How Cutting Dividend Tax Will Deepen Recession
From a post by Bartcopper Hochizen:

he price of
certain dividend paying stocks
will definitely rise. While this will be good for those who
own these dividend paying
stocks, it will be bad for those who hold bonds. After all,
if the yield on bonds is not
increased by a corresponding amount, bonds will be less
desirable than dividend
paying stocks which provide a partial tax shelter.
Similarly, cds and bank notes will be
less desirable. The result will be an increase in the yield
of bonds and cd’s to represent
the increased pressure on these markets caused by the
attractiveness of dividend
paying stocks.

Guess what happens when the interest rates on bonds and cds
go up, boys and girls?
That’s right, real interest rates go up, because banks are
not going to lend money at a
rate less than they pay. So, the tax cut on dividends will
push the economy towards
recession. In a weak economy, adding pressure towards
weakness is insane.
Corporations are already leery of expanding, of hiring more
workers and of building
new plants. If the price of credit is higher (due to higher
bond rates the corporations
could float, or due to higher bank interest rates) they will
be even less likely to
expand.

DU is Exploding with Gore Threads Today

One attacking Gore - three on the draft - two against, one for. For a guy who is out of the race, he is surely taked about a lot. Even William Safire is speculating:

" .. But what if, against all odds, the early primaries are inconclusive?
What if stature eludes all? Al Gore, well regarded for speaking out all year
with no political motive, would be draftable."

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/06/opinion/06SAFI.html

Sam Perry's Guide for Democrat Media Bashing:

A Future Guide

If the past is any guide, Democrats should expect that:

-- The attacks will be personal, not issue-based. Personality quirks or flaws will be used
to "define" the Democrats so these traits can be easily transformed into laugh lines for
the pundit programs and the late-night comedy shows.

-- The attacks will be thematic, rather than specific. For instance, the Democratic
challenger will be described as "Clintonian" -- or in Edwards's case an "ambulance chasing
trial lawyer" -- rather than someone who supported or opposed a specific policy initiative.

-- The attack machine will be relentless. Every utterance by the eventual Democratic
nominee will be examined to see if it fits one of the thematic patterns that have been
chosen as effective attack lines.

-- Statements or issues that fit a "theme" will be repeated again and again in every
media venue, from Web sites to radio to TV pundit shows to newspaper columns. Every
right-wing pundit – and many mainstream commentators – will use nearly identical
language until the "theme" becomes "conventional wisdom."

-- The mainstream press will incorporate the attack lines into regular news stories by
using the objective-sounding criticism that the Democrat has failed to counter the
attack and committed the political sin of letting his enemy define him.

-- Most importantly, it will not matter who the Democratic nominee is. No one is immune.
The attack machine will find a thematic pattern for each potential nominee and will pound
the Democratic candidate into the ground with it.

GOP Takes More Pride in 9.11 than in Stealing the Election

According to NYT,
"Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother, had pushed hard for Florida to get the
convention, but Republican officials also worried about possible protests in the state
because of the contested 2000 presidential elections."

Geez, such a hard choice: stealing an election vs getting them bombed - which accomplishment to boast?

Clinton Presidential Library Begins Trend in Little Rock's Revitalization

AP
Suddenly, downtown
Little Rock is booming.

Concrete and steel now
rise at the foot of newly named
President Clinton
Avenue, where the Clinton Presidential Center
is scheduled to open
next year. The center's construction, with
its $160 million price
tag, has also spurred commitments for $700
million in other
downtown projects.

Little Rock developer
Rett Tucker said property values in the
area have doubled since
1998, the year after Bill Clinton said he
would build his library
here. An area once boarded up and
written off as a
warehouse wasteland has become the booming
River Market district,
dotted with hotels, restaurants, bars and
shops.

Clinton's aim to use
his presidential library to transform a world
beset with racial and
religious strife starts is already benefiting a
city once equated with bigotry and segregation,
developers and proponents said.



Forty-five years ago, Little Rock was an
international symbol of intolerance. After Gov. Orval
Faubus directed National Guard troops to keep
nine black children out of Little Rock Central High
School, President Eisenhower sent in federal
troops to enforce a court's integration order.

The event came to symbolize the beginning of the
federal government's commitment to
desegregation. Clinton plans to build on that
model, and develop ways to bridge boundaries
worldwide, with his museum and academic complex.

In 12 years as Arkansas governor and eight years
as president, Clinton constantly courted the
black community. In the White House, he set up a
number of offices and panels to improve race
relations and made a number of trips to Africa
and has since set up an office in Harlem.

He now is so highly revered among blacks that he
recently became the first non-black
recognized as an honorary inductee to the
Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. Author Toni Morrison
once described him as "our first black
president."

Library planners say they are excited to be part
of Little Rock's renewal.

"Clinton may have left the presidency but he
didn't leave the public's interest," Clinton Foundation
president Skip Rutherford added. "There's just
enormous interest in this guy and all of that is
good for the library. In large part, it's been a
key factor in transforming the city."

--

Helen Thomas smacks Ari Fleisher (as recounted by bartcopper XGordy)



GO, HELEN, GO.

Let me post this while it's fresh in my mind. The quotes are not exact:

Helen "...why does the president want to kill innocent Iraqi citizens?"

Ari: "The Iraqi citizens are represented by their government....they should've
implemented a regime change......{Look on Ari's face that seemed to say OH F*CK,
WHAT AM I SAYING?} Uh, actually, Helen, the president has made it clear that he has
no problem with the Iraqi people, it's their government he has a problem with."

Helen: "Their government is none of our business, the people should decide what type
of government they have."

Ari: "Look, Helen, if you think the Iraqi people can dictate who their dictator is, you're
very wrong."

Helen: "But there are many societies around the world which have dictatorships in which
the people have no say who their ruler is. Why are you picking on Iraq?"

Then Ari quickly goes to another reporter. GO HELEN, GO!

The Case of the Five Vanishing Suspects
from the Toronto Globe and Mail
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20030104/UFIVEN/national/national/national_temp/4/4/20/


"We're chasing rumours," a senior RCMP officer said. "We don't know if these five men were ever in Canada and we
certainly have no proof whatsoever that they crossed into the United States either legally or illegally."

Asked what might have triggered the initial FBI allegation about the five Middle Eastern men entering the U.S. from
Canada, the Mountie replied caustically: "It was a slow week at the White House. They needed something to stir the
pot because nothing was happening in Iraq."

GOP Will Strut in Conquered NYC (Convention in 2004)

Apparently convinced that they have exclusive bragging rights on 9.11, the GOP will invade our battered city next year. Well, at least it gives us enough time to organize.Assuming Karl doesn't declare the city off limit to New Yorkers.

Who's paying for the new Tax Cuts for the Rich?
partial list posted on DU by Ramsey:


1. Cutting Medicare expenditures by promoting "competition" and increasing
private insurance covergae to recipients.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/03/politics/03MEDI.html

2. Cut in military pay raises and housing subsidies.

3. Cut in veterens benefits, particularly for those on disability as well as pensions.
Elimination of lifeling pensions for WWII and Korean vets.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/11/19/retired.veterans.hearing/index.html
http://todaysseniorsnetwork.com/bush,_vets_spar.htm
http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/stories/segel051502.htm

4. Cut in federal workers cost-of-living bonuses.
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAT4HU659D.html

5. Cutting size of planned NIH budget increase from 15% to less than 1%
(Congress passed a law to double the NIH budget by 2005).

6. Cutting federal subsidies for reduced cost and free school lunch programs for
poor children.

7. Eliminating unemployment benefits to parents who take time off for
childbearing or adoptions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/04/politics/04LEAV.html?pagewanted=print&position=top

8. Vetoed spending bill passed by Congress allotting money $340 million to fund
fire departments equipment and training, improved communications systems, and
to monitor health effects on workers at Ground Zero, and farm subsidies.

