THIS BLOG WILL BE SUSPENDED FOR VACATION, RESUMING ON MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2016. THANK YOU.
BOB HAUGHT

Pizza ovens have joined pressure cookers in the arsenal of weapons Islamic jihadists use to terrorize nations. The Daily Caller reports ISIS operatives were caught in Turkey smuggling fake passports in pizza ovens. The two terrorists involved in the Boston Marathon attack in 2013 used pressure cookers in making their bombs.

Monkey see, monkey do. Ashton Carter used a personal email account to conduct government business during his early months as Secretary of Defense. According to The New York Times Carter continued the practice even after it was revealed that Hillary Clinton had used her own account exclusively while serving as secretary of state.

What's worse than shooting yourself in the foot? How about launching a cruise missile and hitting your own country. The Russian Defense Miinistry was quite embarrassed when a test missile went off course and struck an apartment building.

The Department of Homeland Security was created to help keep Americans safe from terrorists. Then why were 73 people on the "no-fly list" approved for employment by airports and airlines? And how can DHS prohibit searching Facebook and other social media for terrrorist suspects? (That's where ISIS does much of its recruitment). A "Homeland housecleaning" is in order.

Some pundits probably will find deep meaning in the fact six of the eight male candidates in the GOP debate in Las Vegas wore red ties with their dark suits. John Kasich and Ben Carson were out of uniform. But in the group photo Carly Fiorina easily stood out, wearing a bright red dress. It's surprising Donald Trump didn't think of that idea.

Changing the House leadership doesn't seem to have made much difference in politically-motivated spending of taxpayers' dollars. The Washington Times reports that "congressional leaders agreed to a budget-busting set of tax cuts ... that marks a major reversal from the last four years' focus on deficits and streamlining the tax code." The 233-page bill contains favors for NASCAR tracks, racehorses, film producers, teachers and college students.

When the Navy's newest warship, the USS Milwaukee, was put through its final tests prior to commissioning in November, it was hailed as "the ultimate maritime fighting machine", maneuvering in coastal waters at speeds up to 52 mph and creating waves five feet high. But as it headed from the east coast to its home port in San Diego, the $362 million ship broke down and had to be towed to shore. Almost as embarrassing as a loss to Army in the annual football rivalry would have been.

Nine candidates made the cut for the final Republican president debate of 2015 including Sen. Rand Paul, who was reported to be considering dropping out of the race. New poll showings also boosted Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina back into the top tier.

President Obama has a busy schedule this week with meetings of the National Security Council and the National Counterterrorism Center and remarks at a Naturalization Ceremony at the National Archives. But then it's off to sunny Hawaii for the Obama family's Christmas vacation ... and maybe some golf?

Government auditors have found that mismanagement in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration can cost taxpayers $22 billion on critical satellite systems because of wasteful delays and technical challenges.

The Obama administration goes to great pains to moderate language used in referring to Islamic terrorists for fear of offending Muslims. That's not a concern of "El Chapo", the Mexican cartel leader who made an astounding prison escape. He declared war on the Islamic State for interfering with drug shipments. "My men will destroy you," the drug lord said. "The world is not yours to dictate."

Members of the Senate got into the spirit of the season at a "Secret Santa" event organized by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. They drank eggnog and exchanged gifts. Some examples: Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., gave Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, some Cabot cheese and a cheeseboard shaped like Texas. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., received some Japanese mossballs from Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., who said they can live for 200 years.

Critics of the scandal-ridden Veterans Affairs department demand a housecleaning. And, indeed, more than 1,700 employees were fired between July 2014 and July 2015. But it's alarming how some kept their jobs despite severe cases of misconduct -- including sleeping on the job, having sex in a VA facility and being high on cocaine while on duty.

TIME magazine has announced that German chancellor Angela Merkel is its 2015 Person of the Year. In this foolish annual exercise to supposedly recognize a global figure of influence, she was picked from a list of finalists that included sex-changer Caitlyn Jenner,  madman Donald Trump and ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

While families in San Bernardino mourned the loss of 14 loved ones by an Islamic terrorist couple, Secretary of State John Kerry sat in U.N. climate change talks in Paris profoundly asserting the need to make clear "that those members of the flat earth society (who dispute global warming theory) are on the wrong side of history."

