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Egypt Cuts the Internet in the Face of Revolution
Tweet Share on Facebook January 28, 2011 Comment (1)Here in Washington, the snow has knocked out electricity and cable TV in many neighborhoods, so the live pictures of Egyptian unrest on television. The best thing to do is to go on a computer or mobile device to see what’s really going on. So far, the Washington Post’s website is carrying a live video stream from Al-Jazeera, and MSNBC is following the English version of the RNN Facebook page. (RNN is the Rassd News Network, a citizen-journalist website.) When the unrest started on the streets of Tehran in 2009, everyone followed on Twitter, until the Iranian government briefly interrupted online service. But the Egyptian government has completely shut down all Internet service, in an unprecedented move cutting all four major Internet providers there at exactly 12:34 a.m. last night. Take a look at this graphic from Newser.
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Obama Doesn't Seem Worried About the Looming Deficit Crisis
Tweet Share on Facebook January 27, 2011 Comment (4)Here’s what was missing from the State of the Union address, and by that I mean both literally and figuratively:
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GOP's $2.5 Trillion in Proposed Spending Cuts Are Commonsense
Tweet Share on Facebook January 21, 2011 Comment (24)My colleague at U.S. News, Paul Bedard, reports the House GOP has proposed $2.5 trillion in spending cuts to the 2011 continuing resolution that is funding our government in lieu of a budget. In addition to eliminating funding for healthcare reform, saving $900 million, they're proposing ending federal control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, cutting the federal workforce through attrition by 15 percent, and returning federal spending on everything except defense, homeland security, and vets to 2008 levels. After that, they've got a list of additional specific cuts. If you'd like to take a look at the whole list, here it is. You won't need your morning coffee; it'll get your blood pressure up nicely.
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Obama Should Continue Tucson Speech Themes in State of the Union
Tweet Share on Facebook January 14, 2011 Comment (3)Aside from the length of the speech—half an hour rather than the usual five minutes or less—something else made President Obama’s remarks at the raucous Tucson memorial service different from every other presidential speech in times of tragedy. If you look as far back as President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, or President Roosevelt’s address immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, or President Clinton’s remarks at the prayer service following the Oklahoma City bombing, or President Bush’s addresses to the nation on 9/11 and after the Virginia Tech shooting, most presidents do not name the victims who died—much less tell their stories. President Reagan’s brilliant speech after the Challenger disaster did name the seven astronauts killed, but didn’t tell us much about them.
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6 Reasons It Was a Good Week in Washington
Tweet Share on Facebook January 8, 2011 Comment (7)“Hope and Change” are finally coming to Washington, two years after President Obama promised them. The tone in our fair city changed this week, not just at the White House or in the Congress, but seemingly everywhere. Here's why:
