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December 29, 2005
Monday, November 21, 2005
Monday's Links
Activism
Help Stop the Reverse Robin Hood Budget: Take a Photo. It's a wonder that Congress can look us in the eye and with a stright face actually claim that the budget they propose is what's best for the American people. The fact is, it's not. The most recent budget atrocity may have been defeated last week, but you can be sure there will be something almost as abhorrent coming along soon. Unfortunately, the fact is that most Congresspeople never really do have to look their constituents in the face and justify their votes. But maybe, just maybe, if we look them in the eye and tell them what our priorities are, they'll get the message. Hop on over to the link above and help out with MoveOn's campaign to send Congress a host of pictures that depict concerned citizens looking right at the camera and explaining their priorities. It may seem crazy, but months ago, we never would have thought enough Republicans would turn and vote down the most recent budget proposal. So, be a little creative and add your picture!
News
Corruption Inquiry Threatens to Ensnare Lawmakers. No word defines Jack Abramoff more than "chutzpah". He's been indicted, and while we've only gleaned bits and pieces of the extent of his lobbying activities, what we've seen so far is enough to turn out stomachs. Look, politicians beholden to interest groups and rich lobbyists are really nothing new. But Abramoff took lobbying to a whole new level, essentially outrightly buying politicians. He's essentially being charged with "being part of a broad conspiracy to provide 'things of value, including money, meals, trips and entertainment to federal public officials in return for agreements to perform official acts' - an attempt at bribery, in other words, or something close to it." But it takes two to tango, and what that means is all of the politicians who provided their "services" to Abramoff should be quaking in their boots. We've already seen White House budget official David Safavian arrested "on charges of lying to investigators about his business ties to Mr. Abramoff, a former lobbying partner." We've heard about Tom DeLay's close ties to Abramoff, and rumors of the president of Gabon paying for a meeting with Bush. Who knows how far the corruption goes? One Congressional specialist quoted in the article says "I think this has the potential to be the biggest scandal in Congress in over a century."
A Rebuilding Plan Full of Cracks. Is there anything that this administration has touched that hasn't had the anti-Midas effect? In 2002, Bush launched a $73 million dollar development program for Afghanistan. The goal was to create or restore 1,000 schools and clinics by the end of 2004. How many have been completed? By the end of 2004, 100 (mostly all refurbishments), and an additional 40 since then. Let's see...1,000 buildings, 140 completed...that's 14%. 14%! The conditions in Afghanistan are so horrendous, what with the infrastructure being destroyed, that life expectancy is now only 43 years. So, does the fault lie with the administration, for creating a faulty "plan," or with USAID and the Louis Berger Group, who failed to get the job done? Well, to hear USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios tell it, the goal was really to build 533 buildings by the end of 2004, and that they had really completed far more than the 140 listed above. But even if this is true, the conditions in Afghanistan are still atrocious. USAID can't be proud of the job they've done while locked buildings still sit empty in the cities, and babies are dying at a rate of 1 out of every 4.
Powell Aide: Torture 'Guidance' From VP. Even more proof that Dick Cheney is pure evil. Retired U.S. Army Col. Larry Wilkerson, who served as former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, recently told CNN that he has no doubt that the torture that has happened, and the torture that is continuing to happen, is the result of Dick Cheney's "philosophical guidance." Wilkerson went on to discuss a "cabal" formed by Cheney and Rumsfeld that "made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made." Although Cheney and Rumsfeld have seperately dismissed the idea of a cabal as absurd, it's important to note that Wilkerson is a Republican who voted for the Bush/Cheney ticket twice. Why would he make something like that up? Maybe he's growing a conscience...
Editorials
One War Lost, Another to Go. Frank Rich is back with his latest installment. This time, he focuses on the Iraq War. Rich notes that the American public knows that the war is "over." Even Republican lapdogs like Rick Santorum, faced with re-election next year and down by 16 points, are distancing themselves from Bush and pointing the finger of blame, ever so slightly, at the White House. While Bush refuses to set a timetable, it should be fairly obvious that there already is one: November 7, 2006. That's the date of the mid-term elections in this country, and if Bush and company don't do something about getting us out of Iraq before then, we're going to see a large number of Republican incumbents dropped on the front stoop, in favor of Democrats who have long held the belief that we must leave Iraq.
