From The Associated Press: Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper won his coveted majority government in elections Monday that also marked a shattering defeat for the opposition Liberals, preliminary results showed. Harper, who took office in 2006, has won two elections
Today, in 1957, Walter O’Malley agreed to move the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles. Sadly, the O’Malley family relinquished control of the storied franchise a few years ago. Things haven’t gone well since. (Happy Birthday, Jim!)
From The National Journal: But one expert on the region is warning against broad predictions today in assessing the impact of bin Laden’s death. “We need to be very cautious… in assuming it will now damage al Qaida and other
P.J. O’Rourke in The Weekly Standard: President Obama has contempt for real money. And why not, since his government has the power to print all the fiat money he wants? Power is the politician’s paycheck. Power gets politicians all the
This one goes out to Osama Bin Laden:
ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan (AP) – Osama bin Laden was holed up in a two-story house 100 yards from a Pakistani military academy when four helicopters carrying U.S. forces swooped early Monday, killing the world’s most wanted man and leaving his final
From The Associated Press: The six have met in private for several months, even as House Republicans and Obama developed more partisan plans that have little chance of being enacted into law because of Washington’s divided government. House Republicans passed
From The Hill: On Tuesday of next week, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will hold a hearing titled “White House Transparency, Visitor Logs and Lobbyists.” The hearing comes after a report by the Center for Public Integrity detailing disclosure
Today is May 1st, the International Workers Day, a celebration of labor unions. We will make a point to do lots of capital-intensive work today.
Today, in 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France. (Happy Birthday Holly!)
Today, in 1916, Irish Nationalists surrendered to British forces, ending the Easter Rebellion. Also today, American media surrendered to British forces and will devote hours of coverage to some probably nice but unextraordinary twenty-somethings.
Big Government was forwarded the following statement in an email: I am Judy Ancel, director of the Institute for Labor Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. While my university prepares its response, I feel compelled to answer the attacks
From Associated Press: The economy slowed sharply in the first three months of the year as high gas prices cut into consumer spending, bad weather delayed construction projects and the federal government slashed defense spending by the most in six
Today, in 1758, James Monroe, 5th President of the United States, was born.
From S.E. Cupp in the New York Daily News: The sign outside the ballroom was matter-of-fact: “Unsigned $20. Signed $15. No Haggling.” That matter-of-fact sign was next to a matter-of-fact pile of books, which sat on a matter-of-fact folding table.
From National Journal’s Hotline: A new Gallup/USA Today poll contains a counterintuitive finding: the age group most receptive to House Budget Chair Paul Ryan‘s plan to deal with the budget – seniors. The poll finds 48 percent of seniors (those
It seems Gov. Scott Walker’s ideas are catching on, even in Massachusetts. From Boston.com: House lawmakers voted overwhelmingly last night to strip police officers, teachers, and other municipal employees of most of their rights to bargain over health care, saying
From the Associated Press: birth-certificate-long-form The White House released the long form of President Barack Obama’s birth certificate Wednesday in response to questions about whether he was really born in the U.S. The certificate says Obama was born in Hawaii,
According to The Great One, we went to war in Libya because the regime was threatening civilians. Syria has now killed hundreds of civilians. No idea how one squares with the other.
Today, Texas Congressman Ron Paul is expected to announce another campaign for President. Things are definitely getting weird.
Earlier today, Big Government brought you video footage of a disturbing college course from University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) and University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). In the course, Professors Judy Ancel and Don Giljam instruct students on how fear, intimidation
If you are wondering why some folks are starting to question whether a college education is worth the cost, the video below goes a long way towards explaining it. Recently, the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) and the University of
From MarketWatch: According to the latest IMF official forecasts, China’s economy will surpass that of America in real terms in 2016 — just five years from now. Put that in your calendar. It provides a painful context for the budget
Today, in 1917, Ella Fitzgerald was born.
Today, in 1916, the Irish Republican Brotherhood launches the Easter Rising. It would fail, but set in motion events leading to Ireland’s independence from Great Britain.
Today, in 1985, Coca-Cola released ‘New Coke’ a reformulation of its iconic drink. It, um, didn’t go well. The company, within three months, had reverted back to a formula very close to its original. There is, of course, a metaphor
Today, in 197o, the first Earth Day was celebrated. It doesn’t make anymore sense than it did at its inception.
Today, in 753 BC, Romulus and Remus are considered to have founded Rome. It rose to great heights, even the pinnacle of world power, but didn’t last. Interesting.
Today, in 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil well exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. It would spew oil for 5 months. President Bush had his Katrina, President Obama had his…oh…wait…nevermind, nothing to see here.
Today, in 1775, the American Revolutionary War began with the battles of Lexington and Concord.
Today is the deadline to file federal taxes. (DC had its own public holiday on Friday, pushing the deadline to today.) Good luck!
From Businessweek: The University of Texas Investment Management Co., the second-largest U.S. academic endowment, took delivery of almost $1 billion in gold bullion and is storing the bars in a New York vault, according to the fund’s board. The fund,
The price of gas has risen for 25 straight days and is approaching a national average of $4/gallon.
Because there are absolutely no other problems in this country, yesterday the Feds shut down a number of on-line poker sites. More Hope and Change.
Today, in 1912, HMS Titanic sunk in the North Atlantic. Considering Obama’s budget ‘framework’ speech was just two days ago, yeah, there’s a metaphor there.
Today, in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
From The Wall Street Journal: U.S. government lawyers in December argued that Google hadn’t received an important security clearance for a suite of online applications despite the company’s statements to the contrary, according to a court filing unsealed last week.
Big Government has received an outline of President Obama’s ‘framework’ for reducing the federal budget deficit. The White House claims the ‘framework’ will trim $4 Trillion, over 12 years from the deficit. The President will deliver a speech on this
From Politico: A foot of snow couldn’t keep Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Jennifer Hudson and other celebrities away from a star-studded celebration of civil-rights-era music, hosted by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House in
Today, in 1919, Eugene V. Debs entered prison for speaking out against the draft in WW I. We agree with next to nothing politically with Debs, but find his imprisonment reprehensible. Freedom of speech has improved in this country.