| Latest Commentary: | Volume V, Number 136 |
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New Congressional Leaders Bungle Already -- The 110th Congress is already off to a silly start, and it won’t formally be in session until noon on January 3. In a bipartisan display of ineptness and political tone-deafness, both the Democrats and the Republicans have already found a way to shoot themselves in the foot. The Senate GOP has selected as its Minority Whip Trent Lott of Mississippi, who lost a previous leadership post after saying segregationist Strom Thurmond would have been a good president. Meanwhile, the Democrats in the House told Speaker Nancy Pelosi to stop being so bossy when they picked Maryland’ Steny Hoyer to be her deputy despite her open support of Ohio’s John Murtha.
Kabila’s Congo Electoral Vote Ends Nothing -- The belief that ballots can stop bullets in the developing world is about to take a big blow. The Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been known as “Zaire,” “Republic of Congo,” and “Belgian Congo,” has suffered civil war since 1998. Some 4 million have died, at least eight times the Iraqi death toll. The recent election for president was to have been a step in healing the should-be-wealthy nation. Instead, a return to the violence lies ahead. US Airways Offers $8.7 Billion for Delta -- Last summer, US Airways approached Delta airlines, which has been flying under Chapter 11 protection for ages, with a friendly offer to take it over. Delta declined the honor. This week, Doug Parker, the head of US Airways, decided to appeal to Delta’s creditors with an $8.7 billion hostile offer. While it looks like a good offer, those holding Delta’s IOUs might just want to wait to see if the price will rise. Cell Phone Cameras Can Guard the Guards -- Technology is the best area to see the law of unintended consequences at work. For example, who would have thought that adding cameras to cell phones could help citizens keep an eye on the police? Yet in Los Angeles, three excellent examples of this have hit the media. “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” asked the Romans. Thanks to digital recording technology, everyone can guard the guards themselves. © Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.
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