1. If the President sends 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, does that count as a “surge?” Simply put, no, because the use of that term implies an Iraq-like strategy of ramping up forces to the maximum of what the generals are requesting. It has been widely reported that General McChrystal’s assessment for additional troops to achieve maximum chance of success was between 60,000 and 80,000 troops. While the President’s decision is better than no new troops at all, it falls short of that assessment. Additionally, the White House plans to …
While Americans prepared for Thanksgiving feasts and hit the malls on Black Friday, the Tea Party movement lived on in the streets of St. Louis and in the small towns of Arkansas to protest Obamacare, rampant government spending, and the massive expansion of the federal government. According to the St. Louis Conservative Examiner, 4,000 “Tea Partiers” gathered on Saturday in downtown St. Louis’ Kiener plaza. From St. Louis’ Fox2now.com:
Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a new report detailing why individuals who purchase insurance in the non-group market would see much higher premiums in 2016 under Obamacare than they would under current law. On average, those in large-group employer-sponsored plans would see their premiums remain flat. But this is an average of two subgroups that hides major losses by millions of Americans: 1) employees with generous coverage would see benefits cut due to the tax on high-value plans, and 2) employees with pared-down plans would see their premiums …
The Senate commenced debate today on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) version of Obamacare and nobody knows if the bill will pass. Politico reports that there are four key Senators to this debate: Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT). The real debate will be in the Democrat Cloakroom where Leader Reid will attempt to garner the support of these four key Senators. Reports indicate that there will be an amendment process that alternates between Republicans and Democrats. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) …
See ya later climate data: “SCIENTISTS at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have admitted throwing away much of the raw temperature data on which their predictions of global warming are based. It means that other academics are not able to check basic calculations said to show a long-term rise in temperature over the past 150 years. The UEA’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) was forced to reveal the loss following requests for the data under Freedom of Information legislation.”
Iran’s dictatorship claimed yesterday that it was provoked to announce the expansion of its nuclear program by a resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last week that censured Iran for failing to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions on the nuclear issue. Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who also supervises Iran’s nuclear program, said that Iran’s decision to build ten more uranium enrichment plants was in retaliation for the IAEA resolution demanding a halt in Iranian enrichment activities. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle warned that the …
Dog and Pony Show: An elaborate presentation orchestrated to gain approval, as for a policy or product. See also: China’s carbon dioxide emission cuts. One day after President Obama announced he’d make a trip to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December with a pledge to cut our nation’s greenhouse emissions 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, the Chinese State Council said it would cut the country’s carbon intensity, its “carbon emissions relative to the size of its economy”, 45 percent by 2020. But here’s the kicker: “The goal …
The U.S. House of Representative could vote as early as Wednesday of this week to increase the estate tax (known popularly as the death tax). The bill it will consider, sponsored by Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-North Dakota), would extend permanently the death tax at its current 45 percent rate and $3.5 million exemption. This extension would be a drastic tax increase since the death tax expires on January 1, 2010. In addition, the Pomeroy bill would be a repudiation of the policy stands of several past Congresses that all agreed …
President Obama has finally made a decision on Afghanistan, which he will communicate to an anxious nation tomorrow night. The White House announcement no doubt has already fueled many kitchen-table conversations during this Thanksgiving weekend, maybe even heated debates. For the sake of our national security, let’s hope most families have concluded that abandoning Afghanistan without achieving our aims is not an option. Some will still waver of course, which is why the president must use his bully pulpit to explain why it is in the vital interests of the …
Heritage’s Izzy Ortega issues his final report on yesterday’s election from Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. More than 60% of all eligible voters made their voices heard loud and clear in electing former congressman Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo. A Bolivian member of parliament was also observing the election and nicely summed things up: “They tried to build a Berlin Wall and Honduras tore it down.” [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D34PFwmX74[/youtube]
