The Washington Times stories: National

Veterans eager to continue service at home

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:09 -0500

As the nation honors millions of veterans who served their country in numerous wars, those fresh from battle in Iraq and Afghanistan say they are ready for another tour of duty, but this time as a civic engagement in their home communities. The public often hears about rocky transitions for returning veterans, with problems as dramatic as suicide and homelessness. But a poll by Civic Enterprises, a public policy firm, presents a very different picture. The results of the survey, being released Wednesday, show that 90 percent of returning veterans want to continue to serve their communities in some capacity. ...

Kennedy's disability plan could snag health bill

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:08 -0500

An insurance plan championed by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy that would help elderly or disabled people avoid nursing homes ironically adds yet another sticking point to the comprehensive health care reform plans for which the Massachusetts Democrat fought through much of his career. The Community Living Services and Support (CLASS) Act is designed to help those who need assistance with basic daily tasks pay for in-home assistance. But moderate Democrats and Republicans worry about the plan's impact on the deficit and the potential for saddling the federal government with the responsibility of another insurance program. Sen. Kent Conrad, North Dakota ...

Michigan farm expert opens Marijuana U.

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:06 -0500

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. | Nearly a year after voters in this economically disadvantaged state overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative approving the consumption of medicinal marijuana, a new trade school has opened its doors to educate aspiring growers. Med Grow Cannabis College, located in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, is set to graduate its first class of students later this month. Its co-founder and president, Nick Tennant, the 24-year-old son of a General Motors Corp. employee, said he sees a significant opportunity to teach standards and safety in an industry that can eventually improve the state's sagging business climate. "This is profitable ...

WILLIAMS: Legislative malpractice practiced

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:02 -0500

OPINION/ANALYSIS: It has famously been said that America is a nation of laws not people. That is not the case when it comes to applying the laws of this country to its elected leaders. Amazingly, members of Congress is not covered by many of the statutes that they apply to the rest of the country. Exhibit A: Health care reform. Saturday night the House voted to enact President Obamas health care proposal. The administration hailed the passage as the first step toward ensuring that the public receives the same health care benefits provided to members of Congress. This means that ...

HUTCHISON: Right must understand barriers to success

Kay Bailey Hutchison — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:01 -0500

OPINION/ANALYSIS: Conservatives have been in a needed period of self-examination since the devastating losses of the 2006 and 2008 elections. Lawmakers, pundits and activists on every level have prescribed fixes for the Republican Party, ranging from a "back to basics" re-establishment of traditional, conservative ideals to a full-scale reinvention of the GOP and its platforms. The conservative movement is rooted in a desire to preserve the liberties guaranteed in the Constitution and to expand the promise of the American dream. So I think that we should take our instruction from those we seek to serve, protect and prosper: hardworking Americans ...

Hot Button

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0500

EPA conflict The Environmental Protection Agency has asked two of its lawyers to take down a YouTube video they made critiquing the Obama administration's policy on climate change. Laurie Williams and Allan Zabel, a married couple based in California, do not like cap-and-trade legislation and have publicly argued that carbon taxes would be a more effective means of reducing carbon. They host the Web site www.carbonfees.com to promote their pro-tax views and wrote an Op-Ed in The Washington Post earlier this year that called the legislation a "mirage." But a 10-minute video titled "Huge Mistake," posted on YouTube, went too ...

Bison may be headed to Turner's Montana ranch

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0500

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) | Dozens of wild bison from Yellowstone National Park would be relocated to a Montana ranch owned by billionaire Ted Turner in a recommendation announced Tuesday. The animals were spared from a slaughter program intended to protect Montana's cattle industry from a disease carried by many bison. The plan was to use those animals -- considered disease free -- to repopulate public and tribal lands across the West with free-roaming bison. But after other offers to take the animals fell through or were judged insufficient, state and federal officials said Tuesday that Mr. Turner's private ranch was ...

WWII Code Talkers assemble again

Ula Ilnytzky ASSOCIATED PRESS — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0500

NEW YORK The famed Navajo Code Talkers, the elite Marine unit whose unbreakable code stymied the Japanese in World War II, fear their legacy will die with them. Only about 50 of the 400 Code Talkers are thought to be still alive, most living in the Navajo Nation reservation that spans Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Many are frail or ill, with little time left to tell the world about their wartime contribution. But on Tuesday, 13 of the Code Talkers, some using canes, a few in wheelchairs, arrived in New York City to participate for the first time in ...

HICKS: Reject violent video games

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0500

Tuesday was one of those days when the news can confuse us. Just as millions of Americans tuned into the painfully moving memorial service at Fort Hood, Texas, honoring 13 Americans whose lives were extinguished by an Islamist soldier in their midst, entertainment news carried headlines about a record-setting war game now available wherever toys are sold. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" from video game publisher Activision is predicted to be the highest grossing first-day release in the entertainment industry. It's supposed to make more than any book, movie, DVD or video game ever has made on its initial ...

American Scene

From wire dispatches and staff reports — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0500

COLORADO Medical marijuana limits overturned DENVER | A judge overturned tight restrictions Tuesday on Colorado medical marijuana providers, saying state health officials had ignored the needs of patients and violated open meetings laws while imposing the rules. The ruling by Denver District Judge Larry Naves means medical marijuana providers can continue supplying the drug to registered users without having to provide any other care, as a state Board of Health vote last week would have required. It was another setback for health officials struggling to regulate Colorado's growing medical marijuana industry, which sprang up after voters approved a constitutional amendment ...

