1000 times as much from one special interest is okay because one is 1000 times more pure?  I am also interested in the fact that oil interests were okay when they were giving most of their money to Senator Obama and the Democrats just two months ago.  What am I missing?

The South Ossetia province of Georgia voted to be separate from Georgia in a referendum.  The people there consider themselves Russians yet Georgia insists on defying their will.  They violated the peace agreement by sending an invading force into the province and allegedly killed 15 Russian peacekeepers in the process.   On the other side, the Russians turned a blind eye to the separatist activities and let them spiral into an open armed without rebuke.  The Russians have oppressed the Georgians historically in a way nearly unimaginable to most of us.  They want nothing to do with a new Russian empire and look to the west for a better way of life.

I believe the U. S. should do what it is currently doing.  Use its influence to ensure the territorial integrity of Georgia.  I just don’t think that we should obligate ourselves to guaranteeing the security of a place where we have no vital national security interests.  We should use American influence to booster the human rights of everyone in the world.  That doesn’t mean we should risk World War 3 based upon other people’s long term grudges.  The previous World Wars started out of security guarantees which bound the great powers to the a fateful war based upon conflicts involving small nations.

It isn’t our Georgia, and we shouldn’t pretend that it is.  Put the brakes on NATO expansion.

“Today’s allegations of merit gifting in the News Journal raise many questions about not only the process of issuing a merit job to a political appointee during a hiring freeze, but also about the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s priorities. Questions about issuing merit jobs have led to disciplinary action in other states, and even to the indictment of former Governor Fletcher in Kentucky.

Four things must be considered when determining the correctness of this action:

     1.     Was this position created through the normal state budgetary and personnel approval channels?
     2.     Why was an exception made to the current hiring freeze — who granted this exception?
     3.     Was the position properly advertised?
     4.     Will the hiring process be consistent with departmental procedures?

(more…)

From Delaware Online

By February, the new position, a high-level job with merit system protections, had created a stir, with some saying the job was custom-made for Gov. Ruth Ann Minner’s former aide and longtime adviser, political appointee Lee Ann Walling.

A state budget crisis and eventual hiring freeze in March blocked efforts to fill the job, but not before House Majority Leader Richard Cathcart queried DNREC officials about their plans.

“I questioned the need for it, and I still have those concerns,” Cathcart said. “They have not talked to me. I’m kind of surprised that they’re doing that without some justification. There are planners in DNREC currently.”

Now the job is up for grabs again — and Walling again appears to be the leading candidate — after winning an exception to Minner’s hiring freeze.

Lee Ann Walling’s job situation has been bandied about on this site for a while now, but never revealed in the News Journal. “Desensitizing” is the term media types use when discussing violence on TV. Have we become desensitized to corruption in the Minner-Carney administration?

By the way, Lee Ann Walling is on the supporters list of the supposed “change agent,” along with former DelDOT tyrant Nathan Hayward.

Finally, the former Governor of Kentucky got indicted for doing basically the same thing. The Dover Democrats should thank God that we don’t have an Attorney General.

A little evidence of the Minner-Carney-Markell-Denn legacy for your Thursday morning:

Delaware had the worst economic growth rate in the nation in 2007, shrinking by 1.6%.

Delaware is now rated the 9th worst state to do business in.

Delaware now leads the nation in the growth of business bankrupcties.

Delaware has fallen from 10th to 17th in unemployment rate in 12 months, as 4,100 more people found themselves unemployed here in Delaware.

Median personal income growth in Delaware has consistently slipped over the Minner-Carney years, and in 2007, we were 48th in the nation in personal income growth.

All of these statistics are in relation to the other states, so the “it’s Bush’s fault” excuse won’t fly. This is the legacy of the people in power in Dover. In a good and decent world where voters paid attention, this record would be carved into their political gravestones.

But this is Delaware, so they’re likely to be re-elected.

If we’re going to get serious about putting our nation’s fiscal house in order, let’s talk about putting an end to billions in no-bid contract awards to unaccountable contractors. Let’s talk about the number of lucrative contracts and bonuses being paid for duties never performed, promises never fulfilled, and contracts falsely described as complete. And let’s talk about reforming the federal contracting system so that we can take on the real waste, fraud and abuse in our federal government.

I’ve proposed a comprehensive overhaul to root out corruption in no-bid contracts and other shady deals. Reforms must include the following:

- Instead of rewarding companies that exploit tax shelters and incorporate in tax havens, let’s ban the federal government from contracting with companies that hide profits offshore.

- We should put in place safeguards so that contracts are awarded to responsible companies that abide by the law and complete the work they’re hired to do.

- Let’s put a stop to the disgraceful practice of giving bonuses to contractors for work never performed, which has been allowed to happen in Iraq and throughout the federal government according to the GAO and inspectors general.

- We need to increase transparency and competition in the contracting system, and to stop the ideological privatization of critical governmental functions.

I agree wholeheartedly with this plan, proposed by a little-known politician from New York…

…..Sen. Hillary Clinton.

   A nation that fought a war  to gain it’s freedom , and then fought a war that gave that freedom to every man, woman and child .

  A nation that has given us so many great people such as Bell, Edison , the Wright Bros. , and Henry Ford, who out of their dreams and ideas and hard work were able to give us many of the conveniences that we enjoy to this day.

  A nation that is the freest and greatest nation in the world. Where every child has the chance for an education , no matter their sex or race or religion. A nation where people can get on web sites such as this one and criticize their country and it’s leaders, without the fear of being put in jail or being killed.

   So when did it happen, when did people such as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi decide that this nation that has gone to the moon , that has fought to keep and to make other nations free , is not the best option when it comes to solving our own energy needs.

  Speaker Pelosi and others in her party seem to believe that countries such as Venezuela , Iran , Russia, and Nigeria are better suited to be the suppliers of oil to our great nation. She and her party it would seem also feel that these nations have a better track record for protecting the environment.

   I say these things because Speaker Pelosi and many in her party would block the United States from drilling within our own boundaries , where we would be in charge of not only where but also how the oil is reached. The United States has the best record for safety and care when it comes to drilling for oil.

 Why would Speaker Pelosi rather see nations such as Nigeria drill for the oil we need, just in case you didn’t know, Nigeria is not the friendliest country and also they sink oil rigs right in the middle of the Niger Delta. Now add in the unrest in this country and the amount of times these rigs are bombed and pipe lines are disrupted and you not only have a very uncertain supply of oil but you also have a very threatening supply of oil in relation to the environment.

   So I ask why is Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats so dead set against allowing companies to drill within and under the control of the United States?

   Just last week we were given a glimpse into just how far Speaker  Pelosi would go to block a vote on lifting the congressional ban on off shore drilling , when she not only shut down the House , but also the microphones, cameras, and yes even the lights to block Republicans from debating the issue. When seventy percent of the American people want off shore drilling how can The Speaker of the House of Representatives justify such behavior?

   So we are left to conclude that Speaker Pelosi and her like minded fellow Democrats feel that all of the nations listed above are better suited to supply us our needed oil  and to protect the world which she also claims she is attempting to save.

   So while Democrats are on vacation , sunning and boating or maybe flying around the world , there is a dedicated group of Republicans waiting in Washington and demanding that Speaker Pelosi call congress back into session for an honest up or down vote on an issue that is of the utmost importance to this great nation of ours.

   So now we will see, is Speaker Pelosi about the peoples work ,or only her party’s agenda.