Reuters is reporting that earlier this week on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, an Egyptian-born al Qaeda leader named Abu Laith al-Libi was killed in a U.S. airstrike believed to be targeting 2nd and 3rd tier al Qaeda members – but Libi is no low-level lieutenant.  In November, Libi appeared in a propaganda video with Osama bin Laden’s second-in-command and the second most wanted man on earth, Al Zawahri. 

On Tuesday night, the city of Berkeley, California passed two resolutions condeming United States Marines, taking their condemnation of our nation's fighting men and women to new levels.

California became the most recent state to abandon government-run, mandated healthcare this week in the face of unmanageable costs and strong opposition to mandated coverage.  Rather than turning to private, market-based solutions for health care, California was attempting to require most residents to acquire insurance or face a financial penalty for failing to do so - all while wracking up massive tax-funded expenses for the $14 billion dollar plan. 

An editorial in the Washington Times highlights the fractures within the Democratic party regarding the reauthorization of FISA legislation.  As the debate has grown more heated over the last few weeks, Congressional leadership has increasingly been influenced by liberal interest groups - at the expense of this vital legislation.

David Drucker reports in today's Roll Call that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is planning to spend $100 million this year to elect pro-union liberals to the House, Senate, and White House.  The SEIU is hoping to deliver a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate to Majority Leader Harry Reid, thinking that their ability to affect policy lies primarily in reducing Republican's ability to block pro-union legislation. 

In an op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal, Roger Pilon details Congress' recent efforts to micromanage the President through FISA legislation.  Pilon argues that not only should the President do everything in his power to protect America from foreign terrorists, but as the principal agent in foreign affairs, the President is constitutionally bound to do so. 

The Washington Post is reporting on a landmark case decided by the California Supreme Court which protects the rights of employers to maintain a drug-free workplace.  The court determined that employers can still terminate workers who fail a drug test - whether the drugs were taken for "medicinal" purposes or not.  If employers are liable for the actions of their employees while they are under the influence of illegal substances, they should be able to eliminate this risk from their businesses.  Freedom's Watch applauds this common sense decision that will protect employers and combat drug use.

President Bush will deliver his final State of the Union address on Monday night, and is expected to focus on areas where he has been able to achieve some measure of bipartisan support or legislative advantage over liberals in Congress.

As state governments face increasingly tight budgets, The New York Times reports that more and more states are turning to an innovative solution that not only raises revenues but also combat illegal drug use - imposing taxes on illegal substances.  New York is pushing to become the 30th state requiring a tax stamp on all illegal drugs.   Last year, North Carolina collected $11 million with a similar strategy.  Here is how it works:

Today's Wall Street Journal describes recent efforts by the Department of Labor to increase oversight of labor-union pension funds.  The Department recently sent the AFL-CIO a letter of warning stating that union pension trusts cannot be used to fund political activities, as they have done recently, and must only be spent to increase the overall value of the pension.

In the face of increasing domestic and international economic concerns, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Congress may be ready to set aside partisan differences and work together to develop a viable economic stimulus package.  Initially it seemed as though Congressional leaders would use the stimulus for political gain, but as the seriousness of the situation has become apparent, both parties seem to be coming together Democrat and Republican leaders are meeting with President Bush today in hopes of reaching a compromise.

The most striking result of the Democratic primary in Nevada this past week was not which candidate took the most delegates, but that all three of the leading Democratic contenders for their party's nomination oppose the signing of a formal U.S. - Iraq alliance against Al Qaeda and other common enemies.

Washington Post publishes an op-ed by Fred Kagen, Jack Keane, and Michael O'Hanlon explaining why recent political progress in Iraq should strengthen the case for a continued U.S. presence to maintain security.  This week the Iraqi parlaiment passed a crucial de-Baathification bill which will allow for further political reconciliation in the nation, and most familiar with the situation acknowledge that this - and other important political benchmarks - could not be reached without the improved security over the last year provided by U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters has an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal calling for more private investment, not gas taxes, to fix the nation's growing transportation dilemmas.  Congress has created two commissions to study the problems of traffic and congestion - and three years later one of their primary recommendations is to raise the gas tax by as much as 40 cents per gallon at a time when the national average gas price is $3.07 per gallon. 

With the victory of Governor Huckabee and Senator Obama in the Iowa caucuses, “change” rapidly became the buzzword that defined the 2008 primaries.  In New Hampshire, Senator McCain rallied independents behind his record of reform in Washington and Senator Clinton scored an upset win by rapidly shifting her sales pitch from focusing on her experience to focusing on her track record of change.  Tuesday in Michigan, we saw this pattern emerge again, with a victory by Mitt Romney who emphasized economic issues to illustrate his message that "Washington is broken."

Ryan Grim writes in today's Politico that anti-war groups are in full retreat after a series of devastating legislative battles in 2007.  After repeatedly failing to block funding for our troops despite spending millions on the effort, these liberal groups are now setting their sights lower and re-aligning expectations.

Recently, a friend sent me this judicious quote by General George S. Patton, “War is just like boxing. When you get your opponent on the ropes you must keep punching the hell out of him and not let him recover.”

