*America on Trial – This week military commission charges were handed down that seek the death penalty for six individuals accused of involvement in the 9/11 attack. There is a natural inclination to say, “fry the bastards”. And bastards they may well be. However, there is much more at stake than emotional retribution for Americans. As noted by the Center for Constitutional Rights, “For the past six years, the United States government has refused to conduct traditional criminal trials or courts martial against Guantanamo detainees suspected of wrongdoing... the military commissions at Guantanamo allow secret evidence, hearsay evidence, and evidence obtained through torture. They are unlawful, unconstitutional, and a perversion of justice... Now the government is seeking to execute people based on this utterly unreliable and tainted evidence: it is difficult to imagine a more morally reprehensible system. Executions based on secret trials and torture evidence belong to another century. These barbaric sham proceedings will likely to inflame the controversy surrounding Guantanamo and draw the condemnation of even our allies.” Some thoughts:
>If America is so proud of its system of justice, a system that it has held up to the world as the icon of a free society, why has the Bush administration chosen an alternative thorny path?
>Is this justice? “The cadre of civilian lawyers representing terrorism suspects held by the military at Guantanamo Bay are not allowed to meet their clients in private, without video surveillance. All their mail and notes must be turned over to the military. Classified information cannot be shared with their clients. They are not entitled to everything the government knows about their clients.”
> The majority of Americans and the world community will have no confidence in these proceedings.
>What jeopardy does this create for our own military men and women if captured by enemy forces?
>Losing our moral compass under the “leadership” of George W. Bush has resulted in an America tentative and uncertain. The ultra divisive politics of the Republican Party has left our country fractured.
>Actions have consequences. What price this fiasco – for Americans and America?
*House cleaning ~ the road to better government – This week politically progressive Donna Edwards (D) defeated 8-term incumbent Al Wynn (D) in Maryland’s 4th congressional district primary. Steve Benen at The Carpetbagger Report explains why this matters: “Was Wynn really that bad? Without question. He partnered with right-wing crooks like Bob Ney to oppose campaign-finance reform; he partnered with right-wing lobbyists on the estate tax; he partnered with right-wing lawmakers on the ridiculous bankruptcy bill; and he partnered with right-wing hedge-fund managers on the private equity tax break. It wasn't just corporate lobbyists, either -- Wynn also voted with Bush on Iraq and tax cuts for the wealthy.” I have received emails from several organizations celebrating this win including Democracy for America and Act Blue. Each group deserves credit for helping to fund and campaign for Edwards. Some other organizations working to bring about better government are Common Cause, People for the American Way, MoveOn.org, Human Rights Campaign, and TrueMajority.org. You may want to visit one or two of these organizations to participate in making a difference in your community and your country.
*Only the names have been changed ~ to protect you know who – When Bush’s “personal” lawyer Alberto Gonzales was forced to resign as Attorney General (under pressure for incompetence and malfeasance) much discussion took place over his replacement. During confirmation hearings for the next Bush nominee to head the Department of Justice it was learned that a number of senators decided to vote for the confirmation of Michael Mukasey because he would be the best alternative the president would offer for this post. Last week Mukasey testified before the House Judiciary Committee and said he would not investigate torture or warrantless wiretapping (which legal experts and lay people alike believe are against the law). He also said he would not enforce contempt citations if issued by congress to current and former Bush officials for not answering subpoenas to appear before investigating committees (videos of the testimony are available at the above link). Like Gonzales, it appears that former judge Mukasey does not interpret his role as Attorney General to be an independent enforcer of the laws of the land. Both men were persuaded that their role was to be enablers and apologists of a unitary executive branch unbounded by existing law and precedent.
Life memoir ~ abridged edition – smithmag.net is an online storytelling community where authors write and share stories. They invited people to submit a life memoir in only six words. Over 15,000 did and 832 were selected for a book titled “Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure”. I found the idea intriguing. Being a guy I am introspectively challenged so I decided to try a six-pack of six word memoirs:
>From solid parents a firm footing.
