Good afternoon . .
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) was elected on a promise to unseat Tom Daschle, to support the President's policies and nominations, and to protect Ellsworth Air Force Base.
Thune has decided that one out of three is OK. To retaliate for the inclusion of Ellsworth on the initial base closings list issued by the Pentagon, Thune has decided to vote against the nomination of John Bolton ass ambassador to the United Nations.
It is obvious that Sen. Thune does not understand how the base closing process works. He is more than welcome to put a case together and present it to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) to save the Cold War era base. He is more than welcome to testify before the BRAC to present his case.
Instead Sen. Thune adapts tactics worthy of liberals, Democrats, and Tom Daschle. That's OK Senator, one term in the Senate should be enough to show your real positions. It is too bad the voters of South Dakota have to wait until 2010.
HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE :: Thune's Opposition to Bolton Contradicts His Own Recent Comments on Bush UN Pick by John Gizzi
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If you are a frequent flyer, you no doubt have been delayed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on more than one occasion.
In 2004 the Federal Aviation Administration imposed "temporary" flight caps to relive that congestion and lower the number and length of delays. It worked. Now the FAA wants to extend the hourly limits on flights for three more years.
This is not setting well with the Illinois Congressional delegation, tow major airlines, and the City of Chicago. They want the limits to be discontinued (because they work) and want the FAA to accelerate the review of the O'Hare expansion plan. The plan calls for reconfiguration of the runways at O'Hare, the creation of a west entrance to the airport, and the elimination of hundreds of homes and businesses (including one small village).
The FAA also wants to give some of the highly prized slots at O'Hare to other airlines. United, in particular, is unhappy with that part of the FAA's plan.
Officials at United, still trying to emerge from bakruptcy, has warned city officials that it may reconsider its commitment to the expansion plan if the FAA's plans move forward.
"We are foursquare behind O'Hare expansion, but the FAA plan would be a strong disincentive for us," said Mark Anderson, United vice president of government affairs. "It asks United to help pay for the modernization and give up the capacity to someone else."
The FAA said its goal was to increase competition at O'Hare where 80 percent of the flights are operated by United or American.
In addition to expansion plans at O'Hare a group of investors are looking to build a third Chicago-area airport near Peotone. Progress on that venture is being held up by a little-known State Senator from the are who wants the new airport board to be part of the Illinois Department of Transportation. Investors say they have the money to fund and operate the new airport and will not become part of a state board.
What ever happens at O'Hare or the new airport, you can be sure that your luggage will find its way to a different destination than planned.
Chicago Tribune | Flight caps until '08 won't fly, FAA told
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Illinois government is sometimes interesting. Each year a budget bill must be passed by May 31 or the legislature goes into "overtime" and a budget bill requires a two-thirds majority to pass.
This year both houses of the legislatures beat the deadline. But the Democrat controlled legislature did it without any Republican votes. Repeat, the budget bill passed without ANY Republican votes.
While that may or may not be unusual, a major part of the new budget is to defer payment to the state's pension funds for two years. The total amount deferred is $2.3 billion. This is not the first time the legislature has devised this scheme and it has never caught up with the amount due the pension funds.
During the early 90's I taught at a state university in Illinois, all faculty were REQUIRED to be part of the state pension fund. At that time, the fund for retiring faculty was more than $12 million behind.
The only Republican in state government, state Treasurer Judy Barr Topinka has a problem with the new budget. Topinka has asked state Attorney General Lisa Madigan to determine whether the deferment is constitutional.
"It's not really about pension funds," said Topinka, the lone statewide Republican officeholder. "It is about borrowing and it is about debt and it's about playing games with money to achieve a higher level of spending. And all of this goes back to the governor's personal addiction for spending."
Democrats doubt Topinka is really interested in the issue and is using politics for her upcoming campaign for governor. (There is no way she can win.)
Topinka contended that when Democrats voted for the pension diversion, they failed to secure the constitutionally required 60 percent majority of lawmakers needed to approve state borrowing. Given the current make up of the General Assembly, it would have required the votes of Republicans in the House and Senate.
The pension diversion is the backbone of the budget passed by Democrats that will increase funding to schools, eliminate the need to increase state income and sales taxes, and provide money to the cash-strapped Chicago Transit Authority. All in all it is a very Illinois budget.
Chicago Tribune | Topinka rips budget deal
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More tomorrow.
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