Thursday, June 30, 2005
No Price too High?
Now, we're all familiar with "overspending" and graft at the TSA, but this is a bit excessive. The Washington Post details
Now, we're all familiar with "overspending" and graft at the TSA, but this is a bit excessive. The Washington Post details
a federal audit that calls into question $303 million of the $741 million spent to assess and hire airport passenger screeners for the newly created Transportation Security Administration after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.I'm not so good at math, but that's something like 40% of the total spent on things like,
· $526.95 for one phone call from the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago to Iowa City.The audit found "a consistent theme of a failure to follow federal contracting rules for documenting and justifying charges and cost increases." All of this happened while Bush & Co. gutted worker's rights claiming that allowing TSA and other employees of the Homeland Security to be union members would raise costs and make it difficult to ensure quality and thus safety.
· $1,180 for 20 gallons of Starbucks Coffee -- $3.69 a cup -- at the Santa Clara Marriott in California.
· $1,540 to rent 14 extension cords at $5 each per day for three weeks at the Wyndham Peaks Resort and Golden Door Spa in Telluride, Colo.
· $8,100 for elevator operators at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan.
· $5.4 million claimed for nine months' salary for the chief executive of an "event logistics" firm that received a contract before it was incorporated and went out of business after the contract ended.
Other eye raising expenses include:
$20-an-hour temporary workers billed to the government at $48 per hour, subcontractors who signed out $5,000 in cash at a time with no supporting documents, $377,273.75 in unsubstantiated long-distance phone calls, $514,201 to rent tents that flooded in a rainstorm, $4.4 million in "no show" fees for job candidates who did not appear for tests.Ahh...the efficiency of privatization. Now you might be thinking that, "well they had to have the interviews and testing someplace right?" And you might be thinking that hotels are notorious for over charging for mundane things, right? And you be right, except the company, NCS Pearson Inc., has some 925 "private assessment centers" scattered across the country. Sure there may have been some scheduling conflicts, but some how or another the decision was made to move all of the TSA-related interviewing and testing to hotels. In Pearson's bid for the contract they said they would use their "private assessment centers" but someone at the TSA must have realized that doing so wouldn't provide much opportunity for graft and decided hotels would be better. And I say "apparently" because there is no paper trail about the decision and the TSA official Pearson says ordered the change now works for a private company that does business with the TSA.
Pearson tries to wrap itself in the flag and says that all of the costs were necessary because of the need to protect the American public. Just remember that the costs we paid, including phone calls "'made in the late hours of the evening to residential numbers after normal work hours (past 10:00 p.m.),'" (I guess Pearson doesn't issue cell phones to its employees) were the result of federalizing the hiring of airport security. That's right Bush & Co. "federalized" the program and the proceeded to sub-contract the work right back to the private sector that had done such a good job of protecting the American public in the first place. I mean what good is a war if you can't profit from it?
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
More Carnage
Bloomberg.com: reports, "A senior Iraqi Shiite Muslim lawmaker, Dari al-Fayadh, and his son died in a suicide car bombing in Baghdad." Al-Fayadh served as the acting speaker of the Iraqi parliament during its first session in March. He was a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the same part as Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. So a year after the turn over of "power" the carnage continues with no end in sight. We were told once the CPA turned power over to Iraqi things would get better, we were told once there had been elections things would get better, we were told so many things that have turned out to be lies.... A year after we turned things over it's hard to see any meaningful progress in Iraq. I know it's hard work and all but one would expect that things would be at least a bit better. Bush & Co. keep telling us that all we hear is the bad news, but then they never offer up any hard evidence of anything really good happening. Ok, some schools might be open, but the road to the Baghdad airport remains dangerous. Ok, they had elections, but bombs go off every day all over the country. There still appears to be massive corruption and "in Baghdad, the power is off for four hours, then on for only two."
