The Washington Times

Geithner, Summers Hedge On Tax Hikes ; Conflict with Obama's Vow

Wavering on an emphatic promise he made in the spring, top White House economic adviser Lawrence H. Summers would not rule out middle- class tax increases Sunday as a way for the Obama administration to pay for a sweeping health care plan. The statement, which was echoed by Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner on Sunday's talk shows, pries open a door to the kinds of broad tax increases that Mr. Obama opposed in his campaign and that he and his advisers have ruled out since taking office in...

Iranians On Verge of Seizing New Era ; Ahmadinejad Renews Power

Iran's Islamic revolution three decades ago reached a crucial turning point when a policeman failed to dislodge a man from simply standing at a crossroads in Tehran. Surrounded by a tense crowd, the policeman could neither beat up the man nor reason with him, according to journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski's 1982 book, "Shah of Shahs." Instead, the humiliated officer slinked away. Within hours, news of the incident had spread through Tehran, giving a huge psychological boost to the opposition.

Katrina's Silent Disaster ; for the Mentally Ill, Tempest Still Raging in Minds

First of three parts Using his hands, Adam Graff pushed the "floodwater" away from the frantic woman's face.

Smaller Investors Edge Back Into Stocks ; Markets Rise, Plans Revise

The "little guys" are coming back. After a brutal bear market in which the Standard & Poor's 500 Index plunged 57 percent, small investors were reluctant to open their mutual fund and 401(k) plan statements. Four months later, the stock market is 46 percent higher and may be a fit topic for cocktail party conversation again.

Speicher Remains Found in Iraq ; Airman Killed in Gulf War

After more than 18 years, the remains of Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher, who was shot down in combat at the opening of the Gulf War, have been positively identified, Pentagon officials said Sunday. Capt. Speicher was 33 years old when he disappeared on a combat flight mission in Iraq, and now has headed home.

'Clarifications' a Cause of Concern for Clinton ; Minor Gaffes Beset New Role As Envoy

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has delighted reporters repeatedly during her travels by speaking off the cuff, but is she also speaking off the mark? Compared with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the former first lady and senator from New York has committed only minor diplomatic gaffes. Still, twice during her trip to Asia last month, Mrs. Clinton made comments in which the accuracy was questioned by specialists and later had to be "clarified" by the State Department.

On Race, 'No, He Can't!'

Well, that was pathetic. And it wasn't an accident. The fix was in from the beginning.

Relying On the Sausage Factory: Best Way to Enact National Health Care?

I am guessing that in the early days of the Obama administration, probably shortly after the arrival of Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, the "strategic decision" on health care was made, one that we are now watching unfold in recent days in Washington. I am guessing it was essentially a negative decision - don't make the basic mistake that the Clinton administration is widely seen as having made in 1994. The conventional wisdom says that the basic cause of its failure on health care was the choic...

'Cash for Clunkers' Set to End As Funds Run Out ; Backers Hail Success; Foes Cite Metaphor

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told consumers they have until Tuesday to trade in their old cars if they want to secure a popular $4,500 car discount and said the program would die unless Congress appropriates more money immediately. Mr. LaHood said the unexpectedly popular "cash for clunkers" program is unlikely to accommodate any new applications after Tuesday because Congress has yet to extend funding for the program. Deals made through Tuesday will be honored, Mr. LaHood said Sunday ...

Funds Misuse Claimed ; 8 Sorority Members Bring Suit

Eight members of a Greek-lettered sorority, whose ranks will include first lady Michelle Obama once she is inducted, claim in a lawsuit that their president and others misused funds on designer clothing and lingerie and failed to get approval from the membership on expenditures. But Barbara A. McKinzie, international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. (AKA), which was founded at Howard University more than a century ago, denied wrongdoing and characterized the claims as "malicious allegation...

