Texas Senator Ted Cruz (Buzzfeed.com photo)
Senator Cruz questions AG – Although considered a Tea Party firebrand by the left, I was again impressed by the calm, clear, concise manner in which Texas Senator Ted Cruz questioned Attorney General Eric Holder about the IRS targeting investigation during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week. Showing experience he gained as Texas Solicitor General and nine oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, he questioned the selection of an Obama supporter to conduct the investigation and pressed Holder on why, after 280 days, targeted groups have not been interviewed. I highly recommend you watch him at his best.
Republicans not the obstructionists – In just a matter of hours after the State of the Union address in which the president asked Congress “to work together on tools like bipartisan trade promotion authority, Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid announced he was opposed saying, “I think everyone would be well-advised just not to push this right now.” Quick to remind the president that it wasn’t the Republicans who are opposing the trade legislation, House Speaker John Boehner suggested the president use that executive phone he boasted about to call Reid.
How much time does it take? – “The State Department is expected to release its environmental analysis on the Keystone XL oil pipeline as early as today,” Fox News announced. But don’t get excited; it only sets the stage for a 90-day review period, during which the administration must determine whether the project is in the national interest. With the left lined up to oppose Keystone’s approval, don’t expect a decision before the mid-term elections. After years of State Department and EPA dueling over environmental concerns, expect late-night comics to ask the question, “How many years does it take for Democrats to turn on a spigot?”
Did you know Liberal columnist Eugene Robinson is an authority on climate control? After a review of global warming warnings, he says, “the large scale burning of fossil fuels has increased the concentration of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 40 per cent.” While admitting the uncertainty in predictions he said, “human-induced global warming is the only explanation that fits the evidence.” Robinson most likely decided to take up the charge on climate change to support the president’s State of the Union call of urgency.
Giving no empirical evidence to back up his claim, the president said the “changing climate is already harming western communities struggling with drought and coastal cities dealing with floods.” In his mind, “the debate is settled; climate change is a fact.” “President Obama, who understands the science,” wrote Robinson, “should use his executive powers as best he can, not just to reduce carbon emissions but to prepare the country for confronting the environmental, political and military hazards of a warmer world.” And he intends to do that, announcing he is going to sic members of his administration on states, utilities and others to reduce carbon emissions.