Bloomberg.com: reports, "A senior Iraqi Shiite Muslim lawmaker, Dari al-Fayadh, and his son died in a suicide car bombing in Baghdad." Al-Fayadh served as the acting speaker of the Iraqi parliament during its first session in March. He was a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the same part as Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. So a year after the turn over of "power" the carnage continues with no end in sight. We were told once the CPA turned power over to Iraqi things would get better, we were told once there had been elections things would get better, we were told so many things that have turned out to be lies.... A year after we turned things over it's hard to see any meaningful progress in Iraq. I know it's hard work and all but one would expect that things would be at least a bit better. Bush & Co. keep telling us that all we hear is the bad news, but then they never offer up any hard evidence of anything really good happening. Ok, some schools might be open, but the road to the Baghdad airport remains dangerous. Ok, they had elections, but bombs go off every day all over the country. There still appears to be massive corruption and "in Baghdad, the power is off for four hours, then on for only two."
Meanwhile Bush will get on T.V. tonight, probably surrounded by flags and soldiers in uniform and maybe a tank or two in the background (shit, he might even have Saddam's golden gun on the table too) and tell the American people that victory is just around the corner if only we remain steadfast. No matter what Georgie says, remember it's been a year and what do we have to show for our efforts? He'll be sure to talk about "political" progress but ask yourself, how much of the country does the Iraqi government really control? How much of an impact are they having? No amount of liberal bashing will make the situation in Iraqi any better. We need a new policy and it appears the only way we're going to bet a new policy is through regime change in Washington, D.C. Bush has managed to ensure that any President who follows him will have a poison pill to swallow.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Lipstick on a Pig
Yep. We've turned the corner for sure. New York Times reports, "A U.S. military helicopter crashed in a field north of Baghdad Monday morning." The report continues, "Heavy gunfire was heard at the time of the crash, and white smoke billowed from the helicopter before it burst into flames and slammed into the ground, the AP reporter said. Gunfire was also heard after the crash."
Yep. We've turned the corner for sure. New York Times reports, "A U.S. military helicopter crashed in a field north of Baghdad Monday morning." The report continues, "Heavy gunfire was heard at the time of the crash, and white smoke billowed from the helicopter before it burst into flames and slammed into the ground, the AP reporter said. Gunfire was also heard after the crash."
This is in addition of another round of bombings. I wonder what Georgie will say on Tuesday to make all of this seem ok. What ever Georgie says, it'll be just putting lipstick on a pig. This is what happens when you make up reasons to invade a country. The complete lack of WMDs in Iraq and the knowledge that the U.S. made up reasons to invade can't be doing anything but help the insurgency. Add to this the complete incompency of the "Iraqi" government, our own reconstruction efforts, and the rampant corruption and you've got a perfect storm. The only thing I want to hear out of Bush on Tuesday is that he and his entire gang are resigning. Really. It's the only thing he can say to make things better. He and is gang have fucked up everything they've touched and it's time for them to go.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Iraqi, In for the Long Haul?
While yet more bombiings took place in Iraqi, Bush & Co. have decided to back away from the "victory is just around the coner" line. Now they're embracing the "it'll be a long time" before we leave, hoping that "leveling with the American public will help their pool numbers. USATODAY.com reports
While yet more bombiings took place in Iraqi, Bush & Co. have decided to back away from the "victory is just around the coner" line. Now they're embracing the "it'll be a long time" before we leave, hoping that "leveling with the American public will help their pool numbers. USATODAY.com reports
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Sunday he is bracing for even more violence in Iraq and acknowledged that the insurgency "could go on for any number of years.". 12 years. Yep that's right twelve years. Remember last week Sec. of State Rice said we'd be there for a generation. Now this is interesting since Bush & Co. told us during that accountability moment back in November that we were making good progress and that the Iraqis would be able to finish the job once they had an elected government. Now it appears that we'll be doing most of the job for the foreseeable future. Remember how the story was that we'd see an increase in attacks before the "handover" of power, then it was how we'd see an increase in attacks leading up to the first elections? Now Rummy and friends are saying this:
Defeating the insurgency may take as long as 12 years"
"I would anticipate you're going to see an escalation of violence between now and the December elections."Sounds like just another excuse for why our policy (if we can call it that) has failed in Iraq. Rummy on Sunday as much as admitted that we've failed, "Coalition forces, foreign forces are not going to repress that insurgency." True he went on to say something about us establishing an environment in which the Iraqis themselves can "crush" the insurgency, but that's nothing more than a slick way of passing the buck. According to this logic, if the insurgency continues it's not our fault but the fault of the Iraqis to fight back, a failure on the Iraqis' part to use the training and funds we've given them.
