Posts by Beatriz Forster:
Closed ballot, open mind
Photo courtesy symonsez.files.wordpress.com.
Here it goes — my last high school political column. Politically, it’s been a hell of a ride. Both my first and last articles were about healthcare, which says a lot about the course of policymaking this past year. And I know that I wasn’t the only one keeping an eye out for changes on proposed legislation. But I felt differently from the average Bethesda citizen. (continue reading…)
Politics: a year in review
I’ll say it for the last time then — it’s all about health care. Over the past year, health care proved to be the most prominent issue in national politics. To put this in perspective, half of the stories I wrote this year were related to the reform package. (continue reading…)
It’s not over yet
President Barack Obama, surrounded by Marcelas Owens of Seattle, left, Rep. John Dingell, right, and others, signed the health care bill into law Tuesday, March 23. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press/John Applewhite.
On Wed. March 24 President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Healthcare and Education and Reconciliation Act into law, but the battle for healthcare isn’t over yet.
Education should not be the President’s top priority right now
According to a Feb. 3 Gallup poll, only 36 percent of Americans approve of President Obama’s handling of healthcare and the economy. Not surprisingly, the only issue that Americans express even less approval of—at 32 percent—is the federal deficit. But last week, the president announced that he wanted to tackle another area of the domestic sector—education.
The Tea Party movement should not be ignored by the President
At a recent Tea Party convention Feb. 6 people were dressed up in colonial costumes bearing patriotic protest signs. Photo courtesy of Newsweek.
“Tea Partyers are just a bunch of crazy, right-wing ‘nut jobs’ like Sarah Palin. I don’t know why anyone is actually taking them seriously.” But I know why the populace is recognizing the increasing importance of the American tea party movement—because the people are sending politicians in Washington a message.
What happened to healthcare?
Graphic by Elena Toumayan.
Is healthcare dead? After more than a year since President Obama took office and promised to socialize healthcare, American voters can only ask this question.
State of the Union’s focus should have been healthcare
President Obama focused on the economy during the State of the Union last night. Photo courtesy of the New York Times.
After a beginning of mostly empty rhetoric and 86 interruptions from applause, President Obama focused on the economy during his 71-minute State of the Union address Jan. 27. Healthcare remained the elephant in the room, as the President failed to substantially touch on the hot topic during his speech. It was a strange and dangerous move for a president who has put healthcare at the forefront of his domestic agenda for the past six months to suddenly subordinate it to the economy, as if the recession had only occurred yesterday.