Friday, April 08, 2005
“We” were correct; Does it matter? The Schiavo Memo
Left-of-Center media are celebrating that it’s been admitted that a Republican aide to new Senator Mel Martinez (R-Fla) is the author of the infamous memo that celebrated Terri Schiavo as a golden political opportunity; previously Republicans, Rush Limbaugh et al had accused the Democrats of forging the memo. What Democrats and their media allies still don’t understand is that unless you USE these ‘victories’ by trumpeting them, repetitively screaming their meaning to an apathetic, apolitical public, the victory is, at best, measured.
Side note: Blaming an aide for authoring a memo still does not explain why many aides and senators knew of it and used it/disseminated it/ agreed with it, AND why they were so eager to blame (project) the Democrats for authoring it. Most of Us knew the Democrats are incapable of such. .
The aide, Brian H. Darling, Martinez’ chief counsel, also has worked for the Alexander Strategy Group that is basically Tom DeLay’s group. Darling has now resigned.
The [measured] victory:
Senator Mel Martinez, Republican of Florida, said Wednesday that a senior member of his staff had written an unsigned memorandum about the partisan political advantages of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo that became a controversial footnote to the debate over the wisdom and motives of Congress's actions.
In a statement on Wednesday night, Mr. Martinez said that he had just learned that the memorandum originated in his office and that its author had resigned. He did not name the author, but aides said it was Brian Darling, his counsel.
Mr. Darling could not be reached for comment.
"It is with profound disappointment and regret that I learned today that a senior member of my staff was unilaterally responsible for this document," Mr. Martinez said. "It was not approved by me or any other member of my staff, nor were we aware of its existence until very recently."
Mr. Martinez added: "This type of behavior and sentiment will not be tolerated in my office. As the senator, I am ultimately responsible for the work of my staff and the product that comes out of this office. I take full responsibility for this situation." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/07/politics/07memo.html?pagewanted=print&position=
Cutting Back at the U.N. The AP Report:
The Senate voted Wednesday to reduce the United States’ share of the cost of U.N. peacekeeping missions by tens of millions of dollars.
The vote reflected congressional criticism of the United Nations following allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the oil-for-food program for Iraq, sexual abuses by peacekeepers and other scandals.
U.S. dues are now capped at 27.1 percent of the peacekeeping budget. Under a 1994 law, that cap is to be reduced to 25 percent.
The AP dotes on “corruption and mismanagement in the oil-for-food program” as the reason for this vote. This sounds more like a GOP talking point.
Then again, John Bolton doesn’t believe in dues used for PEACEKEEPING at all. In 1997, he told the Wall Street Journal that the United States wasn’t legally bound to pay its United Nations dues.
Social Security: Pelosi and Reid have fun w/ Bush. Knowing that he is only capable of repeating high school-level talking points about Social Security, the Duo have invited Bush to leave the protective bubble of his so-called Town Hall Meetings.
“As you may know, throughout this entire session of Congress including this most recent Congressional recess, we and the members of our Caucuses have traveled throughout our states and districts, talking directly to the American people about Social Security and our concerns about privatization. We have heard from our constituents and Americans from all across the country that they are concerned that the deep benefit cuts and massive new debt required by your privatization proposal will do more to dismantle the Social Security system than strengthen it.
“As we have watched you and members of your administration travel throughout the country on your “60 Stops in 60 Days” Tour, we have seen and heard numerous accounts indicating that your events have been carefully staged and scripted to ensure that you will only hear from handpicked participants who support your privatization plan. Despite your statements that you welcome hearing all views on this important issue, it seems increasingly clear that the vast majority of Americans who oppose your privatization plan are excluded from participating in the conversation.
“We believe it is critical to hear voices from all sides of the debate to ensure that the positions we take and the decisions we make truly reflect the national interest.
“Therefore, as you reach the mid-point of this sixty day tour, we would like to invite you to participate in a National Town Hall on Social Security privatization. We would work with you and your staff to ensure that members of the general public would be invited so that you could hear first hand the concerns most Americans have about your privatization plan and its deep benefit cuts and massive debt increases.”
From a True Believer: Rep. Tom Cole (R-Ok)
This is like being for the Civil Rights Bill in 1960. You may not win but it makes you feel good and you're on the right side. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=645836
Bush’s Social Security Tour: The Cost:
To get an idea of just how much taxpayer money he is spending to promote his plan, check out these stats, compiled by David Sirota:
STAFF COSTS BETWEEN $22,000 AND $59,000 PER EVENT: On 10/3/02, the Associated Press reported, "The White House has estimated that trips, on average, cost between $22,000 and $59,000 for staff, not including security and aircraft."
AIR FORCE ONE COSTS ABOUT $55,000 PER HOUR: The operational, per hour cost of Air Force One varies, depending on who you ask, but ranges from $35,000—$50,000 per hour in 2000 dollars… $50,000 in 2000 dollars is about $55,000 in today's dollars.
BUSH HAS A HISTORY OF ABUSING TRAVEL BUDGETS: On 10/20/02, the Washington Post reported "the White House has billed the federal Office of Family Assistance $210,000 to help pay for five trips in which President Bush promoted welfare reform at official events and made separate fundraising appearances for GOP candidates." An HHS spokesperson "said the $210,000 from the Office of Family Assistance helped pay for stages, sound and other speech-related costs on the trips." The Office of Family Assistance is supposed to use its funding to administer programs for poor children and families - not the President's travel.
This, of course, doesn't include the costs to local government of security when he holds these events. And while the amount spent may be small compared to the federal deficit, every little bit counts, especially considering it costs five times more to run Air Force one for an hour ($55,000) than Social Security pays the typical recipient in an entire year ($11,000). When put that way, his abuse of his travel privileges and wasteful attitude toward taxpayer money is no small matter. http://www.davidsirota.com/2005/04/how-much-is-bushs-ss-tour-costing-you.html
Lou Dobbs: Most regrettable question posed by the CNN personality to viewers (as opposed to, “Do you believe Tom DeLay is behaving unethically’ or similar).
Do you believe Senate Majority Leader Tom DeLay is a victim of a campaign by the liberal media to embarrass him.”
Yet, the result? 93% no – 7% yes
What’s Happening, Iraq:
(1) New Prime Minister: Balance at the top: Shiite and a Kurd
The Shiite leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari was appointed Iraq's new prime minister Thursday, crystallizing the leadership of the first elected government in decades and ending more than two months of divisive negotiations.
Dr. Jaafari, a doctor and the leader of one of Iraq's major Shiite religious parties, was named by the new president, Jalal Talabani, shortly after Mr. Talabani was sworn into office with his hand on a Koran.
Hours earlier, Ayad Allawi, who has been the prime minister in Iraq's interim government, submitted his resignation, opening the way for the new government to take power. Dr. Allawi will remain head of a caretaker government until a full cabinet is chosen. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/08/international/middleeast/08iraq.html?
(2) Are the Iraqis Ready?
Col. Robert B. Brown, commander of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), which conducts combat operations throughout northern Iraq, predicted the transition would come "over the next six months to a year . . . until pretty soon they've got the whole area and we do nothing but respond" to emergencies.
The ambitious strategy is being questioned by some U.S. military advisers who work closely with the Iraqi forces. They say that although the Iraqis are progressing, they are being rushed into battle before they are ready in an effort to speed the withdrawal of American forces.
