The WAWG Blog

Throughout this blog, I have written about those that have lead us into the current political mess in our country. They are the right wing authoritarians (RWAs): the social dominators like GWB, his VP Dick, and their followers.

They are the neocons that think they know best and use Noble Lies to fool us into supporting their preemptive-strike mentality. Many neocons are social dominators.

They are the extreme religious right that follow the social dominators without question and without conscience as John Dean has documented in Conservatives Without Conscience. The followers want Mike Huckabee for president. Other authoritarian followers have enabled the illegal activities (torture, suspension of habeas corpus, spying on us, etc.) of the social dominators to help them dominate.

Today, I will add another perspective to the authoritarians, who for now, in this country, tend to support the Republican party, and what they consider important relative to the rest of the country can be helpful. I will contrast their views with those of Democrats and Independents.

In January of this year, The Pew Research Center reported the results of their annual survey on 21 policy issues. One of the reports concentrated on global warming as an overall low level issue. At the end of the article, they provide a summary of these 21 issues. The rankings are based on how many of the respondents ranked the issue as their “top priority.”

In a second article, they make a broader analysis of these issues. This article shows the changes in the ranking of these issues since 2007 and how the divide between Republicans and Democrats continues to widen.

Here are some excepts from this issue survey:

Only about a quarter of Republicans (27%) say that providing health insurance to the uninsured should be a top priority, down 17 points from January 2007. More than twice as many Democrats (65%) and independents (58%) now rate this as a major policy goal.

Democrats currently are about four times more likely than Republicans to rate global warming as a major priority (47% vs. 12%), a much greater gap than in January 2007 (48% Democrat vs. 23% Republican).

Nearly four-in-ten Democrats (39%) list an economic concern, compared with 27% of Republicans. Democrats are also substantially more concerned about Iraq than are Republicans (36% vs. 21%). By contrast, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to name immigration, terrorism and national security as the biggest problems.

Pew’s survey summarized these 21 issues for both Republicans and Democrats in the following table:

The report summarized some of the differences:

On jobs, for instance, 76% of Democrats and just 43% of Republicans say it should be a top priority for the President and Congress.

Notably, 81% of Democrats say that reducing healthcare costs should be a top priority for policymakers – the highest percentage for any issue mentioned. Only about half of Republicans (53%) view this as a major priority.

Republicans place greater priority on defending the U.S. against terrorism (86% for Republicans vs 74% for Democrats), dealing with the issue of illegal immigration (64% vs 43%), and strengthening the military (62% vs 37%).

What the report does not discuss is where the Independents stand on these issues and how they are more in agreement with the Democrats than with the Republicans (home of the RWAs). To evaluate this, you have to add Independents to the table above and then compare all three groups.

Average is of absolute values – the minus sign is excluded.

Analysis of table above shows:

• Democrats and Independents are in greatest agreement with each other and greatest disagreement with the Republicans on nine of the 21 issues. With these nine issues, the discordance between the average of the Democrat’s and Independent’s ratings, and the Republican’s rating ranges from 15 to 34 percentage points. Of these nine, one represents disagreement with a Republican high priority and the other eight represent disagreement with high priority issues of the Democrats and Independents.
• On four other issues, Democrats and Independents are in close agreement and also disagree with Republicans on some of their other higher priority items.
• Where Republicans are more concerned about foreigners (terrorists and immigrants) and strengthening our military to protect us from these enemies, Democrats and Independents are far less concerned by an average of 20 percentage points.
• Where Democrats and Independents are in greatest agreement on “providing insurance for the uninsured,” “dealing with global warming,” “improving job situation,” “dealing with problems of the poor,” “protecting the environment,” “reducing health care costs,” “securing Medicare,” and “improving educational system,” they are in greatest disagreement with Republicans by an average of 23 percentage points.
• Democrats are in greatest agreement with Republicans only on “strengthening the nation’s economy,” which ranked second for both parties, and “dealing with global trade,” which ranked in the bottom four for both groups.
• Independents are in greatest agreement with Republicans only on “securing social security,” which ranked among the top 7 of these groups and “reducing the influence of lobbyists” (Government Ethics), which ranked 16th for both groups.

Based on the above list, we have one group that is fearful of foreigners and want their national government to protect them from these enemies, and we have those that are more concerned about the well being of others, including themselves, their coworkers, their friends and their families.

If I made a major decision that I later came to regret because it is costing me much more than I can manage while still living my life of ‘luxury,’ what options do I have. Should I ask strangers to make up the difference so I can continue my comfortable lifestyle? Or should I take a look at my situation, my rationale for the bad decision, my way of life, my other resources, and then take responsibility and make some adjustments?

Most of us would probably take responsibility and work to figure out our own solution. More than that, most of us would probably not have made such a bad decision in the first place. Most of us would have considered the long term risks and decided not to jeopardized the future of our family.

On the other hand, the Bush Administration that hasn’t done as we would have done. Instead, they have made multiple bad decisions (invading Iraq, ignoring New Orleans after Katrina, tax cuts for the rich, unregulated subprime loans, etc.) and are asking other countries (China and Japan) and future generations to pay for their mistakes. Not only have they performed poorly as our leaders, they have actually made themselves, and their rich supporters, richer and more powerful (unitary president, over compensated CEOs, unchecked Blackwater Inc., suspension of habeas corpus, etc.) in the process.