What's a Senior Administration Official? This editorial by Daniel Engber is pretty neat. Engber, prompted by Bob Woodward's claim that he was told of Valerie Plame weeks before by a "senior administration official," sets out to explain exactly what that means. We see it all the time in news articles. But what does it mean? The answer is...well, nebulous. There's no hard and fast rules about it. Pretty much anyone in the White House (except for interns) can be a "senior administration official." It also depends on the context of the story and the informer's title/position. For example, writes Engber, Dick Cheney wasn't the "senior administration official" who told Woodward about Plame. So, that narrows it down to the, oh, several hundred non-interns that work in the White House.
Blogger Commentary
Kent State Redux? In case you missed it, over the last few weeks Kent State University has been the target of a massive campaign. Supported by liberal bloggers all over the country, Americans were encouraged to send letters to KSU denouncing their attempts to silence the first amendment. In short, as Caroline Arnold writes, David Airhart is an ex-marine and current student at KSU. On October 19 of this year, Airhard climber a 30 foot climbing wall and displayed a banner that said, "KENT OHIO 4 PEACE," an anti-war sentiment, protesting against the military recruiters on campus. Once he arrived at the top, one of the recruiters started to climb up after him, so Airhart started climbing down. As he did so, he was met by another recruiter who tried to pull him down. Airhard received a fine and was ordered to appear at a disciplinary hearing, which was cancelled hours before it was scheduled to start. Airhart is admirable in that he took a stand, made his convictions known, and was prepared to accept whatever consequences came of this. KSU was inundated with letters, phone calls and emails. Only, there didn't seem to be any reason for them. The military recruiters didn't speak for the University, and KSU President Cartwright has long been an outspoken proponent of the first amendment. No, what KSU shows us is that Bush is very good at spreading dissent, and we need to be united against our real enemies, not divided against ourselves.
Ten Commandments for Wal-Mart. What's really amazing about this piece by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) is not so much what he's written, which is quite good, but the scathing comments from readers. The Huffington Post is an unapologetic liberal blog, yet there are more comments from uneducated conservatives to his post that from liberals. Maybe it's because liberals know that he's right. After all, what kind of a corporation pays their CEO hundreds of million of dollars a year, yet leaves 48% of its work force without health insurance? Kennedy makes a very interesting note regarding returns, as well. Costco pays its employees, on average, 76% more than Wal-Mart. Employees at Costco have health and dental insurance, as well as retirement benefits. Oh, and in the last decade, Costco has delivered higher returns to its shareholders. So don't tell us that it can't be done. If Wal-Mart truly cared about their employees, they'd find a way. Clearly, Costco has.
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December 29, 2005
Monday, November 21, 2005
Monday's Links
Activism
Help Stop the Reverse Robin Hood Budget: Take a Photo. It's a wonder that Congress can look us in the eye and with a stright face actually claim that the budget they propose is what's best for the American people. The fact is, it's not. The most recent budget atrocity may have been defeated last week, but you can be sure there will be something almost as abhorrent coming along soon. Unfortunately, the fact is that most Congresspeople never really do have to look their constituents in the face and justify their votes. But maybe, just maybe, if we look them in the eye and tell them what our priorities are, they'll get the message. Hop on over to the link above and help out with MoveOn's campaign to send Congress a host of pictures that depict concerned citizens looking right at the camera and explaining their priorities. It may seem crazy, but months ago, we never would have thought enough Republicans would turn and vote down the most recent budget proposal. So, be a little creative and add your picture!
