpse into the investigation emerged last week, when it was revealed that a federal appeals court had ordered a hearing to determine whether two of Menendez' aides should be compelled to testify before a grand jury about the senator's efforts on behalf of Melgen. |
The New Jersey Law Journal reported that the appeals court identified two issues in question: A billing dispute Melgen had with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and a deal he had to sell port screening equipment to the government of the Dominican Republic. |
The aides have declined to testify about some actions they took, citing a constitutional provision saying a lawmaker can't be questioned about legislative acts anywhere except in Congress. A U.S. district judge ruled previously they should testify because their actions weren't legislative in nature, the journal reporte... |
Spend some time searching coverage of California’s drought and you find a repetitive march of facts that are not sourced and angles pushed by special interest groups. |
For instance: Take the oft-quoted statistic that it takes 1 gallon of water to produce one almond. Most coverage states this as a fact. Where does it come from? Look around and you find a February 2014 Mother Jones graphic titled “How thirsty is your food?” that is intended to show water used to grow food, whether a he... |
Is it relevant to today’s debate about the future of farming in California? Is it even accurate any more, given money invested by some growers to conserve water? It seems, at a minimum, in need of deeper reporting and the disclosure that water experts don’t use this measurement, they look at water used per acre of crop... |
Bee journalists have many additional questions we’ll be working to answer this year. I suspect it will be California’s media, not those serving an audience with a more fleeting interest, who cover the drought most thoroughly. Who fact-check those spinning the story to serve their interests. Who provide the detailed inf... |
▪ Answers to reader water questions. Three Bee reporters took reader water questions daily for several months last year, providing answers at sacbee.com. Questions ranged from the pros and cons of installing artificial grass to why more water can’t be used from Lake Tahoe. |
▪ “Water-wise” tips from The Bee’s Debbie Arrington, each week in the Home & Garden section. The tips are aimed at residential water use, whether in a home or outside. |
▪ A city-by-city guide to watering days so you don’t get fined for watering at the wrong times. |
▪ A collection of advice and resources to weather the drought. |
Ultimately, our goal is to keep you informed and to investigate water use and policy decisions. Last year, reporter Matt Weiser reported nearly 100 stories about the drought. That expertise meant The Bee was able to alert readers ahead of time to upcoming restrictions, in a story March 13. Weiser’s story proved prescie... |
Expect that kind of news coverage from us to continue. In addition, we’ll work to add context and analysis. Water and drought make for complicated public policy and scientific debate. California political leaders have difficult work in front of them as they tackle the foundation of California’s water system, whether se... |
Powerful and monied interests are working to influence those decisions. You can see that play out in the battle over statistics describing California’s water use. Siders reported this month how the agriculture industry responded to early descriptions from politicians and journalists that agriculture consumes 80 percent... |
The nuances of such debate matter as leaders make difficult choices to allocate water. Given that, Siders said this context matters: much of the water labeled “environmental” in California is water deemed not at play – it’s too far north with no way to get it to Central Valley farms, for instance, or it is used to prot... |
We’ll ask and answer questions and continue to provide context. There’s room for you to weigh in as well; check out our new commenting system at sacbee.com (just click on “comments” at the top of any story to sign up) or write a letter to the editor for publication in print. |
Dolphins DE Cameron Wake joins Mike Florio to discuss Miami’s recent success. Plus, Wake talks about the distractions that the Dolphins have faced this season. |
Best defensive player in the NFL. |
Rocky will be back on Irish screens in January. The fictional boxer is a huge part of city life, in Philly. |
And he can blame Sly Stallone. |
But don’t worry, the man himself doesn’t get in the ring this time. We hope. |
Ahead of tonight’s Oscars, we look at some of film’s greatest sporting moments. |
It went the distance and now it’s back on its feet. |
Remember those kids? They would have had to keep up with Rocky FOR 12 MILES! |
Featuring Shakira, The Sunday Game and Gladiators, among others. |
Grab some popcorn, turn the lights off and join us for a Sunday night movie. This time, truth is the same as fiction. |
With Moneyball set to be released, we’ve compiled a list of our favourite sports flicks. Do you agree? |
Sylvester Stallone and the Klitschko brothers have announced plans to turn ‘Rocky’ into a musical. |
Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson and Mickey Rourke were among those who paid their respects to the legendary fighter. |
The one-tome baddest man in boxing delivered an emotional speech at induction ceremony yesterday. |
An inspiration from Down Under, a wonderful goalkeeping howler and the death of a Beatle at a football game. |
Holidays are always such a fun time of the year, and one of the best parts of the holidays is Christmas (or other holiday-themed) movies. My absolute favorite five holiday movies are “Home Alone,” “Home Alone 2,” “The Polar Express,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and “Elf.” The movies have gained renown as ‘movie classi... |
“Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2” are both holiday classics. In case you have not seen these movies, you really should. The plot of the first movie follows Kevin after he has been left home alone while his family goes on a trip to Florida for Christmas. Kevin must maintain the house while trying to also protect it from a... |
