Common Sense for Uncommon Times - Fair and Balanced |
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Random, occasionally rambling thoughts with links to interesting, scandalous, or partisan news of the day. Fair and Balanced 
We owe the liberty and freedom we take for granted to the enlisted men and women in the armed forces. They sacrifice family, ease, and even life laboring in service to all of us. The least we can do for them is honor their devotion with dignified pay scales, decent education for themselves and their children, and reasonable compensation for service away from their families and death on the battlefield. Flag waving politicians who praise the troops on one hand and cut their pay and benefits with the other should be deeply ashamed of themselves.
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Friday, February 28, 2003
$3.5 billion That's the amount of money Bush LIED about this morning in his speech. House Republicans are furious the President is blaming them for the shortfall in the first responder funding when the administration was integrally involved in preparing the plans. What irks me even more is Bush's laughable refusal to speak honestly about budget issues. Even after the news yesterday about this story, W continues to tell audiences he has first responders as a priority. What this latest speech did is put to rest the question asked of Joseph McCarthy in a different context. "Have you no shame?" continues to be answered "no" by this White House. The Democrats will correctly use the President's decision to spend five times more bribing Turkey than funding American jobs and safety by spending money boosting our first response capability. posted by Dave on 8:52 AM | 0 comments link
$2.01 That's what I paid per gallon of 87 octane unleaded gas to fill up yesterday. I haven't even paid that high a price in Hawaii. High gas prices are a great tool for promoting conservation, but I'd much rather if the marginal increase over the nominal $1.50 price was going into the federal coffers to pay for our excursion to Iraq rather than pumping up Shell's profits. I repeat my earlier suggestion that the government lock in high prices with taxes on gasoline until the Iraq war is entirely paid for. Something about discretionary wars just implies to me that pay as you go is a sounder plan than raising long term deficits. It's eerie the degree to which this administration will go in order to mask and pain and suffering. They're saving it all up to dump on our children and grandchildren. posted by Dave on 8:40 AM | 0 comments link
Charlatans and cranks What a great name for Bush and his economic advisors. Sadly, the name was applied to President Reagan's supply side team by President Bush's newest head of the CEA. His textbook even contained a chapter called Charlatans and Cranks about economists who muddy the consensus of professional economists by spewing nonsense, but he removed the remarks in later editions. It must have been hard for the good professor to look at the array of think tanks and talking heads funded by the right and realize that calling "voodoo economics" something promoted by "charlatans and cranks" might affect his career financially. In any case, the usual huff and puff suspects reacted to his appointment by stamping their feet and gnashing their teeth (Hi, Stephen Moore) about the appointment, but Professor Mankiw will undoubtedly toe the line and say that up is down and black is white on behalf of Karl Rove and company. posted by Dave on 8:35 AM | 0 comments link -------------------- Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Oxley May Face Ethics Probe (washingtonpost.com) As my favorite chef, Emeril Lagasse, would say, "Bam! A little essence!", as he fired some hot ground chili onto a dish. This is the political equivalent of spicing up a boring meal. A couple of ethics investigations, a president laboring under a growing credibility gap, a ludicrous budget, and a maniac House Republican leader. Good times to be had by all in the coming contretemps. Stay tuned. posted by Dave on 11:06 PM | 0 comments link -------------------- Monday, February 24, 2003
U.S. Targets Purveyors Of Gear for Illicit Drugs Please will someone take this Ashcroft lunatic out to the woodshed and demonstrate the proper application of irresistible force with a 2x4 on his ass. On Friday he's busting a domestic terrorist who happened to pose for pictures with President Bush. On Monday he's busy busting bongs. Meanwhile, Osama bong Laden is still on the loose, war is ready to break out in Iraq, and the FBI is probably hunting down hookers in New Orleans again. On the homeland front, smallpox vaccinations are racing ahead at 1% of the planned rate. I know from all my goal planning that achieving 1% wouldn't get me rave notices from my boss, but Tommy Thompson and Tom Ridge seem to be soldiering on as if everything is fine. It's fine