Idiot In Charge: Bush's Failures

Published on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 by TruthDig.com

Bush’s Legacy of Failure

by Robert Scheer

That idiotic “what me worry?” look just never leaves the man’s visage. Once again there was our president, presiding over disasters in part of his making and totally on his watch, grinning with an aplomb that suggested a serious disconnect between his worldview and existing reality. Be it in his announcement that Iraq was being secured on a day when bombs ripped through that sad land or posed between his treasury secretary and the Federal Reserve chairman to applaud the government’s bailout of a failed bank, George Bush was the only one inexplicably smiling.

Failure suits him. It is a stance he learned well while presiding over one failed Texas business deal after another, and it served him splendidly as he claimed the title of president of the United States after losing the popular, and maybe even the electoral, vote. It carried him through the most ignominious chapter of U.S. foreign policy, from the lies about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction to an unprecedented presidential defense of torture.

The totally unwarranted assurance was there this week as the once proud dollar fell into the toilet and the debacle of Iraq and Bush’s other failed Mideast policies pushed oil prices to record highs. The Europeans, who didn’t support the U.S. imperial intervention, are doing much better, not having to pay for guarding besieged oil pipelines while U.S. taxpayers are saddled with trillions in future debt, not to mention 4,000 U.S. military deaths and 30,000 U.S. injuries in a war the administration had promised would be paid for with Iraqi oil revenues. Even in Baghdad last week there wasn’t enough oil to keep the lights on for more than a few hours.

But the president is happy because his legacy issue, the war on terror, is intact. No matter that this week the Pentagon was forced to release a report conducted over the last five years that concluded, after surveying 600,000 official Iraqi documents captured by U.S. forces, that there is “no smoking gun” establishing any connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida. The report was so embarrassing that we taxpayers who paid for it were not going to be told of its existence, even though the explosive conclusions were totally declassified, until ABC News forced its posting online.

The network reported that the Pentagon had canceled plans to issue a press release or make it available by e-mail or otherwise online because, as one Pentagon official put it, the study is “too politically sensitive.” Damn right it is-Bush squandered U.S. treasure and lives in an effort that had nothing to do with the infamous attack on America. As for the real war on terror against the real al-Qaida, those folks are very much on the rebound, just where they were before the 9/11 attack, building their bases in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, back on the home front, Wall Street is crumbling, not because of planes crashing into buildings but because the outrageous knaves of finance, freed from the most minimal requirements of public accountability, have been permitted to destroy America’s reputation in the world for financial probity.

In the name of ending what were claimed to be onerous regulations imposed after the Great Depression, this administration accelerated a bipartisan pattern of allowing Wall Street to betray investors with impunity while abandoning the federal government’s obligation, once accepted equally by conservatives and liberals, to ensure our national solvency. This tendency, under way for decades to give the bankers what they wanted-codified in the Financial Services Modernization Act, which was signed into law by Bill Clinton and which permitted banks, stock brokers and insurance companies to merge-was exacerbated by Bush’s appointment of rapacious corporate foxes to watch the corporate henhouse.

They will take care of their own, which is why Bush was smiling, happily posed in that photo op between Henry Paulson Jr. and Ben Bernanke announcing the Bear Stearns bailout, made possible only by the federal government using your tax dollars to pick up the bad debt of the banks. Tape that picture to your wall to remind you, when you open a credit card bill with a 30 percent interest rate-not the 2 percent the Fed will charge banks-or see the increase in your adjustable rate mortgage, of just what your government will do for the really big guys that it will never do for regular folks.

In the years to come, as millions lose their retirement income and homes, we will have occasion to remember Georgie Porgie, who kissed the taxpayers and made them cry before he ran away.

Robert Scheer is editor of Truthdig.com and a regular columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle.

© 2008 TruthDig.com

Technorati Tags: George Bush, Wall Street, Iraq

Only in America

  Let us get away from all of the political crap that is going on, for just a bit. Here are a few not quite news-worthy articles for a change of pace.

 

ORLANDO, Fla. - A teacher was put on paid leave Tuesday while officials investigate why a student urinated in a lunch box during her class.
The Meadowbrook Middle School student urinated in a lunch box while hiding behind a classroom bookcase, Orange County school officials said Tuesday.
According to statements by other students in the class, school officials think that when the boy asked to go the restroom on Thursday, teacher Jameeka Chambers told him to hold it or use her lunch box.    Newsday

 

Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Ben Russell has a title most people would walk away from. Russell, 15, from Eagle River, Alaska, beat seven other contestants from around the country to claim the title of rottenest sneakers in the country.

News of the Weird

William Torres, 21, was arrested in Allentown, Pa., and charged in connection with two homicides; he was taken into custody after a Friday afternoon traffic stop in January, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, pajama bottoms and fuzzy slippers with a lion's face. [Morning Call (Allentown), 1-26-08]

    And just for enquiring minds who want to know:

Male bats have the highest rate of homosexuality of any group of mammals that exist - especially fruit bats.   Source

  This could be my kind of church

Thats weird

A church leader in Florida has urged parishioners to have sex every day for a month to help cut America's high divorce rates.
Pastor Paul Wirth, who is taking up the sex marathon challenge with his wife Susie, said that couples right across the nation were struggling in their relationships.
For married people he said it seemed like "the sex is great up front but then for some reason life happens."
But for singles "it's like you're always thinking about it and you're like, man I'd like to have it as much as possible."
Sometimes that prevented single people from having a great and healthy relationship later on when they got married.
But Mr Wirth's challenge for his single parishioners is a little different than that for married couples. He wants them to abstain from sex for 30 days     

  Have a good day everyone! Try not to let Bush upset you today.

Technorati Tags: news, America, Jameeka Chambers, Ben Russell

Georgia State Rep. Ron Sailor Jr Pleads Guilty To Money Laundering

Newsday

ATLANTA - A Georgia lawmaker pleaded guilty Tuesday to money laundering charges stemming from an undercover sting, and federal officials said the case had opened up a broader public corruption investigation in the state.
As part of a plea deal, state Rep. Ron Sailor Jr., a church pastor, also agreed to resign within 24 hours from the Georgia Legislature.
Sentencing was scheduled for May 22. The 33-year-old Democrat from Decatur could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

  Another one bites the dust!  forget about the fine and just give him the 20 years. Gives him plenty of time to think about his stupidity.

Technorati Tags: Ron Sailor, Georgia, money laundering, Democrat

Barack Obama: As President Of The United States? Part VI: Senior Citizens

HERE in downloaded PDF from his website

BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN TO STRENGTHEN RETIREMENT SECURITY
“We … have an obligation to protect Social Security and ensure that it’s
a safety net the American people can count on today, tomorrow and
forever.  Social Security is the cornerstone of the social compact in this
country. …Coming together to meet this challenge won’t be easy. …It
will take restoring a sense of shared purpose in Washington and across
this country. But if you put your trust in me – if you give me ‘your hand
and your heart’ – then that’s exactly what I intend to do as your next
President.”
–Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines, IA,
October 27, 2007

