Sunday, October 31, 2004
Eliot Ness Spitzer
The only things missing are the cool title theme song and Walter Winchell describing the action.0 comments
NYTimes: Spitzer Goes Hunting for His Next Trophy
Who gets to play the lead this time-- the youger Robert Stack or Kevin Costner? Or somebody altogether different?
posted by Gotham 11:08 AM
On the Inability to Focus
WP: Group Says It Warned U.S. of Munitions Cache0 comments
One issue that seems to have been missed by the Bush administration, and by most others in the inflamed discourse over Weapons of Mass Destruction or WMDs (Oh, how I have come to despise that glib phrase!), is the fact that the overriding idea is to prevent preventable deaths.
Nuclear weapons kill people. Bio agents kill people. Weapon-grade chemicals kill people. Yes.
But as those who perished at Bull Run or Little Big Horn will tell you, musket balls or arrows also kill people. Nothing more high-tech than a small mass of metal hurtling at an alarming rate of speed is needed for it to be a weapon of mass destruction—when the mass that's being destroyed is your own.
Simply put, dead is dead.
Excuse the 1,100 dead in Iraq for feeling no particular elation at finding no WMDs.
posted by Gotham 1:18 AM
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Osama, Call Back Later. We're Busy Right Now.
NYTimes: Candidates Give Tough Response to al Qaeda Tape0 comments
"Hi! This is President George W. Bush—of the United States' Bushes.
My administration's not in right now, we're busy out campaigning here and there to hold onto our jobs. And boy, if you've seen the news lately, you know it's hard work. But you can rest assured that we're working hard.
If this is Osama bin Laden, please call back later. Thanks for the tape, you're looking well, but we're sorry to say we don't have the forces to go chasing after you right now.
We're already busy building democracy in Iraq, and after that, in Syria and Iran, so you can see we'll be tied up for awhile. We just don't have the manpower right now to run after your little group of ragtag crazies; we're too busy making the world safe.
We're certain there are plenty of good sites for your people to blow up, like, in Indonesia and places like that, that will keep your followers happy and productive.
Also, if you're in touch with any of your al Qaeda cell groups here in America, please tell them I could use their vote.
I'll get back to you after this Iraq thing settles down; I promise.
Have a nice day!"
BEEP...
posted by Gotham 1:54 PM
Time To Vote / Voter Leave Laws
Voter Leave Laws, by State0 comments
Here's the lowdown on taking time off work to go vote. Here's what you need to know to take time off from work officially in each state.
VOTE.
Too much is riding on this election.
posted by Gotham 1:21 AM
Tora Bora: What Really Happened?
Along with Seymour Hersh, Peter Bergin is one of the better experts in Afghanistan on both the region and the conflict. Especially, the battle of Tora Bora, where the administration let Osama bin Laden get away. Remember, it was an angry, frustrated U.S. Special Forces who blew the whistle on this horrific screw-up, not John Kerry. He's just keeping the story from gathering dust.0 comments
Bergen explains it here:
Tora Bora—What Really Happened?
And this article shows the British Special Forces' angry response to being hobbled at Tora Bora.
Yeah. Support those troops!
Remember, George W. Bush is the same U.S. Marshall who hollered, "Wanted: Dead or Alive!" Then, first he couldn't, then wouldn't and basically didn't, go after the biggest, meanest, most murderous hobre on the planet. Couldn't be bothered, he later said.
So, because of this, this madman is alive, back in play and happily roaming free to kill again whenever it suits him.
"Turn in your badge, Marshall!"
We need a new Marshall, in order to fight / capture / kill Osama Bin Laden, since the last one failed so badly.
Period.
We need to fire George W. Bush and hire a new Marshall: John F. Kerry!
Let someone strong, a gunslinger who knows what it's like to be shot at, run the show. The posse on site would appreciate it, I'm sure.
posted by Gotham 1:19 AM
Forget "The Tape" for a Moment--Now, THIS Is Scary!
Josh Marshall quotes Chris Suellentrop about the latest in Bush Klan Rally Madness. Just why does the impressionable right wing of Bush supporters hate America so? And when do they start passing out the brown shirts?0 comments
Here's Marshall:
Can you say 'cult of personality'?
Chris Suellentrop has a half bizarre/half chilling report from the campaign trail in Florida last night. It's about what seems to be a new feature of the Bush rallies: the pledge of allegiance to President Bush.
Here's Chris ...
"I want you to stand, raise your right hands," and recite "the Bush Pledge," said Florida state Sen. Ken Pruitt. The assembled mass of about 2,000 in this Treasure Coast town about an hour north of West Palm Beach dutifully rose, arms aloft, and repeated after Pruitt: "I care about freedom and liberty. I care about my family. I care about my country. Because I care, I promise to work hard to re-elect, re-elect George W. Bush as president of the United States."
I know the Bush-Cheney campaign occasionally requires the people who attend its events to sign loyalty oaths, but this was the first time I have ever seen an audience actually stand and utter one. Maybe they've replaced the written oath with a verbal one.
I believe in one father, one son and one other son, who's now governor of Florida, who will take over after this son retires from office in 2009.
-- Josh Marshall
How soon until that morphs slowly into "Zieg Heil!"?
posted by Gotham 1:11 AM
Friday, October 29, 2004
Osama bin Laden to George W. Bush:
"NYAH! NYAH! You Can't Get Me!"0 comments
NYTimes: Al-Jazeera Shows New Video of Osama bin Laden
posted by Gotham 4:45 PM
Bush/Cheney '04: Photo, video show Iraqi complex before, after invasion. Really!
The flop-sweat on these B/C '04 guys is becoming comic.0 comments
Or would be so, if they weren't making our world so much more dangerous with each and every leak, press conference and sound bite.
And dragging these poor field commanders in front of the cameras to shill for the Pentagon makes one nausceous. (They weren't given a chance in hell of being able to do their jobs correctly in the first place, and are now being blamed by cowards in suits. Disgusting.)
While the Army and Marines in Iraq moved through what was now a world-gone-mad, and while under direct orders not to become involved with looters carrying away even parts for what were obviously heavy weapons and small arms, why in heaven's name would any soldier question hundreds of Iraqis running around, hanging off pick-up trucks with some tubs of some kind of unkown white powder on the back? My lord, who would even care?
CNN: Photo, video show Iraqi complex before, after invasion
The KSTP April 18, 2003 video is Game/Set/Match for George W. Bush'S "Commander-in-Chief" skillset, as both CNN's Aaron Brown and former lead Iraq weapons inspecter David Kay agreed on Thursday night.
The Pentagon's photo in reply simply shows a big truck and a little truck, just sitting there. That's all.
An ant can't move in that region without there being full military film of it. If there were any truth to the "THEY MOVED IT!" theory, the photos would have been all over the place. These photos are as useless as the embarrassing photos Colin Powell tried to fob off onto the UN last year.
And where is Powell, by the way? He should either be siding with his former comrades in uniform, or be waving a little vial of white powder HMX right about now, to help bail out the desperate rats scurrying around in the administration.
I guess he's learned his lesson about associating with these suit guys.
Pentagon officials have said they cannot rule out the possibility that the explosives were looted.
But they said they believe it is more likely the explosives were moved before the war because it would have been difficult to move that much material in a war zone crawling with U.S. troops without detection.
The aerial photo the Pentagon released Thursday evening shows two trucks parked outside of one of the 56 bunkers in the Al-Qaqaa complex on March 17, two days before the invasion.
The photo shows a large tractor-trailer loaded with white containers; a smaller truck is parked behind it.
Pentagon officials concede the photo does not prove that the explosives were being moved.
It doesn't prove ANYTHING, actually. Asking directions, maybe? Stopping to take a leak, perhaps?
I want to see the aerial photos that show that area looking like an ant farm, with a swarm of people and light trucks and cars flying in and out for weeks on end. Those are the photos that B/C would declare open war on the American people before they would let THOSE surface. But you know they've got them.
What does NOT exist is any photo that backs up their wild theories. They've searched every file in the Pentagon by now, looking for SOMETHING that gets them off the hook of having fucked up so badly. This truck photo is ALL THEY HAD. Obviously, there's NO PHOTO of ANY convoy of trucks moving any 380 tons of explosives: that's for certain, whether the convoy would be Saddam's guys, or Russians, or Syrians, or Arafat's troops, or Ken Blackwell's Ohio militia or Ed Gillespie's campaign contributors. If ANY PHOTO existed of such a cohesive movement, it'd be plastered all over TV and the Internet within twenty minutes of The New York Times story hitting the streets.
That's now a dead issue. Period.
So, it's simple.
They fucked up.
They fucked up badly.
REALLY badly.
And, as they fear, they'll likely pay for it on Tuesday.
posted by Gotham 2:47 PM
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Is George W. Bush Toast?
NYTimes: Missing Explosives: 4 Iraqis Tell of Looting at Munitions Site in '030 comments
Is the bow of the good ship USS Bush/Cheney '04 lifting up from the surface as it takes on more water?
posted by Gotham 2:53 PM
The Lancet Site / Iraq Study
I wanted to post the site for the medical journal, The Lancet.0 comments
But, as of this posting, the Iraqi Casulty Study I mentioned in an earlier post has not been posted. I assume it will be up later today.
