LEFT is RIGHT (blogging against The Bush-war) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
###
Iraq War Cost
 
 
 Buy it Here for $12.95      
 ::::: MY PROFILE ::::: VIDEO: When the Good Guys Do NOTHING Welcome to the New World Order Truth, War & Consequences In the Name of Freedom Oreo Calculator Army of One Remind Us One Year THANKS ESSAY/SITE: Bush's 40/IRAQ/SOTU/OTHER Lies A Declaration of Progressive Principles A Declaration of Impeachment World's Leading Terrorist Why Bush Invaded Iraq Coalition Deaths in Iraq Altruism is Out of Focus Official Bush Lie Outlet The Devil's Handbook Third World Traveler Paying for Wal-mart Those Elusive WMDs Ongoing Scandals The Bush Record Bush Scorecard Who Served Halliburton AWOL Evil
 I reserve the right to publish your e-mail.
Archives  
My Ecosystem Details Who's Linking to Left is Right Who links to me? Who's on Left is Right right now # Visits by day of month Most Recent Visitors Recent Visitors by Location United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights Humanist Manifesto III         The Brand New Bag Books about the Iraq War 
|
 Front Pages / 10 x 10 / Open Secrets / VillageVoice / The New Standard / The Hill / Washington Note
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." ---Isaac Asimov (Salvor Hardin in "Foundation") |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Altruism is Out of Focus
The Left has almost totally lost its focus, and that will be our unravelling next November.
We relentlessly attack Bush et al. for lying to us. We ceaselessly catalog how "we" are right and "they" are wrong; how Bush et al. refuse to release documents on the Plame leak and 9-11; how the Clean Air Act is just the opposite; how "No Child Left Behind" will result in the opposite; how Bush has isolated us from everyone except the citizens of the Marshall Islands; how the liberal media really isn't liberal; those darn tax cuts for the rich that are going to saddle future generations with unfathomable deficits; the union-busting conglomerates led by Wal-Mart; how the Right is just so wrong, wrong, wrong.
As incredible as it may now seem, Bush has a guarantee of re-election. His cronies own the media, the single largest source of information for most voters. He has led a coalition of government hacks who have done nearly everything possible to reverse the last 40 years' social advances in America, and yet the majority of the population continue to think he has done a fair to good job.
Republicans control the majority of all major corporations, the prime source of power and money in this nation. This guarantees the continued success of the Right's agenda through the next several generations. Arianna Huffington and others have raised that point for years now, yet we keep ignoring that most important fact, focusing instead on the messengers, those political hacks who ride into office on the back of corporate campaign support. It's all, ALL about money and power.
We seem to gloat whenever a new Republican dirty trick is uncovered. We keep comparing the Republican lack of righteousness about Bush's follies to a theoretical over-the-top reactionism of "if Clinton had done the same thing..."
Republicans, if not now, will soon control the judicial system of this nation. Bush has already appointed more judges in his first three years than did Clinton in eight. This of course will remove the last democratic recourse for countering the lawless behavior of the Right.
We are wringing our hands about maybe not putting enough effort into successfully passing an "electable" candidate through the primaries. Leiberman is too "republicanish"; Dean too
Recently intelligent political pundits have said that the ultra-right is on its last legs. Even if that were true, the damage they are doing now will not be resolved before I or my children die of natural causes. Human nature allows for rapid political change in the negative, but only excruciatingly slow change for the better.
We seem to have fallen back into our easy chairs and decided to let things roll on and keep our fingers crossed until next November. Need proof? Look at the pathetic turnouts in anti-war demonstrations since March 20.
We watch the Sunday talk shows and righteously scream about the lies, the endless lies. We worship and reprint the words of Moore, Krugman, Franken, Ivins, Byrd, Gore and so on. We make our daily visits to the big-time bloggers (Kos, Atrios, Marshall, Gilliard, Buzzflash, OSP...) and the "independent" media (Guardian, Salon, SCOOP, Reuters, Wash. Post, Nation, TAP...) and spout our righteousness by reprinting their increasingly redundant and recycled story lines, adding our narrow-minded comments and rehashing the same Bush-is-bad-and-this-is-why critiques.
It's starting to get old.
It's too easy to continue down this worn path. We've set up our blogs (a hard experience for many of us) and now we pass around our links and comments to the same visitors ad nauseum. We try to find out if one of our regular high-brow reads has found a scoop no one else has posted so that we can be one of the first to re-post and gloatingly cite the high-brow source. There are so many liberal bloggers out there, we've diluted ourselves to the state of uselessness. And to add insult to injury, many of the more popular sites have a perpetual hat out for donations. Good old capitalism.
And speaking of capitalism, when will we finally acknowledge that democracy and capitalism mix as well as altruism and greed? The very principles of capitalism undermine the maintenance of democracy. The very essence of capitalism, which is the financial and social success and growth of the individual above the whole of society, directly contrasts the democratic principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community. We will never be able to see the potential roots of democracy in our society through the political waters polluted by capitalism.
Except for Dennis Kucinich, no other candidate for President has presented coherent analyses and proposals for the fundamental changes necessary to return to the path of democracy and altruism. Every other candidate wants to either maintain the status quo or tweak a few policies here and there in accordance with the "spirit" of the Democratic Party. If any of the other candidates should happen to win, there will be no major change in the policies and politics of our government. Oh, there may be adjustments in taxes, some increase in health care for the poor, some adjustments in trade policies, a bit more $ thrown at education, an attempt to placate the U.N., reversal of some recently changed environmental policies, etc. None of this will lead us down a different path, away from the steamrolling takeover of government by big business.
We are all wasting our time assuming that a Democrat in the White House will solve our problems. What proof exists that such a thing could possibly happen, that our fortunes will magically reverse? It isn't going to happen, because the White House isn't in charge. Republican Big Business is in charge. Once we all come to grips with this reality, then we can start returning the basic fabric of our society to the people.
