What's Going on in Washington DC
There have been some interesting events in Washington the past couple of weeks.......
First we will start with President Bush vetoing the Democrats Iraq funding bill which includes benchmarks and a timeline for withdrawing US troops. Of course the Democrats could not override the veto and now we are back to square one in regards to having to fund the operations in Iraq. The Democrats claim that they are doing the will of the people in trying to force the President's hand toward withdrawl, but if that was the ultimate goal, why don't they just defund the entire operation? Could there be a bit more patience left in the American people?
While the showdown over Iraq was taking place, the social circuit of DC was on pins and needles about this "DC Madam" situation. So far, there has been one name out of thousands released to the public as having patronised the escort service run by the "Madam." The name is that of Randy Tobias who worked for the Bush administration's State Department. He was the head of USAID and in charge of the President's AIDS relief program. Now the "Madam" was on ABC on Friday, May 4 and it was speculated that she was going to drop the hammer and rattle of a whole list of names that was going to bring DC to its knees. Well, nothing like that happened. In fact, no other name has been released, with the exception of a Naval Officer who declined to "dignify" the accusation with a comment. The "Madam" has claimed that there are numerous names of high position people that have not been released, among the positions are NASA, the World Bank, the IMF, some Naval Officers and a "career Justice Department prosecutor." ABCNews is in charge of the names now and they are not releasing any of the names claiming that they are just small fry, not big enough fish. Not big enough fish? How many of us knew who the hell Tobias was before a couple of weeks ago?
On May 3, a few Conservatives held a little academic debate about the evolution at the American Enterprise Institute. I didn't attend, I had to work, but from what I hear it was very lively. One of my favorite writers at National Review, John Derbyshire, was one of the panelists. Though not having seen the debate, I do want to say something about this. Evolution can exist within the Conservative movement. I don't think our movement is a religious movement and therefore we need not exclude ideas that are founded on Earthly sentiments. But, I likewise do not think that we as a movement need to exclude those ideas that are of a Devine sentiment.
The Queen of England is visiting us here in the States. She is here to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown and the beginning of the American experience. I think it is fitting that the Queen, so propper and elloquent, is visiting with us at a time when we have a President perceived to be a country bumpkin. Those with this perception have a grand desire for the US to emulate the Europeans, particularly the British. I find it fitting that in the US a country bumpkin can host a dinner with the Queen of England as guest. God bless the United States, God bless us indeed.
First we will start with President Bush vetoing the Democrats Iraq funding bill which includes benchmarks and a timeline for withdrawing US troops. Of course the Democrats could not override the veto and now we are back to square one in regards to having to fund the operations in Iraq. The Democrats claim that they are doing the will of the people in trying to force the President's hand toward withdrawl, but if that was the ultimate goal, why don't they just defund the entire operation? Could there be a bit more patience left in the American people?
While the showdown over Iraq was taking place, the social circuit of DC was on pins and needles about this "DC Madam" situation. So far, there has been one name out of thousands released to the public as having patronised the escort service run by the "Madam." The name is that of Randy Tobias who worked for the Bush administration's State Department. He was the head of USAID and in charge of the President's AIDS relief program. Now the "Madam" was on ABC on Friday, May 4 and it was speculated that she was going to drop the hammer and rattle of a whole list of names that was going to bring DC to its knees. Well, nothing like that happened. In fact, no other name has been released, with the exception of a Naval Officer who declined to "dignify" the accusation with a comment. The "Madam" has claimed that there are numerous names of high position people that have not been released, among the positions are NASA, the World Bank, the IMF, some Naval Officers and a "career Justice Department prosecutor." ABCNews is in charge of the names now and they are not releasing any of the names claiming that they are just small fry, not big enough fish. Not big enough fish? How many of us knew who the hell Tobias was before a couple of weeks ago?
On May 3, a few Conservatives held a little academic debate about the evolution at the American Enterprise Institute. I didn't attend, I had to work, but from what I hear it was very lively. One of my favorite writers at National Review, John Derbyshire, was one of the panelists. Though not having seen the debate, I do want to say something about this. Evolution can exist within the Conservative movement. I don't think our movement is a religious movement and therefore we need not exclude ideas that are founded on Earthly sentiments. But, I likewise do not think that we as a movement need to exclude those ideas that are of a Devine sentiment.
The Queen of England is visiting us here in the States. She is here to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown and the beginning of the American experience. I think it is fitting that the Queen, so propper and elloquent, is visiting with us at a time when we have a President perceived to be a country bumpkin. Those with this perception have a grand desire for the US to emulate the Europeans, particularly the British. I find it fitting that in the US a country bumpkin can host a dinner with the Queen of England as guest. God bless the United States, God bless us indeed.
posted by Robert A. McReynolds | 9:46 PM
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