PoliticalSports: The Ultimate Game

February 10, 2012

It Makes You Scratch Your Head

Thanks to Bad Attitudes, one of my favorite blogs for this post, which came from Lauren Unger-Geoffroy:

After the long weekend of revolution participation here, I had to pay 13 Egyptian pounds--the equivalent of three U.S. dollars--to have an X-ray of my stress-fractured ankle. The hospital was part of a labyrinthine and crowded complex, and I had to ask directions repeatedly. But eventually a cast and a containment brace were put on my ankle, all for the cost of the equivalent of an additional 45 U.S. dollars. I tsk-tsked and said to the young doctor, "That is expensive! Much more than last year." He replied apologetically, "Yes, I know, I am sorry, but now we are using some American products."

I did not mention that these American products would cost at least 300 times more in the U.S. than they cost here, or that in America I would have to pay $600 to health insurance extortion every single month for life in order to afford medical treatment. As I limped back to the taxi, accompanied by the typical sympathy, offers of help and well-wishing of strangers, I reflected on the strange chasm of values, self-interest, the evils of capitalism, human decency, pragmatism, social unity, and the vacuum of understanding into which can rush ... anything.

Anything, like Rick Santorum, from HuffPost:

He said that the health care law passed under Romney in Massachusetts in 2006 was "the stepchild of ObamCare" and said that Romney "built the largest government run health care system in the United States."

Health care should be a defining issue for the election, a key contrast between the Republican nominee and the incumbent president, Santorum said. But Romney, Santorum said, "would simply give that issue away in the fall, give the issue away of government control of your health."

It doesn't register that our health care system is broken, and that 50 million people are without health care. Costs are rising much faster than inflation. Something needed to be done....but roll out the old "government is evil" card, even if it flies in the face of reality. What does it matter, really?

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:49 PM | Comments (0)

February 8, 2012

Let's Play a Game - You are Mitt Romney

You are Mitt and want to run for President. You were the Republican governor of what many Americans consider to be the most liberal state in the country. Your history strongly suggests you are a moderate Republican who was fairly well received during his term in Massachusetts. You are a Morman. You obviously want to run in the Republican party. Just as obvious is the fact that it is controlled to a large degree by what can graciously be described as a bunch of Looney Tunes who think that the earth is flat and the moon is made of green cheese.

So, how do you get the nomination? You are smart, accomplished, a successful businessman who has made something like $250 Million. You implemented a health plan that is surprisingly similar to Obama's. If you want some specifics of his term you can find it here:

You will find that you probably agree with some actions and not others. He seems like a moderate, reasonable Republican. I doubt that you get the nomination by saying you are going to do the same things for the country. The wacky doodles wouldn't stand for it. You don't talk much about your Massachusetts accomplishments, do you? And your religion? I think you don't bring that up either. Isn't the only way to get the nomination to move right, way right? What would you do differently? How would you be playing this game?

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:12 AM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2008

The Passport Breach

First we find out that a couple of state department contractors looked at Obama's passport records three times, all politically significant dates this year. Then we read today that someone looked at Hillary's passport records sometime last year. And now, there are indications that someone looked at John McCain's passport records. Are they related? Are they the same couple of people, or are they all from the same contracting firm? Who did they report to? What other work do they do? What are their histories? Why hasn't the State Department released their names yet?

Given the record of this administration, it is not surprising that this only came out because a reporter had some inside information and not from the State Department itself. It is also not surprising that the State Department has not released any names yet. There might be a good reason, but the record leads me to be suspicious of their motives. I expect the State Department will stonewall any investigation

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)

March 12, 2008

America's Racist Society

There is no question that we still live in a very prejudiced society. Whether it is racial, sexual, religious, physical or whatever, we seemed consumed with labeling people in categories, analyzing reactions by categories then try to deny that we are acting in a way which confirms those categories. Yesterday, comments by Geraldine Ferraro came to light which some construed as racist. She said that Barack Obama got to his position partly because of his race. (CNN)

"In her first interview with Daily Breeze, published late last week, Ferraro said "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept," Ferraro told the newspaper. She also said Hillary Clinton had been the victim of a "sexist media."

Is this racist? Is it true? It could very well be. People are certainly voting for these candidates because they are black or a woman or white, depending whether you are Barack, Hillary or John. Pollsters and media folks continually break down voting patterns by race, sex and religion almost daily. Does anyone really think that these candidates have achieved their respective positions without taking advantage of some cultural "wave"? Granted this is not the only reason, but I am sure it is a factor. People are excited about the fact that a "black" (he is half white and half black) and a woman are the two leading Democratic candidates. I would contend that many people are supporting their respective campaigns for that very reason. Now a high profile person points that out, and she is blasted by the media. What is their goal in doing so? Perhaps they are helping to stir the pot to generate more viewers. They certainly do what they can to keep race and sex a big part of the political scene. Whatever the real motives, and I am sure they are multifaceted, it sure is interesting.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:46 PM | Comments (0)

March 11, 2008

O.I.L. (Our Illustrious Leader) Keeps Pounding for Yards

GW keeps pounding away at anyone who stands in his way as he continues his march to unrestricted Presidential power. He never backs down, he never doubts. His methods are consistent and have generally been very successful, haven't they? The Dems have been exceedingly ineffective to stop him from his torture requests or his recent moves to protect the telecom companies from prosecution for helping the Administration wiretap Americans without a warrant. (NYT)

"The flash point in the debate has been the question of whether to protect AT&T and other major phone companies from some 40 lawsuits pending in federal courts, which charge that the companies' participation in the eavesdropping program violated federal privacy laws and their responsibilities to their customers.

Mr. Bush says the companies acted out of patriotism in responding to what they believed was a lawful presidential order. He has said that the lawsuits are being pursued by money-driven class-action lawyers and that they should not be allowed to threaten the financial solvency of the phone companies."

Why change your strategy when it works?

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:32 PM

January 29, 2008

The Issue is No Longer Bush's Failed Play

We all know what a disaster Bush has been in far too many ways to bother itemizing. The issue now is with the response by the MSM to him and the Republican candidates. Given the disaster in Afghanistan, what is the Main Stream Media doing to adequately confront the President and the guys on the right running for his position? (AP)

Afghanistan risks sliding into a failed state and becoming the "forgotten war" because of deteriorating international support and a growing violent insurgency, according to an independent study.

The assessment, co-chaired by retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones and former U.N. Ambassador Thomas Pickering, serves as a warning to the Bush administration at a time military and congressional officials are debating how best to juggle stretched warfighting resources.

What is their strategy? What are they gaining by not seriously questioning them? Why do they continue to defer to the O.I.L.? Why do they still believe what he says? Are they gaining something here?

Posted by Chip Spear at 6:24 PM

May 16, 2007

The Huge Falwell Legacy

I listened to David Gregory interview Chris Matthews yesterday morning while driving into work. Chris described Falwell's political impact on national politics. Matthews said that Falwell was responsible for bringing a huge group of fundamentalists into the political arena by appealing to their concerns that liberal attitudes were destroying the country. Matthews said that almost 30 million of the 127 million who voted in the last election were right wing fundamentalists somehow related to the Falwell movement. Matthews suggested that most of these people would not have voted if it had not been for Falwell. Think about that, almost 25% of the last election. That is an astounding number. 25% of voters were followers of a guy who said that the reason the terrorists flew those planes into the World Trade Center was because of our liberal values. He blamed the gays, liberals and anyone who believed in a woman's right to choose. They were the ones to blame. Hmmmmm.

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:21 AM

May 9, 2007

Kansas, a Katrina Replay

Well, the game seems the same, a big disaster, a slow response by the Feds and local agencies and a lot of blame. So what's at play here? Many state officials throughout the country have been warning the Feds that they were short of both manpower and equipment because of Iraq. Many asked the Feds to replace missing equipment taken for war duty. That has not happened. (NYT)

For months, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and other governors have warned that their state National Guards are ill-prepared for the next local disaster, be it a tornado a flash flood or a terrorist’s threat, because of large deployments of their soldiers and equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Then, last Friday night, a deadly tornado all but cleared the small town of Greensburg off the Kansas map. With 80 square blocks of the small farming town destroyed, Ms. Sebelius said her fears had come true: The emergency response was too slow, she said, and there was only one reason.

And the White House response?

Ms. Sebelius's comments about the slow response prompted a debate with the White House on Tuesday, which initially said the fault rested with her. Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, said the governor should have followed procedure by finding gaps after the storm hit and asking the federal government to fill them - but did not.

"If you don’t request it, you’re not going to get it," Mr. Snow told reporters on Tuesday morning.

The debate was reminiscent of the Bush administration’s skirmishes with Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana, also a Democrat, after Hurricane Katrina.

The states warn they there are potential troubles ahead in the event of a disaster. There is a disaster, the response is slow from the Feds and the White House blames the state for the problem. Sound familiar? Will the White House manage to convince the electorate that it was really on top of things? Who wins in this little blame game? It sounds so reminiscent of New Orleans that it is hard to expect a different conclusion.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:37 AM

April 29, 2007

More Shocking News

Ah, the surprise, the surprise. (WashPo)

Many of the U.S. diplomats who received the message, however, were beginning to witness a more embarrassing reality. They knew the U.S. government was turning down many allies' offers of manpower, supplies and expertise worth untold millions of dollars. Eventually the United States also would fail to collect most of the unprecedented outpouring of international cash assistance for Katrina's victims.

Allies offered $854 million in cash and in oil that was to be sold for cash. But only $40 million has been used so far for disaster victims or reconstruction, according to U.S. officials and contractors. Most of the aid went uncollected, including $400 million worth of oil. Some offers were withdrawn or redirected to private groups such as the Red Cross. The rest has been delayed by red tape and bureaucratic limits on how it can be spent.

In addition, valuable supplies and services -- such as cellphone systems, medicine and cruise ships -- were delayed or declined because the government could not handle them. In some cases, supplies were wasted.

I forget, did I mention something about arrogance and incompetence?

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:28 PM

April 18, 2007

Gun, Gun, Whose Got the Gun?

The recent shooting at Virginia Tech has moved the spotlight to that never ending political game of gun control. Some are saying that the shooting would never have happened if the student could not buy a gun. Maybe, I say. But that misses the point, as all these arguments do. No one, or at least very few people, wants to discuss the real issue at the heart of the gun control debate, which is the ability of Americans to use guns to overthrow a potentially repressive government. It is not that hard an issue to understand. It is the foundation of the gun lobby strategy. Why do you think that we don't hear that discussed on all those talking head shows? Now that would be very interesting.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:49 AM

April 8, 2007

Hmmmmm, this is a shock

The AP writes:

"The corroded and corrupt state of Saddam was replaced by the corroded, inefficient, incompetent and corrupt state of the new order," Ali A. Allawi concludes in "The Occupation of
Iraq," newly published by Yale University Press.

Allawi writes with authority as a member of that "new order," having served as Iraq's trade, defense and finance minister at various times since 2003. As a former academic, at Oxford University before the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq, he also writes with unusual detachment.

The U.S.- and British-educated engineer and financier is the first senior Iraqi official to look back at book length on his country's four-year ordeal. It's an unsparing look at failures both American and Iraqi, an account in which the word "ignorance" crops up repeatedly.

First came the "monumental ignorance" of those in Washington pushing for war in 2002 without "the faintest idea" of Iraq's realities. "More perceptive people knew instinctively that the invasion of Iraq would open up the great fissures in Iraqi society," he writes.

Follow the link, there is much more of interest.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:36 PM

The Strategy and Soul of O.I.L.

One should no longer be surprised by much that occurs by way of scandals with regard to O.I.L. How can one really be taken off-guard? Everything is part of the same strategy, the same tactics which get the identical results. Throughout this Presidency, O.I.L has shown total contempt for the country, the people, and the notion of the government as a useful tool to help address problems and prepare for the future. He has loaded department after department with political cronies, large campaign contributors, incompetent administrators and people whose sole mission is to further a political agenda rather than do an excellent job. Let’s start down the list. Energy policy? Hello big oil. And how about the DOD and the Pentagon? Those troops sure are well supplied aren’t they? Hello Halliburton? And how goes the war? What about our intelligence community? 9/11? Katrina? Alberto Gonzales and the DOJ? Then there is the attitude that fosters Duke Cunningham, Jack Abramhoff and Abu Ghraib. And what about the good old Constitution and our Civil Rights? Search and seizure? How are we doing overseas? Are we held in high esteem? Do people around the world still think of us as a beacon of hope and justice? Not a chance. Global Warming? Taxes and the budget? I would contend that anyone who supports this guy either had a massive brain fart, is incapable of analytical thinking, or has directly benefited from his policies either though government contracts or tax cuts.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:50 PM

April 7, 2007

The Iranians and O.I.L (Our Illustrious Leader)

Doesn't the recent incident with the Iranians remind you of George? The British were clearly in Iraqi waters. How do I know? Well, I wasn't there actually, and I don't have a GPS even if I was, but the Iranians changed there story regarding the coordinates shortly after they found out the first location they gave for the British capture was in Iraqi waters. Enough said. But what do they do? They lie, repeat the lie continually, get many within Iran to believe them, and act as if everyone else is at fault, using their lie for political purposes. Did you see the pictures on the news of the huge demonstrations? Looked like a huge number of brainwashed people to me. Does this sound familiar? It sure does to me.

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:43 AM

April 3, 2007

McCain Swings and Misses

John McCain traveled to Baghdad, walked around a market, and attempted to convince America that the media was wrong, the city was actually much safer than reported. "See," he seemed to say as he walked around the marketplace, "it is safe, no one is shooting at me, I am not getting blown to bits."

Do you think it worked? Were you convinced? Did the fact that over 100 soldiers accompanied him alter your thinking? What about helicopter gunship hovering overhead? I bet everyone travels that way everyday in Baghdad. (NYT)

The delegation arrived at the market, which is called Shorja, on Sunday with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees - the equivalent of an entire company - and attack helicopters circled overhead, a senior American military official in Baghdad said. The soldiers redirected traffic from the area and restricted access to the Americans, witnesses said, and sharpshooters were posted on the roofs. The congressmen wore bulletproof vests throughout their hourlong visit.

McCain is in a tough spot. He has been in the forefront of the push for more troops to regain the offensive in Iraq. Unfortunately for him, and his Presidential bid, the facts speak a different story. Despite the influx of troops, days are not safer for Iraqis. The plan is not working. McCain has hooked his wagon to a shaky strategy. If it fails, as it appears to be doing now, his candidacy is in serious trouble.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:03 AM

March 24, 2007

Cheney says House Dems don't support the troops

So, our Illustrious Vice Pres. says because the Dems don't support the disastrous implementation os the Iraq War that they are against the troops. This tactic is not unexpected. Given the state of Congress, being controlled by the Dems, and the actions of the White House, it is not surprising that the Democrats are against administrations policies. I am not sure how that translates into "not supporting the troops", but I am certain that the White House figures that it can still get some traction out of the charge in the "red" states and shore up flagging poll numbers. They probably assume that the tactic they have been using for the past few years still has some life it it. We shall see, now won't we? (AP)

Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday accused the Democrat-led House of not supporting troops in Iraq and of sending a message to terrorists that America will retreat in the face danger.

"They're not supporting the troops. They're undermining them," Cheney told a gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition at the oceanside Ritz-Carlton hotel in Manalapan, Fla., about 60 miles north of Miami.

On Friday, the House voted to clamp a cutoff deadline on the Iraq war, agreeing by a thin margin to pull combat troops out by next year.

Do people actually believe this crap anymore?

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:53 PM

March 21, 2007

Showdown Looms in Attorney Firings

Ha, ha, ha. I have to laugh. This is sooooo ridiculous. What did you expect, really? For the past 6 years the President has treated the entire country, and especially the Democrats with comtempt. The Democrats have taken it on the chin. Now the Dems have some power. They are not about to back down to the Pres on this one. To expect otherwise is silly. (AP)

On the flip side, the President is not going to suddenly roll over to the Democratic leadership in Congress. He is going to continue with the gameplan...Attack! Put the Dems on the defensive anyway he can. He proposes a compromise solution. Of course it is his rules and conditions; no press, no oath, behind closed doors, no record, no nothing. My own guess is no truth either, but who knows.

How do you beat this?

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:32 PM

March 18, 2007

The Mortgage Crisis - This is not a new story

I remember seeing a report on one of the news magazine shows a couple of years ago about the huge number of people around the country, but especially in the west who took out these sub-prime mortgages. The concern at the time was that a day of reckoning was going to come. The housing market would eventually change, and folks would suddenly be hit with huge payments, something their paychecks could not cover. I seem to recall that it made the news for a few days then disappeared, as most important news items do in this MTV world. No one paid much attention, until now. And suddenly it is the banks fault. (Reuters)

It is hard to blame everyone who took out these loans, but buying a home is serious business. One borrows a tremendous amount of money. I would think that you should always have a CPA or lawyer review the terms before signing. I feel extremely bad for anyone who might have to default, but this is partly their own fault.

Many people accepted complex mortgages to buy homes that were probably out of reach, but deals such as 100-percent financing and adjustable-rate mortgages that initially carried low monthly payments encouraged excess, critics contend.

"The quality of the loan has everything to do with this crisis," said Josh Nassar, vice president for federal affairs at the Center for Responsible Lending in Washington.

Among the biggest culprits were the so-called "2-28" loans that offered low interest rates and payments for the first two years, but then spiked up. Many borrowers misunderstood the terms or thought they could refinance, and found themselves stuck with mortgages that they could no longer afford.

Buying a house is serious business. One is borrowing a tremendous amount of money to purchase a home. I would think that in such a situation a potential buyer would have the agreement reviewed by a CPA or lawyer. As bad as the mortgage lenders may be, they are not the only ones to blame here. I feel very bad for anyone who might have to default on their mortgage, but they need to accept some of the responsibility.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:14 PM

March 17, 2007

Only the Numbers Matter

Truth doesn't matter. Common sense doesn't matter. Doing the right thing doesn't matter. The only thing that matters are the numbers, scoring. In this case John McCain ignored the obvious answers to pander to the religious right. (NYT)

Reporter: "Should U.S. taxpayer money go to places like Africa to fund contraception to prevent AIDS?"

Mr. McCain: "Well I think it's a combination. The guy I really respect on this is Dr. Coburn. He believes - and I was just reading the thing he wrote- that you should do what you can to encourage abstinence where there is going to be sexual activity. Where that doesn't succeed, than he thinks that we should employ contraceptives as well. But I agree with him that the first priority is on abstinence. I look to people like Dr. Coburn. I'm not very wise on it."

(Mr. McCain turns to take a question on Iraq, but a moment later looks back to the reporter who asked him about AIDS.)

Mr. McCain: "I haven't thought about it. Before I give you an answer, let me think about. Let me think about it a little bit because I never got a question about it before. I don’t know if I would use taxpayers’ money for it."

Q: "What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush’s policy, which is just abstinence?"

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) "Ahhh. I think I support the president's policy."

Q: "So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?"

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) "You’ve stumped me."

Q: "I mean, I think you'd probably agree it probably does help stop it?"

Mr. McCain: (Laughs) "Are we on the Straight Talk express? I'm not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I'm sure I've taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception - I'm sure I'm opposed to government spending on it, I'm sure I support the president's policies on it."

Q: "But you would agree that condoms do stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Would you say: 'No, we're not going to distribute them,' knowing that?"

Mr. McCain: (Twelve-second pause) "Get me Coburn's thing, ask Weaver to get me Coburn's paper that he just gave me in the last couple of days. I've never gotten into these issues before."

It would be a wonderful world if everyone did as they should, like not have sex before marriage, or not kill anyone, or treat people with respect. But life is not like that, is it? It is dirty, messy, filled with contradictions, and not easy. People do have sex before marriage, and outside of marriage. And people get AIDS because of it. Abstinence is one method of dealing with the problem, but people are people, they are going to have sex whether someone else says it is wrong or not. That is reality. This is another example of someone putting their head in the sand and pandering to idiocy. Being forced to rely on stupidity for votes seems to work just fine, but it sure seems dangerous to me.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:54 PM

Alberto's On Deck

Everybody and their brother has weighed in on the Alberto Gonzales Federal Prosecutor flap. I would like to remind folks to consider the strategy and tactics of the Administration over the last 6 years. The White House has shown a consistent disregard for many of our laws. They do not respect Congress. They seem to have little respect for the American people. They mislead the country about the Iraq war, the war on terrorism, Katrina relief, the environment, immigration, health care, the budget....you get the idea. They have absolutely no respect for the actual government they run, which is perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind. Would you actually expect Karl and company to suddenly rollover and comply with Congressional requests for information related to the firings of federal prosecutors? Given Gonzales's role in issues involving rendition, torture and the Patriot Act that recently came to light, why should we expect him to tell the truth about the firings? What would compel him to change tactics? Who's ends would he be serving? This is what I am wondering.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:00 AM

August 14, 2006

A quick note

If the Democrats want a strategy they should attack what some perceive as the Republican strength, terrorism. The reality is that the Republicans, and Joe Lieberman, have been incredible enablers of Muslim extremists and terrorism. The war in Iraq has enboldened fanatics throughout the Middle East. And the Bush adminstration has cut funding over the past couple of years on initiatives to develop more sophisticated methods of fighting terrorists, like the recent liquid bomb issue.Make Karl proud.

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:45 PM

August 4, 2006

Condi's Bait and Switch

I find it soooo much fun to watch someone like Condi Rice talk about democracy around the world. I was listening to her this evening on Hardball. She was saying how important it was for the Cuban people to experience "free" elections and real democracy. My immediate reaction was to think about the Supreme Court and election results in Florida in 2000, the election results in Ohio in 2004 and the way Congressional districts are currently configured,. which essentially eliminates any real democracy. Isn't hypocrisy a wonderful political tactic?

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:22 PM

June 5, 2006

Bush Attacks

President Bush and the right wing have attacked Gays with their latest attack to ban gay marriage. Someday we will think of this like the civil rights movement. It is not quite the same, but there are enough similarities to give one pause. We should also remember de Tocqueville who warned us in his book, Democracy in America, that the greatest threat we face is from the tyranny of the majority. Given the right conditions, the majority could impose draconian laws on many minorities in our country.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:05 AM

May 29, 2006

Bush wants to honor war dead

Our OIL wants to honor the war dead. That is a joke, right?b (B.C)

President Bush, delivering a Memorial Day message surrounded by the graves of thousands of military dead, said Monday that the United States must continue fighting the war on terror in the name of those have already given their life in the cause.

"The best way to pay respect is to value why a sacrifice was made," Bush said, quoting from a letter that Lt. Mark Dooley wrote to his parents before being killed last September in the Iraqi city of Ramadi.

Here is a guy who refuses to go to the funerals of war dead, or allow the press to publish photos. I get it.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:04 PM | Comments (2)

May 22, 2006

And the Problem Resides Where?

Troubling. (AP)

Prisons and jails added more than 1,000 inmates each week for a year, putting almost 2.2 million people, or one in every 136 U.S. residents, behind bars by last summer......

Men were 10 times to 11 times more likely than women to be in prison or jail, but the number of women behind bars was growing at a faster rate, said Paige M. Harrison, the report's other author.

The racial makeup of inmates changed little in recent years, Beck said. In the 25-29 age group, an estimated 11.9 percent of black men were in prison or jails, compared with 3.9 percent of Hispanic males and 1.7 percent of white males.

Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, which supports alternatives to prison, said the incarceration rates for blacks were troubling.

"It's not a sign of a healthy community when we've come to use incarceration at such rates," he said.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:54 AM | Comments (1)

May 19, 2006

Byrd Slams Bush On Immigration Dough

Sen. Robert Byrd hit the President hard yesterday in response to the President's funding requests for border control. (AP)

Bush asked Congress for $1.9 billion Thursday to pay for 1,000 Border Patrol agents and the temporary deployment of up to 6,000 National Guard troops to states along the Mexican border.

His request was not warmly welcomed by some key senators.

Sen. Judd Gregg (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, delayed a vote on Bush's promotion of U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman (news, bio, voting record) to White House budget director to show his displeasure. He said Bush's request calls for using money for proposed for border security equipment to pay for operational exercises.

Sen. Robert Byrd (news, bio, voting record), the Senate Appropriations Committee's top Democrat, complained that he had offered amendments providing for border security nine times since 2002, only to have the Bush administration reject them as extraneous spending or expanding the size of government.

"If we had spent that money beginning in 2002, we would not be calling on the National Guard today," Byrd said.

I wonder why this is such a big deal now, as opposed to a few months ago, of last year, or a couple of years ago? All of a sudden immigration becomes a huge deal.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:02 AM | Comments (1)

May 18, 2006

McIntyre Apologizes for Supporting Bush

Doug McIntyre, conservative radio talk show host from KABC, apologizes for supporting and voting for G.W. Bush. (KABC) He says, among many things about Iraq, WMD, etc.:

Katrina, Harriet Myers, The Dubai Port Deal, skyrocketing gas prices, shrinking wages for working people, staggering debt, astronomical foreign debt, outsourcing, open borders, contempt for the opinion of the American people, the war on science, media manipulation, faith based initives, a cavalier attitude toward fundamental freedoms-- this President has run the most arrogant and out-of-touch administration in my lifetime, perhaps, in any American's lifetime.

Read it and let me know your thoughts.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:35 PM | Comments (1)

May 17, 2006

NSA, Phone Records and Fox Press Secretaries

Crooks and Liars has a hilarious clip of Jon Stewart commenting on the NSA phone mining controversy. It is worth a listen. (C&L)

I read that the NSA is actually tapping only land lines, no cell phones. That means that they are missing almost all calls of folks under 60, except for businesses. Gee, I wonder how smart that is? Al Qaeda never would use cell phones, would they?

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:23 PM | Comments (0)

Immigration Game Update

We have many laws and rules in life. The country has laws, people follow rules, each sport has a set of rules. They are important. I don't have to tell you also that many of them are stupid, like driving down a road at 25 MPH. Who in their right mind drives 25 MPH, and why should they? Cars are built better, roads are safer. Those same speed limits have been there probably for 50 years without change. Even the police ignore them, letting people travel a good 10 to 12 MPH above the posted speed. Stupid. The signs should be changed. Stupid laws should be changed. When rules don't work in sports, they are changed. The same should happen with laws. If we have a law, enforce or change it. To not enforce our laws and regulations diminishes the authority of all of them and breeds a contempt for our government.

Regarding immigration, the same attitude applies. The laws should be enforced. It is illegal to sneak across the border. Catch them, send them back, period, or change the law. Strictly enforce employment requirements. Investigate companies hiring illegal immigrants and punish them, or change the law.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2006

There is No Sports Metaphor that Fits This Disaster

I want to give these guys the benefit of the doubt once in a while. I want to believe in the Government, the President, Congress, and everyone else for that matter, but I am reaching the point of no return. The wiretaps, the lies, the incompetence continue to become bigger and bigger parts of our world. It is very disturbing. Last week John Negroponte insisted that the NSA was not tapping domestic calls. (WaPo)

When he was asked about the National Security Agency's controversial domestic surveillance program last Monday, U.S. intelligence chief John D. Negroponte objected to the question and said the government was "absolutely not" monitoring domestic calls without warrants.

"I wouldn't call it domestic spying," he told reporters. "This is about international terrorism and telephone calls between people thought to be working for international terrorism and people here in the United States."

Three days later USA Today reported that the NSA was tracking domestic phone calls.

Three days later, USA Today divulged details of the NSA's effort to log a majority of the telephone calls made within the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- amassing the domestic call records of tens of millions of U.S. households and businesses in an attempt to sift them for clues about terrorist threats.

To many lawmakers and civil liberties advocates, the revelation seemed to fly in the face of months of public statements and assurances from President Bush and his aides, who repeatedly sought to characterize the NSA's effort as a narrowly tailored "terrorist surveillance program" that had little impact on regular Americans.

So much for believing anything he says.

Now ABC News reports that the government is tracking reporter's calls to find government leakers. (ABC)

A senior federal law enforcement official tells ABC News the government is tracking the phone numbers we (Brian Ross and Richard Esposito) call in an effort to root out confidential sources.....

Other sources have told us that phone calls and contacts by reporters for ABC News, along with the New York Times and the Washington Post, are being examined as part of a widespread CIA leak investigation.

Tracking phone numbers might not be illegal, I don't know, but it surely is part of an increasingly disturbing pattern of secrey and paranoia permeating the White House..

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:45 PM | Comments (2)

May 12, 2006

Random Thoughts

So, the Justice Department attempts to investigate the NSA. The NSA says you don't have the proper security clearance to investigate us. The Justice Department says, okay, oh well, and walks away. Wow! Does something smell fishy about this? The NSA could be doing something very illegal, very dictatorial or something. They tell the Justice Dept., who is supposed to have the authority to investigate anything and everything like this, to take a hike and the Justice Dept. gives up. I hope that bothers you as much as me.

Congress, more specifically Republicans, passed a Bush backed bill to extend his tax cuts another two years. Most all of those cuts help the wealthy and hurt the middle class. Nothing new here, it is just more of the same play they have been running for the past 5 years. Perhaps this is one of the reasons his poll numbers are so anemic. Maybe one day he will start doing something that actually helps most people in the country instead of his major campaign contributors and friends.

NSA phone taps and Gen. Hayden to lead the CIA - the path to dictatorship by a thousand tiny steps......

Karl Rove & Bush's poll numbers - A Harris survey reports that OIL's poll numbers are currently tracking at 29%. If Rove is indicted OIL's poll numbers could drop to 26%. From a strategic standpoint, I have no clue how he can reverse this. Attacking Iran would seriously inflame the country. The economy, despite government numbers is not raising all boats. And then there is the ever expanding corruption disease. Every day brings new charges and new investigations throughout the Republican arena. The team has some serious problems. It actually reminds me of what is happening to the NY Knicks. Dolan, the owner, and Isaah Thomas insist that they are doing the right thing while the team self-destructs.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:36 PM | Comments (2)

May 11, 2006

Truth, Trust and The American Way Strike Out

How could this possibly be a surprise? USA Today reports that the NSA has been monitoring tens of millions of Americans phone calls. Bush defended the program (USAT)

President Bush today said everthing the National Security Agency has done is legal, protects the privacy of Americans and helps guard the nation against terrorist attacks.

"We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans," he said. Instead, the NSA's efforts "strictly target al-Qaeda and their known affiliates."

Bush - without expressly confirming or denying the USA TODAY report - indirectly addressed the potential impact of the story. "Every time sensitive intelligence is leaked," he said, "it hurts our ability to defeat this enemy."

USA TODAY reported in today's editions that AT&T Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., and BellSouth Corp. telephone companies have turned over records of tens of millions of their customers' phone calls to the NSA since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The newspaper cited anonymous sources it said had direct knowledge of the arrangement.

Given the actions of the White House over the past few years it should certainly surprise no one that this is happening. Why should one trust the White House to do the right thing and be honest with the American people? Or if they felt that something like this was necessary to fight Islamic fundmentalism, why didn't they go to Congress to get authorization?

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:39 PM | Comments (2)

May 9, 2006

Our Great Country

Time magazine reports in their current print edition the following statistics:

63% - The portion of Americans ages 18-24 who could not locate Iraq on a world map, according to a survey.

50% - The portion of Americans ages 18-24 who could not find New York State.

And one wonders why we have the problems we do in this country.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:14 PM | Comments (2)

May 4, 2006

MSM Suffers Big Loss in "Lapdogs"

Eric Boehlert's new book "Lapdogs" annihilates the Main Stream Media for completely rolling over for Bush in the Swift Boat affair preceding the 2004 election. (Huff).

for instance, the Washington Post published 13 page-one Swift Boat stories in 12 days, most of which failed to address the key fact that the Swift boat allegations -- that Kerry lied about his Vietnam War record -- were riddled with errors and compounded by the veterans' fanciful, ever-changing stories. Despite the lack of evidence to substantiate their claims, which were floated 35 years after the fact and bankrolled by partisan Republicans, the press refused, in real time, to call out the Swift Boat allegations as a dirty trick.

"Lapdogs," in bookstores next week, charges that the press, spooked by allegations of liberal bias, has been "afraid of the facts and the consequences of reporting them" during the Bush years.....

As Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting suggested in 2004, what if the situation had been reversed and the shoddy Vietnam-ear attacks targeted Bush's war service? What if all the available documents showed that George Bush had fully completed his obligation in the Air National Guard with flying colors? What if virtually every member of his unit said he had been there the whole time, and had done a great job? And then suppose a group of fiercely partisan Democrats who never actually served in Bush's Guard unit came forward to claim for the first time--and 35 years after the fact--that Guard documents and the first-hand accounts were wrong, and that Bush really hadn't been present for his Guard service. Would the MSM really have had a hard time figuring out who was telling the truth, and would the MSM really have showered the accusers with weeks worth of free media coverage?

The press was mored concerned about access to power than actually reporting the truth.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:06 PM | Comments (0)

Priorities

Read this article then think about the priorities established by the White House. Why are we going to have our largest embassy in the world in Iraq? And 104 acres?

