* Thanks But No Thanks – The much anticipated debate between vice presidential candidates Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin was enlightening. One candidate demonstrated a knowledge and understanding of a broad range of very serious issues facing our country and the ability to articulate his views to the public. The other candidate reincarnated her bid to become Miss Alaska with enough “being a Mom”, dogonnits and bless your hearts exhalations to sell a truckload of Girl Scout Cookies. The best that can be said about Ms. Palin is that she did not implode while repeating her tape recorder-like responses to questions. There may have actually been a time or two when her response somewhat coincided with the question. Aside from expressing her admiration for the over-reaching power of Vice President Dick Cheney we learned little about the woman who would be a heart beat away from the Oval Office. Do not despair. Help is on the way.
I have never met or spoken with Sue Katz, author of the intelligent and timely blog Consenting Adult. We crossed paths through the blogosphere and have exchanged emails discussing a potpourri of issues. As a result of this association I received an advance copy of her new book “Thanks But Not Thanks: A Voters Guide to Sarah Palin” that will be released October 13, 2008. This well-written, informative and entertaining book is the first well-researched and comprehensive document available to voters and political junkies who want to know more about this little-known Republican instant star – information that in many cases the McCain campaign would prefer be kept in the dark.
TBNT provides the reader with a whirlwind tour of who Sarah Palin is, where she came from and the influences that led to her meteoric rise to prominence. Perhaps the main influence is the religious right, a constituency critical to a successful McCain election. We see Sarah Palin attending her church and the influences she meets. “Jews for Jesus’ David Brickner, was a guest speaker recently and Palin was there. The Times tells us that Brickner “suggested that terrorism in Israel was God’s judgment against the Jews for failing to accept Christ as the Messiah.” Palin did not walk out and there are no reports of her objecting.” Katz ponders the question of how Palin’s religious convictions would impact her political policy decisions.
Katz also looks at Sarah Palin in the context of the women’s movement and observes that Palin “has also changed the face of national politics. She has subverted the feminist agenda, running as a woman and mother, but neglecting to look after the needs of women and children. She has subverted the notion of experience, turning the PTA into a major qualification while ridiculing Obama’s three years of community organizing with poor people.”
Among the many perspectives that TBNT shares with the reader is a chapter devoted to how the world community views Palin. As great a loss of stature that America has experienced under Bush, the next administration will have much work to do to restore the reputation and role of America in the world community. Katz explores how the world is seeing not only Sarah Palin but its anticipation of an America being lead by John McCain or Barack Obama.
This link provides a detail background of the talented and multifaceted Sue Katz and additional information about her latest book – a guide that enables voters to make an informed decision.
* Politics puts your vote at risk ~ irony out the wrinkles in a democracy - Although you believe that your voter registration is valid, in reality, it may not be. In many parts of the country, for any number of reasons, mostly partisan, voters are being purged from voter records. A visit to The Brad Blog offers details of what CBS calls “Massive Voter Roll Purges in 19 States” These systematic purges ignore federal law, the National Voter Registration Act. At Vote for Change one can register to vote or check on the status of an existing registration.
* Welcome to the American Dream – Conventional wisdom suggests that it is liberal political philosophy that seeks to help every American achieve the goal of owning a home, gaining a piece of the pie and grabbing a brass ring. Somewhat ironically, it is conservative political philosophy of deregulation and free markets that has enabled every American taxpayer to own at least pieces of multiple homes. You may not live in the home, have a lawn to cut or windows to wash but, if you are a taxpayer, regardless of your current residency situation, you own pieces of multiple homes. That is what the bailout/rescue plan achieved. Your government just spent $700 billion to buy the troubled mortgages held by financial institutions so that they have funds to loan to businesses and individuals, a move intended to keep the economic system functioning. No one is certain that the legislation will achieve its goal and the NY Times notes that this legislation is a stop-gap measure with much to be done by the next president and congress. The cloud may not have been removed from the U.S. economy but we can still say, “Congratulations to the American taxpayer” – even if your piece of the pie is humble.
* Put on your seat belt - Expect the folks that gave you the “American Dream” to infect the last four weeks of the presidential campaign with toxic advertisements and Kool Aid misrepresentations. As of Saturday Obama is surging in the polls and significantly outdistancing McCain in the most important statistic, electoral votes. In spite of McCain’s promise to run a clean campaign brace yourself for a strategy that would make Karl Rove blush.
* Italian imports ~ Sì e no – I have no objection to the vast quantities of Italian shoes, clothing and wine that enters our country. Their design and quality are examples of the best that the world has to offer. When it comes to nuclear waste I am of a different opinion. We produce enough of our own and have yet to come to terms with what to do with it. EnergySolutions operates a nuclear waste site in Tooele County, Utah and they have requested permission to import 20,000 tons of radioactive waste from Italy. Currently the U.S. has 64,000 tons of spent fuel being stored on-site at nuclear power plants in 33 states and the amount of this very dangerous material continues to grow. Until we solve our own disposal of nuclear waste problems there should be an embargo on importing it. And even then we should probably say, “Thanks but no thanks.”
* I wish I could give you a lot of advice, based on my experience of winning political debates. But I don't have that experience. My only experience is at losing them.
Richard M. Nixon (1913 – 1994) 37th President of the United States (1969-1974).
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
* Finally, an answer – If you are like me, understanding a number of the underlying causes of the current financial crisis besetting our nation has not been easy, until now. When you need an answer to difficult questions, especially as they pertain to disasters, crises and calamities – go to the folks with God’s cell phone number – the religious-right fundamentalists. “Christian Civil League of Maine Executive Director Michael Heath writes that the financial crisis facing Wall Street is a symptom of America's sinful sexual culture, including the acceptance of gay unions.” With red-faced embarrassment all I can say is, “Why didn’t I think of that?” On second thought, perhaps the red in my face is a reaction to Mr. Heath using the word “civil” in league with his League. Perhaps it is time for the American people to emphatically let these ungodly radical right zealots know they are welcome to believe what they want but, they are most unwelcome to be defining our values and policies. George Bush was their product and John McCain wants to be. Amen.
* Financial Tip of the Week – This advice will not directly benefit individual investors but if you are a business corporation there is no better return on your money than that spent on lobbyists and political campaigns. The Washington Post points out that, “Since 1998, AIG has spent more than $72 million on lobbying and contributed more than $25 million to campaigns. The insurance company received $85 billion from the federal government last month. For this $97 million investment AIG received an 876 percent return. Until America comes to the realization that public financing of elections and congressional ethics reform is instituted, the American citizen will be treated like bubblegum stuck to the bottom of a politician’s wing-tipped shoe. The current financial crisis resulted from the marriage of the financially privileged and the governing class. Forces in this country have tried to focus our attention on something that is none of our business – the issue of gay marriage. Our attention would be better served, no, critically served, to the divorce of the parties that caused this financial meltdown through greed and malfeasance.
* Quote of the Week - "I will oppose the Wall Street bailout plan because though well intentioned, and certainly much improved over the administration’s original proposal, it remains deeply flawed. It fails to offset the cost of the plan, leaving taxpayers to bear the burden of serious lapses of judgment by private financial institutions, their regulators, and the enablers in Washington who paved the way for this catastrophe by removing the safeguards that had protected consumers and the economy since the great depression. The bailout legislation also fails to reform the flawed regulatory structure that permitted this crisis to arise in the first place. And it doesn’t do enough to address the root cause of the credit market collapse, namely the housing crisis. Taxpayers deserve a plan that puts their concerns ahead of those who got us into this mess."-Senator Russ Feingold, October 1, 2008
* Suppose the year is 2009 and at 3:00 AM the phone rings in the White House informing the president of another financial crisis. Do you want Obama or McCain answering the call? NY Times writer Paul Krugman asks and answers this question. One man would be surrounded with clear-thinking advisors and the other’s chief economic advisor is an arch-deregulator. Krugman notes, “to a large extent the poor quality of Mr. McCain’s advisers reflects the tattered intellectual state of his party. Has there ever been a more pathetic economic proposal than the suggestion of House Republicans that we try to solve the financial crisis by eliminating capital gains taxes? (Troubled financial institutions, by definition, don’t have capital gains to tax.)” The article is worth a read.
* Assessing the damage ~ and looking ahead - John McCain is often described as a maverick, impulsive, a gambler. These characterizations came to mind while reading Jill Abramson’s review in the NY Times of Bob Woodward’s new book about Bush, The Final Days. This is Woodward’s fourth book about the Bush administration and Abramson puts the four volumes in context when she writes, “These books offer a chilling lesson in how not to lead. They also describe the tragic pattern of a president who operates impulsively, guided solely by his instincts, abetted but ill-served by advisers who fail in the crucial task of speaking truth to power.” A number of times I have referred to McCain as McBush, implying that a McCain presidency would be more of the same with even greater peril to America since it is already so weakened by the Bush years. This review offers no reason for me to change my mind.
* A break with the past – The Record is a newspaper in Stockton, CA. For the past 72 years, since endorsing Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, this paper has endorsed a Republican for president. Not this year. From the editorial: “For eight years, American politics has been marked by smears, fears and greed… The result is a cynicism every bit as deep as that which infected the nation when Richard Nixon was shamed from office and when Bill Clinton brought shame to the office… This must end, but John McCain can't do it. He can't inspire, nor can he really break from a past that is breaking this nation.” The editorial is interesting and the reasoning is instructive. In order to address the challenges facing our country it is important that we all re-evaluate our propensities.
* What a difference a century makes ~ welcome to the Big Top:
Antedated definition of “Republican”– somebody who believes that the best government is one in which supreme power is vested in an electorate.
Current definition of “Republican” – a circus performer in grease paint, bulbous red nose and baggy pants who, when its mouth opens, spews lies like clowns from a Volkswagen.
The press conference of the House Republicans that followed their vote against a supposedly agreed upon bi-partisan legislation to stabilize Wall Street was laughable. Grown men saying the bill was okay but, they voted against it because Speaker Nancy Pelosi insulted them. The country can flush itself down the financial sewer because their feelings were hurt. On Tuesday we learn that House Republicans not only acted stupid, they lied while doing it.
