* Dear Senator Barack Obama - Your vote for the FISA bill was a major disappointment to many of us who support your candidacy. At the same time I cannot anticipate anything that you could do to lose my vote, given the alternative. I accept the fact that “politician” defines your career path and it requires tactics and decisions that cannot always satisfy your core constituency. However, I believe you possess the integrity and a sense of the law that mandates accountability for all branches of government. I would hope that as president you will sanction the investigation of the many areas where the Bush administration is suspected of having broken the law. At a minimum, the exposure of wrong-doing would provide some level of accountability for the Bush administration that was non-existent during its tenure. If trust in our government and leaders is not restored the future will be even bleaker than the current state of affairs. You sir, are the best hope that our country has at this time. I wish you well in your candidacy and trust that you have the ability and courage to fulfill the expectations that so many millions hold for you and our country.
* It may be a headache but, its all in your head – Phil Graham is McCain’s top economic advisor. The former senator and then lobbyist for national and international banking interests earned millions of dollars pushing for laws and policies that substantially contributed to the current mortgage crisis. Given his substantial wealth it is no wonder that this week he said that we are a nation of whiners. Graham claims that the economic recession that millions of Americans are experiencing is in fact a mental recession. The 10 percent of haves in this country would probably agree with this lobbyist leech. The vast majority of Americans would conclude that Mr. Graham’s head is up his assets.
* The Manchurian Candidates were elected – Vice President Dick Cheney not only ignores the safety and welfare of Americans but actually goes out of his way to ensure that we are at risk. The justification for this seemingly implausible statement about a national leader was the revelation this week that Cheney’s office deliberately deleted congressional testimony of a senior government official about the consequences of climate change on public health. A former senior EPA official, Jason K. Burnett, said “the White House was concerned that the proposed testimony last October by the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might make it tougher to avoid regulating greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.” Protecting the interests of Big Oil was more important to the VP than the health and safety of fellow citizens. When the history of the first decade of the 21st century is written I believe that the damage to America caused by Dick Cheney and George Bush will have far exceeded the damage perpetrated by Osama bin Laden. Also to be ignobly immortalized will be a Congress that was gutless and impotent opposing the Bush/Cheney juggernaut and too often sucked at the teat of special interests.
* Foot dragging, incompetence, malfeasance? ~ meet the U.S Justice Department – “More than 900 cases alleging that government contractors and drug makers have defrauded taxpayers out of billions of dollars are languishing in a backlog that has built up over the past decade because the Justice Department cannot keep pace with the surge in charges brought by whistle-blowers, according to lawyers involved in the disputes.” Under the Bush administration we have experienced the Justice Department acting as a political arm of the executive branch of government. As the government cries poor mouth, lacking funds for education, reducing Medicare payments to doctors and a litany of other under-funded programs it allows available resources to be stolen by scumbags with portfolio. I did not share the mild optimism that Michael Mukasey would be an improvement over Alberto Gonzales since any Bush appointee must possess an inherent Stepford quality. Both Attorney Generals have proven to be advocates for a corrupt and incompetent administration, failing to investigate wrongs and blocking the attempts of Congress to perform its fiduciary responsibilities. The nobility of blind justice has tragically descended to merely blind.
* Fighting hunger with gourmet meals and droppings from the southern end of a bull – The G8 is an organization of leading countries that meet to address an array of world problems. Their recent meeting in Japan focused on solving the global food crisis. “Delicious” would best describe the gathering. The six-course lunch was followed by an 18-course dinner that included white asparagus and truffle soup, almond oil foam and tapenade, smoked salmon and sea urchin with hot onion tart, grilled bighead thorryhead fish with pepper sauce, G8 Fantasy dessert and Le Reve Grand Cru Brut/La Seule Gloire Champagne. Fighting hunger is a challenge. On the other hand, “pathetic” would describe the G8’s commitment to reducing world hunger. “In 2005, at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, world leaders promised to increase global aid by £25billion a year by 2010 and raise aid to Africa, the world's poorest continent, by £12.5billion. But the bloc of rich nations is only 14 per cent of the way towards hitting its target (60 percent into the commitment).” “Fantasy” not only describes the G8 dessert.
* If not them, whom? – The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is part of the U.S. intelligence community, has the lead responsibility for domestic surveillance of foreign intelligence and suspected terrorist targets. Important and vital would best describe this critical role in keeping us safe. However, a new report by the Senate Appropriations Committee has determined that the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C is somewhat lacking. “The Hoover Building does not meet the Interagency Security Committee’s criteria for a secure Federal facility capable of handling intelligence and other sensitive information.” The most surprising part of this revelation is that it was revealed. We have become accustomed to inadequacies, incompetence and illegalities in the federal government being hidden from public view by classifying the information as national security, state secrets, executive privilege and none of your bees wax. In too many cases “embarrassment” is the real motivation for hiding the truth but the shear volume of screw-ups does result in a few leakers.
* Movie nostalgia ~ not the film, the venue of drive-in theaters – Younger readers may have heard of but never experienced a drive-in movie theater. My online friend Sue Katz has an interesting blog entry at Consenting Adult that looks at the 75th anniversary of drive-in theaters. It sure brought back some memories! Also of interest in the article is a video that is a montage of intermission films that were shown at drive-ins that as Sue says, “are a window on the social messages being pushed during the 50s and 60s: from cold war patriotism to urgings that you go to church and the PTA to proper drive-in etiquette.” Other messages encouraged registering to vote and supporting the Boy Scouts. It led me to ponder where one finds the message today for responsible participation in society? Almost every waking moment is accompanied by some form of electronic communication. To what end and to what value?
* “To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1858 – 1919) 26th president of the U.S.
Showing posts with label Cheney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cheney. Show all posts
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
* Belief in One’s Nation ~ my letter to the Phila. Inquirer - Kevin Ferris’ column “Holding fast to values, ideas” extensively quotes former Australian Prime Minister John Howard. In opposing Islamist extremists “the West must keep a steadfast belief in itself” and at the same time determine, “What is expendable? And what stays? What are the anchors, the guiding values and ideas that help a nation and its people endure?” It is the answer to these questions where the Bush administration has miserably failed our nation. The response to 9/11 demonstrated that the fear mongering that is constantly on George Bush’s lips is also in his heart. This fear obliterated any belief he held in American values and system of government as demonstrated by: a contrived justification for the debilitating Iraq war; excessive secrecy; spying and wiretapping outside of the law; the justification of torture; abandonment of habeas corpus; interminable imprisonment without proof of guilt; extraordinary rendition (kidnapping); signing statements to negate the intent of legislation. If only Mr. Bush had believed in his country.
* A stunning upset ~ that bodes well for Democrats in the November congressional elections – A special election was held in a northern Illinois district last weekend to replace former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, who had resigned. The district is heavily Republican, the Republican candidate Jim Oberweis was well known, Bush took this district in 2004 with 56% of the vote, the National Republican Congressional Committee spent $1.2 million (one-fifth of its cash on hand) to secure this seat, John McCain endorsed and raised funds for Oberweis and Oberweis spent a great deal of his own money to fund extremely negative ads against his opponent. Little-known Democrat Bill Foster won the election.
* The Republican playbook of smears and misdirection ~ meet Rep. Steve King (R-IW) – Referring to the prospect of Barack Obama as President of the U.S. King said, “They (al Qaeda) will be dancing in the streets if he's elected president...(because of) Obama's pledge to pull troops out of Iraq, his Kenyan heritage and his middle name, Hussein.” Apparently Mr. King failed to notice that while Republicans have been in charge al Qaeda is stronger than ever, terrorism is more widespread than ever (in large part due to U.S. policy), our country is bankrupt and our military is depleted. The al Qaeda Dance of Doom has been on tour for the last 7 years to the orchestration of Georgie Bush and the Republican Merrymakers. I look forward to adults running our country.
* Good news on ethics reform – Overcoming very strong Republican opposition as well as some from Democrats the House on Wednesday passed ethics reforms that are the most significant in decades. “The six members of the new Office of Congressional Ethics would have the authority to initiate preliminary reviews of allegations against House members, conduct investigations and refer their findings to the House ethics committee along with a public report.” Congratulations to the House of Representatives for starting to clean their house. The Senate remains deaf, dumb and blind to ethics reform and little will change until some of the good ole boys (and girls) are replaced.
Update: House Republicans are demanding an investigation of parliamentary rules used in passing this bill in an attempt to sideline the legislation. You certainly have to admire their passion to defeat the ogre of ethics.
* McCain trolls for support – Mr. Straight Talk McBush addressed the Council of National Policy (CNP) last Saturday seeking their support for his presidential bid. CNP sounds like a think tank of intellectuals formulating policy for a better America. What it is, in fact, is a septic tank of religious-right extremists denigrating what the concept of Jesus Christ embodies. The founding duo of this hate-laden group are Rev. Tim LaHaye (Catholicism is a “false religion” and popes are “antichrists.”) and Paul Weyrich (claimed that CNP is a group of “radicals working to overturn the present power structure in this country.”). In Afghanistan such groups would be called Taliban as they seek to impose their convoluted sense of the almighty upon us. Selling his soul to this group demonstrates McCain’s lack of principles and a Bush-like penchant to take situational ethics to new depths. Thanks to thinkprogress.org for exposing the “faith” of John McCain.
* Speaking of untreated effluence (link is 3/10/08) – “KBR, until last year a subsidiary of Halliburton, began its work for the Bush administration in Iraq with no-bid contracts to rebuild Iraq’s oil infrastructure. Today the company has $16 billion in contracts, employs over 54,000 people in Iraq and in the fourth quarter of 2007 reported profits of $71 million. One would think that it has the resources to do a respectable job. One would think. The list of KBR’s incompetence and malfeasance is beyond the scope of this entry but one example of their pathetic performance involves clean water for the American troops. “According to a new report from the Pentagon Inspector General, dozens of American troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by KBR. The Associated Press writes that the medical records for troops at one KBR-run site indicated "38 cases of illnesses commonly attributed to problem water. These include skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections and diarrhea. Doctors diagnosed 24 of the cases in January and February 2006, the same period when medical officials warned of a rise in bacterial infections at the base." In water supplied to a Marine base in Ramadi, "The level of contamination was roughly 2x the normal contamination of untreated water from the Euphrates River."
Perhaps KBR is distracted from doing their job because they are so busy avoiding U.S. taxes. “According to a detailed investigation by the Boston Globe, KBR has "avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicare and Social Security taxes by hiring workers through shell companies" based in the Cayman Islands -- a scheme established by Halliburton under (Dick) Cheney's tenure. In doing so, the firm deprived KBR employees of guaranteed future retirement benefits and unemployment insurance should they lose their jobs.” The parasitic chain of Bush-Cheyney-Halliburton-KBR symbolizes today’s American political and corporate leadership.
* Run for cover! ~ exploding homosexual is approaching – A not-likely member of MENSA Sally Kern, Republican (what else?) Representative from Oklahoma said, “Homosexuality poses a greater danger than terrorism”. If the military had available troops, at Ms. Kern’s insistence they would probably be invading Provincetown, Fire Island and Key West. Perhaps we could use the National Guard. No, they are also depleted. Maybe we can mobilize the Ku Klux Klan and half of McCain’s supporters who can be issued defective protective vests, vehicles that do not resist explosives and rations supplied by KBR and “protect” them the same way we protect our military. The medical team can be made up of dermatologists.
Update: I’ll leave the analysis to the psychologists but the web site queerty.com cites information that Sally Kern and her Baptist preacher husband’s disowned son Jesse is gay. On March 4th mention of her two sons was removed from her official website. Move over Dr. Spock and make room for closet parenting.
* Good news in Australia ~ inclusive church leaders – The Sydney Morning Herald reports that “up to 100 reverends, ministers and pastors will march in the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to apologize to those rejected by churches because of their sexuality.” The clergy are from the Anglican, Baptist, Pentecostal and Uniting churches. Pastor Mike Hercock said, "Church has been a hostile place for a number of people, including the homosexual community. It's really trying to get away from the ideology of throwing rocks." I look forward to some of this brotherhood reaching American shores. Thanks to Sue Katz at Consenting Adult for noting this story.
* Birds of a feather – Rick Renzi (R-AZ) is your somewhat typical Republican politician - conservative Bush enabler, anti-abortion advocate and under federal indictment on umpteen charges. What is particularly interesting about this crook-of-the-week is that some of the charges involve his stealing money from pro-life organizations. As a freshman U.S. representative in 2003 he said, "The sanctity of human life should always be upheld, and I will continue to fight for the rights of the unborn in Congress." It is alleged that his insurance brokerage business, Renzi and Company, embezzled insurance premiums from approximately 50 pro-life organizations by collecting premiums and not submitting them to insurance companies. The funds were allegedly used to fund his campaign for Congress. Other charges against him include illegally using his influence on land deals that netted him substantial funds. Did I mention that he was the co-chair in Arizona for the McCain presidential campaign? To date Mr. McBush has not called for Renzi to resign from Congress.
* The torturous question about torture – If you have been drinking the Bush-flavored Kool Aide that in a convoluting manner justifies torture I suggest a visit to the web site Washington Monthly. Here you will find 37 short essays by people from across the political spectrum explaining why the use of torture is wrong. “They include a former president, the speaker of the House, two former White House chiefs of staff, current and former senators, generals, admirals, intelligence officials, interrogators, and religious leaders. Some are Republicans, others are Democrats, and still others are neither.” The title is “No More, No Torture, No Exceptions”.
* Question of the week – Both are bad but which is worse - lying to your country to initiate a debilitating and immoral war in Iraq or overpaying a hooker (NY Governor Eliot Spitzer)? I guess the answer is hiring a prostitute for $5500 per hour since that news dominated the headlines this week.
* Quote of the week – On Wednesday President Bush said, "I think when people take a look back at this moment in our economic history, they'll recognize tax cuts work." I cannot speak to the future but the tax cuts have not helped about 92% (270,000,000) of the people living in this country at the present time.
* Policy folly - The Center for Disease Control says that 1 in 4 teenage girls in America (3 million) have a sexually transmitted disease (STD). The Bush administration, under the influence of the religious right, initiated federal programs that stressed abstinence in place of intelligent sex education and they have opposed for young women a vaccine that prevents cervical cancer stemming from STD. This is another legacy builder and another reason why the separation of church and state is so important to the health of a democracy and its citizens.
* Mind-numbing statistic of the week – A survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that only 28% of the American people know that almost 4000 U.S. personnel have died in Iraq. “Related Pew surveys have found that the number of news stories devoted to the war has sharply declined this year, along with professed public interest.” I am guessing that more than 28% of Americans know the name of Eliot Spitzer’s prostitution service.
* “It is part of the general pattern of misguided policy that our country is now geared to an arms economy which was bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and nurtured upon an incessant propaganda of fear.” The comment was made about six decades ago, yet apropos today, by General Douglas MacArthur (1880 – 1964)
* A stunning upset ~ that bodes well for Democrats in the November congressional elections – A special election was held in a northern Illinois district last weekend to replace former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, who had resigned. The district is heavily Republican, the Republican candidate Jim Oberweis was well known, Bush took this district in 2004 with 56% of the vote, the National Republican Congressional Committee spent $1.2 million (one-fifth of its cash on hand) to secure this seat, John McCain endorsed and raised funds for Oberweis and Oberweis spent a great deal of his own money to fund extremely negative ads against his opponent. Little-known Democrat Bill Foster won the election.