>Bush presidency did a writer inspire.
>Looked over shoulder, hit a boulder.
>Life love, life illuminated, love life.
>Became a father, never pushed farther.
>Friends, friends, friends, friends, friends, friends.
If only everyone could be so fortunate. If only politicians could be so succinct.
*Questions for the President – In Mr. Bush’s latest attempt to convince congress to approve anti-terror legislation that permits spying on Americans without court oversight he said, “Terrorists are planning new attacks on our country...that will make Sept.11 pale by comparison.” How does spying on Americans without warrant or court oversight make us safer? Should we not fear a government that attempts to reduce our constitutional freedoms? Would we be safer now if you had done a better job? Disclosure: Please remember that these are rhetorical questions. My people do not speak to his people and President Bush and I do not speak directly to each other.
*Question for Democrats in the Senate – Why do you wet you underwear every time the President says Boo? The President has an approval rating below freezing (30%). The vast majority of Americans oppose his policies. Recall Franklin D. Roosevelt’s admonition, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Boo! The Democrats in the House did stand up to Bush’s fear tactics this week by not rubber-stamping the Protect America Act as the Senate did. By exhibiting some courage they did not have to pack Desitin for their week-long legislative break.
*Do we hear a bid of 30 – The announcement by Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) that he will not seek re-election marks the 29th Republican congressman to do so. Some of the spoken and unspoken reasons for these representatives moving on include spending more time with the wife and kids, joining a lobbying firm, too busy being investigated by the Dept. of Justice, suffering from Bushitis and won’t get re-elected. Recalling the Republicans performance in congress for well over a decade I feel no love lost. Do we hear 30?
*Be all that you can be – This is a phrase used in U.S. Army recruitment advertisements. I am sure that enlistment in all of the armed services has been an excellent and wonderful opportunity for millions of young Americans. The following causes one to wonder if the Army is not just plain Bushed. “A Fort Carson soldier who says he was in treatment at Cedar Springs Hospital for bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse was released early and ordered to deploy to the Middle East with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team... [he had] spent 31 days in Kuwait and was returned to Fort Carson on Dec. 31 after health care professionals in Kuwait concurred that his symptoms met criteria for bipolar disorder and “some paranoia and possible homicidal tendencies.” Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, was outraged. “If he’s an inpatient in a hospital, they should have never taken him out... First, we had the planeload of wounded, injured and ill being forced back to the war zone. And now we have soldiers forcibly removed from mental hospitals. The level of outrage is off the Richter scale.” Enlisted men and women deserve better than a Command that is AWOL. Where is the outrage of military leaders that are seemingly: silent to the uncaring deployment of personnel; silent to the inadequate care of wounded troops with permanent disabilities; and silent to the frighteningly high number of suicides and emotional disorders of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are under-treated. When the history of Iraq is written the top brass will be indelibly tarnished.
*Be all that you should be – In 2007 the Food and Drug Administration received 350 reports of health problems associated with the drug heparin (a blood thinner). The drug ingredients are manufactured in China for Baxter International. Following 4 patients dying and hundreds becoming ill Baxter halted sales on some versions of the drug. The FDA admits it has never inspected the plant (a violation of its own policy), BUT, "Preparations are being made to perform an inspection as soon as possible," said FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley. Perhaps they were waiting until the summer so that inspectors could take in the Olympics and avoid the harsh winter that China is experiencing. And where was Baxter in this equation?
~Update – The Chinese manufacturer is not certified by China’s drug regulators to manufacture pharmaceuticals and therefore was not inspected by China’s drug agency. It appears that the FDA and Baxter International are on brain thinners. That rumbling you hear in the background are the hooves of personal injury lawyers.
~Caveat for consumers – From the same NY Times article: “China provides a growing proportion of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used in drugs sold in the United States. And Chinese drug regulators have said that all producers of those ingredients are required to obtain certification by the State Food and Drug Administration. However, some of the active ingredients that China exports are made by chemical companies, which do not fall under the Chinese drug agency’s jurisdiction.”
