If I were Santa Claus I would have delivered the following stocking stuffers:
* A brain for Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. While appearing on Face the Nation he said of the economic meltdown: "Unfortunately, it was allowed to be portrayed that this was a result of deregulation, when in fact it was a result of overregulation."
* A jar of jalapeño Vaseline for the SEC employees who watched porn rather than "protecting investors and maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets," as is their mission.
* A rasher of humility for Stephen Views the News to embrace reader comments such as, “You sir are masterfully demonstrating your own ignorance.”
* An imported deluxe kerosene heater for Wal-Mart’s heart. On Tuesday the company said it would pay between $352 million and $640 million to settle lawsuits across the country claiming that it forced employees to work off the clock.
* The 2009 Sarah Palin Calendar for John McCain, even though he is setting land speed records running from his former running mate.
* A shiny house-arrest ankle bracelet for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich for auctioning the senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.
* A bar of mouth soap and truck driver’s license for Mrs. Blagojevich for her picante comments recorded during a federal wiretap investigation of her husband the governor.
* A yuletide apology to truck drivers for associating them with the First Lady of Illinois.
* A basket of experience for Caroline Kennedy seeking to inherit Hillary Clinton’s senate seat in New York.
* A ride on Santa’s sleigh for the auto executives embarrassed into abandoning their private jets.
* A sleigh full of Pepcid for president-elect Barack Obama as he embarks on the journey of leading a country beset with a multitude of serious challenges.
* A duly elected Senator for the citizens of Minnesota and preferably not the candidate under federal investigation.
* A time-out for the Obama administration before deciding to commit tens of thousands of U.S. troops to Afghanistan. The complexity of that country’s politics and the corruption of its leadership demand extreme caution.
* Harvey the imaginary rabbit for Malia and Sasha Obama as they seek solitude from the harsh world of celebrity they will encounter over at least the next four years.
* Fifty billion days of homelessness on the streets of New York City for Bernard “Bernie” Madoff. He is one of the all-time goniffs (crooks) of the investment world. His soulless greed wreaked economic havoc and, in some cases destruction, on schools, charities, pension funds and so much more.
* A punch bowl of common sense for Madoff’s Ponzied investors who believed that Madoff was Santa Claus.
* A wake up call for the inhabitants of planet Earth to not be misled by low gasoline prices. Santa cannot reverse limited oil reserves or a debilitated environment that is ignored.
* A revised mission statement for the IRS whose audits of large companies declined for the third year in a row. Santa’s trust of business and government also declined for the third year in a row.
* A slightly used and toxic post-Katrina mobile home to transport departing Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff to a lucrative book signing deal. In America incompetence has its rewards.
* A mega-warehouse for the U.S. Department of the Navy to store $7.5 billion in UNNEEDED parts. One of the factors contributing to the unnecessary purchases was “inefficiency in the Navy's inventory management.” No surprise to Santa who understands “overstocked” with a North Pole laden with unsafe toys outsourced from Asia.
* Light-blocking window drapes for American banks accepting billions of dollars of bailout money sans accountability. Santa does not blame the banks – at least on this account. He does have queries for the little elves on Ritalin running the Bush administration and running around the halls of Congress.
* A cruise on the Titanic for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). This conservative “think” tank spawned much of the neocon nonsense and “free” market malarkey that dominated Bush administration strategy.
* A set of barbells to put more muscle into credit card reform regulations scheduled to go into effect in 2010.
* A chapel for the gay citizens that Pastor Rick Warren suddenly “loves” but is not likely to welcome to his church.
* Public financing of elections legislation to improve an electoral process that has become the antithesis of democratic principles.
* A frontal lobotomy for Rush Limbaugh for positing his conspiracy theory that the economic crisis was created by Democrats to generate a financial panic and ensure the election of Obama.
* Thorazine prescriptions for Bill O’Reilly and Karl Rove. They have suggested the conspiracy theory that journalists deliberately manufactured the financial crisis so that Obama would be elected.
* A lump of coal for the energy interests spending millions of dollars to convince the American public that there is such a thing as “clean coal.” Perhaps they can donate some of this money to residents in Tennessee to recover from the flood of sludge that broke through a dike at TVA's Kingston coal-fired plant Monday. This could prove to be an environmental disaster of very significant proportions. Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection and the “Reality” coalition have a new ad about the myth of “clean coal.”