Nothing less than a true revolution will accomplish this.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Let's Revisit Natural Selection
This letter appeared in today's LA Times. I disagree with its premise.
| December 6, 2003 Governor's Ax Hangs Over My Disabled Child By David Eccles, David Eccles works for the city of Lompoc. E-mail: deccles02@hotmail.com. My wife, Monica, and I are the parents of a 3-year-old with developmental disabilities. Ayla, our daughter, has a condition known as Larsen's syndrome, a very rare muscle-skeletal disorder. When she was born, all her major joints were dislocated, she had a dual 90-degree bend in her cervical spine, a partially open palate, clubbed feet and a small hole in her heart. Ayla has undergone 18 surgical procedures, countless doctor appointments and trips to hospitals, clinics and specialists. We frequently travel hundreds of miles to get to these places. Despite these hardships, Ayla is a vibrant and intelligent girl who knows sign language and can maneuver a wheelchair. It has been reported that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in trying to deal with the budget crisis, has proposed suspending the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act of 1969. To us, the governor is saying our child doesn't deserve a chance at a good life. This act was intended to provide certain rights to individuals with disabilities. Among them: the right to treatment and services that meet individual development needs; the right to live as normal, productive and independent a life as possible; the right to a full measure of dignity, privacy and humane care; the right to participate in a publicly supported educational program. To the parents of a disabled child, suspending the Lanterman Act is the equivalent of President Bush suspending the Bill of Rights. It would take away funds that enable our daughter to receive physical and speech therapy and other services and go to school. We have relied on state, county and other nonprofit services to provide equipment and assistance when our primary insurance can't or won't help us. In order to be eligible for these services, our income must stay below a certain level. Paying for these services on our own is an impossibility. To offer some perspective, here is an approximate breakdown of what it would cost us to provide the same services ourselves. Estimated monthly costs: feeding pump, $900; supplies for pump, $800; miscellaneous medical supplies, $1,000; in-home care, $4,400; physical therapy, $3,000; speech therapy, $2,000. There also are expenses that we already pay ourselves: expenses during trips to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, $250 to $500; monthly prescriptions co-pay, $200; diapers, $100; transportation (car payment, insurance and fuel), $800. Total we would pay per month: $13,700. Our monthly income: $4,200. Additionally, because Ayla's condition is so rare (1 in 800,000), there are no in-home care professionals in our area who are qualified to care for her who are not at the registered nurse level. To have an RN for 40 hours a week costs $1,100. Therefore, my wife qualifies as a paid care provider (another service the governor wants to severely cut). This income constitutes 40% of our total income. If this service gets cut, we would lose our home. We might have to leave the state to start over someplace where there might be better benefits for Ayla. The problem is that all states are feeling the economic crunch. For years, we've heard Schwarzenegger talk about how important children are. But in deciding how to fix California's budget problems, people with disabilities and children would be among the first hurt. I cannot begin to describe the mental, emotional and physical strain having Ayla has put on our lives. But it has been worth it. We have a beautiful daughter who has an excellent chance at a good life. Twenty years ago, she would not have lived more than a month. Please do not take away our chance at giving her every opportunity open to her. |
As heart-breaking as this story might appear, it highlights the single biggest flaw in our attitudes toward healthcare and disabilities. Obviously this child would not have lived very long if she hadn't received medical treatment beginning at birth. The care of this child, according to the father, is $13,700 per month, which is $164,400 annually. Thus, in the first three years of life, this child has cost our society approximately one-half million dollars. In ten years of this child's life we will be talking about $1.37 million. In those ten years, imagine how many hundreds, if not thousands, of children currently impoverished could receive good health care and education from the State of California if this one child was not receiving such support. Now multipy this situation by the thousands of handicapped children receiving similary care, and you are talking about a social health care frame of mind that has become out of control.
I'm sorry that this child was born defective. But I despise the evolution of our state- and federally-funded laws that put the good of one above the good of so many, many others. We need to do a much better job of balancing the laws of nature (in this case, natural selection) with the available resources of our society. As we continue to spiral into a state of increasingly limited state and federal funding, due to the horrible tax-cut-&-spend policies of our current administrations and legislatures, we will be forced to more closely examine our distribution of funding for social programs, making situations like the one described above even more susceptible to failure.
Oh, and suspending the Lanternman Act is NOT equivalent to suspending the Bill of Rights. If anything, considering the current limitation of our nation's resources, it allows a more equitable support of the rights of those in need.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
December 13, 2003
Bush reviewed the great accomplishments of his first administration:
As many readers of this blog know, there may be some reasons that suggest maybe things aren't as rosy as Bush suggests. But heck, if enough voters believe him, in conjunction with massive media advertising and electronic election voting fraud next year, he may have a chance to turn us disbelievers into followers for four more years.
Interesting piece in the Guardian today about how the U.S. tried to start up a nuclear program in Iraq in the '50's under Eisenhower but ended up giving it to Iran due to the Iraqi socialist revolution of 1958. Snippet:
So, there seems to be a slight implication buried somewhere in this story that maybe, just maybe, the U.S may possibly be a tiny bit responsible for the massive proliferation of nuclear materials technology throughout the world. Good thing we invaded and decimated Iraq this year to halt the spread of nuclear technology to terrorist organizations. Stopping the nuclear weaponsfacilities stockpile program plans paperwork ideas thoughts was indeed a brave and noble action by the Bush Administration.