for Bush to be a compassionate conservative, but I didn't think the definition was hiring incompetent Republicans to key security positions. Please will someone smack Tommy Thompson, John Ashcroft, and Tom Ridge upside the head and tell them to straighten up and get their shit together. They are the Three Stooges of the Bushalypse. If we weren't in a Bush-triggered crisis moment it might be funny, but when the President lines up all his duckies on the border of Iraq and asks these three if they are ready to go, it's not going to be a joke for the American people who depend on them to have a clue. I'll save my biggest scorn for Ashcroft who took time out to diss Janet Reno for neglecting to bust enough bong makers when she was in office. In a moment that calls for thoughtful and visionary politicians, we end up with the tit-fearing terror. This marauder against states rights and civil liberties. Thispontificating baritone who prejudges guilt and stages media events to showcase his commitment to idiocy and premature expostulation. There's an old saying that people deserve the politicians they elect. How cruel it is then, that the loser of the Presidential popular vote appointed the loser of a Senate race to oversee crime and punishment. We didn't deserve this. posted by Dave on 10:17 PM | 0 comments link
Threats, Promises and Lies I feel like doing a Pee-Wee Herman dance of delight. The silly hum along with yourself twist shuffle shake that Pee Wee does so well. It's so nice to see the gloves come off and Krugman shout out the bare knuckle truth that Bush has a massive credibility problem. My only quarrel with Krugman is that I think much of the Bush damage to American credibility belongs to Bush personally rather than America as a whole. We'll see. posted by Dave on 9:50 PM | 0 comments link
Achcroft Exceeding Expectations I don't know how it happened, but a mainstream paper thinks Ashcroft is just as despicable as I do. Write to your Senators and tell them they made a mistake. This appointment deserves to be retracted. posted by Dave on 9:15 AM | 0 comments link
World mis-remembers history Abraham Lincoln said the world will "little note or long remember", but what he should have been referring to was the American Revolution rather than his Gettysburg Address. I am beginning to notice more sites that think the French Revolution preceded the American "Revolt of the Colonies" . The most recent example of this error was in the Arabic News. The author obviously wasn't checking references, but admitted ignorance about the facts of the French Revolution and only mentioned that Thomas Jefferson and others were inspired by it. This mis-reading of history, particularly the fact that America inspired the French and not vice versa, assigns false credit where none is due. In fact, one of the very few debts the US owes to the French, the heroic and critical assistance of Lafayette, is attributable to the government the French Revolution overturned. You could say that we owe nearly nothing to the post-revolutionary France if you were being uncharitable. I'm being petty, I know, to insist that history be read accurately, but if you don't call the French on every error pretty soon the entire population of France will have turned out to be in the Resistance...and trying to persuade the Arabs of the fact. posted by Dave on 8:30 AM | 0 comments link
Boston Globe Online / Business / Workers who spend are more deserving of relief Double taxation is a hot topic for Bush, but he has neglected to inform the vast working public that their social security FICA payments are double taxed. Is he being intelllectually dishonest or is he guilty of "picking winners and losers". You decide. posted by Dave on 7:52 AM | 0 comments link
Bush Smallpox Inoculation Plan Near Standstill (washingtonpost.com) You've got to hand it to the Bush team. In a national priority project with a target of 500,000 immunizations in 30 days, these folks managed to get 4,200 innoculated. I'm serious. Less than 1% of the target. It kind of reminds me of the Bush commitment to stay the course and rebuild Afghanistan this time around instead of walking away like we did after the Soviets were defeated. Guess how much was in the Bush budget for Afghanistan this year. Zero. I'm not kidding. They forgot to put the money in. I don't know what happened to the vaunted intelligence of this administration team, but it hasn't been on display recently. Bush has managed to take the global sympathy for us from 9/11 and turn it into massive anti-American, or at least anti-Bush, feelings. On that score, at least, let's give him full credit for an accomplishment that is all his. On everything else, from the folly of the Bush "leave no millionaire behind" tax plan to the gutting of the first responder budget promises, this team looks more amateurish by the day. I'm sure I'm no the only one who longs for the days last decade when we had a president with a brain and a clue about the economy. posted by Dave on 1:28 AM | 0 comments link -------------------- Thursday, February 20, 2003