"It's all about perception, to convince the American public that everything is going as planned and we're right on schedule to be out of here," said one adviser, Army Staff Sgt. Craig E. Patrick, 40, a reservist from Rock Island, Ill. "I mean, they can [mislead] the American people, but they can't [mislead] us. These guys are not ready." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32631-2005Apr6.html
POWs, War Crimes, WW II and Gitmo: After WW II, the U.S. tribunals prosecuted Japanese guards for humiliation as well as actual torture, for example, sentencing one guard to 12 years for forcing POWs to salute non-stop for 30 minutes.-- "Extreme brutality or serious injury to the victim is not a necessary element" for conviction, wrote one judge.
So, how do the Bushies get out of the comparison? Their familiar fall-back position: it doesn’t apply to this unusual conflict.
One Pentagon legal expert says the World War II-era cases are of uncertain relevance to the treatment of prisoners, because President Bush has determined they do not qualify for international-law protections. "The distinction here is that these [suspected Taliban and al Qaeda fighters] are not members of the military services of a government," the official says.http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111282904090900187-email,00.html
Republicans Splintering: The Left-wing Wall Street Journal speaks
Almost three months into President Bush's second term, a raft of economic and social issues -- Social Security, immigration, gay marriage and the recent national debate over Terri Schiavo -- is splintering the Republican base.
After winning re-election on the strength of support from nine in 10 Republican voters, the president is seeing significant chunks of that base balk at major initiatives, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows. One-third of Republicans say Democrats in Congress should prevent Mr. Bush and party leaders from "going too far in pushing their agenda," and 41% oppose eliminating filibusters against Mr. Bush's judicial nominees -- the "nuclear option" that Senate Republican leaders are considering.
The Schiavo case has opened another rift. Though Mr. Bush and Republican congressional leaders acted to maximize the opportunity for reinserting Ms. Schiavo's feeding tube, 39% of Republicans said removing the tube was "the right thing to do," while 48% said it was wrong. About 18% of Republicans say they lost respect for Mr. Bush on the issue and 41% lost respect for Congress. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB111282698216100132-oGnQKkV_guNprR__U8NEr4aX3G8_20050507,00.html?mod=blogs
Schwarznegger Retreats; Unlike Bush and Social Security, he quickly caves And, his popularity has plummeted.
Under pressure from firefighters and police officers, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday backed off, for now, his plan to privatize California's public employee pension system.
The Republican said ``misconceptions'' among firefighters and police officers that privatization would strip them of death and disability benefits had come to dominate the issue.
Over the past few weeks, Schwarzenegger has waged a campaign to put privatization on the ballot during a special election next fall. But on Thursday, he said he would wait until the June 2006 election if lawmakers did not craft a compromise measure in the coming months.
``Let's pull it back and do it better,'' said Schwarzenegger, flanked by more than a dozen police, fire and local government leaders.
The move followed days of meetings with police and fire chiefs and survivors of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty, all of whom expressed concerns that the ballot language opened the possibility that the employees would lose death and disability payments.
The attorney general's office, analyzing the proposed ballot language, had earlier reached the same conclusion.
Schwarzenegger said that was not his intention.
Schwarzenegger, who has called the state's pension system ``another government program out of control,'' wanted to hold down the state's escalating pension contributions by making new employees open 401(k)-style individual investment accounts. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/07/politics/07memo.html?
Steal Them Secrets! Old enough to remember when we were concerned about the Soviet Union getting our “secrets”? Seems like lots of countries are vying for U.S. information.
Because the U.S. has reached such lone, superpower status, government officials say, at least 90 countries -- in addition to Al Qaeda -- are attempting to steal some of the nation's most sacred secrets. It's not only foes, like members of terror groups or nations that are adversaries of the U.S., but friends as well. The top five countries trying to snoop on U.S. plans and cutting-edge technology, according to an official who works closely with the FBI on this issue, are China, Russia, Israel, France, and North Korea. Others running close behind: Cuba, Pakistan, and India.
'With the end of the Soviet Union, people stopped taking counterintelligence seriously,' says Patrick Lang, former head of Middle East intelligence at the Defense Intelligence Agency. 'Not enough attention has been devoted to keeping people from getting into our secret store of knowledge.'" http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0408/p01s01-usfp.html
Plame Investigation: End with a whimper? Are we surprised?
The special prosecutor investigating whether Bush administration officials illegally revealed the identity of a covert CIA operative says he finished his investigation months ago, except for questioning two reporters who have refused to testify.
The information in a March 22 court filing by special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald suggests that syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak, who first published the name of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame, has already spoken to investigators about his sources for that report, according to legal experts. Novak, whose July 2003 column sparked the investigation, and his attorney have refused to comment on whether he was questioned.
Legal experts and sources close to the case also speculated yesterday that Fitzgerald is not likely to seek an indictment for the crime he originally set out to investigate: whether a government official knowingly exposed a covert officer. The sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is the subject of a grand jury investigation, said Fitzgerald may instead seek to charge a government official with committing perjury by giving conflicting information to prosecutors. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A32380-2005Apr6?language=printer
More Daylight Savings Time?
If Congress passes an energy bill, Americans may see more daylight-saving time.
Lawmakers crafting energy legislation approved an amendment Wednesday to extend daylight-saving time by two months, having it start on the first Sunday in March and end on the last Sunday in November. http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/04/07/daylight.saving.ap/index.html
It is, however, an amendment to the Energy Bill which may be as awful as last year’s, and thus not worthy of passage.
-R
Left-of-Center media are celebrating that it’s been admitted that a Republican aide to new Senator Mel Martinez (R-Fla) is the author of the infamous memo that celebrated Terri Schiavo as a golden political opportunity; previously Republicans, Rush Limbaugh et al had accused the Democrats of forging the memo. What Democrats and their media allies still don’t understand is that unless you USE these ‘victories’ by trumpeting them, repetitively screaming their meaning to an apathetic, apolitical public, the victory is, at best, measured.
Side note: Blaming an aide for authoring a memo still does not explain why many aides and senators knew of it and used it/disseminated it/ agreed with it, AND why they were so eager to blame (project) the Democrats for authoring it. Most of Us knew the Democrats are incapable of such. .
The aide, Brian H. Darling, Martinez’ chief counsel, also has worked for the Alexander Strategy Group that is basically Tom DeLay’s group. Darling has now resigned.
The [measured] victory:
Senator Mel Martinez, Republican of Florida, said Wednesday that a senior member of his staff had written an unsigned memorandum about the partisan political advantages of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo that became a controversial footnote to the debate over the wisdom and motives of Congress's actions.
In a statement on Wednesday night, Mr. Martinez said that he had just learned that the memorandum originated in his office and that its author had resigned. He did not name the author, but aides said it was Brian Darling, his counsel.
Mr. Darling could not be reached for comment.
"It is with profound disappointment and regret that I learned today that a senior member of my staff was unilaterally responsible for this document," Mr. Martinez said. "It was not approved by me or any other member of my staff, nor were we aware of its existence until very recently."
Mr. Martinez added: "This type of behavior and sentiment will not be tolerated in my office. As the senator, I am ultimately responsible for the work of my staff and the product that comes out of this office. I take full responsibility for this situation." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/07/politics/07memo.html?pagewanted=print&position=
Cutting Back at the U.N. The AP Report:
The Senate voted Wednesday to reduce the United States’ share of the cost of U.N. peacekeeping missions by tens of millions of dollars.
The vote reflected congressional criticism of the United Nations following allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the oil-for-food program for Iraq, sexual abuses by peacekeepers and other scandals.
U.S. dues are now capped at 27.1 percent of the peacekeeping budget. Under a 1994 law, that cap is to be reduced to 25 percent.