The administration, their small group of avid followers and friendly media moguls actually don’t mind having China and others pay for their expensive mistakes as long as they are getting richer in the process. These rich and powerful know as long as China is willing to loan the US much of what it needs, they can continue to enjoy their 2006 tax cuts. Isn’t it time to take away their tax cuts and make them pay for their mistakes?

If you’re not quite convinced, maybe a little historical perspective on income taxes would help. Take a look at US individual federal income taxes in effect during WWII in the tables below. The rich of the time were taxed at up to 94% of their income over $200,000 in 1945. After inflation, these 1945 dollars become $2,090,800 in 2005 dollars.

If The Greatest Generation supported WWII with higher taxes, shouldn’t those who support the Iraq occupation pay with higher taxes?

(Cross posted at OOIBC.)

Pastor Who Endorsed McCain Said Hitler Was Fulfilling God’s Will – John Hagee, the controversial evangelical leader and endorser of Sen. John McCain, argued in a late 1990s sermon that the Nazis had operated on God’s behalf to chase the Jews from Europe and shepherd them to Palestine. According to the Reverend, Adolph Hitler was a “hunter,” sent by God, who was tasked with expediting God’s will of having the Jews re-establish a state of Israel.

McCain’s Top Foreign Policy Adviser Lobbied His Staff on While He Was Working For McCain’s Campaign – John McCain’s top foreign policy adviser lobbied the Arizona senator’s staff on behalf of the republic of Georgia while he was working for the campaign, public records show. Randy Scheunemann, founder of Orion Strategies, represented the governments of Macedonia, Georgia and Taiwan between 2003 and March 1, according to the firm’s filings with the Justice Department. In its latest semiannual report, the firm disclosed that Scheunemann had a phone conversation in November about Georgia with Richard Fontaine, an aide in McCain’s Senate office. Orion Strategies earned $540,000 from its foreign clients over the year ending on Dec. 1, reports show. Scheunemann also received $56,250 last year from March to July from McCain, according to campaign finance records.

McCain’s Latest Economic Plan Seen as Incoherent by Economists on Both Sides – Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the conservative Cato Institute, told The Huffington Post that McCain has thus far failed to give the public “straight talk” on the connection between his spending agenda and tax cutting plan. Liberal economists who support the idea of job training assistance also wonder how McCain can achieve that objective, given McCain’s tax cut priorities. Len Burman, a senior fellow and tax policy analyst with the Urban Institute, called McCain’s Monday speech “interesting,” but cautioned: “His proposed tax cuts will either make it very difficult for the government to help vulnerable populations — including many more than those displaced by trade — or add to our ballooning budget deficits.”

Republican Consultant Defends Describing Some Women as Bitches – On May 20th, as a part of CNN’s primary night panel, Republican consultant Alex Castellanos took issue with Jeffery Toobin, who decried a recent newspaper column that referred to Clinton as a “white bitch.” The thoroughly refined and scintillatingly relevant counterpoint that Castellanos interrupted Toobin to make – attached to an assertion that Toobin was “dead wrong” by the way – was that, “Some women, by the way, are named that, and it’s accurate.” Clinton was apparently one such woman, because she is “abrasive, aggressive [and] irritating.”

Regards,

Jim

Six-Term Republican in Scandal – Rep. Vito Fossella, a six-term Republican, a New York congressman who admitted to fathering a child out of wedlock with a woman who bailed him out of jail on a drunk driving charge this month, announced Monday that he will not run for re-election. Fossella, who represents Staten Island and part of Brooklyn, is the 30th Republican to announce they would not seek re-election to the U. S. House of Representatives.

US is Fueling Middle East Turmoil – Egypt’s foreign minister criticized President Bush’ Mideast policies Monday, a day after the American leader lectured Arab leaders on their approach to governing. (Bush is telling other people how to govern? – JLV)

Coal Industry Blowing the Tops Off the Appalachian Mountains – The coal industry is blowing up the Appalachian Mountains as a cheap way of getting at the black stuff below, behavior decried by the environmental group Appalachian Voices as “one of the greatest human rights and environmental tragedies in America’s recent history”. Unspeakable ecological violence known as mountaintop removal is creating an upland moonscape, which is incapable of regenerating trees. As far as the eye can see, the land is grey and pockmarked with huge black lakes, filled with toxic coal slurry. The rubble is then tipped into the valleys – more than 7,000 have already been filled – and more than 700 miles of rivers and streams have disappeared under rubble and thousands more soiled with toxic waste.

This has come about because of America’s insatiable appetite for cheap coal to generate electricity. (I suggest you read this entire article. BTW, does your electricity come from coal? If it does, think about switching providers. – JLV)

Texas Attorney General Spent $1.4 Million on “Voter-Fraud” Witch Hunt – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s two year, $1.4 million dollar investigation into what he claims is “an epidemic of voter fraud in Texas” to justify his support for voter ID laws, resulted in just 26 cases. It will come as no surprise to anyone who has been following C&L’s ongoing coverage of this issue that all of the cases were “against Democrats, and almost all involving blacks or Hispanics.” What’s more, of the 26, only 8 were actually cases of fraud. “In 18 of the 26 cases, the voters were eligible, votes were properly cast and no vote was changed – but the people who collected the ballots for mailing were prosecuted,” yet Abbott refused to investigate a serious case of apparent ballot-box stuffing of “more than 100 ballots – potentially more than in all of Mr. Abbott’s other vote-fraud prosecutions combined” – “in Highland Park, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country with hundreds of million-dollar homes and where both George W. Bush and Dick Cheney once lived.“

In more than 2/3 of the cases in Greg Abbott’s epidemic, he actually charged volunteers who merely helped elderly and disabled people to be able to vote because they didn’t add their name to the envelope to show that they carried the sealed envelope to a mailbox for them – a crime Abbott saw fit to spend an average of more than $53,000 each to pursue of a Federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Grant that is supposed to go to enforce state and local laws with an “emphasis on violent crime and serious offenders.”

