Thomas R. Eddlem
The GSA and Government Waste
When the General Services Administration's Las Vegas party that cost taxpayers more than $800,000 made national news, even congressional Democrats got outraged, though they missed the point about the general inefficiency of government.
Ron Paul Wins Louisiana & Massachusetts Caucuses
Ron Paul dominated the Louisiana presidential caucuses April 28. The same day, his supporters also out-organized the presumed GOP presidential nominee in Mitt Romney's home state of Massachusetts and took over the Alaska Republican Party.
Global Government Debt Crisis Emerging
A sugar-coated analysis of the global economy released by the International Monetary Fund April 17 nevertheless contains dire warnings about a world in a looming global government bond crisis.
Santorum Suspends Presidential Campaign
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum announced his withdrawal from the presidential race April 10, citing excessive campaign debt and daunting delegate math in upcoming primaries. “We made a decision over the weekend, that while this presidential race for us is over, for me, and we will suspend our campaign today, we are not done fighting,” Santorum said in his concession speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Food Channel's “Hunger Hits Home” Exaggerates Hunger, Proposes More Government

The Food Network broadcast a documentary “Hunger Hits Home” April 14 that exaggerated the level of childhood hunger in the United States by at least a factor of 20.
GSA Staffer Pleads the Fifth on Waste, Hand-Wringing Ensues

The U.S. General Services Administration official responsible for a $822,000 Las Vegas party on the tab of the U.S. taxpayer refused to answer any questions before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform April 16, followed by hand-wringing by former GSA head Martha Johnson. Hearings also revealed that the GSA employees may have stolen iPods purchased for an employee incentive program.
Bailout Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch Will Face Primary
Six-term incumbent Utah Senator Orrin Hatch (left) will face a primary opponent for the first time since he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976, after the Utah GOP convention narrowly failed Saturday to give him the 60 percent super-majority needed to avoid a primary. The 78-year-old Senator came up just 31 votes short of avoiding a primary, and will face former state Senator Dan Liljenquist in the primary.Election 2012: Marvin "Chick" Heileson v. Rep. Mike Simpson in Idaho
Marvin “Chick” Heileson (left) is making his second attempt in 2012 to unseat seven-term incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Simpson in Idaho's second congressional district GOP primary.
Simpson voted for the original Patriot Act and its continued extension last year, despite the fact that it allows warrantless searches in flagrant violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. On foreign policy, Simpson's voting record demonstrates a belief that the President can ignore Congress and the U.S. Constitution and take the nation to war without the explicit consent of Congress. Simpson voted against the Kucinich amendment last year to require a vote of Congress before American servicemen's lives were put at risk in Libya. Simpson backed all major Republican-supported entitlement spending during his congressional tenure: 2001's No Child Left Behind Law, the 2003 Medicare prescription drug law, and the TARP bailout in 2008.
Election 2012: Romney Wins Five Northeastern States, Gingrich May Drop Out
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney swept presidential primaries in five northeastern states April 24, widening his delegate lead on rivals Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Romney won GOP primary contests in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Delaware.
Obama: Both Right and Wrong on Haiti Earthquake Relief
President Obama has two initiatives to help victims of Haiti's devastating earthquake, a private initiative that deserves lavish praise and a new government dole that lacks constitutional authority and merits condemnation. The January 12 earthquake in Haiti has unquestionably wreaked unspeakable violence.