HHS execs doing good and living large, flying first class around the world

Helping America's poor, aged and sick is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' reason for being, but hundreds of its top officials are traveling in style and luxury at taxpayer expense.
Records obtained by the Washington Examiner under the Freedom of Information Act show that HHS executives spent $31 million taking 7,000 first class and business class flights between 2009 and 2013, including 253 trips for which a one-way ticket cost more than $15,000.
Half the records listed the price of a coach ticket for comparison. For that portion alone, the upgrade boosted the cost by almost $14 million, from $4.9 million to $18.5 million.
Federal employees are allowed to fly business or first class if the flight is longer than 14 hours, but only 1,400 of the 7,000 flights met that description.

Leaked Al Jazeera emails reveal disdain for Paris murder victims

While citizens around the free world embraced the mantra “Je suis Charlie” to show solidarity with the murdered employees of a French satirical magazine, a top editor at a Muslim-owned news organization had a different message for his colleagues: “We are Al Jazeera.”
A leaked email from Al Jazeera English Editor and Executive Producer Salah-Aldeen Khadr used the twist on a viral phrase used around the world to show support for victims of Wednesday’s Islamist terror attack on Charlie Hebdow in Paris. The magazine was targeted for its penchant for publishing forbidden caricatures of Prophet Muhammed, which it did in addition to poking fun at other religions.
“Was this really an attack on “free speech?” Khadr asked his subordinates in the email blast. “Who is attacking free speech here exactly?
“Defending freedom of expression in the face of oppression is one thing; insisting on the right to be obnoxious and offensive just because you can is infantile,” wrote Khadr, who urged Al Jazeera staffers to consider that “I am Charlie” is an “alienating slogan – with us or against us type of statement – one can be anti-CH’s racism and ALSO against murdering people.”
The email, first obtained by National Review Online, appears to have touched off a vigorous debate among editorial employees of the Qatar-owned outlet, which has often been accused of showing sympathy to Muslim extremists.

“Defending freedom of expression in the face of oppression is one thing; insisting on the right to be obnoxious and offensive just because you can is infantile,”- English Editor and Executive Producer Salah-Aldeen Khadr

Al Jazeera English channel reporter Omar Al Saleh responded with an obligatory condemnation of the killings of 12 people, including four well-known cartoonists, in the attack, but made his real point in all capital letters, for extra emphasis.
“I AM NOT CHARLIE,” Saleh wrote. “JOURNALISM IS NOT A CRIME. INSULTISM IS NOT JOURNALISM AND NOT DOING JOURNALISM PROPERLY IS CRIME.”
But Al Jazeera’s U.S. correspondent Tom Ackerman disagreed, in another portion of the leaked email chain.
“If a large enough group of someone is willing to kill you for saying something, then it’s something that almost certainly needs to be said, because otherwise the violent have veto power over liberal civilization,” Ackerman wrote. “When offenses are policed by murder, that’s when we need more of them, not less, because the murderers cannot be allowed for a single moment to think that their strategy can succeed.
FULL COVERAGE: Islamic Terror Massacre in Paris
Al Jazeera, whose headquarters are in Doha, also has international offices in London and New York. It received a U.S. license and began broadcasting in August 2013 under its Al Jazeera America brand. On its mission statement the company outlines its values saying, “We maintain credibility through impartial, accurate and comprehensive representation of the story,” and adds, “Integrity and respect guide our conduct internally and externally.”
The company is Al Jazeera is owned and funded by Qatar’s ruling Al Thani family, whose regime has been accused of financing radical Islamist terror groups in the Middle East, most notably Hamas in Gaza and the Al Nusra Front in Syria.
Reached for comment about the internal debate, an Al Jazeera spokesman said such discussions are part of the reporting process.
“We have arguably the most diverse newsroom in the world, and the robustness of our internal discussions that flow from this are a great strength,” the spokesman said. “Viewers judge us on our output, which on the Paris story has been first class, relaying events in real time, all the while providing a full spectrum of context.”
The spokesman also added that Khadr is one of several executive producers at the organization and his opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Al Jazeera

