What did you call me?

Why would your best friends try to hide their relationship with you and even go so far as to feign indignation? The Saudi Royal family was so offended by accusations that they pal around with George W. Bush that they've banned Michael Moore's, Fahrenheit 9/11.



The film "insulted the Saudi royal family by saying they had common interests with the Bush family," said Abdul Aziz Bou Dastour, cinema and production supervisor at the Saudi Information Ministry. "We have a law that prohibits insulting friendly nations."



Arab News (Jeddah): Fahrenheit 9/11 Unfair to Saudis, Says Prince Turki

What did you call me?

Why would your best friends try to hide their relationship with you and even go so far as to feign indignation? The Saudi Royal family was so offended by accusations that they pal around with George W. Bush that they've banned Michael Moore's, Fahrenheit 9/11.



The film "insulted the Saudi royal family by saying they had common interests with the Bush family," said Abdul Aziz Bou Dastour, cinema and production supervisor at the Saudi Information Ministry. "We have a law that prohibits insulting friendly nations."



Arab News (Jeddah): Fahrenheit 9/11 Unfair to Saudis, Says Prince Turki

I'll just whistle a happy tune

If you were running the Bush campaign, how would you handle the announcement of another huge Federal budget deficit? You'd probably say something like, "This improved budget outlook is the direct result of the strong economic growth the president's tax relief has fueled," and then hope nobody asks any questions.



That's exactly the announcement the White House made ... on the same day that the Commerce Department said that economic growth continues to slow mostly because consumers don't have much money left to spend after they pay for a tank of gasoline each week.



Here's the Bush logic: You see in February the Administration estimated a $521 billion budget gap, but now they think it will be closer to $331 billion. Presto! An "improved budget outlook" (for which we can thank, of course, the Bush tax cuts). And, as an added free bonus, the new number is less than last year's $375 billion so we don't have to run a campaign in the shadow of a "record deficit."



But wait! It just gets better! What about the long term outlook? A $229 billion deficit by 2009 ... five years from now ... except that the figures after the current year don't include any of the costs of Iraq. How can that be? Simple. The Bush administration hasn't yet asked for any more money for Iraq and doesn't plan to until after the election ... therefore those costs are not included in deficit projections beyond 2004.



Didn't we once have a surplus? You know, the one that President Clinton left to the current resident of the White House?



Star Tribune (MN): White House Projects Highest Deficit Ever

I'll just whistle a happy tune

If you were running the Bush campaign, how would you handle the announcement of another huge Federal budget deficit? You'd probably say something like, "This improved budget outlook is the direct result of the strong economic growth the president's tax relief has fueled," and then hope nobody asks any questions.



That's exactly the announcement the White House made ... on the same day that the Commerce Department said that economic growth continues to slow mostly because consumers don't have much money left to spend after they pay for a tank of gasoline each week.



Here's the Bush logic: You see in February the Administration estimated a $521 billion budget gap, but now they think it will be closer to $331 billion. Presto! An "improved budget outlook" (for which we can thank, of course, the Bush tax cuts). And, as an added free bonus, the new number is less than last year's $375 billion so we don't have to run a campaign in the shadow of a "record deficit."



But wait! It just gets better! What about the long term outlook? A $229 billion deficit by 2009 ... five years from now ... except that the figures after the current year don't include any of the costs of Iraq. How can that be? Simple. The Bush administration hasn't yet asked for any more money for Iraq and doesn't plan to until after the election ... therefore those costs are not included in deficit projections beyond 2004.



Didn't we once have a surplus? You know, the one that President Clinton left to the current resident of the White House?



Star Tribune (MN): White House Projects Highest Deficit Ever

Confirming their worst suspicions

What an example we've set under the able leadership of Proconsul Paul Bremer. We managed to showcase crony capitalism at it's best: special deals, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment "lost or misplaced," thousands and thousands of dollars in cash un accounted for, endless manipulation and subversion of legal contracts.



But now that the Iraqis are in power, they're investigating (it is their country after all). There are least 27 criminal investigations and evidence of millions of dollars' worth of fraud, waste and abuse, according to a report by the Coalition Provisional Authority's inspector general. "These results are not surprising: The CPA faced a variety of daunting challenges, including extremely hazardous working conditions," according to Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the inspector general who wrote the report.



In one case, a senior U.S. advisor "manipulated" the contracting system to award a $7.2-million security contract. In another incident, a contractor billed $3.3 million for nonexistent personnel working on an oil pipeline repair contract while a security contractor guarding the pipeline overcharged the CPA by $20,000. In another example, a military assistant to a Pentagon employee gambled away part of a $40,000 grant issued to help coach an Iraqi sports team, the report found.



Well thank goodness they aren't being run by petty dictators.



Los Angles Times: Iraq Funds Are Focus of 27 Criminal Inquiries

Confirming their worst suspicions

What an example we've set under the able leadership of Proconsul Paul Bremer. We managed to showcase crony capitalism at it's best: special deals, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment "lost or misplaced," thousands and thousands of dollars in cash un accounted for, endless manipulation and subversion of legal contracts.



But now that the Iraqis are in power, they're investigating (it is their country after all). There are least 27 criminal investigations and evidence of millions of dollars' worth of fraud, waste and abuse, according to a report by the Coalition Provisional Authority's inspector general. "These results are not surprising: The CPA faced a variety of daunting challenges, including extremely hazardous working conditions," according to Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the inspector general who wrote the report.



In one case, a senior U.S. advisor "manipulated" the contracting system to award a $7.2-million security contract. In another incident, a contractor billed $3.3 million for nonexistent personnel working on an oil pipeline repair contract while a security contractor guarding the pipeline overcharged the CPA by $20,000. In another example, a military assistant to a Pentagon employee gambled away part of a $40,000 grant issued to help coach an Iraqi sports team, the report found.



Well thank goodness they aren't being run by petty dictators.



Los Angles Times: Iraq Funds Are Focus of 27 Criminal Inquiries

A compelling argument in favor of atheism

"God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn't do my job," George W. Bush told a group of Amish residents of Smoketown, PA, asking them to vote for him this fall. The Amish told the president that not all members of the church vote but they would pray for him. Bush, tears in his eyes, said the president needs their prayers.



Bush said he had never met any Amish before and was curious about why the men were wearing straw hats rather than black wool hats. The Amish explained that they wear cooler straw in summer. Bush tried on a hat. It took quite a while for the 60 or so Amish to get through the metal detectors since many of them had come from their farm jobs with vice grips, pocket knives, and nuts and bolts in their pockets. However, once the Amish were determined not to be a serious threat to national security, they were allowed inside where they waited about 30 minutes for Bush to appear.



