Monday, January 26, 2004
From Out of the Caves of Okinawa or Wyoming or Somewhere...
...Comes our beloved Shadow President for Life Dick Cheney, a/k/a "The Mole."0 comments
It seems he's above ground for the first time in years. While he's shielding the harsh light of day from his eyes and re-adjusting the "vision thing," perhaps he'd like to talk about the hot topics of the day (brought to you with the assistance of the wonderful folks at The Center of American Progress and MSNBC's First Read).
Washington Post: Cheney Is a Silent Partner No Longer
Republican officials said Cheney's new visibility, which is likely to increase as his reelection race heats up, is partly the result of strategists' determination that his long silences had helped make him a punching bag for Democrats and a lightning rod for criticism of President Bush over secrecy, corporate connections and reliance on unproven intelligence.
The RNC thought he was a punching bag before...? Cheeeeesh! I thought they were on top of things over there.
Well, OK. Now perhaps he can answer questions that are sure to swirl about, concerning his connections to Halliburton subsidiaries in the face of Halliburton's admission that their personnel took over $6 million in kickbacks in Iraq.
Or he might like to chat about his allegedly breaking federal law in a January 9th interview with M.E. Sprengelmeyer of the Rocky Mountain News. In this interview, Cheney verifies Top Secret information contained in a classified Department of Defense report that was originally leaked to Stephen F. Hayes of the Weekly Standard, and printed in the magazine's November 24, 2003 issue. Cheney maintains in the interview that the Standard's story is where the administration got a lot of its al-Quaida/Iraq connection info.
A few major problems with this jump out—it was illegal for the original goverment perp to leak classified reports to Hayes (kinda, sorta like the illegal leak to Bob Novack, outing Ms. Plame of the CIA); it was illegal for the Standard to publish it; it was illegal for Cheney to confirm its still-classified information to the Rocky Mountain News. Oh, and also, the DoD has said the info in it, classified or not, was incorrect anyway.
So, OK, let's see here...Cheney breaks federal law by verifying the still-classified contents of a report he claims the administration had used as gospel to lead us into a war, where thousands have been killed and maimed, our economy bankrupted and no al-Quaida routed, although this report had already been discredited by the DoD.
And the administration is eager to use him in the upcoming campaign.
Oh.
Now, listen, if Attorney General John Ashcroft keeps having to recuse himself every time he turns around like this, there'll be nothing left for him to do to earn his pay. At the rate his friends in this administration keep breaking the law, the AG's getting to be as useless as more warts on a toad.
Well..., perhaps Cheney can always get a lot of interview milage out of the international bribery scandal which seems to point towards including him that we talked about in the previous post.
I would assume he'll be pining for those ol' stone walls of home soon.
Maybe it won't throw him too much in a few years, then, when he trades them in for some concrete walls in one of our fine country club prisons. He may feel downright comfortable. "At Home," even.
posted by Gotham 6:32 PM
Remember This Name:
"Georges Krammer".0 comments
As reported in a potentially Pulitzer Prize-winning follow-up in The Dallas Morning News to the original reports in Le Figaro, Mr. Georges Krammer is an extremely dangerous man, standing on a worldwide stage.
The Bush administration is nervous, and Shadow President Dick Cheney, I imagine, is watching this with a bead or two of sweat.
For Mr. Krammer, you see, is an international corporate exec who got caught, and when he turned to his compadres in the corporate world to get him out of the jam he was in, they turned their backs on him, making him the fallguy, and rather an unknown person.
Horrifically short-sighted planning on their parts, we must add.
This Georges Krammer fellow is now extremely pissed off, and is prepared to go postal on his former corporate cronies in an international investigation which, while beginning in France, threatens to engulf major financial players on three, maybe four, continents. Since this concerns bribes and kickbacks in a multi-billion dollar project in Nigeria which could possibly lead all the way to the feet of the U.S. vice president, this investigation threatens to ensnarl the whole Bush administration in unwanted press reports, just in time for its re-election campaign.
And for you geography and/or SOTU fans:
No, it wasn't Nigeria where Cheney got CIA Chief George J. Tenet to send Ambassador Joseph Wilson in an attempt to buttress their story about Saddam Hussein's alleged purchases of uranium from last year's State of the Union speech.
That was Niger.
posted by Gotham 5:12 PM
Again, That Ol' "Context" Bugaboo...
This sentence comes from today's MSNBC: First Read:0 comments
The President himself travels to Little Rock, AR to make remarks on medical liability reform at 12:30 pm.
What a wonderful-sounding phrase, "medical liability reform."
This obviously helps everyone.
Less danger of doctors having to fend off those trivial, pesky malpractice suits by all those crazies out there. This will lead to lower costs for insurance companies, then lower costs to your doctor and then lower costs to you, and everyone's happy.
Great!
Right?
Wrong.
This isn't "Medical Professional Liability Reform."
This is "Medical Industry Liability Reform."
Simply put, paying for all the terrible things that are happening to you, your family and your neighbors when you receive shoddy medical care is getting too expensive for Health Industry corporations.
So, instead of their fixing what is broken so that you no longer have a need to sue to receive justice for your misfortune, it's easier for the Industry to just take that ability away from you, so you won't use it so much.
Or ever.
For, as with its twin, "Tort Reform" legislation, Medical Liability Reform is intended to hide a simple truth:
There is a tidal wave of medical incompetence and vicious corporate disregard for your well-being sweeping over America, and the result of that is clogging up our judicial system.
And if they can't change you, they'll change the law. And if they can't get the law changed or if the Courts block them, they'll change the Constitution.
Because they can.
Despite the message repeated in the constant flow of "corporate good neighbor" press releases and warm-and-fuzzy sound bites, these malpractice suits do not constitute a quick and easy payday for dark, underworld characters and degenerates out to scam the system. And it's not "them" or "those crazies" who are clogging up the system and making costs for everyone skyrocket.
