The Water Cooler is written by Washington Times staffers.
By Jennifer Harper — Published May 20, 2013 Comments
Republican lawmakers are often condemned by the press, framed as uncooperative aggressors - or worse. But not this week. Amazingly enough, the GOP has the backing of many Americans for their reactions to both the Benghazi terrorist attack and the the IRS investigation of conservative groups. A few numbers from a CNN/ORC poll released Sunday: 71 percent of Americans say IRS targeting of conservative groups about their tax-exempt status is "unacceptable"; 84 percent of Republicans and 62 percent of Democrats agree. 54 percent overall say Republicans are reacting "appropriately" to the IRS matter; 85 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of Democrats agree. 59 percent overall say the U.S. government could have prevented the Benghazi terrorist attacks; 75 percent of Republicans and 49 percent of Democrats agree. 59 percent say Republicans are reacting appropriately to the Benghazi situation; 88 percent of Republicans and 41 percent of Democrats agree. Incidentally, 17 ...
by Douglas Ernst — Published May 17, 2013 Comments
Piers Morgan has given the tea party and gun rights advocates a hard time since the Newtown massacre, but he appears to have had a change of heart after the Obama administration's IRS and Associated Press scandals. Speaking to famous magician and libertarian Penn Jillette, the CNN host said, "I've had some of the pro-gun lobbyists on here, saying to me, 'Well, the reason we need to be armed is because of tyranny from our own government,' and I've always laughed at them. "I said 'don't be so ridiculous, your own government won't turn itself on you,' but, actually, this is vaguely tyrannical behavior by the American government," Mr. Morgan said. "I think what the IRS did is bordering on tyrannical behavior. I think what the Department of Justice has done to the AP is bordering on tyrannical behavior."Mr. Jillette agreed, responding, "There's no doubt about that. … I think ...
by Jennifer Harper — Published May 17, 2013 Comments
Yankee Candle introduced a bacon-scented candle for men this week, to much applause and wonder from those convinced that the genre was limited to girly florals and vanilla. But wait. There could be some constructive use for such a candle in the male-dominated bastions of the nation's capital. Would the parties stop their fussing if the comforting, savory scent of bacon was in the air? Maybe. "Certainly, I'd love if our new 'MMM, Bacon!' candle can help ease the tension between Congress and the White House" Yankee Candle CEO Harlan Kent tells Watercooler."Everyone loves bacon. It's a unifying scent that brings people together, regardless of their political affiliations. How can you not be happy when bacon's involved?" Indeed. And it will also add another dimension to Capitol Hill's long time reputation as a "sausage factory."
by Jennifer Harper — Published May 17, 2013 Comments
A noisy cultural moment, and a lucrative one: China has embraced Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Witness the fact that 1,000 Chinese Harley lovers recently roared into Qian Dao Lake, Zhejiang Province, decked out in black leather, skull masks and Viking warrior helmets. Or no helmets. The Beijing-style bikers were there to celebrate the 110th birthday of the iconic, all-American brand. And they are devoted. Six official H.O.G. chapters - that's Harley Owner Groups - are scattered across China. None of this has been lost on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; Harley-Davidson headquarters are in Milwaukee. Under Mr. Walker's watch, Wisconsin managed to export $1.5 billion worth of local products to China last year, from the beloved Harleys to Wisconsin-grown ginseng, Oshkosh trucks and fancy, locally made bath fittings. As part of a trade mission, Mr. Walker himself journeyed to Shanghai for a flashy Harley party, and the opening of a yet another new ...
by Douglas Ernst — Published May 16, 2013 Comments
"Audit this" was the message from Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Evan Mathis, who reacted to this week's IRS scandal by appearing to relieve himself on the agency's property. Mr. Mathis posted the evidence on his Instagram account:
by Douglas Ernst — Published May 16, 2013 Comments
Schwarzenegger? Stallone? There may be something to their conservative political leanings. A new study by two psychological scientists asserts that a man's physical strength will affect whether or not he supports the welfare state, according to the Daily Mail. Starting with the hypothesis that upper-body strength — "a proxy for the ability to physically defend or acquire resources" — would sway a man's conclusions about redistribution of wealth by the government, the researchers then collected data from the U.S., Argentina and Denmark. The data revealed that wealthy men with high upper-body strength were less likely to support redistribution, while less wealthy men of the same strength were more likely to support it, the Daily Mail reports. "Our results demonstrate that physically weak males are more reluctant than physically strong males to assert their self-interest — just as if disputes over national policies were a matter of direct physical confrontation among ...
by Jennifer Harper — Published May 16, 2013 Comments
"Americans misjudge U.S. abortion views," notes a new Gallup poll. "When asked how they think most Americans feel about the abortion issue, 51 percent of U.S. adults say the public is mostly 'pro-choice' while 35 percent say 'pro-life.' This general perception that the pro-choice viewpoint prevails contrasts with the nearly even division of Americans' actual views. The same poll finds that 48 percent of Americans call themselves pro-life and 45 percent pro-choice," analyst Lydia Saad says. Wait. What? Does the liberal media have anything to do with this false impression that the nation is pro-choice? The Gallup findings do not speculate. But we have been in this position before. A similar situation emerged in a recent Pew Research Center survey revealing that the majority of Americans are currently under the impression that gun crime is higher now than it was 20 years ago. Federal data indicates gun crime fell by ...
