And, yes, I DO take it personally: 09/18/2005

IMFC cancels $USD55B debt for poorest countries and makes pointed comments about the U.S.

Press Conference on the 2005 Annual Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee with Gordon Brown, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chairman of the IMFC, and Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
September 24, 2005
Washington, DC

MR. BROWN: Faced today with the needless tragedy of poverty through the burden of unpayable debt in the world's poorest countries, the world has come together and, with a significant decision we have made today, we have endorsed proposals that will eventually end up with the World Bank, the IMF, and other development banks writing off up to US$55 billion of debt and, in this way, helping the poorest countries of the world.

the imfc had some pointed comments about the u.s...

MR. de RATO: [T]he U.S. has to address its fiscal imbalances in a structural manner, not only by the increase in revenues that can be more tied to the cycle, but also in a way that will guarantee that the U.S. will be able to face some of the medium-term challenges regarding aging and health that we envision. As I said this morning in my speech to the Governors, the U.S. has certainly decreased the fiscal budget this year with a very important rebound in revenues. Nevertheless, going forward, and to achieve a substantial reduction of the deficit, we think that the strategy to reduce expenditures quite ambitious even before the new needs derived from the natural disasters that have affected the country. So, we see the need for increased revenue through tax reform that will increase the tax base...

cutting through the economist-speak: the u.s. has to figure out how to get more coming in than is going out...

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"Tens of thousands" protest war

Crowds opposed to the war in Iraq surged past the White House on Saturday, shouting "Peace now" in the largest anti-war protest in the nation's capital since the U.S. invasion.

The rally stretched through the day and into the night, a marathon of music, speechmaking and dissent on the National Mall. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, noting that organizers had hoped to draw 100,000 people, said, "I think they probably hit that."

good, good, good...

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Saturday photoblogging - Sofia, Bulgaria

time for a break from all the seriousness... i took both of these pics on the 10th of september while walking around sofia on a bright saturday morning...

Example

Lindt Chocolatier
(yes, that's me, taking the
pic, reflected in the shop
window)

Example

The Russian Church of
St. Nikolai, its spires
catching the morning sun

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Bush off his game...

this is good, altho' i don't know what game it is that he's ever really been "on..."

The most immediate consequence of the new governing reality for Bush is the growing number of Republicans shedding their fear of publicly challenging the White House. . . . [Some] complained about a White House that seems sluggish and way off its game, participants said.

this is ridiculous...

"You adapt to the circumstances and the circumstances are different," said Mark McKinnon, Bush's political consultant and friend. But he added he detected no loss of confidence within the Bush team. "I get zero sense of that. This is an administration and a president that are like the Marines -- they're used to taking the beach, they're used to getting shelled. But they dig in and they do their jobs."

McKinnon said if anything Bush thrives under the pressure. "I've never seen the president burdened by the presidency," he said. "He's built to deal with really big events. It's in his DNA."

why ridiculous...? one, the only way bush could handle being a marine is wearing a marine uniform to a costume party... as a real marine, he wouldn't last a single day... second, i doubt seriously that he has any dna, at least of the human variety...

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Ms. Meyers and Mr. Baker, meet Sens. Collins and Levin

it's about time senators started putting their feet down on buscho's rampant cronyism that has only served to pack the executive branch agencies with unqualified hacks...

Faced with accusations that the Bush administration is stocking the government with unqualified cronies, the Republican chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee [Susan Collins, R ME] is holding up the nomination of a lawyer [Julie Meyers with little background in immigration or customs] to head the law enforcement agency in charge of those issues.

it's also about time that senator collins, that rare and vanishing breed, a repub moderate, started standing on principle... let's hope more follow suit...

In addition to the questions about Ms. Myers, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan has objected to the nomination of Stewart Baker to be assistant secretary of homeland security for policy. Mr. Baker, who won committee approval despite Mr. Levin's opposition, is an accomplished technology lawyer, but he has little experience in disaster management.

too many democratic senators have rolled over for this administration... it may be a small incident in the grand scheme of the bushco disaster, but kudos all the same to senator levin...

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Fat-ass, blowhard, irrelevant, lying Novak lies some more

I do not see myself as a defender of the Bush presidency, and I am sure the White House does not regard me as such.

oh, sure, and i'm gunga din...

novak continues, boo-hooing the extensive bush-bashing at the gathering of the super-rich that took place last weekend in aspen...

Karl Rove took time off from the Katrina relief effort to be at Aspen. He was needed as a counterweight. I settled in for serious fireworks, expecting Bush-bashers to assault his alter ego at the conference's final session. However, direct confrontation with a senior aide must have been more difficult than a remote attack on the president. It would be a shame if Rove returned to Washington without informing George W. Bush how erstwhile friends have turned against him.

nobody likes a tattle-tale, bob...

ya know something...? friends become "erstwhile" for a reason... after you have repeatedly revealed yourself to be a moron with no sense of responsibility and no compassion, intent on driving the country you nominally lead straight into a ditch, "friends" begin to catch on...

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The IMF looks at Argentina

and, as we know, argentina does not consider the imf to be high on its list of best friends...

Example

(speaking is Mr. Anoop Singh, Director of the IMF's Western Hemisphere Department...)

Poverty indicators continue to improve. We see in Argentina that unemployment is now down to 12 percent compared with over 20 percent at the height of their crisis.

And just this morning or last night, I believe the government has released new poverty indicators that show in Argentina a further drop in the poverty rate, which is now well below where that was at the height of their crisis a couple of years ago. [...] We see high reserves. Reserves in Argentina now are almost at $26 billion. Net reserves in Brazil I believe are now close to or above $40 billion. This is a sea change from the external positions of our countries just two or three years ago. [...] Argentina has been growing strongly. I think it is fair to say that the speed and the extent of Argentina's recovery has surprised most people. And that, of course, is very good news. [...] Argentina's economy has reached an important threshold, that it has now reached a stage which is probably above, maybe significantly above, its pre-crisis level. [...] I would say that a crucial contributor to this performance has been Argentina's growing fiscal strength, its restraint on government spending by and large over the last few years. We see buoyancy in tax revenues. And we see a primary surplus that is overperforming the target. I think this is all to the good.

even with all those glowing words and upbeat assessments, the folks i know in buenos aires are still struggling... inflation is taking a toll (roughly 10-12% projected for 2005) and rising employment, while encouraging, hasn't reached them yet...

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Take legal action against the Vatican and let's "out" some Cardinals while we're at it... [UPDATE]

yeah... y-e-A-A-AH... steve clemons, obviously fed up with vatican b.s., particularly the latest about barring gay priests, makes some modest proposals...

TWN has just consulted with some legal authorities on how to actually bring pressure on to the Vatican for failing to abide by the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights.