Many viewers of President Obama's televised address on terrorism might have been surprised to see the Oval Office now has a podium. Other presidents  have found it more natural to deliver their remarks seated at their desk. Obama stood with his desk obscured in the background. Maybe he found it easier to read the teleprompter.

Obama's speech on on how he's fighting terrorism preceded a TV special on Frank Sinatra. It was appropriate that Obama led into it with a chorus of "I'm Doing It My Way."

One thing nervous Americans can be sure of: the Obama administration will use the power of the federal government to track down and punish anyone showing signs of Islamophobia. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has stated the "incredibly disturbing rise of anti-Muslim rhetoric ... is my greatest fear." She has vowed to use the full extent of the law to go after "violent talk" against Islam. President Obama devoted a substantial part of his Oval Office address to the same concerns.

"I'm somewhat reluctant to come back to Washington. Last year I showed up here, I was hanged in the White House. This time, I've returned to see my vice president getting busted in the Capitol." - Former President George W. Bush, referring to his 2012 portrait unveiling and the placement of a marble bust of Dick Cheney in the U.S. Capitol.

America has the Democratic party and the Republican party but the nation's capital is the home of the Cocktail Party. A survey of congressional staff found that 47 percent of staffers attend social events as part of their job once or twice a week. Government data shows the District of Columbia with a higher percentage of adult binge drinkers (22 percent) as compared to the national average of 16 percent.

As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton actively promoted fracking  for oil and natural gas in Africa and other countries and heavily supported the Export-Import Bank of the United States in spending billions of dollars on financing huge fracking projects. Now, as a candidate for president, she opposes fracking.

Donald Trump, who's leading in the polls as a fierce anti-government crusader, is himself the beneficiary of largesse paid for by taxpayers. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., targeted Trump in a listing of wasteful spending titled "Federal Fumbles: 100 Ways the Government Dropped the Ball." The book says Trump is getting $40 million in taxpayers' dollars to help cover the costs of restoring the Old Post Office building in Washington to become a new Trump luxury hotel. (Trump would call $40 million "peanuts".)


Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has been Speaker of the House barely more than a month and already he's making history -- with facial hair. Records show Ryan is the first Speaker in nearly a century to sport a beard.

Following the vicious killing of a black youth by a police officer, Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Madigan is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a civil rights investigation of the Chicago police (as it did in Ferguson, Mo.) Don't hold your breath. President Obama came to Washington from Chicago and his former top aide, Rahm Emanuel, is the city's mayor.

President Obama surprised many when he signed the annual defense budget bill, which he previously had vetoed because it blocked the transfer of detained terrorist suspects to the U.S. But he hasn't changed his mind about closing the detention facility at Guantanamo. He's reported to be scheming to find away to sneak around the provisions of the law he signed.

"You're running for president! Your words matter!" Did that diatribe come from the mouth of a campaign consultant lecturing a candidate? Guess again. That's what an exasperated Chuck Todd said to Donald Trump on NBC's Meet the Press, challenging Trump's claim that thousands of New Jersey Muslims cheered at the 9/11 attack on New York City.

President Obama can talk all he wants to about global warming, but if carbon dioxide emissions have anything to do with it -- as he claims -- the president is a big contributor to the problem. The Daily Caller reports that his flight to Paris to join other world leaders at the UN climate summit emitted more CO2 than driving 72 cars for a year.

President Obama defended his insistence to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees into the country by comparing the situation to pilgrims coming over on the Mayflower. The truth is, pilgrims got into this country because the native American Indians didn't have an effective immigration policy. And like today's terrorists, the pilgrims shot the Americans.

Obamacare is bad for beer drinkers. Among the law's 3,000 pages hides a regulation requiring brewers to include a detailed calorie count on every type of beer they produce. The National Taxpayers Union says this may squeeze craft beer brewers out of business.

How Your Taxes Are Spent
The Environmental Protection Agency is spending millions of dollars overseas. The EPA has doled out nearly $25 million to foreign nations and entities -- including many with terrible environmental track records.

On the eve of Memorial Day weekend, the Obama administration released more than 2,300 new federal regulations. On the Friday before Thanksgiving, more than 3,400 more regulations were issued. Guess what Uncle Sam is bringing you for Christmas.


Following the horrendous terror attacks by ISIL in Paris and Mali, President Obama began talking tough. "This barbaric terrorist group ... and its murderous ideology pose a serious threat to all of us," he said. "It cannot be tolerated. It must be destroyed ..." Two days later he said he will join world leaders in Paris for a global climate conference. "What a powerful rebuke to the terrorists it will be," he said. Right. That'll show 'em.