THE question puzzles and enrages a city: how is it that the Americans cannot keep the electricity running in Baghdad for more than a couple of hours a day, yet still manage to build themselves the biggest embassy on Earth?

Irritation grows as residents deprived of air-conditioning and running water three years after the US-led invasion watch the massive US Embassy they call “George W’s palace” rising from the banks of the Tigris.

In the pavement cafés, people moan that the structure is bigger than anything Saddam Hussein built. They are not impressed by the architects’ claims that the diplomatic outpost will be visible from space and cover an area that is larger than the Vatican city and big enough to accommodate four Millennium Domes. They are more interested in knowing whether the US State Department paid for the prime real estate or simply took it.

Bigger than the Vatican? Wow! I would guess that implies something about our long term plans for the country, doesn't it? And what about the big military bases we are building there?

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:53 AM | Comments (2)

May 3, 2006

Health Insurance tries for Big Score

The health insurance industry has their sights set on another big score from Congress. If passed, the bill will be a huge windfall for insurers and a disaster for most Americans. Does that sound familiar? It should. You can read more about it here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:51 AM | Comments (1)

May 2, 2006

Big Hits and Strike-outs

Iraqi recruits won't leave home. (WaPo)

Did the immigrant rally get a hit, or did they strike out? I can't tell. (CNA)

Afghan President Karzai swore in 20 new cabinet ministers (CNA)

Brand new New Orleans disaster plan ---- Get out of town! (CNN)

Some good clean fun trys to raise its average. (CNN)

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:11 PM | Comments (1)

April 29, 2006

Living With War

Here is a link to listen to Neil Young's new CD, Living With War. It is free. Let me know what you think.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:58 AM | Comments (0)

April 28, 2006

Republicans Thrown For Another Loss

Daily Kos has ongoing details of the erupting Republican sex scandal. (DK)

Sometimes when things go bad, they go REALLY bad.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)

The NFL Draft and Mid-Term Elections

I am soooooo sick of all the media attention about the NFL draft and the mid-term elections. In both cases the media can't seem to think about much else. It is definitely a case of networks, newspapers and magazines having too little to do, or competely losing sight of the big picture of events. Prognosticating is certainly fun, to a certain extent. I like to think about the future and try to figure out what might happen, it is fun, sort of. However it is more than a little bit like staring at your navel....a waste of time.

I have heard way too much information about draft picks. Everyday a new analysis comes out about Vince Young. He didn't take enough snaps under center during his college career...so he drops 3 slots. Matt Leinhart ran a pro-style offense, up 2 slots. 15 articles each week repeating the same stupid stuff. D'Brickashaw Ferguson, I love that name, moves up as the others drop, so does Mario Williams. Now today Vince is picking up steam and up to #3 in SI's mock draft. (SI) STOP already.

And then there is the endless banter about the mid-term elections. Every day we hear more about the impending collapse of the Republican majority. Who is going to lose, what Dems will win. And what about the Senate, can the Dems take that too? Who is vulnerable? Where are the tight races. This has been going on for months. The party nominations haven't even been finalized. In addition, many races aren't decided until the last couple of weeks, or days. Talking about this once in a while is fine, but not all the time. It is like focusing completely on the NFL draft, or spending all your time thinking about next year's Super Bowl. Get a life....watch the game and shut up for a while.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:03 AM | Comments (2)

April 26, 2006

Prosecutor Plays Game According to His Own Clock

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has Karl Rove back before the Grand Jury investigating the Valerie Plame leak. (AP) He obviously is ensuring that he is playing properly and not reacting to the needs of the media or the public.

Rove consulted with his private lawyers before a scheduled afternoon court appearance and was prepared to answer questions about evidence that emerged since his last grand jury appearance last fall, the person said, speaking only on condition of anonymity because of grand jury secrecy rules.

That new evidence includes information that emerged late last year that Rove's attorney had conversations with Time magazine reporter Viveca Novak during a critical time in the case.

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald met with the grand jury Wednesday. Among other things he is investigating why Rove originally failed to disclose to prosecutors that he had talked to Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper about the outed CIA operative, Valerie Plame, back in 2003.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:38 PM | Comments (0)

April 20, 2006

The White House Shuffle

Ah, so many changes, I just can't keep it all straight, or is it a case of the more things change, the more they remain the same. I don't intend to add too much more to the already endless discussion about the meaning of these changes. A couple of things strike me though. I don't see any of these changes as being particularly substantive. They are more like window dressing. No major player is gone. No infusion of new blood.

Imagine you are coaching a team. It isn't doing well. The playoffs are looming, the fans are screaming, the team keeps losing. What do you do? Do you pull a couple of players off the bench, give them more minutes on the floor, have them run the same offense and defense and expect more wins? I doubt it. You make a trade, you get new blood. You look in the mirror, take a good look at yourself, get some respected advice, try a new offense, new plays, something. Is that happening? I don't think so.

So why not? Why hasn't Bush made any big changes? I would contend that one only changes when you admit that you are screwing up. You need to admit failure to change. Bush should know this sort of thinking from AA, if he went to AA. We get a sponser to help us, a guide. In this case the guide probably should not be Dick Cheney. However, I don't think he feels that things are wrong. One doesn't get the sense that he feels he is failing. Until that happens I doubt he will relegate his leading players to the bench.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:27 PM | Comments (0)

The American Economic Miracle

Tom Toles has an interesting take on the U.S. economy in the Washington Post (WaPo)

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:55 AM | Comments (1)

April 19, 2006

Bush's Press Secretary Scott McClellan Resigns

Resigns....oh sure......We believe that. I suppose it matters. The entire strategy of the Administration will change because of the "resignation" of Scott. You bet. Think Progress reports that he might be replaced by Fox News' Tony Snow. (TP) Ha, ha, ha....that is really funny, just like so much else about the White House...a tragic comedy.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:51 AM | Comments (1)

April 18, 2006

I won't be on Subject 2 Discussion tonight

Due to a last minute schedule change, I will be on next week, same bat time, same bat channel.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:37 PM | Comments (0)

There are always new ways to make money off Katrina when you are VP

Our Vice Illustrious Leader scores more financial rewards. This time he took advantage of some nice old loopholes from Katrina hurricane relief. From TaxProfBlog

It appears that the VP is a major beneficiary of the Hurricane Katrina tax relief act. In particular, he claimed $6.8 million of charitable deductions, which is 77% of his AGI -- well in excess of the 50% limitation that would have applied absent the Katrina legislation. The press release indicates that the charitable contribution reflects the amount of net proceeds from an independent administrator's exercise of the VP's Halliburton options -- apparently, the VP had agreed back in 2001 that he would donate the net proceeds from the options to charities once they were exercised.

The press release seems to confirm, at least implicitly, the VP's efforts to take advantage of the Katrina legislation -- it mentions that the Cheneys wrote a personal check of $2.3 million to the administrator in December in order to "maximize the charitable gifts in 2005." Admittedly, I don't know anything about the transactions beyond the info in the press release, but my gut reaction is that the personal check was given in order to make sure the independent administrator had sufficient liquid assets to pay all of the promised charitable contributions before the 50% limit returned on 1/1/06.

Despite the importance of the Katrina legislation to his tax return, it looks like none of the charitable contributions actually went to Katrina-related charities (the press release lists the 3 charitable recipients, all of which were designated in the original 2001 gift agreement). While there's nothing inappropriate about that from a legal perspective, it does demonstrate how the legislation, which was sold to the public as providing relief to Katrina victims, provided significant tax benefits to the VP (and potentially other wealthy individuals) in situations that have nothing to do with Hurricane Katrina.

What a play!

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:35 PM | Comments (0)

Plans for Ira(q/n)

Is it the old Quarterback Sneak? Read here

Much of the quote is from the increasingly quoted Cobra II, which I am still reading.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:50 PM | Comments (0)

Duke Lacrosse

Karen Russell at Huffington Post writes about the Duke lacrosse rape scandal (HuffPo)

I'm also wondering what we should call her? Victim? Accuser? Single mom? Exotic dancer? Part-time student? Stripper? If you are Tucker Carlson, you call her a "crypto-hooker" and if you are Rush Limbaugh, she's a "ho".

Nothing like fair, balanced reporting, or that un-American concept "innocent until proven guilty." There are many unanswered questions about this case. I read reports about the woman, then more reports about the team and the party and I come out confused. I am not sure what to think, but to uncategorically blame one side in this is reprehensible. It appeals to the worst of our sensibilities. Until all the facts are known, I think it behoves anyone with half a brain to keep an open mind.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:30 PM | Comments (2)

Bolton and Bush Making Changes?

Is the new White House Chief of Staff Making changes at the White House? (NYT) Rumor has it, however I would think that the man is merely resting a couple of players instead of actually changing anything.

Even as he poked fun at the way "little flickers of gossip start moving" about a possible staff shake-up, the president suggested that more changes would be coming in the White House and possibly in the cabinet.

Unless we see Rove, Cheney, Rice or Rumsfeld go, I would contend that nothing substantive will actually change. The White House will still act the way it has the past five years. All underlings will follow in lock step. Does anyone actually think that changing the Treasury cheerleader will affect how the adminstration plays with the economy? Having Snow resign or Scott McClellan replaced will do little to change Administration strategy or tactics. Those folks are all role players at best. Unless and until Bush changes some of the major players on his team, we are stuck watching a game of three card monte.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:53 AM | Comments (1)

April 14, 2006

G.W. and The Carlyle Group

I picked up Amy Goodman's book "The Exception to the Rulers" and though it is decided left leaning the book has some interesting things to say about the state of our state. I found this very interesting analysis of OIL (Our Illustrious Leader) and The Carlyle Group.

Although Bush was paying his respects to a former payhmaster, not everyone at Carlyle was happy with the relationship. On April 23, 2003 Carlyle founder and managing director David M. Rubenstein spoke to the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, some of whose members were pushing to divest from his company. Journalist Suzan Mazur obtained a tape of Rubenstein's remarks, which then aired on Democracy Now! after Mazur broke the story in Progressive Review.

"When we were putting our board together, somebody came to me and said, 'Look there is a guy who would like to be on the board. He's kind of down on his luck a bit. Needs a job. Needs some board positions. Could you put him on the board? Pay him a salary and he'll be a good board member and be a loyal vote for the management and so forth.'"

Rubenstien continued, "We put him on the board and he spent three years. Came to all the meetings. Told a lot of jokes. Not that manay clean ones.....I kind of said to him after about three years, 'You know, I'm not sure this is really for you. Maybe you should do something else because I don't think you're adding that much value to the board. You don't know that much about the company.' He said, 'Well, I think I'm getting out fo this business anyhway and I don't really like it that much. So I'm probably going to resign from the board.' And I said, 'Thanks.' Didn't think I'd ever see him again.

"His name is George W. Bush. He became president of the United States. So, you know, if you said to me, 'Name twenty-five million people who would maybe be president of the United States,' he wouldn't have been in that category. So you never know."

Hmmmmmm.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:08 AM | Comments (4)

Connections to the Leak

23 Administration officials are connected to the Valerie Plame leak according to Think Progress. (TP) It is worth a read, if for no other reason to add to the discussion of the current state of the White House and its continual denials.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:04 AM | Comments (2)

April 9, 2006

Read This

Occasionally we find a special thought, a speech or quote that brings one to pause, to take a break and think about the issues confronting us. Please take a few moments, click on this link and read the e-mail to Andrew Sullivan in a post called Revenger's Tragedy. It is truly something important to consider. (AS)

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:12 PM | Comments (2)

April 7, 2006

McClellan Bobs and Weaves Through White House Briefing

Hey, even TPM Muckraker likes the sports metaphor. (TPMMuck) Muckraker has a transcript up of this mornings White House press conference with Scott McClellan. That guy is moving so fast up there that I can hardly see him.

QUESTION: Did the President authorize the leak of intelligence information?

Scott McClellan: Terry, there is an ongoing legal proceeding, and our policy has been that we're not going to comment on it while it's ongoing. And that remains our policy. You will recall, if you go back to that time period that you are referencing, that we did declassify information relating to the -- in the National Intelligence Estimate, to provide that information to the public. That was provided on July 18th, I believe was the day, of 2003.

QUESTION: And since you put it in a context, is this the same information that Mr. Libby cites in his affidavit?

Scott McClellan: That's a question relating to an ongoing legal proceeding and, as you know, I can't get into commenting on that. We want to make sure that there is due process, that there is a fair trial, and that we don't do anything to jeopardize an ongoing legal proceeding.

There is more, lots more.......and it is all fun.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:17 PM | Comments (1)

How Do the Republicans Justify This

Is this American? Is the President above the law, answerable to no one? Do the Republicans say that the President can do anything he wants as long as it MAY fit into the terrorist agenda? The Washington Post reported (WaPo)

In response to a question from Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) during an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Gonzales suggested that the administration could decide it was legal to listen in on a domestic call without supervision if it were related to al-Qaeda.

"I'm not going to rule it out," Gonzales said.

In the past, Gonzales and other officials refused to say whether they had the legal authority to conduct warrantless eavesdropping on domestic calls, and have stressed that the NSA eavesdropping program is focused only on international communications

The Republican response will be interesting.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)

DeLay is Still Swinging As He Goes Down for the Count

Tom DeLay might know that he is going down for the count, but he hasn't stopped swinging. (AOL)

Supporters of U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay protested at an event Thursday held by the Democratic candidate for the congressman's seat, and the event quickly dissolved into a shouting and shoving match. Police were called, but made no arrests...

DeLay campaign manager Chris Homan said he organized the protest but DeLay, a Republican, didn't know about it.

Did he actually not know about it? Maybe yes, and maybe no. Given his track record I would not put too much faith in the veracity of his campaign statements, but only they know for sure.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)

April 6, 2006

OIL (Our Illustrious Leader), Cheney, Libby and the Leaks

I never went to law school, I am not a lawyer, I am not sure of the exact legalities of the leak, however, after reading and watching more than one analysis I am reminded of something my grandfather said, which is a cliche, "If it walks like a duck, quakes like a duck, and looks like a duck, it's a duck."

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:33 PM | Comments (0)

Cheney and Bush Authorize Libby Leaks

MSM reports that the President and Vice President authorized Scooter Libby to leak classified documents. (NYT)

Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide told prosecutors President Bush authorized the leak of sensitive intelligence information about Iraq, according to court papers filed by prosecutors in the CIA leak case.

Before his indictment, I. Lewis Libby testified to the grand jury investigating the CIA leak that Cheney told him to pass on information and that it was Bush who authorized the disclosure, the court papers say. According to the documents, the authorization led to the July 8, 2003, conversation between Libby and New York Times reporter Judith Miller.

There was no indication in the filing that either Bush or Cheney authorized Libby to disclose Valerie Plame's CIA identity.

But the disclosure in documents filed Wednesday means that the president and the vice president put Libby in play as a secret provider of information to reporters about prewar intelligence on Iraq.

I don't know the legal ramifications but it sure seems like dirty pool to me.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:05 PM | Comments (0)

April 4, 2006

Quite a Quote

Eliot Spitzer just said on CSPAN of the Republicans:

"No party has ever done so much for so few who need so little."

Thanks to Buck Batard at Bad Attitudes.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:46 PM | Comments (0)

April 2, 2006

A Few Good Men

I was channel surfing last night and stumbled onto the last 15 minutes of "A Few Good Men". Tom Cruise's scene with Jack Nicholson brought up some interesting parallels to our present situation. Check out the video.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:18 PM | Comments (1)

April 1, 2006

April Fools

It is late on Saturday night, April 1st, April Fools Day. So yesterday, in my video I said to stop by and I would let you know my April Fools joke for this year. Do you know? Well, we have been fooled, most all of us. The joke, unfortunately is on us. And who pulled off one of the biggest jokes on the world? Our Illustrious Leader (OIL), G. W. Bush. Oh, how partisan you say, so left wing. Perhaps, but consider; a war based on lies costing at least a trillion dollars, thousands of deaths, tens of thousands of injuries that are not properly cared for because of budget cuts, absolutely huge budget deficits, increasing income disparaties between the rich and poor, mismanagement throughout the government, a joke of a Department of Homeland Security, the New Orleans disaster, a mounting energy crisis that the administration refuses to adequately address, serious education issues related to "No child left behind", a medicare prescription drug program that helps only the drug companies and no one understands, global warming that "needs more study" as the ice caps melt, Osama bin Laden still running around Afghanistan, Islamic fundamentalism growing throughout the Middle East, Iran and North Korea developing nuclear weapons and supporting terrorists, the country becoming increasingly politically and culturally polarized, lobbyists controlling our government, a President ignoring laws on whim, illegal wiretaps, leaking the name of CIA agents.....I could go on, but you get the idea. America voted him into office. The joke is on his supporters and unfortunately the rest of us, who failed to defeat him....twice.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:29 PM | Comments (2)

March 31, 2006

The Fans Keep Shouting

The Huffington Post has a link to an article about Rove and Bush manipulating information regarding Iraq prior to the 2004 election. (HuffPost)

Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, cautioned other White House aides in the summer of 2003 that Bush's 2004 re-election prospects would be severely damaged if it was publicly disclosed that he had been personally warned that a key rationale for going to war had been challenged within the administration.

I am amazed that over 1200 people posted comments. Is this news a surprise? Is it not more of the same old thing? Why even waste the couple of minutes to post a comment? Preaching to the choir? Rallying the fans? I don't know.

Posted by Chip Spear at 5:26 PM | Comments (1)

Is Joe in for a Tough Game?

Joe Lieberman faces a potential primary run against upcoming challenger Ned Lamont. Will it happen? Is the dissatisfaction with Joe big enough to translate into problems at the Democratic State Convention? Can Ned raise enough cash? Check out the video for Political Sports' expert analysis.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:57 PM | Comments (2)

March 30, 2006

A Hot Recruit for the Republicans

Seems like there is another potential player for the Republican team. (NCh5)

Rep. Debra Maggart, R-Hendersonville, said she still believes homosexual couples should not be allowed to adopt children. In fact, in addition to e-mail correspondence with a master's student at Vanderbilt publicized recently, in which she said as much, she has also said homosexual couples may molest the children they adopt.

"We also have seen evidence that homosexual couples prey on young males and have, in some instances, adopted them in order to have unfretted access to subject them to a life of molestation and sexual abuse," she said.

Thanks and a tip of the hat to Ivan Katz for the link.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:00 PM | Comments (3)

Immigration Game Update

We are still early in the first quarter of this game, but the play is hot, fun-filled and furious. Check out the video.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:20 PM | Comments (1)

The Bible as a Text Book

ABC News reported this morning that the Georgia legislature passed a law stating that the Bible would be classified as a text book and used in the Georgia public schools. I wonder if they made the same accommodation for the Koran and Torah? Nothing like separation of church and state or imposing religion is there?

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:44 AM | Comments (3)

March 24, 2006

Chris Matthews Kicks Bush's Butt

Chris Matthews slammed President Bush, Cheney and the White House on Imus this morning, giving example after example of Bush lying about Iraq and the invasion. Unfortunately I do not have a link to any footage. Chris is usually so careful or errs on the side of the White House these days. I was frankly rather shocked. He said that they basically lied about everything. Not one thing they said about Saddam and the invasion has turned out to be true. He cited specific quotes by the President and Cheney from before the invasion and after which clearly detail lies and misleading statements. Wow, it was quite a performance.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:26 PM | Comments (0)

March 23, 2006

You Don't Get Rich Off Your Enemies

Barbara Bush donated money for Katrina relief and designated that much of it go to her son's software company. (THC)

Former first lady Barbara Bush donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund with specific instructions that the money be spent with an educational software company owned by her son Neil.

Who would have thought that something like this could ever happen at this point?

Posted by Chip Spear at 5:05 PM | Comments (0)

Feingold Plays for Himself

Russ Feingold appeared on Jon Stewart last night and reiterated his desire to censure President Bush. From a strategic perspective it was probably a good move for him, but not particularly good for the Democrats. If he is seriously running for President in 2008, the move differentiates him from other Dems. He presents himself as more than willing to take on the White House, unlike other potential candidates who waffle about the war, wiretaps and torture. That is a good thing. However the Dems are more concerned with winning either the House or Senate this fall.

I don't think the problem is that other Dems in Congress don't want to support him, rather it is that they think a push to censure will galvanize the right, which is exactly what they don't want. The Republicans are in the process of self-destructing. The Dems don't want to do anything that might result in their working together to fight a Democratic attack on their President. This would be disastrous for the 2006 mid-term elections. Dems see a great opportunity. If they take one of the two houses they will open some serious investigations. If they don't then investigations will not happen. The Republicans working together against a Democratic attack on the President will make it much harder.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:01 PM | Comments (0)

March 22, 2006

More Fumbles Than We Imagined

Reports surfaced that the U.S. ignored information provided by one of Saddam's inner circle stating that he did not have any nukes. (MSNBC)

Now NBC News has learned that for a short time the CIA had contact with a secret source at the highest levels within Saddam Hussein’s government, who gave them information far more accurate than what they believed. It is a spy story that has never been told before, and raises new questions about prewar intelligence.

At this point it should not be the least bit surprising that the information was ignored. It falls into a pattern that the Administration did not care about the veracity of their claims of WMD. They were going to war.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:53 PM | Comments (1)

March 21, 2006

Republicans Can't Decide What to Do Either

Republicans find themselves in much the same boat as Democrats in that they are having trouble defining a clear agenda for their constituents. As mentioned here, and in other publications and web sites, the Democrats have had this problem for quite some time. I would contend that when a political group lacks leadership, everyone struggles to agree on a message.

Republican efforts to craft a policy and political agenda to carry the party into the midterm elections have stumbled repeatedly as GOP leaders face widespread disaffection and disagreement within the ranks.

Anxiety over President Bush's Iraq policy, internal clashes over such divisive issues as immigration, and rising complaints that the party has abandoned conservative principles on spending restraint have all hobbled the effort to devise an election-year message, said several lawmakers involved in the effort.

While it is a Republican refrain that Democrats criticize Bush but have no positive vision, for now the governing party also has no national platform around which lawmakers are prepared to rally....

One Republican strategist, who asked not to be identified so he could speak openly about the party's problems, said divisions between moderates and conservatives have left the House and Senate Republican conferences in disarray. "Getting consensus on policy matters ..... is very difficult," he said. "That has caused stagnation and led to perceptions that Republican governance is going nowhere."

In this case Bush is losing control of his party. Fellow Republicans move away from his problems and start looking for alternatives. They won't align with him in November if seen as a liability.

If he and Karl aren't coaching the team and calling the plays, who is?

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:45 AM | Comments (0)

March 15, 2006

Bush as Art

It suddenly struck me that the Bush Administration is actually a piece of artwork created by Marcel Duchamp, Jean Arp and Max Ernst. I started doing some research and surprisingly came across some incriminating evidence from each of their estates detailing a long term plan to turn the U.S. government into art. We know that Duchamp gave up the creation of conventional work for chess while living in the U.S. However, I have found enough communication between the three men to indicate they collaborated with some early genetic engineering experiments with they then tried on Bush's family. It has finally reached its nadir today. How else to explain such a surreal state of affairs.

Now I realize that this is far removed from my usual Political Sports arena, but sometimes we must expand our consciousness a bit to make room for a better explanation of reality.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:17 PM | Comments (0)

Bush Makes Some Gains With His Base

OIL (Our Illustrious Leader) initially ran on a platform of compassionate conservatism. We now know, based on his actions, that the platform was a smokescreen. His actions have clearly been targeting the rich, helping them any way he can. His administration is currently rejecting hurricane disaster recovery loans at a higher rate than ever before. A report by congressional Democrats states (AP)

... business and home loan approval rates averaged about 60 percent after Hurricane Andrew devastated much of south Florida in 1992. The trend continued through the rest of President George H.W. Bush's administration and into the Clinton administration, according to Democratic members of the House Small Business Committee.

After Hurricane Wilma surged ashore in south Florida last year, the approval rate for low-interest, taxpayer-guaranteed loans by the Small Business Administration had dropped to barely 15 percent. Overall, Democrats said, approval rates for home and business disaster loans since 2004 have averaged about 35 percent.

I realize that many people in the Gulf Coast region are poor and may not qualify for loans under normal circumstances. But these are far from normal circumstances and deserve special attention. It also seems clear that the rebuilding effort has not been a high priority of OIL. He must realize tha many of these people don't vote and definitely don't provide him or his party with much in the way of financial support. Why bother?

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:26 PM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2006

Once a Fan, Always a Fan

I saw a friend over the weekend who mentioned to me that he felt I was being too hard on his guy, G.W. I responded that I had no problem with Republicans or Democrats. I try to stay as non-partisan as I can, though admittedly I often fail. What I can't do is support someone who is incompetent. Andrew Sullivan linked to this memo from John Sawer, Tony Blair's special envoy to Iraq, which describes the Iraq situation immediately after the fall of Saddam almost three years ago. Very unfortunately it is still too relevant, chaos still exists and Our Illustrious Leader (OIL) still has the same guy, Donald Rumsfeld, coaching the team.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:53 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2006

What Really Happened to United Flight 93?

Ted Rall attacks pervailing opinion that Flight 93 was brought down by a passenger revolt. He thinks a military jet shot down the airliner. After reading the account, it makes a certain amount of sense. Follow the link.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:58 AM | Comments (2)

March 10, 2006

Of Course Dems Are Disorganized

King of the Mountain

Many media pundits deride current state of the Democratic party as being disorganized and lacking a clear message for voters. And without that message they won't capitalize on Republican scandals and ineptitude. I suggest that they are creating a "problem" that does not exist. In the normal process of democracy parties go through periods of change. They try out new ideas, fight with each other and select new leaders. This naturally occurs during the period between elections - Duh! We are now in such a timeframe. It is perfectly natural that the Democrats don't have a single leader to state their message. The leaders, and potential leaders, are busy playing King of the Mountain, struggling for that top spot.

Without a chief, everyone plays chief. A clearly defined hierarchy does not exist; no President, no Speaker of the House, no Senate Majority Leader. And because of the nature of politics, no one contending for leadership of the top jobs, whatever their title, is willing to cede any authority to a potential rival. If I were thinking of running for President, for example, I would not abdicate the stage to Hillary Clinton to deliver my party's message. I would only be hurting myself by doing so. I want to be that person, delivering the message, not her, or anyone else. Right now we have a situation where many Democrats want that position and are unwilling to walk off the stage.

From a strategic standpoint it makes sense for the opposition to make fun of the Democrats lack of cohesion, painting it as incompetence. It is smart political strategy. The implication? If the Dems are disorganized as a party, how can they effectively run the country?

We are eight months from a mid-term election. Why do these people think that everything is supposed to be decided now? It seems to me like a normal part of the process. The perception of the election cycles has gotten so ridiculous that the MSM worries about who is running for the next Presidential election a couple of hours after the polls close from the last one. If no one is a clear favorite, they assume there must be something wrong. I find it simultaneously amusing and disgusting.

I think two issues are at work with the MSM. First, many political analysts on TV these days seem to lean right. I suppose I should confirm this by make a list of all the analysts and commentators on the three major networks, plus CNN, MSNBC and FoxNews. I would bet that there are many more right wingers than left, especially on cable. If all of them repeat that Democrats are disorganized and have no idea what they are doing or where we should go, they plant a seed. Say something enough times and people start to believe it. If commentator and analysts report the normal political pre-midterm free for all as extremely negative, then viewers buy it. This only helps Republicans.

The other issue is that the MSM fights to keep ratings and readers. They do this by reporting "Big, Important" stories. If they don't have an important story, they make one. To get viewers, or readers, they keep the excitement level high and create a crisis right then. In this case, they turn the normal pre-election process into a disaster. "The Democrats Crash and Burn", "They can't take advantage of the Republican scandals", "The Democrats have no message", "They can't lead themselves, how can they lead the country?", "The Rudderless Democrats", take your pick. This arouses interest, gets viewers and solidifies their jobs.

Anytime one starts a project a period exists when you pull together lots of thoughts, ideas, pictures, information, whatever. Stacks of papers cover desks and tables. You have a general idea where you are headed, but the final pieces are not yet in place. You are working on it, you have no fear. You will get it done. You have been through this before and you will again. The election is 8 months away. There is still time.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:49 AM | Comments (3)

Dubai Ports Deal

I was in my car yesterday when I heard that Dubai Ports World was to turn over its U.S. port deal to an "American Entity". The commentator said that one big problem was scarcity of American companies that could actually handle the deal. The first thought that came to mind was our favorite, Halliburton. Wouldn't that be something?

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:09 AM | Comments (1)

March 8, 2006

Molly Hits it Long and Straight

Molly Ivins hit the Democrats good and hard, as she loves to do, here She is not hesitant to call them spineless, money-grubbing snakes, little better than the Republicans.

I can't see a damn soul in D.C. except Russ Feingold who is even worth considering for President. The rest of them seem to me so poisonously in hock to this system of legalized bribery they can't even see straight.

Look at their reaction to this Abramoff scandal. They're talking about "a lobby reform package." We don't need a lobby reform package, you dimwits, we need full public financing of campaigns, and every single one of you who spends half your time whoring after special interest contributions knows it. The Abramoff scandal is a once in a lifetime gift - a perfect lesson on what's wrong with the system being laid out for people to see. Run with it, don't mess around with little patches, and fix the system.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:13 PM | Comments (0)

March 6, 2006

Cheney at 18%

Recent analysis of Cheney's polling numbers by Richard Morin (WashPo). This is really funny.

The latest CBS News poll found that only 18 percent of the public has a favorable view of Cheney. How bad is a rating of 18 percent? According to a quick review of polling archives, it arguably makes Cheney:

- Less popular than singer Michael Jackson , bedmate of little boys and world-class screwball. One in four Americans -- 25 percent -- told Gallup polltakers last June they were still Jackson fans after the onetime King of Pop was found not guilty of child molesting.

- Less popular than former football star O.J. Simpson was after his arrest and trial for murdering his estranged wife and her companion. Three in 10 -- 29 percent -- of all Americans had a favorable view of Simpson in an October, 1995 Gallup poll.

- Less popular with Americans than Joseph Stalin is with Russians. In 2003, fully 20 percent said Stalin, blamed for millions of deaths in the former Soviet Union during the 1930s and 1940s, was a "wise and humane" leader. Thirty-one percent also said they wouldn't object if Uncle Joe came back to rule again, according to surveys conducted by Russian pollsters.

- Much less popular than former Vice President Spiro Agnew in his final days in office. Forty-five percent approved of the job that Agnew was doing as President Richard Nixon's veep in a Gallup Poll conducted in August 1973, little more than a month before Agnew resigned and pleaded no contest to a criminal tax evasion charge arising from a bribery investigation.

- Far less popular than former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey days after he announced in August 2004 that he had engaged in an extramarital affair with a man and would resign. His job approval rating bumped from 43 to 45 percent.

But take heart, Dick. About 35 percent of those interviewed by the CBS poll didn't offer an opinion of you. Perhaps some of your supporters were shy. And other polls released later in the week pegged your popularity considerably higher.

Besides, even at 18 percent you're not the least popular public figure in America. You're slightly better liked than that fabulously blond and brainless party girl Paris Hilton. She was viewed favorably last June by

15 percent of the public, according to Gallup.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:40 PM | Comments (1)

March 2, 2006

Terrorism and Islam

Why do we continue to insist we are engaged in a "War on Terror"? Terror is a psychological state, it is not a political entity, it is not group or a movement. Terrorism is a means, an offensive tool of war. It is a strategy designed to further political goals of a group or state. We are not waging a war on terror. That would be like saying that The New England Patriots are waging a war on the forward pass, or the Yankees are waging war on fast balls. What we are waging is a war against Islamic fundamentalists. So the better question might be why does the adminitration insist on calling it a War on Terror? Is it because the President does not want to alienate so-called "moderate Muslims"?

And perhaps we should change our definition of Islam from a religion to a political organization, or at least create a new category of political religion, since Islam does not respect individual rights, still advocates dhimma and is intent on conquering the world. In the West it uses the label of religion to protect itself from reactions to its political policies. Mosques, protected as religious sites, can easily be a center for what we in the West would consider political activity. Islam uses civil rights as a defense to further goals which would ultimately destroy our system of civil rights. It is a clever tactic, using the very thing defining who we are against us. It reminds me of Judo, defined by Wikipedia as "the principle of using one's opponent's strength against him and adapting well to changing circumstances". Muslims use whatever definition will help them further their intent, which is the expansion of Islam. The Koran does not differentiate religion and politics, that distinction exists in the West. There is no separation of church and state. It is more a case of c/s/h/t/u/a/r/t/c/e/h instead of church/state where the two are integrated and inseparable.

I don't want to oversimplify what is a complex issue, one could easily write a dissertation on Islam and politics or the distinctions between religion and politics. What I do suggest is that Islam does not define itself the way the West defines religious and political entities. Islam contends that they are part of the same thing. One would be blind not to see how religious leaders control governments, militias and armies throughout the Middle East. Osama's war is based on religion, not politics. The House of Saud is definitely not secular. The riots over the cartoons were religious in nature. Muslim rioters wanted the West to restrict free speech. Muslims wanted to ban any speech deemed anti-Islam by Muslims.

