|
|
| Insider Report from Newsmax.com Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Bush Warns Obama on Jimmy Carter Outgoing President George W. Bush had a warning for President-elect Barack Obama when they gathered with three former presidents at the White House — be wary of “meddlesome” Jimmy Carter. Bush, Obama, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Carter met for a photo op and lunch on Jan. 7, and W. told Obama the guy he has to watch out for is “James Earl Carter,” a source disclosed to Newsmax. According to a source close to the Bush White House, Bush called Carter “extremely meddlesome” and “a real pain in the neck.” Interestingly, Bush also told Obama that Bill Clinton had been helpful and supportive dealing with foreign leaders. Carter has irked Bush with his globe-trotting efforts over the years.
Editor's Note: 2. Colin Powell: No ‘Passion’ to be President Retired General and former Secretary of State Colin Powell said he never had the “internal passion” to run for president. “I was a soldier,” he said Wednesday on CNN’s “American Morning.” “I never found inside of me the internal passion that you’ve got to have to run for elected office… “I never woke up a single morning to think about this, to talk to people about it and find in my heart and soul the passion that a Barack Obama or a John McCain or a George Bush or a Bill Clinton had. It just wasn’t for me, and you’ve got to be true to yourself, and I’ve tried to be true to myself.” He also said his wife Alma had concerns that a decision to seek the White House would change the Powells’ family life, and that she feared for his safety. Powell served as national security adviser under President Ronald Reagan, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. He oversaw Operation Desert Storm during the 1991 Gulf War, and many in the GOP had hoped he would make a run for president. But Powell announced back in 1995 that he would not run for president, CNN reported. “To offer myself as a candidate for president,” he said at the time, “requires a commitment and a passion to run the race and to succeed in the quest, a passion and commitment that, despite my every effort, I do not yet have for political life, because such a life requires a calling that I do not hear.” Editor's Note: 3. Obama Inauguration Sets Record for Private Jets Recession? What recession? The inauguration of Barack Obama set an all-time record for the number of pricey private jets flying into the Washington area for the festivities. At Washington Dulles airport, up to 600 private jets landed in the days leading up to the inauguration. That number shatters the old record of 300 private planes that the airport accommodated for President George W. Bush’s second inaugural in 2004, Bloomberg reported. “Of course, flying private to a celebration of a populist, pro-environment president is a bit like the Detroit execs jetting to Washington for bailout money,” Robert Frank observed in the Wall Street Journal. “How do you call for social responsibility after touching down in a $40 million, gas-guzzling Gulfstream?” Obama’s inauguration was the most expensive in history. ABC News estimated the cost at upwards of $170 million, four times what Bush’s inauguration cost four years ago. Editor's Note: 4. Khatami to Oppose Ahmadinejad in Iran’s Election Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami — a frequent critic of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — has announced that he will seek the presidency in Iran’s June elections. Khatami, who was president from 1997 to 2005, is “a popular leader in the reformist camp” who has indirectly attacked the country’s conservative clerical administration, the Jerusalem Post reports. Ahmadinejad is expected to declare his candidacy for a second term. As Newsmax reported in December, Ahmadinejad is increasingly unpopular, his economic policies are blamed for 30 percent annual inflation, and his foreign policy has left the country more isolated than at any time in recent memory. In a September 2006 speech at Harvard University, Khatami condemned Osama bin Laden for committing crimes in the name of Islam and said Jews have the right to live peacefully, but he skirted the issue of whether they have the right to do so in Israel. Some observers have speculated that President Barack Obama may wait until after the election before offering direct negotiations with Iran, in the hope that Ahmadinejad will be replaced. Editor's Note: 5. Rocker Ted Nugent Wants Drug Czar Job Rock legend and outspoken conservative Ted Nugent wants President Barack Obama to appoint him to a high-level position in his administration — Drug Czar. And if appointed, Nugent vows to hunt down and arrest — or kill — drug kingpins and their underlings. In a letter posted on the Human Events Web site, Nugent calls the U.S.-Mexico border “a drug war zone” and refers to a “nonstop orgy of vicious, violent crimes against law-abiding Americans living along that border.” Nugent, who has sold more than 30 million albums and serves on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association, writes: “We have all the laws we need to fight drugs. What America needs is the will-power and a renewed warrior spirit to crush evil and evil-doers. “We need a Drug Czar who will commit to the American people to stop at least 50 percent of the illegal drugs flowing into the country within the first year of the Obama administration… “Call me, President Obama. Hippies, dope heads, corrupt politicos and various other human debris hate me, which makes me the perfect man for the job.” As Drug Czar, Nugent says he would “work with the Mexican government and other Central American nations to root out and arrest and/or kill the drug kingpins and their underlings. “Working with the Columbian government a few years back, U.S. Special Forces filled Pablo Escobar full of bullet holes. Until assuming room temperature, Escobar was one of the world’s richest cocaine smugglers and controlled 80 percent of all the cocaine shipped into America… “I would put a big hurt on the drug kingpins and consumers like they have never seen.” Editor's Note: 6. We Heard . . . THAT Dr. Martin Luther King predicted the U.S. would have a black president within 40 years. During an interview with the BBC’s Bob McKenzie in 1964, McKenzie pointed out to King that Robert Kennedy had said he could “imagine the possibility of a Negro president of the United States within perhaps 40 years,” and asked: “Do you think this is at all realistic?” King responded: “I am very optimistic about the future. Frankly, I have seen certain changes in the United States over the last two years that surprised me. I have seen levels of compliance with the Civil Rights bill and changes that have been most surprising. “So on the basis of this I think we may be able to get a Negro president in less than 40 years.” Barack Obama was sworn in 44 years later. THAT Minnesota Republican Norm Coleman — still locked in a battle to retain his Senate seat against Al Franken — is joining the Republican Jewish Coalition as a consultant and strategic advisor. A release from the organization states: “Coleman will help the RJC as it plans for the future and looks at ways to continue its historic record of growth and success… “In addition, Coleman, a tremendously popular speaker, will travel around the country on behalf of the RJC, speaking in Jewish communities across the country on the state of current affairs.” The RJC, founded in 1985, is the voice of Jewish Republicans to Republican decision-makers and the Jewish community. Executive Director Matt Brooks said: “We are confident that in a few months Senator Coleman will return to his seat in the Senate, but until that time, we are eager for him to travel across the country on our behalf and to be an important voice within the organization.” THAT New York Times Co. Chairman Arthur Sulzberger has in effect banned newsroom staffers from eating at two pricey Manhattan restaurants popular with media people. A memo stated that business meals must conform to pricing guidelines: $15 per person for breakfast, $25 to $30 for lunch, and $45 to $50 for dinner, the New York Post’s Keith J. Kelly reports in his “Media Ink” column. A burger alone at one of the eateries, Michael’s, costs $30. |
Posts