News
Corruption Inquiry Threatens to Ensnare Lawmakers. No word defines Jack Abramoff more than "chutzpah". He's been indicted, and while we've only gleaned bits and pieces of the extent of his lobbying activities, what we've seen so far is enough to turn out stomachs. Look, politicians beholden to interest groups and rich lobbyists are really nothing new. But Abramoff took lobbying to a whole new level, essentially outrightly buying politicians. He's essentially being charged with "being part of a broad conspiracy to provide 'things of value, including money, meals, trips and entertainment to federal public officials in return for agreements to perform official acts' - an attempt at bribery, in other words, or something close to it." But it takes two to tango, and what that means is all of the politicians who provided their "services" to Abramoff should be quaking in their boots. We've already seen White House budget official David Safavian arrested "on charges of lying to investigators about his business ties to Mr. Abramoff, a former lobbying partner." We've heard about Tom DeLay's close ties to Abramoff, and rumors of the president of Gabon paying for a meeting with Bush. Who knows how far the corruption goes? One Congressional specialist quoted in the article says "I think this has the potential to be the biggest scandal in Congress in over a century."
A Rebuilding Plan Full of Cracks. Is there anything that this administration has touched that hasn't had the anti-Midas effect? In 2002, Bush launched a $73 million dollar development program for Afghanistan. The goal was to create or restore 1,000 schools and clinics by the end of 2004. How many have been completed? By the end of 2004, 100 (mostly all refurbishments), and an additional 40 since then. Let's see...1,000 buildings, 140 completed...that's 14%. 14%! The conditions in Afghanistan are so horrendous, what with the infrastructure being destroyed, that life expectancy is now only 43 years. So, does the fault lie with the administration, for creating a faulty "plan," or with USAID and the Louis Berger Group, who failed to get the job done? Well, to hear USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios tell it, the goal was really to build 533 buildings by the end of 2004, and that they had really completed far more than the 140 listed above. But even if this is true, the conditions in Afghanistan are still atrocious. USAID can't be proud of the job they've done while locked buildings still sit empty in the cities, and babies are dying at a rate of 1 out of every 4.
Powell Aide: Torture 'Guidance' From VP. Even more proof that Dick Cheney is pure evil. Retired U.S. Army Col. Larry Wilkerson, who served as former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, recently told CNN that he has no doubt that the torture that has happened, and the torture that is continuing to happen, is the result of Dick Cheney's "philosophical guidance." Wilkerson went on to discuss a "cabal" formed by Cheney and Rumsfeld that "made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made." Although Cheney and Rumsfeld have seperately dismissed the idea of a cabal as absurd, it's important to note that Wilkerson is a Republican who voted for the Bush/Cheney ticket twice. Why would he make something like that up? Maybe he's growing a conscience...
Editorials
One War Lost, Another to Go. Frank Rich is back with his latest installment. This time, he focuses on the Iraq War. Rich notes that the American public knows that the war is "over." Even Republican lapdogs like Rick Santorum, faced with re-election next year and down by 16 points, are distancing themselves from Bush and pointing the finger of blame, ever so slightly, at the White House. While Bush refuses to set a timetable, it should be fairly obvious that there already is one: November 7, 2006. That's the date of the mid-term elections in this country, and if Bush and company don't do something about getting us out of Iraq before then, we're going to see a large number of Republican incumbents dropped on the front stoop, in favor of Democrats who have long held the belief that we must leave Iraq.
What's a Senior Administration Official? This editorial by Daniel Engber is pretty neat. Engber, prompted by Bob Woodward's claim that he was told of Valerie Plame weeks before by a "senior administration official," sets out to explain exactly what that means. We see it all the time in news articles. But what does it mean? The answer is...well, nebulous. There's no hard and fast rules about it. Pretty much anyone in the White House (except for interns) can be a "senior administration official." It also depends on the context of the story and the informer's title/position. For example, writes Engber, Dick Cheney wasn't the "senior administration official" who told Woodward about Plame. So, that narrows it down to the, oh, several hundred non-interns that work in the White House.
