Sunday, June 13, 2004

The Teflon President on the Ten Dollar Bill? It Won’t Stick.   In the late seventies and early eighties I was just coming out of college into the work force and I was a big fan of the British Sci-Fi cult classic, Doctor Who( http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/tardiscam/index.shtml ). For those of you not familiar with this quirky television series Doctor Who was a time lord who traveled from one adventure to another as he battled bad guys along with an evil time lord who was out to steal the key to time. The good doctor’s main mode of transportation through space and time was a time machine called the TARDIS which was spacious on the inside but looked like a British police call box on the outside. Many a villain tried to break into the TARDIS using hammers, blow torches, and even bombs but in all cases the TARDIS would emerge unscathed and without a scratch. Doctor Who was once asked why the TARDIS seemed impervious to the physical methods used to break into it and the doctor replied, “Because it is not really there”. An amazing defense for a machine that can drift in time.   It was during this same time that I began to become more of a tax payer and consequently I became much more interested in politics. Growing up and going to school in California  as I did made Ronald Reagan a central figure in my new forays into the political landscape. I initially found Reagan to be an engaging and interesting figure who had successfully made the transition from acting to political life. It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to hear him speak at my college during one of his campaigns for governor that I realized he may not have made much of a transition at all. During this event Reagan gave an opening speech that was phenomenal. It was like listening to a motivational speaker and he really pumped up the audience. Then came the Q&A and whatever gubernatorial image Reagan had generated came crashing down as it became apparent that he was unaware of many of the major issues facing California at that time. I realized that our governor was just some charming guy who gave a good speech. Whatever governing that was taking place was conducted by persons unknown who operated behind the scenes. First impressions are often lasting and often accurate and my first impression of Reagan as a mere figure head was only reinforced as he moved up the political ladder.   The Reagan presidency itself was marred by more scandals then I thought could have comfortably fit into eight years. The most prominent were Iran-Contra and the Savings and Loan fiasco. Through it all Reagan remained unscathed and this earned him the term “The Teflon President”. His presidency itself only ever enjoyed ( http://www.fair.org/extra/8903/reagan-popularity.html ) mediocre approval ratings but Reagan himself managed to remain a popular and likeable guy. Looking back on this I believe the secret to the Teflon President was that, like Doctor Who’s TARDIS, Reagan wasn’t really there and therefore it was difficult to damage him. I think many Americans instinctively realized that Reagan was not really acting as President and therefore could not personally be held accountable for the transgressions of his presidency.  I remember back then that criticizing Reagan was almost looked on as being cruel. Why pick on this sweet old guy when everyone knew it wasn’t his fault?   So now as we mourn Reagan’s passing the Republicans, hungry to have their own FDR or JFK, are ratcheting up the hype as they try to turn Reagan into one of the major world leaders of all time. Flipping through the news channels I have heard him described as the best president the United States has ever had. All we need to do now is figure out how to honor this giant of a leader. The two ideas I hear tossed about the most are to have a likeness of Reagan added to Mount Rushmore and to have Reagan’s picture placed on the ten dollar bill. I hope these ideas fade into the sunset. The same Teflon qualities that protected Reagan from harm during his presidency should now keep him from undue accolades by the American people. Reagan was a decent man who gave great speeches and in the end fought a brave battle against Alzheimer’s. If the Republicans, or the Democrats for that matter, want another FDR or JFK then they had best take their hands out of the pockets of the special interests and start doing the work of the American people. Reagan was a nice guy but the Teflon president doesn’t fit the ($10) bill. It just won’t stick. 6:42:53 PM    comment []