Abbot went around Texas training officials to spot voter fraud by way of a 71-slide powerpoint that included only pictures of minorities to look for clues on mailed-in ballots like “Unique Stamps” such as “the ‘sickle cell stamp,’ which depicts an African-American woman and infant.” Abbott’s highly publicized “Special Investigations Unit” into voter fraud even went so far as to actually peer in at least one suspected anonymous ballot mailer’s bathroom window while they were taking a bath.

Fox News Advertizes Karl Rove as a Political Analyst, But He’s Really a McCain Promoter – Fox News hosts routinely introduce Rove as a “former senior advisor to President Bush,” “the architect,” a “political wizard” and a “famed political consultant.” But never has he been introduced as he should be — as an informal advisor and maxed-out donor to John McCain’s presidential campaign. The “most influential pundit” in America, as Fox likes to trumpet, should have to play by the same rules as other high-profile political analysts. For example, Paul Begala and James Carville are regularly identified as supporters of Hillary Clinton when they appear on CNN. But Rove has been able to act as an independent observer while criticizing Clinton and Barack Obama, McCain’s likely general election opponent.

Rove has also admitted to meeting with Sen. McCain recently. On April 22, while doing on-air coverage of the Pennsylvania primary for Fox News, Rove let slip that he “saw Senator McCain recently at a private gathering” where the general election campaign was discussed. An unnamed GOP consultant who “has met with Rove a few times this year” told Stone that “Karl is up to his eyeballs in this.” The Washington Post has also reported that Rove is working with outside groups who aim “to influence the outcome in November.”

Conservative Bill Kristol Wrong Again, Just Like Always – For years now, FOXNews pundit William Kristol has been wrong on nearly every subject he’s chosen to write about or speak to. In his New York Times column on May 19, he said:

On Tuesday night, while the G.O.P. Congressional candidate was losing in a Mississippi district George Bush carried in 2004 by 25 points, Barack Obama was being trounced in the West Virginia Democratic primary — by 41 points. I can’t find a single recent instance of a candidate who ultimately became his party’s nominee losing a primary by this kind of margin.

Hey Bill, you’re not looking very hard. On Feb. 5, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney beat presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) by 85 points in the Utah Republican primary. And on the same day, Mike Huckabee beat McCain by 41 points in the Arkansas primary.

John McCain is Confused About Who Has Authority in Iran – McCain has recently accused Obama of wanting to negotiate with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But Obama never said that. He did say that he would negotiate with the Iranian leadership — but, on matters of foreign policy and Iran’s nuclear program, the guy in charge is the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. When McCain was asked about this at a press conference, McCain insisted that ultimate political authority in Iran rests with Ahmadinejad — even mocking Klein when he challenged him on it. McCain said, “I mean, the fact is he’s [Ahmadinejad] the acknowledged leader of that country and you may disagree, but that’s a uh, that’s your right to do so, but I think if you asked any average American who the leader of Iran is, I think they’d know. Go ahead. Or anyone who’s well-versed in the issue.”

In fact, according to the CIA’s World Factbook, ultimate political authority in Iran rests with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, not the president. For a foreign policy “expert,” McCain clearly has a pattern of getting the basic facts wrong.

McCain only tells half the story of what his health proposal could mean for U.S. workers – McCain says in a new TV ad: “Let’s give every American family a $5,000 refundable tax credit” to buy health insurance.

Sounds good. But McCain failed to mention how existing employer-sponsored health benefits would be affected.

• Workers would be taxed on the value of any employer-paid health benefits, partially offsetting the $5,000 credit for those now covered by such plans.
• Experts say a tax credit plan like this would likely cause companies to reduce or eliminate health benefits for their employees.

But McCain’s simplistic ad misleads viewers by promising to give “every American family” a $5,000 benefit while failing to mention what he would also take away.

McCain Misleads on Budget – McCain’s big promise is that he can balance the budget while extending Bush’s tax cuts and adding a few of his own. He likes to leave the impression that this can be done painlessly, for example, by eliminating “wasteful” spending in the form of “earmarks” that lawmakers like to tuck into spending bills to finance home-state projects. We found that not only is this theory full of holes, it’s not even McCain’s actual plan.

McCain Exaggerations and Distortions on Tax Cuts – McCain says that eliminating the Alternative Minimum Tax will save “more than 25 million middle-class families more than $2,000 every year.” But McCain’s “middle class” includes families making up to $200,000 per year, and the $2,000 figure is an average. Those earning more money will see the lion’s share of the savings. McCain also leaves out the fact that the proposal could cost as much as $1.6 trillion over 10 years.

By the measure most economists prefer, McCain is wrong in his claim that Sens. Clinton and Obama want to implement “the single largest tax increase since the Second World War;” it would be the fifth largest. At a more basic level, it’s misleading to tag Clinton and Obama for something that was scheduled during the Bush administration – the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts, which by law will occur at the end of 2010.
McCain also repeats the mantra that cutting the capital gains tax rate will increase government receipts. In fact, rate cuts produce a spike in revenue, but it’s only temporary. McCain also falsely claims that higher capital gains tax rates will affect 401(k) plans.