9. Requiring welfare recipients to work a minumum of 40 hours a week and
eliminating coverage foe school or job training. Asks for drastic reductions in
several job training programs for laid-off workers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/31/politics/31BUDG.html?pagewanted=print

10. Refused to release a promised $34 million to the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA).
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/3678666.htm

11. Took $1.3 billion from federal student loan prpgram allowing college students
to consolidate their loans at low interest rates.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/28/national/28LOAN.html?pagewanted=print

12. Failed to release allotted $20 billion for the clean up and rebuilding in New
York City after 9-11.

13. Shifts burden of paying for Superfund site clean-up from industry to taxpayers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/24/politics/24SUPE.html

14. Broke a campaign promise to expand chidlren's health benefits under the
CHIP program, citing lack of funds.

15. Cut U.S. aid for helping Third World countries combat global warming.

16. HUD ran out of funds for a Congressionally mandated rental property
mortgage insurance program, and the Bush administration will not release the
required funds, resulting in increased fees for FHA housing.

17. Slashed spending on nuclear safety projects in Russia.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,486928,00.html
Remove | Alert

Interesting Times on "Class Warfare":



The GOP knows that America is become more and more a classist society, in no small part due to Republican policies. But they
also know that the American people have a visceral hatred of classism. So, how to avoid this problem? Quite simple: make it
sound like classism exists only in the eyes of those who point it out and that it is the critics who are creating the artificial class
distinctions merely by talking about it.

Funny. You would think that Republicans would be the last to claim that reality can be changed merely by the way it is defined. But
then, this is strange only if you believe them in how they define themselves.

White House Silent on Racial Controversy
GOP Official Expresses Regret Over Distributing Article Critical of Civil War Outcome

By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 5, 2003; Page A05

The White House and the Republican National Committee declined to comment yesterday on a
racial controversy involving a Bush administration ally who is campaigning to become chairman
of the California Republican Party.

Bill Back, the California party's vice chairman running for the top job, sent out an e-mail
newsletter in 1999 that reproduced an essay that said "history might have taken a better
turn" if the South had won the Civil War and that "the real damage to race relations in the
South came not from slavery, but from Reconstruction, which would not have occurred if the
South had won."

The Contra Costa Times reported on the e-mail article yesterday and quoted Shannon Reeves,
the California GOP secretary and an African American, saying: "There's no room for bigotry in
the Republican Party, and I don't think there's a lot of room in the Republican Party for people
who distribute bigoted information. What's appalling is to have the vice chair of the Republican
Party distribute this."

In a statement, Back said: "Upon reflection, I should have been more sensitive regarding
issues raised in this piece and not included it in the e-mail. I regret any pain and offense taken
by readers."

Back said he "strongly" disagrees with the views in the article, and noted that over time he
has reproduced pieces from the left and the right "to present Republicans with a broad
perspective on articles, opinions, and issues being discussed in California and throughout the
nation."


Dick Rosengarten, publisher of the newsletter California Political Week, or Calpeek, said the
controversy is a setback not only for Back's bid to lead the party but also for the Bush
administration's efforts to make the Republican Party competitive in California. "I feel sorry
for President Bush," Rosengarten said. "They have to stop shooting at each other before
Bush has a chance at coming close to winning California."

Voter News Service (like Voting's) - Future in Question


Fri Jan 3, 3:53 PM ET


By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

NEW YORK - After two elections in which their system failed, six major news
organizations are considering revamping or scrapping the organization they
built
to count votes and conduct voter surveys.

Representatives from ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel
and The Associated Press are scheduled to meet Monday to
talk about the future of Voter News Service.

In a much-publicized failure during Election Night 2000, VNS
provided information that twice led television networks to
incorrectly declare a winner in Florida, the key to the
presidential
election. The results there weren't determined until weeks
later.

VNS built a new system for 2002, but on election night was
unable to provide its members — and others who paid for the
service — with results from exit poll surveys. Nearly two
months
later, those results still haven't been delivered. The surveys
supplement the raw vote count with details on why people
voted as they did.



The options were described by a network executive who spoke on condition of
anonymity; all of
the consortium members have been asked not to speak publicly about their
deliberations."


Now, we do know that the Florida winner predictions were accurate (as they were in each and every state not governed by a candidate's brother). We know that the 2002 election results are highly suspect and the VNS last minutes decision not to air their numbers doesn't add any confidence. So, what kind of secrets do those network executives share?

DraftGore.com site is up and deluged with enthusiastic volunteers and donations!

Why We cannot afford to NOT Draft Al Gore

Here's why we cannot afford to NOT have a draft movement:
1. We would legitimize Jr. Already the media is misusing the
"re-election" term in an attempt to send the coup 2000 in the memory hole - I won't stand for it!
2. We would be acknowledging the insignificance of our right to vote - if we accept a candidate who will shovel snow over our stolen votes, we waive the right to protest the theft
3.we waive the right to vote in the Democratic primaries. As someone who only registered Dem on December 13, 2000 I'd like at least one shot to a national primary to show for it. One that it's not "fixed" by the DNC/DLC
4. We give up our best chance to beat Bush (I'l just say here, Gore did it once already)
5. We lose the only candidate with the moral standing to oppose Bush (all the others voted for each and every one of his greedy and fascistic measures - I don't trust them)

Defame, Defund and Demolish - another Moneymaker Hoax Crisis:

Joining the Social Security crisis, the Public education crisis and the liberal media crisis, the malpractice crisis was created to help insurance companies cover investment loss (by looting patients and doctors alike):

Malpractice crisis manufactured by insurers,
consumer group says
By PAUL WENSKE
The Kansas City Star

Physicians are being misled by an insurance lobby perpetuating
the myth of a malpractice insurance crisis to cover its own sour
investments, a spokesman for a national consumer group said
Friday.

"Rather than marching on state capitols, physicians should be
demonstrating in front of the headquarters of insurance
companies," said Frank Clemente, director of Congress Watch, a
part of the nonprofit consumer group Public Citizen.



Tom Holloway, director of government relations for the Missouri
State Medical Association in Jefferson City, said Thursday that
average medical malpractice premiums in Missouri had jumped
61.2 percent from a year ago.

" He said insurance companies profit more from
investments than
from premiums. The companies underpriced their products in the
1990s to build market share, he said, and when the stock market
tanked a year ago, they had a problem.

In a prepared statement, the Missouri Association of Trial
Attorneys said Friday that the number of medical malpractice
claims filed in Missouri actually went down 16 percent between
2000 and 2001. The group said average claims also had
decreased.

Bush to Boost Education Budget by 1 Billion

Hey, isn't that the money he wants to take from the school lunches? And give it to Neil and others making a buck in the testing business?


But Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who helped craft the legislation
with Bush, contended the president has failed to allot enough money
for schools to fulfill the law's promise. He said the increase Bush
has in mind for next year was $6 billion less than allowed in the bill.

"Reform without resources is just hollow talk - not the real
improvement our children need and deserve," Kennedy said in a
statement. "The president's proposal may provide the money to test
our children, but not enough to teach them. It's wrong to ask schools
to do better on pocket change, especially as states face $68 billion
shortfalls."

So, here's how the BFEE works:


Mon, Oct. 28, 2002

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/local/4384679.htm

Neil Bush company trying to sell state FCAT
software plan

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A software company run by Neil Bush, a younger brother of Gov.
Jeb Bush, hopes to sell a program to Florida schools that students
would use to prepare for the test that is key to the governor's
education policy.

Texas-based Ignite Inc. makes software being used in a pilot
program at an Orlando-area middle school to help students
prepare for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which
the governor has championed as a yardstick for school
performance.



Ignite spokeswoman Louise Thacker denied the company had an
unfair advantage because Bush, its founder and CEO, is a brother
of Florida's governor.



Gov. Bush's use of the FCAT complies with a law supported by
another brother - President George W. Bush. The president's
"Leave No Child Behind" law forces states to use testing as a
measuring stick for schools.

"I don't know where the money's going to come from for this,"
Banfill said. "These districts are hard pressed to pay for chalk, let
alone to put money in the pocket of the Bush family."

Neil Bush gained notoriety as director of the Silverado Savings &
Loan in Colorado, whose failure cost taxpayers $1 billion and led
to a grand jury investigation during the term of his father,
President George H.W. Bush. Neil Bush was never charged.

