* A Mountain of Sermons does not make a Sermon on the Mount – Catholic Bishops across America are criticizing Notre Dame University for inviting Barack Obama to speak at its commencement and receive an honorary doctorate degree on May 17, 2009. “Obama’s abortion rights record clashes with a fundamental church teaching.” There has been no mention of Obama’s core principles on programs that help the poor, the sick, the less educated, civil rights, individual freedoms and his stance against torture. It is another case of out of the womb, out of mind. It is another case of one-issue leadership in a multi-issue world. Please let me know if I missed the Catholic Bishops position paper on the more than 100,000 post-womb lives aborted as a result of the Iraq invasion.
* Speaking of religion 1 – In a Pew Research Center survey that I found startling, “More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — 54 percent — said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is “often” or “sometimes” justified.” Perhaps devoted study of the bible does not allow sufficient time to understand the laws of the United States of America or the context of humane behavior. Perhaps “study” does not necessarily lead to “understanding.” There was a time when I felt that organized religion contributed to the humanizing of the individual. There also was a time when I believed the Tooth Fairy left money under my pillow.
* Speaking of religion 2 – Something that all of us should find disturbing is a just released video from Afghanistan “showing that U.S. military forces in Afghanistan have been instructed by the military’s top chaplain in the country to "hunt people for Jesus" as they spread Christianity to the overwhelmingly Muslim population. Soldiers also have imported bibles translated into Pashto and Dari, the two dominant languages of Afghanistan.” Perhaps ironic but certainly pathetic and disgusting, the video was recorded at the huge U.S. base in Bagram “one of the main sites used by the U.S. military to torture and indefinitely detain prisoners.” First the U.S. initiates the Iraq war on false pretenses and then conducts a war in Afghanistan with a religious element. As if our military did not have enough problems in the Muslim-dominated countries where it currently battles, we are now making these wars Crusades. In 1950 historian Sir Steven Runciman wrote a resounding condemnation about the Crusades: "High ideals were besmirched by cruelty and greed … the Holy War was nothing more than a long act of intolerance in the name of God.” I would suggest that history, far from being a straight line, is a vicious circle fueled by stupidity and myopia. God save us!
* Pandemic cable news – World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Gregory Hartl noted that the public may misunderstand the word "pandemic." The term refers to where an illness spreads, not its severity. Recall that 36,000 Americans die each year from the flu. No one knows at this time what the future holds for the H1N1 (Swine) flu but one healthful health tip may be to watch less television “news.” This prescription would reduce pandemic panic.
* A Democratic financial virus in the Senate – A bill introduced by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) to allow homeowners in bankruptcy to renegotiate mortgages with banks was defeated last week. Fifteen Democratic senators voted against the bill that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to mediate adjusted mortgages. Some senators may have legitimately felt that a contract should not be altered. Some senators may have felt that it would give judges too much power. And some senators may be too beholden to the financial industry, having received campaign contributions from this powerful sector. Following the defeat of this legislation Durbin commented, “And the banks -- hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created -- are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place.”
The Center for Responsive Politics, at their website opensecrets.org, lists some of the Democratic senators that voted against the bill and the amount of money they have received over their career from the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate Sector:
Max Baucus (D-MT) $4.6 million
Thomas Carper (D-DE) $2.2 million
Byron Dorgan (D-ND) $1.1 million
Tim Johnson (D-SD) $3 million
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) just under $1 million
Ben Nelson (D-NB) $2.7 million
Mary Landrieu (D-LA) $2.4 million
Mark Pryor (D-AR) $1.3 million
Arlen Specter (D-PA) $5.7 million
When a legislator’s pockets are filled by special interests how are we to know whether a vote was cast based on principle and philosophy or a result of fulfilling the interests of the donor. Do the legislators even know any more? Until there is public financing of elections this conflict of (our) interest will infect the democratic and legislative process.
* Speaking of Nebraskan Ben Nelson – Last week he said that he would oppose legislation that would give people the option of a public health insurance plan. Last week a poll released by Consumer Reports National Research Center showed that 66 percent of Americans back the creation of a public health plan that would compete with private plans. So what is Nelson’s problem with a public plan? Are you sitting down? Nelson’s opposition is that the public plan would be too attractive and would hurt the private insurance plans. "At the end of the day, the public plan wins the game," Nelson said. Including a public option in a health plan, he said, was a "deal breaker." Conclusion: Ben Nelson puts the interests of private insurance companies over the interests of the people of Nebraska and the people of the other 49 states. One wonders how much money the health insurance industry has spent to ensure Nelson’s support. As a Senator, Nelson already benefits from an excellent publically funded health care plan. His derriere is covered. Can you say, “Public financing of elections?”
* Viral lies by the energy industry ~ what is that odor? – The economic interests of oil and gas companies, as usual, override the health and welfare of the American people and the planet that supports our survival. “For more than a decade the Global Climate Coalition, a group representing industries with profits tied to fossil fuels, led an aggressive lobbying and public relations campaign against the idea that emissions of heat-trapping gases could lead to global warming… But a document filed in a federal lawsuit demonstrates that even as the coalition worked to sway opinion, its own scientific and technical experts were advising that the science backing the role of greenhouse gases in global warming could not be refuted.” My conclusion: For the past almost two decades energy industry propaganda talking points, supported by politicians in their pockets, were knowingly based on fossil bullshit.