If the West is serious about winning this so-called War on Terror it should probably clarify its goals and define them for the players, meaning the people who believe in the foundation of Western Civilization, like civil rights, sexual equality, freedom of thought and especially freedom of religion without persecution or any sort.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:47 PM | Comments (1)

A Powerful Video From the Anti-Warriors

A video well worth watching.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11924.htm

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:36 PM | Comments (1)

March 1, 2006

Bush Confident We Will Capture Osama

President Bush said that he was confident that we would eventually catch Osama bin Laden. He said that shortly after 9/11. (AP) Remember "Dead or Alive"? He will probably say the same thing on his death bed.

Afghanistan - In a surprise visit under extraordinary security, President Bush expressed unwavering confidence Wednesday that Osama bin Laden will be captured despite years of fruitless manhunts for the elusive terrorist leader who ran training camps in Afghanistan and plotted the deadly attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Why does the media think this is an important statement worthy of mention?

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:56 PM | Comments (3)

Can Tom Tomorrow See the Future?

Tom Tomorrow reprints an old cartoon for our enjoyment here

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:44 PM | Comments (1)

Bad Days in the White House

Bush's approval ratings have hit 34% according to a recent CBS News poll. Only 32% think he is adequately addressing the Katrina disaster. (CBS) I don't remember any President doing this badly. Maybe Nixon was this low in the polls before he resigned, I am not certain. The point here is that the President is losing on so many fronts it is embarrassing. If we play GM for a bit we can certainly offer up some changes to improve his gameplan.

I remember reading a quote that says something like, "If we don't change direction, then we're likely to end up where we're headed." So I get out of bed today and say to everyone around, "Well, folks, we are going to do exactly what we did yesterday and the day before. We are going to act the same, think the same, sell the same, market the same, manage the same, and politic the same. And you know what, everything will be much different by the time we are done." -- Not.-- In this case we can expect more of the same, more mismanagement, more problems resulting from bad management, more bad decisions, more cronyism with large corporations, more scandals, unless he "changes direction". To realize better results you always change personnel or strategy. One would think that he would act like the coach who is losing the game; the ground game isn't working, the passing game is ineffective, and the special teams keep making penalties. Bench a couple of players, try more plays up the middle; simple, straightforward, no nonsense actions designed to gain verifiable results benefitting the country, and not just major corporations. Do something that people can support, which does not include turning port management over to an UAE based company.

The opposition knows exactly what the White House will do. They've become more effective at counterattacks. However with their virtual monopoly of the media the Bushies still have a tactical advantage. A few bold moves would have significant traction with the electorate. Appointing a high ranking Democrat to replace Rumsfeld would be one such move. The other might be sending Bill Clinton to Iraq to broker a deal with the Sunnis and Shiites. There is no question that dumping Rove and replacing him with a true moderate would send a signal that George is serious about bipartisan government. Imagine how the country would react if he appointed a moderate Republican or Democrat to lead a new national energy initiative, a serious one, not something mentioned in a State of the Union address and quickly forgotten. If George wants to inspire America he needs to be more than a fear monger. Americans want to believe in the greatness of America, not its arrogance. They want to know that we stand for all the right things, not secret prisons, renditions, torture, and breaking international treaties. If George expects to turn his Presidency around he has to change how he plays, otherwise we face three more years of the same old thing.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:58 AM | Comments (1)

February 23, 2006

White House Runs Another Trick Play

There always seems to be more than meets the eye when it comes to the White House. We now learn that they had a secret deal with Dubai Ports World to provide information. (AP)

Under a secretive agreement with the Bush administration, a company in the United Arab Emirates promised to cooperate with U.S. investigations as a condition of its takeover of operations at six major American ports, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The U.S. government chose not to impose other, routine restrictions.

In approving the $6.8 billion purchase, the administration chose not to require state-owned Dubai Ports World to keep copies of its business records on U.S. soil, where they would be subject to orders by American courts. It also did not require the company to designate an American citizen to accommodate requests by the government.

I believe this will turn into a very big political loss for the White House.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:35 AM | Comments (0)

February 22, 2006

The Port Deal - What If.....

What if the port deal is approved and there is a terrorist attack on the NYC port. What then? What would the political fallout be for the President as opposed to it possibly happening with an American or British company?

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:21 AM | Comments (0)

February 21, 2006

Outsourcing Port Security

Maybe this UAE company is very good, I don't know. What I do know is IF there was a terrorist attack on one of the six ports managed by a state owned company from Dubai, every supporter of this particular contract would probably be lynched. It would be a HUGE embarrassment and indescribable political disaster. In addition there appears to be White House ties to the company. (NYDN)

The Dubai firm that won Bush administration backing to run six U.S. ports has at least two ties to the White House.

This takes stupidity to a level beyond my comprehension. It is like a triple penalty in football. I don't see how this is not a major political loss for the Administration.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:37 PM | Comments (1)

February 16, 2006

Americans Should Demand Release of Secret Service Report

Demanding that the White House release the Secret Service report clearly puts the White House on the defensive regarding the Cheney hunting accident. We do not have a national security issue here. Why would the administration refuse to release this information? Do they have something to hide? Or, will they do everything to maintain their fortress of secrecy no matter what the situation? Perhaps they are worried if they provided information about this the floodgates will break. The White House seems to be waiting this out, marking time until the media changes channels to the next show. There are so many unanswered questions. I wonder if we will ever really find out what happened. I think it is human nature to expect the worst when someone keeps secrets.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:44 PM | Comments (0)

325,000 Possible U.S. Terrorists

Does anyone outside of the White House and a few paranoid supporters actually believe that there are 325,000 potential terrorists in the country. And consider that the number has quadrupled in the since 2003. With no checks and balances on the N.S.A. and the White House wiretap program one would think the list will get longer and the justifications for snooping expand. That is a conjecture however. What do you think? (SFGATE)

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:04 AM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2006

Crash and Burn

Why did Cheney not call his boss about the shooting? Why was it left to Andrew Card to call George and not Dick on Saturday night? Why did George not take control of the situation immediately? Why did he not tell Dick to hold a press conference immediately? Why did he let the VP handle this on his own when it would clearly affect the entire White House? Why does he not tell him to talk to the press today, even a few days later? Why does Bush not hold a press conference to address the issue himself? What is he doing anyway? Whose team is this anyway? Who is the QB? Is Bush actually a hologram?

As Captain, Road Prison 36 says to Paul Newman in the movie "Cool Hand Luke", "What we have here, is a failure to communicate." But what is most evident is the complete failure of leadership by our fearless leader, who might be out riding his bike for all we know. It is a complete abdication of responsibility that he has not taken control to fix the boat.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:57 AM | Comments (0)

February 13, 2006

Cheney Delay

Was Cheney drinking before "The Shot"? If it was me, and I was, I probably delay talking to the police at least 12 hours, not that Cheney, an honest, straightforward, open, Vice President of the U.S., would do something like that.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:38 PM | Comments (1)

The QB Can't Lead the Team

The Congress just released a report indicating a massive "failure of leadership" in confronting the Hurricane Katrina disaster. (CNN)

"Our investigation revealed that Katrina was a national failure, an abdication of the most solemn obligation to provide for the common welfare," the report says. "At every level -- individual, corporate, philanthropic and governmental -- we failed to meet the challenge that was Katrina. In this cautionary tale, all the little pigs built houses of straw."

As I have mentioned before, the President looks like a leader and talks like a leader should talk, but when it comes to action, leading the team, he is a failure. I really don't understand why so many Americans are fooled by disconnect between words and reality.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2006

More Aid for Big Business

Draw your own conclusions. (Gannett)

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert engineered a backroom legislative maneuver to protect pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits, say witnesses to the pre-Christmas power play.

The language was tucked into a Defense Department appropriations bill at the last minute without the approval of members of a House-Senate conference committee, say several witnesses, including a top Republican staff member....

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., the ranking minority House member on the conference committee, said he asked Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the conference chairman, whether the vaccine liability language was in the massive bill or would be placed in it.

Obey and four others at the meeting said Stevens told him no. Committee members signed off on the bill and the conference broke up.

A spokeswoman for Stevens, Courtney Boone, said last week that the vaccine liability language was in the bill when conferees approved it. Stevens was not made available for comment.

During a January interview, Frist agreed. Asked about the claim that the vaccine language was inserted after the conference members signed off on the bill, he replied: "To my knowledge, that is incorrect. It was my understanding, you'd have to sort of confirm, that the vaccine liability which had been signed off by leaders of the conference, signed off by the leadership in the United States Senate, signed off by the leadership of the House, it was my understanding throughout that that was part of that conference report."

But Keith Kennedy, who works for Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., as staff director for the Senate Appropriations Committee, said at a seminar for reporters last month that the language was inserted by Frist and Hastert, R-Ill., after the conference committee ended its work.

"There should be no dispute. That was an absolute travesty," Kennedy said at a videotaped Washington, D.C., forum sponsored by the Center on Congress at Indiana University.

"It was added after the conference had concluded. It was added at the specific direction of the speaker of the House and the majority leader of the Senate. The conferees did not vote on it. It's a true travesty of the process."

After the conference committee broke up, a meeting was called in Hastert's office, Kennedy said. Also at the meeting, according to a congressional staffer, were Frist, Stevens and House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)

White House Loses More "Truth" Yardage

The NY Times reported today that the Bush administration knew about the levee breach the night it happened, which clearly contradicts administration contentions that it found out about the problem the following day. (NYT)

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Bush administration officials said they had been caught by surprise when they were told on Tuesday, Aug. 30, that a levee had broken, allowing floodwaters to engulf New Orleans.

Investigators have found evidence that federal officials at the White House and elsewhere learned of the levee break in New Orleans earlier than was first suggested.

But Congressional investigators have now learned that an eyewitness account of the flooding from a federal emergency official reached the Homeland Security Department's headquarters starting at 9:27 p.m. the day before, and the White House itself at midnight....

But the alert did not seem to register. Even the next morning, President Bush, on vacation in Texas, was feeling relieved that New Orleans had "dodged the bullet," he later recalled. Mr. Chertoff, similarly confident, flew Tuesday to Atlanta for a briefing on avian flu. With power out from the high winds and movement limited, even news reporters in New Orleans remained unaware of the full extent of the levee breaches until Tuesday.

Since this is front page news in the paper of record I don't expect this to be new to you, however what is significant, once again is the discovery of one more deception, i.e. that they didn't know, and one more example of gross mismanagement of the disaster, which continues to this day. This definitely is another yardage loss for the President. It remains to be seen if the Democrats will be able to turn it to their advantage, considering how successful they have been up to now.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)

February 8, 2006

The Budget That Changes the Game

Imagine for a moment that you believed the only true role of the Federal government was to protect the country, everything was subservient to that one mission. The government was not a parent, did not exist to help you at all, that role was to be filled by your friends, family and maybe some local charities. It had no other responsibilities, none, not the environment, not your children's education, not labor laws, or health services, not urban development or energy policy and not transportation. Now extend that belief a bit and further imagine that you ran a government that provided all those services that you would absolutely love to make disappear. For various reasons you are unable to just close the departments dealing with all those things and send all the employees home.

How would you accomplish that goal? One strategy would be to spend the government to death, starving the programs to the point where you eliminated all but the most vital services, like national defense. You would force the government to use every other dollar of revenue to pay off the deficit that you "built". In addition you could pack departments with friends of big business, who were not only campaign contributors, but advocates of open markets, free enterprise, and no government regulations. They would act to undercut whatever rules and regulations existed. If for example they didn't like the results of a particular study, they might cut funding, as they did with research into logging recently burnt forests in Oregon. If one of your programs was blocked in Congress you would surreptitiously put the program in the next year's budget anyway, thinking that you could force it on an unsuspecting country, like Social Security and private accounts.

Farfetched you say? I think not. Just take a look at this year's White House budget of $2.77 trillion. It increases the deficit by $423 billion and cuts or eliminates 141 programs. The NYTimes provides more details: (NYT)

While seeking nearly $15 billion in savings by trimming programs in cancer research, community policing and other areas, Bush would give a record $439.3 billion to the Pentagon, up 4.8 percent from last year. On top of that, the White House will seek new financing for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Back in Washington later, Bush signed a measure to cut $39 billion over five years from the Medicaid health care program for the poor, student loans and other programs.

In ten or fifteen years when folks complain about their taxes wondering where the money goes, make sure you remind them about how much is paying off the debt thanks to policies of our President. When the government says it has no money for the environment, or cancer research, or education, or training, or even body armor, think about what happened this year.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:07 PM | Comments (0)

No Oath for our Attorney General

The Attorney General of the United States of America did not take an oath when testifying before Congress about wiretaps. How can you beat that? What might he be afraid of? Why would the Congress even bother with his testimony if he refused to tell the truth? Cheerleading for the Administration agenda perhaps? I am sure that his testimony revealed many unknown truths about the wiretap program, don't you? The oath thing worked very well with the oil company executives too, didn't it?

Why change the strategy if it works.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:24 PM | Comments (0)

Lieberman Undercuts Obama

I have read the reports of the letters going back and forth between John McCain and Barak Obama. I also read that Sen. Lieberman was in the room when the two were meeting about hearings. Lieberman did little to support Obama when questioned by Don Imus this morning on his radio/MSNBC program. Rather than supporting his Democratic partner, Joe followed his own agenda, which is to help Joe as much as possible.

Like John McCain, Joe views Barak as something of a threat, but for different reasons. Where Sen. McCain sees a Presidential run in both his and Barak's future, Joe is thinking about his position in the Democratic hierarchy. I am sure he is not quite ready to annoint Mr. Obama as the second coming of the Democratic salvation. Joe likes being the center of attention and will make sure that a young newcomer to the Senate learns that one must pay respects to one's seniors for a very long time.

Several reports suggest that Obama followed recommendations from the Senate's head Democrat, Harry Reid, who was attempting to rally Democrats into presenting a focused, party response. Lieberman, acting as he often does, screwed his fellow Democrats, presenting himself as the voice of moderation, always willing to reach across the aisle. When Democrats get slammed by the media for not agreeing on anything they can easily use Sen. Joe as the number one reason why. He is more than willing to tell the rest of the Democratic leadership to take a hike whenever it suits his own narrow interests instead of the party's.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:54 AM | Comments (0)

Gonzales Strategy in Wiretap Hearings

Balkinization provides a clear synopsis of Gonzales testimony to Congress.

What we did was legal, or, in our opinion, could have been legal. Since there are arguments on both sides, we will rely on our opinion. However, we won't let a court decide the question, because then we wouldn't be able to rely on our own opinion.

We won't answer hypothetical questions about what we can do legally or constitutionally. We also won't tell you what we've actually done or plan to do; hence every question you ask will about legality be in effect a hypothetical, and therefore we can refuse to answer it.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)

February 2, 2006

Bush - Caught Again

When one wonders why President Bush has a credibility problem, you don't have to go too far to see the disconnect between his words and deeds. In his State of the Union speech on Tuesday he mentioned he planned on raising research funding for alternative fuels by 20%. Two days later in the NY Times we read this bit of information: (NYT)

The Energy Department will begin laying off researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the next week or two because of cuts to its budget.

A veteran researcher said the staff had been told that the cuts would be concentrated among researchers in wind and biomass, which includes ethanol. Those are two of the technologies that Mr. Bush cited on Tuesday night as holding the promise to replace part of the nation's oil imports.

The budget for the laboratory, which is just west of Denver, was cut by nearly 15 percent, to $174 million from $202 million, requiring the layoff of about 40 staff members out of a total of 930, said a spokesman, George Douglas. The cut is for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1.

If this happened only once or twice it would be no big deal, but this is one more example of a huge list of such occurrences that result in serious credibility problems. Eventually people catch on.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:57 AM | Comments (2)

February 1, 2006

SOTU Speech

He is like a Quarterback who stands up before the microphones, looks good, speaks with authority and says all the right things. Unfortunately he has to play the game. That is the rub with George Bush. He talks like a leader should talk, he just doesn't lead. His passes don't hit his receivers and he keeps messing up the hand offs. At this point most Americans see it too. So did this speech change anyone's mind? Did he lay out a bold new vision or direction? Any great new initiatives that will significantly alter his standing in the polls?

I listened, took notes, listened to the response, talked about both speeches on Subject 2 Discussion last night, listened to TV analysis, NPR analysis and read numerous articles and blogs on the speech. My reaction is muted, blah, unexcited, wishing there were more, lots more, not in the number of words, but in substance. I feel disappointed, not only in the speech, but in the man, our President. I have to admit that I am not one of his biggest fans, so take what I say with a degree of scepticism.

The most powerful man on earth has power to achieve true greatness. I sometimes think, "Oh if only I had that opportunity what I could do." I dream, he gets to act. And how has he acted? I won't go down the laundry list of problems other than to say that this man is not the "Uniter, not Divider", or Compassionate Conservative he alluded to during his first campaign. The country is seriously divided, the management of government is a disaster, we have huge deficits, increasing disparity between rich and poor, our international standing is horrible, and most people don't trust him. After 5 years he has seriously divided our country. It seems we have our own form of religious fundamentalism running the government. He has had an opportunity that so few people have, to actually do something valuable to help the U.S. and lead the world to something better. He has seriously squandered that opportunity.

The State of the Union speech was another opportunity to set a better course. Instead we got more fear of terror, the march of freedom throughout the world, justification for his wiretaps, a recognition of our addiction to oil and the need to do something about our lagging educational system. I understand the issues. Some I agree with and some I don't. That is not unusual. The problem is that they do not dig deep enough. There were too many platitudes, nothing to address the real problems, rally the country or offer any substantial programs to actually solve these issues. My grandpa always said that talk was cheap, actions are expensive. George has talked a good game over the past five years, with his so-called leadership, looking tough behind the podium, walking with that swagger to the Presidential helicopter. Like Chauncey Gardiner, in the movie Being There, there is no there there. (Wow, four "there's" in one sentence)

The President clearly aimed this speech at the independent voters of America that could conceivably push him from the under 40 approval ratings back above 50. Did he succeed in addressing their concerns? Were his warnings of terrorists striking America going to gain ground again? I wonder. He has used this play numerous times. Remember the escalating terror alerts before the last election? How many have we had since? I am not sure they will fall for this again. I think that more people are deeply sceptical. They listen to his calls for bipartisanship, but then read that he still refuses to release information about Abramoff/White House meetings. He stonewalls about the Valerie Plame leak, he refuses to discuss his wiretaps. The call to increase funding for alternative fuels meets a wary eye. How much money is he talking about? Will it really happen? What will be the end result? He talks threats to America but plans on cuts to the National Guard and Reserve forces. How is that going to help our security?

I was asked last night if there was anything he said that might help the Republicans in this fall's elections. I replied that I didn't think their was anything in the speech that indicated a change of course in any way. What he did propose was too small to have much impact. If large numbers of troops come home, it might help, but it doesn't seem like too many will be back by the end of the year. The country seeks leadership, unfortunately his speech did not prove that he is the man to provide it.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:26 PM | Comments (1)

January 31, 2006

Another Win for Big Industry, Another Loss for the Environment

It seems that the EPA has just approved a deal to designed by the Farming Industry, which will allow them to disregard environmental regulations for up to four years for the purpose of "studying" pollution.

The Bush administration will exempt thousands of farms that raise poultry, cattle and hogs from heavy fines for fouling the air and water with animal excrement in exchange for data to help curb future pollution.

The Environmental Protection Agency has signed agreements with 2,681 animal feeding operations in the egg, chicken, turkey, dairy and hog industries. They would be exempt from having to pay potential fines of up to $27,500 a day for violations either in the past or over the next four years.

The Sierra Club responds

What is most disturbing is that the deal was created by the polluters and for the polluters. Industry lobbyists approached the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the fall of 2001 with their own proposal, and the administration's final deal closely mirrors the polluters' wish list. What's more, leaked electronic mail correspondence revealed the frequent and close access that polluters had to the administration: from private monthly meetings, to the chance to draft presentations for EPA officials to deliver.

Similar to the Insurance Industry, which wrote most of the new Senior Prescription Drug Plan, industry lobbyists secured a huge win for their clients.

Thanks to Bad Attitudes (BA) for the information and links.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:17 PM | Comments (1)

Gonzales Lies to Congress

The Washington Post reported today that Russ Feingold is charging Gonzales mislead Congress during his confirmation hearings for Attorney General (WaPo)

At the hearing, Feingold asked Gonzales where the president's authority ends and whether Gonzales believed the president could, for example, act in contravention of existing criminal laws and spy on U.S. citizens without a warrant.

Gonzales said that it was impossible to answer such a hypothetical question but that it was "not the policy or the agenda of this president" to authorize actions that conflict with existing law. He added that he would hope to alert Congress if the president ever chose to authorize warrantless surveillance, according to a transcript of the hearing......

Gonzales was White House counsel at the time the program began and has since acknowledged his role in affirming the president's authority to launch the surveillance effort. Gonzales is scheduled to testify Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the program's legal rationale.

One should remember that the administration's strategy is based on achieving particular ends irrespective of means. Truth, and law, are used or dismissed, depending on their value in scoring. Too many times over the past five years we see where the President and his administration interprets the law they way they want. They are merely tools to use to further political gains, without any other inherent value. Gonzales just followed the administration game plan, nothing more, nothing less.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:48 PM | Comments (1)

January 30, 2006

Why CBS Misleads on Abramoff

CBS reported tonight that the Abramoff scandal was bipartisan. They said that though Democrats did not receive money directly from Abramoff, like the Republicans, they did receive cash from his clients. The American Prospect reports the results of a non-partisan research group that analyzed Abramoff and client donations. (AmPros)

But the Morris and Associates analysis, which was done exclusively for The Prospect, clearly shows that it's highly misleading to suggest that the tribes's giving to Dems was in any way comparable to their giving to the GOP. The analysis shows that when Abramoff took on his tribal clients, the majority of them dramatically ratcheted up donations to Republicans. Meanwhile, donations to Democrats from the same clients either dropped, remained largely static or, in two cases, rose by a far smaller percentage than the ones to Republicans did. This pattern suggests that whatever money went to Democrats, rather than having been steered by Abramoff, may have largely been money the tribes would have given anyway.

The analysis includes a detailed look at seven of Abramoff's tribal clients, and a comparison of their giving with that of approximately 170 other tribes. (Abramoff is often said to have had nine tribal clients. But Morris omitted two of the tribes - the Pueblo of Santa Clara, whose donations were virtually nonexistent, and the Tigua Indian Reservation, because it isn't listed in Federal lobbying files as having a lobbyist and Abramoff worked on contingency. At any rate Santa Clara’s post-Abramoff donations to the GOP were overwhelmingly higher than to Dems, so including them would have added even more to the GOP side of the ledger.)

So why would CBS ignore this information? So they don't get burned by the highly partisan Republicans. CBS assumes, with good reason, that the Republicans will punish them if they do not do absolutely everything possible to be "fair and balanced". That means that each side in this, and all, debates is seen as equally at fault. If not, one can expect that regulators will come down hard on CBS in one way or another. It might be some regulation, it might be a request for some type of application or approval, whatever. The point is that the Republicans will make their business that much harder. That would hurt their bottom line, and they don't want that. Their goal is to increase their business. Too often that means pleasing the political powers that be, which in this case means the Republicans and the White House.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:36 PM | Comments (0)

January 29, 2006

Politics and Money

U.S. Internet companies are relucant to participate in Congressional briefings about their business dealings with the Chinese government. The issue is restriction of Internet searches and the tracking of data.

The firms were asked to attend the February 1 briefing by the Congressional Human Rights Caucus following uproar caused by search giant Google's decision last week to censor websites and content banned by China's propaganda chiefs.

"We have heard from Microsoft that no representative from the company will attend the briefing. So, with Cisco Systems, this makes two companies that have confirmed they're opting out," Lynne Weil, spokeswoman for caucus co-chairman Democratic Representative Tom Lantos (news, bio, voting record), told AFP.

As the briefing date gets closer, "others are still unfortunately keeping us in suspense," she said. "It is mystifying why these companies would not want to take part after all this is an opportunity to clear their names," Weil said.

Google agreed to censor websites and content in its search service launched Wednesday in China.

The move followed similar actions by rivals Microsoft and Yahoo in cooperating with Chinese censorship.

From a business strategy, this is a losing proposition for the Internet companies. Why is it in their financial interests to comply? I am sure that they might get some negative feedback from various human rights groups and maybe some politicians, but the longer term impact by backing out of China is far more consequencial. It is a huge market, which they could easily lose if they leave. In addition, there is the hypocritical position of many critics in that they currently support hundreds of companies who are doing business in China. Thousands if not millions of Americans buy products made in China, a place that does not pay proper wages or necessarily comply with acceptable safety and environmental standards. Where is the protest about this? I am sure the same Internet companies see this hypocrisy and think it better to keep their mouths shut. The strategy is financial not necessarily ethical. The way they score is by making money. They all seem to view the current strategy as being more benefial to their own game than that played by the politicians. In addition, I have never seen a business plan that indicated Google is required to provide every single person in the world access to every piece of information they desire.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:15 PM | Comments (1)

January 26, 2006

George Wants it ALL

What is to stop him from using the same excuse for any and everything? (Slate)

The final problem with Gonzales' theories of unfettered executive authority is that they, as the lawyers say, prove too much. The Article II plus AUMF justification for warrant-less spying is essentially the same one the administration has advanced to excuse torture; ignore the Geneva Conventions; and indefinitely hold even U.S. citizens without a hearing, charges, or trial. Torture and detention without due process are bad enough. But why does this all-purpose rationale not also extend to press censorship or arresting political opponents, were the president to deem such measures vital to the nation's security?

Stalin and Hitler constantly used the excuse of National Security to extend their personal power. It is an old tactic, and so far is alive and well in America.

Posted by Chip Spear at 5:27 PM | Comments (1)

Bush Lies Again

The Bush Administration was thrown for another loss today with this revelation.

In June, 2002, Republican Sen. Michael DeWine of Ohio introduced legislation (S. 2659) which would have eliminated the exact barrier to FISA which Gen. Hayden yesterday said is what necessitated the Administration bypassing FISA. Specifically, DeWine's legislation proposed:

to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to modify the standard of proof for issuance of orders regarding non-United States persons from probable cause to reasonable suspicion. . . .

In other words, DeWine's bill, had it become law, would have eliminated the "probable cause" barrier (at least for non-U.S. persons) which the Administration is now pointing to as the reason why it had to circumvent FISA.....

The Administration's claim that the "probable cause" component of FISA was preventing it from engaging in the eavesdropping it needed is the opposite of what it told Congress when refusing to support the DeWine Amendment. And its claim that Congress knew of and approved of its FISA-bypassing eavesdrop program is plainly negated by the fact that the same Congress was debating whether such changes should be effectuated and then refused to approve much less extreme changes to FISA than what the Administration secretly implemented on its own (and which it now claims Congress authorized).

As long as they think the strategy works they will not change course.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:17 PM | Comments (0)

January 24, 2006

George Caught in Another Lie

The NY Times reported that the Department of Homeland Security told the White House that Hurricane Katrina would create an excessive amount of damage and exceed their previous doomsday predictions. This clearly contradicts the President's assertions that no one expected such a disaster. (NYT)

A Homeland Security Department report submitted to the White House at 1:47 a.m. on Aug. 29, hours before the storm hit, said, "Any storm rated Category 4 or greater will likely lead to severe flooding and/or levee breaching."

The internal department documents, which were forwarded to the White House, contradict statements by President Bush and the homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, that no one expected the storm protection system in New Orleans to be breached.

"I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees," Mr. Bush said in a television interview on Sept. 1. "Now we're having to deal with it, and will."

Other documents to be released Tuesday show that the weekend before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, Homeland Security Department officials predicted that its impact would be worse than a doomsday-like emergency planning exercise conducted in Louisiana in July 2004.

In that drill, held because of common knowledge that New Orleans was susceptible to hurricane-driven flooding, emergency planners predicted that in a Category 3 storm, one million people would be forced to move away, 17 percent of the nation's oil refining capacity would be knocked out and as many as 60,000 lives might be lost.

With all the issues in the media now I doubt that this will get huge traction in the mainstream press, but it is still another big loss for the President.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:28 PM | Comments (0)

January 23, 2006

Bush Poll Ratings Down Again

President Bush's poll ratings are down to a 36% approval rating according to The American Research Group (ARG) 58% disapprove of his job performance.

When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 34% approve and 60% disapprove.

Among Americans registered to vote, 37% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 58% disapprove. When it comes to the way Bush is handling the economy, 35% of registered voters approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 60% disapprove.

The NY Times last week cited another statistic that was interesting, 22% of Americans still believe that Saddam had direct links to Al Qaeda and the 9/11 attacks. Can we assume that all 22% support President Bush? How smart are these people, considering that absolutely no link has ever been found despite great media attention, between Saddam and Al Qaeda? 14% of the American public, who know there is no link support him, and the rest are.........?

Posted by Chip Spear at 6:28 PM | Comments (0)

January 18, 2006

Abramoff and Reform

With Republicans still in firm control of both houses and the White House, it seems inconceivable that they would act in any way which would hurt their political play. Granted, they are worried, perhaps very worried, about any fallout from this scandal in next year's election, but one can be assured that whatever reform they do propose will be something that only marginally addresses the problems of money, lobbyists and reform in Washington.

A winning team, the Republicans, will only do so much to change tactics if they have been wildly successful. A stumble here and there is inevitable. I think most of their preliminary reform proposals are smoke screens, designed to give voters the appearance of reform without actually doing so. I certainly could be wrong, but when the actual bills go through committees and get signed there will probably be enough loopholes to allow many of the same types of actions to occur, just in different forms. One can also bet that they will be designed to play to Republican strengths and Democratic weaknesses.

With such success the Republicans are not going to want to really change the nature of the game. Nobody wants to sit on the bench. And I doubt they will not put themselves in a position to lose. They will do whatever they can to convince the electorate that they have rooted out evil, reformed themselves and are ready to lead the country well into the next decade. Transfer this thinking to a personal level. If you had been exceedingly successful doing something and were going to continue in that endeavor, would you change the rules to minimize the value of your particular skill and hurt your chances of victory? I doubt it.

Posted by Chip Spear at 5:04 PM | Comments (0)

January 14, 2006

Getting Closer

Why is this not a surprise? From the NY Times:

....a report by MSNBC said the April protest had appeared on what the network said was a database from a Pentagon surveillance program. The protest was listed as a "credible threat" - to what is not clear to people around here - and was the only campus action among scores of other antimilitary demonstrations to receive the designation.

"We will only spy on phone conversations going out of the country," the White House says in response to concerns over the NSA tapping phone conversations without a warrent. Then you read things like this and know that all your worst fears are coming true. This sort of thing reminds me too much of government reaction to Vietnam era protests.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:25 PM | Comments (0)

January 13, 2006

Problems in Paradise

One can look at almost any situation and see it both in a positive or negative light. This little article is of the negative variety. Mark Shields writes in CNN today a very factual account of where we stand as a country after 5 years of George Bush's Presidency.

...a case can be made -- four-and-a-half years after the terrorists' assaults on New York and Washington -- that the criminals who organized and executed that attack have succeeded beyond their wildest expectations.

First, the United States is less favorably regarded and much more isolated in the world than it was before 9-11. According to the Pew Global Attitudes Project, anti-Americanism "surged as a result of the U.S. war in Iraq." In 2000, three out of four citizens of Canada, Britain, France and Germany held a favorable opinion of the United States. By 2005, less than a minority of people in those same countries felt favorably.....

The number and percentage of this country's citizens in poverty has gone up each and every year of this decade. Today, there are 5.4 million more Americans living in poverty, most of them children, than there were when George W. Bush was elected president. The number without health insurance grew by more than 6 million from 2000 to 2004, to more than 45 million Americans. During the same period, employer-sponsored health insurance dropped by 5 full percentage points, from covering 66 percent of the non-elderly to just 61 percent.

Inflation-adjusted hourly and weekly wages are still below where they were in the fall of 2001, in spite of the fact that worker productivity has risen some 13.5 percent during that same time. For five years in a row, Americans' median household income has dropped. It was actually $1,740 lower in 2004 than it had been in 1999. Those in the nation forced to work for the minimum wage (which has not been increased in nearly nine years, during which time the Congress has voted itself seven salary increases) have paid a painful price. The real value of the minimum wage has fallen by 82 cents from $6.02 to $5.15 an hour since 2000 to today.

In a morally just nation, the rich do not get richer while the poor get poorer.

There is more. It is well worth the read.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:34 PM | Comments (3)

Want to Buy A Nice Bridge?

The lies and deception just keep on coming. Read here.

Newly released military documents show U.S. Army investigators closed a probe into allegations an Iraqi detainee had been abused by a shadowy military task force after its members used fake names and asserted that key computer files had been lost.

