To judge from this week’s developments, we’re still accelerating in the direction set by George W. Bush after 9/11 towards a retrenchment of White House power and secrecy, and new limits on the media.
$642 Billion
— The Congressional Budget Office's latest estimate for the fiscal year 2013 federal deficit, down from $845 billion three months ago and $1.087 trillion last year, amid higher than expected tax revenues and dividend payments from federally-owned mortgage-finance companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
Inspector General Blasts IRS For Conservative Targeting
Agency targeted tea party groups improperly and asked inappropriate questions, audit finds.
The Obama Administration Looks to Latin America After Years of Neglect
The Administration has finally figured out that many of the region’s economies are strong enough global players now to be useful to the U.S. as bloc partners in its bid to stay ahead of China’s burgeoning trade and financial power
Obama-Friendly Think Tank Ponders a Nuclear-Armed Iran
Could it be that Obama’s red line against Tehran becoming a nuclear-weapons state is fading?
The IRS Scandal Means More Washington Gridlock
The Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups is outrageous, but TIME’s Joe Klein says Washington should focus on larger issues like the collapse of the middle class
Biden Endorses Chocolate Bullets
“He is a strong, bright man, but he has the look of a man who's about to take on a job he’s not at all sure is going to end well.”
— Vice President Biden on China President Xi Jinping in his University of Pennsylvania commencement speech.
In the ArenaControversies
InAPpropriate?
The question is, how was this different from previous government attempts to track down inside sources who leaked secrets–as in the Valerie Plame/Scooter Libby fracas during the Bush Administration?
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Visits U.S., but the Real Action Is Across the Pond
However far into the distance Cameron seems to gaze, no matter where he roams, his primary focus remains back home in Westminster and on Britain and its relationship with the European Union.
Morning Must Reads: May 14
In the news: the IRS, Benghazi, Obamacare, Angelina Jolie, the US drone economy, and “Bitter Pill”
The New GOP Case Against Obama: He’s Cheney!
Republicans attack Obama for policies that have a familiar ring.
New IRS Scandal Echoes a Long History of Political Harassment
While targeting conservative groups may be outrageous, politically motivated audits by the IRS are far from unusual.
