Government/Politics
The Pentagon – world’s largest office building
Yesterday evening’s shooting at the Pentagon is sure to keep the famous building in the news. If you haven’t read about the shooting, you can find that story here.
While talking about it tonight, it would help to know some facts about the Pentagon other than its obvious shape. Not obvious from the many overhead shots [...]
Jim Bunning and the pay-go system
Jim Bunning has had two very different but very high profile careers, but if you are of the younger generation, you might not have even heard of him until this week. Formerly a Hall of Fame pitcher, Jim Bunning retired from baseball and climbed the political ranks, settling in as a Republican Senator from Kentucky [...]
Pigs, Bricks, and Spiders (or PIIGS, BRIC, & SPDR)
America is not the only country suffering through a financial crisis, and this time around, Greece is making headlines. Due to soaring debt and fear of government default in Greece, the European Union is meeting in Brussels to discuss potential solutions. As you read about Europe’s problems, you are likely to stumble upon the acronym [...]
Tea Party Movement
During last night’s Super Bowl broadcast, there was an ad for Tim Burton’s new Alice in Wonderland movie, but the Tea Party I’m going to explain has nothing to do with Burton’s “leafless tree in the forest” imagery.
Over the weekend, a newer group who opposes big government, astronomical tax rates, and bailouts held a convention [...]
Obama’s State of the Union – Family Fued
If you didn’t watch last night’s State of the Union address, you didn’t miss anything revolutionary, but it’s still something you should be aware of. One of President Obama’s main stances was to provide help for small businesses, through tax incentives and extended credit thanks to a reported $30 billion in recovered TARP money. Currently, Obama’s government [...]
Who is Scott Brown?
By now, you probably know that Scott Brown, a Republican, won the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Ted Kennedy in a huge upset of an election in Massachusetts the other day. Being an avid reader of Dinner Topics, you also know that as a Republican replacing a Democrat in the Senate, the Democrat’s supermajority in [...]
Supermajority and filibusters
With two Democratic senators1 announcing their decisions not to run for re-election, the Senate is faced with the possibility that its Democratic supermajority may disappear. There will be plenty of talk in the next year about supermajorities with the 2010 elections coming along, so you need to be prepared to understand some of the lingo and [...]
Health care bill voted on again?
It’s Christmas, but Dinner Topics won’t take a break. In fact, with a family dinner likely scheduled for today, you need us now more than ever. The big news story of the past couple days is the Senate’s approval of the health care bill. Here’s where you want to make sure you don’t get confused. [...]
