By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
A Democratic committee chairman overrode his own subpoena three years ago in an investigation of former subprime mortgage lender Countrywide to exclude records showing that he, other House members and congressional aides got VIP discounted loans from the company, documents show.
As with his commitment to the newly minted Air Force officers, in the immortal words of Ira Gershwin, this narrative "ain't necessarily so."
The U.S. military is working on additional ways to try to halt the unending violence in Syria, but diplomacy remains the foremost option, Pentagon leaders told Congress on Thursday.
Facing a conservative backlash, House Republicans are working to change a new law that allows the indefinite detention without trial of terrorist suspects, even U.S. citizens seized within the nation's borders.
The Army's top officer told Congress on Wednesday that he would have to cancel nearly every new weapons system now planned if automatic, across-the-board spending cuts of $1 trillion-plus hit the Pentagon.
President Obama on Monday lifted the ban he imposed two years ago on military trials for detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison, ending his bid to move most terrorism trials to civilian courts and pushing his already busted deadline for shuttering the island prison indefinitely forward.
The House voted Wednesday to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that for 17 years has forced gays desiring to serve in the military to conceal their sexual identity.
The committee chairman, Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, California Republican, said the legislation represents a "modest" increase over the administration's proposal and "actively rebuilds the military within the constrained resources available to us."
"I am not recommending U.S. military intervention, particularly in light of our grave budget situation, unless the national security threat was clear and present," said Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., the committee's chairman. "Nevertheless, these reflections lead me to wonder what the United States can do to stem the violence and hasten President Assad from power."
