Lockerbie bomber ’set free for oil’
The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal.
Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards.
The letters were sent two years ago by Jack Straw, the justice secretary, to Kenny MacAskill, his counterpart in Scotland, who has been widely criticised for taking the formal decision to permit Megrahi’s release.
Archive for August, 2009
A Major Injustice if True
Monday, August 31st, 2009Health Care Reform: Moral Imperative?
Monday, August 31st, 2009According to The Politico, former Vice President Al Gore believe that it is our moral duty to pass health care reform:
Gore… was loose-limbed and noticeably thinner than in recent years — and he seemed to elicit the night’s most emotional moment.
Playing off the focus of the Kennedy funeral on the Gospel of Matthew’s parable of Jesus taking care of “the least of us,” Gore thundered that the country has “a moral duty to pass health care reform. This year.”
What Senator Gore neglects to mention is that Jesus laid that duty upon us as individuals — not on the government. The only duty the government has, biblically speaking, is to treat everyone fairly.
Stealing is a sin. The Bible makes no exemptions for privation or starvation. It makes no exemptions for stealing from the rich to give to the poor.
It is our moral duty to give to the poor. It is not our moral duty to take from the rich to give to the poor.
So, donate to non-profit clinics or volunteer at one. To encourage such donations, perhaps we could make all charitable donations 50% deductible.
Send Ken Cuccinelli Some Money If You Want To Make A Difference
Sunday, August 30th, 2009If at the time of our elections for national office every couple years you, like me, survey the landscape and say “how in the hell did we end up with this gaggle of losers to choose from?” – I encourage you to send a donation to Ken Cuccinelli’s campaign for Virginia Attorney General before the end of the business day tomorrow, Monday August 31.
Do it. Just send a donation of whatever you think you can afford, be it $25 or $250.
Money he receives by tomorrow will show up on the Sept. 15 campaign finance report, which is a powerful pump primer for inspiring people to send him even more money in the two-month run up to the November election. Potential donors will be influenced by his fundraising total reflected in the Sept. 15 report, so let’s do everything to ensure EVERYONE knows Ken is on a roll.
The only way we get good national candidates is by first promoting good local and state candidates. As you well know, this happens far, far too infrequently.
But this is beginning to look like a good potential year for conservative candidates – the true face of liberalism has sent a shudder down the collective spine of the American people, and the only thing that will threaten Ken’s ascendacy to the next stepping-stone will be if he is hugely outspent by his Democrat challenger who is likely to garner piles of cash from out-of-state liberal interest groups.
Years from now when your grandchild is on your knee asking “What did you do when a true conservative like Ken Cuccinelli was climbing the ladder to higher office?” I don’t want you to have to answer “I was shoveling shit in Louisiana.”
Help make a difference. Send Ken Cuccinelli’s campaign some money. This is a singular opportunity.
Moran on “Myths”
Saturday, August 29th, 2009At his town hall meeting last Tuesday, Rep. Moran opened with a slide show presentation attempting to dispel twelve “myths” about the health care reform bill H.B.3200. The “myths” and “facts” are reprinted in the Falls Church News-Press. (Although Rep. Moran’s commentary is not yet posted there, his many others are, so I expect this one will be posted very shortly.)
The town hall meeting was not a debate — it was a show-and-tell followed by a question-and-answer. This article covers Rep. Moran’s show-and-tell. (more…)
So Who Got Bumped?
Saturday, August 29th, 2009Sen. Kennedy’s will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery today. A soldier killed in action, or a WWII vet who has finally gone to his reward, must wait over two months. So someone was scheduled to be buried today, and was bumped for Kennedy. Who was it? Will the Kennedy’s be reimbursing the family who traveled here this week to see their loved one buried? Somehow, I doubt it.
Forget cursing or mud slinging, Ted Kennedy is dead
Saturday, August 29th, 2009Forget cursing or mud slinging. It doesn’t do anyone any good.
