Wednesday, June 30, 2004
The New York Daily News Gets It
As a follow-up to our earlier post on Gotham Notes..., "New York's Hometown Paper" pretty much sums it all up on the Steinberg matter.0 comments
Today's cover:
New York Daily News Covers
Today's story:
Joel Steinberg coverage. (Note: There's an odd HTML gap on the main page, so you may have to scroll down a bit to see the actual coverage.)
To see what NYers are screaming about, there's a picture of Lisa down by the Reader Poll section on the lower right of the main article page.
Remember, this is no Moppet Law violater type of offender "did his time" case, here. This is a smart, well-off attorney, hooked on a crack pipe who tore his adopted daughter to pieces because she was staring at him, and got off with manslaughter and is back on the street in 16 years.
It only seems like yesterday.
posted by Gotham 7:38 PM
Reality Check for George
I just received an auto-response to an e-mail I sent to the White House through Planned Parenthood, objecting to the re-appointment of Dr. David Hagar to the Advisory Panel for Reproductive Drugs at the Food and Drug Administration.0 comments
The man is a barbarian, but that's another post.
What prompted me to write this post is the e-mail I received in reply from "president@whitehouse.gov".
My e-mail client clearly marked it:
"This message appears to be junk mail."
'Nough said.
posted by Gotham 7:17 PM
The Wisdom of George
Again, to prove George W. Bush's political savvy, there's this report from CBS News Producer Portia Siegelbaum:0 comments
CBS News: Cuban-Americans Caught In The Middle of Bush v. Castro
To think that we'd live to see Karl Rove allow his man to piss all over the shoes of arguably one of the two strongest, most monolithic Republican voting blocs alive is absolutely astonishing to me.
On Monday, the talk at Miami International airport was bitter - all about the pending implementation of the new travel restrictions.
The restrictions are intended to hasten the collapse of the [Fidel] Castro regime, but airport employees in Miami were not discussing the long-awaited collapse of communism on the island.
Skycaps and other airport workers were only talking of possible layoffs brought about by a sharp cut in the number of travelers going To Cuba. Some ironically dubbed George Bush “Jorge Castro,” saying he was worse than Fidel Castro.
So it was no surprise that on Tuesday - the day before the new rules were to take effect - Cuban-Americans waving plane tickets jammed MIA’s Terminal E. They argued with officials who refused to let them board charter planes for the hop across the Florida Straits.
The news media reported anxious men and women yelling, “Yes we can…Freedom…We want to travel.”
(Clip)
Maria Hernandez, a Miami registered nurse, was one of the hundreds waiting to leave Havana on Tuesday afternoon. She’d flown in on Friday for one last visit to “family”, in her case aunts and cousins. The new regulations will only permit Cuban-Americans to visit immediate family members.
“I’m sorry Mr. President,” she told CBS News, “but you can’t tell me who is my family. I’m a Cuban and all these people are my family.”
Hernandez has been a Bush supporter in the past but now she’s not sure. “I don’t want to break the law, but I have to see my family and friends.”
Hernandez is one of many Cuban-Americans who hint that the newest Bush initiatives on Cuba, intended to garner votes in the November presidential election, may backfire.
Such political stupidity.
posted by Gotham 7:02 PM
Leeches Aren't Just Stealing Money Anymore!
If there were any question that the administration of George W. Bush is leading us back to the 18th Century, there's this:0 comments
Leeches receive FDA approval as medical device
Oh, Lord...
posted by Gotham 6:47 PM
It's a New York Thing, You Wouldn't Understand...
I hereby take back every snarky comment I may have ever made about Long Island:0 comments
NYTimes: Nassau County Issues Free Cards to Provide Discounts on Medicines
This is a great story.
I think there's a Nobel Prize for somebody in here somewhere.
posted by Gotham 1:45 PM
Disgusting
NYTimes: Steinberg Is Freed, 16 Years After Killing Girl0 comments
If David Berkowitz remains the strongest symbol of the 1970s in New York City, Joel Steinberg is the horrid poster-boy symbol of the cocaine-crazed New York of the 1980s.
Now we see the tragedy of the jury convicting Steinberg only of manslaughter—rather than murder—coming back to haunt us.
16 years is what some mobsters serve for racketeering, for crissakes.
Little Lisa Launders Steinberg would be 22 today, heading out on her adult path, were it not for this violent, arrogant prick.
Maybe Steinberg might have been less dangerous if he hadn't had an excellent income to spend on drugs and the Reagan administration hadn't flooded New York and other U.S. cities with the Contras's cocaine.
Hedda Nussbaum received most of the sympathy press at the time, as a symbol of battered women everywhere. One can only assume that enterprising present-day media types will jump all over this to track Hedda down and do scores of up-to-the-minute interviews. It's got that retro-Scott Peterson thing. Nice 'n' juicy. Should be a sure-fire ratings booster.
But, let's all keep in mind that an otherwise vibrant young woman is, today, simply a dead little girl.
And that's the story that's really important.
posted by Gotham 1:12 PM
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Military Code Update
Today marks the official end of "No One Left Behind."0 comments
Bush: This is Iyad Allawi's problem now. We're not responsible for anything. Iraq for Iraqis, I say. Besides, I've got a campaign to run.
posted by Gotham 5:59 PM
Bush2004.com: Muslim Arab World Backs Bush Re-Election0 comments
Remember:
If Bush wins, the terrorists win!
posted by Gotham 5:19 PM
Jesse Rides Again!
The difference between an Ultra-conservative and a Neo-conservative:0 comments
Charles Bebington reports in today's Washington Post:
Quotable
"I would not have voted for [President Bush's] tax cut, based on what I know. . . . There is no doubt that the people at the top who need a tax break the least will get the most benefit. . . . Too often presidents do things that don't end up helping the people they should be helping, and their staffs won't tell them their actions stink on ice."
—Former senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), in a recent interview with Business North Carolina magazine.
Even the most ultra-conservatives just look at matters with their view of how to make America better for Americans. Neo-cons are always about having everyone in the world do things their way.
posted by Gotham 5:12 PM
Librarians Fight Back
The American Library Association to survey libraries about government requests for patron records under The Patriot Act0 comments
Note to the Bush administration:
Never piss off a researcher.
posted by Gotham 1:51 PM
Monday, June 28, 2004
Titan Corp. / Lockheed Merger Update
This $1.6 billion merger, between the U.S.'s single-biggest defense contractor and one of the larger of the corporate private army companies, seems off for the time being.0 comments
So, obviously, the interrogators from Titan Corporation just didn't get enough "actionable intelligence" at Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca to keep the Pentagon (Lockheed's biggest client, as well as Titan's) happy.
Maybe our favorite private army corporation should start beheading Iraqis, as well—that'll make'em talk, boy. I mean, gee, it's just business.
Just tryin' to keep the customer satisfied.
