Monday, April 12, 2004
Tet Offensive of 2004?
I would like to move beyond Kennedy's assertion that Iraq has become Bush's Viet Nam to posit that the current devolution into civil war by the native insurgents aided by Islamists from outside has become Bush's Tet Offensive. This action by the Viet Cong has come to be seen by Vietnam historians as the turning point in American support for that war. While we in fact WON every major engagement of that war, these victories came at horrid costs - costs that the American public was palpably unwilling to pay.
THAT is the deciding factor. When the moms and dads of our young soldiers no longer are willing to support the mission upon which Bush has committed them, when the 19-year-old with the rifle realizes that the nation no longer supports him, the people he is supposedly liberating want to kill him, and the politicians (including his commander-in-chief) are lying to him ...... hope dies.
I just spent a half-hour speaking with a man I have known for 20 years or more - but never knew was a Viet Nam vet. He was speaking to these issues in Iraq. I asked him if he saw any parallells to Tet .... and the tears flowed. He said it felt EXACTLY like Tet, shattering beyond belief. He said he feels for the young men caught in this situation, knows their horror and despair. It was utterly moving to see this composed, successful businessman come apart in my office.
He HATES Bush, despises him in a way that only one who lived through such a betrayal could. I dare to think that there are hundreds of thousands like him out there. I almost dare to hope.
THAT is the deciding factor. When the moms and dads of our young soldiers no longer are willing to support the mission upon which Bush has committed them, when the 19-year-old with the rifle realizes that the nation no longer supports him, the people he is supposedly liberating want to kill him, and the politicians (including his commander-in-chief) are lying to him ...... hope dies.
I just spent a half-hour speaking with a man I have known for 20 years or more - but never knew was a Viet Nam vet. He was speaking to these issues in Iraq. I asked him if he saw any parallells to Tet .... and the tears flowed. He said it felt EXACTLY like Tet, shattering beyond belief. He said he feels for the young men caught in this situation, knows their horror and despair. It was utterly moving to see this composed, successful businessman come apart in my office.
He HATES Bush, despises him in a way that only one who lived through such a betrayal could. I dare to think that there are hundreds of thousands like him out there. I almost dare to hope.
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
"Free to Pee in Your Morning Cereal"
This is one seriously great over-the-top rant on a deadly serious issue:
"Give The Breakfast Cereal Industry Immunity from Law Suits!
Call your congressman today and let them know that if Tony the Tiger wants to take a big steaming dump in your breakfast bowl, he should be able to do so without fear that some whining idiot like you will file a lawsuit against him. If Captain Crunch wants to put heroin and crack in your morning meal, the good Captain should be able to do so knowing you can't do a damn thing about it."
"If the gun industry gets immunization from "pending and future lawsuits," I want immunization for my products, too. It's just that simple -- the freedom to screw up your life and then give you the finger."
Follow the links on the site for some quality background information on this legislation (or just sit back and enjoy the flaming sarcasm!)
"Give The Breakfast Cereal Industry Immunity from Law Suits!
Call your congressman today and let them know that if Tony the Tiger wants to take a big steaming dump in your breakfast bowl, he should be able to do so without fear that some whining idiot like you will file a lawsuit against him. If Captain Crunch wants to put heroin and crack in your morning meal, the good Captain should be able to do so knowing you can't do a damn thing about it."
"If the gun industry gets immunization from "pending and future lawsuits," I want immunization for my products, too. It's just that simple -- the freedom to screw up your life and then give you the finger."
Follow the links on the site for some quality background information on this legislation (or just sit back and enjoy the flaming sarcasm!)
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Bush: Crony Capitalist
Given the choice between serving the national interest and favoring the rich, George W. Bush has opted incessantly, even obsessively, for the latter.
That is the main reason why he may well be unseated in November. If Bush tax policies are not class warfare, then the term has no meaning at all.
Finally, even some in the mainstream press have begun to notice the nudity of our emperor! About freakin' time....
That is the main reason why he may well be unseated in November. If Bush tax policies are not class warfare, then the term has no meaning at all.
Finally, even some in the mainstream press have begun to notice the nudity of our emperor! About freakin' time....
