The Washington Post headline calls it the "Coalition of the Erring." They are referring to the unholy alliance of President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair and their truth-bending, fast-draw approach to the invasion of Iraq.
It turns out "Bring it On," and "Wanted Dead or Alive" are great sound bites but lousy policy.
But the headline could have described another shady coalition locked in a poorly conceived scheme called the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North American (SPP). To understand this formalized agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada all you need know is European Union.
The SPP envisions a North America without borders, free trade and common goals. This agreement is why George "The Decider" isn't doing anything about our porous southern border, and why Mexico's president Vicente Fox is acting like our overseer.
The deal is done, the fix is in, the only problem is no one told the U.S. citizen taxpayer.... who will do the paying, in all respects, for this stealth-attack realignment policy.
George the Elder waxed poetic about a "New World Order" until he was hushed by his poll-sensitive handlers. George the Lesser learned a lesson.... don't tell the country what you are doing, just do it and then evade and equivocate. That is why in March of 2005, after Bush's reelection, the SPP was formalized. But it was on the drawing board long before that.
In 2002 Fox bragged in Madrid: "Eventually, our long-range objective is to establish with the United States, but also with Canada, our other regional partner, an ensemble of connections and institutions similar to those created by the European Union."
This is why The Decider isn't protecting our borders, our language and our heritage. He decided we're no longer going to be a nation state.
Can we vote our way out of this mess in November?
It's unclear. Seems the GOP-leaning furnisher of the majority of our new voting machines, Diebold, has created a very vulnerable system. Voter groups are trying to stop this flawed voting process legally, but time is running out.
The country we have built, fought and died for is about to be abandoned with a wink and smirk.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Friday, May 26, 2006
Iran Iraq Irony
Iraqi Foreign Minister, Kurd Hoshyiyar Zebari said yesterday at a joint news conference with Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki in Baghdad: "We respect and confirm the right of the Republic of Iran.... to have scientific and technological abilities to research in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful uses.
The final irony for the nation-building Cheney-Bush neocons.
The final irony for the nation-building Cheney-Bush neocons.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
The Bush Ambush
It started when we tolerated the Supreme Court's first ever interference in our national elections in 2000. That signaled to the Bush administration that it could go its arrogant way.... abuse of power by intelligence manipulation, secrecy, unwarranted spying, pork barrel spending, corporate favoritism, and now a push to abandon our Constitution and the rule of law by rewarding illegal alien invaders
Bush may be temporarily out of arrows.
But the electorate IS out of patience. "Big Time."
November.
Cartoon by Tom Toles, The Washington Post.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Bush Focus: Fundraising
The nation is in a lot of trouble.
We are in a devastatingly expensive war in Iraq that gets bloodier by the day despite airy-fairy reassurances from the Bush administration.
The national budget and trade deficits have reached astronomical proportions... despite Bush administration toadies proclaming the economy is strong. What we actually have is a credit card economy. And you know what happens when those credit bills come due. Yet the Bush administration continues to reduce national income through tax cuts.
The nation is being overrun by an invasion of illegal aliens across the southern border. The Bush administration's fix is 6,000 National Guard who will have no authority whatsoever to do anything to stop, apprehend or even impede the border lawbreakers.
Bearing this in mind, what do you think "President Bush and his team are focusing on" ..... the November elections with fundraisers by Bush the Lesser and "building a campaign strategy around tax cuts, immigration and national security!"
Either Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove is in la-la land, or Bush the Arrogant and his handlers think the Silent Majority is stupid. There is no way they can turn the cesspool of their governing into a Lilly pond!
Hurricane Katrina was the biggest response disaster in our nation's history. The Bush administration spies on U.S. citizens with a system that captures gazillions of their phone call records, and has space satellites that can photograph a flea on a camel's hump. Yet "Homeland Security" allowed millions of undocumented aliens invade our southern border, and our ports and imported goods are a security game of Russian roulette.
Two House Democrats who oversee Homeland Security criticized the agency last week for "not releasing to Congress reports on 118 security plans for mass transit, rail, aviation, ports and borders." Many of the reports were due in 2003. Your Homeland Security at work.
Our Bush-manipulated war in Iraq is pulling the nation down and apart. So it is hopeful for the long-suffering Silent Majority that there is within the Democratic Party a substantial body of politicians and policymakers who, instead of just criticizing the Bush governing disaster, are formulating policy for a different approach to Iraq. They are taking their plans to centrist Democrats.
Not to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) the Revengeful, Bull-horn Liberal Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass), or Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) the Irrelevant.
These younger Democrat party foreign affairs professionals propose to first clean up the crimes perpetrated by the Bush administration "at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and the CIA's secret prisons" to restore America's reputation as the world's foremost defender of human rights.
They will end the Bush cynical policy of nation building, while linking foreign aid to implementation of "a long term plan for political and economic changes" by benefiting countries. And they won't cut and run from the Iraq war.
The Silent Majority will not be fooled by the Bush fund-raising history rewriters... and they will respond to fresh ideas from fresh Congressional faces.
The citizen Silent Majority will not be silent in November.
We are in a devastatingly expensive war in Iraq that gets bloodier by the day despite airy-fairy reassurances from the Bush administration.
The national budget and trade deficits have reached astronomical proportions... despite Bush administration toadies proclaming the economy is strong. What we actually have is a credit card economy. And you know what happens when those credit bills come due. Yet the Bush administration continues to reduce national income through tax cuts.
The nation is being overrun by an invasion of illegal aliens across the southern border. The Bush administration's fix is 6,000 National Guard who will have no authority whatsoever to do anything to stop, apprehend or even impede the border lawbreakers.
Bearing this in mind, what do you think "President Bush and his team are focusing on" ..... the November elections with fundraisers by Bush the Lesser and "building a campaign strategy around tax cuts, immigration and national security!"
Either Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove is in la-la land, or Bush the Arrogant and his handlers think the Silent Majority is stupid. There is no way they can turn the cesspool of their governing into a Lilly pond!
Hurricane Katrina was the biggest response disaster in our nation's history. The Bush administration spies on U.S. citizens with a system that captures gazillions of their phone call records, and has space satellites that can photograph a flea on a camel's hump. Yet "Homeland Security" allowed millions of undocumented aliens invade our southern border, and our ports and imported goods are a security game of Russian roulette.
Two House Democrats who oversee Homeland Security criticized the agency last week for "not releasing to Congress reports on 118 security plans for mass transit, rail, aviation, ports and borders." Many of the reports were due in 2003. Your Homeland Security at work.
Our Bush-manipulated war in Iraq is pulling the nation down and apart. So it is hopeful for the long-suffering Silent Majority that there is within the Democratic Party a substantial body of politicians and policymakers who, instead of just criticizing the Bush governing disaster, are formulating policy for a different approach to Iraq. They are taking their plans to centrist Democrats.
Not to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) the Revengeful, Bull-horn Liberal Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass), or Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) the Irrelevant.
These younger Democrat party foreign affairs professionals propose to first clean up the crimes perpetrated by the Bush administration "at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and the CIA's secret prisons" to restore America's reputation as the world's foremost defender of human rights.
They will end the Bush cynical policy of nation building, while linking foreign aid to implementation of "a long term plan for political and economic changes" by benefiting countries. And they won't cut and run from the Iraq war.
The Silent Majority will not be fooled by the Bush fund-raising history rewriters... and they will respond to fresh ideas from fresh Congressional faces.
The citizen Silent Majority will not be silent in November.
Fall House/Senate-Cleaning Time
It is way past time for the voting public to reconsider "conservative" and "liberal" labels, and their alignment with the Democrat or Republican parties.
It is way past time to reward those who act on the principles you hold dear, and to give the boot to those who promise but don't try to deliver.
Let's face it, there is no such thing as a "compassionate conservative" as Dubya styled himself in 2000. And his base is at last taking off the rose-colored glasses and facing the fact that he "talked like a conservative to win our votes but never governed like a conservative."