Intelligencer-Journal (Lancaster, PA): Bush quietly meets with Amish here; they offer their prayers

A compelling argument in favor of atheism

"God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn't do my job," George W. Bush told a group of Amish residents of Smoketown, PA, asking them to vote for him this fall. The Amish told the president that not all members of the church vote but they would pray for him. Bush, tears in his eyes, said the president needs their prayers.



Bush said he had never met any Amish before and was curious about why the men were wearing straw hats rather than black wool hats. The Amish explained that they wear cooler straw in summer. Bush tried on a hat. It took quite a while for the 60 or so Amish to get through the metal detectors since many of them had come from their farm jobs with vice grips, pocket knives, and nuts and bolts in their pockets. However, once the Amish were determined not to be a serious threat to national security, they were allowed inside where they waited about 30 minutes for Bush to appear.



Intelligencer-Journal (Lancaster, PA): Bush quietly meets with Amish here; they offer their prayers

Linda Ronstadt and Michael Moore to perform duet at the Aladdin

Remember last week when the manager of the Aladdin casino ordered his armed guards to remove Linda Ronstadt after she dedicated a song to Michael Moore? Turns out the manager will be collecting unemployment just as soon as the bankrupt Aladdin is sold, perhaps as early as next September.



In addition, the new owners have extended an open invitation to Ronstadt to return to the Aladdin stage any time and have taken Michael Moore up on his offer to join Ronstadt on Aladdin's stage to sing "America the Beautiful" when the new management team takes control.



"We respect artists' creativity and support their rights to express themselves," said Robert Earl, CEO of Planet Hollywood the new owner of the Aladdin. "We were very sorry to hear about the unfortunate circumstances of this past Saturday night and want to make it clear that Planet Hollywood has never, in our 13 year history, restricted any artists' right to free speech and we will continue with that policy once we take ownership."



Las Vegas Sun: Aladdin casino extends welcome to Linda Ronstadt after all

Linda Ronstadt and Michael Moore to perform duet at the Aladdin

Remember last week when the manager of the Aladdin casino ordered his armed guards to remove Linda Ronstadt after she dedicated a song to Michael Moore? Turns out the manager will be collecting unemployment just as soon as the bankrupt Aladdin is sold, perhaps as early as next September.



In addition, the new owners have extended an open invitation to Ronstadt to return to the Aladdin stage any time and have taken Michael Moore up on his offer to join Ronstadt on Aladdin's stage to sing "America the Beautiful" when the new management team takes control.



"We respect artists' creativity and support their rights to express themselves," said Robert Earl, CEO of Planet Hollywood the new owner of the Aladdin. "We were very sorry to hear about the unfortunate circumstances of this past Saturday night and want to make it clear that Planet Hollywood has never, in our 13 year history, restricted any artists' right to free speech and we will continue with that policy once we take ownership."



Las Vegas Sun: Aladdin casino extends welcome to Linda Ronstadt after all

Prevaricating about prostitution: Watching out for the Sinister Characters, right at your own door step

"The dictator welcomes sex tourism. Here's how he bragged about the industry, 'Cuba has the cleanest and most educated prostitutes in the world.'" That was George W. Bush last month accusing Fidel Castro of running a sex trade in order to generate cash for the Republic of Cuba.



The problem is Castro never said anything of the sort and it turns out there is no truth at all to the accusation.



In fact, Bush lifted an undocumented paraphrase from a ten-year old undergraduate term paper and attributed the words to Fidel Castro. According to the student who wrote the paper, "It shows that they didn't read much of the article. Castro was merely trying to emphasize some of the successes of the revolution by saying, 'Even our prostitutes are educated. He was in no way bragging about the opportunities for sex tourism on the island."



Having been caught red-handed in an attempted slander, you might expect that George Bush to correct the record, perhaps back away from his prevarication and maybe even offer a polite apology. But instead he's continued to harp on the issue and the White House has defended his comments as being meant to "highlight Castro's morally corrupt attitude to human trafficking."



And Fidel Castro's reaction? "He depends on religion as a defense mechanism, substituting thought. In some ways, he doesn't even have to think. In the feverish and fundamentalist mind of the all-powerful head of the White House we have one who now has to save Cuba not only from tyranny but also from sexual exploitation."



Miami Herald: Castro's sex-trade point lost on Bush, student says



BBC: Castro rebuffs Bush's 'sex lies'

Prevaricating about prostitution: Watching out for the Sinister Characters, right at your own door step

"The dictator welcomes sex tourism. Here's how he bragged about the industry, 'Cuba has the cleanest and most educated prostitutes in the world.'" That was George W. Bush last month accusing Fidel Castro of running a sex trade in order to generate cash for the Republic of Cuba.



The problem is Castro never said anything of the sort and it turns out there is no truth at all to the accusation.



In fact, Bush lifted an undocumented paraphrase from a ten-year old undergraduate term paper and attributed the words to Fidel Castro. According to the student who wrote the paper, "It shows that they didn't read much of the article. Castro was merely trying to emphasize some of the successes of the revolution by saying, 'Even our prostitutes are educated. He was in no way bragging about the opportunities for sex tourism on the island."



Having been caught red-handed in an attempted slander, you might expect that George Bush to correct the record, perhaps back away from his prevarication and maybe even offer a polite apology. But instead he's continued to harp on the issue and the White House has defended his comments as being meant to "highlight Castro's morally corrupt attitude to human trafficking."



And Fidel Castro's reaction? "He depends on religion as a defense mechanism, substituting thought. In some ways, he doesn't even have to think. In the feverish and fundamentalist mind of the all-powerful head of the White House we have one who now has to save Cuba not only from tyranny but also from sexual exploitation."



Miami Herald: Castro's sex-trade point lost on Bush, student says



BBC: Castro rebuffs Bush's 'sex lies'

Kerry's election chances depend on the success of the Department of Homeland Security

Let's think the un-thinkable for a moment.  What if there is another terrorist attack here in America?  When would it happen?  And what would the terrorists hope to achieve?



First we need to consider why terrorists might launch another attack and then we need to think about whether they would hope to affect the outcome in favor of Bush or Kerry.



One of the objectives of terrorism is to reveal the "true" repressive character of the state thus winning further support for the terrorists' cause.  If we had just acted in Afghanistan, and then concentrated on the remains of al-Qaeda, then we might be winning the war on terror today.  But instead the Bush administration over-reacted, and, in Iraq and Guantanamo and Abu Gharib and all the rest, provided a recruiting boondoggle of which Osama could only dream.



America's standing in the world has changed dramatically since 9/11.  For the sake or argument let's assume that at the current moment America is pretty much reviled around the world.  Our former allies are fearful of us and don't trust us.  Even those that still stand by us don't really believe that we are reliable partners.  All of this is new.  And it is a change since George W. Bush was inaugurated.  Indeed, it just might be related to the leadership provided by the Bush Administration.