[...]

Because of the Vatican's failure to support this code of rights, a real LEGAL case could be made for ending national government subsidies (by Italy and other countries) to the church paid by the member state government if the right EU court found that the Vatican was in violation of the minority protections of the Charter.
According to my source, "This also goes to harassment in the work place, and presumably Catholic priests in Europe are also citizens of Europe and their work place conditions should be covered."

It's time for some lawyers to consider these possibilities. Some have notified TWN that they may encourage the EU to consider these actions the Vatican is taking more seriously than has been the case in the past.

But while we are waiting, some of the cardinals and "senior" echelon of the Catholic Church need to be outed.

now, wouldn't THAT be interesting... particularly if, as steve suggests, there may be quite a few surprises in store...

[A] "conservative estimate" of those cardinals and senior church officials who are gay is about 50%. Practicing, as opposed to just flirtatious, homosexuals at the highest levels of the church are probably about 30%.

[UPDATE]

"I've heard straight priests say... they're embarrassed by it," one anonymous gay US priest told the Associated Press.

"I've heard priests both gay and straight seriously consider leaving.

"They couldn't believe that after centuries of either explicit or implicit welcoming of celibate gay clergy that church would turn its back on them."

how could the church turn its back on them...? easy... just ask RAT-zinger...

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How interesting... Bush extends national state of emergency - again...

Don't want to be alarmist about this, but these three simultaneous items together are really jarring.

* First, without any discussion or warning, Bush announced Wednesday that he has extended the terrorism-related state of National Emergency he declared after 9/11.

* Second, a Washington Post columnist tells us that yesterday was the kickoff of "GRANITE SHADOW", a massive Pentagon exercise simulating the declaration of a martial law in Washington, DC. Military special forces and intelligence officers have, in fact, been deployed in force -- wearing civilian clothes -- in the streets of the capitol. [note: i posted on this yesterday]

* Third, Bush is going to Colorado Springs on Saturday, HQ of Northern Command (NORCOM), we are told to monitor Hurricane Rita response efforts. NORCOM is the operational headquarters that is simultaneously running the GRANITE SHADOW operation.

Of course, this comes on the eve of the largest anti-war demonstration in DC in 35 years.

(thanks to leveymg at kos...)

i'm glad i'm not the only one keeping an eye on these disturbing developments... an excerpt from the executive order, issued 21 september, signed by bush...

Because the actions of these persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the United States, the national emergency declared on September 23, 2001, and the measures adopted on that date to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond September 23, 2005.

(note: this executive order has been extended every year since 2001 which means the u.s. has been under a continuous state of national emergency since the first executive order was signed on 23 september 2001...)

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Rove fund-raising while Rita strikes...

if i had the choice of only one person to pluck up and toss out of the bush administration, rove would be it...

Rove is departing Washington today to attend fundraising events in North Dakota while Hurricane Rita slams into Texas.

Bush has made clear that Karl Rove is his "point person" in heading up his team's response to these hurricane onslaughts . . . but he will be off-site collecting dollars for the party rather than helping those without resources or wealth who may still be trapped in Rita's path.

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Besides the military operating domestically, we now have domestic mercenaries

Blackwater

mercenaries... soldiers of fortune... let's call 'em what they are... calling 'em "private security forces" just doesn't tell the story...

In an hourlong conversation I had with four Blackwater men, they characterized their work in New Orleans as "securing neighborhoods" and "confronting criminals." They all carried automatic assault weapons and had guns strapped to their legs. Their flak jackets were covered with pouches for extra ammunition.

When asked what authority they were operating under, one guy said, "We're on contract with the Department of Homeland Security." Then, pointing to one of his comrades, he said, "He was even deputized by the governor of the state of Louisiana. We can make arrests and use lethal force if we deem it necessary." The man then held up the gold Louisiana law enforcement badge he wore around his neck.

just who and what is blackwater...? let them tell it... (from blackwater's website...) btw, they even have a pro shop...!

Blackwater was founded in 1997 from a clear vision developed from an understanding of the need for innovative, flexible training and security solutions to support freedom and democracy everywhere.

Our founder is a former U. S. Navy SEAL. He founded Blackwater on the belief that both the military and law enforcement establishments would require additional capacity to train fully our brave men and women in uniform to the standards required to keep our country secure and to help ensure peace and security, and freedom and democracy everywhere.

Blackwater USA consists of six separate business units: Blackwater Training Center (the largest private firearms and tactical training center in the U. S.), Blackwater Target Systems, Blackwater Security Consulting, Blackwater Aviation Worldwide Services, Blackwater Canine, and Raven Development Group.

We are not simply a "private security company." We are a turnkey solution provider for 4th generation warfare. We assist with the development of national and global security plans, train, equip and deploy public safety and military warriors, build combat live-fire indoor/outdoor ranges, MOUT facilities and shoot houses, create ground and aviation operations and logistics support packages, develop and execute canine solutions for patrol and explosive detection, and can design and build facilities both domestically and in austere environments abroad.

Blackwater lives its core values of excellence, efficiency, execution, and teamwork. In doing this, we have become the most responsive, cost-effective means of affecting the strategic balance in support of freedom and democracy everywhere.

"We are a turnkey solution provider for 4th generation warfare." oh... well... ok, then... hmmmmm... let's see if they turn up in rita's wake, riding in on the choppers with northcom...

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Bush going to NORTHCOM... The pieces are falling into place...

Later Friday, Bush was expected to monitor Rita's approach from the U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs, Colo. "Officials at every level of government are preparing for the worst," he said.

as i posted yesterday and the day before...

bush's strategy is to MAKE the military the "institution of our government 'most capable' of massive logistical operations" and to position that same military for use domestically... why...? think a minute... bush is the commander-in-chief of the military... when he issues orders, they are bound by oath to obey... let's pose a very plausible scenario, taken from today's headlines... hurricane rita slams into texas, laying waste and straining all available resources past the breaking point... chaos reigns... bush declares martial law and orders in the military, extending what has already happened in new orleans and establishing yet another precedent in the bargain... absolute power...

here's where bush will be hanging out in colorado springs... (my former hometown, since disowned...)

NORTHCOM has worked closely with U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), as well as the secret branches of non-military agencies and departments to enforce "unity of command" over any post 9/11 efforts. [...] It allows for emergency military operations in the United States without civilian supervision or control.

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R's using Katrina as opportunity to further lobotomize the social contract

without even entertaining the IDEA of a rational discussion about reversing tax cuts for the wealthy or taking a serious look at the money-swallowing black hole in iraq, the r's see katrina as yet another opportunity to continue the deconstruction of the federal government and, in particular, any federal effort that might remotely be construed as supportive of the working masses, those slaving to fill the already overflowing money bins of the super-rich... raw story has the details...