But at least you now have the link for later.
posted by Gotham 2:24 PM
EYEWITNESS NEWS video of missing explosives in Iraq!
"FILM AT 11!"0 comments
I've officially changed my opinion re: press embeds.
From a film crew from ABC's affiliate, KSTP Channel 5 in Minneapolis, via Juan Cole comes:
EXCLUSIVE:
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS video may be linked to missing explosives in Iraq
Updated: 10/28/2004 11:50:09 AM - VIDEO (at the site)
A 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS crew in Iraq shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein was in the area where tons of explosives disappeared, and may have videotaped some of those weapons.
The missing explosives are now an issue in the presidential debate. Democratic candidate John Kerry is accusing President Bush of not securing the site they allegedly disappeared from. President Bush says no one knows if the ammunition was taken before or after the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 2003 when coalition troops moved in to the area.
Using GPS technology and talking with members of the 101st Airborne Division, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has determined the crew embedded with the troops may have been on the southern edge of the Al Qaqaa installation, where the ammunition disappeared. The news crew was based just south of Al Qaqaa, and drove two or three miles north of there with soldiers on April 18, 2003.
During that trip, members of the 101st Airborne Division showed the 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS news crew bunker after bunker of material labelled "explosives." Usually it took just the snap of a bolt cutter to get into the bunkers and see the material identified by the 101st as detonation cords.
"We can stick it in those and make some good bombs." a soldier told our crew.
Soldiers who took a 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS crew into bunkers on April 18 said some of the boxes uncovered contained proximity fuses. There were what appeared to be fuses for bombs. They also found bags of material men from the 101st couldn't identify, but box after box was clearly marked "explosive."
In one bunker, there were boxes marked with the name "Al Qaqaa", the munitions plant where tons of explosives allegedly went missing.
Once the doors to the bunkers were opened, they weren't secured. They were left open when the 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS crew and the military went back to their base.
"We weren't quite sure what were looking at, but we saw so much of it and it didn't appear that this was being secured in any way," said photojournalist Joe Caffrey. "It was several miles away from where military people were staying in their tents".
Officers with the 101st Airborne told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that the bunkers were within the U.S. military perimeter and protected. But Caffrey and former 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Reporter Dean Staley, who spent three months together in Iraq, said Iraqis were coming and going freely.
"At one point there was a group of Iraqis driving around in a pick-up truck,"Staley said. "Three or four guys we kept an eye on, worried they might come near us."
On Wednesday, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS e-mailed still images of the footage taken at the site to experts in Washington to see if the items captured on tape are the same kind of high explosives that went missing in Al Qaqaa. Those experts could not make that determination.
The footage is now in the hands of security experts to see if it is indeed the explosives in question.
©2004 KSTP-TV, LLC
Oh, my!
Has Bush/Cheney '04 just been hit below the water line?
posted by Gotham 2:09 PM
Context: As the Pieces Begin to Fit Together...
... We see an interlocking story unfold, not isolated scraps of unwieldy information.0 comments
Due to the short attention span of cable news cycles, this tidbit seems like eons ago, however:
AP: White House Silent on Bremer Troop Request
Remember that puzzle piece?
In remarks published Tuesday (Oct. 4, 2004), the official, L. Paul Bremer, said he arrived in Iraq on May 6, 2003 to find "horrid" looting and a very unstable situation—throwing new fuel onto the presidential campaign issue of whether the United States had sufficiently planned for the post-war situation in Iraq.
"We paid a big price for not stopping it because it established an atmosphere of lawlessness," Bremer said during an address to an insurance group in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. The group released a summary of his remarks in Washington.
"We never had enough troops on the ground," Bremer said
Pair that with...
In an earlier speech Sept. 17 at DePauw University, Bremer said he frequently raised the issue of too few troops within the Bush administration and "should have been even more insistent" when his advice was rejected.
"The single most important change—the one thing that would have improved the situation—would have been having more troops in Iraq at the beginning and throughout" the occupation, Bremer said, according to the Banner-Graphic in Greencastle, Ind.
That all fits in snugly with this week's weapons madness...
Timeline on Missing Explosives in Iraq
By The Associated Press
October 27, 2004, 5:16 PM EDT
* 1991: The International Atomic Energy Agency places a seal over storage bunkers holding conventional explosives known as HMX and RDX and PETN at the Al-Qaqaa facility south of Baghdad as part of U.N. sanctions that ordered the dismantlement of Iraq's nuclear program after the Gulf War. HMX is a "dual use" substance powerful enough to ignite the fissile material in an atomic bomb and set off a nuclear chain reaction.
2003
* January: IAEA inspectors view the explosives at Al-Qaqaa for the last time. The inspectors take an inventory and again place storage bunkers at Al-Qaqaa under agency seal.
* February: IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei tells the United Nations that Iraq has declared that "HMX previously under IAEA seal had been transferred for use in the production of industrial explosives." This apparently didn't include the HMX that remained under seal at Al-Qaqaa.
* March 9-15: Nuclear agency inspectors visit Al-Qaqaa for the last time but apparently don't examine the explosives because the seals aren't broken. The inspectors then pull out of the country.
* March 20: The U.S.-led coalition invades Iraq.
* April 3: The Army's 3rd Infantry Division reaches Al-Qaqaa, fights with Iraqi forces, occupies the site and leaves after two days for Baghdad without searching for high explosives.
* April 9: The 3rd Infantry Division captures Baghdad.
* April 10: Troops from the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade spend 24 hours at the site, search for chemical weapons—but not high explosives—and then head to Baghdad. An NBC reporter embedded with the unit said there's no talk among the 101st of securing the area after they leave.
* May 3: The nuclear agency purportedly notifies the U.S. Mission in Vienna of its concerns about the Al-Qaqaa facility.
["L. Paul Bremer, said he arrived in Iraq on May 6, 2003 to find "horrid" looting and a very unstable situation"—ed.]
* May 8: An American site survey team arrives to inspect the Latifiyah Phosgene Facility—part of Al-Qaqaa—and finds the plant heavily looted.
* May 11: An American site survey team arrives to inspect Latifiyah Missile and Rocket production facility, also part of Al-Qaqaa. The team assesses the facility as non-operational but with possible dual use.
* May 27: U.S. troops search specifically for high explosives. The troops find the seals have been broken. It's not clear whether they did a further accounting of the materials themselves.
2004
* Oct. 10: Iraq's Ministry of Science and Technology tells the nuclear agency that 377 tons of explosives has disappeared from the Al-Qaqaa facility. The Iraqis say the materials were stolen after the April 9, 2003, fall of Baghdad because of a lack of security.
* Oct. 15: The IAEA informs the U.S. mission in Vienna about the disappearance. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice is informed days later, and she informs President Bush, according to White House press secretary Scott McClellan.
* Oct. 23-24: The Pentagon orders the U.S. military command in Baghdad to investigate the IAEA report.
* Oct. 25: ElBaradei reports the explosives' disappearance to the U.N. Security Council after The New York Times reports the cache is missing.
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
Now, a simple parlor-game approach to this enterprise would entail drawing up war plans that listed all conceivable military targets (including all oil fields, bunkers and ammo dumps, figuring out how many troops it would take to secure all of them in one sweep, then assigning different targets to different battalions.
That's pretty much how it's always been done, right? From cudgels through longbows and muskets and howitzers, right up through Bradleys, right?
But instead of consulting long-time Risk players or multi-piece puzzle players, they decided to go play Rock, Paper, Scissors with their plan.
So, the only questions really are:
Who was assigned to Al-QaQaa?
No one?
Then, who is the individual who left Al-QaQaa off the list?
And who are all the individuals up the chain of command, all the way to the "Commander-In-Chief," who signed off on that plan without it being thoroughly double-checked?
What punishment has been meted out to those responsible for the lives lost due to this blunder?
Where is that HMX now?
How much time, exactly, has been spent by U.S. forces over the last 18 months, looking for these explosives which have been killing and maiming their comrades and thousands of Iraqi civilians on a daily basis?
And why did Bush / Cheney / Rice / Rumsfeld / Wolfowitz / Feith allow this to happen?
There's a simple answer. And anyone who's ever put a puzzle together can figure out that "why."
posted by Gotham 1:42 PM
Documenting the Iraqi Horror
This just out.0 comments
The AP, quoting from a study done for the medical journal, The Lancet.
AP: Scientists Estimate 100,000 Iraqi Deaths
100,000 dead.
WITHOUT counting Fallujah.
That's .4% of the entire country.
To pick up an idea of Juan Cole's, and to translate that into an American ratio, that's the equivalent of 1.2 MILLION American lives lost, in terms of percentage of that country's population.
Again, that's WITHOUT counting Fallujah. Add in perhaps thousands of additional women and children, and you have a catastrophe the likes of which the world has never seen.
posted by Gotham 1:37 PM
More and more, I'm dismissing Bush's fear-mongering about a terror attack before or on election day.0 comments
I AM VERY worried about one if Bush loses. Between the election and a Kerry Inaugural, there is WAYYY too much time available for Bush madness and mischief.
Minority Turnout Is Kerry Battleground Foundation (pdf)
These neo-con guys are ugly when they win.
