Peter Roff Yesterday

Where Is Obama’s Stimulus Money Going?

By Peter Roff, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

It's little wonder that congressional approval ratings are in the basement.

Congress went hog wild in a frenzy of increased spending, supposedly to stimulate the economy, but the U.S. unemployment rate has continued to rise. And the cost of the pork continues to add up, the latest example being the $18 million—half of which is being paid out up front with the remainder coming in payments over several years—to redesign the website that is supposed to help the American people see where all the stimulus money is going.

Not design the website—redesign it, since whoever was in charge of it apparently could not get it done right the first time.

Bonnie Erbe Yesterday

Running of the Bulls in Pamplona Is Cruel, Sadistic, Outdated and Should End

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Let's hope the Spanish government takes yesterday's tragic death of a runner in Pamplona, and the injuries of many others, as a signal that bull running and, indeed, bull fighting are outdated customs that need to go. From Bloomberg:

The victim, Daniel Jimeno Romero from Alcala de Henares, a town near Madrid, was wounded in the neck and chest, the regional government of Navarra said in a statement on its Web site. Five of the 11 injured were released from the hospital. The others include a 61-year-old American man in intensive care.

John Aloysius Farrell Yesterday

John Kerry Will Hold Oversight Hearings on Obama’s Afghanistan Surge

By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

I caught up with Sen. John Kerry this week and asked him about, among other things, the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, disclosed that he's decided to hold oversight hearings on the Obama administrations handling of the war. You can read about it at GlobalPost.

Kerry is one of the few top government officials who can impact U.S. policy to have fought in Vietnam. He soured on the war, and came home and enlisted in the antiwar movement, which made him a hero to American liberals.

Bonnie Erbe Yesterday

Michael Jackson Does Not Deserve a Congressional Resolution

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.

Bravo to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for nixing a House vote on a resolution honoring the late singer and performer Michael Jackson. It is, I am sure, a move for which she will take flak from the Congressional Black Caucus. Caucus Chair Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, had no comment on Pelosi's decision, which was made to soften divisions in the House, not harden political differences. From the Los Angeles Times:

Bonnie Erbe July 09, 2009

Warren Buffet Wrong on Push for a Second Stimulus Package

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

I thought Warren Buffett was smarter than this. He told ABC News the United States may need a second federal stimulus package:

Bonnie Erbe July 09, 2009

Obama Makes a Rare Strong Stand on Global Warming, Without Result

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

President Obama is probably the most cautious president in recent U.S. history, so for him to take a tough stand is rare—he's too afraid of alienating someone. But he apparently did so today in Italy at the climate change summit of the G8 countries and the 9 most quickly emerging economic powers:

Peter Roff July 09, 2009

Obama, Reid Don't Have 60 Senate Votes for Global Warming "Cap and Trade" Bill

By Peter Roff, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

The House-passed Waxman-Markey global anti-climate change bill is an obvious job killer. So much so that, as written here previously, it authorizes (but doesn't appropriate) more than $4 billion to pay laid-off workers in the energy sector up to 70 percent of their weekly salary for a period of three years if their jobs go away because of the carbon caps. At the same time, the United States—rather than being congratulated for getting on the bandwagon after eight years of George W. Bush's insistence that America and the rest of the world solve the problem by developing new technologies and in ways that each country should determine for itself—is being hammered by the rest of the industrialized world.

As summarized Thursday by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, on its "Morning Bell" blog, the New York Times reports that "The world's biggest developing nations, led by China and India," are refusing to commit to specific goals to reduce greenhouse gases by 2050. In fact, India's Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, told Bloomberg that "India will not accept any emission-reduction target—period." To emphasize the point, Ramesh said: "This is a non-negotiable stand."

So much for the president's global charm offensive; without China and India on board, any effort to limit global greenhouse gas emissions only ends up hurting the U.S. economy without doing anything about the problem as the White House and supporters of the Waxman-Markey approach define it. But the really bad news for the White House is the fire the pending cap-and-trade legislation is drawing here at home.

John Aloysius Farrell July 09, 2009

Obama's Abortion Ambassador Kmiec Gets a Chicago-Style Reward--Malta Posting

By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Every once in a while I forget our president made his bones in the politics of Chicago. He's so dignified, you know.

And then I am reminded by a little item like this: Conservative legal scholar Douglas Kmiec has been nominated to serve as ambassador to Malta.

Bonnie Erbe July 08, 2009

Legalize Marijuana and Solve California's Budget Crisis

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.

Here's a possible solution to California's budget crisis, and for that matter, a possible solution to most state's fiscal crises: legalize and tax marijuana.

These TV ads started airing in California today, featuring a marijuana consumer who—along with millions of others in in the state—wants to pay taxes to help bridge California's massive budget gap. Nadene Herndon, 58, declares that "instead of being treated like criminals for using a substance safer than alcohol, [marijuana consumers] want to pay our fair share."