Iowa Republicans vote in favor of keeping presidential straw poll

DES MOINES, Iowa –  State Republican party leaders voted unanimously Saturday in favor of keeping their annual presidential straw poll, defeating critics who said the summer tradition attracts only fringe contenders while keeping away mainstream candidates.
The vote by the Republican Party Central Committee was 16 yeas to 0 nays.
Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said he was pleased with the outcome of the vote, after saying earlier in the week that he had a “hunch” that members would vote as such.
“I knew in the end we would circle the wagons. We have a unified party at this point,” he said. “This was about making sure the (Republican National Committee) is comfortable about what we’re doing.” 
The event will be held in August. Kaufmann said the exact date and location will be decided “within weeks, not months.”
Among the critics of the poll are such prominent Republicans as Gov. Terry Branstad.
However, the governor’s office said Branstad “looks forward to working with the Republican Party of Iowa and the State Central Committee to make it a successful event.”
Committee members said the poll energizes the party base and serves as an important early test of campaign strength.
“I think what’s so valuable is that it brings Iowans into the political arena,” committee member Trudy Caviness said. “To move our country forward, we have got to have more informed and active young and old.”
The RNC’s legal counsel told Kaufmann on Thursday that continuing to have the straw poll wouldn't jeopardize the Iowa’s status as the first state to hold a primary in the presidential election cycle, as long as party officials make clear the poll is unofficial and unscientific.
“Most people who come to the straw poll intuitively know that this is snapshot in time,” Kaufmann said in response. “They know the difference between a scientific poll.”
First conducted in 1979, the Iowa straw poll has grown from a county GOP fundraiser stop to a large event on the Iowa State University campus, where candidates spend heavily to entertain supporters.
The poll has been a lackluster predictor of who will win the GOP nomination. Its winners in 1979 (George H.W. Bush), 1987 (Pat Robertson), 2007 (Mitt Romney) and 2011 (Michele Bachmann) did not win the nomination. Only twice — in 1995 (Bob Dole, who tied with Phil Gramm) and 1999 (George W. Bush) — did the straw poll winner go on to win the GOP nomination.
In 2011, about 17,000 people turned out — far less than the roughly 120,000 who voted in the January 2012 caucuses. Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman, spent $2 million on the event and won the poll, while Romney, the eventual nominee, chose not to participate. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the nomination race after a third-place finish.

The Pen is Cartoon

Krauthammer: France terror attacks 'the third stage of the jihadist war against us'

Charles Krauthammer told viewers Friday on “Special Report with Bret Baier” that this week’s terror attacks in France are “the third stage of the jihadist war against us.”
Krauthammer, a syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor, said the first stage “of course is 9/11. All of the attackers were from the Middle East. And then for the last year or two, we have seen the lone wolf attacks, usually home grown but fairly unstable.”
Now, he said, “it’s as if there’s a critical mass of these dissident jihadists in the West who are now in a position rather than act like the single guy in Australia or the single guys acting separately in Canada, as a group, as a cell, and as an organized wave. And that could be what we’re facing right now.”

'The Man Who Would Not Be Washington': Historian Jonathan Horn on Gen. Robert E. Lee

Editor's note: Fox News anchor and former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino recently sat down with Jonathan Horn, author of the new biography on Robert E. Lee, "The Man Who Would Not Be Washington: Robert E. Lee's Civil War and His Decision That Changed American History" (Scribner, January 6, 2015) to talk about the book and its larger lessons.