Blogger Commentary
Kent State Redux? In case you missed it, over the last few weeks Kent State University has been the target of a massive campaign. Supported by liberal bloggers all over the country, Americans were encouraged to send letters to KSU denouncing their attempts to silence the first amendment. In short, as Caroline Arnold writes, David Airhart is an ex-marine and current student at KSU. On October 19 of this year, Airhard climber a 30 foot climbing wall and displayed a banner that said, "KENT OHIO 4 PEACE," an anti-war sentiment, protesting against the military recruiters on campus. Once he arrived at the top, one of the recruiters started to climb up after him, so Airhart started climbing down. As he did so, he was met by another recruiter who tried to pull him down. Airhard received a fine and was ordered to appear at a disciplinary hearing, which was cancelled hours before it was scheduled to start. Airhart is admirable in that he took a stand, made his convictions known, and was prepared to accept whatever consequences came of this. KSU was inundated with letters, phone calls and emails. Only, there didn't seem to be any reason for them. The military recruiters didn't speak for the University, and KSU President Cartwright has long been an outspoken proponent of the first amendment. No, what KSU shows us is that Bush is very good at spreading dissent, and we need to be united against our real enemies, not divided against ourselves.
Ten Commandments for Wal-Mart. What's really amazing about this piece by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) is not so much what he's written, which is quite good, but the scathing comments from readers. The Huffington Post is an unapologetic liberal blog, yet there are more comments from uneducated conservatives to his post that from liberals. Maybe it's because liberals know that he's right. After all, what kind of a corporation pays their CEO hundreds of million of dollars a year, yet leaves 48% of its work force without health insurance? Kennedy makes a very interesting note regarding returns, as well. Costco pays its employees, on average, 76% more than Wal-Mart. Employees at Costco have health and dental insurance, as well as retirement benefits. Oh, and in the last decade, Costco has delivered higher returns to its shareholders. So don't tell us that it can't be done. If Wal-Mart truly cared about their employees, they'd find a way. Clearly, Costco has.
|
December 29, 2005
Help Stop the Reverse Robin Hood Budget: Take a Photo. It's a wonder that Congress can look us in the eye and with a stright face actually claim that the budget they propose is what's best for the American people. The fact is, it's not. The most recent budget atrocity may have been defeated last week, but you can be sure there will be something almost as abhorrent coming along soon. Unfortunately, the fact is that most Congresspeople never really do have to look their constituents in the face and justify their votes. But maybe, just maybe, if we look them in the eye and tell them what our priorities are, they'll get the message. Hop on over to the link above and help out with MoveOn's campaign to send Congress a host of pictures that depict concerned citizens looking right at the camera and explaining their priorities. It may seem crazy, but months ago, we never would have thought enough Republicans would turn and vote down the most recent budget proposal. So, be a little creative and add your picture!
News
Corruption Inquiry Threatens to Ensnare Lawmakers. No word defines Jack Abramoff more than "chutzpah". He's been indicted, and while we've only gleaned bits and pieces of the extent of his lobbying activities, what we've seen so far is enough to turn out stomachs. Look, politicians beholden to interest groups and rich lobbyists are really nothing new. But Abramoff took lobbying to a whole new level, essentially outrightly buying politicians. He's essentially being charged with "being part of a broad conspiracy to provide 'things of value, including money, meals, trips and entertainment to federal public officials in return for agreements to perform official acts' - an attempt at bribery, in other words, or something close to it." But it takes two to tango, and what that means is all of the politicians who provided their "services" to Abramoff should be quaking in their boots. We've already seen White House budget official David Safavian arrested "on charges of lying to investigators about his business ties to Mr. Abramoff, a former lobbying partner." We've heard about Tom DeLay's close ties to Abramoff, and rumors of the president of Gabon paying for a meeting with Bush. Who knows how far the corruption goes? One Congressional specialist quoted in the article says "I think this has the potential to be the biggest scandal in Congress in over a century."
A Rebuilding Plan Full of Cracks. Is there anything that this administration has touched that hasn't had the anti-Midas effect? In 2002, Bush launched a $73 million dollar development program for Afghanistan. The goal was to create or restore 1,000 schools and clinics by the end of 2004. How many have been completed? By the end of 2004, 100 (mostly all refurbishments), and an additional 40 since then. Let's see...1,000 buildings, 140 completed...that's 14%. 14%! The conditions in Afghanistan are so horrendous, what with the infrastructure being destroyed, that life expectancy is now only 43 years. So, does the fault lie with the administration, for creating a faulty "plan," or with USAID and the Louis Berger Group, who failed to get the job done? Well, to hear USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios tell it, the goal was really to build 533 buildings by the end of 2004, and that they had really completed far more than the 140 listed above. But even if this is true, the conditions in Afghanistan are still atrocious. USAID can't be proud of the job they've done while locked buildings still sit empty in the cities, and babies are dying at a rate of 1 out of every 4.