“The Republican National Committee's new advertisement critical of the Wall Street "bailout" was produced and sent to television stations in key states before the package failed, officials at two stations said.” The ads were also placed before Pelosi’s remarks. I recently noted that people tell lies when they fear the truth. In the case of House Republican toddlers and the McCain campaign, they have reached a point that they do not know the difference between truth and lies. Recall the good old days when a voter tried to be alert for a politician’s lie. In today’s world the challenge is to be alert for a truth.
* “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Albert Einstein
* Financial Tip of the Week – This advice will not directly benefit individual investors but if you are a business corporation there is no better return on your money than that spent on lobbyists and political campaigns. The Washington Post points out that, “Since 1998, AIG has spent more than $72 million on lobbying and contributed more than $25 million to campaigns. The insurance company received $85 billion from the federal government last month. For this $97 million investment AIG received an 876 percent return. Until America comes to the realization that public financing of elections and congressional ethics reform is instituted, the American citizen will be treated like bubblegum stuck to the bottom of a politician’s wing-tipped shoe. The current financial crisis resulted from the marriage of the financially privileged and the governing class. Forces in this country have tried to focus our attention on something that is none of our business – the issue of gay marriage. Our attention would be better served, no, critically served, to the divorce of the parties that caused this financial meltdown through greed and malfeasance.
* Quote of the Week - "I will oppose the Wall Street bailout plan because though well intentioned, and certainly much improved over the administration’s original proposal, it remains deeply flawed. It fails to offset the cost of the plan, leaving taxpayers to bear the burden of serious lapses of judgment by private financial institutions, their regulators, and the enablers in Washington who paved the way for this catastrophe by removing the safeguards that had protected consumers and the economy since the great depression. The bailout legislation also fails to reform the flawed regulatory structure that permitted this crisis to arise in the first place. And it doesn’t do enough to address the root cause of the credit market collapse, namely the housing crisis. Taxpayers deserve a plan that puts their concerns ahead of those who got us into this mess."-Senator Russ Feingold, October 1, 2008
* Suppose the year is 2009 and at 3:00 AM the phone rings in the White House informing the president of another financial crisis. Do you want Obama or McCain answering the call? NY Times writer Paul Krugman asks and answers this question. One man would be surrounded with clear-thinking advisors and the other’s chief economic advisor is an arch-deregulator. Krugman notes, “to a large extent the poor quality of Mr. McCain’s advisers reflects the tattered intellectual state of his party. Has there ever been a more pathetic economic proposal than the suggestion of House Republicans that we try to solve the financial crisis by eliminating capital gains taxes? (Troubled financial institutions, by definition, don’t have capital gains to tax.)” The article is worth a read.
* Assessing the damage ~ and looking ahead - John McCain is often described as a maverick, impulsive, a gambler. These characterizations came to mind while reading Jill Abramson’s review in the NY Times of Bob Woodward’s new book about Bush, The Final Days. This is Woodward’s fourth book about the Bush administration and Abramson puts the four volumes in context when she writes, “These books offer a chilling lesson in how not to lead. They also describe the tragic pattern of a president who operates impulsively, guided solely by his instincts, abetted but ill-served by advisers who fail in the crucial task of speaking truth to power.” A number of times I have referred to McCain as McBush, implying that a McCain presidency would be more of the same with even greater peril to America since it is already so weakened by the Bush years. This review offers no reason for me to change my mind.
* A break with the past – The Record is a newspaper in Stockton, CA. For the past 72 years, since endorsing Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, this paper has endorsed a Republican for president. Not this year. From the editorial: “For eight years, American politics has been marked by smears, fears and greed… The result is a cynicism every bit as deep as that which infected the nation when Richard Nixon was shamed from office and when Bill Clinton brought shame to the office… This must end, but John McCain can't do it. He can't inspire, nor can he really break from a past that is breaking this nation.” The editorial is interesting and the reasoning is instructive. In order to address the challenges facing our country it is important that we all re-evaluate our propensities.
* What a difference a century makes ~ welcome to the Big Top:
Antedated definition of “Republican”– somebody who believes that the best government is one in which supreme power is vested in an electorate.
Current definition of “Republican” – a circus performer in grease paint, bulbous red nose and baggy pants who, when its mouth opens, spews lies like clowns from a Volkswagen.
The press conference of the House Republicans that followed their vote against a supposedly agreed upon bi-partisan legislation to stabilize Wall Street was laughable. Grown men saying the bill was okay but, they voted against it because Speaker Nancy Pelosi insulted them. The country can flush itself down the financial sewer because their feelings were hurt. On Tuesday we learn that House Republicans not only acted stupid, they lied while doing it.
“The Republican National Committee's new advertisement critical of the Wall Street "bailout" was produced and sent to television stations in key states before the package failed, officials at two stations said.” The ads were also placed before Pelosi’s remarks. I recently noted that people tell lies when they fear the truth. In the case of House Republican toddlers and the McCain campaign, they have reached a point that they do not know the difference between truth and lies. Recall the good old days when a voter tried to be alert for a politician’s lie. In today’s world the challenge is to be alert for a truth.
* “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Albert Einstein
Sunday, September 28, 2008
* America needs a bailout ~ from failed leadership - The Houston Chronicle reports that undocumented workers will be the linchpin in efforts to clean up Texas following hurricane Ike. A local contractor said “he’s having trouble finding legal local workers to help with hurricane cleanup. In what has become a commonplace irony, “The region needs the muscle of undocumented immigrants, but simultaneously is a cog in a broader crackdown of illegal immigrants at worksites.” Is our immigration dilemma not a metaphor for the other large issues burdening and daunting America? The financial crisis, the war on terror, environmental degradation, oil dependency, job losses, and special interest dominance have either been ignored or addressed with faulty or incoherent premises. Some of these problems can be attributed to George Bush and Republicans and some go back over 3 decades with Democrats equally culpable. The American people are experiencing the results of failed leadership across party lines, ideologies and time frames.
* A funny thing happened on the way to the forum - We have a major political party that offers us a vice presidential candidate that is about as prepared for the position as Harriet Miers was to be a Supreme Court Justice. Miers had written two legal opinions in her entire career. Being against abortion and homosexuals is not qualification for our highest court or for our second highest elected office. On September 25th Katie Couric interviewed Sarah Palin. The question to Palin was, “Why do you think the Wall Street bailout is needed?” Palin’s response was,” Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy. (Realizing she had confused her tutored and tortured talking points she quickly looked at her notes and continued.) Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.” No, this was not a skit on Saturday Night Live. You can watch the video.
Expect to see more people questioning the Palin nomination as conservative columnist Kathleen Parker did on Friday. Parker said, “Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.”
Thursday’s debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin may prove to be the defining moment of this campaign, surpassing the impact of the McCain-Obama debates. I say this because John McCain has made his judgment and experience a cornerstone of his presidential candidacy. Reality has been replacing the excitement generated in the early days of Palin’s selection. I watched Joe Biden respond to very tough questions on Meet the Press three weeks ago and Palin’s responses in interviews noted above. I expect that the VP debate will shine a klieg light on McCain’s terrible judgment and insult to the American people by injecting a person with no credentials, experience or gravitas onto the Republican ticket. It would not surprise me that McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin proves to be the deal breaker for American voters.
* Call 911 ~ a missing persons report – During the negotiations to bail out Wall Street something came out of the mahogany woodwork in the Rayburn Building. They are known as House Republicans and they threw a hissy fit that the government was about to provide Wall Street with $700 billion. This is not to say that their obstinacy did not have some merit. They pride themselves on being fiscally conservative. My question is, “Where the hell have you been?” For almost 8 years you have rubber-stamped virtually every spending bill that George Bush has requested. You watched a federal deficit go from $5.3 trillion to what will likely be almost $11 trillion before the end of 2008. While this debt burden exploded and the value of the dollar imploded, with no hesitancy you reduced taxes for the wealthy and made no attempt to curb the financial irresponsibility of Wall Street. Something had to give and it included your integrity. Perhaps some of your individual constituencies will look the other way on November 4th and pull your lever. That will not change the fact that for eight years the only thing you have pulled is our leg.
Also receiving dishonorable mention in failed financial leadership is Christopher Cox, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He is another stalwart of deregulation who had to acknowledge on Friday “that failures in a voluntary supervision program for Wall Street’s largest investment banks had contributed to the global financial crisis, and he abruptly shut the program down.” Quite the post-active manager! He agreed that “the oversight program was fundamentally flawed from the beginning.” This admission followed a report by the SEC’s inspector general strongly criticizing the agency’s performance in monitoring Bear Stearns before it collapsed in March. Did President Bush, during his speech Wednesday night, make any mention that his policy to overspend, push deregulation and appoint watchdogs that also opposed oversight was responsible for the potential collapse of our financial system? I may have missed such a comment while getting my popcorn from the microwave. Or, perhaps he failed to take any responsibility for his disastrous tenure, again.
* Grate American Families ~ where laws and decency too often become non sequiturs - Last week I noted that John McCain had a less than noble role in the last financial crisis, the Savings and Loan failures. He attempted to influence regulators because one of the bankers being investigated was a friend and major contributor – Charles Keating. He was also protecting investments of his wife Cindy McCain. A short video provides the details. Another example of getting a repeated free ride is George Bush’s brother Neil. He was involved in shady dealings as a board member of the infamous Silverado Savings and Loan. Its collapse cost taxpayers $1 billion. Neil has since made millions of dollars through his software company selling products to George’s No Child Left Behind program. Recall that mother Barbara Bush, when she made a financial donation to the Katrina recovery effort, designated the money to buy educational products from son Neil’s company. At this point I am Straight-Talked out and Bushed.
* Defying time, space, and reality ~ On Friday morning, before McCain confirmed that he would attend the first presidential debate, his campaign website had a picture of the Senator surrounded by American flags declaring “McCain Wins Debate” accompanied by a quote from McCain campaign manager and financial industry lobbyist Rick Davis saying, “McCain won the debate – hands down.” Cockeyed optimism was selecting Sarah Palin. This was just cockeyed.