As long as the administration can get away with this, then they keep doing it. Whatever works, I guess.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:55 PM | Comments (0)

More Alito Evasion

E.J. Dionne condemned Alito for evading Senator's questions over the past few days of hearings.

It turns out that, especially when their party controls the process, Supreme Court nominees can avoid answering any question they don't want to answer. Senators make the process worse with meandering soliloquies. But when the questioning gets pointed, the opposition is immediately accused of scurrilous smears. The result: an exchange of tens of thousands of words signifying, in so many cases, nothing -- as long as the nominee has the discipline to say nothing, over and over and over.

Alito, an ardent baseball fan, established himself as the Babe Ruth of evasion.

The headlines went to the abortion issue. Alito was pressed about his statement in a 1985 job application letter to the Reagan administration that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion." ......

But Alito would neither embrace nor back away from what he had said. He did allow that "there is a general presumption that decisions of the court will not be overruled." Well, yeah.

When Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asked Alito if the issue was "well-settled in court," he offered the celebrated formulation: "I think that depends on what one means by the term 'well-settled.' " The standard dodge is that nominees can't answer questions bearing on cases they might later have to decide. But Democrats Feinstein, Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) and Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) all noted that Alito was perfectly happy to speak expansively on some questions he would face, notably reapportionment.

I love the sports reference there. Seriously though, I think that we must keep in mind that Alito's goal is confirmation, not necessarily answering questions, at least not in any meaningful way. In some ways he is in a four corners, Dean Smith, offense, stalling whenever possible, making sure no one else gets the ball. He figures he is ahead in the game, all he has to do is not let the other guys get the ball and score. He just has to provide enough of an answer to keep the game going, but not so much as to put his position, or the game, in jeopardy.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)

January 11, 2006

Oh Sure

Sam Alito said in his confirmation hearings today that he had no recollection that he joined or was a member of a conservative Princeton organization that opposed admitting more women and minorities to the university.

After Kennedy criticized Alito's membership in a conservative Princeton alumni group that opposed admitting more women and minorities to the university, the senator called for the committee to subpoena records of the alumni group, housed in the Library of Congress.

After strongly denouncing the group's views and repeating that he had "no specific recollection of joining," Alito sat quietly as Kennedy and Specter bickered over the issue.

I must admit that I went to an Ivy League school, and am only two years younger than Mr. Alito. I remember every organization I participated in at school. This is a very big deal, Sam Alito knew he would be asked about this. He had ample time to check his own history if he thought his memory was faulty. I find it laughable that anyone would believe that he has "no recollection" of being a member. You don't forget that sort of thing, ever.

Posted by Chip Spear at 5:36 PM | Comments (0)

Polls and Other Nonsense

Sometimes, actually not too often, you have to wonder about the American public. From CNN here

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll of 1,003 adults found that 50 percent of those polled believe it's OK to forgo warrants when ordering electronic surveillance of people suspected of having ties to terrorists abroad.

Another 46 percent said the policy is wrong, and 4 percent said they had no opinion.

I guess most people have never read the Constitution or know much about civil rights. Did you read the Kristof column in the NY Times a couple of months ago? I think it was before they went to their famous Times Select thing. If not, a reminder:

The best argument against "intelligent design" has always been humanity itself. At a time when only 40 percent of Americans believe in evolution, and only 13 percent know what a molecule is, we're an argument at best for "mediocre design."...

One-fifth of Americans still believe that the Sun goes around the Earth, instead of the other way around. And only about half know that humans did not live at the same time as dinosaurs.

The polls don't tell us what is right or wrong, they only tell us what people think. I take them with a grain of salt. The most unfortunate thing is that these same people vote.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:36 PM | Comments (0)

From Andrew Sullivan on Robertson

Check out his site here for more info.

"Fully 44% of Americans believe that God gave the land that is now Israel to the Jewish people while a substantial minority (36%) thinks that "the state of Israel is a fulfillment of the biblical prophecy about the second coming of Jesus." White evangelical Protestants and, to a lesser degree, African-Americans accept both of these propositions. Significantly fewer white Catholics and mainline Protestants believe Israel was granted to the Jews by God or think that Israel represents a fulfillment of the Bible's prophecy of a second coming."

When a poll of all adults finds over a third holding the view that the state of Israel is fulfilling the prophecy of the imminent Second Coming, you can see that pre-millenarianism is not some fringe idea, touted by Robertson. It's fundamentalist orthodoxy. Robertson is cruel and tactless, and many evangelicals would agree. Their compassion forbids them from making personal attacks as Robertson does. But he didn't make up his theology. And it's mainstream.

This supports my contention (see below) that Robertson is not so far off the mark with many Americans.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)

The Alito Hearings

A slip, a slide, a jump, a wiggle, Sam Alito evades all tackles, always moving forward, gaining valuable yards, toward the goal line he goes. I wonder who is the more elusive runner, Sam Alito, Shaun Alexander, or Tiki Barber? I find these hearings only marginally interesting. I really don't watch them for anything of substance. Rather I like it because it gives me an opportunity to watch teh nominee, in this case Alito, spend hours before the Senate committee saying as little as possible. And what he does say is so vanilla that he presents no real target for opponents. On the flip side are the Senators, like Joe Biden, who are continually preening for the cameras. I hate pontificators. Biden was a disaster, a joke. If you are going to have a hearing, ask questions! I believe he spent 26 out of his allotted 30 minutes talking. Somebody should have stuck a sock in his mouth and taped it shut.

I also love all the analysts, especially those on the left, who complain that Alito is not answering any questions. Or they point to the contradictions between in past statements and what he is saying in the today's hearings. And that is a surprise? That is news? What do you expect? His job is to get confirmed, not necessarily to provide answers to satisfy all the Democrats. Every word is chosen to provide the smallest possible target, he less said the better.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:41 AM | Comments (0)

January 10, 2006

The Wall Street Journal Leads the Charge

The Wall Street Journal has written several editorials in the past week or two strongly supporting the administration and the NSA in the wiretapping flap. There is no question that they wholeheartedly endorse what the President is doing and never question the implications beyond the narrow outlines of war. As a general rule conservatives distrust government. I realize that is a blanket statement, but I think it is not inaccurate. As a group they think the government is wasteful, and generally can't be trusted. It makes me wonder what it is about this President that they can suddenly trust? His actions over the past 5 years would indicate that he is incredibly secretive, disrespectful of other branches of government and has a tendency to do whatever he pleases as it suits his goals.

The fear people have is that this will significantly change our democratic government. If Bush is issuing his own interpretations of bills that he signs and determining when and how he will follow the so-called letter of the law, how is this different than a dictator, or old style king? He begins to act in an imperial fashion all in the name of national security. We have heard that before throughout history. Leaders have used those terms over and over again to suppress opposition of all sorts. Are we really supposed to trust him? Why? Has he given the country evidence that he is truthful? How has he earned the benefit of the doubt? Perhaps the Wall Street Journal sees something different in the man? Or is it the fact that he is a Republican and therefore one of their team? Or is it just because we are involved in a "war" of sorts, which could last for decades? How far is too far? And where is the check on absolute power?

The framers of the Constitution distrusted men and wrote a Constitution designed to protect our country from overwhelming concentrations of power in any one branch of government. The Executive Branch was never intended to be above or beyond the law even during this time of a non-war war. What is the Wall Street Journal thinking?

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:51 AM | Comments (0)

January 8, 2006

Pat Robertson - Maybe Not So Crazy

I've read many articles in serveral paper's and on the Internet about Pat Robertson's remarks regarding Ariel Sharon deserving his stroke on account of his policies. I laughed and thought to myself that the guy is really a ding dong. But today, as I read an article in the NY Times, I began to think about him from a slightly different perspective, one that is much closer to mainstream America than the far right religious conservatives. I had pictures in my head of many athletes praying to God before big games and making signs of the cross after touchdowns. I remembered numerous interviews with game winning players, some making the big shot, catching the big pass, making the big hit, thanking Jesus for their victory. Think of all the sport's movies where the team prays before every game, "God, give me the strength and courage to beat the living shit out of the other team and win this amazingly important game that is going to decide the fate of mankind and make me a hero to the town and assure that I get laid." I thought about all the people, not only athletes, who might think that they did not win that day because they were undeserving, or had done something wrong to anger God. It is the "Maybe I didn't succeed because I am not a good person, or angered him in some way" crowd. I know many of us Americans thank god for our gifts, our food, our friends. Sometimes we also apologize for our mistakes that we felt led to some type of defeat. One might pray, "I know that my problems are because I have been bad and you are angry at me for doing XYZ."

I think that there are many in the country who might look at the their friend's and neighbor's troubles and think those problems result from God's work. Maybe they were nasty people, maybe a wife had an affair, maybe the kids steal, who knows. The point is that I do not believe it is so unusual for people in this country to think that someone's problems are a result of God being angry with their actions. In that context Pat Robertson is not so far outside the mainstream, he just moved it into the political arena.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:15 PM | Comments (3)

January 6, 2006

Anthrax

Hey, what ever happened to that anthrax investigation? I am thinking that no news is bad news.

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:26 PM | Comments (1)

January 5, 2006

I Heard Some Very Funny Jokes This Morning

I was listening to Imus this morning, actually watching it on TV as I got my kids ready for school. Imus had Senator Rick Santorum from PA on. He told some really funny stories. I didn't know he was as funny as he is, really. Imus asked him if he was connected to Abramoff in any way and whether we were going to be seeing him in handcuffs. Rick laughed and said no, that wasn't going to happen. He gabbed for a minute about that then slipped in that he was returning Abramoff money he received, just like Dennis Hastert and a sizeable number of other Republicans. It was perfectly alright that he had the money before Abramoff was indicted I guess, but not after. That was very funny. Imus asked him about wiretaps and the like and Rick responded that the President has been very straightforward with the American people. I was laughing out loud at that. My youngest daughter asked me why I was laughing and I had to tell her that it was a funny political type joke.When I explained it she didn't really get it. Imus also asked him about the mining accident. Sen. Rick replied to that by stating that the Federal government tried to keep people safe. I couldn't answer his riddle. I really couldn't decide if the answer was the miners or the executives running the companies. Considering the company in West Virginia has had over 270 safety violations in the past two years and that the Republicans in the Federal Government and specifically the Department of Interior, have been stripping safety laws from the books (see the post below), I would guess it was the executives, but I am not sure. What do you think? If anyone has any specific info on how Santorum has either helped the miners or not please pass it on. When the segment ended I was chuckling to myself, thinking that was very amusing.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)

Safety Violations at the Mine

The Washington Post reports here that the Sago mine in West Virginia had 273 safety violations in the past 2 years. How is it that this mine was allowed to continue operation? Big Business....lobbying.....government officials a part of the industry. The NY Times reports in their editorial

Steven Griles, a mining lobbyist before being appointed deputy secretary of the interior, devoted four years to rolling back mine regulations and then went back to lobbying for the industry.

One might not have anything directly to do with the other, but it does fall into a pattern we are all too familiar with over the past 5 years. When is enough, enough?

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:11 AM | Comments (3)

January 4, 2006

Can Anyone Spell "Screw You"?

The President signed a bill into law Friday which he intends to ignore whenever he feels like it. Read here.

After approving the bill last Friday, Bush issued a ''signing statement" -- an official document in which a president lays out his interpretation of a new law -- declaring that he will view the interrogation limits in the context of his broader powers to protect national security. This means Bush believes he can waive the restrictions, the White House and legal specialists said.

'"The executive branch shall construe [the law] in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President . . . . as Commander in Chief," Bush wrote, adding that this approach '"will assist in achieving the shared objective of the Congress and the President . . . of protecting the American people from further terrorist attacks."

Some legal specialists said yesterday that the president's signing statement, which was posted on the White House website but had gone unnoticed over the New Year's weekend, raises serious questions about whether he intends to follow the law.

Nothing like believing in the intent of the Constitution, you know, checks and balances, we are not a dictatorship, no one is above the law, and all that nonsense. I guess the Grand Pooh-bah Father Knows Best, or wait, that was a TV show, wasn't it?

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:38 PM | Comments (0)

December 29, 2005

Patriotism and the Right

Yesterday afternoon I was driving home, listening to my Sirius radio. I was a bit bored by the music so decided that I would check out some of the talk shows, which I had never spent much time doing. I turned to Talk Left and found myself listening to an interview with a "well-known" right wing blogger I did not know. He was in the middle of a harangue about the left, how un-American they were, unpatriotic and really traitors for not supporting the President, the war, and everything else he could think of. This attitude is not new, others supporters of the right have said the same thing, so I don't mention it to bring you news, however I do think it is interesting from a couple of perspectives.

First, it is an interesting political strategy to accuse anyone who doesn't support you of being a traitor, using a "you are with us or against us" philosophy. It immediately puts the opposition on the defensive, which is a good thing. People on the political fence would be reluctant to support a group, or policies, which might be labeled un-American. It also rallies ones supporters and strengthens their resolve and righteousness. "We are right, you are wrong, we are good, you are bad." A traitor is not only bad, but horrible, alien, and cancerous. A traitor is represented as a threat to American history, its culture, its freedoms, and its values. From a political standpoint it makes sense to depict your opponent as evil, somehow sub-human. I know when I was playing team sports in high school and college, I always thought of our opponents as somehow different and it was always in a bad way. They were thugs, or dumber, or something. I was never sure what it was but I did know that no matter how I rationalized it I still carried around a sense of superiority. However if I happened to meet someone from that school during the summers, I was always amazed that they were normal. I knew it was stupid, even at the time, but I did feel that way. Republicans are doing the same thing here, fanning the flames of those same prejudiced tendencies, painting opponents as evil, cancerous, destructive elements threatening the very values that make our country great. Of course, they don't want to mention that the very thing that has made our country as great as it is has been its open, free, contentious discussion. It is the very thing they are railing against.

Second, those of the right who accuse the liberals of being traitors seem to advocate that we all conform to whatever the President deems appropriate. We should trust him completely. We should accept the fact that he can operate outside the law, lie or mislead us about wars, threats, finances, budgets, wiretaps, credit checks, whatever, all in the name of fighting an ambigous enemy for as long as he deems necessary, for this is not a war that has a traditional enemy and just ends. This struggle could last for decades. We are to drop our system of checks and balances, congressional and judicial oversight and just believe the "Dear Leader" indefinitely. Whatever he says goes, everyone who questions or doubts him is a traitor. Is this not acting in a manner which is opposed to the values that made America what it is? No open discussion, no questioning leaders. Do what they say or else?

So I wonder, who is it that is really supporting American values and who are the traitors? It is just something I was pondering on a cold, rainy, end of the year day.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:09 AM | Comments (2)

December 23, 2005

Big Bro Is Coming, Oh Yes, Big Bro Is Coming

And I suppose this is perfectly fine with the right?

The National Security Agency has traced and analyzed large volumes of telephone and Internet communications flowing into and out of the United States as part of the eavesdropping program that President Bush approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to hunt for evidence of terrorist activity, according to current and former government officials.

The volume of information harvested from telecommunication data and voice networks, without court-approved warrants, is much larger than the White House has acknowledged, the officials said. It was collected by tapping directly into some of the American telecommunication system's main arteries, they said.

As part of the program approved by President Bush for domestic surveillance without warrants, the N.S.A. has gained the cooperation of American telecommunications companies to obtain backdoor access to streams of domestic and international communications, the officials said.

Trust us, it is okay. Trust us, we know what is best. No warrants, no oversight, no courts, no civil rights. Trust us, it is okay, we know what is best.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:47 PM | Comments (0)

Nothing Like an Activist Judge

From the AP here

Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito defended the right of government officials to order domestic wiretaps when he worked for the Reagan Justice Department, documents released Friday show.

He advocated a step by step approach to strengthening the hand of officials in a 1984 memo to the solicitor general. The strategy is similar to the one that Alito espoused for rolling back abortion rights at the margins.

The release of the memo by the National Archives comes when
President Bush is under fire for secretly ordering domestic spying of suspected terrorists without a warrant. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., has promised to question Alito about the administration's program.

Tactics, tactics. The right can scream about activist judges, but if it is one of their own they seem remarkably quiet. Why is that?

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:40 PM | Comments (2)

Bush Continues With Same Strategy

President Bush responded to wiretap critics with an all out offensive attack, stating he was not sorry, did not think it was wrong, thought it essential for the war on terror and would continue the practice. It is perhaps the only option he had. He was not going to admit wrong-doing. Since he was caught he admitted the practice and reiterated his justification for most everything with his administration which is national security. I think that he must feel that the law is fuzzy enough on this issue that he will maintain support with Republicans in Congress. They might initially express indignation, but in the end, after the requisite hearings, decide that the President was doing the right thing to protect the country.

The Dems will obviously disagree. They will continue attacking the Imperial Presidency. With a degree of justification and recent history as a weapon, they will cite the administration untrustworthiness, their arrogant secrecy, their lack of candor, and continual deception, whether it be about the war, WMD, secret prisons, torture, etc. They will use these as plays on the field, scoring in the polls with millions who already doubt this administration's motives.

Does anyone really think that Bush was going to say, "Oh gee, sorry, even though we thought about it, now that you guys mention it, it must be wrong, so we won't do it anymore"?

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)

December 21, 2005

Eeney, Meeney, Miney Moe......

This is what I love about politics. I have listed articles from Real Clear Politics below. Notice the divide on the Wiretap issue.:

The President Is Not the Enemy - Ed Koch, RealClearPolitics
President Had Legal Authority to OK Taps - John Schmidt, Chicago Tribune
Bush's Abuse of Power Deserves Impeachment - Joe Conason, New York Observer
The Liberal Bubble - Thomas Lifson, The American Thinker
Is NSA Program a Threat to Our Liberty? YES: Geoffrey Stone | NO: Richard Posner
Fitzmas Crowd is AWOL on New Security Leaks - Max Boot, Los Angeles Times
The Year We Questioned Authority - Andrew Sullivan, Time
Bush Ending 2005 in Upturn, Helped by Events, Enemies - Mort Kondracke, Roll Call
How Bush Turned It Around - Patrick Buchanan, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Vigilance and Responsibility: Mackubin Thomas Owens | Marshall Wittmann
Booming Economy Not All Because of Bush - Robert Samuelson, Newsweek
Can the Democrats "Nationalize" 2006? - Jay Cost, RealClearPolitics
Instead of Drilling for Oil, Tap Our Minds - Senator Maria Cantwell, USA Today
The Left's Privacy Hypocrites - Michelle Malkin, Creators
The Christmas He Dreamed for All of Us - Harold Meyerson, Washington Post
Options With Iran Are Running Out - John Hughes, Christian Science Monitor
Iraqis Recognize What War Has Sown - Jonathan Gurwitz, San Antonio Express-News
The RCP Blog: The NSA Story: Bombshell or Dud?

On the one hand you have the right, who will say that the left is absurd, ridiculous and hypocritical about the wiretapping issue. On the left are the advocates of "This is terrible, impeachable, blah, blah, blah." It is really fun to read each side of the issue. The right has its points, as does the left. I would just ask, "If the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court was controlled by the left, and rather extreme at that, would you trust it? Would you be supporting an extreme liberal who was doing the same thing? Would you trust this guy if he threw you in prison with no access for an attorney? Put you in a secret prison, under the guise of national security? Search your library records and credit history at will without notifying you? Tap your phone lines and e-mail without court warrants? Override any law he, the Pres, feels necessary to investigate you? That the Legislature and Judiciary have absolutely no oversight on any of this? And that I have no right to question any of it? Honest answer now? An extreme liberal, remember. Would you be saying the same thing?"

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:02 PM | Comments (1)

Bush Thrown So Far Back He May Be Out of the Stadium

I will have more on this later, but The Independent paints a very disturbing picture of the emerging outcome of the Iraq elections. I hope things are not as bad as described. Time will tell on this one.

Iraq is disintegrating. The first results from the parliamentary election last week show the country is dividing between Shia, Sunni and Kurdish regions.

Religious fundamentalists now have the upper hand. The secular and nationalist candidate backed by the US and Britain was humiliatingly defeated.

The Shia religious coalition has won a total victory in Baghdad and the south of Iraq. The Sunni Arab parties who openly or covertly support armed resistance to the US are likely to win large majorities in Sunni provinces. The Kurds have already achieved quasi-independence and their voting reflected that.

The election marks the final shipwreck of American and British hopes of establishing a pro-Western secular democracy in a united Iraq.

That is One Big Crash

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:31 PM | Comments (0)

December 20, 2005

Sometimes You Just Have to Laugh

The Rude Pundit has a couple of very funny, and of course, slanted views of the current scene. Check it out here. An acquired taste for sure, but well worth it.

Posted by Chip Spear at 5:00 PM | Comments (0)

Another Thought on The Wiretap Flap

I had another thought about the wiretaps. We all are aware of the potentially dangerous implications of the President's actions. One can also understand the desire to act quickly in the face of extreme threats. We also need the ability to adapt our surveillance methods to new technologies, which might make the court order thing problematic, see Kevin Drum's article in the Washington Monthly.

The bottom line though is the intent. What was the White House intent? Were they trying to be bullies? Were they willing to compromise with Congress? Did they think Congress did not also want to protect the country? Were they intent on maintaining secrecy? And if so, why? Did they have respect for Congress? The courts? The democratic process? Did they know they were walking on shaky ground?

I usually feel that one should "Do the right thing." If we think about something, especially a difficult decision, weigh all the options and think about the implications to ourselves and others, including in this case, democracy and the ideals of our country, we should know what that right thing is and act on it. They could have done the right thing but they decided to ignore it for personal and professional gain. Their game is power, not necessarily governing a democracy. They can't seem to have enough.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:40 AM | Comments (0)

Wiretaps, Security and Excuses

The current wiretap flap is disturbing on many levels. The President is acting in a manner more befitting a dictator than the leader of a democracy, Congress is grandstanding and many right wing pundits are doing their usual partisan cheerleading instead of questioning the validity of the White House's actions.

I don't think there is any doubt that the White House is treading on very thin ice. They were well aware of the fact that their actions were legally dubious. I say this because they made a concious decision to not discuss this with Congress. They knew they would never get approval for their surveillance initiatives. They were warned about expanding their powers from numerous people, including Sen. Rockefeller, yet they went ahead anyway. The arrogance of power strikes.

Harry Reid mentioned that he knew about this a few months ago. If he knew, then others in Congress knew as well. Why did they not say something earlier? Why only after the NY Times broke the story did he and others call for an investigation and denounce the practice. Perhaps I am missing something, but it seems rather hypocritical to me.

And then there are the pundits. I listened to Laura Ingraham this morning on Good Morning America, or Today. She claimed that the White House needed these powers in the interest of speed, not mentioning the ability of the White House to get a court order 72 hours after the fact if needed. She knows that White House is treading on tenuous legal grounds, yet she refuses to admit it. That is reprehensible. She is not alone in siding with Bush. What will it take for her and others on the right to seriously question the administration? How far can they go in ignoring the law, deceiving the country or acting incompetently before she will say they are wrong? Or is she really just a intelligent, well-spoken cheerleader. A partisan debater, willing to take any position and argue before the public to further a political agenda despite its true validity. Never question, always accept seems her motto. My team, do or die.

No one is above the law in this country. Our government institutions are based on accountability and the concept of checks and balances. The President cannot act in a manner that ignores Congress or the courts. He is doing that now. The Imperial Presidency creeps closer.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2005

Where Were the Dems a Few Months ago

I found this very interesting and disturbing.

Bush acknowledged Saturday that since October 2001 he has authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on international phone calls and e-mails of people within the United States without seeking warrants from courts.

The New York Times disclosed the existence of the program last week. Bush and other administration officials initially refused to discuss the surveillance or their legal authority, citing security concerns.

"It's been briefed to the Congress over a dozen times, and, in fact, it is a program that is, by every effort we've been able to make, consistent with the statutes and with the law," Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday in an interview with ABC News "Nightline" to be broadcast Monday evening: "It's the kind of capability if we'd had before 9/11 might have led us to be able to prevent 9/11."

President Bush and other administration officials also have said congressional leaders had been briefed regularly on the program. Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., said there were no objections raised by lawmakers who were told about it.

"That's a legitimate part of the equation," McCain said on ABC's "This Week." But he said Bush still needs to explain why he chose to ignore the law that requires approval of a special court for domestic wiretaps.

Reid acknowledged he had been briefed on the four-year-old domestic spy program "a couple months ago" but insisted the administration bears full responsibility. Reid became Democratic leader in January.

Why didn't Reid mention this to the press before the NY Times broke the story? Why no stink then? Political opportunism? It wasn't important until the press made it a big deal? The Democrats will score with this because the fact that Congress knew about the program will probably not override public indignation with domestic spying. I would really like to know why he, or others, never brought this issue before the public.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:42 PM | Comments (4)

December 16, 2005

And You Would Do What, Exactly?

Charles Krauthammer complains that no one is taking the threat of the Iranian madman Presidente seriously enough.

Negotiations to deny this certifiable lunatic genocidal weapons have been going nowhere. Everyone knows they will go nowhere. And no one will do anything about it.

Pretend the buck stops with him, or you. What would you do? What is your short and long term strategy? Be realistic.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:35 PM | Comments (0)

All Journeys (To Hell) Start With A Single Step

You think this is no big deal? You think it is not important? If so, don't bother reading my column because you are an idiot. How is that for a strong opinion? I am not sorry to say such things, but this is something that every American should be very worried about. This is just the sort of thing that leads us into extremely dangerous territory. It is "cheating" at its dirtiest. The NY Times reports,

Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.

Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said. The agency, they said, still seeks warrants to monitor entirely domestic communications.

That last sentence is supposed to reassure us that the government can be trusted to do the right thing. I think there has been too much deception of late to give them the benefit of the doubt. As the movie says, "Be afraid, be very afraid."

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:30 AM | Comments (1)

December 15, 2005

Iraq Elections - The President Scores

Love him or hate him, you have to admit that the President scored big with today's election in Iraq. You also must look at it as potentially the most significant event for the transformation of the Middle East in many, many years. Yes it is not perfect, and it is far from realizing what we would like Iraq to be, but it is a step, a big one. Has there been another democratic election with as much participation in the Arab world, one as open, with as many candidates, parties, and voters? Just think if somehow it actually does work? What would that mean to Saudi's, Iranians, Jordanians, Egyptians, Libyans, etc. I know that Bush has made many, many mistakes, but this is a big deal. Let us all hope that it leads to the real deal, for all our sakes.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:30 PM | Comments (1)

GM Flattens Workers

General Motors announced today that it was no longer going to contribute to worker 401K plans. This is another in a list of decisions by large corporations to withdraw benefits to their employees. Workers won benefits in many companies year's ago during a conttentious period with management. I know I have read accounts and watched movies, both fictional and documentaries, like North Country, of terrible work conditions, wages and living conditions. Workers earned a better life by fighting for what they believed they deserved, which was a share of the profits from their work.

The tide has turned. The economy, according to the Bush Administration is growing well, yet the desparity between rich and poor, or rich and middle class, is growing faster. Big business finds an administration that is clearly on its side. It is making more and more decisions which leave its employees struggling to meet their financial obligations. Power is now on their side and they are using it to gain more and more of what they want, money. They are scoring so much these days that workers are basically playing in another league, the minor leagues.

I have written about GM before. It has to be one of the worst run businesses in the country. I can only think of a couple of their cars which I would even consider buying. They fight innovation at almost every opportunity. They drag their feet on any safety regulations, eternally complaining about costs to consumers whenever they testify before Congress. They do the same thing about environmental regulations. Most of their designs stink too. And now they have financial problems. What a surprise. I can easily run that company better than those yo-yos.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:14 PM | Comments (0)

December 14, 2005

Military Fumbles

This has certainly been on the news, so no great revelation here, but shipping our war dead home as freight only serves to reinforce a terrible image that the administration has with regard to the war. They don't honor the dead. The President doesn't want to recognize them. The press can't photograph them. They are shipped home in secret and now transported in cargo holds of commercial airlines without military honor.

One can certainly find all sorts of ways to be against the war, but I don't think anyone is against the job that our soldiers are doing. They deserve the highest possible honors, especially considering their commitment to the country, despite its clearly flawed policies and management. This is truly sad.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:17 AM | Comments (4)

December 9, 2005

CT Passes Campaign Finance Bill

I should have posted this before, it is too important to ignore.

The state legislature approved what advocates billed as the most sweeping reforms of campaign finance laws in the country early Thursday, including restrictions on campaign contributions and a new publicly funded election system.

It is a good start. The Legislature definitely hit a home run on this one.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:50 PM | Comments (0)

December 6, 2005

Terrorism Prep Thrown For Big Loss

It is no surprise that the 9/11 Commission threw the Administration for a big loss regarding preparing the U.S. against another terrorist attack. The Admin's play is systematic of a strategy that focuses on politics rather than pragmatic results. We have seen this occur over and over again, whether it be our strategy in Iraq, political appointments or FEMA relief efforts. Friends first, accountability and results second. The Administration has had serious problems recently furthering their political agenda with this tactic. Poll ratings have dropped, to a large degree because people no longer trust what the Bush Administration says and doubt their committment to competency. One can review all sorts of specifics but it ultimately comes down to a desire on their part to continue a strategy of political cronyism. I wonder if it will generate enough money to market themselves out of their problems before next year's elections. Obviously they think so.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:10 PM | Comments (2)

Punt!

My intent with this site is to reach out to readers who might not normally read political blogs or political analysis of any sort. I want to provide a fun, interesting approach to political discussion and stress the importance of involvement in one's community, state and country. Today I find myself discouraged, not because of readership on my site or anything like that, but rather the state of the human mind, or maybe the American mind, but I doubt it is restricted to Americans. Nicholas Kristof writes in today's NY Times:

The best argument against "intelligent design" has always been humanity itself. At a time when only 40 percent of Americans believe in evolution, and only 13 percent know what a molecule is, we're an argument at best for "mediocre design."...

One-fifth of Americans still believe that the Sun goes around the Earth, instead of the other way around. And only about half know that humans did not live at the same time as dinosaurs.

His article speaks about our lack of knowledge regarding math and science. I am worried about the intelligence level in general. These sort of statistics make me wonder what is the point of trying to explain the intricacies of politics if so many people don't even know what a molecule is. Thirteen percent.....unbelieveable, and scary. It makes me think the worst of our country's citizens. And when you read such things you understand why our leaders treat us so contemptuously.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:27 PM | Comments (1)

December 4, 2005

John Kerry Slips and Slides His Way to a Couple of Yards

I watched John Kerry answer a few questions this morning on Face the Nation with Bob Schiefer. Bob asked John if American citizens were going to be safer if we withdrew our troops from Iraq soon. Mr. Kerry did not answer the question. He dodged, jumped, slid and basically evaded the intent of Mr. Schiefer's question, which was, what will happen when the insurgents, i.e. Al Qaeda sympathizers, control large areas of Iraq, which can then be turned into terrorist training camps? Shame on you, Mr. Kerry.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:36 PM | Comments (0)

December 3, 2005

Stop, Stop, Please Stop

The Washington Post reports in today's paper that the Bush administration is once again playing with information for political gain.

The Bush administration skewed its analysis of pending legislation on air pollution to favor its bill over two competing proposals, according to a new report by the Congressional Research Service.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Oct. 27 analysis of its plan -- along with those of Sens. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.) and James M. Jeffords (I-Vt.) -- exaggerated the costs and underestimated the benefits of imposing more stringent pollution curbs, the independent, nonpartisan congressional researchers wrote in a Nov. 23 report. The EPA issued its analysis -- which Carper had demanded this spring, threatening to hold up the nomination of EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson -- in part to revive its proposal, which is stalled in the Senate.

As an American I wish that I could trust the government. It is one thing to disagree with policies, which I do quite a bit, especially with this administration. But to be subjected to the non-stop barrage of deception and lying on such a grand scale, is soooooo disappointing. We all deserve much better from our government.

Posted by Chip Spear at 5:01 PM | Comments (4)

The Player vs. The Team

The NY Times has an excellent article on today's front page here about Jeanine F. Pirro, a rising star in NY and possibly national politics. It seems Jeanine is intent on challenging Sen. Hillary Clinton next year. The Republican party is not happy with the prospect, thinking she can't beat Sen. Clinton, and would rather she run for Attorney General, which they feel she can win. Ms. Pirro is obviously very ambitious, ready to take on one of the most well known Democrats, not only in NY, but the entire country. Sen. Clinton's approval ratings are very high, but Pirro doesn't seem to care. She wants the seat.

The Republicans are looking at the long term for Ms. Pirro. They don't want to support her and raise millions of dollars for an unsuccessful campaign. They feel they have nothing to gain, Ms. Pirro will suffer political damage, and it will cost them a lot of money. From a strategic standpoint, they think she will become a stronger candidate for the future if she wins the Attorney General's office rather than loses badly to Sen. Clinton then virtually disappears from sight for a few years. Cool heads are looking beyond 2006 for Pirro. She seems too focused on a short term gain that would probably become a big loss. I bet that the Republican leadership will change her mind,.... back room deals and all that.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:49 PM | Comments (0)

December 2, 2005

Hey, If You Don't Get Caught, Then It Is Not Cheating

The Washington Post reports here that a politically appointed panel over-ruled Justice Department lawyers to allow a Texas re-districting scheme concocted by Tom DeLay.

