Wednesday, August 23, 2006

[1833 - Great Britain abolishes slavery in its colonies]

[1912 - Gene Kelly, dancer, actor, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]

Cost Savings?

The paper this morning had an article concerning the President's latest move to cut federal spending by reducing the funds that flow to state and local governments for law enforcement. Does it seem strange to you that President Clinton, who was reviled by conservatives as a liberal, was the leader behind an initiative that put 100,000 local police officers on the streets and helped turn around rising crime rates throughout the nation. Now that we are blessed with President Bush, who is supposedly a law and order conservative, we see crime rates (and particularly violent crime rates) on the rise again as he makes budget moves to cut the strength and capability of local law enforcement.

As much as we welcome the efforts of our noble leader to reduce the record federal deficits he created with tax cuts for the rich, one questions the priorities of his administration. Reducing the expenditures of government (that will place such a burden on our children) requires shrinking the size of the federal bureaucracy; instead we see a Department of Homeland Security, an enormous new bureaucracy that has made us less safe and that bungled the attempt to save New Orleans from the devastation of Katrina.

William's Whimsical Words:

Proving once again that this President does not give a damn about you or me; why should he, surrounded wherever he goes by dedicated, trained secret service agents.

to Summer 2006

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