October 30, 2004
Fascism anyone? Compares Fascist regimes to Bush's
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm
Posted by Chuck at 12:56 AM | Comments (2)
Song
Sing to the melody of "The Beverly Hillbillies" theme song:
Come and listen to my story 'bout a boy named Bush.
His IQ was zero and his head was up his tush.
He drank like a fish while he drove all about.
But that didn't matter 'cuz his daddy bailed him out.
DUI, that is.
Criminal record.
Cover-up.
Well, the first thing you know little Georgie goes to Yale.
He can't spell his name but they never let him fail.
He spends all his time hangin' out with student folk.
And that's when he learns how to snort a line of coke.
Blow, that is.
White gold.
Nose candy.
The next thing you know there's a war in Vietnam.
Kinfolks say, "George, stay at home with Mom."
Let the common people get all maimed and scarred.
We'll buy you a spot in the Texas Air Guard.
Cushy, that is.
Country clubs.
Nose candy.
Twenty years later George gets a little bored.
He trades in the booze, says that Jesus is his Lord.
He said, "Now the White House is the place I wanna be."
So he called his daddy's friends and they called the GOP.
Gun owners, that is.
Falwell.
Jesse Helms.
Come November 7, the election ran late.
Kin folks said "Jeb, give the boy your state!"
"Don't let those colored folks get into the polls."
So they put up barricades so they couldn't punch their holes.
Chads, that is.
Duval County, Palm Beach County.
Miami-Dade.
Before the votes were counted five Supremes stepped in.
Told all the voters "Hey, we want George to win."
"Stop counting votes!" was their solemn invocation.
And that's how George finally got his coronation.
Rigged, that is.
Illegitimate.
No moral authority.
Y'all come vote now.
Ya hear?
(from dailykos.com)
Posted by Chuck at 12:44 AM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2004
Green Party position on Proposal 2
Ecological Wisdom * Social Justice *
Grassroots Democracy * Non-Violence
>> Green Party of Michigan <<
http://www.migreens.org
>>> ---------------- <<<
>>> News Release <<<
>>> ---------------- <<<
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
---------------------
October 24, 2004
For More Information Contact:
----------------------------
Marc Reichardt
Chair/GPMI
chair@migreens.org
John Anthony La Pietra
Elections Co-ordinator/GPMI
elections@migreens.org
>>> Green Party of Michigan Urges "No" Vote on Proposal 04-2 <<<
>>> ======================================================== <<<
>> Candidates, Party Leaders Defend Equal Right to Marriage <<
>> as an Issue of Social Justice, Respect for Diverse Beliefs <<
> <
> Only Statewide Political Party in Coalition for a Fair Michigan <
The Green Party of Michigan (GPMI) is calling on Michigan voters
to keep discrimination out of the state Constitution by voting "no"
November 2 on statewide Proposal 04-2.
Michigan Greens have come out against the proposed Constitutional
amendment to ban "same-sex marriage or similar unions" several times
this year, opposing it in the Michigan Legislature and before the
State Board of Canvassers.
Several of this fall's 43 Green candidates on the ballot have made
their support for the right of same-sex couples to marry -- and their
opposition to the amendment -- an issue in their campaigns.
GPMI is also the only one of the six statewide parties on the ballot
to join the Coalition for a Fair Michigan, which co-ordinates opposition
to the amendment.
The party's platform calls for "passage of laws granting the right to
marry regardless of gender, and ensuring all rights and responsibilities
currently extended to married couples" -- including inheritance rights,
insurance, and taxes.
And an ad appearing this week in over 100 newspapers across Michigan
urges a "no" vote on the grounds of social justice -- one of the Four
Pillars, the core principles shared by Greens worldwide.
Greens Have Diverse Reasons to Say "No"
=======================================
Many leading Michigan Greens have expressed their strong disapproval
of Proposal 04-2.
Douglas Campbell, once and likely future gubernatorial candidate,
calls it "simply unconscionable to write a Constitutional amendment
which actually takes away someone's civil liberties."
Jason Seagraves, running as a Green for the 7th District seat in
the U.S. House, belongs to the Unitarian Universalist Church, which
performs same-sex marriages. To those who would ban such marriages,
Seagraves advises: "Don’t have one. Don’t attend one if you’re invited.
