Thursday, January 20, 2005
Inauguration: Painful to tune into the alternate reality. Lasted 1 minute...
Prior to: Bush: It's important to celebrate a "peaceful transfer of power."
Uh, what’s he thinking?
Text: ‘Spreading Freedom’ (said 27 times) = Destabilizing more governments, creating more chaos, casualties, etc. [See Seymour Hersh, http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?050124fa_fact]
Can’t let it happen!
ALSO:
We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people.
Huh? Oh yeah, that torture thing…by those 7 wayward souls…
Condi: The usual lies in her testimony, hiding behind the sound-bite “…I hope you’ll refrain my impugning my integrity.” Boxer countered that she wasn’t doing that, just showing how Rice is contradicting previous statements by Bush and herself.
The most absurd moment: Rice noted that Saddam was a threat since he was someone “ who did cavort with terrorists.” “Cavort?”, Jon Stewart responded, noting that the Administration has “changed the rationale for the war from ‘they had wmd’ to ‘he engaged in a penchant for merriment with terrorists.’”
Condi’s greatest passion? Venezuela! One of the 10, above? But, they don’t have any terrorists!!
She reserved some of her harshest language, not for China or Russia, but for President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, whose government she said had "not been constructive" because of his tough tactics against the news media and the opposition.
"Is it possible for you to say something positive about the Chávez administration?" Mr. Chafee asked, apparently taken aback at the toughness of her words.
When Ms. Rice said "it's pretty hard, Senator, to find something positive," Mr. Chafee said her attitude "seems disrespectful to the Venezuelan people" who elected Mr. Chávez. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/19/politics/19diplo.html?oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=
“And you don't seem to be willing to . . . admit a mistake, or give any indication of what you're going to do to forcefully involve others. As a matter of fact, you've said more misstatements; that the territory of the terrorists has been shrinking when your own administration says it's now expanded to 60 countries. So I am deeply troubled." Barbara Boxer, to Rice
Kay Bailey Hutchison Does no Better. Oh, that Saddam was so ‘intertwined…’ Interviewed by Chris Mathews on “Hardball”, the Senator was, predictably, pathetic. His question, ‘Was Iraq a Threat?’
HUTCHISON: That they would be coming over here!
MATTHEWS: With what?
HUTCHISON: They were trying to penetrate—with chemical...
MATTHEWS: The Iraqi—what were the Iraqis trying to do here?
HUTCHISON: The whole terrorist operation...
MATTHEWS: No, what were the Iraqis trying to do to us?
HUTCHISON: The Iraqis and other terrorist organizations...
MATTHEWS: You keep changing the subject, Senator.
HUTCHISON: ... were all intertwined.
MATTHEWS: What did Iraq do to start the war with us?
HUTCHISON: They were intertwined with other terrorist organizations.
MATTHEWS: So you have evidence of that?
HUTCHISON: Well, it‘s very clear. Absolutely.
MATTHEWS: You have evidence they were involved with 9/11? I‘ve never seen this evidence. And no one else has.
HUTCHISON: With other terrorist organizations.
MATTHEWS: Which ones?
HUTCHISON: Chris, these terrorist organizations have tentacles that go all the over the Middle East. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6844299/
Speaking of idiocy, read this CNN brief:
Exit polls overstated John Kerry's share of the vote on November 2, both nationally and in many states, because more Kerry supporters participated in the survey than Bush voters, according to an internal review of the exit-polling process released Wednesday.
Deep.
Recount Fight-Back; Them Republicans Can Fight!
From the Columbus Free Press:
In a stunning legal attack, Ohio's Republican Attorney-General has moved for censure against the four attorneys who sued George W. Bush et. al. in an attempt to investigate the Buckeye State's bitterly contested November 2 election.
Robert Fitrakis, Susan Truitt, Cliff Arnebeck and Peter Peckowsky were named by Attorney-General James Petro in a filing with the Ohio Supreme Court. Petro charges the November Moss v Bush and Moss v. Moyer filings by the Election Protection legal team were "frivolous". Petro is demanding official censure and fines.www.freepress.org
What’s Happening, Iraq: NYTimes, on web, not paper; actually Der Spiegel
U.S. Military Personnel Growing Critical of the War in Iraq
U.S. military officials are becoming increasingly vocal in their criticism of the war in Iraq, telling Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that more troops are needed to prevail over the insurgents. Moreover, recruitment is down and more reservists and members of the National Guard are being sent to Baghdad…
Deserting US recruits -- once a rarity -- are not alone in their search. Three months after being reelected and immediately prior to what is expected to be a triumphant inaugural party to mark the start of his second term, US President George W. Bush will be hard-pressed not to reevaluate the strategy for the deployment of US troops in Iraq. He faces massive doubts among the members of his own military, who are becoming increasingly vocal in their opinion that the US war with Iraqi insurgents is being conducted with insufficient manpower and equipment. Lieutenant General James Helmly, chief of the Army Reserve, warns that his troops in Iraq have "deteriorated into a broken force."
