Valerie Iengo of Port Richey believes Washington, D.C., has a proven record of wasteful spending. The American people are capable of doing better, she writes. ...more

March 14, 2009

This year promises to be a year of unprecedented challenges for our country. Our economy is in recession, the financial markets are in crisis, the auto industry has almost collapsed, more Americans face foreclosure and the number of unemployed Americans is, according to some estimates, close to 10 million. Our middle class is shrinking. ...more

February 7, 2009

"The Leisure Seeker," by Michael Zadoorian (William Morrow. $25) ...more

February 1, 2009

President Barack Obama took aim Monday at the lofty but long elusive goal of making the nation more energy independent, ordering reviews that could lead to tougher auto emission standards in states and higher pressure on automakers to produce more fuel-efficient cars. The president: ...more

January 27, 2009

Despite the auto industry's slumping sales and questions about the financial future of the U.S.-based companies, auto shows like the one getting under way in Detroit remain important global stages for American car and truck makers - and many of their foreign rivals. ...more

January 13, 2009

Lorne H. Spence of Hudson says people need to vote in the 2010 mid-term elections in a way that will help President Barack Obama solve the nation's problems despite resistance from Republicans. ...more

January 10, 2009

$266.9 billion Amount the Treasury Department has disbursed from the $700 billion financial rescue program, according to an announcement Thursday ...more

January 9, 2009

In the first year of his presidency George W. Bush was forced to confront the crisis of global terrorism. He responded by aggrandizing his power as president under the theory of a "unitary executive." The controversial and thoroughly repudiated policies that resulted, including warrantless surveillance of Americans' phone conversations, torture, and disregard for the basic constitutional rights of detainees, represented the most sweeping assertion of unchecked executive power in generations. ...more

January 3, 2009

As a charity that helps homeowners in a pinch, Lighthouse of Oakland County could use every penny it can collect as foreclosures and unemployment rise. But scratched from the 2009 calendar is its biggest fundraiser of the year, a black-tie dinner. ...more

January 2, 2009

Here are excerpts from editorials in newspapers around the world: The Observer, London, on Caroline Kennedy as New York's new senator: ...more

December 31, 2008