Latin America has Axis of Good (Bush* "brushes it off")

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva displayed friendship
toward Presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Fidel Castro of
Cuba in the aftermath of Silva's inauguration on Wednesday.

Chavez has even dubbed the troika a Latin American "axis of good."

Well, darn it, don't they know that US has the monopoly on "good" and right"? Who do they think they are? Elected or something?

New Senate Majority Leader Helped (white) assassin and let (Black) Officer to Die
(find of the day by bartcopper Amen)

In July 24, 1998, from the CNN coverage:

Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, a heart surgeon
who had been presiding on the
Senate floor just before the shooting,
resuscitated the gunman and
accompanied him to D.C. General Hospital,

No assistance given to the black, uniformed officer, who was alive at the time, but died.

== Resolutions For The Damned ==(Excerpts)
For 2003: Eat more veggies, have louder orgasms and, of course, defy
ShrubCo at every possible turn
By Mark Morford
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2003/01/03/notes010303.DTL&nl=fix



For 2003, Dubya has resolved to keep the fear-addled nation enmeshed in
at least one senseless oily insanely expensive unwinnable war for at
least the next two years, lining the pockets of his dad's Carlyle Group
cronies with countless millions in oil and military contracts, slamming
the environment and mispronouncing "nukuler" and misrepresenting himself
all over the English dictionary and embarrassing the nation almost
daily.



Dick "Facial Tic" Cheney has resolved to keep orchestrating Shrub's
every move from deep in the private fur-lined Cheney bunker, while his
lips continue to horrify small children and sexually sentient women
everywhere, as Lynne continues to publicly champion the cause of old
rich white powerful men and make Wolfowitz sweat with glee. So far, so
good.



Your frustration is shared. Your pain is widely felt. Your soul's
irresistible urge to scream a delicious curse word that begins with
"mother" and ends with "uckers" is mutual. Here is what you do.

You resolve to never let your fierce spirits sink below the waterline.
You resolve to make more meaningful eye contact. You resolve to limit
your exposure to angry scowling old white males who wield far too much
power with far too little juicy moral cream filling to roughly one hour
per week, max.



Resolve to be still. Resolve to get more deeply in touch with your own
bad self. Meditate. Write down your whacked dreams in a small
leather-bound bedside journal. Read them all at the end of the year and
see how your divine connections have evolved.

Resolve to love harder. Resolve to love harder even when love seems to
be staring at you and snickering and scoffing at your sorry ass.




Because damn if They, the powers that be, don't just love love love it
when you feel restricted and pigeonholed and beaten down and delimited
and utterly powerless to stop it all. Docile and submissive and ashamed
and just a little guilty of something though you're not quite certain
what -- that's how They want you. Resolve to castrate this sinister
ideology with a karmic switchblade and a shot of vodka.

Resolve, simply, to illumine your own life with nearly immeasurable
amounts of wet messy joy. Resolve to let almost anyone in to almost any
lane in front of you in traffic, even if they're driving an obnoxious H2
Hummer while wearing a backward baseball cap and spitting out the window
and don't bother to wave a thank-you. You resolve to shrug and ignore
them and get on with the process of moisturizing your soul.

This is what you do. This is all you can do. Because, as always, you do
not change the world by attacking it and hurling hot balls of fiery
angst into its eyeballs.

You change it by moving into yourself, peeling back the layers of
accumulated BS and media hype and marketing PR and finger-wagging
patriotic dogma, thwarting all efforts to confine your urge to color
outside the lines. Man, they just hate it when you do that.

--

God Says Shut Up And Be Happy
by Marc Morford

In step with President Bush's faith-based initiative, the government on
Thursday sent money from its child support programs to religious and
nonprofit organizations so they can promote marriage, because you know,
gosh, that sure works, and if there's anyone you should be listening to
these days regarding relationship and love advice, it's some
quasi-religious group from Cleveland called The Marriage Coalition, who
just got a nice 200 grand from ShrubCo, to tell you that poor people to
stick it out those loveless marriages no matter how miserable or
spiritually dead you may feel, do it for the children, do it for God, do
it for the prescription behavioral med industry, do it for the guilt, do
it because we don't dare promote condoms and contraceptives instead.

Nothing Good Happened, but Recession was over (since 2001) so, there!


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. recession probably ended in late 2001 but there is no formal call yet on when a
recovery might have begun, the head of an elite economic panel said on Friday.

"We're on hold now," said Robert Hall, chairman of the committee at the National Bureau of Economic Research which
determines the beginning and end to U.S. recessions.

The last report (which placed the beginning of the recession in March 2001) was issued as of November 26, 2001. So, according to this "on hold" evaluation, by the time the economists became aware that a recession has started in March...it was over.
It reminds me of the fastest gun in the West routine: you can't actually see it happening because it's so fast.

The Historic Delusion of the November 2002 Elections Spin
from Digby's blog


Ah, but it is an historic victory because the party
in the White House always loses in the first
midterm, right? And, they usually lose by more
than 25 seats in the House, too, so it was extra,
super-duper overwhelming. It's been more than 60
years since any President was so beloved by the
American people that they voted for his party in
the first election after his inauguration. Therefore,
George W. Bush achieved something that makes
him eligible for Mt. Rushmore if not canonization.

But...but...he didn't defy history at all. And why is
that?

Because he didn't win the election in 2000,
that's why. If Al Gore had been in office as the
voters wanted, there would have nothing
remarkable about the 2002 GOP gains at all,
except for the fact that they were so small.

Uncle Tony may have defied history, but Dubya
didn't.

Read My Lips: Not Over My dead Body:


"While the economy stumbles through one of the worst Christmas shopping
seasons in a decade,
the White House is leaking word that President Bush may 'soften his stimulus
package' before
it's even proposed next month. Which begs the question: Did the GOP lose the
November elections?"
-- The Wall Street Journal Editorial

Q:Is giving up tax cuts raising taxes? A: Only if Democrats do it
Q: Is "softening the stimulus package" wimpy? A: Well, yeah, but...shhhhh!

It's the Economy, Stupid!

"I love to twist statistics and I have one for you now:
In four years, Bush 41 had a net of zero new jobs created.
In two years, Bush 43 also has a net of zero new jobs created.
So if the Bushes had been in charge of America since the beginning,
nobody in America would have ever worked a day in their lives."

War and Economy - Bush* Logic (from press conference):

Q. But can this economy afford to fight a war?

THE PRESIDENT: This economy cannot afford to stand an attack. And I'm going
to protect the American people. The economy is strong, it's resilient. Obviously,
so long as somebody is looking for work, we've got to continue to make it
strong and resilient. My most important job is to protect America and
Americans, and I take that job seriously. And that's exactly what this
administration is going to do.

FREEDOM.APPRECIATE IT. CHERISH IT. PROTECT IT.

Such was the message of a spot on CNN about 10 minutes before New Year. It gave me hope, I wish I knew who sponsored it. Thank you.
On edit, after finding the source, I am affraid this is just a manipulation to enlist us in the "war on terra" thingy. Ad Council at their site describes it:

Developed following the tragedies of September 11th, the Ad
Council's Campaign for Freedom is an unprecedented volunteer
effort from the advertising industry. The initiative is designed to
assist Americans during the war on terrorism through the
development of timely and relevant PSAs. This first round of PSAs
has been created to celebrate our nation's freedom and remind
Americans about the importance of freedom and the need to
protect it for future generations. According to research, Americans
are looking for messages that will inform, involve and inspire them
during the war on terrorism. This inspirational campaign is
advertising's gift to America. All of the ads conclude with the
powerful tagline, "Freedom. Appreciate it. Cherish it. Protect it."

Have a Happy New year!

My family is already in 2003 - how is the view from there?
Me, I hope for a less unhappy year for the world.

If It's Not About Shut-Ins, the President Is
Otherwise Engaged

By Dana Milbank (excerpts)

Tuesday, December 31, 2002; Page A15 Washington Post

CRAWFORD, Tex. -- It's New Year's Eve. Do you know where your
president is?