That's a start.
The recent glut of ear-mark spending, and the energy, port-border security, and illegal alien debates, have ripped the scab off of the conservative veneer of the Bush administration. Left exposed is a rancid bought and sold government of business, religious and oil interests... and new-found Democrat-legislator friends eager for their share.
As Mark Helprin points out in his Washington Post editorial today, "the essence of the illegal-immigrant question, muddled though it may be by sophistry and peripheral claims, is the importation of labor."
With the Bush administration, nothing is as presented. Scratch just beneath his "initiatives" and you'll find the big three benefiting.
We are not longer a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.... but a government of the ignored, by the corrupt politicians, and for the special interests.
But we, the great ignored, can change that in November with a big-broom House/Senate-cleaning.
It is way past time to reward those who act on the principles you hold dear, and to give the boot to those who promise but don't try to deliver.
Let's face it, there is no such thing as a "compassionate conservative" as Dubya styled himself in 2000. And his base is at last taking off the rose-colored glasses and facing the fact that he "talked like a conservative to win our votes but never governed like a conservative."
That's a start.
The recent glut of ear-mark spending, and the energy, port-border security, and illegal alien debates, have ripped the scab off of the conservative veneer of the Bush administration. Left exposed is a rancid bought and sold government of business, religious and oil interests... and new-found Democrat-legislator friends eager for their share.
As Mark Helprin points out in his Washington Post editorial today, "the essence of the illegal-immigrant question, muddled though it may be by sophistry and peripheral claims, is the importation of labor."
With the Bush administration, nothing is as presented. Scratch just beneath his "initiatives" and you'll find the big three benefiting.
We are not longer a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.... but a government of the ignored, by the corrupt politicians, and for the special interests.
But we, the great ignored, can change that in November with a big-broom House/Senate-cleaning.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Senators Flip Flop on English
You can't turn your back on these Senators for a moment..... they have managed to snatch public relations defeat from the jaws of victory! They amended yesterday's "English is our national language" amendment to English is the "common and unifying language" of the United States.
What's that? Isn't English our national language? Whose toes are you trying to avoid?
All Democrats voted for that cop-out language, as well as fourteen Republicans.... here's the GOP list:
Sam Brownback, Lincoln Chafee, Norm Coleman, Susan Collins, Mike DeWine, Pete Domenici, Lindsey Graham, Chuck Hagel, John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, George Voinovich, John Warner.
McCain, you've regained your title as "Panderer in Chief." Must be a lot of Hispanic votes in Arizona.
The Senate must still meet with the House to work out the exact immigration reform bill..... so there is still hope they won't deny us our language heritage. English is our national language. Say so in this legislation... proudly.
What's that? Isn't English our national language? Whose toes are you trying to avoid?
All Democrats voted for that cop-out language, as well as fourteen Republicans.... here's the GOP list:
Sam Brownback, Lincoln Chafee, Norm Coleman, Susan Collins, Mike DeWine, Pete Domenici, Lindsey Graham, Chuck Hagel, John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, George Voinovich, John Warner.
McCain, you've regained your title as "Panderer in Chief." Must be a lot of Hispanic votes in Arizona.
The Senate must still meet with the House to work out the exact immigration reform bill..... so there is still hope they won't deny us our language heritage. English is our national language. Say so in this legislation... proudly.
Tiptoeing Through Two Lips
The Senate yesterday continued tiptoeing through the minefield of immigration reform.
In a voter-pleasing move, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced a bill stating in part "English is the national language of the United States," and that prospective citizens "demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the English language for usage in everyday life."
This amendment to the immigration overhaul bill passed by 63 to 34, with all Republicans voting for it except Pete Domenici (R-NM), and all Democrats voting against except for eleven, most notably Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV).....the eleven yeas were Senators Baucus, Byrd, Carper, Conrad, Dorgan, Johnson, Landrieu, Lincoln, Ben Nelson, Bill Nelson, Pryor.
Raul Gonzalez of the National Council of La Raza (The Race) was alarmed at this English-language vote. "For us, this is a tough issue to bring back to the community." His community..... La Raza is the largest Hispanic organization in the U.S. They advocate mass immigration and full amnesty. Gosh.... I heard they wanted to assimilate into our USA community. Isn't that why President Bush and our lawmakers are breaking all the rules to accommodate them?
The GOP Senate, evidently fearful that this feel-good English amendment wasn't enough red meat for their restless religious conservative supporters, had Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO) place on the Senate Legislative Calendar (No. 435) a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution... yes, we're back to those games again... called the "Marriage Protection Amendment."
It reads: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the Constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."
At a time in our national history when our very survivability is at stake, time and precious monetary resources are going to once again be wasted by our lawmakers trying to amend the Constitution.... a cheap attempt to mollify and distract an alarmed and largely disaffected nation from their failures and inaction.
Since it will take two-thirds of each House, and three-fourths of the States to approve a Constitutional amendment, it really stands no chance of going forward. But..... it gives the sponsors of the bill another empty feather for their conservative war bonnets. Just so you know these panderers for who they are, here are the 29 sponsors, all Republicans, (* possible presidential candidate):
Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN), Sen. George Allen* (VA), Sen. Sam Brownback* (KS), Sen. Richard Burr (NC), Sen. Tom Coburn (OK), Sen. Thad Cochran (MS), Sen. John Cornyn (TX), Sen. Mike Crapo (ID), Sen. Jim DeMint (SC), Sen. Mike DeWine (OH), Sen. Elizabeth Dole (NC), Sen. Michael Enzi (WY), Sen. William Frist* (TN), Sen. Orrin Hatch (UT), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX), Sen. James Inhofe (OK), Sen. Johnny Isakson (GA), Sen. Jon Kyl (AZ), Sen. Trent Lott (MS), Sen. Mel Martinez (FL), Sen. Mitch McConnell, (KY), Sen. Pat Roberts (KS), Sen. Rick Santorum (PA), Sen. Jeff Sessions (AL), Sen. Richard Shelby (AL), Sen. Ted Stevens (AK), Sen. Jim Talent (MO), Sen. John Thune (SD), Sen. David Vitter (LA).
It is notable that Sen. John McCain, who will undoubtedly run for president, is not a sponsor. So, I must remove him as the leading candidate for "Panderer in Chief".... for now. His May keynote commencement address to Jerry "Tinky Winky is Gay" Falwell's fundamentalist Baptist Liberty University, complete with photo ops, keeps him on the panderer list.
Stay tuned to C-Span for more Senate tiptoeing today.... look for a flag amendment to the Constitution, hope it is the U.S. flag.
In a voter-pleasing move, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced a bill stating in part "English is the national language of the United States," and that prospective citizens "demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the English language for usage in everyday life."
This amendment to the immigration overhaul bill passed by 63 to 34, with all Republicans voting for it except Pete Domenici (R-NM), and all Democrats voting against except for eleven, most notably Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV).....the eleven yeas were Senators Baucus, Byrd, Carper, Conrad, Dorgan, Johnson, Landrieu, Lincoln, Ben Nelson, Bill Nelson, Pryor.
Raul Gonzalez of the National Council of La Raza (The Race) was alarmed at this English-language vote. "For us, this is a tough issue to bring back to the community." His community..... La Raza is the largest Hispanic organization in the U.S. They advocate mass immigration and full amnesty. Gosh.... I heard they wanted to assimilate into our USA community. Isn't that why President Bush and our lawmakers are breaking all the rules to accommodate them?
The GOP Senate, evidently fearful that this feel-good English amendment wasn't enough red meat for their restless religious conservative supporters, had Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO) place on the Senate Legislative Calendar (No. 435) a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution... yes, we're back to those games again... called the "Marriage Protection Amendment."
It reads: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the Constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."
At a time in our national history when our very survivability is at stake, time and precious monetary resources are going to once again be wasted by our lawmakers trying to amend the Constitution.... a cheap attempt to mollify and distract an alarmed and largely disaffected nation from their failures and inaction.
