Thursday, November 8, 2007

Hooray!

Next to my second daughter being born a few weeks ago, the best arrival of the year is finally here. Michael Moore’s amazing documentary, “SiCKO”, was released earlier this week so I encourage you to run out and get your copy ASAP. Don’t be sorry!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Sadly It's Deja Vu All Over Again

Last Friday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued an apology for having its own employees pose as reporters during a fake news conference from three days prior regarding the wildfires in California. FEMA scheduled the briefing with approximately fifteen minutes notice. The news organizations were also provided with a telephone number in order to listen to the news conference but could not ask questions. The following is an excerpt from that phony news conference:

QUESTION: "Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?"
ANSWER: "I'm very happy with FEMA's response so far. This is a FEMA and a federal government that's leaning forward, not waiting to react. And you have to be pretty pleased to see that."

QUESTION: "What lessons learned from Katrina have been applied?"
ANSWER: "I think what you're really seeing here is the benefit of experience, the benefit of good leadership and the benefit of good partnership, none of which were present in Katrina. So I think, as a nation, people should sit up and take notice that you have the worst wildfire season in history in California and look at how well the state and local governments are performing, look at how well we're working together between state and federal partners."

Not surprisingly, the "questions" were directed at Harvey Johnson, the Deputy Administrator and COO for FEMA. In the agency's apology, Johnson states that "the real story...should not be lost because of how we tried to meet the needs of the media in distributing facts". Facts? How can you even use that particular word when your whole news conference was a sham? And what did the White House have to say about this? Press Secretary Dana Perino (who, by the way, is easily competing with Mr. Bush for the award for the Worst Public Speaker in the World) stated that "It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House or that we — we certainly don’t condone it. We didn’t know about it beforehand. FEMA has issued an apology, saying that they had an error in judgment when they were attempting to try to get out a lot of information to reporters who were asking for answers to a variety of questions in regard to the wildfires in California. It’s not something I would have condoned. And they, I’m sure, will not do it again". When asked by a reporter as to who was responsible for the fake interview, Perino declared that "FEMA is responsible. And they have accepted that responsibility and they issued an apology today". Boy, how quickly things change in just two years. Following Hurricane Katrina, a White House reporter asked former Press Secretary Scott McClellan who was responsible for the disastrous relief efforts conducted by FEMA. McClellan's simply answered: "The President".

Friday, October 12, 2007

Proof Why the Majority of Conservatives Are Shameless

In response to Mr. Bush's weekly radio address from September 29th, the Democrats selected 12-year-old Graeme Frost to deliver the party's response to Bush's comments regarding the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Democrats and Republicans alike are working together to hopefully expand CHIP, which provides health insurance for families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid but can not afford to purchase private insurance. Here is an excerpt from Graeme's response: "Three years ago, my family was in a really bad car accident. My younger sister Gemma and I were both hurt. I was in a coma for a week and couldn't eat or stand up or even talk at first. My sister was even worse. I was in the hospital for five-and-a-half months and I needed a big surgery. For a long time after that, I had to go to physical therapy after school to get stronger...My parents work really hard and always make sure my sister and I have everything we need but the hospital bills were huge. We got the help we needed because we had health insurance for us through the CHIP program."

Considering the fact that he is only 12 year olds, you would probably think that Graeme is immune from insults by Republicans. Guess again? Politicians and pundits from the right verbally attacked Graeme and his family. Unfortunately those attacks consisted of nothing but lies. The following is just a short list of those lies, as well as the actual truth:

1. Lie: Graeme attends an exclusive private school with a tuition of $20,000 per year.
Truth: Since Graeme was awarded a scholarship, his family is only required to pay $500 per year.

2. Lie: Frost's sister, Gemma, also attends an expensive private school in the Baltimore, MD area.
Truth: The State of Maryland pays the $23,000 annual tuition in full for this school, which assists Gemma in dealing with the brain injuries she suffered during the accident.

3. Lies: The current market value of their partially remodeled house (3 stories and 3,040 square feet) is estimated at more than $400,000. A photo of the family's kitchen shows what appear to be granite counter tops and wooden cabinets with glass fronts.
Truths: The Frosts purchased their 71-year-old “lavish" home for $55,000 in 1990 and a 2006 assessment from the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation estimates the property value at only $263,140. At the same time, one online real estate service (Zillow.com) does estimate the property value at $360,633. However, by taking an overhead view, you will notice that the house is not located in one of the more luxurious areas of the city. (Conservative nutjob Michelle Malkin should know this since she supposedly drove by the Frosts' residence. Of course, Malkin describes the area differently on her blog.) The Frosts have obviously experienced what millions of other homeowners in the United States have experienced over the last few years: a previously booming housing market. (And they should not be punished for it.) In regards to the remodeling, Graeme's father, Halsey, has performed the majority of the renovations. How? Because he is a WOODWORKER! Therefore, his occupation probably provides him with the ability to perform certain tasks, such as...I don't know...install wooden kitchen cabinets! By the way, the Frosts ensure their counter tops are concrete.

4. Lie: Due to the value of their house and the fact that Graeme's father previously purchased a commercial property for $160,000, the Frosts must earn enough money on an annual basis to be ineligible for CHIP benefits.
Truth: The commercial property for Mr. Frost's company, Frostworks, was purchased in 1999 but unfortunately that business folded in 2000, partially because of the cost of health insurance. Mr. Frost has worked for various small companies since then and is presently self employed. Mrs. Frost currently works part time at a medical consulting firm. At the same time, the family only earned approximately $45,000 last year and, in the State of Maryland, a family of six earning less than $83,000 per year qualifies for CHIP benefits. FYI: Personal assets, such as property investments, are not considered in the Maryland administered version of CHIP. (Now if the Frosts have been financially irresponsible in the past, then obviously some of the blame for their health insurance troubles falls on them.)

Aside from conservative blowhards such as Malkin and Rush Limbaugh, politicians from the right were also involved with the smear campaign conducted on the Frosts. The Communications Director for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sent an e-mail with disparaging (and false) information regarding the Frosts to reporters. As a result, numerous right wing lemmings...I mean, bloggers...repeatedly contacted the Frost residence and demanded personal family information.

One final note on this subject: Conservatives have been attacking the Frosts for not possessing family medical coverage. Due to pre-existing medical conditions, the Frosts have been rejected by various health insurance companies. Aside from those pre-existing conditions, the father is self employed and the mother is ineligible for medical coverage through her part time position. Therefore, health insurance would be extremely expensive for the Frosts, a family of six. I personally know this to be true because my father-in-law is self employed. Even though he only raised two children, my father-in-law experienced how expensive health insurance can be in that situation. As a result, until my mother-in-law returned to work as a teacher, my wife's parents only had medical coverage for their two children due to the high costs. Now if any right wing hacks decide to blow their top and attack my father-in-law for his previous decisions regarding health insurance, I welcome the opportunity to put those individuals in their place.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

He Hardly Sounds Like a Fan

I wanted to make one final point regarding the criticism Columbia University and its President, Lee Bollinger, have received for extending an invitation to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at the institution's World Leaders Forum. To do so, I decided to provide a short list of excerpts from Bollinger's introduction of Ahmadinejad:

Friday, September 28, 2007

Baseless Argument of the Day

On yesterday's "The Oprah Winfrey Show", Michael Moore and others debated the topic of health care. One of those individuals was Karen Ignagni, the President of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). AHIP is a political lobbyist representing the approximately 1,300 member companies which provide private health insurance coverage to millions of Americans.