That’s your right.
"But how dare the government tell my church what type of marriage it
can perform? That’s not religious liberty, that’s religious tyranny."
GPMI clearinghouse co-ordinator Randym Jones added, "Attempting to
piously cram religious bigotry into the Michigan Constitution is an
insult to both religion and law. . . . it makes a mockery of both the
Republican value of individual self-determination and the Democratic
value of protecting the vulnerable among us.
"The Green Party of Michigan stands firmly against all forms of
discrimination, regardless of their source."
1st District Congressional candidate David Newland says the proposal
was the last straw that convinced him to run. The only way anyone could
defend the amendment, in Newland's view, would be by saying the
Constitution doesn’t apply to everyone.
He sees supporters of the amendment as "trying to disenfranchise and
take away the rights in the Constitution from a group of people in this
country. Once you do it to the gays and lesbians, who's next?"
James Wilber, Green candidate for Kalamazoo County Clerk, has promised
to use the office -- "the provider of marriage licenses" -- "to support
marriage rights, including the right for anyone to marry the consenting
adult that they please, including same-sex couples."
And Peter Ponzetti III, running for the State Board of Education,
focuses on the need for civil-rights equity in marriage, which in civil
society is at its core a contract.
GPMI elections co-ordinator John La Pietra sums it up: "Greens are
proud of our position on this issue -- smack dab in the middle of the
rainbow of American diversity . . . and right in the mainstream of
American values of equal rights and tolerance.
"This is yet another case where, as our Presidential candidate David
Cobb has pointed out, the principles of the Green Party are the better
instincts of our country. We call on all Michigan voters to trust those
instincts, and join the Green Party in voting 'no' on Proposal 04-2."
[-------------------------------------------------------------]
To learn more about the Coalition for a Fair Michigan, please visit
the group's Web site at:
http://www.coalitionforafairmichigan.org
The analysis of Proposal 04-2 by the non-partisan Citizens Research
Council of Michigan is available, along with similar reports about other
issues on the November 2004 ballot, on line at:
http://crcmich.org/PUBLICAT/2000s/2004/memo1076b.html
For more information on GPMI, its platform, past public statements
on same-sex marriage and many other issues, and how you can contact Green
candidates and locals in your area to help offer Michigan voters a
choice and a voice independent of the "Big Two" parties, please visit
our Web site:
http://www.migreens.org
# # #
Green Party of Michigan * 548 S. Main Street *
* Ann Arbor, MI 48104 * 734-663-3555
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Green Party of Michigan was formed in 1987 to address environmental
issues in Michigan politics. Greens are organized in all 50 states and
the District of Columbia. Each state Green Party sets its own goals
and creates its own structure, but US Greens agree on Ten Key Values:
Ecological Wisdom * Grassroots Democracy
Social Justice * Nonviolence
Community Economics * Decentralization
Feminism * Respect for Diversity
Personal and Global * Future Focus/
Responsibility Sustainability
created/distributed using donated labor
[=================================================================]
Attachment: Excerpts from GPMI Platform
========================================
II. Social Justice
-------------------
4. Civil and Equal Rights
Civil rights are the liberties we mutually grant each other as
citizens -- in exchange for the limits we mutually agree to abide by.
Equal rights are the recognition that each citizen is equal to each
other. When either of these great guarantees are misaligned, there is
turmoil and injustice. We need leaders -- and citizens -- who aren't
afraid to name injustice, prejudice and disrespect for what they are,
but who can then demonstrate the justice, consideration and respect
that make us all proud to be citizens in our unique democracy.
e. Sexual Orientation
The Greens support the diversity of human sexual orientation
just as much as we support the diversity of human religious belief.
Regardless of whether sexual orientation is a matter of choice or
biology, as long as that choice is made between consenting adults
it is neither the business of the state nor of other individuals
to either judge or interfere.
Greens propose:
* The immediate passage of laws granting the right to marry
regardless of gender, and ensuring all rights and responsi-
bilities currently extended to married couples (inheritance
rights, insurance, taxes, etc).