Justice Department lawyers concluded that the landmark Texas congressional redistricting plan spearheaded by Rep. Tom DeLay (R) violated the Voting Rights Act, according to a previously undisclosed memo obtained by The Washington Post. But senior officials overruled them and approved the plan.

The memo, unanimously endorsed by six lawyers and two analysts in the department's voting section, said the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections.....

Mark Posner, a longtime Justice Department lawyer who now teaches law at American University, said it was "highly unusual" for political appointees to overrule a unanimous finding such as the one in the Texas case.

"In this kind of situation, where everybody agrees at least on the staff level . . . that is a very, very strong case," Posner said. "The fact that everybody agreed that there were reductions in minority voting strength, and that they were significant, raises a lot of questions as to why it was" approved, he said.

In their analysis, the Justice Department lawyers emphasized that the last-minute changes -- made in a legislative conference committee, out of public view -- fundamentally altered legally acceptable redistricting proposals approved separately by the Texas House and Senate.

"It was not necessary" for these plans to be altered, except to advance partisan political goals, the department lawyers concluded.

This reminds me of the cliche "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:40 PM | Comments (1)

GM Leadership Sucks, Fire the Bums

We are once again reminded in today's NY Times how bad GM management has been and the devastating affect its decisions have on workers. GM announced that it is planning to close one of two production lines at its Saturn facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Opened when auto companies were closing plants and cutting hundreds of thousands of jobs, General Motors' Saturn plant here was a rare opportunity for the company and its workers to literally leave the industry's old ways behind and embrace some of the lessons that Japan was teaching, with an American twist.....

The Saturn plant, like other efforts at G.M. to battle foreign competition, became a victim of the company's short attention span. At a critical time when the plant needed to grow, G.M instead poured money into sport utility vehicles and pickups, hoping to outwit the Japanese - only to see them invade those markets, too. And workers here are paying the price....

The best foreign manufacturers can build a half dozen or more different kinds of cars and trucks at their assembly plants in the United States and Canada, and this allows them to quickly shift production when buyers' tastes change.

What was management thinking? Or maybe they weren't and still aren't. Their game plan was to not compete in the car market and use the SUV/truck game plan. Too bad that the Japanese went after that market too. What they needed to do was get their fucking act together and start making better cars. As Homer Simpson would say, "Doh!" Instead of laying off workers the Board of Directors should get rid of senior management. The coaches and GM of GM need to go.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

December 1, 2005

Pelosi likes Murtha's Strategy

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi indicated support of Rep. Murtha plan to bring troops home.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday embraced a call by a prominent member of her rank-and-file to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, two weeks after she declined to endorse it.

"We should follow the lead of Congressman John Murtha, who has put forth a plan to make American safer, to make our military stronger and to make Iraq more stable," Pelosi said. "That is what the American people and our troops deserve."

This was two weeks after not endorsing a withdrawal plan. Okay, I agree in an ideal world we should never have gone into Iraq, we should also get them all home as soon as possible. That said, what is the plan to deal with the new Al Qaeda training centers to be located all over the Sunni triangle? What happens if the country divides into three completely separate political units and one of them or maybe two become major terrorist training centers? Nancy, where is that plan of yours, or anybody elses?

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:49 PM | Comments (0)

November 30, 2005

Bush Hits a Fearsome Foursome at the Goal Line

Responding to criticism of his was policies and especially the response to Representative Murtha, the President defended his Iraq policies. Critics and advocates for withdrawal of American forces did not find anything new or pleasing in Bush's message. They see the same ol' same ol'. G.W.'s supporters probably found some comfort in his resolve and delineation of accomplishments in the 35-page White House document titled "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq."

"Some critics continue to assert that we have no plan in Iraq except to 'stay the course,'" Bush said. "If by 'stay the course' they mean we will not allow the terrorists to break our will, they're right. If by 'stay the course' they mean we will not permit al Qaida to turn Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban, a safe haven for terrorists and a launching pad for attacks on America, they're right as well. If by 'stay the course' they mean that we're not learning from our experience or adjusting our tactics to meet the challenges on the ground, then they're flat wrong.".....

Bush said that Iraqis are stepping forward to provide security for their embattled country, torn by suicide bombings, kidnappings and other violence. "Iraqi forces have made real progress," the president said. "We will stay as long as necessary to complete the mission. If our military leaders there tell us we need more troops, I will send them."

He said that more than 120 army and police combat battalions are already in the fight against insurgents, and that 80 of those battalions are fighting side by side with coalition forces and 40 are taking the lead in the fight.

A few things strike me here. One is that many military commanders have indicated off the record that they have far too few troops to adequately do the job. I have also read that the President refuses to listen, nor wants to hear, dissenting opinions, like the need for more troops, so he never gets that information. One senses a contradiction there. Second, many analysts, some on the record and some off, indicate that there are no where near the numbers of trained troops and security forces ready for action that the administration continually claims. Third, opponents of the war are quick to demand a withdrawal, but none of them answer the question of what we do when large sections of the country become permanent Al Qaeda type training centers. If we leave, who is going to prevent Osama or Zarkawi from establishing bigger and better training centers than ever existed in Afghanistan? By offering nothing to answer critics Bush certainly did not score any points with the center. It seems that his big speech did nothing except leave him stalled at the line of scrimmage.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)

November 29, 2005

White House Thrown for Another Loss

Col Lawrence Wilkerson dropped another bombshell on the Bush administration on BBC Today. Wilkerson, a former aide to Colin Powell, suggested that Cheney and possibly Rumsfeld, could face war crimes charges. You can read the article here.

"What I'm saying is that, under the vice-president's protection, the secretary of defence [Donald Rumsfeld] moved out to do what they wanted in the first place, even though the president had made a decision that was clearly a compromise," Col Wilkerson said.

He said that he laid the blame on the issue of prisoner abuse and post-war planning for Iraq "pretty fairly and squarely" at Mr Cheney's feet.

"I look at the relationship between Mr Cheney and Mr Rumsfeld as being one that produced these two failures in particular, and I see that the president is not holding either of them accountable... so I have to lay some blame at his feet too," he went on.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:04 PM | Comments (2)

November 28, 2005

The Real Story on Declining Support for the President

The real story, reported in the NY Times here, which got so much play over the weekend, is not the nature of the drop in his support, given the flood of evidence regarding lies, deceptions and the like.

A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll in mid-November found that 37 percent of Americans approved of Mr. Bush, the lowest approval rating the poll had recorded in his presidency. That was down from 55 percent a year ago and from a high of 90 percent shortly after Sept. 11, 2001.

An Associated Press/Ipsos poll earlier in the month found the same 37 percent approval rating and recorded the president's lowest levels regarding integrity and honesty: 42 percent of Americans found him honest, compared with 53 percent at the beginning of this year.

The story to me is, given this evidence, why would anyone still believe this administration is honest? Who are these people and why do they continue to support and believe someone who is clearly lying? What is it about the human condition that an individual will still believe in a leader even though they are engaging in either immoral, illegal or disreputable behavior? This extends far beyond the "Bush" issue. I wonder why we do not accept clear evidence of guilt. Do we want to believe so badly in something that we are willing to ignore bad acts? I don't have an answer, I am just curious.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:12 AM | Comments (2)

November 26, 2005

From Time Magazine, Finding the Truth in Iraq

Members of Congress met with non-Pentagon military officers to find out the real deal about Iraq. Time reports

In an unusual closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill last week, Virginia's John Warner, joined by Democratic Senators Carl Levin of Michigan and Mark Dayton of Minnesota, sat across the table from 10 military officers chosen for their experience on the battlefield rather than in the political arena. Warner rounded up the battalion commanders to get at what the military calls "ground truth" -- the unvarnished story of what's going on in Iraq.

"We wanted the view from men who had been on the tip of the spear, and we got it," said John Ullyot, a Warner spokesman who declined to comment on what was said at the meeting but confirmed that some Capitol Hill staff members were also present. According to two sources with knowledge of the meeting, the Army and Marine officers were blunt. In contrast to the Pentagon's stock answer that there are enough troops on the ground in Iraq, the commanders said that they not only needed more manpower but also had repeatedly asked for it. Indeed, military sources told TIME that as recently as August 2005, a senior military official requested more troops but got turned down flat.

Gee, what a brilliant idea. Why was Congress the last to think of this great thought?

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:31 PM | Comments (0)

November 22, 2005

The Burning Bush

It is actually rather pretty, don't you think?

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:00 PM | Comments (2)

What Now?

I certainly like the "sport" aspect of politics, but I am not too excited to see a team self-destruct, especially since it is in full control of every branch of the Federal government. I don't think it is particularly healthy for the country. From our current vantage point it seems we are headed to 3 years of scandals, criminal investigations, accusations, disasters (Iraq), and failure (Iraq again). Inside of four years the United States went from great respect in the international community to pariah. Our actions belie our ideals. Freedom, human rights, respect for individual thought and the rule of law have been pushed aside in so many ways. The U.S. as a beacon of hope has a serious electrical problem.

So how do we get back on the right track? Let's be realistic. Is it possible with Bush/Cheney? Do we just endure for 3 years until the next administration? What can we do? Better yet, what can you do to fix our great country?

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:11 PM | Comments (3)

Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Nov. 21 - Dick Cheney

V.P. Dick Cheney wins our Fabulous Fumble of the Week award this week for his attacks on critics of the war and those who accuse the White House of deceiving and misleading the American public.

In a speech Wednesday before a conservative public policy organization, Cheney said senators who accuse the Bush administration of misleading the public on pre-war intelligence are engaging in one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in Washington, D.C.

"Some of the most irresponsible comments have, of course, come from politicians who actually voted in favor of authorizing force against Saddam Hussein," Cheney said at a dinner held by the Frontiers of Freedom Institute.

There is so much factual, specific evidence reported in the past couple of weeks detail exactly how and when the White House mislead the country that it is rather ridiculous to think that anyone would really believe him. However, I suppose there are, because some folks still believe we never landed on the moon.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:49 AM | Comments (0)

November 21, 2005

Cheney Continues to Fight

Vice President stated today.

"The flaws in the intelligence are plain enough in hindsight. But any suggestion that prewar information was distorted, hyped or fabricated by the leader of the nation is utterly false," Cheney said in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute.

There is sooooo much factual information indicating otherwise it is hard to comprehend who Cheney is addressing? Is he trying to rally the right wing? The entire country? The religious right? Given the evidence, who trusts him? And if they do, what is their own motivation? Do they accept the lies to back the policy or do they actually think he is telling the truth, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary? I don't think this fight strategy is working.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:04 PM | Comments (0)

Sen. Byrd Hits Back at Cheney

Sen. Robert Byrd struck back a V.P. Cheneys assertions that critics of their Iraq policy were somehow hurting the war effort and acting in an unpatriotic manner. Byrd states;

Whether one supported or opposed the war at its outset: no American must ever surrender the right to question the government.

The Constitution protects the American people from unjust laws that seek to stifle the patriotic duty to question those who are in power, but it is the courage of the American people that compels them to actually speak out when those in power call for silence. If anything, attacks on the patriotism of freedom-loving Americans may result in even more Americans fighting against attempts to squelch the Constitutional protections of freedom....

Wednesday evening, the Vice President of the United States even claimed that criticism of the Administration's war in Iraq was "dishonest and reprehensible." The Vice President's comments come on the heels of comments from President Bush, who said, "What bothers me is when people are irresponsibly using their positions and playing politics. That's exactly what is taking place in America."

The President and the Vice President need to reread the Constitution. Asking questions, seeking honesty and truth, and pressing for accountability is exactly what the Framers had in mind....

The Administration claims that the Congress had the same intelligence as the President before the war, and that independent commissions have determined that there was no misrepresentation of the intelligence. But neither claim is true.

The intelligence agencies are in the control of the White House. All information given to the Congress was cleared through the White House, and the President had access to an enormous amount of data never shared with the Congress. There was a filter over the intelligence information that the Congress received, and that filter was the Administration which was actively engaged in hyping the danger and lusting after this war in Iraq. Remember the talk of weapons of mass destruction, mushroom clouds, and unmanned drones? The so-called proof for war was massaged before it was sent to the Congress to scare members and leaked to reporters to scare the people.

Cheney and the President are clearly on the defensive. Too much factual information emerged over the past couple of weeks that damage their assertions of reality. The polls certainly indicate that the American people increasingly doubt the veracity of Administration accounts. It remains to be seen how the Democrats are able to take advantage of this and what they are able to do to redirect the ship of state. How is Bush going to change the negativity which grows throughout the country? Three more years of this atmosphere is hard to imagine.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:33 AM | Comments (0)

November 17, 2005

Knight-Ridder defines White House "Tinkering", "Distortions", "Lies", "Exaggerations", "Stretching", "Perversion" (You Pick) of the Truth

Knight-Ridder provides a broad outline of where the White House played games with the truth regarding Iraq, WMD and threats to the U.S here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:15 PM | Comments (0)

And the Political Point of This Is?

You have to draw your own conclusions about this.

Congressional budget negotiators have decided to take back $125 million in Sept. 11 aid from New York, which had fought to keep the money to treat sick and injured ground zero workers, lawmakers said.

New York officials had sought for months to hold onto the funding, originally meant to cover increased worker compensation costs stemming from the 2001 terror attacks.

But a massive labor and health spending bill moving fitfully through House-Senate negotiations would take back that funding, lawmakers said.

"It seems that despite our efforts the rescission will stand, very sadly, and that is something of a promise broken," said Rep. Vito Fossella (news, bio, voting record), R-N.Y. "We will try hard in the coming weeks, but ultimately Congress will have something of a black eye over this."

To save money? War? Taking care of the victims? Tax cuts? Oh well.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:02 PM | Comments (0)

November 16, 2005

Ahmad Chalabi Scores Big Time

After last week's stunning performance in Washington, Chalabi is certainly in the running for this week's Player of the Week. Newsweek provides us with a bit of a rundown on the man's play. This guy has more twists and turns, more slick moves than Michael Jordan in his prime. In exile in London, he was convicted in abstentia in Amman, Jordan (no relation) of embezzlement. Helped by the Iranians, he lied to the U.S., convincing them of the need to invade Iraq to get rid of Saddam. Shunned by the U.S. last year because of the little lying problem, he returns to Washington as a Deputy Minister, running the oil industry and meeting with Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Hadley, among others.

You have to give the man some credit. He may have misled the Bush White House about Iraq’s WMD. He may have evaded the law when he was convicted, in absentia, of embezzlement in Jordan. He may have outraged U.S. occupation officials because of his maneuvering after the invasion. But Ahmad Chalabi just doesn’t quit. Ever.

This man is a political animal, willing to do whatever it takes to realize his goals. You can certainly find ample reason to hate him, but you have to admire his gall, his veracity, and drive. He stole money for his cause, used Iranian support, intelligence and a bag full of lies to convince the American's to spend hundreds of billions of dollars, with more than 2000 dead, and over 15,000 wounded Americans. Plus there is the little matter of at least 30,000 Iraqis killed and the country on the brink of a civil war all in order to gain control of the country. This guy is like the Bill Belichek of politics, no matter what he faces he manages to find a game plan that succeeds. It is very impressive indeed.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:12 PM | Comments (0)

More Administration And Oil Nonsense

The Washington Post reports that oil executives met with Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force in 2001. That is not a surprise. I think most people assumed that happened, I know I did. Knowing how the administration worked, I thought that Cheney met with all his oil company pals and together they wrote an energy policy that would significantly profit the Oil Industry. And guess what, it has. The real "surprise" is that oil company executives all denied meeting with the White House during Congressional hearings last week.

The document, obtained this week by The Washington Post, shows that officials from Exxon Mobil Corp., Conoco (before its merger with Phillips), Shell Oil Co. and BP America Inc. met in the White House complex with the Cheney aides who were developing a national energy policy, parts of which became law and parts of which are still being debated.

In a joint hearing last week of the Senate Energy and Commerce committees, the chief executives of Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips said their firms did not participate in the 2001 task force. The president of Shell Oil said his company did not participate "to my knowledge," and the chief of BP America Inc. said he did not know.

Chevron was not named in the White House document, but the Government Accountability Office has found that Chevron was one of several companies that "gave detailed energy policy recommendations" to the task force. In addition, Cheney had a separate meeting with John Browne, BP's chief executive, according to a person familiar with the task force's work; that meeting is not noted in the document.

The whole thing makes me sick. As a nation, we have developed a bankrupt morality. Too many of us accept this type of behavior from our business and government leaders, either because we make money off of them or they expouse some simplistic moral principle. We need to stand up on our own two feet and start taking responsibility for what is happening to our country.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:43 AM | Comments (4)

November 15, 2005

Life Isn't Always Easy

Here you are, the most powerful person in the entire world, perhaps the most powerful creature in the whole universe, if you believe intelligent design and Christian theology. That is mighty powerful if you ask me. And what is Georgie doing with all that power? According to the Drudge Report, he is hiding.

President Bush feels betrayed by several of his most senior aides and advisors and has severely restricted access to the Oval Office, INSIGHT magazine claims in a new report.

The president's reclusiveness in the face of relentless public scrutiny of the U.S.-led war in Iraq and White House leaks regarding CIA operative Valerie Plame has become so extreme that Mr. Bush has also reduced contact with his father, former President George H.W. Bush, administration sources said on the condition of anonymity....

The sources said Mr. Bush maintains daily contact with only four people: first lady Laura Bush, his mother, Barbara Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes. The sources also say that Mr. Bush has stopped talking with his father, except on family occasions.

Think of all the boys and girls and Senators in the world who are growing up wishing and hoping that they too can become President of the United States of America. What a wonderful thing it would be, all that power, all that love, all that respect. It would be fun, or not.

Posted by Chip Spear at 6:32 PM | Comments (1)

Bush, Tactics and WMD

For the past couple of years President Bush and his neo-con administration have attacked critics of his Iraq policy saying they voted for the war and are now undermining the war effort. Last Friday, on Veteran's Day, he did the same thing. You would think that he might try a different play given how many times he has run this one and his sinking approval ratings. Imagine how successful a team would be if the only play they ran was a run off the right side tackle, over and over and over again. The defense would surely adjust and stop the play, over and over and over again. One would think that G.W. and Karl would try something different, because this play is really old and doesn't work. What are they thinking.....or maybe they aren't.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:13 AM | Comments (0)

Bush's Lies and Deceptions Defined

A NY Times Editorial in today's paper explains the ways which President Bush misled the American public in the buildup to the Iraq war. I have been looking for a more detailed description, asking specifically what the Democrats in Congress knew before voting to support a possible use of force against Saddam. It seems clear that the Administration gave Congress a sanitized version of information they wanted them to see and not the entire package, including doubts on the veracity of evidence of WMD. This is important to me because more and more Democrats are attacking the President. These same Dems voted to support the possible use of force. If they saw all the evidence, voted for the war and are now attacking the President, then they are clearly hypocrits. However, if they only saw heavily edited information that the Administration provided, designed to support their desire to attack Saddam, then that is a much different story.

Mr. Bush says everyone had the same intelligence he had - Mr. Clinton and his advisers, foreign governments, and members of Congress - and that all of them reached the same conclusions. The only part that is true is that Mr. Bush was working off the same intelligence Mr. Clinton had. But that is scary, not reassuring. The reports about Saddam Hussein's weapons were old, some more than 10 years old. Nothing was fresher than about five years, except reports that later proved to be fanciful.

Foreign intelligence services did not have full access to American intelligence. But some had dissenting opinions that were ignored or not shown to top American officials. Congress had nothing close to the president's access to intelligence. The National Intelligence Estimate presented to Congress a few days before the vote on war was sanitized to remove dissent and make conjecture seem like fact.....

Mr. Bush and other administration officials say they faithfully reported what they had read. But Vice President Dick Cheney presented the Prague meeting as a fact when even the most supportive analysts considered it highly dubious. The administration has still not acknowledged that tales of Iraq coaching Al Qaeda on chemical warfare were considered false, even at the time they were circulated.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:51 AM | Comments (0)

November 14, 2005

Bush Continues to Attack Dems on Iraq

President Bush continued to attack Democrats for criticizing him about misleading the country. Check the link here. He has been calling such actions irresponsible and detrimental to the war effort.

In his prepared Alaska remarks, Bush noted that some elected Democrats in Congress "have opposed this war all along."

"I disagree with them, but I respect their willingness to take a consistent stand," he said. "Yet some Democrats who voted to authorize the use of force are now rewriting the past. They are playing politics with this issue and sending mixed signals to our troops and the enemy."

In the Senate, 29 Democrats voted with 48 Republicans for the war authorization measure in late 2002, including 2004 Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, and his running mate, John Edwards of North Carolina. Both have recently been harshly critical of Bush's conduct of the war and its aftermath.

On Capitol Hill, top Democrats stood their ground in claiming Bush misled Congress and the country. "The war in Iraq was and remains one of the great acts of misleading and deception in American history," Kerry told a news conference.

Democrats offered a proposal urging the president to outline an estimate for a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops. The Senate was expected to vote on it on Tuesday, as well as on a rival GOP Iraq policy proposal that does not include a withdrawal provision.

Okay, what did the Democrats know? Did they see all the information about WMDs from the CIA, including doubts about White House contentions? How can Kerry and the Dems condemn Bush when they saw the same intelligence, or did they? This is not clear to me. Inquiring minds want to know.

Posted by Chip Spear at 5:06 PM | Comments (1)

Hadley Fumbles

This article from the AP has a lot of meat, specifically Bush's renewed claims that he did not mislead the country into war, his accusations that the Dems are lying, that they saw the same intelligence and voted for the war, and Howard Dean contradicting the President, indicating that they did not have access to the same information.

Bush said Democrats in Congress had the same intelligence about Iraq, and he argued that many now claiming that the information had been manipulated had supported going to war. The president also accused his critics of making false charges and playing politics with the war.

Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean rejected the criticism on Sunday and said, "The truth is, the president misled America when he sent us to war."

Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," the party chairman disputed Bush's claim that Congress had the same information - the president withheld some intelligence and some caveats about it, Dean said - and that two commissions had found no evidence of pressure being placed on those within the intelligence community.

In fact, Dean said, how the administration handled the intelligence it received has yet to be determined by a Senate committee.

I love this quote the best though regarding Administration intelligence on Iran. From Stephen Hadley, National Security Advisor;

Asked why people should believe U.S. claims about the nuclear plans of Iran given the failure of intelligence about Iraq, Hadley said there has been international consensus about Iran.

Well gee, Stephen, there was international consensus about Iraq too, wasn't there?

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:38 AM | Comments (0)

November 11, 2005

Robertson Fumbles Too

There are approximately 300-500 BILLION galaxies in the Universe that we understand. There are approximately 300-500 BILLION stars in the Milky Way, our galaxy. If we assume that our galaxy is of average size, there are the same number of stars in each of the other galaxies. Stretch your arms out as wide as possible. Let's pretend that represents the age of the Earth. Now take a nail file and lightly scrap once across the nail of your middle finger. You have now eliminated all of human history. Now think about the town of Dover, PA that voted 8 people off the school board that advocated forcing the entire school system to teach "intelligent design" in their science classes. From the AP here:

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson warned residents of a rural Pennsylvania town Thursday that disaster may strike there because they "voted God out of your city" by ousting school board members who favored teaching intelligent design.

All eight Dover, Pa., school board members up for re-election were defeated Tuesday after trying to introduce "intelligent design" - the belief that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power - as an alternative to the theory of evolution.

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city," Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club."

In context of the galaxies, the stars, the age of the earth, the history of humanity and the small town of Dover, PA, does anyone think that God, if there is a God, really cares about 8 people sitting on a school board advocating for a belief system that does not fit the definition of science? It cannot stand up to the scientific method of analysis. And to think that God will punish the entire town of Dover PA because some of its citizens voted off these board members is beyond.....

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:14 PM | Comments (0)

Santorum Fumbles. God, Can't These Guys Hang Onto the Ball?

We might have to bench the whole bunch of them and bring up some of the minor leaguers. From ABC News,

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., says that the No. 1 health care crisis in his state is medical lawsuit abuse and in the past he's called for a $250,000 cap on non-economic damage awards or awards for pain and suffering. "We need to do something now to fix the medical liability problem in this country," he declared at a rally in Washington D.C., this past spring.

But Santorum's wife sued a doctor for $500,000 in 1999. She claimed that a botched spinal manipulation by her chiropractor led to back surgery, pain and suffering, and sued for twice the amount of a cap Santorum has supported.

Do as I say, not as I do. (By the way, whatever happened to all the Republicans that signed Gingrich's Contract for America, agreeing to self imposed term limits? Did any of them actually do it, or was that self serving too?)

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:58 PM | Comments (0)

O'Reilly Fumble?

Some days the fumbles just keep coming. Bill, you are tooooooooo much. From MSNBC,

"And if al-Qaida comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead," O'Reilly continued, referring to the 1933 San Francisco landmark that sits atop Telegraph Hill.

Adding to the buzz was the archived version of O'Reilly's Tuesday show, which omitted the incendiary comments, according to Bay Area TV station KNTV.

If you aren't part of our team, or my team, or whatever team I like then you should die, you are scum, you are dirt, you are Satan, you are the pigs of the universe, SIS, BOOM, BAH!

Go Bill Go.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:40 PM | Comments (0)

Frist Fumble?

Let's see here, we have secret "gulags" spread around the world where U.S. government agents, CIA or something, are torturing prisoners. Bill Frist is more concerned about the fact that someone blew the whistle about the existence of the gulags than the fact that we engaged in a major personal foul, like torturing people, some to death even. He wants to kill the referee, not the offending players. I get it.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:09 PM | Comments (0)

November 10, 2005

Dems Score in Tuesday's Elections

I won't make a big deal out of Tuesday's elections. Everybody in the political blogosphere and MSM is writing or commenting on the results. I don't feel I have much to add to the chorus. The Dems scored some points. It might impact next year's congressional elections and it might not, depending on the standing of the Pres and whether he can regain some footing and move the chains a little. Good for the Democrats, they need a couple of victories if the country wants a bit more balance in its political discourse. When one side of the political spectrum controls both houses of Congress, the White House and the Judiciary, things often get out of hand. The government loses the checks and balances necessary to keep EVERYONE on the side of power from getting too arrogant and dictatorial. Let's hope for better days ahead.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:17 PM | Comments (0)

Big Business Mining Ready to Score Again

The Washington Post reports that House Resources Chairman Rep. Richard Pombo, R-CA, has included a provision into a large budget bill to allow the federal government to sell millions of acres of public land to mining interests. The government would sell the land at fair market price, based on its surface value, not potential mining returns. This is another in a long line of victories, if it passes, for Big Business. It is extremely hard for me to think of one instance where the Republicans have ever passed a piece of legislation restricting the rights or potential profits of Large Corporations since Bush won election in 2000.

Tucked inside a huge budget bill headed for an upcoming House vote is a provision that could spur the federal government to sell off millions of acres of public land to mining interests, marking a major shift in the nation's mining policy.

The measure, which would generate an estimated $158 million in revenue over the next five years, would also put on the market key parcels of federal land in the District that had been promised to the city for initiatives such as redevelopment along the Anacostia River.
The surprise measure has angered even Republicans such as Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (Va.), who has vowed to fight it.

Congress has barred the government from selling land outright to mining companies since 1994, on the grounds that they should lease public land the same way oil and gas firms do to extract the minerals below. But House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-Calif.) said the measure would cut the deficit and promote private ownership. "In some states primarily owned by the federal government, it's important that more of that land become private property," Pombo said. "These environmental groups want the federal government to own everything."

.....Pombo's plan has also outraged D.C. politicians because it would undermine legislation sponsored by Davis and endorsed by President Bush that would transfer land for free to the city to compensate for Congress's ban on a commuter tax and for the resulting increase in the city's fiscal burden.

Like many of his Congressional colleagues, Pombo inserted the provision into a bill unrelated to his amendment. The intent of original bill is to provide Washington DC with much need funds which the city lost as a result previous Congressional actions. One gets the feeling that the Republican team is really playing for Big Business rather than the country, for whatever BB wants from the Republicans, they seem to get.

Just a reminder to check out this week's Player of the Week, Edward Burtynsky, and his web site here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:18 PM | Comments (3)

November 6, 2005

Two Afghans Jailed 3 Years in Gitmo for Telling a Joke

Newsday reports that two Afghans were jailed for 3 years at Gitmo for telling a joke.

For months, grim interrogators grilled them over a satirical article Dost had written in 1998, when the Clinton administration offered a $5-million reward for Osama bin Laden. Dost responded that Afghans put up 5 million Afghanis - equivalent to $113 - for the arrest of President Bill Clinton.

"It was a lampoon . . . of the poor Afghan economy" under the Taliban, Badr recalled. The article carefully instructed Afghans how to identify Clinton if they stumbled upon him. "It said he was clean-shaven, had light-colored eyes and he had been seen involved in a scandal with Monica Lewinsky," Badr said.

No one, anywhere or ever, should be above the law. The success of our country rests with the respect we have had for our laws. This is an indication that we are losing that respect. Our government is operating outside of an arena of accountability. When our leaders have no respect for our laws and institutions we are in danger of becoming that which we despise. Thanks to Interactivist Info Exchange for the info.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)

If This Doesn't Scare the Shit Out of You, You Must be Missing a Brain

The Washington Post reports that the FBI is collecting all sorts of information on ordinary Americans that has nothing to do with terrorism. Using the Patriot Act, the government is becoming the Big Brother we all fear.

The FBI now issues more than 30,000 national security letters a year, according to government sources, a hundredfold increase over historic norms. The letters -- one of which can be used to sweep up the records of many people -- are extending the bureau's reach as never before into the telephone calls, correspondence and financial lives of ordinary Americans.

Issued by FBI field supervisors, national security letters do not need the imprimatur of a prosecutor, grand jury or judge. They receive no review after the fact by the Justice Department or Congress. The executive branch maintains only statistics, which are incomplete and confined to classified reports. The Bush administration defeated legislation and a lawsuit to require a public accounting, and has offered no example in which the use of a national security letter helped disrupt a terrorist plot.

The burgeoning use of national security letters coincides with an unannounced decision to deposit all the information they yield into government data banks -- and to share those private records widely, in the federal government and beyond. In late 2003, the Bush administration reversed a long-standing policy requiring agents to destroy their files on innocent American citizens, companies and residents when investigations closed. Late last month, President Bush signed Executive Order 13388, expanding access to those files for "state, local and tribal" governments and for "appropriate private sector entities," which are not defined.

Read it, all of it. Thank you George.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:40 PM | Comments (2)

November 3, 2005

Harry Reid's "Stunt"

Sen. Roberts accused the Democrats of pulling a political stunt by forcing the Senate into a rare closed session and demanding that the Senate Intelligence Committee complete its investigation into WMD and the deceptions by the White House leading up to the war.

Roberts accused Democrats of pulling a political "stunt" when Minority Leader Harry Reid made the motion Tuesday.

Democrats said the move was necessary to overcome Republican efforts to "obstruct" a full investigation and a reluctance to investigate how administration officials handled the intelligence used to sell Congress and the public on invading Iraq....

The move, which Majority Leader Bill Frist said he took as an "affront" to his leadership, came during a time of partisan tensions in the Senate.

Since this is two days old and has been all over the news, I will only mention that this reminded me of the scene in Casablance when Col. Renault walks into Rick's and says, "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!" What we have here is pure political sport, where the Republicans are trying to score points with the public, expressing their outrage at something they have been doing for years.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:13 AM | Comments (2)

Did David "Jump The Shark"?

David Brooks writes in today's NY Times here, that he thinks Harry Reid, Minority Leader of the Senate is more than a little ridiculous in his belief in conspiracy theories regarding the war. Mr. Brooks, like many on the right these days, want to dismiss the call for a full investigation into the leadup to the Iraq war. He contends that not only did Bush think Saddam had WMD, but so did Clinton and the Europeans, including the French and Germans.

Harry Reid sits alone at his kitchen table at 4 a.m., writing important notes in crayon on the outside of envelopes. It's been four weeks since he launched his personal investigation into the Republican plot to manipulate intelligence to trick the American people into believing Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

As a responsible journalist, Mr. Brooks also knows that the CIA had additional information indicating that Saddam did NOT have WMD, yet that information was ignored or pushed aside by the White House. He does not bring that up. David is certainly aware of that. Was this information presented to the Senate? Did Harry Reid have access to that intelligence as well? For him to only present one side at this stage makes him exceedingly disingenuous. In fact, it makes him more of a cheerleader for the White House than a believable columnist. He reminds me of the TV shows that "Jump the Shark" where they lose credibility and start the long downhill slide. Maybe we should nominate him to our White House cheerleading team?

