...and Clinton was impeached for a lie about sex!!
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Friday, December 30, 2005
Thursday, December 22, 2005
War on Christmas----or intellect?
The so called “war on Christmas” is a phony straw man constructed by religious know-nothings and hyped by television’s talking heads hypocrites. As a “call to arms", it is about as honest and substantive as President Bush’s hype and rational for invading Iraq.
Most bible thumping “Christians" are biblical illiterates who don’t have a clue about the book they claim as the foundation of their belief. They have not done a whit of serious study of the scholarly investigations as to how the Bible was written, why it was written nor about the theological politics that litter the path of its evolution.
As a result our information landscape is occupied by controversies that range from the frivolous---war on Christmas, seeing religious symbols in grilled cheese sandwiches---to the serious---trying to force “intelligent design” as a scientific study in schools.
If you lined up a hundred of the religious dimwits supporting these causes, I’d wager you couldn’t find a one who could tell you who Huldah was or what role she played in the origin of the bible---much less discuss the politics of how the bible was edited, or why their favorite “birth of Christ” story is found in the most unreliable of the synoptic gospels.
If there is an " intelligent designer" he (or she) missed the boat in the distribution process to bible thumpers! Meanwhile, happy holidays, season's greetings, happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa and merry Christmas!
Bill Sanders
Most bible thumping “Christians" are biblical illiterates who don’t have a clue about the book they claim as the foundation of their belief. They have not done a whit of serious study of the scholarly investigations as to how the Bible was written, why it was written nor about the theological politics that litter the path of its evolution.
As a result our information landscape is occupied by controversies that range from the frivolous---war on Christmas, seeing religious symbols in grilled cheese sandwiches---to the serious---trying to force “intelligent design” as a scientific study in schools.
If you lined up a hundred of the religious dimwits supporting these causes, I’d wager you couldn’t find a one who could tell you who Huldah was or what role she played in the origin of the bible---much less discuss the politics of how the bible was edited, or why their favorite “birth of Christ” story is found in the most unreliable of the synoptic gospels.
If there is an " intelligent designer" he (or she) missed the boat in the distribution process to bible thumpers! Meanwhile, happy holidays, season's greetings, happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa and merry Christmas!
Bill Sanders
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
SHAME ON THE NEW YORK TIMES
Lost in the wake of President Bush’s assertion that he has an inherent power to break the law, is the outrageous action of The New York Times that it sat on the NSA domestic spying story for a Year. The results of the Times decision was to facilitate the President’s lawlessness for a year at the expense of thousands of Americans' right to privacy.
Over the past year, the Times’ journalism ethics and allegiance to the First Amendment have been shown to be less than admirable. Moreover, the downward trend in Journalism to a more casual guardian of the public’s right to know does not bode well for a democracy.
I give you a quote from someone with substantial experience in the area of keeping dirty government laundry from the public’s prying eyes---H.R. Haldeman, in a recorded conversation with President Richard Nixon regarding the publication of the Pentagon Papers:
“…the implicit infallibility of presidents, which has been an accepted thing in America, is badly hurt by this because it shows that people do things that the president wants to do even though it’s wrong and the president can be wrong.”
Bill Sanders
Over the past year, the Times’ journalism ethics and allegiance to the First Amendment have been shown to be less than admirable. Moreover, the downward trend in Journalism to a more casual guardian of the public’s right to know does not bode well for a democracy.
I give you a quote from someone with substantial experience in the area of keeping dirty government laundry from the public’s prying eyes---H.R. Haldeman, in a recorded conversation with President Richard Nixon regarding the publication of the Pentagon Papers:
“…the implicit infallibility of presidents, which has been an accepted thing in America, is badly hurt by this because it shows that people do things that the president wants to do even though it’s wrong and the president can be wrong.”
Bill Sanders
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
IT IS TIME---IMPEACH BUSH!
It is time for Democrats to get up off their jelly backbones and impeach George Bush before his Imperial Presidency completely dismantles what is left of our democracy! But first, they will have to find the courage to aggressively campaign and expose his fear mongering for the demagoguery that it is! Second, they will have do their homework and take no prisoners when confronting the evangelical fascists and the media that is imbedded with the Imperial Presidency. Third, in this campaiagn, they should name and confront every Republican who voted to impeach Bill Clinton and expose them with a comparison of the charges!
President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to illegally spy on Americans inside the United States, without obtaining a warrant and bypassing the court that was specifically established to sanction (or prohibit) such domestic activity. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sex.
President Bush has deprived two United States Citizens of their constitutional rights by incarcerating them indefinitely, incommunicado, in Military Prisons ---and denied them legal representation.Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sex.
President Bush allowed the diversion of funds allocated for the action in Afghanistan---to develop plans for a war on Iraq---a direct violation of the appropriations language enacted by congress. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sex.
President Bush failed to take corrective action against members of his staff involved in the unlawful disclosure of a covert CIA agent’s identity which is considered a serious security violation. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sex.
Moreover, President Bush has orchestrated an assault on U.S. citizens' civil liberties and constitutional protections. This includes the construction of the Patriot Act provisions that facilitate broad scale invasions of privacy--- entering a home when occupants are not there and, without notice, snooping thru library records and other private papers. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sex.
He has also presided over the authorizing of FBI intelligence operations against citizen’s protest groups active in causes such as the environment, animal cruelty, poverty relief and those protesting te Iraq war.
In his hubris, he defines the law as being what he declares it to be. He assumes presidential powers that makes Richard Nixon look like a piker. And with monumental comtempt, he looks us in the eye and announces he will continue down his imperial path whether we like it or not.
It is time to say NO MORE to the slicing and dicing of the core values that made this a great nation. It is time to stop curtailing the very freedoms we say we are fighting for in Iraq!
Bill Sanders
President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to illegally spy on Americans inside the United States, without obtaining a warrant and bypassing the court that was specifically established to sanction (or prohibit) such domestic activity. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sex.
President Bush has deprived two United States Citizens of their constitutional rights by incarcerating them indefinitely, incommunicado, in Military Prisons ---and denied them legal representation.Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sex.
President Bush allowed the diversion of funds allocated for the action in Afghanistan---to develop plans for a war on Iraq---a direct violation of the appropriations language enacted by congress. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sex.
President Bush failed to take corrective action against members of his staff involved in the unlawful disclosure of a covert CIA agent’s identity which is considered a serious security violation. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sex.