* For those that can, websites to help those in need:
~ Feeding America is a network of over 200 food banks covering all 50 states.
~ Operation USO Care Package provides care packages of needed and requested items for our troops overseas
These websites are noted in Michelle Obama’s Holiday Greetings.
* Peace, goodwill and wisdom for a world on multiple brinks.
* 2009 hugs and best wishes for the New Year to readers of Stephen Views the News.
* “I don't make jokes... I just watch the government and report the facts.”
Will Rogers (1879 – 1935) Cherokee-American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer and actor.
Showing posts with label Al Gore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Al Gore. Show all posts
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
* Vulnerability Zone ~ this is not about getting in touch with your inner self – It is as a geographic area whose population lives within range of a worst-case toxic gas release. The Center for American Progress, in a report “Chemical Security 101: What You Don’t Have Can’t Leak, or Be Blown Up by Terrorists." notes that this danger is not limited to remote locations. There are currently 303 facilities in 41 states using chemicals that potentially endanger 110 million Americans. They are facilities subject to terrorist attacks (or accidents) that could release toxic chemicals and gasses. The bad news is that the Department of Homeland Security has done little to improve securing these facilities or encouraging facility change. The good news is that there are viable alternatives that would substantially reduce the danger that these facilities present by converting to alternative chemicals or processes. One example involves the production of bleach. “Thirty bleach plants could remove danger to some 50 million Americans by generating chlorine on-site without rail shipment and bulk storage. This includes the Clorox Company in Los Angeles, which puts over 5.5 million people in danger.” The linked article is a fascinating and educational read and includes an interactive map that identifies 101 of the most dangerous chemical facilities in America. What is in your backyard?
* Never say never ~ The Bush administration did something it said it would never do – set a time line for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. I found the following evaluation of particular interest:
An Iraq expert and former ambassador to Croatia, Peter Galbraith, issued a statement on the status of forces agreement (SOFA) recently signed by the U.S. and Iraq. His remarks included: “The agreement represents a stunning and humiliating reversal of course by the Bush administration, which had vehemently opposed any timetable for withdrawal from Iraq… For the last two years, President Bush has pretended that Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki is a democrat and an American ally. In fact, Maliki is a sectarian Shiite politician who heads a government dominated by pro-Iranian religious parties. The U.S. presence now no longer serves the interests of Iraq’s ruling Shiite religious parties or their Iranian allies, so we are now being asked to leave.” The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation offers an in-depth analysis of the U.S.-Iraq security agreement.
Truth be told, the Bush administration never understood Iraqi political and religious dynamics and rarely made an attempt to become better informed. The same can be said of the Bush administration as a whole (hole). Bob Woodward noted in his most recent book that Bush is not intellectually inquisitive and does not like open debate. We can only hope Barack Obama does not govern from a bubble that is heavily tinted with ideology.
* Sharing the holiday spirit – A reader sent this suggestion that merits consideration and action. When doing your Christmas/Chanukah cards, take one card and send it to this address:
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001
* Keeping the auto industry on target – In the December 8, 2008 issue of Newsweek Fareed Zakaria interviews Al Gore on a variety of subjects. One of the questions asked, “Would you bail out the carmakers?” Gore responded, “Whatever assistance might be forthcoming should be focused on speeding the changes that are absolutely essential to ensure that our companies are competitive in the global marketplace. When I was vice president, I initiated a program called the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. The federal government invested over a billion dollars in partnership with the Big Three to focus on the accelerated development of advanced high-efficiency vehicles. But as soon as they felt they were off the hook at the end of 2000 (Bush was about to take office), they pulled the plug and walked away.”
In many respects the trouble burdening the American auto industry is a result of myopic and greedy management. Gore comments that GM allowed Toyota a seven-year head start in developing the hybrid drive train in the Prius automobile. However, in spite of questionable management the U.S. cannot afford to allow the auto and related industries to be flushed away. It is not in the interest of the American people. However, if large loans to the auto industry from the federal government are to be forthcoming they should be embedded with guidelines and requirements that are in the financial and environmental interests of America. It seems to me totally appropriate that accompanying any loans to the Big Three automakers should be the requirement that some of the existing members of the Board of Directors of the corporations be replaced with individuals responsible to the American government and the American people. This should be followed by an evaluation of the top management of GM, Ford and Chrysler. Chrysler is currently owned by a private equity firm but that should not preclude them from oversight if they want public loans. If America is to make major investments in these companies America should have some input as to who is managing the federal investments. The current management of the Big Three automakers does not elicit confidence.