* Quote of the Week – “Barack Obama is probably America’s last hope of ending this country’s reputation as the assholes of the Universe.” An observation by comedienne Sarah Silverman
* If it’s true it’s not hyperbole – A reader took me to task for saying, “What else would one expect from a Bush appointee but lies and arrogance?” after I noted that Secretary of Treasury Paulsen had lied while appearing before the Senate Banking Committee. The following went into my comment: President Bush, VP Dick Cheney, David Addington, Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzalez, Michael Chertoff, Scooter Libby, Josh Bolten, Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, Dick Kempthorne, Michael Leavitt, Condoleezza Rice, Monica Goodling and the leaders of the EPA, FDA, NASA, VA, CIA, NSA and almost every combination of capital letters one will find in the federal government. I would suggest that the reader will find greater veracity in a minimum security federal penitentiary, where a number of the above mentioned should be receiving their mail.
* “Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826) third President of the United States and principal author of the Declaration of Independence
* A funny thing happened on the way to the forum - We have a major political party that offers us a vice presidential candidate that is about as prepared for the position as Harriet Miers was to be a Supreme Court Justice. Miers had written two legal opinions in her entire career. Being against abortion and homosexuals is not qualification for our highest court or for our second highest elected office. On September 25th Katie Couric interviewed Sarah Palin. The question to Palin was, “Why do you think the Wall Street bailout is needed?” Palin’s response was,” Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy. (Realizing she had confused her tutored and tortured talking points she quickly looked at her notes and continued.) Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.” No, this was not a skit on Saturday Night Live. You can watch the video.
Expect to see more people questioning the Palin nomination as conservative columnist Kathleen Parker did on Friday. Parker said, “Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.”
Thursday’s debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin may prove to be the defining moment of this campaign, surpassing the impact of the McCain-Obama debates. I say this because John McCain has made his judgment and experience a cornerstone of his presidential candidacy. Reality has been replacing the excitement generated in the early days of Palin’s selection. I watched Joe Biden respond to very tough questions on Meet the Press three weeks ago and Palin’s responses in interviews noted above. I expect that the VP debate will shine a klieg light on McCain’s terrible judgment and insult to the American people by injecting a person with no credentials, experience or gravitas onto the Republican ticket. It would not surprise me that McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin proves to be the deal breaker for American voters.
* Call 911 ~ a missing persons report – During the negotiations to bail out Wall Street something came out of the mahogany woodwork in the Rayburn Building. They are known as House Republicans and they threw a hissy fit that the government was about to provide Wall Street with $700 billion. This is not to say that their obstinacy did not have some merit. They pride themselves on being fiscally conservative. My question is, “Where the hell have you been?” For almost 8 years you have rubber-stamped virtually every spending bill that George Bush has requested. You watched a federal deficit go from $5.3 trillion to what will likely be almost $11 trillion before the end of 2008. While this debt burden exploded and the value of the dollar imploded, with no hesitancy you reduced taxes for the wealthy and made no attempt to curb the financial irresponsibility of Wall Street. Something had to give and it included your integrity. Perhaps some of your individual constituencies will look the other way on November 4th and pull your lever. That will not change the fact that for eight years the only thing you have pulled is our leg.
Also receiving dishonorable mention in failed financial leadership is Christopher Cox, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He is another stalwart of deregulation who had to acknowledge on Friday “that failures in a voluntary supervision program for Wall Street’s largest investment banks had contributed to the global financial crisis, and he abruptly shut the program down.” Quite the post-active manager! He agreed that “the oversight program was fundamentally flawed from the beginning.” This admission followed a report by the SEC’s inspector general strongly criticizing the agency’s performance in monitoring Bear Stearns before it collapsed in March. Did President Bush, during his speech Wednesday night, make any mention that his policy to overspend, push deregulation and appoint watchdogs that also opposed oversight was responsible for the potential collapse of our financial system? I may have missed such a comment while getting my popcorn from the microwave. Or, perhaps he failed to take any responsibility for his disastrous tenure, again.
* Grate American Families ~ where laws and decency too often become non sequiturs - Last week I noted that John McCain had a less than noble role in the last financial crisis, the Savings and Loan failures. He attempted to influence regulators because one of the bankers being investigated was a friend and major contributor – Charles Keating. He was also protecting investments of his wife Cindy McCain. A short video provides the details. Another example of getting a repeated free ride is George Bush’s brother Neil. He was involved in shady dealings as a board member of the infamous Silverado Savings and Loan. Its collapse cost taxpayers $1 billion. Neil has since made millions of dollars through his software company selling products to George’s No Child Left Behind program. Recall that mother Barbara Bush, when she made a financial donation to the Katrina recovery effort, designated the money to buy educational products from son Neil’s company. At this point I am Straight-Talked out and Bushed.
* Defying time, space, and reality ~ On Friday morning, before McCain confirmed that he would attend the first presidential debate, his campaign website had a picture of the Senator surrounded by American flags declaring “McCain Wins Debate” accompanied by a quote from McCain campaign manager and financial industry lobbyist Rick Davis saying, “McCain won the debate – hands down.” Cockeyed optimism was selecting Sarah Palin. This was just cockeyed.
* Quote of the Week – “Barack Obama is probably America’s last hope of ending this country’s reputation as the assholes of the Universe.” An observation by comedienne Sarah Silverman
* If it’s true it’s not hyperbole – A reader took me to task for saying, “What else would one expect from a Bush appointee but lies and arrogance?” after I noted that Secretary of Treasury Paulsen had lied while appearing before the Senate Banking Committee. The following went into my comment: President Bush, VP Dick Cheney, David Addington, Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzalez, Michael Chertoff, Scooter Libby, Josh Bolten, Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, Dick Kempthorne, Michael Leavitt, Condoleezza Rice, Monica Goodling and the leaders of the EPA, FDA, NASA, VA, CIA, NSA and almost every combination of capital letters one will find in the federal government. I would suggest that the reader will find greater veracity in a minimum security federal penitentiary, where a number of the above mentioned should be receiving their mail.
* “Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826) third President of the United States and principal author of the Declaration of Independence
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
* The real Reality Show - You get home after a long day, enter your house and find that the TV, stereo, jewelry and paintings are gone. You stagger for a moment and then reach for the telephone to call the police. Before you can dial, a voice from behind you says, ”Put the phone down and raise your hands. I still want everything that is left in your wallet.” Welcome to Wall Street, Bush Boulevard and Paulson Highway to Up Yours – I’ve Got Mine. The financial industry bailout proposals this week by the Bush administration made the Savings and Loan failures of the late 1980’s look as harmless as a broken piggy bank.
The bailout proposals being discussed will cost taxpayers amounts so far projected to be between $700 billion and $1.8 trillion. The initial Bush plan proposes that the Secretary of the Treasury, an unelected official, would administer the funds with no congressional or court oversight, his decisions can never be questioned or reviewed by any authoritative body and there will be no penalties for the previous actions of the Wall Street bandits. This next part is a classic: if financial industry executive compensation is restricted, it would be a deal breaker. Bush and Paulson then dust off the Iraq invasion marketing campaign: FEAR. Accept this proposal immediately because if we delay there will be a mushroom cloud over Wall Street.
As the crook takes the money from your wallet the police arrive, having been alerted by your silent alarm. The first thing they do is sit everyone down at the kitchen table and serve coffee and Cheese Danish. Then they let the perpetrator walk away with your TV, stereo, jewelry, paintings, cash and a wink.
Update: After Paulson was excoriated by Republicans, Democrats, the media, and public watchdog organizations for requesting a bailout plan with no oversight by anyone but himself he has changed his tune. Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee Paulson said, “I didn’t suggest oversight in the bailout plan because that would be presumptuous.” This is in contrast to almost every other sentient being who feels the plan as a whole is presumptuous. And, Paulson perjured himself when he made this statement. Paulson’s plan released last weekend explicitly denied any review at all of his actions: “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” What else would one expect from a Bush appointee but lies and arrogance?
* King Bush does cares about his subjects ~ at least the Barons of Industry – He is treating the greed-bloated conniving crooks and manipulators on Wall Street as if they were his close buds at Exxon Mobil, Hess, Chevron et al ad nausea. Run your businesses in a manner that will suck every dollar possible from the consumer, function with inadequate oversight toward the common good, be protected by the government regardless of the offense and if you get in trouble the taxpayer will cover your ass. And who is the taxpayer bailing out? “In 2007, Wall Street’s five biggest firms — Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley — paid a record $39 billion in bonuses to themselves... Those 2007 bonuses were paid even though the shareholders in those firms last year collectively lost about $74 billion in stock declines — their worst year since 2002.” But then again, George is not big on accountability.
*The sound of silence – There is one benefit to the financial crisis. Republicans have finally shut up about their flagship demand for free and unregulated markets. Abject failure will do that to soapbox charlatans.
* Ka-ching – One would think that with the billions of dollars lost by financial institutions there would be no resources left for political contributions. Wrong again! The LA Times is reporting that contributions from financial companies and their lobbyists to Obama amount to $22.5 million and to McCain $19.6 million. Additionally, the industry has given heavily to members of the congressional committees in charge of legislation and the bailout. Recall a previous time in American history when the battle cry was “No taxation without representation?” Can you say, “Public financing of elections?”
* Derriere Orifice of the Week 1 ~ and maybe the month – “Neil Cavuto, host of Fox News' Your World, conflated giving home mortgages to minorities with risky lending practices, suggesting that efforts to increase homeownership among minority borrowers contributed to financial problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” I am not sure if he is just stupid or a stupid racist. For those of us who are not challenged intellectually or morally, here is what did occur: “But even if 100 percent of bad debt had been produced by people of color, the reason for the financial collapse is that debt was chopped up and marketed as mortgage-backed securities to financial institutions all over the world. If the debt hadn't been sold, making many people very rich, the bad debt wouldn't have been integrated into the rest of the financial system and it would have just led to the collapse of the original institutions providing mortgages. In other words, it wasn't the debt itself; it was the very lucrative selling of the debt that got us where we are today.” Conservatives using white resentment as a political tool may have worked for Ronald Regan and George Bush but, I for one resent it. Mr. Cavuto, FOX you.
* “Good” is a relative concept –On Friday night I spilled a glass of 2005 Cline Zinfandel with dark fruit flavors on myself. It was a result of laughing at NY Times columnist David Brooks’ comment during PBS’ News Hour. He commented that Bush has had a pretty good past 3 years. Excuuuuuuse meeeee! If one considers that Bush has not been impeached, imprisoned or institutionalized for incompetence one can say he has had a pretty good 3 years. If one considers the state of our country…
* Poor judgment or dishonesty? – McCain’s campaign manager is Rick Davis, a lobbyist who fought regulation of financial institutions. This week McCain was adamant that Davis had no involvement with mortgage giant Freddie Mac for the last several years and said, “I'll be glad to have his record examined by anybody who wants to look at it.” The NY Times and Newsweek did look at it. Until last month mortgage giant Freddie Mac paid a firm owned by Davis $15,000 per month. The payments stopped when the federal government took over Freddie.