AT A GLANCE
Commitment
As someone who was largely raised by his grandparents, Obama has first-hand knowledge of how hard America’s seniors have worked to defend our country, teach our children and grow our economy.  He will honor their lifetime of work.
Protect Social Security
Obama will preserve Social Security by stopping any efforts to privatize it and working in a bipartisan way to preserve it for future generations.
Secure Hard-Earned Pensions
Obama will fight to ensure that companies don’t dump their pension obligations.
Help Americans Save More
Obama will make retirement savings automatic.
THE PROBLEM
Insecure Retirement Savings
Retirement savings are near a historic low and 75 million working Americans lack employer-based retirement plans.  Too many companies have dumped their pension obligations, leaving workers in the cold.
Income Security
With skyrocketing health care, energy and housing costs, and the risk of being defrauded by insurance companies, too many seniors do not have the resources to live comfortably.
 BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN
Protect Social Security
Obama is committed to ensuring Social Security is solvent and viable for the American people, now and in the future.  Obama will be honest with the American people about the long-term solvency of Social Security
and the ways we can address the shortfall.  Obama will protect Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries alike.  And he does not believe it is necessary or fair to hardworking seniors to raise the retirement age.  Obama is strongly opposed to privatizing Social Security.
Obama believes that the first place to look for ways to strengthen Social Security is the payroll tax system.
Currently, the Social Security payroll tax applies to only the first $97,500 a worker makes.  Obama supports increasing the maximum amount of earnings covered by Social Security and he will work with Congress and the American people to choose a payroll tax reform package that will keep Social Security solvent for at least the next half century.
Strengthen Retirement Savings
Reform Corporate Bankruptcy Laws to Protect Workers and Retirees:  Current bankruptcy laws protect banks before workers.  Obama will protect pensions by putting promises to workers higher on the list of debts that companies cannot shed; ensuring that the bankruptcy courts do not demand more sacrifice from
workers than executives; telling companies that they cannot issue executive bonuses while cutting worker pensions; increasing the amount of unpaid wages and benefits workers can claim in court; and limiting the circumstances under which retiree benefits can be reduced.
Require Full Disclosure of Company Pension Investments
Obama will ensure that all employees who have company pensions receive detailed annual disclosures about their pension fund’s investments.  This will provide retirees important resources to make their pension fund
more secure.
Eliminate Income Taxes for Seniors Making Less Than $50,000
Obama will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year.  This will provide an immediate tax cut averaging $1,400 to 7 million seniors and relieve millions from the burden of filing tax returns.
Create Automatic Workplace Pensions
Obama’s retirement security plan will automatically enroll workers in a workplace pension plan.  Under his plan, employers who do not currently offer a retirement plan, will be required to enroll their employees in
a direct-deposit IRA account that is compatible to existing direct-deposit payroll systems. Employees may opt-out if they choose. Experts estimate that this program will increase the savings participation rate for low
and middle-income workers from its current 15 percent level to around 80 percent.
Expand Retirement Savings Incentives for Working Families
Obama will ensure savings incentives are fair to all workers by creating a generous savings match for low and middle-income Americans.  His plan will match 50 percent of the first $1,000 of savings for families that
earn less than $75,000.  The savings match will be automatically deposited into designated personal accounts.
Over 80 percent of these savings incentives will go to new savers.
Prevent Age Discrimination
Obama will fight job discrimination for aging employees by strengthening the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and empowering the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to prevent all forms of discrimination.
SENIORS
Affordable Health Care
Provide Cheaper Prescription Drugs:
Our seniors pay the highest prices in the world for brand-name
drugs.  To lower drug costs, Obama will allow the federal government to negotiate for lower drug prices for the Medicare program, just as it does to lower prices for our veterans.  He also supports allowing seniors to
import safe prescription drugs from overseas, and will prevent pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheap and safe generic drugs from the market.
Protect and Strengthen Medicare:  Obama is committed to the long-term strength of the Medicare program.  He will reduce waste in the Medicare system, including eliminating subsidies to the private
insurance Medicare Advantage program, and tackle fundamental health care reform to improve the quality and efficiency of our healthcare system.  Obama supports closing the “doughnut hole” in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.
Provide Transparency to Medicare Prescription Drug Plans:  Many seniors are enrolled in Medicare prescription drug plans that are actually more expensive for them than other available plans.  Obama will
require companies to send Medicare beneficiaries a full list of the drugs and fees they paid the previous year to help seniors determine which plans can better reduce their out-of-pocket costs and improve their health.
Strengthen Long-Term Care Options:
As president, Obama will work to give seniors choices about their
care, consistent with their needs, and not biased towards institutional care.  He will work to reform the financing of long term care to protect seniors and families.  He will work to improve the quality of elder care, including by training more nurses and health care workers.
Protect and Honor Seniors
Ensure Heating Assistance:
Obama will increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP) which helps low-income citizens – many of them seniors – pay their winter heating and summer cooling bills.
Support Senior Volunteer Efforts:
Retired Americans have a wide range of skills and knowledge to
contribute to local and national public service efforts.  Obama will engage more interested seniors into public service opportunities by expanding and improving programs like Senior Corps to connect seniors
with quality volunteer opportunities.
OBAMA RECORD
Social Security and Pensions
In the midst of the 2005 debate over Social Security privatization, Obama gave a major speech at the National Press Club forcefully arguing against privatization.  He also repeatedly voted against Republican amendments that aimed to privatize Social Security or cut benefits.  Obama has also voted to force companies to properly fund their pension plans so taxpayers don’t end up footing the bill.
Medicare
Obama has supported a number of efforts to strengthen Medicare, including voting for legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper prescription drug prices and to extend the enrollment period for low- income beneficiaries.
 Protecting Seniors
After reports that lobbyists, but not the American people, received information about the most unsafe nursing homes in the country, Barack Obama demanded the Department of Health and Human Services release that information.  Following Obama’s letter, the names of the four Iowa care facilities cited for
unsafe care were released to the public.  Obama’s efforts follow his successful efforts in Illinois to make nursing home information public and strengthen elder abuse laws.

Part V: THE ECONOMY

Part IV: HEALTHCARE

Part III: ETHICS

Part II: ETHICS

Part 1

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Social Security, the economy, 2008

McCain And Cheney Visit Iraq

 Associated Press 

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Sen. John McCain stressed the importance of a U.S. commitment to Iraq during talks with Iraq's prime minister Monday, and explosions struck Baghdad during twin visits by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and Vice President Dick Cheney. Helicopter gunships circled over central Baghdad and the heavily fortified Green Zone, but no details were immediately available on the cause of the explosions.

   Let's see now. We have an old man with memory problems and we have the most corrupt Vice President in our history in Iraq at the same time. This cannot be a good thing for the United States or anywhere else in the world. The Bush Crime Syndicate is up to something.

Technorati Tags: John McCain, Iraq, Dick Cheney

Republicans to Deal Cocaine Again?

  Many of you may remember the 1980's as the decade of cocaine and the Contra scandal that went with it. That was the one in which the Republicans ( Ronald Reagan ) were letting the CIA import cocaine into the United States so that dear old Uncle Sam could supply weapons to our South American enemies, Noriega being our point man until he was no longer of useful to the U.S.

  Well now, it seems that the Republican Drug Cartel is up to its old tricks once again, only this time it is that mean man Chavez down in Venezuela who is the Bush Crime Syndicate target. Gotta control South America because we need the oil, so let's dope up or citizens again in order to pay for the things we might need.

   Read this following article in full and then start bitching to your Representatives. Pass this on while you are at it because everyone needs to be aware of this Bush activity.

Chimpy's new gambit is in Venezuela, here we go again!

by boilerman10 Sat Mar 15, 2008  @ DailyKos

You are in a park...a man approaches, you just know this is a dope sale pitch, but you arn't sure if it's a sting, so you engage this guy and he opens his pocket to show you pack after pack after pack of sniff and rock and he says, "I got crack, I got blow, I'll take you anywhere you want to go."  

Sounds like the 1980's when the snowstorm of cocaine unleashed upon the nation funded the Contra armies and death squads in Central America.  Oh yeah, just like Noriega in Panama, our point man in the coke trade who was so useful...until he wasn't.

Well guess what, the Chimpy Junta is up to mischief!  Hey, everything old is new again I guess, because the dirty bastards are doing it again.  This time the target is Venezuela.  Let's jump.    

