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December 29, 2005
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Tuesday's Links
Activism
You know, all of our work campaigning and volunteering to get people like Rick Santorum out of office will be all for naught if we don't ensure that each vote is being counted accurately. To that end, VerifiedVoting.org has set up a website where you, John Q. Taxpayer, can get involved in ensuring voter safeguards across the country. Don't underestimate the importance of this cause, and help ensure that every vote counts. We're still not convinced that Bush won in 2004 legitimately, and don't even get us started on 2000.
News
Custer's Last Stand. Remember Custer Battles, the contractor in Iraq that saw four members retire due to the unprovoked violence they saw by their coworkers? Well, it turns out that Custer Battles (CB) is not only being investigated for those incidents, but a whistleblower has stepped forth and released more documents. These show that CB invoiced the government at higher rates than what is legally allowed, and far higher than actual costs. For example, CB invoiced the Coalition Provisional Authority for $432,000 for a food order in Mosul. The food order cost CB $33,000. The overall numbers don't help either. Total cost of work for CB: $4 million. Total amount invoiced by CB to the Coalition: $10 million. Getting caught stealing like a common thief and betraying the trust your country has placed in you: priceless.
The Army You Have. You may recall Rumsfeld's faux pas in front of the troops earlier this year, where, when asked why so many soldiers were without body armor, he told them that they had to go to war with the army they had, and not the army they wished they had, and that their inadequate equipment was "a matter of physics". Turns out that the army that they had didn't know what equipment the soldiers were in possession of, and decided that the non-front line soldiers didn't need heavier equipment. Hence the lack of body armor. Oh, it goes on after that, but that's how it started. We would have thought Rumsfeld, being the Secretary of Defense, would have known what's actually going on with his troops, but we guess we would be asking too much for that.
GOPers at Odds! We've talked a lot about how Bush is the first wartime president who would not raise taxes, and why that's such a bad idea. As anyone with a newspaper can tell you, this country is sinking deeper and deeper into debt. Now, Bush may be forced to consider raising taxes to offset Social Security, and the people driving that charge are...Republicans? As the national debt is now over $7 trillion, the concern over where the nation's money is coming from, and where it is being spent continues to grow.
Editorials
Deadly Ignorance. Usually when we talk about the Bush Administration ignoring science, it's in regards to something like global warming. In some cases, such as its steadfast support of abstinence-only education programs, in spite of the evidence that it seems to increase the teen pregnancy rate, there's an obvious "head-in-the-sand" motivation. We'll reiterate that neither are justifiable. But if those cases make you angry, well, make sure to take your blood pressure medication before reading this editorial. Not only is the White House refusing to support programs that distribute uncontaminated needles to drug addicts, but it's hand-picking the science it uses to justify its decision. And even then, some of the studies they cite actually are in favor of such needle-exchange programs. Furthermore, they're pushing the U.N. to adopt our countries completely untenable position. Can anyone else justify this? There's no religious dogma to overcome here. It's not going to cost a lot of money. But it just might help save some lives. I guess we're not in the life-saving business.
Harry Reid, Truthteller. We know, we know - it's kind of shocking to find someone to call a "truthteller" in D.C. But there you go - Harry Reid is unfortunately being attacked for having the guts to tell the truth about Alan Greenspan and call him a "political hack". And surely enough, Democrats are starting to backtrack precisely when they should be turning up the heat. For a little more detail on how Greenspan really has devolved into little more than a shill for Bush's destructive policies, check out Ronald Brownstein's L.A. Times editorial.
Crime of Crimes. The Washington Post asks the poignant question, "Does it have to be genocide for the U.S. to act?" Since the U.N. determined that there is no genocide in Darfur, Sudan, does that mean that there's no need to stop the Janjaweed militias from killing thousands upon thousands of people? David Bosco looks at "the crime of crimes" of genocide, and why nothing is happening. He even suggests small measures that the U.S. could take, without sending in a combat force, that would help improve the situation. Yet we're sure his plea will fall on deaf ears, and perhaps that's the highest crime of all.
