Wednesday, September 24, 2003
…the sanctions exist- not for the purpose of hurting the Iraqi people, but for the purpose of keeping in check Saddam Hussein’s ambitions toward developing weapons of mass destruction. We should constantly be reviewing our policies, constantly be looking at those sanctions to make sure that they are directed toward that purpose. That purpose is ever bit as important now as it was ten years ago when we began it. And frankly they have worked. He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors.
-Colin Powell, 2/4/01 (via state Department web site, emphasis added).
Economy and the Election:
The Bush Administration is getting nervous about Junior’s prospects. Instead of changing policies, spin and blame are the operative words, how to reframe their policies so as to better sell them, and to blame other forces for their failed policies. Case in point: China is responsible for the 3 million lost jobs!
There has been sporadic references to complaints by US manufacturers that the Chinese currency, the yuan, was undervalued, and not subject to fluctuations as occur normally in the global market. Skipping a mini course in economics, complaints have been that China’s manipulation of its currency results in jobs lost in Japan and the U.S. Some Democrats have joined these complaints, playing into the hands of an Administration needing to shift blame for the sluggish “jobloss” economy. So, prepare for more China bashing… More on this via the Wall Street Journal, at http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106430923383329700,00.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
Blame the Media (1)
The Governing Council of Iraq, appointed and directed by the U.S., has “decided” to limit the leading Arabic news channels. The accusation? “Encouraging terrorism.” The official statement:
The Governing Council has decided to ban al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya from covering council activities and official press conferences, and to deny their correspondents access to ministries and council buildings for two weeks."
Blame the Media (2)
A Democratic legislator, Rep. Jim Marshall of Georgia, is blaming the media for limiting our chance of success in Iraq. Marshall said that unnecessarily bleak dispatches from Iraq have been the rule since the May 1 moment for faux airman Bush. These dispatches “contrast sharply with reports of hope and progress presented to Congress by Department of Defense representatives -- a real disconnect, Vietnam déja vu.”
What’s Happening, Iraq:
UN Agreement Near? The speech was a bust, playing to the (Slim) domestic audience, amounting to ‘nothing new’ for the attending diplomats. But there are reports, including this one from The Scotsman (Tim Cornwell, (http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=1058702003) that behind the public disagreements is an emerging consensus.
After the closed meeting between Mr Bush and Mr Chirac, a US official said: “They talked about the difference there, but they pledged to try to work together. The French president said he wouldn’t stand in the way, but obviously France would like to try to help.”
That $87 Billion
The Democrats have made clear that they will vote for the $, but want to make points as to what’s being spent in Iraq while needs mount at home.
From today’s Wall Street Journal: Democrats who have dissected the reconstruction plan are highlighting how, in areas such as hospital construction and infrastructure repair, Mr. Bush intends to spend far more per capita in Iraq next year than in the U.S. Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, for instance, asserted in a report that the Bush plan would spend $255 on electricity generation for every Iraqi, compared with 71 cents on federally funded electricity work in the U.S. http://online.wsj.com/article_print/0,,SB106435944774657700,00.html
WMD Update of the updates.
Whither the Kay Report? The report re wmd was due in September, long predicted to be a p.r. effort to make the confused American public that wmd existed and posed an “imminent threat.” As Colin Powell said earlier this month (9/7, Meet the Press), “David Kay is in charge of our effort now, with some 1,500 inspectors and analysts and experts. He will provide an interim report later this month, and I am confident when people see what David Kay puts forward they will see that there was no question that such weapons exist, existed, and so did the programs to develop one.”
But on Monday, Condi Rice backed off. “David Kay is not going to be done with this for quite some time. And I would not count on reports. I suppose there may be interim reports. I don't know when those will be, and I don't know what the public nature of them will be.”
So, the press had better keep asking…
Saudi Arabia Doth Protest…
The Saudis are claiming that the U.S. has stifled their efforts to combat terrorism. Their inveterate ambassador to the U.S., Prince Bandar (bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz) claimed that the State Department urged Saudi Arabia to go easy on its problem citizens, “telling us we were terrible to these dissidents.” He added that “efforts by Saudi Arabia to track funneling of money to groups with terrorist ties was thwarted to some degree by US financial regulations and privacy safeguards surrounding US financial institutions.” http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_24-9-2003_pg4_4 (Pakistan)
Arnold on the Environment: He won’t debate unless he gets the questions in advance. (What next?) And, he wants us to know that "I want clean air, clean water and a clean environment.”
Perhaps in a real debate someone would point out that the actor drives a Hummer and purportedly spurred the campaign to bring us a civilian version of the Humvee, following his being enamored of one during the Gulf War of ’91.
