THE WASHINGTON TIMES

EDITORIAL: Obama’s spooky economy

For the first time in quite a while, consumers got something better than a rock after they knocked at the door of our economic scorekeepers. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 2.5 percent in the third quarter of 2011 - a big jump from the 0.9 percent in the first half of the year. It's all because consumers are spending, but that may not last for very long because the data also show we're frightened about what lies ahead. Published October 28, 2011

EDITORIAL: Obama is better than you

The administration is downplaying the revelation that the State Department blew $70,000 in taxpayer cash buying copies of President Obama's books. As first reported in The Washington Times, the purchase was meant to "engage key audiences in discussions of foreign policy." It's another uncomfortable reminder of the degree to which those who surround Mr. Obama feel it necessary to bathe him in adulation. Published October 27, 2011

EDITORIAL: Democrats cling to their guns

Gun ownership is on the rise in some surprising places. As much as President Obama would have us believe that only small-town yokels "cling to guns or religion," a Gallup poll released Wednesday suggests many of the firearms that have been flying off the shelves in the past two years were purchased by Democrats and women. The Second Amendment has truly gone mainstream. Published October 27, 2011

EDITORIAL: Out-of-control college tuition

On Wednesday, President Obama announced a plan to use his executive powers to allow students to reduce their student-loan debt payments and seek outstanding loan forgiveness at 20 instead of 25 years after graduation. The White House claims the scheme won't carry additional costs to taxpayers, but voters are well past the point where they believe in Mr. Obama's free lunches. Published October 26, 2011

EDITORIAL: TSA’s power grope

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has always intended to expand beyond the confines of airport terminals. Its agents have been conducting more and more surprise groping sessions for women, children and the elderly in locations that have nothing to do with aviation. It's all part of TSA's Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) program, which drew additional scrutiny following an Oct. 18 blitz in Tennessee. Published October 26, 2011

EDITORIAL: From Arab Spring to Islamist Winter

When the Arab Spring uprisings broke out earlier this year, many foreign-policy experts were alarmed that the revolts took the White House by surprise and concerned by the Obama administration's lackadaisical response. Washington adopted a hands-off policy toward the sweeping political changes, arguing that the people of the region should be free to chart their own destiny. "There must be no doubt that the United States of America welcomes change that advances self-determination and opportunity," President Obama said in May. In his typically weak manner, he also cautioned that, "we must proceed with a sense of humility." Published October 25, 2011

EDITORIAL: Uncorking occupiers’ unrest

Lefty agitators aren't succeeding in their efforts to inspire middle America. A solid majority remains ambivalent about the "Occupy Wall Street" movement, according to a Gallup poll published Oct. 18. The survey found 22 percent of Americans approve of this anti-capitalist outburst, 15 percent disapprove, and 63 percent admit they don't know enough about it to say. Published October 24, 2011

EDITORIAL: Obama’s pyrrhic Iraq victory

The White House announced the pullout from Iraq by the end of the year on a note of triumph. Obama adviser James Kvaal claimed that was "an example of what happens when a leader sets a plan and sees it through." West Wing machismo was on full display, trumpeting, "President Obama has ended the war in Iraq." Mr. Obama said the withdrawal was taking place "as promised," but the pullout timeline evolved as did the president's responsibility for the aftermath. Published October 24, 2011

EDITORIAL: Occupying your mortgage

Politicians and realtors want to maintain a permanent government occupation of the housing market. If the hippies clogging the streets of major cities had any integrity for their cause, they'd speak out against mortgage lending practices that stick taxpayers with the bills when banks make bad loans. On Thursday night, the Senate voted 60-38 to do more of the same. Published October 21, 2011

EDITORIAL: Infallible Obama

As the country enters the 2012 campaign season, the press and prospective Republican nominees are drawing increasing attention to President Obama's record. An NBC News poll released last week showed that 74 percent of Americans think the country is on the wrong track, the highest number since before the 2008 election. According to the Gallup Presidential Job Approval website, Mr. Obama has the second-lowest approval rating at this point in his presidency of any holder of the high office since 1945. Only Jimmy Carter's numbers were worse. Published October 20, 2011

Inside Politics

The Senate defeated a bid by Sen. John McCain on Wednesday to stop funneling federal funds to transportation museums, highway beautification and preservation of historic bridges, rejecting his argument that money needed to repair rundown roads was being diverted to projects like squirrel sanctuaries and car museums. Published October 19, 2011

Sports Briefs

There is still no sign of Theo Epstein in Chicago. It has been more than a week since word leaked that Epstein was headed to Chicago to join the Cubs after nine years with the Boston Red Sox. Published October 18, 2011

EDITORIAL: The Wall Street whiners

Judging by their list of complaints, most members of the "Occupy" movement are simply disaffected graduate students. These products of the most left-wing institutions in America have discovered that expensive degrees in useless fields don't deliver instant wealth. What a surprise. Published October 18, 2011

EDITORIAL: Reject the trial-lawyer czar

The legacy of President Obama's time in office has been an unprecedented expansion of the federal government. A perfect example of this is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which is part of the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory law. Even though this brand-new bureaucracy opened for business in July, most Americans have never heard of it - and they won't so long as it remains leaderless. Published October 18, 2011

Raiders land Palmer for pair of draft picks

The Oakland Raiders made a bold move to replace injured quarterback Jason Campbell on Tuesday, trading two high draft picks to the Cincinnati Bengals for Carson Palmer. Published October 18, 2011

Inside Politics

The House Ethics Committee has extended its investigation of Illinois Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Published October 18, 2011

American Scene

Arizona police looking for a 5-year-old girl who has been missing six days said Monday they now think she was most likely kidnapped, because otherwise they would have found her. Published October 17, 2011

EDITORIAL: Playing favorites with Solyndra bet

Gambling is a risky proposition - but not when playing with loaded dice. That's what Solyndra's private investors were handed when the Energy Department guaranteed they'd have first dibs on compensation if the firm went belly up. This unfairly shifted the peril of investing in an uneconomical solar-panel scheme onto the backs of taxpayers. We're the ones stuck with the $535 million bill. Published October 17, 2011

EDITORIAL: Will Obama attack Iran?

Revelations of Iran's plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States and commit other attacks on U.S. soil have some talking about a case for war with Iran. America has had plenty of justification for decades. Published October 17, 2011