Jennifer Harper
Articles by Jennifer Harper
Inside the Beltway: Steve Stockman connects the dots
Rep. Steve Stockman is revisiting a troublesome matter that recently riveted public attention, namely, the IRS targeting of conservative groups. "This case must be investigated fully, given admitted wrongdoing by the IRS, its potentially criminal implications and revelations the White House has been less than honest about what they knew and when," he says. Published June 11, 2013
Index: U.S. among nations less likely to pursue peace
Released Tuesday, the seventh annual Global Peace Index assessed each country's internal crime statistics, population trends and other factors — from the number of homicides to terrorist activity to prevailing economic conditions. It may shock Americans to know that the U.S. is ranked No. 100. Published June 11, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Is Edward Snowden a hero or villain?
"Edward Snowden is a national hero and should be immediately issued a full, free and absolute pardon for any crimes he has committed or may have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret National Security Agency surveillance programs." And so reads a White House "We the People" online petition established Sunday Published June 10, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Clapper on the record
Media frenzy over old news that the National Security Agency monitors the vast patterns of citizen communications has distracted and alarmed the public, leaving it to ponder both the content of the Fourth Amendment and the motivations of newly uncloaked "whistleblower" Edward Snowden, a former IT security contractor with the federal agency who shared its clandestine details with a pair of news organizations. But wait. National Intelligence Director James R. Clapper issued some details of his own via a straightforward public statement about the stakes at hand: Published June 9, 2013
Inside the Beltway: ‘Terrifying governmental monster’
There's a positive byproduct of the disgraces at a certain federal agency that has seized the imaginations of many in recent days. Published June 6, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Romney’s reinvention
Mitt Romney has returned to public radar: He's no longer the docile guy meandering around the suburbs or grocery shopping in a post-campaign world. He's granting strategic interviews and he's got aggressive notions about the Republican Party, seeking to pull it from a wallow of social issues and combative identity crisis and into a business-minded mode. Published June 5, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Alec Baldwin’s fracas
Alec Baldwin is in a fit of pique because Phelim McAleer was nominated by the Independent Oil and Gas Association to serve on a specialist' panel at the upcoming Hamptons International Film Festival, where the anti-fracking film "Gasland Part II" will be showcased. Published June 4, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Among the few
Among the 140 participants at the Bilderberg Conference that begins Thursday in the spectacular Grove Hotel, some 20 miles northwest of London: American Enterprise Institute fellow Richard Perle, former CIA Director David H. Petraeus, former World Bank President James Wolfensohn, former Treasury secretaries Timothy F. Geithner and Robert Rubin, Washington Post CEO Donald Graham, Stratfor geopolitical analyst Robert Kaplan, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and The Economist Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait. Published June 3, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Go West
Those who recall the Air Force's Strategic Air Command and the intense days of the Cold War will be pleased to know that "peace through strength," the motto of the aforementioned command, is still alive and well, adopted as the philosophy behind the Center for Security Policy. "SAC" was home to a host of formidable bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles from 1946 to 1992. Published June 2, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Trumpaliscious
Donald Trump may glitter, but he's also evergreen. The billionaire's appeal to press and public knows no season, whether he's pondering President Obama's birth certificate or revealing he'd spent $1 million on electoral research for a White House run. Like he did this week. Published May 30, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Michele Bachmann bashing
Press and pundits erupted with glee following Rep. Michele Bachmann's announcement that she would not run for office again. The Minnesota Republican drew much derisive coverage, described in various reports as a "failed presidential candidate" and a "fact checker's dream," among many things. But not everyone was interested in the media pile-on — and they appear convinced that the lawmaker is not done yet. Published May 29, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Chris Christie the noun
Was it the blue-plate special or a bipartisan combo? The pairing of President Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie got much play in the press after they appeared together Tuesday on behalf of the Garden State's recovery from Superstorm Sandy — urging the public to venture to the seashore, spend money and enjoy themselves. Published May 28, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Chelsea as her mother?
Chelsea Clinton already has broadcast experience as an NBC News correspondent. But could she play her own mother, cast in the role of a young Hillary Rodham Clinton in the upcoming independent film "Rodham"? The prospect has been raised by nimble Paddy Power — Europe's largest online betting house. It's already offering odds on which Hollywood starlet would be cast in the film, which chronicles the life of a 20-something Mrs. Clinton decades before she became first lady, senator, presidential hopeful or secretary of state. Published May 27, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Mottos du jour
Assorted mottos were spotted on vest and jacket patches at the annual Rolling Thunder membership dinner Saturday, including, "If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a vet." Published May 26, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Rumsfeld rule for Obama
Donald H. Rumsfeld has created considerable buzz with his book "Rumsfeld's Rules: Leadership Lessons in Business, Politics, War, and Life," which includes 400 advisories for those who would be leaders. Among those rules: American is not what's wrong with the world. If you expect people to be on the landing, include them in the takeoff. If you're coasting, you're going downhill. Published May 23, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Where’s the money?
Hey. Wait a minute. Those conservative groups targeted by the IRS may be needing a little cash in the aftermath, say 26 high-profile conservatives leaders who are calling for new legislation to reimburse the grass-roots folks. The coalition — which includes Richard Viguerie, James Dobson, Ralph Reed, Phyllis Schlafly, David Bossie and Gary Bauer — have contacted House Speaker John A. Boehner and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, advising the lawmakers that oversight hearings are all well and fine. But where's the money? Published May 22, 2013
A thunderous arrival for a solemn mission: Ride for Freedom marks its 26th year
There is no better name for an event that resonates with patriotism, deep loyalty, sacrifice, a sense of mission and authentic history: Rolling Thunder. Oh, yeah. Here they come. They're rolling, and it is thunderous. Published May 22, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Persistent birthers
Yes, President Obama's birth certificate was made public two years ago and even emblazoned upon a Democratic fundraiser coffee mug during the 2012 presidential campaign. But the "birther" issue which so intrigued Donald Trump has yet to disappear. Published May 21, 2013
Inside the Beltway: The Big Brew
Delicious irony, perhaps: the tea party has been reinvigorated and reinvented following revelations that its groups' nonprofit status had been singled out and investigated by the IRS. Though a critical news media has tried to purge the conservative, liberty-minded grass-roots movement from the public radar, the tea partyers still push back in huge numbers, and on their own terms. Rush Limbaugh now deems the tea party "fearless." Published May 20, 2013
Inside the Beltway: The Culture Count
Like a bad restaurant, the Obama administration attracts scathing reviews from Republicans and conservative critics who are tired of what's on the policy menu, and repelled by the signature "culture" of White House operations. The trio of scandals centered on Benghazi, the IRS and the Justice Department has ramped up the tirade, and until facts and conclusions emerge, the talk of the moment is culture-centric. Published May 19, 2013
