The American Trial Lawyers Association

Friday, March 13, 2009

Political Briefs March 13th 2009

Earlier this week, it was reported that the diaper-wearing, prostitute-loving GOP senator David Vitter had a bit of a temper tantrum at a DC airport. Vitter was late for a flight from Washington to New Orleans, and when he arrived at the gate, he was told that he wasn't allowed to go through the security door leading to the plane. After setting off the security alarm, the Louisiana senator proceeded to dress down an airline employee who told him entering the restricted area was forbidden. He invoked his standing as a senator, delivering a "do-you-know-who-I-am" tirade. After the airline worker announced that he was going to get security, Vitter said that they would probably be impressed by his senatorial pin. However, when the worker acted and actually went to security, Vitter quietly slipped away. The TSA has since announced that they will be investigating the matter, and Vitter could be facing fines or other punishments for his infantile tirade. Of course, given his perverted history, any punishment inflicted could actually make him do something like this again.


In other news, Fox News' Sean Hannity has some interesting things to say about torture. Hannity invited Meghan McCain on his show to talk about a court filing by 9/11 defendants detained at Guantanamo Bay. The group of detainees had admitted in the past that they were "terrorists to the bone." Hannity asked McCain why we would want to extend any rights to these people, and before she could even answer his question, he went into a soliloquy about his views on torture, which are apparently rooted in his Christianity. Hannity said of Osama bin Laden, quote, “I don't have any problem taking his head sticking it underwater and scaring the living daylights out of him and making him think we're drowning him… and I'm a Christian.” I'm not quite sure I follow Sean's logic on this one. If he's relying on his faith to justify torturing – which the Bible described torture in numerous different areas – but this argument doesn't hold any water today. In order to base his argument on this, he would have to assume that the world hasn't changed over the last two thousand years, and contrary to what Republicans actually think, it has.


And finally this week, the man who dubbed Vice President Joe Biden a socialist last September for arguing that paying taxes is "patriotic" appears to have some government redistribution ideas of his own. Newt Gingrich, often cited as a Republican prospect for president in 2012, says the state should consider paying teenager girls not to get pregnant. He also says that states should consider paying teenage girls who become pregnant to take prenatal vitamins to forestall paying additional health expenses for neonatal care down the road. Along with his remarks about pregnant teenagers, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives also said that state legislators should consider paying poor children to read and individuals not to smoke. His other ideas include giving tax breaks to grocery stores that open in the inner city; giving bonuses to food stamp recipients who buy fruits and vegetables; and making students walk to school if they live close enough. Admittedly, some of these ideas really aren't that bad, but paying teenagers not to get pregnant? Come on, Newt. How about we actually take that money and put it into sex ed classes, that teach the use of contraceptives. That way it doesn't look so much like we're bribing students to wear condoms.

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