I've been watching, with amusement and downright disbelief, the recent outpouring of emotion and self-righteous theatrics by the most uninformed, fanatical element in this country, aka "The Tea-Baggers." Let's just say it, shall we? They have decided they really don't want a person of color in their "White" House, and they're using the anti-health-care-reform pulpit as an avenue for their outrage. Let's get real here. Thank God that it actually happened -- that we finally have a President with genuine integrity. But, he happens to be both a person of integrity and a person of color; his ideas and leadership are sound; and the majority of the American people voted him into office. Now, if that's not something to get all riled up about, I don't know what is. What is this, some kind of democracy?!As their premise, the Tea-Baggers state that the government, with President Obama at the helm, is trying to take over their lives and take away their personal freedom. That really was the case during the Bush administration; but back then they reacted by buying "Support Our Troops" bumper stickers (still for sale at the U.S. Postal Service, made in China) and duct-taping American flags (also made in China) to their SUV antennas (I won't say it). And, as their Commander-In-Chief had instructed them to do, after 9/11, they went shopping, and bought duct-tape by the case. That's right, duct-tape, not teabags. They proudly joined the “Let's Go Shopping and Buy Duct-Tape Movement,” to show their leader and their critics that they were indeed “real” Americans. What better way to prepare for another, inevitable attack by the ever-increasing ranks of the world's “evildoers”? (I am in no way minimizing the loss of life and terror of 9/11, only expressing an observation about reactions thereto.)If these ranting, raving, self-proclaimed patriots are that upset about the projected cost of health-care reform (the numbers aren't in yet, because there are at least eight different pieces of pending legislation) and its effect on the national debt, shouldn't they have been shouting from the rooftops during the lead-up to the war in Iraq, six long years ago – a war which has cost us trillions of dollars? That's “trillion,” with a “t.” And let's not forget the incalculable, ongoing human costs of that war as well.Why weren't the Tea-Baggers swarming Capitol Hill when billions upon billions of taxpayers' money was appropriated, often in the form of "emergency" budget resolutions, to perpetuate the unfinished business of the first Bush administration? Where were they when George and Dick and Donald and Karl and Colin and General Myers* were giving this nation, and our allies, false information about weapons of mass destruction, and leading us into a non-constitutional, preemptive war, one for which no exit strategy was planned? *(Note of interest: General Richard Myers, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George W. Bush, is now on the Board of Directors of Northrop Grumman, the third-largest arms manufacturer in the world.)
Have the Tea-Baggers been shouting and waving placards on the tarmacs in Iraq and Afghanistan, while thousands of red, white and blue, flag-draped caskets are loaded onto cargo planes for the long, lonely flight home; or while the children of Baghdad have been losing life and limb? Are they shouting and waving signs in the hallways of under-funded and under-staffed VA hospitals (like the one my father died in) and clinics, or in psychiatric hospitals all over this country, where the traumas of war are robbing countless veterans and their families of a healthy future?A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. And when you feed it with self-righteous, myopic and misleading misinformation, it evolves into a malformed, political amoeba. It's appalling.So, here's my idea: Round up the "Tea-Baggers," and give them one-way tickets to Alaska. There, they can join up with Sarah Palin and a camera crew and board a fishing vessel, and set sail for the Bering Straits. It will be a new reality TV series -- we'll call it "Deadliest Catch-Me-If-You-Can." Let's give the boat a name: “The Misguided.” Make sure that they have plenty of reading material on board, like....... hmmmmm....... what type of reading material would that be, anyway, seeing as how they don't read..... and, heck, they get all their news anyway from Fox TV. Is there cable in the Bering Straits? I know, maybe pack some copies of the Constitution in their luggage. Is that out in paperback yet? And, of course, some dictionaries. Judging by their signs, they need some help with their spelling and grammar. And, how about back issues of the Congressional Record from, say, the last nine years? There should be a copy of The Patriot Act in there somewhere.As we all know, no matter where they are, as long as the cameras are rolling, they'll be happy. And, "ya know," Sarah, you'll be able to see Russia from the front deck of your boat! And you and your friends can throw as many tea bags as you like overboard, and make yourself some real nice, “American” iced tea. And maybe you all can construct a new form of government while you're out there bobbing in the waves: Let's call it "Idiocracy."And, one more thing, as a suggestion to the Discovery Channel or National Geographic, please keep them out at sea until at least 2013. I'm sure their show will be a hit on cable TV with their counterparts back home.
----------
Patricia McGahan
Wilmington, North Carolina
August 18, 2009
Stephen Views the News June 24, 2009
http://stephenviewsthenews.blogspot.com/
Some Disappointments in Obama
Readers of this blog may find this heading surprising in light of my support of Barack Obama as a candidate in the Democratic primary contest, in the presidential election and in the early days of his presidency. I have no doubt that his election over John McCain was to the American advantage. There is much that I approve of since Obama has taken occupancy of the oval office. Previous blogs have praised a number of his decisions including that the U.S. will no longer allow torture, closing Guantanamo Bay prison, making healthcare reform a major priority, upgrading consumer product safety, reigning in the abusive tactics of credit card companies, returning the concept of “protection” to the Environmental Protection Agency and bringing back diplomacy to America’s international relations.
I never expected that I would agree with everything that the Obama administration does. There is a full understanding that most of what Obama attempts will be strongly opposed by Republican congressmen from the viewpoint of ideology, appeal to their hardcore base or attempts to simply save their political derrieres by re-writing history and blaming every ill on the Democrats and Obama. Joining Republican obstructionism is a considerable number of Democrats who, regardless of the state they come from, reside in the pockets of special interests. Obama faces formidable foes and the circumstances of an economy and financial structure in crisis, war on two fronts and countries such as Pakistan, Iran and North Korea that present daunting challenges. Has a President ever taken office in the U.S. inheriting so many challenges?
My problem with Obama involves policies and decisions that did not have to be so weak. There have been decisions that have gone against campaign promises, that have contradicted positions previously taken and in some cases have mirrored George W. Bush’s egregious policies. The vast bulk of Obama’s presidency is yet to unfold. Some areas of improvement that I would like to see:
* Transparency – Open government was a mainstay of the Obama candidacy. “Transparency” was a signature issue on the campaign trail. There have been a number of instances where the Obama Justice Department argued in federal courts to block the release of information about torture and other issues and, like the Bush administration, blocked public access to the White House visitors’ log – especially when it came to secreting the names of the coal industry’s representative visitors, not unlike Secret Dick Cheney’s meetings with oil and gas interests. The downside to secretive government was made evident in the last administration. Public trust can only be established through consistent and responsible behavior by its elected representatives. Only a fool would blindly trust a politician or anyone else for that matter. A democracy best functions in the daylight. When Bush secreted his activities behind opposition to the Freedom of Information Act and the bleat of “state secrets” I had had enough. For Obama to do the same is appalling. McClatchy news services offers examples of Obama emulating Bush. Michael Isikoff of Newsweek authors an article, “Obama Closes Doors on Openness.” During his second day in office Obama promised "a new era of openness in our country." One can only hope that the “new era” will still be in the early stages of his presidency.