You don't need to be either a social scientist or a New York City cop with 25 years on the beat to remember the horror that was unleashed in Harlem and Spanish Harlem when the coke epidemic exploded like a shrapnel shell in those neighborhoods.

You don't need to be a clinic worker to remember the human disaster of the coke blizzard.  If you weren't in the outreach, or the prevention groups you have no idea how horrible it was.  Cocaine and crack were everywhere, cheap and easy to find.  In an out-of-the-way place like Syracuse, NY coke was so readily available that renowned local columnist, the late Bob Haggart often commented on the "Saturday night snowstorm."

Naturally, if the Bush administration gets its hands into mischief they invariably screw it up.  Bill Conroy, from Al Giordano's Narco News Bulletin relays a story that should scare the bejebus out of all of us,  but as you read this story you find yourself thanking your lucky stars that those don't give a damn about America neo-cons in Bush's regime tipped their hand and gave away the store.

Let's take a look at this.  We know that Bush and the neo-cons have a hard on for Chavez.  We know that this criminal administration has tried several ways to undermine and depose Chavez because of his more people oriented, socialistic policies.  Oil is at the heart of the matter, but oil isn't the entire thing, it's the money that is going to just plain Venezuelans instead of the "patrones and their Gringo amigoes."

So, after trying to foment war by turning the right wing death squad guerrillas from Uribe's Colombia loose in an unofficial cross border war, and trying to undo Chavez in elections and dirty tricks, and now in desperation the neo-cons returned to doing this:

Two Florida-based companies that have exported a total of at least 11 aircraft to Venezuelan buyers since 2003 are linked to four cocaine planes and what appears to be an elaborate covert intelligence operation, an ongoing Narco News investigation shows.

The covert program, law enforcement sources contend, likely involves the CIA and components of Defense Department intelligence agencies, and is focused, in part, on penetrating, or even propping up, narco-trafficking groups in Venezuela. That country’s outspoken leader, Hugo Chávez, is regularly demonized by U.S. policymakers for, among other things, supposedly allowing his country to become a haven for narco-traffickers

The US has already been victimized once by Republicans trying to be dope peddlers in the name of democracy!  The last exercise in Republican "caring for America" cost thousands of US citizens their lives, packed our prisons, wasted our treasure and left a broad swath of destruction that still impacts the nation to this day and these filthy Republicans and their most accomodating pals in Congress, the Pentagon and the CIA want to do it again.

Yeah!  Vote for McCain.  Have a cocaine explosion in America again because we need to export democracy you know, and if your son or daughter is ruined or dies from the "liberty for Venezuela" cocaine, well they weren't very bright anyway were they?  I want to know McCain's stand on this "cocaine to undo Chavez scam?"  This is a Republican administration sponsered scam Senator, do you disavow it?

Dear God in heaven where do people like those in this wretched administration who would try to do this horror again come from!  In my life I have seen war whooping Republican good-for-nothing ideologues restart the Vietnam war in a different place and put our nation into an unwinnable quagmire which is destroying us as well as the Iraqis.  Now we have to go through the 'drugs-for money-for guns" disaster again too?  

This is a huge article, with photos and links of its own.  Due to the sheer mass of the article I will post about 8 more paragraphs and do so free use only.

Whos involved:

The companies at the center of this parade of cocaine planes are Skyway Aircraft Inc. of St. Petersburg, Fla., and Planes and Parts Enterprises LLC of Doral, Fla.

In addition, a third Florida company, also named Skyway Aircraft Inc., but based in Clearwater, Fla. (just north of St Petersburg in the greater Tampa area), is linked to a fifth cocaine plane, a DC-9 jet (tail number N900SA), which was apprehended by Mexican authorities in April 2006 with some 5.5 tons of white powder onboard. The DC-9 had been sold to an unknown Venezuelan buyer only days before it was busted in Mexico.

Two of these cocaine planes – the Gulfstream II and a Beech 200 (N391SA) found in Nicaragua with the false tail number N168D – have been tied to the CIA’s terrorist rendition program via their Federal Aviation Administration-issued tail numbers, according to European investigators.

In addition, the two Skyway companies are associated with individuals who have done highly sensitive work for the Department of Defense or U.S. intelligence agencies, public records show and Narco News sources confirm. The third company, Planes and Parts, it turns out, appears to be little more than a paper shell company that can be traced back to a Mail Boxes Etc. service located at a UPS store in the Miami area.

The article continues on about the planes and the owners but this little blurb early on caught my eye:

Attorney Mark Conrad, a former high-level supervisory U.S. Customs agent who has an extensive background in the intelligence world, offered the following insight into the cocaine planes saga in a prior interview with Narco News:

Even though it looks as if you are unraveling odd connections you may be only seeing a small part of what is going on — or you may be seeing what you are expected to see, missing something else.

My guess — and that is all that it is — is that this has something to do with operations in Venezuela — either to finance ops, or to divert attention from Agency ops in Venezuela to destabilize Chávez. ... It is not in the U.S. interests for Chávez to create another Cuba on some of the largest oil field reserves in the world.

If that’s the case, then it might well be that the current U.S. administration has placed a higher value on controlling the flow of oil from Venezuela than it has on controlling the flow of cocaine into this country.

This is all I dare use free use and remind everyone that this is Bill Conroy's article appearing on Narco News Bulletin  Please read it all!  It will leave you nauseous

My friends, this is a reason not to vote for Republicans.  Any administration that would poison and addict its own people in order to enhance the profits of energy companies is an administration that should be jailed and executed.  This, this very rebirth of the Iran-Contra fiasco at its worst is the true face of Ronald Reagan and those who would trumpet his administration, and this is more than America should have to bear.  Naturally, we cannot depend upon our "in the tank with the Bushies" media to ask any questions or raise any hell about this business which has alarmed Latin America, brought the FBI into play, and has raised the eyebrows of our allies.

We need to spread this news far and wide, and I would very strongly suggest that Obama should begin asking very pointed and very public questions about these shenanigans; after all it's only the American public being poisoned, addicted, jailed, and ruined in the name of oil, err, I mean "liberty for Venezuela."

Please raise hell about this!  It's only your kids, your loved ones, or your friends that might get caught up in this filthy Bushist scam!

Technorati Tags: Bush administration, Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, CIA, cocaine

News For America: The Lazy Edition

  While the other blogs and media outlets all cover the Sunday news shows to see who is lying about what in the political world, I'm going off on a different tract today. Today, you are getting brief news snippets from all over that may have some effect on you and your life in good old America. Or, maybe not.

     Heparin Blood Thinner Being Probed By The U.S./China

BEIJING - China and the United States are working together to investigate the blood-thinner heparin, which has been linked to 19 American deaths, China's food and drug administration said Sunday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been widening its investigation into the hundreds of adverse reactions -- including difficulty breathing, nausea and falling blood pressure -- linked to U.S. health care company Baxter International's heparin injections.
Heparin is derived from pig intestines, and China is the world's leading supplier.   Full Story

    Georgia Hit by Another Severe Storm

ATLANTA - Two people in rural northwest Georgia are dead and dozens injured after a series of severe storms moved through the state, producing the first-ever tornado to hit downtown Atlanta.
A woman was killed in Polk County early Saturday afternoon when a storm demolished her home and threw her and her husband into a field, while an elderly man in neighboring Floyd County was killed by flying debris as he sat in his home, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Officials have not released the victims' names.
Calls to the Polk and Floyd County sheriff's departments were not immediately returned.   Full Story

  5 Killed In Ohio Car Wreck

LUCAS, Ohio - Authorities say a car drove off a hilly state highway in northern Ohio, overturned, struck several trees and caught fire -- killing the three men and two women inside.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol says the accident took place just after 4 p.m. Saturday on State Route 603 near Mansfield, about 70 miles northeast of Columbus.   