Moreover, President Bush has orchestrated an assault on U.S. citizens' civil liberties and constitutional protections. This includes the construction of the Patriot Act provisions that facilitate broad scale invasions of privacy--- entering a home when occupants are not there and, without notice, snooping thru library records and other private papers. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sex.
He has also presided over the authorizing of FBI intelligence operations against citizen’s protest groups active in causes such as the environment, animal cruelty, poverty relief and those protesting te Iraq war.
In his hubris, he defines the law as being what he declares it to be. He assumes presidential powers that makes Richard Nixon look like a piker. And with monumental comtempt, he looks us in the eye and announces he will continue down his imperial path whether we like it or not.
It is time to say NO MORE to the slicing and dicing of the core values that made this a great nation. It is time to stop curtailing the very freedoms we say we are fighting for in Iraq!
Bill Sanders
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
The Price of Hubris and Delusions
The most popular man under a democracy is not the most democratic man, but the most despotic man. The common folk delight in the exactions of such a man. They like him to boss them. Their natural gait is the goosestep.
–H.L. Mencken
In America we get what we deserve in our leaders because we elect them. Often, by design, ignorance or apathy—we do not closely examine their exhortations or philosophy. We embrace their delusions as our own and ride them on the shallow surface of reality’s riptide. Only when reality tugs at our person do we begin the confront the delusion. In this pattern we are condemned to repeating history.
George W. Bush embraced his inner circle's delusions that, as the world’s superpower, the United States could successfully impose democracy in the Middle East by the invasion and occupation of Iraq—thus assuring us of a solidified and tranquil source of oil. In one bold swoop of Pax-Amricana, we would rid the world of a two-bit dictator and erode the fervor of Islamic radicals.
Nevermind that Saddam Hussein had no relationship with Al Qaeda. Nevermind that Saddam Hussein was a secular egotist who's military had been decimated by the Gulf War. Nevermind that he was in line behind much more dangerous tyrants---like Kim Jong-il of Korea, for example. Americans fell in lockstep behind the Big Lie that Iraq was an imminent threat our way of life
Now, we are now seeing the tug of reality at work in the debate over how to free our troops from the Tar Baby of Iraq. In fact, the debate is only posturing to cover the political rear ends of the Bush administration and the democrats who gave them the green light to invade Iraq. The outcome of all this was preordained.
George Bush will bring the troops home in a fashion dictated by maximum political advantage. There will be much breast beating by the GOP chicken hawks--- and the substitute delusion will be that we are leaving a free Iraq, having established a fledgling democracy and set it on its course.
The reality is that by abandoning the real war on terrorism in Afghanistan and buying into the phony scenario that linked Iraq with Al Qaeda and 9/11—we have facilitated an increase in terrorism and made the world a much more dangerous place. The reality is that President Bush will ride away into a Crawford sunset, leaving Iraq in the jaws of chaos.
The price is untold thousands of Iraqi lives sacrificed on the alter of George Bush’s hubris and delusions. The price will be seen in the eyes of thousands of Americans who will struggle to find justification in the loss of a loved one.
The legacy will be a tear in the social fabric that will haunt us for years to come, much like that of Vietnam.
Bill Sanders
–H.L. Mencken
In America we get what we deserve in our leaders because we elect them. Often, by design, ignorance or apathy—we do not closely examine their exhortations or philosophy. We embrace their delusions as our own and ride them on the shallow surface of reality’s riptide. Only when reality tugs at our person do we begin the confront the delusion. In this pattern we are condemned to repeating history.
George W. Bush embraced his inner circle's delusions that, as the world’s superpower, the United States could successfully impose democracy in the Middle East by the invasion and occupation of Iraq—thus assuring us of a solidified and tranquil source of oil. In one bold swoop of Pax-Amricana, we would rid the world of a two-bit dictator and erode the fervor of Islamic radicals.
Nevermind that Saddam Hussein had no relationship with Al Qaeda. Nevermind that Saddam Hussein was a secular egotist who's military had been decimated by the Gulf War. Nevermind that he was in line behind much more dangerous tyrants---like Kim Jong-il of Korea, for example. Americans fell in lockstep behind the Big Lie that Iraq was an imminent threat our way of life
Now, we are now seeing the tug of reality at work in the debate over how to free our troops from the Tar Baby of Iraq. In fact, the debate is only posturing to cover the political rear ends of the Bush administration and the democrats who gave them the green light to invade Iraq. The outcome of all this was preordained.
George Bush will bring the troops home in a fashion dictated by maximum political advantage. There will be much breast beating by the GOP chicken hawks--- and the substitute delusion will be that we are leaving a free Iraq, having established a fledgling democracy and set it on its course.
The reality is that by abandoning the real war on terrorism in Afghanistan and buying into the phony scenario that linked Iraq with Al Qaeda and 9/11—we have facilitated an increase in terrorism and made the world a much more dangerous place. The reality is that President Bush will ride away into a Crawford sunset, leaving Iraq in the jaws of chaos.
The price is untold thousands of Iraqi lives sacrificed on the alter of George Bush’s hubris and delusions. The price will be seen in the eyes of thousands of Americans who will struggle to find justification in the loss of a loved one.
The legacy will be a tear in the social fabric that will haunt us for years to come, much like that of Vietnam.
Bill Sanders
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Friday, December 02, 2005
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Padilla in Bushland
What happens when truth collides with the fantasy world of the Bush Administration? Why, the fantasy world mutates before your very eyes into something quite different.
Invading Iraq because Saddam had weapons of mass destruction becomes invading Iraq because Saddam was a dictator killing his own people.
Saddam Hussein’s direct sponsorship of the 9/11 attack becomes Saddam Hussein’s long time evolvement with Al Qaeda..
No White House involvement in the CIA leak becomes no White House ILLEGAlITY in mentioning a CIA agents identity. And so on and so on!
Now, we find that Jose Padilla, a former Chicago gang banger with an 8th grade education has gone from being one of the “most dangerous” persons to U.S. Security (named an enemy combatant–accused of plotting to construct and detonate a “dirty” radiation bomb) —to simply being a common criminal charged with conspiring to send money to support some foreign group somewhere.
What about the fact that Padilla, an American citizen was whisked off to a Military prison and held without charges, without a lawyer, without communications and without a trial for three years? Ah, well, says the nations chief law officer----Bush crony, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales–all that is “legally irrelevant”.
We have all fallen down the rabbit hole!
Bill Sanders
Invading Iraq because Saddam had weapons of mass destruction becomes invading Iraq because Saddam was a dictator killing his own people.
