Sometime in the next 10 weeks or so, U.S. citizens will learn whether the Supreme Court will uphold the first significant health care reform in nearly a half-century. It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in politics or couldn’t give a hoot, the decision will directly impact you, your family and your friends for years to come.   

Did you notice how little supposition infected reporting from Norway after the downtown bomb explosion and island massacre? There was no rush to blame Arabs or Muslims nor pogroms against immigrants. There were questions but little blame-casting about police response times to the island. The man responsible for the bomb and the murders was Norway’s version of Timothy McVeigh, not some dark-skinned foreigner or mixed-race child of an immigrant and Norwegian.  

Steve Driehaus was one of many Democratic challengers to grab Barack Obama's coattails in 2008 and sweep into Washington, D.C., handing the party large majorities in both houses of Congress. As he points out, 2008 wasn't a great time to begin your Congressional career ... unless you were interested in solving huge problems. Driehaus speaks with CityBeat about his first term in the House of Representatives; his advocacy for local companies and projects in Washington; his frustrations with the current political climate; his positions on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and other military issues; and his reelection battle against Steve Chabot.  

Don't listen to what the squeaky wheels on the far right are yelling this week: Most Americans will support the health care reform bill passed by the House once they see what's included in it. In fact, the first major poll taken after the March 21 vote suggests a much different picture than what's being touted by the Tea Party and GOP "leaders."