McCain was the first to announce the now widely discredited proposal to suspend federal gas taxes. The proposal wouldn’t lower prices at the pump and would result in (effectively) an $8.5 billion windfall to oil companies.

Georgia Republican Party Chairwoman Says “John McCain is kind of like Jesus Christ on the cross” – Georgia Republican Party chairwoman Sue Everhart said “John McCain is kind of like Jesus Christ on the cross,” Because they were both born 2,000 years ago? No! It’s she said it’s because McCain never denounced the United States when he was a war prisoner — just like Christ, when he was in ‘Nam. Ha ha, but McCain did denounce the United States. According to the International Herald Tribune’s profile of McCain, “he was tortured and forced to sign a statement denouncing US policy.”

John McCain Resigns From His Own Campaign – Believing that he has become too much of a drag on his campaign, John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, and one of the key components of his campaign and id, has stepped down, the latest casualty of a presidential campaign eager to cauterize damage caused by its ties to lobbyists, age and President Bush. McCain, who has appeared in most of his commercials and fundraisers, is the highest profile departure from McCain’s inner circle since a summer 2007 shake-up cost McCain his campaign manager and chief strategist. (Funny, more at the link)

Regards,

Jim

There are two truths that contributed to the creation of our constitution, the laws we strive to live by, and our way of life:
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely;
Checks and balances are necessary to hold power in check.

Throughout history, humans have abused other humans when power is concentrated in the hands of a single authoritarian person or a small group of authoritarian leaders with a moderately larger group of compliant followers. This abusive power can be wielded by a national army of invaders, a greedy plantation owner, a greedy team of senior corporate managers, the greedy owner of a small business, a selfish priest or teacher, a power greedy cult leader or military company commander, a previously abused parent or the Executive branch of our government that is not held in check by the legislature.  

To prevent the high likelihood of abuse from concentrated power, checks and balances, such as laws, regulations or other structures, institutions and mechanisms, are a human necessity. A necessity that may limit our freedoms.

In our system, we the people are the ultimate diversified holders of power.   We grant some of our power to others as needed.   Some powers we grant through our constitutions to those who run our governments so they can provide for our national or state needs.   Some we grant to those who run our industries and businesses to provide for more personal needs.  In both cases, laws are used to constrain the powers we have granted.

As the holders of ultimate diversified power we also hold the final say in controlling abuse.   If our governments abuse the powers we bestowed upon them, we vote our representatives out of office.  If the abuse is serious enough we can force them out early through pressure on our elected representatives to impeach the abuser.

As consumers, if businesses abuse their power we expect and petition our governments to put constraints in place to stop the abuse and protect us.  As stockholders, we can vote against an abusive board of directors and their excessive rewards.   As employees, we can unionize to limit company abuse.  As voters, we expect our governments to enable our ability to unionize and help us limit management’s power over us – not the other way around.  

Since we have granted some of our powers to both government and industry, there is the potential for either of them to distort the power of the other by subverting, removing or not enforcing the checks and balances that we the people created to protect ourselves. For example, we have a Justice Department that puts policy before the law. We also have “K Street” lobbyists supporting corporations over consumers (we the people).   Both are a serious threat to our way of life.   They seriously compromise the checks and balances and abuse the limited powers we have granted them. 

As for the lobbyists, they are already trying in influence our upcoming November election. RollCall.com has a running list of lobbyists endorsements.

As for the Justice Department of the Executive branch, they have expanded the definition of torture, justified the suspension of Habeas Corpus and enabled spying on us. And — they did it all in secret.   The Los Angeles Times has an “ editorial on the secret laws” of the Justice department. It describes what we know and wonders what other secret laws have been created by the Executive branch of our government. 

As individuals subject to abuse of power by other individuals, businesses, institutions and governments, we expect our laws, law makers and law enforcement organizations to keep any power abusers in check. Any concentration of power must be constrained to control possible abuse. This requires, laws, regulations, rules, active voter participation and agencies to put a stop to abuse.   This means freedom for humans has limitations because sometimes we just can’t control the power we have.   

Power enables humans to use their freedom and power to abuse anything they choose: spouses, the elderly, children, employees, enemies, neighbors, animals, rules, regulations, laws, the land, the sea, the atmosphere or anything we come in contact with.

Checks and balances, a critical part of this nations foundation, are a necessity of any free society to curb unbridled abusive power.

Tennessee Republican Party Smears Michelle Obama – The Tennessee Republican Party has set its sights on Michelle Obama – the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. A new web video highlights her controversial comment earlier this year, saying she was proud of America “for the first time in my adult life.” Obama later clarified the remark saying she meant she was proud of how Americans were engaging in the political process, and that she was always proud of her country. Nonetheless, the GOP video replays her remark six times and mixes in commentary by people who live in Tennessee on why they’re proud of America. Meanwhile, it’s not the first time the GOP in Tennessee has made waves. Earlier this year, in a truly low-rent stunt, it used Barack Obama’s middle name “Hussein” in a news release questioning his support of Israel and showing a photo of him wearing what it called “Muslim attire.” The Republican National Committee denounced that piece of garbage.

Clean-Air Rules Protecting Parks Set to Be Eased – The Bush administration is on the verge of implementing new air quality rules that will make it easier to build power plants near national parks and wilderness areas, according to rank-and-file agency scientists and park managers who oppose the plan.