*There is a positive side to the subprime crisis – You may have noticed that your junk mail is a tad lighter in recent weeks. It is the result of companies such as Citibank and Discover cutting back on credit card mailing offers following substantial losses in the mortgage meltdown. I am puzzled by this strategy because our elected “leaders” have allowed credit card companies to charge interest rates of 23% and higher for unpaid balances. One would think that more than ever these usurious financial icons would be trying to increase the number of people they can “legally” drain. What do I know?
*McCain ~ conviction versus confection – Over the last several years, as America has debated the use of torture, John McCain has consistently spoken out against its. Although the use of torture is prohibited by the U.S. Army Field Manual, agencies such as the CIA have used waterboarding. A bill that has already passed the House was voted on this week in the Senate. It requires that the Army Field Manual be adhered to by all U.S. agencies. Although the bill passed, and will likely be vetoed by Bush, McCain voted against the bill. He voted to allow waterboarding. On October 26, 2007 the NY Times reported: Of presidential candidates like Mr. Giuliani, who say that they are unsure whether waterboarding is torture, Mr. McCain said: “They should know what it is. It is not a complicated procedure. It is torture.” Americablog.com has a video from a recent Republican presidential debate where McCain discusses the use of torture and says, “Life is not 24 and Jack Bauer. I just came back from visiting prisons in Iraq and the Army General there said the techniques under the Army Field Manual are working effectively and he didn’t think they needed anything else. My friends, this is what America is all about.” For McCain what America is really about alters when alteration he finds.
*Sex toys – Now that I have your attention you will be relieved to know that you can once again purchase them in Texas. “A federal appeals court has overturned a Texas statute outlawing sex toy sales...” Why? The statute violated the 14th Amendment on the right to privacy. In its opinion the appeals court said, “the state here (Texas) wants to use its laws to enforce a public moral code by restricting private intimate conduct... The case is not about public sex. It is not about controlling commerce in sex. It is about controlling what people do in the privacy of their own homes because the state is morally opposed to a certain type of consensual private intimate conduct.” Hallelujah and pass the batteries.
*Macho Republicans – “The National Park Service has reasonable guidelines about firearms in national parks. It is currently lawful to transport firearms through national parks as long as they are unloaded and stored.” But a pending amendment proposed by Senator John Coburn (R-OK) would allow people to carry loaded weapons in national parks. The organization Care2 provides a petition to senators and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to say NO to the loaded guns in parks amendment at the above link. The senators need our help since it was reported that a number of them believe firearms are prohibited in national parks.
*Trader Joe’s ~ another reason I like shopping there – This food store chain has announced that it will cease importing food products from China due to customers' concerns about the products' safety. I applaud this decision for several reasons: U.S. inspection of imports is questionable; China’s inspection of exports is more than questionable; numerous articles have noted very serious air and water pollution problems in China and their effect on the food supply. Another reason to reduce our purchases of Chinese products is economic. As America’s trade imbalance with China has grown so has the loss of American jobs. Buying American-made and grown products where possible just seems to make sense. Increasing the demand for locally-grown produce makes equal sense.
*Who is going to hell? – I find it interesting that the “values” voters who are so concerned about everyone else’s soul and telling others how to conduct their lives continue to support an unprovoked war, torture, the politicians who voted against raising the minimum wage, the congressmen who opposed SCHIP (health insurance for children), an administration that hides the inadequate care it is providing wounded military, a Party that attempts to suppress the voting rights of minorities and has the unmitigated effrontery to restrict the freedoms of gay men and women in our society. I’ll chance my eternal fate opposing such hypocrisy.