President Bush has been seldom seen in the waning days of 2002. On
Friday, while North Korea was spreading nuclear panic in Asia, a White
House spokesman announced that the president spent the morning
"clearing brush" and then went jogging; yesterday it was fishing and
more brush clearing.





All of which raises various questions. With all the time the president has spent clearing
brush, how is it possible that there is still any brush left on his ranch? And what is he doing
about North Korea's nuclear shenanigans?

snip

This president, it would seem, has been engaged more often than Elizabeth Taylor.

The attestations of Bush's private engagement appear to be proffered in inverse proportion
to Bush's public engagement in a subject.

The president's isolation on his ranch and at Camp David may explain his peculiar affinity for
citizens he calls the "shut-ins." Probably no group has received more attention in presidential
rhetoric this year. snip

A collection of his recommendations:

"You can go to a shut-in's home and say, 'I love you.' "

"If you want to help this country, go across the street to a shut-in's house and say, 'What
can I do to help you?' "

"You can serve something greater than yourself by just walking across the street to a
shut-in and saying, 'I love you; is there anything I can do to make your day better?' "

Find "somebody shut-in and [say] 'I think I'm going to spread a little love today.' "

"[Find] somebody who's shut-in and [say], 'I'd like to just love you for a second.' "

Is it possible that Bush, so often homebound himself, has come to see himself as a shut-in?

"We Know he's Got Weapons of Mass Destruction - we've got the Receipts!
Mark Russell

I Get to Decide, you Get to Shut up!

Once again, rightfully outraged at the chutzpa of the press in asking him questions, Bush* (not a moron) put yet another uppity reporter in his place:


"
"You said we're headed to war in Iraq -- I don't know why you say that. I hope
we're not headed to war in Iraq. I'm the person who gets to decide, not you."

A Lunch Lady on School Lunches
Posted on DU, by Tikki



...I am purposely not going to tell which of these students
were or were not on
'free' or 'reduced' lunch....what I am going to tell you is the
reality of young
growing students and their nutritional and caloric needs.

I was a public school 'lunch lady' for 10 years.

The doors to the cafeteria open, and in the line of students
waiting outside on a
cold afternoon....a 14 year old boy 'passes-out' the second he
smells the food
from the kitchen. He was very hungry......and until you have
seen this happen, you
may not really understand.

Two sixth graders go from table to table asking for anyone's
uneaten bread and
peanut butter spread...they take it out to the playground and
share with a 'new
girl' in school.

Buffet style lunch every Thurday and the first trays that empty
are those with the
fresh fruit and cooked corn. Next comes the bread........the
pudding and jello trays
are, often, hardly touched.

Just your average teen students.... ..I have seen many of them
eat the equivalent
of three prepared meals at one sitting.

I have seen students grow 5 or 6 inches in a matter of months.

I remember when Reagan wanted to qualify 'ketchup' as a
vegetable. I remember
when a former student introduced me to his new wife...and
said..'This was the lady
who made sure I was always eating good. I was as proud of that,
as if I had been
his 'football' coach.

Yes, mistakes can be made...some adults allow their children to
cheat the
sysytem......most don't. Yes, I have seen students throw their
food away, but most
do not.

Cafeteria staff's plan menus, portion control and product count
carefully and there
is actually very little waste.

I would never turn down a growing student's request for a meal
......because for,
whatever, reason......they asked and they needed to eat.

Bring Back the Draft

By CHARLES B. RANGEL

WASHINGTON
President Bush and his administration have declared a war
against terrorism that may
soon involve sending thousands of American troops into combat
in Iraq. I voted against
the Congressional resolution giving the president authority to carry out
this war — an
engagement that would dwarf our military efforts to find Osama bin Laden
and bring him to
justice.

But as a combat veteran of the Korean conflict, I believe that if we are
going to send our
children to war, the governing principle must be that of shared
sacrifice. Throughout much of
our history, Americans have been asked to shoulder the burden of war
equally.

That's why I will ask Congress next week to consider and support
legislation I will introduce to
resume the military draft.

Carrying out the administration's policy toward Iraq will require
long-term sacrifices by the
American people, particularly those who have sons and daughters in the
military. Yet the
Congress that voted overwhelmingly to allow the use of force in Iraq
includes only one member
who has a child in the enlisted ranks of the military — just a few more
have children who are
officers.

I believe that if those calling for war knew that their children were
likely to be required to
serve — and to be placed in harm's way — there would be more caution and
a greater
willingness to work with the international community in dealing with
Iraq. A renewed draft will
help bring a greater appreciation of the consequences of decisions to go
to war.

This seems to me quite the gamble: will it pay off in that it will expose the chickenhawks? Or will the GOP call his bluff and draft anyone without the right connections to get out?

No Child Left Behind - Shaking them Down for Lunch Money

Free lunches may end for some pupils
Bush administration reviews school program,
might require parents to prove they're
poor
By Lisa FriedmanWASHINGTON BUREAU - Oakland Tribune
WASHINGTON -- There will be no free lunch for
kids whose parents can't
prove they're poor enough to deserve one under
a policy being considered
by the Bush administration.

In its 2004 budget proposal to be released in
February, the White House is
expected to demand that low-income parents
prove how much they earn
before their children are allowed to eat free
or reduced-cost lunches at
school. The move is aimed at cutting an
estimated $1 billion annually in
waste."

For the Iraqui People, yeah, That's the Ticket!


The United States plans to secure Iraqi oilfields if it invades and is looking into the
possibility of ramping up oil production beyond the U.N. oil-for-food program to
pay for post-war reconstruction, Bush administration officials said on Sunday.

"The oilfields are the property of the Iraqi people," Secretary of State Colin Powell
told NBC's "Meet the Press."

"And if the coalition of forces goes into those oil fields, we would want to protect
those fields and make sure they are used to benefit the people of Iraq and are
not destroyed or damaged by the failing regime on the way out the door," he said.

Revenue generated from the oilfields would be used "in accordance with
international law and to benefit the people of Iraq," he added.....

Well, at least we know that we won't let the unwashed Iraqui masses use their oil, but we "will generate revenue for them". Wow! Lucky Iraquis!

If you can't say Something Nice, Shut up!


From Democrats.com:

Seeking to kill the messenger and hide the truth, the Bush Administration has
defunded a program that highlights mass layoffs: "This is the final news release for
the Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program. Since 1994, the Department of Labor's
Employment and Training Administration has funded the program. That funding will
end on December 31, 2002. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has been unable to
acquire funding from alternative sources and must discontinue the MLS program."
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mmls.nr0.htm

"You don't go after the Biggest Threat..."

Typical scene - on NBC - empty blue eyed anchorman interviews a republican. After discussing Korea, anchorman lands the logical question: "Then why don't we deal with this threat instead of going after Saddam?" Same bewildering answer is delivered once again: You don't go after the biggest threat, but after the biggest threat to be followed by full fledged rant against Sadam. Blue eyed anchorman stares into the void whithout ever asking: and where will the IMMINENT threat go as we worry about the future? Since this entry, a new logo was invented for this flight of logic: "taylored containment"

Get your pitchforks: Raelians are Cloning! A Myth is a Myth is a Myth

News about the sci-fi inspired Raelians sent very liberal gatherings into gales of laughter: aliens????. One reasoned opinion asked why is a man living in the sky and creating the world in six days so much respectable than aliens seeding the Earth?
And I think: just because a certain myth garnered more followers (by sword, by fire or whatever means) that majority does not confer it legitimacy in my book.
It's what they do with the fellowship in that belief that is more relevant to me. So far, cloning beats bombing, torturing, terrorizing other people/nations because they do not share your belief in a particular myth.

Crowford Pigfarm Renamed:it's the SOUTHwestern White House Now

Whether the intelligence data finally revealed that Texas is not in the West, or it's a move to appease the sheet wearing folk from the South over the loss of Trent, the "South" was added just now to the former logo of "The Western White House". In spite of the "White House" misnomer, we are still talking about the pig farm the Resident bought right before the election to pretend he's a cowboy with roots in Texas. That was deemed better than "a Connecticut boy sent by his Poppy to secure a state with more electoral votes"

Election won by Most Votes? This Democracy Thingy is a Hoot: Broder Thanks the Horse

"
The e-mail basket was flooded for a time when a left-wing outfit condemned
me for saying that George Bush had won the 2000 election. By their oddball
logic, it doesn't matter who is in the Oval Office; Al Gore "won" because he
received more votes.