  What would the day be without a Poll in it?

Nearly nine in 10 Americans say it's important to know presidential and congressional candidates' positions on open government, but three out of four view the federal government as secretive, according to a survey released Sunday.
Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University conducted the survey in conjunction with Sunshine Week, a nationwide effort by media organizations to draw attention to the public's right to know.
The survey found a significant increase in the percentage of Americans who believe the federal government is very or somewhat secretive, from 62 percent of those surveyed in 2006 to 74 percent in 2008. That's a sobering jump, said David Westphal, Washington editor for McClatchy Newspapers and co-chairman of the American Society of Newspaper Editors' Freedom of Information Committee.

"On the other hand, it's gratifying to see that almost 90 percent believe a candidate's position on open government is an important issue when they make their Election Day choices," he said.  Full Story

  Only 74% believe the government is secretive? Wait a minute. I forgot. The other 26% have to be the followers of our Idiot-In-Chief in the White House. My bad!

Technorati Tags: news, Ameirca, Georgia, Ohio, government

FISA Bill Passes In House

  So the House passed the House Democratic leadership version of FISA, which does not allow amnesty for the telecoms, by a vote of 213-197. The Democrat's bill says that the telecom's can be sued for helping Bush with his illegal warrantless spy program.

   So this bill will now go to the Senate, which, like Bush, not does like a FISA bill without the amnesty provision in it. the House bill will allow the telecoms to make their cases and to show classified evidence to the presiding judge in a closed session without having the plaintiffs in attendance.   Source

   As is usual, the Republican amnesty supporters had a few more fear-mongering statements to make after the bill was passed.

CNN

Democrats "know the risks they are taking on behalf of the American people and they don't care ... and that's what bothers me most," Republican Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico said.

Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida blasted Democrats for adjourning Congress for two weeks "without having given every protection available to the American people."  

  These sorry Republican's don't know when to quit with the scare tactics! It's all that they have left to run on, so I guess we'll just have to " suck it up " and listen to it a while longer.

   The Department of Justice had a statement also.

"We are concerned that the proposal would not provide the intelligence community the critical tools needed to protect the country."

The statement also restates the administration's position that immunity protection is necessary so the program can continue.

"Exposing the private sector to continued litigation for assisting in efforts to defend the country understandably makes the private sector much more reluctant to cooperate. Without their cooperation, our efforts to protect the country cannot succeed," it said.

Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, warned Wednesday that the House proposal "would, in essence, shut us down" and sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter outlining his objections to the legislation.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers took a different angle.

"We are not going to cave into a retroactive immunity situation," the Michigan Democrat said. "There's no law school example in our memory that gives retroactive immunity for something you don't know what you are giving it for. It just doesn't work in the real world or on the Hill either."

Bush called the plan "a partisan bill that would undermine America's security," and White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the Democratic bill "would hamstring the intelligence community."

  I do believe that the Republicans make recordings of their fear-mongering message since it is the same old crap day in and day out. I will most certainly be glad when this group of communist are no longer in office. I'll be more than happy if these lawsuits ever make it into a court of law just so that we have more evidence against Bush and Cheney so that they can rightfully be prosecuted in court for their crimes, which we all know are vast.

Technorati Tags: FISA, Congress, George Bush, Mike McConnell, telecom amnesty, warrantless wiretaps

Resignation Of Detroit Mayor Called For

  This crook needs to vacate the premises right now.

   The walls are crumbling for embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who is under increasing pressure to resign over his role in a police whistleblower settlement scandal that many say is paralyzing the already struggling city.

Mr. Kilpatrick, a Democrat, is under investigation for reportedly lying in sworn testimony in a police whistleblower trial about an affair with his chief of staff and a secret $8.4 million settlement he brokered without the City Council's knowledge.

The mayor, through his spokesman, reiterated yesterday that he would not resign and would continue to push forward his agenda for growth. However, his time in office may be limited. The City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to order Mr. Kilpatrick, along with his former chief of staff and suspected mistress, Christine Beatty, as well as others involved in the police whistleblower settlement case to appear before the City Council.   WaTimes

  Of course, the mayor is claiming that these are attacks on him and his family based on racial hatred.

Technorati Tags: scandal, Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick

GOP Starting To Realize That They Won't Be The Senate Majority Come November. Nobody Wants To Run

  That crying sound that you are hearing is National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman John Ensign of Nevada discussing the recruitment efforts of the GOP in getting anyone, mostly top millionaires in top states, to take a shot at running for the Senate in November, as many proposed nominees are instead declining the GOP offers.

  It doesn't help that many of the GOP Senators are having a hard time raising their cash quotas for the GOP committees and those candidates who are running or expected to run. This is just to damned funny, I think.

Ensign said about half of the Senate’s 49 GOP members are “not even close” to being on pace to raise the amount of money they are expected to for the committee and fellow candidates. The members are expected to raise between $750,000 and $3 million, depending on seniority and stature.

Ensign stressed that five GOP senators have already exceeded their goals and said some members – particularly Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) – are seen more and more frequently at NRSC headquarters. But it’s become clear they are there to save their GOP colleagues and their open seats, rather than go after control of the Senate.  The Hill

  This is what most normal people would call " every man for himself " and the Republican Party just isn't use to this kind of behavior from its " tow the line " membership.

“There is no question that getting back in the majority now, because of some of the recruiting – some of these just terrific candidates that we wanted ended up not running – would be a very long stretch,” Ensign said. “That’s the best way I can say it.”

  I won't even get into the Republicans very sad financial numbers when it comes to raising cash for the elections, because it is a very weak total for them as the Democrats are out-raising and out-spending them by almost 2 to 1 margins.

The financial woes are not limited to the committee, which has less than half of its Democratic counterpart’s $30 million in cash on hand. The nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute issued a report Thursday that showed incumbent Democrats up for reelection raised, on average, $1.2 million more than Senate Republicans with expiring terms did in 2007, and that Democratic open seat candidates raised about $1.4 million to their GOP counterparts’ $800,000.

Ensign said the leadership is using future committee assignments as incentives and threats, and that the conference is and should continue to move away from seniority-based assignments.

“There are different ways to motivate people,” Ensign said. “We’ve tried fear, we’ve tried positive reward, positive reinforcement, we’ve tried being a little harder on them, we use different things at different times – begging, we begged a lot.”   The Story

  Okay. So I changed my mind. Look at those cash numbers. Hell, the Republicans can't even afford one of those over priced caviar fund raising dinners that they are so fond of. The way that the fund raising is going, soon it will be Happy Meals for all of the potential donors! Can't you just feel the love?

Technorati Tags: GOP, Senate, elections, 2008, John Ensign, NRSC

The House Creates New Ethics Board

  Don't you generally have to know what ethics are before you can create a board to investigate any lapses in ethics that House members may have?

  USAToday 

An independent ethics board created by the House of Representatives this week is meant to put some teeth into a self-policing process that has been all-but-dormant for years.

The six-member board, which will be split equally between Republican and Democratic appointees, will have the power to investigate ethics allegations if at least one board member from each party agrees. After an investigation, a majority board vote could send the matter for further action to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct — the long-standing ethics committee.

  This group will be called the Office of Congressional Ethics and they can actually start up ethics investigations against our representatives and/or their own staffers. Let us just see how much investigating this group does in the coming months or years. You won't see to much unless one party pisses the other party off or there is some political gain to be made.

