It’s been a while since I have posted, I apologize for my long absence. I’m offically in the working world now co-opping at a local engineering firm all summer. I got my first paycheck. They took out $200 in taxes. I nearly cried.

Death Tax
Last week the Senate failed to even garner cloture to call to question the permanent repeal of the Death Tax. According to 43 Senators (don’t you just love how that ISN’T a majority), Americans who die just haven’t paid enough in taxes yet. Noooo, when a hardworking business owner dies with a sizeable estate and wants to give his inheritance to his children, he still owes his debt to society. A debt that wasn’t fully paid by income taxes (federal and state), sales taxes, property taxes, luxury taxes, sin taxes, telecommunications taxes, et al; this person simply MUST have half his inheritance taken. Offspring be damned! Though it’s been repeated around the blogosphere enough, let me remind you once again that elimination of inheritance rights was a principle goal in the Communist Manifesto. Bring on the Revolution.

CA-50: A Success and a Failure
The Success: The GOP won the special election of the seat vacated by former Rep. Duke Cunningham (now wearing an orange jumpsuit) who was rightfully convicted. The district is considered a safe Republican district, though since the Democratic candidate polled slightly better than Kerry did in 2004 and the GOP had to spend some money to convince voters that they would screw them over less than Democrats, the Kos Kids and their lefty counterparts claimed a “moral victory.” Upon talking to fellow blogger Michael about this, he aptly stated, “Yeah, because they can’t actually to win a real victory.” Touche.

The Failure: As the Club for Growth notes, Rep. Bilbray, fresh from his special election win over Busby back in Californ-i-a, promptly gave conservatives the middle finger today by opposing all 4 of Rep. Flake’s amendments to strip earmarks (I prefer the term “pork,” but I digress) from the Transportation bill. Apparently he’s a fan of another member of his state’s delegation, Rep. Jerry Lewis, who can’t seem to get enough bacon in his diet (or in his swimming pool… ok that was a gross mental image).

Flag Burning Amendment
This may start a cyber-riot: I disagree with the proposed Flag Burning Amendment. I detest anyone who would burn the American flag out of disrespect (the flag can and should be burned when it is retired), yet to make it a Constitutional crime would destroy part of the free speech that the flag represents. I’ll elaborate more in the comments if I feel it is warranted… we’ll see what kind of response this prompts.

John Kerry Has No Common Sense
Scenario: Rep. Jack Murtha causes a stir by calling for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq immediately. The House puts up a “sense of the House” bill repeating Murtha’s statement, which is soundly defeated - every Representative, save for one Democrat (none other than Cynthia McKinney…), votes against the bill. The following year, the No. 1 terrorist leader in Iraq, al-Zarqawi, is killed and a treasure trove of information about al-Qaida operations is found and exploited by U.S. forces. Common sense dictates, well aren’t we glad that Murtha wasn’t calling the shots. In John Kerry’s world, the death of Zarqawi is a perfect chance to… pull out of Iraq. Nothing more needs to be said. Let’s all collectively think to ourselves: what the @$&*@!??!?

Wait, that wasn’t enough…
In case Kerry didn’t make it clear in his 2004 campaign and this past week, 5 of Kerry’s fellow Senators want to clarify for you and I: “We [Democrats] are clueless when it comes to national security.” In a similar move to what the House did after Murtha started flapping his gums, the Senate put the context of Sen. Kerry’s withdrawal amendment up for a floor vote today. Though I disagreed with the House’s “sense of the House” move last year, because I saw it as exactly that, a political move, I agree with the Senate’s action- because a Senator will actually submit this proposal as an amendment to a bill.

Here are the six Senators (including The Man himself) who actually voted for immediate Iraq withdrawal (Clarification: voted against tabling the motion):
Barbara Boxer
Robert Byrd
Russ Feingold (this guy burns me up more and more every time he opens his mouth)
Tom Harkin
Edward Kennedy
John Kerry

…all Democrats of course.

…and that about wraps it up. Oh, I almost forgot, the House Appropriations committee (controlled by Republicans…) passed an amendment to the budget bill to raise the minimum wage to over $7/hour. Glorious.

UPDATE: I got corrected by a bed-wetting liberal (he’s anonymous, go figure):

3. anonymous | June 16th, 2006 at 12:57 pm

Do republicans ever get their facts straight before shooting their mouths off? There were *THREE* yes votes for the Iraq pullout resolution in November — McKinney, Jose Serrano (NY) and Bob Wexler (FL). Three does not equal one, even in our liberal public schools.
Bob Wexler is white, too. This must break your heart, since I know you people are fond of blaming everything on the ignorant negroes.

#4. Langley | June 16th, 2006 at 1:19 pm

You know what, you are correct. I only remembered McKinney since she is the mentally unstable Representative from the District right next to mine. My bad, there were THREE incompetent Democrat Representatives. So sorry.