Would the election of the liberal, multilateralist, French-speaking John Kerry change all this, and restore a Kennedyesque glow to America's image in the world?  Probably not.  Something deeper has changed, and even if America reverts to its previous form, attitudes toward America will not easily change back.  Probably the best that can be hoped that Kerry can remind the rest of the world the old America still exists.  But even that would open the door and offer the faint hope that the world, even the Arab and Muslim world, would respond.



Which is why Osama bin Laden ought to be backing George Bush.  Much like Republicans who covertly support Ralph Nader because he might take votes from John Kerry, al-Qaeda terrorists will back Bush because he's their best recruiter.



Can terrorists really do anything to affect the outcome of an American presidential election?  Of course they can.  A major terrorist attack in America before the election almost certainly would not swing voters to the anti-war opposition as did the Madrid bombing.  In survey after survey, the handling the war on terror is the one area in which American voters favor Bush over Kerry.  A carefully timed attack would most likely trigger a wave of patriotic solidarity with George Bush.



Ironically, while Bush's election chances may depend on a new attack by al-Qaeda, Kerry's election chances may depend on the ability of Bush's Department of Homeland Security to prevent it.



Guardian (London): Fortress America, George Bush's re-election hopes may well hang on al-Qaida's ruthless ingenuity

Kerry's election chances depend on the success of the Department of Homeland Security

Let's think the un-thinkable for a moment.  What if there is another terrorist attack here in America?  When would it happen?  And what would the terrorists hope to achieve?



First we need to consider why terrorists might launch another attack and then we need to think about whether they would hope to affect the outcome in favor of Bush or Kerry.



One of the objectives of terrorism is to reveal the "true" repressive character of the state thus winning further support for the terrorists' cause.  If we had just acted in Afghanistan, and then concentrated on the remains of al-Qaeda, then we might be winning the war on terror today.  But instead the Bush administration over-reacted, and, in Iraq and Guantanamo and Abu Gharib and all the rest, provided a recruiting boondoggle of which Osama could only dream.



America's standing in the world has changed dramatically since 9/11.  For the sake or argument let's assume that at the current moment America is pretty much reviled around the world.  Our former allies are fearful of us and don't trust us.  Even those that still stand by us don't really believe that we are reliable partners.  All of this is new.  And it is a change since George W. Bush was inaugurated.  Indeed, it just might be related to the leadership provided by the Bush Administration.



Would the election of the liberal, multilateralist, French-speaking John Kerry change all this, and restore a Kennedyesque glow to America's image in the world?  Probably not.  Something deeper has changed, and even if America reverts to its previous form, attitudes toward America will not easily change back.  Probably the best that can be hoped that Kerry can remind the rest of the world the old America still exists.  But even that would open the door and offer the faint hope that the world, even the Arab and Muslim world, would respond.



Which is why Osama bin Laden ought to be backing George Bush.  Much like Republicans who covertly support Ralph Nader because he might take votes from John Kerry, al-Qaeda terrorists will back Bush because he's their best recruiter.



Can terrorists really do anything to affect the outcome of an American presidential election?  Of course they can.  A major terrorist attack in America before the election almost certainly would not swing voters to the anti-war opposition as did the Madrid bombing.  In survey after survey, the handling the war on terror is the one area in which American voters favor Bush over Kerry.  A carefully timed attack would most likely trigger a wave of patriotic solidarity with George Bush.



Ironically, while Bush's election chances may depend on a new attack by al-Qaeda, Kerry's election chances may depend on the ability of Bush's Department of Homeland Security to prevent it.



Guardian (London): Fortress America, George Bush's re-election hopes may well hang on al-Qaida's ruthless ingenuity

The ultimate weapon against terrorism: economic hope

American soldiers are distributing cash in an attempt to buy the goodwill of the Iraqi people and to counter offers of money to unemployed Iraqis willing to attack Americans. U.S. patrol leaders carry envelopes of cash given to them by brigade commanders, who get as much as $50,000 to $100,000 a month to distribute locally.



There are virtually no restrictions on how the cash is given away and officers acknowledge they consider the money another weapon. The recipients are the legions of unemployed Iraqi men, many of them former soldiers, policemen and low-level members of the Baath Party of the ousted president, Saddam Hussein who were put out of work when Proconsul Paul Bremer ordered a de-Baathification of Iraq. U.S. Soldiers say those unemployed men are willing to carry out attacks on the Americans for pay, sometimes as little at $200 for a roadside attack with a bonus for Americans killed.



So let's see, a little bit of economic hope and terrorism evaporates? I wonder what the unemployment rate is in U.S. inner cities.



Washington Post: U.S. Using Cash as a Defensive Weapon

The ultimate weapon against terrorism: economic hope

American soldiers are distributing cash in an attempt to buy the goodwill of the Iraqi people and to counter offers of money to unemployed Iraqis willing to attack Americans. U.S. patrol leaders carry envelopes of cash given to them by brigade commanders, who get as much as $50,000 to $100,000 a month to distribute locally.



There are virtually no restrictions on how the cash is given away and officers acknowledge they consider the money another weapon. The recipients are the legions of unemployed Iraqi men, many of them former soldiers, policemen and low-level members of the Baath Party of the ousted president, Saddam Hussein who were put out of work when Proconsul Paul Bremer ordered a de-Baathification of Iraq. U.S. Soldiers say those unemployed men are willing to carry out attacks on the Americans for pay, sometimes as little at $200 for a roadside attack with a bonus for Americans killed.



So let's see, a little bit of economic hope and terrorism evaporates? I wonder what the unemployment rate is in U.S. inner cities.



Washington Post: U.S. Using Cash as a Defensive Weapon

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

"DEMOCRACY" by Leonard Cohen*



It's coming to America first,

the cradle of the best and of the worst.

It's here they got the range

and the machinery for change

and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.

It's here the family's broken

and it's here the lonely say

that the heart has got to open

in a fundamental way:

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.



Sail on, sail on

O mighty Ship of State!

To the Shores of Need

Past the Reefs of Greed

Through the Squalls of Hate

Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.



I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean

I love the country but I can't stand the scene.

And I'm neither left or right

I'm just staying home tonight,

getting lost in that hopeless little screen.

But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags

that Time cannot decay,

I'm junk but I'm still holding up this little wild bouquet:

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.



New York Times Magazine: Wiring the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy



Guardian (London): Trouble ahead for Bush from 9/11 panel - Commission plans to campaign, not disband



*complete lyrics to Leonard Cohen's "Democracy" (1992)

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

"DEMOCRACY" by Leonard Cohen*



It's coming to America first,

the cradle of the best and of the worst.

It's here they got the range

and the machinery for change

and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.

It's here the family's broken

and it's here the lonely say

that the heart has got to open

in a fundamental way:

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.



