"To what purpose are powers limited, and to what purpose is that limitation committed to writing,
if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803

Saddam’s IOU

by Lee

This is one way to finance the tax cut.

The United States told the UN Security Council yesterday it would not invalidate debt claims of up to $400 billion on Iraq, but wanted a grace period before they could be pressed, a council diplomat said.

The diplomat quoted US sources as saying: “We are trying to ensure that the oil and oil sales are protected for a short period of time in order to get the Iraqi economy jump-started.”

He also quoted the US sources as saying: “That makes no judgment about the validity of the claims.”

But it’s not like we’re licking our chops waiting for the oil to start flowing.

Rather than set aside the first $400bn of oil revenue to meet debt claims, the US wanted to give the Iraqi economy a chance to get working, he said. Since the start of the oil-for-food programme, Iraq has exported about $62bn worth of oil.

$350 billion tax cut, $400 billion in Iraqi debt.  We get the tax cut plus $50 billion left over in change for the Democrats to give free classes in postmodern feminist dance therapy to every grade school child, or abortions to every pregnant female.

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