Dems not making much of their first few months

Paul Mirengoff and John Hinderacker at Power Line take note of a Washington Post article, themselves, that highlights an inconvenient truth for the Democrats in Congress: of the six specific items targeted for quick passage by the Dems not a single one has been enacted. From Power Line:

The  Washington Post notices that the Democratic Congress hasn’t accomplished anything yet. It observes that “not a single priority on the Democrats” agenda has been enacted.

Readers will recall that during the 2006 campaign, the Dems identified six relatively easy items, the quick passage of which would ensure them of a flying start. The six were: increase the minimum wage, implement most recommendations of the 9/11 commission, allow federal funding for stem cell research, permit the government to negotiate prescription drug prices under Medicare, cut student loan rates and roll back certain tax breaks for oil and gas companies to finance alternative energy research.

None has been enacted. The Post might also have noted that earmark reform has stalled despite the efforts of Republicans like Senator DeMint to push it into law.

These items that the Dems confidently predicted would be passed right away have not been held up by Republicans, either. They’ve not been brought forward by the leadership in Congress – and that’s the Dems, by the way – not even for discussion. The reason these items remain on the “inactive” list is because they just aren’t priorities for the Democrats, plain and simple.

High-rises in Arlington, VA the subject of debate

If you’ve never been to DC, you might be surprised to know that there are no true “skyscrapers” there. Where in New York and Chicago you have buildings that are, literally, over 1000 feet tall, there are no buildings in DC that are taller than the Washington Monument, a “mere” 555 feet tall. There are reasons for that but that’s not the focus of this article in today’s Washington Post. Nor is that my specific item of note.

It seems there are 2 buildings being proposed in Arlington, VA, across the Potomac River from DC, an office building and a residential one, that will be taller than the surrounding buildings in Arlington and taller than most of those in DC as well. The buildings will be 388 feet and 352 feet, respectively, and among the concerns of opponents is the view by the FAA that the buildings will be a “presumed hazard” to the aircraft flying in and out of Reagan National Airport (DCA). This, apparently, is because the buildings will be taller than the tallest existing building by 76 feet. 76 feet.

For the record, I’m no air traffic controller. I did take the test for that profession and I scored a 99.2% on it, but there never seemed to be a slot at the academy for me. I am, however, an avid observer of all things involved in aviation and that includes the various flight paths into and out of the local airports, of which DCA is one. I have never – not once – viewed an aircraft on approach or departure from DCA where the aircraft passed over the office buildings in the Arlington/Rosslyn area. Even if they did, they wouldn’t be at an altitude where such a structure would be an issue.

I’m all for aviation safety and proper urban planning where airports are concerned but this just seems like a huge stretch to call the proposed buildings a hazard.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the judges say.

70 years ago, airships went down in flames

On May 6, 1937 the German airship Hindenburg made its approach to the mooring at the US Naval Station in Lakehurst, NJ. While we continue to debate the cause 7 decades later, the fact is that something caused an ignition onboard and the hydrogen-filled lift bladders fueled such a fire that the entire 804-foot-long vessel burned and collapsed inside of 60 seconds. It signaled the end of an era; no significant building of airships occured afterwards and the public simply would not trust them regardless of the fact that the other major airships of the day used non-flammable helium to keep themselves aloft.

There are few survivors among those directly involved today. They and the Navy Lakehurst Historical Society will be holding a private memorial service to honor those who survived and remember those who didn’t. The rest of us can recall the stories, imagine the tragedy, and carry the lessons learned forward with us into the future.

Sending the wrong message: Al Qaeda knows what the surrender bill meant

The premise that the Democrats’ surrender bill they sent to the President’s desk was a surrender and that the enemy would view it as such has now been confirmed. AQ deputy Al-Zawahiri has explicitly claimed that the bill was evidence of American failure and frustration in the Iraq front of this long war. Which is, of course, exactly the message we on the right were saying it would send. It has given the enemy hope that they can succeed against us and that hope was given to them courtesy of the Democratic majority in Congress.

Nice move, folks.