AMA opposes military gay policy

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0500

CHICAGO (AP) | The American Medical Association on Tuesday voted to oppose the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and declared that gay marriage bans contribute to health disparities. The nation's largest doctors' group stopped short of saying it would seek to overturn gay marriage bans, but its new stance angered conservative activists and provided a fresh boost to lobbying efforts by gay rights advocates. "It's highly significant that the AMA, as one of this country's leading professional associations, has taken a position on both of these issues," said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task ...

Long-lost van may go home after 35 years

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0500

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) | Michele Squires once owned the 1965 Volkswagen van that was found recently in a shipping container at a Southern California port -- 35 years after it was stolen from a repair shop. She'd now like to buy it back. Miss Squires told the Spokesman-Review that she was watching television news on Friday when a picture of a VW van popped up on the screen during a story about how customs agents on Oct. 19 discovered the vehicle in a shipping container headed for the Netherlands. The blue-and-white van looked to be in pristine condition, and could ...

'We owe you,' Biden tells 7 slain soldiers' families

From combined dispatches — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0500

From combined dispatches FORT LEWIS, Wash. | Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. says seven Fort Lewis soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan last month were extraordinary young men to whom the nation owes more than it can repay. "As a nation, as hollow as it sounds to say, we grieve with you. We don't have profound sense of grief you're experiencing today, but we grieve with you, and we owe you. We owe you more than you can ever be repaid," Mr. Biden said, according to the Seattle Times. Mr. Biden spoke at the Washington base Tuesday ...

Veteran treasures letters he sent daily from England

Travis Loller ASSOCIATED PRESS — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0500

NASHVILLE, Tenn. | In the summer of 1942, 2nd Lt. Roswell Weil was eager to serve his country, but he also wanted to spare his parents the pain of separation. "I thought, 'What can I do to ease their pain?' " the 93-year-old recalled, his voice breaking with emotion. He made a decision and stuck with it almost perfectly: He would write home every day. Rarely missing a single day in more than three years, the family's only child sent home about a thousand letters. Lt. Weil's father saved every one, and Lt. Weil later stored them in a closet. ...

Inside the Beltway

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0500

VETTING DHS A Washington Times reader and a veteran steps forward, reluctantly, on Veterans Day, with a distinct concern, a warning and lots of acronyms. "There is problem within the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) that is directly affecting veterans employed as civilian personnel. We cant get the Chief, Human Capital Office (CHCO) to properly implement Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidelines regarding accrual of benefits," the veteran says. "For example, OPM has adopted a Justice Dept. opinion regarding application of military service while individuals are serving in civilian full time positions while on terminal military leave. The OPM policy ...

Polygamist sect member get 10 years in sex case

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0500

ELDORADO, Texas | The first polygamist sect member to face criminal trial after the April 2008 raid of a West Texas ranch was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for sexually assaulting an underage girl with whom he had a so-called "spiritual marriage." Jurors who last week convicted Raymond Jessop, 38, handed down the sentence, which includes an $8,000 fine. His attorneys had sought probation for the conviction that could have brought him up to 20 years in prison. Jessop, who prosecutors allege has nine wives, still faces a separate bigamy charge to be tried later. He is the ...

Bill Clinton urges Dems to pass health bill

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:27:57 -0500

Former President Clinton, whose own attempt to reform the nation's health care system fell apart amid intraparty squabbling in the early 1990s, urged Senate Democrats on Tuesday to overcome their differences to pass health care reform for both political and policy reasons. "It's not important to be perfect here," he told reporters after meeting with lawmakers during their weekly policy lunch. "It's important to act, to move, to start the ball rolling." Several issues have threatened to take down the health care reform debate, including costs, taxes, and in recent days, abortion. Both Republicans and Democrats are expecting a bruising ...

Obama: No religious faith justifies Fort Hood shootings

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:57:04 -0500

President Obama on Tuesday told 15,000 mourners at Fort Hood, Texas, that no religious faith could justify the murderous attack by a Muslim U.S. Army officer on his fellow soldiers last week, the president's first acknowledgment that fanatical Islam may have motivated the shooter. "No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts. No just and loving God looks upon them with favor," Mr. Obama said. "And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice, in this world and the next." Mr. Obama has urged caution before concluding that Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan ...

Dodd calls for finance-regulation overhaul

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:47:02 -0500

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, chairman of the Senate banking committee, proposed on Tuesday a massive overhaul of the government's financial regulatory system in a move designed to prevent another economic collapse, protect consumers and dismantle failing institutions. The draft calls for more sweeping changes to how Wall Street does business than do proposals by the Obama administration and Democrats in the House of Representatives. "This proposal will create a new architecture to make our financial institutions more transparent, more responsible and more accountable to the American people," said Mr. Dodd, Connecticut Democrat. "It will address the problems of the past, ...

Families meet as sniper's execution nears

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:20:01 -0500

UPDATED: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said Tuesday he will not intervene to stop the execution of John Allen Muhammad, meaning the D.C. sniper will be put to death as scheduled at 9 p.m. EST. Mr. Kaine, a Democrat, made the announcement in a news release that also stated he was satisfied the case had been reviewed by the courts. "Accordingly, I decline to intervene," Mr. Kaine said. Corrections officials said Muhammad is meeting this afternoon with members of his immediate family, then with his attorneys later in the day. He does not have a spiritual adviser. Exclusive: The Washington Times ...