Bush Supports the Shift of Jobs Overseas
This title is NOT a political slam on my part. This - incredibly - is the actual headline in the LA Times! God help us. Check the lead on the story:
The movement of American factory jobs and white-collar work to other countries is part of a positive transformation that will enrich the U.S. economy over time, even if it causes short-term pain and dislocation, the Bush administration said Monday.
The embrace of foreign outsourcing, an accelerating trend that has contributed to U.S. job losses in recent years and has become an issue in the 2004 elections, is contained in the president's annual report to Congress on the health of the economy.
"Outsourcing is just a new way of doing international trade," said N. Gregory Mankiw, chairman of Bush's Council of Economic Advisors, which prepared the report. "More things are tradable than were tradable in the past. And that's a good thing."
Go read the entire thing ..... but have a barf bag handy. I suppose that next they will alleviate healthcare costs by convincing us all that terminal illness is a priviledge, and that amputations - even without anaesthesia - are not only fun but fashionable! And 50% of this damn country will believe it.
The movement of American factory jobs and white-collar work to other countries is part of a positive transformation that will enrich the U.S. economy over time, even if it causes short-term pain and dislocation, the Bush administration said Monday.
The embrace of foreign outsourcing, an accelerating trend that has contributed to U.S. job losses in recent years and has become an issue in the 2004 elections, is contained in the president's annual report to Congress on the health of the economy.
"Outsourcing is just a new way of doing international trade," said N. Gregory Mankiw, chairman of Bush's Council of Economic Advisors, which prepared the report. "More things are tradable than were tradable in the past. And that's a good thing."
Go read the entire thing ..... but have a barf bag handy. I suppose that next they will alleviate healthcare costs by convincing us all that terminal illness is a priviledge, and that amputations - even without anaesthesia - are not only fun but fashionable! And 50% of this damn country will believe it.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
How Low Can We Go?/US Labor Dept Advises Cheating
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - Just when you thought the Bush administration's disdain for America's working families couldn't get any worse, along comes another cynical move to prove you wrong.
This time it's the Labor Department putting out tips for employers on how they can avoid paying overtime to low-income workers when the government's new rules on overtime pay go into effect in March.
A cheat sheet, if you will, for employers.
{snip}
The ink is still wet on the new overtime eligibility rules, but Bush administration officials are already offering employers tips on how they can cheat these low-income workers out of their new overtime benefits. Suggestions include a "payroll adjustment" to convert workers' annual pay to an hourly rate, then cut the hourly rate so that annual pay is unchanged after overtime is paid.
*************************************
It is time, it seems, to bring back the classic question from the McCarthy hearings: "In the end, Mr Bush, have you no shame, sir? Have you, sir, no shame at all?"
This time it's the Labor Department putting out tips for employers on how they can avoid paying overtime to low-income workers when the government's new rules on overtime pay go into effect in March.
A cheat sheet, if you will, for employers.
{snip}
The ink is still wet on the new overtime eligibility rules, but Bush administration officials are already offering employers tips on how they can cheat these low-income workers out of their new overtime benefits. Suggestions include a "payroll adjustment" to convert workers' annual pay to an hourly rate, then cut the hourly rate so that annual pay is unchanged after overtime is paid.
*************************************
It is time, it seems, to bring back the classic question from the McCarthy hearings: "In the end, Mr Bush, have you no shame, sir? Have you, sir, no shame at all?"
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Mars Needs Dim Republicans!
As per usual, one cannot improve on the fine rants of columnists Mark Morford. From the headline to the closing comments, he is a force of nature. For example:
Mars Needs Dim Republicans
Dubya dons a shiny spacesuit, dreams of spending billions to meet little green men. The nation cringes
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist Wednesday, January 14, 2004
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh right, like this is exactly what we need.
Let us imagine the discussion: "Boys, the nation's in massive reeling record-breaking debt and morale's at an all-time low and disposable American soldiers are dying brutal horrific deaths every day over nothing at all except our greed and flagrant cronyism and corporate petrochemical profiteering.
"Our cities are gasping and health care is a joke and we've mauled Medicare beyond recognition, and we're plundering the living hell out of Social Security, the last remaining stable and sound fund left, to try and shore up our rapacious and gluttonous spending.