* The Republican playbook of smears and misdirection ~ meet Rep. Steve King (R-IW) – Referring to the prospect of Barack Obama as President of the U.S. King said, “They (al Qaeda) will be dancing in the streets if he's elected president...(because of) Obama's pledge to pull troops out of Iraq, his Kenyan heritage and his middle name, Hussein.” Apparently Mr. King failed to notice that while Republicans have been in charge al Qaeda is stronger than ever, terrorism is more widespread than ever (in large part due to U.S. policy), our country is bankrupt and our military is depleted. The al Qaeda Dance of Doom has been on tour for the last 7 years to the orchestration of Georgie Bush and the Republican Merrymakers. I look forward to adults running our country.
* Good news on ethics reform – Overcoming very strong Republican opposition as well as some from Democrats the House on Wednesday passed ethics reforms that are the most significant in decades. “The six members of the new Office of Congressional Ethics would have the authority to initiate preliminary reviews of allegations against House members, conduct investigations and refer their findings to the House ethics committee along with a public report.” Congratulations to the House of Representatives for starting to clean their house. The Senate remains deaf, dumb and blind to ethics reform and little will change until some of the good ole boys (and girls) are replaced.
Update: House Republicans are demanding an investigation of parliamentary rules used in passing this bill in an attempt to sideline the legislation. You certainly have to admire their passion to defeat the ogre of ethics.
* McCain trolls for support – Mr. Straight Talk McBush addressed the Council of National Policy (CNP) last Saturday seeking their support for his presidential bid. CNP sounds like a think tank of intellectuals formulating policy for a better America. What it is, in fact, is a septic tank of religious-right extremists denigrating what the concept of Jesus Christ embodies. The founding duo of this hate-laden group are Rev. Tim LaHaye (Catholicism is a “false religion” and popes are “antichrists.”) and Paul Weyrich (claimed that CNP is a group of “radicals working to overturn the present power structure in this country.”). In Afghanistan such groups would be called Taliban as they seek to impose their convoluted sense of the almighty upon us. Selling his soul to this group demonstrates McCain’s lack of principles and a Bush-like penchant to take situational ethics to new depths. Thanks to thinkprogress.org for exposing the “faith” of John McCain.
* Speaking of untreated effluence (link is 3/10/08) – “KBR, until last year a subsidiary of Halliburton, began its work for the Bush administration in Iraq with no-bid contracts to rebuild Iraq’s oil infrastructure. Today the company has $16 billion in contracts, employs over 54,000 people in Iraq and in the fourth quarter of 2007 reported profits of $71 million. One would think that it has the resources to do a respectable job. One would think. The list of KBR’s incompetence and malfeasance is beyond the scope of this entry but one example of their pathetic performance involves clean water for the American troops. “According to a new report from the Pentagon Inspector General, dozens of American troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by KBR. The Associated Press writes that the medical records for troops at one KBR-run site indicated "38 cases of illnesses commonly attributed to problem water. These include skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections and diarrhea. Doctors diagnosed 24 of the cases in January and February 2006, the same period when medical officials warned of a rise in bacterial infections at the base." In water supplied to a Marine base in Ramadi, "The level of contamination was roughly 2x the normal contamination of untreated water from the Euphrates River."
Perhaps KBR is distracted from doing their job because they are so busy avoiding U.S. taxes. “According to a detailed investigation by the Boston Globe, KBR has "avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicare and Social Security taxes by hiring workers through shell companies" based in the Cayman Islands -- a scheme established by Halliburton under (Dick) Cheney's tenure. In doing so, the firm deprived KBR employees of guaranteed future retirement benefits and unemployment insurance should they lose their jobs.” The parasitic chain of Bush-Cheyney-Halliburton-KBR symbolizes today’s American political and corporate leadership.
* Run for cover! ~ exploding homosexual is approaching – A not-likely member of MENSA Sally Kern, Republican (what else?) Representative from Oklahoma said, “Homosexuality poses a greater danger than terrorism”. If the military had available troops, at Ms. Kern’s insistence they would probably be invading Provincetown, Fire Island and Key West. Perhaps we could use the National Guard. No, they are also depleted. Maybe we can mobilize the Ku Klux Klan and half of McCain’s supporters who can be issued defective protective vests, vehicles that do not resist explosives and rations supplied by KBR and “protect” them the same way we protect our military. The medical team can be made up of dermatologists.
Update: I’ll leave the analysis to the psychologists but the web site queerty.com cites information that Sally Kern and her Baptist preacher husband’s disowned son Jesse is gay. On March 4th mention of her two sons was removed from her official website. Move over Dr. Spock and make room for closet parenting.
* Good news in Australia ~ inclusive church leaders – The Sydney Morning Herald reports that “up to 100 reverends, ministers and pastors will march in the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to apologize to those rejected by churches because of their sexuality.” The clergy are from the Anglican, Baptist, Pentecostal and Uniting churches. Pastor Mike Hercock said, "Church has been a hostile place for a number of people, including the homosexual community. It's really trying to get away from the ideology of throwing rocks." I look forward to some of this brotherhood reaching American shores. Thanks to Sue Katz at Consenting Adult for noting this story.
* Birds of a feather – Rick Renzi (R-AZ) is your somewhat typical Republican politician - conservative Bush enabler, anti-abortion advocate and under federal indictment on umpteen charges. What is particularly interesting about this crook-of-the-week is that some of the charges involve his stealing money from pro-life organizations. As a freshman U.S. representative in 2003 he said, "The sanctity of human life should always be upheld, and I will continue to fight for the rights of the unborn in Congress." It is alleged that his insurance brokerage business, Renzi and Company, embezzled insurance premiums from approximately 50 pro-life organizations by collecting premiums and not submitting them to insurance companies. The funds were allegedly used to fund his campaign for Congress. Other charges against him include illegally using his influence on land deals that netted him substantial funds. Did I mention that he was the co-chair in Arizona for the McCain presidential campaign? To date Mr. McBush has not called for Renzi to resign from Congress.
* The torturous question about torture – If you have been drinking the Bush-flavored Kool Aide that in a convoluting manner justifies torture I suggest a visit to the web site Washington Monthly. Here you will find 37 short essays by people from across the political spectrum explaining why the use of torture is wrong. “They include a former president, the speaker of the House, two former White House chiefs of staff, current and former senators, generals, admirals, intelligence officials, interrogators, and religious leaders. Some are Republicans, others are Democrats, and still others are neither.” The title is “No More, No Torture, No Exceptions”.
* Question of the week – Both are bad but which is worse - lying to your country to initiate a debilitating and immoral war in Iraq or overpaying a hooker (NY Governor Eliot Spitzer)? I guess the answer is hiring a prostitute for $5500 per hour since that news dominated the headlines this week.
* Quote of the week – On Wednesday President Bush said, "I think when people take a look back at this moment in our economic history, they'll recognize tax cuts work." I cannot speak to the future but the tax cuts have not helped about 92% (270,000,000) of the people living in this country at the present time.
* Policy folly - The Center for Disease Control says that 1 in 4 teenage girls in America (3 million) have a sexually transmitted disease (STD). The Bush administration, under the influence of the religious right, initiated federal programs that stressed abstinence in place of intelligent sex education and they have opposed for young women a vaccine that prevents cervical cancer stemming from STD. This is another legacy builder and another reason why the separation of church and state is so important to the health of a democracy and its citizens.
* Mind-numbing statistic of the week – A survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that only 28% of the American people know that almost 4000 U.S. personnel have died in Iraq. “Related Pew surveys have found that the number of news stories devoted to the war has sharply declined this year, along with professed public interest.” I am guessing that more than 28% of Americans know the name of Eliot Spitzer’s prostitution service.
* “It is part of the general pattern of misguided policy that our country is now geared to an arms economy which was bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and nurtured upon an incessant propaganda of fear.” The comment was made about six decades ago, yet apropos today, by General Douglas MacArthur (1880 – 1964)
Friday, November 30, 2007
12/1/07
*The world as a village of 100 people – A reader sent me this interesting website that examines the premise: If we could reduce the world’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:
~60 Asians – 12 Europeans – 5 North Americans – 8 Latin Americans – 14 Africans
~49 females – 51 males
~82 non-white – 18 white
~89 heterosexual – 11 homosexual
~33 Christian – 67 non-Christian
~5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth, and all of them would be US citizens
~80 would live in substandard housing
~24 would not have any electricity
~67 would be unable to read
~1 would have a college education
~50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation
~33 would be without access to a safe water supply
~1 would have HIV and 1 would be near death
Seeing oneself in this context is enlightening. Most of the time my thoughts of the “world” revolve narrowly around what directly affects me. I imagine that this same phenomenon applies to you, our elected leaders and our national and foreign policies. Perhaps if we saw the world in a broader way we would have a greater appreciation for our good fortune to live in America. If our leaders saw the world in a broader context perhaps polices would have more positive results. America is not the world – it is a small part of a much larger and diverse community. The site offers some interesting implications of this data and is worth a visit.
*Once in a while the good guys win – In May of 2000 Pacific Northwest timber moguls donated $1 million to the Republican Party to help elect George W. Bush. In return they were promised that the Bush administration would lift certain logging restrictions that protected the environment and salmon populations. The administration kept its bargain with the devil by intentionally misinterpreting and ignoring the scientific data. Environmental groups and local communities stood up to this not untypical sell-out by Bush to big business interests. “In April a federal court ruled the administration acted illegally by suppressing scientific dissent when it illegally modified environmental safeguards, known as the Aquatic Conservation Strategy, developed in 1994 as part of the Northwest Forest Plan.” "In the end the government wasted millions of dollars in staff and attorney time all for nothing. We were able to keep the salmon protections in place because the government couldn't get any reputable scientist to go along with their scheme” said Earthjustice attorney Patti Goldman. I say don’t blame the President. His belief system precludes science.
*Pondering profit motives - In Eugene Jarecki's documentary film Why We Fight, about the U.S. military-industrial complex, U.S. foreign policy critic Chalmers Johnson states: "I guarantee you when war becomes that profitable, you are going to see more of it." The Iraq war has generated billions of dollars for defense and supply companies. The privatization of many military functions in Iraq has resulted in 180,000 personnel (more than the number of our military personnel) working for private companies in Iraq – most of which have strong ties to Bush, Cheney and the Republican party. No recession in this sector - merely a loss of life, limb and taxpayer assets.
*Standing up for your candidate – A politician in Thailand is distributing Viagra to older men in hopes of gaining their vote in the December elections. I think that this tactic is an excellent way to maximize the use of campaign funds. It gains the vote of the older man and probably the vote of a surprised but happier wife.
*Lott trots to K Street - Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) indicated that he may resign from the Senate (after 30-plus years) before the end of the year. Having just been re-elected in 2006, the move raises questions about the timing of the decision. It is likely that Lott is racing a new law that goes into effect January 1, 2008. Under current law a Senator or Representative must wait one year after leaving office before becoming a lobbyist. The new law requires a two-year waiting period – a law that Lott voted against. Former senators, representative, staff and family have made huge amounts of money working for Washington D.C. (K Street) lobbyists where they use their connections to influence legislators and public officials. Industry and trade groups fund this influence. The musical chairs of influence benefit all but the disenfranchised average citizen. I suggest that former elected officials and staff have a waiting period of 5 years before they can register as lobbyists. In the mean time they can seek real jobs and avoid the stigma of prostitution.
*The two faces of Cheney – As VP of the U.S Dick Cheney has been a leading force against Iran with threats of bombing the country and the imposition of sanctions. As CEO of Halliburton Cheney danced around the law to do business with Iran. In 1995 President Bill Clinton signed an executive order barring U.S. investments in Iran’s energy sector. Halliburton then set up an offshore subsidiary that engaged in dealings with Iran, a country the U.S. deemed a terrorist state. Of course, such epiphanies for the disingenuous members of the Bush administration generate little surprise. The offshore subsidiary gambit by Cheney may have been a loophole in the law but it demonstrates an even larger loophole in his integrity. He was for Iran (when it benefited his personal gain) before he was against it. Does Halliburton manufacture bombs?
*The third face of Cheney ~ Energy – Some may recall that in the early days of the Bush presidency Dick Cheney held secret policy meetings with America’s major oil companies – Exxon/Mobil, BP, Chevron and many of their fellow goniffs (crooks). Since it was a secret meeting we do not know what was discussed. What we do know is that when Bush took office a gallon of gasoline cost $1.45. Today, that same gallon costs $3.07. Coincidence?
*Romney’s tolerance of intolerance – Mitt Romney has faced anti-Mormon attacks in his primary run for the Republican presidential nomination. He subsequently has been asking Americans not to adversely judge him because he is a Mormon. However, he has no problem feeding the salivating racism of the political right in order to curry their favor. Steve Benen at the carpetbaggerreport.com notes that when Romney was asked if he would consider Americans of the Islamic faith for his cabinet if elected president Romney replied, “…based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified. But of course, I would imagine that Muslims could serve at lower levels of my administration.” As Benen notes, discriminating against Muslims or gays is a plus situation in appealing to the Republican base. Recall how Karl Rove energized the religious right to vote for Bush with the promise to “protect” them from gays and this was supported by the majority of the Republican leadership. What a sad commentary that a major political party in 21st Century America fuels itself with hate and prejudice. Of course, using Romney’s “demographics”, a Mormon would not qualify to run for president.
*Sex question of the week – Palm Beach Community College has approved medical insurance for employees’ pets. The Board of Trustees, however, voted down medical insurance for employee domestic partners even though the plan would not have cost the school anything because it pays employee premiums only, not those of dependents. The question this raises for me: If an employee has 2 dogs or 3 cats or 4 gerbils of the same sex are the pets disqualified from plan participation?
*I would laugh if not so sad ~ I would cry if my eyes didn’t burn – Twelve states are suing the Environmental Protection Agency for “weakening regulations that for two decades have required businesses and industries to report the toxic chemicals they use, store and release.” The “protection” that the EPA currently provides is no better than a condom with a hole. Where is congressional oversight? I guess it does not really matter since congress is so impotent there is no need for a condom.
*Star-dudded endorsement – Barack Obama is being supported by Oprah so Hillary Clinton lined up Barbara Streisand. Flash has its place but I would prefer to see a bit more substance in what the candidates stand for and what solutions they propose for the monumental problems facing this nation. And yet, perhaps this approach makes sense since as a nation we are consumed with the next media download on the Ipod, Blackberry, computer, X-Box, Sling Box, Hi Def TV, satellite radio and cell phone ring tone. There just is not enough time to devote to what is going on in our country. Bush and Cheney and Rove understood this phenomenon. They realized that too few were paying attention thus enabling them to get away with almost anything.