Bush reviewed the great accomplishments of his first administration:
| By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - President Bush ... says he's not yet begun campaigning, but he sounded a lot like someone running for re-election Saturday as he argued he has led "a year of accomplishment" on the economy, Medicare, the war on terror and a host of other issues. "We worked with Congress to take action in a number of areas on behalf of the American people," Bush said in a weekly radio address devoted to touting his administration's achievements. "We confronted problems with determination and bipartisan spirit. Yet our work is not done." The president has raised at least $112 million for his re-election and appeared at 42 fund-raisers since May. He always tells those Republican audiences that he is only "loosening up" for a campaign that hasn't started. But in his address and a six-page list that accompanied it, Bush trumpeted numerous ways he said his administration has helped make the nation safer, more prosperous and more compassionate — despite mounting casualties in Iraq and a soaring federal budget deficit. Receiving top billing was a new Medicare law that, for the first time, provides a prescription-drug benefit for seniors while introducing private insurance coverage to the government program. With his political advisers eager to score points with voters on an issue long associated with Democrats, Bush trumpeted the sweeping legislation as proof he can deliver for Americans. "The reform and modernization of Medicare was one milestone in a year of accomplishment," he said. Bush also credited tax cuts he advocated with pushing the economy toward more positive footing, said a new law allowing more timber to be cut with less scrutiny is protecting the environment by preventing wildfires, and claimed progress in the war on terror. On international issues, Bush touted his effort to increase spending to battle AIDS in developing countries, his administration's diplomacy on the North Korean nuclear standoff and the toppling of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. |
As many readers of this blog know, there may be some reasons that suggest maybe things aren't as rosy as Bush suggests. But heck, if enough voters believe him, in conjunction with massive media advertising and electronic election voting fraud next year, he may have a chance to turn us disbelievers into followers for four more years.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Visit to Manhattan
Interesting piece in the Guardian today about how the U.S. tried to start up a nuclear program in Iraq in the '50's under Eisenhower but ended up giving it to Iran due to the Iraqi socialist revolution of 1958. Snippet:
| Khadduri, a senior scientist in the Iraqi bomb effort who left his homeland in 1998, describes the quest for technology in a new, self-published book, ``Iraq's Nuclear Mirage,'' available via online booksellers. When Iraq mounted a crash program in 1987 to build a bomb, he was named to coordinate scientific documentation. At the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission library at Tuwaitha, south of Baghdad, he determined the government had received U.S. reference material as an Atoms for Peace gift in 1956, when Iraq was a British-allied monarchy. Card indexes indicated the material included some 30 Manhattan Project books and reports, but didn't say where they were. ``It took me several days of searching for the keys of forgotten attics and storage rooms in the library building,'' he recounts. ``In one of them I found a box that was probably not opened since the 1960s.'' It held the Manhattan Project material. Khadduri then found more U.S. documents in other locations. The Iraqi physicists focused on the calutron, a device for separating out fissionable uranium for reactor fuel - or bombs - by using electromagnetic isotope separation, an American technique of the 1940s that later bombmakers disdained. ``We were the only people who made use of the calutron, as far as I know. It was a huge exercise, using huge amounts of electricity,'' Khadduri said in a telephone interview from Toronto, where he lives. Key to the exercise were 164 patents relating to the calutron, noted in references in the literature. Khadduri didn't have the designs themselves, but he knew where to find them. Enlisting an Iraqi diplomat's help, he tapped the resources of the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, repository of all world patents. ``He used Iraqi students in Geneva,'' Khadduri said of his partner. ``I would send him a list of 20 or 30 items, with a couple of calutron patents thrown in, and the students would go by WIPO and collect them.'' They soon accumulated all the patents, including equipment designs down to minute details, and Iraqi teams built their own calutrons, dubbed ``Baghdadtrons,'' at Tarmiya, north of Baghdad. The work was difficult, but they were slowly producing bomb material until Tarmiya was bombed in the 1991 war. In his Atoms for Peace speech on Dec. 8, 1953, Eisenhower said he hoped to ``hasten the day when fear of the atom will begin to disappear.'' The underlying U.S. goal was to head off a commercial and propaganda challenge from the Soviet Union's nuclear establishment. By 1954, the United States was training foreigners in nuclear science and had declassified hundreds of nuclear studies. In 1955 in Geneva, a U.S.-sponsored conference on peaceful nuclear energy drew 25,000 participants and distributed truckloads of declassified material. |
So, there seems to be a slight implication buried somewhere in this story that maybe, just maybe, the U.S may possibly be a tiny bit responsible for the massive proliferation of nuclear materials technology throughout the world. Good thing we invaded and decimated Iraq this year to halt the spread of nuclear technology to terrorist organizations. Stopping the nuclear weapons
[Go to Top] [HOME]
December 12, 2003
Die in Style (stick figures violence)
Keep Your Parents Off the Internet (flash animation)
Weebl & Bob
Hot Dog Art
Movies for ADD people
Rebel Clef
Ladders are Not for Everyone
Picture of Everything (note: bandwidth intensive)
A few Friday Fun classics:
Forklift Safety.
Gollum's MTV Acceptance Speech (warning: some really foul language)
Traffic Light Wars
WMD Animated Cartoon
THIS is so unbelievable it deserves its own post.
Check out Big Corporate vs. 13 y/o girl on Kick the Leftist and also What is the Point? on It's Craptastic!
I sure hope no one lets THIS organism out of the lab.
So I was just wondering, has anybody thought of including anti-aircraft guns mounted on the roofs of any of these replacement buildings? In fact, how about putting aag's on top of all major skyscrapers in this country? I'll bet the reduction in insurance costs would more than make up for the costs of buying and manning such fortifications.
Or maybe heat-guided missile launchers...
Ann Coulter, in her column yesterday, predicted the outcome of the 2004 election:
Whatever... That is probably the tamest part of her article. The rest is really wild and makes for a fine fiction reading for a tired Friday. Check it out.
FRIDAY FUN
Die in Style (stick figures violence)
Keep Your Parents Off the Internet (flash animation)
Weebl & Bob
Hot Dog Art
Movies for ADD people
Rebel Clef
Ladders are Not for Everyone
Picture of Everything (note: bandwidth intensive)
A few Friday Fun classics:
Forklift Safety.
Gollum's MTV Acceptance Speech (warning: some really foul language)
Traffic Light Wars
WMD Animated Cartoon
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Longest Line in the World
THIS is so unbelievable it deserves its own post.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Showcase Voting
Check out Big Corporate vs. 13 y/o girl on Kick the Leftist and also What is the Point? on It's Craptastic!
[Go to Top] [HOME]
I sure hope no one lets THIS organism out of the lab.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
| WTC Site Architects Claim Cooperation NEW YORK (AP) 12.12.03, 7:45a -- Despite reports of bitter feuding, two renowned architects said Thursday they're working together to complete a plan by next week for a 1,776-foot tower at the World Trade Center site. "People know there are differences," Daniel Libeskind said. "It's not easy. But we're working toward reconciling those differences and creating something that everybody will be proud of." David Childs added: "We've been working together since the middle of July, and we've made tremendous progress. We're not finished." The two men joined Gov. George Pataki and trade center leaseholder Larry Silverstein at a ceremony marking the hoisting of the first steel beam for the tenant floors at 7 World Trade Center. The 52-story building is rising just north of the trade center site, where terrorists destroyed the twin towers and other buildings on Sept. 11, 2001.... |
So I was just wondering, has anybody thought of including anti-aircraft guns mounted on the roofs of any of these replacement buildings? In fact, how about putting aag's on top of all major skyscrapers in this country? I'll bet the reduction in insurance costs would more than make up for the costs of buying and manning such fortifications.
Or maybe heat-guided missile launchers...
[Go to Top] [HOME]
50-State Landslide
Ann Coulter, in her column yesterday, predicted the outcome of the 2004 election:
| I believe the game plan is this: The Democrats will spend the next 11 months ruefully admitting that it's going to be a 50-state landslide for Bush. Republicans will engage in their normal partisan cheerleading, and everyone will seem to be agreed that Bush is going to win a 50-state landslide. Then, if the final tally is anything short of that – if it's a 40-state landslide for Bush – the New York Times will be able to crow about Bush's poor showing and run headlines like: "Americans Still Deeply Divided on War." |
Whatever... That is probably the tamest part of her article. The rest is really wild and makes for a fine fiction reading for a tired Friday. Check it out.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
December 11, 2003
Thanks to Cari for this little gem. And if that didn't tickle your fancy, Mark Fiore shows how Walmart has downsized Santa's workshop.
