Miscellany: 11/9/09

USS New York Commissioned


On Saturday, the USS New York, its bow fashioned from 7.5 tons of steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center, was commissioned. This is a powerful symbol of the resilience of the American people and the fact that we will never forget. See the musical interlude below for a stirring video featuring Alan Jackson's anthem.


Casualty of the House Vote on Health Care Disaster "Reform" Saturday: The Rule of Law


The rule of law focuses on ideals like simplicity, consistency, transparency, and internal controls. The 1990-page HR 3962 is, on its very surface, a material contradiction of the rule of law (never mind what kind of adequate review period should exist for any 1990-page bill--what we do know for sure is that Pelosi gave a review period short shrift). Betsy McCaughey wrote a summary of what the Pelosi Trojan horse health care bill really says. I won't summarize the entire column here except to provide a classic example of violation of internal controls: the Secretary of Health and Human Services is empowered to decide what constitutes a "qualified plan" to satisfy insurance mandate requirements. This is contrary to the rule of law on multiple counts. People or businesses buying health insurance don't know where they stand by definition. The legislature is abandoning its responsibilities, ceding power to the Executive Branch, in effect to both make and administer laws, an intrinsic violation of internal controls.


Political Cartoon


Glenn McCoy authored this cartoon, which takes us back a few months when the Department of Homeland Security prematurely released a report focusing on Iraq veterans, pro-life and other conservatives as potential terrorists. But we know what liberals progressives are really concerned about: political correctness. Heaven forbid we might treat a Muslim Army officer, outspoken against American foreign policy, any differently than an 80-year-old grandmother or a lifelong Quaker...

Musical Interlude: Alan Jackson's "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning"


I find the following tribute clip to Jackson's remarkable song, speaking for the country, to be very powerful. The only criticism I would make over this well-done video is that I didn't see any clips on the Pentagon tragedy or heroic United Flight 93.