*President Bush’s best friend 1 – Russian President Vladimir Putin is up for re-election. In addition to critical journalists and political opponents disappearing/dying under unusual circumstances and political rivals being arrested it is now being reported that, “With the Kremlin determined to see a high turnout in Sunday's election, many Russians say they are being pressured to vote at work under the watchful eyes of their bosses or risk losing their jobs.” There is nothing like bringing back the good old days.
*President Bush’s best friend 2 – John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia was overwhelmingly voted out of office due to two policies he closely held with Bush - the Iraq war and denial of climate change. The once widely popular Howard has served as PM since 1996.His defeat was considered humiliating given that a year ago his re-election was considered a given. The new PM Kevin Rudd campaigned on removing Australia’s 550 combat troops from Iraq and joining the Kyoto Treaty whose aim is to address climate change. This now leaves America as the only industrialized country not participating in the Kyoto Treaty (172 nations participate). And most of the minimal support that comprised the Iraq “coalition” is disappearing. It is also interesting to note that the former heads of Great Britain and Italy and Spain join Howard in being forced out of office largely due to their Iraq positions. America and President Bush truly “stand alone” in the world.
*Another friend of President Bush 1 – Meet Mark W. Everson. He is a Republican family values kind of guy (with a wife and two children) who worked in the Bush administration from 2001 until recently. His jobs included Commissioner of the IRS, a position he left in May to become President and CEO of the Red Cross with a $500,000 salary. He has stepped down after revelations that he was "engaged in a personal relationship with a subordinate employee." I say it could have even been worse for Mr. Everson. The subordinate employee was a female, thereby avoiding the embarrassment experienced by a number of other prominent Republicans in recent months whose trysts were with the same gender.
*Another friend of President Bush 2 – Meet the Saudis. “Saudi Arabia has released 1,500 prisoners suspected of belonging to a radical Islamic group after the prisoners underwent what was described as a five-week counseling program”. What a novel approach - fighting terrorism with sensitivity seminars. Not so sensitive was the Saudi decision to order a young woman to be physically beaten as “punishment” for being in a situation where she was gang-raped. When Middle East leaders complain that Americans do not understand them they are spot on.
*Rudy, Rudy, Rudy ~ Another “law and order” derriere orifice – We now learn that while Giuliani was Mayor of NYC his extra-marital affair with the woman now his current wife cost the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. When hizzoner snuck off to the Hamptons to cavort with Judith Nathan he billed NYC agencies for security costs. The funding came from agencies responsible for regulating loft apartments, aiding the disabled and providing lawyers for indigent defendants. Republicans like Giuliani believe that such agencies should not even exist so there is no problem stealing their funds. Let’s call it reallocating the resources to benefit the “benefitted”.
*Victoria’s Secret ~ no longer – If you lust for Victoria’s Secrets (VS) products or catalog allow me to temper your libido. The National Labor Committee has issued a report that VS abuses foreign guest workers in Jordan. “D.K. Garments is a subcontract factory with 150 foreign guest workers (135 from Bangladesh and 15 from Sri Lanka), which has been producing VS garments for the last year.... The VS workers toil 14 to 15 hours a day, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 or 10:00 p.m., seven days a week, receiving on average one day off every three or four months. Despite being forced to work five or more overtime hours a day, the workers are routinely shortchanged on their legal overtime pay, being cheated up to $18.48 each week in wages due them... Workers are allowed just 3.3 minutes to sew each $14 Victoria's Secret women's bikini, for which they are paid four cents... The workers are housed in primitive dorms which have only irregular access to water. During winter months, when the temperatures can drop to freezing, the workers' dorms have neither heat nor hot water.” I find that what goes into Victoria’s bra and panties is no longer hot to me. In fact, it is very cold.
* ... the 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: The growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.
Alex Carey, Australian social scientist
~60 Asians – 12 Europeans – 5 North Americans – 8 Latin Americans – 14 Africans
~49 females – 51 males
~82 non-white – 18 white
~89 heterosexual – 11 homosexual
~33 Christian – 67 non-Christian
~5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth, and all of them would be US citizens
~80 would live in substandard housing
~24 would not have any electricity
~67 would be unable to read
~1 would have a college education
~50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation
~33 would be without access to a safe water supply
~1 would have HIV and 1 would be near death
Seeing oneself in this context is enlightening. Most of the time my thoughts of the “world” revolve narrowly around what directly affects me. I imagine that this same phenomenon applies to you, our elected leaders and our national and foreign policies. Perhaps if we saw the world in a broader way we would have a greater appreciation for our good fortune to live in America. If our leaders saw the world in a broader context perhaps polices would have more positive results. America is not the world – it is a small part of a much larger and diverse community. The site offers some interesting implications of this data and is worth a visit.
*Once in a while the good guys win – In May of 2000 Pacific Northwest timber moguls donated $1 million to the Republican Party to help elect George W. Bush. In return they were promised that the Bush administration would lift certain logging restrictions that protected the environment and salmon populations. The administration kept its bargain with the devil by intentionally misinterpreting and ignoring the scientific data. Environmental groups and local communities stood up to this not untypical sell-out by Bush to big business interests. “In April a federal court ruled the administration acted illegally by suppressing scientific dissent when it illegally modified environmental safeguards, known as the Aquatic Conservation Strategy, developed in 1994 as part of the Northwest Forest Plan.” "In the end the government wasted millions of dollars in staff and attorney time all for nothing. We were able to keep the salmon protections in place because the government couldn't get any reputable scientist to go along with their scheme” said Earthjustice attorney Patti Goldman. I say don’t blame the President. His belief system precludes science.
*Pondering profit motives - In Eugene Jarecki's documentary film Why We Fight, about the U.S. military-industrial complex, U.S. foreign policy critic Chalmers Johnson states: "I guarantee you when war becomes that profitable, you are going to see more of it." The Iraq war has generated billions of dollars for defense and supply companies. The privatization of many military functions in Iraq has resulted in 180,000 personnel (more than the number of our military personnel) working for private companies in Iraq – most of which have strong ties to Bush, Cheney and the Republican party. No recession in this sector - merely a loss of life, limb and taxpayer assets.
*Standing up for your candidate – A politician in Thailand is distributing Viagra to older men in hopes of gaining their vote in the December elections. I think that this tactic is an excellent way to maximize the use of campaign funds. It gains the vote of the older man and probably the vote of a surprised but happier wife.
*Lott trots to K Street - Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) indicated that he may resign from the Senate (after 30-plus years) before the end of the year. Having just been re-elected in 2006, the move raises questions about the timing of the decision. It is likely that Lott is racing a new law that goes into effect January 1, 2008. Under current law a Senator or Representative must wait one year after leaving office before becoming a lobbyist. The new law requires a two-year waiting period – a law that Lott voted against. Former senators, representative, staff and family have made huge amounts of money working for Washington D.C. (K Street) lobbyists where they use their connections to influence legislators and public officials. Industry and trade groups fund this influence. The musical chairs of influence benefit all but the disenfranchised average citizen. I suggest that former elected officials and staff have a waiting period of 5 years before they can register as lobbyists. In the mean time they can seek real jobs and avoid the stigma of prostitution.
*The two faces of Cheney – As VP of the U.S Dick Cheney has been a leading force against Iran with threats of bombing the country and the imposition of sanctions. As CEO of Halliburton Cheney danced around the law to do business with Iran. In 1995 President Bill Clinton signed an executive order barring U.S. investments in Iran’s energy sector. Halliburton then set up an offshore subsidiary that engaged in dealings with Iran, a country the U.S. deemed a terrorist state. Of course, such epiphanies for the disingenuous members of the Bush administration generate little surprise. The offshore subsidiary gambit by Cheney may have been a loophole in the law but it demonstrates an even larger loophole in his integrity. He was for Iran (when it benefited his personal gain) before he was against it. Does Halliburton manufacture bombs?
*The third face of Cheney ~ Energy – Some may recall that in the early days of the Bush presidency Dick Cheney held secret policy meetings with America’s major oil companies – Exxon/Mobil, BP, Chevron and many of their fellow goniffs (crooks). Since it was a secret meeting we do not know what was discussed. What we do know is that when Bush took office a gallon of gasoline cost $1.45. Today, that same gallon costs $3.07. Coincidence?
*Romney’s tolerance of intolerance – Mitt Romney has faced anti-Mormon attacks in his primary run for the Republican presidential nomination. He subsequently has been asking Americans not to adversely judge him because he is a Mormon. However, he has no problem feeding the salivating racism of the political right in order to curry their favor. Steve Benen at the carpetbaggerreport.com notes that when Romney was asked if he would consider Americans of the Islamic faith for his cabinet if elected president Romney replied, “…based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified. But of course, I would imagine that Muslims could serve at lower levels of my administration.” As Benen notes, discriminating against Muslims or gays is a plus situation in appealing to the Republican base. Recall how Karl Rove energized the religious right to vote for Bush with the promise to “protect” them from gays and this was supported by the majority of the Republican leadership. What a sad commentary that a major political party in 21st Century America fuels itself with hate and prejudice. Of course, using Romney’s “demographics”, a Mormon would not qualify to run for president.
*Sex question of the week – Palm Beach Community College has approved medical insurance for employees’ pets. The Board of Trustees, however, voted down medical insurance for employee domestic partners even though the plan would not have cost the school anything because it pays employee premiums only, not those of dependents. The question this raises for me: If an employee has 2 dogs or 3 cats or 4 gerbils of the same sex are the pets disqualified from plan participation?
*I would laugh if not so sad ~ I would cry if my eyes didn’t burn – Twelve states are suing the Environmental Protection Agency for “weakening regulations that for two decades have required businesses and industries to report the toxic chemicals they use, store and release.” The “protection” that the EPA currently provides is no better than a condom with a hole. Where is congressional oversight? I guess it does not really matter since congress is so impotent there is no need for a condom.
*Star-dudded endorsement – Barack Obama is being supported by Oprah so Hillary Clinton lined up Barbara Streisand. Flash has its place but I would prefer to see a bit more substance in what the candidates stand for and what solutions they propose for the monumental problems facing this nation. And yet, perhaps this approach makes sense since as a nation we are consumed with the next media download on the Ipod, Blackberry, computer, X-Box, Sling Box, Hi Def TV, satellite radio and cell phone ring tone. There just is not enough time to devote to what is going on in our country. Bush and Cheney and Rove understood this phenomenon. They realized that too few were paying attention thus enabling them to get away with almost anything.
*President Bush’s best friend 1 – Russian President Vladimir Putin is up for re-election. In addition to critical journalists and political opponents disappearing/dying under unusual circumstances and political rivals being arrested it is now being reported that, “With the Kremlin determined to see a high turnout in Sunday's election, many Russians say they are being pressured to vote at work under the watchful eyes of their bosses or risk losing their jobs.” There is nothing like bringing back the good old days.
*President Bush’s best friend 2 – John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia was overwhelmingly voted out of office due to two policies he closely held with Bush - the Iraq war and denial of climate change. The once widely popular Howard has served as PM since 1996.His defeat was considered humiliating given that a year ago his re-election was considered a given. The new PM Kevin Rudd campaigned on removing Australia’s 550 combat troops from Iraq and joining the Kyoto Treaty whose aim is to address climate change. This now leaves America as the only industrialized country not participating in the Kyoto Treaty (172 nations participate). And most of the minimal support that comprised the Iraq “coalition” is disappearing. It is also interesting to note that the former heads of Great Britain and Italy and Spain join Howard in being forced out of office largely due to their Iraq positions. America and President Bush truly “stand alone” in the world.
*Another friend of President Bush 1 – Meet Mark W. Everson. He is a Republican family values kind of guy (with a wife and two children) who worked in the Bush administration from 2001 until recently. His jobs included Commissioner of the IRS, a position he left in May to become President and CEO of the Red Cross with a $500,000 salary. He has stepped down after revelations that he was "engaged in a personal relationship with a subordinate employee." I say it could have even been worse for Mr. Everson. The subordinate employee was a female, thereby avoiding the embarrassment experienced by a number of other prominent Republicans in recent months whose trysts were with the same gender.
*Another friend of President Bush 2 – Meet the Saudis. “Saudi Arabia has released 1,500 prisoners suspected of belonging to a radical Islamic group after the prisoners underwent what was described as a five-week counseling program”. What a novel approach - fighting terrorism with sensitivity seminars. Not so sensitive was the Saudi decision to order a young woman to be physically beaten as “punishment” for being in a situation where she was gang-raped. When Middle East leaders complain that Americans do not understand them they are spot on.
*Rudy, Rudy, Rudy ~ Another “law and order” derriere orifice – We now learn that while Giuliani was Mayor of NYC his extra-marital affair with the woman now his current wife cost the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. When hizzoner snuck off to the Hamptons to cavort with Judith Nathan he billed NYC agencies for security costs. The funding came from agencies responsible for regulating loft apartments, aiding the disabled and providing lawyers for indigent defendants. Republicans like Giuliani believe that such agencies should not even exist so there is no problem stealing their funds. Let’s call it reallocating the resources to benefit the “benefitted”.
*Victoria’s Secret ~ no longer – If you lust for Victoria’s Secrets (VS) products or catalog allow me to temper your libido. The National Labor Committee has issued a report that VS abuses foreign guest workers in Jordan. “D.K. Garments is a subcontract factory with 150 foreign guest workers (135 from Bangladesh and 15 from Sri Lanka), which has been producing VS garments for the last year.... The VS workers toil 14 to 15 hours a day, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 or 10:00 p.m., seven days a week, receiving on average one day off every three or four months. Despite being forced to work five or more overtime hours a day, the workers are routinely shortchanged on their legal overtime pay, being cheated up to $18.48 each week in wages due them... Workers are allowed just 3.3 minutes to sew each $14 Victoria's Secret women's bikini, for which they are paid four cents... The workers are housed in primitive dorms which have only irregular access to water. During winter months, when the temperatures can drop to freezing, the workers' dorms have neither heat nor hot water.” I find that what goes into Victoria’s bra and panties is no longer hot to me. In fact, it is very cold.
* ... the 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: The growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.
Alex Carey, Australian social scientist
Saturday, November 3, 2007
11/3/07
Stephen Views The News 11/03/07
*Better but good enough? ~ A rock and a hard place – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced that he will not vote for confirming Michael Mukasey as Attorney General. He said Mukasey should not be confirmed because he could not muster a straightforward answer when asked this question: Is the president of the United States required to obey federal statutes? That would have to depend, Mukasey hedged, "on whether what goes outside the statute nonetheless lies within the authority of the president to defend the country." (This evasiveness is not unlike similar dances performed by Bush justifiers and apologists.) Mukasey responded in like fashion when asked if waterboarding was torture. The question puts Mukasey and Bush in a difficult situation. If he states that waterboarding is torture and he becomes the AG, it puts in jeopardy all of the interrogators that have used the procedure. Bush cannot nominate an AG that would jeopardize his overreaching executive power grab and the authorization of torture as an interrogation technique. As the administration attempts to cover its tracks the trail becomes more convoluted. Mukasey would be an upgrade to Alberto Gonzales but, that is faint praise. Whether the Senate miraculously develops a spine to oppose this nomination and such manipulative and destructive reasoning remains to be seen.