The Bush shell game continues. And remember, "a great many of the bad things that could have happened did not happen." I'm not sure what many of those things are but according to Rumsfeld those bad things include oil wells on fire. I sure am glad we had enough troops to make sure the oil wells stayed safe. Too bad the road from Baghdad airport didn't get the same attention.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Last Throes and all...
New York Times reports,
New York Times reports,
Four car bombs that exploded within about 10 minutes of each other in Baghdad early today killed at least 17 people and wounded 68 others, an Interior Ministry official said. They were the second wave of near-simultaneous bombings in the capital in about 12 hours, bringing the death toll in that period to 35.Nothing to see here folks, move along, nothing to see here. Baghdad is no more dangrous than Houston, so move along folks.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
"George Bush has a Dick Cheney problem."
So Thomas Friedman declares. Friedman then goes on to explain,
I'm having trouble buying into the idea that George Bush & Co. aren't so beholden to special interests that they'd pursue policies that actually made sense for the long term. I'm also tired of people making excuses for George Bush. In the early days of his first term the excuse was that he had gotten a late start because of all those Democratic court challenges. After 9/11 there was the line that the economy was in doldrums because of 9/11. Then it was the obstructionist Democrats who were to blame. And now it is a VP who doesn't plan on running for President. I can't wait to see the next excuse they run out for George Bush's incompetence.
So Thomas Friedman declares. Friedman then goes on to explain,
It is the fact that his vice president has made clear that he is not running for president after Mr. Bush's term expires in 2008. So Mr. Bush has no heir apparent. And that explains, in part, why his second term is drifting aimlessly, disconnected from the problems facing the country.Yeah, that's the problem. Never mind that it was Dick Cheney who pushed all those crazy policies in Bush's first term. Never mind that it was Cheney who pounded the table in order to get us into Iraq. Never mind that all of the trouble we're having in Iraq can be traced back to decisions made in Bush's first term. Never mind that the energy policy (or lack of one) Friedman criticizes is the very policy that Bush pushed in his first term and is the same policy Cheney put together in all those secret meetings.
I'm having trouble buying into the idea that George Bush & Co. aren't so beholden to special interests that they'd pursue policies that actually made sense for the long term. I'm also tired of people making excuses for George Bush. In the early days of his first term the excuse was that he had gotten a late start because of all those Democratic court challenges. After 9/11 there was the line that the economy was in doldrums because of 9/11. Then it was the obstructionist Democrats who were to blame. And now it is a VP who doesn't plan on running for President. I can't wait to see the next excuse they run out for George Bush's incompetence.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Ohh...that economy
There’s more good news on the economic front. BBC NEWS reports, "Ford has issued its second profit warning of the year and announced 1,700 job cuts among white-collar staff in North America." This on the heels of GM's massive lay off announcement. Yep, the economy is just spinning along. And it's just not the heavy industries that are suffering.
Grocery chain Winn-Dixie announced it is cutting 22,000 jobs via store, distribution center, and production center closings. That means a lot of good paying trucking and factory jobs are going to disappear in a lot of southern towns. While part of Winn-Dixie's woes can be blamed on Wal-Mart's expansion, it is telling that the pie isn't big enough to support Winn-Dixie and Wal-Mart. As incomes shrink or remain stagnate consumers are looking for cheaper and cheaper prices. Unfortunately, the cheap prices available at Wal-Mart are the result of low wages so the spiral just gets deeper.
And, "The ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index fell to -10 in the week ending June 19 from -9 the previous week." That means the claims from the Bush Admin. that things are looking up aren't all that true--at least that's what people are thinking. According to the ABC News/Washington Post poll, "The number of consumers who had positive views of the national economy fell to 38 percent from 39 percent." .
