After Dana Milbank embarrassed himself earlier this week by dishonestly misrepresenting what transpired at an event held at the Heritage foundation, the New Republic’s Brian Beutler rushed to Milbank’s defense. Though Beutler wasn’t at the event, he argued that the
Vox.com, Ezra Klein’s new “explainer” website, explains that the IRS scandal was all about budget cuts–not corruption: The core issue is that the IRS needs to figure out which nonprofit groups that file as 501(c)4s for tax purposes are eligible…But
Vox explains that the IRS scandal was all about budget cuts: The core issue is that the IRS needs to figure out which nonprofit groups that file as 501(c)4s for tax purposes are eligible…But enforcing that is tough…it requires investigating each
Canada’s government has approved the creation of a new pipeline which could move tar sands oil to Asian markets. The pipeline, if built, could replace a significant portion of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline’s capacity in case it is not
Yesterday Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp revealed that Lois Lerner is not the only person involved in the improper targeting of conservative groups whose emails have gone missing. In a press release Camp reveals that the emails of
Last week the Department of Veterans Affairs published an audit of wait times at VA medical centers nationwide. But it turns out those figures are not accurate because they were taken directly from the VA scheduling system, the same system
Yesterday Dana Milbank wrote a column claiming a Heritage panel on Benghazi had devolved into “ugly taunting of a woman in the room who wore an Islamic head covering.” This being Dana Milbank it was inevitable there would be serious
Ahmed Abu Khattala, one of the leaders of Ansar Al-Sharia, the group blamed for the attack on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi, has been captured and will be brought to the United States to face trial. The Washington Post reports
The Irvine Co. and UC Irvine are adopting a program which currently operates in San Diego. The program allows any startup company to apply, and those selected will get two years of free office space. The San Diego program is
Maureen Dowd made a big splash back in 2009 by claiming she could discern unspoken words implying a racist motivation. This weekend the New Republic took a stab at doing the same for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. TNR published a
Over the weekend I was able to interview a soldier who is serving in Afghanistan about what he and fellow soldiers think about the Bergdahl deal. I agreed to not use his name so I’ll just refer to him as
Most news watchers are familiar with the Friday afternoon document dumps, but the IRS seems to have gone one step further. Buried in a letter on another topic they revealed that two years worth of Lois Lerner’s emails are gone,
Governor Jerry Brown is at odds with the federal government over the issue of Medi-Cal asset recovery, a provision which allows the state to collect money spent on Medicaid from recipients’ estates after they die. Collection of assets after death
It’s no secret that Hillary Clinton has been having a bad week. Observers are putting it down to her being “rusty” but that’s not really it. Hillary has a lifelong habit of glossing over the pesky details. What’s been different
This week, a California judge issued a ruling which said that teacher tenure effectively violates the civil rights of students. The ruling is a major blow to teachers unions, who are now gearing up for a fight to maintain the
ISIS, which stands for The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, is an islamic extremist group which now controls portions of northern Syria and is expanding into Iraq at a rapid pace. Today the group published a set of rules
The California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, a left-wing group seeking equal access to health care among minority communities, has asked Covered California to increase its collection of demographic data. On May 22nd, CPEHN sent a letter to Covered California’s executive director
The trial of four people who led an Occupy break-in in Santa Cruz has been delayed repeatedly for more than two years. Now a judge says it’s time to get the case moving. Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick said last
Yesterday Hillary Clinton stumbled badly with not one but two gaffes, one off-the-cuff and another she had months to avoid. It was just about the worst imaginable start to a campaign book tour. Fortunately, the Washington Post is ready and
Problems with the Covered California website have forced nearly one million people to wait months to receive verification that they are covered. The problem affects people covered by the state’s expanded Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal. In theory, those who