Since it will take two-thirds of each House, and three-fourths of the States to approve a Constitutional amendment, it really stands no chance of going forward. But..... it gives the sponsors of the bill another empty feather for their conservative war bonnets. Just so you know these panderers for who they are, here are the 29 sponsors, all Republicans, (* possible presidential candidate):
Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN), Sen. George Allen* (VA), Sen. Sam Brownback* (KS), Sen. Richard Burr (NC), Sen. Tom Coburn (OK), Sen. Thad Cochran (MS), Sen. John Cornyn (TX), Sen. Mike Crapo (ID), Sen. Jim DeMint (SC), Sen. Mike DeWine (OH), Sen. Elizabeth Dole (NC), Sen. Michael Enzi (WY), Sen. William Frist* (TN), Sen. Orrin Hatch (UT), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX), Sen. James Inhofe (OK), Sen. Johnny Isakson (GA), Sen. Jon Kyl (AZ), Sen. Trent Lott (MS), Sen. Mel Martinez (FL), Sen. Mitch McConnell, (KY), Sen. Pat Roberts (KS), Sen. Rick Santorum (PA), Sen. Jeff Sessions (AL), Sen. Richard Shelby (AL), Sen. Ted Stevens (AK), Sen. Jim Talent (MO), Sen. John Thune (SD), Sen. David Vitter (LA).
It is notable that Sen. John McCain, who will undoubtedly run for president, is not a sponsor. So, I must remove him as the leading candidate for "Panderer in Chief".... for now. His May keynote commencement address to Jerry "Tinky Winky is Gay" Falwell's fundamentalist Baptist Liberty University, complete with photo ops, keeps him on the panderer list.
Stay tuned to C-Span for more Senate tiptoeing today.... look for a flag amendment to the Constitution, hope it is the U.S. flag.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Time for the High Road
It should come as no surprise to a misled, war weary, economically and culturally overwhelmed nation that the "public confidence in GOP governance" is in the dumper. If it weren't for a GOP-dominated Congress impeding the possibility of hearings, it would already have been confirmed that the worst in our nature has been governing us.
Undoubtedly Congressional hearings would by now have shown how intelligence was manipulated to plunge us into a costly, no-win, tribal-factioned war in a powder-keg region of ancient tribal feuds and religious fanaticism..... D.C..... I mean Iraq. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
How George used 9/11 scare tactics to violate our rights of privacy under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. How George encouraged and abetted the invasion of our country by Mexican aliens.
So, having a tawdry affair... which had no effect on the country whatsoever except for the single-minded savage hunt by the GOP for President Clinton's head... pales by comparison. As the bumper sticker says "When Clinton Lied, No One Died." And, I might add, "Our Hands Weren't Tied.... By Mexico."
And herein lies the danger for the Democratic party. George and the GOP are on the ropes, put there by their own power-corrupted, ill-conceived national agenda. It is tempting for the Dems to go for "pay back."
THIS WOULD BE A BIG MISTAKE!
If there ever was a time to take the high road, it is now....and most emphatically after November if the GOP loses some Congressional power. The country, while yearning for results-oriented leadership, will quickly turn on a party that offers more of the same non-productive "inside" political games.
The Dems will have just two years to show the nation that they are the level-headed, fiscally- responsible party that listens to the will of the electorate. George is too popular personally to just use him as a pinata, the country wouldn't like it and would say so in 2008.
While the Democrats have the approval edge in the public opinion polls right now in gas prices, health care, education, the budget, the economy, protecting privacy, handling Iraq, immigration and taxes.....that could all evaporate if petty vindictiveness overrides the nation's expectations for change.
This may be the Dems last chance to show they not only can do better, but that they can be better.... and, they better get it right.
Undoubtedly Congressional hearings would by now have shown how intelligence was manipulated to plunge us into a costly, no-win, tribal-factioned war in a powder-keg region of ancient tribal feuds and religious fanaticism..... D.C..... I mean Iraq. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
How George used 9/11 scare tactics to violate our rights of privacy under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. How George encouraged and abetted the invasion of our country by Mexican aliens.
So, having a tawdry affair... which had no effect on the country whatsoever except for the single-minded savage hunt by the GOP for President Clinton's head... pales by comparison. As the bumper sticker says "When Clinton Lied, No One Died." And, I might add, "Our Hands Weren't Tied.... By Mexico."
And herein lies the danger for the Democratic party. George and the GOP are on the ropes, put there by their own power-corrupted, ill-conceived national agenda. It is tempting for the Dems to go for "pay back."
THIS WOULD BE A BIG MISTAKE!
If there ever was a time to take the high road, it is now....and most emphatically after November if the GOP loses some Congressional power. The country, while yearning for results-oriented leadership, will quickly turn on a party that offers more of the same non-productive "inside" political games.
The Dems will have just two years to show the nation that they are the level-headed, fiscally- responsible party that listens to the will of the electorate. George is too popular personally to just use him as a pinata, the country wouldn't like it and would say so in 2008.
While the Democrats have the approval edge in the public opinion polls right now in gas prices, health care, education, the budget, the economy, protecting privacy, handling Iraq, immigration and taxes.....that could all evaporate if petty vindictiveness overrides the nation's expectations for change.
This may be the Dems last chance to show they not only can do better, but that they can be better.... and, they better get it right.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Bush Doesn't Corner the Fox
President Bush delivered his much-anticipated speech last night on border control and immigration reform. But did you notice the big gaping hole of omission.... big enough to drive an 18-wheeler through, or millions of illegal aliens?
Even by Bush's own admission, "More than 85 percent of the illegal immigrants we catch crossing the southern border are Mexicans." So, where was his insistence to the President of Mexico, Vicente "Your Land Is My Land" Fox, that Mexico participate as a full partner in the effort to stop his citizens from invading our county?
Believe me, Fox can seal a border when he wants to, as he does on his own southern border. Brutally. Bush could have used the mighty economic clout of the United States to show Fox the way... like placing a surtax on funds sent by wire or money order to Mexico by illegal aliens.
"Money sent back to Mexico from those working in the United States reached a record high last year [2005], $20 billion ,making remittances from migrants Mexico's second largest source of income, surpassed only by oil exports." Money not being put back into the U.S. economy...and much of it untaxed.
Other sticky details. According to the conservative Heritage organization's research on the Bush-blessed proposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (CIRA S.2611), it would be the "most dramatic change in immigration law in 80 years, allowing an estimated 103 million persons to legally immigrate to the U.S. over the next 20 years..."
That's a third of our current total population!
Yet, many listening were warily hopeful about Bush's attempt to "reassure both sides with his speech." Such a feeling of desperation has descended over the country that we're looking for a sign, any sign, that we still have a government that is somehow functioning and able to look out for our best interests.
We accept less and less good governance and more and more promises. We snap at any bone of hope like the kicked electorate we've become.
Yes...it seemed his speech was heartfelt, full of feel-good lines. But when all is said and done....much was said, will anything really be done?
Even by Bush's own admission, "More than 85 percent of the illegal immigrants we catch crossing the southern border are Mexicans." So, where was his insistence to the President of Mexico, Vicente "Your Land Is My Land" Fox, that Mexico participate as a full partner in the effort to stop his citizens from invading our county?
Believe me, Fox can seal a border when he wants to, as he does on his own southern border. Brutally. Bush could have used the mighty economic clout of the United States to show Fox the way... like placing a surtax on funds sent by wire or money order to Mexico by illegal aliens.
"Money sent back to Mexico from those working in the United States reached a record high last year [2005], $20 billion ,making remittances from migrants Mexico's second largest source of income, surpassed only by oil exports." Money not being put back into the U.S. economy...and much of it untaxed.
Other sticky details. According to the conservative Heritage organization's research on the Bush-blessed proposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (CIRA S.2611), it would be the "most dramatic change in immigration law in 80 years, allowing an estimated 103 million persons to legally immigrate to the U.S. over the next 20 years..."