The AP dotes on “corruption and mismanagement in the oil-for-food program” as the reason for this vote. This sounds more like a GOP talking point.
Then again, John Bolton doesn’t believe in dues used for PEACEKEEPING at all. In 1997, he told the Wall Street Journal that the United States wasn’t legally bound to pay its United Nations dues.
Social Security: Pelosi and Reid have fun w/ Bush. Knowing that he is only capable of repeating high school-level talking points about Social Security, the Duo have invited Bush to leave the protective bubble of his so-called Town Hall Meetings.
“As you may know, throughout this entire session of Congress including this most recent Congressional recess, we and the members of our Caucuses have traveled throughout our states and districts, talking directly to the American people about Social Security and our concerns about privatization. We have heard from our constituents and Americans from all across the country that they are concerned that the deep benefit cuts and massive new debt required by your privatization proposal will do more to dismantle the Social Security system than strengthen it.
“As we have watched you and members of your administration travel throughout the country on your “60 Stops in 60 Days” Tour, we have seen and heard numerous accounts indicating that your events have been carefully staged and scripted to ensure that you will only hear from handpicked participants who support your privatization plan. Despite your statements that you welcome hearing all views on this important issue, it seems increasingly clear that the vast majority of Americans who oppose your privatization plan are excluded from participating in the conversation.
“We believe it is critical to hear voices from all sides of the debate to ensure that the positions we take and the decisions we make truly reflect the national interest.
“Therefore, as you reach the mid-point of this sixty day tour, we would like to invite you to participate in a National Town Hall on Social Security privatization. We would work with you and your staff to ensure that members of the general public would be invited so that you could hear first hand the concerns most Americans have about your privatization plan and its deep benefit cuts and massive debt increases.”
From a True Believer: Rep. Tom Cole (R-Ok)
This is like being for the Civil Rights Bill in 1960. You may not win but it makes you feel good and you're on the right side. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=645836
Bush’s Social Security Tour: The Cost:
To get an idea of just how much taxpayer money he is spending to promote his plan, check out these stats, compiled by David Sirota:
STAFF COSTS BETWEEN $22,000 AND $59,000 PER EVENT: On 10/3/02, the Associated Press reported, "The White House has estimated that trips, on average, cost between $22,000 and $59,000 for staff, not including security and aircraft."
AIR FORCE ONE COSTS ABOUT $55,000 PER HOUR: The operational, per hour cost of Air Force One varies, depending on who you ask, but ranges from $35,000—$50,000 per hour in 2000 dollars… $50,000 in 2000 dollars is about $55,000 in today's dollars.
BUSH HAS A HISTORY OF ABUSING TRAVEL BUDGETS: On 10/20/02, the Washington Post reported "the White House has billed the federal Office of Family Assistance $210,000 to help pay for five trips in which President Bush promoted welfare reform at official events and made separate fundraising appearances for GOP candidates." An HHS spokesperson "said the $210,000 from the Office of Family Assistance helped pay for stages, sound and other speech-related costs on the trips." The Office of Family Assistance is supposed to use its funding to administer programs for poor children and families - not the President's travel.
This, of course, doesn't include the costs to local government of security when he holds these events. And while the amount spent may be small compared to the federal deficit, every little bit counts, especially considering it costs five times more to run Air Force one for an hour ($55,000) than Social Security pays the typical recipient in an entire year ($11,000). When put that way, his abuse of his travel privileges and wasteful attitude toward taxpayer money is no small matter. http://www.davidsirota.com/2005/04/how-much-is-bushs-ss-tour-costing-you.html
Lou Dobbs: Most regrettable question posed by the CNN personality to viewers (as opposed to, “Do you believe Tom DeLay is behaving unethically’ or similar).
Do you believe Senate Majority Leader Tom DeLay is a victim of a campaign by the liberal media to embarrass him.”
Yet, the result? 93% no – 7% yes
What’s Happening, Iraq:
(1) New Prime Minister: Balance at the top: Shiite and a Kurd
The Shiite leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari was appointed Iraq's new prime minister Thursday, crystallizing the leadership of the first elected government in decades and ending more than two months of divisive negotiations.
Dr. Jaafari, a doctor and the leader of one of Iraq's major Shiite religious parties, was named by the new president, Jalal Talabani, shortly after Mr. Talabani was sworn into office with his hand on a Koran.
Hours earlier, Ayad Allawi, who has been the prime minister in Iraq's interim government, submitted his resignation, opening the way for the new government to take power. Dr. Allawi will remain head of a caretaker government until a full cabinet is chosen. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/08/international/middleeast/08iraq.html?
(2) Are the Iraqis Ready?
Col. Robert B. Brown, commander of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), which conducts combat operations throughout northern Iraq, predicted the transition would come "over the next six months to a year . . . until pretty soon they've got the whole area and we do nothing but respond" to emergencies.
The ambitious strategy is being questioned by some U.S. military advisers who work closely with the Iraqi forces. They say that although the Iraqis are progressing, they are being rushed into battle before they are ready in an effort to speed the withdrawal of American forces.
"It's all about perception, to convince the American public that everything is going as planned and we're right on schedule to be out of here," said one adviser, Army Staff Sgt. Craig E. Patrick, 40, a reservist from Rock Island, Ill. "I mean, they can [mislead] the American people, but they can't [mislead] us. These guys are not ready." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32631-2005Apr6.html
POWs, War Crimes, WW II and Gitmo: After WW II, the U.S. tribunals prosecuted Japanese guards for humiliation as well as actual torture, for example, sentencing one guard to 12 years for forcing POWs to salute non-stop for 30 minutes.-- "Extreme brutality or serious injury to the victim is not a necessary element" for conviction, wrote one judge.
So, how do the Bushies get out of the comparison? Their familiar fall-back position: it doesn’t apply to this unusual conflict.
One Pentagon legal expert says the World War II-era cases are of uncertain relevance to the treatment of prisoners, because President Bush has determined they do not qualify for international-law protections. "The distinction here is that these [suspected Taliban and al Qaeda fighters] are not members of the military services of a government," the official says.http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111282904090900187-email,00.html
Republicans Splintering: The Left-wing Wall Street Journal speaks
Almost three months into President Bush's second term, a raft of economic and social issues -- Social Security, immigration, gay marriage and the recent national debate over Terri Schiavo -- is splintering the Republican base.
After winning re-election on the strength of support from nine in 10 Republican voters, the president is seeing significant chunks of that base balk at major initiatives, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows. One-third of Republicans say Democrats in Congress should prevent Mr. Bush and party leaders from "going too far in pushing their agenda," and 41% oppose eliminating filibusters against Mr. Bush's judicial nominees -- the "nuclear option" that Senate Republican leaders are considering.
The Schiavo case has opened another rift. Though Mr. Bush and Republican congressional leaders acted to maximize the opportunity for reinserting Ms. Schiavo's feeding tube, 39% of Republicans said removing the tube was "the right thing to do," while 48% said it was wrong. About 18% of Republicans say they lost respect for Mr. Bush on the issue and 41% lost respect for Congress. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB111282698216100132-oGnQKkV_guNprR__U8NEr4aX3G8_20050507,00.html?mod=blogs
Schwarznegger Retreats; Unlike Bush and Social Security, he quickly caves And, his popularity has plummeted.
Under pressure from firefighters and police officers, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday backed off, for now, his plan to privatize California's public employee pension system.