Saturday, April 24, 2004

A Tale of Two Health Care Plans   It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. The best of times because I still have a job that offers health care benefits and the worst of times because I recently had to use them. A few weeks ago I had my first trip to the hospital and it was an eye opening experience to be sure. I am happy to report that everything turned out well and the overall experience will not have a negative effect on my health or my finances. I received good treatment from the local hospital and I enjoyed the peace of mind that comes from knowing that I was not going to face financial hardships because of it.  I am lucky. I wish all Americans could have the same peace of mind when it comes to health care.   Sitting in a hospital bed for about a week gave me a lot of time watch TV and read the news. During my stay the story broke about the kidnapping of (  http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1190310,00.html ) Tom Hamill in Iraq. There was a certain amount of irony in watching this story unfold from a hospital bed as it seems that Mr. Hamill was in Iraq driving a truck for Halliburton to help pay his bills after the failure of his dairy business. A good portion of those bills stemmed from a heart condition his wife has that requires surgery. Mr. Hamill is a well liked hard working guy from Macon Mississippi who fell victim of the Bush economy and was forced to put himself in harms way to provide for his family. To say that this story just about broke my heart as I sat safely in the United States with my healthcare taken care of (at least for now!) is an understatement.   Unfortunately Mr. Hamill’s story is not unique. There are about (  http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/24hour/special_reports/iraq/story/1291596p-8410301c.html )15,000 contract workers in Iraq helping to rebuild that country and so far 30 of them have been killed. By and large these are ordinary people placing themselves in extraordinary and dangerous situations to provide a better life for themselves and their families. It seems as though all the wonderful statistics proffered up to show Americans how strong the economy is and how it is growing doesn’t mean much when you can’t afford health insurance and are at risk of losing everything you have worked for. I pray for the safe return of Mr. Hamill along with all our contractors and soldiers who are in harm’s way in Iraq and Afghanistan. I pray that we can bring them back to a country where the basic necessities of life are attainable for every American and where the American dream is not held hostage by the greed of the privileged few.   Note: The (  http://www.nader.org/releases/2003TaxCutCabinetSavings.pdf  ) tax benefits to be realized by Bush and his cabinet from the 2003 tax cuts are estimated to be between $800,000 and $3.2 million. Cheney is the big winner in all this saving somewhere around $300,000 to $800,000. Let’s split the difference and say that Bush and his cabinet are going to see around $2 million extra in their pockets due to the 2003 tax cuts.  I did some checking and it seems that if your job does not provide any healthcare benefits you could be looking at about $4,000 per year for healthcare insurance for you and your family. This means that the tax break for Bush and his cabinet could have provided health insurance for about 500 needy families. Which option sounds better to you?   Note: A recent story on the ( http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/23/politics/23RETI.html?pagewanted=print&;position ) NY Times has noted, “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission voted Thursday to allow employers to reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they become eligible for Medicare at age 65”. It seems as though once you qualify for Medicare you don’t need your personal health benefits so employers should be free to take it away from you. Isn’t that grand? The government wants to take something away from you that you have worked your entire life for because they have determined you don’t need it. Bully for them. Of course if I pointed out that Bush’s cabinet probably doesn’t need the extra $2 million they are pocketing due to the 2003 tax cuts I could be accused of class warfare.    The New Bush Alert System: I am going to discontinue the New Bush Alert System for the time being due to the fact that it seems it is in Bush's best interests to actually protect the United States. I stand ready to fire it up again should Bush start acting desperate as his poll numbers slip into oblivion.   WatchBlog: Don't forget to tune into http://www.watchblog.com for the latest in political commentary from all sides of the spectrum. 6:34:48 PM    comment []