* Eliminating sexual orientation as a barrier to adoption.
* The addition of the category of sexual orientation to all
existing hate-crimes legislation.
[-------------------------------------------------------------]
Attachment: Advertising GPMI Opposition to Proposal 04-2
=========================================================
An advertisement with the following text is scheduled to appear in over
100 Michigan Press Association newspapers in the coming week.
[Green symbol: Ecological Wisdom: Water for life, not profit!
"world in a No more Ice Mountains extracted from Great
sumflower"] Lakes waters!
Social Justice: Don't sacrifice real liberty to
the false security of the "PATRIOT Act". And
keep discrimination out of our constitution;
vote "NO" on Proposal 2!
Grassroots Democracy: Vote Nov. 2!; make sure all Americans can.
Be sure our votes will count -- and be counted. And let our votes
say more, using Instant Runoff Voting . . . IRV is as easy as 1-2-3!
Non-Violence: Support the troops . . . bring them home now!
paid for by: Green Party of Michigan 548 S. Main/Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-663-3555 www.migreens.org info@migreens.org
Posted by Chuck at 12:21 AM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2004
Kerry Cheating
The 2004 election results were so close that the Electoral College
vote was tied, and Congress couldn't break the deadlock. The Supreme
Court decided they'd better not make the decision themselves, so they
sent Bush and Kerry to a frozen lake in northern Wisconsin to have an
ice fishing contest. No one was allowed to accompany them, and they
were on their honor to let the guy who caught the most fish in five
days become president.
On the first day they went out in different directions. Kerry came
back with ten fish. Bush caught none.
On the second day, Kerry caught twenty fish and again W came back empty handed.
When Kerry brought back 25 fish on day three and W still hadn't
caught any, Bush got worried and telephoned Cheney for advice.
"He's probably cheating," suggested the VP.
"I hadn't thought of that," said W. "You're probably right. What do we do?"
Cheney suggested that instead of going fishing the next day, Bush
follow Kerry to see what he was doing.
At the end of day 4, Bush called Cheney and told him, "you were
right, Dick, Kerry is cheating."
"What's he doing?" asked Cheney.
"He's cutting holes in the ice!"
Posted by Chuck at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)
October 15, 2004
The Jabberwonks
The Jabberwonks
'Twas bush league, and the slimy droves
Of rightwingnuts loved condibabe;
While powells, ashcrofts, cheneys, roves,
And rumsfelds abu ghraib.
"Beware the Jabberwonks, my son!
Their clauses mean, their verbs agree --
Beware the tax!" said Forty-one;
"... the facts!" heard Forty-three.
He took his verbal word in mouth
Long time the media he conned:
He grinned and quipped "If there's no script
Then I need not respond!"
He stood there not responding when
The Jabberwonks showed photographs
Of tortured captives Rummy's men
Had tormented for laughs.
"Just one or two! At most a few!"
The verbal word denied, denied,
Denied command of those it canned
And, in courts martial, tried.
"And hast thou gamed the Jabberwonks,
With talk of honor where there's none;
Is oil still squirtin' for Halliburton?
Oh, what a good job you've done!"
'Twas bush league, and the slimy droves
Of rightwingnuts loved condibabe;
While powells, ashcrofts, cheneys, roves,
And rumsfelds abu ghraib.
Posted by Chuck at 09:04 AM | Comments (0)
ACLU Newsletter
ACLU Online: October 13, 2004
The e-newsletter of the American Civil Liberties Union
*********************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
-- Phone Home: Fight Anti-Gay Ballot Initiatives in Eleven States
-- Criminal Justice Policies Dominate 2004 Supreme Court Term
-- "No-Fly" Lists: No Coordinated Policy Before Enforcement
-- ACLU Freedom Concert: A Star-Studded Success
-- Special Notice for Working Assets Members
-- Take Action – Urge Real Reform on 9/11 Commissions’ Findings
-- In the States
*Virginia Legislators Consider Putting Radio Computer Chip in Driver’s Licenses
*Bay Area Rights Groups to Monitor FBI's New Surveillance Plan
*********************************
NOTE TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS:
You are currently subscribed to the text-only version of this newsletter. To change your
personal information, receive the graphics-enhanced (HTML) version of the newsletter, or
unsubscribe from ACLU Online, click the link below:
http://www.aclu.org/team/settings.cfm?orgid=n&MX=1645&H=0
*********************************
Fight Anti-Gay Ballot Initiatives in Eleven States
On Election Day, eleven states have proposals on the ballot to amend their state
constitutions to forever bar same-sex couples from being recognized as partners. The ACLU
is calling on our members and supporters to help fight these anti-gay ballot initiatives
by calling their friends and family who live in one of these eleven states and asking them
to help defeat these discriminatory measures.