That's a third of our current total population!
Yet, many listening were warily hopeful about Bush's attempt to "reassure both sides with his speech." Such a feeling of desperation has descended over the country that we're looking for a sign, any sign, that we still have a government that is somehow functioning and able to look out for our best interests.
We accept less and less good governance and more and more promises. We snap at any bone of hope like the kicked electorate we've become.
Yes...it seemed his speech was heartfelt, full of feel-good lines. But when all is said and done....much was said, will anything really be done?
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Happy Mothers Day!
When I think of things that awed me as a child, I recall Grandma Alta's Boston fern. It sat resplendent on a dark mahogany pedestal at the sunniest window in the living room, overlooking the sloping front lawn.
Grandma Alta carefully nurtured that fern, as she did all of her beloved grandchildren. She instructed us that her Boston fern was fragile, easily bruised and that we should be careful of it.
By the time I received those instructions, the fern had grown to a great size, spreading its lush frond skirts, holding court like a French mistress... exotic and stunning in the gleaming sparseness of an early Iowa farm house.
Happy Mother's Day to all Moms, Grandmas and women everywhere who nurture with love, wisdom and fond memories!
Grandma Alta carefully nurtured that fern, as she did all of her beloved grandchildren. She instructed us that her Boston fern was fragile, easily bruised and that we should be careful of it.
By the time I received those instructions, the fern had grown to a great size, spreading its lush frond skirts, holding court like a French mistress... exotic and stunning in the gleaming sparseness of an early Iowa farm house.
Happy Mother's Day to all Moms, Grandmas and women everywhere who nurture with love, wisdom and fond memories!
Friday, May 12, 2006
More Bush Blather?
With his finger held high testing the ill-winds of his polls, President Bush will deliver a prime-time televised speech on Monday to push for a broad overhaul of immigration laws (amnesty) and reportedly will propose utilizing our National Guard to beef-up border security.
As always, with the Bush administration look at what they do, not what they say, or imply. If Bush is finally going act to close our dangerous, porous southern border.... permanently.... then it is truly a policy U-turn. As for new immigration laws, Bush isn't enforcing the ones we have.
A little recent history.
Over a dozen U. S. Border Patrol agents said that they have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where the Minutemen patrolled in April.
Why? To hide the effectiveness of the volunteer Minutemen patrols.
U.S. Border agents reported being told by their supervisors to keep new arrests to an "absolute minimum" to offset the effect of the Minutemen vigil along a 23-mile section of the border. Several field agents credited the volunteers with cutting the flow of illegal aliens in the targeted Naco, AZ area from 500 a day to less than 15 a day.
Grateful area residents placed a half-page ad in the Sierra Vista Herald on May 7, 2006, that read: "Thanks for doing what our government won't--close the border to illegal aliens. It was the quietest month we've had in many years....You made us feel safe because the border was closed."
The Washington Post reported that "White House officials were intentionally vague on the National Guard deployment," while Pentagon officials emphasized that "any military support would be limited." What Bush will actually propose about border security in his speech is still under wraps.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) said he was concerned that the Bush administration had not consulted directly with him and other governors of border states. Does this sound like a sound, sincere and determined approach to the border security problem?
No matter how many laws are passed, it's the will to enforce those laws that count.
We'll listen to what Bush has to say on Monday... but keep a close eye on results. He must secure our southern border first, before enacting any amnesty programs for illegal aliens.
No more empty words...we want action!
As always, with the Bush administration look at what they do, not what they say, or imply. If Bush is finally going act to close our dangerous, porous southern border.... permanently.... then it is truly a policy U-turn. As for new immigration laws, Bush isn't enforcing the ones we have.
A little recent history.
Over a dozen U. S. Border Patrol agents said that they have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where the Minutemen patrolled in April.
Why? To hide the effectiveness of the volunteer Minutemen patrols.
U.S. Border agents reported being told by their supervisors to keep new arrests to an "absolute minimum" to offset the effect of the Minutemen vigil along a 23-mile section of the border. Several field agents credited the volunteers with cutting the flow of illegal aliens in the targeted Naco, AZ area from 500 a day to less than 15 a day.
Grateful area residents placed a half-page ad in the Sierra Vista Herald on May 7, 2006, that read: "Thanks for doing what our government won't--close the border to illegal aliens. It was the quietest month we've had in many years....You made us feel safe because the border was closed."
The Washington Post reported that "White House officials were intentionally vague on the National Guard deployment," while Pentagon officials emphasized that "any military support would be limited." What Bush will actually propose about border security in his speech is still under wraps.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) said he was concerned that the Bush administration had not consulted directly with him and other governors of border states. Does this sound like a sound, sincere and determined approach to the border security problem?
No matter how many laws are passed, it's the will to enforce those laws that count.
We'll listen to what Bush has to say on Monday... but keep a close eye on results. He must secure our southern border first, before enacting any amnesty programs for illegal aliens.
No more empty words...we want action!
How U.S. Citizens Were Cooked
A Cautionary Tale.
Panicky U.S. Citizens basked in the nice warm water of reassurance. Their government would protect them.... no more horrible attacks like September 11, 2001.
It was a scary world outside of the pot. The government told us so, over and over and over. Orange alert, red alert...alert, alert!
Turn up the heat....arrest and hold suspected terrorists indefinitely. Deny them advice of counsel. Torture if you must. Reward the man who wrote the torture memo guidelines for the Bush White House, Alberto Gonzales, by appointing him Attorney General of the U.S.
Make warrantless wiretaps on calls in the U.S ...for our own good .... the Bush White House says they are only tapping calls made to foreign terrorist suspects. Better try to investigate further anyway. Citizens starting to feel uncomfortable.
But... the Justice Department aborts inquiry into its own lawyers' role in the warrantless wiretaps because investigators could not obtain a security clearance from the Bush administration!
Kindle more fire with the Constitution's Fourth Amendment that guarantees protection against unreasonable search and seizure, the right to privacy...up in smoke... Citizens pot starts to simmer.
Then Citizens discover that the government is secretly collecting the domestic telephone records of millions of U.S. households and businesses for a gargantuan database, for whatever reason.... at will. "There, there....it's for your own good Citizens," the Bush administration reassures us.
Citizens feel drowsy with the heat, safe and satisfied..... even though undocumented aliens are invading their porous borders and uninspected materials are pouring through their ports into the country.
President Bush asks Citizens to accept his nomination of the man who installed the wiretap program, Air Force General Michael Hayden, to head the CIA. Congress is rousing, they aren't so sure about all of this.... can Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) save the day?
A short while later, a knock at Citizens door ..... "Why have you been talking on the telephone to a Minuteman who is acting illegally by hampering the entry of our Mexican border-busters?" the Bush government asks.
"What?"....Citizens say..."The Minuteman is just a friend. ....wait a moment, the water is boiling.... someone get me out of here."
Too late.
Panicky U.S. Citizens basked in the nice warm water of reassurance. Their government would protect them.... no more horrible attacks like September 11, 2001.
It was a scary world outside of the pot. The government told us so, over and over and over. Orange alert, red alert...alert, alert!
Turn up the heat....arrest and hold suspected terrorists indefinitely. Deny them advice of counsel. Torture if you must. Reward the man who wrote the torture memo guidelines for the Bush White House, Alberto Gonzales, by appointing him Attorney General of the U.S.
Make warrantless wiretaps on calls in the U.S ...for our own good .... the Bush White House says they are only tapping calls made to foreign terrorist suspects. Better try to investigate further anyway. Citizens starting to feel uncomfortable.
But... the Justice Department aborts inquiry into its own lawyers' role in the warrantless wiretaps because investigators could not obtain a security clearance from the Bush administration!
Kindle more fire with the Constitution's Fourth Amendment that guarantees protection against unreasonable search and seizure, the right to privacy...up in smoke... Citizens pot starts to simmer.
