In my previous article, “Vote John McCain in 2008 (if you think George Bush deserves a third term),” I wrote about how closely his policies are aligned with those of our current imperial president.. It wasn’t always so. In fact, one of the tidbits never reported in the mainstream media (of course) was how John McCain was so upset with the 2000 election and the way the Bush campaign was run that he actually considered leaving the Republican Party and becoming an Independent. While he denies it, there is ample evidence that there were discussions between he and Tom Daschle, as well as several other prominent Democrats. But that was then and this is now.
This could be John McCain’s last chance to become president. If he is elected, he will be the oldest elected president at the age of 71. It is unlikely (never say never in politics) that he’ll mount this kind of effort at the age of 76. While the mainstream media preoccupied themselves promoting McCain as the straight-talk express in the years following Bush’s re-election, he began his transformation to a candidate that would be more acceptable to the GOP base, one of the most influential being evangelical Christians. Read the rest of this entry »
In my previous article, “Vote John McCain in 2008 (if you think George Bush deserves a third term),” I wrote about how closely his policies are aligned with those of our current imperial president.. It wasn’t always so. In fact, one of the tidbits never reported in the mainstream media (of course) was how John McCain was so upset with the 2000 election and the way the Bush campaign was run that he actually considered leaving the Republican Party and becoming an Independent. While he denies it, there is ample evidence that there were discussions between he and Tom Daschle, as well as several other prominent Democrats. But that was then and this is now.
This could be John McCain’s last chance to become president. If he is elected, he will be the oldest elected president at the age of 71. It is unlikely (never say never in politics) that he’ll mount this kind of effort at the age of 76. While the mainstream media preoccupied themselves promoting McCain as the straight-talk express in the years following Bush’s re-election, he began his transformation to a candidate that would be more acceptable to the GOP base, one of the most influential being evangelical Christians. Read the rest of this entry »
Maybe my reasoning is flawed. But why would Americans want to give a third term to the most unpopular administration in American history? While many Americans still envision John McCain as the straight talking, special interest-disdaining maverick candidate of the 2000 election season, the fact is that he’s never really been any of those things. To make it worse, he’s even changed his position on the issue of waterboarding. Why? Now 71 and perhaps sensing his “running” days are coming to an end, he is John McCain, candidate for President of the United States and it isnow or never. Be afraid. Be very afraid. A vote for John McCain is a vote for George W. Bush and a McCain win is akin to giving our current imperial president an undeserved third term.
Marching in step with the Bush war doctrine
Mr. Bush recently stated that the GOP will prevail in the 2008 election so that we can continue what he no doubt feels is the good fight in Iraq. If this is the case, then Bush’s worldwide aggression is in good hands. John McCain is a full-fledged “hawk” and a staunch supporter of President Bush’s war effort. Not only is he on record stating that the surge is “working,” but McCain also believes that the Iraq war is winnable and that winning is essential. Citing our long-term occupation of Korea, Mr. McCain has no problem at all seeing U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq for many years to come. He has acknowledged, however, that he must convince the American people that the war is noble and worthwhile during the campaign’s stretch run. Another notable point is that McCain is in lockstep with George Bush on Iran. There is no question he’d use military force against Iran if he deemed it necessary. This is a dangerous equation, given the milquetoast character of Congress. Would they stand up to John McCain or roll over and play dead as they have for George W. Bush? Read the rest of this entry »
Today Arizona Sen. John McCain will deliver what his handlers are hyping as a major address on health care. McCain’s plan is a dangerous fraud.
He wants voters to think he is going after health care cost inflation. In reality, he wants to dismantle the employer-provided system that now covers over 60 percent (or about 158 million) of non-elderly Americans, forcing millions of us who now get fairly decent health insurance on the job to instead buy whatever they can find on the individual market controlled by unregulated and predatory insurance companies. And he would drive health care costs upward, not downward.