As he did in his movie "SiCKO", Moore emphasized the various issues with this country's health care system, including the fact that the United States is the only industrialized nation which does not provide universal health care to its citizens. Ignagni, who earned $1.24 million last year, has asserted that AHIP endorses the ultimate goal of universal health care coverage. However, you will have to excuse me when I say that I don't believe Ignagni. Why? Here are just a couple of reasons:

  • 71% of AHIP's donations to candidates for federal positions were to Republicans.
  • Ignagni currently serves as a board member for The Bryce Harlow Foundation, an organization which presents an annual award to the individual who has supposedly "worked to advance business-government relations". With that being said, the list of recipients of this award reads like a Who's Who of the Republican Party: Dick Cheney, Dennis Hastert, Trent Lott, Richard Lugar, Robert Dole and John Boehner. In fact, of the 28 recipients, 18 are Republican politicians and administrators.
  • Prior to her employment at AHIP, Ignagni served as a professional staff member of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee and worked Department of Health & Human Services.
  • The consumer group within the health care industry for senior citizens, the Coalition for Medicare Choices, was founded by AHIP in 1999. The address for the coalition is the same address for Democracy & Data Communications, a public relations counseling firm with clients such as AHIP, United HealthCare and Humana.
  • Julie Goon, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy in the National Economic Council, previously served as the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at AHIP. Oh, by the way, before her employment at AHIP, Goon served as the Director of Federal Relations at Humana, the fourth largest health insurance providers in the U.S.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Isn't It Time to Look in a Mirror for Once?

After Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently expressed interest in visiting Ground Zero in New York City during his current trip to the United States, many of the leading Republican presidential candidates immediately started to thump their chests. First and foremost, I do not support the thoughts and opinions of Ahmadinejad. With that being said:

Really, Mitt? You want to know what is shockingly audacious? The fact that more than six years have elapsed since the September 11th tragedy and the very first beam of the new Freedom Tower was not installed until December 19th of last year. The planning and construction of the Freedom Tower was previously described as then New York Attorney General (now Governor) Eliot Spitzer as an "Enron style debacle" due to various issues with the design, security, cronyism and fund mismanagement.

How "sacred" can this area be if the Bush administration and numerous other Republicans constantly reference the phrase "9/11" on a daily basis to scare Americans and sell the Iraq War? If that isn't propaganda, then I don't know what is.

Finally! Giuliani, our Ground Zero expert. Wait a minute! Haven't White House officials admitted that, in the days immediately after September 11th, dozens of influential Saudis (including relatives of Osama bin Laden) were evacuated from the United States even though most commercial flights were still grounded? Didn't President Ronald Reagan and his administration illegally sell arms to Iran approximately twenty years ago and then use those profits to continue funding anti-Communist rebels in Nicaragua? Can't the United States be categorized as the first country in the world to successfully develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use those weapons against another nation and a country which still maintains thousands of nuclear warheads?

It Takes One to Know One

Earlier this week on "The O'Reilly Factor" on FOX News, Bill O'Reilly criticized Columbia University's decision to invite Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at the institution's World Leaders Forum. In fact, O’Reilly described the event as "revolting" and categorized the university and its President, Lee Bollinger, as being "hypocritical beyond belief" for inviting Ahmadinejad.

However, later in the same episode, O’Reilly admitted he had also extended an invitation for Ahmadinejad to appear on the "The O'Reilly Factor". (How does the saying go, "What is good for the smug, idiotic and ignorant blowhard is not good for the gander"? Obviously the "blowhard" is O'Reilly and the "gander" is Columbia University.) Responding to a viewer e-mail, O’Reilly claimed: "We actually did invite him, sir, but he knows a no spin zone when he sees one. Ahmadinejad doesn’t answer questions; he bloviates." (By the way, Merriam-Webster defines the term "bloviate" as "to speak or write verbosely and windily". How ironic it is that O'Reilly would be familiar with this particular term.) Not surprisingly, O'Reilly is comfortable with the idea of Ahmadinejad being on his show because the appearance would benefit O'Reilly both in ratings and financially.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Announcement

For anyone who actually reads this blog, I would like to apologize for the lack of activity during the last month. My wife and I have been busy preparing for the arrival of our second child. However, I will start adding more postings in the next couple of days. I appreciate your patience and support.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Obnoxious Windbag of the Day

During last Thursday's "The O'Reilly Factor" on FOX News, O'Reilly was embroiled in a heated discussion with Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) regarding some of the content on the extremely popular liberal blog, the Daily Kos (http://www.dailykos.com/). Of course, this content is considered by O'Reilly and other individuals on the right to be highly inappropriate. In fact, O'Reilly has gone so far as to describe the Daily Kos as a "hate enterprise", comparing the web site to the Ku Klux Klan and Nazi Party. However, when Dodd confronted O'Reilly on comments he delivered during a November 8, 2005 broadcast of "The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly" after voters in San Francisco approved a measure to prohibit military recruiting at public high schools and colleges, O'Reilly screamed at Dodd: "No, you're wrong. I didn't say it here. You don't know what the hell I said."

Actually...the following is a transcript of O'Reilly's rantings from that 2005 radio broadcast:

"You know, if I'm the President of the United States, I walk right into Union Square, I set up my little presidential podium and I say, 'Listen, citizens of San Francisco, if you vote against military recruiting, you're not going to get another nickel in federal funds. Fine. You want to be your own country? Go right ahead.' And if Al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, 'Look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead.'"

Monday, August 6, 2007

Why Media in the United States Absolutely Sucks

Following a July 31st interview with Vice President Dick Cheney on CNN's "Larry King Live", King spoke with a guest panel consisting of Wolf Blitzer (anchor of CNN's "The Situation Room"), Suzanne Malveau (CNN's Washington correspondent), Bob Woodward (author and managing editor of "The Washington Post") and author Stephen Hayes. During the interview, Cheney attempted to justify his recent claims that the Office of the Vice President is not part of the executive branch by stating "My paycheck actually comes from the Senate". During the post-interview discussion, Wolf declared "I didn't know that. I learned something. I didn't know that he actually gets his paycheck from the legislative branch of the government, from the U.S. Senate."

Oh, Wolf, Wolf, Wolf! Just recently (June 25th, to be exact) on his very own "The Situation Room", Blitzer was discussing the executive vs. legislative branch controversy with Ed Henry, CNN's White House Correspondent. On that show, footage of Dana Perino, Deputy White House Press Secretary, was shown:

"I think for the past two centuries the Senate has provided payment to the Vice President for his duties as a member of the government."

Are you kidding me? Am I to believe that Blitzer, an educated individual, completely forgot about an extremely important topic he discussed five weeks prior? Blitzer is only 59 years old so he should not be experiencing senility at this point. Therefore, the only excuse is that he is a card carrying member of a group of morons.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Statistics of the Day

"The Hill", a Congressional newspaper with the largest circulation of any Capitol Hill publication, reported the results of their recent survey which show that at least 76 U.S. Senators have visited Iraq since the Iraq War began. 38 of those individuals have traveled to Iraq in the last 12 months but unfortunately 18 Senators have not visited Iraq at all. There are some other interesting findings from the survey:

1. With ten visits, Jack Reed (D-RI) has visited Iraq during the last four years more than any other U.S. Senator, Democrat or Republican. John Warner (R-VA) has the second highest amount with nine.
2. Carl Levin (D-MI) and James Inhofe (R-OK) have both traveled to Iraq on eight separate occasions. However, Inhofe was recently quoted as mistakenly (but not surprisingly) claiming that he has visited Iraq more than any other Senator. Obviously that is not the case but the truth has never mattered to Inhofe in the past.
3. Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are next on the list with seven visits to the area.
4. Of the 76 Senators who have traveled to Iraq, 44 are Republicans, 31 are Democrats and 1 is Independent.
5. With the remaining 24 Senators who have not visited Iraq (or would not comment), 18 are Democrats, 5 are Republicans and 1 is Independent.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Proving My Point Exactly

In case you did not read the comments from my previous posting regarding Cindy Sheehan, I wanted to bring attention to the first response I received from John Wolf, a Director of the Crawford Peace House. Wolf was unable to prove that the organization did not inappropriately spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations or refute the fact that Sheehan was no longer a Director of the organization. At the same time, Wolf did provide evidence to show the Crawford Peace House is now in compliance with the office of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (http://ecpa.cpa.state.tx.us/coa/servlet/cpa.app.coa.CoaGetTp?Pg=tpid&Search_Nm=the%20crawford%20texas%20peace%20house%20&Button=search&Search_ID=32012425925). However, if you do a little research and click on the "Certification of Account Status" box, you will see that the Crawford Peace House finally satisfied the compliance requirements but after my initial posting.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Battle of the Underqualified

