Category Archives: Government
Obama Trade Secret
Nancy Pelosi led the president’s own party in defeating a key part of his free trade legislation on Friday. The deal would have provided money and training for workers displaced by the Trans Pacific Partnership – Obama Trade.
Republicans Boehner and Ryan are switch hitting for the president on Obama Trade. They want “fast track” authority which would allow him to negotiate in secret with Asian governments. The House would then vote up or down on the final trade deal with no amendments.
The bill itself is so secret congressmen are only allowed to see it in a basement reading room. One page at a time. With no notes leaving the room. Some notes must have left the room because details of the bill are being made public by Wikileaks.
Financial Struggles of Rubio and Hastert
The NYT is on Marco Rubio’s case. The paper reported he’s had 4 traffic tickets in 17 years! Not only that, he used an $800,000 book advance to pay off $100,000 in student loans and buy an $80,000 fishing boat – or a “luxury speed boat”. All this packed into not one, but two stories. The second story appeared on Wednesday’s front page under the headline Rubio Career Bedeviled by Financial Struggles.
The editors seem unaware that Rubio’s financial struggles are the same struggles bedeviling a lot of normal people. Jon Stewart is on The Times’ case.
Meanwhile a picture directly above the Rubio story, in the print edition, features the financial struggles of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Hastert’s struggles aren’t so much like those of normal people. He’s accused of agreeing to pay $3.5 million in blackmail. Paying blackmail isn’t illegal, but using your own cash to do it is, if you withdraw over $10,000. Hastert tried to avoid that by taking out less than 10 grand more often. Apparently that’s illegal too.
Jon Kass of the Chicago Tribune is not happy with Dennis Hastert.
Cyber War
NSA may have cut back on stealing your data but China hasn’t. Chinese government operatives continue to hack U.S. government, university, and corporate networks. A WSJ editorial titled The Chinese Have Your Numbers claims they made off with the personnel files of 2.1 million fed employees. Could be you’ve earned a purple heart in a cyber war and don’t know it.
Closest Thing to a Jew
Former Obama administration high priest David Axelrod says the president revealed to him that he’s “the closest thing to a Jew that has ever sat in this office.” It’s hurtful to him when people say he’s hostile to Israel. The president also told a young Asian group this week that he personally restored America to international respectability. And, despite missing state department emails, destroyed IRS emails, and delayed FOIA requests, he continues with the “most transparent administration in history” boast.
Tour de Kerry
John Kerry broke his leg while riding his bike on a Tour de France course. Guess that will keep him out of the Stanley Cup finals. He and his caregivers were transported home for surgery in a huge Air Force C-17.