Saddam Hussein’s direct sponsorship of the 9/11 attack becomes Saddam Hussein’s long time evolvement with Al Qaeda..
No White House involvement in the CIA leak becomes no White House ILLEGAlITY in mentioning a CIA agents identity. And so on and so on!
Now, we find that Jose Padilla, a former Chicago gang banger with an 8th grade education has gone from being one of the “most dangerous” persons to U.S. Security (named an enemy combatant–accused of plotting to construct and detonate a “dirty” radiation bomb) —to simply being a common criminal charged with conspiring to send money to support some foreign group somewhere.
What about the fact that Padilla, an American citizen was whisked off to a Military prison and held without charges, without a lawyer, without communications and without a trial for three years? Ah, well, says the nations chief law officer----Bush crony, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales–all that is “legally irrelevant”.
We have all fallen down the rabbit hole!
Bill Sanders
Monday, November 21, 2005
Friday, November 18, 2005
SHADES OF THE 50'S
Anyone who doesn't believe McCarthyism is alive and well in the Bush White House and the Republican party, just stay tuned to the smear campaign that is already being geared up to discredit Rep. John Murtha. Have they no shame? ( You watch----the answer is no.)
ET TU MURTHA?
Pennsylvania Democrat, Representative John Murtha , has exposed George Bush and his apologists for the bankrupt policies to which they cling while adrift in a sea of contradicting facts and criticisms.
You see, Murtha is not a bleeding heart liberal. Unlike Cheney, Bush and many of their congressional lackeys who have never served a day in uniform defending this country----Murtha is a long time "hawk" and Vietnam veteran of combat. The poverty of their reaction to his critique is astounding.
White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, said at the press briefing, "he is endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the democratic party. The eve of a historic democratic election in Iraq is not the time to surrender to the terrorists."
Republicans said Murtha’s position was one of abandonment and surrender.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert said "They want us to retreat. They want us to wave the white flag of surrender to the terrorists of the world."
Bush, of course, has a recording device instead of a brain which has been spewing out the same reaction to Iraq critics for years: 1. They are irresponsible 2. They are unpatriotic 3. They undermine the war on terrorism and 4. (That all time favorite) Remember 9/11.
TORTURED BEDFELLOWS
On a related topic, the recent disclosure that the Shiite government was torturing Sunni Arabs (in a secret prison), gives lie to the Bush myth of how successful democracy has been implanted at gunpoint in the quagmire of Iraq. Surprise! Surprise!
What is more interesting is the official reaction to the news reports and pictures.
The official in charge of the Shiite-led Interior Ministry said the torture claims are sectarian bias (politically motivated).
Interior Minister Bayn Jabr said, "I reject torture and I will punish those who perform torture." Then he added justification, "No one was beheaded, no one was killed."Then the coup de grace:"Those who are supporting terrorism are making the exaggerations."
Sound familiar? Iraqi officials have been cribbing from Bush’s scrip.
Bill Sanders
You see, Murtha is not a bleeding heart liberal. Unlike Cheney, Bush and many of their congressional lackeys who have never served a day in uniform defending this country----Murtha is a long time "hawk" and Vietnam veteran of combat. The poverty of their reaction to his critique is astounding.
White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, said at the press briefing, "he is endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the democratic party. The eve of a historic democratic election in Iraq is not the time to surrender to the terrorists."
Republicans said Murtha’s position was one of abandonment and surrender.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert said "They want us to retreat. They want us to wave the white flag of surrender to the terrorists of the world."
Bush, of course, has a recording device instead of a brain which has been spewing out the same reaction to Iraq critics for years: 1. They are irresponsible 2. They are unpatriotic 3. They undermine the war on terrorism and 4. (That all time favorite) Remember 9/11.
TORTURED BEDFELLOWS
On a related topic, the recent disclosure that the Shiite government was torturing Sunni Arabs (in a secret prison), gives lie to the Bush myth of how successful democracy has been implanted at gunpoint in the quagmire of Iraq. Surprise! Surprise!
What is more interesting is the official reaction to the news reports and pictures.
The official in charge of the Shiite-led Interior Ministry said the torture claims are sectarian bias (politically motivated).
Interior Minister Bayn Jabr said, "I reject torture and I will punish those who perform torture." Then he added justification, "No one was beheaded, no one was killed."Then the coup de grace:"Those who are supporting terrorism are making the exaggerations."
Sound familiar? Iraqi officials have been cribbing from Bush’s scrip.
Bill Sanders
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Alito and the timid critics
Why any thinking person would be pussyfooting on where Samuel Alito is coming from (or going to) as a lawyer and judge, is beyond me. In the words of a Yale professor of law, Alito does not have a conservative judicial view—he has a “radical” judicial view. He is, in fact, far out of the judicial mainstream as his record readily indicates.
So he’s “qualified”. When is the last time your heard the American Bar Association say someone is NOT qualified? So, he has a quiet and polite judicial temperament. How did that come into play when he made the decision condoning the strip search of a 10-year old girl not covered by an authorizing warrant? He may be a Bork on tranquilizers—but a Bork none the less.
His 1985 anti-abortion memo speaks volumes as to where the future of women’s rights is headed when he tilts the balance of the court to the far right. What is even more telling is his rational for it. He was just “an advocate seeking a job”—an exuberance of youth. Since when is a 35 year old man a “youth”? He explains that he has learned more over the years about the Constitution. One would hope so, but if you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’ll give you for a good price.
Moreover if Alito takes the anti-women's rights position of his memo-- when he was just an “advocate seeking a job”–what will be his position when he is out from under the pressure of worrying about a job?
Bill Sanders
So he’s “qualified”. When is the last time your heard the American Bar Association say someone is NOT qualified? So, he has a quiet and polite judicial temperament. How did that come into play when he made the decision condoning the strip search of a 10-year old girl not covered by an authorizing warrant? He may be a Bork on tranquilizers—but a Bork none the less.
His 1985 anti-abortion memo speaks volumes as to where the future of women’s rights is headed when he tilts the balance of the court to the far right. What is even more telling is his rational for it. He was just “an advocate seeking a job”—an exuberance of youth. Since when is a 35 year old man a “youth”? He explains that he has learned more over the years about the Constitution. One would hope so, but if you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’ll give you for a good price.
Moreover if Alito takes the anti-women's rights position of his memo-- when he was just an “advocate seeking a job”–what will be his position when he is out from under the pressure of worrying about a job?
