Remember that airline commercial that asks “Want to get away?” from those embarrassing moments in life? In the Internet age, there is no getting away when somebody comes up with a truly dumb, ridiculous or just plain bad idea.
Modern My Lai
1| Soldier kills 16 Afghans
The details: An American soldier allegedly left his base in Afghanistan last Sunday and killed 16 Afghan villagers. The suspect is being flown to the United States for trial, and could face capital punishment if convicted.
Marine killed by Afghan ‘ally’ 2| Military delayed announcement
The details: An Afghan soldier shot and killed a 22-year-old United States Marine last month. Much to the embarrassment of the Afghan government, this is the seventh instance of an Afghan “ally” killing an American soldier in the last several weeks.
Whistling past default
3| Obama adds to the debt
The details: President Obama’s budget increases the national debt by $6.4 trillion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, which also projects Obama’s budget to run a $977 billion deficit in 2013.
Oil production drops on federal land
4| Government report contradicts White House
The details: Federal production of oil and natural gas dropped 14 percent since last year, according to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The report, which shows crude production down since 2003, contradicts Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s claims in the White House press briefing this week.
Obamacare’s new price tag
5| Costs almost double
The Details: In 2009, President Obama said that his health insurance law would cost “around $900 billion over 10 years,” but the Congressional Budget Office reported this week that the law will cost nearly twice that: $1.76 trillion.
Slowdown
6| D.C. region is vulnerable
The details: George Mason University economist Stephen Fuller told the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments that the supposedly “recession-proof” region could be vulnerable to a mini-recession, based on its current growth slowdown and the area’s heavy reliance on federal spending.
Sales tax on gas
7| O’Malley pushes fuel tax
The details: Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley urged the General Assembly to approve a new 6-cent-per-gallon sales tax on all gasoline sold in the state to fund transportation. The added fuel tax would cost the typical Maryland family $400 or more each year.
Subpoenaed
8| D.C. Council members served
The details: A federal grand jury has subpoenaed two members of the D.C. Council in connection with its investigation of Jeffrey Thompson, who has the city’s largest Medicaid contract and is also a major campaign donor to District politicians including Mayor Vincent Gray.
Sex offenders
9| Lax monitoring in District
The details: D.C. has not been performing compliance checks on 989 registered sex offenders who live in the city, including convicted rapists, child molesters and purveyors of child pornography. The District has the highest number of sex offenders per capita in the metropolitan area.
Talking police
10| Electronics ban urged
The details: A nonprofit group wants D.C. to ban the use of all electronic devices, including cell phones, while driving or crossing local streets. The group cites the deaths of 11 pedestrians and two cyclists last year as justification for the proposed ban.