They awarded me the title of "media whore of the month." Thanks for the
honor."

Korea about to Nuke us? Time for a Two Weeks Vacation for our Fearless Leader!

Doing nothing might just save us!

A Compassionate American for Every Citizen (and some Pot in every Chicken)

The goals for this country are peace in the world. And the goals for
this country are a compassionate American for every single citizen.That
compassion is found in the hearts and souls of the American citizens.

-- George W. Bush, Dec. 19, 2002
As Mark Crispin Miller observed, faking compassion has disastruous effects on his tongue.

More "Peace to the World" from The Hindu:



Axis of evil: Russia's rift with U.S. deepens

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW DEC. 24. The rift between Russia and the
United States on the ``axis of evil'' states deepened
today, as Moscow reiterated its opposition to a unilateral
U.S. attack on Iraq, moved forward on nuclear
cooperation with Iran and blamed Washington for
increased tension over the North Korea's nuclear
programme.

Sometimes They get it Right


Vatican terms war against Iraq as aggression


VATICAN CITY, Dec 17: A senior Vatican prelate on Tuesday condemned any
so-called "preventive war" against Iraq as "aggression".

Archbishop Renato Martino, who heads the Pontifical Council for Justice and
Peace, said: "Preventive war is a war of aggression and does not come under
the definition of a just war."

Martino was referring to the current US military build-up for a possible war
with Iraq, which has been labelled a "preventive war" by US officials, including
President George W. Bush.

The prelate, the Holy See's former representative at the United Nations,
where it has observer status, made the comments as he presented Pope
John Paul II's message for World Peace Day on January 1.-AFP

"Objective" Journalist: Gore is like Nixon, only Worse

After reading a pathetic article in Philadelphia Enquirer trying to turn history upside down, I wrote the author the following e-mail:
n your despicable apology of the GOP, comparing Gore to Nixon, you
> conveniently left out one difference (which is the very purpose of your
> article): GORE WON! He beat Bush, while Nixon lost to Kennedy. You can
> try to conceal this to the end of days, there is no elected president at
> this time in the White House.

To which he immediately responded:

I'm always grateful when pro-Democratic readers call my work "despicable,"
because usually it's pro-Republican readers who say that, and much
worse....You may have the luxury of saying that Gore won, but as a
journalist I don't have that luxury. I have to abide by the official
results. I also have to abide by the official results in 1960, even though
there's plenty of historical evidence to suggest that Mayor Daley in
Chicago, and underworld leaders in key wards, created thousand of voters to
help put Kennedy over the top.
Thanks for writing. I respectfully disagree with the premise of your email,
but I won't call it despicable. Happy holidays.

To which I replied:


If you really insist on convincing me that as a journalist you are bound by
the truth, than you'll check the history on your beloved Nixon: the GOP did
not allow him to challenge the results because the number of votes in question
were not enough to change anything.
So much Nixonian bitterness, so many laughable efforts to appear
objective...Not that the article was not plain enough, but the letter sealed
it. Journalism used to be a respectable endeavor, until it moved into the
PR/propaganda zone. And I do believe you that you get critical letters from
Republicans. They'll never be satisfied with your dedication. You'll never
praise Bush enough, tar Gore enough to satisfy the right wingers. But God
knows, you're trying hard!

Sadam:CIA Can Come Inspect me!

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 22 — Saddam Hussein’s science adviser on
Sunday invited the CIA
to send agents to Iraq to show U.N. weapons inspectors any
weapons of mass
destruction that Iraq is hiding. “We do not even have any
objections if the CIA sent
somebody with the inspectors to show them the suspected
sites,” presidential adviser
Amir al-Saadi said at a news conference.

Poor Good Christian Lott! Heathens got him!


"A lot of people in Washington have been trying to nail me for a
long time," Lott said. "When you're from Mississippi and you're a
conservative and you're a Christian, there are a lot of people that
don't like that. I fell into their trap and so I have only myself to
blame."

"My Wife Said I Was A Coward"...Painting the Lawn Jockey White

Cass Bellenger returns in a worthy sequel with the symbol of the new GOP: now our lawn jockeys are painted over!

Ballenger said Tommy Luckadoo, who runs his 10th Congressional
District office, had come over that morning and painted the black
lawn jockey.

"(Luckadoo) was saying it was sort of like Trent Lott being the
image of the Republican Party," Ballenger said. "That little black
jockey could be the image of the Republican Party here, and he
didn't want that to happen. I didn't care ... Now he's a little white
jockey.

"My wife said I was a coward. I said it was removing something
that Democrats could use as an image to attack Republicans
here...."

Luckadoo said he primed the 3 1/2-foot, cast-iron statue as part
of an overdue restoration. But he said he's been urging Ballenger
for years to change the statue.


Critics of the statues see them as insulting caricatures. Ballenger's
jockey has sparked controversy for 20 years.


--

A Disappointing Day for Peace

pResident Bush Friday said the Iraqi arms declaration "was not encouraging" and that
the United States "will fulfill the terms and conditions" of the U.N. resolution calling on
Saddam Hussein to disarm.

"Yesterday was a disappointing day for those who long for peace," Bush said.
Which begs the question: what kind of day was it for warmongers?

North Carolina White ; We Need War to Change the Subject

Asked if he believes Lott is a
segregationist, Ballenger said, "I'd
have a hard time saying he wasn't. ...
Basically in some areas of
the South, in Charlotte and everywhere
else, there are people
who get rubbed the wrong way (thinking)
`We've got to bend
over backwards; we've got to integrate' and
things like that."

Ballenger, of Hickory, said he felt similar
sentiments dealing with
Rep. Cynthia McKinney, a Georgia Democrat
known for her liberal
politics and combative personality.

"If I had to listen to her, I probably
would have developed a little
bit of a segregationist feeling," he said.

and the very revealing:
"The news media has worked this thing
over," said Ballenger.
"The Democrats aren't going to let it die,
and I doubt the news
media will let it die. What we need is to
go to war somewhere,
and then you'd have something else to write
about." -- STAFF
WRITER JEN TALHELM CONTRIBUTED TO THIS
ARTICLE.

-- JIM MORRILL: (704) 358-5059;
JMORRILL@CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Former
President Clinton said
Wednesday it is "pretty
hypocritical" of Republicans to
criticize incoming Senate
Majority Leader Trent Lott for
stating publicly what he said the
GOP does "on the back roads
every day."

"How do they think they got a majority in
the South anyway?" Clinton told CNN
outside a business luncheon he was
attending. "I think what they are really
upset about is that he made public their
strategy."

He added: "They try to suppress black
voting, they ran on the Confederate flag in
Georgia and South Carolina, and from top
to bottom the Republicans supported it."


Asked if Lott should be removed, Clinton
said, "That's up to them, but I think they
can't do it with a straight face."

The former president then said, "He just
embarrassed them by saying in
Washington what they do on the back
roads every day."

He accused Republicans of "trying to run
black voters away from the polls" in states
such as Arkansas, Louisiana and Florida.
Clinton also cited recent gubernatorial
elections in Georgia and South Carolina,
won by Republicans.

"I think the way the Republicans have treated
Senator Lott is pretty hypocritical since
right now their policy is, in my view, inimical
to everything that this country stands for,"
Clinton said.




--

Now, Even Democrats don't Count Votes

Following their brilliant strategy in Florida, DNC fecided to go with the system national: sabotage the frontrunner, ignore vote fraud and watch the voters stay home in droves. Ag Gore has been forced out of the race and I pretty much lost interest in the whole pathetic losing process. (I've given up trying to figure out weather it was selling out or terminal idiocy involved - it matters not. My voting days are over.