* The specter of Specter – I have yet to encounter anyone in my state of Pennsylvania excited about Arlen Specter sprinting from the Republican to the Democratic Party. Specter fled the GOP after he saw the strong polling numbers of his likely primary opponent, conservative Pat Toomey. Everyone does agree that the move was a survival maneuver by Specter to prolong his political career. Regardless of party affiliation, something that Specter cannot run from is his voting record that includes: failing to cast votes against torture and unauthorized wiretaps, voting for the Patriot Act renewal, backing the costly Bush tax cuts for the well-to-do and paving the way for Bush appointees to the Supreme Court. It remains to be seen whether opportunistic Arlen gets a free ride on Democratic coattails to another term in office.
* Priests are no more necessary to religion than politicians to patriotism.”
John Haynes Holmes (1879 – 1964) a prominent Unitarian minister and pacifist, noted for his anti-war activism.
Showing posts with label Arlen Specter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arlen Specter. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Saturday, February 9, 2008
2/9/08
*A proposal for the impeachment movement – The reality is that OUR SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IS BROKEN and NO ONE SEEMS ABLE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. Bush and company discovered and invented ways to neuter checks and balances, and oversight. I believe that they broke laws. I do not believe that current circumstances will yield a congressional trial. I would like to make a suggestion to the forces campaigning for impeachment and to advocates for responsible government. Devote at least a portion of your passion and resources to fixing the problem. Pressure each presidential candidate and each senator and representative to investigate what went wrong during the Bush administration and devise legislation that prevents a recurrence. It is incumbent upon our legislators to repair the system. However, since Congress has been dysfunctional and oft times impotent, we the citizens must vociferously demand they be responsive to renewing accountability. For those congressmen who do not respond, expose their recalcitrance and campaign for their defeat. In less than 11 months the Bush & Cheyney Prestidigitation Show closes. America will be best served focusing our outrage and disappointment on the solution.
*A Tale of Two Senators ~ from Pennsylvania
>Arlen Specter (R) is currently in a hissing contest with the National Football League concerning the New England Patriots against-the-rules video taping of opponents’ signals. In a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Specter said, "I am very concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes". My “esteemed” senator is not investigating hundreds of millions of U.S. tax dollars unaccounted for in Iraq. He is not investigating Bush’s demolishing of the Civil Rights division in the Justice Department. He is not investigating the CIA’s destruction of interrogation tapes of suspected terrorists. But, look out NFL.
>Bob Casey (D) wrote an important and intelligent commentary for the Philadelphia Inquirer that addresses a subject of great concern – keeping nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists. Excerpts: “Since the early 1990s, there have been hundreds of reports of attempted smuggling from the former Soviet Union's vast nuclear stockpile... Too many nuclear facilities across the globe still do not have the security safeguards we should demand for stockpiles of fissile material... as many as 40 nations possess the key materials and components required to assemble a nuclear weapon, with security conditions varying greatly...” Casey’s final comment in the article is particularly telling. “The next president, with a strong mandate from Congress, must place at the very top of his or her agenda a full-scale effort to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism.” I take this to imply that it is not very high on the current agenda. As soon as our leaders finish investigating major league baseball (for performance enhancing substances) and football (for who the hell knows what) they can work on preventing a nuclear bomb from blowing up an American city.
*In need of Xanax ~ Ole! – This week was incredibly exciting. I received an email notifying me that I had won the ROYAL SPANISH SWEEPSTAKE LOTTERY. Ignoring the fact that I had not entered the sweepstake and that there was no mention of the amount awarded, I began thinking like a travel agent. I started a list of the people I wanted to tell where to go. As the adrenalin waned the thought occurred to visit the website noted in the awarding email. Gloom settled over my computer desk when a message window popped up, accompanied by a deafening ding, telling me the website could not be found. I sheepishly tucked my list away for future reference. In the mean time I will continue to be nice to almost everyone
*To your good health – There is an interesting article at alternet.org that discusses 10 Myths About Canadian Health Care. I will note a couple of the points it makes. The link provides the entire article.
~Canada’s system is not socialized medicine where the doctors work for the state. In Canada and many other countries with universal healthcare the doctors run their own private practices. The only difference is that the doctors deal with one insurer (the government) instead of multiple insurers. It is called “single-payer” insurance.
~Canadians choose their own doctor and poor Canadians have exactly the same access to the country's top specialists that rich ones do.
~ Americans and Canadians have exactly the same drugs, made by the same pharmaceutical companies, often in the same factories.
~The Canadian system covers only the basics and depending where you live wait times for an appointment may be a bit longer in some regions. At the same time I have spoken with people who have called a specialist in the U.S. for an appointment and they had to wait 3 months or more.
As America begins to look at changes to the current health care system that is burdened with skyrocketing costs, much misinformation is being disseminated by health insurers and pharmaceutical companies that make inordinate profits under the current system. We do not know what changes the U.S will eventually implement but it would be prudent to become familiar with what does and does not work in other countries as well as being able to separate fact from fiction.
*A Tribute to John Edwards – He has dropped out of the presidential race. However, his strong positions on improving health care, attention to the environment, fairer government and policies for all Americans and the need to reduce the influence of special interests helped shape the platform of the other Democratic presidential candidates.
*Romney ~ Romoney - Mitt Romney has suspended his bid for the presidency. I saw one analysis that concluded he spent about one million dollars for each of the 35 delegates he had garnered. Some attribute his lack of acceptance by Republican primary voters to his being a Mormon. I believe it more likely that people did not believe his flip-flopping lips. Only Romney’s shirts were changed more often than his positions. You can’t fool all of the people all of the time – even the Republican base.