* Wiretapping-Spying on American citizens – Many wise legal and constitutional minds cautioned against the provisions of the Patriot Act in spite of government assurances that there are safeguards in place to protect the rights and privacy of citizens. As it became evident under Bush and as it is playing out under Obama, these safeguards are as effective as the Abstinence Only program to protect against teen pregnancies. A recent NY Times article titled “E-Mail Surveillance Renews Concerns in Congress” demonstrates that individuals working in these eavesdropping programs regularly spy on citizens without legal justification and even former president Bill Clinton was illegally spied on. There once was a game show titled “Who Do You Trust?” Today’s answer would be, “No one.” When Obama was a senator he said that warrantless wiretapping was illegal. Does the lofty view from the White House change one’s principles and beliefs? Recall in the first days of his presidency George W. Bush gushed about the importance of following the rule of law. We all saw how that played out.
* Gays in the military – Returning to the Obama campaign trail, his comments and positions on gay rights matters would belie what has taken place since Obama took office. He has not stopped the military’s dismissal of gay service people under the policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” At a time when their services are more needed than ever gays in the military are being fired. Obama has the authority to suspend such activity until congress changes the law. He has remained silent.
* Gays not in the military – There has been a rising tide of anger and frustration by the gay community with Obama “slights and deferred promises.” First his Justice Department argued in a legal brief, “The brief insists it is reasonable for states to favor heterosexual marriages because they are the “traditional and universally recognized form of marriage.” In arguing that other states do not have to recognize same-sex marriages under the Constitution’s “full faith and credit” clause, the Justice Department cites decades-old cases ruling that states do not have to recognize marriages between cousins or an uncle and a niece.” Conclusion, gay marriages are equivalent to incest! During his candidacy Obama declared he would work to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). During his presidency his legal office is defending a law that deprives a segment of our population their equal rights.
* Shadow Army – When the Bush administration realized that it could not fight wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with the existing size of the U.S. military it began hiring contractors to perform traditional military responsibilities. The waste, abuse and illegal activity that ensued is well-documented. And the paramilitary presence of Department of Defense (DOD) contractors continues to grow. In a recent report by Commission on Wartime Contracting (CWC) there are now over 240,000 DOD contractors in Southeast Asia – including 132,000 in Iraq and 68,000 in Afghanistan. The report also raises concerns about the poor or inadequate training some of the (contractor personnel) receive, particularly Third Country Nationals hired to guard US bases and facilities: “Poorly trained and ill-equipped contractor employees providing security for our operating bases put American forces at increased risk of harm.” Some fresh thinking is required and old habits changed. Recall that there have been too many instances of these contractors committing rape and murder, building shoddy military facilities that have resulted in the electrocution of U.S. military personnel, and supplying our troops with tainted food and water.
This is not change we can believe in.
* Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
Barack Obama speech, February 5, 2008
Stephen Views the News June 7, 2009
Diplomacy, Hegemony and Terrorism
During President Barack Obama’s historic 55 minute speech in Cairo he received a standing ovation one dozen times. It seems to me impossible for one to shoot a rifle while forcibly bringing one’s hands together in applause. Unlike the trigger-happy Neocon derriere’s who had beat the drum for invading Iraq and, most recently, called for the U.S. to bomb North Korea and Iran (hello Bill Kristol and Brit Hume of FOX News) intelligent diplomacy gives America at least a chance to bring about a better situation while reducing the threat to American military personnel and civilians. If a time would come when military action is required it is also more likely that having first taken the diplomatic route America would garner meaningful international support – not what George W. Bush had in Iraq. For the sophomoric Neocon tough guys such as Cheney and Kristol who always want to go to war as long as they can continue to avoid serving in the military themselves, I suggest masturbation. It will relieve the pressure generated by overactive male hormones. Like most men walking around with a missile silo between their legs being macho leads to more harm than good.
And let us not forget that the United States was responsible for the overthrow of the elected government in Iran in the 1950’s that inserted the Shah of Iran into power – a puppet of American foreign “policy.” He ruled with a despotic heavy hand that was supported by a secretive and brutal police force. Two decades later the Iranian people rebelled and the result was the U.S. Iranian embassy hostage situation. And who can forget the unprovoked U.S. invasion of Iraq. America’s hands in the Middle East are far from clean (and covered in oil) yet few in America readily accept this reality and its effect on current political relations. It is refreshing and encouraging to have an adult in the White House.
Some voices in America, especially the conservative choir, bemoan Obama’s approach to a new diplomacy that they conclude is an apology. Perhaps standing up and taking responsibility for previous action is an anathema to conservatives since it was their approach that contributed to so much damage in the world. In a cowardly fashion they try to rewrite history rather than acknowledge their culpability. This past week, across the cable news networks, we saw Dick Cheney and daughter Liz making appearances and lying through their gritted teeth about Bush’s justification to invade Iraq and the illegal and immoral use of torture. I have never been waterboarded but I can relate to being tortured while watching these apologists for failed policy try to re-make their brand. Adding to my extreme discomfort is the general failure of interviewers to confront the Cheney family and like-minded phonies with the hard facts of recent history. The media proved to be complete failures in the lead up to the Iraq invasion and they continue to demonstrate their inadequacy today.
There are forces in America that want to demonize all Muslims because of the actions of murderers who call themselves Muslims. There are 1.5 billion people in the world who embrace the Muslim religion. Yes, there are some who claim to be Muslims and who have bastardized the teaching of Muhammad for their own political agenda. This does not justify the condemnation of the entire Muslim world. This past week we saw the murder of George Tiller, a doctor in Kansas who performed legal abortions, being justified in Christian religious terms. At Tiller’s funeral on Saturday anti-abortionists demonstrated with signs saying, “God Sent the Killer.” These are the actions of terrorists and murderers who call themselves Christians. What would Jesus say? Probably, “Oy vey.” It is this short-circuiting of a connection to the Almighty that demeans all that is holy. The bombers of abortion clinics and shooters of physicians are the immoral equivalent of the al Qaeda terrorists who struck the World Trade Center. The long history of man on planet Earth is wrought with acts of inhumanity premised on religious canards. It is a lesson that man is apparently not fated to learn.
* “Four things support the world: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave.”
Muhammad (570 – 632), Prophet of Islam
Stephen Views the News April 15, 2009
* Derriere Orifice of the Week - Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) announced that he has compiled a secret list of 17 members of the House of Representatives who are SOCIALISTS. He would not reveal their names because, “they are a secret.” Responding to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request I admit that I also have compiled a secret list of members of Congress. It is made up of those legislators entitled to be called ASSHOLES. Through threat of waterboarding I have reluctantly agreed to admit that Mr. Bachus is on the list.