Why does President Obama call the villainous leader of Syria "Mister Assad" but refers to the president of Russia as simply "Putin"?

The Obama administration's fairy tale foreign policy has left a large deposit of egg on the face of Secretary of State John Kerry. Right after Kerry asserted that the U.S. had been able to "neutralize" al-Qaida leadership "as an effective force" terrorists took victims hostage in a hotel in Mali and 27 were killed. The murderous attacks in Paris followed a claim by President Obama that ISIS had been "contained."

Donald Trump brags a lot about leading in the polls, but there's one he probably won't mention. In a survey of candidates 46 percent of Americans say Trump is the one most likely to ruin Thanksgiving by saying something to kill the holiday mood.

There is widespread dissatisfaction with the federal government's handling of the illegal immigrant problem but authorities certainly know how to deal with illegal tamales. Border agents seized 450 "prohibited pork meat tamales" at Los Angeles International Airport. The food was found in luggage of a passenger who had lied about its pork content.

How Republican presidential candidates would deal with Islamic terrorists:
Sen. Ted Cruz - "We will not degrade them, not weaken them, we will utterly destroy them."
Donald Trump - "I will quickly and decisively bomb the hell out of ISIS."
Sen. Marco Rubio - "When I am president, what I will do to defeat ISIL is very simple: whatever it takes."

Only in Washington
At least two turkeys won't wind up on dining tables on Thanksgiving Day. The lucky birds were chosen to receive the traditional presidential pardons. Currently they are rehearsing for the highly publicized occasion: being exposed to bright camera lights, getting used to crowds of people and practicing standing on a table. And not yawning through the speeches.

"What, me worry?" In a recent TV interview Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton revealed her worst habit: "I worry about everything." There goes her chance to make the cover of MAD magazine.

Looking for a way to take off some pounds? Run for president. The campaign diet worked for Republican candidate Donald Trump. According to People magazine he said, "I have lost weight because my events are so exciting."

"It is not my time." - Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., becoming the third Republican candidate for president to drop out of the race. That leaves 14 left, and counting ...

How Your Taxes Are Spent
The National Science Foundation is spending nearly $650,000 on a computer game for adults where they can pretend to be a "novice world leader." Was the game modeled after the Obama administration?

One of the Paris terrorist attackers was a Syrian refugee. President Obama wants to allow 10,000 of them into the United States.

"I maintain that a beheading is far worse than a sunburn." Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, questioning how President Obama and Democratic candidates can truly believe climate change is America's number one threat today.

How much did you spend on your vacation this year? It probably won't compare to the amount you and other taxpayers dished out for President Obama and his family. Their travel included a Palm Springs golf trip in June, a trip to New York City in July and an annual getaway to Martha's Vineyard in August -- all of which cost $3,115,688.70.

Campaigning in New Hampshire, Democratic president candidate Hillary Clinton revived an old tale about trying to join the Marines in 1975 but was turned down. The former anti-war activist's story is full of holes and the Washington Post gives it "two Pinocchio's" - a polite way of saying she lied.



And then there were three. With two contenders having dropped out of the race, the second officially sanctioned Democratic presidential debate features front-runner Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bernard Sanders and Martin O'Malley. It will be a two-hour snooze-fest that may make viewers yearn for the return of former Sen. Jim Webb and former Gov. Lincoln Chafee, D-R.I.

The scandal-ridden Veterans Affairs department continues to give candidates for president reasons to call for drastic reforms or even abolishing the agency. The House Veterans Committee reports the VA paid out $143 million in performance bonuses to employees in 2014, including several who were accused of mismanagement or under investigation.

As we honor our nation's fighting men and women on Veterans Day, the Department of Veterans Affairs remains mired in a terrible scandal in which more than 300,000 vets may have died waiting for health care. Meanwhile, the agency continues to waste taxpayers' money on employees playing silly games like being "wheelbarrowed" around a gym on their stomachs.

Republican presidential contender Ted Cruz had a Rick Perry moment in the latest debate. He struggled to remember the five federal agencies he would do away with if elected and listed the Department of Commerce twice. Perry, in a 2012 election debate, simply couldn't remember.

