TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Recent Stories

1. DANA MILBANK: The left turns compliant on violating civil liberties

   Saturday, Jun 15 2013 11:00 PM

   Where have all the liberals gone? President Obama, who as a Democratic senator accused the Bush administration of violating civil liberties in the name of security, now vigorously defends his own administration's collection of Americans' phone records and Internet activities.

   Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he thinks Congress has done sufficient intelligence oversight. His evidence? Opinion polls.

   House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi defended the programs' legality and said she wants Edward Snowden prosecuted for leaking details of the secret operations.

   Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, accused Snowden of treason and defended false testimony given to her committee by the director...

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2. ESTHER CEPEDA: English-only on the sales floor makes sense

   "Inclusive" and "diversity" are the buzzwords in corporate America these days. Inclusive generally means that people should not be made to feel purposely left out, and diversity refers to the many differences -- whether they be religious,...

3. MICHAEL GERSON: The power of conviction

   President Obama's newly designated national security adviser, Susan Rice, and his proposed United Nations ambassador, Samantha Power, are political loyalists. They are also known as liberal interventionists -- emotionally seared by...
4. 

   MICHAEL GERSON: Pope Francis provides inspiration for all faiths

   We tend to remember leaders in characteristic poses. For Pope Benedict XVI, the college professor, it was delivering a much-misunderstood lecture at the University of Regensburg, which made controversial reference to Islam. For Pope...

5. DANA MILBANK: The attorney general is stewing in his own juices

   Eric Holder is in a mess of his own making. Two weeks ago, the attorney general testified to the House Judiciary Committee in categorical terms: "With regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material, that is not...
6. 

   DANA MILBANK: Michele Bachmann, for whom the bell tolls

   Bob Dole must be some kind of prophet. Not 72 hours after Fox News aired the former Republican leader's suggestion that the GOP put out a "closed for repairs" sign, Michele Bachmann announced that she's going out of business. Just like...

7. DANA MILBANK: Washington, DC, is where the money talks

   Call it the revenge of the 1 percent. President Obama bested Mitt Romney by portraying his Republican opponent as a rich businessman who used offshore tax havens and ran enterprises into the ground without regard for working people. On...

9. MICHAEL GERSON: The unwelcome role of the IRS in Obamacare

   Let us stipulate that now might not be the best time -- with IRS officials exposed for abusing power, caught in self-serving deceptions, invoking their constitutional right against self-incrimination -- to dramatically expand the authority...
10. 

    MICHAEL GERSON: Common Core standards arousing baseless fears

    Modern conservatism comes in two distinct architectural styles. The first seeks to build from scratch, using accurate ideological levels and plumb lines, so every wall is straight and every corner squared. The goal of politics is to apply...
11. 

    ESTHER CEPEDA: Hispanic kids missing school -- for vacation

    It's that time. If you're a teacher in a school with a large concentration of Hispanic students, you're doing end-of-year reviews and preparing for final exams -- and you have kids trickling up to you to let you know they won't be around...
12. 

    DANA MILBANK: Obama's critics overplaying their hand

    At the end of a truly dismal week in his presidency, President Obama remains lucky in one crucial category: his opposition. It has been only a matter of days since two scandals -- the IRS harassment of conservative groups and the...
13. 

    MICHAEL GERSON: The IRS needs an audit

    Suppose that the Environmental Protection Agency were to admit offhandedly that the fluoridation of water had only modest communist mind-control effects. Or the United Nations were to concede it has been running fleets of black helicopters...
14. 

    ESTHER CEPEDA: Iron Man's healthful metamorphosis

    Is it just me or is Tony Stark on a health kick? In the third "Iron Man" -- a series that spent its first two installments glorifying the reckless life of a spoiled, rich genius -- Stark, the man inside the metallic exoskeleton, seems to...