* The tenor of the presidential race is off key, again - At FactCheck.org one will find questionable and misleading claims made by both presidential campaigns. In the case of McCain-Palin, it is a ticket in desperation mode carrying the scurrilous standard of Bush and Rove to even lower standards. It is negative, toxic and hate-tinged. Like the Republican candidates themselves it is not something that America needs now or at any other time. Flush and plunge rhetoric belongs in the outhouse, not the White House. It is the worst that a democracy has to offer. The Obama campaign has manipulated some facts in presenting its case but it has not lost its soul. At the same time, the relatively minor indiscretions by Obama-Biden are unnecessary and regrettable. McCain’s history, voting record and proposed policies provide a cornucopia of material for demonstrating the differences between the candidates. Americans are desperately looking for leadership they can believe in. Give us reason to do so.

* Legislative Alert - I would like to suggest that the next congress enact legislation that requires federal election advertising be reviewed for accuracy by an independent body before the ad can be released. What does it say about our country that candidates continually seek office through intentional, unmitigated dishonesty? There is good reason why the word “trust” is rarely used to describe an elected official. It is quite a sorry state in which “the greatest democracy in the history of the world” finds itself.

* Silence on reparations – Much has been written about the obscene salaries and bonuses taken by Wall Street financial executives as they allowed their companies to reach bankruptcy. While the taxpayers are being asked to fork over $700 billion to bail out these icons of modern finance there is almost no mention about recouping the executive compensation that was “earned” through incompetence and fraud. Reading about bankrupt Lehman Bros. this week only added to my conviction that significant amounts of Wall Street compensation in recent years should be recouped.

Lehman CEO Richard S. Fuld, Jr. testified before congress on Monday. Mr. Fuld said that he “took full responsibility” for the actions that led to the nation’s largest bankruptcy ever but, he conceded no errors or judgments. I had to smile when Committee Chairman Henry Waxman noted that Mr. Fuld had received $484 million in compensation since 2000 and Mr. Fuld retorted that the amount was in the range of $250 million. What was not questionable during the hearing was that internal Lehman emails showed that the company was not “overwhelmed by forces outside its control” as Fuld claimed. After realizing the company was in trouble it “continued to squander millions in executive compensation.” It ignored its money-management subsidiary suggesting “significant expense reduction” and, most egregiously, “Lehman recommending to its compensation committee four days before the bankruptcy filing that three departing executives receive more than $20 million in special payments.” This occurred at the same time that Mr. Fuld was pleading with Secretary of the Treasury Paulson for federal rescue.

It is my opinion that taking compensation during fraudulent and incompetent behavior is cause for reparation of that compensation. As America teeters on an economic cliff it is time for all parties concerned to be accountable – the President, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the congress and the bloated and beached whales of finance.

* Syllogisms on steroids ~ conservative convoluted cogitation - Republican members of the House Oversight Committee released a report in which they concluded that deregulation is not to blame for the current trouble in the financial system. As wonkroom.thinkprogress.org notes “House Republicans argue that there should be no such rule, because bankers will just find ways around it.” At least this mental mendacity explains why George W. Bush and his Republican cohorts had no misgivings over the last eight years side-stepping the Constitution and avoiding oversight. The American flag pin lapel wearers were just being “logical.”

* When you throw dirt, be the first to duck – In response to the negative ads and absurd claims being regurgitated by the McCain campaign the Obama campaign has decided to forcefully respond. The difference being that the Obama claims about McCain’s ethical lapses on behalf of Charles Keating during the Savings and Loan scandals in the late 1980s is factual. The Obama campaign has produced a 14-minute video titled “Keating Economics – John McCain and the Making of a Financial Crisis” with commentary by William Black, Ph.D., Federal Banking Regulator, 1984 – 1994. In a counter-move McCain trotted out his lawyer John Dowd to make the claim that McCain was a scapegoat in the Keating Five scandal and that his relationship with Keating was purely social. This is true only if “major financial contributor” is a synonym for “social.” It is interesting that in his 2002 autobiography McCain refers to this incident as "the worst mistake of my life." Not precisely the words of a scapegoat?

* Curiouser and curiouser – In Tuesday’s debate John McCain said, “I'll get Osama bin Laden, my friends. I'll get him. I know how to get him.” It causes one to wonder why he has not shared this expertise with the President and the Secretary of Defense. Perhaps he is waiting to advise Sarah Palin.