*"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1829)
Showing posts with label Mukasey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mukasey. Show all posts
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
1/7/08
*Campaign promises ~ we know how they usually turn out – Mike Huckabee is now promising miracles if elected. Promising a policy of energy self-reliance, he said that soon after his election "we will be able to tell the Middle East we don't need your oil anymore than we need your sand.'" The consistently irresponsible inaction by presidents and congress since the oil shortage of 1973 has left us dependent on the oil teat of the Middle East for decades to come. That is the inconvenient and unfortunate truth.
*Speaking of miracles ~ a positive comment about George W. Bush – This is the 35th edition of SVN and I have finally found something that is complimentary about President Bush. The NY Times reports, “the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (initiated 5 years ago) may be the most lasting bipartisan accomplishment of the Bush presidency... So far, roughly 1.4 million AIDS patients have received lifesaving medicine paid for with American dollars, up from 50,000 before the initiative.” Going against Republican conventional wisdom with respect to foreign aid Mr. Bush has made a meaningful impact against a widespread and devastating disease. This is a proud accomplishment.
*Campaign losses – Following extremely poor showings in the Iowa caucus both Joe Biden and Chris Dodd have dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. I believe that both are quality leaders and offer a depth of experience but neither captured the imagination of Iowa voters. As leaders in the Senate they will play important roles toward getting America back on track.
*Iowa surprise 1 ~ the turnout – The turnout for the Iowa Democratic caucus (236,000) set a substantial record and dwarfed the Republican turnout (115,000) even though registered Dems (600,000) outnumber GOPers (550,000) by only 50,000. I also found it interesting and promising that a state with an over 97% white population would give Barack Obama such a strong win over the other six candidates. Maybe America is becoming color blind. It has been difficult for many of us over the last 7 years to feel pride in a country that we love so much and yet has erred so often. Cycles of varying scale govern all activity on this planet. Let us hope that a new positive cycle is emerging for America.
*Iowa surprise 2 ~ the turnout of youth – “...13 percent of eligible 17-29 year olds caucused. That is more than triple the percent that participated in 2004. Most significantly, young people made up 22 percent of the Democratic caucus-goers, which means they had a real impact in that race.” It is reported that 57% of these young voters chose Obama resulting in his impressive victory. In 2000 and 2004 the evangelical vote propelled Bush to victory. It will be interesting to see if the youth vote has a similar impact on the Obama candidacy. For quite some time I have been disappointed about the lethargy exhibited by young people in response to what is taking place in America and how it affects their future. Perhaps we are seeing a wakeup call.
*Iowa ~ not such a surprise – I have seen varying figures that say between 60 to 80% of the Iowa Republican voters for Mike Huckabee were evangelicals. Is Huckabee in line to be Bush light? Is it possible to be lighter than Bush? The glare of the bible’s burning bush can be blinding, leaving its message in the dark.
*A Republican against militants ~ do we feel safer now? – Jim Talent, former senator and current advisor to Mitt Romney had this to say about Romney’s brave and steadfast stance about what they perceive to be a grave threat against America, “He’s always had the same position as regards to the gay agenda. “Look, he wants people to know he values gay people as people, okay? But he doesn’t want the militant gays to be able to change the cultural institutions of the country.” I happen to love this open-code speak of the Republican agenda. They continue to put on the front pages their disdain for the principles of a democratic and free society that values choice and diversity. Couched in religion and “family” values they encourage hate and prejudice. Their appeal to a pathetic minority of Americans will ensure their minority status as a political party. For that I express gratitude.
*The real America – Congressman Tom Lantos, a representative of California since 1980 and an advocate for human rights, civil liberties and social justice, has announced that illness prevents him from seeking a 15th term in Congress. An excerpt from his press release demonstrates an aspect of America that makes me proud: “It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a Member of Congress. I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country.”