A revolt seems to be taking place within the ranks. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/17/international/europe/17spiegel.html
British Urge: Set up a timetable for getting Out
Britain is urging America to announce a timetable for withdrawing coalition troops from Iraq over the next 18 months or more.
With a new Iraqi government due to take power after next week's elections, The Telegraph has learned that British officials believe the time is ripe for the coalition to announce an "indicative timetable" for its departure. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/20/wirq20.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/01/20/ixnewstop.html
Smart! Post- “elections” is a window of opportunity, to declare ‘we’ve done our job’ and get out. There are no elections for 21+ months, and there’s no way they can threaten or move into other countries such as Iran (the army’s stretched and exhausted) unless we get out of Iraq.
Meanwhile, American Ambassador John Negroponte acknowledged that despite the multiple estimations about the numbers of guerrillas, "I'm not sure anybody has a handle on the size of the insurgency."
And, Al Jazeera reports that wealthy Iraqis are heading for the exits, "Iraqis are increasingly seeking safety in foreign countries for their families and businesses in response to a security situation that has been worsening since the March 2003 US invasion.
"Fear of criminal gangs that carry out targeted killings and kidnap children and businessmen for ransom has driven many rich Iraqis out of their home country in search of a more peaceful life abroad. english.aljazeera.net
wmd- David Corn addresses the ongoing lack of accountability. You might have heard Bush respond to a reporter who asked ‘how come no one’s been fired for the wmd hype’? Bush responded that he had an “accountability moment”- the election. So, since “we” voted for him, his Administration doesn’t have to be otherwise accountable. Corn notes:
Bush was flat-out wrong about WMDs. Yet the White House ignores this, the right-wing pundits keep their facts-free spin alive, and many within the mainstream media cannot (or will not) cut through this fog of phony war. Accountability? Not on any of these dials. Not even for a moment.http://www.tompaine.com/print/the_fog_of_phony_war.php
Iraq and the Media: They’ve learned, after the debacle of Josh Rushing waking up before our eyes in “Control Room“; [Josh was on NOW last week http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcriptNOW102_full.html ]
Now, they’re exerting more control.
As the U.S. military approaches nearly two years in the Iraq conflict, media training for soldiers going into the war zone has been stepped up, becoming mandatory for Army troops since October, E&P has learned."Talking point" cards for military personnel, meanwhile, are being updated regularly as the war progresses -- often as much as once a week -- to keep up with the conflict's changing issues and the proximity of embedded reporters. Among the current talking points: "We are a values-based, people-focused team that strives to uphold the dignity and respect of all." http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000760609
LBJ and GWBush: Harold Meyerson pithy comment:
That Lyndon Johnson made George W. Bush's presidency possible, then, has to rank as one of those great ironies that history apparently adores. For Johnson's mission was to bring Texas up to the standards of the United States. And Bush's mission is to bring the United States down to the standards of Texas. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19407-2005Jan18.html
Corporate Taxes: Grover Norquist: Last week’s NYTimes mag article. It’s going to continue.
As long as we have the annual tax cut, all the business guys are in line," Norquist explained to me, noting that business trade associations like the National Association of Manufacturers helped lobby for Bush's 2001 cut, even though it did nothing to reduce corporate rates. Norquist described his pitch to K Street this way: "This year, we're doing a tax cut. You want to help us with this year, you're at the front of the line for next. You didn't get in this year, you can get in line for next year. But we're going to be doing a tax cut, however small, because we can go as small as we have to get a tax cut every year. That is what we did for the last four years. That is what we are going to do for the next four years." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/magazine/16TAXES.html?position=&ei=5090&en=ec21b04f41fc7221&ex=1263618000&partner=rssuserland&pagewanted=print&position=
Social Security: Nervous Republicans; Grassley joins Thomas
A revamp of Social Security that could affect the retirements and payroll taxes of millions of younger workers faces tough going in Congress, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley acknowledged Wednesday.President Bush is expected to formally propose in February a change in the national retirement and income security system that would allow younger workers to divert a third or more of their payroll taxes into retirement accounts.
Many Democrats and some Republicans strongly object to changes in Social Security. Dissension among Republicans flared openly when House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, a Republican, said Tuesday that partisan warfare likely will render the president's plan a "dead horse." http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050120/NEWS09/501200384&SearchID=73196631977521&template=printart
Social Security: Resource. Attention teachers in Vermont and elsewhere… and anyone else… Bookmark and visit the following: http://www.thereisnocrisis.com/
George Will: 'There is No Crisis', but 'Privatize anyway'…for the sake of the Fund Managers
Voluntary personal accounts will allow competing fund managers, rather than a government monopoly on income transfers from workers to retirees, to allocate a large pool of money. This will enhance the economic dynamism conducive to an open society. Personal accounts will respect individuals' autonomy and competence and will narrow the wealth gap by facilitating the accumulation of wealth -- bequeathable wealth -- by people of modest incomes. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22532-2005Jan19.html
Joke Going Around (the web)
Q: How many Bush Administration officials does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any reports of its lack of incandescence are a delusional spin from the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?
