Obama Seeks Sweeping New Gun Laws

President Obama said the laws, including universal background checks and a renewed ban on assault rifles, would lead to "fewer atrocities like the one that happened in Newtown."

Alongside Vice President Joe Biden and a group of children who had written in support, President Barack Obama signed a proposal to Congress Wednesday to strengthen United States gun laws, including universal background checks, limiting the number of bullets in a clip, and renewing a ban on military-grade assault rifles. "If America worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in Newtown," Obama said. Check out these related stories He listed some specific measures, including a 10-round limit on magazines for firearms, and asked congress to confirm Todd Jones to fill the long-dormant role of chief for the Bureau of Alchol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) — and briefly…

•  267 Comments
• Photos (1)

Callahan Signs Letter to Obama Urging Action on Guns

Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan signs letter from more than 750 mayors urging president to take immediate steps to stop gun violence in wake of Connecticut shootings.

  Mayor John Callahan is one of more than 750 mayors nationwide who signed a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to take immediate action to curb gun violence in the wake of the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Friday. The letter, dated Wednesday from an organization calling itself Mayors Against Illegal Guns, urges the president to pursue a new legislative agenda and take immediate steps to curb gun violence. Among the actions urged are a new assault weapons ban, the closing of private sale loopholes that circumvent criminal background checks on gun purchases and a recess appointment of a new director for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. …

•  13 Comments
• Photos (1)

Obama Visits Pa. Toy Company Amid Fiscal Cliff Debate

President Obama visits Hatfield toy company as part of tour pushing extension of payroll tax cuts.

Obama Visits Pa. Toy Company Amid Fiscal Cliff Debate

President Obama visits Hatfield toy company as part of tour pushing extension of payroll tax cuts.

President Barack Obama visited a toy factory in Hatfield Township, Montgomery County on Friday, citing it as an example of the type of business that would suffer if Congress does not act soon to prevent the country from running over the "fiscal cliff," a series of tax increases and cuts in spending that are due to come into effect at the beginning of the new year. In remarks broadcast live on C-SPAN, Obama called Hatfield-based K'Nex, which makes kits of interlocking pieces that allow children to construct their own toys, "one of the few companies in the toy industry that has aggressively moved jobs back here [to the U.S. from overseas]," The President said middle-class consumers will have money "to buy more K'Nex" if Democratic and …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (11)

Ron Beitler

12:56 pm on Sunday, December 2, 2012

I tend to agree. During Romney's campaign I had a major issue with the definition of small business. I am also a small business owner with employees and growing. You nailed it on the head. My burden is earned income tax at the middle class levels. And yes maybe hopefully someday I'll touch 250k. But it's likely I won't. Of course I hope to and I'm working hard to do so. But reality is what it is.   more ›

Which Bethlehem Should Be Obama's Priority?

A New York Times writer names Bethlehem, Pa., in his column about the need for President Obama to focus on domestic problems rather than elusive Middle East peace.

  Bethlehem, Pa., is noted in a snappy line by New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman writing about whether a re-elected President Obama will seek revenge on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu for supporting Gov. Mitt Romney. Friedman wrote, in part, "Obama has his marching orders from the American people: Focus on Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, not on Bethlehem, Palestine, and focus on getting us out of quagmires [Afghanistan] not into them [Syria]. No, my Israeli friends, it’s much worse than you think: You’re home alone." Take a look at Friedman's column and tell us what you think in the comment section below.

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Barack Obama Wins Pennsylvania

Voters in Pennsylvania on Tuesday cast their ballots for Barack Obama, giving the president the state's 20 electoral votes.

Mutliple media outlets are calling President Barack Obama the projected winner of Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes. In the 2008 presidential election, the state voted for Barack Obama, and since the 1990s, has voted for the overall winner of the presidential race three out of five times. Former Gov. Mitt Romney and Obama campaigned aggressively in Pennsylvania. The state has typically been a Democratic stronghold in recent presidential elections.  Romney spent part of Election Day in Pittsburgh and visited Bucks County on Sunday, drawing 25,000 supporters. On Monday, former President Bill Clinton was in the Philadelphia suburbs and Romney surrogates, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, swept through eastern Pennsylvania, …

•  121 Comments
• Photos (2)

.

5:58 pm on Monday, November 12, 2012

Amen....I am going to try to be more civil in my tone going forward as well.   more ›

Jill Biden Energizes Obama Supporters

Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, makes a campaign stop in Wescosville Monday to drum up support for the Obama-Biden ticket in the final weeks of the campaign.

Laura J. Marie has been so frustrated with friends and family who do not support the Obama-Biden ticket that she went online a few days ago to offer to help the president's re-election campaign. "And I was invited here today," she said as she stood among the 100 or so supporters who came to hear Jill Biden speak Monday at the Pennsylvania State Education Association office in Wescosville. "I only wish I did it sooner." Marie, who said she voted for Obama in 2008, was clearly among like-minded individuals as she waited for Jill Biden to approach the podium. Some, like Allentown resident and retired Salisbury High School art teacher Dolly Yanolko, were quite emphatic in their support for the president. “Any teacher who doesn’t vote for a …

•  16 Comments
• Photos (5)

Politically Uncorrected

Why Obama Won't Win But Romney Could Lose

Economic hard times bring political hard times for the party in power and that spells trouble for Barack Obama

By G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young It’s known as Ockham’s razor. Attributed to 14th-century philosopher William of Ockham, it advocates seeking the simplest explanation necessary to make sense of things. The popular acronym KISS captures its spirit—“keep it simple stupid.” Alas, Ockham’s adage finds few takers today among contemporary electoral analysts. Amid the pundit literati predicting presidential elections, the slogan might be, “seek complexity, lots of it.” This criticism applies particularly to the various and sundry “models” used by the “punditocracy” to predict who will win the next election. These models usually include dozens of variables using arcane statistics to make electoral predictions. Complex and convoluted, they …

•  31 Comments
• Photos (1)