The Republican said ``misconceptions'' among firefighters and police officers that privatization would strip them of death and disability benefits had come to dominate the issue.
Over the past few weeks, Schwarzenegger has waged a campaign to put privatization on the ballot during a special election next fall. But on Thursday, he said he would wait until the June 2006 election if lawmakers did not craft a compromise measure in the coming months.
``Let's pull it back and do it better,'' said Schwarzenegger, flanked by more than a dozen police, fire and local government leaders.
The move followed days of meetings with police and fire chiefs and survivors of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty, all of whom expressed concerns that the ballot language opened the possibility that the employees would lose death and disability payments.
The attorney general's office, analyzing the proposed ballot language, had earlier reached the same conclusion.
Schwarzenegger said that was not his intention.
Schwarzenegger, who has called the state's pension system ``another government program out of control,'' wanted to hold down the state's escalating pension contributions by making new employees open 401(k)-style individual investment accounts. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/07/politics/07memo.html?
Steal Them Secrets! Old enough to remember when we were concerned about the Soviet Union getting our “secrets”? Seems like lots of countries are vying for U.S. information.
Because the U.S. has reached such lone, superpower status, government officials say, at least 90 countries -- in addition to Al Qaeda -- are attempting to steal some of the nation's most sacred secrets. It's not only foes, like members of terror groups or nations that are adversaries of the U.S., but friends as well. The top five countries trying to snoop on U.S. plans and cutting-edge technology, according to an official who works closely with the FBI on this issue, are China, Russia, Israel, France, and North Korea. Others running close behind: Cuba, Pakistan, and India.
'With the end of the Soviet Union, people stopped taking counterintelligence seriously,' says Patrick Lang, former head of Middle East intelligence at the Defense Intelligence Agency. 'Not enough attention has been devoted to keeping people from getting into our secret store of knowledge.'" http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0408/p01s01-usfp.html
Plame Investigation: End with a whimper? Are we surprised?
The special prosecutor investigating whether Bush administration officials illegally revealed the identity of a covert CIA operative says he finished his investigation months ago, except for questioning two reporters who have refused to testify.
The information in a March 22 court filing by special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald suggests that syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak, who first published the name of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame, has already spoken to investigators about his sources for that report, according to legal experts. Novak, whose July 2003 column sparked the investigation, and his attorney have refused to comment on whether he was questioned.
Legal experts and sources close to the case also speculated yesterday that Fitzgerald is not likely to seek an indictment for the crime he originally set out to investigate: whether a government official knowingly exposed a covert officer. The sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is the subject of a grand jury investigation, said Fitzgerald may instead seek to charge a government official with committing perjury by giving conflicting information to prosecutors. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A32380-2005Apr6?language=printer
More Daylight Savings Time?
If Congress passes an energy bill, Americans may see more daylight-saving time.
Lawmakers crafting energy legislation approved an amendment Wednesday to extend daylight-saving time by two months, having it start on the first Sunday in March and end on the last Sunday in November. http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/04/07/daylight.saving.ap/index.html
It is, however, an amendment to the Energy Bill which may be as awful as last year’s, and thus not worthy of passage.
-R
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Targeting Justices. Tom DeLay leads, but he has help in this campaign to intimidate judges—and keep the focus off DeLay’s ethical /legal troubles.. To summarize the flurry, if not fury over the past 2 days: Senator John Cornyn uses troubling, loose words even though his own hometown, San Antonio had a noteworthy murder of a Federal District Judge in 1979. His words:
"I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that's been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence.
Then, Rep. John Conyers ripped Cornyn for justifying violence against judges:
During the protracted coverage and debate of the Schiavo matter, I was struck by the disrespectful and reckless language being used against judges. One by one, my Republican colleagues took the House floor to attack judges as "unconscionable," lacking "human compassion," needing to be held in "contempt," and having "answering to do." I remember thinking that such dehumanizing rhetoric is especially dangerous in these times towards anyone, let alone judges.
Outside the halls of Congress, words flew even more recklessly and the House Majority Leader Tom DeLay called the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube an "act of medical terrorism." The Reverend Pat Robertson called it "judicial murder." I remember thinking about Judge Rowland Barnes of Georgia, who less than a month ago, was shot to death by an angry litigant in his courtroom, along with two other court employees. I remember thinking that irresponsible words can lead to tragic results. I thought of Judge Joan Lefkow, whose husband and mother are thought to have been murdered by an aggrieved litigant. Since then, I have been trying to think of the most appropriate forum to gently call this to my colleagues' attention, and to remind them that -- no matter how strong our feelings about individual decisions and cases, we need to be cognizant of the influence we may have -- especially on those that may be disturbed, and we always need to know that -- as elected officials -- our words have consequences.
That was to be a subtle message. It is unfortunate that today my message must be less subtle because things are very quickly spinning out of control....
This apparent effort [by Senator Cornyn] to rationalize violence against judges is deplorable. On its face, while it contains doubletalk that simultaneously offers a justification for such violence and then claims not to, the fundamental core of the statement seems to be that judges have somehow brought this violence on themselves. This also carries an implicit threat: that if judges do not do what the far right wants them to do (thus becoming the "judicial activists" the far right claims to deplore), the violence may well continue. http://www.conyersblog.us/archives/00000046.htm
Conference on Activist Judges: A two day this week in D.C. on Confronting the Judicial War on Faith, which will feature embattled Congressman Tom DeLay and conservative Senators Sam Brownback and Tom Coburn are scheduled to speak. The program screams that "unbridled" judges pose a "mortal danger". The web site also notes that the Republican Baptist judge in the Terri Schiavo case was "an activist Florida judge who, in effect, passed a death sentence on Terri Schiavo" and criticizes "liberal judges" who "defy the will of the people" in order to "force their radical theories on the nation," and that these judges have apparently declared "war.". http://www.stopactivistjudges.org/newser31.asp
New Book: Men in Black published by Regnery Publishing whose previous ‘success” was Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, addresses "activist judges" that "now sit[s] in final judgment of essentially all policy issues, disregarding its constitutional limitations, the legitimate role of Congress and the President, and the broad authority conferred upon the states and the people."
Kudos to those who got on this. At least 3 groups responded immediately to Cornyn’s statements, breaking with the usual silence. So credit where credit… to the National Jewish Democratic Council, the Center for American Progress (a new group) and Democracy for America.