It's just not consumers who are feeling glum about the economy. The New York-based Conference Board said its index of leading indicators fell to 114.1 in May. The Conference Board reported that only one of the ten indicators included in the index showed an increase in May. That one was stock prices. Since January the index of leading indicators has been falling. Think about that, for the first five months of the year, the leading indicators have been falling yet George Bush and his merry band keep telling us that things are just fine and dandy. Unfortunately the numbers don't support such a view.
There’s more good news on the economic front. BBC NEWS reports, "Ford has issued its second profit warning of the year and announced 1,700 job cuts among white-collar staff in North America." This on the heels of GM's massive lay off announcement. Yep, the economy is just spinning along. And it's just not the heavy industries that are suffering.
Grocery chain Winn-Dixie announced it is cutting 22,000 jobs via store, distribution center, and production center closings. That means a lot of good paying trucking and factory jobs are going to disappear in a lot of southern towns. While part of Winn-Dixie's woes can be blamed on Wal-Mart's expansion, it is telling that the pie isn't big enough to support Winn-Dixie and Wal-Mart. As incomes shrink or remain stagnate consumers are looking for cheaper and cheaper prices. Unfortunately, the cheap prices available at Wal-Mart are the result of low wages so the spiral just gets deeper.
And, "The ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index fell to -10 in the week ending June 19 from -9 the previous week." That means the claims from the Bush Admin. that things are looking up aren't all that true--at least that's what people are thinking. According to the ABC News/Washington Post poll, "The number of consumers who had positive views of the national economy fell to 38 percent from 39 percent." .
It's just not consumers who are feeling glum about the economy. The New York-based Conference Board said its index of leading indicators fell to 114.1 in May. The Conference Board reported that only one of the ten indicators included in the index showed an increase in May. That one was stock prices. Since January the index of leading indicators has been falling. Think about that, for the first five months of the year, the leading indicators have been falling yet George Bush and his merry band keep telling us that things are just fine and dandy. Unfortunately the numbers don't support such a view.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Our Time in Iraq
Via Think Progress. Condi Rice on FOX News Sunday claimed, "[T]he administration, I think, has said to the American people that it is a generational commitment to Iraq." Hmmm....I must have missed that.
Via Think Progress. Condi Rice on FOX News Sunday claimed, "[T]he administration, I think, has said to the American people that it is a generational commitment to Iraq." Hmmm....I must have missed that.
Someone needs to tell Condi Rice and the rest of the Bush Admin that Orwell's 1984 hasn't quite happened yet. They can't just change history with a snap of their fingers.
The folks over at Think Progress do some nice cherry picking and show from Cheney and Rummy on down the Bushies pitched the war in Iraq as a quick little adventure. We'd find the WMDs, turn things over to some pre-selected tough man, and get out. Now they're trying to tell us what they really meant is that we'd be in Iraq for a generation. Somehow this whole we're in it for a generation never got mentioned during the election. The George Bush Shell game continues. More people die.
Now just for history's sake lets go back and take a look at what the administration said about Iraq over the past few YEARS (that's right it's been years). this is Rumsfeld back in Sept. 2003 during to one of his visits to Baghdad,
It's truly amazing the amount of progress that's been achieved in whatever its been - four or five months, depending on whether you start before the war or after the war. If one looks at any other timeline - the timeline in Germany, the timeline in Japan, the timeline in any number of other countries. The progress here has been notably better, faster, and at least to my eyes really impressive. [. . .] It's going to be so much better down the road -- another three or four months [. . .] it seems to be the trajectory we're on is a good one.Amazingly this guy still has his job. Now, I don't know about you but I don't get the sense that Rumsfeld in Sept. 2003 thinks we're going to be in Iraq for a generation. He seems to be dancing pretty quickly to give the impression that it will just be a matter of months before U.S. troops can start to leave. Rumsfeld put the happy face on the ability of Iraqi forces to get the job done,
We talked about the growth in the Iraqi capability going from zero three or four months ago up to somewhere around 55,000 today, if you add up police, former Guard, militia, army, facilities protection -- now amazing that increment to go from zero to 55,000 Iraqis with weapons providing, assisting and providing security in this country.Rumsfeld was quite empahatic in reminding the press that "People in the United States don't want to stay here forever." Here of course being Iraq. Now, "forever" and "generational" aren't the same thing, but I bet if you ask most people they're pretty close.