An internal Republican Study Committee document which is now available online and was simultaneously leaked to RAW STORY Thursday outlines an array of huge cuts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, including the elimination of funding for Amtrak and the National Endowment for the Arts.

say goodbye to public broadcasting...

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NOLA only prepared for 6 inches of rain & is already being re-flooded

Water is pouring over a patched-up levee in New Orleans, increasing fears that rains brought by Hurricane Rita could flood the city again.

Army engineers have warned that flood defences damaged by Hurricane Katrina can only cope with 15cm (6in) of rain.

A stream of water at least nine metres (30ft) wide was reported to be spilling into the low-lying Lower Ninth Ward.

The area, still empty of inhabitants, had only just been pumped dry following the flooding after Katrina.

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Brit takes a poke at U.S. airlines

yesterday, i posted about united airlines' glenn tilton whining about u.s. carriers becoming "marginalized" and calling for the federal government to allow more consolidation in the industry... the ceo of british airways shares that view but with a slightly different take...

British Airways Chief Executive Rod Eddington said on Thursday that US bankruptcy laws were distorting competition for transatlantic airlines by propping up struggling carriers.

"America, the land of the free, is turning itself into the land of the free ride," he told a meeting of industry officials.

"They (airlines) are operating in protected markets. They are hoovering up public funds and they still can't make a profit."

(dontcha love that ever-so-british phrase, "hoovering...?")

what the brits, the americans and everyone else who champions privatisation and deregulation in the transportation industry fails to understand is that basic public transportation - bus, both intra and inter-city, rail, and air - are part of the common"wealth" of any country and must be treated as such... insuring reliable, available, cost-effective means of getting from place to place for its citizens IS part of government's responsibility... i'm not saying government should pay for it, but government should damn well make sure that people can get where they need to go without either risking their lives or having to pay an arm and a leg for it... if consolidation is allowed to forge ahead unchecked, you better believe we'll be paying a lot more than an arm and a leg, particularly if fuel prices continue to rise...

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Robert Parry frames the right question - How can we afford to wait...?

parry thinks focusing on the 2006 election meets the criteria of "not waiting..." he seems to side with what he calls the "washington consensus" that impeachment or resignation would be "unthinkable..." personally, i am of the opinion that we had better figure out a way to get the son-of-a-bitch OUT of office immediately by any means possible (and legal, of course)... meanwhile, here's a sample of parry...

Disaster experts will tell you that a key to surviving a catastrophe is to quickly discard the old paradigm of normalcy and to act with urgency and creativity in facing the new reality. There is no time for fretting or wishful thinking; decisiveness and imagination are crucial.

The same holds true for nations. History has taught us that sometimes when a leader has made catastrophic choices, others – from within the ruling elite or from without – must do something to shatter the old paradigm of normalcy and protect the nation.

The United States may have found itself in such a predicament. Figuratively at least, the flood waters are surging through the first floor and – while some say the water won’t rise much more – others think it’s time to grab the kids and seek higher ground.

The stark question now before the country is: Should it sit still for the next three-plus years of George W. Bush’s presidency or demand accountability, including possibly the removal of him and his political team from office?

Though it’s true that impeachment of both President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney would be an extreme step, this constitutional option must be judged against the alternative of a continued national leadership that is facing worsening crises while known for a trademark refusal to admit mistakes or to make meaningful adjustments to its policies.

Over and over, Bush has made clear that he has no intention to reverse himself on any of his core decisions, which include the Iraq War, tax cuts weighted toward the upper incomes, tolerance of record budget deficits and rejection of the chief international agreement on global warming, the Kyoto Treaty. (Bush even questions the overwhelming scientific consensus on global warming.)

So, the hard choice is whether the country would be better off starting this political battle now with an eye toward a change in control of Congress in 2006 or simply waiting for the next presidential election in 2008.

At this point, the Washington consensus is that Bush’s impeachment or a forced resignation is unthinkable. Even columnists, who judge Bush as unfit – both by intellect and temperament – to lead the country, refuse to entertain the notion of impeachment.

i'm through holding back... (yes, here it comes again...)

BUSH, CHENEY AND THE ENTIRE CABINET MUST SUBMIT THEIR RESIGNATIONS... IMMEDIATELY...

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Turning special forces military loose INSIDE the U.S.

this is precisely the kind of thing i posted about yesterday...

Today, somewhere in the DC metropolitan area, the military is conducting a highly classified Granite Shadow "demonstration."

Granite Shadow is yet another new Top Secret and compartmented operation related to the military’s extra-legal powers regarding weapons of mass destruction. It allows for emergency military operations in the United States without civilian supervision or control.

[...]

The sensitivities, according to military sources, include deployment of "special mission units" (the so-called Delta Force, SEAL teams, Rangers, and other special units of Joint Special Operations Command) in Washington, DC and other domestic hot spots. NORTHCOM has worked closely with U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), as well as the secret branches of non-military agencies and departments to enforce "unity of command" over any post 9/11 efforts.

Further, Granite Shadow posits domestic military operations, including intelligence collection and surveillance, unique rules of engagement regarding the use of lethal force, the use of experimental non-lethal weapons, and federal and military control of incident locations that are highly controversial and might border on the illegal.

this kind of thing, given the administration that's sitting in the white house, gives me the creeps... if you can't trust bushco to tell the truth in public, out in the open, what's going to happen under cover of deep secrecy...? i don't want to find out the answer to that question...

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Let's not forget the epicenter of darkness

i've often been accused of overrating this guy... sorry, but i don't think it's possible to overrate him... however malign the other characters in the long-running bushco drama may be, karl's at the nexus...

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Undocumented aliens and hurricane aid

here's an interesting and virtually unreported angle on both the katrina and the impending rita disasters...

Thousands of Latin American immigrants in the southeastern United States uprooted by Hurricane Katrina are now fleeing Hurricane Rita, while activists are demanding that the U.S. government provide them with special protection, because so many are hesitant to seek assistance out of fear of deportation.

Katrina left 300,000 Latinos homeless and jobless, and "as far as we know, at least two immigrants who did seek aid have been arrested because they were undocumented," said Maricel García, spokeswoman for the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC). But she warned that "there might actually be many more."

Although the George W. Bush administration states that it is providing humanitarian aid without regard to immigration status, "that is not what is really happening, which is just terrible," García said in a telephone interview with IPS from Chicago, Illinois.

Her organisation and around 60 other immigrant advocacy groups are demanding that the U.S. government grant humanitarian immigration status to migrants uprooted by Katrina, who either had no papers or have lost them, to allow them to receive aid and to remain in the United States.