What’s Happening, Afghanistan: Documentary on Massacre
There is a new documentary, “Afghan Massacre” that chronicles the saga of 3000 or so prisoners who had surrendered at Kunduz. The claim in the movie is that American Special Forces were present for the mass shooting and burial and that the Pentagon then orchestrated the requisite cover-up. The movie was produced amidst threats and beatings of participants and killings of eyewitnesses. More at http://www.acftv.com/archive/article.asp?archive_id=1
9/11: Coverage of the Confession
Editor and Publisher (Seth Porges) reported that Bush’s admission that Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11 was viewed as a major story by some of the media.
”Of America's twelve highest-circulation daily papers, only the L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, and Dallas Morning News ran anything about it on the front page. In The New York Times, the story was relegated to page 22. USA Today: page 16. The Houston Chronicle: page 3. The San Francisco Chronicle: page 14. The Washington Post: page 18. Newsday: page 41. The New York Daily News: page 14. “
Bush the Reader: According to the AP report, (Scott Lindlaw), “Bush said he insulates himself from the opinions” that seep into news coverage by getting his news form his own aides. He said he scans headlines, but rarely reads news stories. “I appreciate people’s opinions, but I’m more interested in news…and the best way to get the news is form objective sources, and the most objective sources I have are people on my staff who tell me what’s happening in the world.”
No comment
Tax Cuts
The NY Times (David Cay Johnston) reminds us that the tax cuts will cost individuals and the country far more than the miniscule benefit they bring the average tax payer in the short run.
The government is basically borrowing $1,000 in your name and then handing you $250 of it," said Robert McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice, a labor-backed research group in Washington. "The net effect is to leave you deeper and deeper in debt." In a report to be released this morning, Citizens for Tax Justice estimates that the 26 million taxpayers on the middle rungs of the income ladder, those making $28,000 to $45,000, are especially hard hit by federal borrowing.
Only the top 1 percent income group comes out ahead, the analysis found.
----Ideology rules, as so-called experts debate the upshot of the cuts.
Both Daniel J. Mitchell, a Heritage tax policy expert, and William G. Gale, a Brookings Institution economist, said that how borrowed money was used was crucial.
Mr. Mitchell said that "if you go into debt to win World War II it is a good thing; if you are going into debt to finance a trip to Las Vegas to blow your pension fund that is a bad purpose."
"The current borrowing is good because we will get long-term investment."
Mr. Gale used the same analogy, but came to a different conclusion. Federal debt "skyrocketed in World War II, but everybody thinks it was for a good reason," he said.
"Now federal debt is rising again and a significant chunk is to finance tax cuts for the very wealthiest families, which in my view is not a good reason."
-R
-Colin Powell, 2/4/01 (via state Department web site, emphasis added).
Economy and the Election:
The Bush Administration is getting nervous about Junior’s prospects. Instead of changing policies, spin and blame are the operative words, how to reframe their policies so as to better sell them, and to blame other forces for their failed policies. Case in point: China is responsible for the 3 million lost jobs!
There has been sporadic references to complaints by US manufacturers that the Chinese currency, the yuan, was undervalued, and not subject to fluctuations as occur normally in the global market. Skipping a mini course in economics, complaints have been that China’s manipulation of its currency results in jobs lost in Japan and the U.S. Some Democrats have joined these complaints, playing into the hands of an Administration needing to shift blame for the sluggish “jobloss” economy. So, prepare for more China bashing… More on this via the Wall Street Journal, at http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106430923383329700,00.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
Blame the Media (1)
The Governing Council of Iraq, appointed and directed by the U.S., has “decided” to limit the leading Arabic news channels. The accusation? “Encouraging terrorism.” The official statement:
The Governing Council has decided to ban al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya from covering council activities and official press conferences, and to deny their correspondents access to ministries and council buildings for two weeks."
Blame the Media (2)
A Democratic legislator, Rep. Jim Marshall of Georgia, is blaming the media for limiting our chance of success in Iraq. Marshall said that unnecessarily bleak dispatches from Iraq have been the rule since the May 1 moment for faux airman Bush. These dispatches “contrast sharply with reports of hope and progress presented to Congress by Department of Defense representatives -- a real disconnect, Vietnam déja vu.”
What’s Happening, Iraq:
UN Agreement Near? The speech was a bust, playing to the (Slim) domestic audience, amounting to ‘nothing new’ for the attending diplomats. But there are reports, including this one from The Scotsman (Tim Cornwell, (http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=1058702003) that behind the public disagreements is an emerging consensus.
After the closed meeting between Mr Bush and Mr Chirac, a US official said: “They talked about the difference there, but they pledged to try to work together. The French president said he wouldn’t stand in the way, but obviously France would like to try to help.”
That $87 Billion
The Democrats have made clear that they will vote for the $, but want to make points as to what’s being spent in Iraq while needs mount at home.
