When Senator Arlen Specter became a Democrat today, he did a lot more than bring the democrats to within one seat of a filibuster proof Senate. It is expected that when the Franken/Coleman bout up in Minnesota finally sorts itself out, Democrat Al Franken will come out victorious. And that’ll do it. No more flipping through phonebooks to kill time, the Senate will be filibuster proof, at least for now. [...]

President Obama recently announced plans to reform complicated and misleading credit card practices. It is going to be hard for critics to point out fault in Obama’s plans without appearing crooked or unsympathetic in the eyes of the public. Reading that fine print has become essential to anybody signing up for a credit card, but with so many unfamiliar financial abbreviations, percentages and numbers to sort through, understanding exactly what you’re signing up for can bring you to tears. [...]

Allowing Iran to continue uranium enrichment during the first phases of negotiations would have President Bush in a flutter. The former president stood his ground on issues pertaining to talks with Iran, demanding they stop their nuclear program before negotiations could take place. By accepting Iran’s continued enrichment practices for a bit during the talks, President Obama is taking another step towards separating himself from the former president’s strict, all-or-nothing, no compromise, hard-line, take no prisoners approach to foreign relations and diplomacy. [...]

Walking away from a meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro on Monday, the leader of a seven-member Congressional delegation, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), is convinced that the Cuban President would be willing to reexamine the diplomatic relationship between the United States and Cuba. [...]

North Korea claims it is a peaceful, scientific endeavor, while the rest of the world, particularly the US, Japan and South Korea, doesn’t buy it. The United States has warned that the launch would trigger harsher sanctions against the communist country, although China would probably use its veto power in the United Nations Security Council to block any attempt to tighten restrictions. As the Japanese and United States deployed their anti-missile defense systems this week, the situation has become a royal mess.[...]

The recent expansion of AmeriCorps goes hand in hand with President Obama’s plea with the American people to start volunteering and give special attention to community service. The plea came in his inaugural-address and later in a nationally televised speech to a joint session of Congress in February, shortly after taking office. The Senate passed a measure, named the Senator Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act [...]