The government surprised many economists last week when it announced that the nation’s economy (as measured by the country’s Gross Domestic Product) had shrunk in the last three months of 2012 by one-tenth of one percent.  The news was met with a collective shrug, instead of any sense of real panic.  No one thought it […]

It was a busy week in the nation’s capital, starting with the inauguration ceremonies on Monday.  But by Thursday, the president’s speech, which had delighted his political base and had infuriated the opposition, was already back page news. Replacing it were the apparent cave-in by House Republicans on the debt ceiling issue and the Congressional […]

The year just past was perhaps one of the best in many years for artistic performances in and around Sacramento.  Of the many we saw, no fewer than 20 merit recognition.  And so, in something of a break with tradition, we are expanding our usual top ten to twice that number. One tradition we will […]

Last November, while President Obama was beating Mitt Romney by almost five million votes in the presidential election, Democrats also received over one million more votes than Republicans for candidates for the House of Representatives.  That fact might come as a surprise, but it is true.  If you add up all the votes Democrats received […]