The Myth of '08, Demolished "The misreading of that election -- and of the mandate it allegedly bestowed -- is the fundamental cause of the Democratic debacle of 2009." Dr. Krauthammer.
For every Sunbelt refugee who has tried to leave high tax bills behind in the cold Northeast, Julian Robertson scored a victory this week. By proving that he was outside New York City for half the days in the year 2000, the former hedge-fund titan avoided $27 million in city taxes, thanks to a ruling by New York's tax court. No thanks are due the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, which had ruled
Even though they may remind you immediately of the worst racists you have known, bigoted bashers of religion often get away with it no matter how shallow, uncomprehending, unfair, overly generalizing, nasty-minded or obviously hostile their attitudes are. Every now and then, however, someone strikes back, such as Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York. On his Web site, I first learned from a New York Post article, he recently took a swing at anti-Catholicism, particularly as
TOKYO – US President Barack Obama has delayed his visit to Japan next week by one day following a deadly shooting at a military base in Texas, according to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Japanese national broadcaster NHK and Jiji Press reported that Washington had asked Tokyo to change the schedule for the two-day visit to allow Obama to attend a memorial service for the 13 people killed in Thursday's shooting.
WASHINGTON – For months he had warned it was coming but that didn't ease the political shockwaves for President Barack Obama when unemployment topped 10 percent. A year after his election Obama finds it increasingly difficult to blame the sour economy on George W. Bush or offer reassurances that jobless Americans will soon find work. Never mind that the economy itself grew in the last quarter, that the recession, as measured by the precise formulas used by
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is traveling to Capitol Hill on Saturday to try to close the sale on his signature health care overhaul, facing a make-or-break vote in the House certain to be seen as a test of his presidency. Obama scheduled a late-morning visit with House Democrats convening a rare Saturday session on legislation to remake the U.S. health care system, extending coverage to tens of millions now uninsured and banning insurance company practices
FORT HOOD, Texas – A chaplain exhorted hundreds of mourners gathered at a candlelight vigil to not give up hope as Fort Hood and its surrounding community looked to each other for comfort after an Army psychiatrist allegedly went on a deadly shooting spree at the military base. A grief counseling center was set up Friday at the Killeen Community Center to help residents struggling to make sense of one of the worst mass shootings ever
Neighbors aim to silence Old Ironsides’ cannons Old Ironsides’ upscale Charlestown neighbors are trying to pull off what British, French and Barbary pirate guns failed to accomplish in more than two centuries - silencing the cannons of the nation’s oldest commissioned naval vessel. Miffed residents of a posh condo complex have invited the commanding officer of the USS Constitution over for a glass of wine so he can hear for himself that the frigate’s twice-daily cannon blasts
Senator George LeMieux of Florida is using Senate rules to block a vote on President Barack Obama’s nominee for ambassador to Brazil, U.S. Senate Republican and Democratic aides said. The Republican aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said LeMieux, a Republican, was delaying a vote to confirm Thomas Shannon, currently the State Department’s top diplomat for Latin America, over the administration’s decision to initiate talks with Cuba on migration and direct mail service.
If congressional Democrats want to dispel the impression that they are wholly owned subsidiaries of Trial Lawyers Inc., they need to do a much cleverer job at hiding the evidence. In the weak guise of offering incentives to states to create "alternative medical liability" laws, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's big-government health plan actually discourages the most widely used and effective means of reining in lawsuit abuse. The legislative provision isn't just a bait-and-switch, it's more like
A bad week for Democrats compounded by an awful moment for Barack Obama. President Obama didn't wait long after Tuesday's devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships.
Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay
TIJUANA, Mexico — Mexican police caught a prison official who spent a year on the run from charges of killing a 19-year-old inmate, whose beating death sparked riots that left nearly two dozen dead, including two American prisoners. Marco Antonio Ibarra, the chief guard at Tijuana's La Mesa State Penitentiary, was arrested in the northern city of Culiacan, where he was born and had been hiding for a year, said Martha Almaza, deputy attorney general
A civilian police officer at Fort Hood whose shots stopped a killer’s rampage is a member of a special reaction team and a weapons expert who probably saved lives with her response, officials say. The officer, Kimberly Munley, 35, was hospitalized and in stable condition yesterday after suffering gunshots to the wrist and legs when she exchanged fire Nov. 5 with the suspect, U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan.(Snip) “She eliminated the threat. She did
Capping months of months of struggle, House Democrats cleared an abortion-related impasse blocking a vote on sweeping health care legislation late Friday and officials expressed optimism they had finally lined up the support needed to pass President Barack Obama's top domestic priority. A vote was expected on the legislation on Saturday, after Obama's scheduled midmorning trip to the Capitol complex to make one final pitch for its approval.