*Torture is Surrender - Counterterrorism expert and former instructor at the Navy’s training program for Special Forces Malcolm Nance disagrees with nominee for Attorney General Mukasey and others that feel waterboarding is not torture. His article at Small Wars Journal states unequivocally that waterboarding is torture. An important point he makes: “If you support the use of waterboarding on enemy captives, you support the use of that torture on any future American captives.” I would also point out that experts in the field of interrogation almost universally agree that information obtained through torture is extremely unreliable. And, most importantly, if we become the human animals that we have historically separated ourselves from, we have forfeited our souls.
Keystone Cops ~ 2007 edition – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) scheduled security checks across the country of airport screeners. It has been learned that a senior official at TSA sent an email “giving screeners all over the country very specific details about what sorts of suspicious clues the undercover testers would expect them to notice - such as ID's with photos that did not match the people using them and boarding passes with altered dates.” Under these circumstances one would expect that the screeners would be more than prepared to do their job. “Security expert David Heyman told NBC that despite the tip offs the screeners still did poorly, and "that's got to be very discouraging." Ya think?
Shylocks of shopping – Credit card companies are leeches on consumers. While you receive airline miles and other perks from credit card companies they offer this allure so that they can pick your pocket. Their hidden fees and interest rates have been an abomination for many years. As interest rates have dramatically fallen the rates they charge have not and remain at an exorbitant 16 to 23% on balances and in some cases even higher. This is allowed to occur because credit card companies and their lobbyists have a stronger voice in congress than you and me. It is estimated that the earnings of the top six card companies from these fees exceed $8 billion annually. Consumers Union through CreditCardReform.org offers a petition to congress that you can sign urging your representatives to, “support tough new legislation to rein in abusive credit card practices that impose unfair and costly fees and unwarranted interest rate hikes on consumers that can send them into a spiral of debt.”
*Sociological observation of the week –Sean Hannity, FOX News commentator and imbecilic spokesman for all that is wrong with right-wing pundits in America said, “Halloween teaches kids to ask for a handout... its teaching them to be liberals.” Mr. Hannity would prefer that we teach children the modern-day conservative values of hate, fear, greed, intolerance and prejudice. Hmm, I’ll take the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.
*Dollar Day Sale –The dollar does not shine quite so brightly these days. It continues to drop in value relative to other major currencies around the world and this drop is a reflection of how others view our financial condition. One implication is that imported goods will cost more and that will potentially contribute to inflation. Another potential implication is a decline in investment by foreigners in U.S. stocks and bonds. Such a decline would likely lead to lower prices in both instruments. Little spoken of is the high level of U.S. debt that is funded by foreign investment. To continue to attract this money the U.S. government will probably have to offer higher interest rates and that will increase the amount American tax payers pay for this debt. The president and his supporters continue to tell us how great the American economy is doing. If one is a member of the upper echelon of the “haves” in this country it is probably true. For the other 90+% of us, real income is declining and discretionary income is fading.
*Back from Iraq ~ “I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)” - Former music luminary (Orleans band) and freshman congressman John Hall (D-NY) recently returned from a trip to Iraq. He wrote a letter to his constituents about his findings and what follows is an excerpt: “My conclusion is that we should never send our Armed Forces to carry out a mission that is not militarily achievable. Based on comments by Ambassador Crocker, and the fact that since the September report to Congress the top four Iraqi leaders have not even been in the country at the same time, I continue to believe that American involvement in this war must be ended. This is a political and civil conflict that can only be resolved by the Iraqis themselves, by deciding whether they want to compromise and live together, or continue to fight along religious, ethnic, or tribal lines.” Almost 1500 years of hatred and fighting between Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds was not considered prior to Bush invading Iraq with a stated goal to bring democracy to that country. No amount of military force will change the Iraqi political landscape. Our troops were sent on a fool’s errand and have paid a steep price. And that is a terribly sad lesson. At some point a military confrontation with Iran over its nuclear capability may be required. However, America certainly cannot trust the contemporary version of the 3 Stooges to make that decision.
*Derriere orifices of the week – Meet Rev. Fred Phelps and his two daughters, Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebecca Phelps-Davis of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka. These morons and their followers travel the country to protest at funerals of soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. A grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against this fundamentalist Kansas church who believe that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. Church members testified they are following their religious beliefs. Religious beliefs! One placard they carried said, “Thank GOD for dead soldiers” and another said “GOD hates fags”. The verdict should have included an injunction preventing these miscreants from reproducing.
*A smile where you can get one – Last week I noted the Bush administration slashing (censoring) the CDC report on the dangerous effects of global warming. This week I received a mass email from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) requesting the signing of a petition to President Bush “demanding that he come clean about White House censorship of global warming science!” Perhaps a sardonic smile really doesn’t count as a smile. Smiles should feel good. For those interested in what the administration removed from the CDC report desmogblog.com obtained a full version of the report. The redactions are in red. There is a lot of red.
*Joke of the week – Did you hear the one about the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) asking lawmakers in two letters not to approve the bulk of legislation that would increase the agency’s authority, double its budget and sharply increase its dwindling staff? Meet Bush appointee Nancy Nord. “The CPSC has exactly one full-time toy inspector... It has 15 inspectors who oversee all of the imports under the agency's jurisdiction, a $614 billion market.” A question I often ask: Why does the President of the U.S. and the administrative people he has appointed, hate Americans? We continually see evidence that federal agencies such as CPSC, FDA, EPA and NASA, whose mission includes protecting us, have deliberately gone out their way to do the opposite. Like Humpty Dumpty our federal government has taken a great fall and there is no one in sight to repair it.
*Joke of the week punch line - The Washington Post is reporting some interesting information about Nancy Nord. “The chief of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and her predecessor have taken dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children's furniture industries and others they regulate... Some of the trips were sponsored by lobbying groups and lawyers representing the makers of products linked to consumer hazards... The records document nearly 30 trips since 2002.” We pay her salary to oversee the safety of products we use. The companies she is supposed to regulate pay for lavish trips. She tells congress not to give her the resources necessary to protect consumers. In a normal world this would be conflict of interest, dereliction of duty, unethical and amoral. In Bush’s Bizarro World it is syllogistic harmony.
*Shooting oneself in the prostate, Ouch – In a new radio ad Rudy Giuliani bashes socialized medicine and says that "My chance of surviving prostate cancer, and thank God I was cured of it, in the United States, 82%. My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England, only 44% under socialized medicine.” As is quite often the case what passes through Giuliani’s lips has little to do with reality (a Bizarro World requisite). ABC News is reporting that prostate cancer survival rates are almost the same in the U.S and England. It would be interesting to know if Giuliani is receiving serious campaign contributions from the health insurance industry. As I noted last week he is already a tool (fool) of the National Rifle Association when he promulgated the Second Amendment right of blind people to have hand guns.
*A Leader in Congress – A Leader in Corruption - Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is the Minority Leader in the Senate. He is also a leader in corruption according to the non-partisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). “Senator McConnell’s ethics issues stem from earmarks he has inserted into legislation for clients of his former chief of staff, lobbyist Gordon Hunter Bates, in exchange for campaign contributions...” Further details about McConnell’s indiscretions and the corrupt activities of many other elected officials can be found at CREW’s web site. People like McConnell preen in front of the TV cameras as esteemed governors of our nation. They are crooks.
*BP pleads guilty, 6 times - Last week I noted that BP was not the wonderful corporate citizen that they advertise themselves to be. The truth about BP’s method of operating is surfacing. It was announced that various divisions of BP: “racked up over $380 million in criminal and civil fines and restitution in five separate instances involving federal regulators and prosecutors. In the sixth instance, a federal grand jury indicted four former employees.” Among its civil and criminal acts BP pleaded guilty to violations of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. “With the addition of these six instances, BP now has the second highest misconduct penalty dollar amount with $1.1 billion. It ranks behind another oil company, Exxon Mobil. Unfortunately, these fines are relatively petty annoyances given the billions of dollars in profit that these companies generate. Lacking a conscience, the oil companies will not choose corporate responsibility over irresponsible cost cutting measures until major executives are imprisoned or the level of fines gets the attention of stock holders.
*For female readers and cross-dressers only – The organization Campaign for Safer Cosmetics recently conducted a study on lipsticks. It found lead in 61% of the 33 top-brand lipsticks tested -- including L'Oreal, Cover Girl, and Christian Dior. These are lipsticks manufactured in the U.S. and used daily by millions of women. “Lead is a potent neurotoxin and linked to numerous other health and reproductive problems—and it doesn't belong in lipstick.” The Environmental Working Group’s web site Skin Deep offers an extensive list of cosmetic and skin care products (for both genders) that have been tested for safety. Resources such as this are valuable because the Food and Drug Administration lacks standards for many of these products. Some might say that the FDA is not doing its job. For me it is not an equivocation.
*Sporting News – Vice President of the United States and prominent sportsman Dick Cheney went hunting again. This time he fortunately did not shoot a human being. What is of interest is where. The Clove Valley Gun and Rod Club is in upstate Union Vale, N.Y. and displays a confederate flag. I think the Reverend Al Sharpton’s comment has merit. "It's appalling for the VP to be at a private club displaying the flag of lynching, hate and murder. It's the epitome of an insult." There is no truth to the rumor that the VP dropped his white sheet and fired birdshot at the Reverend.
*No avoiding the void - Toby Moore formerly worked in the Civil Rights Division of the Dept. of Justice under Bush appointee John Tanner. This week he testified before a congressional committee hearing explaining why he and so many other career employees left the Civil Rights Division; “there was no sense in doing his work if it didn’t make a difference in the decisions being made." Tanner and the political appointees above him, Moore explained, decided issues "of significance and controversy". So Moore, and many other career analysts and attorneys left. This is one example among thousands where the Bush administration silenced or squeezed out experienced and conscientious federal employees to advance their political agenda. In 15 months Bush will retire to his ranch but the voids created within most departments of the federal government will be felt for a very long time. You can hear Moore’s testimony at this link: tpmmuckraker.com
*Interesting numbers:
~The U.S. is spending $43.5 billion on spying this year. The figure does not include the intelligence programs run the by the separate military services. Who is watching the watchers? Spending on steroids.
~Forbes.com is reporting that Elvis, who died in 1977, led earnings of dead celebrities over the last 12 months at $49 million. John Lennon ranks second with $44 million. The very Golden Oldies.
~In the past month there have been 7 suspicious fires in the Senate office buildings. Police report that there are no viable suspects. I suspect that someone is trying to light a fire under the asses of our elected leaders.
~The head of Merrill Lynch was fired after a third-quarter loss of $2.3 billion and an $8.4 billion charge for failed credit and mortgage-related investments. They certainly made E. Stanley O’Neal an example for underperformance. They threw him out the door – where he landed on a $150 million severance package. There was no mention of his health insurance benefits.
~The head of Citigroup is resigning in the wake of a $5.9 billion write-down and a sharp drop in profits. Charles O. Prince III, who has earned in salary $53 million over the last 4 years will leave with stock holdings of $87 million and a pension. In Bizarro World, the bigger the screw-up the larger the reward.
~The U.S. budget deficit for 2007 will be $167 billion. And that is the good news. The 2008 budget deficit could reach $210 Billion. Don’t you just love those fiscal conservatives?
~”Dropout Factory" is a high school where no more than 60 percent of the students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year. That dubious distinction applies to more than one in 10 high schools across America. Whatever happened to “No Child Left Behind”? The brain drain has new meaning.
*”To keep students from dropping out, either from school physically or while sitting in the classroom, schools have to be places where there is hope that something good is going to happen.”
Dorothy Rich, founder and president of the nonprofit Home and School Institute, MegaSkills Education Center, in Washington. The quote is from her article “Do school, teachers have the freedom to be great?” that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer and can be read at this link.
*Better but good enough? ~ A rock and a hard place – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced that he will not vote for confirming Michael Mukasey as Attorney General. He said Mukasey should not be confirmed because he could not muster a straightforward answer when asked this question: Is the president of the United States required to obey federal statutes? That would have to depend, Mukasey hedged, "on whether what goes outside the statute nonetheless lies within the authority of the president to defend the country." (This evasiveness is not unlike similar dances performed by Bush justifiers and apologists.) Mukasey responded in like fashion when asked if waterboarding was torture. The question puts Mukasey and Bush in a difficult situation. If he states that waterboarding is torture and he becomes the AG, it puts in jeopardy all of the interrogators that have used the procedure. Bush cannot nominate an AG that would jeopardize his overreaching executive power grab and the authorization of torture as an interrogation technique. As the administration attempts to cover its tracks the trail becomes more convoluted. Mukasey would be an upgrade to Alberto Gonzales but, that is faint praise. Whether the Senate miraculously develops a spine to oppose this nomination and such manipulative and destructive reasoning remains to be seen.
*Torture is Surrender - Counterterrorism expert and former instructor at the Navy’s training program for Special Forces Malcolm Nance disagrees with nominee for Attorney General Mukasey and others that feel waterboarding is not torture. His article at Small Wars Journal states unequivocally that waterboarding is torture. An important point he makes: “If you support the use of waterboarding on enemy captives, you support the use of that torture on any future American captives.” I would also point out that experts in the field of interrogation almost universally agree that information obtained through torture is extremely unreliable. And, most importantly, if we become the human animals that we have historically separated ourselves from, we have forfeited our souls.
Keystone Cops ~ 2007 edition – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) scheduled security checks across the country of airport screeners. It has been learned that a senior official at TSA sent an email “giving screeners all over the country very specific details about what sorts of suspicious clues the undercover testers would expect them to notice - such as ID's with photos that did not match the people using them and boarding passes with altered dates.” Under these circumstances one would expect that the screeners would be more than prepared to do their job. “Security expert David Heyman told NBC that despite the tip offs the screeners still did poorly, and "that's got to be very discouraging." Ya think?
Shylocks of shopping – Credit card companies are leeches on consumers. While you receive airline miles and other perks from credit card companies they offer this allure so that they can pick your pocket. Their hidden fees and interest rates have been an abomination for many years. As interest rates have dramatically fallen the rates they charge have not and remain at an exorbitant 16 to 23% on balances and in some cases even higher. This is allowed to occur because credit card companies and their lobbyists have a stronger voice in congress than you and me. It is estimated that the earnings of the top six card companies from these fees exceed $8 billion annually. Consumers Union through CreditCardReform.org offers a petition to congress that you can sign urging your representatives to, “support tough new legislation to rein in abusive credit card practices that impose unfair and costly fees and unwarranted interest rate hikes on consumers that can send them into a spiral of debt.”
*Sociological observation of the week –Sean Hannity, FOX News commentator and imbecilic spokesman for all that is wrong with right-wing pundits in America said, “Halloween teaches kids to ask for a handout... its teaching them to be liberals.” Mr. Hannity would prefer that we teach children the modern-day conservative values of hate, fear, greed, intolerance and prejudice. Hmm, I’ll take the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.