-R
Prior to: Bush: It's important to celebrate a "peaceful transfer of power."
Uh, what’s he thinking?
Text: ‘Spreading Freedom’ (said 27 times) = Destabilizing more governments, creating more chaos, casualties, etc. [See Seymour Hersh, http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?050124fa_fact]
Can’t let it happen!
ALSO:
We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people.
Huh? Oh yeah, that torture thing…by those 7 wayward souls…
Condi: The usual lies in her testimony, hiding behind the sound-bite “…I hope you’ll refrain my impugning my integrity.” Boxer countered that she wasn’t doing that, just showing how Rice is contradicting previous statements by Bush and herself.
The most absurd moment: Rice noted that Saddam was a threat since he was someone “ who did cavort with terrorists.” “Cavort?”, Jon Stewart responded, noting that the Administration has “changed the rationale for the war from ‘they had wmd’ to ‘he engaged in a penchant for merriment with terrorists.’”
Condi’s greatest passion? Venezuela! One of the 10, above? But, they don’t have any terrorists!!
She reserved some of her harshest language, not for China or Russia, but for President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, whose government she said had "not been constructive" because of his tough tactics against the news media and the opposition.
"Is it possible for you to say something positive about the Chávez administration?" Mr. Chafee asked, apparently taken aback at the toughness of her words.
When Ms. Rice said "it's pretty hard, Senator, to find something positive," Mr. Chafee said her attitude "seems disrespectful to the Venezuelan people" who elected Mr. Chávez. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/19/politics/19diplo.html?oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=
“And you don't seem to be willing to . . . admit a mistake, or give any indication of what you're going to do to forcefully involve others. As a matter of fact, you've said more misstatements; that the territory of the terrorists has been shrinking when your own administration says it's now expanded to 60 countries. So I am deeply troubled." Barbara Boxer, to Rice
Kay Bailey Hutchison Does no Better. Oh, that Saddam was so ‘intertwined…’ Interviewed by Chris Mathews on “Hardball”, the Senator was, predictably, pathetic. His question, ‘Was Iraq a Threat?’
HUTCHISON: That they would be coming over here!
MATTHEWS: With what?
HUTCHISON: They were trying to penetrate—with chemical...
MATTHEWS: The Iraqi—what were the Iraqis trying to do here?
HUTCHISON: The whole terrorist operation...
MATTHEWS: No, what were the Iraqis trying to do to us?
HUTCHISON: The Iraqis and other terrorist organizations...
MATTHEWS: You keep changing the subject, Senator.
HUTCHISON: ... were all intertwined.
MATTHEWS: What did Iraq do to start the war with us?
HUTCHISON: They were intertwined with other terrorist organizations.
MATTHEWS: So you have evidence of that?
HUTCHISON: Well, it‘s very clear. Absolutely.
MATTHEWS: You have evidence they were involved with 9/11? I‘ve never seen this evidence. And no one else has.
HUTCHISON: With other terrorist organizations.
MATTHEWS: Which ones?
HUTCHISON: Chris, these terrorist organizations have tentacles that go all the over the Middle East. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6844299/
Speaking of idiocy, read this CNN brief:
Exit polls overstated John Kerry's share of the vote on November 2, both nationally and in many states, because more Kerry supporters participated in the survey than Bush voters, according to an internal review of the exit-polling process released Wednesday.
Deep.
Recount Fight-Back; Them Republicans Can Fight!
From the Columbus Free Press:
In a stunning legal attack, Ohio's Republican Attorney-General has moved for censure against the four attorneys who sued George W. Bush et. al. in an attempt to investigate the Buckeye State's bitterly contested November 2 election.
Robert Fitrakis, Susan Truitt, Cliff Arnebeck and Peter Peckowsky were named by Attorney-General James Petro in a filing with the Ohio Supreme Court. Petro charges the November Moss v Bush and Moss v. Moyer filings by the Election Protection legal team were "frivolous". Petro is demanding official censure and fines.www.freepress.org
What’s Happening, Iraq: NYTimes, on web, not paper; actually Der Spiegel
U.S. Military Personnel Growing Critical of the War in Iraq
U.S. military officials are becoming increasingly vocal in their criticism of the war in Iraq, telling Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that more troops are needed to prevail over the insurgents. Moreover, recruitment is down and more reservists and members of the National Guard are being sent to Baghdad…
Deserting US recruits -- once a rarity -- are not alone in their search. Three months after being reelected and immediately prior to what is expected to be a triumphant inaugural party to mark the start of his second term, US President George W. Bush will be hard-pressed not to reevaluate the strategy for the deployment of US troops in Iraq. He faces massive doubts among the members of his own military, who are becoming increasingly vocal in their opinion that the US war with Iraqi insurgents is being conducted with insufficient manpower and equipment. Lieutenant General James Helmly, chief of the Army Reserve, warns that his troops in Iraq have "deteriorated into a broken force."
A revolt seems to be taking place within the ranks. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/17/international/europe/17spiegel.html
British Urge: Set up a timetable for getting Out
Britain is urging America to announce a timetable for withdrawing coalition troops from Iraq over the next 18 months or more.
With a new Iraqi government due to take power after next week's elections, The Telegraph has learned that British officials believe the time is ripe for the coalition to announce an "indicative timetable" for its departure. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/20/wirq20.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/01/20/ixnewstop.html
Smart! Post- “elections” is a window of opportunity, to declare ‘we’ve done our job’ and get out. There are no elections for 21+ months, and there’s no way they can threaten or move into other countries such as Iran (the army’s stretched and exhausted) unless we get out of Iraq.
Meanwhile, American Ambassador John Negroponte acknowledged that despite the multiple estimations about the numbers of guerrillas, "I'm not sure anybody has a handle on the size of the insurgency."
And, Al Jazeera reports that wealthy Iraqis are heading for the exits, "Iraqis are increasingly seeking safety in foreign countries for their families and businesses in response to a security situation that has been worsening since the March 2003 US invasion.
"Fear of criminal gangs that carry out targeted killings and kidnap children and businessmen for ransom has driven many rich Iraqis out of their home country in search of a more peaceful life abroad. english.aljazeera.net
wmd- David Corn addresses the ongoing lack of accountability. You might have heard Bush respond to a reporter who asked ‘how come no one’s been fired for the wmd hype’? Bush responded that he had an “accountability moment”- the election. So, since “we” voted for him, his Administration doesn’t have to be otherwise accountable. Corn notes:
Bush was flat-out wrong about WMDs. Yet the White House ignores this, the right-wing pundits keep their facts-free spin alive, and many within the mainstream media cannot (or will not) cut through this fog of phony war. Accountability? Not on any of these dials. Not even for a moment.http://www.tompaine.com/print/the_fog_of_phony_war.php
Iraq and the Media: They’ve learned, after the debacle of Josh Rushing waking up before our eyes in “Control Room“; [Josh was on NOW last week http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcriptNOW102_full.html ]
Now, they’re exerting more control.
As the U.S. military approaches nearly two years in the Iraq conflict, media training for soldiers going into the war zone has been stepped up, becoming mandatory for Army troops since October, E&P has learned."Talking point" cards for military personnel, meanwhile, are being updated regularly as the war progresses -- often as much as once a week -- to keep up with the conflict's changing issues and the proximity of embedded reporters. Among the current talking points: "We are a values-based, people-focused team that strives to uphold the dignity and respect of all." http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000760609
LBJ and GWBush: Harold Meyerson pithy comment:
That Lyndon Johnson made George W. Bush's presidency possible, then, has to rank as one of those great ironies that history apparently adores. For Johnson's mission was to bring Texas up to the standards of the United States. And Bush's mission is to bring the United States down to the standards of Texas. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19407-2005Jan18.html
Corporate Taxes: Grover Norquist: Last week’s NYTimes mag article. It’s going to continue.
As long as we have the annual tax cut, all the business guys are in line," Norquist explained to me, noting that business trade associations like the National Association of Manufacturers helped lobby for Bush's 2001 cut, even though it did nothing to reduce corporate rates. Norquist described his pitch to K Street this way: "This year, we're doing a tax cut. You want to help us with this year, you're at the front of the line for next. You didn't get in this year, you can get in line for next year. But we're going to be doing a tax cut, however small, because we can go as small as we have to get a tax cut every year. That is what we did for the last four years. That is what we are going to do for the next four years." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/magazine/16TAXES.html?position=&ei=5090&en=ec21b04f41fc7221&ex=1263618000&partner=rssuserland&pagewanted=print&position=
Social Security: Nervous Republicans; Grassley joins Thomas
A revamp of Social Security that could affect the retirements and payroll taxes of millions of younger workers faces tough going in Congress, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley acknowledged Wednesday.President Bush is expected to formally propose in February a change in the national retirement and income security system that would allow younger workers to divert a third or more of their payroll taxes into retirement accounts.
