From a Washinton Post article:
The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift.
Four blue pills. Viagra.
“Take one of these. You’ll love it,” the officer said. Compliments of Uncle Sam.
The enticement worked. The officer, who described the encounter, returned four days later to an enthusiastic reception. The grinning chief offered up a bonanza of information about Taliban movements and supply routes — followed by a request for more pills.
Now is the time when the media — including The Eagle — publish rankings of the top news stories or issues of the year. So it’s appropriate the media is the subject of its own ranking. Politico.com listed the top 10 media blunders of 2008, including:
The New York Times story about John McCain’s lobbying ties, which suggested that McCain had a romantic relationship with a lobbyist;
The ill-fated pairing of Chris Matthews and Keith Obermann as co-anchors of MSNBC’s election coverage;
A Fox News commentator referring the playful greeting between Barack Obama and his wife as a “terrorist fist bump”’;
The ABC News-sponsered Democratic debate in Philadelphia, which spent the first half of the debate on such trivial issues as Obama’s stance on flag pins;
The New Yorker’s “Politics of Fear” magazine cover depicting Obama dressed as a Muslim with an American flag burning in the fireplace.
Even before the impact of the current recession, the last government measurement in 2007 found that nearly 9 million American children are uninsured.
Last year the Democratic Congress passed, and President Bush vetoed, a major expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program that would have covered 3.8 million of these children by 2012 for about 1 percent of the cost of the recent government financial rescue plan. Since that time, the need has grown as 1.2 million additional Americans have lost their jobs.
It is critical that the federal government provide additional assistance to struggling families and states. We shouldn’t make any family have to choose between basic expenses and health care coverage for their kids.
- Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y.
The new Congress is poised to act on President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign promise to provide universal coverage for children. That would be a mistake. When a “free” government plan is offered, it’s nearly impossible to resist. Poorer children would be left behind as states focus on enrolling higher-income kids.
Expanding the program would “crowd out” the private insurance many higher-income kids already have. Putting many millions of children on a government program will quickly lead to restrictions on access to care. Lower- and moderate-income uninsured families, not just children, need help in purchasing policies, and that help could be provided through refundable tax credits.
- Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute
From a Washinton Post article:
