Insurance Matters

post from Ezra Klein on 24 July 2007 04:09:00 PM. © Ezra Klein

One of the common objections to universal coverage is that insurance coverage doesn't actually improve health outcomes all that much. This objection, unsurprisingly, is generally made by people with health coverage. It's also not very true. More evidence[...]

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America the Beautiful More Richflation

post from Firedoglake on 24 July 2007 04:08:16 PM. © Firedoglake

My own parents escaped poverty and made it into the middle class thanks to the educational and housing opportunities available to GIs after WWII. I guess we don’t live in that world any more: These days, the high end of the real-estate market is[...]

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Bush more unpopular than Cheney.

post from Think Progress on 24 July 2007 04:06:00 PM. © Think Progress

With an approval rating of 33 percent in a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, President Bush’s is now slightly less popular than Vice President Dick Cheney, who registered 34 percent approval. According to TPM’s Eric Kleefeld, “The last time…that a poll found Bush worse off than Cheney was back in January, when a Fox News poll put President Bush’s personal unfavorability at 58%, compared to Cheney’s 53%.”

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Galveston, Texas officials selling out their
citizens and their past

post from William K. Wolfrum on 24 July 2007 04:01:18 PM. © William K. Wolfrum

It is one thing to feel saddened by humanity's lack of foresight when it comes to Global Warming. But when leaders ignore basic history in order to profit is when you start to realize that the term "blood money" no longer carries with it much stigma.To wit: The Republican-led Galveston ...

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Dave Lindorff: Office Arrests: The Shame of John
Conyers

post from BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash on 24 July 2007 03:47:02 PM. © BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash

If Rosa Parks had lived two years longer, what happened today in the halls of Congress might have killed her. It certainly would have broken her heart.

Technorati Tags: Dave Lindorff Cindy Sheehan impeachment John Conyers George W. Bush Dick Cheney Rosa Parks

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"We were there on behalf of the president,":
Attorney General dodges questions about the President

post from Minor-League Politico on 24 July 2007 03:46:00 PM. © Minor-League Politico

If there's any doubt that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is being less than honest about how the Justice Department is operating political activities...

...no, wait.

If there's any doubt that the White House is politically running things at the Justice Department, then take a look at Gonzales dodging Senator Chuck Schumer's (D-New York) questions yesterday.

Senate Judiciary Committee, July 23, 2007:

video details and more

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More Dubya Talk

post from My Left Wing - Front Page on 24 July 2007 03:45:40 PM. © My Left Wing - Front Page

It's been another week chock full of Bush administration double talk, starting off with the latest stall for time in the Iraq "surge" strategy.

The New York Times reported that in closed-door videoconferences on Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker told members of Congress that it was unlikely that the Iraqi government could reach all its benchmarks by September. But that shouldn't be a reason to abandon the present strategy, according to Crocker. The 18 benchmarks may not be the best measure of success in Iraq, he says.

As a vassal of the Bush administration, Crocker doesn't want the Iraq policy and strategy held up to any measures of success because measures of success are also measures of failure.
The Fear of Fear Itself

Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, the number two U.S. commander in Iraq, told Pentagon reporters that it will really take "at least until November" before to tell whether the surge strategy is working. One wonders what Odierno will have to say come November.

Odierno, his boss General David Petraeus, and Crocker characterized the coming September report as nothing more than a snapshot. When government types call a situational analysis a "snapshot," they're generally saying that it's transitory to the point of being worthless, and that they can't be held responsible for any conclusions the target audience might walk away with. And if, after more than four years of occupying Iraq and roughly 9 months into the "surge" strategy, a "snapshot" is the best the boys in charge of the operation can give in September, it will be the best analysis they'll ever be able to give in November too, or at any time after that.

Ambassador Crocker warned legislators that, ?If there is one word I would use to sum up the atmosphere in Iraq ? on the streets, in the countryside, in the neighborhoods and at the national level--that word would be fear.?

When one congressman asked General Petraeus what the consequences would be if he were ordered to begin withdrawing one Army brigade a month, Petraeus said that the Iraqis would become more fearful.

That's a heck of a lot of fear from a population that overwhelmingly (70 percent) want us out of their country, 61 percent of which supports attacks against U.S. led forces, and 58 percent of which believes overall violence will decrease if U.S. troops leave.