Many Democrats and some Republicans strongly object to changes in Social Security. Dissension among Republicans flared openly when House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, a Republican, said Tuesday that partisan warfare likely will render the president's plan a "dead horse." http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050120/NEWS09/501200384&SearchID=73196631977521&template=printart
Social Security: Resource. Attention teachers in Vermont and elsewhere… and anyone else… Bookmark and visit the following: http://www.thereisnocrisis.com/
George Will: 'There is No Crisis', but 'Privatize anyway'…for the sake of the Fund Managers
Voluntary personal accounts will allow competing fund managers, rather than a government monopoly on income transfers from workers to retirees, to allocate a large pool of money. This will enhance the economic dynamism conducive to an open society. Personal accounts will respect individuals' autonomy and competence and will narrow the wealth gap by facilitating the accumulation of wealth -- bequeathable wealth -- by people of modest incomes. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22532-2005Jan19.html
Joke Going Around (the web)
Q: How many Bush Administration officials does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any reports of its lack of incandescence are a delusional spin from the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?
-R
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
MLK: 2 notes
Never since his assassination in 1968 have I felt the absence of Martin Luther King more acutely. Where are today's voices of moral outrage? Where is the leadership willing to stand up and say: Enough! We've sullied ourselves enough. –Bob Herbert, NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/17/opinion/17herbert.html?oref=login&oref=login&hp
Amen. But, we can’t wait for the “leadership.” We have to speak to those values and morality.
And:
Dr. King would be appalled by the secular culture, the attacks on Christmas, the demonizing of Christianity. By the way, where's the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] and other pinheads when Martin Luther King's picture is displayed on public property? He openly advocated the philosophy of Jesus and proudly declared himself a Christian. What say you, ACLU?- Bill O’Reilly http://mediamatters.org/items/200501180001
Bill was picked by Media Matters for America as the “#1 Liar of 2004.” My favorite is his recurring comment, “Those of us who have seen combat…” No, he wasn’t ever in the armed forces. But, he was briefly a “journalist” in Latin America!
Iran et al: Commando Raids now, covert operations elsewhere…soon. Seymour Hersh’s account
This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign. The Bush Administration is looking at this as a huge war zone,” the former high-level intelligence official told me. “Next, we’re going to have the Iranian campaign. We’ve declared war and the bad guys, wherever they are, are the enemy. This is the last hurrah—we’ve got four years, and want to come out of this saying we won the war on terrorism.”
The war on terrorism would be expanded, and effectively placed under the Pentagon’s control. The President has signed a series of findings and executive orders authorizing secret commando groups and other Special Forces units to conduct covert operations against suspected terrorist targets in as many as ten nations in the Middle East and South Asia.
The Administration has been conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran at least since last summer. Much of the focus is on the accumulation of intelligence and targeting information on Iranian nuclear, chemical, and missile sites, both declared and suspected. The goal is to identify and isolate three dozen, and perhaps more, such targets that could be destroyed by precision strikes and short-term commando raids. http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?050124fa_fact
Pentagon doesn’t contest Hersh re Iran
The Pentagon is criticizing an article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh that says the United States has been carrying out reconnaissance missions in Iran to identify nuclear, chemical and missile sites for possible airstrikes as soon as this summer.
But the Pentagon's response Monday did not specifically address Hersh's contention that the United States has been "conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran since at least last summer" to identify and isolate at least three dozen targets in Iran "that could be destroyed by precision strikes and short-term commando raids." http://edition.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/17/hersh.iran/
Alabama judges, Clarence Thomas and God:
Many stood and applauded former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore as he walked to the stage to administer the oath to Parker. Moore's action was ceremonial, since (Thomas) Parker took his formal oath of office Thursday before U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in Washington. Parker said Thomas told him a judge should be evaluated by whether he faithfully upholds his oath to God, not to the people, to the state or to the Constitution. http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/110578420462860.xml?birminghamnews?nstate
There have been several reports that Bush wants Thomas to be the next Chief Justice.
Social Security: Bush targets a few:
Bush's hardball first-term tactics on tax cuts and Medicare left resentment among the remaining Democratic lawmakers who otherwise might have been receptive to his ideas. Democrats have responded that Bush is manufacturing a crisis where none exists. But lobbyists point to a handful of potential Democratic compromisers who have not ruled out private accounts, including Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/16/MNGVQAR7131.DTL
Good old Joe!
Politicizing the SSA:
Over the objections of many of its own employees, the Social Security Administration is gearing up for a major effort to publicize the financial problems of Social Security and to convince the public that private accounts are needed as part of any solution.
The agency's plans are set forth in internal documents, including a "tactical plan" for communications and marketing of the idea that Social Security faces dire financial problems requiring immediate action.
Social Security officials say the agency is carrying out its mission to educate the public, including more than 47 million beneficiaries, and to support President Bush's agenda. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/politics/16benefit.html?ei=5090&en=f330c326dbefd633&ex=1263531600&partner=rssuserland&pagewanted=print&position=
NYTimes mag: Roger Lowenstein article. Essentially, ‘there is no crisis.’