Sources report Heather Fong, an advocate for sanctuary cities, is on the short list of candidates to become the new chief of the Border Control. When she was police chief of San Francisco, Fong shielded illegal immigrants, including those who had committed crimes, from deportation. Maybe not the best choice to head the agency that catches and deports illegals, especially those with a criminal history.

It's a topsy-turvy world. Obama and Netanyahu are meeting. The presidents of China and Taiwan met. And not long ago representatives of North and South Korea came together. Maybe there's some hope.

The joke's on his critics. While furiously fighting off media accusations that he lied about his childhood and a "scholarship" offer for West Point, Ben Carson pulled in $3.5 million in campaign donations.

Is it any wonder GOP candidates for president and Republicans in general regularly take a beating from the news media? Research by two Indiana University journalism professors shows that 28 percent of journalists call themselves Democrats, while just 7 percent identify themselves as Republicans.

Better hide your air conditioners or the feds will get them. Environmental Protection Administrator Gina McCarthy wants the world to stop using hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in air conditioners and other products to fight global warming.  She says phasing out HFCs would avert 0.5 degrees Celsius of global warming by the end of the century.

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders did his chief opponent a great favor when he said to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic debate, "the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails." But the fiery socialist has had second thoughts. Now he says there are "valid questions"about her use of a secret email server as Secretary of State. "Let the investigation proceed unimpeded," he says.

Not only is Vice President Joe Biden missing from the Democratic presidential candidates lineup, but Hillary Clinton has at least temporarily replaced him as gaffemaster. Discussing her proposal to allow convicted felons to avoid disclosing their criminal records on applications for federal jobs, she said if she becomes president, "former presidents won't have to declare their criminal history." Maybe she meant to say "former criminals" ... or maybe not.

Do the American people really see President Obama as being "committed to rising above politics"? That's the boast made by his press flack, Josh Earnest. In the spirit of National Skeptics Day, where's the proof?

President Obama brags about running the "most transparent administration in history." But the Congressional Research Service puts the lie to that claim. A report based on data from federal agencies finds that in the past decade the highest percentage of closed-door meetings were held in 2013 and 2014.

How Your Taxes Are Spent
The Social Security Administration gave $145,000 in bonuses to employees who had been caught drinking and sleeping on the job. Some workers received performance awards after being suspended for sexual harassment and bringing weapons to work.

Proliferation of guns has been repeatedly condemned by President Obama and other gun control advocates. So why is there no outrage about the Environmental Protection Agency's expenditure of $1.4 million on guns and $380,000 for ammunition? Add to that $450,000 for camouflage equipment, radar and night-vision gear and other military-style devices and you wonder why Congress thinks this agency needs all this armament to ensure we have clean air and water?

"I just work here. I don't live here." - New House Speaker Paul Ryan, explaining why he plans to sleep on a cot in his congressional office as part of his daily routine after becoming second in line to the presidency.

The Washington Free Beacon reports that 10 of the 23 health insurance co-ops created under Obamacare have gone out of business, resulting in a loss to taxpayers of more than $1.1 billion. Experts say more co-ops are likely to fail because of artificially low premiums, strict regulations and too many people requiring payouts.

On September 10, 2013, President Obama went before news cameras to state firmly, "I will not put American boots on the ground in Syria." But he sent his press secretary Josh Earnest out to announce U.S. ground troops would be sent into Syria and they could indeed wind up in combat roles. Another broken promise from the Democratic administration.

 
Police in Pennsylvania shot down an Army blimp that had broken loose from its mooring in 
Maryland and floated for two hours, causing electrical outages when its dragging tether struck power lines. Surprisingly, President Obama did not make a Rose Garden appearance declaring: "America has witnessed another horrifying example of police brutality" and calling for more gun controls.

Some folks may think it's a "gotcha" question, but candidates running for president should be asked if they agree with President Obama's plan to fight global warming, which will cost Americans $73 billion a year and alleviate less than two-tenths of one degree of warming.

There's a lot of name-calling in politics and Daily Caller David Benkof pontificates on a current phase. "President Obama compared the 2016 Republican presidential candidates to the Internet's Grumpy Cat, calling them "gloomy" and asking why so many are so "down on America?" he writes, but adds: "It's a bizarre question from a politician who ran the original Grumpy Cat campaign seven years ago."

Political correctness has reared its ugly head again. MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry scolded a guess for calling House Speaker-to-be Paul Ryan a "hard worker." She said the term was demeaning to slaves and working mothers.