They're REALLY ugly when they lose.
posted by Gotham 2:03 AM
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Mr. Hat Takes a Slap at Mister Garrison
NYTimes: Allawi Says 'Major Neglect' by U.S. Troops Led to Ambush0 comments
The Bush-installed Soon-to-Be Dictator of Iraq decides to take this moment to build some Tough Guy Street Cred at home while his sponsor / mentor is involved with more pressing matters back at the White House.
posted by Gotham 2:02 PM
Iraq Isn't the Only War We've Lost
NYTimes: Burgers for the Health Professional0 comments
Oh, Brother!
posted by Gotham 1:51 PM
Monday, October 25, 2004
George W. Bush's Bribe Diplomacy
More damning news about the coruption of the Bush White House in the L.A. Times.0 comments
Countries Turn to Bush's Top Fundraisers for Access
International Relations as Pay-For-Play?
posted by Gotham 7:25 PM
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Better Killing through Chemistry
MOSNEWS.COM: New Drugs Used by Beslan Terrorists Puzzle Russian Experts:0 comments
posted by Gotham 3:05 AM
Dictatorships Are On the March!
Russia-Belarus Official Sees God’s Hand in Putin’s Reign0 comments
Sounds awfully much link George W. Bush.
posted by Gotham 3:01 AM
Update on Pavel Sheremet
Here's an update on the beaten and arrested Russian journalist Pavel Sheremet in Belarus:0 comments
Lukashenko’s Revenge
posted by Gotham 2:57 AM
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Sinclair Blinks!
NYTimes: Sinclair Will Not Air Kerry Show in Entirety0 comments
It's now a news show ABOUT concerns of the radical right over lies they've heard about John Kerry's war service.
Yeah, yeah, that's right! A NEWS show!
I see, now.
But we'll just keep hammering the stock price until the Kerry camp gets equal time.
We want a news show ABOUT concerns of the radical left over lies we've heard about George W. Bush's lack of war service.
posted by Gotham 7:48 PM
Miami/Minsk ... Minsk/Miami ... Hmmm...
NYTimes: Relishing Victory at Polls, Belarus Leader Denounces Critics0 comments
President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko reveled Monday in the results of a constitutional referendum that would allow him to remain in power indefinitely after an election that international observers criticized as deeply flawed and undemocratic.
Mr. Lukashenko, who has steadily consolidated power and crushed dissent in Belarus since he was first elected in 1994, dismissed criticism of the referendum, which lifted the constitutional limit of two five-year presidential terms.
He denounced his opponents and election observers as agents of the West, underscoring the country's deepening isolation from Europe and the United States.
The Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, which dispatched 270 observers for the election, released a report on Monday that cited harassment of opposition candidates during the campaign and numerous irregularities on election day.
But this is my favorite part:
"What is said and written is 95 percent lies," Mr. Lukashenko said at a news conference broadcast repeatedly on state television and cited by news agencies. "There is no dictatorship here and no violation of human rights."
Spoken like a true dictator.
And you'll notice that our Supreme Pro-Democracy Leader, George W. Bush, the Divine 43, has said absolutely NOTHING about what is going on in Belarus. Nor in Russia, as it veers perilously towards dictatorship as well.
Could it be that he wants to be a dictator himself one day?
"FreedomTotalitarianism is on the march!" —George W. Bush
And this, from the Don't-Look-for-Help-from-the-Republicans-Department:
U.S. Internet Specialist Is Arrested
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - An American citizen specializing in the Internet was arrested by the Belarus K.G.B. and accused of mishandling funds, Belarus authorities said Monday.
The man, Ilya Mafter, a long-term employee of the Open Society Institute, founded by the financier George Soros, was also a consultant in Belarus for the United Nations Development Program, the agency said.
Mr. Mafter has worked for more than a decade for the Open Society Institute to help build infrastructure in Belarus, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia, a spokeswoman for the organization, Laura Silber, said in New York.
One of Karl Rove's guys got one of George Soros's guys. That must make him so-o-o-o-o happy.
posted by Gotham 2:11 PM
New York Boy Makes Good...
SOMEBODY finally gets it.0 comments
And it just happens to be New York's favorite son, Eliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general.
NYTimes: Insurance Investigation Widens to Include Costs
As ET once said, "EL-I-OT!!"
Eliot Spitzer knows who the real "Evildoers" of our time are.
And he knows just the right thread to start pulling on in order to make an entire nasty enterprise start unraveling.
Let's not wait. Let's just jump ahead and vote for NY Governor this year! Like future Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, Spitzer's just too good to pass up. Convention host or not, George Pataki is toast.
It's amazing how you can become a star simply by doing your job!
There's the upside to the Depressed Expectations culture.
While the current focus of the New York investigation is on bid-rigging and price-fixing among commercial insurance brokers and insurance companies, investigators say Mr. Spitzer is also pursuing reports of payoffs that may increase coverage costs for tens of millions of individuals.
"Eliot Spitzer's interest is in the retail stuff, the effect on regular people,'' said David D. Brown IV, the chief of the state attorney's investment protection bureau.
"Our investigation is broadening and deepening,'' Mr. Brown said. "We are going to look across product lines, across insurers and across brokers, the big and the little."
The insurance controversy became public last week, when Mr. Spitzer sued Marsh & McLennan, the world's biggest commercial insurance broker, accusing the broker of rigging bids from insurance companies and fixing prices for corporate customers in exchange for fees from the insurance companies.
Three insurance companies have entered guilty pleas to rigging bids, and more criminal charges are expected, perhaps as early as this week.
Such bid-rigging schemes, investigators contend, have indirectly increased the costs of everything from houses to toothpaste as corporations pass along the expense. The bid rigging was discovered, Mr. Spitzer said last week, during an investigation into incentive fees insurers pay to insurance brokers.
Happily, Spitzer stated late last week that his office is not looking to make any deals as he did in the Wall St./Mutual Funds cases. He let it be known he's following these investigations all the way to trial.
That pounding you're hearing is the knees knocking in offices large and small from midtown and downtown Manhattan to Hartford, CT. In scores of offices, insurance execs and their broker cronies are staring at their closets, trying to decide if the red tie or the blue tie would go better with their perp walk.
Here's the main industry scam (although there are plenty of others being looked into) recently uncovered at Marsh & McLennan (and coming soon to an insurance office and broker near you):
The most widespread form of payments is a reward to the broker or consultant from an insurance company for a certain volume of business and for business that is expected to have few claims and therefore be especially profitable. This kind of payment, investigators and industry executives said, is the same as the kind widely used in commercial property and casualty insurance; in property casualty insurance, it raises the cost of insurance generally.
These arrangements are known as contingency fees, placement service agreements and market service agreements, just as they are in property casualty insurance.
But an additional form of payment that is absent in property casualty transactions results in higher individual costs for corporate employees who choose to buy life, disability or accident coverage beyond the amount provided by employers.
In those transactions, the executive said, the insurance company tacks on an additional annual fee of perhaps $5 to $15 for every worker who increases coverage.
While the extra money is collected by the insurance companies, the executive said, it is passed on to the brokers. Sometimes, the executives said, employers are aware of the extra charge, sometimes not.
In any case, the executive said, because of the hidden fees on workers, the corporation gets the services of a broker for less in direct costs than otherwise.
The degree to which incentive fees were important to Marsh was illustrated late yesterday, when the company said that it took in $843 million in such fees last year, or about 12 percent of its brokerage revenue of $6.9 billion. The disclosure was the first time the company had outlined the financial impact of the payments.
An incentive deal on steroids. We'll give you $15/head for every already overpriced fool you get to bump up to coverage he doesn't need.
And this scam accounted for 12% of one company's $6.9 billion revenue?? Just at Marsh & McLennan?
Whoa.
Looked at across the industry, the incentive plan alone surpasses the GDP of half the Third World.
That's a pretty damn good ride.
But, losing that much cash off the books is going to smack the ol' corporate lifestyle a bit, don't you think? Think they might be just a tad used to having that level of cash coming in? Er, flooding in?
Marsh said on Friday that it was halting the incentive payments. Yesterday, the company said that the decision would "negatively impact near-term operating income.''
No shit, Sherlock. My, these guys are quick when they need to be.
The payments represent 7 percent of its overall revenue. (Marsh's other main businesses are Putnam Investments and Mercer Consulting.)
Mr. Spitzer said on Thursday that the incentive payments could represent more than 50 percent of the parent company's income of $1.5 billion last year.
Ouch! Well, at least Wall St. will stand by their own guys, right?
Two rating agencies, Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service, lowered their estimates of Marsh's ability to repay debt and said further downgrades were possible.
Earlier yesterday, shares of Marsh & McLennan fell for a third day. The stock closed down $3.63, at $25.57. Since Mr. Spitzer announced the lawsuit on Thursday, the shares have tumbled 45 percent.
Ow. My, that's three times worse than Sinclair Broadcasting's free-fall.
And that's why execs throughout the insurance industry are planning just the right courtroom ensemble.
And the investigation is gathering speed. Already, Mr. Spitzer has 20 lawyers investigating the insurance industry, or nearly double the number involved in the investigation into mutual funds.
"This is a much bigger team,'' Mr. Brown said, "and it's much more interdisciplinary. The other cases were largely investor protection. This one involves people from our consumer fraud unit and antitrust as well as from criminal prosecutions."