One big thing the Medicare bill forgot to fix (from PPI):
We can't possibly expect the incompetent Bush Administration to take the initiative, much less understand how, to fix this costly (in both $ and lives) problem.
How the Angel Came to Be on Top of the Christmas Tree
| One particular Xmas a long time ago, Santa was getting ready for his annual trip ... but there were problems everywhere. Four of his elves got sick, and the trainee elves did not produce the toys as fast as the regular ones, so Santa was beginning to feel the pressure of being behind schedule. Then, Mrs Claus told him her Mum was coming to visit. This stressed Santa even more. Then when he went to harness the reindeer he found three of them were about to give birth and two of them had jumped the fence and were out heaven knows where. More stress. Then as he began to load the sleigh one of the boards cracked and the toy bag fell to the ground scattering all the toys. Frustrated, Santa went back into the house for a cup of coffee and a nip of whisky. When he went to the cupboard he discovered that the elves had hidden the liquor so there was nothing for him to drink. In his frustration he accidentally dropped the coffee pot and it broke into hundreds of little pieces, all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten all the straw from which it had been made. Just then the doorbell rang and Santa cussed his way to the door, he opened it and there stood a little angel with a great big Xmas tree. The little angel said cheerfully, "Merry Xmas Santa. Isn't it just a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Isn't it just a lovely tree? Where would you like me to stick it?" Thus began the tradition of the little angel on the top of the Xmas tree. |
Thanks to Cari for this little gem. And if that didn't tickle your fancy, Mark Fiore shows how Walmart has downsized Santa's workshop.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
The Higher Costs of Better, More Efficient Medicine
One big thing the Medicare bill forgot to fix (from PPI):
| No Good Deed Goes Unpunished in Medicare Among the many complaints about the new Medicare bill signed into law by President Bush on Monday, one of the most important is seldom heard. The bill fails to fix the penalties on doctors and hospitals that improve care. In a New York Times article last Friday, reporter Reed Abelson explained how Medicare has undermined leaders like Dr. Brent James at Intermountain Health Care, a hospital network in Utah and Idaho. James has saved hundreds of lives each year and prevented costly hospital care by educating doctors on best practices and using computers to make health care more effective. For example, James' efforts help ensure doctors prescribe the most effective antibiotic for pneumonia patients, which in turn avoids complications. But Intermountain loses $14,000 in Medicare payments every time it prevents complications that would otherwise cause pneumonia patients to be put on a ventilator. Abelson summed up the problem perfectly: "Medicare, the nation's largest purchaser of health care, pays hospitals and doctors a fixed sum to treat a specific diagnosis or perform a given procedure, regardless of the quality of care they provide. Those who work to improve care are not paid extra, and poor care is frequently rewarded, because it creates the need for more procedures and services." |
We can't possibly expect the incompetent Bush Administration to take the initiative, much less understand how, to fix this costly (in both $ and lives) problem.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
December 10, 2003
HERE is an intriguing interview by AP with a leader of an Iraqi terrorist cell. Snippet:
From Atrios:
So, how's Groperzenegger doing? Calpundit summarizes:
Ask me if I'm the least bit surprised. Here's another "summary".
Consider Hesiod's description of why Dems must fight dirty:
But fighting at the level of the opponent only results in a draw, meaning the status quo remains. To defeat the political enemy, you need a revolution.
Regarding the Pentagon's latest foray into Iraq assassination squads developed with the guidance of Israel, here is what a former US army officer said:
Yep, making examples of some will most surely win the hearts and minds of the rest. That's what he said.
Apparently the word "fear" is not part of Peters' vocabulary.
The Boston Globe on last night's Dem. Pres. debate:
And bad news is all we'll have until the Democratic Party leadership stops acting like Republicans.
HERE is an intriguing interview by AP with a leader of an Iraqi terrorist cell. Snippet:
| He said he did not want to fight the Americans when they first arrived in April. "I had always looked at the American government as respectable, until now," he said. "They are educated. They know how to build things, how to think and how to work hard. "They promised to liberate us from occupation. They promised us rights and liberty, and my colleagues and I waited to make our decision on whether to fight until we saw how they would act." But, he said, the crime and chaos in the early days after Saddam's fall convinced him and his colleagues -- all Ba'ath Party members -- that the Americans had come "as occupiers and not as liberators." "And my colleagues and I then voted to fight. So we began to meet and plan. We met with others and have tried to buy weapons. None of us are afraid to die, but it is hard. We are just men, workers, not soldiers." Abu Mujahid said the guerrillas waging dozens of attacks on American forces each day have a loosely organized command structure that prevents any one man from knowing too many specifics about other operations. While some coordination and support exist between cells, most are left to operate independently. |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
The Occasional "Today's Quote"
From Atrios:
| "...and another thing. Stop ceding the goddamn debate. Who here thinks Howard Dean can beat Bush? Why Ted |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Groper's Agenda: Screw 'Em
So, how's Groperzenegger doing? Calpundit summarizes:
| Fine, let's just get this out of the way, then: is Arnold the most brazen liar in the history of politics, or what? I say this without a lot of malice, since I genuinely sympathize with the almost impossible job he's taken on. But still, enough's enough. As the LA Times reports today, Arnold was on CNN yesterday and suggested that he might suspend Proposition 98, an initiative that guarantees a certain minimum level of school funding. To anyone who wasn't in California during the campaign it's hard to get across the depth of the deceit this demonstrates. Here was his TV ad on the subject of education: Question: Will you have to cut education? Schwarzenegger: No. We can fix this mess without hurting the schools. For me, children come first. Always have, always will. I'm telling you, this ad ran a dozen times a night on every station in the state. He said over and over that education wouldn't be touched and that he supported Proposition 98. It was a cornerstone of his campaign. But less than a month after being sworn in he casually proposes gutting Prop 98 and then sends out his chief flack to make weasel noises about what the meaning of "cut" is. It's really unbelievable. In the same interview, Arnold also backed off his promise to make sure local communities get back the money they lost when he reduced the vehicle license fee. And he's backed off his promise to investigate the groping charges. This is a joke. He knew perfectly well exactly how bad the state's finances were when he made these promises, and he made them anyway. He knew he couldn't keep these promises without tax increases, and he made them anyway. And everyone believed that he had some magic plan that defied the laws of economics and lined up to vote for him. And now he's just tossing those promises overboard without so much as an apology. It's revolting. |
Ask me if I'm the least bit surprised. Here's another "summary".
