June 19, 2007
IMPEACH BUSH
IMPEACH CHENEY
IT'S OUR GOVERNMENT, NOT BUSH'S
People born to wealth often seem to have a sense of entitlement, but George W. Bush has taken the sense of entitlement to a whole new level. He's been a spoiled punk his whole life, presiding over failed businesses, but never taking responsibility. But with a few cronies in the right places and through a total lack of ethics he attained the White House. It has been a disaster for the country and for the world, especially for Iraq. Bush even likes to proclaim the United States government "my government." This article by Michael Winship is at www.commondreams.org:
You’d think that with such a shambles in his wake and his popularity at an all-time low, George Bush would at least partially have relinquished his pride of ownership. Not so.
Here he is the other day, responding to the aborted attempt in the Senate to legislatively declare “no confidence” in Attorney General “Fredo” Gonzales:
“They can try to have their votes of no confidence,” the president said, “but it’s not going to determine — make the determination — who serves in my government.”
MY government? Now that’s entitlement. And you thought George Bush didn’t have a vision for America. Unfortunately, it’s one big MySpace page, from sea to shining sea. Or, rather, shining me.
Luckily, as this lame duck presidency wobbly waddles toward the sunset, cooler heads are prevailing in both the public and private sectors. Read, for example, last week’s majority decision in the case of Al Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a Qatari national held in military custody. Written by US Circuit Court Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, it states that simply designating someone an “enemy combatant” does not allow the White House to imprison them indefinitely without charges.
NINE MILLION KIDS WITH NO HEALTH INSURANCE
Any time you talk about a national health care system conservatives bound up and down and screech about "socialized medicine." We have the best health system in the world, they'll pontificate. It's the best system in the world for the people who can afford it. Millions of Americans, including nine million children, do not have health insurance. It's another disgraceful failure by the federal government to address the needs of its citizens. This article by Bob Herbert is linked at www.truthout.org:
You won't see these stories on television, but Marian Wright Edelman and Dr. Irwin Redlener could talk to you all day and all night about children whose lives have been lost or ruined because they didn't have health insurance.
This is not a situation one associates with a so-called advanced country. That you can have sick children wasting away in the United States, the wealthiest nation on the planet, because medical treatment that could relieve their suffering is withheld by men and women with dollar signs instead of compassion in their eyes is beyond unconscionable.
Ms. Edelman is the president of the Children's Defense Fund, and Dr. Redlener is president of the Children's Health Fund.
Both are appalled at the embarrassing fact that nine million American children have no health coverage at all. Among them are children with diabetes, chronic asthma, heart conditions, life-threatening allergies and so on. In many instances they are left untreated until it is too late.
Leaving children uninsured is a form of Russian roulette, Dr. Redlener said.
"All children should be covered," said Ms. Edelman.
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Sunday, May 13, 2007
May 13, 2007
IMPEACH BUSH
IMPEACH CHENEY
MORE OF THE SAME
In the recent Republican debate, the candidates assiduously avoided mentioning George W. Bush. They talked about Ronald Reagan instead. I think Reagan was a terrible president, but his name is magic in right wing circles. But, while they didn't mention George W. Bush, they also didn't indicate any real change in direction. They would keep us in the quagmire in Iraq. They would do nothing about national health care or protecting the middle class. They would do nothing for the working class. Their solution to illegal immigration is a wall on the border with Mexico. We can't count on them to address global warming. And what would they do about the massive corruption in the Bush administration? Since they have the same ideology, we could probably count on more crony capitalism and scandals. This column by Frank Rich is at www.welcome-to-pottersville.com:
The candidates mentioned Reagan’s name 19 times, the current White House occupant’s once. Much as the Republicans hope that the Gipper can still be a panacea for all their political ills, so they want to believe that if only President Bush would just go away and take his rock-bottom approval rating and equally unpopular war with him, all of their problems would be solved. But it could be argued that the Iraq fiasco, disastrous to American interests as it is, actually masks the magnitude of the destruction this presidency has visited both on the country in general and the G.O.P. in particular.