*Up, up and away ~ even if you can get it up – Israeli doctors recently did a study of mountain climbers. They found that erectile dysfunction drugs, such as Viagra, improved performance at high altitudes. Army doctors are now considering giving the drugs to Israeli combat pilots who fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet. Rumor has it that the new battle cry for these pilots is Mazel Tov!
*The South and racism ~ an optimistic perspective - Highly respected columnist George Curry wrote a commentary this week about Barack Obama’s strong showing among southern voters. Mr. Curry was a teenager in Alabama in the 1960s when the call for civil rights was met with the reactionary likes of George Wallace and Lester Maddox – representatives of a racism mentality forged over generations. The article provides a brief history of that unseemly but revolutionary period as well as Democratic and Republican Party attempts to use this racial divide to their political benefit. Mr. Curry sees the success of Obama as well as other equally important developments as an indication of significant positive change. An excerpt: “Fortunately, the South is vastly different from the South I knew during my childhood. The University of Alabama has since elected an African American as its student body president. Atlanta and Birmingham have elected a string of black mayors; Alabama and Georgia have African Americans in Congress. Public schools in the South are more desegregated than in any other region of the country.” As I noted last week, prejudice is a constant throughout the history of man. Perhaps in our own small corner of the universe we are beginning to nurture a degree of color blindness.
*Everyday is a Superbowl ~ on television – Advertising on TV now averages about 15 minutes an hour. With all of this free time to go to the kitchen for a snack it is no wonder that Americans are overweight. If you want to lose weight, listen to the radio where advertisements average only 10 minutes per hour.
*Quote of the Week – “It's sort of a little poetic justice, in that the people that brewed this toxic Kool-Aid found themselves drinking a lot of it in the end." This was said by billionaire investor Warren Buffett referring to bankers who designed and sold complex investments that have since gone sour. The sub-prime mortgage fiasco occurred when Republican leadership and Democratic impotence surrendered oversight of the financial community. They closed their eyes to the memory of the U.S. Savings and Loan collapse in 1985, a result of deregulation and unsound real estate lending. While there are now laws against performance enhancing steroids our elected leaders enfranchise greed on steroids. Unfortunately, it is far more than the financial community that pays the price.
*Quote of the Minute – “Dick Cheyney is the best Vice President in history”. In a speech to a gathering of the hard-core Republican base group, Conservative Political Action Conference, so spoke George W. Bush, aka, The Worst President in History”.
*What’s It All About? ~ another Brown-out – In testimony to a Senate panel this week U.S. Intelligence Chief Mike McConnell said, “Al Qaeda is gaining in strength from its refuge in Pakistan and is steadily improving its ability to recruit, train and position operatives capable of carrying out attacks inside the U.S. and ...Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, remained in control of the terrorist group and had promoted a new generation of lieutenants.” We have spent hundreds of billions of dollars and almost 4000 American lives in the war on terror and the two individuals responsible for initiating the terror attacks are still around, stronger than ever and based in a country that is led by a dictator whom George Bush touts as our ally. At the same time, early successes in Afghanistan by U.S. troops have been dissipated after Bush reduced our resources in Afghanistan to attack Iraq. The Taliban has since regained a strong presence in Afghanistan and the U.S. is unsuccessfully pleading with NATO to commit additional resources to the region. Also this week Admiral Mike McMullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, Afghanistan is facing "a growing insurgency, increasing violence and a burgeoning drug trade fueled by widespread poppy cultivation." Heckuva job Mr. President!
*If you don’t have a headache yet – Our government continues to reward incompetence/malfeasance. “A North Dakota manufacturer, Sioux Manufacturing, has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a suit saying it had repeatedly shortchanged the armor in up to 2.2 million helmets for the military, including those for the first troops sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.” Grab your meds because here comes the migraine! “Twelve days before the settlement with the Justice Department was announced... the company was given a new contract of up to $74 million to make more armor for helmets to replace the old ones, which were made from the late 1980s to last year.” The investigation resulted from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Jeff Kenner and Tamra Eishaug, two former managers at Sioux Mfg. These two people deserve medals but it is not likely to happen in the alternative universe that we find ourselves.
*An anniversary remembered – February 5th marked the 5-year anniversary of Colin Powell’s presentation to the U. N. Security Council. One of his introductory comments: “My second purpose today is to provide you with additional information, to share with you what the United States knows about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, as well as Iraq's involvement in terrorism...” During his presentation he said, “My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. These are not assertions. What we're giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence.” Recall his description and graphics of mobile chemical labs. Be he a pawn or a deceiver is for history to judge. He will have to resolve with his soul the deaths and injury to almost 35,000 American military personnel. For more detail and analysis on Powell at the U.N I recommend the site tinyrevolution.com.
* Francois de La Rochefoucauld - Quotes
~A man's worth has its season, like fruit.
~A wise man thinks it more advantageous not to join the battle than to win.
~No man is clever enough to know all the evil he does.
*A Tale of Two Senators ~ from Pennsylvania
>Arlen Specter (R) is currently in a hissing contest with the National Football League concerning the New England Patriots against-the-rules video taping of opponents’ signals. In a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Specter said, "I am very concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes". My “esteemed” senator is not investigating hundreds of millions of U.S. tax dollars unaccounted for in Iraq. He is not investigating Bush’s demolishing of the Civil Rights division in the Justice Department. He is not investigating the CIA’s destruction of interrogation tapes of suspected terrorists. But, look out NFL.
