He really should go away
In the ArenaDick Cheney
In the ArenaDick Cheney
36
— The number of times the House of Representatives has voted to repeal Obamacare since 2011, according to the National Journal. That number will rise to 37 on Thursday, when the House votes on Rep. Michele Bachmann's latest bill.
“Everybody wants to see more spending. That's what this place is, it's a big spending machine.”
— California Governor Jerry Brown putting lawmakers on notice yesterday that he had no desire to ratchet up spending in his new budget, despite a multibillion-dollar windfall of tax receipts in recent months, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Morning Must Reads: May 15
In the news: IRS, Eric Holder, the deficit, Boston Marathon bombings a month later, Pentagon furloughs, the blood alcohol limit, Texas gun laws, and “Space Oddity”
Scrambling To Find AP Leaker, Obama’s Administration Vindicates Bush
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?