Saturday, March 27, 2004

Hypocrisy Run Amok   It has been a wild week in Washington capped by Richard Clarke’s dramatic testimony ( http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/24/911.commission/ ) before the 9/11 commission. His revelations have been devastating to the Bush Administration and they threaten to take 9/11 away from Bush as a campaign issue which would all but doom his chances in 2004. The Karl Rove smear machine wasted no time in going after Clarke but those efforts seemed strangely ineffective against the only government official, Republican or Democrat, who had the courage to take responsibility for 9/11 and apologize to the families of the victims and to the nation as a whole. Character is an amazing thing and if the Bush Administration had any they might have been in a better position to deal with this latest threat.   The one issue to come out of this that I found the most interesting was Condoleezza Rice’s refusal to testify under oath before the 9/11 commission. Citing constitutional issues and executive privilege Rice asserts that it is not possible for her to do this but claims that she would love the chance to testify under oath. Poor Condi. That darn Constitution is preventing her from publicly clearing up all the misrepresentations made by Richard Clarke. Of course it hasn’t prevented her from speaking to the press and hitting the television circuit to make her case. She just can’t do it under oath. It must be frustrating.   Normally I would write the whole thing off as political maneuvering and move on to other things but there is a level of hypocrisy at play here that I just can’t ignore. You see this is a Bush Administration that thinks nothing of watering down the constitutional rights of American citizens as a logical consequence of the war on terror. We have people, some of them American citizens, who have been locked away at Camp X-Ray  ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,13743,1126959,00.html ) in Guatanamo Bay for years now with no access to lawyers or their families. We have things like the Patriot Act which threatens the privacy of all Americans and we are told that this is necessary because we are a nation at war (though none has been declared).   So when I see Condoleezza Rice hiding behind the Constitution to avoid testifying under oath before the American people on an issue of such vital importance it makes me shake my head in disgust. Doesn’t she know that we are at war? Doesn’t she know that sacrifices have to be made and that constitutional protections must sometimes be set aside for the good of the country? It is hypocrisy run amok and I hope the American people have what it takes to see this for what it is and reject this latest insult to our country.   Personally I would prefer if we just stood behind the Constitution at all levels. This means we allow the detainees at Camp X-Ray proper access to legal aide and to the courts. This means we shelve the Patriot Act and yes this means that Condaleezza Rice does not testify publicly and under oath. You can’t have it both ways though. If you want to shred the Constitution as it applies to the average American then you better be prepared to face the music and not hide behind that same Constitution to save yourself from political embarrassment.   Thought for the Day: Do you think anyone on the 9/11 commission plans to ask why John Ashcroft stopped flying on commercial aircraft ( http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/07/26/national/main303601.shtml ) back in July 2001 because of a threat assessment from the FBI? If they haven’t already done so I hope they do.   New Bush Alert System Update: Still NUCLEAR !   We are still at condition NUCLEAR with Bush’s poll number at or below 50%. I am thinking of retiring this alert system though because I no longer feel Bush would allow another terrorist attack as a means of boosting his ratings. The testimony before the 9/11 commission by Richard Clarke this past week sure put an end to any thoughts along those lines. Still there is no telling how far a panicked Bush Administration that feels they rule by divine right will go to protect their power. As the 2004 election draws near if things look grim they could do something desperate like declare marshal law and void the election. I wouldn’t put it past them.   New Bush Alert System Rating Chart:   Condition:                     Bush Approval Rating ------------------------------------------------------ GREEN                      70% or higher YELLOW                   60% - 69% ORANGE                   55% - 59% RED                            50% - 54% NUCLEAR                 Below 50%   The link for Bush’s poll numbers is http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm     4:44:39 PM    comment []

