John Ashcroft is a dangerous menace to American values. He doesn't believe in freedom, states' rights, or the rights of an individual to freely practice no religion. His Pentecostal agenda is at odds with the needs of the country and the Constitution, and I call for his immediate resignation for the good of the United States of America which all of us, including Ashcroft, love.

Heroes Thomas Paine Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Franklin Alexander Hamilton

 
Former Officials Say Enron Hid Gains During Crisis in California You think you have a handle on the scope of the manipulation of the California energy market when news like this pops up to disabuse you of that notion.
posted by Dave Roberts at 9:06 PM

 
Sacrifice Is for Losers Frank Rich rakes the plutocrats of Watergate II over the coals of his ire.
posted by Dave Roberts at 10:04 PM

 
Bush can't stop lying. Bill Clinton walks onstage to "Can't stop thinking about tomorrow." while Bush is caught singing "can't stop lying about my budget." His "trifecta" joke is wearing a bit thin and in spite of Daily Pundit trying to correct the record, it's just too blatant a Bush lie to let it go. TNR rightly says they'll point it out every time Bush lies again...and again.
posted by Dave Roberts at 12:01 PM

 
How much money triggered Whitewater? It stinks, doesn't it, that the Republicans are getting a free pass on their greedy trough slurping. Things that would have had Bob Barr frothing at the mouth are daily fare with the Republicans. Well, Virginia, in addition to tossing out their roving hands Speaker, now appears to have a junior Senator in Washington who made $279,000 for apparently doing nothing. Of course, Haley Barbour, Samuel Skinner, and a few other Republican luminaries were along for the cash parade as well. I don't know when the rank and file teamsters and dish washers and teachers and janitors and carpenters and programmers and administrative assistants are going to wake up that all this talk about "family values" and "take your guns away" and "gay marriage" is just a damned smokescreen to lull you to sleep while they steal you blind. By all means vote Republican if you're rich and greedy and don't give a damn about America. If you happen to believe in America, the military, fairness, and fair play, the Republican Party is not your home.

One other bit of news and a little math. Bush is threatening to veto a military bill because it provides full retirement pay for disabled veterans. The full deal would cost 78 billion dollars over ten years. According to Bush, it's too much because of the deficit. Well, guess what folks. 10% of the "death tax" would pay our disabled veterans what they deserve. Now doesn't it seem like a slice of justice from AWOL Bush would have his millionaire buddies kick in some of their death tax for our service men and women? Of course, none of the leading Republicans in the Senate or Congress served in the military, so maybe they just don't care. What do you think?
posted by Dave Roberts at 8:20 PM

 
The Nation slams Bush Doctrine This is one of the rare cases where I think Bush is not completely wrong. I'm not convinced by the Nation's double-edged arguments about WMD in Iraq. On one hand they claim Iraq has been so hampered by sanctions and inspections that WMD are out of their reach. Their other hand conveniently flips that notion on its head and claim that intervention might encourage people to make off with valuable black market WMD that Iraq had created. If they can stipulate that creative, educated Iraqis might have the potential to create these weapons, they need to argue logically for what we might do to prevent their use. They don't.

If we were arguing about excess oil, rubies, lumber or any other commodity, the Bush plan for pre-emptive strikes would be a loony exercise in cowboy ethics. However, WMD introduce a factor that the Soviets and Americans have understood for half a century. Politeness and caution play a large role in foreign policy and politics when a mis-step could incinerate a nation and a globe. The legitimate fear of many, including me, is that a regime that has already used WMD on their own citizens might be eager to see them used against the United States, particularly if the use was deniable.

A nuclear or chemical strike against the US would not be fatal to the survival of our country, but could cause untold fatalities and damage. Any US administration would be derelict in their duty to not consider all methods necessary to prevent such an occurrence. Saddam Hussein might think it prudent to invite the UN inspector back more openly and with fewer restrictions if he knew we were prepared to de-fang him permanently. In any case, I'm all in favor of a declared change in our policy to include pre-emption if we deem it necessary. It's past time for a few countries to learn the virtues of politeness.

posted by Dave Roberts at 5:07 PM

 
Kevin Phillips has long been recognized as an important thinker about American political trends. This commentary is important for readers concerned about excessive concentration of wealth and its impact on our politics. If you are only going to read one thing this week, read this.
posted by Dave Roberts at 4:38 PM

 
It's Party Time for Pharmaceuticals! I don't know exactly how obvious the link between money and legislations has to become before people get outraged. At the rate the Republicans are going, it's only a matter of days until they just say give me a bunch of money and tell me what laws to pass. At least for this party the drug industry and financial services firms have the subterfuge of a "gathering" to justify dumping about 30 million on the Republicans. The hell of it is, that the damn senators and congressmen are cheap. There's probably at least a 500 to 1,000 fold return on investment, so even 30 million is just a proverbial drop in the bucket. Just remember folks, the good deal the pharmas are getting is coming out of your wallet.
posted by Dave Roberts at 11:17 PM

 
Bush to women: Drop dead. Nicholas Kristoff tees off on Bush and Ashcroft and their willingness to sacrifice millions of women around the world to protect their bizarre notions of womanhood and birth.
posted by Dave Roberts at 10:10 PM

 
A Bush Expose you won't read in an American media outlet. Take ten minutes and read this well researched piece on oil, pollution, and the Bush dynasty.
posted by Dave Roberts at 12:03 AM

 
SIMON EARNS ENDORSEMENT OF CALIFORNIA ORGANIZATION OF POLICE AND SHERIFFS Gag me. What do Bill Simon and Sheriff organizations have in common? Out of touch with working men and women for a start, including police and sheriffs. Bill Simon has as much authenticity in law enforcement as Bart Simpson does as a human being. When Simon gets indicted for tax fraud, those COPS are going to look mighty silly.
posted by Dave Roberts at 9:00 PM

 
USATODAY.com - Bush policies follow politics of states needed in 2004 It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that Bush is political. What has been most surprising is the extent to which he tosses out political principle to curry favor. This article lays some of the issues on the line, but they have actually treated him gently about his collapse on free trade for steel and the farm bill. His willingness to pander at Rove's command really does portray a man without a spine, regardless of what the GOP faithful might say. It's got to be a shock to Republicans to hear USA Today compare Bush's integrity unfavorably with Bill Clinton's.


posted by Dave Roberts at 7:47 PM