>Bob Casey (D) wrote an important and intelligent commentary for the Philadelphia Inquirer that addresses a subject of great concern – keeping nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists. Excerpts: “Since the early 1990s, there have been hundreds of reports of attempted smuggling from the former Soviet Union's vast nuclear stockpile... Too many nuclear facilities across the globe still do not have the security safeguards we should demand for stockpiles of fissile material... as many as 40 nations possess the key materials and components required to assemble a nuclear weapon, with security conditions varying greatly...” Casey’s final comment in the article is particularly telling. “The next president, with a strong mandate from Congress, must place at the very top of his or her agenda a full-scale effort to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism.” I take this to imply that it is not very high on the current agenda. As soon as our leaders finish investigating major league baseball (for performance enhancing substances) and football (for who the hell knows what) they can work on preventing a nuclear bomb from blowing up an American city.
*In need of Xanax ~ Ole! – This week was incredibly exciting. I received an email notifying me that I had won the ROYAL SPANISH SWEEPSTAKE LOTTERY. Ignoring the fact that I had not entered the sweepstake and that there was no mention of the amount awarded, I began thinking like a travel agent. I started a list of the people I wanted to tell where to go. As the adrenalin waned the thought occurred to visit the website noted in the awarding email. Gloom settled over my computer desk when a message window popped up, accompanied by a deafening ding, telling me the website could not be found. I sheepishly tucked my list away for future reference. In the mean time I will continue to be nice to almost everyone
*To your good health – There is an interesting article at alternet.org that discusses 10 Myths About Canadian Health Care. I will note a couple of the points it makes. The link provides the entire article.
~Canada’s system is not socialized medicine where the doctors work for the state. In Canada and many other countries with universal healthcare the doctors run their own private practices. The only difference is that the doctors deal with one insurer (the government) instead of multiple insurers. It is called “single-payer” insurance.
~Canadians choose their own doctor and poor Canadians have exactly the same access to the country's top specialists that rich ones do.
~ Americans and Canadians have exactly the same drugs, made by the same pharmaceutical companies, often in the same factories.
~The Canadian system covers only the basics and depending where you live wait times for an appointment may be a bit longer in some regions. At the same time I have spoken with people who have called a specialist in the U.S. for an appointment and they had to wait 3 months or more.
As America begins to look at changes to the current health care system that is burdened with skyrocketing costs, much misinformation is being disseminated by health insurers and pharmaceutical companies that make inordinate profits under the current system. We do not know what changes the U.S will eventually implement but it would be prudent to become familiar with what does and does not work in other countries as well as being able to separate fact from fiction.
*A Tribute to John Edwards – He has dropped out of the presidential race. However, his strong positions on improving health care, attention to the environment, fairer government and policies for all Americans and the need to reduce the influence of special interests helped shape the platform of the other Democratic presidential candidates.
*Romney ~ Romoney - Mitt Romney has suspended his bid for the presidency. I saw one analysis that concluded he spent about one million dollars for each of the 35 delegates he had garnered. Some attribute his lack of acceptance by Republican primary voters to his being a Mormon. I believe it more likely that people did not believe his flip-flopping lips. Only Romney’s shirts were changed more often than his positions. You can’t fool all of the people all of the time – even the Republican base.
*Up, up and away ~ even if you can get it up – Israeli doctors recently did a study of mountain climbers. They found that erectile dysfunction drugs, such as Viagra, improved performance at high altitudes. Army doctors are now considering giving the drugs to Israeli combat pilots who fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet. Rumor has it that the new battle cry for these pilots is Mazel Tov!
*The South and racism ~ an optimistic perspective - Highly respected columnist George Curry wrote a commentary this week about Barack Obama’s strong showing among southern voters. Mr. Curry was a teenager in Alabama in the 1960s when the call for civil rights was met with the reactionary likes of George Wallace and Lester Maddox – representatives of a racism mentality forged over generations. The article provides a brief history of that unseemly but revolutionary period as well as Democratic and Republican Party attempts to use this racial divide to their political benefit. Mr. Curry sees the success of Obama as well as other equally important developments as an indication of significant positive change. An excerpt: “Fortunately, the South is vastly different from the South I knew during my childhood. The University of Alabama has since elected an African American as its student body president. Atlanta and Birmingham have elected a string of black mayors; Alabama and Georgia have African Americans in Congress. Public schools in the South are more desegregated than in any other region of the country.” As I noted last week, prejudice is a constant throughout the history of man. Perhaps in our own small corner of the universe we are beginning to nurture a degree of color blindness.
*Everyday is a Superbowl ~ on television – Advertising on TV now averages about 15 minutes an hour. With all of this free time to go to the kitchen for a snack it is no wonder that Americans are overweight. If you want to lose weight, listen to the radio where advertisements average only 10 minutes per hour.
*Quote of the Week – “It's sort of a little poetic justice, in that the people that brewed this toxic Kool-Aid found themselves drinking a lot of it in the end." This was said by billionaire investor Warren Buffett referring to bankers who designed and sold complex investments that have since gone sour. The sub-prime mortgage fiasco occurred when Republican leadership and Democratic impotence surrendered oversight of the financial community. They closed their eyes to the memory of the U.S. Savings and Loan collapse in 1985, a result of deregulation and unsound real estate lending. While there are now laws against performance enhancing steroids our elected leaders enfranchise greed on steroids. Unfortunately, it is far more than the financial community that pays the price.
*Quote of the Minute – “Dick Cheyney is the best Vice President in history”. In a speech to a gathering of the hard-core Republican base group, Conservative Political Action Conference, so spoke George W. Bush, aka, The Worst President in History”.