The groups are also considering asking for that status for those who might be affected by Rita, which had grown into a category 4 hurricane by Wednesday as it headed towards Texas, a state that is home to an estimated six million people of Latin American and Caribbean origin.

oh, terrific... seek aid and get arrested... compassionate conservatism in action... i'm surprised the minutemen haven't surfaced in all this... i should shut up cuz that's probably gettin' ready to happen...

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Urge Zogby to poll on the impeachment of George Bush...

john zogby's been vacillating on whether or not to poll the american people on their opinion of impeaching george w. bush... my question is, why would he NOT want to...? you can communicate directly with zogby here... the following is what i had to say...

George W. Bush is a criminal. He has lied to the nation repeatedly, the most egregious of which was lying to the American people about the reasons for invading Iraq. Lying to the citizens of the United States is an impeachable offense but there seems to be a reluctance among the power structure in the U.S. to face this unalterable fact.

In your role as a responsible pollster, you owe it to the American people to ascertain how the possible impeachment of George W. Bush is seen by U.S. citizens. Whether or not impeachment is ultimately taken up by Congress, the question deserves to be asked and who better to ask it than a responsible, credible opinion research organization like Zogby. There is no reason that I can determine why you would not want to do this.

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Rita live blogging...

daily kos is doing a good job (here and here) keeping everybody up-to-date on hurricane rita... it ain't pretty, that's for sure...

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Flight crew fakes emergency for soccer fans

nobody could ever accuse futbol (soccer) fans of not being passionate about the game but this is definitely over the top... whoever holds the licenses for those pilots should immediately yank them... i don't care if the plane was chartered by the gambian president, if you can't rely on what an aircraft pilot is telling you, you're screwed...

Pilots of a chartered jet carrying 289 Gambian soccer fans faked the need for an emergency landing in Peru so passengers could watch their nation's team play a key match, officials said Wednesday.

The plane, claiming to be low on fuel, landed Tuesday in Peru's northern coast city of Piura, where Gambia played Qatar in the FIFA Under-17 World Championships later that night.

Emergency crews were scrambled ahead of the Lockhead L1011 Tri-Star's unscheduled landing. It was to have landed in the capital, Lima.

The fans were allowed to watch the soccer game in Piura, which Gambia won 3-1. The fans apparently would have been late or missed the game if the flight had first gone to its scheduled destination of Lima, 550 miles to the south.

"It truly was a scam," said Betty Maldonado, a spokeswoman for Peru's aviation authority, CORPAC. "They tricked the control tower, saying they were low on fuel."

[...]

Piura city spokesman Carlos Ordonez said the Gambians' presence caused a "sensation" in the city, which rolled out the red carpet for the African guests, offering performances by local folk singers and dancers.

probably the biggest thing to happen to piura in decades... i'm glad the passengers got to see the soccer game... i'm glad the piura townsfolk got a chance to celebrate... nonetheless, those pilots should never be allowed to crew an airplane again...

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Sanctions against Saudi Arabia for human trafficking...? Heavens, no...!

President Bush decided Wednesday to waive any financial sanctions on Saudi Arabia, Washington's closest Arab ally in the war on terrorism, for failing to do enough to stop the modern-day slave trade in prostitutes, child sex workers and forced laborers.

[...]

In addition to Saudi Arabia, Ecuador and Kuwait — another U.S. ally in the Middle East — were given a complete pass on any sanctions, Jordan said [Darla Jordan, a State Department spokeswoman]. Despite periodic differences, oil-rich Saudi Arabia and the United States have a tight alliance built on economic and military cooperation.

That left Myanmar, Cuba and North Korea as the only nations in the list of 14 barred completely from receiving certain kinds of foreign aid. The act does not include cutting off trade assistance or humanitarian aid, Jordan said.

The White House statement offered no explanation of why countries were regarded differently. Jordan also could not provide one.

here's an answer... first of all, saudi arabia as "Washington's closest Arab ally in the war on terrorism" is a crock of shit... the u.s. is totally in bed with the saudis (and ecuador and kuwait and everybody else with proven reserves) because of OIL, OIL, OIL... god, i hate disingenuous journalism... get a clue, you media bush-whores...

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U.S. airlines face "marginalization..."

glenn, glenn, glenn... it ain't the inability to consolidate that's marginalizing u.s. airlines... it's lousy service... i've had the opportunity to do a lot of flying recently and i can tell you, international service on u.s. carriers can't hold a candle to foreign carriers... the difference is dramatic, from having complimentary wine and other drinks in coach (as opposed to having to pay 5 bucks a shot) to having the above-seat reading light actually work to having flight attendants who don't snarl at you... international carriers (and i'm even including chile's flag carrier, LAN Chile) are beating the pants off their u.s. counterparts...

United Airlines Chief Executive Glenn Tilton has called for the completion of US airline deregulation, saying that without it American carriers risked being marginalized by Europe and Asia.

[...]

Tilton noted that carriers in Europe, such as Air France and KLM, and Asia had returned to profit and were consolidating across national boundaries to create "super-carriers".

"For the first time in the history of aviation, US carriers are no longer the largest, strongest carriers in the world," he said.

"Without a coherent US aviation policy that reverses the bias against airline size and removes the barriers that prevent us from constructive consolidation, US carriers will be unable to compete on a global scale, and we risk being marginalized," Tilton said.

glenn's plea has nothing whatsoever to do with passenger comfort or customer service... it's all about what every other fat-assed executive's plea to the government is all about - MORE MONEY...

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Rejecting an entire community of the faithful, RAT-zinger hits his stride

anybody with half a brain could have predicted this... it was in the cards from the time the white puff of smoke announcing RAT-zinger's elevation to pope rose from the vatican chimney...

Homosexuals, even those who are celibate, will be barred from becoming Roman Catholic priests, a church official said Wednesday, under stricter rules soon to be released on one of the most sensitive issues facing the church.

step by calculated step, the roman catholic church removes itself from reality, relevance, reason and, imho, from the god and the christ they claim to serve... what's up next...? barring homosexuals from taking communion at mass... just watch...

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David Corn writes on Democratic disarray

The election of 2006 is a year away. But if the Democrats are going to try to turn it into a national election--that is, one with overarching themes that can play in various districts and states--they will eventually need a consensus pitch. Going national in this fashion is always a difficult task for a party; most elections are determined by local factors and the qualities of the particular candidates. But it's even tougher when the party has competing messages on the key issues of the moment.

