From the WAPO article about Bush's new found fiscal responsibility:
"Historically, the deficit is not particularly large."
Except when you consider we had a record surplus when Bush/Cheney took over.
Posted by Anacher Forester at January 15, 2007 11:29 PMCutting the defense budget is a great idea, but Bush should also insist that the DoD be able to account for every dollar that Congress provides. Currently, tens of billions of dollars cannot be accounted for -- the money flows into the Pentagon and disappears. A few years ago Bill Moyers had anti-waste crusader Chuck Spinney on the NOW program to describe some of the problems. Apparently, the DoD financial system is such a mess it can't event be audited to determine how much money is missing. Full transcript of the program here.
Posted by Marc at January 15, 2007 11:29 PMThanks, Steve - I just got through his comments on the Gardiner thread and thought that was the only realistic response to his statements. One would think that scout could finally figure out that he would last longer as a commenter if he reformed his ways. But as long as he gets all weird with his calling women 'whores' and making us wonder how sane he is, he's begging to be banned.
Posted by Mary at January 16, 2007 12:08 AMDubya keeps insisting that the Iraq War and his War on Terror are existential wars which threaten our very existence. Let's call his bluff on that claim too. Let's call for a Patriot Tax to fund these wars, to provide the resources our troops need in the field. It it's an existential war, then the tax rates should be where they were at during WW2, the war Dubya so insistently keeps referring to. How about 90% tax rates on the super wealthy to fund their damned war. They wanted a war fought, so badly, and they got it.
Posted by PrahaPartizan at January 16, 2007 03:18 AMfeel free to call these people and let them know keeping the truth about the destruction of our planet from our kids is NOT cool...
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/299253_inconvenient11.html
“This week in Federal Way schools, it got a lot more inconvenient to show one of the top-grossing documentaries in U.S. history, the global-warming alert "An Inconvenient Truth."
After a parent who supports the teaching of creationism and opposes sex education complained about the film, the Federal Way School Board on Tuesday placed what it labeled a moratorium on showing the film. The movie consists largely of a computer presentation by former Vice President Al Gore recounting scientists' findings.
"Condoms don't belong in school, and neither does Al Gore. He's not a schoolteacher," said Frosty Hardison, a parent of seven who also said that he believes the Earth is 14,000 years old. "The information that's being presented is a very cockeyed view of what the truth is. ... The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD…"
Federal Way School District Contact Information
31405 - 18th Ave. S., Federal Way, WA, 98003
Phone: (253)-945-2000
EMAIL ADDRESSES:
School board staff:
Chris Popich
chris-popich (at) fwps (dot) org
Email the whole school board
schoolboard (at) fwps (dot) org
Board member individual addresses
Dave-Larson (at) fwps (dot) org
tmadden (at) fwps (dot) org
evelyn-castellar (at) fwps (dot) org
ed-barney (at) fwps (dot) org
Charles-Hoff (at) fwps (dot) org
The instigators - the board members taking the lead on this "moratorium" are Larson (he proposed it) and Barney (president, he agreed with Laron's proposal and defended it).
Thanks for the contacts, serious, that's in my neck of the woods! WA is a green state goddammit!
Thanks, Steve, also. I tried not to engage, especially on a guest post. I feel bad that it turned so silly, especially since I've got a lot of respect for Col. Gardiner. But you gotta admit, the Donkey Lord song is kinda catchy. I knew the second I saw that 'test' post that someone added 'icles' to earlier that scout was back. Calling someone 'whore' in the 'spiritual sense,' uh huh. That's original.
Posted by iamcoyote at January 16, 2007 05:33 AMNPR is a completely shameless whore! SURPRISE? Well, maybe not, but I really was disgusted this morning, while listening to a long analysis of the Israeli threat to nuke Iran. They had numerous interviews with greasy-souled men in the Mossad, political pundits, etc. They all displayed the staggering selfishness of these cretins, (sounding exactly like their Likkudnik brethren of the AEI, PNAC, AIPAC and DICK Cheney's office)as they discussed, as if rational, the NEED to bomb, nuke or otherwise assault Iran because they SOMEDAY, would be LIKELY TO decide to develop a bomb, which MAY Encourage others in the region to get bombs as well. Now where have we heard that kind of reasoning before?
What was astonishing was the bland acceptance of the concept by ALL the NPR staffers. NOT ONE STINKING WORD of concern that, such behavior might be criminal, perhaps one of the greatest war crimes in living memory, or, just maybe, WRONG in any way whatsoever! They seemed to just think this was an intriguing possibility that our crazy cousins in the Middle East might decide to do. A good, entertaining story.
Then, shortly after that they had another analyst discussing the "Democrat" posturings about how they try to look like they are fiscally responsible, as opposed, oc course, to the "reputation" that Republicans have as being fiscally responsible. Of course, this one-viewpoint interview was with a Wall Street Journal "columnist". No opposing thoughts needed.