To get an e-mail to send to friends and family, please go to:
http://www.aclu.org/getequal/ffm/statecampaign.htm?orgid=n&MX=1645&H=0
The fight for marriage equality is an important part of the struggle to achieve equality
for lesbians and gay men. The ACLU understands that this is a long-term effort that goes
beyond one lawsuit or election. That's why - in addition to our campaign against anti-gay
ballot initiatives this election year – we have established our "Fight for Marriage"
toolkit. This toolkit is a resource for all those who want to join in the fight for
marriage equality. On the site you can download information about lobbying and public
education, organizing in your neighborhood, upcoming litigation and reference materials to
distribute in your community.
You can get started by visiting our "Fight for Marriage" website:
http://www.aclu.org/getequal/ffm/index.html?orgid=n&MX=1645&H=0
********************************
Criminal Justice Policies Dominate 2004 Supreme Court Term
On Monday, October 4th, the Supreme Court opened its new term. Early in this term - which
marks the tenth anniversary together for the nine current Justices - the Supreme Court
will confront a series of cases that could transform America’s criminal justice system for
years to come.
The early docket includes cases on sentencing reform, drug policy and the death penalty.
To read the ACLU’s preview of the 2004 Supreme Court Term by Steven R. Shapiro, ACLU Legal
Director:
http://www.aclu.org/court/court.cfm?orgid=n&ID=16611&c=286&MX=1645&H=0
BREAKING NEWS:
Supreme Court Agrees to Review Two Challenges to Government-Endorsed Ten Commandments
Displays. Click here to read more about the case:
http://www.aclu.org/court/court.cfm?orgid=n&ID=16777&c=286&MX=1645&H=0
ACLU Urges High Court to Reject Indefinite Detention of “Mariel” Cubans. Click below for
the ACLU press release:
http://www.aclu.org/ImmigrantsRights/ImmigrantsRights.cfm?orgid=n&ID=16782&c=95&MX=1645&H=0
*********************************
"No-Fly" Lists: No Coordinated Policy Before Enforcement
In response to a federal court order, the Department of Justice today released to the
American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California some 300 pages of documents that
indicate that the government's controversial "No-Fly" watch lists were implemented and
enforced long before there was a coordinated policy in place.
The documents reflect, among other things, confusion, inter-agency squabbling and
subjective criteria in placing names on the lists, as well as - for the first time -
figures on how many people were added to the list in the months after the 9/11 attacks.
"The government documents released today raise serious concerns about how the lists were
prepared, whether they are accurate, and whether appropriate care was given for our
clients who filed this lawsuit based on their concerns about whether or not they were put
on this list because of their First Amendment activities," said ACLU of Northern
California cooperating attorney Thomas R. Burke of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in San
Francisco.
For more on this story, please follow the link below:
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?orgid=n&ID=16728&c=282&MX=1645&H=0
*********************************
ACLU Freedom Concert: A Star-Studded Success
On Monday, October 4th, the ACLU sponsored its Freedom Concert at Lincoln Center in New
York City. Thousands attended the concert which featured performers such as Jake and
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Paul Simon, Robin Williams, Mos Def, Wyclef Jean and many others. It
was truly a celebration of freedom and the great work that all of the supporters of the
ACLU make possible.
To see the concert line-up and view photos of the event, please click here:
http://www.aclu.org/concert/?orgid=n&MX=1645&H=0
*********************************
Special Notice for Working Assets Members
You can help the ACLU by voting to allocate a portion of this year's financial support to
our work - our distribution of Working Assets funding is determined solely by how many
votes we get.