Bill Sanders
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Personal
I have never been inclined to do the personal thing on this blog site. It is just not my bag. As a matter of fact, I despise that bio title “About Me”—sounds like George Bush hubris. It came with the blog structure and I am a dummy with this technology (don’t speak computer language—am an English major)--and don’t know how to change it . (The bio was written by a writer for Who’s Who in American Graphic Arts.)
However, I am so in arrears on commentary and cartoons at a time when the blog has been getting some encouraging feedback—I am biting the bullet with this posting.
It has been a summer and fall from hell. A faulty roof on our house finally gave way to the elements—a week of heavy rain in July (not hurricanes)—flooding the drywall ceiling in our bedroom which collapsed. It took two weeks to dry out that wing of the house and another several weeks of me hanging and taping drywall. (Contractors were too busy still trying to catch up from hurricane Charlie)
Additional distractions—aside from painting, rehabing the house— included a family reunion, falling off a latter, breaking a wrist and rib, getting a new roof—plus working to finish a bronze sculpture.
Right after the election, I predicted to anyone who would listen—mainly my family—that there would be a major scandal with Bush and his neocons before his term ended. I regret missing the beginnings of this debacle—but hope to do some catch-up soon. Bill Sanders
However, I am so in arrears on commentary and cartoons at a time when the blog has been getting some encouraging feedback—I am biting the bullet with this posting.
It has been a summer and fall from hell. A faulty roof on our house finally gave way to the elements—a week of heavy rain in July (not hurricanes)—flooding the drywall ceiling in our bedroom which collapsed. It took two weeks to dry out that wing of the house and another several weeks of me hanging and taping drywall. (Contractors were too busy still trying to catch up from hurricane Charlie)
Additional distractions—aside from painting, rehabing the house— included a family reunion, falling off a latter, breaking a wrist and rib, getting a new roof—plus working to finish a bronze sculpture.
Right after the election, I predicted to anyone who would listen—mainly my family—that there would be a major scandal with Bush and his neocons before his term ended. I regret missing the beginnings of this debacle—but hope to do some catch-up soon. Bill Sanders
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
The Real Bush? Where he has always been!
In the wake of hurricane Katrina , the chorus of “How could this happen in America?” has be reworded by some of President Bush’s supporters to read “How could this happen with Bush?” They wonder, where was the decisive, firm, no BS leadership that wooed them to the voting booth. They wonder what happened to the tough guy who kicked Saddam Hussein out of power and is “protecting “ us from the terrorists?
Well, folks, both Bushes are one and the same! In this disaster there has been no metamorphosis from the President Bush of 9-11 and the Iraq war—to the President Bush of hurricane Katrina.. Bush has been absolutely consistent in the pattern of who he is and what he stands for. It is just that voters and the mainstream media have not been very bright in figuring it out!
Bush’s “compassionate conservatism” only floats in the wake of corporate wealth and privilege. The fact that the poor (of any color) are not high on the Bush radar screen , should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention in the last six years.
The “true” Bush has a consistent record of cutting taxes for the wealthy and cutting programs for the poor. The “true” Bush has been trying to take the Social Security safety net out from under the elderly poor for the past year. The “true” Bush has been cutting health care for the elderly. The most recent “true” Bush appeared after the disaster, when he awarded huge no-bid contracts to Halliburton and subsidiaries—then gave those companies a legal exemption that allows the lowest wages to be paid to victims who work for the reconstruction.
George W. Bush’s hubris has been a lifetime lens through which he assesses the world. It is the measure against which most other ideas are found wanting and are of tainted origins. It is a construct where only parallel goals contribute to his comfort zone. He confuses fact with fantasy—“Mission Accomplished!”----and justifies decisions based on the certainty of his personal suspicions. It is a pattern deeply rooted in privilege. Should it really be a surprise that he cited the loss of Trent Lott’s house to epitomize the disaster of the Gulf Coast
He lives in a world of the “haves” nourishing a fantasy best described by columnist Maureen Dowd as being “born on third base but thinking he hit a triple.”
So, if Bush The Bold needs a war to fulfill his fantasies of hubris, and he can do it by unleashing the world’s most powerful military against a third world two-bit dictator, why not? And if Bush The Privileged has tunnel vision for the wealthy—let the poor eat cake, if they can find their way out of the Superdome.
Anyone besides me for impeachment? Bill Sanders
Well, folks, both Bushes are one and the same! In this disaster there has been no metamorphosis from the President Bush of 9-11 and the Iraq war—to the President Bush of hurricane Katrina.. Bush has been absolutely consistent in the pattern of who he is and what he stands for. It is just that voters and the mainstream media have not been very bright in figuring it out!
Bush’s “compassionate conservatism” only floats in the wake of corporate wealth and privilege. The fact that the poor (of any color) are not high on the Bush radar screen , should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention in the last six years.
The “true” Bush has a consistent record of cutting taxes for the wealthy and cutting programs for the poor. The “true” Bush has been trying to take the Social Security safety net out from under the elderly poor for the past year. The “true” Bush has been cutting health care for the elderly. The most recent “true” Bush appeared after the disaster, when he awarded huge no-bid contracts to Halliburton and subsidiaries—then gave those companies a legal exemption that allows the lowest wages to be paid to victims who work for the reconstruction.
George W. Bush’s hubris has been a lifetime lens through which he assesses the world. It is the measure against which most other ideas are found wanting and are of tainted origins. It is a construct where only parallel goals contribute to his comfort zone. He confuses fact with fantasy—“Mission Accomplished!”----and justifies decisions based on the certainty of his personal suspicions. It is a pattern deeply rooted in privilege. Should it really be a surprise that he cited the loss of Trent Lott’s house to epitomize the disaster of the Gulf Coast
He lives in a world of the “haves” nourishing a fantasy best described by columnist Maureen Dowd as being “born on third base but thinking he hit a triple.”
So, if Bush The Bold needs a war to fulfill his fantasies of hubris, and he can do it by unleashing the world’s most powerful military against a third world two-bit dictator, why not? And if Bush The Privileged has tunnel vision for the wealthy—let the poor eat cake, if they can find their way out of the Superdome.
Anyone besides me for impeachment? Bill Sanders
Kathleen Parker meets reality
Since I took Kathleen Parker to task for her column defending Bush from his Katrina critics, I must give her credit for the 180 degree turn in her latest column. She has finally seen Bush’s failure as a leader, pointing out " As commander in chief, Bush should have helicoptered into New Orleans, parked himself next to the Superdome and started ordering his generals to get the job done."
In flash of insight, she added, "By his performance in this time of extreme stress, Bush may have revealed a truer self than we were meant to see."