Republican conservatives and moderates are at each other's throats. Tea party populists are furious at President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and aren't crazy about Republicans either. Democrats haven't got a clue. There's talk of a third party. The economy is stagnant as unemployment, now 10.2 percent, climbs. It's beginning to look like the late 1970s. This is good news for Republicans--extremely good news.
Can anything else possibly go wrong for the Obama administration's Middle East policy? In the past ten days, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has twice reversed herself publicly on her attitude toward the Israeli settlements. Palestinians have refused her direct request to rejoin peace talks with Israel, and Palestinian Authority president Abbas has said he will not run for reelection. U.S.-Israel relations are in
Famed Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez said Friday she and another blogger were punched and thrown violently into a car by presumed state security agents as they walked to participate in a peaceful march in downtown Havana. ``No blood, but black and blues, punches, pulled hairs, blows to the head, kidneys, knee and chest,'' Sánchez told El Nuevo Herald shortly after she and Orlando Luis Pardo were freed. ``In sum, professional violence.''
If Sarah Palin visits Nashville on her book tour, she really ought to stop by the Hermitage. Andrew Jackson's plantation is a lot more than a beautifully restored example of Greek Revival architecture and design. It's also a monument to the seventh president's democratic legacy--of rule by the people, of competitive commercial markets, of entrepreneurial individuals lighting out to the territories. It's a legacy
For Military Police Sgt. Andrew Hagerman, it began with a call over the radio: "Shots fired." And then another: "Officer down." He put on his lights and sirens and raced to the scene. Hagerman, 27, was one of the first responders to the 30-minute barrage of gunfire that pierced through Fort Hood Thursday, turning the sun-drenched Texas military base into a war zone on U.S. soil. He and his colleagues described the scene as one
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe popularity rating is at it’s lowest in his seven years in government, according to a recent public opinion poll. Uribe’s popularity rating fell from 70% to 63% in the last two months. The drop is attributed primarily to economic concerns but several corruption scandals have also had an impact according to Jorge Londońo, manager of polling firm Encuestas Invamer Gallup.
CARACAS – A small opposition party said on Friday that Venezuela’s new minister of electricity has been guilty of stealing power amid a crisis that has caused prolonged blackouts across the Andean nation. A residence belonging to Minister Angel Rodriguez is being supplied with electricity via an illegal connection from a power pole, the MAS party said.
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC - Officials say Kim Munley saved countless lives by bringing an armed Major down at a shootout at Fort Hood, Texas. The Civilian Police Officer is originally from Carolina Beach. This was not the first time she put herself on the line to save someone else. (Snip) One of Kim's former partners, Shaun Appler, a current investigator with the Wrightsville Beach Police Department says he owes her his life.
President Chávez came to power promising to harness Venezuela’s vast oil resources to create a 21st-century nation in which no one was deprived. Now, with water and electricity shortages and soaring crime and inflation, even his ardent supporters are beginning to turn away. In Caracas, which has the world’s highest murder rates and runaway food prices, residents now face two days a week without water
Reporting from Los Angeles and Atlanta - The news made Nihad Awad sick to his stomach. Like the rest of the nation, Awad, who heads the Council on American-Islamic Relations, learned this week that it was a Muslim who opened fire at a U.S. Army base in Texas, killing 13 people and injuring many more. According to witnesses, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan issued the great, exalting cry of his faith before opening fire: "Allahu
It’s still unclear why Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on base at Fort Hood, Texas killing 13 and wounding more than 30 others. But a North Carolina woman who brought the shooting to an end is being called a hero cop. Sergeant Kimberly Munley is credited with shooting Major Hasan four times despite being wounded herself. Munley is originally from Wilmington and the daughter of former Carolina Beach Mayor Dennis Barbour.
WASHINGTON — The suspected Fort Hood shooter has participated in homeland security conferences since 2008 at George Washington University while based in the Washington area. Most recently, Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan was listed as an attendee in January for a conference on new security priorities for the Obama administration.