Cindy Sheehan, who has actively protested against the Iraq War and Bush administration, announced her plans to seek the congressional seat of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) unless Pelosi introduces articles of impeachment against Mr. Bush in the next two weeks. Now in Sheehan's case, I definitely sympathize in the fact that her son was killed in the war and applaud her political activism and the attention she has brought to her causes. However, Sheehan is no more fit to serve in the United States Congress than Pelosi is to continue doing so. Why do I say that? Let's examine some of the things Sheehan has said and done:

1. On September 24, 2005, Sheehan objected to the media's supposed excessive coverage of Hurricane Rita: "I am watching CNN and it is 100 percent Rita...even though it is a little wind and a little rain...it is bad but there are other things going on in this country today...and in the world!!!!"
2. During a trip to Venezuela in January 2006, Sheehan praised Hugo Chavez, the country's dictatorial President by stating "I admire President Chavez for his strength to resist the United States".
3. On May 26, 2006 in front of the offices of the Liberal Party of Australia in Melbourne, Sheehan attended a rally to support the release of David Hicks. Serving the remainder of his sentence in a high security ward in the city of Adelaide, Hicks pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorism, including attending advanced al-Qaeda training camps and performing surveillance on the embassies of the United States and other countries.
4. Sheehan is a director of the Crawford Peace House, an anti-war activist organization which has been under scrutiny since March 2007 after hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations were unaccounted for. The organization has also failed to submit the necessary paperwork for retaining their corporate charter since May 2006.

Recent Medical News

On Saturday, five polyps were removed from Mr. Bush during a routine colonoscopy. The participating doctors also found Mr. Bush's head, which is where it has unfortunately been during the last 7 years.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Feeling a Little Guilty, Are We?

On Michael Moore's web site, you can view a confidential internal memo (http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=215) written by Barclay Fitzpatrick, the Vice President of Corporate Communications for Capital BlueCross, regarding Moore's movie, "SiCKO". Thankfully provided to Moore by a Capital BlueCross employee, this memo discusses the movie's content, supposed "inaccuracies", takeaways and strategic talking points. (By the way, aside from Moore's own evidence posted on his web site, numerous media outlets, including CNN and USA Today, have performed extensive research and successfully verified the movie's facts and figures.)

It is entirely obvious from just the length of this memo that "SiCKO" is definitely making an enormous impact and hitting home with the health care companies. I can only imagine the number of these types of memos currently circulating throughout those companies. However, I find it amazing that one of Fitzpatrick's talking points centers around the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association's efforts to "work with consumers, providers, employers and the government to provide Americans with the health care services and information they need to lead full, healthy lives". With that being said, I am sure that there are a handful of individuals profiled in the movie who had Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance but would probably disagree with that talking point (among others), including:

  • Amanda Barcus, a young woman who was rejected by BCBSA because her body mass index was too high. Amanda was about 5 feet, 1 inch tall and weighed approximately 175 pounds but apparently BCBSA felt she was "too fat" to qualify for health care coverage.
  • Although a cousin recently passed away from a brain tumor and she was experiencing similar symptoms, Blue Shield of California denied the requests of Maria Watanabe for an MRI or a visit to a specialist. However, while on vacation in Japan, a physician performed an MRI on Maria and a benign cyst was discovered. As a result, a jury determined that Blue Shield of California had breached its contract with Maria.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Recommendation of the Year

If you have not yet seen "SiCKO", the new film by Michael Moore, then I strongly implore you to do so. In case you have been living under a rock for the last few months, "SiCKO" is a brutal and necessary attack on the current state of affairs of health care in the United States. Now certain upstanding organizations, such as FOX News, are attempting to claim that "SiCKO" is filled with inaccuracies. However, with all of Moore's films, including "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Bowling for Columbine", the content is supported by evidence from audio clips, video footage, court documents and government articles and publications. To view this evidence or learn more about "SiCKO", please go to http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/checkup/.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Pathetic Family Tree of the Week

First, the son:
After being indicted on June 19th on federal cocaine charges, Thomas Ravenel was suspended from his position as South Carolina Treasurer and resigned as the State Chairman for Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.

Ravenel is accused of purchasing nearly 500 grams of cocaine with the intent to distribute in late 2005, U.S. Attorney Reggie Lloyd said. This charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of up to $1 million.

Next, the father:
Even after his son's recent legal troubles, Arthur Ravenel was included on a list of regional chairpersons for Giuliani's campaign in South Carolina.

In January 2000, the elder Ravenel (and Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives at the time) addressed a crowd of several thousand supporters on the steps of the South Carolina statehouse to advocate flying the Confederate flag. During this event, Ravenel asked the cheering crowd: "Can you believe that there are those who think that the General Assembly of South Carolina is going to knuckle under, roll over and do the bidding of that organization known as the National Association for Retarded People?" (Ravenel was actually referring to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. I am not sure which is more depressing: Ravenel's insult of the NAACP or the fact that he probably does not realize NAACP would not be an appropriate acronym for the "National Association for Retarded People".) Ravenel then stated that he had apologized to the mentally challenged for comparing those individuals to members of the NAACP: "I didn't apologize to the NAACP. I apologized to the retarded folks of the world for equating them to the national NAACP." Trying to further explain his comments to The Post and Courier in Charleston, SC, Avenel continued by saying that "It was a slip of the tongue. I have never said the NAACP was retarded. I made a rhetorical slip and they want to lynch me for it." (Nice choice of the word "lynch", especially considering the fact that Avenel was discussing the NAACP.) Last but not least, during his tenure as a member of the U.S. Congress, Ravenel also commented about white committee chairpersons operating on "black time". Ravenel admitted this term translated into being fashionably late.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

46 Brainless Politicians

On Thursday, the United States Senate thankfully defeated Mr. Bush's immigration bill, falling 14 votes short of the 60 required to advance. However, that means 46 elected numskulls support this ridiculous piece of legislation. The following list contains all of the Senators who did so. If one of these rocket scientists represents your state, please contact that individual's office immediately to voice your displeasure.

Republicans:
Robert Bennett (UT), Larry Craig (ID), Lindsey Graham (SC), Judd Gregg (NH), Chuck Hagel (NE), Jon Kyl (AZ), Trent Lott (MS), Richard Lugar (IN), Mel Martinez (FL), John McCain (AZ), Olympia Snowe (ME), Arlen Specter (PA)

Independents:
Joseph Lieberman (CT)

Democrats:
Daniel Akaka (HI), Joseph Biden (DE), Barbara Boxer (CA), Maria Cantwell (WA), Ben Cardin (MD), Thomas Carper (DE), Robert Casey (PA), Hillary Clinton (NY), Kent Conrad (ND), Christopher Dodd (CT), Richard Durbin (IL), Russ Feingold (WI), Dianne Feinstein (CA), Daniel Inouye (HI), Edward Kennedy (MA), John Kerry (MA), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Herb Kohl (WI), Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Patrick Leahy (VT), Carl Levin (MI), Blanche Lincoln (AR), Robert Menendez (NJ), Barbara Mikulski (MD), Patty Murray (WA), Bill Nelson (FL), Barack Obama (IL), Jack Reed (RI), Harry Reid (NV), Ken Salazar (CO), Charles Schumer (NY), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Ron Wyden (OR)

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Disgraceful Silence of the Week

During Tuesday's Republican presidential candidate debate in New Hampshire, the moderator, CNN's Wolf Blitzer, posed the following question to the ten contenders: "Is there anyone here who believes gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the United States military? If you do, speak up now."

Did any of the ten candidates answer? Yep, you guessed it--not a single one. At the same time, any individuals opposed to homosexuals serving in the military never seem to mind when those same homosexuals, among other things, improve their health as physicians and nurses, protect their lives as firefighters and police officers and provide other services as chefs, pilots, bank tellers and store clerks. With that being said, I am pretty sure that there are currently numerous heterosexual members of the U.S. military who are openly prejudiced towards individuals of other races, origins and religions, including Muslims. However, those straight people are not required to leave the military. I am also pretty sure that there are numerous heterosexual men in the U.S. military who do not view women as equals or even feel women should be allowed to serve openly. Regardless of their level of sexism, those heterosexual men are not forced to leave the military. In fact, I am positive that there is also a portion of those heterosexual men who remain in the U.S. military with openly misogynistic views toward women. Therefore, the right wing would rather exclude homosexuals with a desire to serve their country but not remove heterosexuals with negative opinions towards fellow soldiers who are also mothers, daughters and sisters.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Standing Ovation of the Week

With today's and last Sunday's edition of his comic strip Doonesbury, Garry Trudeau lists the names of the numerous U.S. troops who have been killed in both Iraq and Afghanistan from April 26, 2006 to April 18, 2007.