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:45 AM | Comments (1)

November 2, 2005

Bush Attacks

If you read my entry from late last week, Fitzgerald Scores, Now What? I mentioned that Bush would probably announce his Supreme Court nominee as quickly as possible, which he did on Monday, then probably announce some "bold new initiative", which he did with the $7 Billion big bird flu program on Tuesday. Though there have not been many attacks on the indictment from the White House, there have certainly been quite a few from right wing pundits and operatives. I suppose the Avian flu pandemic scare replaces the usual terrorist scare that appears whenever the White House has political problems.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:41 PM | Comments (1)

November 1, 2005

Alito

President Bush scored with the right wing Republicans by nominating Sam Alito to replaced Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Bush made clear his intent to ignore the moderates and the left of the country by selecting someone who most consider a hard right judge. So much for inclusiveness. He obviously feels he can force the country to the right whether it wants to go there or not. Pat Buchanan said today, on Imus, that the Court was the last branch of government where the left is imposing morality on America. Wow, if that is not a case of the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is. Try flying a plane with only a right wing. See how far you get.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:19 PM | Comments (3)

October 28, 2005

Fitzgerald Scores. Now What?

Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald handed down on indictment on Scooter Libby today. Most of you already know that. Many on the left hoped for more, specifically an indictment of Darth Vader Rove, but that didn't happen, at least not yet. Those on the right hoped that nothing would happen. Well, that didn't occur either. But in the political arena the Democrats definitely scored some points. More may be coming, but only Fitzgerald, his staff, and the grand jury know for sure.

I am not going to discuss the nuances of the indictment. There are many others that are more qualified on that score than me. However I can conjecture on what will happen next, which is always fun. We can certainly expect the White House to mount an offensive on a couple of fronts. First, they will have players attacking the indictment and Fitzgerald. Second, Bush will announce a new nominee for the Supreme Court. I don't know if he will pick a hard line right winger to satisfy the fundamentalists in his party or pick someone like Roberts, who is conservative, maybe not super conservative, but is harder for the Democrats to attack. Third, he will probably announce some new domestic initiative, something to change the subject from all his disasters. Once the ball is snapped, his players will spread the defense and force them to play catch up, with all sorts of crossing patterns, options, backs coming out of the backfield, trap blocks, pump fake end around feints and anything else that Karl can think of. Oh boy.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:17 PM | Comments (0)

Waiting for the Play - Nothing Happening

Thank goodness that something finally happened. I was getting so amazingly tired of filler on all those news shows. Hours and hours of talking about what the situation was and what might happen. I listened to so many reviews of Niger, uranium, Iraq, Plame, Wilson, and bios of Libby that I thought I would throw up. The thing that often gets me about the MSM, and even bloggers, is that they write to a schedule and not to what is happening or what might be really important. For example, a show has to fill its time slot, so they find something that might be interesting, then do absolutely anything and everything they can think of to make it compelling news, so important that you cannot afford to miss it. And when it is non news, like when the Grand Jury was taking a lunch break yesterday, one can only laugh.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:17 PM | Comments (1)

October 27, 2005

Bush Suffers Knockout

Slam! Bang! A hard right, a jab from the left and a HARD overhand right and George goes down for the count. Harriet is gone, out, no longer a threat to the right or left from her high perch on the Supreme Court. There is no way to think anything other than G.W. suffered a big knockout withdrawing Harriet Miers' nomination. Overwhelmed by opposition from the far right, with little support from the Republican Senate and almost no help from moderate Democrats, the President fought alone against heavy handed opponents. He obviously hadn't trained well for this fight. Weakened by the problems in Iraq, the tepid economy, the Hurricane Katrina disaster, and the CIA leak investigation, George was unable to summon the strength or resources necessary to overcome what many preceived as a very weak nominee.

I have mentioned a couple of times recently that Republicans are increasingly reluctant to uncategorically support the President when they perceive him as weak and a potential liability to re-election campaigns next year. Republican candidates need the hard right base to succeed in many Congressional races. Many right wing activists viewed Miers' nomination as a sign that Bush reneged on a campaign committment to put a strong conservative on the court, one who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Consequently, any Republican supporting the nomination could expect serious trouble from within their own fan base. On the other hand, if the President was stronger they would be willing to support him, thinking that he would provide enough help next year that together they could overcome any opposition. However that is not now the case. The lack of support doomed Miers' nomination for a quick trip to the canvas.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:12 AM | Comments (2)

October 26, 2005

Fitzgerald Takes the Snap

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, takes the snap, he moves back, and moves quickly to his left. His offense line/attorneys hold fast, keeping the powerful defense out of the backfield. No one is quite sure what he is going to do. One end of the grand jury is heading back in a reverse. Another grand jury end is headed quickly downfield cutting hard toward the goalposts. The Roving Linebackers are frozen, unable to decide whether to protect against the potential reverse in the backfield or drop back to help the corners as they try to keep up with the speedy Grand Jury Ends streaking down the field. I can't tell if Fitzzy is just trying to move the Chens or if he is going as far as the Bushes in the back of the end zone. Wow, this is great stuff. Stay tuned, we'll be right back after this word from our sponsors.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:45 PM | Comments (0)

October 25, 2005

Watching the Play In Slow Motion

Waiting for the Special Prosecutor to release his report/indictments is a little like watching a play evolve on the field in slow motion. This week the media and blogosphere is fairly consumed with what is happening and going to happen around the Valarie Plame leak investigation. I have been reading and following along, and it is fun. Each move and rumor is dissected ad infinitum. Some on the right contend that lying is no big deal, which reminds me of Clinton. Some analysts project who is getting indicted or not. Others wonder what will happen after. And some think that Fitzgerald doesn't have enough evidence to indict anybody. Think of a quarterback taking the snap, starting to turn, moving one foot, then the other. In this case many of us have already determined how the rest of the play is going to finish, even before he has made the handoff or set up for the throw. Heck, it seems we aren't even keeping track of the receivers or the patterns they are running.

It is fun to engage in conjecture, but there is just so much that we don't know. In a situation like this I try to keep my mouth shut, or just say I don't know much of anything. I sure am having fun watching the game though.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:35 AM | Comments (1)

October 21, 2005

Saddam and DeLay

Saddam Hussein and Tom DeLay both attacked the judges in their court appearances this week. DeLay attacked Ronnie Earle, the prosecuting attorney, accusing him of being on a witch hunt and going after political enemies. Saddam doesn't recognize the authority of the government and accuses the government of attacking him as a political enemy. Tom doesn't seem to recognize the authority of any government official who isn't part of his political party, the Baaths, oh excuse me, the Republicans. Both men are attacking the authority of their accusers. Tom DeLay is certainly not the evil person that Saddam is, I think, but the similarities in their tactics here are interesting and amusing.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:43 PM | Comments (0)

October 19, 2005

Dems Scoring on WMD issue

The Dems are certainly scoring points with the WMD issue. Though the topic has been on the field for over two years, the Democrats are managing to get more mileage with the public now than anytime in the past. I think that a lot of this has to do with the fact that Patrick Fitzgerald is about to either release a report on the outing of Valerie Plame, announce indictments, or close shop, which seems unlikely. Watch my video analysis here of why I think the Dems were very aware of the sketchy evidence on WMD and went along with the Bush administration explanations for invading Iraq.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:59 PM | Comments (2)

Talk is Cheap

From Condeleezza Rice:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday defended U.S. policy in Iraq amid criticism from lawmakers demanding a plan to bring troops home.

In her first appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since February, Rice said the U.S. goals in Iraq are to break the back of the insurgency, keep Iraq from becoming a safe haven for Islamic extremism, turn the corner economically and become a democratic example for the entire Middle East.

She outlined a strategy to clear the toughest areas of insurgents, secure them as a sanctuary from violence and "build durable national Iraqi institutions," which she insisted would "assure victory."

"Our strategy is to clear, hold and build," she told senators. "The enemy's strategy is to infect, terrorize and pull down."

Rice said the Bush administration would "restructure" part of its mission on a model the United States found successful in Afghanistan, where diplomats and reconstruction workers are embedded with the military.

"Provincial reconstruction teams" made up of civilian and military personnel will work together to clear out insurgents, train police, set up courts and help the government establish basic services, Rice said. The first of these new teams will begin work next month.

But the hearing often turned contentious, with Rice facing tough questioning from senators on both sides of the aisle, looking for a timetable to win the peace and begin withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Timetables debated

Rice refused to give a timeline for U.S. withdrawal but called Iraqi forces' assumption of responsibility for some of the toughest areas in Iraq "good benchmarks".

At this point it is "Put up or Shut up."

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:22 PM | Comments (0)

To Important to Ignore

I have not done this in the past, but because of the change in the NY Times online status I copied todays op-ed piece from Tom Friedman, which you can read here. I feel that the points he raises are much too important to either ignore or not read. Please do so.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:57 AM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2005

The Global War on Terror, Iraq and WMD

Did we forget the Global War on Terror, that everyone was so gung ho about immediately after 9/11? Where is that support now? Do we no longer see the forest through the trees? The Administration has badly managed the war, no question. However, very little of our invasion had to do with WMD, and it had everything to do with the Global War on Terror. Watch the video as I explain why it was a means to pressure the Saudis to crack down on extremists within Saudi Arabia, it was a way to get the Iranians to dismantle their nuclear weapons program and drop their support of other terrorist organizations like Hezzbollah and Hamas. It was also a way to tell Syria and Libya to shape up and a way to signal to the fundamentalists that the U.S. was not going to act passively and wait while they continually attacked us. The reasons are more varied and numerous than those, but that is a start. We are not thinking about the bigger picture here and I think that is a mistake.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:49 PM | Comments (2)

October 17, 2005

The Miers Sailboat Keeps Tacking, Looking for the Right Wind

The Skipper has definitely changed tacks several times over the past week over the Harriet Miers' Supreme Court nomination. First they asked the right wing to "trust me", meaning the President. When that wasn't working they tacked, changed directions, emphasizing her strong, conservative religious beliefs, thinking that would assure the right wing that she would vote pro-life in any potential abortion decision. That wasn't working, so they tacked again stressing her legal qualifictions. Today, the Bush White House had a number of former members of the Texas Supreme Court come to Washington to help convince members of Congress of her qualifications. We'll have to see if that works. The skipper and tactician just can't quite find the wind yet to get the boat really moving. I say that because the skipper keeps saying, "Well, the boat isn't getting much wind over here. Those boats seem to be moving better on that side of the course, let's tack."

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:47 PM | Comments (1)

Judy Miller

I have read the NY Times articles on Judy Miller, Scooter Libby, and the Valerie Plame leak. The articles are long, and relatively complicated to follow, in the sense of not finding clarity in either Miller's explanations or the role of the Times. One thing is clear however is that Ms. Miller is a snake. I would certainly never trust her and never hire her if I was in a position to do so. I recently saw her on one of the news talk shows. My impression after the show and reading the articles is one of arrogance and pretension. This is certainly a strong opinion, so take it with some degree of scepticism, but really, after reading the articles and watching her on TV, would you trust her or hire her to do anything remotely important?

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:35 AM | Comments (2)

October 16, 2005

Play(er) of the Week for Oct. 16 - Iraq Referendum & G.W. Bush

Watch the Player of the Week video here.

The big game this week was the referendum on the Iraqi constitution. normally I pick an individual as our Player of the Week, and if I kept to that I would have to pick the President. He has pushed and shoved and done everything possible to get democracy started in Iraq. There is no question that there are problems, many of them. The President has failed and been thrown for more than a few losses. That said, there is no question that the fact that this referendum occurred, with relatively few problems is a major accomplishment. Yes, the constitution is imperfect, and yes, there is no guarantee that the country won't turn into total chaos, but it is a very significant step. Congratulations George, you are Political Sports Player of the Week for Oct. 16th, 2005.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:57 AM | Comments (3)

Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Oct. 16 - George and The White House

Watch the video here

One would think that after all the problems that the President has had over the past couple of months that he and the White House would be a bit more careful about deceiving the American public. The teleconference, the denial by McClellan that it was scripted, then the proof that it clearly was scripted, was a massive fumble for the President.

Scott McClellan was asked whether the teleconference the president had with troops in Tikrit was scripted. Here's what he said ...

QUESTION: How were they selected, and are their comments to the president pre-screened, any questions or anything...

MCCLELLAN: No.

QUESTION: Not at all?

MCCLELLAN: This is a back-and-forth.

Here's how the pool reporter, from the designated reporter on the scene, described the event.

The soldiers, nine U.S. men and one U.S. woman, plus an Iraqi, had been tipped off in advance about the questions in the highly scripted event. Allison Barber, deputy assistant to the Secretary of Defense for internal communication, could be heard asking one soldier before the start of the event, "Who are we going to give that [question] to?"

You might think that they would just stop it, stop the nonsense and play straight, for a while at least. However maybe this sort of activity is so ingrained in their psyche that they can't act any other way.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:24 AM | Comments (2)

October 13, 2005

Playing Fantasy Football is Not Playing Football & Playing Fantasy Government is Not Governing

Watch the video of this post, it is VERY interesting, insightful(?), brilliant(?), and possesses a much higher "fun-factor" than all the writing. ;-)

I don't play any of the online fantasy sports. I have enough trouble keeping up with the real ones, plus participating in a few myself. I do realize however that many people do, otherwise it would not be as big a phenomenon as it is. Fantasy sports are a great outlet for fans. They get intimately involved in players, teams, coaches, maybe strategies, depending on their interest level, but there is no question or confusion whether they are playing the real game or not.

This brings me to our government and especially today's article on the front page of the NY Times and some statistics via Talking Points Memo. First the Times article, which you can find here.

"Deplorable. Disappointing. Outrageous. That is how I feel about it," said the Atlanta mayor, Shirley Franklin, a Democrat, in a telephone interview on Wednesday. "The federal response has just been unacceptable. It is like talking to a brick wall."

Even conservative housing experts have criticized the Bush administration's handling of the temporary housing response. "I am baffled," said Ronald D. Utt, a former senior official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Reagan administration aide who is now a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, the conservative research organization. "This is not incompetence. This is willful. That is the only way I can explain it."

...the temporary housing program has been troubled since the start, observers say. Instead of setting up as many as 30,000 trailers and mobile homes every two weeks, as of Tuesday, just 7,308 were occupied. Even counting berths on the four ships that FEMA has leased and rooms on military bases and elsewhere, the agency has provided only 10,940 occupied housing units for victims in the three Gulf states.

And at TPM:

Over at the blog of Reason Magazine, Editor Nick Gillespie has posted a list of how much each two-term president increased spending going back forty years.
Specifically, the list measures increases in discretionary spending over five successive budgets, adjusted for inflation.
Here are the numbers ...
LBJ: 25.2%
Nixon: -16.5%
Reagan: 11.9%
Clinton: -8.2%
Bush: 35.2%

What is one to make of this? Consider the state of the Iraq war, the budget deficits, the Federal response to the hurricanes, the tax cuts for the wealthy, the increase of people living in poverty, the number of folks living without health insurance, the international torture scandals, the legal problems within the Republican leadership, Osama still on the loose, and the runaway spending, exceeding the so-called worst of the Democrats. What can one conclude? Is this incompetence? Or is it truly willful? George Bush and his team campaigned on the promise of competency and better management. That has clearly not occurred. If this is a case of willful action on their part to not only destroy government but to take advantage of everything they can along the way, then it is incredibly heinous.

When we elect leaders we give them a sacred trust to act in good faith, to not lie, cheat, steal or mislead us. We elect them to act according to accepted principles of moral, ethical behavior. Granted Clinton had some serious personal issues and was not the most honest on that score, but this administration has betrayed our trust in ways that Clinton never came close to approaching. It is as if they believe they are really playing a game, like a board game of Fantasy Government. They must believe that what they do has no impact on the lives of real people. They are so very, very wrong. This is no game, it is all too real. Far too many of us are going to suffer by their actions.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:20 PM | Comments (3)

October 11, 2005

You Be George's Coach

Your mission, should you agree to accept it, is to define a strategy for good old Georgie to regain his equilibrium and get his presidency back on solid ground. There is no question that he has had a bad few months and the near future doesn't look good either, with the potential indictments coming for Rove and Libby. The offense is definitely sputtering. What do you do, what do you recommend that he do to score some points and turn the tide?

As a coach of an athletic team, whenever we are having problems I usually try to simplify the game, follow the Vince Lombardi philosophy and return to basics. With that in mind, what is the problem? Well, one thing for sure is that people don't think G.W. is being an effective administrator these days. If I were the coach here, I would say to focus on one thing and make sure it succeeds. Get the best people, work hard, and deliver. Second, people are sceptical of all the photo ops. Stop them unless they result in solid acts that provide substantive results, no more fake crap. Third, about Harriet Miers, ask supporters to hold off on the criticism as much as possible and then provide the Senate with information that they want. If she is actually that good, she should be able to stand on her own two feet. She has to establish her own identity, independent of the Presidency. She has to impress the right that she is not against their beliefs. I wouldn't say that she should say that she will do everything they want. I don't think any judge or potential judge should say they will be beholden to any specific political viewpoint, but she can allay some of their fears.

Fourth, regarding Iraq, the President needs to pray a lot, because he really screwed this up. Walking away soon would be an utter disaster, pouring more troops in would be politically and logistically difficult, and staying the course, considering our success or lack thereof, is not promising. Hope that the constitution passes and people settle down to rebuilding rather than destroying their homeland. I know that I would recommend an all out effort to provide aid to the earthquake area of Pakistan. It might not have a direct bearing on Iraq, but it is a center of extreme fundamentalist Islam. Anything we can do there would not only save lives but show those people we are really on their side. Wow, what a mess this is.

There is my basic outline.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:51 AM | Comments (1)

October 10, 2005

Fabulous Fumble of the Week - Bill Bennett

Political Sports offers a new feature this week called Fabulous Fumble of the Week. Inspired by Bill Bennett's thoughtful comments regarding blacks and crime on his syndicated radio talk show.

"If you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose -- you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down.

"That would be an impossibly ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down," he said.

We feel that Mr. Bennett comments warranted a whole new award. Given the current political climate and flurry of ridiculous political activity I think that we will be able to make this a weekly award, we shall see. Back to Bill though, whether the comment has any validity or not, it was an amazingly dumb thing to say, considering racism and problems that blacks have with the legal system in this country. As a major player with the conservative, Republicans, he really hurt the team with his play at a time when they need all the help they can get.

Posted by Chip Spear at 6:34 PM | Comments (2)

October 7, 2005

New Poll Ratings by CBS News

Here is the latest CBS News poll on President Bush and the economy. The President has hit the lowest rating for any Commander in Chief in the history of the poll.

This CBS News Poll finds an American public increasingly pessimistic about the economy, the war in Iraq, the overall direction of the country, and the president. Americans' outlook for the economy is the worst it has been in four years. Most expect the price of gas to rise even further in the next few months.

A growing number of Americans want U.S. troops to leave Iraq as soon as possible, rather than stay the course, and the highest percentage ever thinks the United States should have stayed out of Iraq. When given a set of options for paying for rebuilding the hurricane-racked Gulf Coast, only one - taking money from the Iraq War - gets majority support.

President Bush's overall job approval rating has reached the lowest ever measured in this poll, and evaluations of his handling of Iraq, the economy and even his signature issue, terrorism, are also at all-time lows. More Americans than at any time since he took office think he does not share their priorities.

Peruse at your leisure.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:35 PM | Comments (1)

The Sharks Smell Blood

Right Wing Republicans reacted to President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court much as a group of sharks might respond to fresh blood in the water. Uncharacteristically critical of their fearless leader, they are openly questioning his choice. Their reasoning is probably based on self interest, they sense the President is weak and will not provide them with the support they need to hold the House and Senate next year. In addition they feel that he is reneging on a promise he made to nominate a hard, right wing conservative. Given that Harriet Mier's views are largely unknown at this point, they fear the worst. You can watch my video analysis here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:29 AM | Comments (1)

October 6, 2005

There Are Few Words to Describe

Delay and Blunt linked in donations scheme. I don't have much to say about this yet, other than the cancer keeps spreading. The Republicans picked Blunt to replace Tom DeLay, now he is under suspicion. No wonder people distrust government. You can read the article here.

Tom DeLay deliberately raised more money than he needed to throw parties at the 2000 presidential convention, then diverted some of the excess funds to longtime ally Roy Blunt through a series of donations that benefited both men's causes.

When the financial carousel stopped, DeLay's private charity, the consulting firm that employed DeLay's wife and the Missouri campaign of Blunt's son all ended up with money, according to campaign documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

Jack Abramoff, a Washington lobbyist recently charged in an ongoing federal corruption and fraud investigation, and Jim Ellis, the DeLay fundraiser indicted with his boss last week in Texas, also came into the picture.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:05 PM | Comments (0)

They Voted Against the Torture Amendment

These nine Senators voted against the Torture Amendment. For some reason I thought about slavery and checked on the history.

Allard (R-CO) - territory open to slavery
Bond (R-MO) - slave state
Coburn (R-OK) - slave state
Cochran (R-MS) - slave state
Cornyn (R-TX) - slave state
Inhofe (R-OK) - slave state
Roberts (R-KS) -territory open to slavery
Sessions (R-AL) - NA
Stevens (R-AK) - slave state

Too scary and disgusting to want to believe any correlation, however.........

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:19 PM | Comments (4)

Political Sports Necessities

Sports of all kinds are terrific experiences. I am a huge advocate of participation in some sort of sport. I truly believe that it is healthy and gets one off the couch, moving around, interacting with others, learning about team play, discipline, etc. That said, I also enjoy watching others play. I enjoy seeing my kids play games, learning skills, getting in better shape, performing before a crowd, etc. Of course I enjoy professional and college sports too. I like going to games. The atmosphere is fun. I enjoy the crowds, the view from the stands, perhaps a beer, the music, the cheers, and the cheerleaders. You can see some great ones here.

Political Sports feels that the political arena needs cheerleaders as well. We are announcing an aggressive world-wide search for suitable applicants to represent each team and league. Please feel free to submit any suggestions or contact me for applications.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

October 4, 2005

This Game is Getting Mighty Scary

Let's see, Gitmo, the Patriot Act, and now this, President Bush thinking about using the military to quarantine sections of the country in the event that the avian flu mutates, which is impossible under Intelligent Design mind you, to prevent anyone from entering or leaving that particular area. Is it just me, or do I sense a trend here?

President Bush, increasingly concerned about a possible avian flu pandemic, revealed Tuesday that any part of the country where the virus breaks out could likely be quarantined and that he is considering using the military to enforce it.

"The best way to deal with a pandemic is to isolate it and keep it isolated in the region in which it begins," he said during a wide-ranging Rose Garden news conference.

But such a shift could require a change in law, and some in Congress and the states worry it would increase the power of the federal government at the expense of local control.

At the time the order was signed, a spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Public Health Service would probably recommend home quarantines when possible, but said they would be voluntary. It's unclear whether the federal takeover of state and local quarantine powers that Bush discussed Tuesday would be limited just to travel or involve broader home quarantines as well.

We can trust him, and Karl, and Scooter, and Dick, and Tom and Bill of course, don't you think?

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:55 PM | Comments (0)

Harriet "Stealth" Meirs

This lady might be harder to touch than John "The Galloping Ghost" Roberts. Both Republicans and Democrats don't quite know what to make of her. Is she at all liberal, worry the conservatives? And the left think that she might not be all that bad, but they aren't sure and they would love to deny Bush any benefit of the doubt.

With Miers' selection, Bush was looking to satisfy conservatives who helped confirm Chief Justice John Roberts - without inflaming Democrats who repeatedly warned against the selection of an extreme conservative to succeed Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has voted to uphold abortion rights and preserve affirmative action.....

Democrats said Miers, with no judicial record, will need to answer more questions than Roberts did during his confirmation hearing. Most of her paperwork from her White House days will not be available to the Senate because it falls under executive privilege or lawyer-client privilege.....

At the same time, the White House worked aggressively Monday to allay concerns over Miers among conservatives determined to turn the court to the right.

It appears that it will be very hard for Democrats to find anything they can use to prevent Miers' confirmation. The fact executive privilege protects most of her history will make life difficult for Democrats ready to attack.

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:47 AM | Comments (2)

October 3, 2005

VERY Amusing New Web Site

Thanks to Bad Attitudes for the link. This is quite terrific. You can't but help a little chuckle.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:10 PM | Comments (1)

Political Sports Player of the Week

John Roberts is this week's Political Sports Player of the Week. It is not every day that someone becomes a Chief Justice of SCOTUS. With so few, 17, in our history, it is a "supreme" accomplishment. Thousands dream from the time they think of the law and law school, but so very few make it. Our congratulations to him. Watch the video here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:35 PM | Comments (2)

Scouting Reports Miers is Fast, Hard-nosed and Slippery

President Bush's pick to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, appears to be similar in many respects to his earlier pick of John "The Galloping Ghost" Roberts. Not much, if anything is known about her judicial opinions. That means that Democrats will have an extremely hard time pinning her down on civil rights, privacy, abortion, etc. They will be left grabbing at thin air as she jumps, wiggles and side-steps her way through the defense. Initial scouting reports suggest that she will stand firmly in her White House roots to play with George's team. Her loyalty has been one of her defining virtues, at least to G.W. Other than the fact that not much is known about her, you can read the Washington Post article about her here, she seems a strong pick. Conservatives might be aprehensive that she is not conservative enough since even they don't know enough about her to make a reasoned judgment. Unless a smoking gun emerges, all indication are that she will score easily.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:43 AM | Comments (1)

October 1, 2005

Never Give Up the Ball

In any sport you never, ever willingly give up the ball, so it comes as no surprise that the U.S. is refusing to relinguish control of the Internet. You can link here.

A senior U.S. official rejected calls on Thursday for a U.N. body to take over control of the main computers that direct traffic on the Internet, reiterating U.S. intentions to keep its historical role as the medium's principal overseer.

"We will not agree to the U.N. taking over the management of the Internet,'' said Ambassador David Gross, the U.S. coordinator for international communications and information policy at the State Department. "Some countries want that. We think that's unacceptable.''....

Many countries, particularly developing ones, have become increasingly concerned about the U.S. control, which stems from the country's role in creating the Internet as a Pentagon project and funding much of its early development.

They also want greater assurance that as they come to rely on the Internet more for governmental and other services, their plans won't get derailed by some future U.S. policy.

One proposal that countries have been discussing would wrest control of domain names from the U.S.-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, and place it with an intergovernmental group, possibly under the United Nations.

What is the political advantage to the U.S. of giving up control of the Internet? On a personal level, if you developed something everyone in the world wanted, would you just turn it over to others? Or think about it in our sports metaphors, if you were on offense and scoring lots of points, would you give up the ball just because others asked, especially if there was much at stake? I think not. And in this case I would doubt that the U.S. will give up control of the Internet until they are forced to do so.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:32 PM | Comments (0)

Retired General Says Iraq War Biggest U.S. Mistake

A retired U.S. general, Retired Army Lt. Gen. William Odom, stated that he feels the U.S. war in Iraq was a huge strategic blunder along biblical proportions (the biblical part is from me, but he did say huge). Of course that is just one opinion, granted, of a general who should know about these sorts of things, but it is not a fact. You can read the article here.

The invasion of Iraq was the "greatest strategic disaster in United States history," a retired Army general said yesterday, strengthening an effort in Congress to force an American withdrawal beginning next year.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. William Odom, a Vietnam veteran, said the invasion of Iraq alienated America's Middle East allies, making it harder to prosecute a war against terrorists.

The U.S. should withdraw from Iraq, he said, and reposition its military forces along the Afghan-Pakistani border to capture Osama bin Laden and crush al Qaeda cells.

If we go back to George Friedman's book, America's Secret War, for a moment to review his ideas: (1) The U.S. went into Iraq partly to show the militant extremists that we didn't have to rely on coalitions to win - we lose on that ground. (2) The big, bad, tough Americans have no guts, they cut and run when the going gets tough - wow, big loser there.(3) Al Qaeda can beat us - we lose on that ground. (4) Iran would have huge influence in the south - we lose on that too. (5) We can force the Saudis to crack down on their militants because we have major forces on their border and developed a democracy as an example for their people right next door - we lose there. (6) We make sure that Iraq doesn't become a long term training ground for Muslim extremists - big loss there. (7) Iran would assume that we would never attack them for their nuke development if we leave Iraq - another whooping loss there too.

This is war, not some video game. A dirty, horrible, nasty, ugly war that has huge consequences, many of them we are either not aware of or don't think about. The Bush administration has made a mess of executing this, but it doesn't change the problems involved, or the stakes. Death is terrible and it is an extremely sad thing when even one person dies. That said, Americans are exceedingly crazy about death, due in large part to the media, our expectations, and the way we built our country. We don't want anyone to die, which is a good thing. Approximately 1900 Americans have died in the Iraq War. I bring back some statistics that I posted previously.

U.S. Civil War Battles:
Chancellorsville, May 1-4, 1863
Union - 17,000 killed, wounded and missing
Confederate - 13,000 killed, wounded and missing
Fredericksburg, Dec. 13. 1862
Union - 12,653 killed, wounded and missing
Confederate - 5,309 killed, wounded and missing
Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863
Union - 23,000 killed, wounded and missing
Confederate - 28,000 killed, wounded and missing
Day 3 - Pickett's Charge - 10,000 casualties in 50 minutes

I feel we should all take a few minutes and think about the endgame here. War is not nice, or easy. What do we want and how are we really going to achieve it?

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:27 AM | Comments (0)

September 30, 2005

Army in Terrible Recruiting Slump

The Army is in the worst recruiting slump in decades. You can read the article here. So why would I want to enlist and go to Iraq or Afghanistan forever? And get car bombed by people who hate us and we can't find. I am not allowed to come home. My tour of duty is continually extended by the Pentagon. Furthermore, the military does not provided the necessary supplies or materials to keep me in one piece. I can really die, like no longer see my girlfriend/wife or kids or friends ever again for a war that no one can or will justify in any meaningful way. And it is unbelieveably hot over there too, with no places to go swimming. What is up with that? Somehow the training/experience thing I see in the commercials on TV doesn't cut it.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:06 PM | Comments (0)

Judy Sings For Whose Team?

So, Judith Miller got out of jail and testified before the Grand Jury. I wonder what happened recently that precipitated this new flurry of play? Libby supposedly told her that she could reveal his name. I want to know why now. Was he feeling guilty about her sitting in jail all this time just for him? Or was there some additional pressure applied from still unknown sources. This is one of those situations where I wish I was a fly on a lot of different walls. I bet they would be exceedingly interesting. Did Miller plead with Libby or one of his friends to "let her loose"? Was the prosecutor putting some type of pressure on Libby or someone else that made him relent? Of course it could be something completely different that I don't see yet. Inquiring minds want to know.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:53 PM | Comments (2)

September 28, 2005

Hurricane in a Box

One would think that FEMA would have put together a number of packages, or boxes, which would essentially be kits with all available information, procedures and plans for local and state officials to use in case of various emergencies. I am thinking from the point of view of a project manager type who should have sat in a room with a group of disaster folks and said something like, "Okay, what are the various disasters that can happen in the country?" He would make a list on a big white board. Then s/he might say, "Okay, what variation is there on each one of these, like small, medium, large and extra special? What can we expect to happen in each circumstance for various areas of the country? How should we react? What is expected of each government branch, both within the Federal government, state and local branches? How do they have to be prepared?" Once they get that far, then they start writing up plans like if "this" happens then do "that". After that you try to run classes to teach mayors and governors what to do during massive events. Each state and local official would get a kit outlining what should be done and a basic outline of when they should do it. They should also have a Federal coordinator to help them in case of an emergency.

This would also define how local communities spend money, especially if they are told to buy X, Y, and Z for emergencies. There would be specific lists of necessary items. Such action would largely eliminate all the nonsense that local police and fire departments purchased with their share of DHS money.

Many state and local officials come into office without the training necessary to do all aspects of their jobs. FEMA should be there to help them. It seems to me that FEMA is a department that is supposed to not only aid those in need but prepare for events, should they occur. It is not rocket science, it is a basic game planning.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:56 PM | Comments (0)

Delay Indicted in Campaign Finance Probe

It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Link to the article here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:51 PM | Comments (1)

September 25, 2005

Who's On First

The military told President Bush today that there needs to be a Post-Disaster Plan to deal with search and rescue efforts following a national emergency. That is a joke, right? What is FEMA? What is the Department of Homeland Security? Bush said that he was interested in the proposal. The fact that this would even get into the news and that Bush said he was interested in any way is more than a little disturbing. What have we been doing the past couple of years? Not planning? Not coordinating? Not training? Watch my video here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:38 PM | Comments (0)

September 21, 2005

The Galloping Ghost Returns

Ah John, how much you remind me of that legend of yore, that man who could not be touched, could not be caught. He moved with the wind and flew down the field. From Grantland Rice:

A streak of fire, a breath of flame
Eluding all who reach and clutch;
A gray ghost thrown into the game
That rival hands may never touch;
A rubber bounding, blasting soul
Whose destination is the goal.

You can read the ESPN article here on Red Grange.

In his first game, Grange scored three touchdowns, including a 66-yard punt return, against Nebraska in 1923. In seven games as a sophomore he ran for 723 yards (5.6 average) and scored 12 touchdowns in leading unbeaten Illinois to the consensus national championship.