Al Gore has fired a new weapon in his war against global warming. The former vice president cited a claim by scientists at Harvard that higher concentrations of carbon dioxide not only heat the planet but make people dumber. Skeptics think that's one of the dumbest things Gore ever said.

Hillary Clinton had a birthday. She's 68, and anyone watching the camera closeups of her
televised testimony before the Select Committee on Benghazi would say she looks every wrinkle of it.


"As a teenager, I would go after people with rocks and bricks and baseball bats." - Ben Carson, who wants to be commander-in-chief of America's armed forces.


Donald Trump said in a TV interview he knows "much more" about national security than Jeb Bush "and everybody else running." Isn't he the candidate who said in a debate he gets his information about national security from watching TV talk shows?

"I can do more than one thing at a time." - Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the Select Committee on Benghazi. And her emails prove it. She publicly blamed the attack which killed four Americans on reaction to an anti-Muslim video but on the night of the attack she told her daughter Chelsea and the Egyptian prime minister that an Al Qaida-like group planned and carried out the attack.

At an award ceremony, Attorney General Loretta Lynch praised inspectors general investigating waste, fraud and inefficiency in government. But at the same time her department is blocking their investigations by denying access to agency records.

A new poll shows Donald Trump trailing Ben Carson by 28-20 percent in Iowa, site of a caucus that serves as a key barometer in the race for president. Women, including those he calls "fat pigs" and "bimbos", made the difference.

"I have a lot of Republican friends. I actually like Dick Cheney." Who said that? Certainly not Hillary Clinton, who ranks "Iranians and Republicans" among her worst enemies. Those quotes are from Vice President Joe Biden, who disappointed his many followers by deciding not to run for president again.


Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said he is willing to serve as House Speaker if he can be assured of support from rival factions and the Republican majority can become unified. If he can accomplish that, he'll also acquire another title: Miracle Worker.

"Some of you might be on your way to Mars." - President Obama, to a group of students. Was that a warning of what might happen if they didn't do their homework?

"Shut up talking about things you don't know anything about." - Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, advising his Republican colleagues and friends on the eve of Hillary Clinton's appearance before the committee.Donald Trump should take that advice.


If Bernie Sanders needs a stand-in for his busy schedule as a Democratic candidate for president he can just call on Larry David. The star of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" did a terrific impression of the combustible Socialist on "Saturday Night Live."

The private sector has been very good to big government champions Bill and Hillary Clinton. Forbes magazine reports they are now worth an estimated $230 million. An analyst assessed the couple's sources of income and said the former president brought in 80 percent of it as a public speaker, author and consultant.

Hillary Clinton has been caught lying again.  In the Democratic debate she said she flip-flopped on the Obama administration's Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal after reviewing it. An official White House statement said the final text of the deal has not been released.

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush is taking a page out of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's campaign playbook. Gingrich said he favored colonizing the moon and was ridiculed. Campaoigning in New Hampshire Bush said, "I think it's pretty cool."

Federal taxes set a record in FY 2015: $3,248,723,000,000. That's $21,833 per worker. The federal government still runs a $438.9 billion deficit. The federal debt has more than doubled under President Obama.

The Obama administration has ordered pork removed from federal prison menus. A federal Bureau of Prisons official said, "Why keep pushing food that people don't want to eat?" Works for Michelle Obama and her school lunch mandate.

Forget about policy positions and campaign promises. The moment news media wants us to remember is Sen. Bernie Sanders saying disgustedly to rival candidate Hillary Clinton, "The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails."

Only in Washington
Bradley Podiska, the fired staffer who accused the Benghazi select committee of conducting an anti-Hillary Clinton witch-hunt, moonlights as a professional storyteller in the Washington, D. C. area.

Bill Clinton's bimbos are back. Hillary Clinton's run for president has led several women from her husband's past to  resurface in the news. Lucianne Goldberg, a pivotal figure in the Monica Lewinsky scandal that erupted in Clinton's second term, is enjoying it. Referring to "these now middle-age bimbos", she said, "This is fun ... everything old is new again."


President Obama had a busy schedule on a four-day West Coast trip in which he did four fundraisers and a shameful politically motivated meeting with families of the Roseburg shooter's victims. But he managed to work in some time for golf in La Jolla.



Celebrity politician Donald Trump shoots off his mouth a lot and now it's revealed that he could go farther. In a CBS interview Trump admitted he's had a concealed weapons permit for years and he "sometimes" carries. "I'm a big second amendment guy," he said.