Law of Averages (washingtonpost.com) PResident Bush has a problem with numbers. To be frank, he lies through his teeth every time he talks about the average tax cuts Americans receive. He's got an MBA so I won't assume he is unable to distinguish between average and median. In the vast economically illiterate society at large, everyone who is slated to receive less than the $1,083 he promises as the "average" tax cut ought to vote against him purely on the principle of being lied to...repeatedly. posted by Dave on 11:54 PM | 0 comments link
Our New Hydrogen Bomb Regular readers will know I'm a hydrogen enthusiast. I just had to include a link to this NIcholas Kristof review of GM's Hy-wire fuel cell car. Very cool. posted by Dave on 11:45 PM | 0 comments link
The world was weak in 1935 - and Mussolini had his way 1935 and the appeasement of Mussolini in Abyssinia must seem beyond prehistoric to most of the peace marchers around the world last week. W. F. Deedes was there and writes about the global reluctance to engage, the weakness of the French, and the failure of the general population to understand the false signals sent to dictators by clamors for peace at any price. posted by Dave on 10:49 PM | 0 comments link
Bush Wins Business Support for Growth Plan (washingtonpost.com) I guess blackmail works. Here's the money passage: That shift was, at least in part, because White House officials and Republican House leaders let it be known that the Republican Congress would consider additional special-interest tax provisions as long as the groups seeking them were on Bush's team. "If what people remember about you is that you are not helpful, you are probably not going to be first in line when we do the next tax bill," warned Grover G. Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, who has helped the White House rally support behind its plan. I don't know about you, but I consider this to be distatesful, immoral and unethical. My friends in former banana republics complain they can no longer point to the US as a shining example when we have so much underhanded dealing going on ourselves. From the first nation to make bribing foreign officials a crime we have become the first nation in which publicly bragging about corrupt practices is an accepted tactic. I've blogged about the moral-free zone surrounding Rep. Oxley and hope that recently energized Rep. Hefley can rev up his ethics committee and clean up the house. As for Grover Norquist, what can you say about a man with so much influence and so little integrity? posted by Dave on 3:06 PM | 0 comments link -------------------- Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Mark Steyn, a national treasure of Canada, patiently prying open the eyes of the peace marchers. posted by Dave on 1:34 PM | 0 comments link
Pravda.RU SFOR officer helped Karadzic to escape It's not often that I turn to Pravda for a dose of the truth, but these are unusual times. This March 2002 story is about blatantly weaselish French anti-NATO behavior that I would strongly caution the Pentagon to avoid with regards to Saddam. It's worth remembering another case of French "loyalty". In this episode, Major Bunel from France worked hard to thwart the United States by turning over NATO bombing plans to the Serbs. The parade of jokes about France's military prowess is long and humorous, but spying and working against US interests isn't a joke. Whether France opts to join us in Iraq or not, I wouldn't trust them with operational details or any intelligence about our plans. In fact, at this point I think a polite "no thanks" is the proper response to future French requests to participate in either the military action or the civilian rebuilding of Iraq. That's one Chirac's nose I don't want to let into the tent. posted by Dave on 12:28 AM | 0 comments link -------------------- Friday, February 14, 2003
Congressman Urges Republican Lobbyist (washingtonpost.com) In the land of the free and the House of us all, strong arming and ethical misconduct seem to be the order of the day. Rep. Oxley, famed for trying to gut corporate oversight and allow huge rip offs of the public, appears to be displeased with the presence of a Democratic lobbyist for a consortium of mutual fund companies. He has indicated he'll go easy on them if they just hire more Republicans. It's a slimy, despicable, unethical tactic from a man who doesn't belong in the people's house. His constituents in Ohio deserve better. Update: On the other hand, Rep. Joel Hefley (Republican of Colorado) is the honorable and honest mirror image of Stinker Oxley. This report indicates a great resolve to fight entrenched interests on behalf of all of us. I urge you to write him to indicate your support. posted by Dave on 11:37 PM | 0 comments link -------------------- Tuesday, February 11, 2003