*What’s It All About? ~ another Brown-out – In testimony to a Senate panel this week U.S. Intelligence Chief Mike McConnell said, “Al Qaeda is gaining in strength from its refuge in Pakistan and is steadily improving its ability to recruit, train and position operatives capable of carrying out attacks inside the U.S. and ...Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, remained in control of the terrorist group and had promoted a new generation of lieutenants.” We have spent hundreds of billions of dollars and almost 4000 American lives in the war on terror and the two individuals responsible for initiating the terror attacks are still around, stronger than ever and based in a country that is led by a dictator whom George Bush touts as our ally. At the same time, early successes in Afghanistan by U.S. troops have been dissipated after Bush reduced our resources in Afghanistan to attack Iraq. The Taliban has since regained a strong presence in Afghanistan and the U.S. is unsuccessfully pleading with NATO to commit additional resources to the region. Also this week Admiral Mike McMullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, Afghanistan is facing "a growing insurgency, increasing violence and a burgeoning drug trade fueled by widespread poppy cultivation." Heckuva job Mr. President!
*If you don’t have a headache yet – Our government continues to reward incompetence/malfeasance. “A North Dakota manufacturer, Sioux Manufacturing, has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a suit saying it had repeatedly shortchanged the armor in up to 2.2 million helmets for the military, including those for the first troops sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.” Grab your meds because here comes the migraine! “Twelve days before the settlement with the Justice Department was announced... the company was given a new contract of up to $74 million to make more armor for helmets to replace the old ones, which were made from the late 1980s to last year.” The investigation resulted from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Jeff Kenner and Tamra Eishaug, two former managers at Sioux Mfg. These two people deserve medals but it is not likely to happen in the alternative universe that we find ourselves.
*An anniversary remembered – February 5th marked the 5-year anniversary of Colin Powell’s presentation to the U. N. Security Council. One of his introductory comments: “My second purpose today is to provide you with additional information, to share with you what the United States knows about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, as well as Iraq's involvement in terrorism...” During his presentation he said, “My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. These are not assertions. What we're giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence.” Recall his description and graphics of mobile chemical labs. Be he a pawn or a deceiver is for history to judge. He will have to resolve with his soul the deaths and injury to almost 35,000 American military personnel. For more detail and analysis on Powell at the U.N I recommend the site tinyrevolution.com.
* Francois de La Rochefoucauld - Quotes
~A man's worth has its season, like fruit.
~A wise man thinks it more advantageous not to join the battle than to win.
~No man is clever enough to know all the evil he does.
Monday, January 7, 2008
1/7/08
*Campaign promises ~ we know how they usually turn out – Mike Huckabee is now promising miracles if elected. Promising a policy of energy self-reliance, he said that soon after his election "we will be able to tell the Middle East we don't need your oil anymore than we need your sand.'" The consistently irresponsible inaction by presidents and congress since the oil shortage of 1973 has left us dependent on the oil teat of the Middle East for decades to come. That is the inconvenient and unfortunate truth.
*Speaking of miracles ~ a positive comment about George W. Bush – This is the 35th edition of SVN and I have finally found something that is complimentary about President Bush. The NY Times reports, “the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (initiated 5 years ago) may be the most lasting bipartisan accomplishment of the Bush presidency... So far, roughly 1.4 million AIDS patients have received lifesaving medicine paid for with American dollars, up from 50,000 before the initiative.” Going against Republican conventional wisdom with respect to foreign aid Mr. Bush has made a meaningful impact against a widespread and devastating disease. This is a proud accomplishment.
*Campaign losses – Following extremely poor showings in the Iowa caucus both Joe Biden and Chris Dodd have dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. I believe that both are quality leaders and offer a depth of experience but neither captured the imagination of Iowa voters. As leaders in the Senate they will play important roles toward getting America back on track.
*Iowa surprise 1 ~ the turnout – The turnout for the Iowa Democratic caucus (236,000) set a substantial record and dwarfed the Republican turnout (115,000) even though registered Dems (600,000) outnumber GOPers (550,000) by only 50,000. I also found it interesting and promising that a state with an over 97% white population would give Barack Obama such a strong win over the other six candidates. Maybe America is becoming color blind. It has been difficult for many of us over the last 7 years to feel pride in a country that we love so much and yet has erred so often. Cycles of varying scale govern all activity on this planet. Let us hope that a new positive cycle is emerging for America.
*Iowa surprise 2 ~ the turnout of youth – “...13 percent of eligible 17-29 year olds caucused. That is more than triple the percent that participated in 2004. Most significantly, young people made up 22 percent of the Democratic caucus-goers, which means they had a real impact in that race.” It is reported that 57% of these young voters chose Obama resulting in his impressive victory. In 2000 and 2004 the evangelical vote propelled Bush to victory. It will be interesting to see if the youth vote has a similar impact on the Obama candidacy. For quite some time I have been disappointed about the lethargy exhibited by young people in response to what is taking place in America and how it affects their future. Perhaps we are seeing a wakeup call.
*Iowa ~ not such a surprise – I have seen varying figures that say between 60 to 80% of the Iowa Republican voters for Mike Huckabee were evangelicals. Is Huckabee in line to be Bush light? Is it possible to be lighter than Bush? The glare of the bible’s burning bush can be blinding, leaving its message in the dark.