Take a few moments today to vote for the ACLU in one of three ways:
1) Fill out the ballot that accompanies your phone bill
2) Vote online at:
http://www.workingassets.com/voting/
3) Call the Voter Hotline at (800) 920-VOTE
*********************************
Take Action - Urge Real Reform on 9/11 Commissions' Findings
Last week Congress began to take up the 9/11 Commission's recommendations but now we have
the details of the proposed legislation and it is much worse than we had expected. The
proposed House bill would likely create what amounts to a national identification card,
drastically curtail basic fairness in the nation's immigration system and expand
government powers under the PATRIOT Act.
Although the original purpose of the bill was intelligence reform, the current version
includes several provisions that were not included in the 9/11 Commission recommendations
but have been long been priorities for the hard-line, anti-immigration lobby.
Take Action! Urge your Member of Congress to support real reform, not repressive measures
under the guise of national security:
http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?orgid=n&ID=16580&c=24&MX=1645&H=0
*********************************
In the States:
Virginia Legislators Consider Putting Radio Computer Chip in Driver’s Licenses
The American Civil Liberties Union today urged Virginia not to become the first state in
the nation to place radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in its driver’s licenses.
"Until now, the controversy over RFID tags has focused on Wal-Mart and other retail
applications," said Chris Calabrese, Program Counsel of the ACLU’s Technology and Liberty
Project. "But this is the first proposal we’ve seen to include RFIDs in driver’s licenses.
That brings the potential intrusion of this technology to a whole new level."
Please read more about this story here:
http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?orgid=n&ID=16661&c=39&MX=1645&H=0
*********************************
Bay Area Rights Groups to Monitor FBI's New Surveillance Plan
The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, the American Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-SF), the Bay Area Association of Muslim Lawyers
(BAAML), and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) today announced that they will closely
monitor a new government plan to use "aggressive -- even obvious - surveillance" tactics
in advance of the November 2nd general election.
"The sweeping nature of the government surveillance plan focuses broadly on mosques and
individuals who are unlikely to have any connection to criminal activity," said Dorothy M.
Ehrlich, Executive Director of the ACLU of Northern California.
"Whenever there is a terrorist threat, we want the government to do everything it can to
protect us, but casting blanket suspicion on an entire religious and ethnic community is
poor law enforcement as well as counterproductive."
The civil rights groups are urging individuals to consult with a lawyer before talking
with agents, and are distributing 20,000 "Know Your Rights" brochures in Arabic, Urdu and
English, which explain what to do if the FBI or immigration agents contact persons for
questioning.
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?orgid=n&ID=16657&c=206&MX=1645&H=0
Posted by Chuck at 08:29 AM | Comments (0)
October 12, 2004
Our simple Health Care System...
Here is an example of our government's idea of a simple health care payment plan:
It’s just like alphabet soup. FIA, ADCARE, ALMB, SLMB, QMB, Medicare ABCD, SSI, SSDI, supplemental A B C D E F G H I J, Medicaid, MMAP, CMS, UGS, SHIP, WPS.
What do all these words and letters have in common? Give up? They’re all part of the vast maze of the health care system for folks over 65. Let’s see what they mean...
FIA is Family Independence Agency. This used to be called Social Services, but every few years they change the name to confuse us all. FIA manages Medicaid, which is not to be confused with Medicare. Medicare is a program run by the federal government, while Medicaid is administered sort of jointly by the federal and state governments.
Dual Eligibles are people who have Medicare and also qualify for Medicaid. Full Medicaid is called ADCARE in Michigan. The term is QMB Plus by the SHIP program, not to be confused with ordinary QMB (pronounced quimby), Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries, which pays the cost of a person’s Medicare premiums, deductibles and co-payments. There is also SLMB (pronounced slimby) Specified Low Income Medicare Beneficiaries, which pays the cost of Medicare Part B premiums, and ALMB, which was discountinued, but is back until September, 2005. ALMB pays Medicare Part B premiums, also, but has different income and asset requirements.
Medicare can be divided into parts A B C and now, D also. Part A provides coverage for hospitals and medically necessary stays in nursing homes, B provides coverage for doctors and medical equipment, C for managed care, and D for prescription drugs. Then of course we have the Medicare supplemental insurances A through J. Suffice it to say, the price of the insurance goes up with the alphabet.