Doonesbury has been frequently criticized by conservatives ever since the comic strip debuted in October 1970. With that being said, regardless of the strip's political nature, Trudeau should receive credit for bringing attention to these fallen individuals. At the same time, Mr. Bush should be heavily criticized for the fact that Trudeau required two weeks to actually print all of the names. In addition, for someone who feels the struggle in the Middle East is so vital to the future of the United States, Mr. Bush doesn't even devote a few minutes to read the names of the killed troops during his weekly radio address. By the way, if you wish to view the two strips, please visit the following links:

http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html?uc_full_date=20070527

http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html?uc_full_date=20070603

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

You Get What You Deserve

During Friday's graduate student commencement ceremony at the University of Massachusetts, Andrew Card, the former Chief of Staff to Mr. Bush, received an honorary doctorate degree in "public service".

Along with holding and wearing signs reading "Card: No Honor, No Degree" and "Dis-Card", the students and faculty members (including those on stage) rightfully delivered a shower of boos for more than three minutes after Card was introduced by Provost Charlena Seymour. In order to view video footage of this fantastic event, please visit http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Hundreds_boo_former_Bush_Chief_of_0526.html.

As Chief of Staff until April 2006, Card obviously served as an architect of the Iraq War; however, the University of Massachusetts still decided to award the honorary degree to Card. Card directed the White House Iraq Group responsible for controlling public relations for the war; the deceitful group's members included Karl Rove (Deputy Chief of Staff to Mr. Bush), Condoleezaa Rice (Secretary of State), Scooter Libby (convicted Chief of Staff to Mr. Cheney), Karen Hughes and Mary Matalin. Aside from his international exploits, Card and then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales attempted in March 2004 to convince former Attorney General John Ashcroft to re-authorize the domestic surveillance program recently determined to be illegal by the Department of Justice. Ashcroft, lying in an intensive care unit at George Washington University Hospital from a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis, refused to do sign the appropriate papers.

Monday, May 21, 2007

It Keeps Getting Better and Better...

Despite receiving positive reviews at the Cannes Film Festival, Michael Moore and his new documentary, "SiCKO", is still being attacked for the film's criticism of the U.S. health care system.

Obviously a large portion of the criticism directed at the film comes from the Internet. As a matter of fact, one of those sources is an anti-Moore web site called MooreWatch.com. However, here is where it gets good. When Moore discovered last year that Jim Kenefick, the owner of MooreWatch.com, was planning on closing the web site because of his ailing wife's accumulating medical bills, Moore sent a $12,000 check to Kenefick. The ever grateful Kenefick recently commented that "[Moore] paid $12,000 so that you, the press, would focus on what a 'nice guy' he is and, in the same breath, make me look like a jerk". Where did Kenefick make that wonderful remark? You guessed it--on his web site, which is still running a year later. I certainly do not want to sound callous but maybe we should approach this situation like a high school principal's office and ask for a doctor’s note as evidence that Kenefick's wife was truly sick. Are we sure that $12,000 wasn’t used for some sort of plastic surgery?

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Embarrassing Legislation of the Day

An agreement today between a group of Senators (both Democrats and Republicans) and the Bush administration focuses on an immigration reform bill which would grant legal status to the estimated twelve million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States.

I can honestly say I am utterly amazed that the Bush administration and other Republicans are supporting this ridiculous piece of legislation. Although obtaining this new Z visa still means that illegal immigrants are still approximately 8-13 years from permanent residency, the bill magnifies our pathetic approach to immigration. What is most frustrating is that, in my job as an IT Recruiter, I am constantly speaking with foreign nationals (primarily from India) who the majority, ever since their arrival in the U.S., have spent the necessary time and money and followed all of the rules and regulations in their path towards a Green Card. Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA), Chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus, stated it best: "The 'compromise' announced today by Sen. [Edward] Kennedy will reward twelve million illegal immigrants with a path to citizenship -- what part of illegal does the Senate not understand?".

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Debate of the Day

After criticizing filmmaker Michael Moore in the National Review Online, actor, former Senator and potential presidential candidate Fred Thompson (R-TN) declined to accept Moore's invitation for a one-on-one debate on health care.

As I mentioned in an earlier posting, the Treasury Department is currently investigating Moore for taking September 11th rescue workers to Cuba even though the United States has repeatedly violated the Cuban-American Treaty over the last 100+ years. However, Thompson, being the man of principles that he is, would never ignore the trade embargo with Cuba, would he? Take a look at this excerpt from an April 23rd article on Thompson in "The Weekly Standard" (a conservative magazine owned by News Corp., parent company of FOX News):

"Thompson's work space looks just like what the home office of a successful politician or CEO should look like--though a little messier: a large desk, dark wood, leather furniture, lots of books and magazines and newspapers, a flat screen TV and box upon box of cigars--Montecristos from Havana."

Well, I guess I stand corrected.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Consistency of the Week

In the Republican presidential debate on May 3rd, Tommy Thompson, the former Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services, provided this response to a question regarding an employer's right to terminate a homosexual employee: "I think that is left up to the individual business. I really sincerely believe that that is an issue that business people have got to make their own determination as to whether or not they should be."

According to Thompson, he misinterpreted the question because he (1) lost his hearing in one ear and the battery for his other ear was dead, (2) urgently needed to use the restroom and (3) was suffering from both the flu and bronchitis. Well, it is comforting to know that Thompson, who is also the former Governor of Wisconsin, has three good reasons for his supposed error. However, please keep in mind that, at a conference organized by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in April of this year, Thompson offended the audience by stating that "I'm in the private sector and for the first time in my life I'm earning money. You know that's sort of part of the Jewish tradition and I do not find anything wrong with that." What was Thompson's excuse for these comments? He was apparently suffering from fatigue and a persistent cold. You would think that a former Secretary of Health & Human Services would still have some connections and avoid being sick all of the time.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Waste of Time and Money of the Day

The Associated Press reported that Michael Moore, an Academy Award winning filmmaker and amazing individual, is currently being investigated by the United States Department of the Treasury for taking ailing rescue workers from the September 11th tragedy for a segment in his upcoming documentary called "SiCKO". Aimed at emphasizing the numerous issues with the U.S. health care system, the movie focuses on large pharmaceutical companies and corruption within the Food and Drug Administration.

According to Treasury Department regulations, all U.S. citizens and permanent residents are required to obtain licenses in order to travel to Cuba. However, isn't there just a small chance that Moore is being investigated by the Bush led Treasury Department because Moore's previous movie, "Fahrenheit 9/11" exposed the Bush administration for what it truly is? By the way, isn't it a little ironic that a country investigating an individual for traveling to Cuba as part of his job as a filmmaker is the same country which has maintained a Naval base (Guantanamo Bay) in Cuba since 1903? I wonder if the Bush administration will publicize the fact that their actions violate the 104-year-old Cuban-American Treaty. What do I mean by that? The treaty limits the use of Guantanamo Bay to "coaling or naval stations only, and for no other purpose", which obviously does not permit the various detainment and torture operations conducted by the Bush administration. Furthermore, the treaty also prohibits any individual, partnership, or corporation from establishing "a commercial, industrial or other enterprise" within Guantanamo Bay. However, the U.S. military base contains a McDonald's restaurant, two Starbucks outlets, a Subway restaurant and other American concessions.

Saturday, May 5, 2007

Slap in the Face of the Week

Aside from recently serving as a substitute for Sean Hannity on FOX News's "Hannity & Colmes", Mark Steyn is a Canadian journalist who frequently contributes to the National Review Online (NRO), the web version of the conservative "National Review" magazine. Following the tragedy at Virginia Tech last month, Steyn commented on both the deceased and injured by saying "They’re not 'children'. The students at Virginia Tech were grown women and — if you’ll forgive the expression — men...We should be raising them to understand that there will be moments in life when you need to protect yourself — and, in a 'horrible' world, there may come moments when you have to choose between protecting yourself or others. It is a poor reflection on us that, in those first critical seconds where one has to make a decision, only an elderly Holocaust survivor, Professor [Liviu] Librescu, understood instinctively the obligation to act."