*The real Arlen Specter – My Senator from PA (R) appears so senatorial while sitting on the Senate Judiciary Committee and lecturing about the rule of law. Apparently, this self-proclaimed moderate was so busy enabling Bush policies and looking the other way as Bush appointees slithered through his grasp of inquiries and investigations that he failed to notice his election campaign was breaking Federal Election Campaign (FEC) law. “Sen. Arlen Specter's 2004 re-election campaign collected more than $1 million in excessive contributions, failed to properly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in receipts from political party committees and political action committees, and missed a key reporting deadline before the primary election, according to a FEC audit.”
*The real John McCain – In November the Republican presidential candidate was asked by Charlie Rose if he foresaw a U.S. presence in Iraq lasting as long as the Korean experience. He replied, No. But I can see an American presence for a while. But eventually I think because of the nature of the society in Iraq and the religious aspects of it that America eventually withdraws.” Last week McCain told a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, “it would be fine with him if the U.S. military stayed in Iraq for a hundred years ... we’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea 50 years or so.” McCain’s comments are contradictory and his analogy is absurd. Our military presence in both Asian countries does not involve an armed conflict where almost 100 U.S. military personnel die each month, where the cost is $10 billion per month and where the government depends upon the U.S. military for its very existence. In fact, Bush’s puppet leader of Iraq, Nuri al-Maliki, is one of the few Iraqis that want U.S. troops to stay in Iraq. The Iraqi Parliament petitioned for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops back in May, 2007. U.S. foreign policy is in dire need of a makeover infused with some fresh thinking.
*The real Rudy Giuliani – In an act that can only be characterized as desperate or ignorant and certainly dangerous Giuliani suggested, “if he were to be elected president — he would like to choose someone like Dick Cheney to be his Vice President”. This is the Dick who deceived us into an unprovoked and unwarranted war, shredded our constitution and sold us out to the oil industry. Let’s clone that!
*The real Mike Huckabee – CNN recently estimated that the next president could have as many as 3 Supreme Court Justices to nominate. Huckabee recently said that if elected president he would nominate men such as Joseph Scalia. That would make the Inquisition look like a Saturday night bingo bash. When Huckabee strums his bass guitar he appears to be the guy next door. Unfortunately, he has demonstrated that he does not know squat about foreign policy, brings his politics from the very far right and if given the chance would shove his bible down your proverbial throat. The evangelicals may like his sermons but that is not a qualification for the leader of America and the free world.
*The real Bush – The NY Times reports, “Six months ago, the Bush administration quietly eased some restrictions on the export of politically delicate technologies to China. The new approach was intended to help American companies increase sales of high-tech equipment to China despite tight curbs on sharing technology that might have military applications.
But today the administration is facing questions from weapons experts about whether some equipment — newly authorized for export to Chinese companies deemed trustworthy by Washington — could instead end up helping China modernize its military. Equally worrisome, the weapons experts say, is the possibility that China could share the technology with Iran or Syria.” I concede that current world dynamics are very complicated. At the same time Bush policies so consistently damage American interests and increase the threat to American safety that I am reminded of the Manchurian Candidate. To avoid being accused of paranoia I will just call it incompetence on steroids.
*A real Justice Department – AG Mukasey appointed a tough, non-partisan, independent prosecutor to investigate the CIA’s destruction of interrogation tapes. “John Durham, who has served with the Justice Department for 25 years, has a reputation as one of the nation's most relentless prosecutors.” Under AG Gonzales either no investigation would have taken place or the investigator would have been Mary Poppins.
*Something to think about ~ the brain – The website New Directions often speaks about the disparity in coverage that health insurers provide for physical versus mental illness. However, like the kidney the brain is an organ. Mental health advocates have been urging congress to enact laws that will force insurers to correct this gap in health coverage. A recent article in the Phila. Inquirer discusses the toll that mental illness takes on society – 26% of adults have a diagnosable mental illness that is often untreated because coverage of mental disorders remains subject to the whims of employers and insurers. Lack of treatment not only affects the individual but also their family, friends and co-workers. In extreme cases of neglect it can lead to tragedies that we see in the headlines. Congresswoman Allyson Y. Schwartz (D-PA) is co-sponsor of the still to be passed “Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act” that would require health insurance companies to provide the same benefits for mental illness as for physical illness. It is beyond time to re-think the treatment of the brain’s illnesses. You can advocate the passage of this bill by locating and contacting your congressman at Project Vote Smart.