Not until the Michigan game on Oct. 18, 1924, did Grange reach legendary status. He returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Then he scored on runs of 67, 56 and 44 yards. All this in the first 12 minutes. The four touchdowns were as many as Michigan had allowed in the two previous seasons.

Tired, he took a rest. But he came back to run 11 yards for a fifth touchdown and passed 20 yards for a sixth score as Illinois won 39-14 to end Michigan's 20-game unbeaten streak. He totaled an amazing 402 yards -- 212 rushing, 64 passing and 126 on kickoff returns.

As a senior, in a 24-2 upset of Penn in Philadelphia, Grange rushed for a career-high 237 yards, including touchdown runs of 56 and 13 yards, through ankle-deep mud. With rumors of Grange turning pro swirling, he helped Illinois win its season-finale, 14-9 over Ohio State. In his 20-game career, he ran 388 times for 2,071 yards (5.3 average), caught 14 passes for 253 yards and completed 40 of 82 passes for 575 yards. Of his 31 touchdowns, 16 were from at least 20 yards, with nine from more than 50.

And so what is so fabulous about the Great Galloping Ghost right now? Well, John Roberts of course. Swift of foot, can't be caught, like the wind. He stands before your eyes, you lunge to tackle him and he is gone, your arms grabbing nothing but air. One man, two men, a whole room of men and none can manage to difficult task of bringing him down. As a defender you hate and admire his vast array of skills. He is the likes of which we seldom see, a shimmering ghost before our eyes. He is right before us, yet we cannot truly describe what we see. I watch in awe at his shifts, his wiggles, and shimmies. How can we deny him his goal?

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:28 PM | Comments (0)

September 20, 2005

Player of the Week for Sept. 19th

We name Karl Rove as this week's Political Sports Player of the Week for his surprise appointment to lead the Gulf Coast reconstruction effort. A political strategist with no or little administrative experience, Karl was named by President Bush to lead one of, if not the, largest reconstruction efforts in U.S. history. Known as an extremely partisan political operative, Karl scored big with the appointment and is sure to help his friends to huge gains in both the political and economic arenas. Congratulations Karl! Watch the latest video here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:33 AM | Comments (2)

September 19, 2005

Hats! Political Hats?

Check out the hats! Watch it here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:39 PM | Comments (0)

North Korea and U. S. Agree, Kinda, Maybe, Sorta

I got up early this morning and drove to the gym to do some swimming. Along the way I listed to NPR announce that the U.S. and North Korea had reached an agreement regarding the dismantling of North Korea's nuclear weapons program. I immediately thought how I had to eat some crow for my insistence that I never thought N. Korea and Kim Jong Il would give up their weapons. During my swim I wondered what I would say. Then driving home I heard that the agreement was more an agreement to have an agreement, and I smiled. This was too much, but I suppose typical in negotiations. From what I understand at this point, the North Koreans agree in principal to give up their weapons, but there is no timetable, there is no verification and there is no agreement on the light-water reactor they insist on before they agree to give up the weapons. Basically, it appears that we have a lot of bluffing going on at the poker table and noone is willing to lay their cards down yet. That does not mean that it won't happen. I hope that I am wrong. I certainly would like to see N. Korea give up its weapons. I just don't think they will. There are lots of articles about this, including here, here and here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:34 AM | Comments (1)

September 18, 2005

FEMA Continues Huge Losses

The incompetency continues, read the Washington Post here

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:44 PM | Comments (3)

September 16, 2005

Bush Gains Big Yardage With New Orleans Speech

G.W. gained last night with his speech in New Orleans. He did what he is good at. He appeared strong, forceful and in control. He accepted responsibility for the Federal screw-ups and promised to fix them. That was all well and good. Now he has to deliver. As they say, talk is cheap it is the actions that are expensive. And in this case they are expensive in many ways. Watch the video here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:31 PM | Comments (2)

September 14, 2005

Where Are We?

I don't often link to the NY Times. I figure that many people either read it online or get newsfeeds. However, Tom Friedman's op-ed piece was quite powerful. You can link to it here. The following really stood out for me though:

The discipline that the cold war imposed on America, by contrast, seems to have faded. Last year, we cut the National Science Foundation budget, while indulging absurd creationist theories in our schools and passing pork-laden energy and transportation bills in the middle of an energy crisis.

We let the families of the victims of 9/11 redesign our intelligence organizations, and our president and Congress held a midnight session about the health care of one woman, Terri Schiavo, while ignoring the health crisis of 40 million uninsured. Our economy seems to be fueled lately by either suing each other or selling each other houses. Our government launched a war in Iraq without any real plan for the morning after, and it cut taxes in the middle of that war, ensuring that future generations would get the bill. ....

Janadas Devan, a Straits Times columnist, tried to explain to his Asian readers how the U.S. is changing. "Today's conservatives," he wrote, "differ in one crucial aspect from yesterday's conservatives: the latter believed in small government, but believed, too, that a country ought to pay for all the government that it needed.

"The former believe in no government, and therefore conclude that there is no need for a country to pay for even the government that it does have. ... [But] it is not only government that doesn't show up when government is starved of resources and leached of all its meaning. Community doesn't show up either, sacrifice doesn't show up, pulling together doesn't show up, 'we're all in this together' doesn't show up."

Every day we make a choice as to what type of world we want. I don't subscribe to handing people something for nothing. I think that most people will work if they have real opportunities for good jobs, with livable wages. Those opportunities were not available to many in New Orleans. And we now know that they don't exist for many, many others too. We have an opportunity to address these issues. Are we going to step up to the plate and do something substantial? The past performance of this administration leads me to think not. I hope I am wrong.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:23 PM | Comments (0)

Bush Offensive Strategy Moving into High Gear

Pres. Bush and his administration have moved their political recovery offensive into high gear. Yesterday the President conditionally took responsibility for many of the problems with federal relief in the Katrina disaster. He has also begun throwing huge amounts of money at the problem.

By admitting some degree of responsibility for the problems Bush is trying to stand up to the American people and say, "We weren't ready for this and should have done a better job. Now we are going to fix it." Considering he has never admitted any sort mistake this seems like a big step and will probably score some points with his flagging fan base. How it plays out with the rest of the public remains to be seen.

Throwing huge amounts of money at the disaster is another issue. There seems to be no oversight and no planning in how that money is spent. In addition, many of the contracts appear to be no bid, meaning that his pals, who lead many of the companies doing the work are going to make a killing. This could be a real disaster for the people, with millions, if not billions misspent. Read the article here. It seems like a recipe for a boondoogle to me.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:34 PM | Comments (0)

September 13, 2005

Halliburton, Our Team of the Month

Halliburton is our Team of the Month, for successfully exploiting their political connections to score big not only in Iraq and but the Gulf Coast. The Oil and Gas industry scored a close second and would have won if not for the call for investigations of price gouging by members of Congress. Watch the video here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:33 PM | Comments (2)

Joe Allbaugh, Our Player of the Week

Joe Allbaugh is our Player of the Week. The former predecessor to Michael Brown as head of FEMA, Allbaugh has been a busy boy securing contracts in Iraq and the disaster torn Gulf Coast for all his friends. Watch the video here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:29 PM | Comments (0)

Pork Barrel Spending - Where We Are and Who is to Blame

The Tomah Journal from LaCrosse Wisconsin points out some of the outrageous spending and pork barrel projects from the last couple of years here.

Big-government conservatism isn't just limited to DHS. The July issue of Harper's Magazine reported how Congress has streamlined the process by which members of Congress insert spending items into appropriation bills. The article obliterated the fiction that Republicans are only as corrupt as Democrats who ran Congress until 1995. In 1980, for example, Congress inserted just 62 defense department "earmarks" Last year, it was 2,671. The number of earmarks tripled from $10.6 billion in 1998 to $32.7 in 2004. Harper's calls it "The Great American Pork Barrel -- Washington streamlines the means of corruption," and it's not happening with on the Democrats' watch.

Still don't believe big-government conservatism exists? Compare spending patterns of the Clinton and Bush years. Under Clinton, federal spending went up 13.3 percent over eight years. Bush needed just four years to jack up spending by 19.7 percent. The difference isn't defense spending. Clinton raised non-defense discretionary spending by 15.1 percent in eight years. Under four years of Bush, it's up 25.3 percent

.

If any of my Republican friends complain about tax and spend Democrats and liberals I will probably throw up.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:01 AM | Comments (0)

September 12, 2005

FEMA is Not Alone

Paul Krugman of the NY Times says that FEMA is not the only federal agency infected with Bush cronyism. You can find the article here.

But what we really should be asking is whether FEMA's decline and fall is unique, or part of a larger pattern. What other government functions have been crippled by politicization, cronyism and/or the departure of experienced professionals? How many FEMA's are there?

He describes several agencies that suffer from the same cronyism affliction. It is well worth the read.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:56 AM | Comments (0)

Acts of Desparation in New Orleans

This article in London's Daily Mail raises more disturbing questions about the government's timely response to the disaster in New Orleans.

Doctors working in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans killed critically ill patients rather than leaving them to die in agony as they evacuated hospitals, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

With gangs of rapists and looters rampaging through wards in the flooded city, senior doctors took the harrowing decision to give massive overdoses of morphine to those they believed could not make it out alive.

In an extraordinary interview with The Mail on Sunday, one New Orleans doctor told how she 'prayed for God to have mercy on her soul' after she ignored every tenet of medical ethics and ended the lives of patients she had earlier fought to save.

Thanks to Bad Attitudes for the info.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:50 AM | Comments (0)

September 11, 2005

The Bush Offensive Takes Shape

Mike Allen writes in Time magazine:

By late last week, Administration aides were describing a three-part comeback plan. The first: Spend freely, and worry about the tab and the consequences later. "Nothing can salve the wounds like money," said an official who helped develop the strategy. "You'll see a much more aggressively engaged President, traveling to the Gulf Coast a lot and sending a lot of people down there."

The second tactic could be summed up as, Don't look back. The White House has sent delegates to meetings in Washington of outside Republican groups who have plans to blame the Democrats and state and local officials. In the meantime, it has no plans to push for a full-scale inquiry like the 9/11 commission, which Bush bitterly opposed until the pressure from Congress and surviving families made resistance futile. Congressional Democrats have said they are unwilling to settle for anything less than an outside panel, but White House officials said they do not intend to give in, and will portray Democrats as politicking if they do not accept a bipartisan panel proposed by Republican congressional leaders. Ken Mehlman, the party's chairman and Bush's campaign manager last year, told TIME that viewers at home will think it's "kind of ghoulish, the extent to which you've got political leaders saying not 'Let's help the people in need' but making snide comments about vacations."

The third move: Develop a new set of goals to announce after Katrina fades. Advisers are proceeding with plans to gin up base-conservative voters for next year's congressional midterm elections with a platform that probably will be focused around tax reform. Because Bush will need a dynamic salesman to make sure that initiative goes better than his Social Security proposal, advisers tell TIME there is once again talk of replacing Treasury Secretary John Snow. There are no plans to delay tax cuts to pay for the New Orleans reconstruction or the Iraq war, and Bush is likely to follow through on his vow to veto anticipated congressional approval of increased federal funding for embryonic-stem-cell research.

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, Bush and the Republicans are focusing all blame on local officials and the Democrats. They will blame the Dems for being obstructionists on Republican "Bipartisan" Investigation Committee in Congress. It is going to be very interesting if the American people will buy the tactic and Bush rebounds from his sinking poll numbers.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:34 PM | Comments (0)

September 9, 2005

Republicans Announce Bipartisan Congressional Committee to Investigate Disaster Problems

Rep. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House, and Sen. Bill Frist, Majority Leader of the Senate, announced a bipartisan Congressional Committee to investigate all issues related to the Federal response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The only problem is that Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader knew nothing about it. Watch the VIDEO commentary from Political Sports here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:41 PM | Comments (0)

The Importance of a Vote

About 50% of the American voting public did not vote in the last presidential election. Consider the Gulf Coast and the people appointed to run Federal agencies. And you think your vote doesn't make a difference?

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:38 AM | Comments (0)

September 8, 2005

An amazing story

I am sure there will be others, but this is quite amazing and admirable. Read the article here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:57 PM | Comments (2)

FEMA Fumbles Two More Times (Watch the Video)

Wow, somebody ought to tell these guys to get their act together. Two firefighters who were heading to New Orleans to help with the relief effort, were being trained in Atlanta at the FEMA training center to hand out flyers. They went home.

People in need of relief aid were directed by Michael Brown, head of FEMA and Chertoff, Director of Homeland Security to register by phone (of those needing relief how many have phones?) or via the Internet (and how many have a computer?) Watch my VIDEO here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 7, 2005

The Political Blame Game Really Gets Started

You can watch the latest VIDEO analysis from Political Sports here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 6, 2005

This is from Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo

I just post the entire thing because it is both important and leaves me speechless.

On the Al Franken show this afternoon I mentioned this article from today's Salt Lake Tribune which tells the story of about a thousand firefighters from around the country who volunteered to serve in the Katrina devastation areas. But when they arrived in Atlanta to be shipped out to various disaster zones in the region, they found out that they were going to be used as FEMA community relations specialists. And they were to spend a day in Atltanta getting training on community relations, sexual harassment awareness, et al. This of course while life and death situations were still the order of the day along a whole stretch of the Gulf Coast.

It's an article you've really got a to read to appreciate the full measure of folly and surreality.

But the graf at the end of the piece really puts everything in perspective, and gives some sense what the Bush administration really has in mind when it talks about a crisis. The paper reports that one team finally was sent to the region ...

As specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

You can't make this stuff up.
-- Josh Marshall

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:25 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

September 5, 2005

The Republican Offensive Begins

The Republicans have begun to turn up the rhetoric against Governor Blanco of Louisiana. Read one of the first articles here. We can expect the Rove spin machine to start moving through the gears as he and his pit crew reach top speed in the next week or two. She is the most obvious target in redirecting attention from the administration failings to someone else.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:17 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

CHERTOFF and BROWN Should be Fired or Resign

For the good of the country these two individuals should be immediately replaced. Given the facts of the last week, they were not prepared, they did not act in a timely manner and they have not taken responsiblity for their actions. The measure of a man or woman is not when times are good, but rather when "the shit hits the fan." Whether in personal relationships, in business, in politics, whatever, a person is defined by how they deal with adversity, not good times. I am not really interested in gettting to know someone when the sun is shining. I want to know how they think and act when times are hard. These men have failed on a scale that is almost unprecedented in recent American history. There positions should go to people that are more qualified, immediately.

Posted by Chip Spear at 6:35 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

This Makes Me So Very Sad

I read this report in the Washington Post and felt so, so sad for the state of our country and government.

The leaders of Cuba and Venezuela, both at odds with the United States, pledged support. Cuban President Fidel Castro offered to send 1,100 doctors, each carrying emergency medical supplies amounting to tons of relief aid. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez offered to send fuel, humanitarian aid and relief workers to the disaster area. Venezuela is one of the largest suppliers of oil to the United States.

In a remarkable role reversal, some of the world's poorest developing nations are offering help. El Salvador offered to send soldiers to help restore order, and offers of aid have come from Bosnia, Kosovo and Belarus. The former Soviet republic of Georgia has donated $50,000 to the Red Cross, and beleaguered Sri Lanka, which has received $133 million in tsunami relief from the United States, has donated $25,000 to the Red Cross. In Beijing, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa), just back from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, said officials there went out of their way to express their sympathy.

The entire article can be found here. Our government has failed so miserably. We put our trust in our leaders to do the right thing, to step up to the plate and act in a manner which not only makes us proud, but says something about our country and culture. This is truly a sad time.

Posted by Chip Spear at 5:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 4, 2005

What Can We Expect of George and the GOP Now?

Given the amazing disaster in New Orleans and the apparent culpability of the Feds one wonders what King Karl and his minitions, whoops, I meant to say George, are going to do to stop the onslaught of criticism. George and his administration has always used a tactic of attacking the opposition's strength. If that is any guide we can assume that he and Karl will construct a strategy based on blaming locals, including the same officials who were on TV screaming for Federal help. They will contend that those folks were completely unprepared, unorganized, and dysfunctional. They will further state that they were in place, ready to move, all they needed was authorization from state and local authorities to act.

Accepting blame or admitting mistakes is not something this administration does. however, one shouldn't get overly worked up over that fact since it is human nature. There are few people that admit they are wrong, and certainly not when so much is at stake. G.W. and pals have always found a way to divert the public's perceptions of guilt to opponents despite clear evidence of culpability or incompetence. What event leads one to believe that this administration will change and admit that they didn't do the job, that the head of FEMA is incompetent and they wasted the public's time and money in the Department of Homeland Security. They were not prepared.

The administration will do absolutely everything possible to score political points. They will blame others, they will announce new programs, which they should, and they will engage in many photo-ops to showcase their proactive response. However, if Iraq and NYC are indicators, the job they do will be half-assed. Full funding will not come, promises of equipment and support will be only half kept. Things will happen, but it will be too little for far too many people. Meanwhile, George will be pushing for additional tax cuts. I don't want to believe that this will happen, but I am afraid that it will. We will just have to stay tuned.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:43 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 3, 2005

The Bankruptcy Bill and its Effect

Bob Cesca on the Huffington Post has this to say about the second disaster awaiting victims of New Orleans with the recently passed Bankruptcy Bill.

And how is Bush to politically recover from this? By "this" I mean the entire disaster in New Orleans.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:38 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Is This a Metaphor for the Bush Presidency?

This article on Yahoo is from the Associated Press. I have no answer to my question. I just want to pose it for you to consider. The article states:

At one point Friday, the evacuation was interrupted briefly when school buses pulled up so some 700 guests and employees from the Hyatt Hotel could move to the head of the evacuation line — much to the amazement of those who had been crammed in the Superdome since last Sunday.

"How does this work? They (are) clean, they are dry, they get out ahead of us?" exclaimed Howard Blue, 22, who tried to get in their line. The National Guard blocked him as other guardsmen helped the well-dressed guests with their luggage.

The 700 had been trapped in the hotel, near the Superdome, but conditions were considerably cleaner, even without running water, than the unsanitary crush inside the dome. The Hyatt was severely damaged by the storm. Every pane of glass on the riverside wall was blown out.

Whatever the interpretation, the fact of the matter stinks.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:35 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

I Can Root For the Team and Still Think the QB Sucks

I can be a fan of a particular sports team, in my case it is usually any team in Cleveland, and still think that the QB stinks or the Manager or Coach sucks. In addition I might feel that guy should be fired or traded or moved to another position or whatever. It doesn't change my feelings or support for the team. I am a Browns fan whatever place they are in. The same with the Indians. So what makes politics different?

It is becoming increasingly obvious, even to fairly objective analysts that this President is terrible. I realize this is an opinion and that two people can look at one thing and interpret it in completely different ways, but we have a number of factors that clearly add up to incompetency. We have or had the worst attack in our nation's history, huge budget deficits, a terrible economy for everyone except the wealthy, a horrible long term energy policy, a disasterous environmental policy, massive deception about the Iraq war, the lowest opinion of the U.S. in the world in over 60 years, a terrible and increasingly unpopular war in Iraq, an incompetent Homeland Security Department, a recent multi-billion dollar transportation bill supported and pushed by the President possessing so much pork it should have been considered a farm bill, a President who has set a record for vacations as President and he is not even through 5 or 8 years, and an inept response to the most massive natural disaster in the country's history. At what point do the majority of Republicans admit in public that this guy sucks? They can still be Republicans, and still believe in small, but efficient government, but really, isn't George W. rather pathetic?

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:48 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

New Orleans Info

There is so much amazing reporting going on with respect to New Orleans, plus a wealth of opinions and rants about the government's performance. See Andrew Sullivan here, and a good article at CNN comparing what the administration says and what is actually happening here. There is a very interesting and pointed opinion at DailyKos here and of course, the always insightful and witty Wonkette here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 1, 2005

Well, Here is Something to Consider

The CT. Waterbury Republican questioned the validity of completely rebuilding New Orleans on its Editorial page yesterday.

To what end? So when subsequent big hurricanes blow through, the government can do it all over again and again and again? As it is, the government (read: taxpayers) will have to pay for the copious flood damage because owners of coastal properties have policies from the National Flood Insurance Program. Such coverage is unavailable from private companies because few could afford the premiums. The government is the biggest insurance writer in the United States.

But not only has cheap (relatively speaking) flood insurance encouraged more and more people to build up to and beyond the brink of disaster, it has left taxpayers liable for what happens to $700 billion worth of waterfront real estate, including the homes, businesses and parishes soaked and submerged by Katrina.

Americans' hearts go out to the people in Katrina's path. But if the people of New Orleans and other low-lying areas insist upon living in harm's way, they ought to accept responsibility for what happens to them and their property. And if the government insists on rebuilding ravaged homes and businesses along Gulf Coasts, it should stipulate that the next time a hurricane blows through, it will be up to the people living there to make themselves whole.

However, before the government commits to reclaiming New Orleans and its marshy environs, it should think long and hard about whether the investment of time and money would be worth it.

Perhaps they are right. I have always wondered about the wisdom of allowing people to build in flood plains or on fragile beach front, expecting the government to pay them if disaster strikes. I don't know the right answer, but it is something to consider, now that we have an opportunity to do so. It might be wiser than allowing something like this to happen again, which it will.

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Reports of long gas lines in NC and SC

I spoke to my Mom this morning. She called from North Carolina, where she lives because she is planning on driving to New Jersey tomorrow and is worried about the gas situation. She told me that over 25 cars were lined up at one gas station north of Charlotte this morning. She also said my brother, who lives near Columbia, SC, told her that 18 cars lined up to get gas at one station he went. Buckle your seat belts folks, the real fun for everyone is about to begin.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Huge Tax Cuts, Budget Deficits, Massive Iraq Spending - No Money for Levees

Wonkette reports that the flooded areas in New Orleans are being christened. Lake George, for G.W. It seems that the result of massive tax cuts favoring the wealthy, the huge budget deficits and spending in Iraq is that the administration has cut funding over the past few years for projects to reinforce the levees in New Orleans. The Prez will be on the defensive on this one for quite some time. We will have rising gas prices and shortages now too. I will be interested to see how all this affects his poll numbers.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 31, 2005

Poverty Rate Rises

The NY Times reports that the poverty rate reached 12.7%, the fourth straight year for an increase. You can read the entire article here. It seems to me this is a rather bad loss for the old supply side, trickle down team. It merely serves to reinforce the perception that the very rich are getting very much richer and everyone else is not. The Bush team should hope that their economic strategy starts to actually provide something other than low-paying, Wal-Mart type jobs to Americans, otherwise they are going to find themselves in more political do-do.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Another View On Looting

BlondeSense has a different take on the looting, see here. I can understand this, and it has some validity. That is why I mentioned houses below. People taking from businesses to get "life support" when there is no one around, no way to buy anything and such might be justifiable in these circumstances. Looting furniture, TVs, and stereos from missing homeowners is not.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:58 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

A Personal Note on Looting

I am generally against the death penalty. The criminal justice system is too flawed to be certain that the individual being executed is actually guilty. That said however, I read about the looting going on in New Orleans and I can't help but think that anyone found looting from others, especially in homes, should be shot instantly. I cannot think of anything more disgusting that stealing from people who have endured such unbelievable loss. People like that don't deserve to be part of humanity. One could probably take a small step further and say that anyone engaged in price gouging during the rebuilding efforts deserves the same fate.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:53 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 30, 2005

New Orleans and Homeland Security

In my review of news this morning I read that New Orleans was having problems communicating between all the relief workers. One of the primary issues identified after 9/11 was the need to improve communication for city services throughout the country. It was supposed to be an extremely high priority for the new Department of Homeland Security to address the problem. New Orleans is one of the biggest ports in the country and home to some of our biggest oil refineries. Many would consider it a prime target for terrorism. Now we learn that Homeland Security has failed to solve one of its highest priorities in the 4 years since the attack. We are talking about communication equipment here, nothing particularly complex or expensive. This is strickly my opinion, but someone has really dropped the ball here. Think they will be fired? That was a joke.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 29, 2005

The Team Must Do Exactly What the Coach Says

The NY Times has a most interesting article on the demotion of an Army procurement officer, who had outstanding performance reviews until she criticized a Halliburton contract.

A top Army contracting official who criticized a large, noncompetitive contract with the Halliburton Company for work in Iraq was demoted Saturday for what the Army called poor job performance....

"She is being demoted because of her strict adherence to procurement requirements and the Army's preference to sidestep them when it suits their needs," Mr. Kohn [her lawyer] said Sunday in an interview. He also said the Army had violated a commitment to delay Ms. Greenhouse's dismissal until the completion of an inquiry by the Pentagon's inspector general.

Known as a stickler for the rules on competition, Ms. Greenhouse initially received stellar performance ratings, Mr. Kohn said. But her reviews became negative at roughly the time she began objecting to decisions she saw as improperly favoring Kellogg Brown & Root, he said. Often she hand-wrote her concerns on the contract documents, a practice that corps leaders called unprofessional and confusing [this one is a joke, right?].

In October 2004, General Strock, citing two consecutive performance reviews that called Ms. Greenhouse an uncooperative manager, informed her that she would be demoted.

Ms. Greenhouse fought the demotion through official channels, and publicly described her clashes with Corps of Engineers leaders over a five-year, $7 billion oil-repair contract awarded to Kellogg Brown & Root. She had argued that if urgency required a no-bid contract, its duration should be brief.

Ms. Greenhouse had also fought the granting of a waiver to Kellogg Brown & Root in December 2003, approving the high prices it had paid for fuel imports for Iraq, and had objected to extending its five-year contract for logistical support in the Balkans for 11 months and $165 million without competitive bidding. In late June, ignoring warnings from her superiors, Ms. Greenhouse appeared before a Congressional panel, calling the Kellogg Brown & Root oil contract "the most blatant and improper contract abuse I have witnessed during the course of my professional career." She also said the defense secretary's office had improperly interfered in the awarding of the contract.

This is another in a long list of similar incidents where individuals in the Federal government, who do not do exactly what the administration wants are punished. The administration values unquestioned loyalty above all else, even if it is counter to the interests of the public. In this case we are talking about the contract procural process and saving huge amounts of money for the American taxpayer.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:11 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

August 25, 2005

The Idea Battle

The Dems need to counterattack the Republicans in the battle of ideas. During my vacation travels I was increasingly aware that many centrist Republicans feel that the Democrats have no new ideas. They contend that the left is rehashing and repackaging old, liberal, programs without finding new creative solutions for today's problems. I see this reinforced on many web sites and blogs. If the Democrats are going to make any gains with mainstream America they have to do a better job of marketing their message.

Now I know that the Democrats have plenty of ideas, that is not the issue. The issue is packaging and marketing. Where are the cheerleaders? Where are the leaders and politicians inspiring the fans? The Republicans are very effective at convincing the American public that they are a dynamic party, seeking and finding new ways to solve problems of the 21st century. I understand this is easier for Republicans since they control The White House, Congress, and much of the judiciary. It probably doesn't hurt they they have the media intimidated either. They paint the Dems as stuck in a time warp, with ideas and solutions that clearly don't work. Howard Dean, and leading Democrats need to take their good ideas, simplify then to sound bites and push them as hard as they can. Simplicity and repetition. Subtle changes to existing programs are not the sorts of things that inspire people to action.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:22 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 3, 2005

I Hope They Include an "Earth is Flat" Section

President Bush said that he thought schools should include teachings about "intelligent design" in their curriculums. You can read the full article here.

President Bush said Monday he believes schools should discuss "intelligent design" alongside evolution when teaching students about the creation of life.

It certainly makes me wonder what is fact and what is conjecture. If science is the study of natural phenomena based on systems, measurement and analysis, how does this compare to the thinking and analysis of intelligent design? Or is that a contradiction, because we cannot analyze intelligent design? Some guy, or guys, no women please, wrote a few thousand years ago that such and such happened. So that is it, end of discussion, an established act that can't be refuted, and is as valid as anything determined by science? Are we now suggesting that the foundation for the scientific method is potentially faulty? Wow, maybe we should stop and think about the implications of that for the rest of the afternoon. If people don't believe in the scientific method and science, will they give up those things developed by that method, like their cars, TV, computers, and cellphones?

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 1, 2005

Is Bolton Nomination a Gain or Loss?

I don't think that Bush scored any points with his recess appointment of John Bolton to the United Nations. Given the problems he has had over the past month or two it seems that this is only going to inflame tensions with his critics and push a few more fence sitters to the opposing camp. The recent revelations that Bolton forgot about testifying before the State Department Inspector General did not help his cause, either with the public or Congress. How do you forget an interview with the Inspector General of the State Department? Especially just a couple or years ago. I don't want to be partisan, but that is not credible.

Bush got what he wanted with the appointment, but one certainly has to consider the additional damage to his political standing with the public. Will it matter? Is this conjecture? Republicans probably think that it is just a case of political posturing by the Democrats. They would be against any Bush appointment. But what about all the people in the middle? Forgetting that interview isn't good. When this is added to the distrust regarding the start of the Iraq war, Plamegate, the refusal to release documents for John Roberts, and the sizeable giveaways in the recent Energy bill, it just might make a significant difference.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 27, 2005

Facts regarding Roe V. Wade

I never realized exactly what was at stake with regard to the possibility of overturning Roe v. Wade. This article in USA Today by Laura Vanderkam provides some statistics and insight into what would probably happen. She states...

In a "worst-case scenario" (for pro-choice types) that included a Texas ban, overturning Roe would affect a maximum of 170 providers, less than 10% of the U.S. total.

In their zeal to fight over the Supreme Court, though, neither side of the abortion debate has absorbed these numbers. Few pro-life groups realize they've fought a 30-year battle to put just a handful of doctors out of business. Pro-choice forces haven't grasped that the millions they'll spend lobbying to block Bush's nominees could tip a lot of legislative races in places such as Kentucky and Texas. Or, for that matter, build a lot of clinics near the borders of states likely to enact or keep abortion bans.

Instead, over the next few years, the two sides will fight the political equivalent of World War I trench warfare - bloody contests over 6 inches of turf. Millions will be spent. Nominees will suffer the same "Borking" fate as Judge Robert Bork did in the 1980s. The filibuster might melt with the "nuclear option."

Becoming aware of numbers like these certainly changes ones perspective on potential strategies while we move forward on this contentious issue.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:52 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

July 26, 2005

You Never Know

This is a week old, but still interesting. Ted Rall suggests something very strange could be happening -

Internal sabotage offers a tempting explanation for the fact that so much has gone wrong for the United States since 2001. After 9/11 Osama bin Laden was in Pakistan--which had financed the Taliban and trained the hijackers at its camps--but Bush shocked analysts by attacking Afghanistan and Iraq instead. Was Bush's refusal to search for bin Laden in his nation of residence the result of spectacular incompetence--or a continuing alliance with the same Islamists his father's presidency had armed and funded? Are we losing the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq because of Rumsfeld's stubborn insistence on understaffing the military? Or are our leaders intentionally dragging out combat to accomplish their masters' aims: increasing the popularity of radical Islam and the recruitment of terrorists? Even Bush's domestic policies, from tax cuts paid to the rich people least likely to stimulate the economy to his attack on Social Security, seem designed to undermine U.S. stability and prosperity. Was Bush crossing his fingers when he swore to preserve and defend the constitution?

Who knows, weirder things have happened.

Posted by Chip Spear at 5:06 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

You would think they would play it straight, at least once

One would think, with all that is happening in Plamegate, that the White House would be straightforward about the Roberts nomination. Initial impressions were good. The guy was a conservative, no surprise, but not too extreme, and he seemed well liked within Washington circles. The only real downside was his lack of a trackrecord as a judge. That didn't appear insurmountable. However, now the White House falls back in the same pattern of obstructionism and arrogance. They refuse to release some of his documents. Now maybe there are national security concerns, I don't know, but given recent history, they haven't changed strategies. They are definitely playing the same game. You can read about it here Now, I certainly don't know the specifics of the papers, but this only raises more red flags for those who have doubts about the White House's ability or willingness to tell the truth about anything.

Posted by Chip Spear at 3:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 25, 2005

Strong-Man Governor Finds Politics is Very Heavy

Governor Arnold is finding that politics is a lot harder than he probably ever imagined. His troubles in the country's most populous state show a real lack of experience. I think many people assume that politics is a simple job. They probably feel the hardest part is getting elected. It is easy to stand on a pulpit of some sort and attack political leaders as ineffective, stupid, lazy, and paid for by various lobbyists. As a famous movie star Arnold could stand on his pulpit, scream about the idiots in the state capital, and people would listen. He was going to save the day, solve the states problems instantly and show those incompetent politicians a thing or two. However, now he finds that the people of California have serious doubts about his agenda and methods of tackling pressing issues, most specifically the budget. His unwillingness to compromise and work with the opposition has quickly created enemies. Many view his methods as arrogant. His poll numbers are way down. The political opposition smells weakness and ineffective leadership. They will be reluctant to bend to his will.