2008 is the year to keep fighting.

The New York Post’s Amir Taheri takes a look at the Ba’ath party in Iraq and calls the recent de-Baathification legislation passed by Iraqi Parliament a “major step toward meeting” the challenge of national reconciliation.  He even offers up some credit to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for his efforts to get the ban against public employment of members of the Ba’ath Party lifted.

Just five days ago, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer argued that the “main objective of the surge – Iraqi political reconciliation – has not been achieved.  Political progress has come to a near standstill, and most of the established benchmarks for progress – including… the passage of de-Baathification laws… are far from reach” in a release titled “One Year After President Bush Announces Surge, Iraqi Political Progress Remains Elusive.”   

An op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal describes the death of "Rubinomics," or the concept of deficit reduction as a growth policy, for the Democratic party.  Rubinomics claims that lowering federal deficits will lower interest rates which will stimulate economic growth.  While this theory was widely accepted in liberal circles in the 1990's, recent party leaders are looking to tax rebates and deficit spending in order to stimulate the economy.

In an op-ed published today, The New York Times has dubbed John Murtha the "King of Pork" - a title which he proudly maintains after the 2007 legislative session.  Mr. Murtha managed to pack $162 million worth of pork into his Pennsylvania district last year, surpassing all 434 other members of a spend-happy congress. 

It was discovered today that Moveon.org has hired Peter Koechley, a former managing editor for the satirical newspaper The Onion, to work for their ultra-liberal organization.   It is unusual, but not surprising that an organization with a huge credibility problem would hire someone who writes satire and fake news.  Distortion of the truth is right up MoveOn’s alley.  Let’s take a trip down memory lane with Moveon.org …

The Wall Street Journal publishes an editorial today on "The Right 'Stimulus'" for the economy, which argues that targeted tax cuts are the appropriate remedy for an economy showing signs of strain. 

One year ago today, President Bush announced the surge strategy as a new way forward for the U.S. in Iraq.  This new strategy was met with widespread skepticism - after years of bad news from the war front, many lawmakers from both sides of the aisle were saying that the war was lost and were calling for troops to begin leaving. 

The Mehr News Agency, Iran's semi-official news service, reported yesterday that a contingent of professors from Columbia University will be travelling to Iran soon to personally "apologize" to Iranian President Ahmadinejad for what Iran believes was a rude welcome for Ahmadinejad by the University's President.

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Michael Phillips examines a possible plan for the Federal Government to issue tax rebates for individuals and tax breaks for business.  It’s hoped that this incentive would be to prevent an economic slowdown by encouraging spending and investment.  Up to this point, the administrations focus has been on targeted areas – address rising foreclosures and the subprime-mortgage market slump – but these new rebates could be the President’s first steps to address the larger economic picture.  The article also highlights the need for Congress to extend the tax cuts that are set to expire in 2010.

The Sunday New York Times runs a front-page story on debates within the Bush administration over whether to conduct covert operations against al-Qaeda/Taliban forces in Pakistan.

Bill Archer and James Carter warn of the looming tax challenges that will be faced by the next President in today’s Wall Street Journal.  Three particular areas to keep a close eye on are the 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts, Alternative Minimum Tax, and America’s looming entitlement crisis.  While often not at the forefront of the presidential debates, Archer and Carter warn that maybe these three issues should be considered a little more closely.

This holiday season, 200,000 Americans signed cards and letters of support for our troops that were delivered to Iraq by Move America Forward Chairman Melanie Morgan and Gold Star Mother Debbie Lee. 

John Fund writes in today's Wall Street Journal that even though Congress passed a budget bill containing almost 9,000 earmarks, President Bush is under no legal obligation to spend most of these pork barrel dollars.  Many of these earmarks were dropped into the bill last minute, giving Congress and spending control groups little time to review the planned projects, and President Bush has asked his budget director to review ways to reign in the spiraling budget.

The state of New York spends more public money on Medicaid, the government-funded program providing healthcare for the poor, than any other state. Despite this level of government intervention, Tarren Bragdon points out in The Wall Street Journal that the state has a much higher level of uninsured citizens than many other states who spend far less.

Michael Gerson writes an opinion piece in the Washington Post  ("Democrats in Denial") saying that liberals in Congress have been wrong in 2007 on... pretty much everything.  Gerson argues that in 2006 it was Republicans who were in denial about the problems in Iraq, but that leading into 2008 it is Democrats who are in denial about the success of the surge, the results of No Child Left Behind, and how much impact the Bush tax cuts have had on keeping America's economy going strong.

In the Wall Street Journal, Jay Solomon And Siobhan Gorman pen an article in which they describe Pakistan's emerging role in Al Qaeda's terror strategy.  The U.S. strategy of driving Al Qaeda from potential bases in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Phillipines has largely been successful, and as a result the network is looking to the recent chaos in Pakistan as a haven for their efforts.

The New York Post's Ralph Peters has written an excellent column titled "Terror on the Run" making the case that  2007 was a terrible year for the Al Qaeda terror network, and criticizes the media's failure to give significant coverage to this story.