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Spanish Lullaby   I’ve been away on business and during that time had been relegated to getting my news from the USA Today that was delivered to my hotel room each morning and the 15 second sound bites that seem to have all but taken over the evening news. Like the rest of the world I was very saddened by the tragedy that has recently befallen the people of Spain and truly the people of the world. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. The events of 3/11 are but another sad reminder of how far we still have to go to eliminate the scourge of terrorism and an even sadder reminder of how ineffectual that effort has been so far.   As quickly as this tragic news story filled the front pages of the world’s newspapers and blanketed television screens with images of twisted smoking metal and injured victims it was bumped from the headlines by an even more gruesome story. A hard line right wing government was ousted by a blatant act of democracy and sent packing into the night! Yes it was true. The people of Spain sang their government a lullaby and sent them to bed without supper as a reward for years of lying, support for the Iraq war, and an ineffectual policy on terrorism. It is amazing how uppity these democracies can get when their elected officials lose the best interests of the people as the focus for their policies. It was democracy in action and it was a beautiful thing to see so you can imagine my shock when I returned home from my business trip, got on the internet, and found out I was all wrong.   Yes my friends, I started with (http://www.rushlimbaugh.com) Rush Limbaugh’s site and went down hill from there (Which is a hard thing to do!). It seems that in Spain the terrorists actually won. You see I had it all wrong. The terrorists were working with the opposition party in Spain to oust a government that was friendly with George Bush. They were concerned about all the success Bush has had in building international cooperation on the war on terrorism so something needed to be done and Spain was a good place to start. Now that they have accomplished this they need to figure out how to get John Kerry elected so that their victory can be complete. I had forgotten that it was liberals (In the Neocon dictionary a liberal is defined as any republican, democrat, independent, or foreign government that doesn’t completely support every position of the Bush Administration) who cheered every time a US soldier was killed in Iraq and now it is liberals around the world who are celebrating the bombings in Spain. Thank God for Rush’s compassionate conservatism which set me straight when the liberal media was threatening to lead me astray.   To be fair (and balanced?) to Rush and his fellow wingers in their analysis of the terrorist attack in Spain they actually use pretty sound reasoning in questioning anyone who benefits from a crime. Any criminal investigator will tell you that when investigating a crime the first question you ask is, “Who benefited?”.  The events in Spain leave no doubt that the new government benefited greatly so it is reasonable to wonder if some sort of a link exists between that new government and Al Qaeda. I believe this is something that should be investigated. While it is often hard to determine the motives of a terrorist you can see the results and you have to accept the fact that the results might just be what the terrorist had intended. I’m sure the new government in Spain will gleefully investigate the intelligence failures of their previous administration but they may not be so enthusiastic about investigating ties that they themselves may have to Al Qaeda.    The problem with this sound reasoning that has been so quickly applied to the situation in Spain is that it is all but ignored when viewing similar events here in the United States. When looking at the events surrounding 9/11 and asking “Who benefited?” the undeniable answer is George W. Bush. Does anyone want to imagine what the effect on Bush’s presidency the Enron scandal would have had without the cover of 9/11? Does anyone remember that Bush’s approval ratings looked like they were headed to a permanent home below 50% until 9/11 vaulted them into the 90s? Does anyone not see that Bush intends to shamelessly exploit the 9/11 disaster as the centerpiece of his 2004 campaign while painting Kerry and his supporters as terrorist allies? The efforts of Al Qaeida on 9/11 represented, whether intended or not, a rescue mission for Bush and consequently Bush has done his best to stymie any legitimate investigation into one of the greatest tragedies to befall the United States in my life time. Should we be concerned about this? If you follow the Neocon logic on Spain we should be.   I hope the Spanish people recover quickly from this tragedy and if you are reading this Rush I am talking about the bombing, not the election results. I hope their grief can be turned into a positive force for a true cooperative effort to deal with terrorism. I hope someone from Spain can come to the United States and teach us the words to that lullaby so we can sing it to Bush come November.   Note: Remember back in (http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/12/12/missile.ship/ ) December 2002 when that ship from North Korea ( a proven developer of WMD) carrying scud missiles to Yemen ( a country with proven terrorist ties) was intercepted by Spain) ? Well the Spanish Navy was very proud of this catch and were humiliated (http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/12/11/spain.ship.reax/) when the US made them release the ship and let it continue, with it’s cargo to Yemen. This is just one more reason why the Spanish people were growing dissatisfied. Isn’t the war on terrorism grand?     Question of the week: If Haiti had oil would we now be referring to Haitians as the freedom loving people of Haiti and trying to liberate them (from their oil)?   Link of the week: Check out http://www/watchblog.com where yours truly is a contributing editor and the commentary is excellent from all sides of the political spectrum.   New Bush Alert System Update: Still NUCLEAR !   This may not be as bad as we thought campers. We are still at condition NUCLEAR with Bush’s poll number at or below 50%. The good news is that recent events in Spain along with the ousting of Spain’s conservative government may convince Bush’s team that another terrorist attack in the US may not have the positive effect on Bush’s political fortunes that it had before. This could mean that low Bush poll numbers might only mean an extra slimy campaign with Bush actually forced to wage a real war on terrorism for the remainder of his fraudulent term.   New Bush Alert System Rating Chart:   Condition:                     Bush Approval Rating ------------------------------------------------------ GREEN                      70% or higher YELLOW                   60% - 69% ORANGE                   55% - 59% RED                            50% - 54% NUCLEAR                 Below 50%   The link for Bush’s poll numbers is http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm     7:28:37 PM    comment []