* Speaking of secrets – “The CIA no longer operates any secret overseas prisons, Director Leon Panetta said yesterday, and has not detained anyone since he became chief in February.” Under Bush the claim was made that the prisons or “black ops sites” as they were called, did not exist and even if they did exist the torture of detainees in these non-existent prisons did not take place. The apparent existential contradiction can be easily explained by, “Liar, liar, pants on fire.” It also makes a joke of any oversight Congress pretends to have over the spy agencies and the Executive branch of our government.
* Speaking of more secrets ~ The Hypocrite Oath - “Medical professionals working for the CIA played a central role in the "ill-treatment" of terror suspects in U.S. custody overseas, according to a previously confidential report by the International Committee of the Red Cross” (conducted in 2007). One may ask why a person trained and sworn to protect life would willingly participate in the torture of another human being. The Nazis were infamous for their medical experimentation on concentration camp prisoners and eventually answered for their despicable inhumanity at the Nuremberg trials. But here we are talking about Americans – the good guys in war movies, the standard for international behavior. We are accustomed to instances of having scumbag politicians, spies, businessmen, religious leaders, teachers, police and bloggers. Scumbag medical professionals assisting in torture breaks new ground in the demise of the American dream that has led to this American nightmare.
* No secret – To be a Republican politician requires having the common sense of overcooked white rice. Texas State Rep. Betty Brown (R) said that Asian-Americans should change their names because they’re too hard to pronounce. “Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” I have an idea! Asian Americans males should begin changing their names to George Bush 1, George Bush 2, George Bush 3 and so on. Females can be Betty Brown 1, Betty Brown 2 and so on. I cannot wait to pick up my Chinese takeout tonight and greet the young lady behind the counter with “Hello Betty Brown 324,119.” I intend to convince Ms. Brown 324,119 to change the name of Chow Mein to Texas Chile and Sumei Dumplings to Turd Blossoms.
* Feel better about yourself ~ you are worth more than you think – The company Innovative Research’s website says it provides the research community with quality biomedical products. I was stunned at the breadth and price of their products. For example, 50 ml of Human Saliva is priced at $275, Human Breast Milk $275, Human Semen $375 and Human Urine $75. This will certainly bring about a change in my behavior. No more will I sell a pint of my blood for a mere $25 and a jelly donut.
* The wrong defense – On FOX News last Sunday Brit Hume attempted to defend former president George W. Bush. Hume said that Bush did indeed believe in Global Warming. If that is the truth, how much more egregious is the Bush administration’s complete lack of action relative to Global Warming? It opposed higher gas mileage standards, did little to nothing to encourage green technology and ignored the Kyoto agreement of world powers to address warming. I had concluded that President Bush just did not get it – remember, science was involved. If Hume is correct, Bush is even more culpable than previously thought. We lost eight years in addressing potential disasters that may result from the warming of our planet - world-wide flooding and famine that could lead to world-wide war.
* The wrong war ~ a time to mourn – James Dobson is stepping down as leader of the religious right organization Focus on the Family. “Dobson conceded that evangelical conservatives had lost most of the recent so-called “culture war” battles… Humanly speaking, we can say that we have lost… the nation is now “absolutely awash in evil.”
On what is a rare occasion I agree with Mr. Dobson that the culture wars of the religious right are being lost and evil permeates our society. I would suggest, however, that the wrong battles were being fought and to some extent contributed to the greed that is at the core of our current economic travails. In an attempt to foist their “religious” agenda on our non-sectarian society the religious right forged an alliance with the Republican Party. In convincing their members to support Republicans, Dobson, Jerry Falwell and their brethren helped elect Republican legislators that were pro-business and anti-regulation, pro-deficit spending while reducing taxes for the wealthy. The Republican allies of the religious right, Bush and company, swept us into an unprovoked war leading to the loss of over 100,000 lives and the displacement of millions of Iraqis. Imagine if their broad influence had been directed to the business and political segments of our society to promote integrity, fairness, workers rights and protection of the environment. The religious right lost a generation of meaningful influence while being used as pawns by the GOP. It is indeed a sad eulogy.
* Love is a Many Splendored Thing – “A Saudi judge has refused for a second time to annul a marriage between an 8-year-old girl and a 47-year-old man.” Anyone in our culture would be appalled at this nuptial pedophilia. However, the judge was not as radical as it would appear on the surface. He granted that the child could apply for a divorce when she reaches puberty. And isn’t it almost always about money? “The girl's father, according to the attorney, arranged the marriage in order to settle his debts with the man, who is ‘a close friend’ of his.” On a social note, the wedding festivities will be held at Chucky Cheese and then the newlyweds will leave immediately for Disney World.
* On the lighter side ~ of heavy – All is “normal” in the land of Governor Sarah Palin. Her pick for Alaska Attorney General, Anthony Ross, is a racist, a writer of several manifestoes attacking Martin Luther King, Jr. as a communist subversive, a homophobe and anti-environmentalist. And to think that we almost had the opportunity to call her Madam Vice-President. The backlash to this nomination may result in Palin withdrawing the Ross nomination. As if Sarah did not have enough on her plate with the backbiting between her and former almost son-in-law Levi Johnston, her sister-in-law Diana Palin was arrested for twice burglarizing a house, during which she was accompanied by her 4-year old daughter. They will not be going to Disney World any time soon.
* Today is U.S. Tax Day – two views:
“I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
“What at first was plunder assumed the softer name of revenue.” Thomas Paine
Stephen Views the News 1/30/09
* Joke of the Week ~ A pig in a $3000 suit is still a pig – President Obama, members of congress, cable news pundits and editorials across America bemoaned what Wall Street has done or not done with the $350 billion they received in a financial bailout several months ago. My local newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, said in an editorial titled Rewarding the Bad Guys, “Wall Street still doesn’t get it” as it was learned that these financial firms handed out $18.4 billion in bonuses this past year as their firms were reaching economic critical mass.
I am surprised and shocked that everyone is shocked and surprised. The financial collapse resulted from greed on steroids by financial institutions and head-up-their-butt government oversight. And the financial collapse changed nothing. Congress gave Bush and his Treasury Secretary $350 billion to bail out the Appalling Street of Financiers. These two geniuses then handed over the cash to the guys in fancy suits like drunks lusting for a lap dance at a gentlemen’s club - no enforceable guidelines, no strings attached, no oversight and the salacious alcohol-induced fantasy that the cash recipients will perform as desired. Now everyone is stunned that the money was not used intelligently, as intended, as naively hoped for. Like drunks with empty pockets and lust unfulfilled we gird for the morning-after hangover. Wall Street has given prostitutes a bad name and our government has once again proven to be hapless schmucks.
* Quotes of the week - The following two quotes are from the same article:
PBS Journalist Bill Moyers – “So here's the lens through which I see things. From my days in President Johnson's White House onward, I have defended Israel's right to defend itself, and still do. But killing innocent people is wrong, whether in Vietnam, Israel, Iraq or Gaza. Sometimes a candid critic is a country's best friend.”