Business as usual seen at Lockheed
By Lisa Sanders, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 2:38 PM ET June 28, 2004
DALLAS (CBS.MW) -- Lockheed Martin isn't expected to aggressively pursue another acquisition in the near term following the failed merger with fellow defense contractor Titan, analysts said Monday, though they allowed that the deal's termination could be a negotiating tactic.
Lockheed (NYSE: LMT) scrapped the $1.66 billion acquisition after San Diego-based Titan (NYSE: TTN) failed to meet a Friday deadline calling for it to strike a plea agreement with the Justice Department to resolve bribery allegations. See full story.
"The deal is terminated," said Lockheed spokesman Tom Jurkowsky, who refused to comment on whether a reengineered deal might be in the works. "We don't talk about future mergers and acquisitions."
"With regard to our money, consistently, management is focused on deploying cash to enhance stockholder value," he added.
Among other things, that includes investing in the growth of its core businesses, share repurchases, dividend increases and debt reduction.
Shares of Lockheed fell 50 cents to $51.47 in afternoon trading. Titan's stock sank 98 cents, or 6.7 percent, to $13.55.
"[Lockheed's] not actively looking for anyone else," said Paul Nisbet, who covers the company for JSA Research. "This one with Titan just presented an opportunity and they jumped on it."
In a research report, Legg Mason wrote that it doesn't expect Lockheed to soon pursue another deal and added the company is likely to use the money it saved to buy back shares.
"If Lockheed were to use half of its $2 billion cash position to repurchase shares, the company could most likely repurchase about 20 million shares over the next two years, resulting in an estimated 10-cent increase in 2005 earnings per share," analyst Troy Lahr said.
Thomas Weisel Partners also expects the cash to be funneled to share repurchases or dividend increases.
"We are surprised by the apparent collapse of the Titan acquisition," analyst David Gremmels said in his report. "We had believed both parties remained motivated to complete the deal. ... It now appears this assumption was wrong, although there remains at least a chance that this exercise amounts to a negotiating tactic to extract improved deal terms."
Merrill Lynch analyst Byron Callan said in his report that the failure of the Titan deal leaves unresolved problems at Lockheed.
"These include need for defense network/information technology design capabilities, need for personnel with security clearances and for diversification away from new platform programs," Callan wrote.
Titan has 8,700 workers with security clearance, according to Nisbet.
Callan posited that Lockheed might indeed pursue other defense IT acquisitions -- meaning shareholders won't benefit from all the free cash flow.
"The fact that Lockheed has not concurrently announced plans for use of cash that would otherwise have been used in the acquisition suggests that this part of the company strategy remains open," Callan wrote.
Titan's shares, which reached a 52-week high of $21.99 on January 14, traded as low as $7 on April 11, 2003.
"After a [more than] 20 percent decline last Friday," added Credit Suisse First Boston's Adam Weiner, "we suspect Titan will face more selling pressure in the short term as the stock's investor base is likely to experience a period of high turnover/volatility."
The analyst expects to review the company's 2004 and 2005 earning-per-share estimates due to the uncertain resolution of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department investigations, as well as Titan management's focus on those issues and the merger instead of on business operations.
It's amazing to see that, on occasion, crime actually doesn't pay.
Especially, if you get caught...
posted by Gotham 4:06 PM
The Real Reel Deal
Politics, schmolitics.0 comments
Let's get right to where the nation's real decision-making emphasis lies.
Lions Gate rolls with `Fahrenheit' 911'
By Jon Friedman, CBS.MarketWatch.com
1:05 PM ET June 28, 2004
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Weeks ago, Lions Gate Entertainment took a chance by agreeing to distribute Michael Moore's controversial anti-President [George W.] Bush movie "Fahrenheit 911' after others passed on it.
Lions Gate (NYSE: LGF) is enjoying a stunning confirmation of the wisdom of its decision. "Fahrenheit" was the winner at the box office last weekend, bringing in a startling $21.8 million, making the movie the best-performing documentary of all time.
Lions Gate gained 11 cents to $7.01, a nearly 2 percent improvement, on top of a 3 percent surge on Friday.
The movie was all the more impressive since it was released in a relatively low number of theaters over the weekend—868. The movie was powered by a highly favorable word of mouth campaign, sparked by its winning the top honor at the recent Cannes Film Festival.
Given the track record of triumphant opening weekends for Hollywood movies—that success tends to feed off itself and cause more good results—it is likely that Michael Moore's movie will continue to rack up impressive box office performances in the weeks ahead.
But the success of the film also presents a conundrum to movie theater operators: Many of them would prefer not to be dragged into the polemics of Moore's liberal ideas. Still, money talks, and the operators would probably quietly continue to show Moore's movie, as long as it makes money for everyone, leading up to the political conventions later in the summer.
As Jon Friedman aptly notes here, everyone in business is a whore.
If the Christian Coalition learns that softening their position on abortion would stand to gain them a 30% profit on their investments, they'd partner with Planned Parenthood in a heartbeat.
So, it'll be interesting to watch ol' Michael Eisner of Disney, who already was in the Boardroom crosshairs for mismanaging the Magic Kingdom. Let's see if he survives loudly proclaiming himself the "anti-whore," who stands steadfastly against something that's going to make everyone currently involved a small fortune. Already cranky shareholders tend to not like any decision that leaves a single buck sitting on the table.
Let alone a whole lotta bucks.
So, keep an eye on the right Michael.
Not Moore, but Eisner.
posted by Gotham 3:07 PM
The Wheel, It Spins
AP: U.S. Occupation Chief Bremer Heads Home0 comments
Accompanied by spokesman Dan Senor, bodyguards and close members of his staff, L. Paul Bremer walked across the tarmac to a U.S. Air Force C-130 military plane.
Iraq's deputy prime minister, Barham Saleh, walked alongside him.
The two shook hands, and Bremer waved to a gathered crowd and left Iraq for home.
"Thank you all for coming to say 'Good-bye'!
Well, we've succeeded in effectively turning this beautiful country into the Third Pit of Hell, and now, satisfied with our efforts, let me just say, we're OUTTA HERE!
See ya, suckers!"
Meanwhile, as Bremer hotfoots it out one door, in comes Big John through another:
AP: Negroponte Takes Ambassador Post in Iraq
John Negroponte, the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, arrived in Baghdad Monday to take over political contact between Washington and the fledgling Iraqi interim government.
The former American envoy to the United Nations reached the Iraqi capital late Monday, hours after the handover of sovereignty to Iraq's new government.
And by still later on Monday night, this former U.S. overseer in Guatamala in the 1980s had two full Iraqi death squads up and fully operational.
It's good to hit the ground running.
posted by Gotham 2:53 PM
The RNC's New York Folly #12
I love this town!0 comments
The New York Times: Hoisting Rainbow Flags, Wearing Campaign Buttons
It's lovely to see that Love, Commitment, Morality and Family Values are alive and well on the streets of this normally hard, cold city.
When they're so dead and decrepit in Washington, DC and so much of the rest of this great country. (See previous post.)
posted by Gotham 2:16 PM
Bush's Eyes and Ears to His Heart and Soul
In politics, nothing is happenstance.0 comments
Ever wonder just how it is that President "of all the people" George W. Bush and the Christian fundamentalists end up on the same page so often? And how these religious extremists hold such sway over this White House?
