President Obama again backtracked in the never-ending Guantanamo saga this week. On Monday, he extended by six months the work of a task force that is looking at how Gitmo detainees should be handled, which jeopardizes his campaign promise of closing Gitmo by January. Earlier this month, he said deciding how to handle the Gitmo [...]
Archive for July, 2009
24 Jul
Extra F-22s Nixed by Senate
“The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to stop production of the F-22 fighter plane, handing President Barack Obama a victory as he tries to rein in defense spending,” reports Reuters. The Senate actually voted 58-40 in favor of funding the additional Raptors, but alas, the dreaded filibuster threat meant 60 votes were needed for the [...]
24 Jul
40 Years That Reshaped America
We occasionally place a tagline in stories referring to Sen. Edward Kennedy reminding the reader, “Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.” Well, 40 years ago last Saturday, on July 18, 1969, Ted Kennedy drove his Oldsmobile, with Mary Jo in the passenger seat, off a bridge at Chappaquiddick Island and neglected trying [...]
24 Jul
Investigations of Thee, but Not of Me
The Justice Department has summarily dumped charges of voter intimidation against the New Black Panther Party and three of its members related to their acts of voter intimidation on Election Day 2008 in Philadelphia. The Bush Justice Department filed a civil complaint against the three men, one of whom was brandishing a nightstick, while they [...]
24 Jul
Walter Cronkite and the Death of Objective Journalism
The passing of legendary anchorman Walter Cronkite last weekend at the age of 92 has brought a wealth of commentary about his six-decade career in journalism and a lot of reflection about the man once referred to as the “most trusted man in America.” He reported on some of the most important events of the [...]
24 Jul
New & Notable Legislation
On Wednesday, the House passed H.R. 2920, the so-called “Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act,” which was approved on a 265-166 tally. The bill ostensibly will “reestablish a statutory procedure to enforce a rule of budget neutrality on new revenue and direct spending legislation.” But this is about even more faked-up posturing for spendthrift Democrats, who can use [...]
24 Jul
Deceitful Deficit
In the midst of the push for spending $1.5 trillion to nationalize health care, the Obama administration has delayed releasing its summer budget update. Usually released in mid July, the update was pushed back into August. Ah, transparency. There are numerous problems with the budget, not the least of which the rosy outlook on future [...]
24 Jul
Gaffe of the Week
“The reforms we seek would bring greater competition, choice, savings and inefficiencies to our health care system.” –Barack Obama
24 Jul
This Week’s ‘Alpha Jackass’ Award
“I’m rushed because I get letters every day from people that are being clobbered by health care costs, and they ask, ‘Can you help?’ … If you don’t set deadlines in this town, things don’t happen. The default position is inertia. …[T]he stars are aligned and we need to take advantage of that.” –Barack ObamaRx [...]
