On The Third Hand

Saturday, 12 Jan 2002

The company (mentioned in a previous article of mine) that has been accused of knowingly distributing faulty batteries continues to have evidence piled up against it, according to CBS. These batteries are used in many of our 'smart' bombs and missiles. If it is proven that this company is guilty, I believe that (as well as losing their defense contract) they should be required to pay reparations to those harmed by missiles of ours that have gone astray.

Is a pundit without a sneer the same man? Bob Kerr obviously objects to guns. He seems unable to find any rational grounds to object to a Rhode Island Senator's wish to carry a gun. So he resorts to attempted ridicule, proposing that the Senator would not "be all there" without his gun. He suggests the Senator is dependent on "that special feeling that some people get when running a hand along cold, hard steel."

I have always found it interesting that pundits on both sides of the fence resort to ridicule when they have no better arguments. Ridicule, as many bloggers know, can be fun. Unless there are some real facts hidden within it; though, it won't be convincing -- or even funny -- to anyone who does not already agree with the pundit.

While the media were desperately hunting a scandal with Enron (which is there... in what Arthur Andersen did), President Bush made some moves. He de-unionized several government agencies for reasons "of national security". He also made recess appointments of Eugene Scalia and Otto Reich.

The Democrats made a big mistake in not taking on these appointments. If they had registered their objections in hearings they would at least have been able to air their views in public, and perhaps convince people that these appointments should not be made. As it is now, most people think they have been stalling just to obstruct the Republicans. The President also made a mistake, in that he has now lost his "moral high ground" on the issue of appointments.