What can do some good is working to undo much of what was done. I would suspect there are plenty of laws that need to be removed from the books … instead of wasting time on beating a dead horse, work to get the course of the country back on track.
National health-care is just about dead, but it needs to be put to sleep.
No Child Gets Ahead needs to be repealed.
Real immigration reform (closing the boarders) needs to be passed.
Those three ought to be enough to get people moving. It would help to push a national prohibition on restriction of firearms as well. There are a number of things that might be possible to push. Don’t waste breath on what changes nothing. Get motivated. Start working to push appropriate legislation through.
Limit the power of the central government to what the constitution says.
The Kennedy Legacy
Thursday, August 27th, 2009To mark the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy I was going to rekey some portions of the chapter on Chappaquiddick from Donkey Cons, because reading it a couple years ago had a strong effect on me, not having known the details – and I assume many others are ignorant as well. However … not in this lifetime. I am just too busy lately.
But almost as effective is DK co-author Stacy McCain’s recent post, so go check it out here .
UPDATE: Via Ace is this important read.
UPDATE II: And to get a measure of the man: “One of his favorite topics of humor was Chappaquiddick.”
Damn the Constitution — We Need a Filibuster-Proof Majority!!
Thursday, August 27th, 2009Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution says, “No State… shall pass any…ex post facto law.” Unconcerned with such trivialities, the Demonrats in Massachusetts are considering passing a law to return to the governor the power to appoint a replacement in the event of a vacancy such as that created by the death of Sen. Kennedy. Of course, when Mitt Romney, a Republican, was governor, and it looked as though Sen. Kerry might become President, the legislature took that power away from the governor. But now thet the demonrats’ political agenda might be jeopardized by waiting for an election (Are they too incompetent in Massachusetts to put together a special election in a month or two?)
Well, the demonrats didn’t give a damn about the election laws in New Jersey when the Torch was losing his re-election and they replaced him with the Lout, so why should they give a damn about the Constitution now? They never have before.
Why All the Union People at Health Care Townhalls ?
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009This may be one reason :
Obamacare bails out union pension plans, too
Union bosses who have mismanaged benefits for their own members are poised to receive a $10 billion bailout from U.S. taxpayers in the form of a “reinsurance program” that has been folded into the healthcare bill, according to the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI).
This provision should be viewed as part of a larger payback effort the Obama White House and top congressional figures have set up in exchange for the support they have received from organized labor, Katie Packer, executive director of WFI said.
And he really wants us to believe?
Monday, August 24th, 2009Obama has long stated that the health-care reform he wants is not a rationing plan, or that he wants to encourage people to die, then he ought to stop publishing this garbage. If the health-care he is in charge of already is pushing don’t use care but die, then how does he expect anyone to believe him when he wants to control the rest of health-care? If veterans are being encouraged to die rather than use health-care (and they are owed health-care more than anyone else) how does he expect any trust from us? What kind of idiot is he anyway?
Even The Post Can Barely Sugarcoat This Collapse
Friday, August 21st, 2009In the latest Zogby poll, about which Allah says simply “oh my,” President Obama’s approval rating is down to 45%, with 50% disapproving his job performance.
Ok, we can write that one off to a right-wing polling organization, probably directed by the RNC and funded by health insurance conglomerates.
But when the venerably suck-up Washington Post notes the luster is off the icon then it’s time to piss on the fire and call in the dogs, boys, because this national swoon is ovah.
Among all Americans, 49 percent now express confidence that Obama will make the right decisions for the country, down from 60 percent at the 100-day mark in his presidency…As challenges to Obama’s initiatives have mounted over the summer, pessimism in the nation’s direction has risen: Fifty-five percent see things as pretty seriously on the wrong track, up from 48 percent in April.
(I already sent a thank you note for the helpful explanation that the pesky “challenges” are to blame for the sharp uptick in pessimism, so you can put down your pen.)
The Post/ABC poll found slightly better results for the President than Zogby, but in a trend that still evokes images of giant slalom or – less metaphorically – the Hindenburg.