Opponent of Wind Farm Turns Out to be a Traditional Energy Company – A new lobbying firm for the group called “Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound” opposing a wind farm off Cape Cod filed a federal document last month reporting that its work for the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound is partially funded and shaped by an international energy conglomerate. The disclosure represents the first documented financial connection between the group opposing the wind farm and Oxbow Corp., which mines and markets energy and commodities, including coal, natural gas, and petroleum.

Bill O’Reilly Compared Founder of Progressive Daily Kos Blog, to White Supremacist – During the May 14 edition of Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly compared Markos Moulitsas, founder of the progressive Daily Kos blog, to white supremacist David Duke. O’Reilly has repeatedly attacked Daily Kos, comparing it not only to Duke, but also to the Ku Klux Klan and the Nazi party.

McCain Was in Favor of Talks with Syria, Despite Saying they Were “Sponsoring and Harboring Terrorists” – Despite the fact that John McCain believed that Syria was a “state sponsor of terror,” was “harboring terrorists,” and were sending “Syrians in to fight Americans,” he thought it was worth talking to them, saying that Colin Powell’s trip to Syria was “appropriate.” This is exactly the same thing that McCain is now criticizing Obama for.

News of the Week That the Mainstream Media Didn’t Bother to Report

• Front group agenda designed to scare Americans into never-ending fossil fuel addiction.
• CO2 Levels Reach Record High In The Atmosphere, Highest CO2 Levels in 800,000 Years
• USDA Blocks Voluntary Mad Cow Testing
• Wounded Veterans Denied Help in Registering to Vote
• Fallen U.S. Soldiers Cremated At Pet Facility
• Blackwater Contract Renewed, Company Unlikely to Face Criminal Charges for Iraqi Civilian Deaths

Regards,

Jim

Pentagon Propagandist General Calls for US to Sponsor Terrorism Against Iran – Last month on Fox News, Ret. Gen. Thomas McInerney, one of the Pentagon’s propaganda team of military analysts exposed by David Barstow in the NYT, openly called for the US to begin committing “tit-for-tat” terrorist attacks by proxy inside Iran.

McInerney: Here’s what I would suggest to you. Number one, we take the National Council for Resistance to Iran off the terrorist list that the Clinton Administration put them on as well as the Mujahedin-e Khalq at the Camp Ashraf in Iraq. Then I would start a tit-for-tat strategy which I wrote up in the Wall Street Journal a year ago: For every EFP that goes off and kills Americans, two go off in Iran. No questions asked. People don’t have to know how it was done. It’s a covert action. They become the most unlucky country in the world. …

(So, we now have people saying that the United States should become a sponsor of terrorism. What have we come to? – JLV)

President Bush Compares Obama’s Iran Diplomacy Statement To Appeasement Of Nazis – During a speech in Jerusalem, President Bush jumped head first into the 2008 presidential campaign by taking a shot at Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, by comparing his willingness to hold diplomatic talks with Iran to the appeasement of Nazis in the 1930’s.

Conservative Michael Medved Says American Superiority is Genetic – American superiority to be genetic, encoded in our good old American DNA. Because our ancestors were immigrants, who were risk-takers, who were selected for their energy and aggressiveness. Oh, except for those who are descended from slaves. (This reminds me of something said in the 1930’s by a guy with a mustache in a uniform – JLV)

Republican Rep. Uses Term ‘Tar Baby’ In Memo About Obama, Election – In a 20-page memo on GOP electoral woes, Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) repeatedly misspells Barack Obama’s name – it’s one R, congressman, not two — and then manages to use the racially charged term “tar baby” in a paragraph about Obama and immigration. “Remember,” Davis writes, “Hispanic voters are a swing group in this election and future elections. John McCain, being from a border state, may be out of sync with many Republicans but he has standing among Hispanics. Barrack Obama has not made the sale to Hispanic voters. Thus, this issue is a tar baby for anyone who touches it, with land mines everywhere.”

Regards,

Jim

Crude, Racist and Pornographic Secret Service E-Mails – Emails containing crude, racist and pornographic images have just released by the Secret Service as part of a long-running civil rights suit filed by African American agents. One of the emails joked about civil rights leader Jesse Jackson being killed by a missile. The Secret Service e-mail was titled ‘The Righteous Reverend,’ and jokes about the deaths of Jackson and his wife when a missile strikes their plane. The e-mail ends with, it “certainly wouldn’t be a great loss and probably wouldn’t be an accident either.”

U.S. Major Importer of Illegal Asian Timber – Vietnam has become a hub for processing Asia’s illegally logged timber, much of which is sold in the United States as outdoor furniture, conservationists say. In a report released in March, the U.K.-based nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and its Indonesian partner Telapak warned that the illegal timber trade is threatening some of the last intact forests in Southeast Asia, especially in Laos.

White House Spokesperson Says Administration Did Not Know About the Pentagon’s Use of TV Military Analysts, But Pentagon E-Mails Prove Otherwise – A reporter repeated his question as White House Press Secretary Dana Perino walked away from the podium, “Did the White House know about the program?” And on her way out of the room, Perino answered, “I just said: no.” E-mails from Pentagon officials dealing with the military analyst program refer to weekly meetings with “karl,” to having the analysts briefed by Bush’s National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and even to getting the analysts “in with potus” himself (that’s POTUS, or the President of the United States). So in the process of discussing how to keep “their” TV military analysts “on message” regarding claims about the Iraq war, they talked about efforts to have both Stephen Hadley and Bush himself speak with the analysts — proposals that had been discussed with “karl” (which, clearly, in this case, means Rove). That means Perino’s denial was false and that the White House had at least some knowledge of and involvement in this propaganda program.

