The White House and Capitol Building in Washington, DC, were evacuated for a short time mid-day today when a small plane entered restricted airspace. Two Air Force F-16 fighter jets and a Department of Homeland Security Blackhawk helicopter were scrambled to intercept the aircraft. Warplanes issued warnings and fired at least four flares in an attempt to deter the intruding aircraft before it finally turned away from the Capitol.
Piracy in the Senate
Let’s talk about the filibuster.
For those who don’t follow the minutiae of the United States Congress, the filibuster is essentially a very long speech that interrupts the business of the Congress and prevents items from reaching the floor for a vote. The word itself comes from the Spanish/Portuguese term for pirate, ‘filibusteros.’ This procedure was allowed under both Senate and House of Representatives rules until the House enacted time limits in 1842. The Senate still allows it today.
The Ugliest Cars of the 2005 Model Year
I am known to be somewhat opinionated about cars—ie., many of them on the market today are ugly. Every once in a while I’ll let out with a statement along the lines of, “Car X is the third ugliest car on the road.” Since some have noticed that my rankings seem to change at random, I thought I’d research and solidify them for you.
How About Making It Look Good?
CNN reports that Freedom Tower will be Redesigned for ‘security reasons.’ Freedom Tower, of course, is the building that will replace the World Trade Center in New York City.
May I humbly submit that now would be a great opportunity to abandon the Libeskind plan entirely and go back to the drawing board? I’d prefer that the new WTC be impressive, pleasant, or at least not-ugly.
Bush Gets B+ for Honesty, Even Courage, on Social Security
While most liberal politicos and journalists have dealt with the Social Security debate by sticking their fingers in their ears and screaming, “Bush is wrong!” (real productive, guys) I was thrilled to see this opinion piece by Michael Kinsley in the LA Times (a liberal paper) actually discuss the issues.
Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.