* True to form – The other day someone asked if I found it unusual that Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin was being used by the McCain campaign almost exclusively as an attack dog against Obama. No, I was not surprised. There is nothing else she is prepared to do.

* “Trusting” the McCain campaign – John McCain asks us to groundlessly believe in the soundness of his health. This is a 72-year old man with a history of serious skin cancer who refuses to release his medical records. I agree that your and my medical records are no one’s business. That is not the situation with someone who aspires to be the leader of the free world. Are voters entitled to know the status of his health given that if he were elected his replacement is as prepared to be president as I am to be an oncologist?

* Missing Persons Alert – If anyone runs into Bill and Hillary Clinton please remind them that their Democratic Party is involved in the most important presidential campaign in our lifetime. It is time that the Clintons get over Hillary’s loss in the presidential primary and at least pretend that they care about the future of America.

* Is there a doctor in the house? – A new report by Daniel R. Levinson, the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services says that “more than 90 percent of nursing homes were cited for violations of federal health and safety standards last year, and for-profit homes were more likely to have problems than other types of nursing homes… Problems included infected bedsores, medication mix-ups, poor nutrition, and abuse and neglect of patients.” This is not a report on a third world country. This report is about the United Sates of America. The inspector general said he had found some cases in which nursing homes billed Medicare and Medicaid for services that "were not provided, or were so wholly deficient that they amounted to no care at all." Presently we are focused on the dishonesty in the presidential race and Wall Street. The sad reality is that dishonesty, disinterest and self-centeredness have infected our society to such a degree that triage is now appropriate. Where does one begin?

* Speaking of medical care – The economic brain trusts advising John McCain are generally well-heeled and not critically dependent upon health insurance for their well-being. They have no clue as to what the average American faces and they could not care less. They are full-fledged members of the ruling class in America, the class that has been taking us toward developing country status. On Tuesday we learn from The Wall Street Journal that McCain plans to pay for his health care plan by cutting $1.3 trillion dollars from Medicare and Medicaid over 10 years. A campaign spokesman said “that the campaign has always planned to fund the tax credits, in part, with savings from Medicare and Medicaid. If anyone believes this gibberish I have some Lehman Bros. stock to sell them. If these programs are cut to the degree McCain proposes it will be lights out for many of the elderly. There is no where else to turn. You might suggest they turn to private health plan insurers but under McCain’s plan health insurers would not have to accept pre-existing conditions. Show me an elderly person without a pre-existing condition and I will show you Jack Lalanne. After that we are looking at fiscal and physical euthanasia for the elderly. For the record, the well-respected Center for American Progress explains that there is no Social Security crisis.

* Tip for the Obama campaign - Florida has 27 Electoral Votes and 3.2 million citizens covered by Medicare.

* “The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business.”
Clarence Darrow (1857 – 1938) American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union

*Social Security ~ how insecure? – Listening to George Bush, John McCain, Republicans and the New York Times one would conclude that Social Security benefits for millions of Americans are in near-term crisis. James Kvaal, Domestic Policy Advisor at the Center for American Progress Action Fund offers a different conclusion. “The latest projection is that Social Security will pay full benefits for more than 30 years. After 2041, it will pay only 78 percent of promised benefits... The report is an important reminder that the program is not in a crisis. While we need reforms to extend the life of Social Security, we do not need to panic and adopt massive benefit cuts. And the last thing we need is the radical step of privatization”. Recall President Bush traveling the country several years ago lobbying for a privatization plan for Social Security. The plan would have been a boon for America’s private financial institutions as they got their sticky hands on billions of dollars. YES, that same greedy, needy, seedy group seeking from Congress billions of dollars of U.S. taxpayer money to BAIL them out of loans that should never have been made and surrounded by mismanagement and malfeasance – while executives took tens of millions of dollars in salaries, bonuses and retirement packages. For my money I say keep Social Security out of “private” hands and develop a plan to further fund the current system.

* Happy Birthday ~ the Peace sign – On April 4th the Peace sign celebrated its 50th birthday. The symbol was originally the official sign for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in England and in the 1960s the hippies were the first to use it as a symbol of peace. Since then it has been appropriated by scores of protest movements. A more detailed history and numerous artist depictions of the Peace symbol are available at: happybirthdaypeace.com. For those of us who were hangin’ out in the 1960s the Peace symbol did not prove to be as powerful as we had hoped.