Then Citizens discover that the government is secretly collecting the domestic telephone records of millions of U.S. households and businesses for a gargantuan database, for whatever reason.... at will. "There, there....it's for your own good Citizens," the Bush administration reassures us.
Citizens feel drowsy with the heat, safe and satisfied..... even though undocumented aliens are invading their porous borders and uninspected materials are pouring through their ports into the country.
President Bush asks Citizens to accept his nomination of the man who installed the wiretap program, Air Force General Michael Hayden, to head the CIA. Congress is rousing, they aren't so sure about all of this.... can Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) save the day?
A short while later, a knock at Citizens door ..... "Why have you been talking on the telephone to a Minuteman who is acting illegally by hampering the entry of our Mexican border-busters?" the Bush government asks.
"What?"....Citizens say..."The Minuteman is just a friend. ....wait a moment, the water is boiling.... someone get me out of here."
Too late.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Bush Oz Curtain Shredding
To our GOP friends we say, welcome home from the land of Oz.
Poll after poll is showing that President Bush and the GOP Congress are losing core supporters. Little wonder.
We know it was hard for you to finally see there was no genius behind the curtain, just a posturing frat boy on a spending spree..... President Bush, the man you gave your patriotic heart and soul.
When you supported him you envisioned a land with a yellow brick road leading to a shining White House on a hill.... no more nation building, no more big government, no more pork barrel spending and bloated budget deficits, dependable Medicare and Social Security programs, enforcement of laws and security from terrorists... at our ports... on our borders. All an illusion.
The outnumbered Congressional Democrats have been unable, or unwilling, to withstand the devastating tornado of Bush governing that is dismantling our nation...a nation fighting to preserve its very identity and financial breath.
The latest financial body blow was the House vote to approve a five-year $70 billion tax cut package, passed along party lines with the GOP prevailing. The bill goes to the GOP-dominated Senate today and then on to Bush for his gleeful signature. This will bring the Bush tax cuts over this decade to nearly $2 trillion.... we're awash in sea of red ink, but no matter, Bush will have his way.
As Michael Franc at the conservative Heritage Foundation points out, "It begins with spending, extends through immigration and results in a sense that we have Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee for the two parties."
If the Republicans and Democrats want to regain the confidence of their electorate, there is something they can do immediately. Listen to us.... SECURE OUR BORDERS!
Poll after poll is showing that President Bush and the GOP Congress are losing core supporters. Little wonder.
We know it was hard for you to finally see there was no genius behind the curtain, just a posturing frat boy on a spending spree..... President Bush, the man you gave your patriotic heart and soul.
When you supported him you envisioned a land with a yellow brick road leading to a shining White House on a hill.... no more nation building, no more big government, no more pork barrel spending and bloated budget deficits, dependable Medicare and Social Security programs, enforcement of laws and security from terrorists... at our ports... on our borders. All an illusion.
The outnumbered Congressional Democrats have been unable, or unwilling, to withstand the devastating tornado of Bush governing that is dismantling our nation...a nation fighting to preserve its very identity and financial breath.
The latest financial body blow was the House vote to approve a five-year $70 billion tax cut package, passed along party lines with the GOP prevailing. The bill goes to the GOP-dominated Senate today and then on to Bush for his gleeful signature. This will bring the Bush tax cuts over this decade to nearly $2 trillion.... we're awash in sea of red ink, but no matter, Bush will have his way.
As Michael Franc at the conservative Heritage Foundation points out, "It begins with spending, extends through immigration and results in a sense that we have Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee for the two parties."
If the Republicans and Democrats want to regain the confidence of their electorate, there is something they can do immediately. Listen to us.... SECURE OUR BORDERS!
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
May 17 Another Labor Day
Here we go again.
The newly formed "We Are America Alliance" is organizing an immigrant voting registration drive and their leaders will deliver postcards to D.C. requesting a "path to citizenship" on May 17, which they have dubbed "National Labor Day." Gee, I thought that was in September. This Alliance has more holidays than the French.
Ignoring the fact that sixty per cent of those who participated in the pro-immigrant demonstrations are ineligible to vote because they are not citizens ....read illegal.... this labor-Latino-Catholic church activists group wants to deliver the postcards to the Congressional leaders debating new immigration legislation.
Wonder if that will influence our Congress....they don't seem to read the requests of the majority of their electorate who just want the laws enforced, the borders secured and their country back.
Although the House has already passed its immigration legislation, the Senate is tiptoeing toward a bill by September. This summer "immigration action justice centers," such as " tax exempt" churches across the country, will be signing up voters and promoting a lenient guest-worker program designed to fast-track illegal immigrants to U.S. citizenship. Thus living up to their chant... "Ahora marachamos, manana votamos" ....Today we march, tomorrow we vote.
It is hard to ignore the impact the Hispanics have had on the country as the nation's largest and fastest-growing minority group. Or the fact that nearly half of the nation's children under 5 are racial or ethnic minorities, and 70 per cent of those children are Hispanic.
While not discounting the positive contributions made by law-abiding legal immigrants, it is also impossible to ignore the strain illegal immigrants have placed on our hospitals providing free care, on schools providing free education and even our penal system, where reportedly 29 per cent are illegal immigrants.
It is up to our government to sort all of this out.
El presidente Bush has already made plain his stance, business interests want a cheap labor force, what business wants, business gets from him. Remember his governing philosophical triumvirate.....oil, business, church.
Our lobbyist-influenced legislators are ill-equipped for Solomon-like bill crafting, but they are all we have. Let them know where you stand.... send them a postcard...or an email or call their offices.
Let them know... "Today we want our borders secured, in November we vote."
The newly formed "We Are America Alliance" is organizing an immigrant voting registration drive and their leaders will deliver postcards to D.C. requesting a "path to citizenship" on May 17, which they have dubbed "National Labor Day." Gee, I thought that was in September. This Alliance has more holidays than the French.
Ignoring the fact that sixty per cent of those who participated in the pro-immigrant demonstrations are ineligible to vote because they are not citizens ....read illegal.... this labor-Latino-Catholic church activists group wants to deliver the postcards to the Congressional leaders debating new immigration legislation.
Wonder if that will influence our Congress....they don't seem to read the requests of the majority of their electorate who just want the laws enforced, the borders secured and their country back.
Although the House has already passed its immigration legislation, the Senate is tiptoeing toward a bill by September. This summer "immigration action justice centers," such as " tax exempt" churches across the country, will be signing up voters and promoting a lenient guest-worker program designed to fast-track illegal immigrants to U.S. citizenship. Thus living up to their chant... "Ahora marachamos, manana votamos" ....Today we march, tomorrow we vote.
It is hard to ignore the impact the Hispanics have had on the country as the nation's largest and fastest-growing minority group. Or the fact that nearly half of the nation's children under 5 are racial or ethnic minorities, and 70 per cent of those children are Hispanic.
While not discounting the positive contributions made by law-abiding legal immigrants, it is also impossible to ignore the strain illegal immigrants have placed on our hospitals providing free care, on schools providing free education and even our penal system, where reportedly 29 per cent are illegal immigrants.
It is up to our government to sort all of this out.
El presidente Bush has already made plain his stance, business interests want a cheap labor force, what business wants, business gets from him. Remember his governing philosophical triumvirate.....oil, business, church.
Our lobbyist-influenced legislators are ill-equipped for Solomon-like bill crafting, but they are all we have. Let them know where you stand.... send them a postcard...or an email or call their offices.
Let them know... "Today we want our borders secured, in November we vote."
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Does Hayden Salute Czar or Don?
When it comes to the appointment of Gen. Michael V. Hayden to head the CIA, it's not so much about who he is, but who he will view as his Daddy.
There is a power struggle between the new intelligence director, John Negroponte, and our Generally-criticized Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
And, although Negroponte is the intelligence czar and his CIA is supposed to manage spy operations, Rumsfeld has staked out his own "human intelligence" operation in the Defense Department. Unlike his usual "slimmed-down" approach to the military, Rumsfeld's intelligence gathering is a growing, hungry bureaucy threatening to eat Negroponte's intelligence lunch.