It's you.
It's you exercising your basic constitutional right to use the court system for redress of grievances when confronted by forces larger, and better financed, then just you yourself.
That is our American system of government, folks. Always has been.
But now corporations are working overtime to take that right away from you.
Because you keep using it, and it costs them too much money when you do.
That's as simple as this gets.
The same powerful economic forces that dictate that companies must simply take your job away and hand it to someone in Bangladesh to improve their bottom line apply here as well.
When dealing with any of these "reforms," it's always wise to "Look for the Lie."
The Lie here is that good, caring, well-trained and well-compensated physicians are being attacked on all fronts by rip-off artists, and THAT'S screwing up the system for everybody.
But this lie hides the fact that your kindly doctor's pay system has been utterly reconfigured by the insurance companies. He/she makes considerably less than before, so they must push more patients through in a day, spending much less time with each. Retrained by the insurance companies, many doctors only deal with what the insurance companies pay for, steering your treatment in that direction, and hoping that will help improve other areas that may also be a problem, but which aren't covered by that particular plan.
Obviously, decent, ethical doctors, nurses and other health professionals are frustrated by all this, but they're now stuck with a system not of their choosing. There just is no time for the small points or the fine points, or even the minimal hand-holding that's always been a major component of the healing arts.
Basically, they are as much pawns in all of this as you are.
The core of this legislation involves conglomerates in the insurance, drug and hospital industries. Not to mention the heightened, institutionalized blind eye turned to all of this by the American Medical Association. The AMA is directly responsible for creating, maintaining and policing standards and core competencies within the medical profession, as well as being their institutional advocate in the halls of Congress. The AMA should be in the forefront of pro-doctor/patient efforts; however, they remain silent as corporate interests rework the entire system to their own benefit.
This results in your wife or son going into the hospital for treatment, and being misdiagnosed by one of the few residents remaining after severe staff cutbacks, who is so overwhelmed and tired they can barely pronounce their own name.
Or your being given what hopefully is the right treatment and medicines by entry-level hospital support staff; folks with little-to-no general education, and definitely no medical training. These are the people sporting titles such as "Such-and-such Tech" that you now see doing most of the work in hospitals; work previously done by trained nurses and doctors. These Techs make close to minimum wage. Or as close to it as your local community standards will allow the institution to pay. Even these people were once covered by unions, which would set some type of standards; but since the unions were busted, the hospital can now establish the program as it sees fit.
Or you may have someone in your family go in for surgery, and afterwards feel excruciating pain, only to find the surgery team had inadvertently left a tool or scalpel sitting next to their spleen when the team sewed your loved one back up.
Or you may have a distracted or tired surgeon remove healthy tissue by mistake rather than the diseased tissue. An alarming number of women have awakened to find they had their healthy breast removed, rather than the cancerous one.
Here is how the Constitution and the body of law in the United States is currently set up: When any of these horrid tragedies befall you, if those individuals, companies or institutions involved duck responsibility, you have the right to take the perpetrator(s) to court for the purpose of forcing them to assume responsibility.
Our court system is set up in a forthrightly balanced way. A judge and a jury of your peers will listen to evidence and decide who is right in this case.
If your suit is deemed frivolous, or found to have no merit, they will decide to toss your case out of court or find for the defendant and charge you the defendant's reasonable court fees. This is fair.
If they decide in your favor, however, they also will decide what is a fair judgement in this case. If they decide the award should be multi-millions, then in their wisdom they felt this injury was that grievous, and that the award should be commensurate.
Juries don't scam the system.
Corporations scam the system.
They now tell you that these are "runaway juries" rather than allow the press to report that the system endemically creates and fosters mistakes, misdiagnoses, screw-ups and blatant disregard for you. It's just too big a pain in the ass and too expensive to fix it. So, the Industries involved have simply shifted the press focus to your callous disregard—and that of juries across America—for their attempts to protect the profit margins of shareholders.
Instead of looking at how to rework the judiciary to avoid huge awards, the AMA should be looking at how to better the lot and basic training and workload of doctors; corporate boards should be looking at how they can improve patient care, rather than merely the ledger sheet; doctors need to openly rebel against both the AMA and the insurance/hospital/drug companies to improve their lot; we who need medical care need to fight for every protection which the Founding Fathers gave us when creating this country.
So, no, this is not about your kindly neighborhood doctor being scammed by heartless reprobates, driving him/her into bankruptcy.
This is about major companies screwing your doctor, then using that as a way to screw you.
And the Constitution.
If you let them.
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 1:50 PM
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Oh, Ken! ... Kick One for the Gipper!
This is delicious.0 comments
Just a couple of minutes ago, Ken Duberstein, the former Chief of Staff during the Ronald Reagan administration was gigging as a talking head on Wolf Blitzer's CNN show, along with Leon Panetta, WH Chief of Staff under Bill Clinton.
In trying to explain what George W. Bush needs to say on foreign policy in his State of the Union speech later tonight, poor ol' Duberstein got a bit tangled up and blurted out this bon mot while trying to right himself:
"...The president has to show where he wants to lead—not only the free world—but the United States, as well."
That disconnect is the clearest picture, to date, of the Republican plan for civil liberties in this country.
Thank you, Ken, for clarifying things for us.
posted by Gotham 5:13 PM
State of the State of the Union Speech Contest
AP: Bush to Urge Health Care Improvements in Address0 comments
OK ... get your entries in for the Gotham Notes State of the State of the Union Speech Contest.
Pick how many lies are sprinkled throughout the speech. If your number is the correct one, you win the undying friendship of pundits, newswriters and and blogsters around the world.
BTW, the over/under is 43, if you're heavily into gambling. If you're sort of like, say, William Bennett.
posted by Gotham 5:00 PM
Saturday, January 17, 2004
Pre-Emptive Court Packing
and The Bush Doctrine
NY Times: Bush Seats Judge, Bypassing Senate Democrats0 comments
POW!