David Donnelly, director of the watchdog group Campaign Money Watch, said: "John McCain's campaign manager and Freddie Mac essentially had a secret half a million dollar lay-a-way plan. For almost three years, they made secret, monthly payments of $15,000 to Rick Davis for apparently no other work than for him to provide special access to a future McCain White House in exchange. If McCain knew about this, his presidential campaign should be over. If he didn't know about it, he ought to fire Rick Davis immediately."
* Shooting from the lip – In recent years the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Republican Party have bonded like a high-power scope on a sniper rifle. “The NRA is circulating printed material and running TV ads making unsubstantiated claims that Obama plans to ban use of firearms for home defense, ban possession and manufacture of handguns, close 90 percent of gun shops and ban hunting ammunition.” At the above link you can see details of how disingenuous these claims are as well as how the ad is designed to appear to be coming from the Obama campaign. Watching the world of politics and governance leaves one with a soiled feeling. It is the reason that most of us would rather watch Dancing with the Stars than a bunch of power hungry and less than honest leaders of what was once something close to a Great Society. The Great Tragedy is that by chasing us away they further empowered themselves.
* You can run but, you can’t hide forever – “A federal appeals court on Monday ordered the Bush administration to hand over photos depicting abuse of prisoners held by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan.” ACLU staff attorney Amrit Singh said, “These photographs demonstrate that the abuse of prisoners held in U.S. custody abroad was not aberrational and not confined to Abu Ghraib, but the result of policies adopted by high-ranking officials. Their release is critical for bringing an end to the administration’s torture policies and for deterring further prisoner abuse.” It would not surprise me if one of these days an international authority investigates the possibility of war crimes committed by the United States. What is astounding to me is that I would ever imagine such a thought.
* A religious experience at the U.N. - On Tuesday President Bush gave his last speech to the United Nations. Those in attendance heard “Thank God” whispered in 102 languages.
* “The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted."
James Madison (1751 – 1836) a Founding Father of the U.S. and its fourth President (1809 – 1817)
The bailout proposals being discussed will cost taxpayers amounts so far projected to be between $700 billion and $1.8 trillion. The initial Bush plan proposes that the Secretary of the Treasury, an unelected official, would administer the funds with no congressional or court oversight, his decisions can never be questioned or reviewed by any authoritative body and there will be no penalties for the previous actions of the Wall Street bandits. This next part is a classic: if financial industry executive compensation is restricted, it would be a deal breaker. Bush and Paulson then dust off the Iraq invasion marketing campaign: FEAR. Accept this proposal immediately because if we delay there will be a mushroom cloud over Wall Street.
As the crook takes the money from your wallet the police arrive, having been alerted by your silent alarm. The first thing they do is sit everyone down at the kitchen table and serve coffee and Cheese Danish. Then they let the perpetrator walk away with your TV, stereo, jewelry, paintings, cash and a wink.
Update: After Paulson was excoriated by Republicans, Democrats, the media, and public watchdog organizations for requesting a bailout plan with no oversight by anyone but himself he has changed his tune. Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee Paulson said, “I didn’t suggest oversight in the bailout plan because that would be presumptuous.” This is in contrast to almost every other sentient being who feels the plan as a whole is presumptuous. And, Paulson perjured himself when he made this statement. Paulson’s plan released last weekend explicitly denied any review at all of his actions: “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” What else would one expect from a Bush appointee but lies and arrogance?
* King Bush does cares about his subjects ~ at least the Barons of Industry – He is treating the greed-bloated conniving crooks and manipulators on Wall Street as if they were his close buds at Exxon Mobil, Hess, Chevron et al ad nausea. Run your businesses in a manner that will suck every dollar possible from the consumer, function with inadequate oversight toward the common good, be protected by the government regardless of the offense and if you get in trouble the taxpayer will cover your ass. And who is the taxpayer bailing out? “In 2007, Wall Street’s five biggest firms — Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley — paid a record $39 billion in bonuses to themselves... Those 2007 bonuses were paid even though the shareholders in those firms last year collectively lost about $74 billion in stock declines — their worst year since 2002.” But then again, George is not big on accountability.
*The sound of silence – There is one benefit to the financial crisis. Republicans have finally shut up about their flagship demand for free and unregulated markets. Abject failure will do that to soapbox charlatans.
* Ka-ching – One would think that with the billions of dollars lost by financial institutions there would be no resources left for political contributions. Wrong again! The LA Times is reporting that contributions from financial companies and their lobbyists to Obama amount to $22.5 million and to McCain $19.6 million. Additionally, the industry has given heavily to members of the congressional committees in charge of legislation and the bailout. Recall a previous time in American history when the battle cry was “No taxation without representation?” Can you say, “Public financing of elections?”
* Derriere Orifice of the Week 1 ~ and maybe the month – “Neil Cavuto, host of Fox News' Your World, conflated giving home mortgages to minorities with risky lending practices, suggesting that efforts to increase homeownership among minority borrowers contributed to financial problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” I am not sure if he is just stupid or a stupid racist. For those of us who are not challenged intellectually or morally, here is what did occur: “But even if 100 percent of bad debt had been produced by people of color, the reason for the financial collapse is that debt was chopped up and marketed as mortgage-backed securities to financial institutions all over the world. If the debt hadn't been sold, making many people very rich, the bad debt wouldn't have been integrated into the rest of the financial system and it would have just led to the collapse of the original institutions providing mortgages. In other words, it wasn't the debt itself; it was the very lucrative selling of the debt that got us where we are today.” Conservatives using white resentment as a political tool may have worked for Ronald Regan and George Bush but, I for one resent it. Mr. Cavuto, FOX you.
* “Good” is a relative concept –On Friday night I spilled a glass of 2005 Cline Zinfandel with dark fruit flavors on myself. It was a result of laughing at NY Times columnist David Brooks’ comment during PBS’ News Hour. He commented that Bush has had a pretty good past 3 years. Excuuuuuuse meeeee! If one considers that Bush has not been impeached, imprisoned or institutionalized for incompetence one can say he has had a pretty good 3 years. If one considers the state of our country…
* Poor judgment or dishonesty? – McCain’s campaign manager is Rick Davis, a lobbyist who fought regulation of financial institutions. This week McCain was adamant that Davis had no involvement with mortgage giant Freddie Mac for the last several years and said, “I'll be glad to have his record examined by anybody who wants to look at it.” The NY Times and Newsweek did look at it. Until last month mortgage giant Freddie Mac paid a firm owned by Davis $15,000 per month. The payments stopped when the federal government took over Freddie.
David Donnelly, director of the watchdog group Campaign Money Watch, said: "John McCain's campaign manager and Freddie Mac essentially had a secret half a million dollar lay-a-way plan. For almost three years, they made secret, monthly payments of $15,000 to Rick Davis for apparently no other work than for him to provide special access to a future McCain White House in exchange. If McCain knew about this, his presidential campaign should be over. If he didn't know about it, he ought to fire Rick Davis immediately."
* Shooting from the lip – In recent years the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Republican Party have bonded like a high-power scope on a sniper rifle. “The NRA is circulating printed material and running TV ads making unsubstantiated claims that Obama plans to ban use of firearms for home defense, ban possession and manufacture of handguns, close 90 percent of gun shops and ban hunting ammunition.” At the above link you can see details of how disingenuous these claims are as well as how the ad is designed to appear to be coming from the Obama campaign. Watching the world of politics and governance leaves one with a soiled feeling. It is the reason that most of us would rather watch Dancing with the Stars than a bunch of power hungry and less than honest leaders of what was once something close to a Great Society. The Great Tragedy is that by chasing us away they further empowered themselves.
* You can run but, you can’t hide forever – “A federal appeals court on Monday ordered the Bush administration to hand over photos depicting abuse of prisoners held by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan.” ACLU staff attorney Amrit Singh said, “These photographs demonstrate that the abuse of prisoners held in U.S. custody abroad was not aberrational and not confined to Abu Ghraib, but the result of policies adopted by high-ranking officials. Their release is critical for bringing an end to the administration’s torture policies and for deterring further prisoner abuse.” It would not surprise me if one of these days an international authority investigates the possibility of war crimes committed by the United States. What is astounding to me is that I would ever imagine such a thought.
* A religious experience at the U.N. - On Tuesday President Bush gave his last speech to the United Nations. Those in attendance heard “Thank God” whispered in 102 languages.
* “The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted."
James Madison (1751 – 1836) a Founding Father of the U.S. and its fourth President (1809 – 1817)
Sunday, September 21, 2008
* A note to the Jewish community – Like most ethnic groups Jewish people think of themselves as special. It is human nature. We like to think that we are intelligent and aware. We have a history of emphasizing education for our children. Has something been added to our matzo ball soup to make us susceptible to mishegoss political advertising? Polls show that a segment of Jews are concerned that Barack Obama will not be a friend of Israel. Is it based on knowledge or Republican ads and slime emails that say be wary of Obama, his middle name is Hussein? Lets not be shnooks. Is there any evidence that as a Senator he sought policies that would be harmful to Israel? Did you listen to Obama’s comments when he visited Israel in July? Obama said,"The most important thing for me to share is the historic and special relationship between the United States and Israel, one that cannot be broken… One that I have affirmed throughout my career and one that I will intend to not only continue but strengthen in an Obama administration."
If you want specifics about where Obama stands on Israel stop reading farblongjid emails and visit the Obama sight where he presents his position on 3 key policy matters:
Ensure a Strong U.S.-Israel Partnership
Support Israel's Right to Self Defense
Support Foreign Assistance to Israel
It should also be noted that Obama selected as his running mate Joe Biden, the Senator from Delaware with a proven record of support for Israel. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) recently released a statement saying, “Biden is a strong backer of U.S.–Israel ties and a leader in the fight against Palestinian terrorism.”