Sail on, sail on

O mighty Ship of State!

To the Shores of Need

Past the Reefs of Greed

Through the Squalls of Hate

Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.



I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean

I love the country but I can't stand the scene.

And I'm neither left or right

I'm just staying home tonight,

getting lost in that hopeless little screen.

But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags

that Time cannot decay,

I'm junk but I'm still holding up this little wild bouquet:

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.



New York Times Magazine: Wiring the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy



Guardian (London): Trouble ahead for Bush from 9/11 panel - Commission plans to campaign, not disband



*complete lyrics to Leonard Cohen's "Democracy" (1992)

What once was lost now is found

Quick! Look! Another miracle at the Pentagon. First they couldn't locate the records of George W. Bush's service. Then they found them. And then, last month, they announced that of all of the millions of rolls of microfilm, those containing George W. Bush's had been spoiled and lost during a project to preserve them a while ago. But now, we've found them again!



Bush-Cheney ’04 Campaign Chairman Governor Marc Racicot had this to say, "Sen. Kerry is supporting a slanderous attack on the President. President Bush served honorably in the National Guard. He was honorably discharged. To suggest, as Sen. Kerry has, that the military should 'answer questions' about President Bush's honorable discharge is an outrage. The furtherance of these charges is despicable."



But could you please introduce us to just one fellow soldier who remembers serving alongside George W in uniform?



Reuters: Bush's AWOL military records discovered

What once was lost now is found

Quick! Look! Another miracle at the Pentagon. First they couldn't locate the records of George W. Bush's service. Then they found them. And then, last month, they announced that of all of the millions of rolls of microfilm, those containing George W. Bush's had been spoiled and lost during a project to preserve them a while ago. But now, we've found them again!



Bush-Cheney ’04 Campaign Chairman Governor Marc Racicot had this to say, "Sen. Kerry is supporting a slanderous attack on the President. President Bush served honorably in the National Guard. He was honorably discharged. To suggest, as Sen. Kerry has, that the military should 'answer questions' about President Bush's honorable discharge is an outrage. The furtherance of these charges is despicable."



But could you please introduce us to just one fellow soldier who remembers serving alongside George W in uniform?



Reuters: Bush's AWOL military records discovered

It's hard to tell what's up when the economy improves and dividends increase but you still can't afford to have your teeth whitened

There was something odd about Microsoft's announcement of a special cash dividend.  It's not that dividends are bad thing, but it's been hard enough to understand the whole Bush economic plan and this was just one more decidedly mixed signal.



First there's the unique nature of Bush's "economic recovery."  This has been recovery like none other in history.  Economic recoveries have always brought new jobs, but the Bush recovery brought the unprecedented elimination of nearly a million jobs during its first two years.  And then there is the matter of wage gains which, under the Bush recovery, were about 2%, not nearly enough to offset price increases for key items like energy, homes, health care, and education which soared at a rate of more than 5%.



Of course the Bush recovery hasn't been the same experience for everyone.  Take the dentist (cited in the Washington Times story below) who enjoyed a very different recovery than most of us.  He went ahead and bought a $40,000 laser machine even though his patients were declining elective treatments because they lacked the discretionary income to pay for them.



Why would a small business owner spend good money for an expensive machine he really didn't need?  Easy, the Bush economic plan includes tax cuts that allowed him to take an "accelerated deduction" for the machine.  In other words, you and I and every other taxpayer chipped in a little bit to encourage the purchase of a piece of machinery that was not needed by the business.  (This is the same tax break ... err, uh, "economic stimulus" ... that encourages the purchase of SUVs if they weigh more than three tons.)



Which brings us to the Microsoft dividend.  The company will distribute $35 billion in cash, which, as the Los Angeles Times notes, is a distribution "so large that economists probably will be able to track the effect on the U.S. economy."  And Microsoft is not the only one.  Industrial companies on the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index have a collective $555 billion in cash sitting in their treasuries, more than double what they had before the Bush economic recovery began.  (I think that might be the same cash that we were told they'd use to create new jobs, but it's hard to tell since all dollars look alike.)



Was the goal of Bush's economic policies to allow corporations to amass huge amounts of cash and small businesses to buy unnecessary equipment?  Was the whole point to ensure that the rich can get richer at the expense of the rest of us?



Maybe you prefer Alan Greenspan's explanation that economic inequity reflects a "skill premium," meaning that if you're not on the top rungs of the economic ladder it's your own fault because you lack the education, skills and intelligence to get ahead.



There is one point on which we can agree with Greenspan who, in his own convoluted syntax, said, "I think that the effective increase in the concentration of incomes here, which is implicit in this, is not desirable in a democratic society."



No kidding.  A "train wreck that could derail American society" would be more like it.



Washington Times: Economy improves on unusual track 06/25/2004



Los Angeles Times: Microsoft's Macro Dollars, 07/22/04



Washington Post: Greenspan Says Workers' Lack of Skills Lowers Wages 07/22/04

It's hard to tell what's up when the economy improves and dividends increase but you still can't afford to have your teeth whitened

There was something odd about Microsoft's announcement of a special cash dividend.  It's not that dividends are bad thing, but it's been hard enough to understand the whole Bush economic plan and this was just one more decidedly mixed signal.



First there's the unique nature of Bush's "economic recovery."  This has been recovery like none other in history.  Economic recoveries have always brought new jobs, but the Bush recovery brought the unprecedented elimination of nearly a million jobs during its first two years.  And then there is the matter of wage gains which, under the Bush recovery, were about 2%, not nearly enough to offset price increases for key items like energy, homes, health care, and education which soared at a rate of more than 5%.



Of course the Bush recovery hasn't been the same experience for everyone.  Take the dentist (cited in the Washington Times story below) who enjoyed a very different recovery than most of us.  He went ahead and bought a $40,000 laser machine even though his patients were declining elective treatments because they lacked the discretionary income to pay for them.



Why would a small business owner spend good money for an expensive machine he really didn't need?  Easy, the Bush economic plan includes tax cuts that allowed him to take an "accelerated deduction" for the machine.  In other words, you and I and every other taxpayer chipped in a little bit to encourage the purchase of a piece of machinery that was not needed by the business.  (This is the same tax break ... err, uh, "economic stimulus" ... that encourages the purchase of SUVs if they weigh more than three tons.)



Which brings us to the Microsoft dividend.  The company will distribute $35 billion in cash, which, as the Los Angeles Times notes, is a distribution "so large that economists probably will be able to track the effect on the U.S. economy."  And Microsoft is not the only one.  Industrial companies on the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index have a collective $555 billion in cash sitting in their treasuries, more than double what they had before the Bush economic recovery began.  (I think that might be the same cash that we were told they'd use to create new jobs, but it's hard to tell since all dollars look alike.)



