Acerbic Politics

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Friday, July 21, 2006

From the Center for American Progress

RACE -- BUSH USES NAACP SPEECH TO PROMOTE ESTATE TAX, DOESN'T UTTER THE WORD 'POVERTY':

President Bush addressed the NAACP yesterday for the first time in his presidency. Speaking on behalf of his friend, multi-millionaire conservative BET founder Bob Johnson , Bush used the opportunity to promote the repeal of the estate tax on the ultra-rich: "[Johnson] believes strongly, for example, that the death tax will prevent future African-American entrepreneurs from being able to pass their assets from one generation to the next. He and I also understand that the investor class shouldn’t be just confined to the old definition of the investor class." President Bush’s “death tax” pitch demonstrates his stunning disconnect from the African-American community. According to an American Progress analysis, just 59 African-Americans will pay the estate tax this year , and that number will drop to 33 in 2009. Meanwhile, as of 2004, 24.7 percent of African-Americans lived under the poverty line (up from 22.7 in 2001) -- that’s more than 9 million people. Bush didn't use the word “poverty” once during his speech, and "a somber silence fell over the room as the president discussed his policies on education, jobs and housing."

From Mother Jones

Supposedly, the U.S. military has expanded its presence and combat role around the world to foster democracy and prevail in the President's War on Terror; and, without a doubt, many brave Americans have risked their lives -- and some have died ? in the pursuit of these noble objectives. But this is not, I believe, what has motivated Messrs. Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld in their pursuit of global supremacy. Rather, they appear driven by a messianic determination to impose American dominance on large swaths of the planet and to employ this hegemonic presence to gain control over global energy supplies. In attempting to do so, they are bankrupting the nation and exposing American citizens to a higher, not lower, risk of terrorist attack.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Fun images - click to view larger version

Political Cartoons

The Republican Credo...

When in doubt - lie and whitewash!

ADMINISTRATION -- BUSH PERSONALLY BLOCKED DOJ INVESTIGATION OF WIRETAPPING PROGRAM:

Earlier this year, the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) conceded an investigation of DOJ lawyers' involvement in the warrantless wiretapping program because security clearance was not granted . Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had previously dodged an explanation as to why clearance was denied, citing that he did not want to "get into internal discussions ."

At a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, Gonzales testified that President Bush personally blocked a probe by the OPR, the agency responsible for investigating attorney misconduct. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), chair of the committee, was confused, being that this matter was "highly classified, very important, [and] many other lawyers in the Justice Department had clearance," and wondered "Why not OPR? " In response, Gonzalez said "the President of the United States makes the decision because this is such an important program," indicating that it was Bush's choice to obstruct the investigation.

From ThinkProgress.org

The Republican Credo...

When in doubt - lie!

ADMINISTRATION -- GAO FINDS FAITH-BASED FUNDING IS NOT RESULTS-BASED:

In a speech at the second White House National Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, President Bush touted the results that federally-funded faith-based organizations had achieved. "I am confident that the faith community is achieving unbelievable successes ...throughout our country," Bush said. "I repeat to you, and I’m going to say this about five times, I’m sure: Our job in government is to set goals and to focus on results ."

The Government Accountability Office, in response to a request from Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Pete Stark (D-CA), investigated the federal government’s ability to track the progress of faith-based groups. They found Bush's confidence in how effectively these groups use taxpayer money appears to be faith-based as well.

The GAO report came to three key conclusions. First, the government does not have established ways to evaluate these programs. “[L]ittle information is available to assess agencies’ progress toward the long-term goal of improving participant outcomes because outcome-based evaluations for most pilot programs have not yet been completed,” the report said.

Second, most federal agencies are not informing groups that they must provide services regardless of a person’s religion.

Finally, many federal agencies do not inform organizations that they cannot have discriminatory hiring practices.

From ThinkProgress.org

The Republican Credo...

"When in doubt - lie!"

SCIENCE -- EXPERTS RIP ROVE'S STEM CELL REMARKS:

Senior Bush aide Karl Rove waded into deeply contentious scientific territory, telling the Denver Post's editorial board that researchers have found "far more promise from adult stem cells than from embryonic stem cells."

According to scientific experts, the field of stem cell medicine is too young and unproven to make such judgments. "[Rove's] statement is just not true ," said Dr. Michael Clarke, associate director of the stem cell institute at Stanford University, who in 2003 published the first study showing how adult stem cells replenish themselves.

If opponents of embryonic stem cell research object on moral grounds, "I'm willing to live with that," Clarke said, though he disagrees. But, he said, "I'm not willing to live with statements that are misleading."

Dr. Markus Grompe, director of the stem cell center at the Oregon Health and Science University, said there is "no factual basis to compare the promise "of adult stem cells and cells taken from embryos. White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said yesterday he could not provide the name of a stem cell researcher who shares Rove's views on the superior promise of adult stem cells.

From ThinkProgress.org

Monday, July 17, 2006

Funny Political Images

Click any image to view larger...

Political Cartoons

Click any image to view larger...

From OpEdNews.com

Lies and secrets are what the military industrial media complex sells us. We say the phrase "military industrial complex," but the lies that it hides behind permeate our thinking and dominate the politics of both major parties. Some of these lies are:

Being tough and hungry for war makes us safer.

The wars we wage have something to do with defense.

The wars we wage are fought for reasons related to foreign threats or international relations.

We wage our wars reluctantly.

Working for peace is weak.

These lies are engrained in all of us, and you will find vestiges of them in yourself long after you reject them. The fact is that the larger our military grows, the less safe we are - because the size of it encourages its use, and its use creates enemies and terrorists.

The Bush Cheney gang has increased spending on weapons and wars to create the largest deficit ever. Our kids and grandkids will pay for this with their dollars and possibly their lives.

From the Connecticut Post

"Congress leaves poor out in the cold
Peter Urban

The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 an hour since 1997, and will likely remain there for at least another year. House Republicans leaders have blocked efforts to increase the minimum wage, even as Congress itself has seen their standard pay rise nearly 25 percent, from $133,600 in 1997 to $165,200 today.