Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney finally released his tax returns last week, revealing that less than 14 percent in federal taxes was paid, of his more than $20 million income earned last year.

Mitt Romney was wrong in his victory speech after the Florida primary Tuesday night when he attributed to Tom Paine the quote, "Lead, follow or get out of the way." Although widely attributed to Paine, it appears nowhere in his written works.

If current trends continue, gasoline prices and U.S. energy policy seem destined to play a larger role in the political debate prior to the November elections than ever before. Gasoline on the East Coast is already within striking distance of all-time highs and most prognosticators are talking about the likelihood of $4+ gasoline before summer. Although the U.S. consumer is more inured to $4 gasoline than four years ago, the crossing of the $4 barrier is bound to set off another round of recriminations and finger pointing as to just who or what is causing this phenomenon. If what happened in 2008 is any indication we are in for another round of bizarre proposals from our politicians - remember the "sue OPEC" legislation.

Cynthia Nixon, who played the role of Miranda Hobbes on HBO's Sex in the City, told the New York Times that she chose to be gay. Her statement was clumsy, irresponsible, inaccurate, and lent itself to exploitation by anti-gay activists. While Nixon's coy semantic games and flippant proclamations may play well in certain circles, they will surely be used as a brutal club against LGBT youth in Red State America.

This week Republicans continued their attack on the federal workforce. Led by Tea Party extremists, the House put forward a bill to freeze the pay for federal employees for another year, what would be the third in a row.