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December 29, 2005
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Tuesday's Links
Activism
You know, all of our work campaigning and volunteering to get people like Rick Santorum out of office will be all for naught if we don't ensure that each vote is being counted accurately. To that end, VerifiedVoting.org has set up a website where you, John Q. Taxpayer, can get involved in ensuring voter safeguards across the country. Don't underestimate the importance of this cause, and help ensure that every vote counts. We're still not convinced that Bush won in 2004 legitimately, and don't even get us started on 2000.
News
Custer's Last Stand. Remember Custer Battles, the contractor in Iraq that saw four members retire due to the unprovoked violence they saw by their coworkers? Well, it turns out that Custer Battles (CB) is not only being investigated for those incidents, but a whistleblower has stepped forth and released more documents. These show that CB invoiced the government at higher rates than what is legally allowed, and far higher than actual costs. For example, CB invoiced the Coalition Provisional Authority for $432,000 for a food order in Mosul. The food order cost CB $33,000. The overall numbers don't help either. Total cost of work for CB: $4 million. Total amount invoiced by CB to the Coalition: $10 million. Getting caught stealing like a common thief and betraying the trust your country has placed in you: priceless.
The Army You Have. You may recall Rumsfeld's faux pas in front of the troops earlier this year, where, when asked why so many soldiers were without body armor, he told them that they had to go to war with the army they had, and not the army they wished they had, and that their inadequate equipment was "a matter of physics". Turns out that the army that they had didn't know what equipment the soldiers were in possession of, and decided that the non-front line soldiers didn't need heavier equipment. Hence the lack of body armor. Oh, it goes on after that, but that's how it started. We would have thought Rumsfeld, being the Secretary of Defense, would have known what's actually going on with his troops, but we guess we would be asking too much for that.
GOPers at Odds! We've talked a lot about how Bush is the first wartime president who would not raise taxes, and why that's such a bad idea. As anyone with a newspaper can tell you, this country is sinking deeper and deeper into debt. Now, Bush may be forced to consider raising taxes to offset Social Security, and the people driving that charge are...Republicans? As the national debt is now over $7 trillion, the concern over where the nation's money is coming from, and where it is being spent continues to grow.
Editorials
Deadly Ignorance. Usually when we talk about the Bush Administration ignoring science, it's in regards to something like global warming. In some cases, such as its steadfast support of abstinence-only education programs, in spite of the evidence that it seems to increase the teen pregnancy rate, there's an obvious "head-in-the-sand" motivation. We'll reiterate that neither are justifiable. But if those cases make you angry, well, make sure to take your blood pressure medication before reading this editorial. Not only is the White House refusing to support programs that distribute uncontaminated needles to drug addicts, but it's hand-picking the science it uses to justify its decision. And even then, some of the studies they cite actually are in favor of such needle-exchange programs. Furthermore, they're pushing the U.N. to adopt our countries completely untenable position. Can anyone else justify this? There's no religious dogma to overcome here. It's not going to cost a lot of money. But it just might help save some lives. I guess we're not in the life-saving business.
Harry Reid, Truthteller. We know, we know - it's kind of shocking to find someone to call a "truthteller" in D.C. But there you go - Harry Reid is unfortunately being attacked for having the guts to tell the truth about Alan Greenspan and call him a "political hack". And surely enough, Democrats are starting to backtrack precisely when they should be turning up the heat. For a little more detail on how Greenspan really has devolved into little more than a shill for Bush's destructive policies, check out Ronald Brownstein's L.A. Times editorial.
Crime of Crimes. The Washington Post asks the poignant question, "Does it have to be genocide for the U.S. to act?" Since the U.N. determined that there is no genocide in Darfur, Sudan, does that mean that there's no need to stop the Janjaweed militias from killing thousands upon thousands of people? David Bosco looks at "the crime of crimes" of genocide, and why nothing is happening. He even suggests small measures that the U.S. could take, without sending in a combat force, that would help improve the situation. Yet we're sure his plea will fall on deaf ears, and perhaps that's the highest crime of all.
|
December 29, 2005
You know, all of our work campaigning and volunteering to get people like Rick Santorum out of office will be all for naught if we don't ensure that each vote is being counted accurately. To that end, VerifiedVoting.org has set up a website where you, John Q. Taxpayer, can get involved in ensuring voter safeguards across the country. Don't underestimate the importance of this cause, and help ensure that every vote counts. We're still not convinced that Bush won in 2004 legitimately, and don't even get us started on 2000.