The Bush Doctrine comes home.
And our proud America is in grave peril.
Now do you have any doubts about who is running this country?
And who fully intends to keep it?
Is our legislative process giving George W. Bush agita? Is he just not gettng his way fast enough?
Then, yes, by all means, he should just drop this silly charade of a working relationship with this pesky Congress, show his real teeth, and just shove the damned agenda down their throats and let them yowl.
This is the domestic equivalent of blowing off the United Nations and having your Big Guns roll into Baghdad, simply because YOU WANT TO, with no particularly legitimate, good reason, and with no one who can tell you "No!"
This is raw, naked power.
Exercised in the halls of our government in Washington, DC.
The self-interested, looney right has been screaming for over a week, as they've continued to misinterpret and mis-state the MoveOn.org ad contest submission that cross-referenced Bush with Adolf Hitler.
Well, folks, the White House has taken the ground right out from under what little foundation these screamers might have had; this high-handed judicial appointment is as close to a Hitlerian move as any one could imagine on American soil.
"We don' neeed no stinkin' Senate..."
Any hope of a bipartisan effort on any agenda or issue of benefit to the American people is now utterly shattered.
This imperious move has forever stamped George W. Bush's place in history as: The Man Who Would Be King.
What we as Americans have always known as The Republican Party has a long, proud and storied history of service to our country.
Today, this once-proud political party has met the same fate as those companies which had well established brand identities, only to be acquired merely for access to those marketable brand names—which, of course, now lack any semblance of the formerly popular products themselves.
We find our historic GOP also is merely a shell of its former self, "Republican" in name only, completely untethered to its history as the Party of Lincoln, or Taft or Eisenhower or Dirkson or Rockefeller or Dole. It has been corrupted by the barbarians from the far right, until it now stands wretchedly as a worldwide symbol of hate and greed and power.
The National Socialist Party was once merely a political party, as well.
Critics of these new Republicans are not responsible for the growing, eerie similarity between these two parties. The driving forces within this new GOP have fully taken care of establishing it.
Legislatively, THIS IS WAR.
A war we did not seek; but, a war that now must be engaged and won.
Bush has been accused of polarizing the country. We may well have settled for that. But, now he has cracked the fissure as wide as at any time in our history since the Civil War.
Henceforth, any Democrat who so much as has lunch in this White House should be summarily cashiered out of the Democratic Party. Bush has left no wiggle room for the Repubicrats—the Max Baucuses, the Zell Millers, the John Breaux of Capitol Hill. Bush's administration has fully polarized this environment.
"With us or against us?" he says. All too clearly.
The terms of engagement have been established.
There is no going back.
The historic days of balanced, centrist, moderated viewpoints in an environment of collegial give-and-take in Congress between men and women of good faith—the days of brokering compromises for the Commonweal—are in total eclipse.
Every Democratic legislative effort must be geared to limiting each step this administration takes towards leading the U.S. down the road to totalitarian rule. Bush and his troops have the legislative and judicial numbers. But, even if a truly American legislative position can no longer be successful, at least this new Republican legislative onslaught can be slowed down, hobbled and/or crippled, so these forces of hate can do as little further damage to Americans as possible.
Our Republic, our very Nation, is in extreme danger.
With this move by George W. Bush, it is now time for the Democratic Party to lead.
As it has in other moments of peril in its 300-year history, Our Nation calls its citizens to service to defend the Union against threats both domestic and foreign. Currently, it is the Democrats who are called. Are they up to the task?
We can only pray to God that they are.
posted by Gotham 2:05 PM
When In Baghdad...
NY Times: Inquiry Ordered Into Reports of Prisoner Abuse0 comments
This article outlines a string of American military abuses of Iraqis held prisoner.
And, we're supposed to be the good guys.
These four episodes are only the ones mentioned. These men and women are the ones who got caught, and were brought up on charges.
How many weren't caught? How many American soldiers continue to beat, abuse and, in some cases, even kill their Iraqi prisoners?
Have we placed our troops in such a horrific position that they're just snapping now?
Or has the volunteer military done an exceedingly poor job of weeding out the assholes you wouldn't want on your local police force?
Plus, if their Commander-In-Chief has shown them that international law is only to be acknowledged and/or followed when convenient, how do we hold our troops to centuries old law meant to force soldiers into holding on to some shred of their humanity while they're in the psychotic world of a battle zone?
posted by Gotham 11:47 AM
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Query
One thing I've always been skeptical of is this overwhelming reliance, in both the mainstream and financial media, on the unemployment Initial Claims report.0 comments
First, this is a report which received precious little attention until millions of people were already out of work.
Then, when it came into vogue a couple of years ago, who was it that decided that 400,000 new claims was the magic median number between bad/good economic numbers? And why did everyone else just agree to follow along?
Whether 400,001 people opened new unemployment claims or 398,457 people did, what gets lost is that close to a half a million people lost their jobs in that time period. As did those in the timeframe before it, and the one before that, etc., etc.
Of course, those with well-paying think tank/government jobs have the luxury to split that hair to almost infinite degrees. And miss the point, entirely.
Another curious point:
Today's Initial Claims report said that 343,000 newly minted unemployed folks opened new claims. The Markets are happy since their consensus number going in was 350,000.
What does it mean exactly when this number starts to drop? Briefing.com reports that this "pointed to a stabilizing employment market."
Does it?
Or does it allude to the possibility that companies have already cut as much as they possibly can and have just started running out of jobs to shed? Are we slowly hitting cutback saturation, where to cut any further has diminishing returns from the continued excessive burnout suffered by the employees that remain?
It seems that the ONLY numbers report which actually matters at this point is the job creation report.
Which doesn't bode well for economic health anytime soon.
posted by Gotham 1:06 PM
Jimmy vs. a City's Humanity
Newsday.com: Church Sends Christ Into Cold0 comments
This is why Jimmy Breslin simply is the best.