* What’s the big deal? – I have seen a number of articles advocating for greater religious influence in government/public forums. In most cases the intent may be positive but the implications are missed. A case in point is POPLINE (POPulation information onLINE), the world's largest database on reproductive health, containing citations with abstracts to scientific articles, reports, books, and unpublished reports in the field of population, family planning, and related health issues. POPLINE is maintained by the INFO Project at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs and is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. “A medical librarian who ran a typical search on POPLINE found something very disturbing. The term “abortion” had been pretty much blocked from its database for normal searches.” The Bush administration has spent over 7 years insinuating the agenda of the religious right throughout federal agencies and programs. AND, that is a big deal. You may not care about abortion but you may care about the next subject or be a member of a group that could be targeted - Black, Asian, Jew, gay, liberal, conservative, Muslim, elderly, autistic, immigrant...

* Family values guys – At least that is the most popular reason Bush administrators give when resigning in disgrace and/or under criminal investigation. The most recent “resigning to spend more quality time with the family” is Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson. Given the housing-mortgage crisis it seems an odd time to be quitting. Unstated reasons for Jackson resigning would include “allegations of cronyism and favoritism involving HUD contractors for the past two years. The FBI has been examining the ties between Jackson and a friend who was paid $392,000 by Jackson's department as a construction manager in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.” Also unmentioned in Jackson’s resignation speech: holding back funds for public housing in Philadelphia in retaliation for the city not turning over land for re-development to his friend; giving a friend a contract to run the housing authority in the Virgin Islands who had no housing experience. Jackson faces ongoing probes "by a federal grand jury, the Justice Department, the FBI and the HUD inspector general. The Bush guys are one happy family who share the principle of drool of law.

* Looking over your shoulder ~ or under the bed – I find it somewhat amusing that the U.S. State Department has issued a warning to Americans traveling to China for the Olympics this summer. "All hotel rooms and offices are considered to be subject to onsite or remote technical monitoring at all times...Hotel rooms, residences and offices may be accessed at any time without the occupant's consent or knowledge." I imagine that China is issuing a similar warning to its citizens who travel to the U.S. It reminds one of the good old days of the Cold War.

* Speaking of China –There is much to criticize about China’s business methods and government. A major area of concern is that many of the country’s major cities are an environmental disaster and as unsafe health-wise as some of the products they produce. However, they have joined other countries in establishing automobile mileage standards that make U.S. standards substandard. Whereas the U.S. has just set a goal of 35 MPG by the year 2020, the Chinese are there now and Europe and Japan were at these levels six years ago. Also of note is that by 2010 China will be the world leader in wind turbine manufacturing and solar photovoltaics manufacturing. I have no idea what “photovoltaics” is but I do know that the business and government leadership of America has abandoned the American workforce and the American people. It was not too long ago that this country was leading the world in technology and production. As factories stand idle and many workers seek quality paying jobs the only good news can be found in fortune cookies and the prospect of new leadership.

* Speaking of the Economy – Last week Barack Obama gave a speech “Renewing the American Economy” (the link offers a video and print copy). Once again we hear from an adult speaking to adults. “Under Republican and Democratic Administrations, we failed to guard against practices that all too often rewarded financial manipulation instead of productivity and sound business practices... We let the special interests put their thumbs on the economic scales. The result has been a distorted market that creates bubbles instead of steady, sustainable growth; a market that favors Wall Street over Main Street, but ends up hurting both.” “The great task before our Founders... was putting into practice the ideal that government could simultaneously serve liberty and advance the common good.” These two excerpts are examples of what this speech offered. I believe the entire speech is worth hearing. It is a short lesson in American economic history, a review of how our economy got in trouble and a road map for moving forward.

* McCain and minority issues – a 25 year history – In 1983 Senator John McCain voted against having a national day to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. There are many issues on which McCain has flip-flopped but support for minority issues is not one of them. For example, he voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1990 that included laws to end discrimination in hiring and on at least 8 occasions he voted against raising the minimum wage. The organization Color of Change offers a history of McCain’s legislative record on issues affecting people of color.

*A voice from the past – In the early 1950s Dwight D. Eisenhower cautioned America about the military-industrial complex. Many would say that this was not a lesson learned as billions are spent on unnecessary or outmoded weapons systems and equipment. An interesting third element in this relationship is members of congress. A recent study by the Center for Responsive Politics found that, “Members of Congress have as much as $196 million collectively invested in companies doing business with the Defense Department, earning millions since the onset of the Iraq war.” One would hope that elected representatives would not consider putting military personnel in harm’s way or approving military budgets for personal gain. For those skeptics/realists among us perhaps members of congress should be prohibited from investing in companies that profit from government contracts - just a thought.