Wanted: Dead or Alive, Sooner or Later

Fran Townsend, President Bush's homeland security adviser, had a heck of a day Sunday on Wolf Blitzer's Late Edition. When Wolf asked if the U.S. government was ready to use military force to strike Pakistan in an attempt to take out Osama bin Laden and other high ranking al-Qaeda leaders, Townsend responded, "No question that we will use any instrument at our disposal to deal with the problem of Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri and Al Qaida."

Those are interesting words, coming from an adviser on homeland security who, in theory at least, has no business talking about foreign policy matters in a public forum. At a minimum, Townsend stomped on rice bowls belonging to the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Adviser, the "War Czar" who does most of the National Security Adviser's job, and, oh yeah, Congress, the branch of government that supposedly authorizes things like launching strikes on other countries.

It's also interesting that Townsend said we "will use any instrument at our disposal to deal with the problem of Osama bin Laden." The tallest Arab ever wanted dead or alive by a U.S. president is still at large. It's obvious that we haven't used any instrument at our disposal to deal with Osama bin Laden for more than five years.

Some Dis-assembly Required

As is often the case, the top prize for exceptional audacity in the blathering department for last week goes to the commander in chief himself.

On Friday, Bush criticized Senate majority leader Harry Reid for pulling the defense authorization bill on Wednesday after Republicans blocked a proposal in the bill to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq within 120 days. Bush specifically pointed out that failure to pass the bill had blocked a military pay raise of 3.5 percent.

The irony (if such a thing as irony still exists) is that when the Congress first proposed a 3.5 percent military pay hike for fiscal year 2008, the White House objected that 3.5 percent was unnecessary, that 3 percent would do quite nicely. Moreover, as Reid pointed out, the authorization bill wouldn't take effect until October, do pulling it off the floor now doesn't threaten the troops' pay raise or the flow of equipment and supplies they need to conduct Mr. Bush's woebegone Middle East wars.

Lo and Behold

It's not like most of us haven't seen this coming, but the truth of Bush's intentions in Iraq are finally bubbling to the surface. The New York Times reported Tuesday morning that Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus have prepared a detailed plan for Iraq that will involve a significant American role for the next two years. The "Joint Campaign Plan," according to NYT's Michael R. Gordon, "is an elaboration of the new strategy President Bush signaled in January when he decided to send five additional American combat brigades and other units to Iraq."

The plan involves two phases: "local security" in Baghdad and other areas to be achieved by June 2008 and "sustainable security" on a nationwide basis to be established by summer of 2009.

Military officials in Iraq are careful to note that there is no guarantee of the plan's success, Gordon notes. Which means that even though they want two more years to "get the job done," the job may take even longer than that.

It's funny how Crocker and Petraeus claim they won't be able to assess the "surge" in September, but they already know we need to spend at least two more years in Iraq.

Commander Jeff Huber, U.S. Navy (Retired) writes from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Read his commentaries at Pen and Sword.

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Daily Show: Acting-President Cheney Almost Starts
WWIII

During President Bush’s colonoscopy last week, acting-President Cheney brought America dangerously close to World War III. Doctors have also recently confirmed that Bush’s rectal polyps were removed not because they were cancerous, but because they were insufficiently partisan “loyal Bushies.” Download (2) | Play (9) Download (2) | Play (8)

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Gonzales Loses Credibility Contest

In a credibility contest between James Comey, the former number 2 in the Justice Department who earned a reputation as a tough-minded but honest prosecutor, and Alberto Gonzales, there's no contest at all. When Gonzales, during today's Senate testimony, contradicted Comey's earlier testimony about Gonzales' visit to a hospitalized John Ashcroft, Gonzales' testimony was greeted -- at least by some senators, including Republican Arlen Specter -- with the scorn it deserved.

Mr. Specter signaled that he did not accept Mr. Gonzales’s explanation about the hospital incident. “What credibility is left for you?” the senator asked at one point.
Mr. Specter has accused Mr. Gonzales before of dodging questions, and he did so again today. At one point, the senator said, “I see it’s hopeless.” At another point, he said acidly, “Let’s see if somewhere, somehow we can find a question that you’ll answer.”

The challenge is not just to find a question that Gonzales is willing to answer, but one he's willing to answer truthfully.

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Ninjas on Net Neutrality

My name is Kent Nichols, and I produce a comedy video series called AskANinja.com. In the[...]

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