Referring to Marsh, Mr. Brown said, "The first place we looked, we found massive issues.
"We're going to keep pounding on this,'' he said.
If we, and leaders like Eliot Spitzer, can smash the greed running through all aspects of the Insurance Industry today, many of the ills of America will start to right themselves.
posted by Gotham 1:47 PM
Monday, October 18, 2004
Is Bush's Base Shaky?
Interesting analysis:0 comments
WP: Liberal Praise Drawn From Unlikely Source
posted by Gotham 6:04 PM
Truth-Telling
Here's what to talk about the next time a big, brave insurance salesman demands to know, "Do you support the Troops?!"0 comments
NYTimes / The G.I.'s: Soldiers Saw Refusing Order as Their Last Stand
posted by Gotham 5:38 PM
More on the Beslan / Drug Connection
The Mercury: Beslan terrorists "were high on drugs"0 comments
More on the Afghanistan / drug problem here and here and here.
And then there is this absurdly stupid story about Hamid Karzai, waxing tough as he looks at ending up on top after the pro-forma Afghan vote.
"Removing warlords is one of my promises," he said in an interview yesterday.
"Nobody should have a private militia in Afghanistan any more, period. The only entities in this country that should have weapons are the army and police."
He's joking, right?
The only question after that statement is which will be the entry wound and which will be the exit wound.
Remember, Bush left Afghanistan aid entirely out of the next budget following our invasion of that country. We underfunded Afghanistan long before we ever underfunded No Child Left Behind.
And here is more of George W. Bush's impact on the drug trafficking from Afghanistan.
Which goes towards killing school children.
posted by Gotham 5:16 PM
Re: The Ultimate (Preventable) Catastrophe
Mother Jones: The Ultimate (Preventable) Catastrophe0 comments
I recently saw Graham Allison, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy and Plans in the Clinton administration and now a professor at Harvard, interviewed on TV. He basically was saying the same things he clearly states here.
A must read.
posted by Gotham 4:45 PM
More from Glitch Central...
Reuters: Early Voting for President Begins with 'Hiccups'0 comments
Florida and other states start early voting today with long lines and malfunctions. And with the very problems every GOPer has been denying would occur for the last four years.
Sweet.
In 2008, we're gonna need a full month to get everbody in and rejected in a timely fashion. Two weeks just isn't enough time to toss this many votes out.
But, to paraphrase the Bush/Cheney campaign spokesperson's GOTV e-mail:
"You'll feel better on November 2nd knowing your vote was already tossed."
posted by Gotham 4:34 PM
It Begins...
CTV: Voters begin casting ballots for U.S. President0 comments
Within hours of the opening of advance polls in the American presidential election, problems were being reported in the state of Florida.
Advanced polls opened in the Sunshine State early Monday, under new rules imposed in the wake of the 2000 election when the presidency was decided in Florida by only 537 votes.
Within an hour, a Democratic state legislator reported getting an incomplete absentee ballot in Palm Beach County.
The partial paper ballot was "not a good start," Shelley Vana said, commenting on the paper absentee ballot she received -- without one of its two pages, including the proposed amendments to the state constitution.
When she told election workers about the oversight, Vana said her concerns were met with indifference.
"There was absolutely no concern on the part of the folks at the Supervisor of Elections Office that this page was missing," she said.
And in Orange County, voting ground to a halt after the touch-screen voting system crashed for about ten minutes.
"...And off we go!"
A senior deputy elections supervisor could not explain the brief outage
"Well, let us explain it to you, mac. It's because the GOP is gonna win this race, ya see?
And even if the GOP don't win this race, it's gonna win this race, ya get what I'm telling ya? Ya see?
Look, mac. You're a smart guy. Ya ever hear of a place called Belarus?"
posted by Gotham 4:19 PM
UPDATE: Fast Forward...
Now we see what November 3rd may well look like in the U.S.:0 comments
Reuters AlertNet: Police break up rally protesting Belarus referendum
We saw this one coming, boys and girls.
Democracy always dies hard when the powerful try to steal it.
It's amazing how average people stand up to oppression—especially, when its power is taken away by gunpoint by thugs.
Thank god the GOP let that assault rifle ban lapse.
posted by Gotham 4:06 PM
Junkies with Bombs?
I haven't seen any corroborration on this story as yet—but if it's true, this is a terrifying development that is totally beyond the ability of George W. Bush or his administration to handle.0 comments
Plus, he may actually be directly responsible for this horrifying bit of evolution.
Beslan Terrorists High on Heroin, Morphine—Blood Tests
If it turns out that there are ANY connections among our meager commitment to stabilizing Afghanistan while we followed Neo-Con folly into Iraq; the slow resurgence of opium poppies as that impoverished country's main cash crop, overseen by the warlords who emerged after we turned our back on that troubled land; and, later, the murder of hundreds of children in Beslan, then Bush will never be able to rub the blood from his hands.
Again, if true, this would account for some of the erratic behavior attributed to some terrorists over the course of the siege period.
Heroin and morphine have been used for decades as a military weapon to create dependency and loyalty, coerce behavior and to reduce the instinct for self-preservation.
And with Bush's Afghanistan now fully choked with poppy plants suppying both high-grade heroin to most of Europe and much-needed funds to al Qaeda, it's no great reach to assume that some of their supply could be siphoned off from street sales for more immediate tactical use.
Very, very scary.
posted by Gotham 1:45 PM
Exporting Florida
The Former Soviet Union Giving the Republican National Committee a Run for Its Money0 comments
It looks like the emerging former Soviet countries have been looking closely at politics as played by the GOP here in the U.S., and have decided they like this new American approach to democracy.
MOSNEWS: Belarus Referendum Backs Third Term for Leader Lukashenko, Opposition Notes Vote Rigging
They've tossed over Karl Marx and have opted to follow the Other Karl—they're now using the Karl Rove playbook, chapter and verse. It works so much better, they find.
Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, accused in the west of being a tyrant, won overwhelming approval in a referendum to run for a third term in office.
Lidiya Ermoshina, head of the Central Election Commission, said 77.3 percent of registered voters had backed Lukashenko’s proposal to remove a constitutional provision limiting him to two terms, Reuters reported. The vote will enable him to run again in 2006.
This is SO-o-o-o American.
On Sunday, with exit polls still incomplete, the president, confident of victory, promised to serve his people better if they voted "yes" and told the West to keep criticism of his rule to itself.
As of Monday, official results showed that Lukashenko had won while polls by independent organizations gave more contradictory results.
Lukashenko called the plebiscite in the former Soviet republic bordering Russia because he wants to remove a constitutional provision limiting him to two terms. That would enable him to run again in 2006.
Just like Rudy Giuliani tried to do here in New York City after 9/11. The Rude was in the last four months of his sleazy, term-limited administration when 9/11 hit. He got such good press for those couple of weeks, that he thought it a wonderful idea if he could set aside the City Charter (our constitution) and allow himself as many more terms as his wonderfulness would warrant. Of course, those were the same term limits he fought so hard to enact, thinking it would allow him to pack City Hall with HIS guys. Needless to say, New York said, "Nice press conferences, Rudy. Thank you for your service. Now, cop a walk!"
Now, he's shilling for the RNC.
I wonder if Rudy was on retainer for the Belarus election.
As voting ended, exit polls gave a confused picture as to whether the president secured the 50 percent of registered voters needed to change the constitution and not merely 50 percent of the votes cast, Reuters reported.
Reuters cited a poll conducted by the Gallup organization showing Lukashenko falling short, with 53.9 percent of those casting ballots backing him, but only 48 percent of all voters in the country of 10 million.
A second study, commissioned by election authorities and carried out by the pro-government Ekoom Institute said 74.6 percent of those who voted supported the change.
"This Rove's Guide to Politics is great! It's such a fast read, and it's so easy!
Let's see...
48% = 77.3%.
Always.
It says constitutional safeguards against tyranny in any of its forms are simply potholes along the road to offering the people the strong leadership they would tell you they really desire if we allowed you to talk to them."
A journalist with Russia’s state-owned Channel One television, Pavel Sheremet, was detained by police in the Belarus capital Minsk on Sunday evening, Russia’s news agency Interfax reports.
The agency quoted Belarus Interior Minister Uladzimir Navumaw as saying that Sheremet was detained for "petty hooliganism involving a violation of public order." The minister said that Sheremet "had a fight with a group of skinheads."
"The circumstances of the incident are currently being clarified, an official police record of the incident is being filed, and the details of the incident are being established," Navumaw said.
Sheremet was detained in the vicinity of Minsk's Savetski district executive committee and was taken to the district interior directorate, Navumaw said.
Belarus news agency Belapan has reported that a court will consider Sheremet's case on Oct. 20.
Soon after news of Sheremet's arrest was circulated, the Belarus opposition organization Charter-97 reported that the reporter had been taken to a hospital with a head injury.
Pavel Sheremet, the head of Channel One's special projects department, is known for his TV reports and books sharply critical of Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko. Working as a Russian TV correspondent in Belarus in the late 1990s, he spent several months in a Belarusian jail ...