*Dollar Day Sale –The dollar does not shine quite so brightly these days. It continues to drop in value relative to other major currencies around the world and this drop is a reflection of how others view our financial condition. One implication is that imported goods will cost more and that will potentially contribute to inflation. Another potential implication is a decline in investment by foreigners in U.S. stocks and bonds. Such a decline would likely lead to lower prices in both instruments. Little spoken of is the high level of U.S. debt that is funded by foreign investment. To continue to attract this money the U.S. government will probably have to offer higher interest rates and that will increase the amount American tax payers pay for this debt. The president and his supporters continue to tell us how great the American economy is doing. If one is a member of the upper echelon of the “haves” in this country it is probably true. For the other 90+% of us, real income is declining and discretionary income is fading.
*Back from Iraq ~ “I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)” - Former music luminary (Orleans band) and freshman congressman John Hall (D-NY) recently returned from a trip to Iraq. He wrote a letter to his constituents about his findings and what follows is an excerpt: “My conclusion is that we should never send our Armed Forces to carry out a mission that is not militarily achievable. Based on comments by Ambassador Crocker, and the fact that since the September report to Congress the top four Iraqi leaders have not even been in the country at the same time, I continue to believe that American involvement in this war must be ended. This is a political and civil conflict that can only be resolved by the Iraqis themselves, by deciding whether they want to compromise and live together, or continue to fight along religious, ethnic, or tribal lines.” Almost 1500 years of hatred and fighting between Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds was not considered prior to Bush invading Iraq with a stated goal to bring democracy to that country. No amount of military force will change the Iraqi political landscape. Our troops were sent on a fool’s errand and have paid a steep price. And that is a terribly sad lesson. At some point a military confrontation with Iran over its nuclear capability may be required. However, America certainly cannot trust the contemporary version of the 3 Stooges to make that decision.
*Derriere orifices of the week – Meet Rev. Fred Phelps and his two daughters, Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebecca Phelps-Davis of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka. These morons and their followers travel the country to protest at funerals of soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. A grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against this fundamentalist Kansas church who believe that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. Church members testified they are following their religious beliefs. Religious beliefs! One placard they carried said, “Thank GOD for dead soldiers” and another said “GOD hates fags”. The verdict should have included an injunction preventing these miscreants from reproducing.
*A smile where you can get one – Last week I noted the Bush administration slashing (censoring) the CDC report on the dangerous effects of global warming. This week I received a mass email from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) requesting the signing of a petition to President Bush “demanding that he come clean about White House censorship of global warming science!” Perhaps a sardonic smile really doesn’t count as a smile. Smiles should feel good. For those interested in what the administration removed from the CDC report desmogblog.com obtained a full version of the report. The redactions are in red. There is a lot of red.
*Joke of the week – Did you hear the one about the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) asking lawmakers in two letters not to approve the bulk of legislation that would increase the agency’s authority, double its budget and sharply increase its dwindling staff? Meet Bush appointee Nancy Nord. “The CPSC has exactly one full-time toy inspector... It has 15 inspectors who oversee all of the imports under the agency's jurisdiction, a $614 billion market.” A question I often ask: Why does the President of the U.S. and the administrative people he has appointed, hate Americans? We continually see evidence that federal agencies such as CPSC, FDA, EPA and NASA, whose mission includes protecting us, have deliberately gone out their way to do the opposite. Like Humpty Dumpty our federal government has taken a great fall and there is no one in sight to repair it.
*Joke of the week punch line - The Washington Post is reporting some interesting information about Nancy Nord. “The chief of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and her predecessor have taken dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children's furniture industries and others they regulate... Some of the trips were sponsored by lobbying groups and lawyers representing the makers of products linked to consumer hazards... The records document nearly 30 trips since 2002.” We pay her salary to oversee the safety of products we use. The companies she is supposed to regulate pay for lavish trips. She tells congress not to give her the resources necessary to protect consumers. In a normal world this would be conflict of interest, dereliction of duty, unethical and amoral. In Bush’s Bizarro World it is syllogistic harmony.
*Shooting oneself in the prostate, Ouch – In a new radio ad Rudy Giuliani bashes socialized medicine and says that "My chance of surviving prostate cancer, and thank God I was cured of it, in the United States, 82%. My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England, only 44% under socialized medicine.” As is quite often the case what passes through Giuliani’s lips has little to do with reality (a Bizarro World requisite). ABC News is reporting that prostate cancer survival rates are almost the same in the U.S and England. It would be interesting to know if Giuliani is receiving serious campaign contributions from the health insurance industry. As I noted last week he is already a tool (fool) of the National Rifle Association when he promulgated the Second Amendment right of blind people to have hand guns.
*A Leader in Congress – A Leader in Corruption - Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is the Minority Leader in the Senate. He is also a leader in corruption according to the non-partisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). “Senator McConnell’s ethics issues stem from earmarks he has inserted into legislation for clients of his former chief of staff, lobbyist Gordon Hunter Bates, in exchange for campaign contributions...” Further details about McConnell’s indiscretions and the corrupt activities of many other elected officials can be found at CREW’s web site. People like McConnell preen in front of the TV cameras as esteemed governors of our nation. They are crooks.
*BP pleads guilty, 6 times - Last week I noted that BP was not the wonderful corporate citizen that they advertise themselves to be. The truth about BP’s method of operating is surfacing. It was announced that various divisions of BP: “racked up over $380 million in criminal and civil fines and restitution in five separate instances involving federal regulators and prosecutors. In the sixth instance, a federal grand jury indicted four former employees.” Among its civil and criminal acts BP pleaded guilty to violations of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. “With the addition of these six instances, BP now has the second highest misconduct penalty dollar amount with $1.1 billion. It ranks behind another oil company, Exxon Mobil. Unfortunately, these fines are relatively petty annoyances given the billions of dollars in profit that these companies generate. Lacking a conscience, the oil companies will not choose corporate responsibility over irresponsible cost cutting measures until major executives are imprisoned or the level of fines gets the attention of stock holders.
*For female readers and cross-dressers only – The organization Campaign for Safer Cosmetics recently conducted a study on lipsticks. It found lead in 61% of the 33 top-brand lipsticks tested -- including L'Oreal, Cover Girl, and Christian Dior. These are lipsticks manufactured in the U.S. and used daily by millions of women. “Lead is a potent neurotoxin and linked to numerous other health and reproductive problems—and it doesn't belong in lipstick.” The Environmental Working Group’s web site Skin Deep offers an extensive list of cosmetic and skin care products (for both genders) that have been tested for safety. Resources such as this are valuable because the Food and Drug Administration lacks standards for many of these products. Some might say that the FDA is not doing its job. For me it is not an equivocation.
*Sporting News – Vice President of the United States and prominent sportsman Dick Cheney went hunting again. This time he fortunately did not shoot a human being. What is of interest is where. The Clove Valley Gun and Rod Club is in upstate Union Vale, N.Y. and displays a confederate flag. I think the Reverend Al Sharpton’s comment has merit. "It's appalling for the VP to be at a private club displaying the flag of lynching, hate and murder. It's the epitome of an insult." There is no truth to the rumor that the VP dropped his white sheet and fired birdshot at the Reverend.
*No avoiding the void - Toby Moore formerly worked in the Civil Rights Division of the Dept. of Justice under Bush appointee John Tanner. This week he testified before a congressional committee hearing explaining why he and so many other career employees left the Civil Rights Division; “there was no sense in doing his work if it didn’t make a difference in the decisions being made." Tanner and the political appointees above him, Moore explained, decided issues "of significance and controversy". So Moore, and many other career analysts and attorneys left. This is one example among thousands where the Bush administration silenced or squeezed out experienced and conscientious federal employees to advance their political agenda. In 15 months Bush will retire to his ranch but the voids created within most departments of the federal government will be felt for a very long time. You can hear Moore’s testimony at this link: tpmmuckraker.com
*Interesting numbers:
~The U.S. is spending $43.5 billion on spying this year. The figure does not include the intelligence programs run the by the separate military services. Who is watching the watchers? Spending on steroids.
~Forbes.com is reporting that Elvis, who died in 1977, led earnings of dead celebrities over the last 12 months at $49 million. John Lennon ranks second with $44 million. The very Golden Oldies.
~In the past month there have been 7 suspicious fires in the Senate office buildings. Police report that there are no viable suspects. I suspect that someone is trying to light a fire under the asses of our elected leaders.
~The head of Merrill Lynch was fired after a third-quarter loss of $2.3 billion and an $8.4 billion charge for failed credit and mortgage-related investments. They certainly made E. Stanley O’Neal an example for underperformance. They threw him out the door – where he landed on a $150 million severance package. There was no mention of his health insurance benefits.
~The head of Citigroup is resigning in the wake of a $5.9 billion write-down and a sharp drop in profits. Charles O. Prince III, who has earned in salary $53 million over the last 4 years will leave with stock holdings of $87 million and a pension. In Bizarro World, the bigger the screw-up the larger the reward.
~The U.S. budget deficit for 2007 will be $167 billion. And that is the good news. The 2008 budget deficit could reach $210 Billion. Don’t you just love those fiscal conservatives?
~”Dropout Factory" is a high school where no more than 60 percent of the students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year. That dubious distinction applies to more than one in 10 high schools across America. Whatever happened to “No Child Left Behind”? The brain drain has new meaning.
*”To keep students from dropping out, either from school physically or while sitting in the classroom, schools have to be places where there is hope that something good is going to happen.”
Dorothy Rich, founder and president of the nonprofit Home and School Institute, MegaSkills Education Center, in Washington. The quote is from her article “Do school, teachers have the freedom to be great?” that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer and can be read at this link.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
8/28/07
*Upon resigning Alberto Gonzales said that, “Public service is honorable and noble," I question whether Mr. Gonzales can make this statement. We have seen overwhelming evidence of “Bush service” but that is not the role of the Attorney General of the United States of America. Gonzales never understood the concept of “public” service.
*Man the lifeboats, lawyers first - Listening to Alberto Gonzales and his White House-affiliated enablers, everything done at the Dept. of Justice was above board, legal and in the best interest of the American people. Perhaps coincidentally, 2007 saw the following resignations from the DOJ: AG Gonzales, Deputy AG Paul McNulty, Acting Associate AG William Mercer, Gonzales’ chief of staff Kyle Sampson, DOJ White House liaison Monica Goodling, NcNulty’s chief of staff Michael Elston, Exec. Dir. Of the Exec. Office of U.S. Attorneys Michael Battle, attorney in the Counsel to the Director of the previous noted office Brad Scholzman. One wonders why this senior leadership suddenly jumped ship. Could it be that damn congressional oversight - which did not exist during the first 6 years of the Bush administration?
*Thin-skinned me - Rep. Jon Porter (R-NV) recently shared this viewpoint - “blogs, whose authors can defame and lie with impunity because they can be anonymous and don’t have to worry about the facts”. It made me wonder if our government is a blog?
*Iraqus interruptus, whatever happened to Ari Fleisher – Former White House spokesman and pawn in the Valery Plame leak case Fleisher is now the spokesman for a new right-wing front group for the White House promoting the surge in Iraq. Known as “Freedom Watch”, the group is funded by high-profile Republicans who were aides and supporters of Bush. The group will spend $15 million on a TV and radio ad campaign over the next month to pressure congress to support Bush’s Iraq policy. The essence of the ads is fear-mongering about an Iraq pullout.
*Safety in numbers – A report just released by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies titled Small Arms Survey 2007 offers the following statistics:
- The United States has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world
- U.S. citizens own 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms
- About 4.5 million of the 8 million new guns manufactured worldwide each year are purchased in the United States
The next time that your neighbor’s dog uses your lawn for a litter box I suggest you ignore it.
*The game of Clue, don’t have one – Newsweek reports that in 2005 the CIA reported on its efforts to capture bin Laden. It was resource-strapped by the Iraq war and limited in the number of experienced agents dedicated to capturing the mastermind of 9/11. “The president was taken aback by the small number of CIA case officers posted to Afghanistan and Pakistan. ‘Is that all there are?’ the president asked?”
*I finally have a clue as to Bush’s Iraq strategy – Two million Iraqis have been displaced. Another 2 million have fled Iraq to other Middle East countries and beyond (except the U.S. where I noted in an earlier post that under 500 Iraqis have been accepted into the U.S.). The U.N. reports that 50,000 Iraqis are now fleeing each month, 600,000 annually at the current rate. In a few years the country will be devoid of population and Exxon/Mobil, Shell, BP… can move in, take over the oil, control the world and install Bush and Cheney as co-Emperors of the universe. Ming the Magnificent would be proud.
*The Terrible Trinity - I had to smile that both the LA Times and NY Times discussed, that with Rove and Gonzales gone, Pres. Bush has a “fresh chance” to turn things around. I admire their optimism and share the hope. However, we have seen no evidence over the past 6 years that this man knows what to do or can make appointments other than to individuals whose competence is implementing an agenda favorable to neocon philosophy, the religious right and mega corporations. Sixteen months and counting, slowly
*Shades of 1929? – CNN/money reports that the Federal Reserve is bending key banking regulations to help out Bank of America and Citigroup. The regulation in question effectively limits a bank’s funding exposure to an affiliate to 10% of the bank’s capital. The two institutions can now reach a 30% level. The central tenet of banking regulation is that banks with federally insured deposits should never be over-exposed to brokerage subsidiaries. I have little understanding of high finance but I can see that the Fed has tripled the allowable exposure of two mega financial institutions. This leaves me somewhat uneasy. Reference The Terrible Trinity.
*This smell of special interest - I naively believe it is the mandate of the Environmental Protection Agency to protect our environment. The EPA has recently proposed air quality standards for ozone (smog) pollution that are weaker than what their own scientists are recommending to protect public health. It seems that electric utilities, the chemical industry, Big Oil, and automakers are pushing the EPA to issue weak standards. The EPA is not as naïve as me. There is a website where you can express your concern/outrage at the federal government’s sell-out to industry. It is located at SaveOurEnvironment.org and the petition to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson is: http://ga3.org/campaign/ozone_alert/inuse3d4h8ww6b3? Reference The Terrible Trinity.
* Blue book surprise quiz – A Commentary by Andy Myer in today’s Phila. Inquirer posed the following question: Can you name one instance in history where a leader initiates a discretionary war that introduces new levels of chaos into the most politically and economically sensitive area in the world, increases the influence of important foes in the region, alienates his allies, energizes his enemies, exhausts his country’s military, and squanders the goodwill and moral capital his country had built since its founding? About 72% of the class will ace the answer.
*Gentlemen, why don't you laugh? With the fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if I did not laugh, I should die. Abraham Lincoln
*Man the lifeboats, lawyers first - Listening to Alberto Gonzales and his White House-affiliated enablers, everything done at the Dept. of Justice was above board, legal and in the best interest of the American people. Perhaps coincidentally, 2007 saw the following resignations from the DOJ: AG Gonzales, Deputy AG Paul McNulty, Acting Associate AG William Mercer, Gonzales’ chief of staff Kyle Sampson, DOJ White House liaison Monica Goodling, NcNulty’s chief of staff Michael Elston, Exec. Dir. Of the Exec. Office of U.S. Attorneys Michael Battle, attorney in the Counsel to the Director of the previous noted office Brad Scholzman. One wonders why this senior leadership suddenly jumped ship. Could it be that damn congressional oversight - which did not exist during the first 6 years of the Bush administration?