I had really hoped that, after the resounding repudiation of the one party rulers inside the beltway in Novembr, 2006, SOME of the journalists working for NPR, et al. just MIGHT find the courage to, you know, actually REPORT some news instead of just feeding the Wurlitzer. There have been a few faint sightings of journalism, from time to time, but it's obviously just the moribund, vestigial traces of a once useful network.
Screw 'em with a bristle brush!
Posted by DeminNewJ at January 16, 2007 05:46 AMLt's nt frgt t lt lGr knw hw rrspnsbl nd hypcrtcl t s f hm t jt ff t lnchn dts n fr wy plcs t prch hs phny rlgn.
[Editor: ignore=off]Great article in Playboy, (yes, I read the articles), on the Military-Industrial Complex. Specifically involving Lockheed, Stephen Hadley, others from our government in the revolving door and our wonderful politicians.
What, if anything, can be done about the oligarchy of the war companies and the K Street lobbyists pulling the strings in our capital? Is there no way to break the iron triangle? Jackson agrees that contractors doing business with the government should be prohibited by law from making political contributions. He says the contractors would favor this because the situation is not as most people think it is. He insists it's the elected officials who "shake down" the contractors for contributions and not the other way around. Of course, this may be the best indicator, in a roundabout way, of just how powerful the war companies are -- in the name of special interest reform the legislators would be cut out of the action from the flow of defense money they can apparently no longer control.
Former Long Island Democratic Representative Otis Pike, who served in the Marines and was a hawk on Vietnam, once said privately, while still in office, that the only solution was to "nationalize" the defense industry.
h/t npbeachfun @ Dkos
Even if the Dems cut the phone lines for the WH today they'd still end up chasing Bush for the next 2 years, and we'll be chasing his policies for generations.
Hopefully, whenever the cameras are on during the budget debate every Dem will have graphs up to point out this is where the Rep led us and left us...
I'd like to see various blogs start action reports again where readers would be encouraged to email, phone, whatever, this time Rep Congress to put the pressure on them for specific bills, because it is naive to think Dem Congress can do this without support of keyboardists and friends.
Posted by mainsailset at January 16, 2007 07:13 AMBush's problem is not just money, although he will need a lot more money for what he wants to do in Iraq,Iran and Syria. He needs more troops, more than he can buy. He needs the draft. Yes we should put pressure on to cut off funding, but he still holds a winning hand: he can trigger a wave of war hysteria and Congress will fold and give him what he wants. I have seen it before, in '62 and '64, in '92 and '03. It is amazing how easily people and politicians can be swept up in it with the help of a compliant media. It is essential now to plant doubts in advance about the story line that he will come up with.
Bush, an avid and very agressive Risk player with a reputation for changing the rules when he is losing (see Maureen Dowd, NY Times or Truthout), appears to be playing for world domination by control of the oil reserves. He keeps reminding us that for him losing is not an option. We must take that seriously. He seems to be backed into a corner and headed for defeat, but he is still holding a strong hand, and there certainly historical precedent for this strategy.
The situation will change radically when Iran does something so provocative and dastardly that the Congress and public can be mobilized to demand drastic action and acquiesces to his changing the rules of the game. I leave it to your imagination what that event might be. Surely Bush isn’t plunging ahead just on the hope that Iran will walk into his trap. He would have to have some way to assure that this event occurs.
I have no proof that this is what Bush is going to do, but it is the only scenario that makes any sense, given what we know about him and his motives and actions.
For now we need to continue what we are doing: rallying the country against Bush's war, exposing him, pushing an agenda for meeting people's real needs to the fore and preparing to contest for executive power in '08, and yes, pushing to cut off the funds for the war. However we need to sound an urgent warning to everyone we are working with (including Congress) about what is going down and why. And we must plan on continuing the struggle under more adverse conditions.
He needs the draft. Yes we should put pressure on to cut off funding, but he still holds a winning hand: he can trigger a wave of war hysteria and Congress will fold and give him what he wants.
Whatever else one might fear resulting from the Iraq war, one shouldn't fear a draft. Remember, in the case of Vietnam, we already had a draft; all they had to do was increase the numbers of people drafted. Here, they would have to start one.
Posted by dj moonbat at January 16, 2007 07:29 AMThanks Steve. I don't know why Scout goes after Iamcoyote, but it becomes embarrassing and angers me.
Posted by Judith at January 16, 2007 07:49 AMChris, as Babs said once about her son, George would not only change the rules of a game if he was losing, he would play the game until he won. She then went on to tell about a game where George was losing, and the family was demanded to play the game late into the evening until George evidentually won. See what giving into a spoiled brat can breed.
Posted by Judith at January 16, 2007 08:01 AMHe comes after me, because I go after him, I'll admit it, Judith. Though all his views are extremely right wing, he insists he's a dem, and thinks the only way to save the country is to turn it into a theocracy. His vision of utopia is straight out of The Handmaid's Tale, and it creeps me out.