Saturday, February 07, 2004

New Bush Alert System Update: Condition NUCLEAR ! Condition NUCLEAR !   Bad news campers. The double whammy of Bush’s state of the union disaster and campaigning democrats have driven his poll number below 50% on many major polls. The AP poll showed the biggest slide with Bush going from a 56% approval rating down to 47%. I think three years of lies are starting to catch up with the compassionate conservative, the uniter, the reformer with results. Just keep your heads low and buy duck tape. I’m not sure what Karl Rove will think of to get his boss out of this.   New Bush Alert System Rating Chart:   Condition:                     Bush Approval Rating ------------------------------------------------------ GREEN                      70% or higher YELLOW                   60% - 69% ORANGE                   55% - 59% RED                            50% - 54% NUCLEAR                 Below 50%   The link for Bush’s poll numbers is http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm   If we only knew then what we know now.   Life in the United States with the Bush Administration at the helm has been strange to say the least. As I look back on the past three years and all that has gone on I find myself looking for that one phrase or theme that could define these times. One thought that keeps recurring over and over again is the simple phrase, “If we only knew then what we know now”. Actually I could expand that phrase to read, “If we only knew then what the Bush team knew then and we are only finding out now”. It is a concept that has played itself out over and over again to disastrous results for the United States and the world. Just take a moment to think about it.   A year ago if we knew the true story about the threat of Iraq and Saddam would we have been in favor of a preemptive war? If instead of visions of mushroom clouds we were told that Saddam was a bad guy and the world would be better off without him would Republicans or Democrats in congress have voted for it? If we knew that very early in the Bush administration that a plan for the invasion of Iraq along with control over Iraqi oil was in the works would we have supported this war? Can anyone honestly say that if the rationale for the war that is being laid out today was the rationale that was laid out a year ago that they would have supported this war? I think by and large the answer is no. Had we known then the truth that Bush had been hiding thousands of innocent Iraqis and hundreds of US soldiers would be alive today and the Arab world might be working with us against terrorism instead of viewing us with contempt and fear.   Before the vote on the Medicare drug benefit the cost of the program was being touted as costing 400 billion dollars over 10 years. This was a pretty big number so it took a bit of persuasion by the Bush Administration to convince conservative law makers to support this bill as many of them expressed concerns that the 400 billion dollar price tag would balloon. Well the ink was hardly dry on this bill when word got out that revised estimates show the cost will now be 535 billion dollars over 10 years and that this number could go even higher. A 135 billion dollar mistake is a pretty big screw up but then there are plenty of indications that the Bush Administration was aware early on that their estimates were low. So I ask all of our conservative friends out there, if you knew then what you know now about the cost of the Medicare drug benefit would you have supported it? The Bush team knew they couldn’t sell a 535 Billion boondoggle for the pharmaceutical companies so they told us what they needed to tell us to get the bill passed.     Currently we are now trying to find out just exactly what the Bush Administration new before the horrific events of 9/11. Reluctantly the Bush Administration has decided that an independent team should be appointed to look into the security failures that led up to 9/11. However you slice it Bush seems very concerned about what this investigation will turn up so he is only agreeing to an investigation as long as the results won’t we made public until 2005, or after the presidential election. It seems to me that should Bush prevail in 2004 we might find ourselves looking at the results of this investigation and thinking, “Gee, if I only knew then what I know now”. Of course by then it is too late and this has been the Bush strategy from the beginning.   4:36:26 PM    comment []