* Are the French frank? - The latest hit to our national ego, at least the male members of the equation, comes from a study done by the Institute of Condom Consultancy. The study asked 10,500 men in 25 countries to measure their penis and enter the number into a database. The results show Frenchmen on average claim to need 15.48-cm (6.09-inch) long condoms, larger than any other group in the study. I personally am not upset by the study. I believe that size does not matter. Those damn Frenchmen! How does one say “liar, liar – pants on fire” in French?
* Get your own house in order – The word “catholic” may mean universal or all-embracing but the Catholic Church does not speak for everyone in the world. I defend any religion to believe what they want but I vehemently oppose one body of religion imposing its beliefs on non-members. A case in point: Every single country in the European Union has signed a resolution to be submitted to the United Nations calling on governments worldwide to de-criminalize homosexuality. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s permanent observer to the United Nations, told a French Catholic news service that the Vatican opposes such a U.N. resolution. Migliore claimed that the resolution “would create new and implacable discriminations” against opponents of same-sex marriage.” If anyone can tell me exactly what the Archbishop’s words mean, please send me an email. It sounds like an incoherent Bush statement using bigger words.
It is beyond me how so many religious leaders are blind to their own inhumanity while so subservient to their dogma. Perhaps if Catholic Church leaders spent more time being shepherds to their own flock, untold numbers of Catholics would not have been victimized by Catholic priest pedophiles. If the Catholic Church had expended as much effort removing these pedophiles from the church as they did covering up these criminal and morally bankrupt acts, the world would indeed be a better place. In the mean time, the Catholic Church should cease pontificating to the world about morality.
* Proposition 8 ~ The Musical – A reader sent a somewhat entertaining short video that stars some well-known entertainers. It satirizes the proponents of California’s Proposition 8 that overturned gay marriage. Unfortunately, where was this effort BEFORE the vote on Prop 8? Prop 8 was successful because those against gay marriage were better organized as well as better-funded, primarily by the resources of the Mormon Church (that has a “great” history of "traditional" marriage). At a time when progressive thinking helped bring Obama and many senators and representatives to office, proponents for gay union fell far short on the proposition that overturned the rights of gay marriage. I think that the courts will ultimately invalidate Prop 8 but it was a setback to the civil rights of the gay community. The social conservatives continue to teach us lessons on organization and framing the questions on social issues. We should begin paying more attention as to how the "professional" communicators do it.
* Aborting social conservative malarkey – Contrary to the propaganda disseminated by the religious-right, no high-quality study done to date can document that having an abortion causes psychological distress, or a "post-abortion syndrome." A team at John Hopkins University in Baltimore reviewed 21 studies involving more than 150,000 women and found that there are "no significant differences in long-term mental health between women who choose to abort a pregnancy and others." This has not stopped social conservatives from making the claim or even the Supreme Court from citing this unsubstantiated side effect of abortion in a recent deliberation. Those who believe in a women’s reproductive right to choice will have to do a better job informing the public than opponents are doing with misinformation.
* Derriere Orifice of the week ~ the entire U.S. Senate – One of the reasons that little gets accomplished in Washington is the arcane and convoluted rules under which the Senate (mis)functions. An excellent example of such rules is the one that allows blocking the confirmation of Neil Barofsky, nominated to oversee the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. The Senate rules allow any senator to anonymously put a hold on any nomination for any reason. Until Thursday, a Republican Senator was blocking this nomination. No one could argue the critical need for someone in authority to oversee how this humongous sum of money is spent. If Mr. Barofsky is not the right person for the job the Senate should determine that and move on to another nominee. To leave this important post unfilled is about as egregious as the lack of oversight of the financial industry that Congress permitted in the first place. One of the challenges confronting the well-being of our nation is to convince our elected representatives to change rules that paralyze government.
* Speaking of Derrieres ~ the star of Fox News is really the black hole of Faux News – Almost 2 years ago, January 2, 2007, an FBI report revealed details of Guantanamo torture tactics that included: "Captives at Guantánamo Bay were chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor for 18 hours or more, urinating and defecating on themselves.” Other unsavory details can be read at the above link – a must read for those macho warriors/saviors of the political right that took America down this morally bankrupt path. On December 1, 2008 – this week! - Bill O’Reilly said on his radio show, “There are accusations of mistreatment at Guantanamo, but there's certainly no proof that ever happened." Wishful thinking and incompetence dragged America into the Iraq and Guantanamo quagmires. The fantasies of the O’Reilly crowd preclude veracity, solution and resolution. Like the neocons and Bush ideologues, the right-wing media personalities deservedly are waving goodbye to any credibility they may have had at one time.