Former Israeli soldier turned journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, wrote in the NY Times this week – “Hamas cannot be bombed, nor cajoled, into moderation. Tanks cannot defeat deeply held beliefs. No. Waging war on an entire population guarantees one thing: the radicals get what they want, and the innocents, on both sides, suffer.”
The lessons identified above have been hard learned but remain elusive as the errors are repeated over many decades and in many locations. The loss of innocent lives is but one of the tragedies that taint the past 50 years.
The same noted article includes an exchange between Moyer and Abraham Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation League. It is a read I highly recommend for anyone attempting to seek clarity or a moral footing relative to Israel’s recent invasion of Gaza. To take a position that our own government or an ally can do no wrong is naïve and belies the evidence. I recall the pushback to protestors who were against the Viet Nam War being told, “America, love it or leave it.” This same mentality is exhibited by orators on the Fourth of July recognizing the brave men and women who gave their lives defending American democracy but then too often want to deny democratic expression when it does not suit their politics. How quickly we have forgotten the era of McCarthyism and the lives destroyed as Congress looked for Communists behind every curtain and every word spoken. Was this same political ploy not used by Bush and Republicans in the lead up to and execution of the Iraq war? Opposition was labeled as unpatriotic. Opposition was tainted as un-American. I would suggest that if the citizens who loved America enough to criticize their own country did not stand up we would indeed have a country and political system worth leaving.
* Derriere Orifice of the Week ~ ta da, Rush Limbaugh – This is not the first time the blunderbuss of talk radio has received this ignominious “award.” His recent exploits are so well documented that I will forgo the usual quote or explanation that usually accompanies this segment. I will simply say that this airwaves sewage pump is the Derriere Orifice of the Week because he is an unmitigated asshole. And, most fitting, he is now the spokes model for the Republican Party.
* Good News of the Week ~ hurray for less frequent mail – The Postmaster General has said it may be necessary to reduce the number of days that mail is delivered from 6 to 5 days. Personally, I could use an extra day of not receiving all the ad and solicitation mail that I did not request and do not want. The last time that there was a postal increase I had the thought to keep the rates lower by delivering the mail every other day. I will get over the disappointment of delaying for one day the receipt of the menu at the local Chinese restaurant, the next mattress sale or the discount coupon to have my chimney swept.
While on the subject of mail I suggest that the postal service be barred from increasing the cost of sending a letter by only one or two cents. I have a drawer full of odd stamps and I do not know what they are worth any more. I have to believe that when the cost increases by such insignificant amounts the post office winds up losing money given the cost of the transition and the millions of inquiries it must address relative to new postage rates. Like many departments in our government administration an upgrade in management skills would be a blessing.
* Comment of the Week – In an interview this week Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that Bush was a burden on the Republican Party. McConnel failed to note that he and the other Senate GOPers marched lock-step for eight years supporting George W. Bush and his failed policies. Republicans are full shareholders in the disastrous Bush years. Now they are rat-like abandoning the ship of fools. The American people have not been fooled as they have voted Republicans into minority status and given the White House to the Democrats. Unfortunately, it took a crushed economy, devastating foreign policy and further debilitating of the federal government by Bush and Republicans for the American people to fully grasp this failed leadership. Fortunately, you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
* Election of the Week ~ meet Michael Steele – The former lieutenant governor of Maryland and long-time conservative commentator on FOX News has been elected the Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC). What do we know about the man selected to lead the Republican Party out of purgatory? When Steele ran for the Maryland senate seat two years ago he ran a campaign “worthy” of his party. His backers went to Philadelphia and hired 300 poor, mostly unemployed African Americans and put them on Trailways busses bound for Maryland. They were deployed to African American communities and given fliers to hand out to residents. “They spent Election Day handing out glossy fliers headlined "Democratic Sample Ballot" or "Official Voter Guide." The fliers employed the phrase "Ehrlich-Steele Democrats." And they featured images of prominent African Americans, such as former Democratic congressman and NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume, above the words: "These are our choices."
Mfume was not supporting Steele and Steele was running on the Republican ticket. The group Progressive Maryland described Steele’s campaign as one of "Lies, Dirty Tricks, and Fraudulent Fliers Designed to Deceive African American Voters." Steele lost the election but apparently shored up his Republican credentials. Yes, Michael Steele meets most of the qualifications to be the leader of the Republican Party – the one exception being that he is an African American. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the almost last stronghold of the Republican Party – the Land of Dixie.
* This is the 100th post of Stephen Views the News. What began as a brief email to 15 friends in June 2007 soon became a forum to address issues I deemed of national concern and to publicize the machinations and failures of the Bush administration that I came across, often in less than mainstream media. By almost any standard this blog is narrow in influence and yet it has enabled me to feel I have made a small contribution to readers’ awareness on a broad range of subjects. The writing of SVN has resulted in making new relationships across our country and the resulting dialogue and feedback has contributed to shaping my views and opinions. In addition to my own web page SVN is posted at barackobama.com and the national website of Democracy for America where it is made available to hundreds of local DFA affiliates. It is impossible to know how many people read my work at these other sites. I do know that several thousand individuals have visited SVN, coming from 42 countries and nearly 1000 cities. The internet is truly an amazing gift and the newest tool for shining a bright light on our leaders.
* “It may well be that our means are fairly limited and our possibilities restricted when it comes to applying pressure on our government. But is this a reason to do nothing? Despair is nor an answer. Neither is resignation. Resignation only leads to indifference, which is not merely a sin but a punishment.”
Elie Wiesel (born 1928) Holocaust survivor, Jewish writer, professor, political activist and Nobel Laureate
Wondering what George W. Bush was doing after Inauguration? After all, it was George W. Bush's last day in office. He decided to launch an aerial loafer attack against the Iraqi journalist who threw a shoe at him. Check out this game that explains it all.
http://bushstrikesback.games.eplay.com/
You can also play it on Facebook:
http://apps.facebook.com/bushstrikesback
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Monday, January 12, 2009 – George W. Bush held his final news conference today, played fast and loose with the truth as he defended his eight year record, and no one in the room had guts enough to challenge him.
George W. Bush opened the door wide several times for tough questions, but reporters didn’t dare rush in.
Why, I’ll never know . . . it’s not like any of these reporters had to worry about being barred from the next Bush Press Conference for having committed the mortal sin of asking a tough question.
Bush was aggressive, arrogant, and even joked about the incredible mess he’s left this country in.
And the White House Press Corps laughed with him.
Not one professional journalist had the courage to challenge Bush when he commented on his presidency’s record by saying, “I think it’s a good, strong record. You know, presidents can try to avoid hard decisions and therefore controversy. That’s just not my nature.”
With America mired in two wars, with our military nearing the breaking point, with our infrastructure falling down, with unprecedented deficit spending adding up to a $10+ trillion national debt, with unprecedented mismanagement of American resources in Iraq, with our economy in shambles, with millions of Americans facing foreclosure, with millions more out of work, with our banking system on the edge of failure, and with our manufacturing base nearly destroyed, why wouldn’t at least one journalist challenge that statement?