Another subject of utmost importance to Jews is religious freedom. As a people we have a long history in this area. In my lifetime American Jews could not attend certain schools, would not be hired by many corporations, would not be accepted in many neighborhoods and could not become a member of many country and private clubs. Much has changed for the good over the last several decades for all ethnic groups and none of us want to go backward. What was your reaction when John McCain said, “America is a Christian nation?” This was my reaction on October 4, 2007. Recall that John McCain bent over backwards to attract the support of the Christian Right – a group that wants its interpretation of the Almighty to be the policy of the United States of America. McCain then chose Sarah Palin as his running mate – a woman who embodies this same right-wing Christian fundamentalist philosophy. If this group had its way and, God forbid, your daughter was raped, emergency birth control would not be available to her. This is not an environment that Jews and most fellow Americans want. I suggest that before you enter the voting booth on November 4th you give some thought to what a McCain presidency really means for you. Shalom and L'shanah Tovah – Peace and Happy New Year.
For more information about the Jewish community supporting Barack Obama visit JewsForObama.com. You can watch Obama’s address to AIPAC at the website Jewish Americans for Obama.
* Is Obama ready to lead America? ~ The answer to such a question regarding any candidate who has not already served one term as President is at best an educated guess. Performance under fire can be the only accurate gauge. All we can do is look at indicators. One that struck me as pertinent was noted at dailykos.com this week and which I verified at Obama’s senate web site. On March 22, 2007 – 18 months ago, Obama wrote a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke and Secretary of the Treasury Paulson. Obama anticipated the financial crisis we are now experiencing when he wrote, “…I urge you immediately to convene a homeownership preservation summit with leading mortgage lenders, investors, loan servicing organizations, consumer advocates, federal regulators and housing-related agencies to assess options for private sector responses to the challenge.” This was 18 months ago. You may want to read the entire letter because it apparently was ignored by the recipients – the two highest financial “experts” in our federal government.
* A note to the Obama campaign ~ clean up your act – I strongly urge that the Obama campaign be more responsible with some of the claims they have made that wilt under scrutiny. The quantity and quality of misleading statements in the Obama campaign may pale in comparison to their Republican opponents but that is no reason to be less than completely forthright. The American people are up to their armpits in political bullshit. The Obama candidacy and campaign has the opportunity to offer American voters an alternative to the type of leadership that this country has staggered under the last eight years. This must not be jeopardized. If Barack Obama allows his campaign to be misleading or dishonest then it probably makes little difference who wins in November.
* Bilingual bifurcation – Both the NY Times and Washington Post criticized a McCain Spanish-language ad. The ad accuses Obama and Senate Democrats of “killing immigration reform.” Obama supported the bipartisan John McCain-Edward Kennedy efforts to enact such reforms and voted for their final proposal last year. Comprehensive immigration reform was blocked not by Democrats but by Republicans. Esa es la verdad.
* An opportunity to be pro-active – Many of us were disappointed by moderators’ questions during the presidential primary debates this year. At times nonsensical or superficial, such questions do not serve our interests. OurFuture.org offers a petition to moderators of upcoming debates - Tom Brokaw, Gwen Ifill, Jim Lehrer, and Bob Schieffer – requesting that they ask questions worthy of a great nation in trouble. A reading of the petition alone offers a refresher course about the state of our nation.
* Correction - In my previous blog I noted that McCain has about 120 lobbyists working on his campaign. “The Democratic National Committee, using publicly available records, has identified 177 lobbyists working for the McCain campaign as either aides, policy advisers, or fundraisers… According to a Mother Jones review of Senate and House records, at least 83 have in recent years lobbied for the financial industry McCain now attacks.” Let no one say that I have a propensity to overstate my case.
* What took so long? – “Members of the American Psychological Association have voted to prohibit consultation in the interrogations of detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, or so-called black sites operated by the Central Intelligence Agency overseas… The referendum prohibits psychologists from working in settings where “persons are held outside of, or in violation of, either International Law (e.g., the U.N. Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions) or the U.S. Constitution, where appropriate,” unless they represent a detainee or an independent third party.” One wonders what went through the minds of these psychologists that it took so long for a statement of ethics and morality to be established. This is not a matter of being a conservative or a liberal. It is a matter of being a human being with a conscience and honoring the principles and international agreements on human rights that America once championed.
* What’s in your wallet? - With bank profits down or extinct an easy source of revenue for American financial institutions is credit card holders. There is pending legislation before the House of Representatives that is aimed at credit card reform. “This bill will give consumers a fair shake -- stopping credit card companies from arbitrarily jacking up interest rates on your card debt, and more fairly distributing your payments to costly, high-interest debt first.” Not surprisingly, the powerful bank lobby is hard at work attempting to kill this bill. Consumers Union has available a petition to your congressman urging the passage of a law that actually protects consumers from what has been under-regulated and predatory policies by these companies.
* “We will be a better country when each religious group can trust its members to obey the dictates of their own religious faith without assistance from the legal structure of their country.”
Margaret Mead (1901 – 1978) American cultural anthropologist
If you want specifics about where Obama stands on Israel stop reading farblongjid emails and visit the Obama sight where he presents his position on 3 key policy matters:
Ensure a Strong U.S.-Israel Partnership
Support Israel's Right to Self Defense
Support Foreign Assistance to Israel
It should also be noted that Obama selected as his running mate Joe Biden, the Senator from Delaware with a proven record of support for Israel. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) recently released a statement saying, “Biden is a strong backer of U.S.–Israel ties and a leader in the fight against Palestinian terrorism.”
Another subject of utmost importance to Jews is religious freedom. As a people we have a long history in this area. In my lifetime American Jews could not attend certain schools, would not be hired by many corporations, would not be accepted in many neighborhoods and could not become a member of many country and private clubs. Much has changed for the good over the last several decades for all ethnic groups and none of us want to go backward. What was your reaction when John McCain said, “America is a Christian nation?” This was my reaction on October 4, 2007. Recall that John McCain bent over backwards to attract the support of the Christian Right – a group that wants its interpretation of the Almighty to be the policy of the United States of America. McCain then chose Sarah Palin as his running mate – a woman who embodies this same right-wing Christian fundamentalist philosophy. If this group had its way and, God forbid, your daughter was raped, emergency birth control would not be available to her. This is not an environment that Jews and most fellow Americans want. I suggest that before you enter the voting booth on November 4th you give some thought to what a McCain presidency really means for you. Shalom and L'shanah Tovah – Peace and Happy New Year.
For more information about the Jewish community supporting Barack Obama visit JewsForObama.com. You can watch Obama’s address to AIPAC at the website Jewish Americans for Obama.
* Is Obama ready to lead America? ~ The answer to such a question regarding any candidate who has not already served one term as President is at best an educated guess. Performance under fire can be the only accurate gauge. All we can do is look at indicators. One that struck me as pertinent was noted at dailykos.com this week and which I verified at Obama’s senate web site. On March 22, 2007 – 18 months ago, Obama wrote a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke and Secretary of the Treasury Paulson. Obama anticipated the financial crisis we are now experiencing when he wrote, “…I urge you immediately to convene a homeownership preservation summit with leading mortgage lenders, investors, loan servicing organizations, consumer advocates, federal regulators and housing-related agencies to assess options for private sector responses to the challenge.” This was 18 months ago. You may want to read the entire letter because it apparently was ignored by the recipients – the two highest financial “experts” in our federal government.
* A note to the Obama campaign ~ clean up your act – I strongly urge that the Obama campaign be more responsible with some of the claims they have made that wilt under scrutiny. The quantity and quality of misleading statements in the Obama campaign may pale in comparison to their Republican opponents but that is no reason to be less than completely forthright. The American people are up to their armpits in political bullshit. The Obama candidacy and campaign has the opportunity to offer American voters an alternative to the type of leadership that this country has staggered under the last eight years. This must not be jeopardized. If Barack Obama allows his campaign to be misleading or dishonest then it probably makes little difference who wins in November.
* Bilingual bifurcation – Both the NY Times and Washington Post criticized a McCain Spanish-language ad. The ad accuses Obama and Senate Democrats of “killing immigration reform.” Obama supported the bipartisan John McCain-Edward Kennedy efforts to enact such reforms and voted for their final proposal last year. Comprehensive immigration reform was blocked not by Democrats but by Republicans. Esa es la verdad.
* An opportunity to be pro-active – Many of us were disappointed by moderators’ questions during the presidential primary debates this year. At times nonsensical or superficial, such questions do not serve our interests. OurFuture.org offers a petition to moderators of upcoming debates - Tom Brokaw, Gwen Ifill, Jim Lehrer, and Bob Schieffer – requesting that they ask questions worthy of a great nation in trouble. A reading of the petition alone offers a refresher course about the state of our nation.
* Correction - In my previous blog I noted that McCain has about 120 lobbyists working on his campaign. “The Democratic National Committee, using publicly available records, has identified 177 lobbyists working for the McCain campaign as either aides, policy advisers, or fundraisers… According to a Mother Jones review of Senate and House records, at least 83 have in recent years lobbied for the financial industry McCain now attacks.” Let no one say that I have a propensity to overstate my case.
* What took so long? – “Members of the American Psychological Association have voted to prohibit consultation in the interrogations of detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, or so-called black sites operated by the Central Intelligence Agency overseas… The referendum prohibits psychologists from working in settings where “persons are held outside of, or in violation of, either International Law (e.g., the U.N. Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions) or the U.S. Constitution, where appropriate,” unless they represent a detainee or an independent third party.” One wonders what went through the minds of these psychologists that it took so long for a statement of ethics and morality to be established. This is not a matter of being a conservative or a liberal. It is a matter of being a human being with a conscience and honoring the principles and international agreements on human rights that America once championed.
* What’s in your wallet? - With bank profits down or extinct an easy source of revenue for American financial institutions is credit card holders. There is pending legislation before the House of Representatives that is aimed at credit card reform. “This bill will give consumers a fair shake -- stopping credit card companies from arbitrarily jacking up interest rates on your card debt, and more fairly distributing your payments to costly, high-interest debt first.” Not surprisingly, the powerful bank lobby is hard at work attempting to kill this bill. Consumers Union has available a petition to your congressman urging the passage of a law that actually protects consumers from what has been under-regulated and predatory policies by these companies.