*Thin-skinned me - Rep. Jon Porter (R-NV) recently shared this viewpoint - “blogs, whose authors can defame and lie with impunity because they can be anonymous and don’t have to worry about the facts”. It made me wonder if our government is a blog?
*Iraqus interruptus, whatever happened to Ari Fleisher – Former White House spokesman and pawn in the Valery Plame leak case Fleisher is now the spokesman for a new right-wing front group for the White House promoting the surge in Iraq. Known as “Freedom Watch”, the group is funded by high-profile Republicans who were aides and supporters of Bush. The group will spend $15 million on a TV and radio ad campaign over the next month to pressure congress to support Bush’s Iraq policy. The essence of the ads is fear-mongering about an Iraq pullout.
*Safety in numbers – A report just released by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies titled Small Arms Survey 2007 offers the following statistics:
- The United States has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world
- U.S. citizens own 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms
- About 4.5 million of the 8 million new guns manufactured worldwide each year are purchased in the United States
The next time that your neighbor’s dog uses your lawn for a litter box I suggest you ignore it.
*The game of Clue, don’t have one – Newsweek reports that in 2005 the CIA reported on its efforts to capture bin Laden. It was resource-strapped by the Iraq war and limited in the number of experienced agents dedicated to capturing the mastermind of 9/11. “The president was taken aback by the small number of CIA case officers posted to Afghanistan and Pakistan. ‘Is that all there are?’ the president asked?”
*I finally have a clue as to Bush’s Iraq strategy – Two million Iraqis have been displaced. Another 2 million have fled Iraq to other Middle East countries and beyond (except the U.S. where I noted in an earlier post that under 500 Iraqis have been accepted into the U.S.). The U.N. reports that 50,000 Iraqis are now fleeing each month, 600,000 annually at the current rate. In a few years the country will be devoid of population and Exxon/Mobil, Shell, BP… can move in, take over the oil, control the world and install Bush and Cheney as co-Emperors of the universe. Ming the Magnificent would be proud.
*The Terrible Trinity - I had to smile that both the LA Times and NY Times discussed, that with Rove and Gonzales gone, Pres. Bush has a “fresh chance” to turn things around. I admire their optimism and share the hope. However, we have seen no evidence over the past 6 years that this man knows what to do or can make appointments other than to individuals whose competence is implementing an agenda favorable to neocon philosophy, the religious right and mega corporations. Sixteen months and counting, slowly
*Shades of 1929? – CNN/money reports that the Federal Reserve is bending key banking regulations to help out Bank of America and Citigroup. The regulation in question effectively limits a bank’s funding exposure to an affiliate to 10% of the bank’s capital. The two institutions can now reach a 30% level. The central tenet of banking regulation is that banks with federally insured deposits should never be over-exposed to brokerage subsidiaries. I have little understanding of high finance but I can see that the Fed has tripled the allowable exposure of two mega financial institutions. This leaves me somewhat uneasy. Reference The Terrible Trinity.
*This smell of special interest - I naively believe it is the mandate of the Environmental Protection Agency to protect our environment. The EPA has recently proposed air quality standards for ozone (smog) pollution that are weaker than what their own scientists are recommending to protect public health. It seems that electric utilities, the chemical industry, Big Oil, and automakers are pushing the EPA to issue weak standards. The EPA is not as naïve as me. There is a website where you can express your concern/outrage at the federal government’s sell-out to industry. It is located at SaveOurEnvironment.org and the petition to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson is: http://ga3.org/campaign/ozone_alert/inuse3d4h8ww6b3? Reference The Terrible Trinity.
* Blue book surprise quiz – A Commentary by Andy Myer in today’s Phila. Inquirer posed the following question: Can you name one instance in history where a leader initiates a discretionary war that introduces new levels of chaos into the most politically and economically sensitive area in the world, increases the influence of important foes in the region, alienates his allies, energizes his enemies, exhausts his country’s military, and squanders the goodwill and moral capital his country had built since its founding? About 72% of the class will ace the answer.
*Gentlemen, why don't you laugh? With the fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if I did not laugh, I should die. Abraham Lincoln
Sunday, August 26, 2007
8/26/07
*Iraq Report Cliff Notes - Republican senator from Louisiana David Vitter (recently embarrassed for procuring prostitutes) just returned from a trip to Iraq and announced that the surge is working. Vitter said, “The United States has made significant strikes against Al Qaeda terrorist forces and reduced sectarian violence in the nation.” It was quite the productive visit. He was actually on the ground in Iraq for somewhere between 10 and 14 hours according to accompanying colleagues. Republicans praised his report.
*Iraq Report Unabridged Edition – Republican senator from Virginia John Warner is one of the Republican party's most prominent senators, a former Secretary of the Navy, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and consistent supporter of Bush policy. He just returned from Iraq with his assessment of the circumstances on the ground based on conversations with military commanders and intelligence personnel. Warner concludes that the crisis on the ground is so severe that it is time to begin an "orderly and carefully planned withdrawal…as part of a long-term strategy to extract U.S. troops from a distant and dysfunctional quagmire" The Republican National Committee is highly critical of Warner’s statements and the right-wing pundits have launched an assault against him. For the Republican party “team player” trumps the interests of America, its citizens and especially the men and women in the military.
*Abortive leadership / Catatonic citizenry - It has been well documented that this administration’s support of the troops has been short on performance and long on rhetoric. The Pentagon shares culpability. One example is their goal by end of year to supply the troops with 3500 mine-resistant vehicles. Only 1500 will have been delivered. In another disgraceful assessment on the people running this war we learn of a Department of Defense inspector general report from June. “The Pentagon awarded contracts for the vehicles to companies that failed to produce them on time despite knowing that there were other contractors who could have supplied some more quickly… resulting in increased risk to the lives of soldiers”. Are we so inured by federal incompetence and corruption that we no longer express outrage? Is memory of the Viet Nam war protesters a reason why this administration opposes a draft?
*Good governing (Skeptics, this is not a typo) – It is not often that we have an opportunity to praise good government in action. Let us savor the moment. Medicare instituted a program that encourages hospitals to practice increased defensive medicine against preventable errors, injuries and infections. Health-care providers will not be reimbursed for extra costs of treatment and extended stays resulting from errors and avoidable infections. And, patients cannot be billed for the additional care. More good news! In Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is improving on this concept by requiring health-care providers to report errors and mishaps (I believe to a public data base) and adds the incentive of higher state reimbursements for improved safety performance. Kudos to Medicare and Governor Rendell.
*MSNBC host Tucker Carlson recently sat around with 3 other white men discussing whether Barack Obama is Black enough. Not Obama’s position on foreign policy or health care or immigration. Black enough? Next week these same four MENSA males will be asking a woman in her second trimester if she is pregnant enough.
*Immoral, Psychologically Damaging, Counterproductive - That’s the conclusion reached by the American Psychological Association on many of the interrogation techniques used by the Bush administration on suspected terrorists. I have no doubt that there have been times in the past and there will be times in the future when information must be obtained using any method possible to avert a catastrophe. However, the national policy for a civilized society should not include torture and detainment without legal recourse. It is not the ethos that I want for America.
*Russia’s Putin mentors Bush - A White House guide called the Presidential Advice Manual, gives specific instructions to administration staff for dealing with protesters during President Bush’s speaking engagements. If they absolutely have to be there protesters should be placed in a designated protest area where President Bush cannot see them. I guess this falls under the category of executive privilege superseding the Constitution of the United States of America.
*Fear, FEar. FEAr, FEAR - Joe Lieberman, with his pompoms flailing, is not satisfied with war fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the rumbling threats of attacking Iran. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal Lieberman says, “…we must now focus on disrupting the flow of suicide bombers – and that means focusing on Syria…” McClatchy reports that since 2003 seven suicide bombers in Iraq have been identified as coming from Syria. Fifty-three have come from Saudi Arabia (the same country that spawned many of the 9/11 hijackers). Syria is now in the neocon bomb sites but I predict that the Saudi oil shield will protect them from the Lieberman kryptonite and the Bush/Cheney death ray.
*Faux News Redux – Prior to the Iraq War FOX News beat the war drum parroting every justification to attack Saddam that flowed from the disingenuous lips of the Bush/Cheney cabal. The “show” returns with Iran now the target. Robert Greenwald, who has exposed this symbiotic relationship before, has a new 2 minute video (taken from 4 hours of FOX broadcast footage) that would be comic if not so lamentable. The link is: http://foxattacks.com/iran?utm_source=rgemail.
*Atlanta plumbers to be forced out of business - Baggy pants that show boxer shorts or thongs would be illegal under a proposed amendment to Atlanta's indecency laws. The proposed ordinance would also bar women from showing the strap of a thong beneath their pants and they would also be prohibited from wearing jogging bras in public or show a bra strap. I surmise that topless dancers will not be subject to this crack down.
*Not ready for prime time 1 – Former actor Fred Thompson is a likely Republican presidential candidate. He recently gave a speech to Veterans of Foreign Wars. He said, “the nation needs to rebuild its military to fight global terrorism because the leaders took a holiday in the 1990s after the end of the cold war”. Say what? Thompson must have experienced a blackout. He failed to mention the damage inflicted on our military over these past 5 years. Our nation needs serious leaders for serious times, not actors who cannot remember their lines.
*Was there ever a prime time? In a speech to the VFW Pres. Bush said, “U.S. forces have killed or captured an average of more than 1,500 al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists every month since January”. That would seem to be a substantial number of al Qaeda guys. A NY Times rough estimate last month had 5000 al Qaeda fighters in all of Iraq. The LA Times says that of the 19,000 detainees in custody in Iraq, 135 are foreigners. Doesn’t seem to add up, again.
*Not ready for prime time 2 – NJ Attorney General Anne Milgram has directed state and local police to ask all suspects charged with serious crimes about their immigration status. If it is believed that the suspect is in the country illegally they are to inform federal authorities. NJ state judges were informed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not set up to receive large-scale immigration referrals from local authorities. Since there are 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants in the United States “large-scale” is a relative term. “Ineffective” is an absolute term.
*Happy Birthday Mac, hold the cake – McDonald’s Big Mac sandwich is celebrating its 40th birthday. It became a part of our pop culture with the jingle, “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun". Each year 550 million Big Macs are sold in the U.S. At almost a half pound it contains 540 calories and 29 grams of fat. Its introduction marked the beginning of “super-size” in fast food marketing. With epidemic obesity, diabetes and heart disease weighing heavily on the health of Americans and the American health-care system perhaps there is not much to celebrate.
*The math of politics, seeking the lowest common denominator – Scott Howell and Co. is an advertising agency with a specialty in political campaigns. The Bush campaign in 2000 hired them for the South Carolina primaries to trash John McCain. This ad agency did the same in 2006 to Harold Ford in the Tennessee senatorial race by creating ads with racial overtones to frighten off white voters. Rudy Giuliani just hired them for his presidential run. This is the perfect ad agency for the former NYC mayor who in radio ads in Iowa claims that he “turned a $2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion dollar surplus.” Independent fiscal monitors say that Giuliani left his successor Michael Bloomberg with a bigger deficit than what Giuliani inherited in 1994. Reference serious leaders for serious times. Reference disingenuous lips.
*Vibrator control, no batteries needed – In Alabama you can buy a gun as easily as a corndog with a side of grits. But the deep thinkers in the Alabama legislature have banned marital aides in an effort to protect the morals of its good citizens. I was raised to believe that I was responsible for my soul. I never imagined that I would have so much assistance.
*Looking ahead – It appears that the Bush administration is working in front of and behind the scenes to oust Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in favor of Iyad Allawi, a non-sectarian Iraqi legislator and in 2005 interim Iraqi Prime Minister. Allawi has strong ties to Bush and Cheney. While in exile he urged the U. S. to invade Iraq and since the attack he has worked very hard to be Iraq’s leader. It was learned this week that Allawi has hired a lobbying firm with strong connections to the Bush administration, Barbour Griffith & Rogers, to lobby for Malaki’s ouster – the man Bush has supported as the duly elected leader of Iraq. The compelling question is whether there is any individual or group of individuals that can lead Iraq out of the black hole in which it exists?
*I never met a man who thought his thinking was faulty. 16th century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne
*Iraq Report Unabridged Edition – Republican senator from Virginia John Warner is one of the Republican party's most prominent senators, a former Secretary of the Navy, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and consistent supporter of Bush policy. He just returned from Iraq with his assessment of the circumstances on the ground based on conversations with military commanders and intelligence personnel. Warner concludes that the crisis on the ground is so severe that it is time to begin an "orderly and carefully planned withdrawal…as part of a long-term strategy to extract U.S. troops from a distant and dysfunctional quagmire" The Republican National Committee is highly critical of Warner’s statements and the right-wing pundits have launched an assault against him. For the Republican party “team player” trumps the interests of America, its citizens and especially the men and women in the military.
*Abortive leadership / Catatonic citizenry - It has been well documented that this administration’s support of the troops has been short on performance and long on rhetoric. The Pentagon shares culpability. One example is their goal by end of year to supply the troops with 3500 mine-resistant vehicles. Only 1500 will have been delivered. In another disgraceful assessment on the people running this war we learn of a Department of Defense inspector general report from June. “The Pentagon awarded contracts for the vehicles to companies that failed to produce them on time despite knowing that there were other contractors who could have supplied some more quickly… resulting in increased risk to the lives of soldiers”. Are we so inured by federal incompetence and corruption that we no longer express outrage? Is memory of the Viet Nam war protesters a reason why this administration opposes a draft?
*Good governing (Skeptics, this is not a typo) – It is not often that we have an opportunity to praise good government in action. Let us savor the moment. Medicare instituted a program that encourages hospitals to practice increased defensive medicine against preventable errors, injuries and infections. Health-care providers will not be reimbursed for extra costs of treatment and extended stays resulting from errors and avoidable infections. And, patients cannot be billed for the additional care. More good news! In Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is improving on this concept by requiring health-care providers to report errors and mishaps (I believe to a public data base) and adds the incentive of higher state reimbursements for improved safety performance. Kudos to Medicare and Governor Rendell.
*MSNBC host Tucker Carlson recently sat around with 3 other white men discussing whether Barack Obama is Black enough. Not Obama’s position on foreign policy or health care or immigration. Black enough? Next week these same four MENSA males will be asking a woman in her second trimester if she is pregnant enough.
*Immoral, Psychologically Damaging, Counterproductive - That’s the conclusion reached by the American Psychological Association on many of the interrogation techniques used by the Bush administration on suspected terrorists. I have no doubt that there have been times in the past and there will be times in the future when information must be obtained using any method possible to avert a catastrophe. However, the national policy for a civilized society should not include torture and detainment without legal recourse. It is not the ethos that I want for America.
*Russia’s Putin mentors Bush - A White House guide called the Presidential Advice Manual, gives specific instructions to administration staff for dealing with protesters during President Bush’s speaking engagements. If they absolutely have to be there protesters should be placed in a designated protest area where President Bush cannot see them. I guess this falls under the category of executive privilege superseding the Constitution of the United States of America.