* Till we’re Jet Blue in the face – About a year ago several conditions converged on the NY city airports and Jet Blue passengers were stuck on planes on the ground for 8 to 10 hours. Passengers were without food, water, fresh air and with overflowing toilets. The state of New York subsequently passed a Passenger Bill of Rights that would fine airlines up to $1000 per passenger for such conditions. The trade association for the airlines took the law to court where it was upheld at the federal level but was just overturned by a federal appellate court. The reason for the reversal was that the NY law pre-empted federal law and interfered with the FAA ability to maintain uniform standards for air travel. I can understand this logic and join other air travelers in the hope that Congress enacts legislation such as NY’s law protecting airline passenger on a national level. Unfortunately, by the time that the cathartic Congress gets around to passing anything but gas, planes will be obsolete and we will be beaming ourselves to other locations utilizing technology found on old Star Trek movie sets.

*Why I will never, ever wear nipple rings – A woman was forced to remove two nipple rings detected by TSA security before they would allow her to board her flight. She was provided with a pair of pliers for the removal. The passenger filed a complaint since she had volunteered to display her pierced breasts in private to a female agent. The TSA said that officers followed procedures but the procedures must change. I sense that more than TSA procedures will change once caution replaces fear as our mantra.

* Statistic of the Week – 81% of Americans feel the nation is on the wrong track. This is the worst perception recorded since the NY Times/CBS poll began asking the question in the early 1990s. Only 14% feel that America is okay which means that half of the diehard Bush supporters have left the fold. Welcome to the real world.

* The irony of intentions – It seems that every time Republicans bleat their horn for smaller government and increased privatization to save taxpayers money, their plans wind up costing the taxpayers an INCREASE of billions of dollars. Republican economic policy has directly contributed to this less-than-proud moment – vanishing jobs and rising prices will result in 28 million people needing food stamps by the end of 2008. Which is deeper, Republican policy incompetence or pockets that are being stuffed with special interest money?

* The irony of perspective – On March 27th President Bush said in a speech that the surge is working and that normalcy is returning to Iraq. From a March 28th article "The State Department has instructed all personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad not to leave reinforced structures due to incoming insurgent rocket fire that has killed two American government workers this week... all personnel are advised to remain under hard cover at all times... Personnel should only move outside of hard cover for essential reasons... Essential outdoor movements should be sharply limited in duration... We strongly recommend personnel do not sleep in their trailers.” One of the above quotes was made from the safety of Dayton, Ohio (while surrounded by a contingent of Secret Service agents) and peering Through the Looking-Glass where opposite meanings and running backwards abound.

* The irony of aversion - Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal writes about Hillary Clinton’s disingenuous or disremembering claim that she dodged sniper fire during a visit to Bosnia in 1996. Video tape shows Hillary on a peaceful tarmac being greeted by a young girl offering flowers. Noonan says, “But I think it's fair to say of the establishment media at this point that it is well populated by people who feel such a lack of faith in Mrs. Clinton's words and ways that it amounts to an aversion. They are offended by how she and her staff operate.” I would like to add my name to people who are offended and have aversions. To some degree my aversion is with the Clintons, but establishment media are near the top of my list. Most of their oversight involves the feeding frenzy when a national figure is exposed for sexual indiscretions. In terms of holding this administration and members of congress accountable we have witnessed a failure of significant magnitude. Establishment media, for the most part, have been (take your pick) intimidated, somnambulant, hypnotized, incompetent.

* "If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will loose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will loose that too."
William Somerset Maugham (1874 – 1965), English short-story writer, novelist and playwright

* Alzheimer’s, stupidity or Cheney Machiavellism? – On three occasions last week McCain claimed that Iranian operatives were "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back." With no evidence to support this claim the first time he said this it was considered a slip of the tongue. The second time it was said Mr. McStraightTalk was reading from a prepared statement. The third time he said this Joe Lieberman whispered into his ear and McCain corrected himself. This is not unlike the Bushites’ claim that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction about to be launched at the U.S. causing a huge mushroom cloud to hover over America or that Saddam was in some way connected to al Qaeda. None of it true. Is John McBush preparing us for an attack on Iran or is he like the eccentric uncle at the family dinner table mumbling between belches until anesthetized by a nap? As Obama and Clinton battle for the Democratic nomination McCain is advancing in the polls. Do the American people suffer from Alzheimer’s or stupidity as they even remotely consider an extension of the Bush years?