Who in the room, who in the nation, who in the world sincerely believes George W. Bush’s record, is ‘good and strong’?
When asked about America’s image around the world, Bush said, “I disagree with this assessment that, you know, that people view America in a dim light. It may be damaged amongst some of the elite. But people still understand America stands for freedom.”
Of course, eight years of George W. Bush’s arrogant, detached, incompetence has damaged America’s image around the world.
Did the reporters at Bush’s final press conference truly believe that our image around the world has been strengthened by his mismanagement of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq? Did those reporters believe our image has been helped by Bush’s lack of leadership in coping with the ongoing nuclear threat in Iran? Did any of those reporters seriously believe that the Bush administration strengthened America’s image by ‘rendering’ and ‘torturing’ suspected terrorists in secret prisons in foreign countries and at ‘Gitmo’?
Yet not one reporter challenged him.
George W. Bush then defended his record in the Middle East by justifying his failure. “It’s been a long time since they’ve had peace in the Middle East,” Bush said. “The challenge, of course, has been to lay out the conditions so that a peaceful state can emerge. Will this ever happen? I think it will. And I know we’ve advanced the process.”
No reporter pointed out the fallacy of his argument or asked Bush to explain how his administration had ‘advanced the process’.
Bush then said he’d “thought long and hard about Katrina. You know could I have done something differently, like land Air Force One either in New Orleans or Baton Rouge.”
Bush was revealing that the most important thing on his mind when Katrina hit was where to have a photo op . . . in New Orleans or Baton Rouge . . . yet no one in the room pointed out that he was talking about something completely unrelated to the question of his administration’s abysmal response to a national tragedy.
Bush then said something absurd . . . even for him. He said, “Don’t tell me the federal response was slow when there were 30,000 people pulled off roofs right after the storm passed. Could things have been done better? Absolutely. But when I hear people say the federal response was slow, what are they going to say to those chopper drivers or the 30,000 who got pulled off the roof?”
That Bush could get away with making a statement like that . . . in front of experienced journalists was unbelievable.
It is well documented that George W. Bush failed to take charge; that he failed to make certain that every federal resource was utilized to quickly and effectively save lives and property throughout the Gulf Coast after Katrina. His failure cost lives and seriously delayed the rebuilding effort. George W. Bush and his minions failed to anticipate the scope of the disaster (despite very clear warnings from the national weather service) and they failed to react and they failed to follow-through.
Three and a half years after the fact, damage done by Katrina is still impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans on the Gulf Coast.
Yet not one reporter pointed out that the Coast Guard’s valiant efforts to save 30,000 Katrina victims had absolutely nothing to do with Bush’s leadership or with his administration’s response to the tragedy.
Not one reporter asked George W. Bush to explain or justify why his Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson, threw the first $350 billion of the financial bailout at banks with no accountability.
The outgoing president stood at that podium in front of the White House Press Corps for three-quarters of an hour so it wasn’t like reporters didn’t have time enough to ask the tough questions.
If the media exists only to serve as a conduit for truth between us and them, why didn’t reporters hold George W. Bush accountable for his failures today?
Were those reporters more concerned about playing by the unspoken rules of presidential press conferences, which are designed, first and foremost, to protect the president’s image or were they more concerned about honoring their obligation to report the truth?
After today, we know the answer to that question.
Don’t we?
Copyright © 2008 by LTD Associates West, Ltd. All rights reserved.
If you have questions, comments, or concerns, Email me at ltdassociates@msn.com (goes right to my desk) and since I personally answer every Email, I look forward to hearing from you soon.
On Sunday, December 14, 2008 an Iraqi journalist changed history. Muntadar al-Zaidi hurled a shoe at U.S. President George W. Bush and called him a dog. Think you can do better? Can you heel the nation? Show Bush your shoe-throwing skills. Now, you can give Bush the boot with Heel 2 the Chief: The Game. Enjoy this game brought to you by www.eplay.com.
http://heel2thechief.games.eplay.com/
by David Michael Green @ commondreams.org
I'm sorry, but there are moments when I just feel like a total alien who stumbled onto some planet full of bizarre life forms. They call this place America, and it sure is weird. And, lemme tell ya, I know what I'm talking about here. I've visited some pretty weird places in this part of the universe.
Try this on for size as an example. You might think that a president who is widely known for lying, who leads a party also known for the same, who is at the end of his term and virtually without any punitive power worth speaking of, and who is widely despised at home and abroad - you might think such a president would get a serious grilling when sitting down with the American media for an exit interview. And, even if that might seem like a giant leap for some, perhaps you'd at least be surprised if such an individual was allowed to continue to tell revisionist historical lies without being called to account in the slightest for doing so.
Yeah, well, different galaxy, I guess. On Planet America it seems a lot more like it's still 2002, and a frightened, compliant press is still learning how to embarrass itself by becoming a tool of a massively deceitful White House. Now that it's almost 2009, they've got it down to a science. Only today they don't even have the pathetic and shamefully flimsy excuse they did back then, in the wake of the 9/11 scare...........
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/12/15-5
by Christopher Brauchli @commondreams.org
He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual. - Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Peter Carr
It is with a sense of loss that the columnist begins cleaning out files filled with examples of a corrupt administration that beg to be exposed to the light of day. After all, there will be little sense in demonstrating the corruptness of George Bush and Dick Cheney when they have been converted from constitutional terrorists to pathetic footnotes. However, a few weeks remain to take advantage of the saved clippings and this week we examine two examples of how lying was used in ways not heretofore widely noted. (Lying, of course, will be as much a legacy of George W. Bush as the use of torture on people and the English language.) No description of Bush lies would be complete without at least one reference to Iraq.
Two days before the day on which the entire country was to give thanks that George Bush had less than two months left in the White House, we learned about the lie we were told as to which countries were in the group that Mr. Bush baptized "the coalition of the willing." The list of coalition members that he presented to the country was, we have now learned, faked, not once, but repeatedly. The disclosure was the result of the work of two University of Illinois researchers whose findings were reported in the New York Times. Scott Althaus and Kalev Leetaru of the Cline Center for Democracy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign made the discovery when trying to figure out what countries the "Coalition of the Willing" comprised. Here is what they found..........
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/12/06-5
Stephen Views the News 11/22/08
* The Stench of Torture ~ will not dissipate with Bush’s exit – Barack Obama has stated emphatically that he will end any use of torture by the USA. Human rights groups, constitutional scholars and citizens have called for the next administration to prosecute those who authorized or used harsh interrogation techniques. “But two Obama advisers said there's little — if any — chance that the incoming president's Justice Department will go after anyone involved in authorizing or carrying out interrogations that provoked worldwide outrage.” Having closely followed the actions by the Bush administration and the use of torture, actions contrary to national and international law, I would like to see those who authorized and then lied about it come under scrutiny. Many believe that the US should not look back as Obama changes policy. What about after Obama? If Bush could authorize the use of torture so could a future president. It is obvious that safeguards are not in place to prevent the use of torture. It should not be an option for ANY administration. At the least, America should enact laws that unequivocally prevent any president or U.S. agency from utilizing a policy of torture. That being said, regardless of how the Obama administration decides to deal with abuses by George W. Bush or, should Bush grant broad immunity to perpetrators of abuse before he leaves office, the international community still could address the subject.