And it just wan't Rumsfeld. Paul Bremer in an interview with Tim Russert way back in July of 2003 said "I think over the next 60 to 90 days we'll take some very important steps, as this report suggests, to try to turn the problem around on the security side, and get the economy moving, and to start showing progress on the political front." Of course that 60 to 90 days came and went and people are still dying, the Iraqi economy is sitll a fantasy, and politically things are as uncertain as the day we walked into Baghdad. When Bush & Co. weren't pushing a quick time table they were refusing to answer questions about how long it would take for us to hand things over to the Iraqis and for U.S. troops to come home. This is Rumsfeld on March 30, 2003 being interviewed by ABC's George Stephanopoulos,
MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you think we'll still be fighting in Iraq six months from now?It's telling that Rumsfeld didn't add "years to that list. Clearly he wasn't thinking we'd still be in Iraq two years later conducting what are for all intents and purposes major combat operations. And just to make sure everyone is clear this is Rumsfeld being interviewed by KING-TV, Seattle, Wash on Feb. 6, 2003
SEC. RUMSFELD: Oh, goodness, you know, I've never -- we've never had a timetable. We've always said it could be days, weeks, or months and we don't know. And I don't think you need a timetable.
In the event force has to be used to disarm Iraq, there is no question but that some much smaller number than would be involved in any conflict, a smaller number would be there along with other international forces to serve in a transition period to see that what succeeded Saddam Hussein was a regime, a government that did not have weapons of mass destruction, did not threaten its neighbors, was able to maintain a single country, and would be on a path towards providing the right kind of rights and freedoms to the various minority groups and ethnic groups in that country.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Well That's Progress...
Rumsfeld was on BBC's Newsnight. Not surprisingly Iraq was a subject. Rummy was "asked if the security situation had improved, he admitted: 'Statistically, no.'" Always looking on the bright side he went on to say "A lot of bad things that could have happened have not happened."
Rumsfeld was on BBC's Newsnight. Not surprisingly Iraq was a subject. Rummy was "asked if the security situation had improved, he admitted: 'Statistically, no.'" Always looking on the bright side he went on to say "A lot of bad things that could have happened have not happened."
Hundreds of billions of dollars and we've made no improvement in the security situation since the fall of Saddam? I sure am glad we had that accountability moment last fall.
Monday, June 13, 2005
More British Memos.
The Sunday Times (London) reprints part of memo from July 2002 , "The briefing paper, for participants at a meeting of Blair’s inner circle on July 23, 2002, said that since regime change was illegal it was 'necessary to create the conditions' which would make it legal." It's too bad that no one in the Bush Admin. will start leaking memos from the same time period. Maybe then the "liberal" press in the U.S. would sit up and take notice. Maybe then the U.S. Congress will demand some answers. Maybe then the streets will be full of people demanding answers. Maybe then George Bush, Dick Cheney, et al. will have to answer for their actions. Maybe then George Bush 7 Co. will end up in jail for their "high crimes." George Bush promised to bring character back to the White House. Someone needs to tell him that lying to the U.S. Congress, lying to the American people, and most of all making up reasons to go to war aren't the kinds of actions people of character take. George Bush owes us an apology. He and his entire administration need to offer their resignations. The Iraq war was a war of political expediency not a war of necessity. It has now become our albatross. It hangs on all of our necks. The only way to remove it is to hold George Bush, Tony Blair, and their advisors responsible and to repudiate what they've done in our names. The illegal wars, the illegal detainments, the torture, all of it.