The surprise decision by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to withdraw as a candidate for retiring Speaker John Boehner's job left members stunned and confused. Has the majority party hit rock bottom? The Washington Examiner's Byron York writes, "Things could get worse." That's right. Because of GOP squabbling, Democrats could take back the House in the next election.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in suing the maker of an exercise resistance band, alleges the band broke or slipped out of his hand and caused "severe pain ... loss of vision in his right eye, a concussion, broken orbital bones, severe disfigurement and bruising to his face, hand injuries, facial lacerations, scarring and broken ribs." Next time Reid, a onetime boxer, will know not to take on an elastic band bigger than he is.

Throughout his presidency Barack Obama has made stump speeches about giving a better life to the middle class. All he has to do is give them government jobs. A new study by the Cato Institute shows that federal employees make 78 percent more than workers in the private sector, who earned an average of $52,688 less than those in the public sector. The trouble with offering this solution is that Obama just might do it.

After forcefully declaring that he was politicizing the latest mass shooting President Obama laid on a trip to, of all places, Rosedale, OR, scene of the murders. The local newspaper editor and several others in the rural community made it clear publicly that Obama was not welcome.

"Walking is good for our minds. Just a few minutes of physical activities each day not only makes your heart stronger, it can also make you even smarter." - Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on "Walk to School Day.

"It's time the Republican leadership of the House stops eating its young." - Pundit Dick Morris.

"I would rather jump off the Brooklyn Bridge than be in Congress." - Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., Republican candidate for president.

The way things are going after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's gaffe about the Benghazi investigation, there may be as many candidates for House Speaker John Boehner's job as there are Republicans running for president. Latest to jump into the race is Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.

Campaign contributors normally don't dictate how their money is spent but some of Hillary Clinton's donors might be raising their eyebrows at her paying $9,000 for music consultants -- supposedly to help her identify with young voters.

Before knowing anything about the Oregon junior college killer or how he got his weapons, President Obama delivered a rambling demand for more gun controls. At least he was honest enough to say he was politicizing a tragic incident.

Many politicians say something needs to be done about Medicare and other entitlement programs. Gene Dodaro, head of the Government Accountability Office, drove home the point. He told Congress "improper" entitlement disbursements made up 75 percent of all erroneous federal payments in fiscal year 2014. They cost taxpayers $124.7 billion last year.

In President Obama's last campaign he ridiculed his Republican opponent Mitt Romney for saying Russia was the most dangerous threat to the U.S. Russian President Vladimir Putin's ordering of air strikes in Syria caught Obama by surprise, leading Romney to say, "Russia has out-gamed us once again."

How Your Tax Money Is Spent
Planned Parenthood, a private organization that receives $500 million a year in tax dollars, came under fire during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. The chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, accused the group of spending $40 million on travel, office space and entertainment, including $622,706 on "blowout parties" with celebrity guests.

Here's a bit of irony to digest. Bill O'Reilly, the combative host of "The Factor" who regularly browbeats his guests and sometimes throws tantrums on the air, advised presidential candidate Donald Trump to change his style and "be a bit kinder and more mature." Trump appeared on O'Reilly's show after ending a boycott of Fox News, which he had accused of being unfair.

"I won't be as tanned." - House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, asked how he would differ from outgoing House Speaker John Boehner if he succeeds him.

Lax enforcement of asset tests is allowing millionaire lottery winners, people with vacation homes and owners of jet skis, boats and motorhomes to use taxpayers' money to buy their groceries. It's estimated that four million recipients of food stamps have assets higher than the federal limits.

Thousands of thrillseekers took "selfies" of Pope Francis with their phones during his six-day visit to the U.S. but one congressman collected a special souvenir. After the pope addressed a joint session of Congress, Rep. Bob Brady, D-Pa., snatched the glass of water the pontiff drank from. He poured part of it into a bottle for use in blessing his grandchildren. But the rest of it he drank, along with his wife and two of his staffers.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is favored to replace retiring House Speaker John Boehner, but another candidate -- Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla. -- has announced his intentions to run. He certainly has a good name. Daniel Webster was a powerful lawmaker, statesman and orator in the early days of American history.

Disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner lost another job, but no worries. His wife, Huma Abeden, makes enough money for both of them. As a close associate of Hillary Clinton she is accustomed to being on multiple payrolls -- Clinton's PAC, the State Department, the Clinton foundation, and so on.