In other words, according to Steyn, the students and faculty members, the students' parents and we as a society should be ashamed for not stopping a mentally disturbed individual with two semiautomatic weapons. (I would love to see how Steyn would react in a similar situation.) With his insulting statements being directed at college students and educators, Steyn definitely has a lot of nerve making those statements, especially considering the fact that he dropped out of a high school in Great Britain at 16 and returned to Canada to work as a disc jockey. Not to be outdone by Steyn, John Derbyshire, a British born journalist and U.S. naturalized citizen, also provided one of his insightful contributions to the NRO:

"Where was the spirit of self defense here? Setting aside the ludicrous campus ban on licensed conceals, why didn't anyone rush the guy?...It's true — none of us knows what he'd do in a dire situation like that. I hope, however, that if I thought I was going to die anyway, I'd at least take a run at the guy."

At least I can say that, unlike Steyn, Derbyshire actually obtained a college degree. However, Derbyshire does admit to previously living as an illegal immigrant in the United States, which is one thing that Cho had over him.

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Disappointment of the Day

By a count of 222-203, the attempt to override Mr. Bush's veto of the $124 billion spending measure for the Iraq War failed yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives. The actions of 222 members of Congress are completely understandable; however, the non-action by 8 others from both parties on the most important issue of this century is the most disturbing.

Present (which, in Congress, means to abstain from voting)
1. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) -- Although he unveiled a comprehensive plan for the Iraq War in January 2007 and is currently a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President (as well as in 2004), Kucinich could not even bother to move his mouth and say either "Yea" or "Nay".

Did Not Vote
2. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) -- "It is time for Democrats, Republicans and the President to work together on a bill to ensure our men and women on the ground have all the resources necessary to do the job we have asked of them." This statement was posted on McMorris Rodgers's web site, which is unbelievable considering the fact that she did NOT even vote. By the way, she received a D rating from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America in 2006.
3. Solomon Ortiz (D-NY): Ortiz currently serves as Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommitee on Readiness, which exercises legislative jurisdiction over military readiness, training, construction and installations. With that being said, Ortiz did not even bother to cast a vote.
4. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) -- Despite being a member of the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee and the Army and Air Force Programs Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, Gillibrand did not even vote.
5. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA) -- After further investigation, it is quite possible that the reason Davis did not vote is because she previously secured $169 million for construction on the next generation aircraft carrier for the United States Navy.
6. Eliot Engel (D-NY) -- Engel strongly supported the resolution to invade Iraq in 2002 but his position has changed. However, he still did not cast a vote on Wednesday.
7. Nicholas Lampson (D-TX) -- Lampson did not vote even though he was supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the National Rifle Association on his 2006 election campaign.
8. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) -- How ironic it is that Westmoreland is a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. If only we could use that same committee on Westmoreland for not even bothering to cast a vote on Wednesday.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Flashback of the Day

Earlier today, Mr. Bush vetoed a $124 billion spending measure for the Iraq War, primarily because the bill established rigid timelines for withdrawing troops from the Middle East.

This may actually be the first (and probably last) time when I have agreed with Mr. Bush's actions. Implementing specific deadlines for troop withdrawal and then publicizing those deadlines worldwide is tremendously irresponsible and dangerous. And the fact that certain leaders in the Democratic Party, such as Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, support the timelines is a perfect example of how the left has become a complete joke. With that being said, it is extremely important to note that, exactly four years ago today, Mr. Bush uttered these statements: "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." Mr. Bush delivered these false claims aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in front of a huge banner stating "Mission Accomplished". HOWEVER, 1,462 days have passed and 3,352 U.S. military personnel have died since then. What would the Iraq War be like if the mission had not been accomplished?

Monday, April 30, 2007

Irony Filled Story of the Week

Randall Tobias, the U.S. Director of Foreign Assistance for the Bush administration, recently resigned after being questioned by federal investigators regarding services he received from a Washington, D.C. escort service. (Along with his obviously outstanding morals, Tobias is married and has two children.)

The first irony is that, in his role as Director of Foreign Assistance, Tobias provided strategic direction and guidance to various foreign programs, including the promotion of sex education programs emphasizing abstinence. Second, when he previously served as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Tobias was responsible for managing all international HIV/AIDS funding and assistance provided by numerous agencies and departments of the U.S. government. In this position, he enforced a policy requiring all recipient countries to swear their opposition to prostitution and sex trafficking. (By the way, in an April 2004 speech, Tobias stated that "Statistics show that condoms really have not been very effective".) The fact that no conservatives are denouncing Tobias's behavior is a prime example of the hypocrisy common in the Republican Party. In fact, it is a perfect reminder of when Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned after exchanging sexually explicit e-mails with former Congressional pages, even though Foley had served as the Chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Comments on the Virginia Tech Tragedy

First and foremost, I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of the students and faculty killed at Virginia Tech on April 16th. However, after listening to numerous discussions that have occurred since those horrible events, I do have a couple of comments:

1. Considering my somewhat close proximity to Blacksburg, I obviously saw and heard about the many ways that individuals were honoring the students and faculty. However, I was not one of those people who wore maroon and orange. Why not? Trust me, it was not to be difficult or in protest. I decided not to wear those colors because we as a nation don't decide to wear camouflage even once a month to honor the military personnel killed in the Middle East. (By the way, the Department of Defense has officially confirmed 3,323 U.S. casualties in Iraq to this point, not including the 9 soldiers killed today when a suicide car bomb struck near a patrol base in Diyala province.) Mr. Bush delivered multiple speeches regarding the events at Virginia Tech but will not even take the time to read the names of military casualties during his weekly radio address.

2. I have also listened to countless individuals insist that the country's restrictions on handguns should be relaxed, thereby hopefully reducing the amount of tragedies similar to the one at Virginia Tech. Really? Because when I reflect back to my college days, I can confidently state that I would not want the overwhelmingly majority of my fellow students, even with proper instruction, to be walking around with a handgun. Not only that, just think about what would happen if these now armed individuals are cut off on the highway, argue with a coworker or involved in a family dispute. How easy would it be now for those people to use that weapon in order to settle the conflict? Last but not least, Cho Seung-Hui was deeply troubled and intent on murdering innocent individuals last Monday at Virginia Tech. If faculty members or other students were permitted to carry handguns, then Seung-Hui would have used an automatic weapon. If faculty or students possessed automatic weapons, then he probably would have detonated a bomb.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Failed Cover-Up of the Week

Preparing to testify this week before the Senate Judiciary Committee concerning the recent dismissal of eight United States attorneys, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales stated today in The Washington Post: "I know that I did not--and would not--ask for the resignation of any U.S. attorney for an improper reason."

Of course, nothing was improper. Usually the Senate Judiciary Committee takes time out of their busy schedule to listen to testimony when nothing improper has occurred. First and foremost, it is important to point out that these terminations are not entirely politically motivated because six of the U.S. attorneys are Republicans. However, the Bush administration is clearly lying by stating that these dismissals are based on performance. In fact, when you examine the backgrounds of these attorneys, the water appears more than just a little cloudy.