opinion.telegraph.co.uk - All for one Poor Bill Clinton. He must have been furious at what his counterpart in France was getting away with: "Laumond portrays his boss as an insatiable bedroom athlete who specialised in high-speed conquests of secretaries and party workers. On one occasion he allegedly tried to seduce the Syrian President's wife during a state visit. Chirac was particularly tormented, claims Laumond, by any mention of the sexual successes of his rival and presidential predecessor, Mitterrand. "On hearing that Mitterrand had seduced a particular woman, Chirac would rage: 'What! He's had her as well!' Then the boss would set off in pursuit of the same lady, to even the score as it were." posted by Dave on 12:57 AM | 0 comments link -------------------- Monday, February 10, 2003
Our Children Will Pay the Bill for Bush's Budget Here are President Bush's own words from the State of the Union, ""We will not pass along our problems to ... other generations." As this piece clearly shows, that promise by President Bush is another throw away line intented to placate the American working class. If you love your children, you owe it to them to fight the Bush budget. posted by Dave on 1:33 AM | 0 comments link -------------------- Saturday, February 08, 2003
Caption Not Required
posted by Dave on 1:21 AM | 0 comments link
Patriots Oppose Patriot II @ OliverWillis.Com It's been a while since I linked to Oliver. This post on Ashcroft and the latest nonsense about the Patriot Act II is worth reading. posted by Dave on 12:52 AM | 0 comments link
British Intelligence Plagiarizes a Magazine Article? If you wondered how intelligence agencies from the CIA to the FBI and MI6 earn their keep, this story will make you wail and moan. Earth shaking dossiers are nothing more than cut and paste from old work by a young academic. Mistakes and all. posted by Dave on 12:42 AM | 0 comments link
DeLay Denies Role in Letter Riling Unions For those of you who miss having Newt Gingrich to kick around, Tom Delay is offering a perfectly suitable stand in. He doesn't have Newt's brains, of course, but he's just as capable of making major league mistakes like the one reported on here. Naturally, he's lying to cover his ass, but did you really expect anything else from this partisan exterminator? posted by Dave on 12:17 AM | 0 comments link -------------------- Thursday, February 06, 2003
Bush Budget Uses Fuzzy Math, Democrats Say (washingtonpost.com) Dana Milbank adds his now firm voice to the chorus of observers who notice that the president's rhetoric is not matched by his funding. From AIDS to fuel cells, the president promises large and delivers small. posted by Dave on 11:31 PM | 0 comments link
Is the Maestro a Hack? Krugman finally speaks out on the Bush budget and Alan Greenspan. Not what Karl Rove or Alan Greenspan would like to read. posted by Dave on 11:20 PM | 0 comments link -------------------- Wednesday, February 05, 2003
Small States, Big Hearts The breakup of the Soviet Union freed many small nations who had suffered nearly a century of Soviet domination. These new democracies are emerging as a fresh voice in Europe, one unsullied by centuries of musty debate and stale positioning. They have spoken out strongly in favor of a unified approach to Iraq's failure to comply with UN Resolution 1441. I urge the French to check their balls to see if they are as robust as those of these smaller, braver nations. posted by Dave on 11:18 PM | 0 comments link -------------------- Tuesday, February 04, 2003
I Really Cannot Understand Why Anyone Would Do This: Archive Entry From Brad DeLong's Webjournal Brad DeLong doesn't have as many enemies (yet) as Paul Krugman, but this piece won't win him any friends in the Bush Administration. I highly recommend anyone younger than a boomer to read this gloomy prognostication about future deficits. Now is the time to nip this insane policy in the bud. Too many good people spent too many years wrestling our budget into shape to let Bush casually throw it away. posted by Dave on 11:43 PM | 0 comments link
Attorneys Seek to Uphold Plea Deal Ashcroft isn't content to let his staff do their jobs. His Old Testament fervor and Lex Talionus viciousness is a little overblown for a Department of Justice. Maybe we should change the name to Department of Sin, Damnation, and Retribution or the Religious Police. Oh, the Saudis already took that name? Sorry... posted by Dave on 8:57 AM | 0 comments link -------------------- Saturday, February 01, 2003
No truth dividends in tax debate A lovely primer on the abuse of the truth by the Bush administration and its satellite mouths once known as the independent press. posted by Dave on 12:31 PM | 0 comments link
RIP for the astronauts. There's plenty of good coverage elsewhere. posted by Dave on 11:15 AM | 0 comments link -------------------- |
