Feingold wants more troops?

Strike that, he wants troops in more places.

Senator Russ Feingold seems to think he's the only one talking about global terrorism.

On Tuesday, Feingold cited the botched Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound plane — allegedly by a Nigerian man with suspected ties to al-Qaida in Yemen — as evidence of the threat he's warned of for nearly a decade.

"It's very sad that it takes an incident like this for people to pay adequate attention to places like Yemen," Feingold said in an interview. "Time and again, I've been trying to get people to think about the war against al-Qaida as a global war rather than fighting it country by country."

We know there are other nations involved. Terrorists are certainly harbored in more than Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. But you cannot send troops to 100 different nations and think the force will be strong enough to dispel terrorists world-wide.

James Phillips, a senior research fellow on Middle East affairs at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said while more attention should be given to Yemen, it shouldn't detract from the efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Yemen definitely requires a greater effort," Phillips said, "but not at the cost of reducing resources in Afghanistan and Iraq. We should not make the mistake of using the recent problems in Yemen as an excuse to retreat from Afghanistan."

Where they are strongest, we must be. A lone Nigerian bomber from Yemen with explosives in his crotch isn't exactly the mastermind of Osama.

This IS a global fight. The Christmas bomber showed terrorists can come from anywhere and take their fight anywhere, not just from the caves of Afghanistan to the shores of America.

So I ask you, Mr. Feingold, where is everyone else?

Feingold anti-Czar?

How refreshing.

Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin joined the anti-czar chorus Wednesday, asking Obama to detail the roles and responsibilities of all of the czars in his administration and to explain why he believes the use of czars is consistent with the Senate’s constitutional power to offer advice and consent on top-level executive branch officials.

“To the extent that this undercuts that role and people are put in the place of Cabinet people and really are the key authorities and you can’t question them, that’s something worth talking about,” Feingold said. “I think it’s a fair point.”

Feingold says he doesn’t know if there are any constitutional violations, but he suggested that he may hold an oversight hearing on the matter.

Keep it up, Russ.

Feingold has no hope for healthcare bill

At least not before the end of the year. That's the spirit, Russ!

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold told a large crowd gathered for a listening session in Iron County last week there would likely be no health care bill before the end of the year - and perhaps not at all.

It was an assessment Feingold said he didn't like, but the prospect of no health care legislation brought a burst of applause from a packed house of nearly 150 citizens at the Mercer Community Center.

"Nobody is going to bring a bill before Christmas, and maybe not even then, if this ever happens," Feingold said. "The divisions are so deep. I never seen anything like that."

Feingold reiterated his appraisal a bit later.

"We're headed in the direction of doing absolutely nothing, and I think that's unfortunate," he said when asked about the plight of uninsured Americans.

The problem is that representatives are NOT listening to their constituents. Maybe the holiday break will give them a chance to consider working for those who elected them.

The division is so deep because this issue is so critical- and the outcome could be severe if reform isn't done right.