Members of Congress "behaved reasonably well" when Pope Francis spoke to an unprecedented joint session, according to The Washington Post.  Maybe they thought Catholic nuns were stationed around with rulers to slap the hands of unruly lawmakers. As expected House Speaker John Boehner cried a lot. But at least he didn't blow his nose loudly.

How Your Taxes Are Spent
Over the past decade the Environmental Protection Agency has spent $92.4 million on office furniture including designer chairs and tables and "a simple drawer to store pencils that cost $813.57," The Wash

ington Times reports.

Hillary Clinton bowed to environmentalists and after years of dodging the question took a stand against the Keystone XL pipeline. It's about time. The Hill newspaper says it has taken longer for the federal government to review the pipeline's permit application than it did to build the entire transcontinental railroad 150 years ago.

Shortly before the arrival of Pope Francis in Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest made a number of comparisons between President Obama and his distinguished guest. An eager public saw one glaring difference right away. While the U.S. president rides in a gas-guzzling limousine, the pope chose a humble Fiat 500L to travel from the air base into Washington.

"You can observe a lot by watching." - Yogi Berra (1925-2015)

Because of voter animosity toward Washington candidates for the 2016 presidential race are trying to run as outsiders. In fact, only three -- all Republicans -- have never held political office. Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. Senator and Secretary of State, is trying a new tack. She claims that being the first woman president would make her an outsider.

One billionaire plows money into his own presidential campaign, but David Rubenstein spends his wealth on panda sex. He just gave $4.5 million to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington to support research on panda reproduction and pay for upgrades to the panda habitat at the National Zoo, where a new panda cub was born recently.

When asked to describe herself in three words, Hillary Clinton responded: "I am a real person." That's five words. But after all you don't have to be able to count to serve in Congress.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump says he's the best one to fill the bully pulpit. Well, he got the bully part right.

In August of 1979 Ted Kennedy was the odds-on favorite to get the Democratic nomination for president. Then Roger Mudd of CBS asked him: "Why do you want to be president?" Kennedy's incoherent non-answer doomed his chances. Hillary Clinton did something similar when CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked her to name her "number one accomplishment" as Secretary of State. She couldn't do it.  She responded by ridiculing the Republican debate and telling Blitzer, "this is just the silly season."

While President Obama happily boasts about the Iran nuclear deal that seems destined to sail through Congress, his CIA director, John Brennan, is worried that Tehran may outsource parts of its nuclear and missiles program to North Korea. The deal would not prohibit it and Iran could pay for it with the $150 billion in assets the deal frees up.

Big Brother government is testing you. President Obama has signed an executive order authorizing federal agencies to conduct behavioral experiments on citizens as a means of advancing administration initiatives.

How does the U.S. Supreme Court differ from Congress? Justice Stephen Breyer told Stephen Colbert: "Of course, we disagree. (But) I have never heard a voice raised in anger. I have never heard one member of our court say something insulting about another. "

The National Press Club in Washington offered this menu of cocktails named to match the contestants in the second Republican debate: The Rubio (Cuba Libre), The Cruz (Canadian Club), The Christie (Boilermaker), The Trump (Corona) and The Carly (Cosmopolitan).

Did Miss South Carolina blow a chance to become Miss America by her answer to a question about a ban on assault weapons? Daja Dial responded: "If we teach people the proper way to use guns, then we will reduce the risk on having gun related accidents."

In Virginia there were guns in evidence at an anti-gun rally attended by Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Te governor, who recently called for more gun control laws, showed up with his armed security detail protecting him.

President Obama's newest adviser is none other than Donald Trump. The Republican frontrunner offered the Democratic president this unsolicited advice: " ...you can make deals on a golf course... He should play with people who can help the country."

Hillary Clinton is about to tie Donald Trump in the polls. She's at 37 percent in a CNN survey while Trump has surged to 32 percent.

Carly Fiorina made it into the main event for the second Republican debate and she might have Donald Trump to thank for it. His sexist insults about her looks and her ability to be president have given her a lot of exposure on the national stage.

"You know why he hasn't read the Bible? Because he's not in it." - Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., jabbing his Republican presidential rival Donald Trump, calling him a "narcissist" and an "egomaniac."