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Eating Dignity
Consider Hesiod's description of why Dems must fight dirty:
| "It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game" is ideal for sports. The only thing you "win" is a game, or a title. And the losers can take solace in doing their best and losing to a superior opponent. In politics, the stakes are too high to fight "fair" when the other side has no intention of doing so. As we've seen, moral superiority doesn't prevent unnecessary wars, or the passage of a terrible Medicare prescription drug benefit. Fighting the good fight, only to lose, doesn't protect our environment from rapacious polluters. Or provide health insurance, or jobs for millions of people. You can't eat "dignity." So, if you are not willing to mix it up, and get down and dirty with the Republicans...then move to Canada. You're of no use to those of us who want to take our country back. |
But fighting at the level of the opponent only results in a draw, meaning the status quo remains. To defeat the political enemy, you need a revolution.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Making Examples
Regarding the Pentagon's latest foray into Iraq assassination squads developed with the guidance of Israel, here is what a former US army officer said:
| Colonel Ralph Peters, a former army intelligence officer and a critic of Pentagon policy in Iraq, said yesterday there was nothing wrong with learning lessons wherever possible. "When we turn to anyone for insights, it doesn't mean we blindly accept it," Col Peters said. "But I think what you're seeing is a new realism. The American tendency is to try to win all the hearts and minds. In Iraq, there are just some hearts and minds you can't win. Within the bounds of human rights, if you do make an example of certain villages it gets the attention of the others, and attacks have gone down in the area." |
Yep, making examples of some will most surely win the hearts and minds of the rest. That's what he said.
Apparently the word "fear" is not part of Peters' vocabulary.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
The Boston Globe on last night's Dem. Pres. debate:
| For anyone who is already in Dean's camp -- and if opinion polls are right, that includes 40 percent of New Hampshire Democrats -- there was nothing in last night's debate to change their minds. For the front-runner from Vermont, that was the good news. The bad news is that there was also nothing last night to change the minds of a much larger group of Americans: those who think Bush is doing a decent job. |
And bad news is all we'll have until the Democratic Party leadership stops acting like Republicans.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
December 9, 2003
First posted on Left is Right in November (slightly edited):
Shame on all of us.
Kudos to the mayor of Left is Right's own little town:
Cerritos is a relatively conservative municipality, so it's great to see our little town at the forefront of activism in support of its citizens. Bravo, Mayor Kappe!
One explanation, by Josh Marshall, of Dean's popularity (snippet):
Yeah, but that's comparing apples (Democratic Congressmen/women) and an orange (President/candidate)
As the 2004 election approaches and the Rove machine starts to flex its muscles, let's not forget what happened in 2000.
No One Else
First posted on Left is Right in November (slightly edited):
| The Iraqis demand that the American soldiers go home. The majority of Americans pray for American soldiers to come home. Nearly all U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq desperately want to go home. 99% of the the world insists that American soldiers go home. So, who wants American soldiers to remain in Iraq? Only the Bush Administration and the no-bid contractors they hired. That's it. No one else. Then for whom are our young soldiers, our sons and daughters, getting slaughtered and maimed? Not for Iraqis. Not for Americans. Not for the Army. Not for the rest of the world. Only for The Bush Administration and the no-bid contractors they hired. That's it. No one else. Do the rest of us really care enough to get off our lazy, liberal asses and do something about it? Apparently not. |
Shame on all of us.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Cerritos in the News
Kudos to the mayor of Left is Right's own little town:
| (KFWB) 12.09.03, 12:35p -- A tug of war between cash strapped cities and Sacramento is worsening. Cerritos is launching a lawsuit to stop the state from taking extra tax revenues from municipalities to cover California's budget deficit. Cerritos Mayor Gloria Alverez-Kappe (kap-pee) says the state has repeatedly renegged on promises to repay sales tax revenue siffoned-off from cities with property tax revenue down the road. Cerritos is hoping other cities join in its suit. Meanwhile..the other shoe's dropped for municipalities...the state's let it be known cities will only receveive a third of what was promised from car tax revenues..that promise made with the full knowledge that the governor was going to repeal the law that would have tripled registration fees. And it gets worse..the state says cities won't get anything, zilch, from the car tax beginning next month.... |
Cerritos is a relatively conservative municipality, so it's great to see our little town at the forefront of activism in support of its citizens. Bravo, Mayor Kappe!
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Dean
One explanation, by Josh Marshall, of Dean's popularity (snippet):
| The Republicans hold the two houses of congress by slender majorities. But they are running the place like they have two-thirds majorities in each house. They are pushing through all sorts of things and the Democrats can't really get their act together to stop any of it. With the exception of holding up some judicial nominations they are virtually impotent. And that doesn't at all reflect the reality that the country remains extremely divided along partisan lines. They're playing by an outmoded set of rules, operating on a defunct system of party discipline, and are generally getting creamed. The outrage this spawns is the wind that is filling Dean's sails. It's one big, collective: Enough! In a sense it goes beyond the Iraq vote which has gotten so much attention in this race. Almost all Dean's competitors in the race are compromised by that collective failure. Fair or not, there's a truth to it. |
Yeah, but that's comparing apples (Democratic Congressmen/women) and an orange (President/candidate)
[Go to Top] [HOME]
| "With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." ---Steven Weinberg |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
As the 2004 election approaches and the Rove machine starts to flex its muscles, let's not forget what happened in 2000.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
December 8, 2003
Gee, the DLC STILL doesn't like Dean.
Received the following from MoveOn.org today (excerpts):
Gee, the DLC STILL doesn't like Dean.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Lots of Our Money, Right Out the Window
Received the following from MoveOn.org today (excerpts):
| Congress is now considering President Bush's gigantic, 820 billion dollar spending bill. The bill is full of giveaways to giant corporations, including many that would never pass if they were considered on their own... The House is scheduled to vote on this bill today, Monday December 8th. The Senate may follow suit soon afterward... Here are some examples of the pork in the Omnibus spending bill: $50,000,000 to build an indoor rainforest in Iowa. $2,000,000 for the First Tee Program, to get young people into golf. $405,000 for industrial lubricants research in Iowa. $338,000 for the Alabama Beef Connection. $225,000 for the National Wild Turkey federation, a hunting concern. $4,000,000 for the International Fertilizer Development Center. $595,000,000 for Trilogy, an FBI information technology program. $397,700,000 for prison buildings and facilities. $6,000,000 for a Police Athletic League. $30,000,000 for the Southwest Border Prosecutors Initiative. $7,105,000 for construction of an international narcotics control law enforcement academy in Roswell, NM. Up to $120,000,000 for a classified Defense Department project. $250,000 for the General Patton Museum of Cavalry & Armor, in Kentucky. $225,000 for a shopping center in Adelanto, CA. $500,000 for the "Exercise in Hard Choices" at the U. of Akron, which attempts to replicate House and Senate meetings in which congressional members review a budget, and vote to include or exclude various options. |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
December 5, 2003
Haven't heard much of anything for several months about this deadly problem that Iraqi civialians are facing.