So...the reporter, who gets jumped by "skinheads" supporting Lukashenko, gets arrested and HE'S the reprobate.
"Of course.
See? Easy. "
The only things missing are Katherine Harris, Jeb Bush and James Baker.
posted by Gotham 1:29 PM
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Back While We Weren't Listening...
There is no War on Terror.0 comments
Never has been.
It's always been about bases in southern Iraq. Those 12 to 14 U.S. military bases which are currently under construction in that pitiable land.
Notice that we can't get hospitals built there or electricity and water flowing, but we can get airfields built. Sweet.
MyDD: Bush and GOP repeatedly used WMD Justification to Invade Iraq in 2000
Chris Bowers writes eloquently on the lie that was 9/11.
Again: 9/11 wasn't the reason; it was the excuse.
posted by Gotham 7:33 PM
The GOP: The Family Values Party
It's good to find clear moral leadership:0 comments
MyDD: "Shotgun Senator" Republican Randy Kuhl-gate update
This ranks right up there with Bob Barr's divorce-of-the-month club, Newt Gingrich's "How'd Your Surgery Go, Honey--I'm Divorcing You" approach and New York's own former mayor Rudy Giuliani's boffing of the former First Slut Judy Nathan downstairs in Gracie Mansion while former First Lady Donna Hanover and their former First Kids were all upstairs sleeping.
So, add to that a Congressional candidate who's threatened his wife with a shotgun, and we're off on a beautiful family ride. As only the GOP can give us.
posted by Gotham 6:56 PM
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Snow Day in Ohio
Brad DeLong passes along this tasty morsel of RNC madness:0 comments
Treasury Secretary John Snow Needs to Resign, Now
Let me get this straight: Bush fired a party regular as Treasury Secretary who had decent-to-sane Republican economic policy ideas, and replaced him with a hack who couldn't run a railroad without so much government subsidy that it paid NO federal taxes for the two years before he moved to Treasury. Ahhhh....
OK, I get it.
Each one of these guys in this administration is even more certifiable than the last guy.
Notice when you go to the actual article above that it points to one of the bigger blowhards at this tea party: Ohio Sec. of State Blackwell, the moron who tried unsuccessfully to use an obscure "card stock" rule to block voter registrations from Democrats—a rule that even HE and his office couldn't adhere to.
They just take your breath away.
posted by Gotham 6:17 PM
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
"Bush Killed Supernan...!
...He could have moved that chunk of Kryptonite back behind that lead shield!0 comments
But he didn't."
And other emotionalisms...
The Toronto Star: Death fuels volatile stem cell debate
Have you noticed how minutely focused on the vagueness of "possibility" or "intent" or "could" or basic "WANNA" the Bush campaign and its followers on the wingnut right tend to be?
It seems a bastardization of the old George Carlin line about mortal sin, "Ya GOTTA WANNNNA!"
Should bank tellers all go to jail because they COULD pocket all that cash moving through their fingers everyday? Or because they WANT to?
Everyday, it seems George W. Bush's reasons for his invading Iraq keep morphing as each excuse gets shot down in turn. Today's excuse is that Saddam "WANTED" nukes and bio weapons, boy. We REALLY know he REALLY WANTED nukes!
Oh.
(Well, surprise, George, half my block in New York City "WANTS" nukes! We'd LOVE to have WMDs! It would make tough city living SO much simpler—just getting a seat on the subway would be a dream!—but I honestly doubt we'll ever actually gain access to them. So, there's no reason for airbases in Queens.)
Likewise, Bush's marching orders from the Life Police at WingNut Central keep him focused on the wild-eyed palaver that "These COULD be life someday!"
Thank you, Frau Frankenstein, please sit down.
Puh-leeze.
I COULD win the lottery someday, too!
These are mostly cells that are on their way to the trash can or to be destroyed. You hear no wingnut argument or outcry about that.
But on the way to the trash, some resourceful scientists got the idea that they might be able to utilize some of that unwanted, discarded tissue to help unlock some of the secrets of the horriffic conditions and killers of our time. Thereby saving the lives of hundreds of thousands and increasing the quality of life for millions.
"Here Come the WingNuts!"
"Well, it COULD be a life someday! So THAT'S ABORTION!"
"They're not going to be a life someday. They're being thrown in the trash."
"DOESN'T MATTER! IT COULD BE A LIFE SOMEDAY! THE SANCTITY OF LIFE MUST BE MAINTAINED!"
"But, it's not life. It's just tissue."
"DOESN'T MATTER! IT COULD BE A LIFE SOMEDAY! THE SANCTITY OF LIFE MUST BE MAINTAINED!"
"OK. Whatever floats your boat. Then, since I assume that all of you good Christian Right-To-Lifers here already have four or five adopted children whom you personally saved from abortion living with you in your households, YOU can take these cells home and personally perform all the difficult scientific tasks involved in bringing each cell to human life.
You want 'em; you take 'em."
"UHHH... NO! YOU KEEP 'EM. YOU'RE THE SCIENTIST HERE. BUT JUST KNOW WE'RE WATCHING! THE SANCTITY OF LIFE MUST BE MAINTAINED!"
" Thanks. We think that's awfully white of you."
posted by Gotham 1:21 PM
Another Bush Diplomatic Coup
Oh, now this is always good. Bush administration bluster always succeeds in getting us something great.0 comments
The New Standard: Al-Sadr may disband militia, enter elections, align with Chalabi
If Saddam was "gaming" the sanctions (badly, at that), Al-Sadr is "gaming" the possible upcoming elections masterfully.
Ahmed Chalabi?
"Can you say, 'Iran', boys and girls? I know you can!"
posted by Gotham 1:08 AM
Monday, October 11, 2004
Have We Sold This President Short?
Here's an interesting—although long—and fully blood-chilling story from Christopher Knight's blog, The Knight Shift. Chris is a reporter from North Carolina.0 comments
"The Night George W. Bush Ordered A Thug To Tell Me To "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" (Caution: harsh language)"
This episode is from the 2000 election, and bodes ill for us now, if this tale is indeed legitimate.
posted by Gotham 4:27 PM
The Vote: The New Oversight Board
In Sunday's WP, David Broder—the Conventional Wisdom Czar within the Beltway—shows what is really afoot in this election.0 comments
WP/David Broder: No Accountability
In "One-Party Washington," as Broder calls it, the U.S. Constitution has broken down utterly. What little remains is under full frontal assault. Little vestige of the historic oversight mechanisms among the various branches of government remains. The administration, both houses of Congress and the court system now work as a cohesive unit to support and buttress the activity of the other branches, with Congress and the courts being particularly flagrant in their abandonment of constitutional roles and duties.
There comes from this, only one official viewpoint. There comes from this, only one segment of the population who can have their aspirations and grievances heard.
So, as Broder alludes, YOU, the citizen, are now, officially, bearer of the U.S. Constitution. YOU, the citizen, are now the mechanism of American governmental review. YOU officially are now an Oversight Committee of One.
Each of you. For such a weighty and awesome duty.
But without you, the country is lost.
No one in Washington, D.C. or in any state capital will break from orthodoxy any longer. So, it is up to YOU to accept and maintain the burden of governmental watchdog.
Your vote is now more powerful than at any time in the history of this country. For in the history of this country, never have we seen any political party have such full, free rein and be this close to Total License.
It is time for YOU to step up and Advise and Consent.
VOTE.
For Accountability.
posted by Gotham 1:07 PM
Friday, October 08, 2004
Chew On This...
WP: The Tax-Cut Pendulum and the Pit0 comments
The government has to borrow an average of more than $1.1 billion a day to pay its bills, and it spends more on interest payments on the federal debt each year—about $159 billion—than it does on education, homeland security, justice and law enforcement, veterans, international aid and space exploration combined. [GN emphasis]
Nice record ya got there, Georgie.
posted by Gotham 1:52 PM
Boom Times for Bush
Urp...0 comments
More Maalox for Karl Rove, please.
And the morning started with such promise.
This from Briefing.com:
08:02 ET Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +2.9. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.5. Futures trade denotes a positive bias, which should translate into a higher open for the cash market... GE's in line Q3 (Sept) report - and its guidance that is at the high-end of its previous range, combined with what was in line reports from AA and AMD, have brought more buyers into the market after yesterday's sell-off.
Then this hit the wires:
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Situation Summary
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: SEPTEMBER 2004
Nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend upward in September, increasing by 96,000, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.4 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the prior 3 months, payroll employment rose by 103,000 on average. In September, modest job gains occurred in a few service-providing industries.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
The number of unemployed persons was unchanged at 8.0 million in September, and the unemployment rate held at 5.4 percent, seasonally adjusted. The jobless rate is down from its most recent high of 6.3 percent in June 2003; most of this decline occurred in the second half of last year.
The jobless rates for the major worker groups--adult men (5.0 percent), adult
women (4.7 percent), teenagers (16.6 percent), whites (4.7 percent), blacks (10.3 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (7.1 percent)--showed little or no change in September. The unemployment rate for Asians was 4.3 percent, not seasonally adjusted.
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment was about unchanged in September at 139.5 million, and the employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and over with jobs--was little changed at 62.3 percent. Over the month, the civilian labor force was essentially unchanged at 147.5 million. The labor force
participation rate was 65.9 percent in September and has been at or near that
level since late last year.