* When the word “so” begins with a capital “F” and ends in a lower case “u”- I have not commented on remarks from White House Press Secretary Dana Perino for quite some time. Like her predecessors Ari Fleisher and Scott McClellan, she produces so much inane pap from the podium that it becomes like the drone from a room air conditioner that is soon not heard. When Dick Cheyney was told by a reporter that “two-thirds of Americans say” the Iraq war “is not worth fighting,” he responded, “So?” That of course was no surprise. When Perino was asked about Cheney’s comment she responded that the last time the American people were heard was the 2004 elections. Her observation ignored the 2006 elections that in many ways was a repudiation of the Iraq war as the Republican War Party was soundly defeated. Of course when Bush and Cheyney treated their election and re-election as coronations, mid-term elections became marginal. From one perspective they are right. In 2004 the American people had the opportunity to reject/evict these disingenuous imperialist warmongers. So, we didn’t.

*Quote of the week - "At 11:00 on a Tuesday, a prominent politician spoke to Americans about race, as though they were adults." This was said by Jon Stewart of the Dailey Show, referring to Barack Obama’s speech on March 11, 2008. The speech can be seen and heard at: Barack Obama: Change We Can Believe In His Own Words

* Observation of the week –Cynthia Tucker, syndicated columnist and editorial page editor of The Atlanta Constitution, said about Obama’s speech, “That high-minded appeal has drawn its share of skeptics, and for good reason. One of the more puzzling, yet persistent, features of the American political landscape has been the success of politicians who seize on racial tensions and long-simmering resentments to win over working-class white voters -- even while supporting policies that betray the economic interests of that same group.” Ronald Reagan and George Bush are examples of the politicians Tucker references. It is unfortunate that the quote from 1961 at the end of this post remains, in part, a hope. There has been progress but, it is a road slowly traveled.

* Did you get your letter from the IRS? - Last week I received notification that following an evaluation of my 2007 tax return I may receive a rebate check (intended to stimulate the U.S. economy). Unfortunately, there are cynics out there that do not believe this Bush fix for the economy will fix much. A reader sent me the following:
If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China. If we spend it on gasoline it will all go to the Arabs, if we purchase a computer it will all go to India, if we purchase fruit and vegetables it will all go to Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala (for some reason Chile was left off the list), if we purchase a good car it will all go to Japan, if we purchase useless crap it will all go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy. We need to keep that money here in America, so the only way to keep that money here at home is to buy prostitutes, beer and visit Indian casinos, since those are the only businesses still in the US.

* Disquieting quote of the week ~ improving the U.S. balance of trade - "I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them into the United States because we believe homosexuality is destructive to society." So said Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council pontificating on behalf of the religious wrong. These are the same people that support Bush and will reluctantly support McCain since he is the closest thing to Bush that they can get this election cycle (and he is getting much closer – see below “Reality of the Week”). They are as wrong for America as the corporate and financial “geniuses” whose greed-driven policies have wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy.

* A full plate and an empty coffer - Not making a hybrid car like the Prius (Toyota) was a "mistake," General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz told a group at last week’s NY Auto Show. Despite GM losing billions of dollars over the last couple of years and Toyota making a profit this gaff can be excused. GM and its lobbyists were too busy opposing higher gas mileage standards.

* Context and furor – The recent media frenzy and citizen reaction to comments by Obama’s minister after the 9/11 attack on America do have a context beyond the YouTube sound bites. Rev. Wright based one of his comments about “chickens coming home to roost” on an interview he had heard on FOX News with Ambassador Edward Peck, “retired, white, career U.S. diplomat who served 32-years in the U.S. Foreign Service and was chief of the U.S. mission to Iraq under Jimmy Carter.” Wright said, “A white ambassador said that yall, not a black militant, not a reverend who preaches about racism, an ambassador whose eyes are wide open and is trying to get us to wake up and move away from this dangerous precipice... the ambassador said that the people we have wounded don't have the military capability we have, but they do have individuals who are willing to die and take thousands with them...” The “dangerous precipice” reference was the consequences of decades of myopic U.S. foreign policy, which, as most of us realize, has further deteriorated since 9/11. I am not aware of any violence committed by Rev. Wright nor have I heard of any violence committed by anyone as a result of Wright’s words. Speaking of Wright’s words he has said, "Violence begets violence, hatred begets hatred, and terrorism begets terrorism." And that leaves little to disagree with.