DeLay’s New Problems: Cronyism, Nepotism, Malfeasance. Reports in the NY Times and WaPost chronicle his generous employ of wife and daughter and his taking a trip to Moscow funded by a "mysterious company registered in the Bahamas." [House ethics rules just say no to legislators having their trips covered by lobbyists or foreign agents.] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/06/politics/06delay.html?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28319-2005Apr5.html
Bush is Unpopular; So, why the deference? We’re used to people backing off, deferring, being afraid of the Republican Right. This disempowerment was understandable, if regrettable, following 9/11 and the 90% approval that Bush temporarily enjoyed. But, now we have consecutive polls that say he’s at 45%, the lowest ever for a president in March of his second term. Yet, Howard Fineman of Newsweek is not alone when he writes,
There’s a certain logic to the enterprise: don’t take on the Texas president, who remains popular, especially as commander-in-chief. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7338712/site/newsweek/
What’s Happening, Iraq: The “government” is ostensibly getting its act together, picking a president and other officials. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/06/international/middleeast/06cnd-iraq.html?hp&ex=1112846400&en=f282cf077a0b3f0c&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Otherwise:
(1) Mixed Bag on the military front: Attacks down to 30 a day, similar to the fall of ’03, but better coordinated…and larger. Today’s papers note (quietly) that 4 Americans were killed yesterday as well as noting a second attack on the Abu Ghraib prison. The larger, coordinated attacks brought forth a statement from the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi group that asserted, "We are going to use the same method that they used when they attacked Iraq," he said. "The soldier feels safe when he goes back to his base. If he is attacked in the place that feels safe, that place is really hell." http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A24808-2005Apr4?language=printer
2) Bushies Battle Labor. Just like at home, however counterproductive
From Poland to Brazil to post-apartheid South Africa, organized labor has played a critical role in helping new democracies emerge and stabilize. America's own history of successful occupation teaches the same lesson. After the Japanese surrender in World War II, the country's newly-appointed premier knocked on the door of Gen. Douglas MacArthur and was greeted with a memorandum outlining the framework for Japan's democratization. First on the list was the “emancipation of the women of Japan through their enfranchisement.” Second was “the encouragement of the unionization of Labor.” Had the American administrators in Iraq followed MacArthur's model and placed a similar emphasis on nurturing labor, that move alone would not have turned Iraq into a stable, civil society. But given the history of labor in emerging democracies and the dearth of other nation-building alternatives in Iraq, sheltering and encouraging a union movement ought to have been pretty close to first in the reconstruction playbook. Instead, it seems to have come somewhere near last. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0504.harwood.html
(3) Spy Planes Fill the Iraqi Skies
In the skies over Iraq, the number of remotely piloted aircraft - increasingly crucial tools in tracking insurgents, foiling roadside bombings, protecting convoys and launching missile attacks - has shot up to more than 700 now from just a handful four years ago, military officials say.
As the American military continues to shift its emphasis to counterinsurgency and antiterrorism missions, the aircraft are in such demand that the Pentagon is poised to spend more than $13 billion on them through the end of the decade.
The aircraft are being put into service so quickly that the various military and intelligence branches are struggling to keep pace with the increased number of operators required and with the lack of common policy and strategy on how to use them. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/05/international/middleeast/05predator.html?pagewanted=print&position=
Using the Pope’s Death… The hypocrites reverse their previous condemnation of the Pope John Paul. Lest we forget…
Bill O’Reilly, March, 2003:
But as I’ve said before, I believe also that John Paul is naive and detached from reality. If America does not lead an attack on Iraq, once again, Saddam remains in power and is free to use his anthrax and other terrible weapons as he chooses.
So the pope does not seem to be concerned about that or about Saddam’s behavior in general. Once again, he must know Saddam is a killer. He must know he’s oppressed his own people using murder and torture. He must know that.
[Snip]
Summing up, Jacques Chirac is our enemy, and the pope, well, I don’t know what to think.
Now: But I do know that I’ve studied this pope as well as I’ve studied anybody. And I can’t find anything, anything that this guy didn’t walk the walk. You know, right down the line. Nobody’s perfect, but this guy was close in his personal behavior and the way he conducted himself. http://thinkprogress.org/index.php?p=561
Sean Hannity, January 2003:
COLMES: …And before you respond, let me just put up what the pope says.
“No to war,” says Pope John Paul II. “during his annual address to scores of diplomatic emissaries to the Vatican… ‘War is not always inevitable,’ he said. ‘It is always a defeat for humanity.’”
Are these a bunch of wild-eyed liberal loonies?
HANNITY: Yes.
http://thinkprogress.org/index.php?p=564
Wal-Mart News: ‘We’re good for America’. The chief defends his company. Meanwhile, the Bennington, Vt. store has won a vote that will allow them to expand their store.
In a feisty response to critics who accuse Wal-Mart of providing poverty-level wages and few benefits, the executive, H. Lee Scott Jr., said Wal-Mart offered good, stable jobs, noting that when it opens a store, more than 3,000 people often apply for the 300 jobs.
"It doesn't make sense," Mr. Scott said, "that people would line up for jobs that are worse than they could get elsewhere, with fewer benefits and less opportunity."
After pointing to headlines on editorial pages that say "Wal-Mart's low prices come at too high a cost," Mr. Scott said, "I'd suggest a better headline, 'Wal-Mart is great for America.' " http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/06/business/06walmart.html?pagewanted=print&position=
British to lead new hunt for bin Laden
Britain is preparing for a major redeployment of troops stationed overseas, withdrawing thousands from Iraq and boosting its military presence in Afghanistan.
Military sources say 5,500 troops will be pulled out of Iraq within the next 12 months, reducing the British presence there by almost two thirds.
Defence sources have told The Scotsman that Britain is preparing to spearhead a new offensive in Afghanistan next year, sending 5,000 troops into the country to lead the hunt for Osama bin Laden and tackle the country’s opium trade.
Military commanders in Iraq believe the campaign there has "turned the corner" and the country’s own security forces are now able to take on a greater burden of the struggle against the insurgency that has gripped Iraq since the United States-led invasion two years ago. http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=354212005
Bush and Debt: The Administration has now reached the $2 trillion mark, having added that figure to the already existing 5.8 trillion. Congrats! http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpdodt.htm
-R
"I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that's been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence.
Then, Rep. John Conyers ripped Cornyn for justifying violence against judges:
During the protracted coverage and debate of the Schiavo matter, I was struck by the disrespectful and reckless language being used against judges. One by one, my Republican colleagues took the House floor to attack judges as "unconscionable," lacking "human compassion," needing to be held in "contempt," and having "answering to do." I remember thinking that such dehumanizing rhetoric is especially dangerous in these times towards anyone, let alone judges.
Outside the halls of Congress, words flew even more recklessly and the House Majority Leader Tom DeLay called the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube an "act of medical terrorism." The Reverend Pat Robertson called it "judicial murder." I remember thinking about Judge Rowland Barnes of Georgia, who less than a month ago, was shot to death by an angry litigant in his courtroom, along with two other court employees. I remember thinking that irresponsible words can lead to tragic results. I thought of Judge Joan Lefkow, whose husband and mother are thought to have been murdered by an aggrieved litigant. Since then, I have been trying to think of the most appropriate forum to gently call this to my colleagues' attention, and to remind them that -- no matter how strong our feelings about individual decisions and cases, we need to be cognizant of the influence we may have -- especially on those that may be disturbed, and we always need to know that -- as elected officials -- our words have consequences.
That was to be a subtle message. It is unfortunate that today my message must be less subtle because things are very quickly spinning out of control....
This apparent effort [by Senator Cornyn] to rationalize violence against judges is deplorable. On its face, while it contains doubletalk that simultaneously offers a justification for such violence and then claims not to, the fundamental core of the statement seems to be that judges have somehow brought this violence on themselves. This also carries an implicit threat: that if judges do not do what the far right wants them to do (thus becoming the "judicial activists" the far right claims to deplore), the violence may well continue. http://www.conyersblog.us/archives/00000046.htm
Conference on Activist Judges: A two day this week in D.C. on Confronting the Judicial War on Faith, which will feature embattled Congressman Tom DeLay and conservative Senators Sam Brownback and Tom Coburn are scheduled to speak. The program screams that "unbridled" judges pose a "mortal danger". The web site also notes that the Republican Baptist judge in the Terri Schiavo case was "an activist Florida judge who, in effect, passed a death sentence on Terri Schiavo" and criticizes "liberal judges" who "defy the will of the people" in order to "force their radical theories on the nation," and that these judges have apparently declared "war.". http://www.stopactivistjudges.org/newser31.asp
New Book: Men in Black published by Regnery Publishing whose previous ‘success” was Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, addresses "activist judges" that "now sit[s] in final judgment of essentially all policy issues, disregarding its constitutional limitations, the legitimate role of Congress and the President, and the broad authority conferred upon the states and the people."