Anywhere.
Anytime.
posted by Gotham 11:37 AM
Bush Loses the Cojones War
AP: Tests Show D.C. Still Vulnerable From Air0 comments
Especially from the moon. And, perhaps, from Mars.
This, actually, is one of the more noteworthy reports that has surfaced throughout media in the last couple of years.
Members of both the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the Homeland Security Dept. now admit, off the record, that after thousands of tests, they cannot scramble planes fast enough to intercept incoming planes used as missles. Period.
So, despite all of the tongue wagging, all of the money thrown at the problem and all of the lost liberties we've incurred as a people, this administration and the military here finally admit that they are absolutely, totally powerless to prevent another 9/11. Unless, they say, they have advanced warning, which cannot be counted on and is of no help whatsoever.
Feel better now?
So, unless some hapless person bent on murder and destruction openly asks the Air France personnel whether this flight to NYC or DC carries extra fuel, any terrorist has carte blanche to drop a 747 right on the Oval Office or the Rockefeller Center Skating Rink, and there's no way to stop them.
Makes the whole "safer after Saddam?" debate hopelessly moot, doesn't it?
posted by Gotham 11:23 AM
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Pow! Zoom! To the Moon, Georgie!
Bush To Unveil Moon-Mars Plans Today0 comments
Either George got sold a space program bill of goods by his political people ("Hi Karl, it's OK. You can come out now, we see you behind the curtain. Your shoes are sticking out."), or he thinks he can sell us one.
I was nine or ten years old when the space race started between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. I can hardly imagine a more romantic period for a nine-yr.-old. Brave men (and dogs and monkeys), going forth "where no man had gone before."
Well, many years later, scores of men, and quite a few women, have gone forth, and come back again. This includes a Senator (oh, OK...he'd been up before) and a rich, thrill-seeking businessman. Some died on the journey.
As an adult, you also see all the $$$$ that have gone into that rocket, instead of just the romance of its flight.
So, the romance part of it has lost just a bit of its blush.
Today, President George W. Bush looks through the family heirlooms, and recycles his dad's old election-year space plan, first outlined in a pre-41 campaign address on May 20, 1988.
[Fairness forces me to point out that this was during the 1988 primary season, and Bush was fighting off Republican challengers for the right to follow in the Gipper's shoes. The Democratic opponent had not yet been chosen. Nor had the rout started. So, this was good, pre-emptive election-year ink. Needless to say, once it was found to no longer be needed, it was never heard from again. Any similarities to now? Did you hear anything about this in 2000, or before W. started getting hammered in the press again? And, of course, Shadow President Dick Cheney was very involved in ol' 41's staff, campaign and later his cabinet, so the idea may have bubbled up from him.—Gotham Notes]
Dad's plan also included colonizing the Moon as a stopping off point on the way to reaching Mars—just like Junior's.
Ol' 41 projected the cost then to be over $500 billion.
That's $500 billion in 1988 dollars, folks.
Young Master 43 seems to think that he can put this retread plan back into action for only a 5% annual increase in NASA's budget.
According to CNN's Lou Dobbs (1/13/04) the math brings this outlay to approximately $4 billion—mere pennies on the needed dollars.
$4 billion barely gets you a USofA decal (probably made in Taiwan) for the side of the main thruster rocket. So, what's Bush thinking of spending on this endeavor? And since we're now broke, where does he intend to get the money for it? More deficit spending is my guess. Total elimination of Social Security and Medicare, and every other domestic program?
I think we can safely assume we can rule out any kind of tax, earmarked for this effort.
So, aside from the "Yippee! How COOL!!!!" nature of the idea, and considering his dad's tepid interest in it, one must question how serious this young man is about really wanting, needing and being able to afford this bright new toy.
Once again, we see that Shrub is either:
a) contemptuous of the intelligence of the American people
b) delusional
c) clueless
d) smart (for following Dad's idea of getting some harmless upbeat press while he's getting hammered from all sides during an election year)
e) the cheapest son of a bitch that ever came down the pike (considering his nasty habit of getting everyone all in a tizzy about a program, and then not spending one damned dime on it, e.g., No Child Left Behind; rebuilding Afganistan, rebuilding the military, etc.)
I could support this project, and rekindle my youthful romance with the space program, under one clear, two-part scenario only.
That's:
1) if they got back all the money they just gave to the rich folks which hasn't already been dropped in Tiffany's and the New York Boat Show, and used it on this program (that's at least close to a Trillion bucks right there!), and
2) if they gave W. a spiffy new space flight suit and strapped his sorry ass to the outside of the rocket and set it off.
I consider these conditions simple enough. But, I can negotiate some.
On the money.
posted by Gotham 12:30 PM
More Incoming Rounds from the Army War College
Here's another report currently published by the Army War College.0 comments
Bounding the Global War on Terrorism by Dr. Jeffrey Record of the AWC.
A very chilling report, indeed.
This thesis, reported by The Kansas City Star and others, takes on the White House's whole approach to the fight against terror, and how it's using, or misusing, the military in that effort.
In reading this, the proverbial image of someone shooting themselves in the foot kept coming to mind.
To bluntly summarize: The White House couldn't have screwed things up any worse if it were trying to destroy our American way of life.
I may have been opposed to the military most of my life, but even I know when to pipe down and listen to a professional who's giving you their best judgement and advice about their area of expertise.
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 12:08 PM
Re: Some Certain White House Staffers
Lots of flak hitting the White House lately.0 comments
First, former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill. Now, the Army War College is taking their shots.
Cheeez...What's next? All this uncertainty is unnerving.
This mess may just force a grumpy-but-certain Shadow President Dick Cheney out of his cave! And it's not even spring fund-raising season yet...
The War College asserts the White House may have set faulty assumptions into concrete, at our peril:
U.S. Army War College: Building America's Fortress on Quicksand?
