Video of the Explosion at the Boston Marathon

The initial video of the explosions at the Boston Marathon that we posted from the Boston Globe's web site wasn't formatting properly in our blog's format. You can view them directly by clicking here.

In addition, two other bombs had been found in the Boston area and have been disabled by the Boston Police's bomb squad. 

Mitt Romney: Let's Grow Jobs And Shrink Gov't.

Mitt Romney has a fine op-ed in the Boston Globe today arguing that by growing jobs and shrinking government we can empower the private sector to do what it does best when left unfettered: Lead us to prosperity once again.
Here's part of what Romney says:
A pro-job, pro-prosperity government works to create the conditions that enable businesses of all sizes to grow and thrive. These should include aligning corporate taxes with those of other developed economies, eliminating special corporate tax breaks that lobbyists have inserted over the years, and preserving the Bush tax cuts — especially for small business.
Read the entire piece at the Boston Globe.

Paris Trip: No Transparency

From james Wliims in the Boston Globe:
The [Paris] trip has raised eyebrows among government watchdog groups, particularly since it comes so soon after the Obama's pricey "date night" jaunt to New York - the president called it fulfilling a campaign promise - and in the midst of what Obama himself has called the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
One public interest group notes that the White House still hasn't disclosed expenses from the Manhattan trip - estimated to be about $30,000 - and argues that the public should get a full accounting of a "flashy" European vacation.
Leslie Paige, a spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, said that because Obama has such a demanding job, few would begrudge him some presidential perks - as long as he doesn't completely indulge himself on the taxpayer's dime. The problem, she said, is that Obama has not made his expenses public, and thus is failing to keep his pledge to run an open, transparent government.
"I doubt we'll see the true cost of the trip to Paris," Paige said. Not keeping his promise "has been a disappointment, to say the least," she added. . . .
While it's important to keep the trip in perspective because "there are a lot of big-ticket items like healthcare that will be a lot more important in the long run," Paige said, Obama might have thought twice about taking such a high-profile family vacation.
"He's under a microscope," perhaps more than any president in modern history, Paige said, and modesty will go a long way.
"Maybe he could be more austere," she added, "with a little less flash, and a little more transparency."

Obamas Do Paris, You Pay

From Joseph Williams at the Boston Globe:
So much for the Obama common touch. After whisking his wife to Manhattan for dinner and a Broadway show last weekend, President Obama is treating his family to a Paris vacation -- paid for, in part, by the taxpayers. The White House confirmed today that first lady Michelle Obama, their two daughters, and his mother-in-law will fly Friday to the City of Lights to join the president, who has scheduled meetings with French officials and will appear at a ceremony Saturday in Normandy marking the 65th anniversary of D-Day. Last year on the campaign trail, the Obamas prided themselves on staying close to the people. Much was made of Michelle Obama's down-to-earth J.Crew wardrobe, candidate Obama's off-the-rack suits, and the family's search for a "shelter dog" to satisfy the wishes of 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha for a puppy. Now, the French press is buzzing about whether the first family will dine at a posh restaurant atop the Eiffel Tower, what fashions the first lady will wear, and whether she'll outshine Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, her glamourous French counterpart. But the trip has raised eyebrows among government watchdog groups, particularly since it comes so soon after the Obama's pricey "date night" jaunt to New York -- the president called it fulfilling a campaign promise -- and in the midst of what Obama himself has called the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. One public interest group notes that the White House still hasn't disclosed expenses from the Manhattan trip -- estimated to be about $30,000 -- and argues that the public should get a full accounting of a "flashy" European vacation. Leslie Paige, a spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, said Obama has such a demanding job few would begrudge him some presidential perks -- as long as he doesn't completely indulge himself on the taxpayer's dime. The problem, she said, is Obama has not made his expenses public, and thus is failing to keep his pledge to run an open, transparent government.
I've never been to Paris? Have you?
I'd love to go some day but I don't think I'll be going any time soon with the economy the way it is.
Of course, it's always easier (and more fun) to go when someone else is paying your expenses.
Vive le taxpayers!

Queen Nancy's Popularity: 39%

From Foon Rhee at the Boston Globe:
Embattled House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has approval ratings nearly as low as Newt Gingrich when he was the primary lightning rod in Congress, a new poll says.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released this afternoon found that the approval of how Pelosi is doing her job as speaker has dropped from 51 percent in January to 46 percent in March to 39 percent now.
In the new survey, conducted Thursday through Sunday while Pelosi was embroiled in controversy over how much she was told about waterboarding of terrorist suspects, 48 percent of respondents said they disapproved of her performance.
In a news conference on Thursday, she said she had been misled by the CIA -- an accusation that prompted officials of both parties to defend the spy agency and that provoked some angry Republicans to say she should put up proof or shut up and apologize.
Gingrich, the former GOP house speaker during the mid-1990s, has called on Pelosi to resign as speaker. He had his approval rating drop into the low 30 percent and as low as 25 percent in March 1997.

Why's Obama Protecting Geithner?

From Joan Vennochi in the Boston Globe:
President Obama got frosty during Tuesday night's press conference when asked about the bonuses paid to employees of American International Group, the failed company that received an $180 billion taxpayer bailout. He said he needed time to get angry "because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak."
When Obama finally got mad, he got mad at Wall Street. But he knows who else deserves the cold shoulder. The list of bonus conspirators includes his own economic team, which is headed by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
The controversial AIG contracts, which provide for so-called retention bonuses, were written in March 2008. A year later, after taxpayers became 80 percent owners of AIG, the bonuses were protected by Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd, via a special provision inserted into the federal stimulus bill.
Dodd said he did it because Geithner's Treasury Department asked him to do it.
Geithner said his staff did it and he did not know "the full extent" of the bonus payments until March 10 - an assertion that defies logic. . . .
Geithner eventually said he would take "full responsibility" but insisted he did not learn of the bonuses until March 10. A Treasury Department spokesman later said Geithner "was not aware of the timing or full extent of the contractual retention payments or other bonus programs until his staff brought them to his attention on March 10." . . .
It took until March 20 for Geithner to confirm that his department pushed Dodd to write the budget loophole into the economic stimulus plan.
The president has made it clear Geithner is his guy. What he has never made clear to the American public is why.
Obama stood behind Geithner when his then-nominee said he didn't pay his taxes because of some misunderstanding of the tax code. Now Obama is standing behind Geithner when he says he didn't know about the AIG bonuses because he didn't fully understand what his staff was negotiating.
The president is now asking American taxpayers to trust Geithner's plan to help buy up so-called toxic assets, as well as to expand the government's authority to take over troubled corporations like AIG.
That's asking for a lot of trust. So far, on a personal level, Geithner has done little to show taxpayers he deserves it. But Obama continues to praise him, and even said in a "60 Minutes" interview that he would reject Geithner's resignation, if offered.
A market rally boosts Geithner's stock when it comes to pleasing Wall Street. But it shouldn't erase the honesty question for Main Street.
A Treasury secretary who trims the truth on any level is a liability. But Obama is sticking with his investment, out of loyalty, stubbornness, or both.
There has been plenty of time to figure out who knew what about the AIG bonus formula and when they knew it. If the full calculation doesn't get Obama angry, it should.