It remains to be seen whether there will be an effort to bring war crimes charges against Americans responsible for and involved in torture in Iraq, Guantanamo and secret prisons the U.S. government sanctioned around the world. There is a just-released report by the Human Rights Center/Center for Constitutional Rights report titled “Guantanamo and Its Aftermath.” Former DC Appellate Judge Patricia Wald, a judge at the international trial for Serbians accused of committing war crimes against Bosnian Muslims, compared the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody to the treatment Bosnians received at the hands of their Serbian captors. And from the web site ThinkProgress.org: “Last June, Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (ret.), the Army general who led the investigation into prisoner abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, also accused the Bush administration of committing “war crimes” and called for those responsible to be held to account.”
The report noted above is 136 pages in length. Even if one only reads the Forward and Executive Summary one will find a chilling condemnation of the policies invoked by the Bush administration to deal with the aftermath of 9/11 attacks. It is a vision that no sentient American in my lifetime could have envisioned. I was especially struck with the innocent lives destroyed. I would hope that Americans are struck with a sense of the loss of innocence. The Forward concludes, “We, as a nation, must not only remember our past but strive not to repeat it. This report makes an invaluable start in that direction.”
* In Case of Emergency 1 ~ a simple yet very intelligent idea – A reader sent me notice of an idea conceived by a paramedic that is growing in popularity. Most of us have cell phones. If we were to be injured in an accident or unexpectedly taken ill, emergency personnel would want to alert someone to our situation. To avoid the need to search through a large number of entries in the phone’s address book there is an alternative. Add to the address file “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) and the telephone number of the person you want to be contacted. If there is more than one person or phone number, enter ICE 1, ICE 2, and so on. This is an idea you may want to share with friends and family.
* In Case of Emergency 2 – If you just accidentally swallowed poison and need to regurgitate, watch this video of the members of the U.S. Senate giving a standing ovation to Alaskan Republican Senator Ted Stevens. Stevens is not returning to the Senate because he lost his re-election bid. Even if Stevens had won the election he very probably would have been expelled from the Senate because he recently was convicted in a federal court on 7 felony counts. This is the man who porked huge amounts of federal money for Alaska and he was the legislative architect for the Bridge to Nowhere, while using his legislative power for financial gain for himself, members of his family and friends and associates. And our illustrious Senators gave him a standing ovation, which happens to be against their own Senate rules. Applauding a low-life power abuser and convicted felon is not the message that I want to hear from legislators. It does not bode well for ethics reform or the responsible leadership that the American people crave. Republican losses over the last two election cycles have made this very clear. The Good Ol’ Boy Club has gotten very old. More need to be replaced, including a covey of Democrats.
* Derriere Orifice of the Week ~ say hello to Newt Gingrich – Appearing on FOX News (of course) Gingrich was criticizing those individuals protesting the loss of the right of gay couples in California to marry. Gingrich said, "I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion." I find Gingrich’s comments disingenuous, hypocritical and misleading.
Recall that it was Gingrich and his Republican Party that consummated a marriage with religious-right fundamentalists attempting to tell Americans how to conduct their lives. I see no evidence of people with a gay lifestyle either attempting to or, by example, influencing anyone to be gay. The gay community does not proselytize. It is seeking its own civil rights, in opposition to the likes of Mike Huckabee who pronounce that gay rights and civil rights are totally different. What is Fascist are Gingrich and his tight-assed brown shirts spewing untruthful propaganda and misinformation. Has anyone seen evidence of gay violence or harassment? More than half of the American people are aware of Gingrich and company’s dangerous band of blowhards. Once a few million more Americans wake up to the uncivil attacks on and the denial of civil rights to the gay community, people like Gingrich will find limited access to mainstream media and be relegated to the increasingly irrelevant Pat Robertson’s Holier than Thou TV infomercials.
* Knowing your limitations – “Congratulations” to Fred Thompson. Following the failure of his somnambulant presidential bid he has decided to again leave politics and return to acting. I suggest that his best chance to earn an Oscar or Emmy would be playing the role of Rip Van Winkle.
* Goodbye and good riddance – Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott is retiring in February. Under his management the largest retailer in this country honed the business model for low wages and low benefits, resulting in many Wal-Mart employees requiring public assistance. Wal-Mart is one of the models for sourcing goods and services overseas that has contributed to the weakness of our economy. Recall that Wal-Mart opposed more diligent inspection of containers as they enter our borders. A container destined for Wal-Mart enters the U.S. every 45 seconds. U.S. national security does not stand in the way of the Wal Mart bottom line. The bottom line is that under Mr. Scott, Wal Mart was a winner on Wall Street but quite damaging to Main Street.
* Is the Bush administration getting in touch with the needs of Americans? ~ Nah! – In an exceptional move the administration has agreed to support the extension of unemployment benefits as unemployment claims reach a 16-year high and unemployment reaches a 25-year high. Otherwise, it is nasty business as usual. The Bush presidency continues to undermine environmental safety, broaden the destruction of public lands and national parks, and further endanger endangered species as it pimps for business interests that are not in the interest of the American people. President George W. and co-conspirators in his administration are making every effort to reduce regulation and constrictions on oil, gas, mining, fishing, timber and financial industries while promoting the development of shale oil, the dirtiest fuel on the planet. America does not need enemies from afar. Our hands are full with the enemies from within.
The situation was best summed up by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee when he told the Wall Street Journal, “This administration will stop at nothing to jam through as many reckless proposals as they can before the clock runs out.” A glimmer of hope for the health of planet Earth is Barack Obama’s promise to make a decisive break with George Bush on the environment … promising a "new chapter in America's leadership on climate change.” These developments bring to mind a question I have often asked over the last seven years. “Why does George W. Bush hate America? I do not accept the conventional wisdom alibi that he is well-intentioned but ill-advised. The damage he has rendered is too widespread, too deep and well beyond the pale of mere incompetence.
* What have we learned in two millennia? A reader asked this question, accompanied by the following quote:
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
Cicero, 55 BC
Less than a month ago you said government purchases of stock in banks stuck with so-called ‘toxic assets’ (talk about an oxymoron), represented a good investment for taxpayers. You said the government (nee taxpayers) would own shares in the form of warrants issued by banks. “This is an investment,” you said, “not an expenditure, and there is no reason to expect this program will cost taxpayers anything.”
Your immediate plan was to spend $250 billion in direct stock purchases; half of those dollars would go to the nine largest banks in the country and the other half would go to buy stock in thousands of other banks. Though the big nine banks would be receiving nearly $14 billion each, you didn’t require them or any of the other thousands of banks and other financial institutions to lend any portion of any of those taxpayer billions to business and/or consumers.
