Adam Hersh: Why wages are not returning as job growth increases

  It is safe to say that the U.S. labor market is now out of jobless-recovery territory and into the territory of wageless recovery.

  Employers added 252,000 jobs in December 2014, and the unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS. Since the start of the labor-market expansion in February 2010, private employers have added 11.2 million new jobs.

Gene Policinski: #JeSuisCharlie – another way to say ‘Freedom’

  Cowards!

  There’s no other word for the armed gunmen who killed 12 people in the attack Wednesday on the Parisian offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

  Once again, terrorists ignore the lessons of history: individuals may be silenced by violence from time to time, but ideas live on and ultimately will find their way to the world.

Sheldon Richman: The ominous Republican hold on Congress

  As we face the new year, the biggest concern for peace lovers is Republican control of the U.S. Senate. While Republican votes don’t reach the key number 60, members of the GOP will still be in a strong position to push their belligerent global agenda.

  I don’t mean to overstate the danger. After all, the Democrats were hardly better. But those who abhor war will awaken each day knowing that hawkish Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, and their ilk are in control.

Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1439: When we know our history

  When we know our history! When we know our history! When we know our history! This thought exploded over and over in my mind, impacting my emotions and spirits as I participated in the 152nd Annual Emancipation Proclamation Program in Selma on New Year’s Day.

Michael Josephson: One way to change your life – change your expectations

  Einstein said it’s a form of insanity to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result. So, if you want something different, do something different, or change your expectations, or both.

  In my own life, I’ve found that adjusting my expectations has made a big difference in my ability to enjoy my life.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Bentley has been politically bullet-proof

  During the 2010 Alabama governor’s race, I continuously made the statement that whomever won the race would be a one-term governor. My prophecy was based on the fact that the state was flat broke and it would take a lot of tough decisions and probably tax increases to fix the mess.

  Former Gov. Bob Riley was not helping his successor any either in a concerted mission to spend every cent in an already barren cupboard. There was nothing in the state rainy day fund and all the federal stimulus money from Washington was gone. Unlike the federal government that can just print money, the state constitutionally has to live within its means.

David L. Hudson, Jr.: First Amendment potection for religious signage to be tested

  A legal spat over temporary signs informing people of upcoming religious services may not seem important to free-speech jurisprudence, but the upcoming case of Reed v. Town of Gilbert is significant and cuts to the heart of First Amendment doctrine.

  The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case on Jan. 12.

Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1438: Young people are powerful

  We forget that young people are powerful in so many ways. They change things culturally. They change things socially. They change things economically. They change things educationally. They change things technologically. We forget that young people are powerful in changing things.

  The many ways young people change things are far too numerous to explore in this Sketches. Therefore, I want to review just one front on which young people profoundly changed things. I know that Dr. King is given the credit for changes wrought during the American Civil Rights Movement. And he deserves great credit but not all or most of the credit. We forget that it was young people who were truly on the front lines in changing things.

Mark Potok: Rep. Scalise’s denials are not believable

  Faced with an exploding crisis sparked by the revelation that the No. 3 Republican in the House gave a speech to a well-known group of white supremacists and neo-Nazis a dozen years ago, the GOP in Rep. Steve Scalise’s home state of Louisiana is doubling down, calling the entire episode a mere “manufactured blogger story.”

  Really? A manufactured blogger story?

Michael Josephson: Making resolutions of principle

  The tradition of making New Year’s Resolutions reflects one the very best qualities of human nature – the ability to reflect on and assess our lives in terms of the goals we set for ourselves and the principles we believe in.

  It’s still not too late to formulate a self-improvement plan to make our outer lives and inner selves better by adopting more positive attitudes, living up to our highest values, and strengthening our relationships.