"There are no WMDs and our former allies openly resent us and the poll ratings are slipping and the big glops of warmongering lies are drying like blood stains into a carpet. And it's an election year. Damn.
"What's to be done? What could rally a wary country during its time of humiliated need and force-fed ignorance? What could turn this troubled nation around in the face of oily corporate war and fiscal gluttony and environmental savagery?
"Why, neato space stations on the moon, and sending men to Mars, that's what!"
*******************************************
Mars Needs Dim Republicans
Dubya dons a shiny spacesuit, dreams of spending billions to meet little green men. The nation cringes
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist Wednesday, January 14, 2004
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh right, like this is exactly what we need.
Let us imagine the discussion: "Boys, the nation's in massive reeling record-breaking debt and morale's at an all-time low and disposable American soldiers are dying brutal horrific deaths every day over nothing at all except our greed and flagrant cronyism and corporate petrochemical profiteering.
"Our cities are gasping and health care is a joke and we've mauled Medicare beyond recognition, and we're plundering the living hell out of Social Security, the last remaining stable and sound fund left, to try and shore up our rapacious and gluttonous spending.
"There are no WMDs and our former allies openly resent us and the poll ratings are slipping and the big glops of warmongering lies are drying like blood stains into a carpet. And it's an election year. Damn.
"What's to be done? What could rally a wary country during its time of humiliated need and force-fed ignorance? What could turn this troubled nation around in the face of oily corporate war and fiscal gluttony and environmental savagery?
"Why, neato space stations on the moon, and sending men to Mars, that's what!"
*******************************************
URGENT: Truth Alert!
I urge all readers of this blog to follow the link in the next story down, from ABC News. Learn and remember (before the story disappears from the site) that O'Neil is guilty of nothing more that inconveniently blurting truth.
He will be savaged over the next weeks, and likely prosecuted on a tissue-thin indictment. Today, while the link survives, we can learn that O'Neil's honest assessment truly does support the claims of the most wild-eyed liberal critics of this administration. Great catch, Gary!
He will be savaged over the next weeks, and likely prosecuted on a tissue-thin indictment. Today, while the link survives, we can learn that O'Neil's honest assessment truly does support the claims of the most wild-eyed liberal critics of this administration. Great catch, Gary!
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Hypocricy 808 Graduate Seminar
Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the O'Neil affair exposes White House hypocricy in its purest, most blatant form? Barely six months after the Plame outing, which took four months to be noticed .... and THEN took the Justice Department another week to secure the documents from the White House AND STILL allowed the White House Counsel's Office to review each document before turning it over......!
NOW, with O'Neil embarrassing the pResident politically, less than 24 hours elapse before they swing into high gear in his investigation with NO warning, NO legal screen. He will be crucified as the "liberal" media stand around pointedly NOT watching, filing their nails and filing reports on Jacko and Scott Peterson.
We are so screwed........... Any who dare oppose this junta must prepare and expect to be destroyed, and no one will speak up for them. No one.
NOW, with O'Neil embarrassing the pResident politically, less than 24 hours elapse before they swing into high gear in his investigation with NO warning, NO legal screen. He will be crucified as the "liberal" media stand around pointedly NOT watching, filing their nails and filing reports on Jacko and Scott Peterson.
We are so screwed........... Any who dare oppose this junta must prepare and expect to be destroyed, and no one will speak up for them. No one.
Friday, January 09, 2004
Thought for the Day-from RackJite
"Kurt Cobain was, ladies and gentleman, a worthless shred of human
debris." Rush Limbaugh the very day the lead singer of Nirvana
committed suicide due to a drug addiction.
I can understand the selfish callous disregard of conservatives, it's their pride in it that passes me by
debris." Rush Limbaugh the very day the lead singer of Nirvana
committed suicide due to a drug addiction.
I can understand the selfish callous disregard of conservatives, it's their pride in it that passes me by
US Companies Added Few Workers in December
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent in December to the lowest level in 14 months, but employers finished the year without many help wanted signs for the holidays, adding just 1,000 new jobs.
The 0.2 percentage point drop in the jobless rate occurred because fewer people were looking for work, the Labor Department said Friday. More than 300,000 people gave up their search for jobs and dropped out of the pool of available workers.
