YOU DECIDE: The Comcast Merger
Should Comcast be Allowed to Merge with Time Warner Communications? Does your family have cable in your home? How about Internet access? If so, the recent announcement that the country’s number one communications company Comcast has acquired the second-latest communications company Time Warner Cable might affect what you see (and how much you pay). Comcast […]
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Team USA! (How Did We Do?) Now that btw has brought you stories of the preparation, and the economics surrounding the Sochi Olympics, we thought we’d finally focus on the athletes and the games. The last winter Olympics (2010 held in Vancouver, Canada) was the first time since 1932 that the United States won the […]
State Dinners at the White House: A Photo Essay
The occasion of an official state visit by the leader of another nation is always an important event in the time that a president spends in the White House. Acting as the representative of the United States and hosting the acting head of another nations carries with it lots of rules and words of polite […]
White House Pays Tribute to France at State Dinner
Last week, President Obama hosted a state dinner, a formal affair thrown as part of a formal visit between the United States and another country. This event’s guest of honor was President Francois Hollande of France. Other guests included more than 300 politicians, influential businesspersons, celebrities and other notables. The décor for the evening was […]
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“Perfect Storm” of Factors Paralyzes Atlanta A week after the Northeastern part of the United States was hit with its latest polar vortex chill, the Southern states experienced their own rare weather phenomenon. A two-inch snowfall in Atlanta, Georgia caused massive gridlock on the city’s highways, leaving thousands of motorists stranded in their cars and […]
10 African-Americans You Might Not Know (But Should!)
Surely you know that February is Black History Month, right? And by now, you probably have a decent handle on the trail-blazing efforts of Frederick Douglas, Harriett Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Jackie Robinson. Even modern-day legends like the Obamas, Oprah Winfrey, the Williams sisters, Beyonce’ and Tyler Perry have become household […]
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A Year of Action: President Gives State of the Union When writing the Constitution, our forefathers decided that our president would, “from time to time, give to the Congress information of the State of the Union.” In it, he would “recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary.” This means summarizing the […]
President Obama Announces NSA Reforms
Last summer, btw reported on accusations made against the National Security Agency (NSA). Edward Snowden, a former independent contractor for the CIA, exposed questionable surveillance practices of the United States government. It sparked a national debate about the balance between our country’s ability to defend itself and the rights of its citizens against government interference. […]
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Polar Vortex Explained If you live in the northeastern quarter of the United States, then you probably spent the first of the year hunkered down waiting for the weather to change. The abnormally low temperatures are being blamed on a phenomenon known as the polar vortex. While it may sound like the name of a […]
50th Anniversary of the War on Poverty
Solving the problem of poverty is a complicated issue as well as a continuing political hot-button topic in America. In 1964 then-president Lyndon B. Johnson made this issue a priority by declaring a “war on poverty” during his first State of the Union speech. On January 8th of this year, Johnson’s daughter, Lynda Johnson Robb, joined […]