The president’s overall approval rating stands at 57 percent, 12 points lower than its April peak, as disapproval has ticked up to 40 percent, its highest yet.
Of course, we can’t let those depressing numbers overshadow the good news, reported appropriately in the fourth paragraph of a 24-paragraph story:
But there has been a notable increase in optimism about the length of the recession: Half of all Americans expect it to be over within the next 12 months. In February, just 28 percent said the recession would end that rapidly.
In related news, the thousands of Americans who have been subsisting on cat food believe a step up to dog food is right around the corner.
But there is some genuinely positive data regarding the $787 billion down a rat hole “stimulus”:
Obama’s economic stimulus plan has come under attack from Republicans, who say it has failed to bring tangible benefits. But in the poll, almost twice as many say the program has made things better as say it has made things worse (43 percent to 23 percent), with a third saying the plan has had no effect.
Another way to have written that sentence could have been “while 43 percent say the program has made things better, 56 percent say it has either made things worse or has had no effect,” but this is a Democrat administration we’re talking about so it’s important to watch our words.
In case you are distrustful of how the Post is reporting its own poll data, and have some free time from your mob activities today, you can dig into the metrics here.
Oh, that is, only if you are interested in metrics that have nothing to do with the article, because Question 1 and Questions 3-25 are all “held for future release.” Sorry about that. I’m sure the only reason that data is embargoed is because it details the blooming optimism about the future of America’s senior citizens in Obama’s America, such as the greatly anticipated “Hemlock option,” and the Post does not want to burden us with too much good news in one day.
Cash for Clunkers
Thursday, August 20th, 2009Many question the effectiveness of the Cash For Clunkers program, with many economists suspecting that this program has simply diverted consumer cash from other retail sectors. In light of this, I would like to propose a real Cash For Clunkers program.
Any state that replaces a high mileage, low performing federal legislator will receive $4.5 million in federal funding, no strings attached. A few examples that come to mind :
Please don’t call me mam Barbara Boxer. Senator Boxer began her tenure in the Senate in 1993, and her recent comments appear to brand her as a relic from the bygone yuppy era of the late 80s and early 90s. Boxer has also been a leading opponent of domestic energy exploration, and a leading proponent of the man-made Global Warming myth.
Dianne Feinstein, what does she really do anyway, other than wait on the sidelines for an opportune moment to reintroduce her assault weapons ban ?
What party can I jump to now that the Democrats have announced a primary challenger for my Senate seat, Arlen Spector. As a Republican, Spector voted with Republicans, and now as a Democrat, votes with the Democrats. What does he stand for other than really liking the perks of his job ?
Robert Byrd, one of the highest mileage individuals in the Senate, of late has had health issues affecting his appearances on the Senate floor. It is rumored that he is considering retirement rather than try to catch Strom Thurmond as the longest serving U.S. Senator. Brett Favre should take note of this.
Nancy Pelosi, her wide-eyed Cabbage Patch Kid look is just so 70s, as is her perspectives on how our society should function. With the public outcries over the House Cap and Tax, and the current House health care plan, it appears the rubber is coming off of her retreads.
We need earmark reform for everyone else but me, Lindsay Graham. Earlier this year on Meet The Press, Senator Graham called for federal earmark reform, then followed up with a strong defense of his own earmarks to funnel pork to his home state of South Carolina, including federal funding for a convention center in Myrtle Beach.
What other clunkers should be retired from service ?
Ted Kennedy — Partisan Hack
Thursday, August 20th, 2009Of course, when a Republican was governor and they thought John Kerry might become president, Kennedy had no problem with changing Massachusetts law to take naming a replacement out of the hands of the governor. Now that the governor is a Democrat, he wants the governor to again be able to name a replacement. “[He] said the state and country need two Massachusetts senators.”
Of course, when Sen. Johnson had a stroke and was absent for a year, no one was concerned about whether South Dakota had two senators. Johnson is a Democrat, and the governor was a Republican.