The Army War College has a great deal to teach the ideologues in the White House, and their lackeys in Congress.
As this WC article asserts, there are no guarantees or certainties: in life, let alone in warfare.
The true danger posed by those positioned around George W. Bush is their extreme certainty.
And, as the victims of 9/11, thousands of dead Iraqis and hundreds upon hundreds of dead American soldiers will attest, "certainty" is the most uncertain thing of all.
posted by Gotham 11:33 AM
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
The Arrogance of Bush's Class War:
Pitfalls for the Right
Greed's Behind Domino Site's Fall0 comments
Juan Gonzalez has this interesting piece in today's New York Daily News, concerning two Cuban brothers who came to the United States and had their efforts rewarded with great wealth and power.
But, their success is due in large measure to their clever manipulation of the federal corporate subsidy game.
That immigrants can come to successfully twist the dollars out of the U.S. Treasury as well as any fourth-generation Yalie is the darker side of the American Dream. You want to bitch about the waste of your middle-class tax dollars? Subsidies are a good place to start.
And prototypically, these brothers seem to have lost sight of how much is enough, and of how much is too much.
Is a 35-ft. sea-worthy boat enough? Are you willing to lay off 250 hard-working people, making $50,000/yr. on down, some for the last 20 years, in order to bump it up to a 43-ft. boat? Where is the demarcation line for losing your immortal soul? Is it the 48-ft. boat that you deserve to have? Or is it the 57-ft.?
Or is it just the thrill of making even more by selling that parcel off for condos than you can make by playing the subsidy game that gets your juices flowing?
It makes my head snap to hear George W. Bush or any of his many Republican/conservative/Neo-Con/whathaveyou surrogates take the pre-emptive step of braying about "class war."
They go on about this as if it were something that liberals or the Democrats have somehow thought up. Or as if it were something that somehow grows from the bottom up. No, "class war" is always something that moves top-down.
This isn't about parties or politics. It has to do rather with an increasingly warped notion of how best to maintain an elevated position in life. Whether you've carved it out for yourself or it was handed to you as a birthright, the strategic position dissolves into "I've got mine. I deserve to have as much as I want. You guys can fight over whatever is left. And I will do whatever I have to, to preserve that."
So now this new millennium begins to replicate the process of most other millennia.
There has always been the poor, the working classes and the "folks who lived up on the hill" in every culture and in every town and city throughout the world's history.
Most people have grudgingly understood and accepted this basic set-up over the centuries. But, the ongoing acceptance of "That's just how life is," entails a series of delicate sociological balancing acts.
This acquiesence is most tightly focused on one simple, yet profound, fulcrum: How do those with an exalted position handle their position in life vis-a-vis the other classes?
Flip through nearly any history book and you'll notice that advances in economic power in the world tended to coincide with the impression by the working classes and poor that they were a respected player in the communal process of economic growth—with commensurate return for their efforts, which, in turn, allowed them to feel that their needs and concerns were cared for. That some of those at the top of the ladder seemed to gain an outsized share was deemed immaterial.
In essence, a sense of success and well being is the true opiate of the masses.
Few serfs complain that the king has jewels on his hands and tapestries on his walls when they have heat in their homes and venison on their tables.
Rather like the 1990s, in fact.
However, library stacks are filled with books detailing the upheavals in various societies when those in the monied classes forget this simple point and allowed themselves to be seduced by the "specialness" of their position.
Greed and self-delusion are always right around the corner when you have money. It's easy to forget how you got it, and how best to keep it.
Throughout history, Royalty/Industrialists/Heirs/Entrepreneurs/Folks Up on the Hill, and the like, have best enjoyed their privileged position when they've understood the underpinnings of that privilege, and worked to assure that the needs of the other classes were fully cared for. This is how statues come to be built for otherwise ruthless and despicable men.
Those who have forgotten this basic lesson have come to assume that there was something uniquely "about them" that fully warranted this luxury.
It is this delusion which has proved to be the potent seed of revolution and democracy (with a small "d") around the world. And throughout history, whenever it has taken firm root, revolution has never been denied.
As the man said, "Pride goeth before a fall."
This is the lesson which President Bush, and others in this oligarchy they've created over the last three years, seem particularly blind to.
At their class's peril.
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 12:53 PM
The NYers Gang Strikes Again!
New York Daily News: Tellers Rebuff Granny's Bank Heist Try0 comments
NYers continue the shakedown cruise for the city's historic new Rob-A-Republican Plan.
Most city residents are aware, however, that there are still some kinks which need to be worked out before full implementation takes place, coinciding with the Republican National Convention here this summer.
As a side note, unnamed staffers asserted yesterday that there is absolutely NO CONNECTION ("Really!") between this incident, Ms. Abby Lieberman and the presidential campaign of Sen. Joe Lieberman. This was not an exciting new approach to fund-raising, a high-ranking staff member insisted, although this staffer later inquired, "Uh...How much did she get?"
Meanwhile, concern became apparent at the White House as President George W. Bush issued a new challenge to law enforcement.
Seated at his desk in the Oval Office, the president read from prepared text stating, "An evil doer anywhere, is a (sic) evil doer everywhere." Behind the president was an updated Wanted poster. The picture was clearly that of the Empire State Building, and the text had been altered by hand.
The new text read, "Wanted: Dead orAliveWhatever".
posted by Gotham 9:38 AM
Monday, January 12, 2004
Support the Dysfunctional Family Amendment
Family.org - CitizenLink - FNIF News - Statistics Show Declining Interest in Civil Unions0 comments
I love these people. They're incredibly entertaining. Or, they would be if they weren't also so damned scary.
Despite my being a happily married, straight white male, I can see I need help and counselling from the congregation here.