And how about Social Security? This is “income” for people 60 and over, if they qualify for it. Some peope don’t. SSI is supplemental security income and SSDI is Social Security Disability Insurance. You apply for SSi and SSDI at a Social Security office, not at FIA.
UGS is United Government Services, which processes claims for part A of Medicare. WPS, Wisconsin Physicians Services, processes claims for part B of Medicare. CMS, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, develops regulations and distributes Medicare money. MMAP, Medicare and Medicaid Assistance Program, is Michigan’s SHIP program. SHIP is the State Health Insurance Assistance Program, called, appropriately enough, in Ohio, OSHIP!
Are we confused yet? We Are? Good. My work here is done!
Posted by Vikke at 12:07 AM | Comments (2)
October 09, 2004
Ignorance Isn't Strength, by Paul Krugman
October 8, 2004
OP-ED COLUMNIST
Ignorance Isn't Strength
By PAUL KRUGMAN
first used the word "Orwellian" to describe the Bush team in October 2000. Even then it was obvious that George W. Bush surrounds himself with people who insist that up is down, and ignorance is strength. But the full costs of his denial of reality are only now becoming clear.
President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have an unparalleled ability to insulate themselves from inconvenient facts. They lead a party that controls all three branches of government, and face news media that in some cases are partisan supporters, and in other cases are reluctant to state plainly that officials aren't telling the truth. They also still enjoy the residue of the faith placed in them after 9/11.
This has allowed them to engage in what Orwell called "reality control." In the world according to the Bush administration, our leaders are infallible, and their policies always succeed. If the facts don't fit that assumption, they just deny the facts.
As a political strategy, reality control has worked very well. But as a strategy for governing, it has led to predictable disaster. When leaders live in an invented reality, they do a bad job of dealing with real reality.
In the last few days we've seen some impressive demonstrations of reality control at work. During the debate on Tuesday, Mr. Cheney insisted that "I have not suggested there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11." After the release of the Duelfer report, which shows that Saddam's weapons capabilities were deteriorating, not advancing, at the time of the invasion, Mr. Cheney declared that the report proved that "delay, defer, wait wasn't an option."
From a political point of view, such exercises in denial have been very successful. For example, the Bush administration has managed to convince many people that its tax cuts, which go primarily to the wealthiest few percent of the population, are populist measures benefiting middle-class families and small businesses. (Under the administration's definition, anyone with "business income" - a group that includes Dick Cheney and George Bush - is a struggling small-business owner.)
The administration has also managed to convince at least some people that its economic record, which includes the worst employment performance in 70 years, is a great success, and that the economy is "strong and getting stronger." (The data to be released today, which are expected to improve the numbers a bit, won't change the basic picture of a dismal four years.)
Officials have even managed to convince many people that they are moving forward on environmental policy. They boast of their "Clear Skies" plan even as the inspector general of the E.P.A. declares that the enforcement of existing air-quality rules has collapsed.
But the political ability of the Bush administration to deny reality - to live in an invented world in which everything is the way officials want it to be - has led to an ongoing disaster in Iraq and looming disaster elsewhere.
How did the occupation of Iraq go so wrong? (The security situation has deteriorated to the point where there are no safe places: a bomb was discovered on Tuesday in front of a popular restaurant inside the Green Zone.)
The insulation of officials from reality is central to the story. They wanted to believe Ahmad Chalabi's promises that we'd be welcomed with flowers; nobody could tell them different. They wanted to believe - months after everyone outside the administration realized that we were facing a large, dangerous insurgency and needed more troops - that the attackers were a handful of foreign terrorists and Baathist dead-enders; nobody could tell them different.
Why did the economy perform so badly? Long after it was obvious to everyone outside the administration that the tax-cut strategy wasn't an effective way of creating jobs, administration officials kept promising huge job gains, any day now. Nobody could tell them different.
Why has the pursuit of terrorists been so unsuccessful? It has been obvious for years that John Ashcroft isn't just scary; he's also scarily incompetent. But inside the administration, he's considered the man for the job - and nobody can say different.