* “We will be a better country when each religious group can trust its members to obey the dictates of their own religious faith without assistance from the legal structure of their country.”
Margaret Mead (1901 – 1978) American cultural anthropologist
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
* On Sunday morning two AP headlines caught my attention – “It’s Race Against Time To Save Ike Stalwarts” and “Feds, Wall Street Race to Save Lehman.” The first headline refers to the humanitarian efforts to save human beings in the aftermath of a natural disaster – hurricane Ike, that devastated large parts of Texas. The second headline refers to a man-made disaster - the potential bailout of another financial institution that has been managed by seedy and greedy millionaires. They were enabled by an incompetent federal government and an impotent congress blinded by the campaign contributions and lobbyist gifts funded by these same financial mega corporations now facing bankruptcy.
A competent parent knows that a teenager needs guidance and oversight – the same constrictions needed by commercial institutions that are myopically consumed by profits. This greed on steroids is devoid of ethics, integrity and the concept of the common good. We are now told that it is in our interest to use billions of dollars of taxpayer money to keep private companies like Bear Stearns and Lehman and quasi governmental companies like Fannie Mae and Fannie Mac from being flushed into oblivion. These same companies who fought every suggestion at oversight and regulation, whose policies consciously screwed over so many Americans, are now asking the American taxpayer for handouts. Neither the executive branch nor congressional branch of the government exercised their fiduciary responsibility to the American people.
Monday morning headlines: BLACK MONDAY; World Stocks Sink; U.S. Stocks Set to Sink at Open; Merrill Sells Itself to Bank of America; Lehman Files for Bankruptcy; FED Takes Emergency Steps; Insurance Giant AIG Scrambles for Cash; Banks Roll Out $70 Billion Loan Program. I am waiting for the next Republican politician to extol free enterprise free of regulation. I am waiting for the next Democratic politician to exhibit a patriotic spine and tell the American people that they will fight for legislation to achieve two goals: real ethics reform that actually minimizes the influence of lobbyists; public financing of elections so that the legislators are not in the pockets of special interest groups and so that legislators are not spending so much of their time trolling for campaign contributions from banks, insurance companies, oil and gas companies, insurers and pharmaceutical companies. Any congressman that does not support such measures should be thrown the hell out of office.
Monday afternoon – McCain tells a rally in Florida, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong." If this is a result of McCain listening to his economic advisors they are bigger derriere orifices than Bush’s financial team.
* Why Black Monday occurred:
1.) Incomes shrank for most Americans over the last expansion.
2.) But Americans kept spending thanks to a mammoth increase in household debt.
3.) To increase the amount of debt in the system, lending standards were lowered.
4.) Lowered lending standards have led to a higher default rate from borrowers.
5.) Higher default rates have lowered the value of all the collateral backed by mortgages.
6.) Lowered collateral values have killed the balance sheets of literally every major financial company.
So wrote Hale Stewart at the Huffington Post. He provides details about each of the above points in an interesting and informative article. Stewart’s piece and other writings this week would lead one to conclude that a Republican president, a Republican congress and an Alan Greenspan-led Federal Reserve became too cozy with America’s major financial institutions and that created a perfect storm for financial disaster. Their arrogance and greed led them to believe our current crisis could not happen. I suggest a read of this article to determine if there is merit to John McCain’s claim that the fundamentals of our economy are strong.
* Six alarm fire – On Tuesday John McCain called “for a high-level commission to study the current economic crisis and claimed that a corrupt and excessive Wall Street had betrayed American workers.” A commission may have some merit even if we know what happened. What was missing in McCain’s exhortation was mention of the commission by him and his Republican Party being a party to this debacle. It is reminiscent of the pyromaniac that sets a blaze and then calls for the Fire Department. Perhaps the American voter will begin to understand that a McCain presidency is akin to appointing the arsonist the Fire Chief.
* The pieces of the puzzle continue to come together – From the Progress Report: McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK), published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (on September 9) that called lobbyists "primary contributors" to the crisis. One of these lobbyists though, is McCain's own campaign manager, Rick Davis, who "served as president of an advocacy group led by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that defended the two companies against increased regulation." Davis challenged even the smallest reform measures intended to make sure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were being held more accountable for their actions. This helped the mortgage giants, "consistently [beat] back congressional efforts to increase oversight, even after a major accounting scandal in 2003 resulted in a $400 million fine for Fannie.
In an effort to provide full disclosure it should be noted that Rick Davis is only one of 120 lobbyists working for the McCain campaign. That McCain is one heck of a lobbyist basher!
Also earning special mention is the economic advisor to McCain, former Senator Phil Graham. While a senator and then as a lobbyist Graham opposed any legislation that would have regulated financial institutions – regulations that may have averted the financial crisis gripping America and the international community. I wrote about Mr. Graham in July of this year. His hands are as dirty as his pockets are full.
The Republican Party and the lobbyists took their relationship to a new level at the beginning of the Bush administration. It was spirited by then Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) who led the K Street project - a marriage od Republican politicians and lobbyists that threw open the doors of congressional access to the likes of Jack Abramoff, former ultra lobbyist and current resident of a federal prison. Santorum was rejected for re-election in 2006 but the effect of his efforts to put the federal government up for sale continues today.
* Speaking of money ill-spent – George Bush has given Pakistan billions of dollars to be our ally in the global war against terrorism. This week the Pakistani government ordered its troops to fire on the U.S. military if it conducts raids in Pakistan against terrorists and their supporters. Yes, the world is a complicated place. Let us hope that the next president has the ability to navigate such treacherous terrain. Someone who has not rubber-stamped Lost George.
* What is an over-worked secretary to do? - Speaking last week to the annual Conference of the White House Initiative on National Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted that there are too few African-Americans in her agency. "I can go into a whole day of meetings at the Department of State -- and actually rarely see somebody who looks like me," Rice said. "And that is just not acceptable." Since January 6, 2005 Rice has been in her current position working around the clock to cover the errors of her boss. There simply has been no time available or inclination to change the State Department from looking like the Republican National Convention.
* You would too - Thirty-two of the nation’s leading historians have sent letters to congressional leaders calling on them to strengthen the Presidential Records Act (PRA). They are concerned that as the Bush administration prepares to leave office they are ready to expunge the record on its tenure. Expunging the record makes perfect sense. Their “record” is one of incompetency, lies and illegal activities. One would have to be in a vegetative state to not try to hide such documentation. Destroying the records will also help keep some of them out of prison.
* Last weekend in Andover, MA legal scholars, lawyers, and activists came together for "JUSTICE ROBERT H. JACKSON CONFERENCE: PLANNING FOR THE PROSECUTION OF HIGH LEVEL AMERICAN WAR CRIMINALS. As the insulated and self-protected members of the Bush administration leave the White House in January 2009 I am surer that they will be looking over their shoulders than they were “certain” that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Thousands of Americans were culpable in the use of torture, breaking the law and the ever-present “cover up.” Unlike a tragic Italian opera this will not be over when the fat lady sings the aria Arevaderchi.
* Get your free score card - If you are having difficulty keeping up with the McCain lies a new website sponsored by the Democratic Party will help you. The name of the site is Count the Lies - McCainPedia.org. This website will need a server capable of handling substantial gigabytes of memory.
* That Grand Old Party – The Michigan Republican Party is attempting to question voters’ eligibility whose homes have been foreclosed. “According to voting rights experts a foreclosure notice does not mean that a person is no longer a resident -- making it an inadequate basis for a challenge.” I imagine that GOP strategists have strategized that more Democrats have homes that have been foreclosed than Republicans. Thirteen U.S. Senators have petitioned the Justice Department to prevent disenfranchisement of voters who have lost their homes.
* A wealth of insight – NY Times op-ed columnist Frank Rich once again offers a cogent and perceptive analysis of the presidential race. I highly recommend a read of this in-depth article for which a summarization would not do it justice. I will note his concluding recommendation to the Democratic presidential nominee: If Obama “focuses voters on the 2008 McCain, the Palin question will take care of itself.”
* "No nation is permitted to live in ignorance with impunity."
Thomas Jefferson
A competent parent knows that a teenager needs guidance and oversight – the same constrictions needed by commercial institutions that are myopically consumed by profits. This greed on steroids is devoid of ethics, integrity and the concept of the common good. We are now told that it is in our interest to use billions of dollars of taxpayer money to keep private companies like Bear Stearns and Lehman and quasi governmental companies like Fannie Mae and Fannie Mac from being flushed into oblivion. These same companies who fought every suggestion at oversight and regulation, whose policies consciously screwed over so many Americans, are now asking the American taxpayer for handouts. Neither the executive branch nor congressional branch of the government exercised their fiduciary responsibility to the American people.
Monday morning headlines: BLACK MONDAY; World Stocks Sink; U.S. Stocks Set to Sink at Open; Merrill Sells Itself to Bank of America; Lehman Files for Bankruptcy; FED Takes Emergency Steps; Insurance Giant AIG Scrambles for Cash; Banks Roll Out $70 Billion Loan Program. I am waiting for the next Republican politician to extol free enterprise free of regulation. I am waiting for the next Democratic politician to exhibit a patriotic spine and tell the American people that they will fight for legislation to achieve two goals: real ethics reform that actually minimizes the influence of lobbyists; public financing of elections so that the legislators are not in the pockets of special interest groups and so that legislators are not spending so much of their time trolling for campaign contributions from banks, insurance companies, oil and gas companies, insurers and pharmaceutical companies. Any congressman that does not support such measures should be thrown the hell out of office.
Monday afternoon – McCain tells a rally in Florida, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong." If this is a result of McCain listening to his economic advisors they are bigger derriere orifices than Bush’s financial team.
* Why Black Monday occurred:
1.) Incomes shrank for most Americans over the last expansion.
2.) But Americans kept spending thanks to a mammoth increase in household debt.
3.) To increase the amount of debt in the system, lending standards were lowered.
4.) Lowered lending standards have led to a higher default rate from borrowers.
5.) Higher default rates have lowered the value of all the collateral backed by mortgages.
6.) Lowered collateral values have killed the balance sheets of literally every major financial company.