"if the Democrats are going to try..." "they will eventually need..." "a party..." "the party..." who are these people he's referring to...? up until recently, i thought i was one of them... i'm a registered dem... i'm tossing an admittedly paltry $25 a month into dem coffers but it's what i can afford... but "they" aren't speaking for "me..." the recent split over the roberts nomination reveals complete democratic disarray... there's clearly no cohesive national democratic leadership and certainly not one i can identify with... does that still make me a democrat...? at this point, i'm not sure...

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The IMF comments on U.S. economic outlook

Before Katrina, solid growth and booming house prices allowed the U.S. consumer to boldly spend like no one has spent before. But consumer confidence has fallen. With rising inflation cutting into nominal wages, and rising interest rates slowing house price growth, we expect private consumption growth to slow. We project lower overall growth of 3.5 percent this year and 3.3 percent next year for the United States.

my grandma had a phrase for it... "spending money like a drunken sailor..." the paraphrase of the star trek line ain't bad either...

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B.O.H.I.C.A... (Ah, for the days of $3/gallon gas...)

b.o.h.i.c.a. - b-end o-ver, h-ere i-t c-omes a-gain...

Katrina damage was focused on offshore oil platforms and ports. Now the greater risk is to oil-refinery capacity, especially if Rita slams into Houston, Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas.

"We could be looking at gasoline lines and $4 gas, maybe even $5 gas, if this thing does the worst it could do," said energy analyst Peter Beutel of Cameron Hanover. "This storm is in the wrong place. And it's absolutely at the wrong time," said Beutel.

Michael Schlacter, chief meteorologist at Weather 2000, said Rita now appears most likely to hit between Port Arthur and Corpus Christi, Texas, sometime between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Just about all of Texas's refinery capacity lies in that at-risk zone.

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The military is "most capable..."

[T]he sad and unsettling statement by President Bush that the military is the "institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations" only drove the point home. Katrina showed that Americans need a more inclusive idea of security from their representatives, instead of just the usual platitudes about "strong defense."

'scuse me...? it's well beyond "sad and unsettling..." for those who haven't figured it out yet, bush's strategy is to MAKE the military the "institution of our government 'most capable' of massive logistical operations" and to position that same military for use domestically... why...? think a minute... bush is the commander-in-chief of the military... when he issues orders, they are bound by oath to obey... let's pose a very plausible scenario, taken from today's headlines... hurricane rita slams into houston as a cat 5 storm, laying waste and straining all available resources past the breaking point... chaos reigns... bush declares martial law and orders in the military, extending what has already happened in new orleans and establishing yet another precedent in the bargain... absolute power...

keep in mind that, with bushco, you always have to look DEEP cuz there's always a larger plan afoot... when you have satan's doppleganger, karl rove, whispering in your ear, there is no incompetence, only a grand plan for seizing more power...

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Holy s - - -!! Here we go again... [UPDATE: Now Cat 5]

[UPDATE]

Hurricane Rita's rapid intensification cycle that began Tuesday afternoon continues. Top winds are up to 165 mph, now a category 5 hurricane. Further strengthening is possible as the atmosphere remains favorable for development over the next 24 hours.

where's brownie when ya need him...?

Hospital and nursing home patients were evacuated and as many as 1 million other people were ordered to clear out along the Gulf Coast on Wednesday as Hurricane Rita turned into a 150-mph monster that could pound Texas and bring more misery to New Orleans by week's end.

Forecasters said Rita could be the most intense hurricane on record ever to hit Texas, and one of the most powerful ever to slam into the U.S. mainland.

you can bet that preparedness efforts are under the microscope and that government and disaster assistance officials from bus drivers on up are busting butt to do everything humanly possible to avoid a repeat of the katrina debacle... could it be that mother nature isn't a fan of bush either...?

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Rubbing Norquist's nose in it...

and while you're at it, smack him upside the head with a rolled-up newspaper...

Example

Trailer with billboard parked across
the street from Norquist's D.C. office
juxtaposing Norquist's infamous quote
with a picture of Hurricane Katrina's
devastation in New Orleans.

(thanks to raw story...)

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Let's not forget PNAC... Or Wolfowitz... Or Libby... Or Kristol...

or cheney... or jeb bush... or rumsfeld... or zalmay khalilzad...

(see "statement of principles" on the website of project for the new american century for a list of all the accomplices...)

bushco has followed their world domination advice, nearly to the letter, and, four years on, look where it's gotten us... mired in iraq... alienated allies... the hatred of islamics around the world... and the consequences for the pnac crowd...? nada... in fact, quite the contrary... they're all still in seats of power and wolfowitz and khalilzad have been even further rewarded... wolfowitz now heads the world bank and khalilzad was appointed ambassador to afghanistan and now leads the embassy in iraq... not bad for being the ones to set us on such a disastrous course...

It was four years ago today that a little-known group called the "Project for the New American Century" (PNAC) published an open letter to President George W. Bush advising him on how precisely he should carry out his brand-new "war on terrorism".

In addition to ousting Afghanistan's Taliban, the letter's mostly neo-conservative signatories called for implementing regime change "by all necessary means" in Iraq, "even if evidence does not link Iraq directly to the (Sep. 11) attack". It also urged "appropriate measures of retaliation" against Iran and Syria if they refused to comply with U.S. demands to cut off support Hizbollah, which they considered part of the terror network.

[...]

[W]hen the historical record of what the Bush administration has actually done in the region is compared with PNAC's recommendations, the correspondence can only be described as stunning.

[...]

So, four years later, how is PNAC is doing?

(more)

The short answer is not so well.

Because it represents a coalition of different, although like-minded varieties of hawks, its own influence -- or at least the perception of that influence -- is highly dependent on the coalition's unity.

But that unity began to fray even as U.S. troops were flowing into Iraq. Sensing that Rumsfeld, in particular, was not committed to using the kind of overwhelming force -- and keeping it there -- necessary for "transforming" Iraq (and the region), Kristol and Kagan, among other neo-conservatives, began attacking the defence secretary and have repeatedly called for his resignation.

Moreover, their tactical alliance with "liberal internationalists" -- mostly Democrats -- in appealing for the resources required for "nation-building" has, by many accounts, deeply offended Rumsfeld and other "assertive nationalists" in and outside the administration.

[...]

[T]he unanticipated and enormous costs associated with the occupation in Iraq -- to which might now be added the unanticipated and enormous costs of recovery from Hurricane Katrina -- has also demonstrated, both to some right-wing but budget-conscious nationalists, as well as to the rest of the world, that the money for the kind of military PNAC has always lobbied for is simply not available.

[...]

But it would be a mistake to believe that because PNAC and the coalition it represents are down, they must be out, particularly with respect to the other policy initiatives which they recommended four years ago.

Confrontation with Iran, particularly under the leadership of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, is something that the coalition remains unified about, particularly with respect to the prospect of Tehran's acquisition of nuclear weapons.