You said that taxpayer cash handed out by the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), would increase banks’ confidence so they will “deploy, not hoard, their capital,”
TRANSLATION: If we give banks billions of dollars, they’ll lend it!
Okay . . .
Given everything you said up to October 20, thinking taxpayers would think your plan was working . . . that business and consumer lending would begin to ‘free-up’; that the hemorrhaging of jobs would slow or even stop; that the rate of foreclosures would begin to decline; that some of us might even be able to sleep the whole night through.
Then, on Wednesday, November 12, you suddenly announced that you were abandoning the idea of purchasing bank stocks (aka ‘toxic assets’); you said, however, that you were going to continue to use (the balance of) $250 billion (36% of the $700 billion) to buy stock in banks to ‘encourage them to resume more ‘normal lending’.
And, if I was confused before Wednesday (and I was), I’m really confused now, Hank.
Does your turnabout mean the original plan, your plan, was the wrong plan?
If so, why did you present it in the first place and why did the House and Senate go along with it?
You told CNBC today that the ‘facts had changed’ which caused you to abandon your original plan.
Okay . . . does that mean the banking system that was in such bad shape less than a month ago is now in good shape?
If that’s the case, why not put our checkbook away, finish your work with the transition team, and finalize your post-January 20 vacation plans?
But, wait a minute, you are still Secretary of the Treasury and, despite the quarter of a trillion dollars you’ve doled out to banks, the economy is still in the tank (not for you, not for the big shot Wall Streeters who’ll run like rats with million dollar bonuses and golden parachutes, not for George W. Bush or Dick Cheney or any of the rest of the Bush bunch who will ride off into the Washington, D.C. sunset with cushy pensions, book deals, and lives of privilege and ease) for the millions of hard working Americans and their children who are paying and will continue to pay with lost jobs, savings, retirement accounts, homes, and dignity for Wall Street greed and Washington incompetence.
So, what will you do with the remaining 64% of the $700 billion to protect millions more businesses, jobs, families, and homeowners who’ve been put at risk by greedy financiers and inept politicians?
At this point, Hank, you may be wondering (as I’m sure you’ve wondered thousands of times in the past several months), how did you become responsible for saving the entire economy of the United States of America?
In other words, who died and made you the big economic Sheriff of America?
Well, Sheriff Paulson, you got yourself in this spot by accepting a job with an administration too stupid, too incompetent, and too short-sighted, for too many years to build a strong, vibrant, flexible economy.
And, while we all understand that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzalez, et al, were stupid, we can’t ignore the fact that the House and Senate were even stupider.
The House and Senate allowed all those stupid people, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzalez and the rest of the Bush bunch, to run the country into the ground . . . for nearly eight very long years.
So, here we are . . . relying on you and the best and the brightest in the Department of the Treasury to save the nation and what have you done?
You’ve spent more than a third of the $700 billion and the credit crisis is still in crisis, hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs each week, foreclosures continue to climb, bankruptcy filings continue to increase, and there is no reason to believe anything will change any time soon.
Doesn’t sound like we’re getting much for our money, does it?
Mind if I ask a question?
If I worked for you at Goldman Sachs and I handled my job like you and your group have handled this bailout mess, would I still have a job?
And, if not, why not?
Copyright © 2008 by LTD Associates West, Ltd. All rights reserved
Want to go to a Blog that listens to you and speaks for you as well?
Bush & Obama met in the Oval Office today. Just 71 days to go!
CNN has reported today that there are as many as 4,000 absentee ballots missing and unaccounted for today in the state of New Mexico. That is just flat out atrocious and it make me wonder how many other absentee ballots are missing in other states.If the Republicans want to provide a good America, then why not win the Election within a good manner of fairness and not just dirty tricks?In the 2000 Presidential Election between Al Gore and George W. Bush, the Republicans stole it for Bush due to the many absentee ballots casted for Gore that mysteriously went missing. That of course was corrupt, and that corruptness continued throughout Bush's entire 8-year term as President. This has to change, and it begins with Barack Obma of the Democrats.Canada wants Obama, and America should want Obama too, if they too want a good America. A good America will result in a revival of that original American Dream, a dream that has been missing since the 90's with President Bill Clinton.Choose “REAL CHANGE” with your "VOTE" and not the same “Empty Republican Promises” and dirty tricks. Please America, do not back down on this Election. Make sure your vote counts, and make sure your vote makes an impact with Barack Obama!Sources:1) http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/04/some-absentee-ballots-mia-in-nm-county/#more-283432) http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/261974
http://marcuscyganiak.blogspot.com/2008/11/absentee-ballots-already-reported-today.html
“Mad about The One. The US media have been captivated by Obama, at the expense of their curiosity and scepticism.”
This is the title of an article by Harold Evans in The Guardian on November 1, 2008. He resorts to the bias he decries in his one-sided column. I have reproduced it below in its entirety, along with my annotations {…} . Phrases that I comment upon are in boldface.
It's fitting that the cynicism "vote early and vote often" is commonly attributed to Chicago's Democratic boss, mayor Richard Daley, who famously voted the graveyards in 1960 to help put John Kennedy in the White House. In this 2008 race, it's the American media that have voted very early and often. They long ago elected the star graduate of Chicago's Democratic machine, Barack Obama. {Obama is a hardly a “graduate“ of the machine. What about Harvard Law, Columbia, etc.?}
I am not talking of editorials in newspapers, though Obama has the preponderance of the endorsements over John McCain. Obama certainly deserves the credit for recruiting impressive advisers and running a more efficient campaign machine than any one in the US's political history.
What's troubling to anyone old-fashioned enough to care about standards in journalism is the news coverage in mainstream media. Forget the old notions of objectivity, fairness, thoroughness, and so on. The nastiest rumours on both sides haven't been published, but the coverage has been slavishly on the side of "the one". {“Slavish”? Evans’s description.}
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sunday, November 2, 2008 – WHO WANTS GEORGE W. BUSH, DICK CHENEY, OR THE BUSH CABINET TO HANG AROUND AFTER TUESDAY? Bush has been a complete bust as President; his level of incompetence is unprecedented, his total lack of commitment to serving the real needs of real Americans is well-known, and his complete inability to communicate with the American people makes him complete useless.
Dick Cheney, by any standard, has been a total waste. He has no credibility, no public support, and has not, in any way, done anything in eight years to improve the lives of Americans. A more useless human being has probably never existed within the Washington beltway.
Let’s face it; George W. Bush (who gets $400,000.00 a year) and his puppet master, Dick Cheney ($221,100.00 a year), offer nothing, except an eight year history of deceit, incompetence, lack of direction, and abject failure, to the people of this country.
So, why would we want either of these boobs to hang around after Tuesday?
Okay . . . so what about anyone else in the Bush administration?
Any help there?
Not hardly.