They work it, baby, they work it!
The New York Times: Aide Is Bush's Eyes and Ears on the Right
Ever wonder who Bush's liaison to moderates and liberals is?
It's... it's... umm, never mind.
Whoever it is, they most likely have an orange-crate desk with a couple of pieces of notebook paper, under some oak tree at Camp David. They'd be happy to get your message directly to the president, if you could only find the right oak tree. And if he/she could only get Karl Rove to take his/her calls.
Americans should demand Timothy Goeglein's purely political job be taken off the public payroll. Just what is his governmental function, pray tell?
As should Karl Rove's, who is Goeglein's boss.
posted by Gotham 2:06 PM
Saturday, June 26, 2004
"If We Can't Win on Merit...
...then, we'll corrupt a law. Any law. By any means necessary.0 comments
—Citizens United, a right wing, Republican-sponsored group
Boston Herald / Feds: Ban ads for Moore flick
posted by Gotham 4:48 PM
Leadership, or Binge and Purge...
AP: Shadow President Dick Cheney Defends Use of Profanity2 comments
"I expressed myself rather forcefully, felt better after I had done it," [Dick] Cheney told broadcast sources.
Cheney said those who heard the putdown agreed with him.
"I think that a lot of my colleagues felt that what I had said badly needed to be said, that it was long overdue."
My.
Well...
You know what?
I think Dick Cheney is a corrupt, arrogant asshole, and has personally overseen the brutal slaughter of thousands of innocent Americans and Iraqis.
Ahhh, I feel much better now that I've said that.
I think many of my fellow Americans will agree with me.
Many Americans feel that what I just said badly needed to be said, and was way overdue.
Now, we can all move on.
posted by Gotham 4:12 PM
Bush Trots Out Cheney's Law for Europe
In this Reuters article covering George W. Bush's trip to Ireland, the POTUS reiterates the doctrine outlined earlier this week by Shadow President Dick Cheney:0 comments
Reuters: Bush tells Irish he sees priority as popularity at home
"My job is to do my job. I'm going to do it the way I think is necessary. I'm going to set a vision, I will lead, and we'll just let the chips fall where they may."
Which, for our non-American friends in Europe and elsewhere, loosely translates as:
"Go fuck yourself."
Then, always the eager student of history, Bush wrapped himself in the mantle of that great American military icon, Gen. George Armstrong Custer:
Bush hoped his two-day visit would mark a turning point in relations with Europe, confidently declaring at the end: "The bitter differences of the war are over."
Duck.
posted by Gotham 3:56 PM
Friday, June 25, 2004
Honor Among Thieves (and Torturers...)
Psssst. Pssssst.0 comments
Wanna know where the Iraqi prison torture scandal came from?
Titan: Lockheed won't extend deadline
As you know, Titan Corporation, of San Diego, CA, is ass-deep in the torture horrors at Abu Ghraib. Their paramilitaries showed up in unmarked uniforms and with tons of bravado, and—with the tacit approval of Bush administration officials and the military commanders in field—directed our untrained Reserve and Guard units into committing unspeakable acts.
For Titan, this was simply a business deal.
A desperate business deal.
As we see here, Titan already has major legal headaches with the Justice Department over their running afoul of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (i.e., international bribery charges).
[Side note: Yikes! Just HOW MUCH worse than simple corporate corruption must a company's malfeasence be to warrant a serious corruption probe from the Justice Department according to John Ashcroft?!? "Check your pockets! Hide the women and children! We're talkin' Evildoers, here!"]
Titan's consultants allegedly bribed foreign officials to win military radio contracts. The probe concerns the dealings of three Titan business units operating in West Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
The SEC has told Titan it is leaning towards pressing civil charges.
This, obviously, is not just a couple of rogue operatives. This is pointed at three different business units in various parts of the world.
Even in a worldwide corporate and political climate where stuffed envelopes are shoved across luncheon tables with regularity, Titan obviously overreached— they became either too greedy or too desperate for contracts for even THIS crowd to stomach.
Fast forward:
Titan has entered into a deal with Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, MD, the No. 1 U.S defense contractor, where Lockheed will take over Titan in a $1.6 billion deal.
But Lockheed is becoming increasingly nervous:
Lockheed ... has been concerned that the outcome of the federal inquiry may affect its future government contracting business.
Under the terms of the deal it would have to approve the consent agreements Titan enters with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Clip)
Titan must pay Lockheed $60 million under "certain conditions" if the deal is terminated, according to SEC filings.
Titan is quickly running out of time.
To complete the merger, Titan must either enter a plea agreement with the Justice Department or get written confirmation by Friday that the probe is complete and will not result in any fines. Titan has set aside $3 million to cover the costs of any possible fines.
Under the amended deal terms, Lockheed or Titan can terminate the deal after Friday if the conditions are not satisfied.
In a statement issued Thursday, Titan (NYSE: TTN) said, based on information received from the government by both Titan and Lockheed (NYSE: LMT), it does not expect a definitive plea agreement can be finalized before the deadline.
Titan also said it has not received any information from Lockheed concerning whether or not it will terminate the merger deal.
"Titan asked us to amend the agreement again to authorize another extension," said Lockheed spokesman Tom Jurkowsky. "We declined to do so. We weren't under any obligation."
Not good. They're talking to each other through the press. That's not good in the New York Yankees' clubhouse, and it's not good during merger talks.
What you hear, folks, is the sound of Titan sweating.
Let's see... . Let's sum up:
They've overreached in their international client dealings to the point where they've offended even George W. Bush's "I Call You My Base" constituency, and that Base is about to lower the boom on our favorite little private army corporation.
As a result, they've become contaminated goods, and their $1.6 billion payday is ready to tank
They had a client (the Pentagon) who was breathing down their necks, as clients often do in business today, perhaps as they do in your office or plant.
Titan's client was getting killed in the world press for the astonishing speed of the unraveling of their Iraq plan. They HAD to stop this rising insurgency. But they had no clue as to what really was going on and who, if anyone, was in charge of it all.
So Titan puts more boots on the ground in Iraq. The administration clears the way through the military red tape for them, then becomes increasingly more demanding: More Results. More Results. We don't care how you do it, just get us more information!
Voila! Abu Ghraib. Camp Bucca. And the rest.
And Lockheed is afraid that Titan might hurt its image?
Lockheed is lucky they don't have a shareholder revolt of their own.
Pop Quiz:
When's the last time that your representative in Congress,
or your Senator represented YOUR interests?
Get Angry! Have your say.
Write your elected officials now!
Here's the Realtime Iraq Invasion Cost Clock!
posted by Gotham 11:55 AM
Thursday, June 24, 2004
The Law According to GWB
My.0 comments
Legal experts slam torture policy process / White House rebuffed memo saying Bush could be above law
On Tuesday, the White House disavowed the memo, and administration officials said it was being rewritten. Bush also insisted, "We do not condone torture."