  • Although he recently received a positive job review ("very competent and highly regarded") in 2006, Bud Cummins, a Republican, was investigating the accusation that Missouri Gov. Matthew Blunt, also a Republican, abused his power by creating a system of umbrella companies established through a Kansas City law firm to operate Missouri's licensing network.
  • Described in her last review as "an effective manager and respected leader", Carol Lam successfully prosecuted former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) for corruption and indicted Kyle Fuggo (former Executive Director of the Central Intelligence Agency) for fraud and other offenses in regards to the Cunningham case, as well as indicting Brent Wilkes (a defense contractor and lobbyist) for his illegal involvement with Cunningham and other scandals. Lam was also investigating Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), the former Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, for various improprieties.
  • According to his recent review, David Iglesias, a Republican, was "respected by the judiciary, agencies and staff". In addition, he was previously praised by the Justice Department for his expertise in the area of voter fraud by the Justice Department. As a matter of fact, he was twice selected to train other federal prosecutors on pursuing election crimes.
  • Seven months before he was forced to resign, John McKay, a Republican, received a glowing performance review from a team of 27 Justice Department officials, being called "an effective, well regarded and capable leader". McKay was also recognized for his successful prosecution of terrorist Ahmed Ressam and his promotion and management of a computer network used to coordinate numerous law enforcement agencies, for which he received the highest civilian honor from the United States Navy.
  • Despite his most recent review being categorized as "very positive", Daniel Bogden investigated former Rep. James Gibbons (now Republican Governor of Nevada) for accepting unreported payments and gifts from a friend whose software company Gibbons aided in securing secret military contracts during his tenure in Congress.
  • The office of Paul Charlton was honored with the Federal Service Award and recognized by the Justice Department as a "model program" regarding the protection of crime victims, along with ranking among the top 20 offices for drug prosecutions. Among the 93 U.S. attorneys, Charlton himself ranked last year in the top third in the highest amount of filed federal prosecutions (as well as convictions) and among the top 10 in the amount of weapons related prosecutions, while managing a district in the top five in the amount of immigration related prosecutions. Unfortunately for Charlton, a Republican, he had started a corruption investigation against Rep. Richard Renzi (R-AZ) and disagreed with the Bush administration on the death penalty and the recording of interviews and confessions on Native American reservations.
  • In a 2006 review, Margaret Chiara, a Republican, was depicted as "classy, distinguished and well regarded". During her tenure, the jurisdiction witnessed a 15% increase in felony prosecutions and convictions. Chiara also developed an attorney training and mentoring program which now serves as a national model.

Conservatives with Short Term Memory Loss

I want to preface this particular posting by stating that I am in no way, shape or form a fan of Don Imus, even before he and his executive producer insulted the Rutgers University women's basketball team. In fact, I think he is nothing but a talentless and humorless moron. With that in mind, it is extremely interesting how all of the right wing pundits have been attacking Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton for their reactions to the situation, instead of admonishing Imus. Now notice that I said "interesting", not shocking. Why I am not shocked? Because the majority of those pundits have made recent comments just as inflammatory, if not worse. The following are only a few examples from the last 6+ months:

Saturday, April 7, 2007

3 Brainless Republicans with Foot in Mouth Disease

The House Armed Services Committee recently requested the removal of the phrase "global war on terror" from the 2008 federal budget because the term is too generic. Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) explained that this decision by the committee members was in response to the long standing efforts of the Republican Party "to tie together the misadventure in Iraq and the overall war against terrorists". Skelton and other Democrat leaders were immediately blasted by these three conservative nitwits:

1. During an airing of "Glenn Beck" on CNN Headline News, Mike Allen, the chief political correspondent for Politico.com, claimed that the "Democrats are trying to make Iraq the President's personal war". Allen continued by eloquently stating that "It's one big pot and, even if Harry Potter cannot name it, we're going to".

2. In the same interview, Beck suggested that, as a result of the actions of the House Armed Services Committee, he is starting to believe the Democrats want the United States to lose the Iraq War. Beck asked: "Why don't you do some real work instead of all of this political garbage? [The Democrats] have turned this into nothing but just trying to win the next election."

3. Last but not least, in an interview on "The Rush Limbaugh Show", Vice President Dick Cheney (one of the biggest nitwits of them all) proposed that Skelton was displaying "flawed thinking" by attempting to eliminate the phrase in the budget. In fact, Cheney declared that Skelton is "just dead wrong about this".

Way to go, gentlemen! Apparently these brain surgeons have not paid any attention to what their own side has been saying over the last two years. What do I mean by that?

1. On July 22, 2005, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld described the country's efforts in the Iraq War as "the global struggle against the enemies of freedom, the enemies of civilization". More recently, in an interview with Cal Thomas (the most widely syndicated political columnist in the U.S.), Rumsfeld professed that "I don't think I would have called it the war on terror...Terror is a weapon of choice for extremists who are trying to destabilize regimes and, through a small group of clerics, impose their dark vision on all the people they can control. So 'war on terror' is a problem for me."

2. Two days after Rumsfeld's comments, General Richard Myers, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, informed the National Press Club that he "objected to the use of the term 'war on terrorism' before because, if you call it a war, then you think of people in uniform as being the solution".

3. On July 27, 2005, Stephen Hadley, the National Security Advisor to Mr. Bush, stated in a telephone interview: "It is more than just a military war on terror. It's broader than that. It's a global struggle against extremism. We need to dispute both the gloomy vision and offer a positive alternative."

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Complete Lunatic of the Week

Vice President Al Gore testified earlier this week before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on the effects of global warming. His appearance was progressing as a typical committee hearing until the opportunity came for Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) to "question" Vice President Gore. (Inhofe and his moronic beliefs have been the subject of a recent posting.) However, due to Inhofe's extremely immature and childish behavior (constant interruptions, condescending tone, etc.), unfortunately Vice President Gore did not actually have much of a chance to appropriately respond. The following information is actual dialogue from the hearing transcript:

1. After Vice President Gore delivered his opening remarks, Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) commented that every single Democrat on the committee was present for the hearing.
Inhofe: "[Barack] Obama's not here."
Boxer: "Obama's not longer on this committee."
Inhofe: "Oh, OK."
Comment: Are you kidding me? Inhofe is the Ranking Minority Member on the Environment and Public Works Committee and he doesn't know who is currently on the committee and who is not.

2. Lamenting the fact that he had only 15 minutes (which was no less than any other committee member) to pose questions to Vice President Gore:
Inhofe: "I've structured my questions so they're yes or no questions and they don't require a lot of elaboration."
Note: Gore laughed following this statement, as well he should. How could Inhofe think that any response to such a complex issue as global warming could be limited to one word answers?

3. After Inhofe demanded Vice President Gore take an absurd Personal Energy Ethics Pledge and then insulted Gore for purchasing carbon offsets, these three ridiculous exchanges occurred over the course of a few minutes.
Gore: "First of all, Senator, thank you so much for your question."
Inhofe: "Alright. I noticed Tipper didn't say 'thank you' for the question."

Gore: "If I could just continue with my..."
Inhofe: "Well, you can't."
Boxer: "You've asked the Senator [Gore] an important question. He's answering it. Give him a minute or so to answer it."
Inhofe: "Alright. If you could just stop the clock during this time, that'd be fine."
Boxer: "No, I am not going to stop the clock. He has a minute to answer. How can you ask the question and not give the man a minute to answer? Please."
Note: When Vice President Gore was initially interrupted, he had only been speaking for 25 seconds.

Inhofe: "Alright, Senator Gore, I'm very sorry. I don't want to be rude but, from now on, I'm going to ask you to respond for the record in writing. Since you are not going to respond...unless you change your mind."
Gore: "Well, if I choose, if I choose to respond to you verbally here, I hope that'll be OK too."
Inhofe: "If it's a very brief response."
Comment: I would love to know how many people have been asked to testify in front of Congress and then required to submit their responses in writing. I would imagine the number is extremely low.

4. Inhofe then commented about a recent magazine article which described Vice President Gore's beliefs towards global warming as too alarmist.
Inhofe: "Now I'll ask you to respond in writing for that one because that would be a very long response, I'm afraid."
Boxer: "We're freezing the time just for a minute. I want, I want to talk to you for a minute please. Would you, would you agree, would you agree to let the Vice President answer your questions and then, if you want an extra few minutes at the end, I'm happy to give it to you. But we're not going to get anywhere."
Inhofe: "Why don't we do this? Why don't we do this? At the end, you can have as much time as you want to answer all of the questions."
Boxer: "No, that isn't the rule of the...you're not making the rules. You used to when you did this (holding up gavel). You don't do this anymore. Elections have consequences. Elections have consequences so I make the rules."
Comment: Although I am not a big fan of Boxer's, I was more than happy to see her put Inhofe in his place.

