Jennifer Harper
Articles by Jennifer Harper
Inside the Beltway: Ebola: Americans agree with Republicans this time
Much of the nation is in agreement with the GOP's call for temporary travel restrictions and stricter entry regulations when it comes to West African nations now burdened with Ebola and its management. Published October 19, 2014
Sign of the times: The fuzzy Ebola Plush Toy sells out worldwide
Behold, it's "The Ebola Plush Toy", priced at $9.95", and a friendly looking critter indeed. Published October 19, 2014
Inside the Beltway: Back to normal for White House fundraising
It took the Ebola crisis to dampen White House enthusiasm for relentless fundraising. After a previous week filled with six moneymakers around the nation, President Obama canceled three similar events this week to tend the growing public distress over the disease and its threat. But prudence, perhaps, has ended. Published October 16, 2014
Conservative creators vow ‘The FlipSide’ won’t bash America or push a socialist agenda
Those weary of annoying liberal chatter and America bashing in the comedy realm have a new alternative. That would be "Flipside", a weekly half-hour broadcast dicing through politics and culture, but produced by a group of stalwart creatives who have some serious conservative underpinnings, with a few dashes of libertarianism. Published October 16, 2014
Inside the Beltway: Run Ben run: Dr. Carson’s fans chip in $10.5M
Along with offering his usual straightforward take on the nation, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson was warning health officials and the Obama administration about containing Ebola over two months ago. It is no wonder, then, that he continues to garner the attention of the voting public. Published October 15, 2014
Inside the Beltway: Michele Bachmann reinvents the tea party
The press has wondered what to call the Islamic State war since August. Now they can relax. The Pentagon has at long last given the operation a name, and that name is "Inherent Resolve." Not bad. That'll do. Thank you Joint Chiefs of Staff. Published October 14, 2014
Bring back the grilled cheese? Students and schools balk over federal lunch standards
It is National School Lunch Week, an occasion that could imply a celebration of, say, grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate milk. That is not the case, however, as the nation's schools try to address new federal standards that call for healthier fare. Published October 14, 2014
Inside the Beltway: Greg Orman: ‘Independent’ in name only
Election drama in Kansas continues. The bout between incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Roberts and independent hopeful Greg Orman grows intense with news that Democrats are in serious wooing mode, seeking to attract the partyless challenger into their fold. Published October 13, 2014
‘Ebola shouldn’t be the reason people aren’t seeing their family for Thanksgiving’
Will public alarm over a deadly disease impact the upcoming holidays? Americans are becoming wary of travel, a survey finds. But even an infectious disease specialist hopes this isn't the case. Published October 13, 2014
Inside the Beltway: Booster shot: Rick Perry’s Ebola Factor
Yes, the presence of a deadly disease in Texas has benefited a certain governor. What with intense and alarming media coverage of two Ebola cases in the Lone Star state, Gov. Rick Perry has risen to the opportunity and gotten decisive indeed. It has paid off. Published October 12, 2014
Inside the Beltway: Voters want their Congress members to get back to work
Maybe lawmakers figure that their favorability ratings are just so low that nothing much matters anymore. They are wrong. Voters want them back in the U.S. Capitol acting like responsible elected officials. Nearly four out of five Americans — 78 percent — say House and Senate members should return to Washington for a vote to authorize the use of military force against Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq. Return now. Please. So says a Reason-Rupe poll, which also reveals a little something about the voters themselves. Published October 9, 2014
Inside the Beltway: War with ISIS has no name
In the age of branding and cultural concerns, the U.S. military and the federal government are very meticulous when it comes to naming weapons, conflicts, agencies, operations. But there's been a lull in these combative times. Published October 8, 2014
Inside the Beltway: John Bolton identifies army of national security candidates
Since April, John Bolton has relentlessly identified and supported dozens of "national security" candidates — the assertive few who stand up for a strong America. Mr. Bolton has endorsed and donated to 56 campaigns so far, and he's succinct about it. Published October 7, 2014
Inside the Beltway: Has Bill Clinton become ‘The Democrats’ Reagan’?
Democrats apparently have a growing case of Bill-ism, though. They have not gotten over the Clinton presidency. Published October 6, 2014
Inside the Beltway: Savage warns of a second Civil War
"I fear the worst. Right now Americans are angrier and more divided than I've seen them since the 1960s. What fires this rage is that we've become a post-Constitutional society," says Michael Savage, who is more alarmed than usual about the state of the nation. Published October 5, 2014
‘It’s time’: Mike Huckabee leads a rally for Israel on Sunday by the U.S. Capitol
The insistent evangelical voice will ring out soon, and very close to the U.S. Capitol building. Scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Upper Senate Park, it's the Rally for Israel, organized primarily by potential White House hopeful Mike Huckabee and Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America. Published October 4, 2014
Inside the Beltway: America gets a case of Ebola blame game
Anxiety, distrust, paranoia - beware. Sensational news coverage of Ebola is now out of quarantine, and moving at a rapid pace around the nation. The prospect of travel restrictions to and from affected African nations plus the question of U.S. preparedness is under discussion. Published October 2, 2014
Upset with President Obama, Latino activists to picket the Congressional HIspanic Caucus gala
After a speech and a fundraiser in Chicago on Thursday afternoon, President Obama will appear at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala in the nation's capital at dusk, perhaps to assure Latinos that he is not the "Deporter in Chief", as some activist groups have called him. They have planned a picket line, however. Published October 1, 2014
Inside the Beltway: Ebola anxiety: Ben Carson warned the nation two months ago
A serious case of Ebola anxiety is upon us: analysts spout statistics, the press is swollen with alarming coverage, pollsters are diagnosing public distress and Comedy Central host John Stewart saw fit to dump hand sanitizer all over his script on a recent broadcast Published October 1, 2014
Inside the Beltway: The novelty of a Secret Service probe
Bored with the midterm horse races, the press frolicked through a real novelty: raking a clandestine group over the coals. Their inspiration was the bipartisan investigation of a White House security breach conducted by nine Democrats and eight Republicans, all members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and all with much on their minds. Published September 30, 2014
