Good morning . . .
Today the BRAC Commission will begin a series of public hearings to decide on the final list of militrary bases to be closed or realigned. The Pentagon released its list of bases for closure on Friday. The list contained 33 major bases and dozens of smaller bases, reserve, and national guard facilities.
Over the next days, weeks, and months the Commission will hear testimony in favor of the closings, as well, as those who wish the bases to remain open. A parade of members of Congress will seek recognition in an attempt to score political points with constituents.
It is likely that the Commission will listen to experts on the viability of the bases to sway their final list of facilities. That list will go to the President in September. This will be President Bush's first time to act on military base closings.
President Clinton had two rounds of base closings in 1993 and 1995. His actions demonstrated a lack of understanding of the role of the military and hurt their ability and training. Some of the more notable closings during the Clinton Administration included Fort McClellan, Fort Chaffee, the Philadelphia Navy Yards, Alameda Naval Air Station, Homestead Air Force Base, and March Air Force Base.
One of the few facilities saved was Fort Dix in New Jersey.
List of facilities closed or realigned during the Clinton Administration.
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In its May 9 edition, Newsweek magazine published a story about an incident at Guantanemo Bay in Cuba. According to the unnamed sources in the story an interrogator flushed a copy of the Koran down a toilet.
The results of that story have been riots in Afghanistan Muslim clerics calling for a Holy War, and Islamic leaders calling for a worldwide protest.
In turns out that Newsweek much like CBS News chose to use a unreliable source and according to the May 16 edition, "parts of our story may be wrong." That's what Newsweek calls an apology. Well, it is too late.
Several people have been killed including US soldiers in the riots caused by the "inaccurate" story. The "highly-reliable" source now says that he is not sure if or when he saw the incident. This brings into question Newsweek's reporting on any issue involving the War on Terror.
With reporters like Eleanor Clift, Newsweek is known for its far-left bias and anti-Bush stance. It has now shown that like CBS News it will report and rumor as fact and then make an "apology" seem like it was not their fault. While Newsweek may "regret" its error, its bias has now caused the death of innocent people and US soldiers.
Newsweek should do the right thing and fire anyone involved in the story, but it will not. Like CBS it will find someone to sacrifice and shuffle a few reporters and writers to other beats, but the fundamental liberal bias will remain.
I hope the families of the soldiers killed are able and willing to sue.
Newsweek Backtracks as Anger Spreads Over Koran Claim -- 05/16/2005
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If you buy wine over the Internet, you may soon find more choices and cheaper prices. The US Supreme Court ruled today that states could not prohibit consumers from buying wine directly from out-of-state wineries.
By a 5-4 vote the court ruled the ban unconstitutionally discriminated against interstate commerce. Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the laws in Michigan and New York were designed to grant in-state wineries a competitive advantage.
"We hold that the laws in both states discriminate against interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause (of the U.S. Constitution) and that the discrimination is neither authorized nor permitted by the 21st Amendment," Kennedy concluded.
U.S. top court allows direct interstate wine sales - Yahoo! News
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Do your buy cigarettes or other tobacco products online? Do you pay your state's sales and tobacco tax?
If you do order cigarettes online and have not been paying the sales or tobacco tax, you could be getting a bill from your state and sometimes that bill is very large.
Several large online tobacco dealers have turned their records over to state authorities to avoid potential lawsuits by the states. Virginia is currently suing www.cigoutlet.com and www.affordablecigs.com for over $2 million dollars in tax revenue.
Several states are attempting to recoup loss tax revenue from online sales where prices are cheaper because many do not charge sales or tobacco tax. Illinois, Connecticut, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have sent letters to online purchasers requesting they pay the taxes. In some cases the states are also charging a penalty for tax evasion.
New York City has sent letters to 2,6000 resident to recoup the city's $3 per pack tax. Alaska has already recouped $100,000 in unpaid taxes.
Some states are also banning online sales of cigarettes. I'm not sure how they will enforce this.
So, if you order online and do not pay the taxes, you could end up paying the taxes and more.
Stateline has more.
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More later.
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