While America may hang our head in shame over Kyoto and the failure to move aggressively on global warming, Canada it appears has asbestos. The article below raises an interesting disconnect between Canada’s blocking of the international listing of chrysotile asbestos to the Rotterdam Convention, a U.N. treaty on hazardous substances while ordering the removal of asbestos from government buildings due to its danger.
Continue reading “Oh Canada: Government Blocks Listing of Asbestos as Hazardous Export While Removing Asbestos From Parliament Buildings”
Category: Politics
John Lennon fans may be a bit surprised to see an interview in the new documentary, Beatles Stories, with Lennon’s long time friend Fred Seaman. Seaman says that Lennon had moved away from his early radicalism and became a fan of . . . wait for it . . . Ronald Reagan.
Continue reading “Imagine: John Lennon As A Reagan Republican”
Democratic members have raised a novel argument under the Fourteenth Amendment that the refusal to raise the debt ceiling is unconstitutional. For full disclosure, I was asked about this argument weeks ago by members who believe that forcing the country to default would be not just catastrophic but unconstitutional. I will be discussing this topic today on CNN and tonight on Countdown.
Continue reading “Democrats Raise Constitutional Argument In Favor Of Raising Debt Limit”
The second happiest place on Earth is cutting rationed food to as low as 150 grams (5.3 ounces) a day. That is roughly 375 calories a day for North Koreans in the worker’s paradise.
Continue reading “North Korea Slashes Rations To As Little As 375 Calories a Day”
For years, we have followed the painful display of Barack Obama trying to deal with same-sex marriage by finding the best political position for himself. Principle has never been part of the equation, of course. The decision whether to stop discrimination against homosexuals is clearly based on what would be the most useful to the President. The result has been rather ugly with Jay Carney prompting laughs with the recent position that the President has been clear that his position is unclear. Now the President has adopted another position tailored for the election.
Continue reading “Obama: I’ve Made A Decision To Leave The Decision To States On Gay Marriage”
The late Senator Ted Stevens was once mocked for the “bridge to nowhere” — a massive construction project that would have connected the town of Ketchikan, Alaska with Gravina Island — with 50 residents. Now, during an economic crisis and painful cutbacks, Rep. John L. Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is pushing through a $1.2 billion rail line that is expected to serve just 2,150 commuters a day.
The SunRail project has been widely denounced as a giveaway to Mica’s campaign donor, CSX, which will receive hundreds of millions for its rail line and upgrades. When confronted over the CSX windfall, Mica responded “Everybody has different vested interests. But you look at what is being proposed on paper, and it just make sense.” The problem is that a wide array of Republicans and Democrats have looked at the project (as well as federal officials) and found it to be wasteful.
Yet, even at this time of tremendous budget cutbacks and suffering, our Congress is still incapable of blocking such pet projects. If you recall, the solution to Stevens’ absurd bridge showed how out of touch our leaders have become. In proclaiming the end of the bridge to nowhere and congratulating themselves on actually stopping a single wasteful project, Democratic and Republican leaders promised to let Alaska keep the money. Problem solved.
Source: NY Times
Egyptian telecom businessman Naguib Sawiris is being sued in various lawsuits for “religious contempt” because of a simple cartoon showing Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie Mouse with a veil. Sawiris is a Christian secularist and was making a joke. However, an Islamic group called the Salafis has led a campaign against him for insulting Islam and demands for prosecution.
I have to admit that I have never been a fan of former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin who appeared to be the very symbol of dysfunctional incompetence during the Katrina catastrophe. He was universally criticized for doing relatively little during the crisis from his hotel room overlooking the disaster. His reelection left many less sympathetic with the city and, as a former New Orleans resident myself, I was appalled by Nagin’s utter failure to act (let alone lead) during the disaster. Nagin has now written a book that seems intent on showing that he is not really incompetent . . . just completely delusional.
Continue reading “Ok, Nagin’s Crazy”
In a major victory for the first amendment, the Supreme Court ruled that a California law regulating the sale of violent video games is unconstitutional. It was a strong 7-2 vote with only Justice Clarence Thomas and and Stepen Breyer dissenting — an odd couple to be sure from both ends of the ideological spectrum. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Upholds Free Speech in the Violent Video Game Case”
It appears that same-sex marriage is being groomed for a major issue in this election. With Jay Carney insisting that President Obama remains clear that his views are unclear, Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann stepped forward this weekend to put the issue front and center in their campaigns. Gingrich this weekend announced that he will lead the fight against same-sex marriage to stop the nation from “drifting toward a terrible muddle.” He said that he would be looking for ways to “defend that view as legitimately and effectively as possible.”
Continue reading “Gingrich and Bachmann Call For Campaign Against Same-Sex Marriage”
Attorney Brian Kammer has called for the suspension of further lethal injections in Georgia after he said the execution of his client, Roy Blankenship, was botched with the use of an untested animal tranquilizer.
Continue reading “Attorney Calls For Cessation Of Lethal Injection After Use of Animal Tranquilizer Allegedly Lead To Botched Execution”
We have been following the intra-court war on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the recent narrow victory of conservative Justice David Prosser in his reelection. The prior controversy involved Prosser calling Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson a “total bitch.” Now, fellow justice Ann Walsh Bradley has accused Prosser of putting her in a chokehold during a dispute. Prosser denies the allegation.
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
A little over a month ago, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal (left) signed HB 87, an Arizona-like immigration law. The law was designed to drive illegal immigrants out of Georgia, and now state officials are shocked feigning shock that it worked.
The resulting labor shortage has meant that millions of dollars of unharvested blueberries, onions, and other crops will be left rotting in the fields. Since many farmers live harvest-to-harvest, the loss of one crop could mean the loss of their farm.
For years, many of us have been noting that the United States continues to violate international law and the sovereignty of foreign nations in some of our military assaults on terror targets. We have often asked how we would respond to countries like Mexico sending military personnel into our territory. Well, it happened this week when three military trucks loaded with Mexican soldiers crossed the border at Bridge Number Two into the U.S.
Continue reading “Mexican Invasion! United States Objects To Mexican Troops Briefly Entering U.S.”
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton took the debate over Libya to a new low yesterday. (For full disclosure, I am lead counsel representing members challenging the constitutionality of the Libyan War). Clinton is largely responsible for entering the United States in another undeclared war. She is now dismissing all of the constitutional and fiscal concerns of members and publicly asking members “Whose side are you on?”
Continue reading “Clinton: Support The War Or I’ll Accuse You Of Being Gaddafi’s BFF”