by Jennifer Harper — Published May 15, 2013 Comments
"The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires high-level federal officials to publicly disclose their personal financial interests. The public filing system serves to prevent financial conflicts of interest by providing for a systematic review of the finances of government officials," says a White House blog post by none other than spokesman Jay Carney. "Those finances are set forth in annual disclosures which are reviewed and certified by ethics officials. Neither the President nor the Vice President have any conflicts of interest, and their reports have been reviewed and certified by the independent Office of Government Ethics. We are continuing this Administration's practice of posting these forms online here in the interests of transparency," Mr. Carney notes. And here's that report: Obama form And also one for Vice President Biden too: Biden form
by Douglas Ernst — Published May 15, 2013 Comments
Politico, considered in many circles as a haven for the Obama administration, raised eyebrows Tuesday with a piece titled "D.C. turns on Obama." "Establishment Democrats, never big fans of this president to begin with, are starting to speak out," the story says. "And reporters are tripping over themselves to condemn lies, bullying and shadiness in the Obama administration." The piece continues, saying that the president's "holier-than-thou rhetoric" has left him little political capital with Democrats. "And the press, after years of being accused of being soft on Obama while being berated by West Wing aides on matters big and small, now has every incentive to be as ruthless as can be," Politico reports.
by Jennifer Harper — Published May 15, 2013 Comments
The drama continues. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus ramped up the hostilities between The Associated Press and the Justice Department by calling for the resignation of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. after news surfaced that the department had seized phone records from the wire service. "The First Amendment doesn't request the federal government to respect it. It demands it," declared Mr. Priebus, adding that if President Obama does not ask for the aforementioned resignation, "the message will be unmistakable: The president of the United States believes his administration is above the Constitution and does not respect the role of a free press." But journalists themselves are ready to rumble. The American Society of News Editors deems the Justice Department's seizure of wire service phone records both "outrageous" and "appalling," among other things. "This is a disturbing affront to a free press. It's also troubling because it is so ...
by Jennifer Harper — Published May 14, 2013 Comments
Here it comes, all nine-feet of it. Mercedes-Benz USA has started rolling out the "smart for two" electric car to local dealerships, "billed as the most affordable electric vehicle in the U.S. - with the smallest footprint of any car on American roads." And hip, too. Please, no capitalization on the name. Naturally, Mercedes offers some exclusive features on the micro-mobile. It can be ordered as a convertible. It features a patented "safety cell" around the driver that functions like a race car's roll cage. It can be customized in 6,000 possible combinations and has has a mile-per-gallon equivalent of 122 miles in the city on a full charge. Cost? It's about $25,000, though 'smart' can be had for just under $20,000 should a customer opt to rent the battery for $80 a month. There are myriad smart phone and tablet interfaces with the company's websites, plus a "range cloud" ...
by Douglas Ernst — Published May 14, 2013 Comments
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a Freedom of Information Act with the federal government to learn more about how much snooping into citizens' text messages was occurring. What they got was fifteen pages — of black. Reason.com posted Monday a Justice Department memo, "Guidance for the Minimization of Text Messages over Dual-Function Cellular Telephones," in which the ACLU's inquiry into wireless snooping of average Americans was answered with a virtually redacted document:
by Jennifer Harper — Published May 14, 2013 Comments
Just how mad are they? Republicans and conservatives are fierce indeed over the Benghazi attacks, and the murky Obama administration response to the violent events. A Public Policy Polling survey released Monday finds that 55 percent of very conservative respondents and 41 percent of Republicans say that Benghazi is "the biggest political scandal in American history." Less than a quarter - 23 percent - of Americans agree with this assessment. Surprisingly perhaps, 26 percent of the very liberal respondents agreed. So did 10 percent of Democrats. Meanwhile, 91 of those conservatives and 74 percent of the Republicans say Benghazi is 'worse than Watergate.' Forty five percent of Americans overall agree. Among the very liberal, 14 percent agreed. Among Democrats, it' was 20 percent. Scroll down in the research and see all the deep numbers here: Publicpolicypolling.com
by Jennifer Harper — Published May 10, 2013 Comments
It is that time of year again: graduation gowns, mortarboards, mixed feelings, a few hangovers and daunting final bills for parents. Yes, it is college graduation time. But the 2013 crop gets a little bonus this year, at least those who have commencement day speakers hailing from the Obama administration. Though $8 million has been given to the major PR firm Weber Shandwick to market "Obamacare" to a confused public, President Obama hopes to counter any chance that America will buy into Republican uneasiness over the implementation and hidden costs of health care reform. "To counter the criticism, the White House has told all Cabinet members and senior officials to use commencement speeches to drive home for graduating college students and their parents the benefits they gain from a provision of the law that allows young adults to stay on their family's insurance plans until they turn 26," says a ...
by Jennifer Harper — Published May 10, 2013 Comments
Significant revelations about Benghazi warranted insignificant news coverage, says an analysis by the Media Research Center. "The Obama administration's politically motivated cover-up of the Benghazi terrorist attacks last September was fully exposed during the House oversight committee hearing on Thursday. Five major bombshell revelations emerged that have, so far, only been given lip service by the three broadcast networks," says Brent Bozell, founder of the conservative watchdog group. "The media have an obligation to the victims' families and to the American people to investigate these revelations morning, noon and night until the truth is known. If the media are having trouble finding the motivation to do their jobs, they should pretend President Obama is a Republican," Mr. Bozell observes. Among the bombshells? The study cites testimony that a four-man commando team in Tripoli was denied permission to go to Benghazi and help those under siege. It also cites evidence that ...
