WATER COOLER
The Water Cooler is written by Washington Times staffers.
Latest Blog Entries
PICKET: McConnell spox says Obama admin has 'amnesia' on provision named after minority leader
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said recently that the Obama administration supports extending the “McConnell Provision” in regards to dealing with the debt ceiling debate on Capitol Hill.
PICKET: Flashback- Vogue ran loving profile of Syrian first lady as Syrian gov't slaughtered its people
Bloomberg News is reporting that President Barack Obama is considering nominating Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, to be either his next ambassador to Britain or France.
PICKET: Sen. Sessions - Obama's 'secret' cliff plan would hike fed debt another $9T...let C-SPAN into talks
The office of Senator Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican and Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued a statement on Monday night warning that President Obama's fiscal cliff plan would push the federal debt another $9 trillion over ten years. This would take the federal debt to over $20 trillion by the end of the president's second term and to over $25 trillion over ten years. According to Sessions, by 2016, the yearly federal spending would overshadow $4 trillion. This would include a 30 percent increase in welfare costs.
PICKET: Report- Rahm slams Netanyahu for supporting Romney during election
Israel National News is reporting Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyuhu for supporting Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney during the last election.
PICKET:(VIDEO) Amb. Rice and Sec. Clinton cat fight continues
The Chicago Sun Times's report on Friday saying that if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had to choose between U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and Senator John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, to succeed her, Clinton would likely opt for Senator Kerry.
PICKET: (VIDEO) Obama switches from 'forward' to 'fair and balanced' to campaign for Dem tax plan
President Barack Obama was at a K'NEX manufacturing toy factory in the Philadelphia on Friday arguing for the Democratic tax plan.
PICKET: NY Congressman argues he won't re-sign ATR pledge due to new district number
Here's a new excuse for breaking the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) pledge. The office of Rep. Chris Gibson, New York Republican, now says that he "doesn’t plan to re-sign it for the 19th Congressional District, which he now represents (the pledge is to your constituents of a numbered district).” Gibson, like many other House members this year, was redistricted since first being elected in 2010.
PICKET: UN nuclear agency hacked by group threatening to release information on agency staffers
The Overseas Security Advisory Council Bureau posted information from Security IT Magazine SC confirming that the Vienna based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was recently hacked by a group calling itself as Parastoo.
PICKET: Boehner - Filibuster rule change bills 'dead on arrival'
House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, made it clear that any bill that came to the House from the upper chamber as a result of Senate Democrats changing the rules on the filibuster would be "dead on arrival."
PICKET: Norquist to critics - 'I'm not gonna crack or step back'...Says Rep. King was 'side-swiped' when first asked about ATR pledge
Despite reports that members of the Republican Party are turning their backs on tax reformer Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, as Democrats and news anchors question if he is losing influence on Capitol Hill, it does not seem Norquist is shaken up any by the daily attacks over his organization’s taxpayer pledge, which is signed by 258 members of Congress.
PICKET: Liberal talk radio host calls for beheading of tea partiers
Brian Maloney of the radio equalizer blog, posted an audio excerpt of liberal radio host Mike Malloy whose Tuesday's program included a rant about beheading tea partiers
PICKET: Sen. Graham says Obama admin owes families who lost loved ones in Benghazi an apology
Senators Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Repubublican, and John McCain, Arizona Republican, emerged from their Capitol Hill meeting with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice on Tuesday “more disturbed” from what they learned from what they learned on the Obama’s handling of the deadly attacks against the diplomatic mission in Benghazi.
PICKET:(VIDEO) Jamie Foxx - 'Give an honor to God and our Lord and Savior Barack Obama'
Comedian Jamie Foxx appeared at Sunday night's Soul Train Awards in Las Vegas and remarked to the audience, "It's like church over here. It's like church in here. First of all, give an honor to God and our lord and savior Barack Obama...Barack Obama."
PICKET: Biden '05 on filibuster fight: 'Prayed God' that D's wouldn't make a 'naked power grab' when they eventually took control of Senate
Talk of changing the filibuster rules by Senate Democrats will come to a head in the next Congress as Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, appears determined to ensure that Republican stall tactics will not delay Democratic plans in President Barack Obama's second term.
PICKET: Protesters in Egypt torch Muslim Brotherhood offices following Morsi power coup
Protesters in Egypt were none too happy President Mohamed Morsi assumed sweeping powers that put him above the oversight of the country's court system. According to an AFP report, an anti-Morsi crowd set afire on Friday the offices of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi's own party.
