January 2008 Archives

Success

Isn't this what Reaganomics was about? And isn't this what neo-conservatives have promised to do since FDR--take away all domestic programs and give to the corporations and the rich?

George Bush has succeeded in tapping out the American taxpayers. According to leaked information:

President Bush's 2009 budget will virtually freeze most domestic programs and seek nearly $200 billion in savings from federal health care programs, a senior administration official said Thursday.

Overall, the Bush budget will exceed $3 trillion, this official said. The deficit is expected to reach about $400 billion for this year and next.

Bush on Monday will present his proposed budget for the new fiscal year to Congress, where it's unlikely to gain much traction in the midst of a presidential campaign. The president has promised a plan that would erase the budget deficit by 2012 if his policies are followed.

To that end, Bush will propose nearly $178 billion in savings from Medicare over five years_ nearly triple what he proposed last year. Much of the savings would come from freezing reimbursement rates for most health care providers for three years. An additional $17 billion would come from the Medicaid program, the state-federal partnership that provides health coverage to the poor.

The budget for most domestic programs funded by Congress will look similar to last year's, according to the official, from the Office of Management and Budget.

"It's a very small increase," he said. "Very small."

A second administration official said domestic discretionary spending would increase by less than 1 percent under Bush's proposal.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the budget has not yet been released.

So there you have it. You thought all along that Bush was a failed pResident, but instead he has done what couldn't be done by other Republicans since the 1929 depression and FDR's days.

Have Americans given up their prejudices against "welfare queens driving pink Cadillacs" yet? Do they understand that the only welfare queens are living in 10,000 square foot mansions, driving hummers, and happen to be cronies of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney?

And now that the American people have experienced such failure success, what can we do to try to regain our economic stature and our sense of fair play?

Perhaps, these questions will be answered in the upcoming debates.

(Ed note: After dealing with all of the strain of the State of the Union Address last night, and the oddity of having Super Tuesday the very next day, I decided we could use a fun thread here at the DCP. So enjoy these links, and remember: when all else fails, music is good for the soul!)

Listen, just listen...

What you're hearing isn't from Air America. It isn't from the the 1970's anti-Vietnam, anti-Nixon era, either. It's from our local rock station, WCSX, which just finished their 17th annual Radiothon.
For those who can't open podcasts, here is a partial transcript with JJ, Lynne, and Graham Nash from the Radiothon. Transcribed by your favorite bird.

(First--just to acclimate you--they're discussing CSNY Déjà Vu at the Sundance Film Festival and then discussing the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young archives that Nash has been maintaining for the last 30-40 years. The next question ties it together.)



JJ: Did any of this archival material come to play when making the Déjà vu. I know this is the latest film about the Freedom of Speech tour. Was there any archival stuff? Did they flash back at all?



GN: Yes, yes indeed. There’s a great flashback of me and Crosby in the dressing room doing the opening bars of Déjà Vu. It’s fabulous. We’re showing ourselves then during the Vietnam War and we’re showing ourselves now. All this movie is… is a slice of the times. You know? I think more and more people in this country are beginning to realize that maybe our emperor doesn’t have any clothes on!



Lynne: You’re no stranger to controversy. You don’t shy from it. You speak up. You say what you mean-mean what you say. You don’t care what anyone else says. It’s what I like about you. It’s what our country is based on: the Freedom of Speech.



GN: That’s what this movie is basically about. You’re going to be shocked about what the people say about us. But we needed to strike a balance between the people who love us and the people who don’t. It was very interesting to see this movie and to see people. But one thing we wanted to make them feel. And I think we accomplished that.



JJ: There’s been talk about it for several years now: The similarities to the late 60’s and the times now.



GN: Yeh. There’s one difference of course—difference is no draft today. I believe if there was a draft the war would be over sooner.



Lynne: I don’t disagree with you there. I have two, so do you JJ. I have a 22 year old and a 25 year old.



GN: I have three in the right age.



Lynne: Watch like a hawk. You are right! If they were all of a sudden pressed into service, they’d go crazy!



GN: Especially for a war like this that we were lied into, manipulated into. You know? They weren’t going to strike us. Are you kidding me? Come on…Get real!

It's almost like a Déjà vu!