Was the goal of Bush's economic policies to allow corporations to amass huge amounts of cash and small businesses to buy unnecessary equipment?  Was the whole point to ensure that the rich can get richer at the expense of the rest of us?



Maybe you prefer Alan Greenspan's explanation that economic inequity reflects a "skill premium," meaning that if you're not on the top rungs of the economic ladder it's your own fault because you lack the education, skills and intelligence to get ahead.



There is one point on which we can agree with Greenspan who, in his own convoluted syntax, said, "I think that the effective increase in the concentration of incomes here, which is implicit in this, is not desirable in a democratic society."



No kidding.  A "train wreck that could derail American society" would be more like it.



Washington Times: Economy improves on unusual track 06/25/2004



Los Angeles Times: Microsoft's Macro Dollars, 07/22/04



Washington Post: Greenspan Says Workers' Lack of Skills Lowers Wages 07/22/04

Doing the 9/11 Commission math and coming up with different results

Let's do the math.  The 9/11 Commission report says there were 10 "missed opportunities" to forestall a major terrorist attack on America, 4 were during the Clinton years and 6 during George W. Bush's watch up until September 11.  That is 4 times over 8 years, versus 6 times in 8 months.



This doesn't take calculus, or even algebra.  What we're saying here is that on average every couple of years President Clinton missed an opportunity while Bush screwed up every six weeks or so.  (And if we deducted for the weeks of vacation Bush took during that time it would be more like monthly.)



Now look at the newspaper headlines in the links below.  (Although the Chicago Sun Times may not be owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, it is the home of Robert Novak the right-wing columnist who outed CIA agent Valerie Plame.)  Is it any wonder that half of all Americans still believe that Osama and Saddam were buddies, even though the Commission report conclusively says they weren't?



Calgary Sun: Report blasts Bush team



Chicago Sun Times: 9/11 report lets Bush off hook

Doing the 9/11 Commission math and coming up with different results

Let's do the math.  The 9/11 Commission report says there were 10 "missed opportunities" to forestall a major terrorist attack on America, 4 were during the Clinton years and 6 during George W. Bush's watch up until September 11.  That is 4 times over 8 years, versus 6 times in 8 months.



This doesn't take calculus, or even algebra.  What we're saying here is that on average every couple of years President Clinton missed an opportunity while Bush screwed up every six weeks or so.  (And if we deducted for the weeks of vacation Bush took during that time it would be more like monthly.)



Now look at the newspaper headlines in the links below.  (Although the Chicago Sun Times may not be owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, it is the home of Robert Novak the right-wing columnist who outed CIA agent Valerie Plame.)  Is it any wonder that half of all Americans still believe that Osama and Saddam were buddies, even though the Commission report conclusively says they weren't?



Calgary Sun: Report blasts Bush team



Chicago Sun Times: 9/11 report lets Bush off hook

Self censorship is the most dangerous

What a week it was! Whoopi Goldberg fired for making jokes about George Bush, Linda Ronstadt hauled off stage by armed guards for dedicating a song to Michael Moore, and Arnold Schwarzenegger calling the Democrats "girlie men."



Of course in Arnold's case, we were told that it was okay, that he was only joshing, and that we needed to get a sense of humor. Odd, isn't it, that Arnold, the only one of the three who is an elected official, is supposed to get a pass. Apparently there's a higher standard for private citizens at work than there is for conservatives play acting as public figures.



But this week the censorship wing censorship attacks took a drastic turn. Comedian Margaret Cho, who has been an outspoken critic of Bush, was been yanked from a fundraiser scheduled around the Democratic convention ... because of fears that the Bush campaign would seize upon her performance as yet another opportunity to launch an attack on John Kerry.



Censorship comes in many forms. Self censorship is every bit as effective as the more overt kind and, in the end, much more dangerous.



MSNBC: Singer Linda Ronstadt has found her voice

Self censorship is the most dangerous

What a week it was! Whoopi Goldberg fired for making jokes about George Bush, Linda Ronstadt hauled off stage by armed guards for dedicating a song to Michael Moore, and Arnold Schwarzenegger calling the Democrats "girlie men."



Of course in Arnold's case, we were told that it was okay, that he was only joshing, and that we needed to get a sense of humor. Odd, isn't it, that Arnold, the only one of the three who is an elected official, is supposed to get a pass. Apparently there's a higher standard for private citizens at work than there is for conservatives play acting as public figures.



But this week the censorship wing censorship attacks took a drastic turn. Comedian Margaret Cho, who has been an outspoken critic of Bush, was been yanked from a fundraiser scheduled around the Democratic convention ... because of fears that the Bush campaign would seize upon her performance as yet another opportunity to launch an attack on John Kerry.



Censorship comes in many forms. Self censorship is every bit as effective as the more overt kind and, in the end, much more dangerous.



MSNBC: Singer Linda Ronstadt has found her voice

We didn't mean that faith based initiative

The problem with freedom of religion is you just cannot tell people what to believe. No matter how off-beat the belief, when it's a matter of faith it is inarguable. And that's a very good reason to maintain strict separation between religious beliefs and government.



Senator John Warner (R-VA) just might be developing a greater appreciation for the wall of separation between church and state.



Last March the Senator arranged for a church group to use the Dirksen Senate Office Building. It turned out that the event included a ceremony in which the Rev. Sun Myung Moon declared himself the Messiah, announcing that, "Emperors, kings and presidents ... have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent," and claiming his teachings have helped Hitler and Stalin be "reborn as new persons."



The Senator's staff now says that they were misled (even though there is no evidence that anyone concealed the identity of those involved), and that had they known that Rev. Mood was involved they would never have approved the use of the public building.



That's the problem with faith based initiatives: they just don't know when to stop.



Star Tribune (Minneapolis): Sen. Warner secured space for Rev. Moon's meeting

We didn't mean that faith based initiative

The problem with freedom of religion is you just cannot tell people what to believe. No matter how off-beat the belief, when it's a matter of faith it is inarguable. And that's a very good reason to maintain strict separation between religious beliefs and government.



Senator John Warner (R-VA) just might be developing a greater appreciation for the wall of separation between church and state.



Last March the Senator arranged for a church group to use the Dirksen Senate Office Building. It turned out that the event included a ceremony in which the Rev. Sun Myung Moon declared himself the Messiah, announcing that, "Emperors, kings and presidents ... have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent," and claiming his teachings have helped Hitler and Stalin be "reborn as new persons."



The Senator's staff now says that they were misled (even though there is no evidence that anyone concealed the identity of those involved), and that had they known that Rev. Mood was involved they would never have approved the use of the public building.



That's the problem with faith based initiatives: they just don't know when to stop.