5. Inhofe then proceeded to provide a list of scientists who supposedly disagree with Vice President Gore's point of view. (One of those individuals is Claude Allegre, an infamous French geochemist. Please keep in mind that, in 2000, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin replaced Allegre as his Minister of Education due to his inappropriate management style. This came after the main national professors' unions conducted demonstrations throughout France, demanding for Allegre's dismissal.) When Vice President Gore attempted to present his own evidence:
Inhofe: "Senator Gore, my time has almost expired completely. Are you aware of that?"
Gore: "If I could complete my answer..."
Inhofe: "Well, if you do, then my time's expired. Are you aware of that? Do you care?"
Gore: "Well, I, I can't help that because you went on for a long time. But I would like to..."
Inhofe (whining like a five year old): "No, I have fifteen minutes. You have thirty minutes, I have fifteen. You've got to let me have my fifteen minutes, Senator Gore. I can respond to what you said."
Gore: "If I could, if I could just complete my response..."
Inhofe: "Well, you've already done it."
Note: Following Inhofe's four minute monologue, he interrupted Gore in this instance after only ninety seconds.

6. At this point, Inhofe provided a 1975 statement from the National Academy of Sciences which "asserted" that a global cooling was a finite possibility in the next 100 years. (To be honest, I am not really sure how a statement from more than thirty years ago about a possible global cooling can be classified as an assertion.)
Gore: "Could I comment on that?"
Inhofe: "All respect, Senator Gore, we can't do that. You know that."
Comment: Actually I am not sure if Vice President Gore is aware of that. I am fairly confident he feels, as I do, that a Congressional hearing should allow for the sharing of ideas from both viewpoints.

7. When Inhofe again mentions the scientists who disagree with Vice President Gore, he inaccurately claims:
Inhofe: "I've listed all of the scientists who disagree with you and you did not respond to that question."
Comment: This is completely inaccurate, Mr. Inhofe, because Vice President Gore did comment about that earlier in the hearing and you interrupted him. Unfortunately you were there at the time so you should know.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Shock of the Day

From The Associated Press: Documents from the U.S. Government Accountability Office show that more than three years of legal and bureaucratic disputes and protests resulted in staff shortages and the atrocious conditions at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

These disputes and protests involved hospital management, the Pentagon, Congress and, not surprisingly, IAP Worldwide Services, Inc. Why is this not a surprise? First and foremost, IAP is owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP, an asset management firm chaired by John Snow, former Secretary of the Treasury for the Bush administration. IAP is currently led by Al Neffgen and Dave Swindle, two former high ranking executives of Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR). In case you have been living under a rock for the last seven years, KBR is majority owned by Halliburton, of which Dick Cheney was previously Chairman and CEO. From what other debacle do we know the name IAP? The company was awarded a contract by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide ice and power generation to hurricane victims, including from Hurricane Katrina. After that natural disaster, approximately 91,000 tons of ice were purchased to assist with cooling food, medicine and sweltering victims of the storm. This ice eventually cost taxpayers more than $100 million but unfortunately the majority was never delivered due to government incompetence. In fact, after a government dictated route took him throughout the United States for one reason after another, one truck driver was quoted as saying "I dragged that ice around for 4,100 miles and it never got used".

Friday, March 16, 2007

Disgrace to the Uniform of the Week

In a recent interview with the "Chicago Tribune", Gen. Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated: "I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way."

Along with the surprising remarks above, Pace also attempted to compare homosexuality with adultery, commenting "I would not want it to be our policy that if we were to find out that so-and-so was sleeping with somebody else's wife, that we would just look the other way, which we do not. We prosecute that kind of immoral behavior." At first, I found it utterly amazing that highly decorated individual such as Pace could make these immature statements. However, after about five seconds, I realized that it actually wasn't. Pace and many ignorant members of the conservative right believe that homosexuals are completely immoral and, even worse, make those beliefs known. However, none of those naive individuals complain when homosexuals are serving and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, protecting lives and property as firefighters and police officers or treating injuries and saving lives as doctors and nurses. (In fact, when it comes to homosexuals in the military, they can't even count on the top U.S. military officer to defend them.) Instead, Pace and others like him want to have their cake and eat it too. In other words, homosexuals can defend the United States and care for fellow Americans but are not viewed as equals.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Irony of the Week

At last week's 34th annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Marine Cpl. Matt Sanchez received the Jeanne Kirkpatrick Academic Freedom Award. Currently a junior at Columbia University, Sanchez received the award after he whined on various right wing talk shows about his treatment from Columbia's "radical anti-military students", who supposedly called him names and mocked his military service.

After the conference, it was reported that Sanchez previously worked as a gay porn star and male prostitute, using the aliases Rod Majors and Pierre LaBranche. Now I don't care one bit if Sanchez is a homosexual. I just wonder how he feels about being honored at the same right wing conference where Ann Coulter insulted Democrat John Edwards by calling him a "faggot".

Friday, March 9, 2007

Glass House Resident of the Day

In a recent interview, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich admitted to having an extramarital affair during the time period when he was leading the impeachment battle against President Bill Clinton regarding Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. However, Gingrich argued he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for his actions towards President Clinton because "the President of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge".

How convenient for Gingrich to view things this way! With that being said, let's break the situation down. First and foremost, President Clinton has been married to the same woman for 32 years. On the other hand, Gingrich, who is 63 years old, has only been married to his current wife Callista for 6 years. Why only 6 years? After being married to his second wife for 18 years, Gingrich had an extramarital affair with Callista, a then-33 year old member of his Congressional staff. By the way, Gingrich's second wife Marianne is a product of an extramarital affair after he was married to his first wife Jackie for 18 years. Don't worry, it get's better! Marianne has stated that Gingrich informed her of his desire to end their marriage over the telephone. In May 1999, she was visiting her mother on her 84th birthday and, after wishing happy birthday to his mother-in-law, Gingrich communicated his intentions to get a divorce. This telephone call was made eight months after Marianne had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Want more? When he was 19 years old, Gingrich married his first wife Jackie, his former high school geometry teacher. Although you might think that this scenario would be the perfect recipe for "happily ever after", Gingrich served divorce papers to Jackie in 1980 while she was in the hospital recuperating from ovarian cancer surgery. Still not enough? Since Gingrich did not pay alimony or child support, Jackie and her two children depended on donations from her church. After taking all of this into account, I can definitely see why (1) Gingrich is not a hypocrite and (2) the citizens of the United States would be fortunate to have him as President.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Unreliable Source of the Day

On Tuesday's "The Michael Reagan Show" (yes, that Reagan) on XM Radio, Reagan interviewed Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) regarding, among other things, Inhofe's skepticism towards the theory of global warming.

As is usually the case with the Republican Party, their experts and spokespeople are individuals with incredulous backgrounds. Not surprisingly, Inhofe falls into the same category.

  • In regards to Inhofe's views on global warming, I first want to point out that the five companies contributing the most to his campaign during the 2006 election cycle are Murray Energy, Koch Industries, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Cummins and OGE Energy.
  • In a 2006 interview, Inhofe compared environmentalists to Nazis, saying "I could use the Third Reich, the big lie". The "big lie” is a propaganda technique falsely attributed to Jews by Adolf Hitler in his book "Mein Kampf". Inhofe has also previously compared the Environmental Protection Agency to the Gestapo, which was the secret police of Nazi Germany.
  • By asking "What would happen to the Weather Channel's ratings if all the sudden people weren't scared anymore?", Inhofe accused the cable channel of being involved with the "global warming hoax" in order to attract viewers.
  • Even though he had never viewed the movie, Inhofe asserted that every claim in "An Inconvenient Truth" has been "refuted scientifically”.
  • Concerning other social issues, lobbyists for homosexual marriage want to eventually, according to Inhofe, eliminate the restrictions on sexual conduct between adults and children, group marriage, incest and "you know, if it feels good, do it".
  • As a member of the Armed Services Committee, Inhofe questioned witnesses regarding the abuse of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib facility. During those hearings, he claimed he was "outraged by the outrage" over the abuse revelations, thereby suggesting that the shock at the crimes was actually more offensive than the crimes themselves.
  • Inhofe dismissed the International Committee of the Red Cross, which seeks humane treatment of prisoners of war in conjunction with the Geneva Conventions, as a “bleeding heart".
  • Following the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, Inhofe outraged federal employees by stating on national television that the amount of casualties was probably low. According to Inhofe, this was due to the fact that many of those employees would not be at their desks by 9:00AM (which was the time of the attack) because they would be drinking coffee somewhere else instead.

