Laurence M. Vance: Time to smack down the Small Business Administration

  In 2012, Barack Obama elevated the administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to a Cabinet-level position, where the office had been under Bill Clinton. The current administrator, Maria Contreras-Sweet, is unknown to the overwhelming majority of Americans, as are the thirty-three administrators who preceded her. This ignorance is about to change, for, according to a statement issued last month by Donald Trump,

    My “America First” agenda is going to bring back our jobs and roll back the burdensome regulations that are hurting our middle-class workers and small businesses. To help push our agenda forward, I am pleased to nominate Linda McMahon as the head of the Small Business Administration.

Rex Tillerson’s Big Oil ties endanger the climate and national security

  The direct link between climate change threats and the duties of the secretary of state is strong. As droughts, floods, heat waves, and other symptoms of a warming world increase both in number and intensity—throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, the Arctic, Europe, and the United States—the next U.S. secretary of state will face urgent pressure to curb climate change and manage the effects of a warming planet that can no longer be avoided. Failure to do so will damage the global economy and destabilize an already wobbly security landscape, with potentially dire consequences for U.S. national security interests.

  The next U.S. secretary of state must, as Secretary John Kerry has, protect U.S. foreign policy and security interests and demonstrate a track record of personal and diplomatic credibility. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for the job, former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, does not meet those qualifications.

Michael Josephson: We shape our own character

  Character may determine our fate, but character is not determined by fate.

  There’s no doubt that our character has a profound effect on our future. What we must remember, however, is not merely how powerful character is in influencing our destiny, but how powerful we are in shaping our own character and, therefore, our own destiny.

Liz Kennedy: Congress tries to kill independent ethics watchdog, Americans fight back

  The Office of Congressional Ethics, or OCE, is an independent, bipartisan ethics panel and fact-finding agency that is crucial to protecting the public’s interest in honest services and fair representation from government officials. It has limited yet critical investigative authority and an essential role in publicizing and deterring corruption. The office has been instrumental in successful prosecutions of lawmakers who violated ethics laws instead of working for Americans.

  It is truly unfortunate that House Republicans attempted to start their period of unified control of the federal government by dramatically weakening one of the most effective anti-corruption and accountability tools that exists in Washington. Monday night in a secret vote during a closed party meeting, the Republican majority voted 119-74 to change the proposed rules for the next Congress and eviscerate the independent congressional ethics watchdog. Public outrage ensued, and after members’ offices were flooded with calls in a few short hours, the majority dropped its attack on the OCE—for now.

Charles C. Haynes: To uphold religious freedom in 2017, do small things with great love

  Farewell to 2016, arguably the worst year for religious freedom in living memory.

  From genocide in Syria and Iraq to ethnic cleansing in Burma, religious oppression and persecution destroyed countless lives, exiled millions and fueled the greatest humanitarian crisis since World War II.

  Most of the world’s population – more than 5 billion people – now lives in countries with high restrictions on religious freedom.

Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1543: When we embrace struggle, we win victories

  “Senator Sanders, did you hear about the victory on the driver’s license offices?” This call came the day after Christmas and I considered it a gift. But it was a gift forged by continuing struggle. Victory often comes unexpectedly, but it never comes without struggle. To paraphrase the great Frederick Douglass, “Victory cannot come without struggle. It never did and it never will.” We struggled, and we won victories.

  The struggle started when the State of Alabama closed 32 driver’s license offices in 28 of Alabama’s 67 counties on October 1, 2014. It made no sense because driver’s licenses are necessary to drive, vote, board airplanes, participate in commercial transactions and much more. Driver’s licenses are critical but Alabama said certain citizens should go to other counties to apply. We struggled, and we won victories.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: What to expect in 2017

  This past year in Alabama politics was surprisingly more interesting than was expected. The Judicial Inquiry Commission removed Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore from the bench for telling the probate judges in the state to not perform marriage ceremonies for gay people. He said marriage should be between a man and a woman, as most people in Alabama in feel. This removal by this panel of former lawyers and judges has caused legislators to call for an investigation of the panel and how they have this much power.

Laurence M. Vance: The United States, China, and Taiwan

  There are 194 recognized countries in the world, all of which are member states of the United Nations (UN), except for Vatican City. There are also Palestine, Kosovo, and Taiwan.

  Palestine, which is recognized by 136 UN member states, is one of two permanent non-member observer states at the UN, the other being Vatican City. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. It is recognized by 114 UN member states. Taiwan, which is officially the Republic of China (ROC), represented China at the UN until 1971, but lost its UN membership after China, officially the People’s Republic of China (PRC), was given China’s seat.

Alden Abbott: Supreme Court’s Samsung v. Apple decision and the status of design patents

  On December 6 the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its much anticipated decision in Samsung Electronic Co. v. Apple Inc.  The opinion deferred for another day clarification of key policy questions raised by the design patent system.

Economic impacts of removing unauthorized immigrant workers

  In every state and in every industry across the United States, immigrants—authorized and unauthorized—are contributing to the U.S. economy. Immigrant labor and entrepreneurship are believed to be powerful forces of economic revitalization for communities struggling with population decline. Estimates suggest that the total number of unauthorized immigrants currently residing in the United States is approximately 11.3 million, or about 3.5 percent of the total 2015 resident population of 324.4 million. Of those 11.3 million, we estimate that 7 million are workers. What is the economic contribution of these unauthorized workers? What would the nation stand to lose in terms of production and income if these workers were removed and returned to their home countries?