Cold Hearted Snake

Charles Taylor is most commonly associated with a crazy bloodthirsty dictator, but the Republican congressman who shares his name in Pennsylvania adds another notch of infamy to that name.

For emotional wallop, there are few rivals to the windswept, grassy field outside of Shanksville, Pa., where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.

But for three years, that field has made do with a makeshift monument while one member of Congress, Rep. Charles H. Taylor (R-N.C.), has blocked a $10 million request to buy the land for a permanent memorial to the 40 passengers and crew members who overpowered hijackers bent on crashing their jet into the Capitol or the White House.

What an ass. Heath Shuler, the former UT and (barely :) Redskins QB is challenging Taylor this fall.

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13 Responses to “Cold Hearted Snake”


  1. Gravatar Icon 1 Frank_D

    Family members say they can show why about 1,200 acres [52271350 sq. ft.* - fd] are needed for access to the site and to show the drama of an airplane slamming into the earth at more then 500 mph.
    I think they should get the money just to see how they pull that off…

    What do they plan on doing, having a daily re - creation?

    I wonder who will volunteer?

    * About 316,796 average living rooms.

  2. Gravatar Icon 2 Dugger

    Actually Charles Taylor was a great Redskin receiver of times gone by, but really the coincidence of names is your most telling criticism. Lets see, is Taylor an ass for not authorizing the federal governemnt to go out and seize $10M from working men and women to funf a monument in Pa?

    For that matter why not $100M for the monument? I say $100M and all who don’t support that want the terrorists to win!!

    Dugger, What $99.9M! ? Terrorist sympathizer!!!

  3. Gravatar Icon 3 AlexCorrigan

    Though I disagree with some of his reasons, I’m with Rep. Taylor on this one. There is a great deal of doubt about just what happened on Flight 93. There is a great deal of doubt about what happened leading up to 9/11. The rush to canonize the passengers of Flight 93 dovetails nicely with the rush to execute Zacarias Moussaoui: these pursuits (some sincere motivations notwithstanding) are serving to divert attention and resources away from more important issues.

    Rep. Taylor is right on at least one point: the last thing this historically challenged nation needs is another misguided and ill-informed monument. I think his original idea of scholarships is far more practical; at least we might get a few educated citizens out of the deal, instead of a ridiculously expensive locus of jingoism and emotionalism.

  4. Gravatar Icon 4 PrivatePyle

    Hmmm…to what political party does Heath Shuler belong? You sure have a HARD time finding it on his site.

  5. Gravatar Icon 5 Frank_D

    You can tell a man by the company he keeps:
    Under endorsements:

    North Carolina AFL-CIO

    National Education Association

    North Carolina Association of Educators

    Western North Carolina Central Labor Council

    Must be a Democratic…

  6. Gravatar Icon 6 JSA

    “He is, but he SUUUUUUURE doesn t go out of his way to tell you that, does he?”

    No, he doesn’t. And it looks like those issue papers are “coming soon.” Sigh.

  7. Gravatar Icon 7 PrivatePyle

    “Must be a Democratic& ”

    He is, but he SUUUUUUURE doesn’t go out of his way to tell you that, does he?

  8. Gravatar Icon 8 Dana

    Perhaps our esteemed host missed this, from the very article he linked:

    For Taylor, a large landowner in the mountains of western Carolina, the issue comes down to principle: The federal government is already the largest landowner in the country, and he believes that no additional tax dollars should go to more land buying for this or any other memorial. Beyond that, the families have committed to raising half the $60 million needed to build the memorial but so far have raised $7.5 million. Taylor is concerned that the federal government will be left holding the bag.

    It seems that Mr Taylor is standing on what for him is an established principle, and the principle on which he is standing sure seems like a good one to me. Heck, I’d say that the best thing the federal government could do is to sell some of that government land back to private citizens!

  9. Gravatar Icon 9 Dana

    And heath Shuler couldn’t even beat out Gus Frerotte, the Redskins quarterback who showed us how brilliant he was when he celebrated some play or other by headbutting a concrete column — and injuring his neck.

  10. Gravatar Icon 10 Screwy Hoolie

    Charles Taylor is holding back a $10 million dollar land deal while promoting the porkiest projects in America, and you want to tell me about his principles?

    When he on his principles, you can know that his political advisors told him it was time to get a new principle. Taylor has been utterly disingenuous regarding his relationship with Team Abramoff, he’s trotted out the lamest excuses regarding his botched vote on CAFTA, after sticking his finger into the political wind, he’s lied to the constituents of his district about shooting down the forest selloff plan.

    He’s got Russian banks, American banks, and a trail of near-miss felonies as long as the Blue Ridge Mountains.

    Heath Shuler is a Democrat. He’s honest, capable, pro-environment, pro-universal health care, pro-labor, pro-education, and pro-life. If you want him to advertise more as a Democrat, then get the national party moving.

  11. Gravatar Icon 11 Screwy Hoolie

    Here’s lots more info on Charles Taylor

    TPM
    Scrutiny Hooligans
    BlueNC
    Taylorsucks.org

  12. Gravatar Icon 12 JWG

    Heath Shuler is a Democrat.

    Yes, a democrat who opposes abortion rights and gun control, and has endorsed social conservatives in the past. It will be fun watching “progressives” support his candidacy.
    “Politics make strange bedfellows” — Charles Dudley Warner

  13. Gravatar Icon 13 Dana

    Don’t worry, JWG: Mr Shuler never could complete any passes in Washington. :)

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