Entries

House Cancels July Recess

The Hill reports : Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) announced Friday that the House would stay in session to work on the debt talks and cancel a recess set to begin July 18. Cantor told members to expect a vote the week of July 18 on the balanced-budget amendment, which had been …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

Chavez Distracts from Venezuela's Real Problems

The recent focus on Hugo Chavez's illness is a distraction from the real problems facing Venezuela. In 1975, Gabriel García Márquez wrote The Autumn of the Patriarch . This book mocked the dictatorships that were common in Latin America during the 1960’s and 1970’s. In his desperate attempt to …

Written by Daniela Chacón Arias on Friday July 8, 2011

Health Tax Break on the Table in Debt Talks

Reuters reports : Deficit-reduction negotiators are looking at imposing new limits on existing tax breaks for employer-provided health insurance, a senior Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Friday. "I think limiting the deduction for the higher income brackets is …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

Libyan Rebels Set for Renewed Push to Tripoli

Reuters reports : Libyan rebels renewed their push against leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces on Friday, coming under heavy fire just days after making hefty advances toward Tripoli on two fronts. Tens of thousands of supporters of the defiant Gaddafi rallied in Tripoli's Green Square for …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

Why Scalia and Thomas Won't Always Agree

Did Justices Scalia and Thomas reach different conclusions in a recent case because of how their parents raised them? Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas are both “originalists, ” which means they aspire to interpret the Constitution in accordance with its meaning as understood by the …

Written by John Guardiano on Friday July 8, 2011

House Passes $649 Billion Defense Bill

The Associated Press reports : The House on Friday overwhelmingly passed a $649 billion defense spending bill that boosts the Pentagon budget by $17 billion and covers the costs of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The strong bipartisan vote was 336-87 and reflected lawmakers' intent to ensure …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

Tribe: Debt Ceiling is Constitutional

Laurence Tribe writes : ON May 16, the United States hit its legal debt limit of $14.3 trillion. Unless that limit is raised, the Treasury will, on Aug. 2, be unable to pay its bills. It will then have to either stop spending money on government programs, or default on paying the nation’s …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

Boehner: Quick Debt Deal Is Unlikely

The New York Times reports : The Speaker of the House, John A. Boehner , said on Friday that no budget deal with President Obama and Congressional Democrats was imminent, while Mr. Obama also acknowledged “real differences” as the leaders prepared for a weekend of further talks. “I'm …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

Huntsman Picks Bush Official as Policy Chief

Politico reports : Jon Huntsman has tapped a former George W. Bush environmental official as his presidential campaign's top policy director. Mark McIntosh will split his time between Huntsman's Orlando headquarters and the GOP policy world in Washington coordinating expert advice on a …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

GOP: Weak Job Report Means Taxes Shouldn't Rise

The Associated Press reports : Top congressional Republicans said Friday that a report that few new jobs were created last month shows this is not the time for the government to be raising taxes. But the GOP House speaker said the gloomy numbers also underscored the need for a deal on raising …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

Obama: Debt Fight A Factor In Weak Job Growth

Reuters reports : President Barack Obama said on Friday the impasse over the debt limit was contributing to the economy's weakness by adding to business uncertainty. Obama, speaking after the release of a gloomy jobs report for June, cited the debt limit dispute, along with the crisis in …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

WH Adviser: U.S. Isn't Facing Double Dip Recession

Reuters reports : The U.S. economy is not facing a double-dip recession , but weak job growth is "a call to arms" for policymakers to take steps to reinvigorate the private sector, a top White House adviser said on Friday. "This is not a double dip, " Council of Economic Advisers …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

WH Rules Out 14th Amendment Option on Debt Limit

The Huffington Post reports : As quickly as the so-called "constitutional option" appeared as a way to resolve the debt ceiling showdown, top White House officials have apparently closed that door. During Thursday's talks between the president's team and congressional leadership, Treasury …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

Dozens Killed In Fourth Day of Pakistan Violence

The Washington Post reports : A wave of deadly political and ethnic violence gripped Pakistan’s largest city for the fourth straight day Friday, and police and paramilitary troops were given orders to shoot suspected assailants on sight. As many as 95 people have been killed in Karachi …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

Egyptians Demand Justice For Mubarak's Victims

The Associated Press reports : Egyptians held one of their biggest protests in months as tens of thousands took to the streets in Cairo and other cities on Friday to demand justice for victims of Hosni Mubarak's regime and press the country's new military rulers for a clear plan on transition …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

Pak. Blasts Adm. Mullen For Claims About Killing

Politico reports : It was “extremely irresponsible” for Adm. Michael Mullen to allege that Pakistani officials approved the killing of a journalist who had written about the government’s ties to terrorist groups, the country’s state-run news agency reported Friday. Mullen, the chairman …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

The Jobs Report is Awful, but a Default is Worse

While the latest jobs report is dismal, it is no excuse for Republicans to have no plan or their own or to push for a default. The latest jobs report is truly dismal in that it shows a slight gain in jobs. However, it isn't the "death blow" or sure sign of a double-dip recession that might send …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Friday July 8, 2011

Rove's PAC Launches New Anti-Dem Ads

The Associated Press reports : A Republican-leaning fundraising group with ties to GOP strategist Karl Rove has launched a new phase of its $20 million ad campaign attacking Democrats. Crossroads GPS is running television ads targeting five Democratic senators up for re-election in 2012. …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

11 Killed in Yemen After President's TV Appearance

The Associated Press reports : President Ali Abdullah Saleh's supporters have opened fire, killing at least 11 people across Yemen after their leader's first television appearance since his injury last month. Hospital officials say most of Friday's shooting was in celebration of Saleh's TV …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011

Pro-Palestinian Activists Blocked in Europe

The Associated Press reports : Scores of pro- Palestinian activists trying to reach Tel Aviv as part of a coordinated protest were blocked at European airports, and six activists who managed to land Friday were deported as Israel moved to defuse the mass arrival envisioned by organizers. …

Written by FrumForum News on Friday July 8, 2011