* Buying the (Iraq) War – PBS’ outstanding journalist Bill Moyers produced a program that asks the questions, “How did the mainstream press get it so wrong... How and why did the press buy it, and what does it say about the role of journalists in helping the public sort out fact from propaganda?" The program can be seen at this link. Walter Pincus of the Washington Post concludes, "More and more the media become, I think, common carriers of administration statements and critics of the administration. We've sort of given up being independent on our own." I believe that the lesson to be taken is that to be informed citizens we must go beyond the six o’clock news, traditional print media and Sunday morning pundit sound bites that we have relied upon. It is a lesson of a democracy manipulated and a Fourth Estate surrendering its role in a democratic society. Not much has changed in the last six years.

* On Easter Sunday the 4000th U.S. soldier was killed in Iraq. 97% of these deaths (3860) occurred after President Bush’s Mission Accomplished speech announcing the end of “major combat” in Iraq on May 1, 2003.

* Repenting support for the Iraq War – Andrew Sullivan has a conservative perspective and writes for The Atlantic. A recent article closely examines his initial support for the Iraq war and dissects why he was wrong on a number of levels. It is worth a read. He concludes, “I know our enemy is much worse. I have never doubted that. But I never believed that America would do what America has done. Never. My misjudgment at the deepest moral level of what Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld were capable of - a misjudgment that violated the moral core of the enterprise - was my worst mistake. What the war has done to what is left of Iraq - the lives lost, the families destroyed, the bodies tortured, the civilization trashed - was bad enough. But what was done to America - and the meaning of America - was unforgivable. And for that I will not and should not forgive myself either. Thanks to the web site The Sideshow for bringing this article to attention.

* Separation of Church and State – Last weekend many internet sites featured the theme Blog Against Theocracy. This is not a stand against religion but a reminder that the Government should keep out of religion, and Religion should keep out of the government. One might find it interesting and informative surfing some of the links.

*Myth of the Week ~ John McCain supports the troops – Contrary to McCain’s stance that what you see is what you get, another carnival mirror of distortion is broken. Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) is sponsoring legislation that would offer benefits to veterans similar to those benefits offered military personnel following Word War II. I recently had seen a study that estimated for every dollar the U.S. government had spent on G.I. benefits following WWII the government received in return seven dollars in taxes from increased wages earned. Webb has called on McCain to co-sponsor the bill but McBush has yet to do so. It must be a Republican thing that appearing to spend money is verboten in their political circles – contrary to actually spending money over the past 7 years that blew through our surplus and created unimaginable deficits. For the Republicans currently in power “supporting the troops” is a marketing term for a product that does not exist. Of course, if we keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years, as McCain has suggested, we will not have to give them educational benefits – only bomb-resistant walkers. Democratic presidential candidates Clinton and Obama are among the 51 co-sponsors of the bill that does include nine Republicans.

* Reality of the Week ~ McCain’s draconian (for most Americans) tax and healthcare agenda - The Center for American Progress Action Fund's (CAPAF) Robert Gordon and James Kvaal issued a report on "the Bush-McCain-Norquist Tax Agenda," which found that Sen. John McCain's tax plan would cost $2 trillion over the next decade and would deliver 58 percent of its benefits to the top 1 percent of taxpayers. McCain's plan to "reform the tax code to eliminate the bias toward employer-sponsored health insurance" would cost $206 billion in 2009 alone -- an amount of spending that "is double that proposed by Obama or Clinton's plan." Moreover, "McCain and Bush's plan would make it harder for people with health issues to obtain affordable health insurance." From the report’s summary: “In the final analysis, we conclude that the McCain tax plan is essentially a continua­tion of the agenda articulated by Norquist and others to achieve piecemeal but radical changes to the U.S. tax code... These changes require huge spending cuts, shift the tax burden away from capital and onto labor, and come “at the expense of lower- and middle-income Americans.” When I refer to McCain as McBush, substance far outweighs sarcasm.