In flash of insight, she added, "By his performance in this time of extreme stress, Bush may have revealed a truer self than we were meant to see."
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Columnist Kathleen Parker's straw man defense!
Kathleen Parker’s recent column chastising administration critics regarding hurricane Katrina, misses the point completely! She tries to neutralize the outcry by saying you can’t blame "mother nature" and that even though critics (read, liberal democrats) try----" not even George Bush can take the fall for this one!" She then adds her coup de grace, "Some things cant be helped. Nature, ever untamable can’t be thwarted."
True, the administration can’t "thwart" a hurricane. What any administration can and should do, is everything within its power to limit the human toll of suffering and death. Clearly this administration failed miserably!
1. President Bush, his Director of Homeland Security and his Director of FEMA were briefed by the Director of the National Hurricane Center--- prior to landfall— on the severity and possible impact of Katrina on the levees. Yet Bush claimed after the disaster, "I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees."
2. FEMA Director Michael Brown waited five hours after landfall on August 29, to ask Homeland Security ( via a memo) to send 1,000 employees to the region within two days. Then suggested another 2,000 after seven days.
3.President Bush waited five days before setting foot in the stricken area. When he did, he joked about his drinking days in New Orleans and then said of his FEMA Director, "...and Browne, you’re doing a heck of job. The FEMA Director is working 24 hours a day."
If the President is serious about investigating "what went wrong", he should re-read his own National Response Plan which claims to "help save lives and protect America’s communities by increasing the speed, effectiveness and efficiency of incident management." Then he should measure it against himself and the actions of his administration.
True, the administration can’t "thwart" a hurricane. What any administration can and should do, is everything within its power to limit the human toll of suffering and death. Clearly this administration failed miserably!
1. President Bush, his Director of Homeland Security and his Director of FEMA were briefed by the Director of the National Hurricane Center--- prior to landfall— on the severity and possible impact of Katrina on the levees. Yet Bush claimed after the disaster, "I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees."
2. FEMA Director Michael Brown waited five hours after landfall on August 29, to ask Homeland Security ( via a memo) to send 1,000 employees to the region within two days. Then suggested another 2,000 after seven days.
3.President Bush waited five days before setting foot in the stricken area. When he did, he joked about his drinking days in New Orleans and then said of his FEMA Director, "...and Browne, you’re doing a heck of job. The FEMA Director is working 24 hours a day."
If the President is serious about investigating "what went wrong", he should re-read his own National Response Plan which claims to "help save lives and protect America’s communities by increasing the speed, effectiveness and efficiency of incident management." Then he should measure it against himself and the actions of his administration.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Hurricane Katrina: Pussyfooting about accountability
To hear Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and FEMA Director Mike Brown tell it, the delayed response to the devastation of hurricane Katrina was simply that they were ambushed by unforseen (infer unpredictable) events —i.e. the severity of the storm and the New Orleans levee collapse. That is sheer baloney!
Days before Katrina slammed into the gulf coast, the National Hurricane Center advised FEMA and Homeland Security that the expected storm surge could top the antiquated levee protecting the city. More than thirty-six hours before landfall, the NHC marveled at the historic dimensions of the storm and reported winds of 100 mph at the edges of the hurricane—---some one hundred miles from its eye!
As for President Bush, he appeared to be more worried about the rising resentment of the Iraq war than the potential destruction of a monster hurricane poised to strike the most venerable city in America.. Katrina ripped into the gulf coast on Monday. Tuesday, Bush flew to California for a fund raising dinner and another rote speech on “staying the course” in Iraq. (Contrast that to standing amid twin towers rubble the day after 9-11.)
There are many hard questions that demand answers. Why didn’t President Bush federalize the disaster effort and immediately send in the elite 82nd Airborne unit from Ft. Bragg, who’s mission is being ready for “instant” deployment? Why didn’t he tap into the Helicopter units at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky? Why didn’t he order the Navy and Marines to immediately dispatch their small water craft loaded with food and water? Why did he wait four days to set foot on the gulf coast ground?
The call for accountability by the Bush Administration for its shameful response to the human suffering left in the wake of Katrina, floats like a bloated corpse in the flood waters of New Orleans–---untouched and largely not confronted by the hordes of television commentators and politicians who speak on the subject.
Oh, there is plenty of cursing the darkness----everyone speaks loudly and clearly there—but few are willing to name the person who’s finger is on the switch.
For example, New York times columnist David Brooks put it this way, “On September 11th Rudy Giuliani took control. The Government response was quick and responsive. Last week in New Orleans, by contrast, nobody took control. Authority was diffuse and action was ineffective.” I wonder who Mr. “Nobody” was? I wonder who Mr. “Authority” was?
The Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin , in a rare departure from political protocol, demanded the Federal Government “get off your ass and let’s do something!” Interesting. Even hunkered down in the stench, suffering and isolation of his own people he could not bring himself to pronounce the words “President Bush”.
As the horrific scenes of death and suffering give way to more visual space of evacuation, rescues and food and water distribution—it is vital that specific accountability move to the front on our national consciousness.
Politicians aspire to the pinnacle of our system because it where the power lies for their agenda for our country and their personal ambition. They embrace the responsibility for running our government and protecting our people. And “we”—including the media—should not be timid about calling them to account when they screw it up! The collective “we” elected George Bush—who appointed Michael Chertoff—who was approved by Congress
The last thing we should do is accept “The dog ate my homework!” .
Days before Katrina slammed into the gulf coast, the National Hurricane Center advised FEMA and Homeland Security that the expected storm surge could top the antiquated levee protecting the city. More than thirty-six hours before landfall, the NHC marveled at the historic dimensions of the storm and reported winds of 100 mph at the edges of the hurricane—---some one hundred miles from its eye!
As for President Bush, he appeared to be more worried about the rising resentment of the Iraq war than the potential destruction of a monster hurricane poised to strike the most venerable city in America.. Katrina ripped into the gulf coast on Monday. Tuesday, Bush flew to California for a fund raising dinner and another rote speech on “staying the course” in Iraq. (Contrast that to standing amid twin towers rubble the day after 9-11.)
There are many hard questions that demand answers. Why didn’t President Bush federalize the disaster effort and immediately send in the elite 82nd Airborne unit from Ft. Bragg, who’s mission is being ready for “instant” deployment? Why didn’t he tap into the Helicopter units at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky? Why didn’t he order the Navy and Marines to immediately dispatch their small water craft loaded with food and water? Why did he wait four days to set foot on the gulf coast ground?