Kudos to those who got on this. At least 3 groups responded immediately to Cornyn’s statements, breaking with the usual silence. So credit where credit… to the National Jewish Democratic Council, the Center for American Progress (a new group) and Democracy for America.
DeLay’s New Problems: Cronyism, Nepotism, Malfeasance. Reports in the NY Times and WaPost chronicle his generous employ of wife and daughter and his taking a trip to Moscow funded by a "mysterious company registered in the Bahamas." [House ethics rules just say no to legislators having their trips covered by lobbyists or foreign agents.] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/06/politics/06delay.html?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28319-2005Apr5.html
Bush is Unpopular; So, why the deference? We’re used to people backing off, deferring, being afraid of the Republican Right. This disempowerment was understandable, if regrettable, following 9/11 and the 90% approval that Bush temporarily enjoyed. But, now we have consecutive polls that say he’s at 45%, the lowest ever for a president in March of his second term. Yet, Howard Fineman of Newsweek is not alone when he writes,
There’s a certain logic to the enterprise: don’t take on the Texas president, who remains popular, especially as commander-in-chief. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7338712/site/newsweek/
What’s Happening, Iraq: The “government” is ostensibly getting its act together, picking a president and other officials. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/06/international/middleeast/06cnd-iraq.html?hp&ex=1112846400&en=f282cf077a0b3f0c&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Otherwise:
(1) Mixed Bag on the military front: Attacks down to 30 a day, similar to the fall of ’03, but better coordinated…and larger. Today’s papers note (quietly) that 4 Americans were killed yesterday as well as noting a second attack on the Abu Ghraib prison. The larger, coordinated attacks brought forth a statement from the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi group that asserted, "We are going to use the same method that they used when they attacked Iraq," he said. "The soldier feels safe when he goes back to his base. If he is attacked in the place that feels safe, that place is really hell." http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A24808-2005Apr4?language=printer
2) Bushies Battle Labor. Just like at home, however counterproductive
From Poland to Brazil to post-apartheid South Africa, organized labor has played a critical role in helping new democracies emerge and stabilize. America's own history of successful occupation teaches the same lesson. After the Japanese surrender in World War II, the country's newly-appointed premier knocked on the door of Gen. Douglas MacArthur and was greeted with a memorandum outlining the framework for Japan's democratization. First on the list was the “emancipation of the women of Japan through their enfranchisement.” Second was “the encouragement of the unionization of Labor.” Had the American administrators in Iraq followed MacArthur's model and placed a similar emphasis on nurturing labor, that move alone would not have turned Iraq into a stable, civil society. But given the history of labor in emerging democracies and the dearth of other nation-building alternatives in Iraq, sheltering and encouraging a union movement ought to have been pretty close to first in the reconstruction playbook. Instead, it seems to have come somewhere near last. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0504.harwood.html
(3) Spy Planes Fill the Iraqi Skies
In the skies over Iraq, the number of remotely piloted aircraft - increasingly crucial tools in tracking insurgents, foiling roadside bombings, protecting convoys and launching missile attacks - has shot up to more than 700 now from just a handful four years ago, military officials say.
As the American military continues to shift its emphasis to counterinsurgency and antiterrorism missions, the aircraft are in such demand that the Pentagon is poised to spend more than $13 billion on them through the end of the decade.
The aircraft are being put into service so quickly that the various military and intelligence branches are struggling to keep pace with the increased number of operators required and with the lack of common policy and strategy on how to use them. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/05/international/middleeast/05predator.html?pagewanted=print&position=
Using the Pope’s Death… The hypocrites reverse their previous condemnation of the Pope John Paul. Lest we forget…
Bill O’Reilly, March, 2003:
But as I’ve said before, I believe also that John Paul is naive and detached from reality. If America does not lead an attack on Iraq, once again, Saddam remains in power and is free to use his anthrax and other terrible weapons as he chooses.
So the pope does not seem to be concerned about that or about Saddam’s behavior in general. Once again, he must know Saddam is a killer. He must know he’s oppressed his own people using murder and torture. He must know that.
[Snip]
Summing up, Jacques Chirac is our enemy, and the pope, well, I don’t know what to think.
Now: But I do know that I’ve studied this pope as well as I’ve studied anybody. And I can’t find anything, anything that this guy didn’t walk the walk. You know, right down the line. Nobody’s perfect, but this guy was close in his personal behavior and the way he conducted himself. http://thinkprogress.org/index.php?p=561
Sean Hannity, January 2003:
COLMES: …And before you respond, let me just put up what the pope says.
“No to war,” says Pope John Paul II. “during his annual address to scores of diplomatic emissaries to the Vatican… ‘War is not always inevitable,’ he said. ‘It is always a defeat for humanity.’”
Are these a bunch of wild-eyed liberal loonies?
HANNITY: Yes.
http://thinkprogress.org/index.php?p=564
Wal-Mart News: ‘We’re good for America’. The chief defends his company. Meanwhile, the Bennington, Vt. store has won a vote that will allow them to expand their store.
In a feisty response to critics who accuse Wal-Mart of providing poverty-level wages and few benefits, the executive, H. Lee Scott Jr., said Wal-Mart offered good, stable jobs, noting that when it opens a store, more than 3,000 people often apply for the 300 jobs.
"It doesn't make sense," Mr. Scott said, "that people would line up for jobs that are worse than they could get elsewhere, with fewer benefits and less opportunity."
After pointing to headlines on editorial pages that say "Wal-Mart's low prices come at too high a cost," Mr. Scott said, "I'd suggest a better headline, 'Wal-Mart is great for America.' " http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/06/business/06walmart.html?pagewanted=print&position=
British to lead new hunt for bin Laden
Britain is preparing for a major redeployment of troops stationed overseas, withdrawing thousands from Iraq and boosting its military presence in Afghanistan.
Military sources say 5,500 troops will be pulled out of Iraq within the next 12 months, reducing the British presence there by almost two thirds.
Defence sources have told The Scotsman that Britain is preparing to spearhead a new offensive in Afghanistan next year, sending 5,000 troops into the country to lead the hunt for Osama bin Laden and tackle the country’s opium trade.
Military commanders in Iraq believe the campaign there has "turned the corner" and the country’s own security forces are now able to take on a greater burden of the struggle against the insurgency that has gripped Iraq since the United States-led invasion two years ago. http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=354212005
Bush and Debt: The Administration has now reached the $2 trillion mark, having added that figure to the already existing 5.8 trillion. Congrats! http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpdodt.htm
-R
Monday, April 04, 2005
Social Security: Bushies Getting Nowhere In retreat…perhaps hoping to declare ‘victory’ since they have ‘addressed’ the issue, as per Snow’s comment this weekend that "The national dialogue that the president called for in the State of the Union is well under way, and Social Security has been elevated to the top of the national political debate. We're making real progress."
Except for Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who says he has not made up his mind, every Democratic senator is committed to opposing diverting Social Security taxes into individual accounts.
"We have continued to stay together," said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, "because the president's plan is so flawed."
Under Senate rules, no legislation can be brought to a vote without approval of 60 senators. There are 55 Republicans in the Senate. So even if all of them backed Mr. Bush's plan, he would still need five more votes.