* "I look forward confidently to the day when all who work for a living will be one, with no thought to their separateness as Negroes, Jews, Italians or any other distinctions." Martin Luther King Jr., Dec. 11, 1961

1/26/08

*I am beside myselves – Former football great Hershel Walker reveals in a new book that he suffers from multiple personality disorder. In the extreme it would be defined as a disorder yet each of us have multiple personalities. We are subtly to demonstrably different as a spouse or a parent, in our work or hangin’ with friends, when we go to the doctor or place a bet at a casino. I bring this up because the people we elect to represent us also have multiple (varying) personalities and the one that we see campaigning is apt to be much different than the one that affects policies and enacts laws. Whom we see on the stump may actually be a chump. I have been leaning toward one particular candidate but learned this week of some votes cast in the past that raise questions for me. Possessing some knowledge of a candidate’s past actions will tell us a lot more than what we get from the overload of sound bites rained down upon us from our television sets. For each of us there will not likely be a perfect candidate but, a democracy does require compromise. At best we can try to be informed so that our final decision is not compromised solely by a candidate’s personality.

*Dinner with the Clintons ~ satiated – You know that feeling one gets following a holiday meal? One more bite and you are certain that you will explode. That is the feeling I have about Bill and Hillary Clinton. Enough is enough. I have commented that I felt Bill was a decent president. I will not forget his loose zipper and the very questionable pardons he granted at the end of his presidency. These examples are not G.W. Bush destructions of the fabric of our country but character flaws that remind one of a fabric that causes a nagging itch. What bothers me the most, however, is the current Hillary Clinton presidential campaign that is heavily funded by special interests (as are some other candidates to varying degrees, unfortunately) and managed by philosophical reprobates better suited for the Republican Party of dirty tricks and questionable campaign ethics. As Bill’s recent statements attempted to revise history (such as his claim that he did not support the invasion of Iraq) and as Hillary’s campaign appears to be one huge scripted stage production, I am Bushed and Clintoned out. It is almost 20 years since the White House had a different name in residence. Burp.

*Responsible leadership – There has been a recent spate of letters falsely claiming that Barack Obama is a Muslim. One target of these letters is the Jewish community. At a time when “religion” from the political right is polluting the national discourse I was pleased to see an intelligent, responsible and adult response to the attack on Obama. Seven Jewish U.S. Senators issued a statement against such attacks and said, in part, “Over the past several weeks, many in the Jewish community have received hateful emails that use falsehood and innuendo about Senator Barack Obama's religion and attack him personally. As Jewish United States Senators who have not endorsed a candidate for the Democratic nomination, we condemn these scurrilous attacks... All voters should support whichever candidate they believe would make the best president.” The signers are Senators Carl Levin, Barbara Boxer, Ben Cardin, Russ Feingold, Frank Lautenberg, Bernie Sanders, and Ron Wyden.

*The fine print – footnoted.org is a very interesting web site founded several years ago my Michelle Leder. “Each day, the site takes a closer look at the things that companies try to bury in their routine SEC filings.” It is read by financial money managers and analysts and it is a place to perhaps see what is going on with a company you work for or invest in. Examples of her finds: Countrywide gives President and COO David Sambol $2.62 million promotion bonus and country club membership just before stock implodes; Hair-salon chain Regis Corp. doles out more than $2 million worth of goodies to relatives of corporate executives; Morgan's Hotel Group adds $30,000-a-month Manhattan apartment to new CEO Fred Kleisner's $750,000 salary; I2 Technologies, a troubled software company, spends almost $1 million ferrying former CEO Michael McGrath between his Maine home and its Dallas headquarters; Qwest Communications CEO Edward Mueller sends his step-daughter to high school on a private jet. It may be a footnote but we “note” who foots the bill.

*Sometimes the truth hurts – A Canadian training manual for its diplomats inadvertently became public. The following countries were identified as nations that torture: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United States, Afghanistan, Israel and China. (A spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Ottawa said the Israeli Supreme Court was "on record as expressly prohibiting any type of torture".)
Update: Under heavy pressure from the U.S. ambassador to Canada, the U.S. was removed from the list. Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said that, “he regretted the embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the list and promised it would be changed to reflect the Canadian government's official position.” I did not notice my embarrassment abate because of Canada’s “official” position.

*Non-violent conditions in Iraq ~ don’t ask – In an unusually cold winter in the Middle East residents of Iraq are particularly hard hit. There is a lack of water, a lack of electricity and a lack of heat. “Little kerosene is available on the state-run market at the subsidized price of $0.52 a gallon. But the fuel can be found on the black market, where it goes for more than $3.79 a gallon... An average household needs at least 1.32 gallons a day to stay warm, which translates into a monthly expense of $150, or half what an average Iraqi earns.” Since January 1st temperatures at night nave fallen below freezing. Success in Iraq requires going well beyond reducing violence but the Bush spokespeople seem blind to the needs of the Iraqi people when measuring “success”. Recall President Bush saying that his invasion of the country was in part to help the Iraqi people. Ask an Iraqi how they have been helped. Bring gloves.