The call for accountability by the Bush Administration for its shameful response to the human suffering left in the wake of Katrina, floats like a bloated corpse in the flood waters of New Orleans–---untouched and largely not confronted by the hordes of television commentators and politicians who speak on the subject.
Oh, there is plenty of cursing the darkness----everyone speaks loudly and clearly there—but few are willing to name the person who’s finger is on the switch.
For example, New York times columnist David Brooks put it this way, “On September 11th Rudy Giuliani took control. The Government response was quick and responsive. Last week in New Orleans, by contrast, nobody took control. Authority was diffuse and action was ineffective.” I wonder who Mr. “Nobody” was? I wonder who Mr. “Authority” was?
The Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin , in a rare departure from political protocol, demanded the Federal Government “get off your ass and let’s do something!” Interesting. Even hunkered down in the stench, suffering and isolation of his own people he could not bring himself to pronounce the words “President Bush”.
As the horrific scenes of death and suffering give way to more visual space of evacuation, rescues and food and water distribution—it is vital that specific accountability move to the front on our national consciousness.
Politicians aspire to the pinnacle of our system because it where the power lies for their agenda for our country and their personal ambition. They embrace the responsibility for running our government and protecting our people. And “we”—including the media—should not be timid about calling them to account when they screw it up! The collective “we” elected George Bush—who appointed Michael Chertoff—who was approved by Congress
The last thing we should do is accept “The dog ate my homework!” .
Friday, September 02, 2005
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Monday, August 08, 2005
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
The Gospel According To The Grilled Cheese Sandwich
CHAPTER ONE
A great darkness and tribulation had fallen over the land. Out of the void came a resonant voice saying, "Let there be light!" At least that is way Alice’s parents heard it and passed it on to her as they explained the current state of Grace that extended across the face of their known universe.
In actuality, however, it was the U.S. Supreme Court saying, "Let George W. Bush be President of the United States!" And so, it came to pass that the righteous inherited the earth.
Alice had heard stories of an earlier time when the land was basking in the guiding light of the Messiah of Jelly Beans, Ronald Reagan—before Clinton-The-Stud brought the great darkness of hanky-panky to the White House.
Alice decided that since she was coming of age, it was time for her to go out into the world and make a contribution to Compassionate Conservatism.
" I am driving to Washington," she announced.
"Oh, dear!" her mother gasped.
"You’ll do no such thing!" her father bellowed.
"Why not?" she demanded.
He father replied,"You’d have to go through three blue states! That’s why!"
Alice looked puzzled. "Blue States? What are blue states?"
"That’s where liberal heathens live,"he said with an air of forboding.
Alice’s mother placed an gentle hand on Alice’s shoulder and explained,"You see, dear, we live in a red state. We believe in the culture of life and the sanctity of war. Why, blue staters don’t even believe in The Grilled Cheese Sandwich."
Seeing the perplexed look on Alice’s face, her mother continued,"Don’t you remember your Sunday school lessons? That God sent his only begotten Grilled Cheese Sandwich that we might have eternal conservatism."
"Vaguely," Alice replied. "I don’t remember any details."
"Well, dear," her mother continued, "there was this woman in Florida—Diane Bowser–I think it was. Anyway, ten years ago an angel appeared to her and told her she should bring forth a Grilled Cheese Sandwich and it shall bear the image of the Virgin Mary–and it shall save people from maternal liberalism. So Mrs. Bowser, filled with the holy spirit, traveled to the oven looking for a place to have her Grilled Cheese Sandwich. But there was no room in the oven."
"What did she do?" asked Alice.
" She found a spot in the skillet. That’s when her three sons came to her bearing bread, butter and mayo—explaining that a vision had appeared to them ,while playing baseball, and told them that their mother was about to have The Grilled Cheese Sandwich. And lo and behold, when the sandwich was done it bore the image of the blessed mother."
"Amen," Alice’s father said.
"Blessed be the name of The Grilled Cheese Sandwich," her mother added.
"What did she do with it?" Alice wondered.
"Well, she prayed and prayed over it. Then she placed it in a plastic box and sought the advice of the National Evangelical Council. Council leaders, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robinson and Cal Thomas sniffed the stale crust and declared it to be The True Grilled Cheese Sandwich of God and instructed Bowser to send it to their man in Washington , President George W. Bush. That way the country could worship both of them at once."
"God works in mysterious ways," said Alice’s father.
"You sure got that right," Alice said, rolling her eyes.
And so it came to pass that Alice went to Washington.
A great darkness and tribulation had fallen over the land. Out of the void came a resonant voice saying, "Let there be light!" At least that is way Alice’s parents heard it and passed it on to her as they explained the current state of Grace that extended across the face of their known universe.
In actuality, however, it was the U.S. Supreme Court saying, "Let George W. Bush be President of the United States!" And so, it came to pass that the righteous inherited the earth.
Alice had heard stories of an earlier time when the land was basking in the guiding light of the Messiah of Jelly Beans, Ronald Reagan—before Clinton-The-Stud brought the great darkness of hanky-panky to the White House.
Alice decided that since she was coming of age, it was time for her to go out into the world and make a contribution to Compassionate Conservatism.
" I am driving to Washington," she announced.
"Oh, dear!" her mother gasped.
"You’ll do no such thing!" her father bellowed.
"Why not?" she demanded.
He father replied,"You’d have to go through three blue states! That’s why!"
Alice looked puzzled. "Blue States? What are blue states?"
"That’s where liberal heathens live,"he said with an air of forboding.
Alice’s mother placed an gentle hand on Alice’s shoulder and explained,"You see, dear, we live in a red state. We believe in the culture of life and the sanctity of war. Why, blue staters don’t even believe in The Grilled Cheese Sandwich."
Seeing the perplexed look on Alice’s face, her mother continued,"Don’t you remember your Sunday school lessons? That God sent his only begotten Grilled Cheese Sandwich that we might have eternal conservatism."
"Vaguely," Alice replied. "I don’t remember any details."
"Well, dear," her mother continued, "there was this woman in Florida—Diane Bowser–I think it was. Anyway, ten years ago an angel appeared to her and told her she should bring forth a Grilled Cheese Sandwich and it shall bear the image of the Virgin Mary–and it shall save people from maternal liberalism. So Mrs. Bowser, filled with the holy spirit, traveled to the oven looking for a place to have her Grilled Cheese Sandwich. But there was no room in the oven."
"What did she do?" asked Alice.
