Cluster fuck

After all, what's the point of having these awful weapons unless you can use them whenever, wherever you want?

The Senate on Wednesday rejected a move by Democrats to stop the Pentagon from using cluster bombs near civilian targets and to cut off sales unless purchasers abide by the same rules.

On a 70-30 vote, the Senate defeated an amendment to a Pentagon budget bill to block use of the deadly munitions near populated areas. The vote came after the State Department announced last month that it is investigating whether Israel misused American-made cluster bombs in civilian areas of Lebanon.

Unexploded cluster bombs — anti-personnel weapons that spray bomblets over a wide area — litter homes, gardens and highways in south Lebanon after Israel's 34-day war with Hezbollah militants.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., have long sought to keep cluster bombs from being used near concentrated areas of civilians. They say that as many as 40 percent of the munitions fail to detonate on impact — they can still can explode later — leaving innocent civilians and children vulnerable to injury or death long after hostilities have ceased.

These children wouldn't be in such danger if they had the good sense not to be born where we drop bombs.

By the way, NOT ONE Republican senator voted in favor of this measure. (Click here to see how your "representative" voted.) When people say Republicans are amoral swine -- and they say it a lot -- votes like this are the reason why.

Attention Pennsylvanians: Rick "Man on Dog" Santorum voted against this measure. Santorum is trailing Bob Casey in a contentious race that could be key to helping the Democrats regain control of Congress. If you're in Pennsylvania, register to vote and treat Santorum the way he treated this amendment.