Yeah, it breaks my heart… please, grow up and quit throwing around “you’re racist! you’re fascist!” whenever you don’t agree with us.

Looks like Carl Romanelli and Rick Santorum have agreed to get going on the debates, though it looks like Casey is going to continue ducking them.

ROMANELLI, SANTORUM AGREE TO DISCUSS DEBATE SCHEDULE

Green Party candidate concerned about ballot qualification, seeks help
of Republicans and Democrats

The campaigns of US Senator, Rick Santorum and Green Party US Senate
candidate, Carl Romanelli have agreed today to begin discussions
concerning the debate schedule and format for the upcoming general
election. Both candidates are hoping that the Casey campaign also will
agree to discussions. “I was pleased to be contacted by the senator’s
campaign,” said Romanelli. “I’ve always believed debate on the
substance of issues is the best method for Pennsylvanians to learn where
candidates stand on issues.”

The Green Party has expressed open concerns about whether the party will
be able to qualify its statewide candidates. This year independent and
third parties must gather a minimum of 67,072 voter signatures, in order
to legally qualify for the Pennsylvania ballot. The figure represents
an historic high, and more than double the previous high.
Comparatively, Republicans and Democrats need only gather 2,000
signatures of members of their respective parties.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is currently considering capping the
requirement at 45,000, but shortening the time period third parties have
to gather those signatures. “We are opposed to this legislation (H.B.
544) and see it as an attempt by the legislature to affect the federal
appeal of the Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition,” Romanelli contends.

“We would be in better shape if the legislature just ignored the issued
until the court case has run its course,” Romanelli added.

Carl Romanelli is issuing a challenge to the Santorum and Casey
campaigns, in that he wants Democrats and Republicans to help the Greens
qualify for the ballot. “Since it is Mr. Casey’s vote total of nearly
3.5 million in 2004 that has resulted in this year’s standard being so
high, we feel it is only fair that the old parties help bring the Greens
to the debate. If these candidates believe their policies are best for
America, then I challenge them both to put their ideas and values up
against mine,” Romanelli declared. I am issuing this challenge publicly
because I want a public answer,” Romanelli concluded.

* Thus far the Carl Romanelli for Senate campaign has acquired over half
over the 67,072 signatures needed with six weeks to ago until the Aug 1
deadline

A must read:
Why Childress People Hate Me - Emily Yoffe (Slate)

The majority of letter-writers were not single but happily married and professionally successful—the people you’d expect would make wonderful parents, and in a previous generation probably would have. Many didn’t just write about the adult pleasures of their childless (or “childfree”) life—travel, restaurants, undamaged upholstery, sex in the living room—but expressed contempt for those deluded enough to want to reproduce. As one woman wrote: “My husband and I are childless by choice and I heartily encourage all younger friends to consider it. It is the most wonderful lifestyle, free of whining and sniveling and mini-vans.”

Glen Reynolds from over at Instapundit has some thoughts too.

There’s also the decline in parental prestige over generations. My mother reports that when she was a newlywed (she was married in 1959) you weren’t seen as fully a member of the adult world until you had kids. Nowadays to have kids means something closer to an expulsion from the adult world. People in the suburbs buy SUVs instead of minivans not because they need the four-wheel-drive capabilities, but because the SUVs lack the minivan’s close association with low-prestige activities like parenting, and instead provide the aura of high-prestige activities like whitewater kayaking. Why should kayaking be more prestigious than parenting? Because parenting isn’t prestigious in our society. If it were, childless people would drive minivans just to partake of the aura.

If you want to see why I find some of the new bigger-is-better, order is all, type of mentality that has crept into conservatism then read this atrocious article from the Weekly Standard circa 2002. It is a systematic defence of big government empire over the “anarchic” Rebel Alliance. This is the type of stuff the old guard conservatives feared.

Well, no. The names for the two new cities that the Saudi government is planning to construct over the next decade: “King Abdullah Economic City” and “Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musaed Economic City”, are somewhat lacking in poetry. What is not lacking is sheer ambition, Tennessee Valley Authority style. The past experiences of other developing countries would indicate that these cities “won’t work”, however. At least they won’t become vibrant urban centers like we might expect. However, it might do something for Saudi Arabia’s (astoundingly high) unemployment rate. Good to know where the extra cash at the pump is headed.

-Joe Lieberman exploring possible run as an independent.

-A Democrat candidate for state Supreme Court in North Carolina, Rachel Lea Hunter (aka “Madame Justice”), has run into tough times. Leaders of both parties have asked voters not to support her.

-UN starting to interfere in US politics? Sweet.

Well, I misread this article’s headline as “20,000 illegal immigrants” arrested. Baby steps, I suppose.

Apparently many of these guys that were arrested were only doing jobs that Americans won’t do, like being street soldiers for violent gangs.