" She found a spot in the skillet. That’s when her three sons came to her bearing bread, butter and mayo—explaining that a vision had appeared to them ,while playing baseball, and told them that their mother was about to have The Grilled Cheese Sandwich. And lo and behold, when the sandwich was done it bore the image of the blessed mother."
"Amen," Alice’s father said.
"Blessed be the name of The Grilled Cheese Sandwich," her mother added.
"What did she do with it?" Alice wondered.
"Well, she prayed and prayed over it. Then she placed it in a plastic box and sought the advice of the National Evangelical Council. Council leaders, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robinson and Cal Thomas sniffed the stale crust and declared it to be The True Grilled Cheese Sandwich of God and instructed Bowser to send it to their man in Washington , President George W. Bush. That way the country could worship both of them at once."
"God works in mysterious ways," said Alice’s father.
"You sure got that right," Alice said, rolling her eyes.
And so it came to pass that Alice went to Washington.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Friday, July 15, 2005
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Scew the home owner!
The right of imminent domain has been a necessary tool in the shed of public interest for decades. It has always had the potential for dangerous misuse by the influence of those with a lust for profit or power---but like the fire extinguisher it has always been marked "for emergency " in its Fifth Amendment delineation that private property can only be taken for "public use".
That minimal protection has been flushed down the toilet by the U.S. Supreme Court decision that now allows a government entity to take private property and give it to a commercial developer on the premise that a possibly enhanced tax base meets the "public use" requirement. This was a Connecticut case that allowed the municipal government to take a number of homes in a low income area and hand them over to a developer.
The Court (and its defenders in this case) offers the Disneyland assurance that this new interpretation should be used rarely and narrowly. Right!---and for all who believe that, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn they can buy for two dollars!
If there was ever an adage that applies to politicians who run municipal governments, it’s the one that goes, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!" That is NOT just a cynical observation. Can anyone seriously believe that--- given the continual demands on revenue to support goods and services--- local governments won't dance to the siren song of fat cat developers now that they have been deputized by the U.S. Supreme Court?
Unless one has been living under a rock, it is common knowledge that big moneyed developers have about as much concern for conservation and resources as an elephant has for a bug in its path. So now that the Court has greased their path to more profits, the (mostly) home owners of America are to believe that this system adjustment won't come knocking at their door with ever increasing frequency? Right! And Pigs can fly!
We should be raising hell with Congress! We should have pasted on our foreheads the Hemingway admonition, "Therefore, send not to know, for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee...”
That minimal protection has been flushed down the toilet by the U.S. Supreme Court decision that now allows a government entity to take private property and give it to a commercial developer on the premise that a possibly enhanced tax base meets the "public use" requirement. This was a Connecticut case that allowed the municipal government to take a number of homes in a low income area and hand them over to a developer.
The Court (and its defenders in this case) offers the Disneyland assurance that this new interpretation should be used rarely and narrowly. Right!---and for all who believe that, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn they can buy for two dollars!
If there was ever an adage that applies to politicians who run municipal governments, it’s the one that goes, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!" That is NOT just a cynical observation. Can anyone seriously believe that--- given the continual demands on revenue to support goods and services--- local governments won't dance to the siren song of fat cat developers now that they have been deputized by the U.S. Supreme Court?
Unless one has been living under a rock, it is common knowledge that big moneyed developers have about as much concern for conservation and resources as an elephant has for a bug in its path. So now that the Court has greased their path to more profits, the (mostly) home owners of America are to believe that this system adjustment won't come knocking at their door with ever increasing frequency? Right! And Pigs can fly!
We should be raising hell with Congress! We should have pasted on our foreheads the Hemingway admonition, "Therefore, send not to know, for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee...”
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Mississippi Burning--and slow learning.
Watching the Jury deliver the verdict in the trial of Ku Klux Klan leader Edgar Ray Killen, jump started a trip down memory lane. I was born and raised in the south. I came back from the Far East after a stint in the Army in Korea and as a civilian journalist for Pacific Stars and Stripes in Tokyo. I went to work for The Greensboro Daily News in 1959 and was one of the few cartoonists in the south supporting the civil rights movement.
I was eating lunch at Woolworths the day the five black university students sat down at the counter and asked to be served. It was the start of the “sit in” public accommodations movement. I got a first hand view of the tactics of the Klan and their redneck supporters while marching for public accommodations in Greensboro.
As I listened to some of the comments on the jury verdict of “manslaughter”for the brutal, premeditated beating and murder of the three young civil rights workers, I was reminded of the old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Here was Fred Graham, of all commentators, saying that he thought that “in the real world” it was a good verdict and indicated how far Mississippi had come since “those days”.
Really? Well, Fred Graham–in the “real world”of the next few minutes after your comments --the prosecutor allowed as how the jury decision showed that Nashoba County, Mississippi was not the “caricature of Hollywood”—and should not be burdened by the stigma wrought by “a handful”of people.
In case your missed it Fred, that is a lot of “real world” denial. In “those days” there were no “handful” of racists! There was an entire power structure of racists! There was an infrastructure of racist print and local television media that fanned the flames of hatred for Yankee “nigger lovers”. There were hundreds of thousands of good Mississippians who turned the other way as their fellow citizens raped, lynched and murdered with impunity!
And in the “real world” of today’s Nashoba County there are those who take pride in the fact that their fellow citizens can look at a brutal, cold blooded murder and call it “manslaughter”.
I was eating lunch at Woolworths the day the five black university students sat down at the counter and asked to be served. It was the start of the “sit in” public accommodations movement. I got a first hand view of the tactics of the Klan and their redneck supporters while marching for public accommodations in Greensboro.
As I listened to some of the comments on the jury verdict of “manslaughter”for the brutal, premeditated beating and murder of the three young civil rights workers, I was reminded of the old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Here was Fred Graham, of all commentators, saying that he thought that “in the real world” it was a good verdict and indicated how far Mississippi had come since “those days”.
Really? Well, Fred Graham–in the “real world”of the next few minutes after your comments --the prosecutor allowed as how the jury decision showed that Nashoba County, Mississippi was not the “caricature of Hollywood”—and should not be burdened by the stigma wrought by “a handful”of people.
In case your missed it Fred, that is a lot of “real world” denial. In “those days” there were no “handful” of racists! There was an entire power structure of racists! There was an infrastructure of racist print and local television media that fanned the flames of hatred for Yankee “nigger lovers”. There were hundreds of thousands of good Mississippians who turned the other way as their fellow citizens raped, lynched and murdered with impunity!