Technorati Tags: Office of Congressional Ethics, Congress, ethics committee

Bush's Permanent Tax Cuts And The Economy

  Not going to say anything here. We are just going to look at the rhetoric from Bush and the facts. This is basically just a little observation.

"I think when people take a look back at this moment in our economic history, they'll recognize tax cuts work."
-- President Bush, 3/12/08

VERSUS

"[M]aking the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and Alternative Minimum Tax relief permanent would add $4.3 trillion to deficits and debt over just the next ten years and would substantially worsen the nation's already serious long-term fiscal problems."
-- Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 1/28/08 American Progress

  I'm trying to figure out what George Bush's tax cuts have done for me. Hmmm. Due to those cuts and the mess in Iraq, my food supply costs have gone up. The dollar has gone down in value, Exxon is making a killing while the price of oil goes upwards to close at $110.33 today. My work hours have been cut back and my salary can't keep up with all of the food, gas, and medical supplies that I use.

   Thanks for those tax cuts George! Instead of stimulating the economy and creating jobs, you have shot it dead! I'll bet that even the stock market closes lower when Bush leaves office than it was when he entered the office.

Technorati Tags: George Bush, tax cuts, economy, inflation, oil

Bush And The House Version Of FISA

  Hey, guess what everybody? President has threatened to veto the House version of the FISA bill because they won't give him and his friend at ATT the criminal amnesty that they so desire. Once again, I am totally surprised. NOT!

  Bush is a little pissed off that the Democrats actually want to show some over-site of Bush's activities when it comes to illegally reading yours and my emails and listening in on our phone conversations, Instant Messages, and our faxes.

   Bush had a few things to say to reporters.

"It seems that House leaders are more interested in investigating our intelligence professionals than in giving them the tools they need to protect us," Mr. Bush said.

"Congress should stop playing politics with the past and focus on helping us prevent terrorist attacks in the future," he said.

  The House is expected to vote on the bill today, which king George would like changed in order to meet his preferences. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

  Senator Kennedy had a response to Bush's bullshit fear-mongering.

"The president wants Congress to pretend that his administration did not conduct a massive, illegal, domestic warrantless surveillance program that was one of the most outrageous abuses of executive power in our nation"s history," said the Massachusetts Democrat.

"Rather than accuse Congress of playing politics, the president should stop playing politics with our national security," Mr. Kennedy said. "He is the one who has repeatedly blocked extension of the law, insisting that the phone companies must be protected, even though he claims that American lives are at risk."   WaTimes

  I'm not sure about all of you readers, but I have had more than enough of this idiots crap.

   Can we begin impeachment against Bush and Cheney yet?

Technorati Tags: FISA, Protect America Act, Congress, George Bush, illegal wiretaps, terrorist, Edward Kennedy, telecom amnesty, ATT

Back To FISA/Telecom Amnesty Legislation

The Gavel

Judiciary Committee Members: Administration Has Not Made the Case for Telecom Immunity

March 12th, 2008 by Jesse Lee

Today, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and 19 Members of the Judiciary Committee issued a statement regarding telecommunications immunity, as the House prepares to consider the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Following a review of classified information relating to the warrantless surveillance program and immunity for telecommunications companies, the Members reported their conclusion that the Administration has not established a valid and credible case to justify granting blanket retroactive immunity at this time.

The following Members joined Chairman Conyers in signing on to the statement: Representatives Howard L. Berman (D-CA), Rick Boucher (D-VA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Robert C. Scott (D-VA), Melvin L. Watt (D-NC), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), William D. Delahunt (D-MA), Robert Wexler (D-FL), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Betty Sutton (D-OH), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Anthony D. Weiner (D-NY), Artur Davis (D-AL), Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL), and Keith Ellison (D-MN).

Full text of the statement (pdf):

Statement of Undersigned Members of the House Judiciary Concerning the Administration’s Terrorist Surveillance Program and the Issue of Retroactive Immunity

As a result of our review of classified as well as unclassified materials concerning the Administration’s Terrorist Surveillance Program, we have concluded that blanket retroactive immunity for phone companies is not justified. However, we do recommend a course of action that would both permit the carriers the opportunity to defend themselves in court and also protect classified information – by eliminating current legal barriers and authorizing relevant carriers to present fully in court their claims that they are immune from civil liability under current law, with appropriate protections to carefully safeguard classified information. In addition, we recommend legislation to fill a current gap in liability protection for carriers, and to create a bipartisan commission to thoroughly investigate the legality of the warrantless surveillance program.

I. Review of Materials by the House Judiciary Committee

In recent weeks, Judiciary Committee members have received classified briefings from intelligence and Justice Department officials on the Administration’s warrantless surveillance program; we have been provided access to the same classified documents on the program that were provided months ago to the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees (and, more recently, to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence); and the Committee has conducted lengthy and extensive classified hearings on February 28 and March 5 to hear testimony from telecom and Administration officials. A key focus of that effort was the issue of retroactive immunity for phone companies that participated in the warrantless surveillance program.

II. Findings and Determinations

We have concluded that the Administration has not established a valid and credible case justifying the extraordinary action of Congress enacting blanket retroactive immunity as set forth in the Senate bill. We have reached this conclusion as a result of a number of findings and determinations we made pursuant to our classified briefings, our review of relevant documents, and our classified hearings, as well as our review of publicly available information.

1. Variable Actions by Carriers

The case for blanket retroactive immunity would be stronger if the various carriers had taken consistent actions in response to requests from the Administration. That is not what we found. Without revealing any specific details, we found a variety of actions at various times with differing justifications in response to Administration requests. It is not our place to judge carriers’ actions, as we certainly understand the very sensitive and compelling factual context in which these actions took place. Instead, we believe that such determinations are far more properly within the purview of the courts under our system of government.

2. Variable Legal Rules

If there were one simple, straightforward legal rule that applied to the conduct in question, it could perhaps be argued that it is a straightforward matter for the legislature to assess the lawfulness of the conduct in question. Without revealing any specific details, that is not what we found. It appears that a variety of legal rules and regimes may apply to the conduct of the carriers. We would note that one carrier has publicly stated that there are “numerous defenses and immunities reflected in existing statutory and case law” for companies that cooperate with legally authorized government surveillance requests. We would again note that it is not our place to specify, on an after-the-fact basis, which legal rules apply to which facts. Instead, such analysis is typically the role of the courts, particularly in instances as complex as this.

3. Important Legal Determinations Remain Pending

One of the cornerstone principles of our system of government is that it is the proper role of the courts to resolve factual and legal disputes between parties. The granting of blanket retroactive legal immunity is inconsistent with that principle.

Further, as Members of the Judiciary Committee, we are frequently confronted with requests for private relief. One of the more important principles we apply in reviewing such matters is whether the party seeking relief from Congress has exhausted available legal remedies first. Numerous legal actions have been brought against carriers alleging significant invasions of privacy by their customers. In the lawsuit that has progressed the furthest, the carrier and the government have sought to dismiss the action based primarily on the state secrets privilege. Although the trial court has refused to grant this relief, it is public knowledge that the government and the carrier are appealing the decision. In our view, the fact that such remedies have not been fully exhausted militates against a Congressional grant of retroactive blanket immunity at this time.

4. No Credible Evidence of Irreparable Damage to Carriers

In our view, the arguments for blanket retroactive immunity – that a decision not to enact it will irreparably harm the relevant carriers and that it will endanger our national security – have not been substantiated, either in a public or a classified setting. Without revealing any specific details, the relevant carriers are significant companies that appear capable of dealing with the lawsuits and accusations brought against them. We have seen no indication that in the event these actions were allowed to proceed, either their reputations or their financial viability would be meaningfully impaired. As a matter of fact, it could just as easily be asserted that the carriers could be best served by clearing their names, or that their reputations would suffer greater harm as a result of a legislative enactment of blanket retroactive immunity.

