Republicans, Democrats, the tea party and the Occupy movement — it seems every American from 1 to 99 has their own favorite plan on how to tackle taxes and federal spending. Assuming there's room for one more plan, I've borrowed bits and pieces from the current debate, but — urged on by the political commentariat and citizen-pundits alike — I've gone big and bold.
WASHINGTON — Recent provocations by Egypt are both serious and mysterious.
In December, its government conducted a series of armed raids on respected human rights and democracy organizations. Egyptian courts are pursuing transparently fraudulent prosecutions against several dozen employees of those groups, including 19 Americans. Six American citizens are being kept in Egypt against their will. One is Sam LaHood, the son of the secretary of transportation.On the campaign trail, presidential candidate Barack Obama once called for a "reset" policy with Iran. Supposedly, the unpopularity of the Texan provocateur George W. Bush and his administration's inability to finesse "soft power" had needlessly alienated the Iranian theocracy.