This is truly amazing: McCain and his handlers knew they had to say something about health care. So they turned to their friends (and financial supporters) in the health care industry and the conservative think tanks. And they have adopted the most extreme right-wing ideological approach, premised on the idea that the big problem in health care is that Americans have too much insurance – in their words, we don’t have enough “skin in the game” – and that only when we have to buy health care with money that comes directly out of our own pockets will consumers force doctors, hospitals and insurance companies to become more efficient. Read the rest of this entry »
In his first public comments about the Iraq war since stepping down as the No. 2 official at the Pentagon, Paul Wolfowitz decided to open with a variant of the classic “mistakes were made” Washington mea culpa. Except that, in this case, it wasn’t so much that mistakes were made, as “we were clueless.” Eli Lake reports for the New York Sun:
“There were two issues about enough troops,” Mr. Wolfowitz, who served as deputy defense secretary between 2001 and 2005, said yesterday. “One was enough troops for the major combat. A lot of people said we didn’t have it, and obviously we did. There was a very difficult balance that had to be struck between surprise, which meant a smaller force, and enough troops or a lot of troops, which meant a much slower force and potential of many disastrous consequences.” Read the rest of this entry »
By Dana Milbank
Wednesday, April 30, 2008; Page A03
The Washington Post
The incredible shrinking presidency of George Walker Bush hit a new milestone yesterday: The commander in chief turned to sorcery.
“You know, if there was a magic wand to wave, I’d be waving it,” Bush informed Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times in a Rose Garden news conference. She had asked him about the recession, which everybody seems to be acknowledging but Bush.
Further, the wizard of the West Wing said he would use his supernatural powers, if he had them, to conjure up lower gas prices. “I think that if there was a magic wand and say, ‘Okay, drop price,’ I’d do that,” said the illusionist. Read the rest of this entry »
Thirty-seven million Americans live below the official poverty line. Millions more struggle each month to pay for basic necessities, or run out of savings when they lose their jobs or face health emergencies. Poverty imposes enormous costs on society. The lost potential of children raised in poor households, the lower productivity and earnings of poor adults, the poor health, increased crime, and broken neighborhoods all hurt our nation. Persistent childhood poverty is estimated to cost our nation $500 billion each year, or about four percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. In a world of increasing global competition, we cannot afford to squander these human resources.
The Center for American Progress last year convened a diverse group of national experts and leaders to examine the causes and consequences of poverty in America and make recommendations for national action. In this report, our Task Force on Poverty calls for a national goal of cutting poverty in half in the next 10 years and proposes a strategy to reach the goal.
Our nation has seen periods of dramatic poverty reduction at times when near-full employment was combined with sound federal and state policies, motivated individual initiative, supportive civic involvement, and sustained national commitment. In the last six years, however, our nation has moved in the opposite direction. The number of poor Americans has grown by five million, while inequality has reached historic high levels. Read the rest of this entry »
U.S. economic growth estimates released today for the first quarter of 2008 show that all parts of our economy experienced slower growth compared to the previous quarter, even exports, which is especially troubling given the overall weak performance of all other sectors.
The Department of Commerce?s Bureau of Economic Analysis?s advance estimates for economic growth in the first quarter reported an anemic annualized growth rate of 0.6 percent?the very same low growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2007. Consumption, investment, government spending, and trade all put in performances that were weaker than they had been in years. Read the rest of this entry »
President Bush today blamed Congress for many of the nation’s economic woes, charging that lawmakers have blocked his proposals for dealing with problems ranging from soaring gasoline prices to the increasing cost of food.
In a news conference at the White House, Bush declined to characterize the economic troubles as a recession, saying he would not get into a debate about “words” and would let economists decide the terminology. He also was noncommittal on a proposal — backed by two presidential candidates — to suspend federal taxes on fuel in order to provide some relief to motorists and truckers struggling with prices that have reached a nationwide average of $3.60 a gallon for gasoline and $4.24 a gallon for diesel.
On foreign policy issues, Bush insisted that “we’re making progress” against a “very resilient enemy” in Afghanistan, said he was “perplexed” by the House’s decision to block a free trade agreement with Colombia and expressed confidence that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would succeed him as president and carry on his global war on terrorism. Read the rest of this entry »
When ABC completely botched their recent Democratic primary debate, I wrote a post asking readers to play moderator and come up with substantive questions that Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos should’ve asked.
We had an overwhelming response of over 300 questions!
Readers wrote in and e-mailed me asking about the issues that matter to them most, covering everything from universal healthcare to the recession to the Iraq War to trade with China.
