First Part Of Cheney Speech

Cheney Speaks on Security

most of the speech

full text:

Pelosi Says CIA lied to her

Pelosi's logic is flawed. She says the CIA told her they had legal authority to use waterboarding but had not used it which is why she didn't do anything. Even if this was true, the CIA says it told her they had used waterboarding, this does not make sense. If the CIA had said they had legal authority to pull off fingernails and blind someone (obviously torture) would she not have done anything? IMO Pelosi is in trouble.

Proposal: National Lottery

I propose a national tax lottery. The prizes. $1 million for each congressional district ($435 million). Two $10 million for each state ($500 million). 5 $1 million prizes for all those outside a state. ($5 million). And one $60 overall grand prize winner. For a total outlay of $1 billion. [Other option: 10 $100 million prizes for an additional $1 billion].

The prizes would be tax free.

Every person would be able to buy an entry for $1 which would provide an entry to the overall grand prize(s), and entry to state and districts drawings. In addition, an entry would be provided for each dollar paid in federal taxes, income and social security. Workers would get a credit for employer portion of social security taxes paid. An entry would be valid only if the taxes are paid on time.

Why do this? Two billion is a miniscule amount of the total federal budget. It would encourage those to pay their taxes on time. It provides a possible reward to those who pay taxes. And it could actually increase total revenue if people (and foreigners) buy entries.

Murtha Watch: Echos anyone?

I can almost hear echos of "Haliburton,", but Murtha is a Democrat.

Murtha's Nephew Got Defense Contracts

"Murtech received $4 million in Pentagon work, all of it without competition, for a variety of warehousing and engineering services"


"Over the years, John Murtha has proudly claimed credit for using his Appropriations Committee seat to steer hundreds of millions in Pentagon work to companies in his district, many of them fledgling enterprises run by campaign contributors."

A Republican Purge?

Is it good that the Republicans purge themselves of persons like Arlen Specter? Yes. If these folks vote on crucial issues, like Specter did, what good does have him in the party? Should he win as a Democrat, the votes doesn't change. But if a conservative Republican replaces him, the votes change for the better. Last year we had a choice between ultra liberal Obama versus mostly liberal McCain. The "conservative" politicians who bemoan the lost of Specter are worried about their loss of personal power, not what is best for the country. If the Republicans had 51 seats, they would get bigger offices and more staffs but the votes would go the same - if the other seats were filled by the likes of Specter. Let the Democrats be the party that shifts to the right instead of the Republicans shifting to the left.

Book: The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson

link

An interesting read.

"Johnson weaves in overlapping ideas about the growth of civilization, the organization of cities, and evolution to thrilling effect."

sample:
"It's not just the authorities of the day were wrong about miasma; it's the tenacious, unquestioning way they went about being wrong. An investigator looking for holes in the theory could find them everywhere, even in the writings of the miasmatists themselves."

I wonder if someone in the future will say the same the about the global-warming alarmists of today.