The do-gooders (and a couple of Republican presidential candidates) who favor helping Europe deal with its migrant crisis seem to forget the U.S. already has an immigration crisis on its hands.

A top master of spin, David Axelrod, is hard pressed to name Hillary Clinton's positive attributes in her race for president. Defending her descending favorability ratings, he said, "her numbers were artificially high to start with."

"I always felt that I was in the military at military school." - Donald Trump, who, with deferments, never served in the armed forces. Trump a virtual GI?

Who would have thought a year ago that an avowed Socialist would be leading in the early polls as the top choice for the Democratic nominee for president? Bernie Sanders is nine points ahead of Hillary Clinton, the former presumed shoo-in, in the key state of New Hampshire.
 
Cold Hard Facts
On this Labor Day, a record number of Americans -- 94,031,000 -- were not in the labor force. That figure for August was up 261,000 more than July. And for the third straight month, the labor force participation rate stayed stuck at 62.6 percent, a 38-year low. Under the Democratic administration of Barack Obama, the labor force participation rate for women has declined to 58.2 percent and the unemployment rate is higher than white workers for blacks (9.5 percent) and Hispanics (6.6 percent).

One excuse Hillary Clinton and her campaign staffers use to defend her use of a personal computer and server for emails about sensitive national security matters is that all her successors had done it, too. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell put the lie to that in an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press. He said he had two machines on his desk: a secure State Department computer for classified material and a laptop for emails.

Hillary Clinton has revealed a new political wrinkle (as opposed to a skin wrinkle) in her run for president: to thank her supporters she's going to send them a "mystery box." But who wants a box of shredded top secret messages?

There he goes again. Rick Perry, whose 2012 bid for president was doomed when he fumbled a debate question about which federal department he would eliminate, dropped this pearl of wisdom in a TV appearance: "You know, a broken clock is right once a day." Perry had been asked about Donald Trump's hint that the former Texas governor was getting out of the 2016 presidential race.

Critics of President Obama's crusade against global warming have suggested he put his policies where the sun doesn't shine. That he did, when he went to the frozen north and promoted solar energy in an Alaskan town that gets less than six hours of sunlight on winter days.

Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin drew a stout defender against attacks by Donald Trump, who burrowed into the former secretary of state's email practices. Trump suggested Abedin might have shared state secrets with her husband, then a congressman. But former Rep. Anthony Weiner, who was tarred by an Internet sexting scandal, is not exactly her best character witness.

Despite the disgusting scenes of bargaining over sale of tissue from aborted fetuses, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says they don't persuade enough members of Congress to stand up to President Obama and cut off federal funds going to Planned Parenthood. "That awaits a new president," he said.

How Your Taxes Are Spent
Acording to Independent Institute, a liberal think tank, a federal patent examiner did no work for 18 weeks while getting paid his full salary. Also, a senior policy adviser for the Environmental Protection Agency told his bosses he worked for the CIA and did no work for two and a half years.

"I'd love to see Joe get in the race." - Former Vice President Dick Cheney, expressing support for a 2016 run for president by Vice President Joe Biden.

President Obama must have been feeling his oats when he asked himself, "What can I do today with all the power I possess. I know: I'll shake up geography teachers and mapmakers and also gig Republicans in the process." So he decided to rename Mount McKinley, North America's tallest peak, which had borne the name of former Republican President William McKinley since 1896. He chose "Denali", an Athabascan name favored by Alaska natives. The move coincided with Obama's first trip to the 50th state, other than a refueling stop. He stirred up a hornet's nest in McKinley's home state, politically potent
Ohio.

"There is still a lot of monkey in us. throw anything into our cage and we will give it serious consideration." - Will Rogers.

Hillary Clinton must be using the same speechwriter as President Obama. At a sparsely attended campaign rally in Cleveland, the Democratic candidate compared Republicans to "terrorist groups" on women's issues. Obama recently said Republicans and others opposed to the Iran nuclear deal he champions were "making common cause" with Iranian hard-liners who call for "death to America."

Somebody needs to tell a well-known national figure it's time to tone down the name-calling. The hotair.com website reports House Speaker John Boehner, in a private fundraiser in Colorado, called Sen. Ted Cruz, a fellow Republican, a "Jackass." In July Cruz called Sen. Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, a "liar." Shouldn't the target of such language be Democrats?

"The government has not only hundreds but literally thousands in Washington to see that nobody can personally tend to his own business." - Will Rogers