If that's not enough to qualify as Déjà vu to you, then take a listen to the podcast with Paul Rogers where he sings his new song Warboys: A Prayer for Peace. (or listen to the song only at Music Remedy.)

This is a huge reminder of why Rock n Roll and protest music has always been a thorn in the side to corrupt governmental officials.

Photo image via No More Incumbents.com


Over 900 deadly lies in 6 years. I've lost count of the number of times Bush has broken his promises. And I've lost count of the number of times he's passed a law only to veto it with an illegal signing statement.


But tonight pResident Bush dons his fine clothes, grabs his crown, and stands before the House and Senate to do what he is so damn good at doing--telling a pack of lies!!


So...how many more death-causing-tall-tales will the Liar in Chief say tonight?


Your guess is as good as mine.


Grab your slammer and join us in the irc. Together, we can make it through another State of the Union Liar's Fest.

First of all, some of you may not know about Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman in Congress, a candidate for the Presidency in 1972, and one of the most inspiring politicians ever, but watch the first 2 minutes and 24 seconds of this video and you will understand a great deal:

Think of Shirley as a canary in a coal mine, one who hung in there and fought long and hard and straight and clean, and who, in the end succumbed to the insider politics that characterized the Democratic party at that time. Newly emerging as the party of the people, the antiwar and anti-racism party, those leaders wore the mantle uncomfortably., looking over their shoulders at all times in fear of being called too liberal. In the end, they could not support the smart, dark-skinned woman who told it like it was. They could support the mild-mannered white guy, equally clear but not as forceful, and so, in their timidity, the little bird of truth in the coal mine gasped, and fell to the ground.

Sound familiar?

Listen to Barack Obama's speech from a week ago: his Sunday sermon on the mount:

Now we do not endorse candidates here at the DCP and this piece is no endorsement for any candidate. But I want to highlight a small segment of the Obama speech; one we have discussed before, and that is his invocation of Dr. King's concept of the Beloved Community.

(Ed note: Woz submitted today's thread header about patriotism. Thank you, Woz!)

This may be too Australian - however, patriotism I believe, has caused more harm than good in latter years. Patriotism has become an excuse to hate, an excuse to suspect, an excuse to rape, an excuse to kill and to plunder. We need to redefine patriotism and nationalism. And in so doing we may redefine our image in the rest of the world.

The headline and quoted passages for this post are from Australian artist, cartoonist and writer, Michael Leunig. He is writing on Australia Day January 26, 2008. Leunig is remarkable in his talent for stating the most gigantic conundrum in a tiny little drawing or a few words.

Since 9/11/2001 our leaders have urged us all to rise up in our fervor of nationalistic pride and hate and invade countries to kill others. And we've acquiesced. Out of fear. His story of his Aboriginal friend who taught him the meaning of yorro yorro, is worth sharing

Hattip to Talking Points Memo

Senate Kills Immunity-Free FISA Bill

That's a heck of a racket they've got going in DC. Break the law and then immunize the criminals.

Got integrity? Be a savior and run for Congress. We need a few good men and women over there!

One wonders what the framers of the Constitution would think if they only knew that ~220 years after they gave Americans the Freedom of the Press that our press would be comprised of mainly six large corporations.

Dianne's picture reposted from the front page.

(D Grieser, MLK Way, Seattle)

This won't cure you, but it may relieve a little bit of your stress.

You might want to use this picture as your desktop picture while you use the gadget above.

(Ed note: To save a picture, you can right click on the picture itself, then left click on "Set as background." Open the link you just downloaded; read the instructions. Then you're all set to go. )

Dow plunges 307

Nasdaq plunges 47

Portfolios across the country are freefalling. The chart below represents Merril Lynch which has admitted that it's the worse free-fall in 94 years.

See the slope of the curves going downhill?

Those slopes represent the average American's income, dreams, and retirement savings. We have ten months left until the next election and twelve months left until we get responsible leadership, unless the corporate-owned public servants decide to impeach.

So what should we do when we're being pushed down that hill?

Michigan's primary is tomorrow and as a result, I ended up having an interesting conversation with a few of my coworkers about universal healthcare, social security, jobs, taxation, and illegal immigrants.

As always, I am careful at work to not say "Republican" or "Democratic" so instead our conversation was issue driven.

