In American politics there is no adage truer than "The more something changes the more it stays the same." The latest piece of evidence offered to prove this maxim is the Obama administration's request that a lawsuit in San Francisco seeking damages against the government for information obtained through a warrantless wiretap be thrown out because of potential threats to national security.

It has been just over one year since the U.S. Army announced that the 3^rd Infantry Division’s 1^st Brigade Combat Team was being placed under the direct control of the US Army Northern Command (NORTHCOM), and was being indefinitely reassigned as an “on-call federal response force” for emergencies of all sorts, natural and man-made, including terrorist attacks, within NORTHCOM's area of responsibility — the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

State GOP lawmakers in South Carolina are furious at Governor Mark Sanford over his admitted adulterous affair and associated misuse of state funds and resources. However, the 73 legislators stopped short of forcing the governor's resignation or initiating impeachment proceedings per the procedures set forth in the state constitution.

"You don't 'get' another shot. You 'take' it!" That was the advice given by E. Jean Carroll, popular advice columnist for the venerable fashion magazine, Elle. She proffered that bit of wisdom to Brianna Karp, a young lady who found herself homeless after being laid off in July 2008 from her $50,000 a year job as an executive assistant at the headquarters of Kelley Blue Book in California.

Officials from the autonomous Kurdish province in northern Iraq officially identified the three Americans detained by Iranian border patrol officers last week after apparently inadvertently crossing into Iran while hiking in Iraq. The Kurdish representatives reported that they planned to meet a second time with Iranian officials to discuss the matter.

On the 50th anniversary of Hawaii’s birth as a state, it was another birth that clouded the celebration. The House of Representatives on Monday passed a resolution that honors Hawaii’s statehood including a controversial clause stating proudly: “President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii August 4, 1961.”

Those raised overseas can testify as to how comforting it is to be able to go on American military installations and eat pizza at Pizza Hut or eat a burger at Burger King. While the Pentagon has certainly done a good job taking care of its troops' gastronomical needs, many feel it has done a very poor job of taking care of their fundamental right to vote.

Last week, the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives approved a proposal to cut farm subsidies as a part of a larger deficit reduction program. If the bill were enacted, it would reduce the billions of dollars that are doled out to farmers by the federal government.