Tony Hall: "Budgets are moral documents by nature. They reflect the priorities of individuals, households and even nations, exposing our real notions of who and what is valuable. As elected leaders in Washington engage in shouting matches over how to solve America’s looming sovereign debt crisis, the voice of the poor is still getting drowned … Continue reading Fasting, Budget Cuts and National Humiliation

Tony Blair: "Instead, the goal must be to create a dynamic wherein current African leaders can deliver real improvements in the lives of their citizens and wherein the next generation of leaders have models of true public service they can aspire to follow. What these leaders need is practical support in articulating and delivering on … Continue reading The G20 Needs to Support Reformist African Leadership

Washington Post: "Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo was arrested Monday by French-backed forces of president-elect Alassane Ouattara, raising hopes for an imminent end to the strife that has wracked the West African country since Gbagbo refused to acknowledge his defeat in a November presidential election."

Michael Gerson: "Cuts for global health programs should be of special concern to those of us who consider ourselves pro-life. No pro-life member of Congress could support welfare savings by paying for abortions. No pro-life member of Congress could support Medicare savings by cutting off life support for the sick. And it should give any … Continue reading The real-world effects of budget cuts

Michael Grunwald: "I don't blame Ryan for trying to put a positive spin on his plan, rather than acknowledging that it would abolish Medicare and replace it with subsidies that won't keep up with health inflation. People like Medicare. And I can understand why he'd open a budget negotiation with fantasy numbers that depend on … Continue reading Profiles in Cowardice: How the Beltway Punditocracy Gets Paul Ryan's Plan Totally Wrong

Paul Krugman: "In short, this plan isn’t remotely serious; on the contrary, it’s ludicrous.  And it’s also cruel. In the past, Mr. Ryan has talked a good game about taking care of those in need.  But as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out, of the $4 trillion in spending cuts he proposes … Continue reading Paul Ryan's Plan: Ludicrous and Cruel

Michael Sean Winters: "The budget proposals put forward by GOP Congressman Paul Ryan attest to a fact that has been somewhat obscured in our nation’s political life: Ideology is back. The reason I say this fact has been obscured is that the Tea Party has not exactly been the kind of intellectually coherent movement the … Continue reading Ideology Returns

Jonathan Cohn: "If you can get past the fuzzy math and sheer indifference to the poor, it's possible to discern a coherent conceit in the Ryan plan: that the burden of maintaining a modern welfare state has become too great to bear. You can see this most clearly in Ryan’s proposals to transform health care, which is … Continue reading The 'No We Can't' Budget

Ezra Klein: "Ryan’s suggestion that Medicare and Medicaid can or should be held to the rate of inflation is absurd. His budget has no way of making that happen, save for draconian cuts in both (this goes far, far beyond “means-testing”). And you don’t have to take it from me. Alice Rivlin, an eminent budget … Continue reading Ezra Klein on Paul Ryan's Budget

Erie Times-News: "Dahlkemper, of Erie, said she's been talking to people about whether to gear up for another run. "Is this the best way for me to continue to serve the community that I love so much? I'm trying to make the best decision for me and my (former) constituents,'' she said."