“Home Alone 2” follows the same character Kevin, but this time he is lost in New York after getting on the wrong plane after losing his family in the airport. While lost in New York, he runs into the exact same burglars and he must stop them from robbing a big toy store in New York. After he stops them from robbing the... |
“The Polar Express” is another one of my favorites. “The Polar Express” follows young children who are taken to the North Pole on a train in order to make them believe in Santa. On the way to the North Pole, they face a series of difficulties but get to the North Pole safely. The movie does have a joyful ending which m... |
“Elf” is another favorite of mine. “Elf” follows Buddy, a human raised by elves on his journey to New York to visit his family. Along his journey in New York, Buddy meets his family, a nice girl and even “the real Santa.” At the end of the movie, Buddy meets the real Santa from the North Pole. Buddy is a sympathetic ch... |
I hope you enjoy these movies and if you don’t watch these movies, I hope you enjoy the movies you do watch. |
As we continue our mission of bringing you the insides of the best sneaker spots from around the U.S., we headed down south and stopped in at Wish, located in Atlanta, Georgia. The shop manager, Alex Maeland, and the lead buyer, Frank Cooke, gave us a look at 10 of the newest sneakers currently sitting on the store she... |
The Yeshiva school in Paramus is in its fourth year as a varsity hockey program and this week earned its first ever victory over a Bergen County team. |
While the hockey season got started Thanksgiving weekend, the hockey season really gets started as we enter the New Year. With the Bergen and Passaic county tournaments right around the corner, teams are not only looking for their first true tournament action, they are jockeying for position for their Cup tournaments a... |
Take a watchful eye for the teams that start to get on a roll now, the ones that build their momentum toward playing at their peak in February and (hopefully) March. A lot of the chemistry work is done, though some teams will be benefiting from the eligibility of transfer players who will see their first action this we... |
Here are some of the highlights from last week’s action. |
Over the past couple of years, the Frisch School has quietly been a nice story. The Yeshiva school in Paramus is in its fourth season as a varsity program, and last year they were 10-2-1 and won the McMullen Cup. |
What they hadn’t done was play any of the teams in Bergen County. This year, that changed. Over the past two weeks they took on three Big North programs, losing to Pascack Valley/Pascack Hills, tying Tenafly and defeating Ramapo for their first-ever win over a Bergen County team. |
The Ramapo win was not only historic by result but also in how it happened. Frisch was trailing 4-0 with 10 minutes to go in the game. They proceeded to score five goals in 5:48 to stun the Raiders, 5-4. Noah Petak and Jake Fromen scored 16 seconds apart to make it 4-2 with 9:41 left. |
The Cougars then got power play goals from Jake Margolius and Max Petak to forge the tie before Noah Petak’s goal at 4:09 which proved to be the game-winner. Incredibly, Frisch scored its five goals on only six shots in the decisive third period. |
Now 4-2-2, they will be eligible for the Bergen County tournament by record, but due to school obligations during the opening week of the tournament it is unlikely that Frisch will enter. That’s a shame, because it would be a great opportunity to showcase the team in a tournament atmosphere. |
►Paramus/Hackensack/Lyndhurst is now the owner of the longest winning streak in the area with an eight-game run. Lakeland was also on an eight-game run before playing to a 2-2 tie with Morris Knolls, so the Lancers’ 11-game unbeaten streak (10-0-1) is tops. Don Bosco is riding a five-game win streak. |
►Northern Valley (Demarest/Old Tappan) is in the midst of an eight-game skid. |
Unlike the Bergen County tourney, the Passaic County fray is a five-team affair with each county school in the field despite their record (Morris Catholic/DePaul plays in the Morris county league, and does not participate in the Passaic County tournament). |
The defending champion is Wayne Hills/Wayne Valley. The Knights ended Lakeland’s three-year reign with a 3-1 victory in last year’s championship game. If they are going to defend it, expect the Lancers to once again be standing in their way. |
Lakeland, one of two 10-win teams in New Jersey (CBA is the other), is likely to be the top seed with Wayne the two seed. Based on a 4-3 head-to-head win, Passaic Valley/Cedar Grove ekes into the three seed ahead of Clifton, with West Milford/Pequannock the five seed. |
That means the lone quarterfinal game pits Clifton and prolific scorer James Fusaro against WM/PQ with Johansson. The winner faces the top seed in the semis, with the 2-3 seeds in the other game. |
Incredible as it may seem, each one of the five can believe it has a chance to win the crown. Can Johansson stand on his head? Will Fusaro continue to scorch the net? Can PV/CG play a consistent tournament? Is Wayne going to get a full 45 minutes at both ends of the ice? Will Lakeland dominate behind Luke Joyce in net? |
Those and more questions will be answered in two weeks. |
► Passaic Valley/Cedar Grove junior Niko Dimitrakiou went nine games without a goal, and then recorded the hat trick in a 4-3 Ice Vault Classic win over Brick. The previous game he had three assists against Wayne. |
►Staying with the Hornets, sophomore Colin Kaleda made his first-ever varsity goal a meaningful one, notching the game-winner with 8:12 remaining in the game in a 3-2 defeat of Park Regional. |
► Ridgewood sophomore Tyler Kopff broke a season-long scoring drought in a major way in a Montclair Tournament win over Tenafly, scoring five goals in the 8-2 victory. |
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