``The rate is going down, but it is going down for the wrong reasons,'' said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services, noting that it fell not because people were finding work. ``That doesn't make you feel really good about the state of the jobs market.''
The 0.2 percentage point drop in the jobless rate occurred because fewer people were looking for work, the Labor Department said Friday. More than 300,000 people gave up their search for jobs and dropped out of the pool of available workers.
``The rate is going down, but it is going down for the wrong reasons,'' said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services, noting that it fell not because people were finding work. ``That doesn't make you feel really good about the state of the jobs market.''
Friday, December 05, 2003
http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/
Oooh! Ooooh! This is one of the best things I have EVER come across on the web! Every fact is linked to original source, and the case against this administration is laid out with the greatest clarity and detail! Toooooooo fine.
Thursday, December 04, 2003
Do Democrats Need the South?
In the current ConsortiumNews online edition, Sam Parry makes a cogent and incisive analysis of the trends that have taken the South away from the Democrats, and how the Republicans and the fundamentalists worked together to achieve this. Great and informative reading!
By Sam Parry
December 1, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Political pundits and even some Democrats are taking the national Democratic Party to task for “losing” the South, a trend that’s viewed as a key reason why the Republicans and George W. Bush are today’s odds-on favorites to hold and expand their power in next year’s elections.
By Sam Parry
December 1, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Political pundits and even some Democrats are taking the national Democratic Party to task for “losing” the South, a trend that’s viewed as a key reason why the Republicans and George W. Bush are today’s odds-on favorites to hold and expand their power in next year’s elections.
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
Speaking Truth to Labor
Let us reason through the changes taking place in American labor. Last year, for the first time since records were kept, the median family income DECLINED. Yes, it declined. With most families consisting of two full-time workers (with often second and third jobs on the side) the median family income went from 2001's $42,581 to $40,850 in 2002. This is not only significant but horrifying.
Do the math: HALF of our families are ekeing out a living on LESS than this amount, and that half is seeing costs and taxes RISE while gross income FALLS. Are we saying - as so many do these days - that the fault lies entirely with the American worker, that his obstinacy in accepting the same wages as a peasant in Malaysia dooms him to unemployment?
Is THAT the new math for the working class? Are we saying that in a global market we must meet the lowest standards of the most benighted subsaharan African nation or watch our jobs continue to disappear? And that this is good?!?
If we do not swiftly pull back from the madness of globalization, if we do not make it more expensive for companies to leave America than it is to stay and participate in our economy, we will soon become a third-world nation. It is naiive in the extreme to assume that we can maintain a functioning economy with 50-60% unemployment.
I am not saying that workers can and should get the 50%+ wage increases year-to-year that our CEOs get (no matter how the company does). I AM saying that if we do not address this insanity today in real and credible terms, if we do not create economic incentives to REMAIN an American corporation, we are doomed as a nation. Surely we are smarter than that ........ I hope.
Let us reason through the changes taking place in American labor. Last year, for the first time since records were kept, the median family income DECLINED. Yes, it declined. With most families consisting of two full-time workers (with often second and third jobs on the side) the median family income went from 2001's $42,581 to $40,850 in 2002. This is not only significant but horrifying.
Do the math: HALF of our families are ekeing out a living on LESS than this amount, and that half is seeing costs and taxes RISE while gross income FALLS. Are we saying - as so many do these days - that the fault lies entirely with the American worker, that his obstinacy in accepting the same wages as a peasant in Malaysia dooms him to unemployment?
Is THAT the new math for the working class? Are we saying that in a global market we must meet the lowest standards of the most benighted subsaharan African nation or watch our jobs continue to disappear? And that this is good?!?
If we do not swiftly pull back from the madness of globalization, if we do not make it more expensive for companies to leave America than it is to stay and participate in our economy, we will soon become a third-world nation. It is naiive in the extreme to assume that we can maintain a functioning economy with 50-60% unemployment.
I am not saying that workers can and should get the 50%+ wage increases year-to-year that our CEOs get (no matter how the company does). I AM saying that if we do not address this insanity today in real and credible terms, if we do not create economic incentives to REMAIN an American corporation, we are doomed as a nation. Surely we are smarter than that ........ I hope.
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