Star Tribune (Minneapolis): Sen. Warner secured space for Rev. Moon's meeting

Keepin' score -- it's the American way

As it happens, the rate at which Americans are being killed and maimed has increased since Proconsul Paul Bremer fled the country two days early on June 28, dashing the hopes of the Bush administration that replacing Bremer with our own Iraqi strongman would somehow fool the locals into thinking the Army of Occupation had left too.



Why at this rate, now 898 ... no, wait, it jumped to an even 900 while I was writing this ... American fatalities, we might cross the 1,000 mark well before the Republican convention.



Here's an idea: First, bookmark these two Web sites: Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, which offers lots of detailed and precise statistics on the invaders (900 U.S. fatalities, 3,331 wounded so badly that they could not return to duty and another 2,472 wounded but not bad enough to keep them from going back into battle) and this one Iraq Body Count, which gives a best estimate of the number of Iraqis killed (somewhere between 11,252 and 13,215). Then, we all know how Americans like to keep score, set up an office pool to take bets on the exact date we cross certain thresholds ... 1,000 dead Americans, 15,000 Iraqis ... or better yet, the total number of Americans killed by the time George Bush is nominated at the Republican convention ... the possibilities are endless.



Boston Globe: US casualty rate high since handover

Keepin' score -- it's the American way

As it happens, the rate at which Americans are being killed and maimed has increased since Proconsul Paul Bremer fled the country two days early on June 28, dashing the hopes of the Bush administration that replacing Bremer with our own Iraqi strongman would somehow fool the locals into thinking the Army of Occupation had left too.



Why at this rate, now 898 ... no, wait, it jumped to an even 900 while I was writing this ... American fatalities, we might cross the 1,000 mark well before the Republican convention.



Here's an idea: First, bookmark these two Web sites: Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, which offers lots of detailed and precise statistics on the invaders (900 U.S. fatalities, 3,331 wounded so badly that they could not return to duty and another 2,472 wounded but not bad enough to keep them from going back into battle) and this one Iraq Body Count, which gives a best estimate of the number of Iraqis killed (somewhere between 11,252 and 13,215). Then, we all know how Americans like to keep score, set up an office pool to take bets on the exact date we cross certain thresholds ... 1,000 dead Americans, 15,000 Iraqis ... or better yet, the total number of Americans killed by the time George Bush is nominated at the Republican convention ... the possibilities are endless.



Boston Globe: US casualty rate high since handover

Linda Ronstadt fired for praising Michael Moore

It must have been a great show: Linda Ronstadt on stage at the Aladdin in Las Vegas. Right up until, just before launching into "Desperado" for her encore, she dedicated the song to Michael Moore, calling him a "great American patriot ... someone who is spreading the truth," and then encouraged everyone to see the documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11."



Some in the audience apparently doesn't so much like free speech in practice. There were boos, some stormed out of the theater, tore down concert posters and tossed cocktails into the air.



And then Aladdin President Bill Timmins locked Ronstadt out of her hotel room and ordered his security guards to escort her off the property.



Just imagine what might have happened if she'd criticized George Bush!





Review Journal (Las Vegas): Casino Boots Ronstadt for Praising Moore

Linda Ronstadt fired for praising Michael Moore

It must have been a great show: Linda Ronstadt on stage at the Aladdin in Las Vegas. Right up until, just before launching into "Desperado" for her encore, she dedicated the song to Michael Moore, calling him a "great American patriot ... someone who is spreading the truth," and then encouraged everyone to see the documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11."



Some in the audience apparently doesn't so much like free speech in practice. There were boos, some stormed out of the theater, tore down concert posters and tossed cocktails into the air.



And then Aladdin President Bill Timmins locked Ronstadt out of her hotel room and ordered his security guards to escort her off the property.



Just imagine what might have happened if she'd criticized George Bush!





Review Journal (Las Vegas): Casino Boots Ronstadt for Praising Moore

Don't worry we'll keep looking anyway

In the Oval Office yesterday George Bush told reporters that the Central Intelligence Agency had found "no direct connection between Iran and the attacks of Septebmer 11," but he said "We will continue to look and see if the Iranians were involved."



How can that be? If we now know that there's "no direct connection between Iran and the attacks of September 11," why would our plan be to "continue to look and see if the Iranians were involved?"



Haven't we been here before? If we keep talking about it, soon a majority of Fox News viewers will be convinced that there was a connection between Iran and 9/11 and that it is absolutely critical that we launch an unprovoked attack on that country.



Let's see now, what countries did George Bush name in his "axis of evil" speech?



New York Times: President Says U.S. to Examine Iran-Qaeda Tie

Don't worry we'll keep looking anyway

In the Oval Office yesterday George Bush told reporters that the Central Intelligence Agency had found "no direct connection between Iran and the attacks of Septebmer 11," but he said "We will continue to look and see if the Iranians were involved."



How can that be? If we now know that there's "no direct connection between Iran and the attacks of September 11," why would our plan be to "continue to look and see if the Iranians were involved?"



Haven't we been here before? If we keep talking about it, soon a majority of Fox News viewers will be convinced that there was a connection between Iran and 9/11 and that it is absolutely critical that we launch an unprovoked attack on that country.



Let's see now, what countries did George Bush name in his "axis of evil" speech?



New York Times: President Says U.S. to Examine Iran-Qaeda Tie

"We didn't actually ask to delay the election, just if we could delay the election if we really needed to."

Now the Bush administration is back-peddling double time. Homeland Security Czar Tom Ridge says he didn't ask anyone. Attorney General John Ashcroft says no one's asked him. White House National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice thinks it's a bunch of hooey and that too much time's been wasted on this silly rumor.



Yeah. Just where'd you get the idea that these folks would steal an election anyhow?



Tallahassee Democrat: Election Day Delay Rumors Fly

"We didn't actually ask to delay the election, just if we could delay the election if we really needed to."

Now the Bush administration is back-peddling double time. Homeland Security Czar Tom Ridge says he didn't ask anyone. Attorney General John Ashcroft says no one's asked him. White House National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice thinks it's a bunch of hooey and that too much time's been wasted on this silly rumor.



Yeah. Just where'd you get the idea that these folks would steal an election anyhow?



Tallahassee Democrat: Election Day Delay Rumors Fly

Iraq has seen enough of American freedom and democracy to know they don't like it

Watch now as the last two remaining justifications for our invasion of Iraq vanish before George W. Bush's eyes.  The top three excuses to attack Iraq vaporized long ago: there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction (not even "program related activities"), there was no ability or plans to attack the U.S. (or anyone else for that matter), and there were no connections to al-Queada (actually they were enemies of the Hussein regime).  So what's left?  Only two: Saddam was a very bad guy and it is America's god given duty to bring freedom and democracy to the long suffering people of Iraq.