ASCII Movies (just weird)
Ask The Fish (funny advice)
Bad Fads Museum
Big Bang (how it sounded)
Eyes Have It (freaky)
FilmWise (test your film knowledge)
Foot-in-Mouth Award (this year's winner: Donald Rumsfeld)
Get your own Glofish (fluorescent fish you can buy)
Gollum Raps
Grinning Planet (environment-leaning jokes and info)
Idioms
Max Lyons Digital Image Gallery (some incredible photography)
PicassoHead (create your own)
D.U. Redo
Haven't heard much of anything for several months about this deadly problem that Iraqi civialians are facing.
| WASHINGTON (NFTF.org) -- U.S. forces unleashed at least 75 tons of toxic depleted uranium on Iraq during the war, reports the Christian Science Monitor. An unnamed U.S. Central Command spokesman disclosed to the Monitor last week that coalition forces fired 300,000 bullets coated with armored-piercing depleted uranium (DU) during the war. “The normal combat mix for these 30-mm rounds is five DU bullets to 1 -- a mix that would have left about 75 tons of DU in Iraq,” wrote correspondent Scott Peterson. Peterson measured four sites around Baghdad struck with depleted uranium munitions and found high levels of radioactive contamination, but few warnings to this effect issued among the populace at large. While the Pentagon maintains that spent weapons coated with the low-level, radioactive nuclear-waste are relatively harmless, Peterson notes that U.S. soldiers have taken it among themselves to print leaflets or post signs warning of DU contamination. "After we shoot something with DU, we're not supposed to go around it, due to the fact that it could cause cancer," said one sergeant requesting anonymity. On a group of abandoned burnt-out U.S. munitions supply trucks, Peterson saw signs U.S. troops put up warning in Arabic, “Danger -- Get away from this area.” A local vendor said that soldiers in masks warned him and others to keep away from the site. These were the only warnings Peterson found. He wrote that despite the military’s attempts to bulldoze the surrounding topsoil, the Geiger counter readings on remaining piles of radioactive DU dust registered at hundreds of times the average, and a DU dart from a 120 mm tank shell emitted radiation over 1,300 times normal. Two other sites visited were randomly selected Iraqi armored vehicles destroyed with DU bullets. The remains of these tanks sit near a produce vendor on the outskirts of Baghdad, and have become popular playthings for children; the Geiger counter reading from “a DU bullet fragment no bigger than a pencil eraser” near one child registered 1,000 times normal. There were no warnings posted informing the populace of the radioactive emissions coming from the tanks. "Radioactive? Oh, really?" was the response of a former director general of the ministry, when Peterson presented a Geiger counter registering emissions of 1,900 times normal from spent DU-coated bullets amongst the grounds at the Ministry of Planning. "Yesterday, more than 1,000 employees came here, and they didn't know anything about it," he said. "We have started to not believe what the American government says. What I know is that the occupiers should clean up and take care of the country they invaded." YellowTimes.org correspondent Lisa Ashkenaz Croke drafted this report. |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
FRIDAY FUN
ASCII Movies (just weird)
Ask The Fish (funny advice)
Bad Fads Museum
Big Bang (how it sounded)
Eyes Have It (freaky)
FilmWise (test your film knowledge)
Foot-in-Mouth Award (this year's winner: Donald Rumsfeld)
Get your own Glofish (fluorescent fish you can buy)
Gollum Raps
Grinning Planet (environment-leaning jokes and info)
Idioms
Max Lyons Digital Image Gallery (some incredible photography)
PicassoHead (create your own)
[Go to Top] [HOME]
December 4, 2003
Anti-War books for young people. "This list was built from the contributions of librarians, educators, parents, and young readers."
Beneficiary Out of Pocket Costs: This calculator allows users to enter their prescription drug costs to determine what they would pay under the Medicare reform recently passed by Congress.
Here is a site, FUNDRACE2004, that tracks the sources of contributions to all the presidential candidates. You can also find out contributions by state, county and zip code.
Weapons of Mass Instruction
Anti-War books for young people. "This list was built from the contributions of librarians, educators, parents, and young readers."
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Medicare Drug Benefit Calculator
Beneficiary Out of Pocket Costs: This calculator allows users to enter their prescription drug costs to determine what they would pay under the Medicare reform recently passed by Congress.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Money Maps
Here is a site, FUNDRACE2004, that tracks the sources of contributions to all the presidential candidates. You can also find out contributions by state, county and zip code.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
December 3, 2003
Check out this new Kucinich animated ad!
Keeping Abreast of Tariffs:
If you have a fetish for bad news, today's CAP Progress Report should fill the bill (especially if you're a Californian).
By the way, if there is only one site for which you have time during the day for reviewing current events, make it Center for American Progress.
Maybe we just need Poker Night to maintain our sanity.
Check out this new Kucinich animated ad!
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Keeping Abreast of Tariffs:
| Imports of steel, Sept. 2003: $1.094 billion Tariffs collected on steel: $14 million Imports of bras, Sept. 2003: $108 million Tariffs collected on bras: $12 million |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Bad News
If you have a fetish for bad news, today's CAP Progress Report should fill the bill (especially if you're a Californian).
By the way, if there is only one site for which you have time during the day for reviewing current events, make it Center for American Progress.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Can Ashcroft Kill That Too?
Maybe we just need Poker Night to maintain our sanity.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
December 2, 2003
A view about our current energy policy (snippet):
The So. Cal. grocery workers strike continues, better than ever (snippets):
Looks like Nader will be running in 2004:
Yet another reason why Bush's reelection is guaranteed. Thanks, Ralph; you most certainly are thescummiest most egotistical non-neocon on the planet.