If it takes someone to "leak" some memos and thus break the law then that's what it takes. Laws designed to protect liars, cheats, and war criminals aren't just laws. Laws designed to hide the malfeasance of those in power aren't just laws. It's clear that someone or a group of someones in Britain have come to this conclusion. It's time for someone or a group of someones in the U.S. to come to the very same conclusion. It would be better for Congress and the Courts to demand the memos, but given the current political climate in the Congress (and the very fact that it appears that Bush & Co. lied to Congress) it appears that leaked memos is the only viable route to bringing to light the lies and crimes of George Bush & Co. It's time to say enough is enough.
The Sunday Times (London) reprints part of memo from July 2002 , "The briefing paper, for participants at a meeting of Blair’s inner circle on July 23, 2002, said that since regime change was illegal it was 'necessary to create the conditions' which would make it legal." It's too bad that no one in the Bush Admin. will start leaking memos from the same time period. Maybe then the "liberal" press in the U.S. would sit up and take notice. Maybe then the U.S. Congress will demand some answers. Maybe then the streets will be full of people demanding answers. Maybe then George Bush, Dick Cheney, et al. will have to answer for their actions. Maybe then George Bush 7 Co. will end up in jail for their "high crimes." George Bush promised to bring character back to the White House. Someone needs to tell him that lying to the U.S. Congress, lying to the American people, and most of all making up reasons to go to war aren't the kinds of actions people of character take. George Bush owes us an apology. He and his entire administration need to offer their resignations. The Iraq war was a war of political expediency not a war of necessity. It has now become our albatross. It hangs on all of our necks. The only way to remove it is to hold George Bush, Tony Blair, and their advisors responsible and to repudiate what they've done in our names. The illegal wars, the illegal detainments, the torture, all of it.
If it takes someone to "leak" some memos and thus break the law then that's what it takes. Laws designed to protect liars, cheats, and war criminals aren't just laws. Laws designed to hide the malfeasance of those in power aren't just laws. It's clear that someone or a group of someones in Britain have come to this conclusion. It's time for someone or a group of someones in the U.S. to come to the very same conclusion. It would be better for Congress and the Courts to demand the memos, but given the current political climate in the Congress (and the very fact that it appears that Bush & Co. lied to Congress) it appears that leaked memos is the only viable route to bringing to light the lies and crimes of George Bush & Co. It's time to say enough is enough.
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Sunday, June 12, 2005
Our Friends in the Fight for.....
Bush has often said that the fight against terror is really the fight for democracy and freedom. Today the BBC reports this little bit from Pakistan; Mukhtar Mai "a victim of a notorious gang rape is on a special list of people who are not allowed to travel abroad." We can be proud that one of our key allies in this fight to bring democracy and freedom is preventing a rape victim from leaving the country that has done little to bring to justice the men who raped her. Recently, "a court ordered that 12 men imprisoned in connection with the case must be released by Monday." The courts in Pakistan have repeatedly voided rulings that hold the men (or even some of the men) responsible for a revenge rape. And now "[i]mmigration officers in Karachi say they have received instructions to stop her if she tries to travel abroad."
Someone remind me what it is we're fighting for? I mean this morning I had to hear Brit Hume argue that the rule of law doesn't apply in the War on Terror just because it's different. Just because he says so. When called out to explain why, Brit had no response. Just like Bush and Cheney have no answer as to why we should violate the very principles our country was built upon. It's become increasingly clear that the War on Terror is debasing every noble idea that America was supposed to represent. Freedom, respect for individuals, presumption of innocence, democracy, freedom of expression, etc. Take your pick and the War on Terror is killing them. We're supporting regimes that kill protestors, we support governments that prevent rape victims from traveling abroad, we support governments that engage in torture, we run secret camps where people disappear, we suppress the freedom of expression at home and abroad, etc. The list just goes on and on. These kinds of activities are what give strength to our "enemies." Every time we torture, disappear a suspect, give support to a government that tortures or suppresses the freedom of speech, or runs fixed elections we make it harder to "win." We need to stop fighting the symptoms of terrorism. We need to start fighting the root causes: the lack of fair economic opportunity, the lack of freedom of expression, the repression of ethnic, political, and religious minorities, the use of torture against critics of the powerful, fraud and corruption, and the concentration of economic and political power in the hands of a few. These are things that make the message of terrorists appealing. George Bush likes to say these are things he and his administration are working towards. Yet the actions he pursues makes it clear that he couldn't care less about political or economic freedom and equality.