I would like anyone out there to explain to me how two people—incapable of creating life as they may be—who want to bond together for the rest of their lives in loving support and mutual respect, pose any kind of threat to ANYONE at any time in any place. In essence, just how is state-sanctioned marriage between homosexuals, who wish to commit to each other in a legalistic way, a threat to the institution of marriage?
To the Insurance companies? Yeah, I can see that gay marriages are a threat to them, due to the higher survivor benefits payouts they'd incur. You'd just be dumping thousands of people into the risk pool. So, yeah, I'd expect them to attack gay marriages.
But, where is the threat to everyone else? Hmmm?
Are gangs of gays lurking outside of the gym, waiting to jump Annie's boyfriend Brad, and make him gay??? Oh noooo! And just before the wedding, too??? Poor Brad! Poor Annie!
Are legions of lesbians infiltrating the Republican Women's Association, and seducing its members—making them forever dissatisfied with their husbands?
Cheeeeesh...
More to the point:
How does a gay couple in Indiana, who insure their cars, decorate their home from the Home Depot, mow their lawn, pay their taxes, and maybe even adopt a parentless child no proper straight couple ever got around to adopting, have ANY impact on some plumbing supply salesman and his family in Arizona, or those lovely folks down at the American Family Association in good ol' Tupelo, MS? Hmmm? Anyone have a clue about THAT one?
And just how would a homosexual marriage demean the institution of marriage, exactly?
I thought straights had already done that long ago.
That divorce rate that's constantly up over 51%, now that's between a man and a woman, right? I mean, usually?
Now, remembering that holy, sacred unions between a man and a woman have also given us your typical proper, loveless, sexless, patrician country club marriage—which has produced people like the current U.S. president; as well as the typical trailer trash marriage—where Henry throws down enough Jim Beam to float a boat, screws anything that can stand to touch him for five minutes, then goes home and beats the living tar out of Helen—this, this is what you aspire to? This is your defense of the prototypical "sacred marriage"?
Or, possibly, are those straight The Batchelor-type shows your cup of tea? I'm so moved by the depth of commitment and sacred love shown by couples born from a television producer's staff meeting and a casting call. This is bedrock stuff, here folks. For any part of the state of Matrimony that society hasn't already trashed, TV is happily filling in the gaps.
Currently buried in a piece in something called Family News: In Focus, which seems to be a subset of something called Focus on the Family (at the family.org web site), lies a quote from some previously unknown person named Glenn T. Stanton, who bills himself as "senior analyst for marriage and sexuality" (whatever that means; does sounds racy, though) at the above-mentioned Focus on the Family (that's some very incestuous journalism there, boy—a publication quoting from its own staff to prove its own point. My! But then, incest is one of those by-products of marriages between a man and a woman, so it becomes a rather learned trait after a while). Sexuality Analyst Stanton writes:
"Every society needs a very clear and precise definition of what family is,..."
Oh. And Sexuality Analyst Stanton obviously feels he's JUST the man to take on the task:
"...and it is in every place confined to men and women linking together in permanent relationships to raise their kids together."
Thank you for clarifying that for us, Brother Sexuality Analyst Stanton. But, sir, what can we do about all this?
"... This year, Congress likely will debate the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would codify the legal definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. ..."
Or one man and one goat.
Or four men and a sheep.
Or perhaps, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and his dog. Or his neighbor's dog. Or any dog, actually.
"... men and women linking together in permanent relationships to raise their kids together. ..."
No matter how ill-suited they may be for the task, of course. Or how dysfunctional or violent or poverty-stricken the household becomes. Or how psychologically or physically damaged the kids become.
But, all of that is still better, obviously, than simply minding your own business, turning your back on two people who love each other and deciding to just leave them in peace.
Because that's the crux of the entire matter, actually. Correct?
Just like every other couple, it's merely Love the gay couple is after.
That's their sin.
And this is all about Hate, isn't it folks?
And the Right to Hate.
The Hatred of Morons for things they don't know or understand.
Which is plenty.
posted by Gotham 7:44 PM
Thursday, January 08, 2004
Leadership Lessons
Newsday.com: Bloomberg calls for property tax refund in State of the City speech0 comments
This is how you manage a fiscal crisis:
- You cut what is cuttable. You eliminate waste.
- Then you raise taxes to cover the gap.
- You stand in, and take the heat.
- When the crisis passes, you lower the taxes back to where they were, like you promised you would. Then, you begin restoring services as is feasible.
Or, that's how a GOOD businessman, such as former CEO and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg handles a financial crisis. Perhaps that's why his personal stake from the successful company he created is worth billions.
Now, a BAD businessman, for example, President George W. Bush, takes a slightly different approach:
- First, insist on lower taxes for multimillionaires for the short term to give back the surplus funds at the Treasury.
- Then, as the economy slowly begins to cool, create a fiscal crisis of your very own to manage.
- You then insist on lower taxes for multimillionaires for the short term to address the fiscal crisis.
- You cut whatever governmental services you don't like.
- You cut everything you don't understand.
- You push through another round of lower short-term taxes for multimillionaires.
- You reward major corporations with massive government grants and contracts.
- When you run out of money, simply print more, and then borrow it.
- You explode the defense budget to eight times its previously bloated size.
- You then simply must cut every single service and program which you personally don't use to cover this further shortfall.
- You then push to make all of the short-term tax cuts for multimillionaires permanent, so the thorny problem of excess revenue never returns.
- You borrow more money.
- You blame every aspect of the fiscal crisis on a bloody attack which occured years before, which had much less to do with the fiscal crisis than your handling of it did.
- When the forces of natural, global economic cycles slowly begin to work their way through the economy and presage a return to economic normality, hold a press briefing, take full credit and proclaim, "What a Good Boy Am I!"
Perhaps this is why the president has a string of failed business ventures trailing along behind him.
Maybe that's why he needed his dad's friends to bail him out of the Harkin Oil business his dad set him up in, before he lost the fashions off his twins' back.
