“There haven’t been gains, Wolf,” the speaker replied. “The gains have not produced the desired effect, which is the reconciliation of Iraq. This is a failure. This is a failure.
Those were the words from Speaker Nancy Pelosi while speaking to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Sunday. While we come to expect such dismal prognostications from her - especially after going 0-60 on trying to change the policy in Iraq, and the public dissing of her masters at MoveOn after the Petraeus ad, her statement stands in stark contrast to another statement released over the weekend:
“There were almost 600 fighters in our sector before the tribes changed course 360 degrees . . . Many of our fighters quit and some of them joined the deserters . . . As a result of that the number of fighters dropped down to 20 or less.”
The author laments a reduction in force, due to an increase in pressure from the enemy.
It was written by a man named Abu-Tariq. Mr. Tariq just happens to be a member of al-Qaeda.
The limp corn-based straw and the recycled coffee cup: a legacy of the “New Direction” from Speaker Pelosi.
Notice how you need two cups to not burn your hand, and how the straw doesn’t hold up to the heat.
The response from the powers-that-be:
“We have had a few people observe that [straw] phenomenon and we had to tell them, ‘Sip your coffee like a normal human being,’” Ventura said. “We’re trying to save the planet here.”
An editorial from this morning’s New York Times on porcine spending of taxpayer money which results in deepening campaign coffers.
The new earmark disclosure rules put into effect by Congress confirm the pre-eminence of Representative John Murtha at procuring eye-popping chunks of pork for contractors he helped put in business in Johnstown, Pa. The Pennsylvania Democrat, a power player on defense appropriations, exudes pride, not embarrassment, for delivering hundreds of millions of dollars in largesse to district beneficiaries. They, in turn, requite with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations.
From Bill Kristol in The New York Times on how a certain candidate for the presidency who had to suspend disbelief to believe General David Petraeus is claiming some success for the improving situation in Iraq:
Yesterday, on “Meet the Press,” Hillary Clinton claimed that the Iraqis are changing their ways in part because of the Democratic candidates’ “commitment to begin withdrawing our troops in January of 2009.” So the Democratic Party, having proclaimed that the war is lost and having sought to withdraw U.S. troops, deserves credit for any progress that may have been achieved in Iraq.
That is truly a fairy tale. And it is driven by a refusal to admit real success because that success has been achieved under the leadership of … George W. Bush. The horror!
From the Washington Times: an editorial decrying the denigration of the political process.
The chief concern: how Republicans “like” the war.
It finishes strongly:
“Notices also went out to all Army command facilities in the United States and abroad with civilian employees and contractors, and to U.S. Marine Corps commanders as well, warning them of potential civilian layoffs at their bases.
If the furloughs begin next week, these fine men and women will have Mrs. Pelosi and her fellow Democrats to thank.”
The Speaker of the House of Representatives seems a bit frustrated, so much so that she cast this aspersion toward House Republicans:
“The grassroots are justifiably disappointed, and I am too, that we could not do something to end this war. The assumption that I made, that the Republicans would soon see the light and listen to their constituents, was not an accurate one.”
“They like this war. They want this war to continue…” (Press Conference, 12/13/07)
The Associated Press picks up on a story the House GOP has warned the American people about: a delay in tax returns for millions of Americans.
The culprit: a lack of an Alternative Minimum Tax patch.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Silena Davis had counted on an early tax refund to pay for getting her teeth fixed. Now, because Congress has dawdled all year on a tax bill, she and millions of other early filers could have to wait extra weeks for refunds that last year averaged $2,291.
The Internal Revenue Service is looking hard at delaying the start of its filing season, set to kick off on Jan. 14, if Congress fails to pass legislation in the next two weeks. At issue is how to handle what could be a dramatic increase in the number of people facing a higher alternative minimum tax.
If there is a delay and it extends into mid-February, it would slow nearly 32 million refunds worth a total of about $87 billion, the IRS Oversight Board predicts.
The House passed its own version of the temporary, one-year, patch of the AMT - paying for it with a $70 billion permanent tax increase. Rep. Boozman voted against the plan. The 130% tax increase is also DOA in the Senate, where even some Democrats have balked at it.
The alternative minimum tax was passed in 1969 and was aimed at about 155 very wealthy families who used deductions to avoid paying any federal income tax. The AMT disallows certain deductions and credits. It was not adjusted for inflation; as a result, over the years it has hit a growing number of middle-income taxpayers.
More than 4 million were subject to it in the 2006 tax year, and that could soar to 25 million this year without congressional action.
The House needs to pass a patch which doesn’t increase taxes and does not violate the PAYGO rules a bipartisan majority of members voted on in January.