*Fear, FEar. FEAr, FEAR - Joe Lieberman, with his pompoms flailing, is not satisfied with war fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the rumbling threats of attacking Iran. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal Lieberman says, “…we must now focus on disrupting the flow of suicide bombers – and that means focusing on Syria…” McClatchy reports that since 2003 seven suicide bombers in Iraq have been identified as coming from Syria. Fifty-three have come from Saudi Arabia (the same country that spawned many of the 9/11 hijackers). Syria is now in the neocon bomb sites but I predict that the Saudi oil shield will protect them from the Lieberman kryptonite and the Bush/Cheney death ray.
*Faux News Redux – Prior to the Iraq War FOX News beat the war drum parroting every justification to attack Saddam that flowed from the disingenuous lips of the Bush/Cheney cabal. The “show” returns with Iran now the target. Robert Greenwald, who has exposed this symbiotic relationship before, has a new 2 minute video (taken from 4 hours of FOX broadcast footage) that would be comic if not so lamentable. The link is: http://foxattacks.com/iran?utm_source=rgemail.
*Atlanta plumbers to be forced out of business - Baggy pants that show boxer shorts or thongs would be illegal under a proposed amendment to Atlanta's indecency laws. The proposed ordinance would also bar women from showing the strap of a thong beneath their pants and they would also be prohibited from wearing jogging bras in public or show a bra strap. I surmise that topless dancers will not be subject to this crack down.
*Not ready for prime time 1 – Former actor Fred Thompson is a likely Republican presidential candidate. He recently gave a speech to Veterans of Foreign Wars. He said, “the nation needs to rebuild its military to fight global terrorism because the leaders took a holiday in the 1990s after the end of the cold war”. Say what? Thompson must have experienced a blackout. He failed to mention the damage inflicted on our military over these past 5 years. Our nation needs serious leaders for serious times, not actors who cannot remember their lines.
*Was there ever a prime time? In a speech to the VFW Pres. Bush said, “U.S. forces have killed or captured an average of more than 1,500 al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists every month since January”. That would seem to be a substantial number of al Qaeda guys. A NY Times rough estimate last month had 5000 al Qaeda fighters in all of Iraq. The LA Times says that of the 19,000 detainees in custody in Iraq, 135 are foreigners. Doesn’t seem to add up, again.
*Not ready for prime time 2 – NJ Attorney General Anne Milgram has directed state and local police to ask all suspects charged with serious crimes about their immigration status. If it is believed that the suspect is in the country illegally they are to inform federal authorities. NJ state judges were informed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not set up to receive large-scale immigration referrals from local authorities. Since there are 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants in the United States “large-scale” is a relative term. “Ineffective” is an absolute term.
*Happy Birthday Mac, hold the cake – McDonald’s Big Mac sandwich is celebrating its 40th birthday. It became a part of our pop culture with the jingle, “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun". Each year 550 million Big Macs are sold in the U.S. At almost a half pound it contains 540 calories and 29 grams of fat. Its introduction marked the beginning of “super-size” in fast food marketing. With epidemic obesity, diabetes and heart disease weighing heavily on the health of Americans and the American health-care system perhaps there is not much to celebrate.
*The math of politics, seeking the lowest common denominator – Scott Howell and Co. is an advertising agency with a specialty in political campaigns. The Bush campaign in 2000 hired them for the South Carolina primaries to trash John McCain. This ad agency did the same in 2006 to Harold Ford in the Tennessee senatorial race by creating ads with racial overtones to frighten off white voters. Rudy Giuliani just hired them for his presidential run. This is the perfect ad agency for the former NYC mayor who in radio ads in Iowa claims that he “turned a $2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion dollar surplus.” Independent fiscal monitors say that Giuliani left his successor Michael Bloomberg with a bigger deficit than what Giuliani inherited in 1994. Reference serious leaders for serious times. Reference disingenuous lips.
*Vibrator control, no batteries needed – In Alabama you can buy a gun as easily as a corndog with a side of grits. But the deep thinkers in the Alabama legislature have banned marital aides in an effort to protect the morals of its good citizens. I was raised to believe that I was responsible for my soul. I never imagined that I would have so much assistance.
*Looking ahead – It appears that the Bush administration is working in front of and behind the scenes to oust Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in favor of Iyad Allawi, a non-sectarian Iraqi legislator and in 2005 interim Iraqi Prime Minister. Allawi has strong ties to Bush and Cheney. While in exile he urged the U. S. to invade Iraq and since the attack he has worked very hard to be Iraq’s leader. It was learned this week that Allawi has hired a lobbying firm with strong connections to the Bush administration, Barbour Griffith & Rogers, to lobby for Malaki’s ouster – the man Bush has supported as the duly elected leader of Iraq. The compelling question is whether there is any individual or group of individuals that can lead Iraq out of the black hole in which it exists?
*I never met a man who thought his thinking was faulty. 16th century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
8/21/07
*Don’t get naked in your bathroom – The WSJ reports that satellite data previously available only to NASA and the US Geological Survey, which used the images for scientific and environmental study, will now be available to a wide array of
law enforcement agencies at all levels of government. The move to turn spy satellites on American citizens raises legal questions because the use of such data for law enforcement is "largely uncharted territory." Even the officials behind the move are unsure of its legal implications. Some experts are saying,"Not only is the surveillance they are contemplating intrusive and omnipresent, it's also invisible. And that's what makes this so dangerous."
*Politics is politics when alteration it finds - The Boston Globe ran a summary of Rudy Giuliani’s philosophical reversal on issues as he attempts to seduce the Republican base. His flip flops encompass: ban on partial-birth abortion, funding of abortions for the poor, gun control, gay marriage and civil unions, and illegal immigrants. Mitt Romney, having been outdone in reversing political stances, responded aggressively. He promised to change his tie every four hours.
*Talking bobble head(ache) – CNBC anchor Erin Burnett cautioned viewers that if China made toys without lead or produced food without poisons their cost of production would go up. And that means prices at Wal Mart would go up too. So China is our greatest friend right now. They are keeping prices low. Micro-economist Erin Burnett is giving me a sharp shooting pain behind my left eye. It is fortunate that Wal Mart has a sale this week on generic aspirin. And with each bottle of 500 count I can get a fortune cookie.
*The game of Recall - Unrelated to its recall of 1 million Chinese-made toys earlier this month Mattell, Inc. just issued a recall of 7.3 million play sets and 1.3 million die-cast cars, the dangers being magnets that could be swallowed and lead paint. Perhaps the cost of these recalls will influence toy makers to do better inspections before the toys are imported and distributed. China, which produces 80% of toys sold world-wide, has repeatedly demonstrated that their products cannot be trusted. With no respect to Ms. Burnett, “cheap” is not the sole criterion determining a product’s value unless you are purchasing a parakeet.
*Consumers Union is providing a petition that you can sign to your elected representatives urging them to ensure food and product safety before they enter our borders. The website is: secure.npsite.org/cu/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr005=663norllh3.app14b&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1643
*What’s good for the goose… trickle down theory - The State Department plans to create a new mental care office and require employees to take additional time off to deal with a surge in stress disorders among diplomats in danger posts abroad, particularly Iraq and Afghanistan. The steps were proposed in response to the findings of a survey that found up to 17 percent of diplomats serving at such posts may suffer from post traumatic stress disorder or similar problems. Now if we can only get the same sensitivity for our military serving in Iraq and Afghanistan we will have made progress. Current policy is to re-deploy soldiers in spite of physical and mental injuries as well as serious deficiencies in mental care when they return home.
*Several years ago a Mississippi court took away a woman’s 8 year old child. Two of the judges in the majority went so far as to write and sign an additional opinion, unnecessary to the case's outcome, which stated that the mother must accept the fact that losing her biological child was a possible consequence of her sexual "choice" (the mother being a lesbian). One of those two judges was Leslie Southwick. He is dangerously close to being appointed to the Federal bench by (who else?) President Bush, if confirmed by the Senate. You can sign a petition urging your senators to not confirm this Neanderthal. The link is: www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/southwick/idwkddsrhii337k?
*Karnak incarnate - I just watched a short video of Dick Cheney from 1994 explaining all of the reasons why the U.S. should not have gone into Iraq during the Gulf War. His reasoning was intelligent and cogent. He predicted all that could go wrong. And sure enough he was right as evidenced by the current Iraq war – initiated at his urging. The video can be seen at: pol.moveon.org/donate/cheneyvideo.html?r=2879&id=10983-6021600-W6mBY1
*Pork and Salmon on a skewer, unappetizing – Alaskan Republican Senator Ted Stevens and Representative Don Young are both under investigation for corrupt/criminal practices. One cannot argue, however, with the stellar job they have done for the interests of their state and their associates. Their special project appropriations include; an Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board $500,000 grant that was used partly to paint a Chinook salmon on a Boeing 737, a $450,000 grant to the University of Alaska to formulate baby food with salmon in it, the Alyeska Roundhouse received $450,000 (the building is at the Alyeska ski resort in Girdwood, where Stevens has his home), Alaska Christian College received $435,000 in 2005 (the school had several dozen students at the time), The National Archives and Records Administration received at least $2.25 million toward the purchase of an empty lot in Anchorage from two former Stevens business partners allowing them to more than double their investment.
*Takes your breath away – On Sept 18, 2001, 7 days after the attack on the World Trade Center in NYC, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman announced that results from the Agency's air and drinking water monitoring near the WTC indicate that these vital resources are safe. In August, 2003 the Office of the Inspector General of the EPA reported that some of the EPA's news releases in the weeks after the attack were softened before being released to the public: Reassuring information was added, while cautionary information was deleted. We now learn that a major study by Mount Sinai Medical Center found 70 percent of ground zero workers suffered some form of lung problems and experts there predicted thousands will either remain sick or get sick in coming years. Before Bush 43 we would have attributed such manipulation to the Soviet Union. Can you say Chernobyl? Nyet!
*Speaking of the Soviet model of governance 1 -The U.S. government argued before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that two lawsuits centering on aspects of the secret surveillance effort run by the National Security Agency after September 11, 2001 be thrown out of court for potentially exposing state secrets. Judge McKeown said, “This seems to put us in the 'trust us' category about the government's assertions that its surveillance activities did not violate the law. We don't do it. Trust us. And don't ask us about it." Deputy Solicitor General Gregory G. Garre then argued that courts are not the right forum for complaints about government surveillance, and that "other avenues" are available. Another jurist on the panel, Judge Pregerson, shot back, "What is that? Impeachment?"
*Speaking of the Soviet model of governance 2 – Wikepedia is an online encyclopedia. It recently developed software to trace who makes changes to its entries. People using CIA, FBI and EPA computers were recently tracked when they made changes on topics such as the Iraq War, Guantanamo prison and environmental issues. Pretty soon we will be seeing entries that identify George W. Bush as the greatest president in the history of our nation and Pee Wee Herman as our greatest thespian.
*On the Rove again – Some in the mainstream media as well as right-wing pundits have been praising the presidential advisor who has just resigned. Not I. Karl Rove may be seen as a genius in that he was behind the election of George W. as governor of Texas twice and President of the U.S twice. No small feat. Bill Moyers of PBS noted, ”Greed and God won Rove four elections”. After electoral successes I am hard-pressed to identify any meaningful accomplishments of the Rove-counseled Bush administration. Foreign policy has been one disaster after another. Name a domestic accomplishment of this administration in the 80 months of its tenure. The President’s approval rating is in the 20’s and the Republican party is in disarray and shrinking (only 28% of Americans view it positively). Mr. Rove’s influence was one of divisiveness, confrontation and arrogance. If “genius” is used to describe Rove, “Rembrandt” would describe the graffiti on slum buildings.
*The least shall be first – The Bush/Cheney “thunk” tank has been indicating a desire to engage Iran in war, disregarding the military principles of operating from strength and avoiding unprovoked attacks. One would think that the leading Democratic presidential candidates such as Clinton, Obama and Biden would be out front opposing this dangerous possibility of dragging America into another unnecessary and debilitating war. But it is Dennis Kucinich who is the leading candidate in speaking the truth about such foreign policy debacles. He said, “Our nation is better served by demanding sensible and responsible diplomatic foreign policy initiatives from the Bush Administration." How unfortunate that 21st century American political positions too often amount to glib sound bites delivered with face makeup for the six o’clock news.
*Just a game/Little Drummer Boy - Left Behind: Eternal Forces is a video game inspired by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins' best-selling book series about the battle of Armageddon, in which believers of Jesus Christ fight the Antichrist. The Rev. Timothy Simpson of the Christians Alliance for Progress said "It's a horrible game. You either kill or convert the other side. This is exactly how the Osama bin Ladens of the world have portrayed us”. Operation Start Up Tour, an evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among soldiers, intended to put this game in care packages for soldiers in Iraq. The Department of Defense abruptly halted this plan when ABC News inquired about the program. Someone had to inquire before distribution of these games to military personnel was halted? This is reminiscent of the proselytizing scandals at the Air Force Academy in recent years. To what drummer is our military marching? I find it interesting that Orthodox Jewish Independent Senator Joe Lieberman, head cheerleader for the Bush Iraq policy, has been silent on this subject as have the Republican and Democratic leadership. They just don’t get it!
*The Zimmers – Need a smile? A friend sent me a link to a youtube video. It is a remake of the Beatles’ Abbey Road by a group of 40 senior citizens. It is a lot of fun. The link is: youtube.com/watch?v=jNV5bgsv984
*Wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time - As miners and rescuers continue to die from recent mining accidents Mine Safety Czar Richard Stickler will be overseeing investigations. His first two appointments to this position were rejected by the Senate. Ever-clever Bush then appointed him through a loophole in the law that allows certain appointments when the Senate is in recess. Most of Stickler’s career was overseeing mining operations in the private sector where his mine safety record was in serious question. Many Senators and the United Mine Workers of America opposed his appointment because of his history and likely allegiance to corporate mining interests. “Business” as usual.
*Back to School - A company based in Massachusetts has invented a bullet-proof rucksack that will help students protect themselves from guns. The $175 My Child’s Pack claims to be effective against 97% of bullets. One of the inventors cautioned, "There is no guarantee in life for anything. This product is a tool." Not mentioned in the ad copy but probably a bonus feature is that I-pod, cell phone and Game Boy will also be protected. Not currently available in school colors.
*The much anticipated General Patraeus report on the surge in Iraq is due in September, intended to update Americans on the progress of the surge. We learn this week that it will be written by the White House. Since this may be a make-or-break assessment of the Bush war strategy I am not surprised that the administration would allow the report to be based on fact by our top military commander in the theater. What I expect the report to be is Mary Poppins on Ritalin.
*Remarkable numbers:
-Troops training and fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are firing over 1 billion bullets per year. That would equate to over 114,000 bullets per hour. Such usage has resulted in a shortage of bullets for police departments nationwide and in many cases has limited officers from training with the weapons that they carry. Remarkable violence.
-The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that on August 17 there was less sea ice (measured in square miles) in the Arctic than ever recorded. Original predictions foresaw a complete melt between 2070 and 2100. Revised predictions are looking at 2030. Global warming deniers - remarkable ignorance.