Maybe that's why the Texas Rangers baseball team continued its abysmal play during his tenure as General Partner, and why he needed his dad's friends to bail him out of the team before he lost the shirt off his own back.
Maybe that's why he ended up actually making money on each of these bailouts.
As he has noted countless times, President Bush has experience as a CEO.
Well, perhaps Mayor Bloomberg can run a company.
Maybe Mayor Bloomberg can run a city.
But President Bush can run a country, just like a company:
Into the ground.
posted by Gotham 3:33 PM
Beware Your Friends
George W. Bush and the Neo-Cons scattered throughout his administration have shown sufficient horror and shock at the thought that countries around the world (i.e., not our friends) might want to, need to or see it in their strategic interest to join the Nuclear Club. So, reports abound on the efforts from the White House to contain, stop, blunt or limit the nuclear capabilities or dreams of North Korea, Pakistan, India and most of the Arab countries.0 comments
Because if nuclear weapons fell into the wrong hands, of course, no one is safe.
So, considering context as being important to any discussion, here's an NBC News interactive graphic which details the enormous nuclear, biological and chemical weapon production by Israel.
This is a shocking and bone-chilling document.
Any country has the right to defend itself, yes. Many people have even thought that Israel may well have had a nuke there somewhere, for quite some time now. Actually, the report alludes to an Israeli nuclear alert during the 1973 war.
But, according to this report, Israel now has somewhere between 100 and 200 nuclear, and perhaps, upwards of 35 thermonuclear warheads.
They also have two classes of missles to deliver them: the Jericho I, which can travel 500 miles and the Jericho II, which travels 750 miles.
Plus, they have a full fleet of U.S.-built F-4s and F-16s assigned to its nuclear fleet, as well as 24 F-15E "Strike Eagles," which can fly round-trip from Israel to Iran without refueling.
This is supported by a stunning plutonium program, which may well be second only to our own for expertise and production.
Now, in the hands of an Abba Eban, perhaps, or some other politician-type head of state, this, of course, would be a tad on the overkill side. The region would remain in a state of ongoing anxiety.
But, since this lethal arsenal is now in the hands of a militaristic madman like Ariel Sharon, you can understand why every Arab country in the entire region is in a state of apoplexy and panic; is attempting to build or buy their own nuclear arsenal; is attempting to disrupt Israel's capabilities or, at minimum, damage its relationship with its nuclear sponsor, the U.S.
Very chilling stuff, this.
Made all the more terrifying when you think of the enormous botch of things the Bush administration has made of its role in Middle East negotiations.
Standing by, while things disintergrate into plain murder and chaos. Instead of looking for root causes of problems it doesn't understand, the White House simply ignores them and follows its own policies and self-interests in other arenas. That the residue of that approach creates a ticking time bomb which future presidents and generations will have to deal with is no great leap of thought or imagination.
posted by Gotham 12:29 PM
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Redux
It seems that the landlords' bite is much worse than their bark.0 comments
New York Daily News: Tenants Livid at 15% Hike Over 2 Years
New York Times: Tenants Vent Their Anger at Hearing on Rent Increases
I'll address the actual NYC rent regulation issue in a later post. Just be aware when you read these stories that these are the most destitute and vulnerable people in our city that they're talking about here. The same folks who wrung our compassion during the Medicare debacle. These aren't folks with a lot of options.
But there are other issues this dovetails with, which are important to confront today.
Despite all the Republican spin we've been digesting for the last ten-to-twenty years, or so—quietly demonizing people who aren't them (or think as they do) in subtly demeaning-to-grandly dehumanizing and vicious ways—we clearly see the chickens coming home to roost.
We see that it wasn't all just empty rhetoric which could be laughed off.
These people are serious.
Deadly serious.
And, now, they're in control.
Combined with the incredibly nasty new budget that President George W. Bush just floated to Congress this past weekend, this new attack on elderly New York City tenants by landlords and their Republican cronies at the city and state levels shows that basic human decency has long ago disappeared from the membership roles of the Grand Old Party.
This trend may have started on the national GOP level, but as they say, All Politics Is Local. In almost every state, the reins of government have fallen into the hands of people who care solely for privilege, position and power. These elements use greed for fuel.
This is no longer your basically corrupt, cronyism-filled political landscape we're all used to. Things have changed drastically while you were just moving ahead, living your life.
Whether it's California, Texas or New York, Christmas time is over, folks. No one has to be burdened with this "Peace on Earth/Goodwill to Men" crap until next year.
The new Republican America has become:
If you don't have the connections, too bad; if you aren't willing to do what is necessary to make the comfortable income needed to help us create our fully mercantile society, then no one has any use for you.
And yes, it would make us happy if you all would just crawl away somewhere, in private, out of our site and died.
We don't care that you won a Pulitzer in the 1940s and you're now 90 yrs. old, and on a fixed income. Whoopee-twang. That's valuable housing stock you're sitting on there, toots, and we want it. So, get lost and go become someone else's problem. Or just slink off quietly somewhere and die. Just leave us out of it.
I'm not paying any more taxes, period. I'm keeping every cent of my income for my own purposes, dammit. So, go screw yourself. If cops want more money, let'em join the Army. We give them magazine cover stories, we pump'em up, call'em heroes. That's enough. They should now shut up and go protect us from those who threaten us as they're supposed to. If they get shot while on duty, that's a shame. Hopefully, we'll get ourselves a feelgood heroic picture for the papers and Fox News. Then, let them just slink off quietly somewhere and go die.
We can cut housing vouchers. Just wasted money. There's a marketplace working, here. People need an ever-increasing fair return on their investments, and the government can't be raising taxes to pay the freight for deadbeats who claim they can't afford the going rate. Awwwwww. If people can't pay the fare, screw'em, let them move to Zambia or Honduras or wherever. Housing isn't a right; it's a privilege you have to be prepared to pay for. If you can't, won't, or stupidly think you shouldn't be forced to, just slink off quietly somewhere and die.