It began when Jane mentioned to me that she is working full-time for less than ten dollars an hour to get health insurance for her and her husband. That's when I piped up that I was 100% behind universal healthcare and that I was sorry if it seemed political but that in my book universal healthcare and social security should be entitlements and not 'welfare' programs.

Jane argued with me that she didn't believe universal healthcare should be single-payer and government sponsored, but that the government should mandate that all employers pay for their employees to have healthcare no matter how much they earn or how many hours they work.

Does your heart feel heavy? Do you feel like your blood pressure is going through the roof? Do you feel sad or depressed, anxious or worried a lot? Maybe just pissed off a lot?

Politics is stressful business. Knowing what we know is stressful and scary.

So you have to find a way to take care of yourself before you look like this.

(Ed note: Today's open thread is brought to you by Veritas. Thank you V for submitting this.)

Imagine for a moment if everyone put a big sign in their window that said whom they voted for. Just by driving around your neighborhood you could easily see if votes were counted accurately or not. Just imagine, maybe your crazy right-wing neighbors actually voted for somebody else. Maybe your neighborhood isn't as blue, or as red, or as purple, as you thought. Maybe people just THINK that there's a certain level of support for certain candidates.

It's been a heck of a week, folks--a heck of a week!


A Sibel Edmond's bombshell, a Primary bombshell, and a new election fraud bomshell, an email bombshell...


Are you looking and feeling like this?





..then there's not much to do but kick back, rest a little, and then force yourself to get back up and join the freedom-fighters again.


Democracy is counting on us and so are your kids and the next generation.

Rather than focusing today's thread header on a post-primary discussion, I want to direct you to something that's gotten overlooked during the past week, and that is the article in the Times UK written about Sibel Edmonds.

It revealed quite a bombshell!

I'm going to aggregate the links for you so that you can read up on it without my interpretation.

First, you need to read this whole Times article here.

Hi tech primaries...

Which bot will win?

And which one will deliver the knockout blow today in New Hampshire?

As we discuss the primaries on the Open Thread, let's try to leave the slicing and dicing to the candidates, not bring it here to the DCP.

Why I Believe Bush Must Go
Nixon Was Bad. These Guys Are Worse.

By George McGovern
Sunday, January 6, 2008; B01

As we enter the eighth year of the Bush-Cheney administration, I have belatedly and painfully concluded that the only honorable course for me is to urge the impeachment of the president and the vice president.

After the 1972 presidential election, I stood clear of calls to impeach President Richard M. Nixon for his misconduct during the campaign. I thought that my joining the impeachment effort would be seen as an expression of personal vengeance toward the president who had defeated me.

Today I have made a different choice.

Of course, there seems to be little bipartisan support for impeachment. The political scene is marked by narrow and sometimes superficial partisanship, especially among Republicans, and a lack of courage and statesmanship on the part of too many Democratic politicians. So the chances of a bipartisan impeachment and conviction are not promising.

But what are the facts?

(Ed note: This article was submitted by Wendy Lohse)

Following the Iowa caucus win of Barack Obama, Deval Patrick outlines in the Boston Globe, the reasons America needs Obama.

Whilst looking up Obama on the internet yesterday I came upon the titles of his books and other written works. On the morning of the 3rd of June here in Tasmania, Australia I listened to a repeat radio airing of Andrew O'Hagan's , I was struck as I often am, by the origins of those who rise to fame in all kinds of unexpected fields of creative, social, political or personal endeavours.

I am happy today. Maybe you are too?

Today, politics is truly the Art of the Possible. There is a lot more possible today than there was last week.

Via TPM

Nathan Newman notes that Obama's win last night could translate into "realignment of a whole range of voters into the progressive column, not just in November but over time."

Even the Huckabee win was based relatively on some progressive values. Here's a few of them from about.com:

• Immigrants' Rights-- As governor he opposed a proof-of-citizenship voting law, discouraged government raids, and supported an in-state tuition rate for undocumented residents. Although his bold positions on these issues are refreshing, pro-immigration voters should be aware of the fact that he also supports increased border security (and even received the endorsement of Minutemen founder Jim Gilchrist).