Our Energy Policy Needs Some Red Bull
A view about our current energy policy (snippet):
| We Don't Have the Energy Why Can't We Set A Goal for Energy? by ED HUNT - posted 11.23.03 Why is it that one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world finds itself incapable of putting together a cohesive energy policy that reduces its dependence on imports and fossil fuels? Roundly denounced as a disastrous piece of rubbish legislation -- packed full with giveaways to polluters, and subsides so egregious that even Republicans are scratching their heads -- the energy bill set before Congress last week will do nothing to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, or on imports of energy from other countries. Much of the legislation is in the form of tax breaks for industries that are already more than profitable. Instead Republicans have gone out of their way to remove environmental laws that threaten their energy industry patrons, while kicking back tax breaks and subsidies -- a return on the investment of hundreds of millions in industry campaign contributions. There is little wonder as to why the energy bill was crafted behind closed doors. After all, even members of Congress have some sense of shame. Three-quarters of the bill's $25 billion in tax dollars will subsidize oil, gas, coal, and nuclear power. Just a quarter will go to help solar, wind, geothermal, ethanol, and hydrogen -- better than nothing, I suppose. More importantly, however, the package of subsidies and tax incentives lacks any sort of policy. There is no goal for the country to increase its use of renewable energy. No goal of conservation. Not even the most modest increase in required fuel economy for cars. Why isn't America up to the task of doing something as simple as raising the fuel economy requirements for cars and trucks --something that engineers know how to do and something consumers have expressed a desire for? Are we so feeble a country now that we lack the power to require even the most minor steps toward efficiency? As if to add to our humiliation -- and as voters, we should be humiliated for putting up with the naked corruption of this Congress -- China announced this week that it will require fuel economy standards for its vehicles that will quickly exceed those of the United States. |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
The Stakes Are High
The So. Cal. grocery workers strike continues, better than ever (snippets):
| The stakes are high. Victory for the strikers would accelerate attempts to unionize other big service companies, say union organizers; defeat could have a chilling effect on recruitment. Union leaders say the strike could be the first round in a fight in which major companies seek to reduce traditional benefits because they claim they are being undercut by vast non-union firms, such as Wal-Mart. ...... Ellen Andreder, the UFCW spokeswoman in southern California, said other unions were watching closely and support was coming from unions across the US. "I've never seen anything like this in 19 years," Ms Andreder said. "This is probably the biggest strike - in terms of numbers and locations - in the history of the labor movement. The Teamsters and other unions see a direct link: no industry would be immune [from cuts in benefits] if they get away with it here. "Our feeling is that we have come too far as a society to lower the bar and go back to the days of Carnegie and Rockefeller when the more you exploited your workers, the more successful you were." Ms Andreder said the companies had enjoyed a 91% increase in profits in the past five years and could well afford to continue paying benefits. Safeway has an annual turnover of $30bn (£17bn). "This strike should send a message," said Greg Denier, the UFCW communications director. "Healthcare is a major issue now and people understand and are sympathetic." He said the dispute would have a major effect on the union movement: "This experience will shape a whole new generation of trade unionists. We're getting more and more members and support from other unions. "But the most important support we have had is from the grocery shopper, and the fact that they have not been crossing picket lines is a sign of our success." The local Teamsters president, Jim Santangelo, declared on announcing that the drivers would respect picket lines at depots: "We either end this thing together or we die together." |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Ralph's Back
Looks like Nader will be running in 2004:
| If anyone has doubts about Ralph Nader's plans for 2004, his new website should erase those doubts. Yup, it appears Nader will make a fourth run for President in 2004. The site -- which was registered October 24 by the folks at VoteNader.org (his official 2000 campaign site) -- went online this week in a very nascent form. The site also carries a disclaimer stating it was paid for by the "Nader 2004 Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc." of Washington, DC. The committee is so new that it is not yet registered with the FEC. However, the committee does not need to register until it raises or spends at least $5,000. One Naderite reader -- who received a mailed notice from the committee last week -- said the note implied Nader planned to run again. Interestingly, the note gave the impression Nader was possibly looking to run this time as an Independent instead of a Green. Nader -- the former two-time Green Party nominee -- as a registered Independent. If he wants it, Nader remains the perceived frontrunner for the Green nomination next year. |
Yet another reason why Bush's reelection is guaranteed. Thanks, Ralph; you most certainly are the
[Go to Top] [HOME]
December 1, 2003
Hell Is For Heroes is a moving piece containing a description of the soldiers represented by the Iwo Jima Memorial, given by one of the soldiers's sons. Read it.
Cory Farley of the RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL created a list of “Things you have to believe to be a Republican today”. Here are a few:
Jay Bookman wrote in the AJC today (snippet):
Well, if some crazy individual ever wanted to singlehandedly alter the direction of politics in Washington, THIS TARGET could be the one-time easiest opportunity. Hey, one can dream...
Sometimes science does discover damn good things.
Stolen from Indiac:
Found this diatribe while surfing:
Better get used to it, because this is the view of the majority of this nation, and this is just the tip of the campaign iceberg with which the Right will be soon flooding the media in advance of the 2004 election. As wrong and distasteful as it may be, it's the reality of the American Fox-led mindset, and it's only one reason why Bush's reelection is guaranteed.
"Heroes are the guys who didn't come back"
Hell Is For Heroes is a moving piece containing a description of the soldiers represented by the Iwo Jima Memorial, given by one of the soldiers's sons. Read it.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
What Republicans Believe
Cory Farley of the RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL created a list of “Things you have to believe to be a Republican today”. Here are a few:
| o Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you’re a conservative radio host. Then it’s an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery. o Government should relax regulation of Big Business and Big Money but crack down on individuals who use marijuana to relieve the pain of illness. o A woman can’t be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation. o Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton. o The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans’ benefits and combat pay. o Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins unless you someday run for governor of California as a Republican. o If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won’t have sex. o Global warming and tobacco’s link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools. o Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush’s daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a “we can’t find Bin Laden” diversion. o A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy. o Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet. o The public has a right to know about Hillary’s cattle trades, but George Bush’s driving record is none of our business. o What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the ’80s is irrelevant. o Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony. |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Note to Bush: Iraq does not equal Terrorism Against U.S.