Social Security's key long-range projection is that, over 75 years, it will come up short by an average of 1.89 percent of payroll. Though deficits would still loom beyond 2080, the problem could be fixed until then by an immediate tax increase of 1.89 percent, or a benefit cut of roughly 13 percent. (Democrats tend to favor a combination.) But this all assumes that the middle projection is right. And several underlying assumptions of that middle projection tend to exaggerate the potential deficit. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/magazine/16SOCIAL.html?oref=login
CBS Fact Checks re SS: Doing better on this than on wmd…
President Bush made several factual errors Tuesday about Social Security's long-term financing problems at a photo op event designed to educate the public about the retirement system. http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/archivedStory.asp?archive=true&dist=ArchiveSplash&siteid=mktw&guid=%7B6D56656B%2DD357%2D4082%2DBD70%2D35F6E6D0AA71%7D&returnURL=%2Fnews%2Fstory%2Easp%3Fguid%3D%7B6D56656B%2DD357%2D4082%2DBD70%2D35F6E6D0AA71%7D%26siteid%3Dmktw%26dist%3D%26archive%3Dtrue%26param%3Darchive%26garden%3D%26minisite%3D
What the Public Believes re SS Some work to do…
Those surveyed gave Bush negative marks -- 38 percent approval vs. 55 percent disapproval -- for his handling of the Social Security issue, and three in five said the system will not have enough money to pay benefits by the time they retire. But by 54 percent to 41 percent, the public supported a plan that would include a reduction in the rate of growth of guaranteed benefits and private savings accounts financed with a portion of payroll taxes. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16073-2005Jan17.html
Disability to take a Hit Are we surprised? (No)
Disability benefits may not be safe from the across-the-board cuts that are likely in President Bush's proposal to allow personal investment accounts in the Social Security program.
Retirement and disability benefits are calculated using the same formula, so if future promised retirement benefits are cut, then disability benefits also would be reduced -- unless the program is somehow separated.
This raises big questions about how investment accounts would be structured for the disabled, especially if they are injured at a young age or are dependent on a parent. Disabled beneficiaries typically work less and need benefits sooner, so the accounts would not provide enough income to them. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/01/18/cuts_in_disability_benefits_seen_in_social_security_plan?mode=PF
Richard Cohen (1): I’m not even that much of a fan, but he has two goodies. Most of us missed this one last week re Security.
In one of those itsy-bitsy items you're likely to miss, the New York Times reported last week that, since 1998, the military has discharged 20 service personnel who spoke or had studied Arabic, six from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif. They all had, in some way, been caught being gay. Try translating that into common sense.
This country, this government, this Congress and social conservatives in states both blue and red have so much invested in anti-gay policies that they will, if need be, jeopardize national security. It does not matter that Arabic interpreters are badly needed in Iraq, where they could save lives. What matters more -- what is downright paramount -- is that no gays get into the military or, if they do, that they stay deep in the closet, where, of course, they are smugly felt to belong. This is national policy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16721-2005Jan17.html
Richard Cohen (2) on CBS and Bush Administration
The capitulation to Bush and the GOP is nearly complete. After the firings, the White House voiced its approval. So did Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, who, keeping a firm grip on his emotions, did not suggest President Bush take note and do some firings himself. All over this great country, wherever right-wing pundits pund and bloggers blog, a chorus of gleeful approval was raised to the heavens. But in praising accountability, they were unaccountably silent about -- and here let me quote from the CBS report about what went wrong -- the "myopic zeal" of administration figures who got everything wrong, still do and have never been called to account for it. They had everything wrong but the target. It wasn't Iraq that was the pushover; it was CBS. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A5311-2005Jan12?language=printer
Frank Rich asks: re Armstrong Williams
Or is Mr. Williams merely the first one of his ilk to be exposed? Every time this administration puts out fiction through the news media - the "Rambo" exploits of Jessica Lynch, the initial cover-up of Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire - it's assumed that a credulous and excessively deferential press was duped. But might there be more paid agents at loose in the media machine? In response to questions at the White House, Mr. McClellan has said that he is "not aware" of any other such case and that he hasn't "heard" whether the administration's senior staff knew of the Williams contract - nondenial denials with miles of wiggle room. Mr. Williams, meanwhile, has told both James Rainey of The Los Angeles Times and David Corn of The Nation that he has "no doubt" that there are "others" like him being paid for purveying administration propaganda and that "this happens all the time." So far he is refusing to name names - a vow of omertà all too reminiscent of that taken by the low-level operatives first apprehended in that "third-rate burglary" during the Nixon administration.
If CNN, just under new management, wants to make amends for the sins of "Crossfire," it might dispatch some real reporters to find out just which "others" Mr. Williams is talking about and to follow his money all the way back to its source. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/arts/16rich.html?oref=login&8hpib=&oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=
Iraq War May Incite Terror, CIA Study Says: Goodie from last Friday
Think tank sees a breeding ground for militants. It says the risk of a germ attack is rising.