And in the “real world” of today’s Nashoba County there are those who take pride in the fact that their fellow citizens can look at a brutal, cold blooded murder and call it “manslaughter”.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Shocking reports of Americans abused in foreign prisons!
Item one: On a couple of occasions, I entered interview rooms to find the accused American chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair food or water. Most of the time they (American prisoners) urinated or defecated on themselves, and had been left there for 18-24 hours or more On one occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted American was shaking with cold....On another occasion, the air conditioner had been turned off, making the temperature in the unventilated room well over 100 degrees. The American was almost unconscious on the floor. With a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently been literally pulling his hair out throughout the night. On another occasion, not only was the temperature unbearable hot but extremely loud native music was being played in the room, and had been since the day before, with the American chained hand and foot in the fetal position on the floor.
Item two: The 22 year old American was chained to the ceiling of his cell for four days. His legs were beaten by his interrogators using a technique known as a “common peroneal strike”–a potentially disabling blow to the side of the leg just above the knee. So brutally was the four days of beating, the American’s legs would no longer bend. He was denied drinking water except for a guard taunting him by squirting some in his face. When a doctor finally went to examine him, he was dead.
Item Three: Another American, who was considered by his captors to be emotionally disturbed was repeatedly beaten in the legs and chained with his arms straight up in the air. The guards nicknamed him “Timmy”, after a disabled child in the animated American television series “South Park”. One of the guards who beat the prisoner also taught him to screech like the cartoon character.
Item four: The President of the country holding these prisoners called the charges “Absurd!”
The Prime Minister said,”to suggest that somehow my country is a violator of human rights, I frankly just don’t take them seriously!”
The Defense Minister said.”They have been, they are today, and they will be treated humanely in the future. To be in an 8-by-8 cell in a beautiful country is no inhumane treatment.”
Item two: The 22 year old American was chained to the ceiling of his cell for four days. His legs were beaten by his interrogators using a technique known as a “common peroneal strike”–a potentially disabling blow to the side of the leg just above the knee. So brutally was the four days of beating, the American’s legs would no longer bend. He was denied drinking water except for a guard taunting him by squirting some in his face. When a doctor finally went to examine him, he was dead.
Item Three: Another American, who was considered by his captors to be emotionally disturbed was repeatedly beaten in the legs and chained with his arms straight up in the air. The guards nicknamed him “Timmy”, after a disabled child in the animated American television series “South Park”. One of the guards who beat the prisoner also taught him to screech like the cartoon character.
Item four: The President of the country holding these prisoners called the charges “Absurd!”
The Prime Minister said,”to suggest that somehow my country is a violator of human rights, I frankly just don’t take them seriously!”
The Defense Minister said.”They have been, they are today, and they will be treated humanely in the future. To be in an 8-by-8 cell in a beautiful country is no inhumane treatment.”
Shocking truth about the above reports!
Item One: From the official FBI report on Guantanamo Bay detention center– inserting the word “American” instead of Afghans.
Item Two: From the official government report on the detention center in Bagram, Afghanistan. (Again, inserting "American")
Item Three: From the official government report on the detention center in Bagram, Afghanistan. (Inserting "Amrican")
Item Four: Quotes from President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld—on the reports of detainee abuse by Americans.
Item Two: From the official government report on the detention center in Bagram, Afghanistan. (Again, inserting "American")
Item Three: From the official government report on the detention center in Bagram, Afghanistan. (Inserting "Amrican")
Item Four: Quotes from President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld—on the reports of detainee abuse by Americans.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Scopes mentality revisited.
Governor Jeb Bush, Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist President George Bush, and the Fox Network’s journalist impersonators owe an apology to the medical professionals and the judges who shouldered the burden of adjudicating the Terry Schiavo case.
Those leaders of The Flat Earth Society helped encourage, codify and facilitate the malicious and slanderous campaign by the religious right wing know-nothings in this country at the expense of thoughtful, conscientious professionals.
It will be interesting to see how all these “moral” high-grounders respond to the autopsy report.
How will those--who claimed that Terri Schiavo was alert and responding to those around her—explain how she did that when she had less than half her brain and a completely “dead” area that facilitates sight. (She was blind!)
That entire sad episode reminded me that this country has not made a lot of progress since the Scopes “monkey trial”.
Those leaders of The Flat Earth Society helped encourage, codify and facilitate the malicious and slanderous campaign by the religious right wing know-nothings in this country at the expense of thoughtful, conscientious professionals.
It will be interesting to see how all these “moral” high-grounders respond to the autopsy report.
How will those--who claimed that Terri Schiavo was alert and responding to those around her—explain how she did that when she had less than half her brain and a completely “dead” area that facilitates sight. (She was blind!)
That entire sad episode reminded me that this country has not made a lot of progress since the Scopes “monkey trial”.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Bush crying "wolf" again!
I find most interesting the juxtaposition of the "priorities" enunciated by President Bush at his press conference on his $2.6 trillion budget.
The President warned of catastrophic results if his social security "reform and privatization" program is not adopted. The budget story also reported that his proposal included a $10 billion reduction in the federal-state health program for the needy and disabled.
Then Bush ominously warned that without any change, the government is expected to spend $191 billion on Medicaid in the next year.
Really? All of that just for the health and welfare of our people? We're supposed to be upset with that?? Meanwhile we're perfectly content to spend over $300 billion for the welfare of Iraq!
Bush, in a dire warning , dismissed the Social Security trust fund as little more than "file cabinets full of IOUs."Then, almost in the same breath, lobbied for an option that would allow "privatized" accounts to be invested in treasury bonds because they "are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government."
The fact is that the Social Security Trust Fund is invested entirely in treasury bonds! The other fact is that Bush has a vary distant relationship with the truth
The President warned of catastrophic results if his social security "reform and privatization" program is not adopted. The budget story also reported that his proposal included a $10 billion reduction in the federal-state health program for the needy and disabled.
Then Bush ominously warned that without any change, the government is expected to spend $191 billion on Medicaid in the next year.
Really? All of that just for the health and welfare of our people? We're supposed to be upset with that?? Meanwhile we're perfectly content to spend over $300 billion for the welfare of Iraq!
Bush, in a dire warning , dismissed the Social Security trust fund as little more than "file cabinets full of IOUs."Then, almost in the same breath, lobbied for an option that would allow "privatized" accounts to be invested in treasury bonds because they "are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government."
The fact is that the Social Security Trust Fund is invested entirely in treasury bonds! The other fact is that Bush has a vary distant relationship with the truth
Saturday, June 11, 2005
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