Gore as Lott on Saturday Night Live:


Gore (as Lott): "Chris, when I said our country wouldn't have all these problems if
Strom Thurmond had been elected president, it had nothing to do with segregation. I
simply meant that things would have been better if Thurmond were president because
he would have kept white people and black people separate. I just hate it when liberals
take me out of context like that."

Gore (as Lott): "Chris, Chris! It has come to my attention that some of comments
about Strom Thurmond a minute ago may have been construed as racially insensitive.
Let me apologize. I meant no respect -- no disrespect to any white people. I myself
am a white man and some if not all my friends are white. Let me make this clear, as
long as I'm in office, we will leave no white person behind."

Gore (as Lott): "If I may, Chris. Too much emphasis has been placed on Senator
Thurmond's pro-segregation campaign. There was a lot more to his 1948 platform. He
wanted to make it illegal for black people and white people to marry each other. He
had great ideas for raising tax revenue, like makin' black people pay to vote. The man
is a genius."

Matthews: "As soon as I finish counting all the ways that's stupid I start yelling at you."

Matthews: "We're going to take a break. When we come back, Trent Lott explains why
America would be better off if the Germans won World World II. Hubba dah hubba."
(End of Hardball skit.)

We are Oompa Loompa Doompity Screwed - Al Gore on SNL

It may well became the epitaph of the Jr years.

> "It still pains me to think about how hard Kerry and Edwards
> cried that night. But I wish them the best and, I'm sure that, they'll
> make someone a wonderful vice president someday."
>

> "I'd never intentionally go in and bomb another country for no
> good reason!"

And the big clue for the future:


> "If I decide to host, we'll have great show for you tonight!"

BREAKING NEWS: KISSINGER OUT, LAW IN!

December 14, 2002 6: 13 AM

Moonie Moon News Service

By Carolyn Kay

The White House: President Bush today announced that he would name
Cardinal Bernard Law to replace Henry Kissinger, who yesterday resigned
his position on the commission to study the 9/11 disaster. "I wanted
someone with a proven record in coverups," Bush said. "Cardinal Law is
that man."

Law's threat to have the ultrawealthy Boston Roman Catholic Archdiocese
declare itself bankrupt to avoid paying claims to the victims of
sexually abusive priests may have planted doubts in President Bush as to
whether Henry Kissinger was the best bald-faced liar for the 9/11
inquiry commission. An official in the Bush administration who refused
to be named, but whom the President calls "Domehead" admitted that is
the real reason for Kissinger's resignation.

Law is available for the position, as yesterday he resigned his job
running the archdiocese of Boston, though he will retain the title of
cardinal. "I'm very please that President Bush chose me," said Law. "I
was beginning to feel unwanted."

"I like his red hat," Bush said.

"The Lott Record - which ones did he mean lightheartedly? compiled by Monica SF



* Lott made almost the same statement about Thurmond two decades ago at a rally in
Jackson, Miss. on Nov. 2, 1980. "You know, if we had elected this man 30 years ago, we
wouldn't be in the mess we are today," he said.

* In 1992 he gave a keynote address to the Council of Conservative Citizens, which
advocates the preservation of the white race. He said, quote: "the people in this room
stand for the right principles and the right philosophy." He also hosted some group
members at his
Washington office.

* Years earlier, Lott gave an interview to Southern Partisan magazine, which published
articles defending Confederate figures and sold a T-shirt
commemorating Abraham Lincoln with the phrase his assassin uttered, "Thus always to
tyrants."

* Lott was one of 24 House members to vote against 1981 legislation extending the
Voting Rights Act, which created penalties for Southern states that didn't assure open
polls to black voters. "They are still trying to exact Reconstruction legislation that is just
not fair," he said at the time.

* Lott tried to help Bob Jones University keep its federal tax-exempt status despite the
school's policy prohibiting interracial dating two decades ago. "Racial discrimination
does not always violate public policy," Lott, then a congressman from Mississippi, wrote
in a 1981 court brief. "If racial discrimination in the interest of diversity does not violate
public policy, then surely discrimination in the practices of religion is no violation," he
argued.

* Lott led the fight to restore Jefferson Davis' U.S. citizenship and once suggested the
Confederate leader would support the Republican Party if alive today. While serving on
the Republican Party platform committee in 1984, he attended a meeting of the Sons
of Confederate Veterans in Biloxi, Miss., in which he was quoted as saying, "the spirit of
Jefferson Davis lives in the 1984 Republican Platform."

* Lott opposed the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and voted against it in 1983. "I just
think it was basically wrong," he said of the vote.

* Lott supported segregation when as a college student he watched armed U.S.
marshals escort the first black student to the University of Mississippi. He also
advocated keeping blacks out of his fraternity. In a 1997 interview with Time magazine
he said: "Yes, you could say that I favored segregation then ... The main thing was, I
felt the federal government had no business sending in troops to tell the state what to
do."

* In 1979, while representing Mississippi in the House of Representatives, Lott joined a
bipartisan group that supported a constitutional amendment to prohibit school busing.

Pravda's comment on the Bush's(not a moron) rape lawsuit:

"A lot of women liked previous President of the United States Bill
Clinton. Women thought that he was a very charming and attractive
man. However, the situation with incumbent President George
Bush is totally different. Mr. Bush is definitely a representative of
another psychological type of human being. It is evident that he is
often drawn to solve all problems with the help of the military force.
As it turns out, this trait of his character it
also seen when it comes to sexual relationships with women.

Officials: No Hard Evidence in Nerve Agent Report
From John King; Also resignations uptate


Thursday, 12 December, 2002

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials are downplaying a report that indicated Islamic
fundamentalists in Iraq with ties to al Qaeda had obtained a deadly poison for possible use in
terrorist attacks, senior administration officials tell CNN.

No corroboration of this intelligence report from around late October or early November has
been found, and neither has any evidence of involvement by the Iraqi government, these
officials said.



Oops! So, why are we nuking them now?

Henry Kissinger, Cardinal Law and Mary Matalin resigned their respective posts. Not so Trent Lott who is continuing the apology tour. Oh, well, still a pretty good Friday the 13!

War is hard, 'cause it Leads to Huggin', Gut Instincts - GWB on Barbara Walters:

But let me talk about war in general
if you don’t mind. War is my last option, not my first option. See, it’s easy
in this town for people to commit troops, the US troops, to combat, through
opinion and the noise you hear in Washington. But there’s only one person who
is responsible for making that decision, and that’s me. And there’s only one
person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids on the
death of their loved ones. Others hug, but having committed the troops, I’ve
got an additional responsibility to hug, and that’s me, and I know what it’s
like.

--snip--

BARBARA WALTERS

“You know you’ve talked in the Bob Woodward book, you said, ‘I’m not a text
book player. I’m a gut player. I rely on my instincts.’ Can you give us an
example of where your insights were right or where they were wrong?”

PRESIDENT BUSH

“My instincts are that ... here’s my instincts ... and they’re consistent. If
people, if a person does not respect freedom, if somebody is repressive, if
somebody doesn’t understand the value of freedom, that person is a failed
leader right off the bat. That’s an instinct. And so I make judgments based
upon, many times based upon on a value system that I believe is true and
universal.”

New York Times: Squirrel in Gore's Yard Convinced he won't run (DU-er Left Hander)

NEW YORK - A grey squirrel that has lived in a tree in former Vice President Al
Gore's front yard for three years is "not going to run in 04". The declararion came
after the squirrel noticed in increase in bird seed spillage around the bird feeder.
"When that happens..." the squirrel who wished not to identified "there is know way
in hell that who ever lives in this house is going to run for president."

"Are you Secretly in Control?" (Conan to Gore); "We'll Nuke you!" Coup Anniversary


Conan: "You said they should fire their economic team, soon after they fired
their economic team. You said Lott should apologize, hours later Lott
apologizes. Are you secretly in control?"
Gore: "Yes, its a secret arrangement. The control actually goes through the
news media"

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, news of Lott's past racism comes fast and furious (defending Bob Jones University right to prohibit interracial dating - "Racial discrimination is not always against public policy"). Eventually, even Jr(not a moron) had to align himself with the public outcry and condemn the remarks. Of course, he did not ask for his resignation, that is reserved for people who call HIM a moron (or Hitler, or other stuff).