Continue reading to see some of the astute, insightful questions that we received, as well as the winner of our ABC question contest:
George Bush has been spending the last 7 years breaking laws and shredding the same Consitution that he swore to protect and uphold. What’s most important to me is that this is to be prevented in the future, so that no president can just waltz into office and cancel all our civil liberties at whim. What will you do to prevent this from happening again? (inthenitemare)
Why are we not saying or doing more for the people in Darfur? (cedric dalton)
Will you end government contracts to Blackwater and will you hold them accountable for crimes they may have committed? (JackyD)
How would you change the prevailing attitude that military might should be our primary financial expenditure, and how would you change the history of the USA becoming involved in war after war? (mama7)
Given the fact that the country is now running a deficit, how will you reduce the deficit and at the same time reduce personal income taxes? (doc1400)
As President, what specific actions would you take to change the very negative world opinion of the United States? And, as follow up to this question, how would you propose changing the hearts and minds of those hostile to us in the Middle East? (GreatFutureForAll)
On the subject of health care, will their programs force the inclusion of acupuncture, biofeedback and other non-drug & non-surgical alternatives? If we just force everyone toward drugs and surgeries, then our health care cost will simply get more expensive. (Javalation)
Is either candidate going to overturn Bush’s executive order that grants unmonitored money to churches to do social work? This is money that was stripped from my county’s mental heath services, leaving hundreds of people in the cold without their meds, doctors and counselors. The building became a ghost town while the money was turned over to Christian churches. So, rather than getting medical treatment they were supposed to get Jesus. It was a disaster in my community. (GoodWithWood)
And the winning question we received:
President Bush recently admitted to this network that he approved the Principals’ Meetings where several of his lieutenants discussed and authorized the use of torture on detainees. If you are elected president, will you appoint a special prosecutor to investigate, and if necessary, prosecute President Bush and his subordinates for the use of torture? Will you encourage Congress to continue its investigations into the US Attorney firings and the missing White House e-mails? (Eli)
Though we had a lot of excellent questions, we liked Eli’s most because it dealt with the Bush administration’s authorization of torture, an issue that hasn’t been brought up by the mainstream press (except by Helen Thomas) since the story first broke, amazingly enough, on ABC. Eli will get a Brave New Films t-shirt for his winning question.
Even after The New York Times exposed a secret Pentagon campaignto infiltrate the media with pro-war propaganda, FOX News continues to pretend that pundits like Robert H. Scales and Thomas McInerney are both objective and reliable experts. This is disgraceful, and it’s largely due to the fact that the mainstream press hasn’t followed up on the NY Times piece.
The scheme reaches all the way to the Bush White House, where top officials recruited dozens of “military analysts” to spread favorable views of the war via the news. Many of these propaganda pundits didn’t reveal that they were working from Pentagon scripts or lobbying for companies seeking to cash in on major military contracts. This is a violation of every conceivable standard of journalism — and possibly of federal law.
Send a letter to Congress and demand better media.
The Energy Research We Could Do with the Money Spent on Iraq
April 29, 2008
According to the Congressional Research Service, the federal government has so far given approximately $600 billion dollars toward operations in Iraq.
What if that money was spent on research into energy efficiency and renewable energy instead of a failed strategy in Iraq?
Renewable Energy Research and Development
$225 million: Amount of money allocated to biofuel research and development in the president’s fiscal year 2009 budget. $156 million: Amount of money allocated to solar energy research and development in the president’s fiscal year 2009 budget. $53 million: Amount of money allocated to wind energy research and development in the president’s fiscal year 2009 budget. $30 million: Amount of money allocated to geothermal energy research and development in the president’s fiscal year 2009 budget.
1293 years: The number of years that all four of these research and development programs could be funded at those levels with the money spent so far on operations in Iraq.
The Environmental Protection Agency
$7.1 billion: Total amount allocated to the Environmental Protection Agency in the president’s fiscal year 2009 budget.
84.5 years: The number of years that the EPA could be funded at this level with the money spent so far on operations in Iraq.
Climate Protection
$939 million: The amount allocated for the EPA to spend on clean air and climate change programs in the presiden’t 2009 budget.
$98.3 million: The amount allocated for the EPA to spend on climate protection programs in the presiden’t 2009 budget.
578.4times: Numer of times over these budgets could be funded with the money spent so far on operations in Iraq.