5. No Credible Evidence of Significant Damage to Intelligence Gathering

Without revealing any specific details, we have not seen credible evidence that carriers would refuse to take needed action with respect to intelligence gathering in the future as a result of Congress’ decision not to enact blanket retroactive immunity. As good corporate citizens, we would expect no less. This is consistent with a recent report in The New York Times that a telecommunications lawyer stated that he had seen “little practical effect on the industry’s surveillance operations” since the Protect America Act expired earlier in February and that “most operations appear to have continued unabated.” Indeed as noted above, the carriers have many, many paths to avoid such liability, and in many respects, it is premature to consider whether to relieve them of liability, indemnify them, or take other action. We would also note that we have taken care in legislation that has passed already and in proposed future legislation to ensure that relevant carriers receive prospective legal immunity for taking specified actions in response to appropriate government requests.

III. Recommendations

While the information we have seen does not justify retroactive legal immunity, we do believe another option is available that would protect the legitimate interests of carriers in light of the legal framework that already exists. Under current law, carriers that cooperate with government surveillance activities are already entitled to immunity from lawsuit under many circumstances. For example, one statute provides that “no cause of action shall lie in any court” against a telecom company that provides the content of telecommunications to the federal government when the company has received a court order or “a certification in writing” by the Attorney General or a designee stating “that no warrant or court order is required by law, that all statutory requirements have been met, and that the specified assistance is required.”

However, based on both unclassified and classified information, we have concluded that carriers may be unable to demonstrate their claims to immunity in court under current law because of the state secrets doctrine and related constraints concerning classified information. This is despite our conclusion that the carriers believe these claims to be valid and that at least some may well be upheld by the courts. It is a matter of public record that the U.S. has intervened in pending civil lawsuits against carriers, claiming that they should be dismissed altogether under the state secrets doctrine so that no information relating to the warrantless surveillance program and telecom companies’ participation in it is presented to or revealed in court. That issue is currently pending on appeal. The government has publicly stated that the companies “can’t really defend themselves, because this is all classified, confidential information.” One carrier has publicly stated that when litigation “involves allegations of highly classified intelligence activities, private parties are disabled from making the factual showing necessary to demonstrate that the cases lack legal merit.”

Accordingly, we support a resolution that would, notwithstanding the state secrets doctrine, authorize relevant carriers to present fully in court their claims that they are immune from civil liability under current law, with appropriate security protections to carefully safeguard classified information. This solution would ensure that carriers can fully present their arguments that they are immune under current law, while also ensuring that Americans who believe their privacy rights were violated will have the issue considered by the courts based on the applicable facts and law, consistent with our traditional system of government and checks and balances.

Our review has also led us to support two other recommendations. First, there is arguably a gap in liability protections for carriers that complied with lawful surveillance requests covering the time period between the expiration of the Protect America Act and the future enactment of more lasting FISA reform legislation. As Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid have proposed, legislation to fill that gap is justified and important. This provision is not included in the Senate FISA bill, and shoul dbe included in any final legislative product.

In addition, our review of classified information has reinforced serious concerns about the potential illegality of the Administration’s actions in authorizing and carrying out its warrantless surveillance program. We, therefore, recommend the creation of a bipartisan commission to conduct hearings and take other evidence to fully examine that program. Like the 9/11 Commission, it would make findings and recommendations in both classified and unclassified reports and thus inform and educate the American people on this troubling subject.

Technorati Tags: John Conyers, FISA, Protect America Act, George Bush, FISA Amendments Act of 2008, telecom amnesty

Democratic Voters Presidential Preference

  This is actually a pretty close race judging by the numbers that Gallup has been putting out in their daily tracking poll. This is a three day rolling average and on March 11th, it was Clinton with 45% and Obama with 47%. 2% were voting for others and another 5% were unsure as to who they would be choosing.

   Since March 1, Obama has lost 3%  of the voters and Clinton has picked up 3%. It is still a tossup at this point in time as to who the voters prefer for the Democrat's nominee.

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democrat, 2008 elections, polls

Barack Obama: As President Of The United States? Part V: The Economy

  Moving right along, we next look at Senator Obama's plans to deal with the economy, which are pretty nifty if he can pull it off as the President. This post covers Obama's plan at a glance with more details to follow.

“I’m in this race to take those tax breaks away from companies that are moving jobs overseas and put them in the pockets of hard working Americans who deserve it. And I won’t raise the minimum wage every ten years – I will raise it to keep pace so that workers don’t’ fall behind. That is why I am in it. To protect the American
worker. To fight for the American worker.”
-- Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines, IA, November 10, 2007

BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN TO STRENGTHEN THE ECONOMY
AT A GLANCE
Taxes
Obama will cut income taxes by $1,000 for working families to offset the payroll tax they pay.
Trade
Obama believes that trade with foreign nations should strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs.  He will stand firm against agreements that undermine our economic security.
Technology
Obama will encourage the deployment of the most modern communications infrastructure to reduce the costs of health care, help solve our energy crisis, create new jobs, and fuel our economic growth.
Labor
Obama will strengthen the ability of workers to organize unions.  He will fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.  Obama will ensure that his labor appointees support workers’ rights and will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers.  Obama will also increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation to ensure it rises every year.
Home Ownership
Obama will crack down on fraudulent brokers and lenders.  He will also make sure home buyers have honest and complete information about their mortgage options, and he will give a tax credit to all middle-class homeowners.
Bankruptcy Reform
Obama will reform our bankruptcy laws to protect working people, ban executive bonuses for bankrupt companies, and require disclosure of all pension investments.
Credit Cards
Obama will establish a five-star rating system so that every consumer knows the risk involved in every credit card.  He also will establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to stop credit card companies from exploiting consumers with unfair practices.
Work-Family
Obama will double funding for after-school programs, expand the Family Medical Leave Act, provide low- income families with a refundable tax credit to help with their child-care expenses, and encourage flexible work schedules.

 THE PROBLEM
Wages are Stagnant as Prices Rise
While wages remain flat, the costs of basic necessities are increasing.  The cost of in-state college tuition has grown 35 percent over the past five years.  Health care costs have risen four times faster than wages over the past six years.  And the personal savings rate is now the lowest it’s been since the Great Depression.
Tax Cuts for Wealthy Instead of Middle Class
The Bush tax cuts give those who earn over $1 million dollars a tax cut nearly 160 times greater than that received by middle-income Americans.  At the same time, this administration has refused to tackle health care, education and housing in a manner that benefits the middle class.

BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN
Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief
Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families:  Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they need.  Obama will create a new “Making Work Pay” tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family.  The “Making Work Pay” tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans.
Simplify Tax Filings for Middle Class Americans:  Obama will dramatically simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes.  Obama will ensure that the IRS uses the information it already gets from banks and employers to give taxpayers the option of pre-filled tax forms to verify, sign and return.  Experts estimate that the Obama proposal will save Americans up to 200 million total hours of work and aggravation and up to $2 billion in tax preparer fees.
Trade
Fight for Fair Trade:  Obama will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs.  He will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world and stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement that fail to live up to those important benchmarks.  Obama will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements and stop countries from continuing unfair government subsidies to foreign exporters and
non-tariff barriers on U.S. exports.
Amend the North American Free Trade Agreement:  Obama believes that NAFTA and its potential were oversold to the American people.  Obama will work with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to fix NAFTA so that it works for American workers.
Improve Transition Assistance:  To help all workers adapt to a rapidly changing economy, Obama would update the existing system of Trade Adjustment Assistance by extending it to service industries, creating flexible education accounts to help workers retrain, and providing retraining assistance for workers in sectors
of the economy vulnerable to dislocation before they lose their jobs.

