Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul held a good old-fashioned, speak-‘till-you’re-blue-in-the-face, 13-hour filibuster last week against the nomination of John Brennan to head the CIA. For future reference, making a politician speak until he drops is never a good idea.
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Paul’s filibuster demanded answers from the White House concerning whether drone strikes would be conducted against U.S. citizens in this country. Attorney General Eric Holder said he couldn’t imagine ever doing such a thing. However, as the filibuster dragged on he may have been asking military officials if it was feasible to fly a drone into the Senate Chamber.
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Senate pages, who had to cancel evening plans, may have been happy to operate the remote control.
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The old-fashioned filibuster is what made Jimmy Stewart famous in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” But it wouldn’t have been as dramatic if the movie had lasted 13 hours.
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The auto company KIA made folks in Provo excited last week as it unveiled an experimental prototype sports car it called “The Provo.” Turns out the Korean carmaker just wanted something short for “the provocative,” which hardly describes Utah County’s largest city.
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If the company had really named a model after Provo, Utah, it probably would be a minivan with peanut butter and soda stains already ground into the upholstery and cup holders.
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In a fit of common sense last week, the Transportation Safety Administration announced it will allow people to carry pocketknives aboard planes. They can even carry hockey sticks and mini baseball bats. With new protections in place, no one is going to bring down a plane with those things, officials said. Carry more than 3 ounces of water through security, however, and you’re going down.
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You may carry a pocketknife, but the TSA still plans to make you take off your shoes and your belt, just to prove who really has the power.
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Former TSA chief Kip Hawley told CNN he supports the new knife policy. He thinks it should go much further, allowing people to carry machetes and battleaxes onboard. My luck, the guy with those things would sit next to me.
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Hawley actually said those things, noting how hard it would be to hijack a plane with a battleax. That’s not the half of it. Imagine getting it to fit in the overhead bin or under the seat in front of you.
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A guy with a machete may not be able to take over the flight, but I’ll bet he gets to keep the whole soft drink can and gets extra peanuts if he wants.