Record Numbers Teach for America

When the 2009-10 school year begins this month, Teach for America will have a record-setting number of college graduates teaching in poor communities across the nation. In fact, this is the first time officials had to reject applicants who met the organization's criteria. Applications more than doubled from last year, with more than 35,000 graduates applying. The organization selected 4,100. More than 7,300 first- and second-year corps members will teach in 34 regions that include six new sit...

Saving Children From Depravity

Culture Challenge of the Week: Death of Conscience Our teenagers are more sexually active than any generation of youth before them. They also are consuming more pornography and compromising basic

'Continuing Crisis' Collected

Henry Louis Mencken was an original and difficult to imitate, but sometimes men writing with more ambition than talent try their hand at it. Some years ago, the Baltimore Sun, where Mr. Mencken was the franchise for many years, even awarded a prize every year to the columnist who best expressed "the originality and fire of the sage of Baltimore." It awarded the prize every year but rarely found an authentic read-alike. Mr. Mencken, like Elvis, was an acquired taste, and, like Elvis, a hard ac...

The Fantasy of Flipping Enemies ; Hope for an Alliance with the Taliban Defies History

Geopolitical trendies ran a new one up the international flagpole to see if anyone saluted. It claimed to be the magic formula on how to win in Afghanistan. "Flipping the Taliban" is the new recipe for success in Afghanistan. In the July/August issue of Foreign Affairs, Fotini Christia, a member of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Michael Semple - an Irish official with the European Union delegation who was expelled from Afghanistan in December fo...

Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here

The ascension apparent of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the rank of associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court marks an unprecedented transformation from the conception of blindfolded justice to justice based entirely on one's race/ethnicity and sex ("Sotomayor vote viewed as benchmark," Nation, Tuesday). Tragically, Democrats have moved the nation from the noble words engraved in stone above the entrance to the Supreme Court - "Equal Justice Under Law" - to (if you are male and/or white) "Abando...

Black Panther Politics ; a Gross Injustice Is Exposed at Justice

The Justice Department's claims about why it dropped a voter- intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party and two of its members are offensively hollow. The bad decision clearly was the result of purely political considerations overriding the unambiguous facts of the case, the law and the judgment of career Justice Department lawyers. In a July 13 letter to Rep. Frank R. Wolf, Virginia Republican, Assistant Attorney General Ronald Welch wrote that the department dropped the charges ...

Dying to Be a Hero ; Fewer Medals for Courageous Warriors

The Navy christened its newest destroyer, the USS Jason Dunham, on Saturday to honor Cpl. Jason Dunham, who was mortally wounded in Iraq in April 2004. He saved the lives of his squad members by throwing himself on a hand grenade during a hand-to-hand struggle with an insurgent who had been flushed out during a vehicle check. Cpl. Dunham was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2007 for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Five...

Fighting the War of Ideas ; Congress Leans Toward Unilateral Disarmament in Info Ops

Information operations are known by many names - public diplomacy, strategic influence, political warfare - but the purpose is the point. It's vital for America to advance national security by changing the way people think about our country and challenging the negative messages spread by our adversaries. For the past several years, the Defense Department has assumed the leading role in information operations. This is a development that has upset some members of Congress. The House Appropriati...

Jam Ahead

Thank you for your recent editorial in support of legislation to allow prison systems to jam cell phones within the walls of our nation's prisons ("Dial M for madness," Opinion, Tuesday). It is well past time for Congress to amend the antiquated 1934 law to allow cell-phone-jamming technology to be used to combat crimes being orchestrated by prisoners. This is truly an issue of public safety. Preventing the introduction of cell phones in our prisons has become one of the most significant chal...

Life and Death As Public Policy

This is to congratulate you on your excellent editorial on the administration's health care plans ("A euthanasia mandate," Opinion, Wednesday). It is terrifying to place decisions about life and death in the hands of the government. As a matter of principle, it is a misguided and dangerous concept that opens the door to grave consequences. It is all the more worrisome when it comes from an administration that has shown no feeling toward life in the womb. The gross materialism that pervades it...