The war in Iraq is creating a training and recruitment ground for a new generation of "professionalized" Islamic terrorists, and the risk of a terrorist attack involving a germ weapon is steadily growing, an in-house CIA think tank said in a report released Thursday. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-intel14jan14,1,4774116.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=1&cset=true
-R
Never since his assassination in 1968 have I felt the absence of Martin Luther King more acutely. Where are today's voices of moral outrage? Where is the leadership willing to stand up and say: Enough! We've sullied ourselves enough. –Bob Herbert, NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/17/opinion/17herbert.html?oref=login&oref=login&hp
Amen. But, we can’t wait for the “leadership.” We have to speak to those values and morality.
And:
Dr. King would be appalled by the secular culture, the attacks on Christmas, the demonizing of Christianity. By the way, where's the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] and other pinheads when Martin Luther King's picture is displayed on public property? He openly advocated the philosophy of Jesus and proudly declared himself a Christian. What say you, ACLU?- Bill O’Reilly http://mediamatters.org/items/200501180001
Bill was picked by Media Matters for America as the “#1 Liar of 2004.” My favorite is his recurring comment, “Those of us who have seen combat…” No, he wasn’t ever in the armed forces. But, he was briefly a “journalist” in Latin America!
Iran et al: Commando Raids now, covert operations elsewhere…soon. Seymour Hersh’s account
This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign. The Bush Administration is looking at this as a huge war zone,” the former high-level intelligence official told me. “Next, we’re going to have the Iranian campaign. We’ve declared war and the bad guys, wherever they are, are the enemy. This is the last hurrah—we’ve got four years, and want to come out of this saying we won the war on terrorism.”
The war on terrorism would be expanded, and effectively placed under the Pentagon’s control. The President has signed a series of findings and executive orders authorizing secret commando groups and other Special Forces units to conduct covert operations against suspected terrorist targets in as many as ten nations in the Middle East and South Asia.
The Administration has been conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran at least since last summer. Much of the focus is on the accumulation of intelligence and targeting information on Iranian nuclear, chemical, and missile sites, both declared and suspected. The goal is to identify and isolate three dozen, and perhaps more, such targets that could be destroyed by precision strikes and short-term commando raids. http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?050124fa_fact
Pentagon doesn’t contest Hersh re Iran
The Pentagon is criticizing an article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh that says the United States has been carrying out reconnaissance missions in Iran to identify nuclear, chemical and missile sites for possible airstrikes as soon as this summer.
But the Pentagon's response Monday did not specifically address Hersh's contention that the United States has been "conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran since at least last summer" to identify and isolate at least three dozen targets in Iran "that could be destroyed by precision strikes and short-term commando raids." http://edition.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/17/hersh.iran/
Alabama judges, Clarence Thomas and God:
Many stood and applauded former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore as he walked to the stage to administer the oath to Parker. Moore's action was ceremonial, since (Thomas) Parker took his formal oath of office Thursday before U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in Washington. Parker said Thomas told him a judge should be evaluated by whether he faithfully upholds his oath to God, not to the people, to the state or to the Constitution. http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/110578420462860.xml?birminghamnews?nstate
There have been several reports that Bush wants Thomas to be the next Chief Justice.
Social Security: Bush targets a few:
Bush's hardball first-term tactics on tax cuts and Medicare left resentment among the remaining Democratic lawmakers who otherwise might have been receptive to his ideas. Democrats have responded that Bush is manufacturing a crisis where none exists. But lobbyists point to a handful of potential Democratic compromisers who have not ruled out private accounts, including Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/16/MNGVQAR7131.DTL
Good old Joe!
Politicizing the SSA:
Over the objections of many of its own employees, the Social Security Administration is gearing up for a major effort to publicize the financial problems of Social Security and to convince the public that private accounts are needed as part of any solution.
The agency's plans are set forth in internal documents, including a "tactical plan" for communications and marketing of the idea that Social Security faces dire financial problems requiring immediate action.
Social Security officials say the agency is carrying out its mission to educate the public, including more than 47 million beneficiaries, and to support President Bush's agenda. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/politics/16benefit.html?ei=5090&en=f330c326dbefd633&ex=1263531600&partner=rssuserland&pagewanted=print&position=
NYTimes mag: Roger Lowenstein article. Essentially, ‘there is no crisis.’
