Day: April 13, 2006

Florida War Vet Refuses to Swear Support for Government

Trish

A newly elected 76-year-old Korean War veteran in Florida is refusing to take the oath of office because he doesn’t support the current regime.

Basil Dalack is suing Tequesta, near Miami, to rewrite the oath.

… the oath requires him to “support, protect and defend” the government…

Dalack said he believes the U.S. war in Iraq is unjust and “an abomination.” He said he could not sleep at night if he took a pledge implying blanket support for the U.S. government.

“Those dead kids in Iraq, American kids and Iraqi kids, would haunt me,” Dalack said.

Good man.

Student Dies In Second Unidentified Fever Outbreak in China

Buck Banks

From Agence France Press:

BEIJING: A high school in northern China has been shut down after an unidentified virus killed one student and left dozens of others hospitalised with high fevers, state press reported yesterday.

Medical officials have determined that the outbreak in Shaanxi province is not bird flu but are still trying to identify the virus, the Beijing Times reported. The virus was first detected after 19 of the students from Qishan county came down with high fever late last month.

One of the students from Yidian High School died after being sent to the provincial capital of Xian for treatment and, by Monday this week, a total of 30 students had been hospitalized with high fevers, the report said. Most of the fevers registered over 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit), it added.

“At the moment we have ruled out the possibility of atypical pneumonia and the bird flu, but the transmission of this disease is getting stronger and the exact cause and source of the disease has not been confirmed,” one unnamed medical official was quoted as saying.

Officials at the school said the outbreak came after students had participated in a sports meeting in cold weather.

The PROMED infectious disease discussion group noted that in February and March there was one other outbreak of unidentified fever in China and four in two regions of India.

Congress Set to Fight Over FEMA’s Fate

Buck Banks

Push for independence: With another hyperactive hurricane season set to begin in just over six weeks, Congress members are gearing up for a fight over whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency should remain under the control of the Department of Homeland Security or become a stand-alone agency answerable only to the president.

According to a report in Congress Daily:

Removing FEMA from DHS would only exacerbate the agency’s problems.
— House Homeland Security Committee

House Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., said Wednesday he wanted FEMA removed from Homeland Security and under the president’s direct control. “The response [to a disaster] has to be able to bring all the assets of the federal government together quickly,” Davis told reporters at the 2006 Homeland and Global Security Summit in Washington, organized by Equity International. (Davis headed a special House panel that investigated the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina.)

But leaders of the House Homeland Security Committee say such a move would cripple the agency and the government’s ability to respond to disasters.

“Removing FEMA from DHS would only exacerbate the agency’s problems,” committee Republicans and Democrats said Wednesday in a joint statement, which aides said was not prepared as a response to Davis. “It would reduce FEMA’s access to the vast resources available within the department, create duplicative response efforts for natural and manmade disasters and significantly delay our ability to prepare for future emergencies. It is imperative that we strengthen FEMA while keeping it within DHS.”

A turf war is shaping up with members of both parties coming down on both sides of the issue.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Economic Development Subcommittee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., whose panel oversees emergency management issues, has drafted legislation that would remove FEMA from Homeland Security. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., has introduced a bill that would make FEMA an independent agency. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, says the agency should stay within DHS.

Bush’s Nomination of Paulison Causing ‘Exodus’ at FEMA

Buck Banks

Perils of cronyism: According to government labor union leaders, President Bush’s nomination of Federal Emergency Management Agency acting director R. David Paulison to be permanent director is causing middle managers to flee the agency.

GovExec.com reports that labor leaders are terming it an “exodus”:

“We have mid-level managers flying out the door [at FEMA],” said Charles Showalter, president of the American Federation of Government Employees’ National Homeland Security Council. “Any time you put a political appointee over public safety and operational issues, it scares the hell out of people.”

‘Any time you put a political appointee over public safety and operational issues, it scares the hell out of people.’
— Charles Showalter

Leo Bosner, a 27-year FEMA veteran and union representative, said Paulison’s 30 years of fire and rescue experience in Florida do not necessarily qualify him to lead FEMA, and called for someone with broader disaster management expertise. Bosner also was critical of Paulison’s support of FEMA remaining within DHS.

Apparently, before Paulison’s nomination as announced several candidates for the directorship had quietly asked to be removed from consideration. The unions asked for a broader search for a permanent director, but Republican Congress members came out in support of Paulison. The Dems appear to be waiting for confirmation hearings (which have not been scheduled) before publicly criticizing — or supporting — Paulison.

Note: Hurricane season begins in 49 days.

Poll: Half the Country Wants War with Iran — But 54% Do Not Trust Bush to Decide

Jon Ponder

Addicted to terror: Support for war on Iran has slipped significantly from the February 2006 CNN/Gallup poll cited here that said 80 percent of Americans favored bombing the Persian country if it developed nuclear weapons. Acccording to a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll:

Fifty-four percent said they did not trust President Bush to make the right decision about Iran.

Asked whether they would support military action if Iran continued to produce material that could be used to develop nuclear weapons, 48 percent of the poll’s respondents, or almost half, said yes; 40 percent said no…

In a telling reflection of Bush’s erosion in public support, 54 percent said they did not trust him to “make the right decision about whether we should go to war with Iran,” while 42 percent of respondents said they trusted him to do so.

That was a reversal of public sentiment since 2003, on the eve of Bush’s decision to invade Iraq, when 55 percent of respondents said they trusted him to make the right decision over whether to go to war.

FL-11: Castor Gets Schiavo Endorsement

Jon Ponder

TerriPAC, the political committee created by Michael Schiavo in honor of his late wife, Terri, whose linger coma caused controversy last year, has endorsed Hillsborough County Commissioner Kathy Castor (D) in Florida’s 11th Congressional District:

Castor is vying for the seat left vacant by Rep. Jim Davis (D-Fla.), who is leaving Congress to run for governor. Castor is leading in money with $392,089 on hand. Her closest rival, state Sen. Les Miller (D) had $173,209 on hand at year’s end.

Michael Schiavo recently met Castor and came away impressed, prompting the TerriPAC endorsement. In a statement, he said, “Kathy Castor has proven she will take the lead and stand up for our privacy and freedom and against powerful interests.”

TerriPAC is due to endorse candidates in the Florida governor’s race soon, as well as congressional races in California, Pennsylvania, Colorado and elsewhere.