http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbwmTELYqxU

Our political leaders “lack courage” and have let government go “off the rails,” so says conservative commentator Ben Stein. According to Stein, the sequester represents how ideological rigidity has led to Washington dysfunction. Stein quotes two great Americans, Mick Jagger and Abraham Lincoln, along the way and concludes with the homage to Larry the Cable Guy:

“Senators, Congressmen and women, Mister President, get back to Washington D.C., and get to work. Compromise. Work like you love America.

And get it done”

This brief (2:30) video was part of the weekly commentary segment on CBS Sunday Morning.

Text of the commentary is available here.

Sequester Disaster

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Navigating the Battlefield to Navigating Red Tape

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Navigating the Battlefield to Navigating Red Tape

Are we failing to meet our commitments to veterans? Yes, says journalist Aaron Glantz (Center for Investigative Reporting).  Despite President Obama’s proposals to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs by streamlining veteran’s claims, the reality has not lived up to the rhetoric.  To the contrary, things have gotten worse during the Obama presidency, with veterans waiting, on average, 273 days to access their benefits.  With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan coming to a close and the VA now recognizing new Agent Orange-related  illnesses, the number veterans making claims has increased.  Meanwhile, the VA remains radically understaffed.  

Glantz spoke with Fresh Air’s Terry Gross. Their conversation runs 32:16 minutes. 

More on Gideon: An “Unfunded Mandate”?

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More on Gideon: An “Unfunded Mandate”?

Fifty years later, the American legal profession has failed to answer “Gideon’s trumpet,” or so says Stephen Bright, visiting Yale Law professor and president of Southern Center for Human Rights.  According to Bright, Gideon v. Wainwright represents essentially an unfunded mandate.

Following Attorney General Eric Holder’s statements that the nation’s public defense is “in a state of crisis,”  NPR’s Talk of the Nation explored the state of the public defense system with Bright as well as Douglas Wilson, Colorado State public defender.

This discussion runs 30:16 minutes.

Yesterday was the fiftieth anniversary of the seminal decision as was discussed in yesterday’s blog post: Gideon Turns 50.

Gideon Turns 50

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Gideon Turns 50

Fifty years ago today, the Supreme Court handed down the seminal decision of Gideon v. Wainwright.  In Gideon, the Court unanimously held that all indigent defendants charged with a felonies are guaranteed appointed counsel.  This CBS Sunday Morning story provides background on the historic decision.  It runs 2:35 minutes.