 

But our recently installed Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi has some very different ideas about what freedom and democracy mean ... and he appears to have the support of the Iraqi people.  (You'll recall from yesterday's post that our guy Allawi is a former C.I.A. operative who, saying that he needed to set an example so that the police would feel more confident in carrying out their duties, personally murdered six suspected insurgents in public the week before we turned power over to him.)

 

It turns that in the "new Iraq" (the one that we created), the new government (the one to which we just recently turned over power) is busy conducting random searches, seizing private property, closing facilities, banning public meetings, eavesdropping on citizens, and enforcing curfews at the point of a gun — just like the police state from which George W. Bush told us American was liberating them — at the same time as the small and un-elected (remember, we appointed them) Baghdad leadership is busy establishing a number of new security agencies, each with a name and marching orders eerily reminiscent of dreaded Hussein regime.

 

Where do the long suffering Iraqi people stand on all of this?  If you are among those who really believed that the Iraqis would welcome American invaders with bouquets, then you might also expect that the Iraqi people would now be conducting peaceful demonstrations in opposition to these totalitarian crackdowns, maybe writing a letter or two to the editor, and perhaps calling into their favorite talk radio show.  You know, the sorts of things that people in a free and democratic society might do.

 

But they are not.  The Iraqis are welcoming the crackdown.  Whatever doubts they may have about who really is in charge, the sight of Iraqi leaders announcing Iraqi solutions after more than 15 chaotic months of lawlessness is winning instant and overwhelming support on the streets of Baghdad.

 

For a brief moment in the spring of 2003, as George W. Bush was busy landing on an aircraft carrier anchored in San Diego and declaring "mission accomplished," the Iraqi people might have believed that their lives were about to improve.  After all, they'd just witnessed first-hand the awesome power of the American "Shock and Awe" campaign, and surely a country that is capable of overthrowing Saddam Hussein with laser guided pinpoint bombing must also have the resources and the technology to restore order and bring nearly instant affluence and prosperity to each Iraqi family.

 

But that didn't happen and Iraqis today are grimly resigned to buy into anyone who will restore law and order.  Never mind freedom and democracy, whatever that is.  Just make it so that I can walk the streets in broad daylight without worrying about getting blown-up.  If it takes the re-entry of some former Baathist party members, the re-appointment of Saddam era security agents, and the eventual revival of Saddam's former army commanders to bring it about, the average Iraqi won't object.  A state of order, which is how Iraqis now remember their country before the American invasion, is what they now crave most.

 

Thanks to the Bush administration, the Iraqi people have seen enough of American freedom and democracy to know that they don't like it.



Toronto Star: "Here you go. Here's Iraq. Take it"

Iraq has seen enough of American freedom and democracy to know they don't like it

Watch now as the last two remaining justifications for our invasion of Iraq vanish before George W. Bush's eyes.  The top three excuses to attack Iraq vaporized long ago: there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction (not even "program related activities"), there was no ability or plans to attack the U.S. (or anyone else for that matter), and there were no connections to al-Queada (actually they were enemies of the Hussein regime).  So what's left?  Only two: Saddam was a very bad guy and it is America's god given duty to bring freedom and democracy to the long suffering people of Iraq.

 

But our recently installed Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi has some very different ideas about what freedom and democracy mean ... and he appears to have the support of the Iraqi people.  (You'll recall from yesterday's post that our guy Allawi is a former C.I.A. operative who, saying that he needed to set an example so that the police would feel more confident in carrying out their duties, personally murdered six suspected insurgents in public the week before we turned power over to him.)

 

It turns that in the "new Iraq" (the one that we created), the new government (the one to which we just recently turned over power) is busy conducting random searches, seizing private property, closing facilities, banning public meetings, eavesdropping on citizens, and enforcing curfews at the point of a gun — just like the police state from which George W. Bush told us American was liberating them — at the same time as the small and un-elected (remember, we appointed them) Baghdad leadership is busy establishing a number of new security agencies, each with a name and marching orders eerily reminiscent of dreaded Hussein regime.

 

Where do the long suffering Iraqi people stand on all of this?  If you are among those who really believed that the Iraqis would welcome American invaders with bouquets, then you might also expect that the Iraqi people would now be conducting peaceful demonstrations in opposition to these totalitarian crackdowns, maybe writing a letter or two to the editor, and perhaps calling into their favorite talk radio show.  You know, the sorts of things that people in a free and democratic society might do.

 

But they are not.  The Iraqis are welcoming the crackdown.  Whatever doubts they may have about who really is in charge, the sight of Iraqi leaders announcing Iraqi solutions after more than 15 chaotic months of lawlessness is winning instant and overwhelming support on the streets of Baghdad.

 

For a brief moment in the spring of 2003, as George W. Bush was busy landing on an aircraft carrier anchored in San Diego and declaring "mission accomplished," the Iraqi people might have believed that their lives were about to improve.  After all, they'd just witnessed first-hand the awesome power of the American "Shock and Awe" campaign, and surely a country that is capable of overthrowing Saddam Hussein with laser guided pinpoint bombing must also have the resources and the technology to restore order and bring nearly instant affluence and prosperity to each Iraqi family.

 

But that didn't happen and Iraqis today are grimly resigned to buy into anyone who will restore law and order.  Never mind freedom and democracy, whatever that is.  Just make it so that I can walk the streets in broad daylight without worrying about getting blown-up.  If it takes the re-entry of some former Baathist party members, the re-appointment of Saddam era security agents, and the eventual revival of Saddam's former army commanders to bring it about, the average Iraqi won't object.  A state of order, which is how Iraqis now remember their country before the American invasion, is what they now crave most.

 

Thanks to the Bush administration, the Iraqi people have seen enough of American freedom and democracy to know that they don't like it.



Toronto Star: "Here you go. Here's Iraq. Take it"

U.S. strongman Allawi shoots prisoners in cold blood

Do you know Dr. Iyad Allawi? You should. In fact, he is the new Prime Minister of Iraq, installed and maintained by the Bush administration and charged with bringing god's gift of American freedom and democracy to Iraq.

 

But apparently Dr. Allawi has a different view of freedom than maybe we thought.



Dr. Allawi personally shot in the head ("in cold blood" and "gang-land style," as they say) six suspects before a group of fifty or so witnesses at a police station in Baghdad in order to set an example so that police officers might feel more confident about doing their jobs, according to this well documented story in an Australian newspaper.



So much for that whole "innocent until proven guilty" nonsense that American criminals so often use to get off scot-free.



Oh but wait! Read more carefully. There were four Americans from the Prime Minister's personal security team who stood in silence and watched him execute the suspects.

 

Who were they? Let's hope they were "private contractors." Wouldn't it be awful if, come to find out, the U.S. military either was aware of or, worse, condoned this outrage?

 

Just imagine the furor if we learn that Americans knew about Dr. Allawi's murderous ways.  After all this incident occurred just days before the Bush administration handed over to Allawi complete and dictatorial control of Iraq.