Although Negroponte by law oversees all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, he is frustrated at his progress in managing the agencies under Rumsfeld's jurisdiction.
So.... the fact that Hayden is a General blurs the lines. In this intelligence tug-of-war Hayden sits in a pivitol position, one that will leave either Negroponte or Rumsfeld holding a slack rope.
You'll hear lots of Congressional posturing about Hayden's experience, wrong man or right man for the job. .... but what it really boils down to is, who gets the final Hayden intelligence salute?
The Czar or the Don.
There is a power struggle between the new intelligence director, John Negroponte, and our Generally-criticized Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
And, although Negroponte is the intelligence czar and his CIA is supposed to manage spy operations, Rumsfeld has staked out his own "human intelligence" operation in the Defense Department. Unlike his usual "slimmed-down" approach to the military, Rumsfeld's intelligence gathering is a growing, hungry bureaucy threatening to eat Negroponte's intelligence lunch.
Although Negroponte by law oversees all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, he is frustrated at his progress in managing the agencies under Rumsfeld's jurisdiction.
So.... the fact that Hayden is a General blurs the lines. In this intelligence tug-of-war Hayden sits in a pivitol position, one that will leave either Negroponte or Rumsfeld holding a slack rope.
You'll hear lots of Congressional posturing about Hayden's experience, wrong man or right man for the job. .... but what it really boils down to is, who gets the final Hayden intelligence salute?
The Czar or the Don.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Iran Olive Branch Wilting
Iran's mercurial President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wrote a letter to President George W. Bush looking for "new solutions for getting out of international problems and the current fragile situation in the world."
That would be very encouraging if someone were running things in the White House besides "I Have a Mission" Dubya. This is the second overture from Ahmadinejad, but no response from U.S. officials so far.
For all of Bush's "unique" qualities, the one that defines him is his dogged, single-minded approach to a problem, his "my way or the highway" attitude on whatever he undertakes. As situations change and problems morph in various directions....Bush charges on, head down like a cape-maddened bull. Much to the detriment of the country and the world.
Even a hot-head like Ahmadinejad can modify his language. We are no longer the "Great Satan" but a "Global Arrogance" ..... you've got to admit that is a pretty descriptive term for the face our Texas-swagger leader presents to the world .... but pretty nervy too from a U.N.-defying, Israel-bashing religious imperialist.
We should talk with Iran. If nothing more, just to find out what they are up to...like their moving forward on Friday with the establishment of their euro-denominated oil market bourse.
Just where this Iran olive branch is leading, or what it may be trying to deter, is hard to say. A confident country shouldn't fear talking things over though. Hopefully the Bush mind-set won't once again override our national interests.
That would be very encouraging if someone were running things in the White House besides "I Have a Mission" Dubya. This is the second overture from Ahmadinejad, but no response from U.S. officials so far.
For all of Bush's "unique" qualities, the one that defines him is his dogged, single-minded approach to a problem, his "my way or the highway" attitude on whatever he undertakes. As situations change and problems morph in various directions....Bush charges on, head down like a cape-maddened bull. Much to the detriment of the country and the world.
Even a hot-head like Ahmadinejad can modify his language. We are no longer the "Great Satan" but a "Global Arrogance" ..... you've got to admit that is a pretty descriptive term for the face our Texas-swagger leader presents to the world .... but pretty nervy too from a U.N.-defying, Israel-bashing religious imperialist.
We should talk with Iran. If nothing more, just to find out what they are up to...like their moving forward on Friday with the establishment of their euro-denominated oil market bourse.
Just where this Iran olive branch is leading, or what it may be trying to deter, is hard to say. A confident country shouldn't fear talking things over though. Hopefully the Bush mind-set won't once again override our national interests.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
GOP Needs More Lipstick
E. J. Dionne, Jr. of the Washington Post calls it "The Great Republican Rebranding." In an interview with conservative Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, he lists the left-leaning issues such as faith-based initiatives, AIDS funding in Africa, and help for the poor as "nontraditional Republican issues" he has championed. "I'm a Catholic....How many times did the nuns beat into your brains: the poor, the poor, the poor, the poor?"
He just wanted us to know. So he can be reelected.
I'm not buying it.
Let's face it, the Bushies faith-based initiatives were to please the GOP religious conservative base and Bush's messianic vision. The AIDS in Africa funding was targeted to please the African-American base. Support for the poor...such as the illegal immigrant labor force...pandered to the corporate base.
Of course, in an effort to also be hawkish on national security, Santorum helped to produce the now-shelved illegal immigration bill that was part of the catalyst for all of the illegal immigrant community uproar lately.
It's hard for a Legislator to know which way to lean these days. The nation has become vocal, demanding and in many cases, informed. And many Republicans think it may be dangerous in November to seem too Republican.
Speaking of illegal immigration. Many have speculated on why there has been a lack of will by the Bush administration to address the issues of the porous southern border and enforcement of our immigration laws. With this administration, whenever something doesn't make sense....look for big oil, big business or big church as the power drivers. Illegal immigration plays to all three. But big oil may be the key.
Former Bush speech writer, David Frum, was the author of the first "insider" book about the Bush presidency. He is the fellow who claims unrefutedly that he came up with the "Axis of Evil" term for the Bush speech justifying the push for the Iraq war.
In January of 2003, Frum released "The Right Man," widely regarded as favorable to Bush. In this book he wrote how Bush envisioned a Mexican border open to labor, trade and especially investment in energy.
Mexico banned foreign investment in its energy industry in 1938, and ever since Mexican oil production was controlled by the state. If Mexico opened itself to the exploration and development of its oil resources by U.S. entrepreneurs and technology, it would give the U.S. a source for oil which could possibly even displace Arab oil from its markets.
Frum writes: "For this energy 'quid,' Mexico would of course demand some equally valuable 'quo'-and in Bush's mind that 'quo' was immigration reform. Bush believed that immigration was valuable to the U.S. and praised it again and again in public speeches and his private conversations.
"So the Bush administration designed a system for regularizing the Mexican-US labor relationship-not an amnesty like that of 1986, but a grander system for enabling Mexicans to work in the U.S. temporarily and then to go home again."
If this was the plan, then obviously they lost control of the "go home again" part, and the coming in part too.
Since so much is not transparent with this administration, it is hard to judge what, if any, progress has been made with Mexico to convince them to release their grip on their oil production. Since 1995 private investment in natural gas distribution has been allowed, but the Mexico state-owned Pemex remains the sole controller of natural gas and oil exploration and production.
Is this why Mexico president Vicente Fox feels empowered to make outrageous comments and meddle in our country's immigration laws.....and Bush seems a spineless supplicant around Fox? Has the wily Fox kept the oil carrot just out of Bush's reach?
In the meantime, the GOP feels the need to remake itself to sugarcoat the peril in which the country has been placed by their disastrous policies and administration.
As Dionne so aptly puts it regarding the low approval poll numbers for Bush and Congress: "It's also a response to the failure of conservative policies and to the declining appeal of conservative rhetoric. Conservatives are trying to save themselves....."
I doubt that the majority of the electorate will be in any mood to throw them a lifeline in November.
He just wanted us to know. So he can be reelected.
I'm not buying it.
Let's face it, the Bushies faith-based initiatives were to please the GOP religious conservative base and Bush's messianic vision. The AIDS in Africa funding was targeted to please the African-American base. Support for the poor...such as the illegal immigrant labor force...pandered to the corporate base.
Of course, in an effort to also be hawkish on national security, Santorum helped to produce the now-shelved illegal immigration bill that was part of the catalyst for all of the illegal immigrant community uproar lately.
It's hard for a Legislator to know which way to lean these days. The nation has become vocal, demanding and in many cases, informed. And many Republicans think it may be dangerous in November to seem too Republican.