*A Republican against militants ~ do we feel safer now? – Jim Talent, former senator and current advisor to Mitt Romney had this to say about Romney’s brave and steadfast stance about what they perceive to be a grave threat against America, “He’s always had the same position as regards to the gay agenda. “Look, he wants people to know he values gay people as people, okay? But he doesn’t want the militant gays to be able to change the cultural institutions of the country.” I happen to love this open-code speak of the Republican agenda. They continue to put on the front pages their disdain for the principles of a democratic and free society that values choice and diversity. Couched in religion and “family” values they encourage hate and prejudice. Their appeal to a pathetic minority of Americans will ensure their minority status as a political party. For that I express gratitude.
*The real America – Congressman Tom Lantos, a representative of California since 1980 and an advocate for human rights, civil liberties and social justice, has announced that illness prevents him from seeking a 15th term in Congress. An excerpt from his press release demonstrates an aspect of America that makes me proud: “It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a Member of Congress. I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country.”
*The real Arlen Specter – My Senator from PA (R) appears so senatorial while sitting on the Senate Judiciary Committee and lecturing about the rule of law. Apparently, this self-proclaimed moderate was so busy enabling Bush policies and looking the other way as Bush appointees slithered through his grasp of inquiries and investigations that he failed to notice his election campaign was breaking Federal Election Campaign (FEC) law. “Sen. Arlen Specter's 2004 re-election campaign collected more than $1 million in excessive contributions, failed to properly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in receipts from political party committees and political action committees, and missed a key reporting deadline before the primary election, according to a FEC audit.”
*The real John McCain – In November the Republican presidential candidate was asked by Charlie Rose if he foresaw a U.S. presence in Iraq lasting as long as the Korean experience. He replied, No. But I can see an American presence for a while. But eventually I think because of the nature of the society in Iraq and the religious aspects of it that America eventually withdraws.” Last week McCain told a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, “it would be fine with him if the U.S. military stayed in Iraq for a hundred years ... we’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea 50 years or so.” McCain’s comments are contradictory and his analogy is absurd. Our military presence in both Asian countries does not involve an armed conflict where almost 100 U.S. military personnel die each month, where the cost is $10 billion per month and where the government depends upon the U.S. military for its very existence. In fact, Bush’s puppet leader of Iraq, Nuri al-Maliki, is one of the few Iraqis that want U.S. troops to stay in Iraq. The Iraqi Parliament petitioned for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops back in May, 2007. U.S. foreign policy is in dire need of a makeover infused with some fresh thinking.
*The real Rudy Giuliani – In an act that can only be characterized as desperate or ignorant and certainly dangerous Giuliani suggested, “if he were to be elected president — he would like to choose someone like Dick Cheney to be his Vice President”. This is the Dick who deceived us into an unprovoked and unwarranted war, shredded our constitution and sold us out to the oil industry. Let’s clone that!
*The real Mike Huckabee – CNN recently estimated that the next president could have as many as 3 Supreme Court Justices to nominate. Huckabee recently said that if elected president he would nominate men such as Joseph Scalia. That would make the Inquisition look like a Saturday night bingo bash. When Huckabee strums his bass guitar he appears to be the guy next door. Unfortunately, he has demonstrated that he does not know squat about foreign policy, brings his politics from the very far right and if given the chance would shove his bible down your proverbial throat. The evangelicals may like his sermons but that is not a qualification for the leader of America and the free world.
*The real Bush – The NY Times reports, “Six months ago, the Bush administration quietly eased some restrictions on the export of politically delicate technologies to China. The new approach was intended to help American companies increase sales of high-tech equipment to China despite tight curbs on sharing technology that might have military applications.
But today the administration is facing questions from weapons experts about whether some equipment — newly authorized for export to Chinese companies deemed trustworthy by Washington — could instead end up helping China modernize its military. Equally worrisome, the weapons experts say, is the possibility that China could share the technology with Iran or Syria.” I concede that current world dynamics are very complicated. At the same time Bush policies so consistently damage American interests and increase the threat to American safety that I am reminded of the Manchurian Candidate. To avoid being accused of paranoia I will just call it incompetence on steroids.
*A real Justice Department – AG Mukasey appointed a tough, non-partisan, independent prosecutor to investigate the CIA’s destruction of interrogation tapes. “John Durham, who has served with the Justice Department for 25 years, has a reputation as one of the nation's most relentless prosecutors.” Under AG Gonzales either no investigation would have taken place or the investigator would have been Mary Poppins.
*Something to think about ~ the brain – The website New Directions often speaks about the disparity in coverage that health insurers provide for physical versus mental illness. However, like the kidney the brain is an organ. Mental health advocates have been urging congress to enact laws that will force insurers to correct this gap in health coverage. A recent article in the Phila. Inquirer discusses the toll that mental illness takes on society – 26% of adults have a diagnosable mental illness that is often untreated because coverage of mental disorders remains subject to the whims of employers and insurers. Lack of treatment not only affects the individual but also their family, friends and co-workers. In extreme cases of neglect it can lead to tragedies that we see in the headlines. Congresswoman Allyson Y. Schwartz (D-PA) is co-sponsor of the still to be passed “Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act” that would require health insurance companies to provide the same benefits for mental illness as for physical illness. It is beyond time to re-think the treatment of the brain’s illnesses. You can advocate the passage of this bill by locating and contacting your congressman at Project Vote Smart.
*Thank you ~ it’s about time – I was in my favorite bagel shop waiting for my order when I saw the following sign: “As a courtesy to staff and customers Fill A Bagel has developed a policy of no cell phones.” Cell phones offer a whole new set of ways to be rude – by employees and patrons. A well-managed business that actually keeps the customer in mind deserves our business.