While PNAC has not explicitly addressed what to do about Iran, there is little question that the coalition -- like the hawks within the administration -- remains fundamentally united on its own hard-line policy and, in any event, an absolute refusal to directly engage the new government.

What to do about Syria is more uncertain, although more hawkish sectors within the coalition clearly favour "regime change", possibly with the help of cross-border attacks in the name of pre-empting the infiltration of insurgents into Iraq, as has been called for by Kristol, among others.

you don't have to listen too hard to hear the sabres rattling over iran and syria...

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More welfare for the have's...This time it's hurricane relief aid...

bushco never misses a chance to push social darwinism and political ideology... that it comes in the guise of hurricane relief aid is simply an indication of how low they're willing to go... nauseating...

The Congressional Research Service, an office that provides nonpartisan legislative analysis to lawmakers, pointed to several items in virtually identical bills that passed in the House and Senate last week.

One helps hurricane victims get access to their savings by waiving penalties imposed on taxpayers who tap into their retirement savings accounts before retirement. Others let taxpayers write off more of their destroyed property, and erase taxes regularly imposed when a debt, like a mortgage, is forgiven.

The report says lower income survivors are less likely to have retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs to tap into for recovery. Because many lower income individuals and families pay little tax, assistance efforts that lower their taxes may do little good, the report said.

i don't doubt that both of these provisions can provide relief to those who need it but i would much rather see stronger measures to assist those who took the worst of it - the people who either could not afford or had no means to leave and those who had to stay behind due to their own disability or the disability of a loved one... THAT'S where aid is REALLY needed...

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Sunset from space

time for something less intense and easier on the eyes...

Example

Greenland and Iceland are in the upper left.
Bottom center-left is the west coast of Africa.
The white extending to the east is the Sahara.
Spain, Great Britain, Ireland, and western
France are in the last of the sunlight. City
lights are already on in the rest of Northern
Africa, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Western
Russia, and the Balkans.

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Bush on a "precipice..." USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll

oops... sorry... didn't mean to jostle ya there... careful... that's loose rock, ya know... O-M-G...!!

Bush's overall approval rating is 40%, equaling a previous low. His disapproval is 58%, a new high.

"Bush stands at a precipice," says Carroll Doherty of the non-partisan Pew Research Center. "He's lost ground among independents. He seems to be starting to lose ground among his own party. And he lost the Democrats a long time ago."

"long time ago...?" for me, it was when he announced his candidacy, when was it, back in 1997 or '98...?

By a record 66%-31%, independents disapprove of the job Bush is doing as president.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan says the president "knows a leader must govern based on what he believes is right, not based on polls." Bush is "working to address the priorities that Americans are most concerned about," he says.

oh, scotty, fercryinoutloud, you are s-o-o-o-oo LAME...

By more than 4-to-1, Americans want an independent panel - not Congress - to investigate the government's response to Katrina.

if bush and the american people continue true to form, he's just gonna keep on sloggin' and karl is gonna keep on trottin' out the same old b.s. and we're gonna keep on readin' polls like this until he's in the minus digits and we're gonna keep on wringin' our hands and sayin', "mommy, mommy, make the bad man stop...!"

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Mysteries explained

Katha Pollitt explains it for us:

Sometimes I wonder if the future, in some strange metaphysical way, reaches down into our psyches and readies us to accept what is to come. Maybe we know things before we know them. By the time change is plain to see, we've unconsciously adapted to it and have learned to call it something else--God's will, human nature, life.

Let's say, for example, that the American Empire is just about over. Let's say China and India and other countries as well are set to surge ahead in science and technology, leaving reduced opportunities for upward mobility for the educated, while capital continues to roam the world in search of cheap labor, leaving a shattered working class. Let's say we really are becoming a society of fixed status: the have-nots, an anxious and defensive middle and what George W. Bush famously calls his base, the have-mores. What sort of shifts in culture and social structure would prepare us for this looming state of affairs? A resurgence of Christian fundamentalism would fill the bill nicely.

[...]

And if what we're looking at is an America with an ever-larger and boxed-in working class and tighter competition for high-paying jobs among the elite, fundamentalism is exactly the thing to manage decline: It schools the downwardly mobile in making the best of their lot while teaching them to be grateful for the food pantry and daycare over at the church. At the same time, taking advantage of existing currents of anti-intellectualism and school-tax resistance, it removes from the pool of potential scientists and other creative professionals vast numbers of students, who will have had their minds befuddled with creationism and its smooth-talking cousin, intelligent design.

[...]

For decades the right has worked day and night to delegitimize concepts without which no society can thrive, or maybe even survive--the common good, social solidarity, knowledge and expertise, public service. God, abstinence and the market were supposed to solve all our problems. Bad news--climate change, rising poverty, racial and gender disparities, educational failure, the mess in Iraq--was just flimflam from liberals who hate freedom. Is there another world power that lives in such a fantasy world? Now, in old people left to drown in their nursing home beds, in police who reportedly demanded that young women stranded on rooftops bare their breasts in return for rescue, in the contempt for public safety shown by Bush's transformation of FEMA into a pasture for hapless cronies--we can all see what those fantasies obscured. A government that doesn't believe in government was a disaster waiting to happen.

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Bush insists on investigating himself

without a single doubt, he thinks we're all slobbering fools...

President Bush has named Frances Fragos Townsend, his domestic security adviser, to lead an internal White House inquiry into the administration's performance in handling Hurricane Katrina, Scott McClellan, Mr. Bush's spokesman, said Monday.

and, btw, would somebody please put scott mcclellan out of my misery...?

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Ah.......... If only..........

(thanks to esteemed daughter-in-law...)

Example

(p.s. in 1969, i was in vietnam and those guys were, uh, were....... hmmmmm... i don't THINK they were in vietnam...)

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In remembrance - Simon Wiesenthal

Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who was credited with tracking down 1,100 Nazi war criminals, died today aged 96.

Mr Wiesenthal passed away in his sleep at his home in Vienna, Austria, Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles, said.

"I think he'll be remembered as the conscience of the Holocaust," Mr Hier said. "When the Holocaust ended in 1945 and the whole world went home to forget, he alone remained behind to remember. He did not forget. He became the permanent representative of the victims, determined to bring the perpetrators of the history's greatest crime to justice."

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Outrage du jour - destroying food intended for the survivors

sorry to be so flippant but there just doesn't seem to be a day goes by without a generous helping of outrage... here's another one...

Hundreds of tons of British food aid shipped to America for starving Hurricane Katrina survivors is to be burned.

US red tape is stopping it from reaching hungry evacuees.

Instead tons of the badly needed Nato ration packs, the same as those eaten by British troops in Iraq, has been condemned as unfit for human consumption.