In the House, where passage of legislation requires only a simple majority, Republican leaders could probably win passage of a Social Security bill by invoking party discipline. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/politics/03social.html?pagewanted=all&position
Business World: Wal-Mart Opponents Organize
Led by Wal-Mart's longtime opponents in organized labor, a new coalition of about 50 groups - including environmentalists, community organizations, state lawmakers and academics - is planning the first coordinated assault intended to press the company to change the way it does business.
In the next few months, those critics will speak with one voice in print advertising, videos and books attacking the company, they say. They also plan to put forward an association of disenchanted Wal-Mart employees, current and former, to complain about what they call poverty-level wages and stingy benefits. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/business/03walmart.html?pagewanted=all
Business World: Exec. Pay The Times carried a list of top executives and their compensation. Occidental Petroleum paid the highest ($38 million), Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett) the least. The chart was but a piece of a wondrous section
In fact, the boss enjoyed a hefty raise last year. The chief executives at 179 large companies that had filed proxies by last Tuesday - and had not changed leaders since last year - were paid about $9.84 million, on average, up 12 percent from 2003, according to Pearl Meyer & Partners, the compensation consultants.
Surely, chief executives must have done something spectacular to justify all that, right? Well, that's not so clear. The link between rising pay and performance remained muddy - at best. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/business/yourmoney/03pay.html
Business World: Other Facts/Figures: All is well…(?)
* Hourly wages and average weekly earnings climbed 2.6 percent over the last year, while consumer prices climbed 3 percent.
* Next year, the administration will phase out the $2,000 tax credit for buying a hybrid vehicle, which gets over 50 miles per gallon, but will leave in place the $25,000 tax write-off for a Hummer, which gets 10-12 mpg
* ExxonMobil just reported the highest quarterly profit ever, $8.42 billion, by an American company amidst declining discoveries. Several oil companies are reporting disappearing reserves, and Royal Dutch/Shell admitted it had overstated its reserves by 20 percent last year.
*Oil prices: Yikes
Oil and gasoline prices surged Thursday after a Wall Street analyst warned of a coming "super spike" that could send crude to $105 a barrel.
Light sweet crude for May delivery jumped $1.41 to $55.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, $1.32 shy of the record close on March 18. Gasoline for April delivery closed at a record $1.655 a gallon, up 5.88 cents.
In a report to investors, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst Arjun Murti said surprisingly high demand in the U.S. and China combined with a lack of infrastructure to get oil out of the ground had created a supply imbalance that could be corrected only by dramatically higher prices — which in turn would depress demand. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-oil1apr01,1,4473601.story
What’s Happening, Pakistan: Important country; important developments?
Syed Saleem Shahzad of the Asian Times
Revitalized religious-political opposition parties in Pakistan are stepping up the pressure on President General Pervez Musharraf, after the success of their recent "Million March" in Karachi. Sidelined jihadis are ready to enter the fray, while the economy is a time bomb waiting to go off. Political and economic realities are pushing Musharraf further and further into a corner. In addition to the problems outlined above, Musharraf faces a potential killer blow in the economy. Despite the government's presentation of rosy figures, many feel this is a game of smoke and mirrors. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GD02Df03.html
What’s Happening, Iraq: Mixed news: Prison attack, many U.S. casualties, vaguely conveyed; Yet, “progress”:
A group of Sunni Arab clerics, including some hard-line figures who fiercely oppose the American presence here, issued a statement on Friday urging their fellow Sunni Arabs to join the Iraqi Army and police.
The edict, signed by 64 imams and religious scholars, was a striking turnaround for the clerics, who have often lashed out in sermons at the fledgling army and police force and branded them collaborators. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/02/international/middleeast/02iraq.html?hp&ex=1112504400&en=2a8aabf4a3414906&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Iraq broke its political deadlock yesterday when parliament finally elected a speaker and paved the way for forming a new government nine weeks after the country's election.
Deputies appeared relieved and buoyant after selecting Hajem al-Hassani, a Sunni Arab who is currently industry minister, to chair the 275-seat assembly and belatedly open the next phase of naming a presidential council and cabinet and writing a constitution. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1451586,00.html
Intelligence Report: Of course, it was Clinton’s fault:
The United States' pre-war intelligence on Iraq was dead wrong, according to the president's Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction. Despite the report, Missouri's senior U.S. senator says the decision to go to war was still the right one.
[Kit] Bond is a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence. In an interview here on Thursday, Bond said the bad intelligence came from an archaic system based on assumptions rather than thorough analysis and human intelligence. He also placed much of the blame on the Clinton administration.
The commission’s report says the harm done to American credibility will take years to undo.
“The intelligence community had not challenged its own assumptions, did not provide the caveats they should have about some of their sources,” said Bond.
The senator notes that the commission cleared the Bush administration of manipulating the intelligence for political purposes. He took a shot at the Democrats.
The Clinton administration cut the intel budget by 20 percent. The Director of Intelligence got rid of spies -- human intelligence that we badly needed in the war against terror,” said Bond. http://www.ky3.com/newsdetailed.asp?id=7852
Intelligence Report: Bush Absolved by Major Media et al. Why do we have to look to a Times columnist (Maureen Dowd) instead of having major political leaders of the “opposition” party articulate it in no uncertain terms. They lied us into a war, they twisted the intelligence. We all know it; some of us just (need to) pretend we don’t. Why is no one highlighting how we were promised that we would see a report “after the election” about the Administration’s role, then are told that in the ‘post-election atmosphere’, it is not fitting to do such…and no one says ‘boo’.
This is the fourth exhaustive investigation that has not answered the basic question: How did the White House and Pentagon spin the information and why has no one gotten in trouble for it? If your kid lied and hid stuff from you to do something he thought would be great, then wouldn't admit it and blamed someone else, he'd be punished - even if his adventure worked out all right for him.
When the "values" president and his aides do it, they're rewarded. Condoleezza Rice was promoted to secretary of state. Stephen Hadley, Condi's old deputy, was promoted to national security adviser. Bob Joseph, a national security aide who helped shovel the uranium hooey into the State of the Union address, is becoming an under secretary of state. Paul Wolfowitz, who painted the takeover of Iraq as such a cakewalk that our troops went in without the proper armor or backup, will run the World Bank. George Tenet, who ran the C.I.A. when Al Qaeda attacked and when Saddam's mushroom cloud gained credibility, got the Medal of Freedom.
Then the president appoints a compliant Democrat and a complicit conservative judge to head an inquiry set up to let the president off the hook. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/opinion/04dowd.html?hp
…which reminds us that there still are no investigations of either the torture, the billions unaccounted for in Iraq, or the WMD lies; and, 21 months after the outing of a CIA agent, no arrests.
And yet, a Special Prosecutor has spent almost $2 million THIS year to investigate Clinton’s Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros.
Nearly a decade after he was appointed to investigate then-Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, independent counsel David M. Barrett spent more than $1.26 million of federal money in the last six months of fiscal 2004, the Government Accountability Office reported Thursday.
Since its inception, the Cisneros investigation has cost nearly $21 million, a total rivaling some of the largest independent counsel investigations in history.
Barrett was appointed in May 1995 to investigate allegations that Cisneros lied to the FBI about money he paid to a former mistress. Cisneros pleaded guilty and in September 1999 and paid a $10,000 fine and a $25 court assessment. He was later pardoned by President Clinton. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/nation/3112310
-R
Except for Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who says he has not made up his mind, every Democratic senator is committed to opposing diverting Social Security taxes into individual accounts.
"We have continued to stay together," said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, "because the president's plan is so flawed."