News
Custer's Last Stand. Remember Custer Battles, the contractor in Iraq that saw four members retire due to the unprovoked violence they saw by their coworkers? Well, it turns out that Custer Battles (CB) is not only being investigated for those incidents, but a whistleblower has stepped forth and released more documents. These show that CB invoiced the government at higher rates than what is legally allowed, and far higher than actual costs. For example, CB invoiced the Coalition Provisional Authority for $432,000 for a food order in Mosul. The food order cost CB $33,000. The overall numbers don't help either. Total cost of work for CB: $4 million. Total amount invoiced by CB to the Coalition: $10 million. Getting caught stealing like a common thief and betraying the trust your country has placed in you: priceless.
The Army You Have. You may recall Rumsfeld's faux pas in front of the troops earlier this year, where, when asked why so many soldiers were without body armor, he told them that they had to go to war with the army they had, and not the army they wished they had, and that their inadequate equipment was "a matter of physics". Turns out that the army that they had didn't know what equipment the soldiers were in possession of, and decided that the non-front line soldiers didn't need heavier equipment. Hence the lack of body armor. Oh, it goes on after that, but that's how it started. We would have thought Rumsfeld, being the Secretary of Defense, would have known what's actually going on with his troops, but we guess we would be asking too much for that.
GOPers at Odds! We've talked a lot about how Bush is the first wartime president who would not raise taxes, and why that's such a bad idea. As anyone with a newspaper can tell you, this country is sinking deeper and deeper into debt. Now, Bush may be forced to consider raising taxes to offset Social Security, and the people driving that charge are...Republicans? As the national debt is now over $7 trillion, the concern over where the nation's money is coming from, and where it is being spent continues to grow.
Editorials
Deadly Ignorance. Usually when we talk about the Bush Administration ignoring science, it's in regards to something like global warming. In some cases, such as its steadfast support of abstinence-only education programs, in spite of the evidence that it seems to increase the teen pregnancy rate, there's an obvious "head-in-the-sand" motivation. We'll reiterate that neither are justifiable. But if those cases make you angry, well, make sure to take your blood pressure medication before reading this editorial. Not only is the White House refusing to support programs that distribute uncontaminated needles to drug addicts, but it's hand-picking the science it uses to justify its decision. And even then, some of the studies they cite actually are in favor of such needle-exchange programs. Furthermore, they're pushing the U.N. to adopt our countries completely untenable position. Can anyone else justify this? There's no religious dogma to overcome here. It's not going to cost a lot of money. But it just might help save some lives. I guess we're not in the life-saving business.
Harry Reid, Truthteller. We know, we know - it's kind of shocking to find someone to call a "truthteller" in D.C. But there you go - Harry Reid is unfortunately being attacked for having the guts to tell the truth about Alan Greenspan and call him a "political hack". And surely enough, Democrats are starting to backtrack precisely when they should be turning up the heat. For a little more detail on how Greenspan really has devolved into little more than a shill for Bush's destructive policies, check out Ronald Brownstein's L.A. Times editorial.
Crime of Crimes. The Washington Post asks the poignant question, "Does it have to be genocide for the U.S. to act?" Since the U.N. determined that there is no genocide in Darfur, Sudan, does that mean that there's no need to stop the Janjaweed militias from killing thousands upon thousands of people? David Bosco looks at "the crime of crimes" of genocide, and why nothing is happening. He even suggests small measures that the U.S. could take, without sending in a combat force, that would help improve the situation. Yet we're sure his plea will fall on deaf ears, and perhaps that's the highest crime of all.