*I didn’t know that – Living in the United States we take the English language for granted. I am sure that none of us imagine a day when “our” language would disappear. Yet, a U.N. report says that “one language disappears across the world every two weeks.” An example of this loss is taking place in the village of Ayapan in Tabasco, Mexico. Two men in their 70s, the last speakers of the indigenous language Zoque, have drifted apart and are no longer talking to each other. It is humbling that little if anything on our planet is forever. I wonder how these two men feel about the impending end of their language line. I wonder how our behavior would be altered if we each had a true sense of our transience?

*Flash Observations:
~Chuck Norris says that he supports Huckabee because McCain is too old for the job. He says that the presidency ages a person faster than normal because of the demands. If elected, McCain would be 72 at his inauguration. I don’t care much for Norris’ acting or politics but I tend to agree that the age of 72 is a bit old to begin the most demanding job in the world.

~If you are not offended by Huckabee’s desire to integrate church and state maybe another matter will get your attention. In 1993 he had no problem addressing the Council of Conservative Citizens (while Lt. Governor of Arkansas), a white supremacist group. An excerpt from their Statement of Principles: "We also oppose all efforts to mix the races of mankind, to promote non-white races over the European-American people through so-called "affirmative action" and similar measures, to destroy or denigrate the European-American heritage, including the heritage of the Southern people, and to force the integration of the races." I guess the part about all of us being created in the image of God is open to opinion in the mind(less)-set of these miscreants.

~The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is refusing to provide Congress with a full explanation of why it rejected California’s greenhouse gas regulations. Amidst the smog of reasoning is the fact that the Bush-appointed EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson went against the opinion of EPA employees and scientists in this ruling in favor of the lobbying efforts of the U.S. oil and auto industries. Congress is investigating and late this week Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) proposed legislation that would override the EPA decision.

~I find it interesting that many of those opposed to abortion as well as those seeking to legally expand human rights to an embryo (currently a proposed law in 20 states) have so little to say or interest in the welfare of that embryo once born. To advocate the sanctity of life but not the sanctity of the living is incongruous to me.

~The Center for Public Integrity researched the number of false statements made by the Bush administration leading up to the invasion of Iraq. From the report: “...the 935 false statements painstakingly presented here finally help to answer two all-too-familiar questions as they apply to Bush and his top advisers: What did they know, and when did they know it?

~Quote of the Week - Editor of the LA Times Jim O’Shea was pushed out of his job this week because he opposed budget cuts and the way that the parent company Tribune newspapers allocate resources. He said, “We need to tell readers more about Barack Obama and less about Britney Spears.” I applaud this adult approach to news reporting.

*Freedoms Under Attack – Unbeknown to most of us, organizations such as Save the Internet are working diligently to protect us from cable and telecommunication companies illegally blocking free speech and greedily and insidiously hindering free choice to enhance their power and their wealth. Some examples:
· In October 2007, the Associated Press busted Comcast for blocking its users' access to peer-to-peer file-sharing networks like BitTorrent and Gnutella. This fraudulent practice is a glaring violation of Net Neutrality.
· In September 2007, Verizon was caught banning pro-choice text messages. After a New York Times expose, the phone company reversed its policy, claiming it was a glitch.
· In August 2007, AT&T censored a live webcast of a Pearl Jam concert just as lead singer Eddie Vedder criticized President Bush.
· In 2006, Time Warner's AOL blocked all emails that mentioned www.dearaol.com -- an advocacy campaign opposing the company's pay-to-send e-mail scheme.
· In 2004, North Carolina ISP Madison River blocked their DSL customers from using any rival Web-based phone service.
As a nation we are becoming aware of the cost to society of businesses being allowed to become too powerful. This observation applies not only to telecommunication companies but to other industries as well - with special attention to financial institutions, energy companies, health insurers and pharmaceuticals. I anticipate that over the next several years the American people will demand that Congress (which is a part of the problem through self-interest and cronyism) legislate alterations to the unfettered power of corporate industry that has taken root. I expect that there will be a more diligent policing of the abuse exhibited by these entities. It will be an opportunity to verify our democracy’s viability.

*Remembering Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
~A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.~History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.
~Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness
~The time has come for America to hear the truth…