Ethics Panel's Rangel Counts show Integrity restored

Indeed, the article in this editorial from Washington Post indicates that some sort of integrity is being restored in the ETHICS COMMITTEE of the House of Representative. One of the rule of this committee is to ensure that the house standard of conduct are being kept by all members of the house. But in the recent past, Ethics Committee has been noted for favoritism and they slack in their role of ensuring good conduct among house members. With the case of Charles B. Rangel, the Committee is indeed moving towards restoring their integrity which is shown in their seriousness to hold Mr Rangel responsible for his actions irrespective of the post his is holding in the house or the powers that come with the position. Charles B. Rangel who is a long-serving member of the Democratic party majority, has walked the halls of Congress for 40 years and is the chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. This means that Mr Rangel ought to know the rules and regulations of the House the he is chairing. But instead he abused the power given to him by the constitution and grew overly comfortable wielding the powers however he saw fit. And by so doing, he has not shown any regards for the laws, rules and regulations of the United States and the House of Representative. The Ethics Committee's steps in reprimanding Mr Rangel is a good step in restoring it's integrity and Mr Randle and others like him should be thought that no one is above the law, not even those that makes the laws. He should be held responsible for misusing his office in violation of the House standards of conduct.

Tennessee Lt. Governor Wonders Whether Islam Is A Religion or A 'Cult'

The author Amanda Terkel in this article from the liberal political blog Think Progress is centered on if Muslims in America should be allowed to put up a local islamic center that would include a pool, gym and school in addition to a Mosque. In this particular issue the Rutherford county commission in Tenessee has already approved the plan. From my understanding, the first amendment right is still in existence and it includes freedom of religion. It looks to me like that right will be in violation if the American Muslims in Tenessee is denied the right to put up a place of worship which is the mosque. Yes, I understand, the violent nature of muslims, and no American citizen is in any hurry to forget the impact of September 11, 2001. I, myself can't forget the ordeal we all went through during that period, and the pain that it left in our hearts. The Tenessee's Lt.Governor Ron Ramsey (R) said he opposed the project because it might bring "Sharia Law" into the Stated, and woundered whether Islam might be some sort of 'Cult'. I believe that our Muslim neighbours in Tenessee, knows that no other law can coexist with U.S Constitution, that the laws in the Constitution, are supreme here in the U.S. While we are trying to maintain peace and accomodate our Muslim American brothers, we should be careful not to voilate the constitution with one hand by denying them the right of freedom of religion and worship, as we defend our constitution by opposing "Sharia Law'

Tennessee Lt. Governor Wonders Whether Islam Is A Religion or A 'Cult'

The author Amanda Terkel in this article from the liberal political blog Think Progress, is centered on if Muslims in America should be allowed to put up a local islamic center that would include a pool, gym and school in addition to a Mosque. In this particular issue the  Rutherford county commission in Tenessee has already approved the plan. From my understanding, the first amendment right is still in existence and it includes freedom of religion. It looks to me like that right will be in violation if the American Muslims in Tenessee is denied the right to put up a place of worship which is the mosque. Yes, I understand, the violent nature of muslims, and no American citizen is in any hurry to forget the impact of September 11, 2001. I, myself can't forget the ordeal we all went through during that period, and the pain that it left in our hearts. The Tenessee's Lt.Governor Ron Ramsey (R) said he opposed the project because it might bring "Sharia Law" into the Stated, and woundered whether Islam might be some sort of 'Cult'. I believe that our Muslim neighbours in Tenessee, knows that no other law can coexist with U.S Constitution, that the laws in the Constitution, are supreme here in the U.S. While we are trying to maintain peace and accomodate our Muslim American brothers, we should be careful not to voilate the constitution with one hand by denying them the right of freedom of religion and worship, as we defend our constitution by opposing "Sharia Law'

BP Says Oil Flow Has Stopped as Cap Is Tested

In this article written by Campbell Robertson and Henry Fountain, from The New York Times, they seemed uncertain about the future of the well also about government and BP decision concerning the stability of the cap. I agree with them in the aspect of the government wanting to close the well permanently as an option, I believe that the government and BP can still find a long lasting solution on capping and keeping the oil well open at the same time, the reason being that, the oil well in question is one of the major oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. For now, the cap is an interim measure until a relief well can plug the leak for good.

For weeks, the BP spill camera — which along with terms like “top kill,” “containment dome” and “junk shot” made up a growing list of phrases that many people wish they had never learned — had shown a horrible chocolate plume of oil pouring upward from the broken blowout preventer, a symbol of government and corporate impotence. The plume has been a constant presence in the corner of TV screens, mocking reassurances from officials on the news programs who describe the latest attempt to stop the gushing.
Though the exact amount of the oil that has poured out of the well may never be known, it was suddenly and for the first time a fixed amount. The disaster was, for a little while at least, finite.
At the White House, President Obama called the development a “positive sign,” though he cautioned that the operation was still in the testing phase. “I am very pleased that there’s no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico,” Kent Wells, a senior vice president for BP said, “but we just started the test and I don’t want to create a false sense of excitement.”

After long weeks of fighting with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, that endangered human and sea lives, and countless livelihoods were put in jeopardy, especially that of the fishermen. finally the undersea cap solution came, and it appeared to be working, so far no oil leak has been noted since the cap was put in place.


As the test began on Wednesday some hydraulic leaks were noticed, the test continued on Thursday, though it may appear for now that the BP oil spill is far, far from over, but they have certainly made a huge improvement in the attempt to stop the spill.

Obama's Overdue AIDS Bill

From the way I see it, this author, Desmond Tutu in his article from New York Times intended audience were all the people in the US that are living with AIDS and those infected with HIV, all the Africans living with AIDS and President Obama. The author indicated that he is saddened by president Obama's decision to spend less than he promised to treat AIDS patients in Africa.
The author also pointed out that former president George W.Bush made an impressive committment to international fight against AIDS when he formed the presidents Emergency plan for AIDS relief program(PepFar). And since 2004 Pepfar has spent $19 billion to help distribute anti-viral treatments to about 2.5 million Africans infected with HIV.

May I remind Mr Desmond Tutu that, all these contributions where made before the present economic downturn in the United States of America, where people are loosing their means of livelihood everyday, loosing jobs with no health care benefit, and businesses are closing up. I think, this author is a bit insensitive to the present economic situation in the America.
President Obama made a promise to contribute $1 billion and in the mist of US. economic downturn he was able to contribute $336 million to the Pepfar, one would expect the author and the poeple of Africa to show some gratitude to Obama. I will suggest that other organizations like Global fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria with similar initiatives should sparehead the African AIDS relief program for now.
I do not agree with the author insinuation that George W. Bush contributed his share of the Pepfar fund while Obama is not able to meet up with his promise. It is not about the individuals, it is about the nature of the economy of the nation at the time each of them was the president.

The author also said that president Obama's plan to cut down on America's contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,Tuberculosis, and Malaria is very distressing to him, that should not be so, because tough financial times requires American government to cut spending in all areas.

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