The point is that in the real world, as opposed to the political world, ignorance isn't strength. A leader who has the political power to pretend that he's infallible, and uses that power to avoid ever admitting mistakes, eventually makes mistakes so large that they can't be covered up. And that's what's happening to Mr. Bush.
E-mail: krugman@nytimes.com
Posted by Chuck at 12:57 AM | Comments (0)
October 08, 2004
Still Just People
My sister married a fundamentalist Christian. I get a number of forward emails from his family members who I am friends with. I find it interesting to see the other side in such an intimate "in" manner.
No matter how against the war I am, she makes me realize, I am never against the people.
May they keep their humanity all the way through it.
Posted by Denise at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)
Vote - Florida Style
Check out this website and after you finish voting, click on the tiny red "this site" on bottom of the last page.
http://wearabledissent.com/101/floridavote.html
Really funny.
Posted by Chuck at 01:09 AM | Comments (0)
Is Bush a dope?
Is He a Dope?
The Los Angeles Times | Editorial
Thursday 07 October 2004
Although neither group likes to say so, some Americans who support President Bush and many who don't support him have concluded over four years that he may not be very bright. This suspicion was not allayed by Bush's answers in the first presidential debate a week ago.
Even Bush's most engaged critics shy away from publicly challenging his intelligence for many reasons, most of them good. To raise the issue seems snooty and elitist. This is an image no American wants because seeming snooty is even worse than seeming stupid. Just ask Bush's opponent, Sen. John Kerry. Furthermore, the concept of brainpower or IQ as a single, measurable trait is generally, though not universally, rejected by scientists. And the obsession with IQ has been responsible for all sorts of political mischief.
Then there is Ronald Reagan. We know now that he had incipient Alzheimer's for at least part of his presidency. Many of his supporters at the time and even more of his retrospective admirers acknowledge that he was a few jelly beans short of a jar. But he was a spectacularly successful politician anyway, and many believe he was more than that: one of America's greatest leaders.
The smartest candidate is not necessarily the best candidate. The candidate's belief system and character matter more. Similarly, the smartest surgeon is not necessarily the best surgeon. But if all you knew about two surgeons was that one was smarter than the other, there's not much question which one you'd pick for your operation.
Actually, we would not frame the question as one of abstract brainpower, a dubious concept. You don't go through America's top schools, serve as governor of a major state and occupy the presidency with even mixed results if you're not reasonably smart, no matter how thoroughly your way is eased by others.
The issue might better be described as one of mental laziness.
Does this man think through his beliefs before they harden into unwavering principles? Is he open to countervailing evidence? Does he test his beliefs against new evidence and outside argument? Does his understanding of a subject go any deeper than the minimum amount needed for public display? Is he intellectually curious? Does he try to reconcile his beliefs on one subject with his beliefs on another?
It's bad if a president is incapable of the abstract thought necessary for these mental exercises. If he is capable and isn't even trying, that's worse. It becomes a question of character. When a president sends thousands of young Americans to kill and die halfway around the world, thinking about it as hard and as honestly as possible is the least he can do.
Bush's Iraq policy is full of contradictions, often rehearsed on this page and elsewhere. But so is Kerry's. It isn't routine political mendacity that makes many people - many more than will admit it - wonder about Bush's mental engagement. It is a combination of things: his stumbling inarticulateness, the efforts his advisors make to protect him from unscripted exposure, his extreme reluctance to rethink anything.
Does it matter? Yes, it matters. There are those who say that Reagan's mental laziness was actually a plus. It prevented a lot of competing signals from causing static on the lines, and kept his principles clear. We do not buy that. We state boldly that thinking hard is a good thing, not a bad thing, even in a president. If that sounds snooty, so be it. And maybe George W. Bush will reassure us by his performance Friday night that he is thinking as hard as he should about the issues the president will face in the next four years. Especially the issues resulting from his own failure to think hard during the last four.
Posted by Chuck at 12:33 AM | Comments (0)
October 02, 2004
Defeat Michigan Supreme Court Justice Steve Markman
Must have acrobat reader, which you can download for free from the internet.
Posted by Chuck at 12:33 AM | Comments (0)