Jay Bookman wrote in the AJC today (snippet):
| We are aggressively striking the terrorists in Iraq, defeating them there," Vice President Dick Cheney said a week ago, "so we do not have to face them on the streets of our own cities." "You are defeating the terrorists in Iraq, so we don't have to face them in our country," President Bush likewise told U.S. troops during his lightning visit to Baghdad. Such statements are simply false. Our men and women in uniform are not fighting for their lives against international terrorists in Iraq. They are not fighting the people who attacked us on Sept. 11, nor are they fighting allies of those people. Instead, the guerrillas who are launching mortars at our military bases, attacking our troops on patrol or hiding booby traps on Iraqi highways are native Iraqis who are trying to evict American troops from their country. Despicable and cowardly as their tactics are, the Iraqi resistance is almost entirely Iraqi. They are not attacking us because they hate Americans. They are attacking us because they hate Americans who are occupying their country. Bureaucrats and politicians in Washington try repeatedly to pretend otherwise, suggesting that al-Qaida-linked terrorists are pouring into Iraq from Syria, Iran and even Saudi Arabia to attack our troops. But U.S. generals in Iraq, the people actually doing the fighting, have said repeatedly that they have seen little evidence of international involvement. Furthermore, the captains, majors and colonels charged with guarding Iraq's borders report no influx of foreign terrorists into Iraq and are puzzled by claims to the contrary. |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Quote of the Week
| "When European employers look to the United States, they see roughly the same thing that U.S. employers see when they look to China: millions of low-wage workers who have all but lost the right to organize and a government intent on keeping things just the way they are. The erosion of worker power and the growth of employer supremacy here have transformed the bottom half of the U.S. workforce into a vast exploitable mass worthy of a colonial backwater." ---Harold Meyerson |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Floating Target
Well, if some crazy individual ever wanted to singlehandedly alter the direction of politics in Washington, THIS TARGET could be the one-time easiest opportunity. Hey, one can dream...
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Sometimes science does discover damn good things.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Stolen from Indiac:
| I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government." --- Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826), Letter to James Madison, 1787 |
[Go to Top] [HOME]
Sore Losers?
Found this diatribe while surfing:
| Four More Years Is A Foregone Conclusion - By Ron Marr - CNSNews.com Commentary - December 01, 2003 It has to be the ultimate nightmare of the Democratic party. Not only do the donkeys lack a viable candidate for president, they are losing what were to be the key issues that would allow for nasty campaign ads. I suspect the left is feeling the same sense of nausea experienced by the right during the ascendancy of Bob Dole. Sorry folks...but I'm amused. Let's take a look at this. In terms of candidates the Democrats have drawn an empty hand in a high stakes game. The front-runners aren't contenders; they are merely the dregs. They appear in televised debates and literally cannibalize each other. Kerry? He's history. That guy is even behind in the polls of his home state. Ketchup money won't save the "man who would be Kennedy." Gephardt? Give it a rest. Forgetting the fact that a dude lacking eyebrows can never win the Oval Office, Little Richard is nothing by a tired replay of a Top 40 hit long ago consigned to the discount barrel. Clark? Edwards? Sharpton? In that trio you see the logical successors to Larry, Moe and Curly. Lieberman? Oh yeah...the wobbly fellow who hitched his star to the rusted Gore machine. Dennis Kucinich? Please...it hurts too much to laugh. Run Kucinich as a candidate and you will witness a thrashing surpassing Nixon's annihilation of McGovern. I can't even view a picture of Dennis Kucinich without recalling a scene from "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In." Dennis is Henry Gibson, befuddled look on his face, holding a daisy in his hands and mumbling inane poetry. Howard Dean? This is the best one of all. Dean has as his sole weapon the anger of Democrats who are still smarting over their loss in 2000. He will implode in public one of these days; his little gaffe regarding Southerners was just a taste of what will come and likely already cost him most of the states south of the Mason Dixon. Dean is basically John McCain...a gent who is not wrapped real tight, full of simmering resentment, a tiny volcano just itching for a chance to erupt. And these folks actually think they stand a snowball's chance against George W Bush? They are competing against a seasoned incumbent who - like it or not -- has done everything he said he would do. That in itself -- the honesty factor -- would probably win him the election. He has shown ethics and morals and values and courage. He confronts our enemies with force - admitting from day one the reality that wars are not won overnight. He faces down our lackadaisical allies, doing what is right rather than buckling under to the wishes of feckless European collaborationists. He brings common sense to the Executive Branch, and does not suffer fools. And all his opponents and detractors can say is "he's stupid," or "he swaggers too much." They say this because their idea of stupidity is a failure to posture and preen for the cameras. Saying what you mean and meaning what you say is a foreign concept to such people. They hate the swagger because a leader with confidence, one who has taken us off the path of ambivalence and cowardice, goes against their desire for a nanny state. And now, the one issue which the Democrats hoped to use as a divisive wedge has all but vanished. Keep in mind that liberals become giddy when times are bad...misery and misfortune make them smile. Be assured they are certainly not smiling over the fact that Bush's economic policies are working. Retail sales are up. The residential housing market is booming. Unemployment is down, and as a whole the economy grew 8.2 percent in the July to September period (one of the largest jumps in history). Personal income was also up in this period by .4 percent. There is an increasing demand for more high tech goods and tourism is showing healthy growth. Thanks to the slow dismantling of some of the excessive and pointless environmental restrictions of the Clinton years, core industries are once again bouncing back. More mining, more logging, more jobs, more money; less reliance on imports for our raw materials. It is really hard to imagine what kind of person would wish to disregard such proven success. Who in their right mind would seek to tear down such increasing prosperity, would become appalled that the US has regained it's rightful place as the most powerful nation in the world. But malcontents will always exist. They are the people who wish to be cared for from cradle to grave, who seek to just get along, who will trade the joys of freedom and individuality for a few table scraps from the table of tin-pot dictators at the beck and call of the United Nations. There is a name for such misguided souls. Well, actually there are lots of names. I just call them sore losers. |
Better get used to it, because this is the view of the majority of this nation, and this is just the tip of the campaign iceberg with which the Right will be soon flooding the media in advance of the 2004 election. As wrong and distasteful as it may be, it's the reality of the American Fox-led mindset, and it's only one reason why Bush's reelection is guaranteed.
[Go to Top] [HOME]
| Well the weight of the world is FALLING And on my back I've been CRAWLING The state of affairs is APPALLING And the 6 o'clock news keeps CALLING Well I've been trying to see the world through their eyes Where black is white and day is night Left is Right Left is Right Left is Right, For me Well negotiations keep STALLING The United Nations keeps CALLING The Skeletons you're HAULING Won't hold when you're FALLING Put your head in the sand and you'll never know What's waiting for you in the depths below (below) Don't believe everything that you read Take what you want and keep what you need TWISTED NIXON |
CHICK HEARN, THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE MEMORIES.
