This isn't a huge deal, but the audacity and duplicity is so astounding that I'm kind if awestruck and severely offended.  In a nutshell, Bush signed the new G.I. Bill into law today, giving our returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan the same (or better) benefits returning WWII were granted. Commenting to press, he said, "The bill is a result of close collaboration between my administration and members of both parties on Capitol Hill" and went on to "thank members who worked hard on the G.I. Bill expansion, especially Senators Webb and Warner, Graham, Byrne, McCain."

 

The problem here is twofold: For one thing, Bush threatened to veto this very bill and the only reason he voted for it was because Congress rolled it into a supplemental appropriations bill that contained the money Bush needs to keep paying for his war.  I'll say that again because it bears repeating: Bush threatened to veto the new G.I. Bill but once the Democrats basically forced him to sign it by packaging it with money he needs to keep our troops in Iraq suddenly he is talking about how his administration worked in "close collaboration with members of both parties."

 

Secondly, and more relevant to the upcoming election, John McCain vehemently opposed this new G.I. Bill. He wanted a less generous bill that paid for only a fraction of our soldiers' educational expenses for each tour of duty they served, forcing them to serve 3 or more tours of duty in order to afford to go to college. John McCain actively opposed this new G.I. Bill, lobbying for Senators to vote instead for his own less generous bill, yet Bush included John McCain in a list of people who "worked hard on the G.I. Bill expansion".

 

Unbelievable.

 

 

I was flabbergasted when I read this article over the weekend. Apparently the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is holding up the construction of new solar power stations because they feel it's necessary to evaluate the possible environmental damage.  Of putting solar panels in open fields.  In the middle of an oil crisis.

 

Only in America!

 

This either had "Coal Lobby" written all over it or I've just completely underestimated how closely the level of bureaucracy in this country has come to resemble the government in Terry Gilliam's film Brazil.

 

It is unbelievable to me that out of all the projects that are going forward, somehow putting solar panels in the middle of an open field was considered a potential environmental threat that needed to be halted until further study could be done.  It is unconscionable that this happened now of all times.  The most astounding (and damning) thing is that the alternatives to solar power, predominantly coal and oil, are some of the most pollutant technologies in existence and aren't just damaging their local environments but potentially the global balance of so-called greenhouse gasses.

 

…but yet those companies will retain their dominance for a few more years at least thanks to this decision.  I'm disgusted.

District of Columbia v. Heller has been heard by the Supreme Court and a decision has been reached:

In part: “Held: 1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.”

Yes, the Supreme Court has finally issued a definitive interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and that interpretation does not limit the right to keep and bear arms to members of state militias. This is a great day to be an American, but I must say my excitement was a bit dulled when I read some of the opinions from the Supreme Court Justices themselves.

Scalia: the handgun is Americans’ preferred weapon of self-defense in part because “it can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police.”

I agree with his ruling, but the guy shouldn’t be using scenes from movies in his legal arguments. If something like that ever happened in real life, it’s certainly the exception rather than the rule. Even when I agree with Scalia I’m seeing some odd silliness in his opinions.

John Paul Stevens: the majority “would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons.” Such evidence “is nowhere to be found.”

Are you kidding me, Stevens? You don’t see any disconnect between a government founded by average citizens revolting against tyranny and same government later imposing strict limitations on citizens’ ability to defend themselves?

Stephen Breyer: “In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas.”

Honestly, this is why I’m still a Republican. What the heck is Breyer thinking? I’m going to ignore his specificity of “loaded handguns” right now because if that was his point he could have stopped there. He went on to say, “in crime-ridden urban areas”. Why? I think it’s a clear tip-off that the man has a completely nonsensical understanding of the situation in a “crime-ridden urban area”.

Apparently he either seems to think that people who live in these areas are all criminals, or that somehow their posession of a handgun in the house would contribute to further crime in the area. Similarly, by qualifying his statement with “in crime-ridden urban areas” he implies that he would feel less strongly if someone kept a loaded handgun at their home in a quiet suburban neighborhood.

It doesn’t seemed to have even crossed his mind that someone living in a crime-ridden urban area might actually have need to defend themselves and their home, and that if homeowners in such an area had the ability to defend themselves there might even be less crime there in the long run.

Really, it blows my mind that Breyer singled out high-crime neighborhoods as if there was some definitive link between homeowners there and the crime rate. Interpreting the second amendment is one thing, but that comment reveals to me someone who is horrifyingly insulated and out of touch.