FFM

If I was a Republican strategist in charge of developing a plan to get a Republican in the White House in 2016 I would be focused on doing the opposite of what the party has been doing in the House and Senate for the last six years. Since 2009 it has been the objective of the Republican party to discredit President Obama in any way possible even it meant it was not in the best interest of the country. It worked and yes the country suffered for it. The Republican Party now controls both Houses and they captured many Gubernatorial seats across the country. Now they must choose. Choose wisely. They can continue, and even accelerate their slash and burn tactics carried out over the last six years or they can focus on getting things done that are best for the country. If they do the later they have a good shot at capturing the White House. If thy continue with their tactics used over the last six years their id a good chance that once again they will lose the presidential election but also

If you are under the age of 50 you should be concerned about China from an economic and global power standpoint. Some believe China is seeking peace with the rest of the world. Based on their long history, I am not convinced. For China long term is hundreds of years and for the United States it is the next election cycle. China's focus is always on the long term. Much of this post is drawn from a book,  On China , written by Henry Kissinger, the Secretary of State under President Nixon and a research paper of the National Intelligence Council titled  Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds . Whether the future will prove China's desire for peaceful co-existence depends on whether its middle class will sufficiently benefit from economic growth and not allow their leadership to throw it away by creating enemies with trading partners.  This requires the country becoming more democratic and less inclined to be a threat to the remainder of the world.  The jury is still looking

"But at the base of all those settlements was the grand bargain, which, in addition to preserving the museum’s vaunted collection, allowed Detroit to grant all of its retirees a better deal than first expected. The arrangement moves the art collection into a private trust that is bankruptcy-proof, while the money from foundations, museum donors and the state goes to the pension plans over the next two decades." Finding $816 Million and Fast, to Save Detroit , New York Times, November 7, 2014 The Grand Bargain did not save Detroit; the DIA was involuntarily saved by Detroit's working class and poor. This is a sad story of an impoverished city involuntarily giving up the opportunity for a better future for the sake of keeping an art collection in tact. What is missing in this article is that much of the mufti-billion dollar art collection is owned by the city. Admittedly the exact amount owned by the city is not clear because the total art collection was not appraised a