Bush* threatens to nuke the planet (in the Iraq area) and makes the cover of NY Post (I nearly dropped my eggs in the supermarket when I saw it).

This day in 2000 the Supreme court hijacked a national election, installing not-a-moron in the White House. Recession, terrorism and war followed naturally, as civil rights are going the dinosaur way. Happy Anniversary! :-(

Hey, Lott: Apologize for This too:


After a fiery speech by Thurmond at a Mississippi campaign rally for Ronald Reagan in
November 1980, Lott, then a congressman, told a crowd in Jackson: "You know, if we
had elected this man 30 years ago, we wouldn't be in the mess we are today."

It's been suggested that African-Americans need to "get over" slavery and Jim
Crow. Maybe. But why can't Trent Lott "get over" the Civil Rights Movement?

Robert George (black Republican) in NY Post

Joe Conason: Gore's moral victory

Al Gore proved his moral courage
yesterday. He didn't hesitate to say that he opposed Trent Lott's racist
speech,
that Lott had to withdraw those remarks,
and that if Lott failed to do so, the Senate should censure the
Republican
leader. Having endured so many venomous
attacks from a press that is openly biased against him and would surely
relish another chance to sting him, Gore
spoke out fearlessly. (It is also a triumph for him over his tormentors
in
the press. With some honorable exceptions,
they waited too long to speak up against Lott's nostalgia for the
barbarism of his political forebears.)

Gore calls Lott's Statements Racist


Gore offered no criticism of Thurmond, saying the
retiring senator has since
"repudiated" those views. But he said Lott's
remarks are "divisive" and fit the
"definition of a racist comment."

"To say that the problems that we have in America
today, some of them, stem from
not electing a segregationist candidate for
president ... is fundamentally racist," Gore
said.

Asked if he believes Lott is a racist, Gore said,
"Trent Lott made a statement that I
think is a racist statement, yes. That's why I
think he should withdraw those
comments or I think the United States Senate
should undertake a censure of those
comments.

"It is not a small thing, Judy, for one of the
half dozen most prominent political
leaders in America to say that our problems are
caused by integration and that we
should have had a segregationist candidate. That
is divisive and it is divisive along
racial lines. That's the definition of a racist
comment," Gore said.

WOW! Even Andrew Sullivan is Shocked by Lott:



TRENT LOTT MUST GO: After his disgusting remarks at Strom Thurmond's 100th
birthday party, it seems to me that the Republican Party has a simple choice. Either
they get rid of Lott as majority leader; or they should come out formally as a party that
regrets desegregation and civil rights for African-Americans.
snip----
And where's the president? It seems to me an explicit repudiation of Lott's bigotry is a
no-brainer for a "compassionate conservative." Or simply a decent person, for that
matter.

Meet the Press (via AMpol) re: Lott's Rhapsody to Good Old Lynching Days


Tim then turned to Trent Lott's unconscionably racist salute to Thurmond on his 100th birthday -- then said that Jesse Jackson
labeled Lott a "segregationist" in a call this morning to NBC as he called for his resignation as Majority Leader. Broder made a
longwinded answer before saying Lott blew it. Novak said this was just Lott winging it at a birthday party -- it was no big sin, and
it's ridiculous for Jackson to call for his resignation.

Wow! We can't wait for Bob to say that Rick Kahn asking Democrats to support Wellstone's positions at a public memorial tribute
to Wellstone as no major sin. Klein skewered Novak for in effect blaming the media. Novak kept whining, "But it was his birthday!"

Food For Hope - Whose Senate?



Daschle just announced on CNN he is having a press conference tomorrow with
"exciting" news, not of a presidential nature but of a senatorial nature.

I'm thinking McCain and Chafee will organize with the dems and Daschle will remain
majority leader.

I think everything hinged on a Landrieu win and since she won, this could really
happen.

Crossfire Exchange Sweet to Revisit




CARVILLE: Candy, the sugar industry is huge in Louisiana. The Bush administration wouldn't
dare do anything so dishonest and sleazy as already have a dealer import more Mexican sugar
in the United States and wait until after the election to do that, would they?

CROWLEY: Well, let me tell you that Mary Landrieu as you may know, already has an ad out
saying that there in a Mexican paper there was talk of a secret deal about bringing Mexican
sugar in, which clearly would not be good news for jobs in Louisiana.

I can tell you that Suzy Terrell has said, Look, I called the U.S. Trade rep today. He said
there is not deal, secret or otherwise. There are ongoing negotiations.

NAFTA, they point out James, was -- negotiations began in the Clinton administration,
but there is no secret deal at the minute -- at the moment.

What's interesting to me is the sort of heat of this back and forth about sugar. It just shows
you how close this race is.

CARVILLE: Right, I understand. But if they actually did increase the amount of sugar,
that would be a sleazy, despicable, lying thing for this administration to do, wouldn't
it? And every journalist should criticize it.

(LAUGHTER)

CROWLEY: Whatever you say, James.

(LAUGHTER)

CARLSON: No, but, Candy, truly, I mean there's really no chance that Susie Terrell is
going to lose this, is there? I mean, if you were betting, you would never bet on the
incumbent senator, would you?

CROWLEY: Look, I can tell you that they're very -- they're pretty cautious in the Terrell
campaign. And they say, Look, we know that the Landrieu campaign is calling around and
saying that they're going to lose, but we think that this is pretty translucent.

They're going to try to set it up that if in fact Landrieu does win, it will look like a big
defeat for George Bush.

I don't think anybody can call this race. I really don't. I think anything can happen because
there's sort of two opposing things here. Will people come out because they want to show
George Bush that indeed they support him, or will they come out because they want to show
George Bush that the mid-term elections were not just a blanket approval for him?


Alert | IP | Edit

Celebrating the Louisiana Win:

The NYT article begins "In a rebuff to President Bush's political power and personal
prestige, Louisiana voters today rejected Suzanne Haik Terrell, his hand-picked
candidate......

Boston Globe headline reads: "Democrat Landrieu Keeps La. Senate Seat: Beats Drive
Led by Bush..."


La bartizen:

Terrell's campaign ran heavily on the abortion issue. The mass mailings in the last
two weeks were overkill. Most of them portrayed Landrieu as being big-time
pro-abortion (as opposed to pro-choice.

The telephone calls were relentless. From the Repug. governor to pResident Moron
and beyond, at least 4 per day all damn week. A half hour after Carville exposed
the Administration's secret foreign sugar-cane deals on Crossfire, the Repug.
governor rang up with a mass phone message to refute the claim.

There was no way to turn on a radio or tv without hearing the GOP smear Landrieu,
and it went on for WEEKS. They pulled out all the stops and it didn't work.

Louisiana said:

"Shove your "mandate" where the sun don't shine, pResident Moron!"

Way to go, Louisiana

Senate Majority Leader Pines for Lynching Days

The headline the "liberal media" will not print. But, to understand why was he so proud of voting for Thurmond for President, I went to the ballot, and there, right on the ballot was the answer:

REMEMBER:
A vote for Truman electors is a direct order for the Congressmen and Senators from Mississipi to vote for the passage of Truman so called civil rights program in the next Congress. This means vicious FEPC- anti-poll tax, anti-lynching and anti-segregation proposals will become the law of the land and our way of life in the South will be gone forever."

So, I now have to add a bartizen image of Strom blowing his 100 burning crosses of his cake for the "awww" effect. I guess Senate can now get rid of them pesky anti-lynching laws. Buy stock in sheets!

Lott Decried For Part Of Salute to Thurmond

By Thomas B. Edsall
Senate Republican leader Trent Lott of Mississippi has provoked criticism by saying the United
States would have been better off if then-segregationist candidate Strom Thurmond had won
the presidency in 1948.

Speaking Thursday at a 100th birthday party and retirement celebration for Sen. Thurmond
(R-S.C.) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Lott said, "I want to say this about my state:
When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest
of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these
years, either."
This quote from the article made me do a doubletake:
"Senator Lott's remarks were intended to pay tribute to a remarkable man who led a remarkable life. To read anything
more into these comments is wrong."