Speaking of illegal immigration. Many have speculated on why there has been a lack of will by the Bush administration to address the issues of the porous southern border and enforcement of our immigration laws. With this administration, whenever something doesn't make sense....look for big oil, big business or big church as the power drivers. Illegal immigration plays to all three. But big oil may be the key.
Former Bush speech writer, David Frum, was the author of the first "insider" book about the Bush presidency. He is the fellow who claims unrefutedly that he came up with the "Axis of Evil" term for the Bush speech justifying the push for the Iraq war.
In January of 2003, Frum released "The Right Man," widely regarded as favorable to Bush. In this book he wrote how Bush envisioned a Mexican border open to labor, trade and especially investment in energy.
Mexico banned foreign investment in its energy industry in 1938, and ever since Mexican oil production was controlled by the state. If Mexico opened itself to the exploration and development of its oil resources by U.S. entrepreneurs and technology, it would give the U.S. a source for oil which could possibly even displace Arab oil from its markets.
Frum writes: "For this energy 'quid,' Mexico would of course demand some equally valuable 'quo'-and in Bush's mind that 'quo' was immigration reform. Bush believed that immigration was valuable to the U.S. and praised it again and again in public speeches and his private conversations.
"So the Bush administration designed a system for regularizing the Mexican-US labor relationship-not an amnesty like that of 1986, but a grander system for enabling Mexicans to work in the U.S. temporarily and then to go home again."
If this was the plan, then obviously they lost control of the "go home again" part, and the coming in part too.
Since so much is not transparent with this administration, it is hard to judge what, if any, progress has been made with Mexico to convince them to release their grip on their oil production. Since 1995 private investment in natural gas distribution has been allowed, but the Mexico state-owned Pemex remains the sole controller of natural gas and oil exploration and production.
Is this why Mexico president Vicente Fox feels empowered to make outrageous comments and meddle in our country's immigration laws.....and Bush seems a spineless supplicant around Fox? Has the wily Fox kept the oil carrot just out of Bush's reach?
In the meantime, the GOP feels the need to remake itself to sugarcoat the peril in which the country has been placed by their disastrous policies and administration.
As Dionne so aptly puts it regarding the low approval poll numbers for Bush and Congress: "It's also a response to the failure of conservative policies and to the declining appeal of conservative rhetoric. Conservatives are trying to save themselves....."
I doubt that the majority of the electorate will be in any mood to throw them a lifeline in November.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Goss Video-Tape Snow Job
Today Porter J. Goss abruptly resigned....was fired?....as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Why? The White House and Goss have not been forthcoming.
A little background. Goss served in the House of Representatives from the 14th Congressional District of Florida for almost 18 years before being appointed as the Director of Central Intelligence in 2004, and Director of the CIA on 21 April 2005.
While in the House, Goss served for almost ten years as a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and chaired that committee from 1997 until he left in 2004 to direct central intelligence.
During the 107th Congress, Goss co-chaired the joint congressional inquiry into the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Florida in 2000.... House Intelligence Committee.... 9/11 investigation. Goss seems usually to be where the action is. His latest charge was to "revamp" the CIA after the departure of former Director George Tenent.
So is the abrupt departure of Goss simply the result of a turf war and continuing tensions between Goss and his boss, John Negroponte, the first Director of National Intelligence. Was this then the final battle between the two, and Goss lost?
Besides his precipitous resignation, the method of the announcement is very worrying. It was video taped with Goss and President Bush in the Oval office, and released in the late afternoon on a Friday....the traditional time for the release of bad news to a weekend-distracted country. And, releasing this information by video tape avoided pesky reporter questions.
Last Sunday on FOX news, recently appointed White House Chief of Staff, John Bolten, in his first interview since assuming that post, discussed the possibility that the White House would consider no longer televising the daily press briefings to avoid "press posturing."
Is this taped Goss resignation going to be Bolten's newly-minted White House press secretary Tony Snow's approach to his job?
When the Director of the CIA suddenly "resigns," without an explanation given or a replacement "leaked" to the press it is unsettling. These are highly-charged times and the activities of the CIA are vital to the nation's security and well-being.
The Bush White House owes us an explanation. Not a another Snow job.
A little background. Goss served in the House of Representatives from the 14th Congressional District of Florida for almost 18 years before being appointed as the Director of Central Intelligence in 2004, and Director of the CIA on 21 April 2005.
While in the House, Goss served for almost ten years as a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and chaired that committee from 1997 until he left in 2004 to direct central intelligence.
During the 107th Congress, Goss co-chaired the joint congressional inquiry into the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Florida in 2000.... House Intelligence Committee.... 9/11 investigation. Goss seems usually to be where the action is. His latest charge was to "revamp" the CIA after the departure of former Director George Tenent.
So is the abrupt departure of Goss simply the result of a turf war and continuing tensions between Goss and his boss, John Negroponte, the first Director of National Intelligence. Was this then the final battle between the two, and Goss lost?
Besides his precipitous resignation, the method of the announcement is very worrying. It was video taped with Goss and President Bush in the Oval office, and released in the late afternoon on a Friday....the traditional time for the release of bad news to a weekend-distracted country. And, releasing this information by video tape avoided pesky reporter questions.
Last Sunday on FOX news, recently appointed White House Chief of Staff, John Bolten, in his first interview since assuming that post, discussed the possibility that the White House would consider no longer televising the daily press briefings to avoid "press posturing."
Is this taped Goss resignation going to be Bolten's newly-minted White House press secretary Tony Snow's approach to his job?
When the Director of the CIA suddenly "resigns," without an explanation given or a replacement "leaked" to the press it is unsettling. These are highly-charged times and the activities of the CIA are vital to the nation's security and well-being.
The Bush White House owes us an explanation. Not a another Snow job.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Abramoff Would Be Proud
A chicken omelet and a feather duster are what you usually get when you set a fox to guard the hen house.
And, the U.S. House coop is no exception. Yesterday they passed a bill on lobbying reform and ethics intended to reform themselves. The results are predictable.
The vote was close, 217 to 213 with 3 not voting, falling mostly along party lines with the foxy GOP carrying the day.
Provisions include: --Requiring lobbyists to file quarterly (instead of twice yearly) reports of their activities with a penalty of $100,000 for noncompliance.....oooooohh, sounds tough.
--Allows privately funded travel with preapproval by two-thirds of the (ha-ha) House ethics committee. This committee typically can't investigate House ethics charges because they are too busy investigating each other, or getting axed from the committee for daring to act against someone like former House majority whip Tom "Hammer Head" Delay, who left his House seat under an Abramoff cloud.
--Requires random audits of lobbying reports and mandatory ethics training for congressional staff....just staff? How about mandatory training for the sticky-fingered Representatives.
--Requires a list of earmarks with sponsors names in appropriation bills so "points of order" can be raised against reports not having these lists. Stop, I can't stand it, raising points of order. Agggggh!
--It takes away the retirement benefits of members convicted of bribery or acting as a foreign agent while in office....why not extend the "acting as a foreign agent" to include after holding office too.
--Oh yes, there was an attached provision that limits donations to nonprofit political groups known as 527s....which not surprisingly tended to support Democrats in the 2004 elections. Guess that accounts for much of the party-line vote.
Too bad they just dressed the fox like Little Red Riding Hood instead of doing the only thing that will actually change the corrupt way business is done in our nation's capital....throw out the lobbyists altogether. No gifts, no trips, no writing legislation......how about a "House Without Lobbyists." Sounds sweet.
But that's not going to happen......some things just never change, and power corrupts is one of them.
Government watchdog groups say this lobbying legislation is particularly ineffective, and was labeled by Joan Claybrook of the Public Citizen group as "a fraud on the American public."
I'm not even going to tell you about the earmarks being stuffed into the Senate "emergency" off-budget spending bill....a person can take just so much.
And, the U.S. House coop is no exception. Yesterday they passed a bill on lobbying reform and ethics intended to reform themselves. The results are predictable.
The vote was close, 217 to 213 with 3 not voting, falling mostly along party lines with the foxy GOP carrying the day.
