Joseph Curl

CURL: Shelly O — first lady Michelle Obama comes in last

First ladies, almost from the beginning, have taken up lofty causes when they move into the White House. Dolley Madison concerned herself with the plight of orphans. Ellen Wilson, shocked by the squalid streets of Washington, took up urban housing (and even got a bill through Congress, the first FLOTUS to do so). Rosalynn Carter made her signature issue mental health. Published April 20, 2014

CURL: The state of the Union — worse than you thought

Tax Day has come and gone (sort of like Spring in the Northeast). Left behind is just a cold bitterness that is getting colder and bitter-er by the day (not talking about the weather here). Published April 16, 2014

CURL: Kathleen Sebelius — You just can’t make this stuff up

With Team Obama, every day brings another story that falls into the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" category. Like Friday, when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stood in the White House Rose Garden with President Obama to deliver her farewell speech. Published April 13, 2014

CURL: The next hot spot is the world’s problem, not America’s

The Washington Times headline blared the news: "Senators demand arms for restive Ukraine." Yes, the illustrious U.S. Senate, which for the past decade has overspent on the U.S. budget by trillions and trillions of dollars, thinks it's a very good idea if America wades into a battle with Russia over some former USSR territory. Published April 9, 2014

CURL: It’s the Democrats’ turn for a ‘culture of corruption’

In the run-up to the 2006 mid-term elections, crucial to President George W. Bush's plans for his last two years in office, scandal reared its hideous head. Again and again. And just for the Republicans. Published April 6, 2014

CURL: Obama claims 7 million health care sign-ups, press corps says, ‘yeah, OK’

Boy, you gotta' hand it to that crack Washington press corps. It's really on the ball with this whole Obamacare thing. Published April 2, 2014

CURL: Who the hell are the Koch brothers?

Just kidding. I know who the Koch brothers are. They're the billionaire oil magnates who control 4,000 miles of pipeline and whose corporation, Koch Industries, owns dozens of companies like Georgia-Pacific lumber, Stainmaster carpet, Brawny paper towels, Angel Soft toilet paper, even Dixie cups. Net sales: $115 billion. A year. Published March 30, 2014

CURL: U.S. won’t be world’s richest nation for long

Sometimes, especially lately, it's depressing to think about the future of the U.S. Published March 26, 2014

CURL: Obamacare turns four, but still wetting the bed

Obamacare turned four years old Sunday. But unlike a human offspring, which would developing by leaps and bounds, the poor little government program is still peeing the bed. Published March 23, 2014

CURL: Obama, toxic avenger

President Obama is so toxic to Democrats that even his own one-time sycophantic aides are saying, "Who?" Published March 19, 2014

CURL: We overhauled U.S. health care — to insure 4.2 million people?

The number bounced around for years — 46 million. President Obama said it in August 2009: "I don't have to explain to you that nearly 46 million Americans don't have health insurance coverage today. In the wealthiest nation on Earth, 46 million of our fellow citizens have no coverage." Published March 16, 2014

CURL: Calm down, conservatives: Obama’s ‘Two Ferns’ bit was brilliant

Every time I sit down to write my column, my wife or my son or my daughter will wander in and say: "Whucha' dune?" I always say, "Writing my column." Then they always say: "What about? How bad Obama is — again?" Published March 12, 2014

CURL: Today’s GOP really is Reagan’s ‘Big Tent’ party

The mainstream media have a meme they post over and over and over: The Republican Party is in "disarray." Sometimes they say it's "divided." Or there's "discord," or "dissension," or "dysfunction." Other times, the GOP is ripped apart by "disunity" or "disharmony." Published March 9, 2014

Obama goes from lame to laughable — in just one week

It's not often that so many incredible — even laughable — stories come along all in the same week, so let's not waste one moment before we jump right in. Published March 6, 2014

CURL: God making a comeback in Hollywood

In 2013, we had Leonardo DiCaprio snorting cocaine off — well, if you saw "The Wolf of Wall Street" (a totally missable movie, regardless of what the vaunted Academy says), you know where. Cate Blanchett chomped Xanax like they were Tic Tacs, Matthew McConaughey did his yeoman's share of coke, and "American Hustle" taught us all that drugged-out crime really does pay. Published March 2, 2014

CURL: Fear and trembling for Democrats on Capitol Hill

How bad are things in Congress right now for Democrats? So bad that a guy who has been there 58 years is calling it quits. I mean, c'mon, where does he have to go? Published February 26, 2014

CURL: Both parties a joke in budget’s silly season

In "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," the classic 1975 movie, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table ride toward Camelot (well, there are no horses, just a guy clacking two halves of a coconut shell together). Published February 23, 2014

CURL: In 2014, Obama looks to divide and conquer again

President Obama, fresh off a three-day weekend of golf and "climate change" scare-mongering in California, has once again turned his attention to the issue Americans care most about: Raising the minimum wage to $10.10. Published February 19, 2014

CURL: New ‘climate change’ tack: It’s the economy, stupid

You readers who have lived in the Washington area since the 1970s will remember the frigid winters back then. They lasted for months and dumped foot after foot of snow. The biggest lakes in the area froze solid — so solid that parents let their children play hockey on them. And the C&O Canal was a speed skater's dream — a 20-mile sheet of ice from Georgetown to Violette's Lock in Potomac. Published February 16, 2014

CURL: The rehabilitation of Hillary Clinton

While Hillary Rodham Clinton has all but vanished, hitting the speaker's circuit at $200,000 a pop and bouncing between her two palatial mansions in New York and Washington, the press corps is working overtime to rebuild her tarnished reputation. Published February 12, 2014