Sophomore Republican congressman Christopher Lee of New York has resigned today. According to the Hill, the married Lee sent a shirtless picture of himself to a woman he met on Craigslist, who eventually contacted celebrity gossip site Gawker.com:
Gallup's party identification figures now show that a lower percentage of Americans consider themselves to be Democrats (28 percent) than at any point over the whole span (early 2004 to early 2011) for which Gallup shows results.
When asked by Bill O'Reilly in his pre-Super Bowl interview why public opinion is so against Obamacare, President Obama replied: "Actually, I think it's pretty evenly – it's evenly divided, Bill."
I note with regret Michelle Obama’s announcement this week that her husband the president, to her evident relief, has kicked his cigarette habit. No details were forthcoming—how he managed to stop smoking, just how serious his habit might have been, and so on—but in the present age, none were necessary.
Despite concern from the left about the potential for Rep. Peter King's Homeland Security Committee hearings would unfairly "[single] out an entire community, such as Muslim Americans," this morning's hearing with Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano and Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, focused primarily on the efficacy of the government's counterterrorism efforts with regard to homegrown Islamic terrorism. But for a brief five minutes, Democrat Bennie Thompson, the ranking member on the committee, brought the focus to what he considers a great threat to homeland security: anti-tax groups.
“The Department of Defense is a government bureaucracy, cousin to the Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture, and the rest. That means it has the same Dawn of the Dead–zombie instincts.”
Stephanie Gutmann’s National Review Online blog post perfectly encapsulates the frustration fiscal conservatives have toward their national security brethren.
In a hearing, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin asked Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke if he believes that one of the keys to short-term economic growth is a long-term plan to put America's fiscal policy in order. Bernanke replied, "Correct."
Herzliya, Israel Following a speech at the Herzliya security conference, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour said he supports the U.S. policy of providing aid to Israel. "Sure, I always have," Barbour told THE WEEKLY STANDARD when asked if he supports continuing U.S. military aid to Israel, which costs roughly $3 billion annually.
Two recent dispatches from Buenos Aires highlight the travails of Argentine president Cristina Kirchner, whose foolish populism and economic mismanagement have created serious headaches for her government.
The 50th Super Bowl approaches with the same amount of trepidation as Y2K. Why? Because none of us is quite sure if we will actually be witness to Super Bowl L. Yes, it's a tradition that dates back to the very first Super Bowl. But how many people will actually look at the logo and think "Super Bowl El"? Will NFL commissioner Roger Goodell finally decide that the roman numerals are absurd and switch to Arabic numerals?
On October 31, Islamist extremists took hostage the congregation of Our Lady of Salvation Catholic Church in Baghdadand slaughtered 58 men, women and children, wounding 78 others.