Hillary Clinton admitted in an interview with ABC News that she had made $5 million dollars giving speeches. Hillary told interviewer Diane Sawyer that after leaving the White House she and bill had struggled to make ends meet (video created
An audit of the VA system has found that 57,000 vets have been waiting more than 90 days for their appointments to see a doctor. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) has been described as a “fierce” critic of the administration concerning
President Obama will attend a $32,000 a plate fundraiser on June 14th in Laguna Beach, CA. The fundraiser will be a breakfast and is by invitation only. The OC Register notes that one of Obama’s top fundraisers, Janet Keller, lives
According to a Senator who has been defending the administration’s deal for Bowe Bergdahl, the 5 Taliban prisoners would have been freed sometime soon anyway, making this our last chance to get something for them. Senator Angus King, an independent
Both Democrats and Republicans have rejected an excuse offered by the White House for why they were unable to inform Congress of the Bergdahl prisoner swap. The White House has offered several excuses for why it failed to notify Congress
There’s a kind of willful blindness at Vox that is almost poignant. How can a site purportedly devoted to avoiding the pitfalls of partisanship so often fail to acknowledge their own baked-in bias. From its inception Vox has linked itself
Kathy Gannon is the Associated Press’ intrepid senior correspondent for Afghanistan and Pakistan (Gannon was shot covering the Afghan election earlier this year). Last year, during an interview with a Taliban spokesman, she was the first to hear the outlines
During a briefing with Senators Wednesday the White House offered a new excuse for failing to notify them 30 days prior to the prisoner swap as required by law. The AP reports the Taliban threatened to kill Bowe Bergdahl if
Phillip Longman, the author of a book on the superiority of VA health care, returned to its defense Tuesday at his Washington Monthly blog. According to Longman, the problems aren’t systemic but only regional. Longman starts out by saying he
Staff Sgt. Justin Gerleve was Bowe Bergdahl’s squad leader in Afghanistan. In an interview today he says Bergdahl “deserted” and needs to be held accountable. CNN’s Jake Tapper spoke to Sgt. Gerleve today saying, “I believe that he totally deserted
The NY Times weighed in on the Bergdahl story Tuesday, questioning whether or not soldiers died searching for him in the summer of 2009. The Times says the answer is “murky,” but multiple soldiers who were there have all told
The use of heroin is up in California and around the country. Those who signed up for Medi-Cal, California’s expanded Medicaid program for the poor, are able to get free methadone treatment. California Health Report notes that the number of
Sgt. Evan Buetow was Bowe Bergdahl’s team leader in Afghanistan. Buetow says radio chatter shortly after Bergdahl deserted indicated he was seeking someone in the Taliban who could speak English. In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Buetow says shortly
There’s a breaking news story today which is set to completely change our understanding of the Bergdahl prisoner exchange. From Buzzfeed “A former Bush Administration official hired, then resigned, as Mitt Romney’s foreign policy spokesman played a key role in
The debate between French economist Thomas Piketty and the Financial Times continued to play out last week, though it was overshadowed by VA news and the resignation of two administration figures. Here’s what you may have missed. Last Wednesday, FT
Last week the California Assembly passed a bill that, if signed into law, would mandate space be set aside for breast pumping in California airports. California Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal introduced AB 1787. The bill cites existing law which requires employers
An audit of California’s books by the Bureau of State Audits has uncovered errors totaling $31 billion. CBS 13 reported the results of the audit Thursday. It found: $7.7 billion – Understated federal trust fund revenues and expenditures $653 million
When scandal breaks, President Obama usually claims he first read about it in the news. But in this case the President claims he missed news reports and more than a dozen GAO and OIG reports highlighting wait times as a
Uber not only benefits those who need a ride somewhere at a competitive price, it also benefits drivers who can earn several times more than drivers for traditional cab services. Uber has not released average wages for their drivers in
Former Congressman Joe Baca has picked up some opposition from liberal environmental and women’s groups as he tries to win the primary for the 31st congressional district. Baca is running against two other Democrats and three Republicans to represent California’s