Provisions include: --Requiring lobbyists to file quarterly (instead of twice yearly) reports of their activities with a penalty of $100,000 for noncompliance.....oooooohh, sounds tough.
--Allows privately funded travel with preapproval by two-thirds of the (ha-ha) House ethics committee. This committee typically can't investigate House ethics charges because they are too busy investigating each other, or getting axed from the committee for daring to act against someone like former House majority whip Tom "Hammer Head" Delay, who left his House seat under an Abramoff cloud.
--Requires random audits of lobbying reports and mandatory ethics training for congressional staff....just staff? How about mandatory training for the sticky-fingered Representatives.
--Requires a list of earmarks with sponsors names in appropriation bills so "points of order" can be raised against reports not having these lists. Stop, I can't stand it, raising points of order. Agggggh!
--It takes away the retirement benefits of members convicted of bribery or acting as a foreign agent while in office....why not extend the "acting as a foreign agent" to include after holding office too.
--Oh yes, there was an attached provision that limits donations to nonprofit political groups known as 527s....which not surprisingly tended to support Democrats in the 2004 elections. Guess that accounts for much of the party-line vote.
Too bad they just dressed the fox like Little Red Riding Hood instead of doing the only thing that will actually change the corrupt way business is done in our nation's capital....throw out the lobbyists altogether. No gifts, no trips, no writing legislation......how about a "House Without Lobbyists." Sounds sweet.
But that's not going to happen......some things just never change, and power corrupts is one of them.
Government watchdog groups say this lobbying legislation is particularly ineffective, and was labeled by Joan Claybrook of the Public Citizen group as "a fraud on the American public."
I'm not even going to tell you about the earmarks being stuffed into the Senate "emergency" off-budget spending bill....a person can take just so much.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Protests Whip Up Backlash
One thing Monday's demonstrations by illegal aliens and their supporters accomplished....it beamed a spotlight on enabling employers. Like Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN) who closed 12 meat processing "factories" due to understaffing.
Hello....Washington.....Bush....lots of illegal immigrants. Will Tyson have to pay fines, or are they and their lobbyists among the D.C.-protected corporate darlings?
Everyone agrees, without the lure of being hired as low-paid labor, many Mexican illegals might stay home and try to fix their own country. And who knows how many illegals were breaking in for nefarious reasons....drug running, terrorism, reclaiming territory for Mexico, an easy ride.
Besides the obvious security problems posed by our porous southern borders, ponder this from Washington Post's Harold Myerson, "Perhaps the most economically significant shutdown came at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach--combined, the nation's largest harbor and its primary entry point for Asian-made imports-- where roughly 90 percent of the almost entirely immigrant workforce of truckers who drive those imports all over the country stayed off the job."
Can we then assume that many illegal immigrants, working with the Communist Chinese government at their LA area port operations, are driving all over the country! Do we have a Homeland Security administration?.....an Attorney General?
But one thing the May 1 in-your-face protest did, it woke up lots of citizens to the reality and dimension of the illegal immigrant invasion. An example. According to a spokesman for Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Texas spends $2 billion a year on health care and education for illegals. And, that is just one state.
So how will our government in D.C. contend with this budget-busting illegal immigrant problem? Who knows, so far they have pandered and dithered....and, since action is needed, individual states are stepping up to the plate.
Maybe the Bush administration should follow the example of Arizona, a state under siege. They will soon enact a proposal to set fines and penalties for companies that hire undocumented workers. Other proposed bills include an 80-mile fence and multimillion-dollar radar system along the Mexican border and a requirement for police to check the citizenship of anyone stopped for a traffic offense.
It's a start. It half-bakes the hot potato singeing the Bush White House and Congress.
In the meantime, we have Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday, to grin and bear this Friday. Except for 22 states where protests against illegal immigration have been planned.
It's usually not a good idea to rouse a sleeping giant.
Hello....Washington.....Bush....lots of illegal immigrants. Will Tyson have to pay fines, or are they and their lobbyists among the D.C.-protected corporate darlings?
Everyone agrees, without the lure of being hired as low-paid labor, many Mexican illegals might stay home and try to fix their own country. And who knows how many illegals were breaking in for nefarious reasons....drug running, terrorism, reclaiming territory for Mexico, an easy ride.
Besides the obvious security problems posed by our porous southern borders, ponder this from Washington Post's Harold Myerson, "Perhaps the most economically significant shutdown came at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach--combined, the nation's largest harbor and its primary entry point for Asian-made imports-- where roughly 90 percent of the almost entirely immigrant workforce of truckers who drive those imports all over the country stayed off the job."
Can we then assume that many illegal immigrants, working with the Communist Chinese government at their LA area port operations, are driving all over the country! Do we have a Homeland Security administration?.....an Attorney General?
But one thing the May 1 in-your-face protest did, it woke up lots of citizens to the reality and dimension of the illegal immigrant invasion. An example. According to a spokesman for Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Texas spends $2 billion a year on health care and education for illegals. And, that is just one state.
So how will our government in D.C. contend with this budget-busting illegal immigrant problem? Who knows, so far they have pandered and dithered....and, since action is needed, individual states are stepping up to the plate.
Maybe the Bush administration should follow the example of Arizona, a state under siege. They will soon enact a proposal to set fines and penalties for companies that hire undocumented workers. Other proposed bills include an 80-mile fence and multimillion-dollar radar system along the Mexican border and a requirement for police to check the citizenship of anyone stopped for a traffic offense.
It's a start. It half-bakes the hot potato singeing the Bush White House and Congress.
In the meantime, we have Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday, to grin and bear this Friday. Except for 22 states where protests against illegal immigration have been planned.
It's usually not a good idea to rouse a sleeping giant.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Congress Debates: "Deal or No Deal"
With all of our pressing national problems...the price of gas, illegal immigration, Medicare going broke, Iran....what is receiving the current oratorical posturing from our legislative houses.....money, money, money, money.
The Senate is currently fighting over earmarks (those are pet set-asides geared toward maximum November election impact) for their piggiest ever "emergency" spending bill of $106.5 billion, which is meant to fund our wars in the Middle East and Gulf Coast hurricane relief.
As the Washington Post points out, "Such emergency spending measures skirt Congress's already frayed budget rules, adding directly to the deficit with no offsetting cuts required."
Your Senate in action.
On the House side, in the wake of shining a light into the infested swamp of Abramoff-type lobbyist influence, the Representatives are wrestling with a measure intended to curb lobbyists' largess, although it falls far short of draining the swamp.
This bill also addresses the issue of pet projects in funding bills by giving opponents "a new authority to move to strike individual earmarks and bring down whole bills that are too larded with pork." Sounds good to me.
But, some Democrats aren't happy with the bill because it isn't tough enough on lobbyists, while some Republicans aren't happy because it would give the Democrats too much power over earmarks.
The vote on both bills will probably come on Wednesday. Tune to C-Span for these "Deal or No Deal" reality shows .
The Senate is currently fighting over earmarks (those are pet set-asides geared toward maximum November election impact) for their piggiest ever "emergency" spending bill of $106.5 billion, which is meant to fund our wars in the Middle East and Gulf Coast hurricane relief.
As the Washington Post points out, "Such emergency spending measures skirt Congress's already frayed budget rules, adding directly to the deficit with no offsetting cuts required."
Your Senate in action.
On the House side, in the wake of shining a light into the infested swamp of Abramoff-type lobbyist influence, the Representatives are wrestling with a measure intended to curb lobbyists' largess, although it falls far short of draining the swamp.
This bill also addresses the issue of pet projects in funding bills by giving opponents "a new authority to move to strike individual earmarks and bring down whole bills that are too larded with pork." Sounds good to me.
But, some Democrats aren't happy with the bill because it isn't tough enough on lobbyists, while some Republicans aren't happy because it would give the Democrats too much power over earmarks.
The vote on both bills will probably come on Wednesday. Tune to C-Span for these "Deal or No Deal" reality shows .
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