So if it was of dire importance to elect Democrats to office to close the gaping wound in America’s honor that Gitmo represents, how come Senate Democrats just voted to pull the funding necessary to actually do that?
President Barack Obama’s allies in the Senate will not provide funds to close the Guantanamo Bay prison next January, a top Democratic official said Tuesday.
With debate looming on Obama’s spending request to cover military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the official says Democrats will deny the Pentagon and Justice Department $80 million to relocate Guantanamo’s 241 detainees.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposed changes to the bill were to be unveiled later.
The administration has yet to develop a plan for what to do with the detainees, and Obama’s promise to close the facility is facing strong GOP opposition.
It appears to be a tactical retreat. Once the administration develops a plan to close the facility, congressional Democrats are likely to revisit the topic, provided they are satisfied there are adequate safeguards.
So, basically, the Democrats are now taking the Bush Administration position that the base will be closed when it’s safe to do so? Hmmm.
May 19th, 2009
Posted by
ricjames |
GWOT, Military, Politics |
no comments
One of the things to be decided at the RPV Convention at the end of the month is who the next RPV Chairman will be. Anyone even remotely aware of the GOP political situation down here is aware the previous Chairman, Jeff Frederick, was removed from office at the beginning of April. It’s my understanding that Pat Mullins is serving as acting Chariman, but that’s a state that can’t be maintained into the convention; a permanent Chair must be elected.
Pat Mullins is running for the office but so is a gentleman named Bill Stanley. To my local readership, I’d like to ask which candidate they favor and why? Opinions, folks?
May 19th, 2009
Posted by
ricjames |
Politics, Virginia Politics |
2 comments
A Christmas 2007 gift my wife gave me was a TomTom One GPS navigation system
. It’s a great little unit and has served us extremely well in the time we’ve had it. To be honest, it’s one of those little techie things you get used to having really fast and, so long as you never follow it completely blindly, it substantially removes the issue of getting lost.
One of the things many people using these now-relatively-low-cost devices tend to forget is that the little box on your dashboard is just the receiver and the mapping software. The real magic is done high overhead by a constellation of satellites in geosynchronous orbit. According to a Goverment Account Office (GAO) report, a delayed Air Force procurement and maintenance schedule is putting the system in danger of failure with the likelihood of such failure increasing as of 2010:
Mismanagement and underinvestment by the U.S. Air Force could possibly lead to the failure and blackout of the Global Positioning System (GPS), a federal watchdog agency says.
The risk of failure starts in 2010, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report quoted by PC World.
Debate question: is the GPS something we should have our government provide or is this a chance for private sector investment?
May 19th, 2009
Posted by
ricjames |
Military, Politics, Science, Technology |
no comments
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