So wrote Hale Stewart at the Huffington Post. He provides details about each of the above points in an interesting and informative article. Stewart’s piece and other writings this week would lead one to conclude that a Republican president, a Republican congress and an Alan Greenspan-led Federal Reserve became too cozy with America’s major financial institutions and that created a perfect storm for financial disaster. Their arrogance and greed led them to believe our current crisis could not happen. I suggest a read of this article to determine if there is merit to John McCain’s claim that the fundamentals of our economy are strong.
* Six alarm fire – On Tuesday John McCain called “for a high-level commission to study the current economic crisis and claimed that a corrupt and excessive Wall Street had betrayed American workers.” A commission may have some merit even if we know what happened. What was missing in McCain’s exhortation was mention of the commission by him and his Republican Party being a party to this debacle. It is reminiscent of the pyromaniac that sets a blaze and then calls for the Fire Department. Perhaps the American voter will begin to understand that a McCain presidency is akin to appointing the arsonist the Fire Chief.
* The pieces of the puzzle continue to come together – From the Progress Report: McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK), published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (on September 9) that called lobbyists "primary contributors" to the crisis. One of these lobbyists though, is McCain's own campaign manager, Rick Davis, who "served as president of an advocacy group led by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that defended the two companies against increased regulation." Davis challenged even the smallest reform measures intended to make sure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were being held more accountable for their actions. This helped the mortgage giants, "consistently [beat] back congressional efforts to increase oversight, even after a major accounting scandal in 2003 resulted in a $400 million fine for Fannie.
In an effort to provide full disclosure it should be noted that Rick Davis is only one of 120 lobbyists working for the McCain campaign. That McCain is one heck of a lobbyist basher!
Also earning special mention is the economic advisor to McCain, former Senator Phil Graham. While a senator and then as a lobbyist Graham opposed any legislation that would have regulated financial institutions – regulations that may have averted the financial crisis gripping America and the international community. I wrote about Mr. Graham in July of this year. His hands are as dirty as his pockets are full.
The Republican Party and the lobbyists took their relationship to a new level at the beginning of the Bush administration. It was spirited by then Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) who led the K Street project - a marriage od Republican politicians and lobbyists that threw open the doors of congressional access to the likes of Jack Abramoff, former ultra lobbyist and current resident of a federal prison. Santorum was rejected for re-election in 2006 but the effect of his efforts to put the federal government up for sale continues today.
* Speaking of money ill-spent – George Bush has given Pakistan billions of dollars to be our ally in the global war against terrorism. This week the Pakistani government ordered its troops to fire on the U.S. military if it conducts raids in Pakistan against terrorists and their supporters. Yes, the world is a complicated place. Let us hope that the next president has the ability to navigate such treacherous terrain. Someone who has not rubber-stamped Lost George.
* What is an over-worked secretary to do? - Speaking last week to the annual Conference of the White House Initiative on National Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted that there are too few African-Americans in her agency. "I can go into a whole day of meetings at the Department of State -- and actually rarely see somebody who looks like me," Rice said. "And that is just not acceptable." Since January 6, 2005 Rice has been in her current position working around the clock to cover the errors of her boss. There simply has been no time available or inclination to change the State Department from looking like the Republican National Convention.
* You would too - Thirty-two of the nation’s leading historians have sent letters to congressional leaders calling on them to strengthen the Presidential Records Act (PRA). They are concerned that as the Bush administration prepares to leave office they are ready to expunge the record on its tenure. Expunging the record makes perfect sense. Their “record” is one of incompetency, lies and illegal activities. One would have to be in a vegetative state to not try to hide such documentation. Destroying the records will also help keep some of them out of prison.
* Last weekend in Andover, MA legal scholars, lawyers, and activists came together for "JUSTICE ROBERT H. JACKSON CONFERENCE: PLANNING FOR THE PROSECUTION OF HIGH LEVEL AMERICAN WAR CRIMINALS. As the insulated and self-protected members of the Bush administration leave the White House in January 2009 I am surer that they will be looking over their shoulders than they were “certain” that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Thousands of Americans were culpable in the use of torture, breaking the law and the ever-present “cover up.” Unlike a tragic Italian opera this will not be over when the fat lady sings the aria Arevaderchi.
* Get your free score card - If you are having difficulty keeping up with the McCain lies a new website sponsored by the Democratic Party will help you. The name of the site is Count the Lies - McCainPedia.org. This website will need a server capable of handling substantial gigabytes of memory.
* That Grand Old Party – The Michigan Republican Party is attempting to question voters’ eligibility whose homes have been foreclosed. “According to voting rights experts a foreclosure notice does not mean that a person is no longer a resident -- making it an inadequate basis for a challenge.” I imagine that GOP strategists have strategized that more Democrats have homes that have been foreclosed than Republicans. Thirteen U.S. Senators have petitioned the Justice Department to prevent disenfranchisement of voters who have lost their homes.
* A wealth of insight – NY Times op-ed columnist Frank Rich once again offers a cogent and perceptive analysis of the presidential race. I highly recommend a read of this in-depth article for which a summarization would not do it justice. I will note his concluding recommendation to the Democratic presidential nominee: If Obama “focuses voters on the 2008 McCain, the Palin question will take care of itself.”
* "No nation is permitted to live in ignorance with impunity."
Thomas Jefferson
Saturday, September 13, 2008
* The bastardization of democracy – This week I spent several vacation days at the seashore. My inner therapist counseled the avoidance of all things news and it was a welcome hiatus. When I returned home and began looking at the news my stomach felt as though I had consumed bouillabaisse made from spoiled clams, mussels and politicians. And I wish barnacles on the inner thighs of the next person that tells me, “It’s just politics.” The misinformation, false accusations and bald-faced lies “popularized” in the 2000 and 2004 Bush campaigns have become the game plan of the McCain campaign. The Straight Talk Express took a right turn to hell sullying the ideals and nobility of “the greatest democracy in the history of mankind.” We have experienced that when the end justifies the means politically we wind up with the worst president in the history of America. Disingenuous faux patriots do not put their hand on the bible to take an oath of office and miraculously become Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln. They remain George Bush! Yes, we all can be fooled. The question is, “How many times?”
* Vacation musings, or, Stephen – get a life:
~ Change you can believe in – The Wasilla Bible Church was Sarah Palin’s house of worship before she became governor. The church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer. If it works I am going to sign up for their next conference, “You Can Be 35 Years Old Again with a Full Head of Hair.”
~ It is being reported that the Bush administration has been spying on Iraqi Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki. When Bush exports democracy he does not hold back. In a Bush democracy the government spies on citizens’ phone calls, emails and internet activities. Mr. al-Maliki must be wondering if the purple index finger that signified an Iraqi citizen had voted has become the purple middle finger of the Bush administration.
~ During his acceptance speech McCain was not reluctant to discuss at great length his military service to our country. Is it not curious that there was no mention in his speech of the critical issues facing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans today?
~ Now that McCain has signed on to the religious right’s sanctity of life mantra will he do what Bush did not do and advocate for eliminating the death penalty? Does sanctity of life preclude initiating unjustified wars? Does the sanctity of life mandate healthcare for all?
~ Rudy Giuliani said by refusing to use the term “Islamic Terrorism” liberals are trying to not insult terrorists. Giuliani’s speech at the Republican convention was very similar to his presidential primary campaign – an insult to almost everyone with a brain stem still intact.
~ Were the very aggressive tactics by law enforcement and the arrest of 300 protestors and journalists in St. Paul during the Republican convention legitimate security measures or a step backward for free speech and peaceable demonstration?
~ I have made a strong effort to find something I like about Sarah Palin and I have been successful! She does not have the drippy Southern drawl of Senators Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) and Kate Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX), y’all.
~ At his sentencing last week Jack Abramoff said he was not a bad man while acknowledging that he did many bad things. Metaphysical gymnastics aside, Jack, you are a bad man. You facilitated the American democratic process becoming another used Potty Trainer on EBay. Your actions enabled child labor and child prostitution to continue to flourish in Guam. You cheated your own Indian casino clients. Jack, you really are a very bad man that your clan would call a goniff (Yiddish for crook). Perhaps in another lifetime you can come back the mensch (Yiddish for decent person) that you so eagerly exchanged for coin and influence.
~ If Alaska withdraws from the United States is Sarah Palin’s vice presidential nomination null and void? There are two ways that the U.S. could lose its 49th state. The least likely is through secession. Recall that for a number of years Palin’s husband was a member of the Alaska Independent Party (AIP), the political group urging that Alaska cede from the U.S. Less of a long shot, at least in the short term, is the northern part of Alaska joining the Arctic Ocean as its waters rise dramatically from the effects of global warming. Since neither event is likely to occur before November 4th we can only trust that her candidacy is voided at the ballot box.
* Yea though they walk through the Valley of Hypocrisy - Do you share the inspiration generated by so many of the Republican leaders who urge the path of righteousness? Cynics will recall David Vitter cheating on his wife by engaging prostitutes but, he was an exception. And so was Larry Craig’s toe-tapping in an airport men’s room. Rudy Giuliani gets a free pass for having had an affair – he is from cosmopolitan New York City. And he did wind up marrying the affairee. Only a few people remember that John McCain dumped his first wife for heiress Cindy so this does not count. Do not despair. We still have former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who, thank all that is holy, just released a YouTube video defending traditional marriage. Perhaps Newt’s example will enlighten us as to the meaning of traditional marriage: Newt abandoned his cancer-stricken 1st wife. When his pastor criticized him for not supporting his two children, he left the church. Newt divorced his 2nd wife after cheating on her with the Congressional aide who is now his 3rd wife – all the while excoriating Bill Clinton’s tryst with Monica in the Blue Dress. As Tevye sang out in Fiddler on the Roof, TRADITION!
* It is time to get serious – We have seen and heard a great deal about the Republican ticket of McCain and Palin. Much of it has as little merit as the publications one finds at supermarket checkout counters with headlines like: “Loose 30 Pounds in 30 Minutes.” “Exclusive – Gynecologic X-Rays of Hollywood Stars.” “Rosie O’Donnell’s Secret Vacation on Pluto.” What does deserve our attention is an article by NY Times writer Frank Rich who offers an analysis of the Republican Dream Team. Like a seasoned surgeon Rich dissects the incompetent vetting of Palin by the McCain campaign, the absurd braying that McCain is a maverick capable of changing the Washington he has helped create and the danger to America of putting Palin in a position to be president of the U.S. This is a must read for anyone who cares about America’s future leadership.