Bush has often said that the fight against terror is really the fight for democracy and freedom. Today the BBC reports this little bit from Pakistan; Mukhtar Mai "a victim of a notorious gang rape is on a special list of people who are not allowed to travel abroad." We can be proud that one of our key allies in this fight to bring democracy and freedom is preventing a rape victim from leaving the country that has done little to bring to justice the men who raped her. Recently, "a court ordered that 12 men imprisoned in connection with the case must be released by Monday." The courts in Pakistan have repeatedly voided rulings that hold the men (or even some of the men) responsible for a revenge rape. And now "[i]mmigration officers in Karachi say they have received instructions to stop her if she tries to travel abroad."
Someone remind me what it is we're fighting for? I mean this morning I had to hear Brit Hume argue that the rule of law doesn't apply in the War on Terror just because it's different. Just because he says so. When called out to explain why, Brit had no response. Just like Bush and Cheney have no answer as to why we should violate the very principles our country was built upon. It's become increasingly clear that the War on Terror is debasing every noble idea that America was supposed to represent. Freedom, respect for individuals, presumption of innocence, democracy, freedom of expression, etc. Take your pick and the War on Terror is killing them. We're supporting regimes that kill protestors, we support governments that prevent rape victims from traveling abroad, we support governments that engage in torture, we run secret camps where people disappear, we suppress the freedom of expression at home and abroad, etc. The list just goes on and on. These kinds of activities are what give strength to our "enemies." Every time we torture, disappear a suspect, give support to a government that tortures or suppresses the freedom of speech, or runs fixed elections we make it harder to "win." We need to stop fighting the symptoms of terrorism. We need to start fighting the root causes: the lack of fair economic opportunity, the lack of freedom of expression, the repression of ethnic, political, and religious minorities, the use of torture against critics of the powerful, fraud and corruption, and the concentration of economic and political power in the hands of a few. These are things that make the message of terrorists appealing. George Bush likes to say these are things he and his administration are working towards. Yet the actions he pursues makes it clear that he couldn't care less about political or economic freedom and equality.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Iraqi Govt to Cut Public Sector....
It appears that the Jafari government in Iraqi is facing pressure from the IMF and the neo-cons to cut the public sector by slashing jobs and generally cutting back on public spending. The LA Times LA Times quotes spokesperson Laith Kubba, "government ministries can carry out their duties with only about 40 to 60% of [their] employees." Hmmm...yeah.... Never mind that the Iraqi government is the largest employer in the country. Never mind that throwing all those folks out of work will just add to the already high (above 30%) unemployment rate.
And it's just not jobs that the IMF wants the Iraqi government to cut. I vaguely remember Bush & Co. promising us that Iraqi, once we got rid of Sadam, would be able to pay its own way. Guess that was just another lie cooked up and focus-group tested for our consumption.
Now....go back to your T.V.--I think the Cubs are playing the Red Sox for the first time since 1918 and there should be a nice NASCAR race on this weekend or maybe that nice little hurricane will provide a nice little distraction. Whatever it is, don't worry too much about Iraq because the "experts" have all under control. And no matter what, don't worry about that housing bubble.
It appears that the Jafari government in Iraqi is facing pressure from the IMF and the neo-cons to cut the public sector by slashing jobs and generally cutting back on public spending. The LA Times LA Times quotes spokesperson Laith Kubba, "government ministries can carry out their duties with only about 40 to 60% of [their] employees." Hmmm...yeah.... Never mind that the Iraqi government is the largest employer in the country. Never mind that throwing all those folks out of work will just add to the already high (above 30%) unemployment rate.
And it's just not jobs that the IMF wants the Iraqi government to cut. I vaguely remember Bush & Co. promising us that Iraqi, once we got rid of Sadam, would be able to pay its own way. Guess that was just another lie cooked up and focus-group tested for our consumption.