*Thank you ~ it’s about time – I was in my favorite bagel shop waiting for my order when I saw the following sign: “As a courtesy to staff and customers Fill A Bagel has developed a policy of no cell phones.” Cell phones offer a whole new set of ways to be rude – by employees and patrons. A well-managed business that actually keeps the customer in mind deserves our business.
*Thank you Crooks and Liars – This is one of the most popular political blogs on the internet. A daily feature is Mike Finnigan’s “Mike’s Blog Roundup” and last week it made mention of and linked to Stephen Views the News. It resulted in a significant increase in visitors to the site. Bloggers have feelings too.
*Can you hear me now – Two privacy groups recently rated countries for surveillance and privacy protection “The 2007 rankings indicate an overall worsening of privacy protection across the world, reflecting an increase in surveillance and a declining performance on privacy safeguards...” Countries with endemic surveillance are Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, China, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Wired.com has more details about these trends.
*Platform for Change ~ Barack Obama – I recently sent an email to the presidential candidates (I do not remember which organization sponsored the effort) requesting that they develop policies against torture and indefinite imprisonment of suspected but unproven members of terrorist organizations and abusing the civil liberties of Americans. The following is an excerpt from the email reply by the Obama campaign:
“This Administration has put forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand. When I am president, there will be no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens. No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime. No more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. Our Constitution works, and so does the FISA court. By working with Congress and respecting our courts, I will provide our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to track and take out the terrorists without undermining our Constitution and our freedom.”
“My Administration will once again show the world that we are not a country that ships prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far off countries. That we are not a country that runs prisons which lock people away without ever telling them why they are there or what they are charged with. When I am President, America will reject torture without exception. I will also reject indefinite imprisonment without trial and close Guantanamo, reject the Military Commissions Act, and adhere to the Geneva Conventions.”
These are certainly qualities that I expect of an American president.
* “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790)
*Speaking of miracles ~ a positive comment about George W. Bush – This is the 35th edition of SVN and I have finally found something that is complimentary about President Bush. The NY Times reports, “the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (initiated 5 years ago) may be the most lasting bipartisan accomplishment of the Bush presidency... So far, roughly 1.4 million AIDS patients have received lifesaving medicine paid for with American dollars, up from 50,000 before the initiative.” Going against Republican conventional wisdom with respect to foreign aid Mr. Bush has made a meaningful impact against a widespread and devastating disease. This is a proud accomplishment.
*Campaign losses – Following extremely poor showings in the Iowa caucus both Joe Biden and Chris Dodd have dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. I believe that both are quality leaders and offer a depth of experience but neither captured the imagination of Iowa voters. As leaders in the Senate they will play important roles toward getting America back on track.
*Iowa surprise 1 ~ the turnout – The turnout for the Iowa Democratic caucus (236,000) set a substantial record and dwarfed the Republican turnout (115,000) even though registered Dems (600,000) outnumber GOPers (550,000) by only 50,000. I also found it interesting and promising that a state with an over 97% white population would give Barack Obama such a strong win over the other six candidates. Maybe America is becoming color blind. It has been difficult for many of us over the last 7 years to feel pride in a country that we love so much and yet has erred so often. Cycles of varying scale govern all activity on this planet. Let us hope that a new positive cycle is emerging for America.
*Iowa surprise 2 ~ the turnout of youth – “...13 percent of eligible 17-29 year olds caucused. That is more than triple the percent that participated in 2004. Most significantly, young people made up 22 percent of the Democratic caucus-goers, which means they had a real impact in that race.” It is reported that 57% of these young voters chose Obama resulting in his impressive victory. In 2000 and 2004 the evangelical vote propelled Bush to victory. It will be interesting to see if the youth vote has a similar impact on the Obama candidacy. For quite some time I have been disappointed about the lethargy exhibited by young people in response to what is taking place in America and how it affects their future. Perhaps we are seeing a wakeup call.