Wall Street, as you would imagine, reacted accordingly.
09:45 ET Dow -14, Nasdaq -6, S&P -0.49
[BRIEFING.COM] Stock market begins with losses across the board as a weaker than expected employment report prompts more selling...The economy added 96K jobs in September, which was lighter than what the consensus estimate (+150K) called for...August nonfarm payrolls were also revised 16K lower, to 128K, and the average work week in September declined 0.1 to 33.7 hours (consensus of 33.7 hours).
And things haven't improved any through the day.
11:25 ET Dow -31, Nasdaq -13, S&P -4.07
[BRIEFING.COM] The market remains on the defensive as investors continue to be put off by the pace of economic growth... By and large, all of this week's economic reports (August Factory Orders, September ISM Services, September employment) fell short of expectations and reinforced fears about a global slowdown...The persistently high price of crude oil - which has set three all-time highs this week - hasn't helped in that regard and has helped keep Asia and Europe in the red too.
Someone go get a napkin, so Sen. John Kerry can wipe his chin.
There is no truth to the rumor that Kerry has already shown up at the Debate site in St. Louis and is currently standing on stage, asking, "Can we start now? Hunh? Hunh?"
posted by Gotham 1:19 PM
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Cheney Speaks from the Caves!
AP: Cheney - Weapons Report Justifies Iraq War0 comments
Also, these reports just in:
AP: Cheney - House of the Seven Gables Justifies Iraq War
AP: Cheney - Everyone Loves Raymond Justifies Iraq War
AP: Cheney - Acid Reflux Disease Justifies Iraq War
AP: Cheney - N.Y. Mets Searching for New Manager Justifies Iraq War
Ya gotta hand it to the guy, he's a born leader.
posted by Gotham 10:38 PM
DANGER!
AP Poll: Kerry Holds Small Lead Over Bush0 comments
There'll be a Terror Alert from Tom Ridge in fifteen minutes.
Please have your duct tape ready and available.
posted by Gotham 10:29 PM
Get Robert Rubin on the Ground, Now!
(BW Series, Pt. II)
Here's the second part of the Business Week "Sector Watch" series on the election, from Wall Street's point of view.0 comments
Business Week: Bush or Kerry? A Sectoral Review, Part 2
This pretty much follows the lead of yesterday's segment. It follows the line of "Iraq, Schmiraq. Who cares? John Kerry is the financial Satan."
Good ol' Georgie B., he'll continue to let us eat cake smothered with Cool Whip—all day long if we want to. And never let us get in trouble with other adults.
That Mr. Kerry guy is going to take away all of the cake and make us eat vegetables. Probably brussel sprouts, most likely.
And make us put all of our schoolroom desks back in line, and make us sit down and actually WORK and STUDY! AND LEARN SOMETHING!
So, no...George, he's our friend, and he gets ALL our support.
Kerry'll make us stop polluting again, and make us not kill any more little children, and we all know, that's no fun. And that's expensive, too!
posted by Gotham 8:41 PM
Where's Dan Rather?
Josh Marshall has stumbled upon George W. Bush possibly reverting to his roots, just as we here at Gotham Notes feared that he might. But we just didn't think it would occur this soon.0 comments
Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: October 07, 2004
Marshall finds it odd that the president, who takes his yearly physical in August like clockwork, passed on it entirely this year. Marshall also notes that in August, Bush was laying low during the Democratic Convention, and so had plenty of time available.
Hmmmmm...
George W. Bush.
Blowing off physicals.
Where have we heard this before?
Is there any possibility that they've added drug testing to the president's physical procedure this year?
Just asking...
posted by Gotham 7:25 PM
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
The Pilot Strikes Back
You've most likely already seen this, but I just wanted to make sure that it got out to everybody.0 comments
The Pilot Newspaper (Southern Pines, NC) - ‘Senator Gone’ Quip Puts Pilot in Spotlight
It's a truism that incumbent officeholders miss votes and speeches at their jobs when they are campaigning for re-election or higher office.
But George Bush doesn't seem to need much time at home in the White House, either. In the last two years alone, I think I'VE spent more time in the Oval Office working on policy than he has.
Edwards Returns to State After Debate: ‘Senator Gone’ Quip Puts Pilot in Spotlight
BY MATTHEW MORIARTY: Staff Writer
The eyes of the national media unexpectedly turned toward The Pilot after Tuesday night’s vice-presidential debate.
During the debate, Vice President Dick Cheney attacked Sen. John Edwards, who grew up in Robbins, on his senatorial attendance record. Cheney included the barb, “Your hometown newspaper has taken to calling you ‘Senator Gone.’ You’ve got one of the worst attendance records in the United States Senate.”
Late Tuesday night and Wednesday, phones rang in The Pilot’s office as reporters from the Los Angeles Times, Editor and Publisher magazine, The New Yorker, The Associated Press and The News & Observer of Raleigh called to check the vice president’s words and interview the author.
The comment became the subject of post-debate analysis on 24-hour-news channels like CNBC.
The Pilot did criticize Edwards in a June 25, 2003, editorial entitled “Edwards Should Do His Day Job.” The editorial suggested that Edwards should do a better job of being on hand for Senate votes while still running for president.
“During his 30 years in Washington, Jesse Helms was known as Senator No,” the editorial said. “Four and a half years into his first term, John Edwards is becoming known as Senator Gone.”
The editorial also included a response from the senator’s staff that said Edwards had a much better record of attending votes than did several other senatorial presidential hopefuls. His staff also said that Edwards didn’t miss close votes where his absence could make a difference.
According to Web site statistics at www.thepilot.com, the vice president’s comment has generated enormous interest, with 21,296 unique visitors to the site by late Wednesday night. The number is more than six times an average day. There had been 4,387 unique visitors by 1 p.m. Thursday.
The Associated Press distributed an article clarifying the statement from www.thepilot.com to news organizations such as National Public Radio. Cheney’s comment also gained steam on talk radio and Internet political blogs.
Editor Steve Bouser wrote the editorial.
“It’s an unfortunate fact of political life,” he said. “If you’re in Congress and you run for president, you are going to miss lots of important business. It is a fact of life. We were just giving him a gentle nudge to remind him that some folks back home were asking whether he was neglecting Senate business while campaigning around the country.”
Bouser pointed out that The Pilot never itself called Edwards “Senator Gone.” Specifically, the editorial said the senator “is becoming known as ‘Senator Gone.’”
“I don’t think it was at all accurate to say we have ‘taken to calling’ the senator anything,” Bouser said. “Remember, this was a one-time reference in an editorial that appeared 15 months ago.”
An editorial in Wednesday’s issue of The Pilot said, “It’s not every day that a non-daily paper in a small town gets mentioned in a nationally televised debate in prime time. But it happened to The Pilot Tuesday night.”
The editorial ended on a light note by saying, “Thanks for the plug, Mr. Vice President. We’re proud to count you among our readers.”
There was some confusion among the national media about which newspaper Cheney was referring to. He never mentioned The Pilot by name and may have gotten his information off a newsletter such as the one a simple Google search turned up from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Cheney used the same language almost word for word.
Editors at The News & Observer briefly thought Cheney was referring to them when he spoke of Edwards’ “hometown paper,” until a quick search proved otherwise.
“We didn’t know who he was referring to,” said Rob Christensen, a staff writer for The News & Observer, who covers Edwards.
Christensen was preparing an article clarifying where the reference came from for the paper’s Thursday edition.
“It’s not that important,” he said. “It’s a matter of curiosity, really.”
Edwards has several places he could call his hometown. He has lived and practiced law in Raleigh for many years. He was born in South Carolina and grew up in Robbins, where his parents, Wallace and Bobbie, still live. Robbins is the town he speaks about when on the stump and even talked about growing up there during the debate Tuesday.
This flap is but one example of the sloppiness of Dick Cheney's approach to his debate with John Edwards.
His sending his supporters to George Soros' web site for issue clarifications was breathtaking. His claim that he'd never said "Saddam" and either "al Qaeda" or "9/11" in the same breath was inspired lunacy. His assertions that nothing illigal happened in the Halliburton offices while he was CEO were awe-inspiring. But, as it is for most of you, my favorite Darth-ism of the debate was Cheney's saying he'd never met Edwards when the Democrats had the pictures (and video) to prove otherwise. Oh my!
Do you think he's ever "met" George W. Bush?
Maybe it depends on what the definition of "met" is.
posted by Gotham 11:37 PM
Watch the Business Spin, Too
Something to keep your eye on.0 comments
Business Week started a two-part "Sectoral Review" of the Candidates series today. The reporter is their Sector Watch columnist Sam Stovall.
It's a good way to view what the Business Republican part of the GOP is doing and thinking, instead of just watching the drooling wing-nut Matt Drudge readers or the Hate Boat Vets (and now the Hate Boat Wives—more on that later).
Business Week: Bush or Kerry? A Sectoral Review, Part 1
Before I read it, I assumed that the scales would wobble back and forth on different specific points.
Silly me.
This installment listed 14 industries.
As per BW: 11 of these 14 investment areas are viewed as either being aided by Bush or harmed by Kerry; 1 industry comes out better under Kerry (Alternative Energy, natch), and there were 2 "It Doesn't Matters".
