November 22, 2009
What's Inside:
Bond accuses Obama of ‘wavering’ on Afghanistan
Missouri Sen. Kit Bond sees America’s problems in Afghanistan as failed communications: the United States has been off message, while Islamic terrorists have honed theirs.
Mr. Bond went to the Senate floor Thursday to accuse the Obama administration of “verbal wavering” and to call for Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top military leader in Afghanistan, to testify before Congress.
The Republican urged Senate colleagues to ignore “politics of the moment” and listen to commanders from the war zone.
“Let’s not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Afghanistan, just because a few pundits are peddling political pessimism in Washington,” he said.
Mr. Bond said President Obama appeared to have a case of “buyer’s remorse” in Afghanistan strategy. The senator supported Mr. Obama’s statement in March that recommended a strong counter-insurgency presence.
“I was particularly disappointed by the president’s suggestion this past Sunday that he is reconsidering the American commitment to the war in Afghanistan,” the senator said.
Mr. Bond serves as vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Vaccine to be ready
Kathleen Sebelius, who left the Kansas governor’s office this year to become the nation’s overseer of health, said Thursday that flu vaccines will be available for every interested American.
The secretary of Health and Human Services, in a conference call with regional reporters, said 6 million to 7 million doses of H1N1 vaccine will be available by the first full week of October, with 40 million doses in communities by the middle of next month. Up to 20 million doses will roll off production lines and go into circulation every week after that.
“We have a high degree of confidence in the vaccine’s safety,” Ms. Sebelius said.
The federal government has purchased 250 million doses of vaccine, which will be sent without charge to the states. Governors and health officials in the states will determine the distribution system.
“Nobody inside the Beltway is trying to figure out what the best place in Kansas or California or Maine is to reach the target populations,” the cabinet secretary said.
Ms. Sebelius urged people to check a government Web site — www.flu.gov — for information on the illness. She also tried to dispel the rumor that the federal government mandates flu vaccination. “It is entirely voluntary,” the former governor said.
Cutting off ACORN
Congressman Sam Graves believes the time has come for the federal government to cut ties with ACORN.
The Northwest Missouri lawmaker has signed as a co-sponsor of legislation to end taxpayer support of the controversial group. ACORN, which stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has been investigated for voter fraud activities and other potential crimes.
The U.S. Census Bureau ended its partnership with ACORN earlier this month.
“Let’s have an up or down vote and make sure there is no excuse for another dollar of taxpayer money going to this organization,” Mr. Graves said.
Ken Newton can be reached
at kenn@npgco.com.
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No doubt about it. We are winning.
After 8 years we discovered the country we should have invaded was Iran where they have been enriching uranium underground for years.
Enjoy your retirement Senator Bond.
We deserve it.
it would seem that if you were the vice chairman in the committee for intelligence you would know the Iranians were making bombs.why was nothing done about it then? you weren't as smart as you wanted or thought you were.we are all human, it is easy to sit on the side lines and point fingers at others and then when we see you weren't doing your job well, that is OK? if in fact you are retiring it was 4 years too late. like rette says, we will enjoy your leaving.
I really think that we need to pull out of the Middle East. I support the troops, not the war. But, if we aren't going to pull out, then I think it's almost impossible to NOT send more troops. You can't just leave the ones already there indefinitely and not send them the necessary help they need, if they aren't going to be all brought home.
As for the flu vaccine, I'm not very worried about swine flu. I think the hype for it is making it out to be far worse than it is. Children and the elderly, and people who have compromised immune systems...well the vaccine would likely be a good choice for them, as long as it is safe and works. But, for me, I'm not too worried over the swine flu. Everyone I've heard talk about having has given accounts of it not being that bad. But, these are adults who are not elderly and don't have anything otherwise wrong with their immune systems. :p
As for ACORN...I think a lot of people are putting too much stock into this little "experiment" these two people did. I don't think they went to very many ACORN buildings, for one thing. And for another thing, the editing for the tapes has been done so that the only thing you can garner from the tapes is whatever these people wanted you to. It's good for entertainment, but that's about it. Too much editing for me to consider it credible.
Another thing is that a lot of those people filed reports about these two going in there for the purpose they were saying they were there for, at least one woman had them thrown out (even though they said they had not been thrown out, which clearly was a lie), and they were also fed a lot of bull because the people they were trying to dupe were very suspicious that they were being duped. I would not have taken them seriously.
But, I'm not afraid of an investigation into ACORN. If they have nothing to hide, there's no problem. If they do, I want it taken care of. Simple as that. :p
However, I think that a lot of judgments are being made about this before anything is officially known. And I do not consider the tapes these two made to be any form of credible. :/
Sam Graves wants to cut ties to Acorn because they've been investigated, but not tried or convicted of anything. If only he would apply the same standard to Halliburton, Blackwater, KBR, and the other war profiteers who've gotten rich off of government contracts. Let's investigate all of them, Acorn included.