Not one of Bush’s cabinet secretaries (each of whom costs taxpayers $191,300.00 each and every year), except for Treasury Secretary Paulson, has done anything to help the nation cope with the current economic crisis.
Because Secretary of the Treasury Paulson is actually doing something to help the economy, he can stay after Tuesday. Whether you agree – or not – with the government ‘bailout’ of financial institutions, Congress authorized the ‘bailout’ and Paulson’s actually working at it . . . something Bush, Cheney, and their people are not known for.
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman hasn’t said anything about how he plans to use any portion of the $25 billion taxpayer dollars he got in 2008 to reduce exorbitant fuel costs that have crippled our economy and killed so many small businesses and cost thousands upon thousands of jobs. This is a man who said, “Under President Bush’s leadership, this budget” (the 2008 budget) “builds on our commitment to strengthen our nation’s energy security by diversifying our energy resources and reducing our reliance on foreign sources of energy.” Bodman made that statement a year and a half ago – after he spent $49 billion in 2007 and 2008 – and, yet the nation can’t see where he’s done anything to diversify energy resources or reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy. So, why would anyone believe Bodman could or would direct his department to make any effort whatsoever to help turn our economy around? In any case, if Secretary Bodman actually cared about helping to revitalize the economy, one would think he would have already made an effort to do so.
Where has Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao been since the economic collapse? In 2008, she spent 50 billion taxpayer dollars this year and used 17,000 employees to run her department, a department that is supposed to “foster and promote the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, and helping employers find workers” . . . yet, we know absolutely nothing about what she’s doing with the $50 billion to help Americans stay in their jobs, get new jobs, and maintain health care coverage for themselves or their families. If Secretary Chao cared about the American worker, wouldn’t she use her economic and political power to help more people hang on to more jobs?
What has Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff done to streamline his department’s $46.4 billion dollar budget and help reduce the federal deficit? What has Chertoff done to improve economic opportunities for Homeland Security contractors and employees? What is Secretary Chertoff’s plan to utilize his department’s human, financial, and infrastructure resources to help rebuild and revitalize our economy? We don’t know . . . because we haven’t heard anything from him.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates hasn’t said a word about where his department stands on the economic crisis. Has Secretary Gates considered how the economy might improve if he directed National Guard and Reserve units to expedite rebuilding in New Orleans and other areas of the country that have been devastated by natural disasters? If Secretary Gates is truly interested in supporting our gallant troops serving around the world, why hasn’t he announced a plan to work with the Department of Veterans Affairs to come up with innovative ways to transition returning veterans into good-paying jobs in the public and private sectors?
Where has Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez been? His department employs 41,000 people and will take $6.5 billion out of the pockets of taxpayers this year. According to it’s Mission Statement, the Commerce Department is supposed to work with other Government agencies to create national policy, through the President’s Cabinet to increase international trade, strengthen the international economic position of the United States, promote progressive domestic business policies and growth, and assist communities, individuals, and states with economic progress. So, why hasn’t Secretary Gutierrez made a public commitment to use every resource at his disposal to create more economic opportunity for small, medium, and large businesses throughout the country? Doesn’t Secretary Gutierrez care? Or is he just incompetent?
With a budget of $707 billion and 64,000 employees, Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt spends more money than even the Defense Department ($647 billion) . . . in fact he controls nearly one-fourth of all the money spent by the Federal Government. What has Secretary Leavitt done with any of the $700 billion he received from the taxpayers this year to help Americans who’ve lost their jobs to retain health insurance? If Secretary Leavitt has done anything at all to reduce his operating budget to help reduce our $500 billion deficit this year, he hasn’t bothered to tell us about it. Has Leavitt made every effort to make sure that Americans who’ve lost their jobs and are about to lose their jobs in the most serious economic crisis to hit the nation since the Great Depression have access to continuing health care for themselves and their families? If so, why don’t we know about his efforts?
How about Attorney General Michael Mukasey? The Department of Justice cost taxpayers $26 Billion in 2008 and employs multiple thousands of people in all sorts of jobs all across the nation. So, where does the Attorney General stand on the economic crisis? Why hasn’t he stepped up to reassure us that the Department of Justice will protect our investments in Wall Street and in Main Street as well? Why hasn’t Mukasey come up with any initiatives to introduce, implement, and enforce new and more effective oversight regulations for the financial services industry?
Dr. James Peake, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, spent $84 billion in taxpayer money this year and we have no idea whether he has any interest cutting his department’s operating costs to help reduce the federal deficit. There’s also been no word from Dr. Peake about what he intends to do to make sure returning veterans can find good jobs in a declining economy. If he has a plan to provide good-paying, secure jobs with health and retirement benefits to returning veterans in this economy, why hasn’t he told us about it?
Where does Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters stand on the economic recovery? Is she for or against using the resources the taxpayers have given her to help improve economic conditions? She has 55,000 employees who work for 14 separate departments (from the Federal Aviation Administration to the Federal Railroad Administration to the Office of the Secretary) and she spent $67 billion this year alone. What has Secretary Peters done to invest in the transportation infrastructure to create new jobs? What has Secretary Peters done to streamline her 14 agencies to cut expenditures and return taxpayer dollars to the treasury? We don’t know . . . because we haven’t heard anything from her.
Secretary Condoleeza Rice has demonstrated a level of incompetence that leaves her completely out of any solution-making process, foreign or domestic. She has failed to make any progress in the war of terrorism. She has failed to make any meaningful progress in the Middle East. In terms of assisting the nation to recover from the current economic emergency, Secretary Rice has consistently failed to build or strengthen relationships with our allies around the world, thereby failing to create or develop bilateral import/export economic protections for our economy. Her record proves she would be of no use whatsoever . . . especially when it comes to managing the international implications behind our current economic crisis.
What has Education Secretary Margaret Sellings done to mobilize her department to help the people of America get through the current economic crisis? Out of the $66 billion she spent in 2008, she received $447 million for administrative support alone. How many of those taxpayer dollars has Secretary Sellings directed to create new investments to stimulate the economy? Why hasn’t Secretary Sellings been a leader in introducing initiatives to rebuild and revitalize schools across the nation . . . from inner cities to rural communities to the suburbs . . . to not only improve educational opportunities for our children but to also create new, good-paying jobs for Americans who need them?
Given the dismal history of these Cabinet Secretaries, why would we want to waste another taxpayer dollar on any of them?
There isn’t a winner in the bunch and Americans have no reason to limp along for more than two and a half months between Election Day and inauguration day with Bush, Cheney, and the rest of their incompetents.
We’ll want to rely on the President-Elect, the Vice-President-Elect, and their advisors for the critical leadership (guidance and reassurance) the nation so desperately needs . . . starting Wednesday morning.
Won’t we?
Election Day on November 4, 2008 will arguably be the most important date in US history and it’s because the world’s fate is in the hands of the next United States President. We've already been punctured with the global economic crisis, so take your pick if you want to further that wound with World War III or preferably repair it with World Peace.
