What's New Robert L. Park 15 February 2013

WHAT=92S NEW    Robert L. Park   Friday, 15 Feb 2013   Washington, DC

1.  CLASS WARFARE: OBAMA'S STATE-OF-THE-UNION ADDRESS.
"It is our unfinished task," the president said, "to restore the basic=20=

bargain that built this country, the idea that if you work hard and meet=20=

your responsibilities you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, n=
o=20
matter what you look like or who you love."  Equal opportunity was Obama=92=
s=20
clear theme.  "Tonight let's declare that, in the wealthiest nation on=20=

Earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty -- and=20=

raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour." Obama and Romney agreed a=20=

year ago that the minimum wage should be linked to the cost of living so=20=

worker's income is not always left lagging behind the economy.  Even=20
liberal politicians usually stop there.  However, with families to suppor=
t,=20
workers can't take an unpaid sabbatical to prepare for the next level.=20=
=20
That option is open only to the wealthy. So Obama proposed an emphasis on=
=20
making high-quality preschool programs available to middle-class parents.=
=20
As Gail Collins points out in Thursday's New York Times, this goes back t=
o=20
Walter Mondale=92s Comprehensive Child Development Act.  Obama proposed=20=

working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every chi=
ld=20
in America.=20=20

2.  ASTEROID 2012 DA14: A REMINDER THAT THE UNIVERSE IS VIOLENT.
Unnoticed unless it was being watched through a telescope, a 150-foot=20
asteroid hurtled by today, missing Earth by only 17,150 miles; it was the=
=20
closest known flyby of Earth for an object of its size. In a chilling=20
coincidence, a much smaller meteor exploded above Russia's Ural Mountains=
=20
just hours before the asteroid zoomed by.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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