"Since y'all are gonna make such a BIG deal out of this, 'We do not condone torture' anymore. OK?"
posted by Gotham 3:57 PM
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Movie Night at the White House
This is perfect:0 comments
U.S. Drops Effort to Gain Immunity for Its Troops
Now, the rest of the world can sit and lick its chops, waiting to open negotiations with the U.S.
Want U.S. approval of Kyoto?
Fine. Just get us off the hook in Iraq.
Want to push through any ol' agenda that's important to you and your country, but which the Bush administration has been peeing on?
Just invent some kind of exit strategy for us to get out of Iraq (which includes our keeping at least a FEW of the oil wells!) with as little humiliation and as little a blow to George W. Bush's re-election campaign, and you can have anything you want.
Bush has now taken over the territory historically mined and perfected by the actor John Rhys-Davies—the arrogant, conniving, blowhard thief who has now been caught in the web of his own deceit, usually at the peril of his own life or mortal soul. Davies has perfected the craft of playing a man who is turning morality on its head and groveling for his own skin to any degree necessary to salvage what is left of his life.
Or what's left of his presidency.
Bush must be a big fan.
posted by Gotham 8:03 PM
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Fun with Numbers (Polls, That Is...)
The Gallup Organization has released some additional results from their polling of last week.0 comments
With Transfer of Sovereignty Looming, Attitudes About Iraq Remain Negative
It appears that the American public may be settling into a numerical plateau for now on its attitudes towards the Bush administration's handling of its Iraq invasion.
With the results they released last week, showing Senator John Kerry pulling slightly ahead of President George W. Bush, it appears the great American beast is sitting, unhappily, winded, gathering its breath and its wits, waiting for the next wave of developments before reacting.
Lydia Saad, writing for this week's Gallup Poll release, seems to feel that this could be good news for Bush. That, while things are trending negative, he still has the chance to turn things around. Obviously, it will be up to Kerry's campaign to not allow him to do that.
I do not dispute any of these findings, I believe they make sense.
But, as opposed to last week's release, I do have a couple of bones to pick with Ms. Saad and the Gallup folks.
As they seem to be looking at the numbers in a vacuum, and not in the context that fueled the numbers, I fully disagree with some of their assessments of their own numbers.
Bush's numbers suffered an alarming drop in his approval numbers from January 2004 to April 2004 (61% to 49%). That coincides with the "ass-kicking" that much of the American public looked to inflict on the "evildoers" being turned back on us.
This was a period of almost nonstop car bombings and U.S. deaths ranging from a few a day to a dozen. And while Americans were digesting the daily carnage, the official final reports acknowledging the total absence of any nuclear, chemical or biological weapons in Iraq hit the streets.
Americans were forced to look back and forth between 700+ U.S. dead and no WMDs. $150 billion from the Treasury gone and no WMDs. Back and forth. Back and forth.
This period ended with the killing and mutilation of four American corporate soldiers-for-hire, who were sold to the U.S. public as our "brave heroes," even though they were pulling down $1,500/day to be a private army, while our actual troops were being ripped off for food and materiel by U.S. corporations in Iraq.
The deaths of these mercenaries led to the extended siege at Fallujah, which was a complete military disaster.
A 12 point drop? Bush is lucky the American public didn't come after him with torches and pitchforks.
In all of their subsequent polling, Bush is firmly in negative territory, with negative numbers holding steady in the sub-60% range.
I believe Gallup makes another misread with their "Worth it, or not?" results.
Ms. Saad presents it as a simple trend:
At the same time, only 41% of Americans think the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq; 58% disagree. This attitude has been markedly stable for the last eight months, although earlier in 2003, far fewer Americans (roughly one-quarter) felt the troop deployment was a mistake.
A simplistic read, at best.
Remember, polls are snapshots.
In reality, the trends from this question show The Tale of Two Wars.
Four days after the invasion, America was prettty gung-ho (only 23% thought it was a mistake, growing slightly to 27% in early July). Bush declared the war over on May 1, 2003, while taking a Mick Jagger turn across the deck of an aircraft carrier.
But, by the time the July poll was taken, Americans were already becoming concerned about "the war that wouldn't die."
"It's over," they said. "The president said so. Why are our boys still dying there? What's going on?" became a national refrain.
At the same time, a barrage of reports began to surface about the inaccurracies in the administration's case for war. The Niger nuclear fiasco surfaced; the press was rife with stories about who was responsible for misstatements in the State of the Union speech. Were all of these lies? Or just errors? CIA agent Valerie Plame was illegally out-ed at this time as well, setting off a firestorm of fury aimed at the White House since only about six individuals in the White House would have the "Need-to-know" clearance to know who she really was. And Americans wondered why is it that upwards to 25% of our fallen soldiers to that point had been killed since the war "ended"?
These were all surfacing as Bush got his last fully positive numbers on this question. The next poll's (Oct. 6-8) "not worth it" numbers jumped to 40%, and have hovered between there and 44% since. And will remain there.
This is a tea leaves number and must be looked at with a microscope for miniscule changes over time.
Due to the astonishingly conflicted American psyche these days, you won't see large swings in this number—if you do, that means all hell is breaking loose and you should run for your life. No, look for minute changes in this number.
How can America openly say that it wasn't worth the effort; that it wasn't worth the deaths of 800 soldiers and 10,000-20,000 Iraqis; wasn't worth the total destruction of the Treasury, and still sleep at night? However would the American public ever be able to "Support Our Troops" and still admit that it was all a waste? All those brave troops we "Supported," now buried or broken...a waste?
Simply, it won't happen.
These are the average people who get their hair cut every Saturday, and now have to face their barber who recently lost his son in Fallujah. Or the folks in the office, who have asked the guy two cubicles away about his nephew or brother in Iraq every week or two for the last year; now that the terrible word has arrived, what, if anything, do they say to him now?
No, Americans will be very close to the vest with this question from here on in.
However, as a researcher, here are the parts of this release which gall me the most.
On web page 2, they list their tables. They list the results from a question where they show the results from polling during and after major U.S. conflicts.
I was interested to see that the Gulf War numbers were so positive, uniformly in the high-60% to low-80% range. The positive Afghanistan numbers are almost off the chart. While the Vietnam and Yugoslavian numbers were evenly divided, as are the Iraq numbers.
Then I found out why.
On Question 17, the folks at Gallup are not as forthcoming with question wording changes over time, as they are on other questions in their survey. This has calamitous results.
For years, they have asked the American public about their attitudes about the various conflicts where U.S. troops have been in harm's way.
But they have played fast and loose with their wording of the questions asked about these conflicts. First, Iraq:
Q.17 In view of the developments since we first sent our troops to Iraq, do you think the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, or not?
The key element in this line of questioning is to find out the level of blood sacrifice that's palatable to the U.S. public.
To do that, you must focus the respondent on the potential for the death of U.S. troops. Not rub their noses in it, of course, but focus them all the same.