*Iowa ~ not such a surprise – I have seen varying figures that say between 60 to 80% of the Iowa Republican voters for Mike Huckabee were evangelicals. Is Huckabee in line to be Bush light? Is it possible to be lighter than Bush? The glare of the bible’s burning bush can be blinding, leaving its message in the dark.
*A Republican against militants ~ do we feel safer now? – Jim Talent, former senator and current advisor to Mitt Romney had this to say about Romney’s brave and steadfast stance about what they perceive to be a grave threat against America, “He’s always had the same position as regards to the gay agenda. “Look, he wants people to know he values gay people as people, okay? But he doesn’t want the militant gays to be able to change the cultural institutions of the country.” I happen to love this open-code speak of the Republican agenda. They continue to put on the front pages their disdain for the principles of a democratic and free society that values choice and diversity. Couched in religion and “family” values they encourage hate and prejudice. Their appeal to a pathetic minority of Americans will ensure their minority status as a political party. For that I express gratitude.
*The real America – Congressman Tom Lantos, a representative of California since 1980 and an advocate for human rights, civil liberties and social justice, has announced that illness prevents him from seeking a 15th term in Congress. An excerpt from his press release demonstrates an aspect of America that makes me proud: “It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a Member of Congress. I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country.”
*The real Arlen Specter – My Senator from PA (R) appears so senatorial while sitting on the Senate Judiciary Committee and lecturing about the rule of law. Apparently, this self-proclaimed moderate was so busy enabling Bush policies and looking the other way as Bush appointees slithered through his grasp of inquiries and investigations that he failed to notice his election campaign was breaking Federal Election Campaign (FEC) law. “Sen. Arlen Specter's 2004 re-election campaign collected more than $1 million in excessive contributions, failed to properly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in receipts from political party committees and political action committees, and missed a key reporting deadline before the primary election, according to a FEC audit.”
*The real John McCain – In November the Republican presidential candidate was asked by Charlie Rose if he foresaw a U.S. presence in Iraq lasting as long as the Korean experience. He replied, No. But I can see an American presence for a while. But eventually I think because of the nature of the society in Iraq and the religious aspects of it that America eventually withdraws.” Last week McCain told a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, “it would be fine with him if the U.S. military stayed in Iraq for a hundred years ... we’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea 50 years or so.” McCain’s comments are contradictory and his analogy is absurd. Our military presence in both Asian countries does not involve an armed conflict where almost 100 U.S. military personnel die each month, where the cost is $10 billion per month and where the government depends upon the U.S. military for its very existence. In fact, Bush’s puppet leader of Iraq, Nuri al-Maliki, is one of the few Iraqis that want U.S. troops to stay in Iraq. The Iraqi Parliament petitioned for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops back in May, 2007. U.S. foreign policy is in dire need of a makeover infused with some fresh thinking.
*The real Rudy Giuliani – In an act that can only be characterized as desperate or ignorant and certainly dangerous Giuliani suggested, “if he were to be elected president — he would like to choose someone like Dick Cheney to be his Vice President”. This is the Dick who deceived us into an unprovoked and unwarranted war, shredded our constitution and sold us out to the oil industry. Let’s clone that!
*The real Mike Huckabee – CNN recently estimated that the next president could have as many as 3 Supreme Court Justices to nominate. Huckabee recently said that if elected president he would nominate men such as Joseph Scalia. That would make the Inquisition look like a Saturday night bingo bash. When Huckabee strums his bass guitar he appears to be the guy next door. Unfortunately, he has demonstrated that he does not know squat about foreign policy, brings his politics from the very far right and if given the chance would shove his bible down your proverbial throat. The evangelicals may like his sermons but that is not a qualification for the leader of America and the free world.