Under Senate rules, no legislation can be brought to a vote without approval of 60 senators. There are 55 Republicans in the Senate. So even if all of them backed Mr. Bush's plan, he would still need five more votes.
In the House, where passage of legislation requires only a simple majority, Republican leaders could probably win passage of a Social Security bill by invoking party discipline. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/politics/03social.html?pagewanted=all&position
Business World: Wal-Mart Opponents Organize
Led by Wal-Mart's longtime opponents in organized labor, a new coalition of about 50 groups - including environmentalists, community organizations, state lawmakers and academics - is planning the first coordinated assault intended to press the company to change the way it does business.
In the next few months, those critics will speak with one voice in print advertising, videos and books attacking the company, they say. They also plan to put forward an association of disenchanted Wal-Mart employees, current and former, to complain about what they call poverty-level wages and stingy benefits. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/business/03walmart.html?pagewanted=all
Business World: Exec. Pay The Times carried a list of top executives and their compensation. Occidental Petroleum paid the highest ($38 million), Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett) the least. The chart was but a piece of a wondrous section
In fact, the boss enjoyed a hefty raise last year. The chief executives at 179 large companies that had filed proxies by last Tuesday - and had not changed leaders since last year - were paid about $9.84 million, on average, up 12 percent from 2003, according to Pearl Meyer & Partners, the compensation consultants.
Surely, chief executives must have done something spectacular to justify all that, right? Well, that's not so clear. The link between rising pay and performance remained muddy - at best. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/business/yourmoney/03pay.html
Business World: Other Facts/Figures: All is well…(?)
* Hourly wages and average weekly earnings climbed 2.6 percent over the last year, while consumer prices climbed 3 percent.
* Next year, the administration will phase out the $2,000 tax credit for buying a hybrid vehicle, which gets over 50 miles per gallon, but will leave in place the $25,000 tax write-off for a Hummer, which gets 10-12 mpg
* ExxonMobil just reported the highest quarterly profit ever, $8.42 billion, by an American company amidst declining discoveries. Several oil companies are reporting disappearing reserves, and Royal Dutch/Shell admitted it had overstated its reserves by 20 percent last year.
*Oil prices: Yikes
Oil and gasoline prices surged Thursday after a Wall Street analyst warned of a coming "super spike" that could send crude to $105 a barrel.
Light sweet crude for May delivery jumped $1.41 to $55.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, $1.32 shy of the record close on March 18. Gasoline for April delivery closed at a record $1.655 a gallon, up 5.88 cents.
In a report to investors, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst Arjun Murti said surprisingly high demand in the U.S. and China combined with a lack of infrastructure to get oil out of the ground had created a supply imbalance that could be corrected only by dramatically higher prices — which in turn would depress demand. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-oil1apr01,1,4473601.story
What’s Happening, Pakistan: Important country; important developments?
Syed Saleem Shahzad of the Asian Times
Revitalized religious-political opposition parties in Pakistan are stepping up the pressure on President General Pervez Musharraf, after the success of their recent "Million March" in Karachi. Sidelined jihadis are ready to enter the fray, while the economy is a time bomb waiting to go off. Political and economic realities are pushing Musharraf further and further into a corner. In addition to the problems outlined above, Musharraf faces a potential killer blow in the economy. Despite the government's presentation of rosy figures, many feel this is a game of smoke and mirrors. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GD02Df03.html
What’s Happening, Iraq: Mixed news: Prison attack, many U.S. casualties, vaguely conveyed; Yet, “progress”:
A group of Sunni Arab clerics, including some hard-line figures who fiercely oppose the American presence here, issued a statement on Friday urging their fellow Sunni Arabs to join the Iraqi Army and police.
The edict, signed by 64 imams and religious scholars, was a striking turnaround for the clerics, who have often lashed out in sermons at the fledgling army and police force and branded them collaborators. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/02/international/middleeast/02iraq.html?hp&ex=1112504400&en=2a8aabf4a3414906&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Iraq broke its political deadlock yesterday when parliament finally elected a speaker and paved the way for forming a new government nine weeks after the country's election.
Deputies appeared relieved and buoyant after selecting Hajem al-Hassani, a Sunni Arab who is currently industry minister, to chair the 275-seat assembly and belatedly open the next phase of naming a presidential council and cabinet and writing a constitution. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1451586,00.html
Intelligence Report: Of course, it was Clinton’s fault:
The United States' pre-war intelligence on Iraq was dead wrong, according to the president's Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction. Despite the report, Missouri's senior U.S. senator says the decision to go to war was still the right one.
[Kit] Bond is a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence. In an interview here on Thursday, Bond said the bad intelligence came from an archaic system based on assumptions rather than thorough analysis and human intelligence. He also placed much of the blame on the Clinton administration.
The commission’s report says the harm done to American credibility will take years to undo.
“The intelligence community had not challenged its own assumptions, did not provide the caveats they should have about some of their sources,” said Bond.
The senator notes that the commission cleared the Bush administration of manipulating the intelligence for political purposes. He took a shot at the Democrats.
The Clinton administration cut the intel budget by 20 percent. The Director of Intelligence got rid of spies -- human intelligence that we badly needed in the war against terror,” said Bond. http://www.ky3.com/newsdetailed.asp?id=7852
Intelligence Report: Bush Absolved by Major Media et al. Why do we have to look to a Times columnist (Maureen Dowd) instead of having major political leaders of the “opposition” party articulate it in no uncertain terms. They lied us into a war, they twisted the intelligence. We all know it; some of us just (need to) pretend we don’t. Why is no one highlighting how we were promised that we would see a report “after the election” about the Administration’s role, then are told that in the ‘post-election atmosphere’, it is not fitting to do such…and no one says ‘boo’.
This is the fourth exhaustive investigation that has not answered the basic question: How did the White House and Pentagon spin the information and why has no one gotten in trouble for it? If your kid lied and hid stuff from you to do something he thought would be great, then wouldn't admit it and blamed someone else, he'd be punished - even if his adventure worked out all right for him.
When the "values" president and his aides do it, they're rewarded. Condoleezza Rice was promoted to secretary of state. Stephen Hadley, Condi's old deputy, was promoted to national security adviser. Bob Joseph, a national security aide who helped shovel the uranium hooey into the State of the Union address, is becoming an under secretary of state. Paul Wolfowitz, who painted the takeover of Iraq as such a cakewalk that our troops went in without the proper armor or backup, will run the World Bank. George Tenet, who ran the C.I.A. when Al Qaeda attacked and when Saddam's mushroom cloud gained credibility, got the Medal of Freedom.
Then the president appoints a compliant Democrat and a complicit conservative judge to head an inquiry set up to let the president off the hook. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/opinion/04dowd.html?hp
…which reminds us that there still are no investigations of either the torture, the billions unaccounted for in Iraq, or the WMD lies; and, 21 months after the outing of a CIA agent, no arrests.
And yet, a Special Prosecutor has spent almost $2 million THIS year to investigate Clinton’s Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros.
Nearly a decade after he was appointed to investigate then-Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, independent counsel David M. Barrett spent more than $1.26 million of federal money in the last six months of fiscal 2004, the Government Accountability Office reported Thursday.
Since its inception, the Cisneros investigation has cost nearly $21 million, a total rivaling some of the largest independent counsel investigations in history.
Barrett was appointed in May 1995 to investigate allegations that Cisneros lied to the FBI about money he paid to a former mistress. Cisneros pleaded guilty and in September 1999 and paid a $10,000 fine and a $25 court assessment. He was later pardoned by President Clinton. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/nation/3112310
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