Social Security's key long-range projection is that, over 75 years, it will come up short by an average of 1.89 percent of payroll. Though deficits would still loom beyond 2080, the problem could be fixed until then by an immediate tax increase of 1.89 percent, or a benefit cut of roughly 13 percent. (Democrats tend to favor a combination.) But this all assumes that the middle projection is right. And several underlying assumptions of that middle projection tend to exaggerate the potential deficit. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/magazine/16SOCIAL.html?oref=login
CBS Fact Checks re SS: Doing better on this than on wmd…
President Bush made several factual errors Tuesday about Social Security's long-term financing problems at a photo op event designed to educate the public about the retirement system. http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/archivedStory.asp?archive=true&dist=ArchiveSplash&siteid=mktw&guid=%7B6D56656B%2DD357%2D4082%2DBD70%2D35F6E6D0AA71%7D&returnURL=%2Fnews%2Fstory%2Easp%3Fguid%3D%7B6D56656B%2DD357%2D4082%2DBD70%2D35F6E6D0AA71%7D%26siteid%3Dmktw%26dist%3D%26archive%3Dtrue%26param%3Darchive%26garden%3D%26minisite%3D
What the Public Believes re SS Some work to do…
Those surveyed gave Bush negative marks -- 38 percent approval vs. 55 percent disapproval -- for his handling of the Social Security issue, and three in five said the system will not have enough money to pay benefits by the time they retire. But by 54 percent to 41 percent, the public supported a plan that would include a reduction in the rate of growth of guaranteed benefits and private savings accounts financed with a portion of payroll taxes. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16073-2005Jan17.html
Disability to take a Hit Are we surprised? (No)
Disability benefits may not be safe from the across-the-board cuts that are likely in President Bush's proposal to allow personal investment accounts in the Social Security program.
Retirement and disability benefits are calculated using the same formula, so if future promised retirement benefits are cut, then disability benefits also would be reduced -- unless the program is somehow separated.
This raises big questions about how investment accounts would be structured for the disabled, especially if they are injured at a young age or are dependent on a parent. Disabled beneficiaries typically work less and need benefits sooner, so the accounts would not provide enough income to them. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/01/18/cuts_in_disability_benefits_seen_in_social_security_plan?mode=PF
Richard Cohen (1): I’m not even that much of a fan, but he has two goodies. Most of us missed this one last week re Security.
In one of those itsy-bitsy items you're likely to miss, the New York Times reported last week that, since 1998, the military has discharged 20 service personnel who spoke or had studied Arabic, six from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif. They all had, in some way, been caught being gay. Try translating that into common sense.
This country, this government, this Congress and social conservatives in states both blue and red have so much invested in anti-gay policies that they will, if need be, jeopardize national security. It does not matter that Arabic interpreters are badly needed in Iraq, where they could save lives. What matters more -- what is downright paramount -- is that no gays get into the military or, if they do, that they stay deep in the closet, where, of course, they are smugly felt to belong. This is national policy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16721-2005Jan17.html
Richard Cohen (2) on CBS and Bush Administration
The capitulation to Bush and the GOP is nearly complete. After the firings, the White House voiced its approval. So did Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, who, keeping a firm grip on his emotions, did not suggest President Bush take note and do some firings himself. All over this great country, wherever right-wing pundits pund and bloggers blog, a chorus of gleeful approval was raised to the heavens. But in praising accountability, they were unaccountably silent about -- and here let me quote from the CBS report about what went wrong -- the "myopic zeal" of administration figures who got everything wrong, still do and have never been called to account for it. They had everything wrong but the target. It wasn't Iraq that was the pushover; it was CBS. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A5311-2005Jan12?language=printer
Frank Rich asks: re Armstrong Williams
Or is Mr. Williams merely the first one of his ilk to be exposed? Every time this administration puts out fiction through the news media - the "Rambo" exploits of Jessica Lynch, the initial cover-up of Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire - it's assumed that a credulous and excessively deferential press was duped. But might there be more paid agents at loose in the media machine? In response to questions at the White House, Mr. McClellan has said that he is "not aware" of any other such case and that he hasn't "heard" whether the administration's senior staff knew of the Williams contract - nondenial denials with miles of wiggle room. Mr. Williams, meanwhile, has told both James Rainey of The Los Angeles Times and David Corn of The Nation that he has "no doubt" that there are "others" like him being paid for purveying administration propaganda and that "this happens all the time." So far he is refusing to name names - a vow of omertà all too reminiscent of that taken by the low-level operatives first apprehended in that "third-rate burglary" during the Nixon administration.
If CNN, just under new management, wants to make amends for the sins of "Crossfire," it might dispatch some real reporters to find out just which "others" Mr. Williams is talking about and to follow his money all the way back to its source. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/arts/16rich.html?oref=login&8hpib=&oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=
Iraq War May Incite Terror, CIA Study Says: Goodie from last Friday
Think tank sees a breeding ground for militants. It says the risk of a germ attack is rising.
The war in Iraq is creating a training and recruitment ground for a new generation of "professionalized" Islamic terrorists, and the risk of a terrorist attack involving a germ weapon is steadily growing, an in-house CIA think tank said in a report released Thursday. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-intel14jan14,1,4774116.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=1&cset=true
-R