• Race and Equal Opportunity-- Huckabee established a statewide racial reconciliation initiative in Arkansas in 1997, and has repeatedly criticized racial disparities in the criminal justice system. It would be accurate to describe him as one of the best Republicans running on civil rights issues, though the 2008 Republican field is relatively weak on race and civil rights.



• War on Terror-- With the exception of Ron Paul, Huckabee is the best Republican candidate on post-9/11 civil liberties issues--condemning torture and ethnic profiling, and calling for the closure of Guantanamo Bay.

Compare Tom Heade's take on Huckabee to that of Nathan Newman on Obama:

Mike Huckabee confuses me. I would never vote for him, but he is the only candidate I've seen consistently support the positions of mainstream evangelical conservatism as I know it--combining socially conservative positions on abortion and gay rights with strikingly progressive positions on immigrants' rights and the criminal justice system. ...


...There is no cynicism and very little flip-flopping to be found with Mike Huckabee; his positions sound less like the pandering of a demagogue than the beliefs we would expect a sincere Southern Baptist leader to have. This doesn't mean that he should be President of the United States--if he gets the nomination, a Democratic endorsement will be a no-brainer--but there is something appealing about the fact that he's a Religious Right candidate who actually belongs to the Religious Right, and not a hatemongering demagogue selling us the usual political snake oil. Huckabee is mainstream politics' best advocate for social conservatism since Ronald Reagan. His opponents, in both parties, underestimate him at their own risk.

Clearly Huckabee shouldn't be underestimated! Huckabee wasn't afraid to repudiate the Republican establishment. He called Bush arrogant and he won. He called the Congress partisan and obstructionist and won.

In Iowa, last night the voters spoke loudly and clearly to both parties--change and a populist and anti-corporation agenda is what the voters want.

There is a real chance for some change here.

I'm rescuing those on dial-up from the sluggishness the videos cause on the other thread. So you've now got a nice quick thread on which to post your thoughts about tonight's caucuses.

No matter who you're routing for, remember this statement posted by Army Dude from ArmyofDude.blog

Remember Iraq? The Democratic candidates don't, but the Republican candidates do, as the word 'success' is being tossed around D.C. like it's been there since mission accomplished. I suppose the only thing both sides have in common is using the war and our soldiers as a Kleenex issue, ready to dispose of when they're no longer useful.


What you likely have forgotten is Afghanistan, slipping deeper into chaos with a Taliban resurgence, coupled with what is going to a be record crop of opium, used to finance insurgent fighters. Per capita, it's more deadly than Iraq, with only 50,000 troops there to hold against the Taliban influx. A war almost the whole world can agree on, and there's a little being done, save Secretary Gates asking allies to contribute. Be sure to read this article on what happens when there are too few troops in an area crawling with Taliban. Policy that directs assets and soldiers to Iraq to fight in that war is what gets men killed in Afghanistan, simply put. They don't have enough manpower and equipment to fight their fight. With the supposed success in Iraq, it's high time we have another surge, this time in Afghanistan.


This has been on my mind all new year. It was left anonymously in a comment section of an earlier entry:


Sometime this year, an eighteen year old soldier will die in a war that started when he was thirteen.


Hold onto that. Let it linger.

Sometime this year, an eighteen year old soldier will die in a war that started when he was thirteen.

Sometime this year an eighteen year old will die after having lived through a political impeachment based on marital infidelity and a lie that happened when he was nine.

Some time this year, an eighteen year old soldier will die for a president who lied...

And yet Congress just sits by...

It's an election year, and many more will die.


Think on that a while.

Today is finally the long awaited Iowa Caucus--the day when the Presidential candidate pools start to get thinned out. The Democratic pool has lots of good, qualified candidates. It's sort of like The Gladiators.

The Republican pool is more like Sex in the City v The Christian Conservatives v Ron Paul v the former Mr. Straight-Talk Express...

It's getting really loud in New Hampshire and Iowa.

Yep...the first primary and caucus's are coming up and the candidates are quaking up a storm. Their feet are spastically peddling beneath the surface as they make their last ditch forays around the pond, diving for those voters who will help them keep their presidential ambitions afloat.

What are your reactions to all this?
What sends chills through your bones?
What makes your blood boil?

Grab your thermometer and check in on the Open Thread.