 Jonathan Horn

Dana Perino: How did you come to be so interested in Robert E. Lee's life, and why did you think it was important for people to know more about him?
Jonathan Horn: What first drew me to Robert E. Lee’s story was geography. I grew up near the Potomac, the same river Lee called home. He spent his childhood in the town of Alexandria, which now is part of Virginia but then was part of the District of Columbia. He married his wife at Arlington House, the columned mansion across the Potomac from where the Lincoln Memorial now stands. And at the start of the Civil War, leaders on both sides of the river recruited Lee for high command.  
The more I studied the choice Lee faced in 1861, the more I wanted to tell his story. He faced an agonizing decision between his devotion to the Union and the duty he felt to follow his native state of Virginia into rebellion. We often focus so much on historical movements and trends that we lose sight of how history can pivot on the decision of one individual. Here was such a moment. The decision Lee made forever changed the course of American history.  
Perino: Explain the title: "The Man Who Would Not Be Washington."
We remember George Washington as the man who would not be king. The title of my book plays off that phrase and speaks to a tragic tension in Lee’s life: that one decision could turn an army officer so closely bound to George Washington’s family against the Union that represented Washington’s greatest legacy. 
For generations, Washingtons and Lees had lived along the Potomac. Lee’s father was Washington’s most famous eulogist, author of the famous words “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Meanwhile, Lee’s father-in-law was George Washington’s adopted son.
These connections were so powerful at the start of the Civil War that an emissary for the Lincoln administration actually tried to persuade Lee to accept command of the main Union army by arguing that the country looked to Lee as “the representative of the Washington family.” Lee’s place in history today would be very different had he accepted that offer instead of casting his fate with Virginia.
Perino: Is there anything in your new book that we may not have known before?
Researching this book revealed just how fraught the Washington-Lee relationship was. For example, what most entangled Lee in slavery—the institution that caused the Civil War—was his marriage to the daughter of George Washington’s adopted son. Lee spent a few years before the war actively managing an estate that included slaves descended from George Washington’s Mount Vernon plantation.
The decision Lee made to fight against the Union tore his ties to its founder in shockingly personal ways that I think will astonish readers, even history buffs who already know something of how federal authorities captured and converted the Arlington estate, where Lee married, into the cemetery we know today.
Perino: During your extensive research, you seem to come to know Lee personally, noting that he had a sense of humor. What was it like to delve so deep into the libraries and archives to piece together the characteristics of someone from another place and time?
Poring over 19th century correspondence makes you feel grateful to the family members and archivists who preserved these documents. It also makes you feel privileged because Lee’s personal letters, like our emails today, express feelings and thoughts that he never intended to share with the public. 
You quickly realize that historical figures defy the simple ways we often characterize them. 
It is true that Lee had a sense of humor, but he also suffered from fatalistic gloom. A general widely remembered for his ability to seize the initiative on the battlefield privately believed himself a captive of circumstance.
Perino: Given all that you learned about Lee and the excruciating decision he made, "the inner turmoil," did it give you a bigger appreciation for how difficult it is for a soldier to take up arms against his own country? While not relevant to America today, there are many countries in the world that are being torn apart by civil war.
It was an especially excruciating decision for Lee because while he believed his duty lay with his native state of Virginia, he personally opposed secession. When Lee turned down command of the main Union army, his mentor in the military told him, “You have made the greatest mistake of your life.” Lee’s wife described the act of resigning from the U.S. Army as “the severest struggle of his life.”
Perino: In present day, there are still major debates about what the Founders intended, which is something Lee wrestled with as well. What do you think Lee would think about how far we've come as a nation?  And is there anything that was learned during that time that is applicable to today's policy debates?
The debates we have today over what the Founding Fathers would do show how our understanding of the past can influence our future. 
We can take solace in knowing that our debates today are nowhere near as divisive as they were at the start of the Civil War. Back then, Unionists and secessionists both cited George Washington’s actions as precedents for their own. Lee himself took the view that the Founding Fathers would have condemned secession, though his opinion on that question changed later in life.
Perino: In the book's acknowledgements, you note that your wife, Caroline, told you to "just go write." I'm wondering, for a project like this, where do you even begin?
I once read an interview where the great American historian David McCullough said, “I try to write the kind of book that I would like to read.” That’s the goal I had in mind when I started this book. There is nothing more fun to do.

Romney says he’s weighing 2016 White House bid

Mitt Romney told a group of supporters in New York on Friday that he is considering a third run for the White House, after denying interest for months in a 2016 bid, Fox News has confirmed.
The former Massachusetts Republican governor, who ran against President Obama in 2012 and lost, made the remarks during a meeting with 30 former large donors in Manhattan.
According to a Romney senior adviser who was in the meeting, he said, "Everybody in here can go tell your friends that I'm considering a run."
The development comes after repeated denials in the press.
Romney told “Fox News Sunday” in September, “I’m not running, and I’m not planning on running.”
Romney’s wife Ann told The Los Angeles Times in October: "Mitt and I are done. Completely. … Not only Mitt and I are done, but the kids are done. Done. Done. Done.”
But in recent days, big-name potential candidates have started moving closer to a Republican presidential bid.
In the last week, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush quit all his major corporate and nonprofit board memberships, and launched a new leadership political action committee (PAC). He announced he was exploring a run last month. Bush reportedly was in Romney’s old stomping ground in Boston on Friday for a fundraising luncheon.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee also announced last weekend he is leaving Fox News as the host of “Huckabee” as he weighs a presidential run. He ran and lost in the 2008 Republican primary – as did Romney.
Though he has long denied rumors of another White House run, Romney still polls well. He topped an early Iowa caucus-goers poll in October with 17 percent. In a December Fox News poll, Romney dominated the GOP field. He came in with 19 percent among self-identified Republicans, followed by Bush at 10 percent. No other candidates garnered double-digit backing.
Romney, a man of considerable family wealth, would nonetheless have to raise millions to jump-start a renewed campaign on the road to the Republican primaries.
He raised over $446 million for the 2012 race, with his top five contributors hailing from Wall Street – close to his donor meeting on Friday.

Report: FBI and Justice Department prosecutors recommend felony charges against Petraeus

FBI and Justice Department prosecutors have recommended bringing felony charges against former CIA director David Petraeus, the New York Times reported Friday night.
The paper, citing “officials,” said the charges related to Petraeus allegedly providing classified information to his former mistress.
If true, Attorney General Eric Holder would then have to decide whether to seek an indictment against Petraeus. Holder originally had been expected to decide about charges by the end of 2014.
The Times said the Justice Department investigation stemmed from an affair Petraeus had with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, and whether he gave her access to his CIA email account and other classified information. Petraeus, a retired four-star general, has said he never provided her with classified information.
The Associated Press quoted a U.S. official as saying the Justice Department was "weighing" whether to bring criminal charges.
It also said a lawyer for Petraeus declined comment.