Archives for August 2009

Retired U.S. Air Force General Tom McInerney joins us to discuss the Wall Street Journal report that U.S. commanders in Afghanistan believe the Taliban is winning the war right now.  The Pentagon says our military leaders have made no such assessment.  Who does McInerney believe and why?  Why does McInerney believe President Obama is badly hurting the war effort by refusing to say we are in a global against Islamic radicals – or even admitting we’re in a war at all?  What does does he see as the keys to tactical and political success in Afghanistan?

Listen here and tell us what you think.

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After two weeks of Democratic lawmakers getting an earful from their constituents on health care reform, President Obama conducted a town hall meeting with a much friendlier audience on Tuesday.  He promised the middle class would not have to pay for overhauling our health care system, that rationing would never occur and that private insurers would face competition and not extinction with the creation of a government option.  But is any of that true?  Health care expert Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute says Obama simply refuses to tell the truth.  She says every country that goes down the government-run health care route has been forced to deny or delay vital treatments leading to premature deaths for the elderly, that middle class Americans will certainly foot the bill for this and that the government option will eventually be the only option.

Listen to Turner’s rebuttal to Obama’s lies and tell us what you think.

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Did you know Eunice Kennedy Shriver was a champion for the unborn?  Pro-life groups around the country are mourning her death Tuesday and remembering her passion for the most vulnerable members of society – the mentally challenged and those yet to be born.  What prompted her to work so tirelessly on behalf of them and speak up for those who could not speak for themselves?  We ask Joy Yearout of the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life group based in the Washington, DC area.

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On Monday, President Obama predicted that Congress would pass comprehensive immigration reform by early next year.  He also said the legislation is already being crafted.  So what’s in the bill?  Does it really address the major problems with the current immigration system?  What are the biggest problems and how should they be tackled?  We ask Roy Beck, founder and CEO of Numbers USA.

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Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez took another major step in his effort to consolidate power this month, as he forced the closure of more than 30 broadcast outlets that had dared to be critical of his rule.  So just how much of Venezuela’s democracy has been extinguished?  Why does Chavez say he fears a U.S. invasion of his country?  What should be the Obama position on Venezuela?  And what is the consequence of the U.S. not being more vocal in condemning Chavez?  We ask former Pentagon official James Robbins, now a senior editorial writer for The Washington Times.

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Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra slams President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder for reportedly planning to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate allegations that U.S. interrogators broke the law in their questioning of terrorist detainees.  Why does Hoekstra think this is a bad idea?  What impact would it have on the intelligence community  And who does Hoekstra think should be the first targets of this unnecessary probe?

Listen here for the answers and then tell us what you think.

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Oklahoma Rep. Mary Fallin joins us to discuss the biggest issues of the day.  First, she says voters in her state and district are extremely frustrated and angry at President Obama’s big-government agenda on health care, energy and more.  She explains what about those issues angers her constituents and then details her concern over provisions in the health plan to bring back taxpayer-funded abortions.  We also get her thoughts on the latest unemployment numbers, which the Obama administration says are proof the stimulus plan is working.

Listen to the interview and then tell us what you think.

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Several credible sources are reporting that a U.S. missile strike successfully killed the commander of the Pakistani Taliban.  But now the Taliban claims that Baitullah Mehsud is still alive and says the burden of proof is on the Pakistan government to prove he is dead.  How significant is it if Mehsud is dead?  What will that mean for Taliban cohesion?  Why might his death actually make the Pakistani military ease up in its push against the Taliban?  And just how vast are the changes to the U.S. strategy in that theater of the war on terrorism?  We ask Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, vice president of research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

Listen to the interview and share your thoughts with us!

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We discuss the new unemployment report with Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist for the U.S. Department of Labor.  Should we focus on the unemployment rate dipping from 9.5 to 9.4 percent or that this nation lost another quarter of a million jobs in July?  What do the numbers in this report really show?  And why is the drop in unemployment actually misleading?  Should Obama take take credit if the economy is starting to turn the corner?  And what would really jumpstart our economic health?

Listen to the interview and share your thoughts with us.

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Thursday’s headlines…Sotomayor confirmed, Obama watching jobless numbers, health debate furor.

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