It is also interesting to note that a recent study by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes found that the more one watches FOX News the more likely it is that one’s perceptions about the Iraq war are wrong. A free society must accept neo-Nazis marching, the KKK parading and FOX News being Bush and Cheney’s political propagandists and the voice of hate and divisiveness. We do have the option of ignoring such air(wave) pollution.
* “Suppose you were an idiot.
And suppose you were a member of Congress....
But then I repeat myself.”
Mark Twain
* Never say never ~ The Bush administration did something it said it would never do – set a time line for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. I found the following evaluation of particular interest:
An Iraq expert and former ambassador to Croatia, Peter Galbraith, issued a statement on the status of forces agreement (SOFA) recently signed by the U.S. and Iraq. His remarks included: “The agreement represents a stunning and humiliating reversal of course by the Bush administration, which had vehemently opposed any timetable for withdrawal from Iraq… For the last two years, President Bush has pretended that Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki is a democrat and an American ally. In fact, Maliki is a sectarian Shiite politician who heads a government dominated by pro-Iranian religious parties. The U.S. presence now no longer serves the interests of Iraq’s ruling Shiite religious parties or their Iranian allies, so we are now being asked to leave.” The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation offers an in-depth analysis of the U.S.-Iraq security agreement.
Truth be told, the Bush administration never understood Iraqi political and religious dynamics and rarely made an attempt to become better informed. The same can be said of the Bush administration as a whole (hole). Bob Woodward noted in his most recent book that Bush is not intellectually inquisitive and does not like open debate. We can only hope Barack Obama does not govern from a bubble that is heavily tinted with ideology.
* Sharing the holiday spirit – A reader sent this suggestion that merits consideration and action. When doing your Christmas/Chanukah cards, take one card and send it to this address:
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001
* Keeping the auto industry on target – In the December 8, 2008 issue of Newsweek Fareed Zakaria interviews Al Gore on a variety of subjects. One of the questions asked, “Would you bail out the carmakers?” Gore responded, “Whatever assistance might be forthcoming should be focused on speeding the changes that are absolutely essential to ensure that our companies are competitive in the global marketplace. When I was vice president, I initiated a program called the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. The federal government invested over a billion dollars in partnership with the Big Three to focus on the accelerated development of advanced high-efficiency vehicles. But as soon as they felt they were off the hook at the end of 2000 (Bush was about to take office), they pulled the plug and walked away.”
In many respects the trouble burdening the American auto industry is a result of myopic and greedy management. Gore comments that GM allowed Toyota a seven-year head start in developing the hybrid drive train in the Prius automobile. However, in spite of questionable management the U.S. cannot afford to allow the auto and related industries to be flushed away. It is not in the interest of the American people. However, if large loans to the auto industry from the federal government are to be forthcoming they should be embedded with guidelines and requirements that are in the financial and environmental interests of America. It seems to me totally appropriate that accompanying any loans to the Big Three automakers should be the requirement that some of the existing members of the Board of Directors of the corporations be replaced with individuals responsible to the American government and the American people. This should be followed by an evaluation of the top management of GM, Ford and Chrysler. Chrysler is currently owned by a private equity firm but that should not preclude them from oversight if they want public loans. If America is to make major investments in these companies America should have some input as to who is managing the federal investments. The current management of the Big Three automakers does not elicit confidence.
* Are the French frank? - The latest hit to our national ego, at least the male members of the equation, comes from a study done by the Institute of Condom Consultancy. The study asked 10,500 men in 25 countries to measure their penis and enter the number into a database. The results show Frenchmen on average claim to need 15.48-cm (6.09-inch) long condoms, larger than any other group in the study. I personally am not upset by the study. I believe that size does not matter. Those damn Frenchmen! How does one say “liar, liar – pants on fire” in French?