As you read through it, what starts jumping out from this landscape is two-fold:
One, it's clear that Kerry / Edwards has a great deal more to do in giving the Robert Rubins of the campaign a higher-level profile. It's clear that whatever degree of the economic "Clinton Redux / Rubin's Coming Home" message the Kerries have been promoting, it's not being heard by Republican Wall Street. Industries made truckfulls of cash under President Bill Clinton, and they will under Kerry's plan as well. This needs to be laid out much more clearly.
Wall Street's reaction actually dovetails with the message coming from many average Americans who basically have turned off to Bush, but who have yet to turn on to Kerry. I keep hearing interviews with people who say, in essence, "I don't know what his plan is. I don't see how he'd be any different from Bush" in so many words. That's not good. From the public or from Wall Street.
Yeah, yeah, I know, it's all on the web site and everyone can go read it.
And cows will all fly.
Kerry and Edwards need to start hammering home the positive points of their plans in clear, precise terms, and loudly repeating the horrors of the coming Bush / Cheney agenda—also in crisp, concise terms, just like they did with the draft issue which recently hurt B/C '04 very badly.
Second, in reading this series you inadvertently begin to see just how staggering the Bush impact has been—not only in financial terms, but in the scope of destruction of Americans' lives, health, finances and both national and personal property. The Bush administration has irresponsibly thrown open the gates of license for all of global industry.
This goes back to a Gotham Notes post on the Bush takeover of federal agencies from last week.
The Bush administration has placed its ideologue troops down into multiple layers of administration at every federal agency. As a result, we've seen a four year assault on any and all guidelines and regulations that would limit, in any way, Corporate America's Inhumanity to Man.
The Bush Doctrine: If there's a buck to be had, screw it, go for it!
This shines an immediate, bright light on the bias inherent in a series like Stovall's.
Whenever any teacher has given over complete control to students and allowed chaos to reign fully in their classroom, the next teacher, brought in to clean up the mess and restore order, will be reviled for being harsh and no fun at all.
Since corporate america has been allowed to run amuck for four years, of course they're going to scream all the louder at being reined in by adults in the White House.
It's up to the Kerries to explain things in a way to quiet these corporate infants down long enough to get some facts across to them:
Namely: There's plenty of cash to go around.
And if Kerry's main goal is to put America back to work, then just who do they think will be making all the cash used to PAY these millions of people?
D'uh-ah.
This seems a perfect time for Rubin and Clinton—as he heals—to hang a shingle on Wall Street, and begin weaving tales of the glorious days to come under a Kerry administration.
And of how fiscal discipline and corporate responsibility will set you free.
And make you rich.
Without getting sued.
posted by Gotham 1:22 PM
VP Debate: You Won? Yeah, Well, We Won, Too!
A fairly concise wrap-up in Business Week about the VP Debate:0 comments
The Veep Debate: We Won
But one spin point that WAS brought up afterwards that I tend to agree with, is the fact that a tie goes as a win for John Edwards.
Since he was going, as the novice, against a long, storied political resume, there was an assumption he'd be pummelled.
Didn't happen. As BW points out:
Going into the debate, Democrats feared that Edwards would suffer from a stature gap, looking young and callow, an immature pretty boy next to the stolid political veteran. No worry there. Edwards, like [John] Kerry five days earlier, looked ready to step into the White House Situation Room. Oddly, the only stature gap that popped up on the shores of Lake Erie was the gap between [Dick] Cheney's steady performance and the occasionally halting job turned in by President Bush at the University of Miami on Sept. 30.
The story evens points to one of my favorite moments from last night, when Edwards came up with the "Flickering Light" line during his closing argument.
Tieing that back to Daddy Bush, the U.S. has ended up over the last four years with "A Thousand Points of Flickering Light."
Nice.
posted by Gotham 10:50 AM
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
From the Annals of Dick's Daily Apocalypse:
It appears that the vice presidential debate later this evening may prove to be the first time in recorded American political history where one candidate for VP can look straight at his opponent and ask directly—and with no trace of irony, whatsoever—"What cave did you just crawl out of?"0 comments
The Nation's The Online Beat lists questions for Bunker Boy.
posted by Gotham 1:51 AM
Monday, October 04, 2004
Will You Not Weep?
Thanks to Romenesko for jumping on this story:0 comments
Iraqi nostalgia for Saddam? Only Bush could make Hussein look good.
Here is a personal e-mail from The Wall St. Journal's Iraqi reporter to her friends. One of them put it on the web, and off it went. Here is her first-hand account of what is going on there.
9/29/2004 2:58:10 PM
From: [Wall Street Journal reporter] Farnaz Fassihi
Subject: From Baghdad
Being a foreign correspondent in Baghdad these days is like being under virtual house arrest. Forget about the reasons that lured me to this job: a chance to see the world, explore the exotic, meet new people in far away lands, discover their ways and tell stories that could make a difference.
Little by little, day-by-day, being based in Iraq has defied all those reasons. I am house bound. I leave when I have a very good reason to and a scheduled interview. I avoid going to people's homes and never walk in the streets. I can't go grocery shopping any more, can't eat in restaurants, can't strike a conversation with strangers, can't look for stories, can't drive in any thing but a full armored car, can't go to scenes of breaking news stories, can't be stuck in traffic, can't speak English outside, can't take a road trip, can't say I'm an American, can't linger at checkpoints, can't be curious about what people are saying, doing, feeling. And can't and can't. There has been one too many close calls, including a car bomb so near our house that it blew out all the windows. So now my most pressing concern every day is not to write a kick-ass story but to stay alive and make sure our Iraqi employees stay alive. In Baghdad I am a security personnel first, a reporter second.
It's hard to pinpoint when the 'turning point' exactly began. Was it April when the Fallujah fell out of the grasp of the Americans? Was it when Moqtada and Jish Mahdi declared war on the U.S. military? Was it when Sadr City, home to ten percent of Iraq's population, became a nightly battlefield for the Americans? Or was it when the insurgency began spreading from isolated pockets in the Sunni triangle to include most of Iraq?
Despite President Bush's rosy assessments, Iraq remains a disaster. If under Saddam it was a 'potential' threat, under the Americans it has been transformed to 'imminent and active threat,' a foreign policy failure bound to haunt the United States for decades to come.
Iraqis like to call this mess 'the situation.' When asked 'how are things?' they reply: 'the situation is very bad."
What they mean by situation is this: the Iraqi government doesn't control most Iraqi cities, there are several car bombs going off each day around the country killing and injuring scores of innocent people, the country's roads are becoming impassable and littered by hundreds of landmines and explosive devices aimed to kill American soldiers, there are assassinations, kidnappings and beheadings. The situation, basically, means a raging barbaric guerilla war. In four days, 110 people died and over 300 got injured in Baghdad alone. The numbers are so shocking that the ministry of health — which was attempting an exercise of public transparency by releasing the numbers — has now stopped disclosing them.
Insurgents now attack Americans 87 times a day.
A friend drove thru the Shiite slum of Sadr City yesterday. He said young men were openly placing improvised explosive devices into the ground. They melt a shallow hole into the asphalt, dig the explosive, cover it with dirt and put an old tire or plastic can over it to signal to the locals this is booby-trapped. He said on the main roads of Sadr City, there were a dozen landmines per every ten yards. His car snaked and swirled to avoid driving over them. Behind the walls sits an angry Iraqi ready to detonate them as soon as an American convoy gets near. This is in Shiite land, the population that was supposed to love America for liberating Iraq.
For journalists the significant turning point came with the wave of abduction and kidnappings. Only two weeks ago we felt safe around Baghdad because foreigners were being abducted on the roads and highways between towns. Then came a frantic phone call from a journalist female friend at 11 p.m. telling me two Italian women had been abducted from their homes in broad daylight. Then the two Americans, who got beheaded this week and the Brit, were abducted from their homes in a residential neighborhood. They were supplying the entire block with round the clock electricity from their generator to win friends. The abductors grabbed one of them at 6 a.m. when he came out to switch on the generator; his beheaded body was thrown back near the neighborhoods.
The insurgency, we are told, is rampant with no signs of calming down. If any thing, it is growing stronger, organized and more sophisticated every day. The various elements within it—baathists, criminals, nationalists and Al Qaeda—are cooperating and coordinating.
I went to an emergency meeting for foreign correspondents with the military and embassy to discuss the kidnappings. We were somberly told our fate would largely depend on where we were in the kidnapping chain once it was determined we were missing. Here is how it goes: criminal gangs grab you and sell you up to Baathists in Fallujah, who will in turn sell you to Al Qaeda. In turn, cash and weapons flow the other way from Al Qaeda to the Baathisst to the criminals. My friend Georges, the French journalist snatched on the road to Najaf, has been missing for a month with no word on release or whether he is still alive.
America's last hope for a quick exit? The Iraqi police and National Guard
units we are spending billions of dollars to train. The cops are being
murdered by the dozens every day—over 700 to date — and the insurgents are infiltrating their ranks.The problem is so serious that the U.S. military has allocated $6 million dollars to buy out 30,000 cops they just trained to get rid of them quietly.