Pentagon Puppet Military Analysts Appeared or Were Quoted More Than 4,500 Times on Broadcast Nets, Cables, NPR – A New York Times article detailed the connection between numerous media military analysts and the Pentagon and defense industries, reporting that “the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform” media military analysts “into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks.” A Media Matters review found that since January 1, 2002, the analysts named in the Times article — many identified as having ties to the defense industry — collectively appeared or were quoted as experts more than 4,500 times on ABC, ABC News Now, CBS, CBS Radio Network, NBC, CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, and NPR.

In England, Council Used Terror Law to Spy on Fishermen and Family of School Children – A council that used controversial powers to spy on a family to check whether they were living in the correct school catchment area has done the same to keep an eye on local fishermen, it emerged yesterday. Poole borough council is using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) – a law brought in to combat terrorism and cyber crime – to scrutinise people gathering shellfish. Last month the council admitted spying on a family to check they were living in the correct school catchment area. Jenny Paton, 39, Tim Joyce, 37, and their three daughters had their movements scrutinised and timed by an undercover official. A detailed log of the family’s activities was kept with statements including “curtains open and all lights on in premises”, but no action was taken against them.

How Green Is John McCain? Not So Much.

John McCain Has Missed Every Major Environmental Vote During This Congress – And the Wall Street Journal completely omits McCain voting record on the environment.

John McCain Has Numerous Lobbyists Working on His Campaign, Including at Least Ten Who Represent Brutal Dictators, Human Rights Abusers, and Other Unsavory Foreign Interests – Recently two of John McCain’s lobbyist supporters resigned from his campaign almost immediately after news came to light that they had lobbied for the brutal military junta in Myanmar.

But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. McCain still has plenty of other lobbyists — according to our friends at Public Campaign Action Fund, 112 at last count — working on his behalf, including at least ten who represent brutal dictators, human rights abusers, and other unsavory foreign interests.

Among the worst offenders is one of McCain’s top advisors, Charlie Black. His firm has represented several leaders known for human rights abuses, as well as Chinese oil interests. Another lobbyist, Tom Loeffler, works for a firm that counts the Saudi Arabian government among its clients. One of McCain’s top fundraisers, Peter Madigan defended the United Arab Emirates against allegations that boys there are enslaved and forced to be camel jockeys. Take action at the link:

McCain’s Spiritual Advisor – John McCain and Rev. Rod Parsley, a televangeslist from Ohio who hates Islam. According to David Corn of Mother Jones, Parsley has called on Christians to wage war against Islam, which he considers to be a “false religion.” Watch the video.

Blunt Federal Letters Tell Students They’re Security Threats – Letters have gone to 5,000 applicants across the country who have at least initially been turned down for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential, an ID card meant to guard against acts of terrorism, agency officials said Monday. The letters contain an ominous warning from John M. Busch, a security administration official: “I have determined that you pose a security threat.” “It’s an unfortunate choice of words in a bureaucratic letter,” said Ellen Howe, a security agency spokeswoman. Ms. Howe and Maurine Fanguy, who oversees the new ID card program, said that most foreign students did not qualify for the identity cards, but that the letters were not intended to label the recipients as potential terrorists.

Bush Still Hiding from Global Warming – Today’s decision to list the polar bear as “threatened” was bizarrely schizophrenic in that the administration simultaneously enacted policies to prevent the polar bear’s listing from affecting runaway greenhouse gas emissions.

– The administration should have listed the polar bear as “endangered” rather than “threatened.” An endangered listing would require a stronger protective standard.

– The administration refused to designate and protect the polar bear’s habitat as “critical habitat.” The overwhelming threat to polar bears is the melting of Arctic sea ice. It is absolutely essential that this habitat is itself protected if we expect to save the bear.

– The listing decision includes a “special rule” and a declaration that greenhouse gas emissions can’t and shouldn’t be limited by the Endangered Species Act. This poison pill attempts to completely undermine the entire point of the polar bear’s listing: to reign in the primary actions driving the species extinct.

Charter Communications to Snoop on Broadband Customers’ Web Histories for Ad Networks – Charter Communications, one of the nation’s largest ISPs, plans to begin eavesdropping on the web surfing of its customers, in order to help web advertisers deliver targeted ads. In letters being sent to some of its 2.7 million high-speed internet customers, Charter is billing its new web tracking program as an “enhancement” for customers’ web surfing experience. The letters were first reported by a BroadbandReports.com user on Sunday. The pilot program is set to begin next month.

U.S. Deploys More Than 43,000 Unfit for Combat – More than 43,000 U.S. troops listed as medically unfit for combat in the weeks before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003 were sent anyway, Pentagon records show. This reliance on troops found medically “non-deployable” is another sign of stress placed on a military that has sent 1.6 million service members to the war zones, soldier advocacy groups say.