* Get your own house in order – The word “catholic” may mean universal or all-embracing but the Catholic Church does not speak for everyone in the world. I defend any religion to believe what they want but I vehemently oppose one body of religion imposing its beliefs on non-members. A case in point: Every single country in the European Union has signed a resolution to be submitted to the United Nations calling on governments worldwide to de-criminalize homosexuality. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s permanent observer to the United Nations, told a French Catholic news service that the Vatican opposes such a U.N. resolution. Migliore claimed that the resolution “would create new and implacable discriminations” against opponents of same-sex marriage.” If anyone can tell me exactly what the Archbishop’s words mean, please send me an email. It sounds like an incoherent Bush statement using bigger words.
It is beyond me how so many religious leaders are blind to their own inhumanity while so subservient to their dogma. Perhaps if Catholic Church leaders spent more time being shepherds to their own flock, untold numbers of Catholics would not have been victimized by Catholic priest pedophiles. If the Catholic Church had expended as much effort removing these pedophiles from the church as they did covering up these criminal and morally bankrupt acts, the world would indeed be a better place. In the mean time, the Catholic Church should cease pontificating to the world about morality.
* Proposition 8 ~ The Musical – A reader sent a somewhat entertaining short video that stars some well-known entertainers. It satirizes the proponents of California’s Proposition 8 that overturned gay marriage. Unfortunately, where was this effort BEFORE the vote on Prop 8? Prop 8 was successful because those against gay marriage were better organized as well as better-funded, primarily by the resources of the Mormon Church (that has a “great” history of "traditional" marriage). At a time when progressive thinking helped bring Obama and many senators and representatives to office, proponents for gay union fell far short on the proposition that overturned the rights of gay marriage. I think that the courts will ultimately invalidate Prop 8 but it was a setback to the civil rights of the gay community. The social conservatives continue to teach us lessons on organization and framing the questions on social issues. We should begin paying more attention as to how the "professional" communicators do it.
* Aborting social conservative malarkey – Contrary to the propaganda disseminated by the religious-right, no high-quality study done to date can document that having an abortion causes psychological distress, or a "post-abortion syndrome." A team at John Hopkins University in Baltimore reviewed 21 studies involving more than 150,000 women and found that there are "no significant differences in long-term mental health between women who choose to abort a pregnancy and others." This has not stopped social conservatives from making the claim or even the Supreme Court from citing this unsubstantiated side effect of abortion in a recent deliberation. Those who believe in a women’s reproductive right to choice will have to do a better job informing the public than opponents are doing with misinformation.
* Derriere Orifice of the week ~ the entire U.S. Senate – One of the reasons that little gets accomplished in Washington is the arcane and convoluted rules under which the Senate (mis)functions. An excellent example of such rules is the one that allows blocking the confirmation of Neil Barofsky, nominated to oversee the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. The Senate rules allow any senator to anonymously put a hold on any nomination for any reason. Until Thursday, a Republican Senator was blocking this nomination. No one could argue the critical need for someone in authority to oversee how this humongous sum of money is spent. If Mr. Barofsky is not the right person for the job the Senate should determine that and move on to another nominee. To leave this important post unfilled is about as egregious as the lack of oversight of the financial industry that Congress permitted in the first place. One of the challenges confronting the well-being of our nation is to convince our elected representatives to change rules that paralyze government.
* Speaking of Derrieres ~ the star of Fox News is really the black hole of Faux News – Almost 2 years ago, January 2, 2007, an FBI report revealed details of Guantanamo torture tactics that included: "Captives at Guantánamo Bay were chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor for 18 hours or more, urinating and defecating on themselves.” Other unsavory details can be read at the above link – a must read for those macho warriors/saviors of the political right that took America down this morally bankrupt path. On December 1, 2008 – this week! - Bill O’Reilly said on his radio show, “There are accusations of mistreatment at Guantanamo, but there's certainly no proof that ever happened." Wishful thinking and incompetence dragged America into the Iraq and Guantanamo quagmires. The fantasies of the O’Reilly crowd preclude veracity, solution and resolution. Like the neocons and Bush ideologues, the right-wing media personalities deservedly are waving goodbye to any credibility they may have had at one time.
It is also interesting to note that a recent study by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes found that the more one watches FOX News the more likely it is that one’s perceptions about the Iraq war are wrong. A free society must accept neo-Nazis marching, the KKK parading and FOX News being Bush and Cheney’s political propagandists and the voice of hate and divisiveness. We do have the option of ignoring such air(wave) pollution.
* “Suppose you were an idiot.
And suppose you were a member of Congress....
But then I repeat myself.”
Mark Twain
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