As for reconstruction: firstly it's so unsafe for foreigners to operate that
almost all projects have come to a halt. After two years, of the $18
billion Congress appropriated for Iraq reconstruction only about $1 billion or so has been spent and a chuck has now been reallocated for improving security, a sign of just how bad things are going here.
Oil dreams? Insurgents disrupt oil flow routinely as a result of sabotage
and oil prices have hit record high of $49 a barrel. Who did this war exactly benefit? Was it worth it? Are we safer because Saddam is holed up and Al Qaeda is running around in Iraq?
Iraqis say that thanks to America they got freedom in exchange for insecurity. Guess what? They say they'd take security over freedom any day, even if it means having a dictator ruler.
I heard an educated Iraqi say today that if Saddam Hussein were allowed to run for elections he would get the majority of the vote. This is truly sad.
Then I went to see an Iraqi scholar this week to talk to him about elections here. He has been trying to educate the public on the importance of voting. He said, "President Bush wanted to turn Iraq into a democracy that would be an example for the Middle East. Forget about democracy, forget about being a model for the region, we have to salvage Iraq before all is lost."
One could argue that Iraq is already lost beyond salvation. For those of us on the ground it's hard to imagine what if any thing could salvage it from its violent downward spiral. The genie of terrorism, chaos and mayhem has been unleashed onto this country as a result of American mistakes and it can't be put back into a bottle.
The Iraqi government is talking about having elections in three months while half of the country remains a 'no go zone'—out of the hands of the government and the Americans and out of reach of journalists. In the other half, the disenchanted population is too terrified to show up at polling stations. The Sunnis have already said they'd boycott elections, leaving the stage open for polarized government of Kurds and Shiites that will not be deemed as legitimate and will most certainly lead to civil war.
I asked a 28-year-old engineer if he and his family would participate in the Iraqi elections since it was the first time Iraqis could to some degree elect a leadership. His response summed it all: "Go and vote and risk being blown into pieces or followed by the insurgents and murdered for cooperating with the Americans? For what? To practice democracy? Are you joking?"
-Farnaz
And here is the fallout from this courageous letter.
Farnaz is now being censored by her own publication until after election day, Nov. 2. She's on "...a long vacation..." they say.
But other correspondents back up her story.
While others give further details about living and working at the Gates of Hell, created by George W. Bush.
And, of course, just to prove the whole point, you just knew that some outlets would use this to tell us that SHE is the story—not the violent madness; not George W. Bush.
Unfortunately, there's no Pulitzer Prize for E-mailing. This would deserve one.
posted by Gotham 10:58 PM
Bush's Afghan and Iraqi Drug Surge
Heading Straight for Europe
Post-Invasion Chaos Blamed for Drug Surge0 comments
This is certainly not going to help Bush build any kind of wider coalition with the recalcitrent countries of Europe, when the U.S. turns a blind eye to a building drug scourge across the Continent that will make half of Europe look like "Needle Park."
Is this the "Freedom" for Afghanistan and Iraq that Bush is talking about? The freedom to have track marks up and down your arms and legs, or on your eyelids or tongue, and to have ashen gray skin and sunken cheeks and rotting teeth?
Will George W. Bush finally open his eyes and do his job competently when his daughters turn out to be junkies?
Or would he then just "put them on a leash"?
posted by Gotham 10:35 PM
Yikes! Even MORE Tax Cuts! "More Debt for ALL MY FRIENDS!"
President Bush today signed into law the Tax Relief for Rich Blonde Americans Act.0 comments
Now, in this photo, is Bush actually farting at these poor people?
Or getting set for them all to line up to kiss his Divine 43 presidential ass?
posted by Gotham 7:14 PM
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Condi Rice: George W. Bush Economy Poster Child
If THIS woman has a job, ANYONE can get a job. The economy MUST be getting better.0 comments
Condi Rice is making the talking head rounds, looking to do damage control over the sorry-ass job her boss did in the debate Thursday, and the NY Times article about her lying to the American people about the infamous "aluminum tubes"/"Mushroom Cloud" flap I linked to earlier.
Here's the transcript of one of them:
Condi Rice on ABC's 'This Week'
Rice inadvertantly paints a picture of an administration that's in complete chaos, and is completely out of touch with reality.
With all of the experts still yowling over just what the existence of the tubes actually meant, Rice takes it upon herself to go running off like Chicken Little, screaming that the "Mushroom Clouds" are coming! The "Mushroom Clouds" are coming!
And this is the top advisor to the President of the United States, George W. Bush—a man who we all now know needs all of the sound advice he can possibly get!
Please, SOMEONE tell me why this woman has a job.
posted by Gotham 4:23 PM
Saturday, October 02, 2004
"... Is This What He Does?"
Read the story:0 comments
WP: Reaction Shots May Tell Tale of Debate
Now, take a look at the video of our courageous, steadfast Commander-In-Chief's demeanor when pressed here: Faces of Frustration.
The Divine 43 has maintained such a cloistered presidency, with no contact from the public or the media, and with campaign stops approaching Klan-like paranoia, that need proof of true-believer status and vows of affection (and now your SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER!!) before entry to a rally is permitted. This is an extremely scary, unbalanced, unhealthy mentality.
The worst part is that Bush's own STAFF has come out in reports since the debate, stating that this is the face his staff sees daily behind closed doors, or when a reporter actually gets to shout a pointed question within earshot of the Divine One.
"I was yelling at the television set," said one Republican associate of Mr. Bush, who said he did not want to be identified, describing his distress with Mr. Bush's performance. An administration official, speaking anonymously because he also did not want to be identified as critical of Mr. Bush's debate performance, said he had been astounded to see Mr. Bush repeatedly display on television a disdainful look that was familiar to people who work with him in the White House, but which aides, in preparing him for the debates, warned against.
How must you have treated your own people when they take the very first opportunity to trash you when you get into trouble?
Yes, the Divine 43 is quite the bully, used to getting his own way. And petulant, petty and vindictive when he doesn't.
"Did you not know I must be about my Father's business?"
How can such a damaged soul lead us through perilous times?
At informal appearances, Bush's squint and slouch over the lectern can effectively convey Texas confidence, said Sonya Hamlin, a consultant on how body language affects communication. But in the formal setting of a presidential debate, it made him appear smaller and less commanding compared with a tall opponent who is standing straight up, she said. And his facial expressions conveyed insecurity, she said, raising the question "When things get tough, is this what he does?"
It seems so.
In debates, Henson said, "You don't get mad if someone disagrees with you."
Or, she might add, in The Oval Office.
posted by Gotham 7:34 PM
Intel Slams "Mushroom Cloud" Line
C.I.A.: Condi Rice Knew Tubes Weren't Nukes in '02
This is a very long, but critical and detailed report. It is important reading.0 comments
NYTimes: Skewed Intelligence Data Used in March to War in Iraq
George W. Bush should have fired Condoleeza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld when he had the chance.
Now, they're both albatrosses.
And their fates hang with how many votes a newly nervous Karl Rove decides either costs Bush / Cheney '04.
posted by Gotham 2:26 PM
"Ow! Stop It!" Says the Bully
The Bush administration continues to confuse the "bully pulpit" of the White House with its own primal urges toward bully behavior.0 comments
NYTimes: C.I.A.-White House Tensions Are Being Made Public to Rare Degree
Rarely, if ever, has a White House unearthed and used—not only all the immense and varied means at its disposal to harass, denigrate and, yes, bully every person who shows dissent from its well-crafted party line—but whole stores of underhanded, deceitful, unethical and illegal means to achieve its ends that even the Nixon and Harding administrations would blanche at.
However, as we've just witnessed in Thursday night's Debate, this bully of an administration—as with most bullies—simply CANNOT TAKE A PUNCH.
Not without whining loudly and incessantly.
Not without the absurd bully hubris of saying "the other guy played unfair!"
"Wars bring things out in people that sometimes other disputes don't," said R. James Woolsey, a former director of central intelligence. "But even with the passions of war, I think you ought to keep it within channels."
Woolsey, of course, is a major, outspoken architect of the Neo-Con movement. Not the most trusted of voices on this matter. Anytime you would allow your own former charges placed in harm's way for political reasons, you've lost all credibility.
The C.I.A. is filled with men and women who have decided that laying down their lives, if need be, to protect their country is the highest calling a person could have. This type of dedication, selflessness and courage needs to be honored and made the subject of song.
Howver, this administration has used and abused its intelligence community since Day One—setting up the C.I.A. as little more than a hired public relations firm, spitting out "facts" to back up a pre-ordained plan. Exreme, ongoing pressure by George W. Bush, and especially Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice and their staffs, misused and insulted one of the Crown Jewels of the American government. Intelligence information was twisted, pressured, forced out to the public without corroboration or scrutiny, denied, trial-ballooned, manipulated and generally misused by this administration to buttress its own narrow political aims.
Up to, and including, this administration's risking the life and professional cover of all C.I.A. covert operatives and destroying all of its covert operations. All, just to make themselves look good.
Period. End of story.
Well, no professional organization with immense well-earned pride, suffers this type of outside corruption of itself without fighting back at some point.
And it's never wise to piss off a group of people who may well come across information that your life might be in danger.
There's one thing no bully ever wants to hear from behind him over his shoulder:
"Ole!"
posted by Gotham 1:02 PM
