White House Briefing

Briefer: Dana Perino

White House press secretary Dana Perino briefed the press on the president's radio address which will focus on the administration's priorities for Congress. She specifically mentioned the war supplemental funding, the GI bill, the FISA legislation, the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, and the approval of Steve Preston to be the new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The president will be giving the commencement address at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Perino said that the speech will focus on the culture of responsibility and the importance of volunteering and serving in the military.

The main topic for questions was the book of former White House press secretary Scott McClellen which alleges "a culture of deception" in Washington and in the White House in particular during the run up to the Iraq war. Perino said that the president has not read the book and she has not discussed it with him. She said that the White House will continue to push back against the premise of the book that the White House communications department mislead the public as the administration approached the Iraq war.

In response to a question about the allegations that a Commerce Department laptop was hacked into during a trip to China, Perino said that the White House does not comment on on going investigations but that it has taken all measures to protect against cyber attacks, including international trips where White House staff are prohibited from brining Blackberry phones.

Chicken rants at Pelosi on Capitol steps

Democratic congressional primary contender Shirley Golub (D-Calif.) sent one of her representatives to the steps of the Capitol building dressed as a chicken to protest the decisions made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during her time in office. Golub’s goal was to demonstrate the uselessness of electing another “chicken” to the House of Representatives. Golub is running against Pelosi in the upcoming California congressional democratic primary.

Golub’s chicken ranted on the west steps of the Capitol yelling different anti-Pelosi sentiments, such as, “Where are all the congressmen? Did they all fly the coop?” and “Shirley Golub sent me here to demonstrate what its like to send a chicken to Congress.” When the chicken was asked why he was protesting, he said that Pelosi was being a chicken about the war in Iraq and impeachment, and even claimed to be one of her cousins.

Afghan Journal: Photos from the firing range

Talk Radio News embedded Military Affairs Correspondent Richard Miller accompanies a group of soldiers in the Afghan National Army to the firing range on a training day


The Instructor


Loading AK-47 magazines one round at a time


The face of the NCO

Check out more photos from Richard's trip to Afghanistan on our Flickr Page!

America's Oil: Good to the last drop

By Ellen Ratner

As I sit here writing this column from the oil rich Middle East, I am reflecting on the political oil wars that we are hearing so much about from President Bush, Congress and the presidential candidates. Yet, no matter our favorite party, branch of government or candidate, the whole story is not being told.

During the last week in April, there were press briefings galore in Congress with words and accusations flying everywhere. The price of oil is killing our economy, small airlines are folding and larger ones are laying off employees or trying to merge. Trucks and their drivers are parading around the Capitol on a daily basis, honking horns and making it clear that it is difficult to survive with the gas prices so high.

The Democrats want the president to stop adding to the strategic oil reserve, which is 97 percent full. So far the president has not budged. The Democrats figure that it could save Americans 5 to 24 cents per gallon. Their plan put forward in four congressional bills includes holding OPEC accountable for price fixing (HR 2264), cracking down on gas price gouging (HR 1252), repealing subsidies to oil companies, investing in renewables (HR 5351) and developing new mileage standards (HR 6).



During several of the pressers, the Democrats rattled their swords. They pointed out that the Saudis had reduced their oil output by 800,000 barrels a day since 2005. Then came the threat, saying that Congress would "block their, (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE), lucrative arms deals." Of course Americans would be on the Democrats' side on this one. Why should we sell arms to countries that are making record profits? The answer is two words: Russia and China. Having just returned from Sudan, it is clear that as soon as the United States opts out of oil production, then China is going to opt in. If that means the price of entry is arms sales, then China and Russia are going to "pay that price" and sell arms. The threat of no arms sales sounds great to the Americans watching the evening news, but it is short sighted indeed.

All of this saber rattling took place against the backdrop of Exxon Mobil releasing its quarterly profits, which are a whopping $10.25 billion for the quarter. The numbers look great for oil investors now, but there are clouds over the horizon, and the large investors are well aware of the darkening cloud cover.

That cloud is called Hubbert's peak. M. King Hubbert predicated in the mid '50s that the world was reaching peak oil production and that the United States would reach it by 1970. He was laughed at and disregarded. Hubbert was right, and one member of Congress has been the lone voice for Hubbert's Peak and the implications that it brings. That member is Republican scientist Roscoe Bartlett from Maryland. As the lone wolf he has said, "You can't pump what is not there." This might explain why there is less oil being pumped from Saudi Arabia. They might be close to peak oil production. There was a stated increase in Saudi "oil reserves" about 10 years ago, but there is no data real data to back up this alleged "find." Saudi Arabia going dry is a very scary situation for the economy and Middle Eastern stability, and cutting off arms sales isn't going to change that fact.

