AM Feed - April 21: Miers on the Move?
Hot Topics
- The White House shuffle might not be over just yet – and President Bush’s counsel Harriet Miers could be the next to move (and no, not to the Supreme Court). A Republican close to Bolten said that the new chief of staff was considering such a maneuver, but a White House official denied the charge. The Bush administration is in need of an extreme makeover, but so far the White House has tried to conduct a “shake up” by nibbling at the edges. Powerful advisers like Karl Rove still hold sway to make decisions in the administration – and simply hiring a new spokesman to replace Scott McClellan won’t change that. [link]
- Oil prices have hit yet another record, topping over $73 a barrel yesterday – and analysts predict that it could go higher still. Gas prices are once again creeping up across the country, just in time for summer travel months. The Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress still have yet to take action to help American consumers deal with the increasing pinch at the pump. [link]
- Public documents suggest that Grover Norquist, president of the right-wing Americans for Tax Reform, has forgotten to pay his Washington, DC property taxes for the first half of this year. Norquist has made his career as an anti-tax crusader, but records show that taxes on his Washington, DC townhouse had not been paid for the period covering October 1, 2005 – March 31, 2006, the first half of the fiscal year. Norquist currently owes $3,822.28, a figure that includes a charge of $394.21 in penalties and interest for failure to pay on time – although there is a chance that his check simply hasn’t been processed yet. [link]
Morning Snark
- Remember when the Bush administration seriously pushed Harriet Miers as a candidate for the Supreme Court? We don’t even have a joke here, but we never get tired of reminding people of that.
Comment
- Isn’t Grover Norquist the man who advocated shrinking the government down to the size to fit into a bath tub? It’s bigger than ever—they must have very big bathtubs in Washington. I’m for pulling the plug!!!!!
— Mildred Burgess Apr 21, 11:56 # - Gas prices are “creeping” up?? How about “jumping” up? Within a span of about three hours yesterday gas at the pump of the non-majors went from $2.89 to $2.95! I saw one station at $3.05 on my way home. I live in the Phoenix area,
Mary Graves
— Mary Graves Apr 21, 13:01 # - Northern Virginia here, near Wash., DC – regular gas prices are 2.91 and climbing by the day – government policies in place during this administration are to blame – this is what we get with oilmen running the government. I think just about everything they’ve done, fromt he war in Iraq to the hand outs to the oil companies, to the lack of incentive for car companies to enhance mpg, to the tax breaks businesses get for SUV’s are catalysts for these high prices. Of course, China’s sudden demand is also a factor, but our government has been out in left field on this issue because they don’t want prices to drop even though these prices are hurting me and my family and many other Americans.
— jen Apr 21, 18:58 # - New York City here. While we also have seen the prices at the pump take a steady jump, no one from the local level to the Federal level wasnt to notice that retailers are increasing the price of the gas they have in their holding tanks, even though the price they paid for it was lower 6 days ago when they had their tanks filled.
Maybe the consumer wouldn’t be feeling as much of the pressure if there was some sort of enforcement against this sort of price gouging.
— Marc Apr 23, 00:34 # - Marc-
All of the price gouging is going on at the top. The oil companies are predicting an $85 BILLION profit next year – $85 FRIGGIN BILLION.
THAT, my dear is price gouging.
And what is our government doing to protect us… they are cashing in and doing nothing.
— MO Apr 24, 09:25 # - Have any of you seen this movie floating around the internet loosechange911.com? If just 1/10th of the facts put forth in this documentary film are true, then the lack of a comprehenseive energy policy is like BoPeep missing her hat.
— Joseph Klene Apr 24, 12:09 #
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