FBI Issued Illegal National Security Letter to Library – The FBI issued an illegal National Security Letter (NSL) seeking information from an online library. After the legality of the letter was challenged, the FBI withdrew it. NSLs are secretly issued by the government to obtain access to personal customer records from Internet Service Providers, financial institutions, and credit reporting agencies. In almost all cases, recipients of the NSLs are forbidden, or “gagged,” from disclosing that they have received the letters. The ACLU has challenged this Patriot Act statute in federal court in two other cases where the judges found the gags unconstitutional: one involving an Internet Service Provider (ISP); the second a group of librarians. In the ISP case, the district court invalidated the entire NSL statute. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is expected to hear oral arguments in the government’s appeal of that case next month.

Joe Scarborough Wants Tear Gas in the Streets of Denver During the Democratic Convention – Scarborough said,. “I want the Stones’ Street Fighting Man played in the background while I monitor the streets of Denver with tear gas, the ghost of Abbie Hoffman rising up over the auditorium. Yeah, baby, I want a fight — on both sides”

Regards,

Jim

Mastermind of Nixon’s Watergate Break-in Calls McCain an ‘Old Friend’ – G. Gordon Liddy spent more than 4 years in prison for his role in the 1972 Watergate burglary. That was just one element of what Liddy did, and proposed to do, in a secret White House effort to subvert the Constitution. Far from repudiating him, McCain has embraced him. Liddy didn’t just have a role: he was the chief operative for Nixon’s White House “plumbers” unit, who, along with E. Howard Hunt, masterminded the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate hotel in 1972.

While right-wing blogs continue to fume over Obama’s connection to the former anti-war radical, little has been written about Liddy and McCain, who appear to be much better friends. Liddy has donated $5,000 to McCain’s political campaigns since 1998 — sending 25 times as much money to the Arizona senator than Ayers did to Obama. Liddy also greeted McCain as “an old friend” when hosting the candidate on his talk radio show, Chapman writes, and McCain gushed at the “pleasure” he took in appearing and praised Liddy’s “adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great.”

Various Reports Indicate That a US Attack on Iran is Growing More Likely – In a little-noted interview with Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now, former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter said, “We take a look at the military buildup, we take a look at the rhetoric, we take a look at the diplomatic posturing, and I would say that it’s a virtual guarantee that there will be a limited aerial strike against Iran in the not-so-near future—or not-so-distant future, that focuses on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Command.”

Ritter, who led the UN mission to inspect Iraqi weapons from 1991 to 1998, also questions Administration claims that Syria was developing a nuclear weapon in concert with North Korea. “We have to be concerned about the evidence,” Ritter said. “We have interior photographs and exterior shots and nothing that links the two. And this notion that the reactor was on the verge of becoming operational, again, is absurd,” he adds. “You know, there would have to be literally thousands of pounds of pure graphite that would have to be introduced to this facility, and there’s no evidence in the destruction. You know, there were a number of reporters who went to the site after it was blown up. If it had been bombed and there was graphite introduced, you would have a signature all over the area of destroyed graphite blocks. There would be graphite lying around, etc. This was not the case.” US intelligence officials said they “found no radiation signatures after the bombing, so there was no uranium or plutonium present. “I don’t know what was going on at this site,” Ritter said. “If the images are accurate, it appears that Syria was producing a very, very small research reactor. But it is not a reactor usable in a nuclear weapons program. Syria was not violating the law. “The interview was highlighted by a diarist on Daily Kos.

Ritter’s remark about Iran comes on the heels of a report Sunday in the UK Sunday Times’ which alleges that the Pentagon is drawing up plans for a “surgical strike” against an alleged insurgent training camp in Iran, and a CBS report that suggests US forces are prepared to launch small-scale attacks.

Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker and RAW STORY’s Larisa Alexandrovna revealed internal Pentagon planning in a buildup to a potential Iran conflict.

CBS News reported last week about a potential strike on Iran. “Targets would include everything from the plants where weapons are made to the headquarters of the organization known as the Quds Force which directs operations in Iraq,” they wrote.

Last Month the Department of Homeland Security Waived 30 Environmental Laws to Build 470 Miles of the Border Fence

John McCain is Confused (About a Lot of Things)
McCain forgot the League of Nations was disbanded in 1946 when he recently said, “We need a League of Nations, we need a group of nations who work together and pose meaningful sanctions and modify Iranian behavior.”

McCain just said the United States should set up a missile defense system in Czechoslovakia, a country that no longer exists.

McCain appeared confused about where he was for a moment Tuesday, saying, “I appreciate the hospitality of the students and faculty of West Virginia,” then correcting himself to say Wake Forest as the audience laughed.
McCain castigates Obama on judges

John McCain Wants More Bad Bush Judges – McCain has voted to confirm every one of Bush’s controversial appellate court nominees, no matter how extreme and ideological. Back in 1987, when President Reagan nominated Robert Bork, McCain supported him too.

McCain regurgitated Bush’s favorite talking point: “One of our greatest problems in America today is justices that legislate from the bench, activist judges.” “I’m proud that we have Justice Alito and Roberts on the United States Supreme Court.”

But Roberts and Alito, and their fellow right-wing justices Scalia and Thomas, are “legislating from the bench.” In just the last two years they have joined together to:

· make it much harder for victims of pay discrimination to get justice
· deny free speech protections to government employee whistleblowers
· make it harder for taxpayers to challenge federal spending that violates the constitutional separation of church and state

· uphold a ban on a particular abortion procedure even though the law has no exception to protect a woman’s health
· undermine school officials’ efforts to promote racial diversity in their schools
· undermine the Endangered Species Act
and so much more. The bottom line is that America just can’t afford another right-wing Bush justice on the Supreme Court

John McCain is Misrepresenting Democrats’ Healthcare Policy – Senator John McCain has been repeatedly suggesting that his Democratic rivals are proposing a single-payer, or even a nationalized health care system along the lines of those in countries like Canada and Britain.