( to be continued )

Part IV: HEALTHCARE

Part III: ETHICS

Part II: ETHICS

Part 1

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, NAFTA, Bankruptcy Reform, wages

Philadelphia Housing Director Punished By The Republican Leaders?

  I've spent the last few days in court so I have gotten behind on the latest issues of the day. Time to play catchup, a little.

  WaPo

After Philadelphia's housing director refused a demand by President Bush's housing secretary to transfer a piece of city property to a business friend, two top political appointees at the department exchanged e-mails discussing the pain they could cause the Philadelphia director.

"Would you like me to make his life less happy? If so, how?" Orlando J. Cabrera, then-assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, wrote about Philadelphia housing director Carl R. Greene.

"Take away all of his Federal dollars?" responded Kim Kendrick, an assistant secretary who oversaw accessible housing. She typed symbols for a smiley-face, ":-D," at the end of her January 2007 note.

Cabrera wrote back a few minutes later: "Let me look into that possibility."

HUD has argued publicly that this decision was not related to the demands by HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson that Greene turn over a $2 million vacant city lot to Kenny Gamble, a friend of Jackson's. HUD officials have said that Greene was not punished for his defiance.

But Greene and the Philadelphia authority have accused HUD and Jackson in a lawsuit of fabricating problems in the authority's performance as a way to retaliate against Greene.

The e-mails suggest that HUD leadership sought to punish Greene by threatening the authority's funding. What is not explicitly said in the e-mails is why.

  This would be President Bush and his cronies attempting to screw over not just another individual who won't tow the party line, but the people who are living in the housing.  Just to see how fast Bush's boys went on the attack, there is this:

On the date these e-mails were sent, HUD notified the housing authority that it had been found in violation of rules requiring that 5 percent of housing be accessible to disabled residents. The department later argued that because the authority refused to acknowledge it was in violation and to agree to a specific remedy, it was in violation of a broader agreement that put $50 million in federal funding in jeopardy.

  The Republican criminals waste no time trying to discredit anyone who does not bow down to them when it comes to the President and his boys making a little extra cash. Cash is king with this group of hoods, and everyone else and anything else means nothing to them.

  Copies of the emails were sent to Senators Arlen Specter (R) and Robert Casey Jr. (D) of Pennsylvania, and they were both urged to have Jackson and his cohorts explain their reasoning.

Casey said that he has "serious questions" about the e-mails and that "80,00 low-income Philadelphians deserve answers."

"This is the kind of stuff you read about in novels, not what you expect from government officials," Greene said in an interview. "It would appear they would carry out a vendetta against me even if it means damage to an entire city."   Read More

  Can we begin impeachment actions against all of the Bush Crime Syndicate members yet?

Technorati Tags: HUD, Philadelphia, Kim Kendrick, Alphonso Jackson, Arlen Spector, George Bush

Barack Obama: As President Of The United States? Part IV: Healthcare

  In part four of Obama's plans as President, we look at his idea's with our healthcare situation.See all of his plans  HERE in downloaded PDF from his website.

BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN FOR A HEALTHY AMERICA
“We now face an opportunity – and an obligation – to turn the page on the failed politics of yesterday’s health care debates.... My plan begins by covering every American.  If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums.  That will be less.  If you are one of the 45 million Americans who don’t have health insurance, you will have it after this plan becomes law.  No one will be turned away because of a preexisting condition or illness.”
--Barack Obama, Speech in Iowa City, IA, May 29, 2007

Universal Coverage
Obama will sign a universal health care plan into law by the end of his first term in office.  His plan will provide affordable, quality health care coverage for every American.
Reduce Health Care Costs
Obama’s plan will bring down the cost of health care and reduce a typical family’s premiums by as much as $2,500 per year.

THE PROBLEM
Millions Of Americans are Uninsured or Underinsured because of Rising Medical Costs
47 million Americans – including nearly 9 million children – lack health insurance with no signs of this trend slowing down.
Health Care Costs are Skyrocketing
Health insurance premiums have risen four times faster than wages over the past six years.
Too Little is Spent on Prevention and Public Health
The nation faces epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases as well as new threats of pandemic flu and bio-terrorism.  Yet despite all of this less than 4 cents of every health care dollar is spent on prevention and public health.

BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN
Quality, Affordable and Portable Coverage for All
(1) Obama’s Plan to Cover Uninsured
Obama will make available a new national health plan so all Americans, including the self-employed and small businesses, can buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress.
The Obama Plan will have the Following Features:
•
Guaranteed Eligibility:  No American will be turned away FROM ANY INSURANCE PLAN because of illness or pre-existing conditions.
•
Comprehensive Benefits:  The benefit package will be similar to that offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the plan members of Congress have.  The plan will cover all essential medical services, including preventive, maternity and mental health care.
•  Affordable Premiums, Co-Pays and Deductibles.
•
Subsidies:   Individuals and families who do not qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP but still need financial assistance will receive an income-related federal subsidy to buy into the new public plan or purchase a private health care plan.
•  Simplified Paperwork and Reined in Health Costs.
•
Easy Enrollment:  The new public plan will be simple to enroll in and provide ready access to coverage.
•
Portability and Choice: Participants in the new public plan and the National Health Insurance Exchange will be able to move from job to job without changing or jeopardizing their health care coverage.
•
Quality and Efficiency:  Participating insurance companies in the new public program will be required to report data to ensure that standards for quality, health information technology and administration are being met.
(2) National Health Insurance Exchange:  The Obama plan will create a National Health Insurance Exchange to help individuals who wish to purchase a private insurance plan.  The Exchange will act as a
watchdog group and help reform the private insurance market by creating rules and standards for participating insurance plans to ensure fairness and to make individual coverage more affordable and accessible.  Insurers would have to issue every applicant a policy, and charge fair and stable premiums that will not depend on how healthy you are.  The Exchange will require that all the plans offered are at least as generous as the new public plan and have the same standards for quality and efficiency. The Exchange would evaluate plans and make the differences among the plans, including cost of services, public.
(3) Employer Contribution:  Employers that do not offer or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of the national plan.  Small employers that meet certain revenue thresholds will be exempt.
(4) Mandatory Coverage of Children:  Obama will require that all children have health care coverage. Obama will expand the number of options for young adults to get coverage, including allowing young people up to age 25 to continue coverage through their parents’ plans.
(5) Expansion Of Medicaid and SCHIP:  Obama will expand eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs and ensure that these programs continue to serve as a critical safety net.
(6) Flexibility for State Plans:  Due to federal inaction, some states have taken the lead in health care reform.  The Obama plan builds on these efforts and does not replace what states are doing.  States can
continue to experiment, provided they meet the minimum standards of the national plan.