Monday, March 5, 2007

Insane Slur of the Day, Part II

Even after leaders in the Republican Party finally criticized Ann Coulter's comment regarding John Edwards from last week as "offensive" and "completely inappropriate", Coulter has continued her irresponsible behavior. Speaking with "The New York Times", Coulter stated: "C'mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean."

At this point, two more glaring concerns have been created following the backlash from Coulter's insult.
  • On "Hannity & Colmes" last night, Coulter unbelievably claimed that her slur is not offensive to homosexuals, instead describing it as a "schoolyard taunt". At the same time, Coulter does not compare that slur to racial ones because, according to Coulter, homosexuals do not consider that word to be inappropriate. With that being said, I should probably compare Coulter to an obnoxious moron but I would never insult obnoxious morons like that.
  • Bill Maher, host of "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO, infuriated some individuals with his remarks concerning Mr. Cheney and the Iraq War: "I’m just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That’s a fact." Now although I do not 100% agree with Maher's comments, here is the difference between him and Coulter. The name of the show is "Real Time with Bill Maher" so Maher is permitted to say whatever he would like on his show. On the other hand, aside from Coulter herself, no one else at the Conservative Political Action Conference was aware of Coulter's intentions, including the Republican presidential candidate she endorsed during the conference, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Insane Slur of the Day, Part I

As a featured speaker yesterday at the 34th annual Conservative Political Action Conference, right wing pundit Ann Coulter was asked to comment on Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. Amazingly Coulter responded by stating "It turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot' so I'm, so kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards".

Now I normally try to keep my personal comments in my postings to a minimum but, in this particular situation, I can't help myself. Coulter signifies everything that is wrong with the Republican Party, as well as with our country. Members of the right (i.e. Bush, Cheney, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, etc.) believe they can say or do anything without suffering any repercussions. The old adage is that individuals who make profane or inflammatory comments are usually either uneducated, ignorant or immoral (As a result of her holding a law degree, I will concede educated to Coulter but she is definitely ignorant and immoral). A day after her reprehensible statement, no member of the Republican Party has denounced Coulter's irresponsible behavior. In fact, FOX News only bothered to mention the incident on their web site once Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, expressed his concern regarding Coulter's comment. By the way, Coulter was not finished making ridiculous statements with her slur on Edwards. When discussing black Republicans, she declared that "Our blacks are better than their blacks". Obviously Coulter and individuals like her are clearly abusing the First Amendment and the right to free speech.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Hypocrite of the Day

On a recent episode of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, Jon Stewart interviewed Christopher Horner, a Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and author of "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism".

The Competitive Enterprise Institute is an organization dedicated to, among other things, supposedly waging a battle against global warming alarmism. CEI is also an organization which has accepted large donations from such environment friendly companies as Amoco, CSX, Philip Morris and Texaco. In addition to those companies, ExxonMobil has donated a total of more than $2 million to CEI. Myron Ebell, the organization's Director of Energy and Global Warming Policy, has asserted that global warming is a hoax perpetrated by the European Union and the rest of the world in order to harm the U.S. economy. Possibly even more unbelievable than Ebell is Steven Milloy, an Adjunct Scholar at CEI. Aside from being an advocate for Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, Milloy has served as a lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute, Dow Chemical and FMC. (And those are just 2 members of CEI.) Last but certainly not least, CEI claims that the Wall Street Journal has referred to the organization as "the best environmental think tank in the country". However, I have scoured the Internet and have been unable to find any article where that statement is made.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Important Web Site of the Day

On tonight's episode of "60 Minutes", the lead story focused on the numerous U.S. military personnel who have signed a petition called the Appeal for Redress. This petition provides individual service members with the ability to appeal to their Congressional Representatives and Senators to urge an end to the U.S. military occupation of Iraq. To learn more about the Appeal for Redress, please visit http://www.appealforredress.org/.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Obvious Statement of the Day

During a speech today in South Carolina, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) provided his opinion on former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: "I think that [Rumsfeld] will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history."

Although I wholeheartedly agree with his statement, the fact that McCain also stated "We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement -- that's the kindest word I can give you -- of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war" makes me wonder why he is not laying the numerous failures of the Iraq War at the feet of Mr. Bush. After all, Mr. Bush is supposedly the commander-in-chief or, as he so eloquently puts it: "the decider". Even though McCain delivered these comments, he never once called for Rumsfeld's resignation. In fact, McCain once explained that "the President picks his team and the President has the right to stay with that team if he wants to".

Discouraging Statistics of the Week

With the proposed 2008 federal budget recently sent to Congress, Mr. Bush has once again emphasized the mindset and attitude of his administration and the Republican Party. The following is only a short list of the various changes in the new budget:
  • Agriculture: Subsidies for farmers earning more than $200,000 annually would be eliminated. However, a total of $5.4 billion is designated for food stamps. In addition, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which provides food to more than 500,000 low income senior citizens, would also be eliminated.
  • Education: Mr. Bush plans on increasing the spending for the No Child Left Behind Act but, by doing so, would eliminate 42 other programs. (It is an absolute shame that any program is affected by No Child Left Behind, a program filled with corruption, inequality and inaccuracies.
  • NASA: The planned spending for NASA would increase by $1.1 billion from the $16.2 billion in Mr. Bush's proposed budget for 2007. Included in the $17.3 billion in spending are funds to send astronauts to the moon by 2020. (I am not sure if Mr. Bush is aware of this fact or not but the U.S. has already been to the moon. What's next? Appropriating billions of dollars to explore the area west of the Mississippi River? How about we just focus on more important topics, such as affordable health care or improving our educational system?)
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Funding in this area would decrease by $500 million, including grants to states for bioterrorism preparations.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Frustrating Evidence of the Week

During recent testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the former U.S. Administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, discussed the billions of dollars irresponsibly spent by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Bremer served as the head of the CPA during the organization's "rule" of Iraq from May 2003 to June 2004.

Please keep in mind the various accomplishments of Bremer in his tenure as the U.S. Administrator of Iraq, including completely disbanding the Iraqi military (more than 300,000 individuals) and removing approximately 50,000 Baath Party members from government ministries, schools and universities. Aside from those excellent decisions, audits by both the United Nations and Stuart Bowen, the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, concluded that Bremer and CPA could not account for the $12 billion allocated. One primary reason is that the CPA never released spending guidelines. In fact, Bowen reported that virtually no evidence was available to verify the funds were spent on legitimate projects. At the same time, when any evidence was actually provided, the information clearly showed a complete mismanagement of the appropriated money due to waste and corruption, including funds for a Baghdad police academy with severe construction defects and a $48 million police training camp (which was never used but still contained an Olympic size swimming pool).

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Brain Surgeon of the Day

During last night's "The O'Reilly Factor" on FOX News, Julie Banderas appeared as a media analyst to discuss possible explanations for changes in viewer ratings for the evening news shows on the three major networks. Concerning NBC specifically, Banderas stated that "NBC has lost over two million viewers since Peter Jennings stepped down. And then Tom Brokaw, his show has lost about, uh, I don't know, two million viewers."

I know this world and its issues can be confusing from time to time so maybe I am wrong to think that it is public knowledge that Peter Jennings was employed by ABC. (I know it could be difficult to tell since Jennings only worked for ABC for more than thirty years.) With Tom Brokaw, I am sure "NBC Nightly News" is most closely associated with him but he has not anchored that show in more than two years. However, as I have stated before, FOX News has never served as a bastion of accuracy.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Shock of the Day

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Democratic chairman of a House panel examining the government's response to climate change, stated yesterday that extensive evidence exists in which senior Bush administration officials attempted repeatedly "to mislead the public by injecting doubt into the science of global warming".

If you could not tell, my title for this particular posting is extremely sarcastic. If the Bush administration would produce lie after lie in order to justify a war in Iraq, it is not at all surprising that similar tactics would not be utilized against trivial matters (trivial in the administration's eyes) as the environment. Two private advocacy groups presented a survey which shows 2 in 5 of the 279 climate scientists responding to a questionnaire complained that portions of their scientific papers had been edited to intentionally alter their meaning. In regards to another question, approximately half of those 279 scientists responded that, at some point, they were pressured by the Bush administration to delete references to "global warming" and "climate change" from their reports. What do you expect from an administration which still refuses to ratify the Kyoto Protocol (aimed at reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases) even though 169 other nations have done so already?