Here is their wording for the other conflicts tested (all emphases will be mine):
Q.17 (MISTAKE SENDING TROOPS TO IRAQ) CONTINUED
AFGHANISTAN WORDING: Do you think the United States made a mistake in sending military forces to Afghanistan, or not?
YUGOSLAVIA WORDING: In view of the developments since we entered the fighting in Yugoslavia, do you think the United States made a mistake sending military forces to fight in Yugoslavia?
PERSIAN GULF WAR WORDING (Feb. 28-Mar 3, 1991-Jul. 18-21, 1991): In view of the developments since we first sent our troops to the Persian Gulf region, do you think the United States made a mistake in sending troops to the Persian Gulf region, or not?
PERSIAN GULF WAR WORDING (Aug. 16-19, 1990-Feb. 7-10, 1990): In view of the developments since we first sent our troops to Saudi Arabia, do you think the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Saudi Arabia, or not?
VIETNAM WAR WORDING (1990-2000): Looking back, do you think the United States made a mistake sending troops to fight in Vietnam?
VIETNAM WAR WORDING (1965-1973): In view of the developments since we entered the fighting in Vietnam, do you think the U.S. made a mistake sending troops to fight in Vietnam?
KOREAN WAR WORDING (2000): Based on what you have heard or read, do you think the United States made a mistake in going into the war in Korea, or not?
KOREAN WAR WORDING (Feb. 1951-Jan. 1953): Do you think the United States made a mistake in going into the war in Korea, or not?
KOREAN WAR WORDING (Aug. 1950-Jan. 1951): In view of the developments since we entered the fighting in Korea, do you think the United States made a mistake in deciding to defend Korea, or not?
Americans aren't dumb. Asked if they have a problem with having troops IN the Persian Gulf, most will say, No, no problem. You can send our troops anywhere you damned well feel like.
But, if they're dying, well, that's a different story.
Ask if they have a problem having troops FIGHTING IN the Persian Gulf, and you'll see dramatically different numbers.
The most dramatic language affect is on the Korean War, which had just started on June 25, 1950.
Asked the warm and fuzzy "to defend" Korea on August 20-25, Americans responded positively and could only muster a 20% "Mistake" vote. [Note: I was born after this, on the very day of the Inchon invasion.]
However, by January, with the war not going quite so well, Gallup changed the wording to "going into the war in" Korea and the "Mistake" numbers skyrocketed to 49%. The country then remained fairly split on Korea's having been a mistake until the truce in 1953.
With this background of different emotional swings, egged on by biases within the wording of the questions, how much trouble is President George W. Bush really in with his Iraq invasion?
Let's repeat the Iraq question:
Q.17 In view of the developments since we first sent our troops to Iraq, do you think the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, or not?
Considering the American public was given this puffball a question; they remain as conflicted as they are about their sons and daughters feeling supported while they're getting blown up daily; and yet are still as divided as they were over the "fighting" and "war" questions about Yugoslavia, Vietnam and Korea, George W. Bush quickly needs to grab the nearest foxhole he can find. And if Karl Rove doesn't fit as well, push him out.
For if the Gallup Organization clears up this serious question-wording problem, Bush's numbers drop like a rock.
posted by Gotham 1:33 PM
Monday, June 14, 2004
The Lovely Box of Hair Alternative
Today's Impossibly Stupid Article in the Mainstream Press Prize goes to:0 comments
Washington Post: Doubts Linger as Kerry Advances
Runners up include any and all articles that address Sen. John Kerry's electability, or lack of same.
Please, spare us.
Jim VandeHei, a WP staff writer, is most likely a nice fellow. I'm sure his mother loves him.
But is he this impossibly out of the info loop?
A discussion of Kerry's lack of attraction???
I mean, really.
Where has poor Jim been the last year, or so?
There may not be more than 4 or 5 people outside Kerry's family and immediate circle who would consider theirs a vote FOR Kerry.
99.9999999% of all of Kerry's strength is Anti-Bush fury.
Period.
And there's absolutely wrong with that. Where do you think the "Anyone But Bush!" idea came from?
No one from the crowd of 10 candidates in the early Democratic primaries stood a chance against George W. Bush on their own merits.
Not one can say they got Democrats hearts all a-flutter, including Howard Dean (See Iowa and NH). But EVERYONE woke up when Dean and Dennis Kucinich made this a race AGAINST BUSH and his "War of the Week" approach to governing.
Democrats and Independents promptly went nuts.
Each of the Gang of 10 grew muscles.
It no longer mattered who came up with the nomination. The civilized world would unite behind them and work their tushies off to defeat Bush.
As has been said of the Democratic field: "We'd support a Box of Hair."
John Kerry makes for a perfectly delightful Box of Hair, thank you. No problem.
As long as he says nothing stupid or decides that he has to "win" people's votes by becoming "proactive," he's the odds-on bet to be the next president of the United States.
And the world and our country will be better places for it.
Kerry gets to be the "Alternative" when the country has had a bellyful of the vicious, thieving thugs in the White House, and is ready to cast a "Throw the Rascals Out" vote.
So, Mr. VandeHei, if you're going to write articles to/for us, a trip through the archives of the last year and a half is in order. So that you can actually catch up to your audience.
posted by Gotham 4:33 PM
Questions:
Have they finished dragging that poor carcass around yet?0 comments
Is the Republican Deity Tour over yet?
(There hasn't been a cadaver that's been as bounced around as Ronald Reagan's since poor ol' Ted William's body "took two" and his head "went to right.")
Has Wolf Blitzer and his whole CNN family been able to compose themselves yet, decide to face the future without Ronnie and return to work?
Just asking.
posted by Gotham 12:53 PM
Fractured Fairy Tales
Remarks at State Funeral Ceremony0 comments
"Yet nearly a generation after the often impassioned debates of the Reagan years, what lingers from that time is almost all good. ..."
—Vice President Dick Cheney
("Especially—actually, only—if you're a rich white guy like us!")
"... And this is because of the calm and kind man who stood at the center of events."
—Vice President Dick Cheney
("And the fine and patriotic work of the death squads.")
posted by Gotham 12:53 PM
Saturday, June 12, 2004
How to Squeeze the Life Out of a Vibrant City
Un-frickin'-believable!0 comments
Even when you HAVE the money, some part of your brain stem needs to stop and say, "That's just too damned expensive."
But pampered babies like this one just don't get that.
A Mystery Writer Uncovers a Condo With a View
And every moron—like these two mental midgets—who moves to NYC and simply shrugs and says, "Gosh, well, OK," makes it just a little more horrible for all of the rest of us.
The Hunt: Shoe Leather and Hustle Snag an Apartment
Losers.
Yeah, I want these clowns handling MY money, boy.
posted by Gotham 3:42 PM
Friday, June 11, 2004
Political Pedophile
Houston Press / Sweet Charity: For years Tom DeLay has used nonprofits to help himself. Now the heat is on.0 comments
posted by Gotham 4:00 PM
Classic.0 comments
Bill Schorr Cartoon
posted by Gotham 3:11 PM
Yeah, this just about says it:0 comments
Jerry Holbert Cartoon
posted by Gotham 3:07 PM
"They Paved Paradise...