No one owes anyone health care. Health care is a privilege. The health industry is an important motor to our economy. We need to keep its fires stoked. Besides, the costs of everything will be returned to people in the form of higher stock prices and dividends for their investments. If people are too stupid to invest wisely, or even more stupidly, if they haven't figured out how to raise adequate capital to afford investing, instead of just blindly giving what little they have to various charities—or worse, those cowardly Democrats—then screw'em. If you refuse to pay your fair share for health care these days, just slink off quietly somewhere and go die.
Education is the key to our future. But we're not paying taxes to try to teach your snot-nose how to maybe stay out of jail, or even worse, be a maid, or something dopey like a Forest Ranger or mechanic. Education and training is for our children, so they can learn to follow us and be your betters. So, realistically then, private schools are the only schools which are actually necessary. Because those other children are just going to slink off quietly somewhere and die eventually, anyway.
The days of holding up poor, overly stretched small business owners (as well as corporations) for outrageous salaries in the high-rent $10 - $14/hr. range are OVER, people. Those days are gone. We've found better, cheaper types to perform our functions for us. And please stop your incessant whining about "job training" and "creation of new jobs." There are plenty of good, fulfilling jobs around if you just shut up, get off your shiftless, lazy asses and look. There are garbage dumps that need cleaning, restaurant pots to clean and garbage bags to haul to the curb. Golf courses, and private and country clubs, will always need waiters, cooks and caddies. We would just ask that those who can't manage to secure one of these fine, fulfilling jobs just be quiet as they slink off somewhere and die.
The United States of America
E Pluribus Unum
I've Got Mine
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 1:39 PM
Bush's Trifecta
Bush Would Give Illegal Workers Broad New Rights0 comments
In one package, President George W. Bush gives us three pieces of legislation in one:
- An Immigration Bill. This will help them keep tabs on everyone who is currently flying under the government's radar—or was hoping to do so. Without any of that dopey green card whining to deal with. People/Schmeople: Just bring'em on, use'em, then ship'em home. Perfect.
- And a combined Pro-Business and Pro-Labor Bill. Business will have an inexhaustible supply of dirt-cheap labor, saving them all the whining from workers and unions about "a living wage," which everyone knows we haven't had since the '70s.
Additionally, workers will no longer have to worry about jobs flying overseas to cheap labor. Now, the cheap labor will just be flown in from overseas to your town to take the jobs.
Whew! A hard day of perfect presidential multitasking.
posted by Gotham 4:08 AM
Monday, January 05, 2004
Suttonville
A follow-up to Friday's story:0 comments
Newsday.com: New York's Bank Robbery Rate Up 64 Pct.
"That's where the money is."—Legendary bank robber Willie Sutton
We NYers are nothing if not resourceful and resilient. NYers are always evolving.
This time—although for three years we thought that they must be joking—we're now slowly beginning to follow the trends of the new Bush economy. Happily, it's often been proved that once we do become engaged, we can excel quite quickly.
Back in the ancient Eighties, the theme was "Greed is good." But that just seems too limiting by today's standards. Too exclusionary. Too elitist. Too "Eighties."
Now, in this new economic wonderland, the theme is, "If it's there, take it." Much more democratic, actually.
An array of corporate boards, modern-day Gordon Gekkos and Republican campaign contributors are happily stealing billions from the hardworking upper-middle, middle and lower classes of New York City, consolidating wealth here at a furious pace.
So the stressed, hardworking upper-middle, middle and lower classes of the city are beginning to just steal it right back again, although in decidedly smaller amounts.
Unfortunately, there are only so many banks in the five boros. We're all well aware this may cause a serious supply/demand problem down the line. So new markets are being considered.
Now, with reports of impoverished grannies carjacking Hummers and BMWs skyrocketing, and with the instances of bankrupted small business owners jumping people coming out of places like "21" and the New York Boat Show showing a steady rise, all good NYers are eagerly looking forward to the Republican National Convention coming here this summer. All NYers will be able to pitch in and help the city fully implement its new Rob-a-Republican Plan, with its official slogan, "Your wallet. Don't come here without it."
Progress, some say.
Evolution, says I.
posted by Gotham 10:36 AM
Friday, January 02, 2004
NYers Respond to Bush-onomics
New York City: Bull Market For Note-Passing Bank Robbers0 comments
It all makes rational, logical sense, actually.
Bush prevented supplimental monies he promised to NYC after the WTC attack from ever actually coming here.
That forced many companies to shut down or lay off large percentages of their staffs, at the same time tourists again felt afraid to come to NYC (but not necessarily afraid of us, this time).
Hundreds of thousands of NYers lost their jobs.
Dollars dried up.
Nothing got any cheaper. Except housing, which fell from obscenely expensive and overpriced to simply insanely expensive and overpriced.
Which is good for the financial industry.
The financial industry is a major contributor to the Bush administration, and has been allowed to suck up all kinds of moola from the good folks of NY and out-lying areas.
The financial industry has been hauled before the court of public opinion by our very own Atty. General Elliot Spitzer (the only competent politician in captivity), and belatedly sorta, kinda by the SEC.
But all NYers know full well that all this will have no effect on the people who are allowed by the Bush administration to steal anything in sight, since they know which campaign wheels to grease.
So, the only logical conclusion one can reach is that NYers are now fully entitled to wander into the financial institution of their choice and, following the lead of the Board of Directors of that institution, demand the right to steal right back again anything that's not nailed down.
Hey, as Barry Goldwater once said, "You gotta eat, and I gotta eat!"
This is the only logical extention to the quietly inept leadership of Treasury Secretary John Snow and his financial policy, which, of course, the administration handed to him as he walked in the door to replace Previous Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who was booted, not for his being incompetent, but for being vocal about that incompetence.
See? NYers know how to put politics into action.
posted by Gotham 7:46 PM
