On Wednesday, President Obama announced he would allow expanded offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. So how is this ‘expansion’ really a reduction in areas where exploration is allowed? What is Obama really trying to accomplish? What will be the signs that he’s really serious about offshore exploration? We ask Patrick Creighton of the Institute for Energy Research.
Troops Winning, Karzai Failing
Marine Corps veteran Bing West recently returned from yet another embed mission with American forces in Afghanistan. What has he observed first-hand about the fight? How do the troops feel about the restrictive rules of engagement? What is the greatest hindrance to long-term stability in Afghanistan? Is President Obama doing enough to demand change in the Afghan government?
The News
President Obama signs the health care ‘fixes’ bill which also nationalizes the student loan industry, Obama says banks were exploiting college students, former CBO director slams Democratic accounting gimmicks on health care, controversy erupting over another Obama recess appointee.
Drowning in Red Ink
Former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin explains just how contrived the accounting is in the new health care law. Holtz-Eakin explains what the cost will be over the first 10 years of the program actually being in effect. He also explains how Congress is raiding money from Social Security and Medicare to help cover this new entitlement – and how money is being stolen from a another program just created by the same bill! So how much debt will we see? How will Congress try to cover the massive shortfall? And how much will premiums go up on top of everything else?
Dems Make College More Expensive
On Tuesday, President Obama signed the ‘fixes’ bill for the major health care bill he signed a week ago. Included in the legislation is a government takeover of the student loan industry. So what will be the immediate and long term impacts of this move? Why will this make college tuitions go even higher? Will this allow the government to play favorites and make more demands on colleges and universities? We ask Rich Brake of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
Obama’s Radical Recess Appointment
Over the weekend, President Obama issued 15 recess appointments, which allow his nominees to serve in their positions without Congressional confirmation until the end of the current Congress. One of those appointments was for Georgetown University professor Chai Feldblum to serve at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. So what makes her a radical? What will she promote? Why could employers be forced to accept workers with all sorts of troubling proclivities?
The News
Radical Muslims suspected in Moscow subway attacks, Obama rallies troops in Afghanistan, GOP cries foul on Obama recess appointments, second Obama TSA nominee withdraws, Barbara Bush hospitalized.
Radical Islam on Two Fronts
Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Tom McInerney discusses Monday’s terrorist attacks against subway passengers in Moscow. He says we can be sure it was radical Muslims – most likely from Chechnya. He says Russia will issue an overwhelming response and he hopes it will convince Russia to work earnestly to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program. In the wake of President Obama’s surprise trip over the weekend, Gen. McInerney also explains how the fight is going well in Afghanistan and why our own rules of engagement hinder even more progress.
Taxes Galore
Peter Sepp of the National Taxpayers Union explains why the recently passed health care plan has many major firms looking at hundreds of millions in additional costs if they hope to comply with the new guidelines on prescription drug coverage. He also describes many more tax provisions that will hurt large and small businesses, impose a marriage penalty and clearly break his campaign pledge to raise taxes only on the very rich. And you’ll learn about a dirty little trick inserted into the bill that may tax you soon if not right away.
‘Very, Very, Very Dangerous’
Heritage Foundation economist Nicola Moore examines the recent Congressional Budget Office estimate that our national debt will equal 90 percent of GDP within just 10 years. What percentage is our debt now? What impact will even more explosive debt have on our economy? Why is Social Security going into the red several years earlier than expected? And what will be the fallout of President Obama’s plan to have banks lower mortgage payments or forgive some altogether?