Entries
Taliban Overrun Afghan District
The Washington Post reports: KABUL — Taliban fighters overpowered poorly armed policemen in a district in eastern Afghanistan early Tuesday in a rare show of force that prompted local officials to flee. Taliban militants, who had been encroaching on the Waygal district for weeks, …
Qaddafi Advance Erases Rebel Gains
The Washington Post reports: TRIPOLI, Libya — Rebel fighters fled under fire from a key town in eastern Libya on Tuesday as world leaders convening in London insisted that Moammar Gaddafi step down but offered no new suggestions for how to dislodge him from power. The rebels’ chaotic …
There's Still No Obama Doctrine
The New York Times reports: WASHINGTON — So, is there an Obama doctrine? In laying out his justification for the American-led assault on Libya on Monday night, the president offered the most detailed portrait of when he might commit the country’s military might in a tumultuous world. …
TEPCO President Hospitalized
The Times Union reports: TOKYO (AP) — The president of the utility that owns Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear complex was hospitalized with hypertension as setbacks mounted at the plant, where experts Wednesday logged the highest radiation yet in nearby seawater. Masataka Shimizu, …
Washington Debates Arming Rebels
The New York Times reports: WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is engaged in a fierce debate over whether to supply weapons to the rebels in Libya, senior officials said on Tuesday, with some fearful that providing arms would deepen American involvement in a civil war and that some …
Immigration Status Unclear For Gay Spouses
The New York Times reports: An announcement by immigration officials in Washington on Monday that they were delaying decisions on some immigration cases involving gay couples led to a surge of expectations among gay advocates that the Obama administration had taken a small but significan…
West Counting On Breakup Of Qaddafi Coalition
The New York Times reports: TRIPOLI, Libya — The official government tour was supposed to show Western journalists the suffering of people who had been driven from their homes by the allied bombing in the city of Mizda, Libya . But the people themselves did not cooperate: when a …
GOP Pushes for Fannie & Freddie Phase-Out
A package of GOP bills to restrict and then wind down Fannie and Freddie illustrate what a vigorous, market-oriented House majority can and should do to get things done. A coalition of Republican House of Representatives Members has announced a package of bills that would first restrict and then …Intel Experts: 'Don't Quit Until Qaddafi's Gone'
Monday, the president argued the case for our mission in Libya. FF asked members of the intel community for their views on the Obama doctrine. In his Libyan speech, President Obama established the Obama Doctrine: America would intervene to stop a murderous tyrant from massacring their citizens. …Obama Keeps Bill Happy
Some speechwriter must have had a little chuckle as he drafted President Obama’s remarks at the UN. Some speechwriter must have had a little chuckle as he drafted President Obama’s remarks at the UN. Obama apologized to former President Clinton for keeping the Secretary of State so busy that …CBO: TARP Will Cost Taxpayers $19B
The CBO's Director's Blog writes : Today CBO released the fifth of its statutory reports on transactions undertaken as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)—the program established in October 2008 to enable the Department of the Treasury to promote stability in financial markets …
Left and Right Switch Sides in the Media Wars
Have we passed into some kind of space-time discontinuity , where prominent newscasters are right-wing and the people enraged by media bias left-wing? Have we passed into some kind of space-time discontinuity , where all the most prominent newscasters are right-wing - and the people most …Boehner Faces GOP Budget Revolt
Boehner's fight to keep his caucus unified in the spending fight just got a lot harder: Tuesday, fiscal hawks in the House announced plans to draft a rival 2012 budget proposal. Today’s news that conservatives in the House Republican Study Committee will draft their own alternative Fiscal Year …Cantor: No More Budget Stopgaps
The Hill reports : House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) raised the stakes in the budget showdown on Capitol Hill Tuesday by ruling out another stopgap funding measure. “I want to see a long-term CR here,” he said. “We've got bigger things to deal with. Time is up here." That …
56 Killed in Iraqi Hostage Siege
The AP reports : Wearing military uniforms over explosives belts, gunmen held a local Iraqi government center hostage Tuesday in a grisly siege that ended with the deaths of at least 56 people, including three councilmen who were executed with gunshots to the head. The five-hour …Hillary: U.S. May Arm Rebels
The Guardian reports : Hillary Clinton has paved the way for the United States to arm the Libyan rebels by declaring that the recent UN security council resolution relaxed an arms embargo on the country. As Libya's opposition leaders called for the international community to arm them, …
Schumer Caught on Open Mic
The New York Times reports : Um, senators, ever heard of the mute button? Moments before a conference call with reporters was scheduled to get underway on Tuesday morning, Charles E. Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate, apparently unaware that many of the reporters …
Obama to Announce Reelection Bid in Three Weeks
National Journal reports : President Obama is fewer than three weeks away from formally announcing his reelection campaign, and will make it public with an online video his aides will post on his new campaign website, Democratic sources familiar with the plans said. Obama’s team …