Daily Archives: July 13, 2009

Hard not to investigate Cheney, torture

July 13, 200912:14 p.m.

cheney8President Obama wants Congress and the country to focus on the future, not the past. But that’s getting tougher to do with the new allegation that former Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold information from Congress.
CIA Director Leon Panetta reportedly told the Senate and House intelligence committees that the CIA withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program for eight years on direct order from Cheney. That could be a violation of a law requiring the president to make sure the intelligence committees “are kept fully and currently informed of the intelligence activities of the United States, including any significant anticipated intelligence activity.”
Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder is leaning toward appointing a criminal prosecutor to investigate whether the CIA tortured terrorism suspects, the Washington Post reported.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Congress, President Bush, President Obama, Terrorism | Comments (75)

Signs of life in the GOP?

July 13, 20096:04 a.m.

elephantupsidedown5One encouraging sign of life for the Republican Party is that it is recruiting some quality candidates to run for Congress next year, Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post reported. One reason for this success is that, though President Obama’s personal approval rating remains high, some of his policies don’t poll as well, which creates openings for Republicans. Another key has been the public disapperance President George W. Bush, who harmed Republican candidates in recent election. The GOP is particularly targeting districts that voted for John McCain in the presidential race but elected Democratic members of Congress.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Congress, U.S. politics | Comments (50)

Open thread 7/13

July 13, 20096:03 a.m.

screamthe21

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (278)

Obama better on open government, but still not great

July 13, 20096:02 a.m.

shhhh5Barack Obama pledged that his administration would be transparent. And though openness has improved, especially compared to the Bush administration, it still isn’t great. For example, the administration has resisted releasing Secret Service logs that would reveal which representatives from the coal industry visited the White House as the administration was preparing clean air policy, National Public Radio reported. The Bush administration likewise tried to keep secret which oil company executives were part of former Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy task force.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under President Obama | Comments (22)

Posny’s departure would be a real loss

July 13, 20096:01 a.m.

posny1President Obama may steal another top-notch administrator from Kansas, darn him. This time it’s Kansas Education Commissioner Alexa Posny, whom Obama nominated for assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services. Posny has been a steady, capable leader at the Kansas Department of Education since 2007. “I’ve never known anyone more knowledgeable” on education issues, former State Board of Education member Carol Rupe told The Eagle editorial board. Rupe jokingly lamented, “The president can take our governor but not our education commissioner.”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Education, Kansas government | Comments (8)