Ordering GAO studies, Rep. Bartlett has continually been on the floor of the House showing graphs and pushing for renewables and alternative energy sources. He was also first out of the box to discuss what he terms as the "investment risk" of doing business with countries that have the largest proven reserves and carry the most political risk. Those just happen to be Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and Venezuela. He has many ideas, including plans for the U.S. to achieve energy independence. One is a bill for "net metering" which encourages Americans to sell back any energy they produce using solar, wind and other alternative energy sources.

There are numerous ways to mitigate the effects of peak oil in the U.S. or anywhere else, but these require long-term planning, investment and action. Idle threats such as cutting off arms sales or stopping CEOs from taking home more bacon are not going to address the problem. Rep. Bartlett has been saying what no one wants to hear. It is time we paid attention.

"What, me worry?"

By Ellen Ratner

Next to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, probably the next most familiar face in America is that of Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Newman. His one liner, "What, me worry?" became famous at a time when the Cold War threatened to go hot, and most people were worried about a 20-megaton Soviet hydrogen bomb coming soon to a city near them. Thus, "What, me worry? was the ultimate parody of the 1950s and 60s: Nuclear war? "What, me worry?" An African-American couldn't get a cup of coffee at a Woolworth's lunch counter? "What, me worry?" Prescribe thalidomide for morning sickness? "What, me worry?"

Although Alfred never went away, "What, me worry?" has an encore engagement in the same theater as the last time – Washington, D.C. You can boil down the elaborate reassurances to one phrase: "What, me worry?" Secretary Henry Paulson on the subprime mortgage collapse: "What, me worry?" George Bush on the imminent recession: "What, me worry?" Fed Chairman Ben Bernacke on "Honey, I shrunk the dollar": "What, me worry?" In fact, whether it's the looming bankruptcy of the American airline industry, a conviction in the bond market that inflation is the main enemy, gold at $1,000 per ounce or oil at $110 per barrel, Washington is like an aviary, chirping away with "What, me worry?" The fact that tens of millions of Americans are already suffering, or are terrified at the prospect of economic decline doesn't seem to have occurred to anybody.

Our economy is beset by malignant cancer, and it's as if bland, stupid reassurances are somehow a substitute for an honest diagnosis and a tough-love cure. This country has traveled so far from a culture of candor that today, we would probably dismiss FDR's famous "Fireside Chats" as scaremongering. Think of today's phrases: Assurances that "the fundamental underpinnings of the financial system are sound," that economic disaster is really no more than a "bump in the road," that the declining dollar is really "good" for us, (translation: good for the National Association of Manufacturers) and that a caring political class is sending in the cavalry in the form of a $600 rebate (a powerful stimulus indeed – in the year 1850).

However, in between the bromides, palliatives and political Prozac, a few disturbing facts can still pierce one's skull. Try these: This week we learned that in the next two years there could be as many as 3.3 million new home foreclosures. You can add to that the 1.3 million homes in foreclosure in 2007 (nearly double the 2006 rate). You do the math: With an adult population of approximately 220 million and a 65 to 69 percent home ownership rate, more than 6 million adults may be losing their homes. Six million adults, and who knows how many children? And people wonder why Barack Obama, thought by some as the most liberal U.S. senator, is so popular.



Congress and White House plans for dealing with this amount to little more than, "What, me worry?" While some Democrats want to give $400 billion to help people stay in their homes, most others – and Republicans, of course – shout about a "government giveaway" and the old "lack of personal responsibility." Odd, isn't it? No one asked about personal responsibility when it came to bailing out Bear Stearns, or providing billions and billions in liquidity to financial markets in the Fed's famous, "No Fat-Cat Left Behind" program. At least when Chrysler was bailed out years ago, there were tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs at stake. What was at stake here? Goldman Sachs' investment in Collateralized Debt Obligations, or CDOs? Well, whoopy-doo!

There is more bad news coming: Credit card debt defaults and more problems with CDOs. Meanwhile, only two job sectors have shown much growth: Education and medical care. As a country, we better be able to grow more than these if we expect to compete with China, India, the EU and Russia.

Instead of "What, me worry?" the real question is "What the hell should we do?" What can we do? First, we need a little candor. There are no good options available right now. The U.S. government must act now to prevent the housing/mortgage crises from going into a free fall. It must address the credit problem both individual and business levels. And it must do these things with the same fervor that FDR brought to the early years of his administration. No, we are not –yet – in a depression. But we must act now to avoid the possibility of one. Here are two suggestions:

Fix the crumbling infrastructure: Repair schools, roads and bridges; develop high-speed trains, national fiber-optic and Internet systems. This puts government money in the hands of working people and those who employ them.

Create an NRA program for real "green-collar" jobs. We've got the brains and brawn to address global warming and create products that can be exported. Just like steel, automobiles and railroads were to 20th century, so green technology, nuclear power and climate healthy production and consumption processes will be to the 21st century. And we've got an edge here because the early development economies like China, India and Russia aren't paying sufficient attention.

Talk is cheap. Suffering is real. And "What, me worry?" is a lie.