*Thank you Crooks and Liars – This is one of the most popular political blogs on the internet. A daily feature is Mike Finnigan’s “Mike’s Blog Roundup” and last week it made mention of and linked to Stephen Views the News. It resulted in a significant increase in visitors to the site. Bloggers have feelings too.
*Can you hear me now – Two privacy groups recently rated countries for surveillance and privacy protection “The 2007 rankings indicate an overall worsening of privacy protection across the world, reflecting an increase in surveillance and a declining performance on privacy safeguards...” Countries with endemic surveillance are Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, China, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Wired.com has more details about these trends.
*Platform for Change ~ Barack Obama – I recently sent an email to the presidential candidates (I do not remember which organization sponsored the effort) requesting that they develop policies against torture and indefinite imprisonment of suspected but unproven members of terrorist organizations and abusing the civil liberties of Americans. The following is an excerpt from the email reply by the Obama campaign:
“This Administration has put forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand. When I am president, there will be no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens. No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime. No more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. Our Constitution works, and so does the FISA court. By working with Congress and respecting our courts, I will provide our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to track and take out the terrorists without undermining our Constitution and our freedom.”
“My Administration will once again show the world that we are not a country that ships prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far off countries. That we are not a country that runs prisons which lock people away without ever telling them why they are there or what they are charged with. When I am President, America will reject torture without exception. I will also reject indefinite imprisonment without trial and close Guantanamo, reject the Military Commissions Act, and adhere to the Geneva Conventions.”
These are certainly qualities that I expect of an American president.
* “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790)
*Speaking of miracles ~ a positive comment about George W. Bush – This is the 35th edition of SVN and I have finally found something that is complimentary about President Bush. The NY Times reports, “the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (initiated 5 years ago) may be the most lasting bipartisan accomplishment of the Bush presidency... So far, roughly 1.4 million AIDS patients have received lifesaving medicine paid for with American dollars, up from 50,000 before the initiative.” Going against Republican conventional wisdom with respect to foreign aid Mr. Bush has made a meaningful impact against a widespread and devastating disease. This is a proud accomplishment.
*Campaign losses – Following extremely poor showings in the Iowa caucus both Joe Biden and Chris Dodd have dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. I believe that both are quality leaders and offer a depth of experience but neither captured the imagination of Iowa voters. As leaders in the Senate they will play important roles toward getting America back on track.
*Iowa surprise 1 ~ the turnout – The turnout for the Iowa Democratic caucus (236,000) set a substantial record and dwarfed the Republican turnout (115,000) even though registered Dems (600,000) outnumber GOPers (550,000) by only 50,000. I also found it interesting and promising that a state with an over 97% white population would give Barack Obama such a strong win over the other six candidates. Maybe America is becoming color blind. It has been difficult for many of us over the last 7 years to feel pride in a country that we love so much and yet has erred so often. Cycles of varying scale govern all activity on this planet. Let us hope that a new positive cycle is emerging for America.
*Iowa surprise 2 ~ the turnout of youth – “...13 percent of eligible 17-29 year olds caucused. That is more than triple the percent that participated in 2004. Most significantly, young people made up 22 percent of the Democratic caucus-goers, which means they had a real impact in that race.” It is reported that 57% of these young voters chose Obama resulting in his impressive victory. In 2000 and 2004 the evangelical vote propelled Bush to victory. It will be interesting to see if the youth vote has a similar impact on the Obama candidacy. For quite some time I have been disappointed about the lethargy exhibited by young people in response to what is taking place in America and how it affects their future. Perhaps we are seeing a wakeup call.
*Iowa ~ not such a surprise – I have seen varying figures that say between 60 to 80% of the Iowa Republican voters for Mike Huckabee were evangelicals. Is Huckabee in line to be Bush light? Is it possible to be lighter than Bush? The glare of the bible’s burning bush can be blinding, leaving its message in the dark.
*A Republican against militants ~ do we feel safer now? – Jim Talent, former senator and current advisor to Mitt Romney had this to say about Romney’s brave and steadfast stance about what they perceive to be a grave threat against America, “He’s always had the same position as regards to the gay agenda. “Look, he wants people to know he values gay people as people, okay? But he doesn’t want the militant gays to be able to change the cultural institutions of the country.” I happen to love this open-code speak of the Republican agenda. They continue to put on the front pages their disdain for the principles of a democratic and free society that values choice and diversity. Couched in religion and “family” values they encourage hate and prejudice. Their appeal to a pathetic minority of Americans will ensure their minority status as a political party. For that I express gratitude.
*The real America – Congressman Tom Lantos, a representative of California since 1980 and an advocate for human rights, civil liberties and social justice, has announced that illness prevents him from seeking a 15th term in Congress. An excerpt from his press release demonstrates an aspect of America that makes me proud: “It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a Member of Congress. I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country.”
*The real Arlen Specter – My Senator from PA (R) appears so senatorial while sitting on the Senate Judiciary Committee and lecturing about the rule of law. Apparently, this self-proclaimed moderate was so busy enabling Bush policies and looking the other way as Bush appointees slithered through his grasp of inquiries and investigations that he failed to notice his election campaign was breaking Federal Election Campaign (FEC) law. “Sen. Arlen Specter's 2004 re-election campaign collected more than $1 million in excessive contributions, failed to properly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in receipts from political party committees and political action committees, and missed a key reporting deadline before the primary election, according to a FEC audit.”
