History in the making: First Italian-American Speaker of the House of Representatives

A new chapter in American history was written yesterday when California's Nancy Pelosi (left) was formally chosen as the first Italian-American speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. It's took more than 200 years for the "the marble ceiling," (as Pelosi herself described it) described, to be shattered by an Italian-American.

And from a practical standpoint too, this is a major step upwards for an Italian-American. She is third in line of succession for the job as (gasp) President of the United States. And my brother from Connecticut reminded me that he noticed that she is a woman. And that is a first too, he thinks, although I personally haven't had time to check on that last point.

But of even more importance than her proud Italian-American roots was the message sent by the voters in November: No more cantankerous bickering and gridlock ... let's solve some of the real problems facing guys like me and the rest of America.

Two places to start: Iraq and the illusion of a great economy ... but not for 75% of the American people who happen not to be earning more than $250,000 per year!