The suggestion is incorrect. While both Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York are calling for universal health care and an expanded role for government, they stop well short of calling for a single-payer plan.

Mr. McCain has made the assertion several times in recent days, even as he and the Republicans have made repeated calls for accuracy on the campaign trail…. Yet on repeated occasions, Mr. McCain, of Arizona, has inaccurately described the Democrats’ health care proposals, using language that evokes the specter of socialized medicine.

On a campaign stop on Thursday, for example, McCain said Clinton and Obama “want a massive government takeover of the health care system in America.” A few months ago, McCain said the Dems offer a “single-payer big government solution.” A few months before that, he insisted that the Dems are offering a “government-run, single-payer system like they have in Canada and like they have in England.”

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton Wants More War – Yesterday morning, on Fox News, former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton said, “… the use of military force against a training camp to show the Iranians we’re not going to tolerate this is really the most prudent thing to do.” Bolton has asserted that preventive war against Iraq “did work” and “achieved our strategic objective.” Moreover, he has openly stated that the U.S. should have no interest in the well-being of Iraqis. Bolton’s unquenchable appetite for a military conflict with Iran is easy to understand, given that he cares so little about the disastrous consequences that follow from war. Macho Macho Man – I want to be a Macho Man
… As long as someone else is doing the dying.

Regards,

Jim

Head of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Midwest Office Get Fired For Fighting Pollution – Mary Gade, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Midwest office, has been locked in a heated dispute with Dow about long-delayed plans to clean up dioxin-saturated soil and sediment that extends 50 miles beyond its Midland, Mich., plant into Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron. The company dumped the highly toxic and persistent chemical into local rivers for most of the last century. Gade told the Tribune she resigned after two aides to national EPA administrator Stephen Johnson took away her powers as regional administrator and told her to quit or be fired by June 1. The call came as the Chicago Tribune was preparing to publish a story about the dioxin issue and Gade’s crusade.

Low-Oxygen Zones in the Oceans Expanding with Global Warming – Low-oxygen zones where sea life is threatened or cannot survive are growing as the oceans are heated by global warming, researchers warn. Oxygen-depleted zones in the central and eastern equatorial Atlantic and equatorial Pacific oceans appear to have expanded over the last 50 years, researchers report in Friday’s edition of the journal Science. Low-oxygen zones in the Gulf of Mexico and other areas also have been studied in recent years, raising concerns about the threat to sea life. Continued expansion of these zones could have dramatic consequences for both sea life and coastal economies, said the team led by Lothar Stramma of the University of Kiel in Germany.

Loophole Allows US House Members To Drive, Maintain Expensive Cars, SUVs On Taxpayer Money – You may not realize it, but members of the House of Representatives can lease a car and have it paid for by you — the taxpayer. And it’s not just the car, but gas, registration, insurance … the works. And there’s no limit on how much they can spend. They’re mostly not gas savers or low-pollution models either. And it’s bipartisan!

New Rule for Toxic Trains is a Disaster Waiting to Happen – The Bush administration published new regulations that allow U.S. railroads to use dangerous routes through or around major cities for chemical railcars that federal agencies call “Weapons of Mass Destruction.”

Private industry can unilaterally analyze and select hazmat routes that are to be kept secret from the public. They also allow virtually no role for state and local officials to influence route selections and would preempt any state or local re-routing legislation. Mainline routes through major U.S. cities annually carry more than 110,000 shipments of poison gas railcars.

The Gas Tax Holiday is Bad Economics and Bad for the Environment – With gas prices at record highs and Americans feeling pain at the pump, Senators Clinton and McCain have responded with a proposal to lift the federal gas tax for the summer. As many economists and energy experts have pointed out, Big Oil would likely keep the lion’s share of this tax cut, and Americans would see little if any savings at the pump. It could negatively affect road and bridge improvements and cost highway construction jobs.

However, lifting the gas tax isn’t just bad economic policy — it’s bad environmental policy too. Eliminating the gas tax will encourage people to drive more, increasing greenhouse gases at a critical time in the fight against global warming. And depending on how it’s done, eliminating the gas tax could hamstring our ability to invest in energy-efficient, climate-friendly transportation alternatives.

See how much the gas-tax holiday would save for you. It was a whopping $12.50 for me.

Republican Sham Bill Pretends to Take Action on Global Warming – On Friday, Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) proposed legislation that would allow global warming pollution to increase for decades. The Voinovich bill is dressed up as a way to take action, but in fact is a detailed prescription for doing nothing. It would postpone meaningful action on global warming pollution for at least twenty years. It calls for weak, non-binding emissions reduction benchmarks – current levels in 2020 and 1990 levels in 2030 – while providing taxpayer-funded subsidies for favored technologies. The proposal would also take away state authority – confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA – to control global warming pollution.

Who’s the Badder Bad Deeds Doer?

Remember the Pepsi-Coke Challenge? Here’s a new twist: Try the Bush-McCain Challenge—our new online quiz—and see if you can tell the difference between Bush and McCain!

We challenge you to tell them apart—it’s harder than you’d think.

Ready to get started? Just click one of the three buttons below to start this new 3-minute challenge:

Q: After Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003, who said “Mission Accomplished”?

• Bush
• McCain
• Bush & McCain

Regards,

Jim