...and put up an Army base.0 comments
Oooh, la la la,
Oooh, la la la."
Investigation Into Babylon Damage Ordered
While it's becoming harder to defend ourselves against the charge of being an evil country, it's impossible to deny we're an increadibly stupid one.
posted by Gotham 2:41 PM
Priorities
I see that Long Island's Newsday has their mourning priorities straight:0 comments
Newsday's Print Edition Front Page
posted by Gotham 1:34 PM
Son of Sam's Club
Even John Ashcroft can't make you this afraid. Tho' lord knows, he's tried.0 comments
`Son of Sam' killer again denied parole
If you weren't here in the New York City area during 1977, you'll never be able to fully grasp the depth of fear "Son of Sam" generated.
The key to his hold over the city, I believe, stemmed from his going from a clear, but near-universal M.O.—"dark-haired girls in their twenties, sitting in a stationary position (cars, stoops, etc.)" [gosh, let me count how many of those there are in NYC]—to NO M.O. (blondes, women walking down the street, etc., putting everyone now at full risk from every dark shadow). That's what made everyone so nuts that summer.
Plus, the intense and stifling heat/humidity that year was unrelenting.
That summer also introduced Penal Colony Magnate Ruppert Murdoch to the New York and American scenes, as he had just recently bought the respected, liberal New York Post and immediately tarted the poor thing up, and swung it to the right of Ghengis Khan.
And human flesh was the perfect meat to throw to this jackel.
Daily lurid, dark red headlines screamed from every newsstand (in a time when there was one on almost every corner), subliminally reinforcing the lastest horror just committed or David Berkowitz' latest taunts to the police.
You would nod knowingly at the reports in the morning, but by evening, after seeing that headline out of the corner of your eye all day long, you'd be reduced to limpid jello.
So, from the perspective of 26 years, it's still hard to assess who did the graver damage to this great city: Berkowitz or Murdoch.
Again, AP stories disappear quickly from the web, so I'll paste in the story.
`Son of Sam' killer again denied parole
Associated Press
June 11, 2004, 12:02 PM EDT
ALBANY -- "Son of Sam" serial killer David Berkowitz has again been denied parole, state officials said Friday.
Berkowitz's second denial by the state Parole Board, made Thursday, means the man who terrorized New York City in 1977 will serve two more years in prison before he is again eligible for parole, according to the state Correctional Services Department.
The parole denial was first reported by the New York Daily News in Friday's editions. Parole board officials, who posted the decision Friday, offered no explanation for the denial.
Berkowitz, 51, formerly of Yonkers, is serving six consecutive 25-years-to-life sentences at the maximum-security Sullivan state prison in Fallsburg. The former postal employee murdered six people and wounded seven others beginning July 29, 1976. But it wasn't until the fourth attack in January 1977 that police noticed a pattern and dubbed Berkowitz the ".44-caliber killer."
He left a note at the sixth crime scene that read: "I am a monster. I am the Son of Sam." Sam was a neighbor of the killer. Berkowitz said he was taking demonic orders through Sam's dog.
Berkowitz has since said that he became a Christian. His Web site (http://www.forgivenforlife.com) is mostly filled with Christian-themed messages of remorse and "how poor choices led to the horrific murders he committed."
In a 2002 letter to Gov. George Pataki, Berkowitz stated he has "no interest" in parole and "I can give you no good reason why I should even be considered for parole."
Although Berkowitz did not request that he be considered for parole this year, the issue is automatically considered by the board every two years.
Berkowitz isn't allowed to post messages to the Web site from prison. Instead he provides typewritten messages that are posted.
"This should be stopped," Michael Lauria, father of 18-year-old victim Donna Lauria, said. "He's telling the world: `Ha, ha!' I'm in jail and I got a Web site' ... He should stay in his 4-by-6 cell and rot."
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
Donna Lauria...
I confess I'd forgotten.
There was a time when all NYers knew the names and the profiles of all of the dead and wounded from that murderous spree as well as we knew our own families.
May the families forgive us. Now, we only remember that fear.
posted by Gotham 1:11 PM
Ray's Web Site
Ray Charles: Homepage - Table of Contents0 comments
posted by Gotham 12:30 PM
From Newsday:0 comments
Here are some short Ray clips.
posted by Gotham 11:52 AM
Unchain My Heart...
Yeah, yeah, I know...0 comments
Ronald Reagan gave us death squads, a drug epidemic, trillion-dollar deficits, union-busting, homelessness and corporate raiding, etc., etc.—but enough with the tributes, already.
He was a 93-yr.-old man.
93-yr.-old men die.
With alarming frequency.
We've been expecting his demise for ten years.
But now, horribly, we have real reason to mourn:
The Genius is dead.
Goodnight, Brother Ray.
You taught us well.
posted by Gotham 1:09 AM
Last World Trade Center Rescuee Retires0 comments
To one of NYC's strongest:
Congratulations and godspeed, Lt. McLoughlin. On those battered legs, you've helped a city walk again.
posted by Gotham 12:35 AM
Thursday, June 10, 2004
''Saved!"? Or "Election"?
Maybe we should just have a Rapture and not worry about all of this election nonsense?0 comments
'Saved!' Brings Down Wrath of Some Christians
posted by Gotham 7:33 PM
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld says that he knew, and that torture was just OK with him.0 comments
And the lawyers for Joint Chiefs Chairman General Richard Myers are getting nervous?
CBS News: Rumsfeld OK'd Prison Rules
Look out below!
(And above.)
posted by Gotham 7:15 PM
Private Sector Has Firm Role at the Pentagon1 comments
Another chunk of your government—sold off to the lowest bidder.
"... the government has left itself unable to provide proper oversight at a critical juncture in Iraq. 'Quite simply,' Steven L. Schooner, co-director of the Government Procurement Law Program at George Washington University said in a recent paper, 'the Government lacks sufficient qualified acquisition, contract management, and quality control personnel to handle the outsourcing burden.'
The oversight issue has been complicated by a new generation of large, all-purpose contracts that were permitted because of the legislation that Congress passed in 1994 and 1996 to make contracting more efficient."
Now, who tells these guys that the welfare of the country is to be the more important if there is a conflict between federal and corporate interests?
posted by Gotham 1:29 AM
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Kerry Leads Slightly
Wow.0 comments
The numbers from this weekend's Gallup Poll are out, and they're stunning.
Now, repeat after me:
"Polls are only a snapshot of that moment!!"
[Full Disclosure: I spent close to twenty years employed by Louis Harris and The Harris Poll here in New York. For much of that time I was responsible for protecting the accuracy of the data we gathered, so I do have a working knowledge of political polls. I also have the highest regard for the work of the Gallup people—for most of those twenty-some years, our fiercest competitor.]
OK, now let's move on.