-In campaign speeches Rudy Giuliani claims that he faced comparable risks as rescue workers following the 9/11 attack. Well, almost comparable. Rescue workers averaged 12 hours per day at ground zero and 400 hours total during their service. The Mayor spent a total of 29 hours during 41 visits to the WTC site in the 3 months following 9/11. Most of the visits were to give tours to officials and foreign dignitaries. Remarkable chutzpah.
-99 Army soldiers committed suicide last year, the highest rate in 26 years. More than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems and the stress of their jobs were factors motivating the soldiers to take their own lives. Remarkable tragedies.
-According to government statistics 72 miners lost their lives in 2007 and 846 have lost their live in the last 10 years. These stats do not include lives lost in the recent Utah disaster. Remarkable lack of safety oversight and concern for life.
-In the mid 70’s America experienced a serious gasoline shortage with rationing and long waits at the gas pumps. Three decades have passed and the specter of petroleum shortages wreaking havoc on our economy and our lives is as ominous today. Remarkable failure.
-McClatchy Newspapers reports that top Commerce and Treasury department officials appeared with Republican candidates and doled out millions in federal money in battleground congressional districts and states after receiving White House political briefings detailing GOP election strategy. The Hatch Act prohibits such activity. Remarkable politicization. and disdain of law.
*For an excellent explanation of how our federal budget is misguided with respect to the needs of our country and how minor adjustments can make a significant difference I recommended a two minute video at: http://www.truemajorityaction.org/oreos/
*BREAKING NEWS: REPUBLICANS PUSH FOR WELFARE – Free market capitalists, who oppose any welfare for needy Americans, are calling on the federal government to bail out the millionaire banks/corporations facing serious losses/bankruptcy in the sub-prime mortgage fiasco. These questionable lending decisions were performed with an absence of oversight by federal authorities. It is reminiscent of the savings and loan debacle 20 years ago. If you are rich and in trouble the government should provide a golden parachute. If you are poor and in trouble, screw you. Regardless of the government’s involvement in either the S and L or sub-prime mortgage meltdown the average American citizen will bear the brunt of greed-driven financial market machinations.
*Summer Vacations – President Bush is on vacation. The U.S Congress is on vacation. The Iraqi Parliament is on vacation. Our military in Iraq and Afghanistan are not on vacation. Let us offer are thoughts and best wishes for their safety and quick return home. And let us not forget our responsibility to bring pressure on our national leaders to end the debacle we call the Iraq War.
*A conscience is the price of morality, and morality is the price of civilization. From “Patriot Games” by Tom Clancy.
law enforcement agencies at all levels of government. The move to turn spy satellites on American citizens raises legal questions because the use of such data for law enforcement is "largely uncharted territory." Even the officials behind the move are unsure of its legal implications. Some experts are saying,"Not only is the surveillance they are contemplating intrusive and omnipresent, it's also invisible. And that's what makes this so dangerous."
*Politics is politics when alteration it finds - The Boston Globe ran a summary of Rudy Giuliani’s philosophical reversal on issues as he attempts to seduce the Republican base. His flip flops encompass: ban on partial-birth abortion, funding of abortions for the poor, gun control, gay marriage and civil unions, and illegal immigrants. Mitt Romney, having been outdone in reversing political stances, responded aggressively. He promised to change his tie every four hours.
*Talking bobble head(ache) – CNBC anchor Erin Burnett cautioned viewers that if China made toys without lead or produced food without poisons their cost of production would go up. And that means prices at Wal Mart would go up too. So China is our greatest friend right now. They are keeping prices low. Micro-economist Erin Burnett is giving me a sharp shooting pain behind my left eye. It is fortunate that Wal Mart has a sale this week on generic aspirin. And with each bottle of 500 count I can get a fortune cookie.
*The game of Recall - Unrelated to its recall of 1 million Chinese-made toys earlier this month Mattell, Inc. just issued a recall of 7.3 million play sets and 1.3 million die-cast cars, the dangers being magnets that could be swallowed and lead paint. Perhaps the cost of these recalls will influence toy makers to do better inspections before the toys are imported and distributed. China, which produces 80% of toys sold world-wide, has repeatedly demonstrated that their products cannot be trusted. With no respect to Ms. Burnett, “cheap” is not the sole criterion determining a product’s value unless you are purchasing a parakeet.
*Consumers Union is providing a petition that you can sign to your elected representatives urging them to ensure food and product safety before they enter our borders. The website is: secure.npsite.org/cu/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr005=663norllh3.app14b&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1643
*What’s good for the goose… trickle down theory - The State Department plans to create a new mental care office and require employees to take additional time off to deal with a surge in stress disorders among diplomats in danger posts abroad, particularly Iraq and Afghanistan. The steps were proposed in response to the findings of a survey that found up to 17 percent of diplomats serving at such posts may suffer from post traumatic stress disorder or similar problems. Now if we can only get the same sensitivity for our military serving in Iraq and Afghanistan we will have made progress. Current policy is to re-deploy soldiers in spite of physical and mental injuries as well as serious deficiencies in mental care when they return home.
*Several years ago a Mississippi court took away a woman’s 8 year old child. Two of the judges in the majority went so far as to write and sign an additional opinion, unnecessary to the case's outcome, which stated that the mother must accept the fact that losing her biological child was a possible consequence of her sexual "choice" (the mother being a lesbian). One of those two judges was Leslie Southwick. He is dangerously close to being appointed to the Federal bench by (who else?) President Bush, if confirmed by the Senate. You can sign a petition urging your senators to not confirm this Neanderthal. The link is: www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/southwick/idwkddsrhii337k?
*Karnak incarnate - I just watched a short video of Dick Cheney from 1994 explaining all of the reasons why the U.S. should not have gone into Iraq during the Gulf War. His reasoning was intelligent and cogent. He predicted all that could go wrong. And sure enough he was right as evidenced by the current Iraq war – initiated at his urging. The video can be seen at: pol.moveon.org/donate/cheneyvideo.html?r=2879&id=10983-6021600-W6mBY1
*Pork and Salmon on a skewer, unappetizing – Alaskan Republican Senator Ted Stevens and Representative Don Young are both under investigation for corrupt/criminal practices. One cannot argue, however, with the stellar job they have done for the interests of their state and their associates. Their special project appropriations include; an Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board $500,000 grant that was used partly to paint a Chinook salmon on a Boeing 737, a $450,000 grant to the University of Alaska to formulate baby food with salmon in it, the Alyeska Roundhouse received $450,000 (the building is at the Alyeska ski resort in Girdwood, where Stevens has his home), Alaska Christian College received $435,000 in 2005 (the school had several dozen students at the time), The National Archives and Records Administration received at least $2.25 million toward the purchase of an empty lot in Anchorage from two former Stevens business partners allowing them to more than double their investment.
*Takes your breath away – On Sept 18, 2001, 7 days after the attack on the World Trade Center in NYC, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman announced that results from the Agency's air and drinking water monitoring near the WTC indicate that these vital resources are safe. In August, 2003 the Office of the Inspector General of the EPA reported that some of the EPA's news releases in the weeks after the attack were softened before being released to the public: Reassuring information was added, while cautionary information was deleted. We now learn that a major study by Mount Sinai Medical Center found 70 percent of ground zero workers suffered some form of lung problems and experts there predicted thousands will either remain sick or get sick in coming years. Before Bush 43 we would have attributed such manipulation to the Soviet Union. Can you say Chernobyl? Nyet!
*Speaking of the Soviet model of governance 1 -The U.S. government argued before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that two lawsuits centering on aspects of the secret surveillance effort run by the National Security Agency after September 11, 2001 be thrown out of court for potentially exposing state secrets. Judge McKeown said, “This seems to put us in the 'trust us' category about the government's assertions that its surveillance activities did not violate the law. We don't do it. Trust us. And don't ask us about it." Deputy Solicitor General Gregory G. Garre then argued that courts are not the right forum for complaints about government surveillance, and that "other avenues" are available. Another jurist on the panel, Judge Pregerson, shot back, "What is that? Impeachment?"
*Speaking of the Soviet model of governance 2 – Wikepedia is an online encyclopedia. It recently developed software to trace who makes changes to its entries. People using CIA, FBI and EPA computers were recently tracked when they made changes on topics such as the Iraq War, Guantanamo prison and environmental issues. Pretty soon we will be seeing entries that identify George W. Bush as the greatest president in the history of our nation and Pee Wee Herman as our greatest thespian.
*On the Rove again – Some in the mainstream media as well as right-wing pundits have been praising the presidential advisor who has just resigned. Not I. Karl Rove may be seen as a genius in that he was behind the election of George W. as governor of Texas twice and President of the U.S twice. No small feat. Bill Moyers of PBS noted, ”Greed and God won Rove four elections”. After electoral successes I am hard-pressed to identify any meaningful accomplishments of the Rove-counseled Bush administration. Foreign policy has been one disaster after another. Name a domestic accomplishment of this administration in the 80 months of its tenure. The President’s approval rating is in the 20’s and the Republican party is in disarray and shrinking (only 28% of Americans view it positively). Mr. Rove’s influence was one of divisiveness, confrontation and arrogance. If “genius” is used to describe Rove, “Rembrandt” would describe the graffiti on slum buildings.
*The least shall be first – The Bush/Cheney “thunk” tank has been indicating a desire to engage Iran in war, disregarding the military principles of operating from strength and avoiding unprovoked attacks. One would think that the leading Democratic presidential candidates such as Clinton, Obama and Biden would be out front opposing this dangerous possibility of dragging America into another unnecessary and debilitating war. But it is Dennis Kucinich who is the leading candidate in speaking the truth about such foreign policy debacles. He said, “Our nation is better served by demanding sensible and responsible diplomatic foreign policy initiatives from the Bush Administration." How unfortunate that 21st century American political positions too often amount to glib sound bites delivered with face makeup for the six o’clock news.
*Just a game/Little Drummer Boy - Left Behind: Eternal Forces is a video game inspired by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins' best-selling book series about the battle of Armageddon, in which believers of Jesus Christ fight the Antichrist. The Rev. Timothy Simpson of the Christians Alliance for Progress said "It's a horrible game. You either kill or convert the other side. This is exactly how the Osama bin Ladens of the world have portrayed us”. Operation Start Up Tour, an evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among soldiers, intended to put this game in care packages for soldiers in Iraq. The Department of Defense abruptly halted this plan when ABC News inquired about the program. Someone had to inquire before distribution of these games to military personnel was halted? This is reminiscent of the proselytizing scandals at the Air Force Academy in recent years. To what drummer is our military marching? I find it interesting that Orthodox Jewish Independent Senator Joe Lieberman, head cheerleader for the Bush Iraq policy, has been silent on this subject as have the Republican and Democratic leadership. They just don’t get it!
*The Zimmers – Need a smile? A friend sent me a link to a youtube video. It is a remake of the Beatles’ Abbey Road by a group of 40 senior citizens. It is a lot of fun. The link is: youtube.com/watch?v=jNV5bgsv984
*Wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time - As miners and rescuers continue to die from recent mining accidents Mine Safety Czar Richard Stickler will be overseeing investigations. His first two appointments to this position were rejected by the Senate. Ever-clever Bush then appointed him through a loophole in the law that allows certain appointments when the Senate is in recess. Most of Stickler’s career was overseeing mining operations in the private sector where his mine safety record was in serious question. Many Senators and the United Mine Workers of America opposed his appointment because of his history and likely allegiance to corporate mining interests. “Business” as usual.
*Back to School - A company based in Massachusetts has invented a bullet-proof rucksack that will help students protect themselves from guns. The $175 My Child’s Pack claims to be effective against 97% of bullets. One of the inventors cautioned, "There is no guarantee in life for anything. This product is a tool." Not mentioned in the ad copy but probably a bonus feature is that I-pod, cell phone and Game Boy will also be protected. Not currently available in school colors.
*The much anticipated General Patraeus report on the surge in Iraq is due in September, intended to update Americans on the progress of the surge. We learn this week that it will be written by the White House. Since this may be a make-or-break assessment of the Bush war strategy I am not surprised that the administration would allow the report to be based on fact by our top military commander in the theater. What I expect the report to be is Mary Poppins on Ritalin.
*Remarkable numbers:
-Troops training and fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are firing over 1 billion bullets per year. That would equate to over 114,000 bullets per hour. Such usage has resulted in a shortage of bullets for police departments nationwide and in many cases has limited officers from training with the weapons that they carry. Remarkable violence.
-The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that on August 17 there was less sea ice (measured in square miles) in the Arctic than ever recorded. Original predictions foresaw a complete melt between 2070 and 2100. Revised predictions are looking at 2030. Global warming deniers - remarkable ignorance.
-In campaign speeches Rudy Giuliani claims that he faced comparable risks as rescue workers following the 9/11 attack. Well, almost comparable. Rescue workers averaged 12 hours per day at ground zero and 400 hours total during their service. The Mayor spent a total of 29 hours during 41 visits to the WTC site in the 3 months following 9/11. Most of the visits were to give tours to officials and foreign dignitaries. Remarkable chutzpah.
-99 Army soldiers committed suicide last year, the highest rate in 26 years. More than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems and the stress of their jobs were factors motivating the soldiers to take their own lives. Remarkable tragedies.
-According to government statistics 72 miners lost their lives in 2007 and 846 have lost their live in the last 10 years. These stats do not include lives lost in the recent Utah disaster. Remarkable lack of safety oversight and concern for life.
-In the mid 70’s America experienced a serious gasoline shortage with rationing and long waits at the gas pumps. Three decades have passed and the specter of petroleum shortages wreaking havoc on our economy and our lives is as ominous today. Remarkable failure.
-McClatchy Newspapers reports that top Commerce and Treasury department officials appeared with Republican candidates and doled out millions in federal money in battleground congressional districts and states after receiving White House political briefings detailing GOP election strategy. The Hatch Act prohibits such activity. Remarkable politicization. and disdain of law.
*For an excellent explanation of how our federal budget is misguided with respect to the needs of our country and how minor adjustments can make a significant difference I recommended a two minute video at: http://www.truemajorityaction.org/oreos/
*BREAKING NEWS: REPUBLICANS PUSH FOR WELFARE – Free market capitalists, who oppose any welfare for needy Americans, are calling on the federal government to bail out the millionaire banks/corporations facing serious losses/bankruptcy in the sub-prime mortgage fiasco. These questionable lending decisions were performed with an absence of oversight by federal authorities. It is reminiscent of the savings and loan debacle 20 years ago. If you are rich and in trouble the government should provide a golden parachute. If you are poor and in trouble, screw you. Regardless of the government’s involvement in either the S and L or sub-prime mortgage meltdown the average American citizen will bear the brunt of greed-driven financial market machinations.
*Summer Vacations – President Bush is on vacation. The U.S Congress is on vacation. The Iraqi Parliament is on vacation. Our military in Iraq and Afghanistan are not on vacation. Let us offer are thoughts and best wishes for their safety and quick return home. And let us not forget our responsibility to bring pressure on our national leaders to end the debacle we call the Iraq War.
*A conscience is the price of morality, and morality is the price of civilization. From “Patriot Games” by Tom Clancy.
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