Lieutenant Palmer, the head of the Pima County Border Crime Unit, arranges for me to fly with his helicopter team down to the border. It is an instructive flight. Most of the U.S.-Mexican border in the county is part of a Native American reservation, so in practice the unit only has to worry about thirty miles of the border—but what miles. Smugglers coming across the reservation have crossed into the department’s sector and the area the Border Crime Unit covers is laced with desert trails that wind through deep ravines. …
Today, the New York Times published the resignation letter of Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of the American International Group’s financial products unit. In it, Mr. DeSantis describes government mismanagement, broken promises, and the tale of his own upbringing from humble roots. The letter clearly demonstrates the pitfalls of having the U.S. Congress as your new boss and the problems that go along with knee jerk reactions in Washington. We give it to you here, in its entirety. DEAR Mr. Liddy, It is with deep regret that I submit …
Great observation by Michael Barone on Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s latest bank bailout plan: Democrats like Barack Obama and Barney Frank, at least on the campaign trail or in sound bites, have portrayed the financial crisis as the product of deregulation. The solution, they say, is more regulation. … My American Enterprise colleague Peter Wallison has argued powerfully that this is a bad idea. Neither the Federal Reserve or other regulators identified the systemic risk which caused this crisis. Neither did most financial institutions or investors. Systemic risk is hard …
President Obama’s administration just can’t leave well enough alone. First, it couldn’t manage to be respectful to Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, during his visit. When a State Department official responsible for planning the visit was questioned about this by the Sunday Telegraph, the official’s response was: There’s nothing special about Britain. You’re just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn’t expect special treatment. Next, it was Russia’s turn. The “reset/overcharge” fiasco at least led to an internal apology by long-time Clinton …
Although talk of the economy predictably dominated President Barack Obama’s news conference last night, his persistent focus has been health care, education and energy. Cap and trade to reduce carbon dioxide and clean energy investment were again the center of attention: When it comes to cap-and-trade, the broader principle is that we’ve got to move to a new energy era, and that means moving away from polluting energy sources towards cleaner energy sources. That is a potential engine for economic growth.” As for cap and trade, let’s take a trip …
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton begins her first trip to Mexico today and Heritage scholars Ray Walser, James Roberts, and Jena Baker McNeill preview what Clinton needs to accomplish: Secretary Clinton needs to demonstrate to President Felipe Calderon and the Mexican people that the U.S. approaches the Mexican drug cartel crisis with a seriousness and commitment commensurate with the efforts and sacrifices made by America’s southern neighbor. Secretary Clinton must also convey the executive branch’s intention to reverse the decision on the NAFTA pilot trucking program in order to avoid …
Three weeks ago, Washington and the world were contemplating British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s ‘Global New Deal,’ and expectations were rising that the G-20 summit in London on April 2 would produce a comprehensive, job-destroying deal on global financial regulations. But inflated expectations always burst – ask the Obama administration – and as of late, the most interesting reporting on the summit has focused on how many lunatic fringe anti-freedom activists will attempt to disrupt it. Former British Cabinet Minister Stephen Byers is now criticizing Brown, saying that he is …
Ka-thump. That sound you just heard was President Barack Obama throwing 95% of all Americans under the bus. In his opening remarks during last night’s press conference, President Obama said of his budget: “This plan will provide a tax cut to 95 percent of all working families that will appear in people’s paychecks by April 1st.” But pressed later by ABC News’ Jake Tapper about compromises he was willing to make to get his budget passed, Obama said: “When it comes to the middle-class tax cut, we already had that in …
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94lW6Y4tBXs[/youtube]In a speech during Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s visit to the European Parliament on March 24, 2009, British Member of the European Parliament Daniel Hannan gives a striking speech directed at his Prime Minister, explaining the pitfalls of liberal borrow-spend-bailout policies. Sound familiar? Instead of DVDs, President Obama should have given Gordon Brown his teleprompter, because without it, there is no response to this.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAB1wAXdBZ0[/youtube]
