Well, I tried to solve it on my own. Who is FRK?
What monuments?
The New York Times lists some:
I don’t know if he was responsible for any of the names, but there you go.
Were there long Senate tenures before the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment? I would think political footballing at the state level would have made Senate tenures much less secure back then.
Was his point that people saying the N-word aren’t being racist, because in his opinion the word can also be applied to whites? If so, I do think that’s kind of racist, or at least it’s a bullshit defense of racists. If not, what exactly was his point?
His point had nothing to do with people saying the N-word, not as such, not in regard to blacks, and to any extent it did it refer to people using it that way he was deploring them too. Had you read the whole passage, you’d realize he was deploring racism, and deploring the ignorance and hatred of “white trash” using a term that had been common when he was growing up.
But all you saw was the N-word itself, right? Again, have you ever read Huckleberry Finn? Chock full of it, you know.
Thanks for bringing that old GOP talking point back from the Trent Lott defense, though. Good to know it’s still out there. :rolleyes:
All I read was what hajario quoted above. I’ve never heard this quotation before, nor have I any knowledge of the context in which it was given. My “what exactly was his point?” was meant sincerely.
How is a Byrd ass-kissing thread a “Great Debate”?
I guess the question of who will replace him, and how it will affect the political balance of the Senate, is debatable.
Well, I figure it will be another conservative Dem.
First, there are term limits in the Constitution, Represenative’s terms are limited to 2 years, Senator’s terms are limited to 6 years, and President’s terms are limited to 4 years. Unfortunately Presidents are also limited to 2 terms, which has created a problem of making any re-elected President a lame duck.
Secondly, how about pork limits? I doubt Byrd’s passing will greatly change the amount of pork barrel spending by the congress.
The other problem is that Manchin is as corrupt as the day is long. You thought Dubya liked Cronyism? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet…
gee, a former klansmen died? pardon me for not caring.
I think the idea behind term limits is that senators would be less parochial. I think you can probably have earmark reform without interfering with a voter’s right to elect whoever they want.
As much as I don’t want as little waste in government as possible, how much do you think we spend in earmarks every year and what percentage of those earmarks do you think is suboptimal spending?
http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=37843
It seems as if the appointment will serve until 2012 when a special election will be held. The strange part is that Byrd’s term would have been up then, so the special election for the remaining 5 weeks! of his term will be held at the same time as the general election for the full term.
I’m not sure if the same person could run in both races.
It’s not possible for anyone ever to learn or reform, is that it?
Besides the bit about honoring the dead, there seems to be some disagreement about what he did that made the world a better place, and what did not, and why. There’s also the bit about understanding what racism is.
For him, sure, but not so much for the country.
I ignore the Klan stuff as a product of his time and place, but his actions in office were manifestly those of a man primarily in search of power and glory for himself.
So interior states can stay poor? :dubious:
This I can believe. There’s a lot of stuff with his name on it in W. Va.
That said, a poor state like W. Va. is probably better off with that kind of ego than the other kind–the kind that just offers platitudes about pulling oneself up by bootstraps to the people back home & can’t wait to get away & befriend rich outsiders for himself. Term limits support the latter kind; they feather their own nests & go into the private sector.
I was no fan of Byrd until I saw his pleas not to invade Iraq. A poster child for pork & careerism, but he had good points.