"Kubba, who last week had discussed slashing popular subsidies for electricity and oil products, said that shrinking the government and allowing the private sector to expand would solve many of Iraq's financial troubles.Hmmm...sounds suspiciously like George Bush's solutions to our own economic problems. I can't wait for the Iraqi government to come out and proclaim high taxes the cause of all the violence. Though they are getting close to that as Kubba said, "Currently, Iraq is a huge welfare state." Yeah, well when car bombs, rifle fire, and mortar rounds landing here and there are a part of everyday life it's kind of hard to have a thriving market-based economy. Cutting public spending will do noting but send Iraq into a deeper tailspin of violence and despair. This isn't the time for neo-con fantasies. It's a time to use what little power the Iraqi government has to stabilize the situation. If that means keeping people on the government payroll then so be. If even 5% of those thrown out of a government job in order to please the IMF and some neo-con think tank in Washington decide to join the insurgents, then that is 5% too much. This idea that all government spending is inherently bad is just hogwash. We need to look at the benefits derived from government spending and look at the negative iimplications of cutting government spending. In Iraq's case, the argument that a bloated government is squeezing out private investment is almost criminal. It's hubris at it's worst to think that some economic scheme dreamed up in the backrooms of Washington think tanks by people who have no real knowledge of the situation and with no input from the people who live and deal with the situation everyday can be applied to situation a thousand miles away. It's the worst kind of Orientalism.
He said the nation was obligated to reduce public spending under a debt-reduction scheme sponsored by the International Monetary Fund."
Now....go back to your T.V.--I think the Cubs are playing the Red Sox for the first time since 1918 and there should be a nice NASCAR race on this weekend or maybe that nice little hurricane will provide a nice little distraction. Whatever it is, don't worry too much about Iraq because the "experts" have all under control. And no matter what, don't worry about that housing bubble.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Deep Throat and Honor
Really, are there people out there taking pot shots at Deep Throat (W. Mark Felt)? The man who helped to bring down Nixon and his gang? The man's a hero and Nixon's gang (and no doubt Georgie's gang who fear that there is new Deep Throat among them) are spending time calling the man a thief, calling into question his honor, etc.
Pat Buchanan's reaction is particularly stomach turning,
Really, are there people out there taking pot shots at Deep Throat (W. Mark Felt)? The man who helped to bring down Nixon and his gang? The man's a hero and Nixon's gang (and no doubt Georgie's gang who fear that there is new Deep Throat among them) are spending time calling the man a thief, calling into question his honor, etc.
Pat Buchanan's reaction is particularly stomach turning,
I think Mark Felt behaved treacherously. I'm unable to see the nobility of the enterprise, sneaking around in garages, moving pots around, handing over material he got in the course of the investigation.The only people who deserve to have their honor called into question are those that knew what Nixon was up to and didn't say anything. Those that knew of Nixon's crimes and his betrayal of the public trust and didn't say anything. People like Pat Buchanan are self-serving slime who are as much to blame for Nixon's crimes as Nixon himself. People like Buchanan need to remember that their duty lies to serving the public not a particular president or party. This can be especially hard when you serve at the pleasure of the president, which is why we have three branches of government. All those honorable people serving in the Bush White House, remember your duty is to the public not George Bush or Karl Rove. Start opening those files, start talking to the public by any means available. George Bushes "place" in history is less important than letting the public know what's being done in its name. To have "moral reservations" about what Felt did is the greatest shame of our generation. People who express such opinions have to realize that going to the President, the one conducting the crime, the one lying to the American public, the one master minding the deception isn't an option. When the President and his closest advisors have shown themselves to be without honor, without shame the public have a right to know. When the President and his advisors are using the power of the FBI, the CIA, and other thugs to silence critics, the public has a right to know. There is no shame in being a whistle blower. There is only shame aiding and abetting the commission of crimes, the miss use of power, and whole scale corruption. The President, the Vice President, and their advisors are not above the law. They serve at our pleasure no matter how big of a "mandate" they have.
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