HEALTH CARE
 Lower Costs by Modernizing the U.S. Health Care System
(1) Reducing Costs of Catastrophic Illnesses for Employers and Their Employees. Catastrophic health expenditures account for a high percentage of medical expenses for private insurers. The Obama plan
would reimburse employer health plans for a portion of the catastrophic costs they incur above a threshold if they guarantee such savings are used to reduce the cost of workers’ premiums.
(2) Lowering Costs by Ensuring Patients Receive and Providers Deliver Quality Care:
Helping Patients.
Support Disease Management Programs:  Seventy five percent of total health care dollars are spent on patients with one or more chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood
pressure.  Obama will require that providers that participate in the new public plan, Medicare or the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) utilize proven disease management programs.
This will improve quality of care, give doctors better information and lower costs.
Coordinate and Integrate Care:  Over 133 million Americans have at least one chronic disease and these chronic conditions cost a staggering $1.7 trillion yearly.  Obama will improve coordination and
integration of care of those with chronic conditions by making sure programs are fully implemented and encouraging team care.
Require Full Transparency about Quality and Costs:  Obama will require hospitals and providers to collect and publicly report measures of health care costs and quality, including data on preventable medical errors, nurse staffing ratios, hospital-acquired infections, and disparities in care.  Health plans will also be required to disclose the percentage of premiums that go to patient care as opposed to administrative costs.
Ensuring Providers Deliver Quality Care:
Promote Patient Safety.  Obama will require providers to report preventable medical errors and support hospital and physician practice improvement to prevent future occurrences.
Align Incentives for Excellence:  Both public and private insurers tend to pay providers based on the volume of ser vices provided, rather than the quality or effectiveness of care.  Providers who see patients enrolled in the new public plan, the National Health Insurance Exchange, Medicare and FEHBP will be rewarded based on how effectively they treat patients.
Comparative Effectiveness Research:  Obama will establish an independent institute to guide reviews and research on comparative effectiveness, so that Americans and their doctors will have the ac-
curate and objective information they need to make the best decisions for their health and well-being.
Tackle Disparities in Health Care:  Obama will tackle the root causes of health disparities by addressing differences in access to health coverage and promoting prevention and public health, both of
which play a major role in addressing disparities.  He will also challenge the medical system to eliminate inequities in health care through quality measurement and reporting, implementation of effective interventions such as patient navigation programs, and making the health workforce more diverse.
Reform Medical Malpractice:  Obama will strengthen antitrust laws to prevent insurers from overcharging physicians for their malpractice insurance and will promote new models for addressing errors that improve patient safety, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship and reduce the need for malpractice suits.
(3) Lowering Costs Through Investment in Electronic Health Information Technology Systems:
Most medical records are still stored on paper, which makes it hard to coordinate care, measure quality or reduce medical errors and which costs twice as much as electronic claims.  Obama will invest $10 billion a year over the next five years to move the U.S. health care system to broad adoption of standards-based electronic health information systems, including electronic health records, and will phase in requirements  for full implementation of health IT.  Obama will ensure that patients’ privacy is protected.
(4) Lowering Costs by Increasing Competition in the Insurance and Drug Markets:
Increase Competition:  The insurance business today is dominated by a small group of large companies that has been gobbling up their rivals.  There have been over 400 health care mergers in the last
10 years, and just two companies dominate a full third of the national market.  These changes were supposed to make the industry more efficient, but instead premiums have skyrocketed by over 87 percent. Barack Obama will prevent companies from abusing their monopoly power through unjustified price increases.  His plan will force insurers to pay out a reasonable share of their premiums for patient care instead of keeping exorbitant amounts for profits and administration.  His new National Health Exchange will help increase competition by insurers.
Lower Prescription Drug Costs: The second-fastest growing type of health expenses is prescription drugs.  Pharmaceutical companies are selling the exact same drugs in Europe and Canada but charging Americans more than double the price.  Obama will allow Americans to buy their medicines from other developed countries if the drugs are safe and prices are lower outside the U.S.  Obama will also repeal the ban that prevents the government from negotiating with drug companies, which could result in savings as high as $30 billion.  Finally, Obama will work to increase the use of generic drugs in
Medicare, Medicaid, and FEHBP and prohibit big name drug companies from keeping generics out of markets.
OBAMA’S RECORD
In 2003, Barack Obama sponsored and passed legislation that expanded health care Health Insurance coverage to 70,000 kids and 84,000 adults.  In the U.S. Senate, Obama cosponsored the Healthy Kids Act of 2007 and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007 to ensure that more American children have affordable health care coverage.
Women’s Health:
Obama worked to pass a number of laws in Illinois and Washington to improve the health of women.  His accomplishments include creating a task force on cervical cancer, providing greater access to breast and cervical cancer screenings, and helping improve prenatal and premature birth ser vices.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Read the Speech:
http://www.barackobama.com/2007/05/29/cutting_costs_and_covering_ame.php

Part III: ETHICS

Part II: ETHICS

Part 1

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, healthcare, 2008, elections

800 Pound Man's Date Ruined By Mishap

  This is a funny story but at the same time it isn't so funny.

  Manuel Uribe was ready to celebrate his having lost 440 pounds, bringing him down to 800 pounds, over the last 2 years. He also had a date with his girlfriend to celebrate the weight loss, but, this was not to be.

Washington Times

Uribe was halfway to a picnic near his Monterrey-area home on Sunday when one of the posts holding a sun-shielding tarp over his bed hit an overpass.

Uribe's blood pressure dropped so much his doctors advised him not to go on and the celebration - being documented by about two dozen photographers and reporters from around the world - was canceled.

"We were going to celebrate that I've been losing weight for two years and that it was my girlfriend's birthday," Uribe said in a telephone interview. "The saddest part was that I couldn't fulfill my dream of taking my girlfriend out to eat."

Uribe says that after losing weight on a high-protein diet he started two years ago, he's down to about 800 pounds.  

  To lose 440 pounds in 2 years is a major feat in itself. To lose that weight while living in Mexico is an act of God! Trust me on this, they do know how to eat very well south of the border. Congrats to you Manuel.

Technorati Tags: Manuel Uribe, Mexico, weight loss

Exhaustive review finds no link between Saddam and al Qaida

By Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — An exhaustive review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents that were captured after the 2003 U.S. invasion has found no evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime had any operational links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaida terrorist network.

The Pentagon-sponsored study, scheduled for release later this week, did confirm that Saddam's regime provided some support to other terrorist groups, particularly in the Middle East, U.S. officials told McClatchy. However, his security services were directed primarily against Iraqi exiles, Shiite Muslims, Kurds and others he considered enemies of his regime.

The new study of the Iraqi regime's archives found no documents indicating a "direct operational link" between Hussein's Iraq and al Qaida before the invasion, according to a U.S. official familiar with the report.    Read More

    So now I guess that since the Pentagon has come out with this news, that what everyone else on the planet already knew is now official, George Bush and this administration are nothing but flat out liars. I am shocked!

Technorati Tags: Pentagon, al Qaida Saddam Hussein, George Bush, Iraq

Barack Obama: What Would He Do As President Of The United States? Part III

Senator Obama's plans as the President of the United States.  See all of his ideas  HERE in downloaded PDF from his website.

ETHICS

BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN

Bring Americans Back into their Government
Hold 21st Century Fireside Chats:  Obama will bring democracy and policy directly to the people by requiring his Cabinet officials to have periodic national broadband townhall meetings to discuss issues before their agencies.
Make White House Communications Public:  Obama will amend executive orders to ensure that communications about regulatory policymaking between persons outside government and all White House staff are disclosed to the public.
Conduct Regulatory Agency Business in Public:  Obama will require his appointees who lead the executive branch departments and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant business of the agency in public, so that any citizen can watch these debates in person or on the Internet.
Release Presidential Records:  Obama will nullify the Bush attempts to make the timely release of presidential records more difficult.

 Free the Executive Branch from Special Interest Influence
Close the Revolving Door on Former and Future Employers:  No political appointees in an Obama administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to
their prior employer for two years.  And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.
Free Career Officials from the Influence of Politics:  Obama will issue an executive order asking all new hires at the agencies to sign a form affirming that no political appointee offered them the job solely on the basis of political affiliation or contribution.
Reform the Political Appointee Process:  FEMA Director Michael Brown was not qualified to head the agency, and the result was a disaster for the people of the Gulf Coast.  But in an Obama administration, every official will have to rise to the standard of proven excellence in the agency’s mission.

  Next up we will look at his ideas on healthcare.

Previously: Part 1, Part II

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, 2008, election, ethics