[...]

The aid worker, who would not be named, said: "This is the most appalling act of sickening senselessness while people starve.

"The FDA has recalled aid from Britain because it has been condemned as unfit for human consumption, despite the fact that these are Nato approved rations of exactly the same type fed to British soldiers in Iraq.

"Under Nato, American soldiers are also entitled to eat such rations, yet the starving of the American South will see them go up in smoke because of FDA red tape madness."

[...]

Food from Spain and Italy is also being held because it fails to meet US standards and has been judged unfit for human consumption.

And Israeli relief agencies are furious that thousands of gallons of pear juice are to be destroyed because it has been judged unfit.

could we look any worse in the eyes of the world...?

"Everyone is revolted by the chaotic shambles the US is making of this crisis. Guys from Unicef are walking around spitting blood."

guess not...

(thanks to dailykos...)

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John Edwards speech on poverty at The Center for American Progress

Edwards was right in saying at the Center for American Progress that Katrina not only exposed America's dirty secret but presented a ''historic moment" when it is clear the country is ready to support action but is short on the leadership that can prompt it.

In a clue to his instinctive understanding of poverty, Edwards's summary of first principles includes the central concept (I first heard it from Hubert Humphrey on the subject of civil rights some 40 years ago) that confronting poverty is not something "we" do for "them."

"This is something we do for us -- for all of us. It makes us stronger; it makes us better," he said.

"instinctive understanding of poverty..." a gene missing from the house of bush dna...

Raising the minimum wage, after nearly a decade of stagnation, is the most obvious, but also dramatic, poverty-fighting step the country could take.

Another would be at least a doubling of the earned income tax credit, in effect a rebate for those with incomes too low to expose them to the income tax.

These simple ideas flow from a basic fact of modern life that is much too frequently forgotten -- nearly all officially poor people work full time.

''Nobody who works full-time should have to raise children in poverty or in fear that one health emergency or pink slip will drive them over the cliff," said Edwards.

working hard and playing by the rules, in the world of the r's, only means something if it makes you rich... rich is equated with value as a person... accumulating wealth is the principal index of character... if you can't manage to sock away the bucks, it's probably because you are essentially no damn good and don't deserve any breaks - and certainly not a free lunch...

[Edwards] still has an uncanny ability to reach people, and it is now a fact that what he emphasized during the campaign is today what the country clearly wishes its political leaders to emphasize.

"ability to reach people..." how interesting... i hadn't thought of it in that context before but there hasn't been one single time that i have felt touched as a human being by something that bush said... not once... being "reached" has nothing to do with the intellectual or the rational... when it happens, it's spontaneous and i know it intuitively... if bush was capable of "reaching" me, it would happen without my conscious participation... i also know that i'm eminently "reachable" should he ever decide to show himself as a real human being instead of a scripted charlie mccarthy, karl rove's version of edgar bergen's wooden dummy...

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Bill Maher's open message to George Bush

thanks to my good friend, reid...

"Mr. President, this job can't be fun for you any more. There's no more money to spend--you used up all of that. You can't start another war because you used up the army. And now, darn the luck, the rest of your term has become the Bush family nightmare: helping poor people. Listen to your Mom. The cupboard's bare, the credit cards maxed out. No one's speaking to you. Mission accomplished.

"Now it's time to do what you've always done best: lose interest and walk away. Like you did with your military service and the oil company and the baseball team. It's time. Time to move on and try the next fantasy job. How about cowboy or space man? Now I know what you're saying: there's so many other things that you as President could involve yourself in. Please don't. I know, I know. There's a lot left to do. There's a war with Venezuela. Eliminating the sales tax on yachts. Turning the space program over to the church. And Social Security to Fannie Mae. Giving embryos the vote.

"But, Sir, none of that is going to happen now. Why? Because you govern like Billy Joel drives. You've performed so poorly I'm surprised that you haven't given yourself a medal. You're a catastrophe that walks like a man. Herbert Hoover was a shitty president, but even he never conceded an entire city to rising water and snakes.

"On your watch, we've lost almost all of our allies, the surplus, four airliners, two trade centers, a piece of the Pentagon and the City of New Orleans. Maybe you're just not lucky. I'm not saying you don't love this country. I'm just wondering how much worse it could be if you were on the other side.

"So, yes, God does speak to you. What he is saying is: 'Take a hint.'"

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For Bushco, every day is "opposite day..."

up is down, black is white, democracy is denial of civil liberties, fiscal irresponsibility is good for the economy, hatred and intolerance are family values, patriotism is stifling dissent, brownie is doing a heckuva job, karl rove is the man to handle disaster recovery, and failure is success in iraq...

Last week, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, declared "great successes" against insurgents. But Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, where Lynch briefed reporters, was under stepped-up security screening and U.S. guard for fear of suicide bombings. Insurgents for three days running last week managed to lob mortar rounds into the Green Zone, the heart of the U.S. and Iraqi administration.

Lynch spoke at the close of a two-day onslaught of bombings and shootings that killed nearly 190 people, the bloodiest days in Baghdad since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

in the background i can hear the kool-aid drinkers mantra... "what a shame that the media let the bloodiest days in iraq since march 2003 eclipse the 'good things' that are happening there..."

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George and Karl, Part 2

pinky and the brain have a certain appeal (see previous post) but alison's suggestion takes things to an entirely new level... thanks, alison...

Example

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Macedonia - speaking of the IMF

macedonia is one of those countries that has tied itself to imf, world bank, and other donor monies... unfortunately, given the mess their government is in, they may not have any other choice... the imf, for their part, isn't shoving any sunshine up macedonia's dress...

[P]oorly functioning institutions - restrictive labor market regulations, inefficient state institutions and dysfunctional courts - have undermined business activity directly and kept per capita FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] low, even by regional standards. [Note: Regional standards are pretty damn low.] The resulting weak competitiveness has led to disappointing growth, high unemployment, and a persistent current account deficit. The restrictive business climate has also created a large informal sector [gray/black market].

"weak competitiveness..." ~sigh~ i've spent the past two years, off and on, working for a competitiveness project in macedonia...

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Argentina - fastest growth on the planet but still faced with hard choices

[T]he growth rates for the first half of this year were truly astounding and leave the skeptics wondering when the long-awaited slowdown is going to come. Not only does the economy continue to grow but it is even picking up speed — while the growth rate for the first half of this year was 9.1 percent, the growth rate for the second quarter was 10.1 percent. With this momentum there seems no way this year’s growth can be below seven percent.

[...]

