In the frenzy of protest against Indiana's new religious freedom law some of the more outspoken have made fools of themselves. Gov. Dannell Malloy, D-Conn., announced a ban on state-funded travel to the state in the belief there was intention to discriminate against gays. Wake up, governor. Connecticut has a similar law on the books.

The new Edward M. Kennedy Institute dedicated by President Obama (also known as the Teddy Kennedy shrine) is costing taxpayers $38 million. Kennedy's liberal friends in the U.S. Senate are helping steer millions more in private money to the museum.

Barack Obama promised that his progressive, big government economic policies would jump start the economy. But Obama-economics was a failure. The U.S. economy produced $1 trillion less in 2014 than Obama promised in 2010.

"Even Nixon didn't destroy the tapes." - Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus after it was disclosed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wiped her personal email server clean.

Presidential trivia: President Obama isn't the highest paid world leader. With an annual salary of $800,000 he ranks number two in a recent study. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong draws the largest salary, $1.7 million. And that's after he took a 28 percent pay cut.

President Obama's spokesman Josh Earnest attacked Indiana's new religious freedom law, saying it legitimizes discrimination against homosexuality. He ignored the fact that Obama voted in favor of similar legislation when he was a state senator in Illinois.

"Don't be too elated." - Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as Reid announced he would retire from the Senate when his term ends in 2017.

How Your Taxes Are Spent
Diana Rubens, director of the Philadelphia VA regional benefits office, was paid $288,000 in "relocation payments" to move the 140 miles from Washington, D.C. to her new place of work. Rubens, who was given large bonuses at a time when patient backlogs increased by 300,000, drew a base salary of $181,000 in 2014.

One day after approving a balanced budget, the House of Representatives passed a health care bill that will add an estimated $141 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade.

"We've made our share of mistakes." - President Obama, on the fifth anniversary of Obamacare. That's putting it mildly.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was praised by National Security Adviser Susan Rice for serving with "honor and distinction" when the Obama administration arranged for his release from the Taliban in exchange for five terrorist leaders, has been charged by the Army with desertion. Rice also blamed the Benghazi killings of four Americans on a controversial video -- a claim that never held up.

How Your Taxes Are Spent
The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol spent $945 million on field radios that didn't work, according to a Government Accountability Office report. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives purchased $600,000 worth of drones that it never flew - and disposed of them.

If you've just finished writing a check to the Internal Revenue Service, this report might give you some heartburn. As of September 30, 2014, almost 305,000 federal workers and retirees owed more than $3.5 billion in unpaid taxes. Congress should throw that into the face of the agency's director the next time he comes looking for higher appropriations.


Afghanistan has a new president, Ashraf Ghani, who exuded a spirit of cooperation with the U.S. in a visit to the White House. It's too bad President Obama, in a joint press conference, referred to him as "President Karzai" - the name of his predecessor.

Laura Dowling didn't receive a bouquet of red roses for Valentine's Day. Instead it was her bad luck on Friday, February 13 to be handed her walking papers  In fact, the Washington Post reports, Dowling was "escorted" out of the White House after serving almost six years as the Chief Florist. The paper's gossip column, Reliable Source, devoted two successive days to probing the mystery of her departure. Some sources said her floral arrangements were too "fussy" for the first lady's "emerging modern and clean aesthetics."

No sooner had Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, announced he was running for president than questions were raised about his eligibility to hold the office. The fact that Cruz was born in Canada (to an American mother) prompted the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal to run commentaries on the Cruz "birther movement." Noted Obama birther Donald Trump, who also is talking about a run, was among the first to speak out.

When the White House sends out belated sympathy notes,  it's time for a shakeup. National Security Adisor Susan Rice used her Twitter account to offer condolences regarding the death of Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. The problem is she was two years late. Achebe died on March 22, 2013.

Call it President Obama's minimum wage proposal for managers. In a recent interview Obama expressed concern about companies getting around federal overtime rules by designating workers who make under $23.000 a year as managers. Obama has talked of raising this threshold to $42,000, or even as high as $57,000.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is boasting about being the first to put his toe in the water for the 2016 Republican nomination. Does that also make him likely to be the first to drown in the primaries?

In a scene reminiscent of starstruck fans swooning over idols such as Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, Pope Francis was mobbed by a group of overexcited nuns, let out from their closed convents during his visit to Naples. The archbishop had to rein them in after they swarmed the pontiff, showering him with gifts and greetings. Ted Cruz should be so lucky.

President Obama is determined to expand the federal government during his last two years in office. How's he going to do it? "By hook or by crook," he told the Huffington Post.