*The real Bush – The NY Times reports, “Six months ago, the Bush administration quietly eased some restrictions on the export of politically delicate technologies to China. The new approach was intended to help American companies increase sales of high-tech equipment to China despite tight curbs on sharing technology that might have military applications.
But today the administration is facing questions from weapons experts about whether some equipment — newly authorized for export to Chinese companies deemed trustworthy by Washington — could instead end up helping China modernize its military. Equally worrisome, the weapons experts say, is the possibility that China could share the technology with Iran or Syria.” I concede that current world dynamics are very complicated. At the same time Bush policies so consistently damage American interests and increase the threat to American safety that I am reminded of the Manchurian Candidate. To avoid being accused of paranoia I will just call it incompetence on steroids.
*A real Justice Department – AG Mukasey appointed a tough, non-partisan, independent prosecutor to investigate the CIA’s destruction of interrogation tapes. “John Durham, who has served with the Justice Department for 25 years, has a reputation as one of the nation's most relentless prosecutors.” Under AG Gonzales either no investigation would have taken place or the investigator would have been Mary Poppins.
*Something to think about ~ the brain – The website New Directions often speaks about the disparity in coverage that health insurers provide for physical versus mental illness. However, like the kidney the brain is an organ. Mental health advocates have been urging congress to enact laws that will force insurers to correct this gap in health coverage. A recent article in the Phila. Inquirer discusses the toll that mental illness takes on society – 26% of adults have a diagnosable mental illness that is often untreated because coverage of mental disorders remains subject to the whims of employers and insurers. Lack of treatment not only affects the individual but also their family, friends and co-workers. In extreme cases of neglect it can lead to tragedies that we see in the headlines. Congresswoman Allyson Y. Schwartz (D-PA) is co-sponsor of the still to be passed “Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act” that would require health insurance companies to provide the same benefits for mental illness as for physical illness. It is beyond time to re-think the treatment of the brain’s illnesses. You can advocate the passage of this bill by locating and contacting your congressman at Project Vote Smart.
*Thank you ~ it’s about time – I was in my favorite bagel shop waiting for my order when I saw the following sign: “As a courtesy to staff and customers Fill A Bagel has developed a policy of no cell phones.” Cell phones offer a whole new set of ways to be rude – by employees and patrons. A well-managed business that actually keeps the customer in mind deserves our business.
*Thank you Crooks and Liars – This is one of the most popular political blogs on the internet. A daily feature is Mike Finnigan’s “Mike’s Blog Roundup” and last week it made mention of and linked to Stephen Views the News. It resulted in a significant increase in visitors to the site. Bloggers have feelings too.
*Can you hear me now – Two privacy groups recently rated countries for surveillance and privacy protection “The 2007 rankings indicate an overall worsening of privacy protection across the world, reflecting an increase in surveillance and a declining performance on privacy safeguards...” Countries with endemic surveillance are Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, China, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Wired.com has more details about these trends.
*Platform for Change ~ Barack Obama – I recently sent an email to the presidential candidates (I do not remember which organization sponsored the effort) requesting that they develop policies against torture and indefinite imprisonment of suspected but unproven members of terrorist organizations and abusing the civil liberties of Americans. The following is an excerpt from the email reply by the Obama campaign:
“This Administration has put forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand. When I am president, there will be no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens. No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime. No more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. Our Constitution works, and so does the FISA court. By working with Congress and respecting our courts, I will provide our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to track and take out the terrorists without undermining our Constitution and our freedom.”
“My Administration will once again show the world that we are not a country that ships prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far off countries. That we are not a country that runs prisons which lock people away without ever telling them why they are there or what they are charged with. When I am President, America will reject torture without exception. I will also reject indefinite imprisonment without trial and close Guantanamo, reject the Military Commissions Act, and adhere to the Geneva Conventions.”
These are certainly qualities that I expect of an American president.
* “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790)
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.
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