Kerry With Slight Lead in Presidential Race
Sen. John Kerry has slightly opened his lead over President George W. Bush to 5 points.
This, over a weekend where both the respectful and the blood-and-guts remembrances of WWII were in full swing, and as the tsunami coverage of the death of Bush's spiritual mentor and Republican deity, Ronald Reagan, broke over the weekend's news cycles.
You would have been safe in assuming that all of that would have given Bush quite a sizeable emotional boost in the polls.
Au contraire, mes amis.
Instead of getting kudos and pats on the back for being "just like the Gipper," Bush stands more in jeopardy of hearing, "...and you're no Ronald Reagan!" from friends and (many) foes, alike.
Poor, George.
The most telling quote from Gallup, concerning the always-coveted "Likely voters":
These results suggest that the race remains close, though Kerry appears to have a slight edge at this time. This is, in fact, the largest lead Kerry has had over Bush among likely voters since early March.
Battleground States
Among registered voters, Kerry leads Bush by 20 points in the blue states (won by former Vice President Al Gore in 2000 by a margin of more than 5 percentage points), and trails Bush by just 4 points in the red states (won by Bush in 2000 by a margin of more than 5 percentage points). In the purple states (those won by either Gore or Bush by margins of 5 points or less), Kerry leads by 5 points, 49% to 44%.
Stunning.
The main points here:
In their respective core strength areas, Kerry's support stands more solidly than Bush's. And Kerry's seemingly Quixotic tactic of taking the fight right to Bush's states is also paying off handsomely—to this point.
And in the all-important toss-up states, where Bush has already spent close to half of every cent they've raised in running ads that trash Kerry for everything short of and including the last Ice Age, all Karl Rove has to look at are Bush numbers that are smaller than Kerry's, no matter how many times he looks at them. And no matter what great-sounding news breaks over Fox News.
Now remember, it's only a snapshot, and can change dramatically tomorrow.
Ahhhh, yes. OK, I know.
But [sigh] what a lovely photo it is.
posted by Gotham 3:35 PM
While Republicans are busy mourning...life, as in Crime and Punishment, goes on.0 comments
Subpoenas in CIA-Valerie Plame Leak Probe Opposed
posted by Gotham 2:17 PM
Debt Relief ("You Are Getting Verrrrry Sleeeepy...")
Sometimes the devil is in the details.0 comments
But, unless you're a major policy wonk like Bill Clinton, details only serve to make your eyes glaze over—making for less dialogue, not more.
This glazing effect makes the perfect cover for those who like to "steal big."
For all of the press coverage of the G8 Summit in Brunswick, GA this week, little actual information will be disseminated.
Despite the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia and Canada joining George W. Bush this week, there will only be broad-brush talk of Iraq and how all of the players are jockeying to maximize their particular piece of the money pie that Bush's administration has heretofore been hoarding.
But as an economic Summit, the weighty issues of the interworkings of world economies will be dealt with in backroom sessions by low-level assistants who actually understand all the minutiae of geopolitical economic realities—usually not the balliwick of the grandstanding photo-op guys at the top.
A profound issue that ranks towards the very top of issues to place at the very bottom of most people's agendas (especially, the media's) is debt relief.
Bush came out yesterday and insisted that Iraq gain full and total debt relief.
While we hold most of Iraq's debt—and are making no particular inroads towards creating relief ourselves—Bush understands that the other Seven governments will press their multi-billion dollar debt claims on Iraq in order to wrest a bigger piece of this turkey whenever it's effectively cut up and parceled out. Bush wants everyone else's debt forgiven so that we have a clear title to the position of head carver.
Fat chance.
Of course, you were sharp enough to notice that there was no mention of the well-being of average Iraqi citizens in any of the above.
From the middle of the 17th Century to today, northern hemishpere countries have happily defined themselves as "Have" countries and southern hemisphere countries as "Have Not" countries.
It's just made everything easier.
That way, when northern countries have squeezed most of the cash out of places below the equator, they can happily say, "Screw 'em" when exploited people have objected and created local uprisings, which could then be harshly dealt with—on their soil.
Plus, these uprisings always presented the opportunity to amass more colonial territory to control and exploit.
But the world has changed, and the reach of the angry has become global.
Beyond Iraq, most of us have no awareness of how debt is creating worldwide tensions that we deal with on an almost daily basis.
We've seen the photos of flies bouncing around the eyes of black and brown babies; eyes made lifeless from malnutrition and lack of water. We're horrified that such poverty exists. But we flip the page, feeling badly, and never ask, "how did that happen; why is that country so poor?"
That's easy.
For close to a century or two, the governments and banks of the "Have" countries have loaned hundreds of billions to poor and emerging countries. During the Cold War, most of those loans went to dictators and local psychopaths who used it to build their own wealth and/or oppress their own people, as long as Western governments were content that this despot was "helping us fight Communism."
And while we're celebrating the storied tenure of Ronald Reagan, you should know that much of this destructive debt flowed during his watch. It multiplied exponentially, actually. Not only did we push the Soviet Union into bankruptcy, we shoved most of the Third World in along with it.
Indeed, "Mr. Gorbachev" tore down "that wall." But they stored all the resulting rubble below the equator.
As for the banks, it was merely a golden opportunity for some old-fashioned predatory lending.
Decades later, with the Soviet empire a memory and many of their despots replaced, these countries are beginning to emerge and are struggling under the weight of these loans.
As for the Western countries, instead of determining that this was political money well spent and writing off the expense, they're now standing on the doorstep of most of the Third World, saying, "where's our money? What do you have to turn into hard currency, to give us our money back?"
Not surprisingly, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and three other bill sponsors, "get it," and this week have introduced the Jubilee Act to restructure and forgive odious international loans.
According to Adam Taylor, the associate minister of Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.:
"African nations continue to spend more on debt service than health care for their citizens. Experts claim that it will take $10 billion a year to fight AIDS, but African nations alone spend almost $15 billion in debt service each year. The G-8 countries have dragged their feet for too long to provide full debt cancellation, at the cost of health and stability for millions of people around the world. While not a panacea, without debt cancellation countries will be unable to use their own resources to invest in vital health and human services. Decisive action on debt will move the G-8 from lip service around addressing crushing poverty to effective action that will build right relationships between nations, the true vision of Jubilee."
Here are some sobering international debt figures, courtesy of the 50 Years Is Enough Network site:
* The external debt burden of sub-Saharan Africa has increased by nearly 400% since 1980, when the IMF and World Bank began imposing their SAPs. For the developing countries as a whole between 1980 and 1992, the external debt burden doubled.
* The flow of money between the North and South was reversed some time ago; developing countries now pay more in debt servicing than they get in new credit. Between 1982 and 1990, the South transferred a net $418 billion to the North. Between 1987 and 1995 the IMF received $4 billion more in debt repayments from the most indebted and impoverished countries than it has provided.
* Africa spends four times more on debt interest payments than on health care. In the mid-1990s, Uganda spent $3 on health for every $17 it paid in debt service, most of which went to multilateral lending institutions.
