Sunday, May 22, 2005

FINALLY SOME COMMON SENSE FROM OUR government when it comes to the UN. Granted, it would be preferable to simply bail out of the useless organization, but if we can't have that we might as well tie our dues to the reforms that are desperately needed.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A U.S. congressional committee has drafted a bill that threatens to withhold tens of millions of dollars in dues from the United Nations unless the world body conducts wide-ranging reforms, possibly setting the stage for a funding battle like the one that plunged the U.N. into financial crisis a decade ago.

The "United Nations Reform Act of 2005" targets a panoply of issues that have troubled critics of the United Nations, particularly Republicans, for years. Among other things, it would seek to cut funding for programs seen as useless and bar human rights violators from serving on U.N. human rights bodies.

The 80-page bill, from Illinois Republican Henry Hyde's House International Relations Committee, is still in an early form and has only recently been distributed to Democrats, who are likely to oppose several elements.

My only question is: Why would Democrats oppose reform at the UN? Are they in favor of illegal oil profits, rape, and molestation? I guess time will tell.

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