How can you attack that? We will NEVER apologize for nothing"
Anyone who has deja vu now, please write Rick Kahn .

After Elections, Spin Slowly Adjusts to Reality (a Bit):

Unemployment Rate Unexpectedly Surges

By LEIGH STROPE, AP Labor Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's unemployment rate unexpectedly shot up to 6.0 percent
in November, matching an eight year-high set in April and raising new concerns about the
strength of the economic recovery. "

Ugh, guys...what recovery would that be? Surplus gone, deficit rising, wall to wall bad news for the past 2 years - what recovery are you talking about? We are falling and we can't get up!

The Republican Trifecta


Jay Leno, "The Tonight Show": "So President Bush's party has taken control of Congress. ... They gave themselves pay raises, and
canceled pay raises for all other employees. I think that's called the Republican Trifecta."

The Family Values Party Strikes Again:

Bush will repeal Clinton-era family leave plan
By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS THE NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration will repeal a Clinton-era rule that allows
states to use unemployment insurance money to help new parents who take a leave
from work, officials said yesterday.

The executive action will effectively shut down legislative efforts in as many as 16
states to make unemployment compensation money available to working parents who
have taken time off to care for a newborn or adopted child.

Night of the living dead"
By John Chuckman
YellowTimes.org Columnist (Canada)

– One by one, in the dead of night, they push ghastly, rotting fingers through
dank earth in an effort to grasp something solid and pull themselves up from moldering
graves,
figures of long-dead flesh, blank-eyed, capable of no feeling save an unnatural hunger that
animates and drives them shakily forward. They are the gruesome remains of an earlier time,
mysteriously returned to life, once more to exercise their malevolent influence on the planet.
They
are the Bush appointments -- Cheney, Rumsfeld, Reich, and Poindexter.

And now we have the decayed bulk of Henry Kissinger again lurching into Washington.

Kissinger has been reanimated and assigned to study the causes of what he himself helped
create,
terrorism.

--

Talking Back To Talk Radio - Fairness, Democracy, and
Profits
by Thom Hartmann

"All Democrats are fat, lazy, and stupid," the talk-show host said in grave, serious tones as if he were
uttering a sacred truth.

We were driving to Michigan for the holidays, and I was tuning around, listening for the stations I'd
worked for two and three decades ago. I turned the dial. "It's a Hannity For Humanity house," a different
host said, adding that the Habitat For Humanity home he'd apparently hijacked for his own self-promotion
would only be given to a family that swears it's conservative. "No liberals are going to get this house," he
said.

Turning the dial again, we found a convicted felon ranting about the importance of government having
ever-more powers to monitor, investigate, and prosecute American citizens without having to worry about
constitutional human rights protections.....
Published on Tuesday, December 3, 2002 by CommonDreams.org

Better Wear your "Not Working for Al Quaeda" Hat - Don't Leave Home Without it


WASHINGTON - American citizens working for al-Qaida overseas can
legally be targeted and killed by the CIA under President Bush's
rules for the war on terrorism, U.S. officials say.

The authority to kill U.S. citizens is granted under a secret
finding signed by the president after the Sept. 11 attacks that
directs the CIA to covertly attack al-Qaida anywhere in the
world. The authority makes no exception for Americans, so
permission to strike them is understood rather than specifically
described, officials said.

Bush Restoring Cash Bonuses for Appointees
By ERIC LICHTBLAU


ASHINGTON, Dec. 3 — The White House has decided that several thousand political
appointees across the federal government will be eligible for cash bonuses,
abandoning a Clinton-era prohibition that grew out of questionable practices in the first
Bush administration.
The Bush administration
did not help matters last week with the announcement that it was setting pay increases
for career federal employees below what Congress was seeking.

Inspectors still not finding Weapons in Iraq

Bush(not a moron) finds this fact "not encouraging". Iraq has to provide a list of their weapons (that they do not have) by September 8 or be attacked. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Birdbrain Droppings


The tree will be decorated with 400 birds native to the United States, making it the centerpiece of this year's official White House
theme — "all creatures, great and small."

snip

"Families around the United States are comforted and amused by the animals that they get to watch out in nature, like bird
watching, or that they live with in their own homes, their own pets," Mrs. Bush told reporters at a ceremony on the North Portico of
the White House.
snip

"Our animals have been a great source of comfort to us since Sept. 11, 2001," she said. "They are a great amusement and
distraction, but also they make the White House home for us." All three pets went to the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas for the
Thanksgiving weekend.
snip
While Mrs. Bush spoke, anti-war demonstrators pounded drums just outside the gate. She did not acknowledge the protesters,
though the sound rumbled across the North Lawn throughout her remarks.

Mark Morford treatment of the News Story:

The tree will be decorated with 400
birds native to the US, making it the centerpiece of this year's
official White House theme -- "all creatures, great and small," as the
press announcement read. "Except for you filthy immigrants and poor
minorities and Godless progressive bastards and evil evildoers and
independent women and freaky scary gay people and environmentalists and
vegetarians," it was clearly implied. "I love Christmas it is my
favorite time of year yes very special to me and George please OK
good," Laura might've droned in a very odd monotone, eyes wide and
unblinking, head tilted just slightly to the side, a strange grin
shellacked to her face, as Dick "Lipless" Cheney stood nearby, snorting
and snickering and apparently working a small black remote-control
device in his pale scaly hands.

More on Compassionate Conservatives from DiIulio (Huston Chronicle)


"Mayberry Machiavellis" is DiIulio's term for the political staff and most particularly
Karl Rove, Bush's chief adviser. He describes Rove as "enormously powerful, maybe
the single most powerful person in the modern, post-Hoover era ever to occupy a
political-adviser post near the Oval Office."



As a result, DiIulio said, the administration has accomplished almost nothing
domestically except Bush's tax cut and an education bill, which DiIulio described as
"really a Ted Kennedy bill."

"There is a virtual absence as yet of any policy accomplishments that might, to a
fair-minded nonpartisan, count as the flesh on the bones of so-called compassionate
conservatism," he said. What there is, he said, is "on-the-fly policy-making by
speechmaking."

Trouble in Paradise



The former aide, John J. DiIulio Jr., a domestic affairs expert and professor
at the University of Pennsylvania, was appointed by President Bush to head the
White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in the second week
of the new administration, claims all decisions are politicized by Bush's top
adviser Karl Rove, and that the policy staff is afraid to confront him.

....
In an interview with Esquire, DiIulio said: "There is no precedent in any
modern White House for what is going on in this one: a complete lack of a
policy apparatus. What you've got is everything, and I mean everything, being
run by the political arm. It's the reign of the Mayberry Machiavellis."

L'Etat C'est Mois! Bush (not a moron) Can Detain/Punish his Enemies at Will

Those Designated 'Combatants' Lose Legal Protections

By Charles Lane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 1, 2002; Page A01

The Bush administration is developing a parallel legal system in which terrorism suspects --
U.S. citizens and noncitizens alike -- may be investigated, jailed, interrogated, tried and
punished without legal protections guaranteed by the ordinary system, lawyers inside and
outside the government say.

Civil libertarians accuse the Bush administration of an executive-branch power grab that will
erode the rights and freedoms that terrorists are trying to destroy -- and that were
enhanced only recently in response to abuses during the civil rights era, Vietnam and
Watergate.




Probably the most hotly disputed element of the administration's approach is its contention
that the president alone can designate individuals, including U.S. citizens, as enemy
combatants, who can be detained with no access to lawyers or family members unless and
until the president determines, in effect, that hostilities between the United States and that
individual have ended.

It is unconstitutional to subject U.S. citizens
to indefinite confinement on little more than the president's declaration, especially given the
inherently open-ended nature of an unconventional war against terrorism.

"The notion that the executive branch can decide by itself that an American citizen can be put
in a military camp, incommunicado, is frightening," said Morton H. Halperin, director of the
Washington office of the Open Society Institute. "They're entitled to hold him on the grounds
that he is in fact at war with the U.S., but there has to be an opportunity for him to contest
those facts."