Powell Aide: Torture 'Guidance' From VP. Even more proof that Dick Cheney is pure evil. Retired U.S. Army Col. Larry Wilkerson, who served as former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, recently told CNN that he has no doubt that the torture that has happened, and the torture that is continuing to happen, is the result of Dick Cheney's "philosophical guidance." Wilkerson went on to discuss a "cabal" formed by Cheney and Rumsfeld that "made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made." Although Cheney and Rumsfeld have seperately dismissed the idea of a cabal as absurd, it's important to note that Wilkerson is a Republican who voted for the Bush/Cheney ticket twice. Why would he make something like that up? Maybe he's growing a conscience...
Editorials
One War Lost, Another to Go. Frank Rich is back with his latest installment. This time, he focuses on the Iraq War. Rich notes that the American public knows that the war is "over." Even Republican lapdogs like Rick Santorum, faced with re-election next year and down by 16 points, are distancing themselves from Bush and pointing the finger of blame, ever so slightly, at the White House. While Bush refuses to set a timetable, it should be fairly obvious that there already is one: November 7, 2006. That's the date of the mid-term elections in this country, and if Bush and company don't do something about getting us out of Iraq before then, we're going to see a large number of Republican incumbents dropped on the front stoop, in favor of Democrats who have long held the belief that we must leave Iraq.
What's a Senior Administration Official? This editorial by Daniel Engber is pretty neat. Engber, prompted by Bob Woodward's claim that he was told of Valerie Plame weeks before by a "senior administration official," sets out to explain exactly what that means. We see it all the time in news articles. But what does it mean? The answer is...well, nebulous. There's no hard and fast rules about it. Pretty much anyone in the White House (except for interns) can be a "senior administration official." It also depends on the context of the story and the informer's title/position. For example, writes Engber, Dick Cheney wasn't the "senior administration official" who told Woodward about Plame. So, that narrows it down to the, oh, several hundred non-interns that work in the White House.
Blogger Commentary
Kent State Redux? In case you missed it, over the last few weeks Kent State University has been the target of a massive campaign. Supported by liberal bloggers all over the country, Americans were encouraged to send letters to KSU denouncing their attempts to silence the first amendment. In short, as Caroline Arnold writes, David Airhart is an ex-marine and current student at KSU. On October 19 of this year, Airhard climber a 30 foot climbing wall and displayed a banner that said, "KENT OHIO 4 PEACE," an anti-war sentiment, protesting against the military recruiters on campus. Once he arrived at the top, one of the recruiters started to climb up after him, so Airhart started climbing down. As he did so, he was met by another recruiter who tried to pull him down. Airhard received a fine and was ordered to appear at a disciplinary hearing, which was cancelled hours before it was scheduled to start. Airhart is admirable in that he took a stand, made his convictions known, and was prepared to accept whatever consequences came of this. KSU was inundated with letters, phone calls and emails. Only, there didn't seem to be any reason for them. The military recruiters didn't speak for the University, and KSU President Cartwright has long been an outspoken proponent of the first amendment. No, what KSU shows us is that Bush is very good at spreading dissent, and we need to be united against our real enemies, not divided against ourselves.
Ten Commandments for Wal-Mart. What's really amazing about this piece by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) is not so much what he's written, which is quite good, but the scathing comments from readers. The Huffington Post is an unapologetic liberal blog, yet there are more comments from uneducated conservatives to his post that from liberals. Maybe it's because liberals know that he's right. After all, what kind of a corporation pays their CEO hundreds of million of dollars a year, yet leaves 48% of its work force without health insurance? Kennedy makes a very interesting note regarding returns, as well. Costco pays its employees, on average, 76% more than Wal-Mart. Employees at Costco have health and dental insurance, as well as retirement benefits. Oh, and in the last decade, Costco has delivered higher returns to its shareholders. So don't tell us that it can't be done. If Wal-Mart truly cared about their employees, they'd find a way. Clearly, Costco has.