*The real John McCain – In November the Republican presidential candidate was asked by Charlie Rose if he foresaw a U.S. presence in Iraq lasting as long as the Korean experience. He replied, No. But I can see an American presence for a while. But eventually I think because of the nature of the society in Iraq and the religious aspects of it that America eventually withdraws.” Last week McCain told a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, “it would be fine with him if the U.S. military stayed in Iraq for a hundred years ... we’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea 50 years or so.” McCain’s comments are contradictory and his analogy is absurd. Our military presence in both Asian countries does not involve an armed conflict where almost 100 U.S. military personnel die each month, where the cost is $10 billion per month and where the government depends upon the U.S. military for its very existence. In fact, Bush’s puppet leader of Iraq, Nuri al-Maliki, is one of the few Iraqis that want U.S. troops to stay in Iraq. The Iraqi Parliament petitioned for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops back in May, 2007. U.S. foreign policy is in dire need of a makeover infused with some fresh thinking.
*The real Rudy Giuliani – In an act that can only be characterized as desperate or ignorant and certainly dangerous Giuliani suggested, “if he were to be elected president — he would like to choose someone like Dick Cheney to be his Vice President”. This is the Dick who deceived us into an unprovoked and unwarranted war, shredded our constitution and sold us out to the oil industry. Let’s clone that!
*The real Mike Huckabee – CNN recently estimated that the next president could have as many as 3 Supreme Court Justices to nominate. Huckabee recently said that if elected president he would nominate men such as Joseph Scalia. That would make the Inquisition look like a Saturday night bingo bash. When Huckabee strums his bass guitar he appears to be the guy next door. Unfortunately, he has demonstrated that he does not know squat about foreign policy, brings his politics from the very far right and if given the chance would shove his bible down your proverbial throat. The evangelicals may like his sermons but that is not a qualification for the leader of America and the free world.
*The real Bush – The NY Times reports, “Six months ago, the Bush administration quietly eased some restrictions on the export of politically delicate technologies to China. The new approach was intended to help American companies increase sales of high-tech equipment to China despite tight curbs on sharing technology that might have military applications.
But today the administration is facing questions from weapons experts about whether some equipment — newly authorized for export to Chinese companies deemed trustworthy by Washington — could instead end up helping China modernize its military. Equally worrisome, the weapons experts say, is the possibility that China could share the technology with Iran or Syria.” I concede that current world dynamics are very complicated. At the same time Bush policies so consistently damage American interests and increase the threat to American safety that I am reminded of the Manchurian Candidate. To avoid being accused of paranoia I will just call it incompetence on steroids.
*A real Justice Department – AG Mukasey appointed a tough, non-partisan, independent prosecutor to investigate the CIA’s destruction of interrogation tapes. “John Durham, who has served with the Justice Department for 25 years, has a reputation as one of the nation's most relentless prosecutors.” Under AG Gonzales either no investigation would have taken place or the investigator would have been Mary Poppins.
*Something to think about ~ the brain – The website New Directions often speaks about the disparity in coverage that health insurers provide for physical versus mental illness. However, like the kidney the brain is an organ. Mental health advocates have been urging congress to enact laws that will force insurers to correct this gap in health coverage. A recent article in the Phila. Inquirer discusses the toll that mental illness takes on society – 26% of adults have a diagnosable mental illness that is often untreated because coverage of mental disorders remains subject to the whims of employers and insurers. Lack of treatment not only affects the individual but also their family, friends and co-workers. In extreme cases of neglect it can lead to tragedies that we see in the headlines. Congresswoman Allyson Y. Schwartz (D-PA) is co-sponsor of the still to be passed “Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act” that would require health insurance companies to provide the same benefits for mental illness as for physical illness. It is beyond time to re-think the treatment of the brain’s illnesses. You can advocate the passage of this bill by locating and contacting your congressman at Project Vote Smart.
*Thank you ~ it’s about time – I was in my favorite bagel shop waiting for my order when I saw the following sign: “As a courtesy to staff and customers Fill A Bagel has developed a policy of no cell phones.” Cell phones offer a whole new set of ways to be rude – by employees and patrons. A well-managed business that actually keeps the customer in mind deserves our business.
*Thank you Crooks and Liars – This is one of the most popular political blogs on the internet. A daily feature is Mike Finnigan’s “Mike’s Blog Roundup” and last week it made mention of and linked to Stephen Views the News. It resulted in a significant increase in visitors to the site. Bloggers have feelings too.
*Can you hear me now – Two privacy groups recently rated countries for surveillance and privacy protection “The 2007 rankings indicate an overall worsening of privacy protection across the world, reflecting an increase in surveillance and a declining performance on privacy safeguards...” Countries with endemic surveillance are Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, China, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Wired.com has more details about these trends.
*Platform for Change ~ Barack Obama – I recently sent an email to the presidential candidates (I do not remember which organization sponsored the effort) requesting that they develop policies against torture and indefinite imprisonment of suspected but unproven members of terrorist organizations and abusing the civil liberties of Americans. The following is an excerpt from the email reply by the Obama campaign:
“This Administration has put forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand. When I am president, there will be no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens. No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime. No more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. Our Constitution works, and so does the FISA court. By working with Congress and respecting our courts, I will provide our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to track and take out the terrorists without undermining our Constitution and our freedom.”
“My Administration will once again show the world that we are not a country that ships prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far off countries. That we are not a country that runs prisons which lock people away without ever telling them why they are there or what they are charged with. When I am President, America will reject torture without exception. I will also reject indefinite imprisonment without trial and close Guantanamo, reject the Military Commissions Act, and adhere to the Geneva Conventions.”
These are certainly qualities that I expect of an American president.
* “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790)
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