Saturday, January 24, 2004

New Bush Alert System Update: Bush may be headed for big trouble in 2004 and consequently so are we.   Fox News was the first to release poll results after Bush’s dismal performance during the state of the union speech. The results were not encouraging. Fox had Bush’s approval rating at 53% and his disapproval rating at 39% (8% didn’t know). It was just a few weeks ago that the same Fox poll had Bush’s approval rating at 58% and his disapproval rating at 31%. This is a drop of 5% in his approval rating and a whopping 8% increase in his disapproval rating! What a great speech. Keep in mind that this is a Fox News poll so you can believe that his actual approval rating is much worse. I think the American people, both republicans and democrats, are finally starting to see Bush for the lying little weasel that he is.   Now the big question which should concern most Americans, “What will Bush do to bump up his ratings during this election year?” Bush’s lap dog media seems to be losing its ability to help him. If he allows another major terrorist attack it could backfire on him so he probably won’t take that chance. I’m sure that he is in frantic negotiations with the Saudis to stage a timely Bin Laden capture but even this could look ridiculous coming off the Saddam show. The bottom line is that Bush is going to need real good poll numbers to prevail in 2004 and the drastic measures he might take to achieve this puts all of us in peril.   We are still at condition RED folks and could actually go NUCLEAR if things don’t improve. Hang tough America. We can make it better.      New Bush Alert System Rating Chart:   Condition:                     Bush Approval Rating ------------------------------------------------------ GREEN                      70% or higher YELLOW                   60% - 69% ORANGE                   55% - 59% RED                            50% - 54% NUCLEAR                 Below 50%   The link for Bush’s poll numbers is http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm     12:55:20 PM    comment []

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Hang on to your hats campers, I’m Back !!   This has been a rough time for bloggers. There is just too much to comment on and too much outrage. It is paralyzing and I have a hard time knowing where to begin. This is an election year and with an entrenched corporate media someone needs to get the word out and I am happy to do my part.     State Of The Union: What I saw   I suppose I have been watching State Of The Union speeches with interest since about the mid seventies. In most cases they represented a bit a grand standing, politicking, and certain looseness with the facts. These things are to be expected especially in an election year.  What I saw last night was a show wrapped around the strangest excuse for a State of the Union speech I had ever witnessed. Some of the highlights as I saw it were as follows:   1. A bunch of millionaires applauding a tax cut that has saved them a bundle. 2. A bunch of millionaires, whose health care is paid for by the tax payers, applauding, a prescription drug benefit that is designed to benefit their corporate sponsors and may provide some relief to senior citizens. 3. A bunch of millionaires applauding a war that neither they or their families were made to fight and whose corporate sponsors have profited handsomely.   In short, I saw a bunch of millionaires congratulating themselves on a job well done. The rest was a hollow speech intended primarily to scare the American people into giving Cheney and his team four more years to complete their plunder. Let’s hope that in this election year the American people can see through this smoke screen and send this administration packing.     New Bush Alert System Update:   I am proud to say that towards the end of 2003 I was the first to go to condition ORANGE and I did so on data that was more relevant than the chatter from Osama. We made it through the holiday season at condition ORANGE but I am sad to say that the bump from capturing Saddam was very minor and we are back in condition RED. The State Of The Union could provide another bump but I am not holding my breath. At some point the American people are going to tire of a Bush team that pisses down their backs and tells them it’s raining. Are we having fun yet?   New Bush Alert System Rating Chart:   Condition:                     Bush Approval Rating ------------------------------------------------------ GREEN                       70% or higher YELLOW                    60% - 69% ORANGE                    55% - 59% RED                             50% - 54% NUCLEAR                  Below 50%   The link for Bush’s poll numbers is http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm     10:12:24 PM    comment []