David Cameron, leader of the British Conservatives, has a plurality of 306 of 650 seats in Parliament, technically making this a "hung Parliament" (i.e., without a simple majority). The centrist Liberal Democrats attracted over 20% of the vote but only got 55-57 seats; one of the key points Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, wants in a coalition is an electoral reform allowing a third party to get more proportional representation in future elections. A few weeks ago, the Conservatives were hopeful of a clear majority; some are suggesting a new election may be called over the coming year. But in the meanwhile, congratulations to Cameron and Clegg, whom have finally put to an end to 13 years of Labor Party rule.
Bonus Videos: My Favorite British Conservative
And Daniel Hannan quotes Dr. Seuss:
Lieberman: Strip Citizenship from Terrorists? No
It's fairly clear why Lieberman wants to do this: US citizens enjoy well-defined constitutional rights (including Miranda warnings), whereas prosecution of international terrorists under a military tribunal system faces fewer restrictions which might compromise sources and intelligence gathering. The pretext is that US citizenship has been stripped in the past, e.g., the 1940 Nationality Act. (The Supreme Court has subsequently restricted any inference of renounced citizenship.)
This is a bad idea for a number of reasons; among other things, terrorism can be a domestic phenomenon. Even Gen. Petraeus believes that Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square bomber, acted alone. It's difficult to justify stripping a naturalized versus native American citizen, there are fundamental individual liberties at stake (i.e., I consider the bill unconstitutional); and terrorism is not a state-based construct. Finally, terrorism is a fuzzy construct, establishing the nature of terrorist conspiracies can be complex, and there is limited applicability or benefits for this legislation.
Note in arguing my opposition to the Lieberman (I-CN) bill, co-sponsored by Brown (R-MA), I myself have a zero-tolerance policy on domestic or international terrorism. But with all due respect, this bill comes across as political grandstanding; however reprehensible the criminal or terrorist actions of misguided citizens, our country must protect individual liberties against majoritarian abuse and must ensure each accused citizen a fair trial.
Political Cartoon
IBD cartoonist Michael Ramirez points out that while the Deepwater Horizon event is the first major oil spill in over 20 years, Congressional red ink is the rule, not the exception.
Quote of the Day
Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Musical Interlude: Story Songs
David Geddes, "Run, Joey, Run"
Richard Marx, "Hazard"
Harry Chapin, "Taxi"
Coven, "One Tin Soldier"