Loudon County to Cut Expenditures by 20%
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009The county government has finally, belatedly, realized that Loudoun will not be able tax its way out of the budget mess that the county government has spent its way into. After raising our personal property taxes to a state high of $1.24 and the squeezing our business owners even harder, the county government is now thunderstruck that there is no more blood left in the turnip.
This reckless spending, and the ridiculous tax increases needed to support it, has caused commercial interests in Loudoun to relocate, or close altogether. The end result has been a net loss of receipts. This board of directors has flunked basic economics 101.
This is to be expected, as most Democrats would not understand a Laffer curve if their lives depended on it. and the ridiculous tax increases needed to support it, has caused commercial interests in Loudoun to relocate, or close altogether. The end result has been a net loss of tax receipts, despit the harm done to the typical Loudoun home owner.
A question for our current board members, “Why is it, when my home value is going down, that my property tax bill is going up?” Which begs the next question, “Why is it, when I’m getting poorer the county budget is increasing?”
The FY2011 budget will be baselined off the 2010. The various Departments have been told to review the FY2010 budget reductions and confirm prioritizations, justify their changes relative to the 2010 budget, review potential FY2011 enhancements and cost savings. One on one meetings for the Departments with the County Administrator began at the start of August and will continue through to September. I guess the hoary old liberal canard of its for the children is just not cutting it any more.
There will be a County Finance Government Service Committee meeting on September 2 to present and discuss preliminary revenue forecasts. For the general public the current forecast is: bloated, with slavish waste throughout the county — most of all in the Middleburg Schools where the pupil to teacher ratio is 6 to 1 in many grade levels. For us peasants in the eastern part of the county, we are eating cake. Considering the fact that our school budget is over-funded to the tune of $147M that is some very expensive cake.
The meeting will also cover fund balance information, which one would imagine is splashed with red. The budget overview will investigate state and federal funding status, and, Loudoun County Schools requirements. “The full financial picture will not be understood until September 2nd”, considering the willful suspension of disbelief that has been going on in all levels of the county government the past 10 years why will one event suddenly bring sight to those who will not see? The plan is that this will provide information needed for the FGSO to bring before the Board for consideration on the 15th of September.
Work will be carried forward through the fall in this effort and will culminate in a presentation to the Board of Supervisors in early February. Why did the BOS not reign in growth in the county government will remain a mystery. The school budget has increased at twice the rate of inflation and growth combined for the past five years. Why did the BOS not stop this train wreck before it left the station? Why is Hatrick still empire building? Considering the money spent, why is it the top ranked Loudoun HS is Loudoun Valley which comes in at 164th? Throwing money at the issue is not the solution, these cuts are long overdue.
Polarization
Monday, August 17th, 2009Polarization: a sharp division, as of a population or group, into opposing factions.
Right now, the country is in the process of becoming polarized. Liberals have covered the truth about Obama enough that his agenda, now coming out in the policies and people he chooses, are so far left that many of the right are not just unhappy, they are more than angry. The right is enraged.
How is this possible? It is possible because the only people in power are politicians. There are so few politicians that actually care about the issues from a standpoint of doing what is right, that regardless of which side they are working, they do it for the wrong reasons. (Not all … I particularly support KC4AG because he is principled in his decisions … consider that a shameless plug!) Many of the Republicans are there not because they believe how they vote, but do so to “represent” the people. I’m sorry, but I think that is wrong.
Because there are no fundamental universal principles for the country, it is inevitable that it fracture. Why can’t we just get along? Because there are those that call evil good and good evil, we cannot get along. It doesn’t matter which set of good and evil each side holds; it only matters that what is in view is total polarization.
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Because we have no absolutes in common, because so many will call evil what so many others call good, the country cannot stand. The house divided against itself cannot stand.
Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
There is no agreement among the people of this country. So the people cannot walk together. Without the glue that binds us, the moral/religious views that brought the people here in the first place, this country becomes a house divided against itself. It cannot stand.