* I repeat myself – Last week I commented that Sarah Palin is George Bush in high heels. On Thursday night VP candidate Sarah Palin had her first real media interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson. Palin was asked real questions. For those who believe she is prepared to lead America and who think she will be any different on foreign policy than George Bush I suggest this link that provides a video segment of the interview. Actually, Palin is ballsier than Bush. He only attacked Iraq. Palin is ready to go after Russia.
* Be careful what you wish for - What can women expect from Sarah Palin? Palin-appointed Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon slashed the budget for sexual assault exams and began charging the city's victims. The city budget documents demonstrate Palin read and signed off on the budget cuts. A year later, alarmed Alaska lawmakers passed legislation outlawing the practice. Alaska lawmakers are not the only ones who should be alarmed.
* Quote of the Week – In an email received from Kathryn Kolbert, President, People For the American Way she commented, “I think James Fallows had it right when he said that the decision to pick Sarah Palin was a signal that the McCain camp was embracing Karl Rove's base-motivating strategy and Religious Right leaders have reacted with a fervor that is hard to overstate. Clearly the pick of an anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-science extremist wrapped in a folksy hockey-mom package has fired up the base in ways that even McCain's pledge to pack the Courts with right-wing judges has failed to do.”
I suggest that for anyone who does not want four even worse years than we experienced under the Bush administration it is time to put the remote down and become active – volunteer to get people registered to vote and become affiliated with any of the myriad organizations working to explain to fellow citizens what is at stake. America’s future depends on all of us. We have seen what occurs when our future is left solely to the politicians.
* A one-sided triangle – The Department of the Interior has responsibility to collect about 10 billion dollars in royalties for exploration rights on government land from the oil and gas companies. An Inspector General’s report revealed that more than a dozen Interior employees with responsibility for collecting these funds were busy collecting their own royalties from energy companies. The gifts included meals, golf outings, ski trips, sports tickets, sex and drugs. In the news reports one could find the usual hand-wringing about the lack of responsibility exhibited by public payroll drones. We all were relieved when Interior Secretary Dick Kempthorne expressed the requisite outrage.
What is missing from this scenario? The culpability of Kempthorne and the oil and gas companies themselves. These were not employees responsible for dusting the filing cabinets and emptying the trash cans. These were a select handful of federal workers responsible for billions of dollars. Where was the oversight by the Department of the Interior? For Shell, Chevron, Hess and Gary-Williams Energy what is their egregious offense? Drugs, sex and gifts used to screw over the American tax payer. And the world shrugs. Is there any conscious human being in our government calling for these companies to loose their leasing rights or to prosecute the executives behind these bribes? Some of the Interior employees have rushed to retirement. Is anyone seeking to revoke their pensions? Untold numbers of our prison population are there for being drug users. Will the Interior employees be prosecuted? Will Dick Kempthorne resign in disgrace? Is my tainted bouillabaisse acting up again?
* "What is left when honor is lost?"
Publilius Syrus, First Century BC
* Vacation musings, or, Stephen – get a life:
~ Change you can believe in – The Wasilla Bible Church was Sarah Palin’s house of worship before she became governor. The church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer. If it works I am going to sign up for their next conference, “You Can Be 35 Years Old Again with a Full Head of Hair.”
~ It is being reported that the Bush administration has been spying on Iraqi Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki. When Bush exports democracy he does not hold back. In a Bush democracy the government spies on citizens’ phone calls, emails and internet activities. Mr. al-Maliki must be wondering if the purple index finger that signified an Iraqi citizen had voted has become the purple middle finger of the Bush administration.
~ During his acceptance speech McCain was not reluctant to discuss at great length his military service to our country. Is it not curious that there was no mention in his speech of the critical issues facing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans today?
~ Now that McCain has signed on to the religious right’s sanctity of life mantra will he do what Bush did not do and advocate for eliminating the death penalty? Does sanctity of life preclude initiating unjustified wars? Does the sanctity of life mandate healthcare for all?
~ Rudy Giuliani said by refusing to use the term “Islamic Terrorism” liberals are trying to not insult terrorists. Giuliani’s speech at the Republican convention was very similar to his presidential primary campaign – an insult to almost everyone with a brain stem still intact.
~ Were the very aggressive tactics by law enforcement and the arrest of 300 protestors and journalists in St. Paul during the Republican convention legitimate security measures or a step backward for free speech and peaceable demonstration?
~ I have made a strong effort to find something I like about Sarah Palin and I have been successful! She does not have the drippy Southern drawl of Senators Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) and Kate Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX), y’all.
~ At his sentencing last week Jack Abramoff said he was not a bad man while acknowledging that he did many bad things. Metaphysical gymnastics aside, Jack, you are a bad man. You facilitated the American democratic process becoming another used Potty Trainer on EBay. Your actions enabled child labor and child prostitution to continue to flourish in Guam. You cheated your own Indian casino clients. Jack, you really are a very bad man that your clan would call a goniff (Yiddish for crook). Perhaps in another lifetime you can come back the mensch (Yiddish for decent person) that you so eagerly exchanged for coin and influence.
~ If Alaska withdraws from the United States is Sarah Palin’s vice presidential nomination null and void? There are two ways that the U.S. could lose its 49th state. The least likely is through secession. Recall that for a number of years Palin’s husband was a member of the Alaska Independent Party (AIP), the political group urging that Alaska cede from the U.S. Less of a long shot, at least in the short term, is the northern part of Alaska joining the Arctic Ocean as its waters rise dramatically from the effects of global warming. Since neither event is likely to occur before November 4th we can only trust that her candidacy is voided at the ballot box.
* Yea though they walk through the Valley of Hypocrisy - Do you share the inspiration generated by so many of the Republican leaders who urge the path of righteousness? Cynics will recall David Vitter cheating on his wife by engaging prostitutes but, he was an exception. And so was Larry Craig’s toe-tapping in an airport men’s room. Rudy Giuliani gets a free pass for having had an affair – he is from cosmopolitan New York City. And he did wind up marrying the affairee. Only a few people remember that John McCain dumped his first wife for heiress Cindy so this does not count. Do not despair. We still have former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who, thank all that is holy, just released a YouTube video defending traditional marriage. Perhaps Newt’s example will enlighten us as to the meaning of traditional marriage: Newt abandoned his cancer-stricken 1st wife. When his pastor criticized him for not supporting his two children, he left the church. Newt divorced his 2nd wife after cheating on her with the Congressional aide who is now his 3rd wife – all the while excoriating Bill Clinton’s tryst with Monica in the Blue Dress. As Tevye sang out in Fiddler on the Roof, TRADITION!
* It is time to get serious – We have seen and heard a great deal about the Republican ticket of McCain and Palin. Much of it has as little merit as the publications one finds at supermarket checkout counters with headlines like: “Loose 30 Pounds in 30 Minutes.” “Exclusive – Gynecologic X-Rays of Hollywood Stars.” “Rosie O’Donnell’s Secret Vacation on Pluto.” What does deserve our attention is an article by NY Times writer Frank Rich who offers an analysis of the Republican Dream Team. Like a seasoned surgeon Rich dissects the incompetent vetting of Palin by the McCain campaign, the absurd braying that McCain is a maverick capable of changing the Washington he has helped create and the danger to America of putting Palin in a position to be president of the U.S. This is a must read for anyone who cares about America’s future leadership.
* I repeat myself – Last week I commented that Sarah Palin is George Bush in high heels. On Thursday night VP candidate Sarah Palin had her first real media interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson. Palin was asked real questions. For those who believe she is prepared to lead America and who think she will be any different on foreign policy than George Bush I suggest this link that provides a video segment of the interview. Actually, Palin is ballsier than Bush. He only attacked Iraq. Palin is ready to go after Russia.
* Be careful what you wish for - What can women expect from Sarah Palin? Palin-appointed Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon slashed the budget for sexual assault exams and began charging the city's victims. The city budget documents demonstrate Palin read and signed off on the budget cuts. A year later, alarmed Alaska lawmakers passed legislation outlawing the practice. Alaska lawmakers are not the only ones who should be alarmed.
* Quote of the Week – In an email received from Kathryn Kolbert, President, People For the American Way she commented, “I think James Fallows had it right when he said that the decision to pick Sarah Palin was a signal that the McCain camp was embracing Karl Rove's base-motivating strategy and Religious Right leaders have reacted with a fervor that is hard to overstate. Clearly the pick of an anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-science extremist wrapped in a folksy hockey-mom package has fired up the base in ways that even McCain's pledge to pack the Courts with right-wing judges has failed to do.”
I suggest that for anyone who does not want four even worse years than we experienced under the Bush administration it is time to put the remote down and become active – volunteer to get people registered to vote and become affiliated with any of the myriad organizations working to explain to fellow citizens what is at stake. America’s future depends on all of us. We have seen what occurs when our future is left solely to the politicians.
* A one-sided triangle – The Department of the Interior has responsibility to collect about 10 billion dollars in royalties for exploration rights on government land from the oil and gas companies. An Inspector General’s report revealed that more than a dozen Interior employees with responsibility for collecting these funds were busy collecting their own royalties from energy companies. The gifts included meals, golf outings, ski trips, sports tickets, sex and drugs. In the news reports one could find the usual hand-wringing about the lack of responsibility exhibited by public payroll drones. We all were relieved when Interior Secretary Dick Kempthorne expressed the requisite outrage.
What is missing from this scenario? The culpability of Kempthorne and the oil and gas companies themselves. These were not employees responsible for dusting the filing cabinets and emptying the trash cans. These were a select handful of federal workers responsible for billions of dollars. Where was the oversight by the Department of the Interior? For Shell, Chevron, Hess and Gary-Williams Energy what is their egregious offense? Drugs, sex and gifts used to screw over the American tax payer. And the world shrugs. Is there any conscious human being in our government calling for these companies to loose their leasing rights or to prosecute the executives behind these bribes? Some of the Interior employees have rushed to retirement. Is anyone seeking to revoke their pensions? Untold numbers of our prison population are there for being drug users. Will the Interior employees be prosecuted? Will Dick Kempthorne resign in disgrace? Is my tainted bouillabaisse acting up again?
* "What is left when honor is lost?"
Publilius Syrus, First Century BC
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