From today’s Wall Street Journal: Democrats who have dissected the reconstruction plan are highlighting how, in areas such as hospital construction and infrastructure repair, Mr. Bush intends to spend far more per capita in Iraq next year than in the U.S. Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, for instance, asserted in a report that the Bush plan would spend $255 on electricity generation for every Iraqi, compared with 71 cents on federally funded electricity work in the U.S. http://online.wsj.com/article_print/0,,SB106435944774657700,00.html
WMD Update of the updates.
Whither the Kay Report? The report re wmd was due in September, long predicted to be a p.r. effort to make the confused American public that wmd existed and posed an “imminent threat.” As Colin Powell said earlier this month (9/7, Meet the Press), “David Kay is in charge of our effort now, with some 1,500 inspectors and analysts and experts. He will provide an interim report later this month, and I am confident when people see what David Kay puts forward they will see that there was no question that such weapons exist, existed, and so did the programs to develop one.”
But on Monday, Condi Rice backed off. “David Kay is not going to be done with this for quite some time. And I would not count on reports. I suppose there may be interim reports. I don't know when those will be, and I don't know what the public nature of them will be.”
So, the press had better keep asking…
Saudi Arabia Doth Protest…
The Saudis are claiming that the U.S. has stifled their efforts to combat terrorism. Their inveterate ambassador to the U.S., Prince Bandar (bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz) claimed that the State Department urged Saudi Arabia to go easy on its problem citizens, “telling us we were terrible to these dissidents.” He added that “efforts by Saudi Arabia to track funneling of money to groups with terrorist ties was thwarted to some degree by US financial regulations and privacy safeguards surrounding US financial institutions.” http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_24-9-2003_pg4_4 (Pakistan)
Arnold on the Environment: He won’t debate unless he gets the questions in advance. (What next?) And, he wants us to know that "I want clean air, clean water and a clean environment.”
Perhaps in a real debate someone would point out that the actor drives a Hummer and purportedly spurred the campaign to bring us a civilian version of the Humvee, following his being enamored of one during the Gulf War of ’91.
What’s Happening, Afghanistan: Documentary on Massacre
There is a new documentary, “Afghan Massacre” that chronicles the saga of 3000 or so prisoners who had surrendered at Kunduz. The claim in the movie is that American Special Forces were present for the mass shooting and burial and that the Pentagon then orchestrated the requisite cover-up. The movie was produced amidst threats and beatings of participants and killings of eyewitnesses. More at http://www.acftv.com/archive/article.asp?archive_id=1
9/11: Coverage of the Confession
Editor and Publisher (Seth Porges) reported that Bush’s admission that Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11 was viewed as a major story by some of the media.
”Of America's twelve highest-circulation daily papers, only the L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, and Dallas Morning News ran anything about it on the front page. In The New York Times, the story was relegated to page 22. USA Today: page 16. The Houston Chronicle: page 3. The San Francisco Chronicle: page 14. The Washington Post: page 18. Newsday: page 41. The New York Daily News: page 14. “
Bush the Reader: According to the AP report, (Scott Lindlaw), “Bush said he insulates himself from the opinions” that seep into news coverage by getting his news form his own aides. He said he scans headlines, but rarely reads news stories. “I appreciate people’s opinions, but I’m more interested in news…and the best way to get the news is form objective sources, and the most objective sources I have are people on my staff who tell me what’s happening in the world.”
No comment
Tax Cuts
The NY Times (David Cay Johnston) reminds us that the tax cuts will cost individuals and the country far more than the miniscule benefit they bring the average tax payer in the short run.
The government is basically borrowing $1,000 in your name and then handing you $250 of it," said Robert McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice, a labor-backed research group in Washington. "The net effect is to leave you deeper and deeper in debt." In a report to be released this morning, Citizens for Tax Justice estimates that the 26 million taxpayers on the middle rungs of the income ladder, those making $28,000 to $45,000, are especially hard hit by federal borrowing.
Only the top 1 percent income group comes out ahead, the analysis found.
----Ideology rules, as so-called experts debate the upshot of the cuts.
Both Daniel J. Mitchell, a Heritage tax policy expert, and William G. Gale, a Brookings Institution economist, said that how borrowed money was used was crucial.
Mr. Mitchell said that "if you go into debt to win World War II it is a good thing; if you are going into debt to finance a trip to Las Vegas to blow your pension fund that is a bad purpose."
"The current borrowing is good because we will get long-term investment."
Mr. Gale used the same analogy, but came to a different conclusion. Federal debt "skyrocketed in World War II, but everybody thinks it was for a good reason," he said.
"Now federal debt is rising again and a significant chunk is to finance tax cuts for the very wealthiest families, which in my view is not a good reason."
-R
