The re-election of Colombia’s president [last Sunday] defies a Latin American trend toward leaders who promise to help the little guy, but don’t. Alvaro Uribe, a blunt, U.S.-trained lawyer, won 62.2 percent of the vote after making people feel safer and richer. With nearly $3 billion in military aid from the U.S., Colombia’s government has largely outsmarted right-wing militias and leftist rebels who have kept the Andean-Amazon nation in a civil war for more than four decades.
— Christian Science Monitor
Don’t be fooled by the hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on the Justice Department’s supposed violation of congressional rights in an FBI search of Rep. William Jefferson’s office in a bribery investigation.
The hearing was dominated by talk of abuses of power by long-dead monarchs and the need of the people’s representatives for untrammeled communication with their constituents.
But Rep. James Sensenbrenner’s committee was really sending a message as the House confronts a far-reaching corruption investigation: Nice little Justice Department you have there, Mr. Attorney General. Too bad if anything were to happen to it. Stop messing with us before we mess with you.
— E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
The House vote [May 25] to allow drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge reopens the debate over energy exploration along Alaska’s northern coastal plain. Unfortunately, this issue has been tied up by political considerations and is not being evaluated on its merits. It’s time that Arctic drilling becomes part of the nation’s energy plan. …This nation has talked for three decades of reducing our dependence on foreign oil. It’s time to show that we are serious. Drilling in the Arctic refuge won’t solve our energy problems, but it will be an important part of an overall solution.
— Fresno Bee