* In the early 1990s, 75% of the U.S.’s Agency for International Development (USAID) budget for Nicaragua went toward paying interest on the national debt and improving balance of trade figures. Nicaragua took in $631 million in "liquid resources" in 1994; over 70% of that money went toward paying the interest on the country’s foreign debt.
* Between 1990 and 1993 the government of Zambia spent $37 million on primary school education. Over the same period, it spent $1.3 billion on debt repayments. Repayments to the IMF alone were equivalent to ten times government spending on primary education.
* Of $2.9 billion provided by the World Bank’s soft-loan arm, the International Development Association (IDA), to the world’s poorest countries, fully two-thirds ($1.9 billion) was spent on repaying past World Bank loans. A good bit of the remaining third went to the IMF.
* External debt per capita for sub-Saharan Africa (not including South Africa) is $365, while GNP per capita is just $308.
* The external debt for the region (again excluding South Africa), at some $203 billion in 1996, represents 313% of the annual value of its exports.
* Debt servicing for sub-Saharan Africa amounts to about 20% of its annual export income—that is, everything the region earns from those goods it is able to sell for hard currency (dollars, marks, yen, etc.).
* In 1996, sub-Saharan Africa (minus South Africa) paid $2.5 billion more in debt servicing than it got in new long-term loans and credits.
We, of course, can immediately see some key points that will impact us directly here in our cities and small towns for decades to come:
- Conservatives answer all this by declaring that "these people are ungrateful" for all we've done for them, and that they just can't understand why these ignorant savages are so damn uppity. Now, you'll know that these rascist voices are only making matters worse and are simply paddling our raft over the falls as fast as they can.
- Much of worldwide poverty is institutionalized. There's just too much profit to spread around to lift the yoke from these countries.
- The citizens of these countries are not stupid. They know full well the cause of their lot. And they are increasingly angry about it. And increasingly, we will be the recipients of that anger. No, when that anger boils over, it's not going to be pretty.
- It's a no-brainer to see why the CIA reports that it's most worried about sub-Sahara Africa, Asia and South America as the next fertile soil for al Qaeda-type organizations.
- Spending your life watching Western-backed dictators drive by in Mercedes while you watch your family perish from lack of food and clean water will bring the primal urge of an eye-for-an-eye home to you in a very real, visceral way.
So, please, don't be surprised or shocked or angry when these people point their hatred towards the U.S. and the other countries at the G8 Summit.
And, please, spare us the question: "Why do they hate us so?"
Remember, the Devil loves the details.
posted by Gotham 10:48 AM
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
Take a Break from All the Reagan Weeping
I keep having the thought that Karl Rove—who will do ANYTHING to keep his boss out of trouble—saw the headlines that included "President George W. Bush" and "Grand Jury" and "CIA" all in the same header, and began to send mental images to Nancy Reagan: "Pull the plug, Nancy, pull the plug..."0 comments
Justin Raimondo has a clear take on it.
posted by Gotham 4:05 PM
Gee, Matt Drudge seems to have some hesitation about embracing this story:0 comments
'Bush should have died, not Reagan': Morrissey
Gosh, I couldn't tell you why.
posted by Gotham 3:42 PM
Bloomberg: U.S.'s Ashcroft Won't Release or Discuss Torture Memo0 comments
This is great.
The Senate finally jumps on the story now that it's in the hinterlands, and demands accountability from the Justice Dept.
Of course, Attorney General John Ashcroft takes the high road and tells them to go fuck themselves.
posted by Gotham 3:33 PM
Dr. Koop.com: FDA Approves First Easy-to-Use Anthrax Test0 comments
Goody.
This will come in awfully handy when The Anthrax Guy—whom we are assured is on Attorney General John Ashcroft's list, directly behind finding the last of those twelve hookers in New Orleans—decides to bring another bulk mail tray to the Post Office.
posted by Gotham 2:53 PM
First, The Wall St. Journal broke the story, then the blogosphere gorged mightily on it.0 comments
Then, The New York Times and Washington Post jumped on it overnight.
Now, the mainstream U.S. press is on it.
Well, maybe not "on it." Just kind of "leaning up against it," really. But, you'd have to dig into the paper or site to get that much.
But, the Google link above will take you right to the stories themselves.
posted by Gotham 2:38 PM
Reuters: BBC Move on Armed Guards Sparks Safety Debate0 comments
Hey, let's go out on a limb here.
It might possibly be safer for journalists in Saudi Arabia if they were not so perceived as telling only the official Royal Family version of events, in what is increasingly looking less like attacks from "thugs" and "terrorists," and more like an armed insurrection against an oppresive and tyrrannical regime.
Just a hunch.
posted by Gotham 2:18 PM
Alan stamps his foot.0 comments
The New York Times: Greenspan Says Inflation May Force Fed to Raise Rates Sharply
Of course, what's funny about this is that just yesterday, there were reports that he thought inflation was no particular worry, 'so everyone just relax.'
He must have watched the news or read a newspaper last night.
Or maybe it was just the Thai food biting back at him.
posted by Gotham 2:11 PM
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez's Hostage Scorecard:0 comments
Out: 4
In: 7
Final tally: (-3)
posted by Gotham 2:05 PM
Another Vinnell Corporation mercenary bites the dust.0 comments
$1,500/day just doesn't go very far these days, especially with nine rounds in your skull.
posted by Gotham 1:52 PM
Poor Simi Valley.0 comments
They were better off when they were merely the stand-in for the Korean peninsula on the location sets for the TV version of M*A*S*H.
Since then, Simi's been subjected to horrible wildfires, earthquakes, scores of horrifically ugly housing developments (with residents to match) and now it's being stuck with the corpse of Ronald Reagan—in perpetuity.
Reagan funeral events
Man...!
But there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that the world's housing bubble bursts first in Simi Valley.
posted by Gotham 11:02 AM
Monday, June 07, 2004
Texas Air National Guard, Anyone?
MSNBC: Could the Draft Come Back?0 comments
Yes. It's a lead-pipe cinch.
Here's the clincher:
The president, the secretary of Defense and any number of senior lawmakers have all insisted that a draft is not necessary—nor in the works. “I don’t know anyone in the executive branch of the government who believes that it would be appropriate or necessary to reinstitute the draft,” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in an April speech. “There isn’t any reason in the world why we can’t manage this force better with less stress on it, and it simply requires changing the rules, changing the requirements, changing the regulations in ways that we can manage that force considerably better.”
Start hoarding the body bags.
I pass this along as a national service.
And this mandatory reading. [Note: There'll be a quiz.]
And this.
And this. Although $75.00 is rather steep for a book that used to be 75¢. I guess they're anticipating demand.
But I must confess to the guilty pleasure of thinking of all those rich, white prep boys and girls opening up a letter from the government, thinking it'll be about their government college loan for their Ivy League classes in the fall.
Surprise...
Get used to this phrase:
"Greetings..."
posted by Gotham 12:28 AM