By my rough, conservative calculation — feel free to add — there have been corruption, incompetence, and contracting or cronyism scandals in these cabinet departments: Defense, Education, Justice, Interior, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development. I am not counting State, whose deputy secretary, a champion of abstinence-based international AIDS funding, resigned last month in a prostitution scandal, or the General Services Administration, now being investigated for possibly steering federal favors to Republican Congressional candidates in 2006. Or the Office of Management and Budget, whose chief procurement officer was sentenced to prison in the Abramoff fallout. I will, however, toss in a figure that reveals the sheer depth of the overall malfeasance: no fewer than four inspectors general, the official watchdogs charged with investigating improprieties in each department, are themselves under investigation simultaneously — an all-time record.
WE NEED GOVERNMENT SERVICES
If you work in an office, you've probably had some parent selling something for their kids for some school project. It's something like candy bars or, recently, magnetic license plates. It's getting almost ludicrous how underfunded schools and other parts of government are these days thanks to the anti-tax mania that swept the country a couple of decades ago. Our basic infrastructure, things like bridges, highways, sewer and water systems, are in bad shape because there isn't enough money to fix or rebuild them. The private sector can do some things better than government, but the government can do many things better than the private sector. This article by Ezra Klein is at www.latimes.com:
How has this come to pass? As the old adage goes, when the gods want to punish you, they give you what you want. Conservatives talk a lot about government failure, but over the last few years, it's really we who have failed government, depriving it of the revenue, the conscientious management and the attention needed for it to succeed. Undercapitalize a pizza joint and your customers will taste the poor ingredients, become frustrated by the long waits and grow repulsed by the grimy environs. Staff it with your unmotivated drinking buddies and the service will falter, as will the quality of the product. It's no way to run a pizza place, and it's certainly no way to run a government.
But that's exactly what we've done. With Proposition 13 and the famous California tax revolt, and with presidents whose entire domestic programs amounted to mindless tax-cutting, and with Congresses that have been happy to pass cuts and stack deficits, we have systematically deprived the government of the revenues it needs to provide basic services, even as we've come to need it to do so much more.
The Bush administration has only added to the problem. The president once said: "I was campaigning in Chicago, and somebody asked me, 'Is there ever any time where the budget might have to go into deficit?' I said only if we were at war or had a national emergency or were in recession. Little did I realize we'd get the trifecta." He's right. Not only have we spent more than $500 billion in Iraq and Afghanistan and untold more on homeland security measures, but we've created, in Medicare Part D, the most expensive new entitlement since President Johnson signed the Great Society into existence. We've also increased education spending through the No Child Left Behind Act.
IMPEACH BUSH
IMPEACH CHENEY
MORE OF THE SAME
In the recent Republican debate, the candidates assiduously avoided mentioning George W. Bush. They talked about Ronald Reagan instead. I think Reagan was a terrible president, but his name is magic in right wing circles. But, while they didn't mention George W. Bush, they also didn't indicate any real change in direction. They would keep us in the quagmire in Iraq. They would do nothing about national health care or protecting the middle class. They would do nothing for the working class. Their solution to illegal immigration is a wall on the border with Mexico. We can't count on them to address global warming. And what would they do about the massive corruption in the Bush administration? Since they have the same ideology, we could probably count on more crony capitalism and scandals. This column by Frank Rich is at www.welcome-to-pottersville.com:
The candidates mentioned Reagan’s name 19 times, the current White House occupant’s once. Much as the Republicans hope that the Gipper can still be a panacea for all their political ills, so they want to believe that if only President Bush would just go away and take his rock-bottom approval rating and equally unpopular war with him, all of their problems would be solved. But it could be argued that the Iraq fiasco, disastrous to American interests as it is, actually masks the magnitude of the destruction this presidency has visited both on the country in general and the G.O.P. in particular.
