It’s not just new moms who get postpartum depression. More than 1 in 10 fathers become depressed after the birth of their child, too, according to a new study that researchers said underscores the need for more awareness of men’s depression.
•Arizona voters decide today whether to approve a three-year sales-tax hike. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer pushed to raise the sales tax from 5.6% to 6.6%, dedicating two-thirds of the new money for schools.
•Kansas hikes its sales tax July 1 from 5.3% to 6.3% for three years. The tax is designed to prevent cuts in education and social programs.
Set against a backdrop of nationwide frustration with Washington and disapproval of Congress, Tuesday’s key Senate primary contests have shaped up as battles of would-be outsiders versus incumbents or the D.C. “establishment.” While it’s important to remember these are state-level — not national — races with their own dynamics, together they’ll add some compelling data points to the political trend lines for 2010.
Link.
Other signs exist that this could be an anti-Democrat year. Democrats who have generally opposed the President’s agenda have had pretty dismal polling results crop up. Rasmussen reports that Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin leads her Republican opponent by a slender 45%-41% margin. Frank Kratovil’s own polling from last fall – taken in a much better environment for Democrats – had him leading his GOP opponent by two points. And veteran Democrat Chet Edwards is down 53%-41% against Republican Bill Flores in the Republican’s polling; Edwards isn’t disputing the numbers. Even conservative Democrats with golden last names like Boren have shown some real polling weakness.
The historical record provides no support for 2010 being a generalized anti-incumbent year; the elections to date this cycle in major statewide races certainly don’t support this scenario either. The real question is whether moderate or conservative Democrats who oppose the Beltway Democratic agenda will be given cover from angry voters, or whether the electorate will thoroughly clean house this fall. That’s where the difference between a bad Democratic year and a debacle of historic proportions can be found.
President Obama guaranteed Americans that after health reform became law they could keep their insurance plans and their doctors. It’s clear that this promise cannot be kept. Insurers and physicians are already reshaping their businesses as a result of Mr. Obama’s plan.
The health-reform law caps how much insurers can spend on expenses and take for profits. Starting next year, health plans will have a regulated “floor” on their medical-loss ratios, which is the amount of revenue they spend on medical claims. Insurers can only spend 20% of their premiums on running their plans if they offer policies directly to consumers or to small employers. The spending cap is 15% for policies sold to large employers.
I count one: Joseph Cao of New Orleans.
Meanwhile, I count more than 20 Democrats in the House and Senate who are in severe jeopardy. Lower the threshold from “severe” to “serious” jeopardy, and I count maybe four Republicans and more than 50 Democrats.
The White House is absolutely, positively correct that there is a divide between America and Washington – but what they fail to appreciate (or, more likely, they appreciate it but want to fake-out the press) is that Washington, D.C. now belongs to Barack Obama.
President Obama is playing an unusual role in tomorrow’s special election in Pennsylvania to replace the late Rep. Jack Murtha, king of Democratic pork barrelers. Both major party candidates are doing their best to distance themselves from Mr. Obama’s policies.
It’s not surprising that Republican Tim Burns would be running against the Obama White House. But Mark Critz, a former staffer to Mr. Murtha, is spending much of his time as the Democratic candidate beating up on the president’s priorities too.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 18% of Adults think women are not better off today. Seventy percent (70%) disagree and say women do have it better now than they did 25 years ago. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure.
Sixty-seven percent (67%) of women agree their gender is better off today, a view shared by 72% of men. Still, 22% of women do not think their sex has it better these days compared to a quarter of a century ago.
Unmarried adults are slightly more likely than those who are married to think women are in a better place today. Higher-income adults are more inclined to believe this than those who earn less.
The killing of a University of Virginia female lacrosse player by a member of the male lacrosse team with a problematic past is the latest violent incident involving a college athlete to capture the public’s attention. It raises questions, too, about whether the woman’s death could have been avoided.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that an overwhelming majority (78%) of Americans say colleges and universities give athletes special preference rather than hold them to the same academic and behavior standards as other students. Only eight percent (8%) feel the opposite is true, while 13% are not sure.
“A hard-line conservative, Souder recently survived a tough GOP primary in the Hoosier State, edging two opponents who held him under 50 percent. Souder’s Republican rivals criticized Souder over his support for the Troubled Asset Relief Program and Cash for Clunkers programs.”
I take exception to that description: no real conservative would have voted for TARP or Cash for Clunkers. The mistake made is the assumption that because someone is pro-life means he or she is a conservative. Someone who is pro-life, but votes to expand the state and state spending, is in fact not a conservative, but a pro-life statist.