Yet Argentina seems to be running hard to stay in the same place. All this growth simply takes Argentina back to 1997 with the Gross Domestic Product now calculated at 313 billion pesos — just a few billion pesos less than eight years ago with the huge difference that pesos were then also worth dollars. Despite having virtually the fastest growth in the world, Argentina occupies at best a middle ranking as a place to do business.

[...]

With more investor-friendly attitudes, persuading the rest of the world to put its money into double-digit quarterly growth would be simplicity itself — a government could then indeed run on automatic pilot. But with its populist hostility towards investors, the government has managed to make the question of investment needlessly complex.

i disagree with the "needlessly" part... argentina has good reason to harbor suspicion of u.s.-style capitalism and foreign investment and even more reason to adopt the populist, center-left stance that has put them more aligned with hugo chavez' venezuela than with the u.s... the 2001 economic collapse, stemming in no small part from a lock-step approach to following imf dictates, was a huge and lasting shock to a country that was only beginning to shake off the horrible years of the "dirty war" and the nightmare of the "disappeareds..." argentina's a great country with some terrific people... i wish 'em the very best...

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Garry Trudeau speaks to the Guardian about Doonesbury and dissent in the U.S...

very interesting... very, VERY interesting... also very worthwhile visiting the guardian to read the whole interview, in no small part because trudeau almost never grants interviews... a sample...

"I will say there's no shortage of dissent in America - it's just that it's largely impotent. Challenges to the White House narrative continue to be reframed as unpatriotic. And fear-mongering has disabled civil public discourse. Before the last election, our friends abroad could say the problem was Bush, not the American people. No longer."

"impotent" dissent... and there ya have it...

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George and Karl

sorry... had to do it... been too serious... time to lighten up...

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Great speech, George...! The lighting was terrific...!

since karl and george don't pay any attention to polls, this shouldn't bother them a bit...

September 18, 2005--Thirty-five percent (35%) of Americans now say that President Bush has done a good or excellent job responding to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. That's down from 39% before his speech from New Orleans.

The latest Rasmussen Reports survey shows that 41% give the President poor marks for handling the crisis, that's up 37% before the speech.

Fifty percent (50%) of Americans favor the main proposal from that speech--a federal commitment of $200 billion to help rebuild New Orleans. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are opposed and 23% are not sure.

The spending plan has not been well received by conservative voters--just 43% favor the huge federal commitment partisan while 37% are opposed. This is especially striking given how supportive the President's base has remained throughout his Administration.

The President's reconstruction plan is favored by 66% of liberal voters. Still, only 10% of liberals give the President a good or an excellent rating for handling the crisis.

Following the speech, the President's rating for handling the Katrina crisis fell eight points among Republicans (from 71% good or excellent to 63%). The President also draws good or excellent marks from 11% of Democrats and 31% of those not affiliated with either major political party.

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of black voters support the federal reconstruction spending while just 17% are opposed. Among white voters, 49% favor the spending and 29% are opposed. This is the first Bush Administration proposal hat has attracted more support from black Americans than from white Americans.

an 8 point drop among r's AFTER THE SPEECH... that's HUGE...

(thanks to think progress...)

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Uh-oh... I've been surfing in dangerous territory again...

you'd think i'd know better, wouldn't you...?

The Middle East has not suffered damages like Japan and Europe after WW II. The recovery of our Gulf States must take precedence over the survival of a people bent on self destruction.

My suggestion is partially Nuke Iran so other Arab countries can be humbled into world wide compliance. If you have another solution let me know please. I am feeling so bitter lately, all I can feel for the Arab Nations is nothing, but disgust.

i've been back in the u.s. since thursday and it's been pleasant - until now... i thought perhaps katrina might have sobered up some of the die-hard, testosterone-crazed, k-i-t-a freaks out there but, sadly, no... as molly ivins said when she returned from paris after being stranded there during 9/11... "i knew i was back in texas when i saw the banner on the neighborhood watering hole - 'hot babes, cold beer, nuke 'em, george...'"

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Guns, butter and tax cuts... I see the guns... I see the tax cuts...

where the hell is the butter...?

Whatever his other accomplishments, Bush will go down in history as the most fiscally irresponsible chief executive in American history. Since 2001, government spending has gone up from $1.86 trillion to $2.48 trillion, a 33 percent rise in four years! Defense and Homeland Security are not the only culprits. Domestic spending is actually up 36 percent in the same period. These figures come from the libertarian Cato Institute's excellent report "The Grand Old Spending Party," which explains that "throughout the past 40 years, most presidents have cut or restrained lower-priority spending to make room for higher-priority spending. What is driving George W. Bush's budget bloat is a reversal of that trend." To govern is to choose. And Bush has decided not to choose. He wants guns and butter and tax cuts.

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Bush, the dry drunk

lambert at corrente makes a very perceptive observation...

So, Bush is going to heave billions at Halliburton/"folks" in Louisiana.

Reminds me of the kind of drunk Dad who rolls in, trashes the house, gropes the sitter, starts screaming abuse, and then crashes in front of a blasting TV while Mom and the kids hide out upstairs.

And in the morning he goes out and buys a whole lot of expensive gifts you don't really like to make up for it.

And acts like nothing's happened.

ain't it the truth...

(thanks to alternet: blogs: peek...)

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Bush is the wizard unmasked

well, frank, you see it, i see it, there are a lot of other people who see it, but bush is still there, he's still selling the snake oil, the country is still heading to hell in a hand basket, and the media have resumed their deep slumber... (except you, of course, and a few of your esteemed media colleagues who have been largely unsuccessful in gaining an audience wider than those of us who have already seen it for ourselves...)

Once Toto parts the curtain, the Wizard of Oz can never be the wizard again. He is forever Professor Marvel, blowhard and snake-oil salesman. Hurricane Katrina, which is likely to endure in the American psyche as long as L. Frank Baum's mythic tornado, has similarly unmasked George W. Bush.

The worst storm in our history proved perfect for exposing this president because in one big blast it illuminated all his failings: the rampant cronyism, the empty sloganeering of "compassionate conservatism," the lack of concern for the "underprivileged" his mother condescended to at the Astrodome, the reckless lack of planning for all government operations except tax cuts, the use of spin and photo-ops to camouflage failure and to substitute for action.

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Roberts: WaPo proposes, NYT disposes

wapo...

John G. Roberts Jr. should be confirmed as chief justice of the United States.

nyt...

[T]he unknowns about Mr. Roberts's views remain troubling, especially since he is being nominated not merely to the Supreme Court, but to be chief justice. That position is too important to entrust to an enigma, which is what Mr. Roberts remains. [...] Senators should vote against Mr. Roberts not because they know he does not have the qualities to be an excellent chief justice, but because he has not met the very heavy burden of proving that he does.

suspicion: a wolf in sheep's clothing... prediction: he'll be confirmed...

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