By my rough, conservative calculation — feel free to add — there have been corruption, incompetence, and contracting or cronyism scandals in these cabinet departments: Defense, Education, Justice, Interior, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development. I am not counting State, whose deputy secretary, a champion of abstinence-based international AIDS funding, resigned last month in a prostitution scandal, or the General Services Administration, now being investigated for possibly steering federal favors to Republican Congressional candidates in 2006. Or the Office of Management and Budget, whose chief procurement officer was sentenced to prison in the Abramoff fallout. I will, however, toss in a figure that reveals the sheer depth of the overall malfeasance: no fewer than four inspectors general, the official watchdogs charged with investigating improprieties in each department, are themselves under investigation simultaneously — an all-time record.
WE NEED GOVERNMENT SERVICES
If you work in an office, you've probably had some parent selling something for their kids for some school project. It's something like candy bars or, recently, magnetic license plates. It's getting almost ludicrous how underfunded schools and other parts of government are these days thanks to the anti-tax mania that swept the country a couple of decades ago. Our basic infrastructure, things like bridges, highways, sewer and water systems, are in bad shape because there isn't enough money to fix or rebuild them. The private sector can do some things better than government, but the government can do many things better than the private sector. This article by Ezra Klein is at www.latimes.com:
How has this come to pass? As the old adage goes, when the gods want to punish you, they give you what you want. Conservatives talk a lot about government failure, but over the last few years, it's really we who have failed government, depriving it of the revenue, the conscientious management and the attention needed for it to succeed. Undercapitalize a pizza joint and your customers will taste the poor ingredients, become frustrated by the long waits and grow repulsed by the grimy environs. Staff it with your unmotivated drinking buddies and the service will falter, as will the quality of the product. It's no way to run a pizza place, and it's certainly no way to run a government.
But that's exactly what we've done. With Proposition 13 and the famous California tax revolt, and with presidents whose entire domestic programs amounted to mindless tax-cutting, and with Congresses that have been happy to pass cuts and stack deficits, we have systematically deprived the government of the revenues it needs to provide basic services, even as we've come to need it to do so much more.
The Bush administration has only added to the problem. The president once said: "I was campaigning in Chicago, and somebody asked me, 'Is there ever any time where the budget might have to go into deficit?' I said only if we were at war or had a national emergency or were in recession. Little did I realize we'd get the trifecta." He's right. Not only have we spent more than $500 billion in Iraq and Afghanistan and untold more on homeland security measures, but we've created, in Medicare Part D, the most expensive new entitlement since President Johnson signed the Great Society into existence. We've also increased education spending through the No Child Left Behind Act.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
March 03, 2007
IMPEACH BUSH
IMPEACH CHENEY
"SPINELESS DEMOCRATS"
There are occasional letters to The Fresno Bee that provoke mixed feelings. Today there is a letter from a Nader supporter. The writer said he voted for Nader twice. He charges the Democrats with being "spineless." We should point out that charge is not true for all Democrats. John Murtha stood up against the Iraq war when it wasn't politically popular. People like Russ Feingold have stood up against the Republican machine.
I have been disappointed in the past failures to contest the Bush administration. Democrats didn't stand up against some of Bush's despicable nominees such as John Ashcroft for Attorney General. They didn't stop rotten Supreme Court nominees John Roberts and Samuel Alito. They've gone along with heinous legislation such as the bankruptcy bill that was a gift to credit card companies.
And yet you have to acknowledge some realities about the American political system too. The media are a major part of American politics now. The media are now owned lock, stock, and barrel by people who essentially support reactionary policies. They cheerlead war, they support globalization, they resist doing anything about climate change, they get on board with low wages and job outsourcing, and they contribute to unmercifully smearing opponents.
