In the midst of a steaming-hot Malaysian jungle, sweat-stained factory workers bend over their looms, threading copper into bales of cable wire that gets so hot, it must snake through culverts of water before it can be touched. The factory floor is awash in tea-colored light from windows smeared with soot
Tag Archives: spending
Military Spending: Why the Defense Budget Should Be Cut
You know the government’s broken when, in the face of tough fiscal times, the President freezes government spending but gives the military a pass. That’s because spending on the military and homeland security, following 9/11 and the launch of two wars in its wake, has become sacrosanct.
Obama’s Reagan Bromance: Admiring the Gipper’s Vision
In May 2010, Barack Obama invited a small group of presidential historians to the White House for a working supper in the Family Dining Room. It was the second time he’d had the group in since taking office, and as he sat down across the table from his wife Michelle, the President pressed his guests for lessons from his predecessors.
Obama signs hate crimes bill into law
President Obama on Wednesday signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. He cited the work of the late Sen.
Gates Foundation wants global health push
Global philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates are launching a major push to convince the United States to maintain government spending on worldwide health initiatives, despite the financial crisis and a soaring U.S.
‘Sweatbox’ victims were attending ‘Spiritual Warrior’ program
The two people who died and the 19 others who fell ill at a central Arizona resort after spending time in a sauna-like “sweatbox” were attending a program by self-help expert James Arthur Ray, authorities said Saturday. The dead were identified as James Shore of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Kirby Brown of Westtown, New York, Sheriff Lloyd Waugh told reporters
Senate Democrats to consider GOP changes on spending bill
After postponing a vote on a $410 billion spending bill, Senate Democrats planned to consider Republican amendments as early as Friday to get the votes needed to move the legislation forward. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, delayed a vote on the spending plan late Thursday, saying he was one vote shy of the 60 needed to end debate on the bill
Obama’s Budget: Earmarks Aren’t the Real Problem
When it comes to Congressional earmarks, it’s hard to decide who’s the biggest hypocrite. The current media favorite is President Obama, who sought earmarks as a senator, criticized earmarks as a candidate, and now plans to sign a spending bill stuffed with nearly 9,000 earmarks. But what about earmark-addicted Republicans, who oversaw an unprecedented explosion of earmarks when they controlled Congress, resisted efforts by Obama and other Democrats to inject accountability into the earmark process, and even grabbed over 40% of the earmarks in the current bill, yet have the gall to blast Obama’s cave-in
Critics question Obama’s pledge to end ‘pork’
As a spending bill loaded with pork makes its way through Congress, President Obama is getting pushback from members of his own party who are questioning his vow to end wasteful spending. The president on Wednesday pledged turn tide on an “era of fiscal irresponsibility,” reiterating his campaign promise that the days of “pork … as a strategy” are over