Wanted:Political diversity

The Clinton administration has actually been good for Americans, in a
sense, because it has helped highlight all that is wrong with politics
and the elite “political class” that has ruled this nation since the
days of the Civil War.

On Thursday the

Washington Times published a story detailing the crafty, stealthy way Clinton signed into law four months ago a measure attached to a funding bill for the Federal Aviation Administration that eliminates longstanding caps on damages courts can award plaintiffs in cases involving air disasters at sea.

Not at all coincidentally, one small provision of the amendment makes retroactive a couple of air disasters that now will fall under these new “sky is the limit” damage award provisions. One of the most notable is the TWA Flight 800 disaster — the 747 that was shot down shortly after leaving New York City; the one the government wants you to think exploded because some mystery “spark” ignited “fumes” in an “empty fuel tank” on an airliner making a cross-Atlantic flight.

In fact, the retroactive provision goes all the way back to July 16, 1996 — just one day before Flight 800 was blown from the sky.

So not only is Boeing and TWA taking it up the pipes because federal “investigators” are improperly laying this rap on their doorsteps; now they’re going to take it up the pipes again because of this heinous, politically motivated and retroactive “ex post facto” airline disaster awards law.

You expect something like this from Clinton; he’s a known liar and abuser of the law. You expect something like this from the chief trial lawyer’s association that lobbied for three years to get this bill passed and gave most of their PAC money (over 80 percent) to Democrats.

What you might not have expected, however — if you’re a conservative — is that notable Republicans had their nasty, hypocritical troll-like hands right smack dab in the middle of this.

For starters, this abomination was born with Rep. Donald L. Sherwood, R-Pa. “His 10th District includes Montoursville, home to 21 of the Flight 800 passengers — 16 members of a high school French club and five adult chaperones,” the Times said.

It died, however, in the Senate. That should have been the end of the story.

It wasn’t, however, thanks to Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, who “attached it to a reauthorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration,” the paper said. But wait — it gets better.

“The amendment attracted vocal support from Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican and then a candidate for president,” the paper said. “Mr. McCain is chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which handled the bill.”

“Family members should know that their children have value in the eyes of the law,” McCain — according to the Times story — lied in arguing for the change.

OK, the “lied” part is mine, not the Times’. But you get the picture.

Let’s recap.

Republicans are painted as scum of the earth by Democrats all the time because they are the “party of the rich, white guys running Corporate America.” Both George W. Bush and his running mate, Dick Cheney, are still being knocked by rivals Al Gore and Joe Lieberman for being “big oil” corporation scum-sucking rich white guys.

The GOP is repeatedly painted by Dems and liberals as the “corporate” party that cares more about corporations and profits and all that capitalist stuff instead of “the little worker guy” who just wants to earn a living, pay his (exorbitant) taxes and “do the right thing.”

And yet, Republicans were responsible for resurrecting — and then helping pass — a retroactive bill that is going to cost Boeing and TWA — the No. 1 aircraft maker and the No. 2 national airline — billions of dollars.

Some “corporate” party.

But forget the corporate label for a moment; this bill is bad because it is unconstitutional (as an ex post facto law), because the government’s explanation of what really happened to Flight 800 is bogus, and because a bunch of greedy sharks (some people call them “lawyers”) who couldn’t care less about the grieving families want to make a fortune off litigating tragedies.

For the record, “Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution makes clear that Congress cannot pass a law which criminalizes or penalizes activities committed before the enactment of a law,” according to legal expert

Christina Johns. This new aviation law is “ex post facto,” no way around it.

Because of the continued abuses of law, the American people, the U.S. justice system and the companies, employees and businesses that have made this country great, voters are in dire need of some “political diversity.”

In other words, other parties, other elected leaders, others with a sense of fairness, justice and the American constitutional way.

This two-party monopoly running things in America has got to go or we’re all going to end up broke, starving and living under the rule of some totalitarian madman. The ingrates running the Beltway asylum that we have repeatedly (and mindlessly) elected to “serve us” will continue to abuse us, our system, our trust, and our money until we force them out. Yes, I said, “force them out.”

You don’t “ask” a rodent to leave your home.