Our system of government was designed in 1789 when the Constitution was ratified. For the most part, it has been a very good system. Checks and balances is a wonderful concept. But the Founders couldn't foresee nuclear weapons or the alliance of big religion, big corporations, and government. We have the dilemma of needing the president and military to act rapidly to deal with military threats, even though funding and authorization for war is supposed to come from the Congress. So that "check" of the executive branch has been eroded by the pace of modern times. It has allowed presidents like Bush to commit troops and put Congress into a bind of "supporting the troops" or leaving them in imminent danger. If you're under the shadow of a nuclear attack, you don't have time to examine all the nuances. For the system to work, the executive branch, the military, and the intelligence communities have to have integrity and competence.
The Democrats also faced the problem of being in the minority for most of this administration. You can't do much as a minority party. I believe Democrats who voted for this war did so based on lies told to them by the administration. But even if they had voted against the war, it would have gone on because the Republicans in power rubber stamped everything the administration wanted.
The past few years have revealed major weaknesses in our system of government. We need a better way to check executive power, while giving presidents enough leeway to respond to genuine emergencies. We need to get the power of corporations and big donors out of government. We need people in power who truly represent all of their constituents, not just the big donors.
We need to do what works for the majority of us, even if there are those who would call it "socialistic." There is a crying need, for example, for universal health care. We need to break away from dependence on fossil fuels. We need for Americans to be as educated as our economic competitors around the world. We need more of a sense of community, not just the individualistic looking out for number one ethos that has come to dominate our society.
IMPEACH BUSH
IMPEACH CHENEY
"SPINELESS DEMOCRATS"
There are occasional letters to The Fresno Bee that provoke mixed feelings. Today there is a letter from a Nader supporter. The writer said he voted for Nader twice. He charges the Democrats with being "spineless." We should point out that charge is not true for all Democrats. John Murtha stood up against the Iraq war when it wasn't politically popular. People like Russ Feingold have stood up against the Republican machine.
I have been disappointed in the past failures to contest the Bush administration. Democrats didn't stand up against some of Bush's despicable nominees such as John Ashcroft for Attorney General. They didn't stop rotten Supreme Court nominees John Roberts and Samuel Alito. They've gone along with heinous legislation such as the bankruptcy bill that was a gift to credit card companies.
And yet you have to acknowledge some realities about the American political system too. The media are a major part of American politics now. The media are now owned lock, stock, and barrel by people who essentially support reactionary policies. They cheerlead war, they support globalization, they resist doing anything about climate change, they get on board with low wages and job outsourcing, and they contribute to unmercifully smearing opponents.
Our system of government was designed in 1789 when the Constitution was ratified. For the most part, it has been a very good system. Checks and balances is a wonderful concept. But the Founders couldn't foresee nuclear weapons or the alliance of big religion, big corporations, and government. We have the dilemma of needing the president and military to act rapidly to deal with military threats, even though funding and authorization for war is supposed to come from the Congress. So that "check" of the executive branch has been eroded by the pace of modern times. It has allowed presidents like Bush to commit troops and put Congress into a bind of "supporting the troops" or leaving them in imminent danger. If you're under the shadow of a nuclear attack, you don't have time to examine all the nuances. For the system to work, the executive branch, the military, and the intelligence communities have to have integrity and competence.
The Democrats also faced the problem of being in the minority for most of this administration. You can't do much as a minority party. I believe Democrats who voted for this war did so based on lies told to them by the administration. But even if they had voted against the war, it would have gone on because the Republicans in power rubber stamped everything the administration wanted.
The past few years have revealed major weaknesses in our system of government. We need a better way to check executive power, while giving presidents enough leeway to respond to genuine emergencies. We need to get the power of corporations and big donors out of government. We need people in power who truly represent all of their constituents, not just the big donors.
We need to do what works for the majority of us, even if there are those who would call it "socialistic." There is a crying need, for example, for universal health care. We need to break away from dependence on fossil fuels. We need for Americans to be as educated as our economic competitors around the world. We need more of a sense of community, not just the individualistic looking out for number one ethos that has come to dominate our society.
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