Posted by iamcoyote at January 16, 2007 08:03 AMI vote for cleaning up the mess and balancing the budget. Here are a few suggestions of places where the budget could be cut:
Abolish the CIA. The CIA has proven itself to be an institution that has eroded democratic values and has committed huge injustices. The CIA has failed as an intellegence agency. It failed to detect the upcoming demise of the Soviet Union. It served as a political arm of those who wished to warmonger by greatly exaggerating the capability of the USSR. It failed to detect that Saddam had no WMD or nuclear program and failed to anticipate the total chaos that would follow an Iraqi invasion. It concocted numerouse schemes that led the nation to do a lot of pretty stupid things. All in all, the CIA has been more damaging than beneficial throughout the total time of its existence.
Abolish most of the NSA except for the part that runs the spy sattelites. The NSA was a participant in many of the schemes noted above. The NSA has acted illegally in spying on Americans.
Abolish all the DIA except for battlefield situation intelligence and prisoner interrogation. Ditto the above for the CIA and the NSA as to the failure of these Agencies.
Abolish all of the other myriad intelligence agencies that are spread through the government, except the FBI.
These agencies should be replaced with an enhanced budget for Embassy operations under the State Department and more money for the FBI. All foreign intelligence operations except for battlefield area intelligence should be run through the State Department. The Cabinet positions for CIA and NSA should be abolished. The Constitution gives us a Secretary of State for a reason and the foreign affairs of the country should be run by the Secretary of State and not by the Secretaries of Defense, CIA, and NSA. A large part of the foreign foibles of the US since WWII are a direct result of the establishment of specialized intelligence agencies which have staked out their own territories in competition with the State Department.
Moreover, after reading the copies of the PDB that have been released during the 911 investigation, the quality of the intelligence produced by these agencies is piss poor at best and colored by their agency agendas and turf battles so much as to be misleading. If you took about ten blogs each day, put them on a hyperlink page, you could give the President a more insightful look at what is happening in the world than the work product he is getting now.
When its done, US intelligenct should be organized with the NSA operating the sattelites, the State Department doing all foreign intelligence, the FBI doing all domestic intelligence, and the military doing all battlefield situational intelligence. There should not be any other intelligence agencies and all intelligence should be directly under the supervision of the Secretary of State, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense and no other officials.
Eliminate agricultural subsidies and import restrictions. We are paying billions to support farmers who can support themselves. Our farm subsidies have had a devastating effect on third world countries, especially those who grow corn and sugar. The import restrictions, especially on sugar, cost consumers billions annually. The sugar subsidies in particular are unnecessary.
End oil company subsidies and make the oil companies pay their Royalties for extracting minerals from federal lands. It is outrageous for the US government to waive royalties and to give subsidies for big oil.
These measures would save billions and this is just a start!
Posted by Nobody at January 16, 2007 08:38 AMChris, I agree completely with your last post, since it is abvious that Congress will not impeach or cut funding for this war.
Iamcoyote, your right. Scout seems to have a very twisted mind, and I am glad he is gone.
Posted by Judith at January 16, 2007 08:50 AMI agree with many who posted above--Judith, Mainsailset,iamcoyote,Chris Horton---the problem of keeping our eyes on the ball and doing what we can--everything we can--- is foremost to me. I am angry that the pundit class and the middle-of-the-road Dems (and possibly Republicans) continually dither and agonize about what they have the authority to do versus executive power. Dithering kills.
During all of Watergate, I never had the feeling the whole nation was going under for the last time. I felt devastated when the Era of Assassinations was going on, but even then, I never believed we were as vulnerable as I feel we are today.
Seven of Six is on to an "ultimate driver" behind our current condition. Oil and Arms are about as closely intertwined in the White House as is possible. But I think to take them all down, you have to address some basic American law. I doubt if there is time for that, but it has to be done at some point of human beings are to maintain any sort of parity with corporations.
Posted by cromulant at January 16, 2007 09:01 AMPerfect!
Iraq Dad, Vietnam Vet Sen Jim Webb To Give The Dems' Response To The State Of The Union...
Freshman Senator Jim Webb of Virginia will deliver the Democrats' response to President Bush's State of the Union Address next week.
A spokeswoman for Webb says the selection was made today by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Judith, that's good news. Maybe this time I won't fall asleep during the Dem response!
Posted by iamcoyote at January 16, 2007 09:25 AMI don't disagree with the banning of scout.
Unfortunately he wears it as a badge of honor.
Plays into the whole 'persecution of God's prophets' thingy of his.
Posted by snark at January 16, 2007 09:36 AMYeah, well. Him staying would also play into his fantasies. Good riddance, I say. He can go show off his 'badge' to his prison buddies.
Posted by iamcoyote at January 16, 2007 09:57 AMThanks Steve, the comment section is a more productive place today.
Posted by mainsailset at January 16, 2007 12:01 PMI thought this place was more 'highbrow' today!
Thanks Steve, scout always turns into his pathetic self and takes TLC down with him.