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.