I wonder why so many people think that politics is so simple. It is rather difficult to navigate between the never-ending need for money, the desires of constituents, the intent of moving the country in a more responsible direction, and everything else that comes at you from lobbyists, your colleagues and political leaders. The simplistic arguments don't hold well when confronted with the reality of the political arena. Perhaps this sort of thing happens because, we so wish that the answers to all our problems were simple. If and when someone offers easy solutions we want to believe them. The "Just Say No" of Nancy Reagan, abstinence to solve the world's AIDs problems or any of the other quick fix solutions to massive social problems are not effective solutions, though we wish that it were so. I suppose that is why so many of us continue to vote for people like Arnold.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:36 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 21, 2005

July Power Rankings - Industries and Lobbies

Rank	Industry	Score
1	Conventional Energy - new energy bill appears to be a big score	100
2	Military Industrial Complex - as long as the war continues....	98
3	Health/Pharmaceutical	97
4	Media - finally waking up with Plame/Rove	92
5	Finance - housing boom and mortgage rates help	90
6	Building & Construction - see above	85
7	Chemical	84
8	Entertainment	80
9	Environment - no help from administration, but G-8 gave it some publicity	69
10	Manufacturing	60
11	Education	58
12	Social Services	50
13	Civil Rights	48
14	Labor	35
15	Environment	25
16	Alternative Fuels & Energy - just dreaming	15

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:36 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 20, 2005

Negligence is Cause for Dismissal

Rep. Henry Waxman states that Rove violated Executive order 12958 in revealing Plame as a CIA agent. You can read the letter here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:03 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

The Old Single Wing

You see below a diagram of an old football formation called the Single Wing, invented by Pop Warner in 1907. It is rarely used, showing up in some high school offenses and perhaps a college or two. However I have never seen it used or described in a modern professional game.

Notice how the offense is unbalanced, overly weighted on the right side. Conversely if you were playing defense you are loaded on the left. Ah, so perhaps we have a little metaphor again. The Bushies are playing a game where everything is loaded on the right. If their main supporters had their way they would probably erase the left part of the field, and all players would line up in single file on the far right sideline. The neocons continue to push this right side offense, which being Republican is not surprising.

We live in a world that is not right, or left but all spread out, covering all parts of the field. Notice how much space is open on the left side? Perhaps the White House has some opportunities for big gains there. One only has to remember the big scores that Nixon made with China, surprising almost every political pundit at the time. And keep in mind that Ariel Sharon, that right wing ideologue in Israel launched an end around to the left with his Gaza withdrawals.

I bring this up just to point out that the single wing was abandoned as an effective strategy when the T-formation emerged in the early 40's. New defenses emerged to stop it. The offense was unable to effectively move the ball. Coaches developed new, more successful game plans. In the long run Bush will find the same thing. Perhaps it is becoming more apparent as he runs into increasing problems with his foreign and domestic agendas. This could be due to the fact that defenses adjusted and he finds it more difficult to make gains by insisting on a right side game plan to the exclusion of other options. A government can't live forever on the right, any more than it can live on the left. Over the long term the game balances out.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:33 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 19, 2005

The Baddest "Mean Girl" at White House Jr. High

To diverge a bit for the sports world to entertainment, did you happen to see the movie "Mean Girls" with Lindsey Lohan? Or read the article in the NYT Magazine a couple of years before the movie's releaase about mean girls in junior high school? The essence of both the article and the movie is that many young girls are obsessed with spreading rumors, lying, cheating and doing whatever they can to put down and destroy their enemies of the moment. They write nasty notes, they tell tall tales about who did what to whom. They make up stories about what boy or girl said about someone else, even if it is not true. They ignore others who were friends a day or two ago if that now ex-friend did something that offended the power person. Is it starting to sound familiar now? I think we have a bad problem at White House Jr. High and "Karly", as top dog, is in a lot of trouble.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)

July 18, 2005

Bush Sidesteps First Defender

President Bush said today that he would fire anyone indicted in the Wilson/Plame leak. You can read it here. This is certainly a shift from his previous statement when he said he would fire anyone "involved" in the leak. If he repeats it enough, and it is used by Scott McClellan in his press briefings, the public will probably lose sight of the difference between the two and side with the President. A good, but expected move.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

John Dean Delivers New Analysis of Rove Issue

John Dean, of Watergate fame, has an interesting take on the Rove Affair. You can read it here. He thinks that there is little chance that Rove will be indicted under the Indentities and Protection Act. The complexities of this case make the law difficult to apply. However he does say another statute does apply:

Title 18, United States Code, Section 641. This is a law that prohibits theft (or conversion for one's own use) of government records and information for non-governmental purposes. But its broad language covers leaks, and it has now been used to cover just such actions.

The intensity of this does seem to be rising. New information continues to appear and the pressure on Rove increases. I think that he will have a hard time ignoring it this week. I would expect either renewed attacks on the part of the administration or a big announcement, like a new Supreme Court nominee this week to divert attention from the growing scandal.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:10 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Karl Keeps on Rolling

The Karl Rove story promises to remain with us for quite some time. It is not going to disappear in the next few weeks. It could be pushed off the frontpages when G.W. announces his Supreme Court nominee, but it will not go away soon. The Democrats finally see a weakness they can exploit. In addition, the press appears to have awakened from a deep slumber and is actually asking the administration some hard questions. I think they want to make up for the past five years of brown-nosing the Neocons for access to information. Meanwhile the Republicans are continuing with tried and true tactics of attacking Plame, Wilson, Democrats, and anyone questioning their version of events as obstructionists and un-American. As I have mentioned in the past, it has been an effective strategy, but it may have run its course. Perhaps forces are aligning in such a way that the Administrations win streak is in serious jeopardy.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:48 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 14, 2005

Rove - The Plan

The White House is not one to accept blame in any form. I would not think that they will in this case either, at least not willingly. Given their history we could make a couple of assumptions. First, they will deflect criticism any and every way they can. They will provide a lot of fakes, smoke, and mirrors, making us look for guilt in other places. We can see this happening with attacks on Cooper as the bad guy, setting up Rove. And we know they are going to blame the Democrats. Is this standard procedure? I am sure they will be accusing them of political posturing, diverting attention from more important issues facing the country like the economy, the war, the Supreme Court, etc. They will do whatever they can to tie Wilson or Plame or Cooper to a left wing, LIBERAL, agenda. And one can assume they will wiggle on the legal issues, finding protection in legalese wherever possible, contending Rove was not involved in revealing Plame. Most importantly they will attack, fiercely. They are like a cornered rat who turns increasingly vicious as the threat increases.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:59 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 13, 2005

More Karl

With so many news organizations and bloggers weighing in on the Rove/Plame game I hesitate to add my two cents, but something is compelling me to do so anyway. Given the history of the White House, it seems rather inconceivable that the President will live up to his promise to actually fire Karl. Despite the fact that he clearly said that he would fire anyone involved in "outing" Plame, GW will use whatever semantics he is told to use to wiggle out of his commitment. Republicans will contend that Rove did not technically reveal Plame's name, which is true, but not the intent behind the President's pledge. Rove was clearly involved in disclosing her identity. It seems to me that whether he actually said something to Novak or Miller is irrelevant. He was involved. Maybe he had an underling actually transfer information, that still signifies that he was involved.

I listened to Pat Buchanan this morning on Imus. Of course he defended Rove. What would one expect from a cheerleader. When Clinton lied before the Grand Jury many Democrats accepted the fact that what he did was wrong, however they did not think that it was an impeachable offense, but they never said he did not lie. Here we have a case where Rove definitely acted improperly. That does not mean that he is guilty of a crime, but he was involved. Buchanan's statements only reinforce a public's perception that politicians can't be trusted because they refuse to call a spade a spade even when it is face up on the table.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:32 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

July 7, 2005

The Judith Miller/Valerie Plame Offensive

After reading numerous articles, analysis and comments in newspapers, magazines and online sites, it is clear that this falls into White House efforts to control the media and silence pesky reporters who question administration activities. We have continually seen the administration use every means at their disposal to inhibit anyone's ability and/or desire to confront the White House and their policies. Going through a list of everything they have done seems redundant so I won't bother. However Bush and his buddies' use of intimidation has been a great success up to now. Rove continues a successful strategy. One wonders if this winning gameplan will continue to score for the administration.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

July 5, 2005

Play the Game Already

It has only been a week or so since news broke that Bush was going to have his long expected chance to appoint a new Supreme Court Justice. Only a week and I am already sick of the hype regarding the upcoming battle. Who knows if we are going to face a "nuclear option" or filibuster or a superextremerightwing nominee that will single-handedly change the color, texture and nature of the American political and cultural landscape. Since we are all in a waiting mode until his majesty makes his decision known, political pundits are filling the media with projections, guesses, analysis, commentary and anything else that might pertain to the subject. I feel like I am living in the two weeks preceeding the Super Bowl. Enough already. Based on Bush's record it is easy to assume that he will continue to do exactly what he has done in the past. He will not compromise or take into consideration opposition thinking. He will pick someone he has trusts, probably someone he knows fairly well, and most likely someone who will appease his radical base.

I admit that I have a split feeling about this sort of thing. It is like betting. We will analyze, worry, talk with friends, study and generally do everything possible to see into the future. It can be fun. Once in a while we are right and will think we are brilliant, or we guess wrong and move on to the next thing. Many times I get exasperated and tired of the entire discussion. More than a few years ago, when I used to make some extra money bartending, I would listen to patrons arguing about what was going to happen in some game or series. The discussion could get rather heated. I would often walk away thinking that this was all sort of pointless because noone can see the future. We can guess, we can project based on probability, but nobody knows for sure.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:08 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 1, 2005

Sandra Day O'Connor Retires

If you like politics it is not going to get any better than the next few weeks with this extravaganza. This is going to be more like professional wrestling than legitimate sports. The mud is going to fly. The choke holds, eye-gouges, flying body slams, this is going to be nasty fun.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:10 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 28, 2005

It Is Worth It?

President Bush said today:

"Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying and the suffering is real," Bush said, according to excerpts released ahead of time by the White House. "It is worth it."

The question a lot more Americans are asking is, "Worth what?" Revenge? Oil? Middle East transformation? Money? Terrorism? Where is Osama in all of this? Did the Bush twins enlist yet? Isn't it easier to send young, poor kids to war than your daughters? Or friend's sons and daughters? I don't know, I am just asking. The strategy is increasingly problematic.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 27, 2005

Why Tell The Truth When Something Else Works

Vice-President Dick Cheney attacked Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska yesterday indicating that he has not been a supporter of the White House anti-terror efforts after 9/11. This comes shortly after Hagel's criticism of the Iraq war.

BY JAKE THOMPSON WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - More than 200 Nebraska American Legion members, who have seen war and conflict themselves, fell quiet here Saturday as Sen. Chuck Hagel bluntly explained why he believes that the United States is losing the war in Iraq.

Sen. Chuck Hagel addresses more than 200 Nebraska American Legion members in Grand Island on Saturday.

It took 20 minutes, but it boiled down to this:

The Bush team sent in too few troops to fight the war leading to today's chaos and rising deaths of Americans and Iraqis. Terrorists are "pouring in" to Iraq.

Basic living standards are worse than a year ago in Iraq. Civil war is perilously close to erupting there. Allies aren't helping much. The American public is losing its trust in President Bush's handling of the conflict.

And Hagel's deep fear is that it will all plunge into another Vietnam debacle, prompting Congress to force another abrupt pullout as it did in 1975.

"What we don't want to happen is for this to end up another Vietnam," Hagel told the legionnaires, "because the consequences would be catastrophic."

It would be far worse than Vietnam, says Hagel, a twice-wounded veteran of that conflict, which killed 58,000 Americans.

Cheney had this to say.

Since 9/11, we've had people like Chuck Hagel and other politicians and we've had people in the press corps and commentators who've said we can't do Afghanistan.

Hagel was a firm supporter until recently. In addition The White House has effectively controlled the mainstream media, gaining wide support for almost anything they want. The American public responded by strongly following the President. However, in recent weeks, polls indicate growing scepticism with the White House's version of events, both on the domestic and international fronts. They might have to reconsider their strategy. The defense is catching on.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:54 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Denver Three Create Problems for Bush Team

The Denver Three are three individuals from the Denver area who were kicked out of a Bush Social Security event in March, supposedly by a Secret Service agent because they were going to disrupt the event. The only disruptive act seems to be having a bumper sticker on their car stating "No More Blood For Oil". The White House has refused to release the name of the "agent". The White House continues a strategy of attacking the opposition by strongly suggesting that the three were going to disrupt the event and were a threat. In addition they contend the "agent" was a volunteer, not paid by the White House. If they can get the media to buy their version of the incident it will disappear as a mis-guided act by an over-zealous volunteer. However, if tied to similar incidents reported in other locales it could turn into a major problem. Using paid Federal employees to restrict access to public events to only acceptable individuals would look quite bad for the home team.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:31 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

June 26, 2005

Just the Facts

I have tried to be as neutral as I can be with regard to this blog. I think that there is a huge need for some perspective on the political discourse that is tearing our country apart. However a couple of items in the news today forced my hand to at least raise a few questions that have a definite slant on politics. I read Nicholas Kristof's Op-Ed piece in the NYTimes today.

More than two centuries of American government produced a cumulative national debt of $5.7 trillion when Mr. Bush was elected in 2000. And now that is expected to almost double by 2010, to $10.8 trillion.....President Bush has excoriated the "death tax," as he calls the estate tax. But his profligacy will leave every American child facing a "birth tax" of about $150,000.

Much of our debt is held by the Chinese. Imagine if you will that you are deeply in debt and most of that debt is held by a not necessarily friendly individual. How much control do you think they have over your life?

Another thing that really strikes me is the absolutely bankrupt energy policy of the country. It is inconceivable to me that the President and his Administration are not taking proactive measures to move us away from our oil dependency as fast as possible, not only for environmental reasons, but political ones as well. Our dependency on Saudi Arabia, the Middle East generally, Venezuela and increasingly, a poverty stricken and highly unstable Africa is so blind it is frightening.

Are these truly Democratic issues? I find that hard to believe. These are issues that significantly impact all Americans, Democrat or Republican. Let us use our great American ingenuity and creative spirit to solve these problems and generate whole new industries and careers. We seem to be playing a very scary game that is going to cost us much, much more than we can afford.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 24, 2005

Bait and Switch

With the President down in the polls and having massive problems with almost every one of his domestic issues the Republican leadership is altering strategy. They seem to be attempting to divert attention from concert issues to accusing the Democrats of being un-American and aiding the enemy in the war on terror. From a political perspective this is a good tactic. Things obviously are not going well in Iraq. The President's social security agenda has stalled. The Bolton nomination is in trouble. So, what does Rove do? He attacks, accusing the Democrats of being "crazy", think Howard Dean, "un-American", Durbin, "obstructionist", Bolton. Divert attention from issues the Democrats raise. It is the old pump-fake end around trap play. One thing you learn in sports is to never allow the other team to dictate play. You always, always want to force the other team to play your game. You need to control the pace, tempo and style of play. Rove and the President are trying to do the same thing.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:31 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

June 23, 2005

Developers Hit a Grand Slam with Latest Court Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court just ruled that local officials can take private homes for development if they feel it is for the benefit of the town. That is unbelieveable to me. I might not understand the constraints here, but if I apply this thinking to a place like my little town which has three people on its Board of Selectman I will assume that the Board can decide to take homes if a big developer offers to build something that will provide the town with more taxes or jobs. I know how inbred things can get in a town like mine. Political decisions are often made according to who one knows and who is pals with whom. I can easily imagine the worst here. Developers can have a field day. I will have to read the entire decision to see if there are controls of any sort because it seems on the surface to be a huge score for corporate interests.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:44 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

They Look Pretty Stupid Now

Bob Herbert's Op-Ed in today's NY Times addresses some issues regarding Terri Schiavo. It is an interesting article worth reading here. Two quotes in the piece stuck out to me;

'Eleven days before she died, Tom DeLay declared: "Terri Schiavo is not brain dead. She talks and she laughs, and she expresses happiness and discomfort. Terri Schiavo is not on life support."

Senator Tom Coburn, a Republican and a physician from Oklahoma, said: "All you have to do is look at her on TV. Any doctor with any conscience can look at her and know that she does not have a terminal disease and know that she has some function."'

Those guys got flattened on that one. I would say a good left hook put them both on the floor.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:59 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

June 22, 2005

Commencement Speech by Senator Barack Obama

Given at Knox College. This guy is a player. Watch out. Read the article here.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:03 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Senoator Bill Frist continues losing streak

First Frist (I love that) did the Terri Schiavo diagnosis over television, which was ridiculous. Then he did the church/state merge thing, so much for the separation of church and state. Of course there was the filibuster compromise, which he had no part of. He had no solutions there. And now we have the Bolton flip with the President, initially saying that the nomination wouldn't pass, then agreeing to try again after a discussion with G.W. He doesn't come across as much of a leader here. I wonder how this will play out given his Presidential ambitions?

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:15 AM | Comments (34) | TrackBack

Porter Goss Knows Where Osama Is

Hey Porter, put up or shut up! We have heard this song before.

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:11 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

June 21, 2005

The Issue of Hillary

I found an interesting article regarding the problems with Hillary running for President in 2008 at the Boston Phoenix here..
Though I like her policies I do see two major issues with her running for President, she would be amazingly divisive, which I know the country doesn't need, and I do not think it is particularly healthy for the country to have alternating family regimes, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton. As a country, we can, and should, look for healthier and happier alternatives.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:26 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Player Rankings for June

Rank	Player	Score
1	John McCain - the man is so smooth. He's scoring points in the media and with filibuster compromise in the Senate	100
2	Hillary Clinton - leading Dem for 2008, good press this month. We'll see how see handles the new book coming out that promises strong anti-Hillary message.	90
3	Joe Biden - high standing for 2008, positive position in the news as 2008 candidate	82
4	Condoleezza Rice - picked up points in the Middle East	80
5	Rudi Giuliani - all over the news as a leading Republican candidate for 2008	78
6	Howard Dean - created a firestorm with comments about Republicans, but scored big with many Dems who are seeking a strong, forceful Dem. Stay tuned on this one.	65
7	John Edwards - quiet month	50
8	G.W. Bush - He is having a bad month, down in the polls, the war is going poorly, Bolton nomination is blocked, Social Security stalled.	40
9	Dick Cheney - his statements on Iraq drew more criticism than usual. American public might be thinking that they cannot trust him	35
10	Tom DeLay - his ethics problems aren't going away	25
11	Donald Rumsfeld - could you run a worse war?	15
12	Rep. Randy Cunningham, CA. - this guy is in serious trouble	8

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:29 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

June 20, 2005

League Standings for June

Rank	Industry	Score
1	Oil, Gas & Coal Industry	100
2	Military Industrial Complex	98
3	Health/Pharmaceutical	97
4	Finance	92
5	Chemical	90
6	Lapdog Media	85
7	Building & Construction	84
8	Entertainment	80
9	Critical Media	69
10	Manufacturing	60
11	Education	58
12	Social Services	50
13	Civil Rights	48
14	Labor	35
15	Environment	25
16	Alternative Fuels & Energy	15

Posted by Chip Spear at 10:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 17, 2005

Turning One's Stomach

There are times when I read that paper or listen to the news and can't help but get a very sick feeling in my stomach. I can't imagine that these issues are partisan, but I guess in some minds they are justifiable actions. Most of this came from today's NY Times, so I'll just quickly recount. Thomas Friedman writes about General Motors and their reluctance to develop geo-green cars. He also blasts the administration for not pushing the U.S. toward a more environmentally responsible energy policy. The fact that they have done so little is disgusting on so many levels. Then there is the editorial outlining the relationship between loobyists, large corporations and government officials. How is this good for the country? And lastly is the case of the administration silence over the kidnapping of Mukhtaran Bibi in Pakistan. So much for our belief in human rights. Is it partisan to be angry about these things. Is this type of "politics as usual" something we really want? Why does so much of the country continue to accept these sorts of activities? I am at a loss for words. Everything I can think of as a response to my own questions leaves me depressed.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:34 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

June 16, 2005

A Dicey Day for George

The front page of today's print edition of The NY Times is filled with bad news for G.W. First is the story about cutting the Tobacco penalty by $120 Billion. It strengthens the Democrats insistence that G.W. and boys are in cohoots with Large Corporations. Second is an article about Iraq being a magnet for Muslem insurgents, especially towns where the U.S. has few troops. The article reinforces the opposition contention of bad planning and inadequate forces to get the job done in Iraq. And third is the report that the House blocked a provision of the Patriot Act restricting government powers to investigate U.S. citizens and visitors, specifically library records and book store sales. 40 Republicans supported the provision. This was not good for The Man.

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:21 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Deaths of War and Battles

Iraq casualties: March 2003-Present:
1714 killed, 12,855 wounded
World Trade Center: September 11, 2001
2,726 killed
U.S. Civil War Battles:
Chancellorsville, May 1-4, 1863
Union - 17,000 killed, wounded and missing
Confederate - 13,000 killed, wounded and missing
Fredericksburg, Dec. 13. 1862
Union - 12,653 killed, wounded and missing
Confederate - 5,309 killed, wounded and missing
Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863
Union - 23,000 killed, wounded and missing
Confederate - 28,000 killed, wounded and missing
Day 3 - Pickett's Charge - 10,000 casualties in 50 minutes

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:38 AM | Comments (1)

June 15, 2005

Okay Coach, what now?

It's third and long, about 15 yards to go for a first down. You are on your own 35. You are ahead, but by only a few points. As the game progresses the other team is gathering strength. They are a bit more confident and their offense is starting to click. You're the coach, how do you stem the tide and reverse momentum? You need to call the next couple of plays for G.W., our great QB. The defense is finding holes in the infamous offensive line, the Media Mainstreamers. The middle and lower classes are discovering that your economic plan and tax cuts aren't helping them. The Bloginators, the defensive line known more for quick feet than weight, is changing the nature of the game. They are beginning to force the Media Mainstream to play hard-nosed reality instead of hot air. Your media backs haven't been able to get much yardage. The realist linebackers are gaining traction on war issues, much more so than in the first half. And George has been a bit off on his long range terrorist threats since late in the second quarter. Insurgent attacks are keeping your ends close to the line of scrimmage. The long range bombs aren't too effective. What do you do?

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:04 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Interesting statistics on wealth distribution in the U.S.

No value judgment, but definitely something to make you think a bit. See the article here. The article was written by Julian Edney, Ph.D. This is one section that particularly caught my eye:

"We are a a radically skewed society. Rather than pages of numbing statistics I'll sketch a couple of facts, the first from sociologist Steven Rose. If you drew a line on a building three stories high to represent the distance between the lowest and the highest family income, the average (median) income sits at only 10.5 inches off the ground and half the nation is clumped below that (5). Second, despite the prodigious numbers of poor, housing for them is so scarce that of the 3,141 counties in the United States, in only 4 can a person making minimum wage afford a one-bedroom apartment (6)."

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 14, 2005

Dean's Hard Charge

The recent furor over Howard Dean's inflammatory remarks regarding the Republican Party clearly defines what has been so wrong with the Democratic Party. Granted Dean's remarks might be a bit stronger than a careful "politician" may use, but given the lack of a strong national leader and clear agenda on the part of Democrats, his candor definitely raised the flag of war. This guy doesn't back down from a fight. He is more than willing to call 'em as he sees 'em.

Over the past few years the Republican offense has buried the Democrats with a hard hitting media campaign slandering them at every opportunity. Sometimes overt and other times quite surreptitious, the Republicans encountered weak defense and little counter-attack from the Dems. Stand up against the war and democrats are accused of being un-American. Oppose tax cuts and the Dems are stealing our hard earned dollars for lazy welfare cheats. The Republican spin machine effectively scores with the American electorate by painting the Democrats as "pantie-waisted" liberals, "wussies", as in pussies. God forbid that they were women. And now the Republicans are busy painting Dean as an over-the-top, out of control, wacko. "This is who Democrats trust leading the Democratic Party. "Is that the kind of person you want leading the opposition? Would you trust him, and by extension, the rest of the Democrats to run our country?"

Many Democrats in Congress seem to be ready to roll over and play dead. Where is their fire? Where is the passion and where is their sense of team? A Republican friend told me at my recent high school reunion that he didn't know what the Democrats stood for. Are they so afraid of alienating anyone that they fall victim of standing for nothing? Dean has changed the game plan. Will it work? Can he hang on long enough to implement it effectively? Stay tuned.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:16 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Pre-Invasion Reports

In suppport of my thoughts regarding the lead up to the Iraq war that I mentioned in the Downing St. Memo post a few days ago you can read this account.

"Two years before the September 11 attacks, presidential candidate George W. Bush was already talking privately about the political benefits of attacking Iraq, according to his former ghost writer, who held many conversations with then-Texas Governor Bush in preparation for a planned autobiography."

'"He was thinking about invading Iraq in 1999," said author and journalist Mickey Herskowitz. "It was on his mind. He said to me: 'One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.' And he said, 'My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.' He said, 'If I have a chance to invade, if I had that much capital, I'm not going to waste it.'"

Posted by Chip Spear at 1:48 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 13, 2005

Yes Sir, I truly believe in the separation of Church and State

Sometimes even I am amazed to read a story like this.

Posted by Chip Spear at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

June 9, 2005

DeLay inquiry - There is a smell in this room too

My granddaddy always said that if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and quakes like a duck, it is a duck. Why does this all smell? Why can't we have more politicians that we are actually proud of?

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 6, 2005

Class and the Stratification of America

I read a recent series in the NY Times dealing with class in America. Bob Herbert, has an op-ed piece today that explores income disparities in the country and the myth of economic mobility. There is no doubt that the current administration has helped the super rich to an unbelievable extent. What did people expect? George Bush won the election, not once but twice. I get really tired of complainers. If the left or the lower class (middle class and upper middle class) are so concerned about this, one, why did they vote for him, and two, what are they doing for the next elections in November of 2006. The left better start putting together a solid strategy to address the long term implications of this instead of offering what is referred to as "Republican Lite". The Democrats have to put together a program that offers a way to protect workers, providing them with livable wages and health care while providing companies and wealthy individuals with enough incentives to invest in new opportunities. If statistics are correct, and the major employers are small businesses, I would think that the real incentives should be focused there rather than with large corporations that end up paying CEOs outrageous bonuses. More on this to follow.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:46 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 3, 2005

The right keeps attacking anything that smells remotely like the Left

I find it almost funny that Pat Buchanan will call W. Mark Felt a snake but refuse to admit that President Nixon was a very bad boy. Admit nothing, just keep up the attack on anything that smells of the left. If someone is against us, they are the enemy, we never make mistakes, we never admit wrong, they are evil. It does not matter that the White House was using every available means to obstruct justice, attempting to keep the truth locked behind closed, guarded doors. It does not matter that the White House was blocking every avenue available for the lawful release of information and investigation. No, the evil doer here is Mr. Felt. The tactic is a good one. I am certain there are more than enough people that will think that other potential motives, like revenge for not being appointed F.B.I. head, color the outcome. As a victim of an ex-offical bent on revenge, Nixon may emerge as a more respected player in history. Stay tuned.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)

May 27, 2005

Dems Maneuver on Bolton

The Democrats in the Senate are staying on the offense after their filibuster compromise by refusing to allow a quick vote on Bolton's nomination to the UN. Joe Biden requested additional information, which the White House has refused to release. This is very much in keeping with their long term and successful tactic of not providing the Senate or anyone else with information. It is certainly no SECRET that the White House likes to keep SECRETS. How can you argue with success? Anyway, the Democrats feel they can push for a release of the documents after the recent compromise and look better for it. They insist that they are more than willing to accede to an up and down vote as long as the White House releases the Bolton documents. The Dems seem to be attempting to box the White House into a corner. If the White House refuses to release the documents they look like there is something to hide. If they acquiesce, the Democrats score bigtime, even if there is nothing of substance in the material. If there is damaging information, it might give some Republicans enough political cover to vote against the nomination. In those circumstances the Democrats win again.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:49 AM | Comments (2)

May 26, 2005

Mac vs. Windows, Dems vs. Reps

Might help us all if we substituted Rebulicans and Democrats for Macintosh and Windows in this interesting article by David Pogue in today's NY Times.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:35 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

May 25, 2005

McCain Keeps Rolling Up Those Points

John McCain has carefully and forcefully pushed himself to the head of the Republican Presidential hopefuls for the 2008 nomination. His latest play to build a compromise for the filibuster issue in the Senate paints him as a stabilizing and moderate face in our increasingly polarized electorate. Coupled with his continued support of the President’s Iraq policies and his statements of belief that G.W. would not have lied to the American people and you have a Republican who comes across as a team player but one who is not afraid to compromise with Democrats if need be. He presents himself as a good Republican who will support the President, most of the time. But he is not one who is owned by the extreme right. Such tactics will serve him well if he manages to win the nomination.

Posted by Chip Spear at 2:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 24, 2005

That Rove is Good, Damn It

I went to my high school reunion this past weekend and got into the inevitable discussions about politics. I found, as I so often do, that I was repeatedly on the defensive regarding my political positions or beliefs, which are usually on the left side of the line. The thing that struck me most was not the fact that I was on the defensive, but rather that a good friend of mine, who is quite intelligent graduate of a top Ivy League school, recited Republican positions verbatim. I must say that he does fit the Republican criteria of more than a little middle aged, wealthy and white. He portrayed Republicans as strong and Democrats as weak, ever ready to sell America to the French or Muslim UN delegates and of course, roll over to the terrorists. Then there were the "activist" judges, though no mention of Florida and the 2000 election, and that old standard bearer, taxes. Every word he uttered sounded like it came from Karl Rove's mouth. Those Republicans have been amazingly effective at painting the Democrats as weak, meddling spenders.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:33 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

May 19, 2005

Good Democratic Defense of the Filibuster

This is a good description of a Democratic defense of the filibuster.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:57 AM | Comments (1)

May 17, 2005

Bush and the Media

President George Bush continues his all out war against critical media. His latest attack against Newsweek for it's report on flushing the Koran, are continuing an effective strategy of slamming anything remotely critical of administration policies. The net effect is making major media outlets hesitant to write or say anything that could jeopardize access to White House sources. An article in yesterday's New York Times described the conflicts occurring in the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with Bush appointees forcing changes on news programs. The hiring of two omsbudsman has also caused consternation at CPB and NPR radio. Each event in itself is not necessarily bad, but taken in toto; with planted White House reporters like Jeff Gannon, hiring of reporters to write stories in support of the administration, intimadation tactics by the White House, attacks by high profile right wing reporters warning people of the anti-American liberal media and you have a very effective strategy to inhibit open criticism of U. S. policies.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 16, 2005

McCain backs Bush vs. British Memo

Senator John McCain said on ABC's This Week, "But I do not believe that the Bush administration decided that they would set up a scenario that gave us the rationale for going into Iraq," Oh really, now how can he prove that? Does he not think that President Bush and his administration are capable of such a thing? I have two words to say in response to that, South Carolina. If you need specifics a quick Google search on "Bush campaign attacks on McCain in South Carolina" will provide you with a sizeable amount of ammunition. John McCain knows the history. He is very aware of what G.W. can and will do. So what is the story here? What is his motivation? He plays the good soldier, as he has in the past and takes another step to 2008. It is a very nice play.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:57 PM | Comments (1)

May 15, 2005

Left Wing is on the Defensive

It is hard for anyone on the left to not feel they are clearly on the defensive these days. The right, whether it is Christian fundamentalists or hard line neo-con hawks seem to be winning at every turn. Baring some unforseen event Bolton's approval in the Senate is a forgone conclusion. There will be necessary hand-wringing and the like but nothing is stopping that train. The President continues to press his huge tax cut agenda for the upper class, while saddling a massive tax burden on the poor, middle-class and youth of tomorrow. The religious right continues to hammer the judiciary and push ever harder to kill the filibuster. It's demise doesn't seem quite so certain as the Bolton nomination, but it is close. The religious fundamentalists are also making serious inroads in many states to elevate creationism to an equal footing with evolution. Despite intense effort of resistence the President continues to drive his agenda to tragically impair social security. Huge campaign contributors, like the oil, gas, coal and pharmaceutical companies seem to be minting their own money, they are making it so fast. What they want, they seem to get. There might be some Democratic initiatives that are encouraging, but on this particular evening I can't think of any of them.

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:44 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

May 12, 2005

Why the Filibuster matters

Many, if not most, laws are inacted to protect the weak, or minority from the powerful. Civil Rights, labor, environment and health laws are prime examples of this. Throughout history in many circumstances and cultures a majority has used their political and/or military power to control, repress and oftentimes kill minorities or groups who did not agree with them. The filibuster has been used in American politics from the early days of our country's birth. See a short history at the U.S. Senate web site here.

Imagine a worse case scenario, where a President is either a member or a close friend of religious extremists, an American Taliban type group. Many American liberals feel we currently have such a situation. He rewards his "partners" with more than a couple nominations to the Supreme Court. His party contro