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Israeli Arab parliament member Hanin Zoabi arrives for a hearing about her disqualification from politics at Israel's Supreme Court, in Jerusalem, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Emil Salman)

Hanin Zoabi: Trying To Bring Rare Justice To Israel

Archives for December 2012

Unfinished Business: The Great Society And The Forgotten Kerner Report

The economic future of this country is now being debated in Washington and it is still unclear as to what the future may hold. There are many who herald the fact that unemployment is under 8 percent — and for those who are recently unemployed it is good news indeed. Yet, we forget, rather easily […]

Edward Rhymes
By Edward Rhymes
Governor of Illinois Otto Kerner, Jr., meeting with Roy Wilkins (left) and President Lyndon Johnson (right) in the White House, July 29, 1967. (Photo from Yoichi Okamoto via Wikimedia Commons)

The economic future of this country is now being debated in Washington and it is still unclear as to what the future may hold. There are many who herald the fact that unemployment is under 8 percent — and for those who are recently unemployed it is good news indeed. Yet, we forget, rather easily in fact, that unemployment amongst blacks is over 14

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Violence, Gangs Scar Chicago Community In 2012

It was February, the middle of lunch hour on a busy South Side street. The gunman approached his victim in a White Castle parking lot, shot him in the head, then fled down an alley. The next month, one block away, also on West 79th Street: Two men in hooded sweatshirts opened fire at the […]

Associated Press
By Associated Press
In this Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012 photo, Bobby McComb sits on the sofa with her 14 year-old daughter, Cerria, at their home in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood of Chicago's South Side. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

It was February, the middle of lunch hour on a busy South Side street. The gunman approached his victim in a White Castle parking lot, shot him in the head, then fled down an alley. The next month, one block away, also on West 79th Street: Two men in hooded sweatshirts opened fire at the Bishop Golden convenience store. They killed one young man

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Soldier Adjusts To Life At Home After Afghanistan

First Lt. Aaron Dunn deployed to the Afghanistan in early March 2012. His 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, was charged with engaging Taliban fighters in Kunar Province and mentoring Afghan government soldiers. Upon returning, here are some of his views. Coming home: “War and coming home are going to mean different things to […]

Associated Press
By Associated Press
In this Dec. 23, 2012 photo, three weeks back home from the war in Afghanistan, U.S. Army 1st Lt. Aaron Dunn and his wife Leanne pray during services at their church, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

First Lt. Aaron Dunn deployed to the Afghanistan in early March 2012. His 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, was charged with engaging Taliban fighters in Kunar Province and mentoring Afghan government soldiers. Upon returning, here are some of his views. Coming home: "War and coming home are going to mean different things to

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NY Plaintiff: Gay Benefits ‘Bigger Than Marriage’

At age 83, Edith Windsor gets plenty of compliments for her courage to take on the federal government in a landmark case that has put attitudes about gay America squarely before the Supreme Court. But the Philadelphia-born former IBM executive scoffs at how much gumption was necessary to go to court at a time when […]

Associated Press
By Associated Press
In this Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012 photo, Edith Windsor speaks during an interview in her New York City apartment. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

At age 83, Edith Windsor gets plenty of compliments for her courage to take on the federal government in a landmark case that has put attitudes about gay America squarely before the Supreme Court. But the Philadelphia-born former IBM executive scoffs at how much gumption was necessary to go to court at a time when societal views of gay

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Illinois Dragging Its Feet On Huge Pension Problem

Illinois, a state with a reputation for political wheeling and dealing, backroom handshakes and 11th-hour bargains, is dragging its feet on the one deal needed to solve its biggest crisis in a generation. Lawmakers will convene again the first week in January in hopes of fixing the nation’s worst case of underfunding state employees’ pensions, […]

Associated Press
By Associated Press
In this file photo taken Aug. 15, 2012 in Springfield, Ill., union members, supporters and labor leaders protest Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

Illinois, a state with a reputation for political wheeling and dealing, backroom handshakes and 11th-hour bargains, is dragging its feet on the one deal needed to solve its biggest crisis in a generation. Lawmakers will convene again the first week in January in hopes of fixing the nation's worst case of underfunding state employees' pensions, a

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Social Security Is Sticking Point In ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Talks

With a self-imposed 3pm deadline to solve the nation’s financial problems, the ‘fiscal cliff’ negotiations hit a “major setback” on Sunday, according to Democratic sources. A source told ABC that the argument came after Republicans offered a proposal that included changes to how Social Security benefits are adjusted for inflation. The method, called the “chained consumer price index,” […]

Kaitlin Funaro
By Kaitlin Funaro
File photo of trays of printed social security checks waiting to be mailed from the U.S. Treasury's Financial Management services facility in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Department of Treasury, File)

With a self-imposed 3pm deadline to solve the nation's financial problems, the 'fiscal cliff' negotiations hit a "major setback" on Sunday, according to Democratic sources. A source told ABC that the argument came after Republicans offered a proposal that included changes to how Social Security benefits are adjusted for inflation. The method,

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