Check out the new edition. There are some great entries.
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From the monthly archives:
January 2009
The Dispatch today reports that a man that is accused of planning a Columbine-style attack in conjunction with a teenager in Indiana has had the trial postponed.
Lee Billi of Lakewood exchanged e-mails in April with an Indiana teenager to discuss simultaneous mass murders at the teen’s high school and another location police haven’t identified.
The article does not tell us why the trial has been postponed unfortunately. I know that the accused have many constitutional and statutory rights in this country, but I think that having a speedy trial by prosecutors would send the right message that we take these types of things very seriously in this country.
Billi has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and other charges. He could face a sentence of more than 300 years’ imprisonment if convicted.
If what he is charged with turns out to be true, he should rot the rest of his days away in a jail cell. Its important to send a message loud and clear to those that contemplate planning such attacks.
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I’ve not posted a lot on the hot button issues in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians. But we have to look no further than our favorite ex-president, Jimmy Carter who loves to discuss this issue. In an Associated Press article titled, “Carter: If no Palestine, Israel sees ‘catastrophe’”, Carter discusses the mistake that a one-state solution would pose.
“If we look toward a one-state solution, which seems to be the trend — I hope not inexorable — it would be a catastrophe for Israel, because there would be only three options in that case,” Carter said.
Really? I haven’t heard many reliable people talking about a one-state solution. Have any of you? Sure some of the zealots on either side probably would advocate that. We know that some of the terrorists would like the idea of one state, Palestine, with the Jews in graves.
His wording on Israel’s options was not new. His 2006 book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” provoked a hail of criticism, particularly from Jewish-Americans who felt it unfairly compared Israeli treatment of Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza to the legalized racial oppression that once existed in South Africa.
I remember the publicity surrounding this book during its release and my decision that I would not support him by purchasing this book. From his very own interviews, he sounded very negative with regards to Israel. I decided at that point that I would not read this book.
We all know that the Middle East is a major problem with suffering on all sides. And most serious people believe in a two-state solution. I just don’t understand why Carter thinks that the trend is toward a one-state solution. Perhaps he is getting ready to hawk another book?
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Well, last week I wrote about how amazed I was that paying taxes is not a prerequisite for becoming Secretary of the Treasury. But today the United States Senate, led mainly by the democratic majority, voted to confirm Timothy Geithner. According to the Associated Press in the Columbus Dispatch:
The Senate voted 60-34 to put Geithner in charge of the administration’s economic team as it races to halt the worst financial slide in generations. The swearing-in followed less than an hour later, the administration seeking to emphasize that it was wasting no time in trying to address the financial crisis.
I am a firm believer that the president of the Unites States, whoever it may be, deserves a great deal of latitude when choosing nominees for cabinet positions. But come on, a tax cheat? Do we have no morals or basic common decency left in this country?
According to the United States Senate web site, this is how your senator voted today.
Alabama: Sessions (R-AL), Nay Shelby (R-AL), Yea Alaska: Begich (D-AK), Yea Murkowski (R-AK), Nay Arizona: Kyl (R-AZ), Nay McCain (R-AZ), Nay Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Yea California: Boxer (D-CA), Yea Feinstein (D-CA), Yea Colorado: Bennet (D-CO), Yea Udall (D-CO), Yea Connecticut: Dodd (D-CT), Yea Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea Delaware: Carper (D-DE), Yea Kaufman (D-DE), Yea Florida: Martinez (R-FL), Nay Nelson (D-FL), Yea Georgia: Chambliss (R-GA), Nay Isakson (R-GA), Nay Hawaii: Akaka (D-HI), Yea Inouye (D-HI), Yea Idaho: Crapo (R-ID), Yea Risch (R-ID), Nay Illinois: Burris (D-IL), Yea Durbin (D-IL), Yea Indiana: Bayh (D-IN), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Nay Iowa: Grassley (R-IA), Nay Harkin (D-IA), Nay Kansas: Brownback (R-KS), Nay Roberts (R-KS), Nay Kentucky: Bunning (R-KY), Nay McConnell (R-KY), Nay Louisiana: Landrieu (D-LA), Yea Vitter (R-LA), Nay Maine: Collins (R-ME), Nay Snowe (R-ME), Yea Maryland: Cardin (D-MD), Yea Mikulski (D-MD), Yea Massachusetts: Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting Kerry (D-MA), Yea Michigan: Levin (D-MI), Yea Stabenow (D-MI), Yea Minnesota: Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea Mississippi: Cochran (R-MS), Nay Wicker (R-MS), Nay Missouri: Bond (R-MO), Not Voting McCaskill (D-MO), Yea Montana: Baucus (D-MT), Yea Tester (D-MT), Yea Nebraska: Johanns (R-NE), Nay Nelson (D-NE), Yea Nevada: Ensign (R-NV), Yea Reid (D-NV), Yea New Hampshire: Gregg (R-NH), Yea Shaheen (D-NH), Yea New Jersey: Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea Menendez (D-NJ), Yea New Mexico: Bingaman (D-NM), Yea Udall (D-NM), Yea New York: Schumer (D-NY), Yea North Carolina: Burr (R-NC), Nay Hagan (D-NC), Yea North Dakota: Conrad (D-ND), Yea Dorgan (D-ND), Yea Ohio: Brown (D-OH), Not Voting Voinovich (R-OH), Yea Oklahoma: Coburn (R-OK), Nay Inhofe (R-OK), Nay Oregon: Merkley (D-OR), Yea Wyden (D-OR), Not Voting Pennsylvania: Casey (D-PA), Yea Specter (R-PA), Nay Rhode Island: Reed (D-RI), Yea Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea South Carolina: DeMint (R-SC), Nay Graham (R-SC), Yea South Dakota: Johnson (D-SD), Yea Thune (R-SD), Nay Tennessee: Alexander (R-TN), Nay Corker (R-TN), Yea Texas: Cornyn (R-TX), Yea Hutchison (R-TX), Nay Utah: Bennett (R-UT), Nay Hatch (R-UT), Yea Vermont: Leahy (D-VT), Yea Sanders (I-VT), Nay Virginia: Warner (D-VA), Yea Webb (D-VA), Yea Washington: Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Murray (D-WA), Yea West Virginia: Byrd (D-WV), Nay Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea Wisconsin: Feingold (D-WI), Nay Kohl (D-WI), Yea Wyoming: Barrasso (R-WY), Nay Enzi (R-WY), Nay
Anyone know why Senator Brown did not vote?
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