Darfur activists are concerned that the latest comments by the Obama administration’s special envoy for Sudan are a sign the United States is easing pressure on Khartoum.

Say WHAT? Well hey, since when was Darfur a big priority for our government anyway? Our leaders have been focusing on *real* issues, like…

1. Finding a puppy that’s cute AND hypoallergenic
2. Making fun of handicapped people
3. Further inflating the already too-big Gates incident and turning a serious national discussion of racial profiling into a late-night beer jokes

Oh wait, *those* aren’t the issues! Those are the publicity stunts that Obama’s been using so people won’t pay *attention* to the economy, health care, and foreign policy! Not to mention Darfur…

On Thursday, the special envoy, Scott Gration, appeared to argue for easing sanctions when he told lawmakers at a Senate hearing that there is no evidence to back up the U.S. designation of Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism. He said that the sanctions were hindering his work and called the terrorism designation “a political decision.”

*slaps forehead*

So let me get this straight.

Saddam Hussein’s government, which led the oil-rich nation of Iraq, killed Shi’ites and Kurds, and supposedly had weapons of mass destruction and ties to Al Qaeda circa 2003. That makes that government a terrorist government.

But the government of the oil-rich nation of Sudan has been slowly wiping out the Darfur region *since* 2003, with support from the landlord to America’s broke tenant, China. We’ve been hanging out in the apartments in the middle of the eastern section of its floor, but it really wanted to, it could crash Sudan’s kegger instead. But China will of course be at that party, so if we went, things would get even more awkward. So let’s *not* put the Sudan on our shit list of terrorists. And *not* designating Sudan’s government as a threat to human life for those reasons is totally NOT a “political decision”.

*Now* I get it.

LEWISTON – You could say it was running on empty. After taking off this month, the popular Cash for Clunker trade-in program ran out of federal funding.

Friday the House passed $2 billion in emergency funds to keep it driving on.

Some Valley residents have already taken advantage of the first $1billion.

At Rogers Toyota, Sales Manager David Stockwell said the program has helped business.

I feel like Cash for Clunkers and all the other recent government interference in the private sector is a good idea…in the short term. Long term, we’ll see if it sets a bad precedent for America’s economic system.

By Ben Tan — August 3, 2009

Ford’s July auto sales were up 2.3 percent, juiced by the government’s “cash for clunkers” $4,500 credit, the automaker reported.

“Cash for clunkers put us over the top,” said George Pipas, sales analyst for Ford on CNBC.

The short-term government spending program designated $1 billion to pay consumers up to $4,500 for trading in old cars for energy efficient vehicles. Money for the program ran out months earlier than expected, forcing the House to vote for $2 billion more on Friday. The Senate has yet to take up the additional funding request. Obama’s backers say the program proves that the president’s economic plan is correct.

“The so-called cash for clunkers program has actually been far more successful than people expected,” said National Economic Council President Larry Summers, “both in terms of the number of car sales it’s generated, and, I should say, in terms of the environmental benefit.”

Alan Greenspan, former head of the Federal Reserve, gave a thumbs-up to the cash for clunkers program but said yesterday it is popular because the economy is on its way back up, and not because it is stimulative. The program has worked to get people to buy cars and move stock, he said, but Greenspan did not necessarily recommend it as an economic fix.

“It’s an interesting issue,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“I mean, I have qualms about the concept, but there is no doubt that that very extraordinary response is a very important indicator that the state of confidence in the economy is beginning to pick up. If we had been — the clunker program had been put in place six months ago, it would have probably been a dud.”

Ford’s monthly increase marks their first since November 2007. Ford is the first major automaker to report July sales. The automaker believed it would “fall short” of last year’s July sales until the government stimulus kicked in, Pipas said. Sales of Ford’s core brands, Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury, rose by 9 percent according to the report. Diminished fleet sales and other poor-performing brands dragged the overall number down to 2.3 percent.