Top News Stories of the Week

Friday, June 25, 2010 at 08:00 AM

The following stories were the biggest news events of the preceding week, according to the users of the Drudge Retort.

McChrystal Out

President Barack Obama has decided to relieve Gen. Stanley McChrystal of his command over all U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, sources tell NBC News.

Posted by mysterytoy at 01:38 PM on June 23, 2010 | 502 COMMENTS

McChrystal Mouths Off

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan was summoned to the White House Tuesday after criticizing the administration in a Rolling Stone interview. Among many other negative comments, Gen. Stanley McChrystal was "disappointed" in his first Oval Office meeting with President Obama, according to aides, and told the magazine "I found that time painful." The president has angrily demanded he answer for the remarks, a extraordinary breach of protocol for a top U.S. military official, Politico reports.

Posted by paneocon at 12:21 PM on June 22, 2010 | 474 COMMENTS

California Unions Agree to Pension Cuts

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger won a major victory Wednesday when leaders of four unions, including those representing state firefighters and highway patrol officers, agreed to a substantial pension rollback. It has been years since any of the state's powerful public employee unions have consented to trimming retirement packages.

Posted by LetUsPrey at 08:30 AM on June 20, 2010 | 220 COMMENTS

Obama Not Afraid to Twist Arms

With President Obama's successful move to force BP to establish a $20 billion fund, he has reinvigorated a debate about the reach of government power. It is an argument that has come to define Obama's first 18 months in office, and one that he clearly hopes to make a central issue in November's midterm elections.

Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 09:03 AM on June 19, 2010 | 214 COMMENTS

Rand Paul: Unemployed Should Accept Less

In a radio interview, Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul said that it's time for the nation's unemployed to take a low-paying job rather than continuing to rely in unemployment benefits. "As bad as it sounds, ultimately we do have to sometimes accept a wage that's less than we had at our previous job in order to get back to work and allow the economy to get started again," Paul said. "Nobody likes that, but it may be one of the tough love things that has to happen."

Posted by rcade at 04:27 PM on June 21, 2010 | 205 COMMENTS

Shermer: The Science of Self-Deception

Michael Shermer: Souls, spirits, ghosts, gods, demons, angels, aliens, intelligent designers, government conspiracists, and all manner of invisible agents with power and intention are believed to haunt our world and control our lives. Why? The answer has two parts, starting with the concept of patternicity, which I define as the human tendency to find meaningful patterns in meaningless noise.

Posted by zombiehunter at 08:17 AM on June 23, 2010 | 153 COMMENTS

Gardner Executed by Firing Squad

Condemned inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed early Friday morning. The 49-year-old was pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m., about two minutes after the firing squad shot him. Strapped to a metal chair with a white target pinned to his chest, Gardner was fired upon by five anonymous marksmen standing behind a wall 25 feet away -- four of them with live rounds.

Posted by whatsleft at 09:14 AM on June 18, 2010 | 146 COMMENTS

Senate Rejects More Stimulus Funding

The Senate on Wednesday rejected a $140 billion taxes and spending package in a resounding defeat for President Obama and Democratic leaders that signaled the era of freewheeling stimulus spending is giving way to greater concern for deficits.

Posted by mysterytoy at 06:31 PM on June 18, 2010 | 142 COMMENTS

Palin Calls Marijuana 'Minimal Problem'

"I think we need to prioritize our law enforcement efforts," Sarah Palin said on Fox Business Network Wednesday night. "And if somebody's gonna smoke a joint in their house and not do anybody else any harm, then perhaps there are other things our cops should be looking at to engage in and try to clean up some of the other problems that we have in society."

Posted by shredder at 03:30 PM on June 18, 2010 | 134 COMMENTS

Texas GOP Wants to Criminalize Gay Marriage

The platform of the Texas Republican Party now includes planks to make it a felony to issue a marriage license or perform a marriage ceremony for same-sex couples. "Homosexuality must not be presented as an acceptable 'alternative' lifestyle in our public education and policy, nor should 'family' be redefined to include homosexual 'couples'," the platform states.

Posted by greeneyedguy at 08:21 AM on June 23, 2010 | 128 COMMENTS

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