THE WASHINGTON TIMES

EDITORIAL: Obama’s gas stunt comes up empty

The results are in from President Obama's controversial decision last month to tap into the nation's oil reserves to drive down gas prices: none. Like his futile efforts to revive the moribund U.S. economy by spending $1 trillion in borrowed money, the president's release of 30 million barrels from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve produced nothing more than a brief pause in the steady rise in prices at the pump. Nearly three years into an energy policy designed to hector Americans into accepting pointless "green" alternatives, the president seems to have finally acknowledged his chances of being re-elected go down as gas prices go up. Published July 18, 2011

EDITORIAL: America’s political Twits

Twitter is becoming the gimmick of choice for the political campaign season. It says a lot about the decline of American discourse that politicians flock to a medium named for chattering birds. Published July 18, 2011

Economy Briefs

Europe's debt troubles and an impasse over lifting the U.S. government's borrowing limit are dragging down stocks. Published July 18, 2011

Briefily: Americas

Peru's president-elect, Ollanta Humala, arrived in Cuba early Tuesday at the invitation of President Raul Castro, official state media reported. The leftist Pervian leader's visit comes at the same time Published July 18, 2011

World Scene

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is in India for security and counterterrorism talks as the two countries try to broaden their relationship and manage mutual concerns about Pakistan and Afghanistan. Published July 18, 2011

World Scene

A senior adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai was killed at his home near the parliament in Kabul, a senior government official said Sunday. Published July 17, 2011

Economy Briefs

Economists increasingly expect hiring to pick up in the second half of the year, even as overall growth is likely to slow. Published July 17, 2011

Inside Politics

President Obama said Sunday he planned to nominate former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the new U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Published July 17, 2011

Briefly: Europe

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday said Greece's "resilience" in tackling its huge debt could inspire the world as she expressed Washington's support to the government's reform efforts. Published July 17, 2011

EDITORIAL: Read Obama’s lips: More new taxes

The White House is fighting hard to resolve the debt-ceiling crisis with a deal that raises taxes to maintain elevated spending levels. Republicans need to understand that compromising on taxes would be disastrous, possibly guaranteeing President Obama's re-election in 2012. Published July 15, 2011

EDITORIAL: White House admits war with Iran

The United States is engaged in a deadly but seldom mentioned proxy war with Iran. In a rare act of candor, two senior Obama administration defense officials have addressed the open secret of Iran's active support for insurgent groups fighting U.S. troops overseas. Published July 14, 2011

EDITORIAL: Too fast, too furious

The Justice Department's effort to contain the Operation Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal is crumbling. Members of Congress are demanding full disclosure regarding the bizarre scheme to funnel guns to Mexican drug cartels, supposedly to help sniff out the higher-level bad guys. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. isn't helping congressional investigators understand the rationale behind this breathtakingly dumb idea. Published July 13, 2011

EDITORIAL: Obama’s Arab sting

President Obama came into office with the self-appointed mission of healing the breach between the United States and the Islamic world. He likened his goal to the civil rights struggle, explaining that Muslims faced discrimination at home and misunderstanding abroad and that his predecessor had only made matters worse. By adopting a more obsequious tone toward Islam, he reasoned, the misunderstandings could be dealt with and a new era of peace and partnership would result. Published July 13, 2011

EDITORIAL: Arkansas jihad

An admitted jihadist who killed an American soldier on U.S. soil will be tried next week in Arkansas on a state charge of capital murder - not terrorism. This is odd, considering that the Obama administration recently went out of its way to bring a Somali-born jihadist into U.S. federal court to face terrorism charges for what he may have done overseas. Perhaps the White House thinks that if it turns a blind eye toward domestic Islamic terrorism, it won't really exist. Published July 12, 2011

EDITORIAL: Jobless summer continues

President Obama and his advisers must think unemployment or the economy won't matter to the average voter next year. About 1 in 6 Americans either find themselves in the unemployment line or are stuck flipping burgers to get by. Wages declined last month as unemployment and inflation ticked up. The economy isn't growing, the job market is worsening, and Mr. Obama is threatening more of the same economic policies. Published July 12, 2011

EDITORIAL: Obama’s coal tax

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday finalized "cross-state air pollution" regulations designed to drive coal-plant operators out of business. This noxious rule will choke job creation and ensure that consumers are stricken with higher utility bills every time they switch on the mercury-filled curlicue light bulbs they also will be forced to buy. Published July 11, 2011

EDITORIAL: Recognizing Palestine

The Obama administration is facing a major embarrassment at the hands of the Palestinian Authority. The "Quartet" powers - the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia - are seeking a way to restart direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians in order to forestall the proposal for the U.N. General Assembly to recognize Palestinian statehood when the international body convenes in September. The recognition would be largely symbolic; full membership in the U.N. would require a vote before the Security Council, which almost certainly would face a U.S. veto. But a vote of confidence from the General Assembly would in theory give the Palestinians increased diplomatic momentum and cap two years of failed White House peace initiatives. Published July 11, 2011

EDITORIAL: Partition or death

The international community welcomed a new member on Saturday. The Republic of South Sudan was declared under the terms of the 2005 Sudanese Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The declaration followed a referendum held in January in which 98.8 percent of the people in southern Sudan opted for independence. It's always a positive step when people are given the opportunity to assert their sovereign will and, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, "provide new Guards for their future security." Published July 8, 2011

EDITORIAL: Judicial cash grab

Red-light cameras are a danger to road safety and destructive to the legal system's presumption of innocence. Add to this list a new complaint: They are destructive of democracy itself. Published July 8, 2011

EDITORIAL: America’s space hiatus

Americans have one last chance to share the pioneer spirit that has defined the nation. The final launch of the space shuttle from its Kennedy Space Center launch pad is scheduled for today, and the spectacle of the gleaming spacecraft thundering into the blue Florida sky on a column of fire and smoke is as much a part of Americana as the fireworks of Independence Day. It could be a long time before such an event happens again, leaving us to wonder: Who lost space? Published July 7, 2011