 

Why if it turns out that we knew, or should have known, that Allawi committed murder in order to set an example to his police force, then America would be accused of using it's overwhelming military might to install a strongman puppet dictator ... again.   And what if, after all of that, someone finds out that Iyad Allawi is, in fact, a former C.I.A. operative with a violent history from his days as a spy in England?



Sydney Morning Herald (Australia): Allawi shot prisoners in cold blood, say witnesses

U.S. strongman Allawi shoots prisoners in cold blood

Do you know Dr. Iyad Allawi? You should. In fact, he is the new Prime Minister of Iraq, installed and maintained by the Bush administration and charged with bringing god's gift of American freedom and democracy to Iraq.

 

But apparently Dr. Allawi has a different view of freedom than maybe we thought.



Dr. Allawi personally shot in the head ("in cold blood" and "gang-land style," as they say) six suspects before a group of fifty or so witnesses at a police station in Baghdad in order to set an example so that police officers might feel more confident about doing their jobs, according to this well documented story in an Australian newspaper.



So much for that whole "innocent until proven guilty" nonsense that American criminals so often use to get off scot-free.



Oh but wait! Read more carefully. There were four Americans from the Prime Minister's personal security team who stood in silence and watched him execute the suspects.

 

Who were they? Let's hope they were "private contractors." Wouldn't it be awful if, come to find out, the U.S. military either was aware of or, worse, condoned this outrage?

 

Just imagine the furor if we learn that Americans knew about Dr. Allawi's murderous ways.  After all this incident occurred just days before the Bush administration handed over to Allawi complete and dictatorial control of Iraq.

 

Why if it turns out that we knew, or should have known, that Allawi committed murder in order to set an example to his police force, then America would be accused of using it's overwhelming military might to install a strongman puppet dictator ... again.   And what if, after all of that, someone finds out that Iyad Allawi is, in fact, a former C.I.A. operative with a violent history from his days as a spy in England?



Sydney Morning Herald (Australia): Allawi shot prisoners in cold blood, say witnesses

The Titans of War

We all know that the real power in modern corporations lies with management, and that management has authority over all of the tasks as well as its own compensation. We've seen the tip of the iceberg of the abuses that follow such absolute control.



What we might have missed is the way in which the power of corporate managers has risen in the public sector. Perhaps it was natural that corporate management would extend its role to politics and to government, with the result that today in America, corporate managers are in close alliance with the president, the vice-president and the secretary of defense and major corporate figures are also in senior positions elsewhere in the federal government. In fact, never before has so much of an American war been carried out by corporate contractors as is now happening in Iraq.



And certainly what we did not contemplate is how corporate managers might one day alter the international policy of America to pursue wars for corporate gain.



Guardian (London): A cloud over civilization

The Titans of War

We all know that the real power in modern corporations lies with management, and that management has authority over all of the tasks as well as its own compensation. We've seen the tip of the iceberg of the abuses that follow such absolute control.



What we might have missed is the way in which the power of corporate managers has risen in the public sector. Perhaps it was natural that corporate management would extend its role to politics and to government, with the result that today in America, corporate managers are in close alliance with the president, the vice-president and the secretary of defense and major corporate figures are also in senior positions elsewhere in the federal government. In fact, never before has so much of an American war been carried out by corporate contractors as is now happening in Iraq.



And certainly what we did not contemplate is how corporate managers might one day alter the international policy of America to pursue wars for corporate gain.



Guardian (London): A cloud over civilization

That's one way to make sure there are no ballot re-counts in Florida

A provision of Florida's newly revised election law actually prohibits recounts when an electronic voting machine is used. So, if there's a replay of the 2000 Florida Election Debacle this time re-counting the ballots will be illegal. The logic is this: Since the touch screen machines prevent casting a vote for more than one candidate, there is no reason to ever re-count the ballots.



Of course this news comes on the heels of the spectacle of the abortive attempt by the Bush appointed "Election Assistance Commission" (whose mission, ironically, is to help restore confidence in the election process) to ask Attorney General John Ashcroft to look into how to postpone this year's election in the event of a terrorist attack (Independent (UK): Washington plan to delay presidential election if terrorists strike).



Meanwhile evidence continues to mount that electronic voting is not yet ready for prime time.



New York Times: Election Troubles Already Descending on Florida

That's one way to make sure there are no ballot re-counts in Florida

A provision of Florida's newly revised election law actually prohibits recounts when an electronic voting machine is used. So, if there's a replay of the 2000 Florida Election Debacle this time re-counting the ballots will be illegal. The logic is this: Since the touch screen machines prevent casting a vote for more than one candidate, there is no reason to ever re-count the ballots.



Of course this news comes on the heels of the spectacle of the abortive attempt by the Bush appointed "Election Assistance Commission" (whose mission, ironically, is to help restore confidence in the election process) to ask Attorney General John Ashcroft to look into how to postpone this year's election in the event of a terrorist attack (Independent (UK): Washington plan to delay presidential election if terrorists strike).



Meanwhile evidence continues to mount that electronic voting is not yet ready for prime time.



New York Times: Election Troubles Already Descending on Florida

Bush flip-flops on gay marriage, it's just a matter of emphasis

For weeks now George W. Bush has gotten mileage out of insisting that the nation is in jeopardy unless we immediately amend the constitution to enshrine discrimination against gay couples. He spoke of it in his radio address and in numerous stump speeches, always before hand picked crowds of cheering supporters. Then, when the measure failed utterly in the Senate, a spokesperson merely expressed regret and Bush dropped the matter entirely.



Contrast this to last week when there was another matter that Bush said would put the entire nation in jeopardy: legislation that would have limited John Ashcroft's power to spy on your reading habits whether at the library or Barnes and Noble. In that case the Administration strong armed House Republicans into holding the vote until they could round up enough votes to kill the provision.



Why the flip-flop in strategy? In both cases the administration painted a picture of an urgent threat to the domestic order. Could it be just convenient politics?



New York Times: Bush Refines His Position on a Measure Banning Gay Marriage

Bush flip-flops on gay marriage, it's just a matter of emphasis

For weeks now George W. Bush has gotten mileage out of insisting that the nation is in jeopardy unless we immediately amend the constitution to enshrine discrimination against gay couples. He spoke of it in his radio address and in numerous stump speeches, always before hand picked crowds of cheering supporters. Then, when the measure failed utterly in the Senate, a spokesperson merely expressed regret and Bush dropped the matter entirely.



Contrast this to last week when there was another matter that Bush said would put the entire nation in jeopardy: legislation that would have limited John Ashcroft's power to spy on your reading habits whether at the library or Barnes and Noble. In that case the Administration strong armed House Republicans into holding the vote until they could round up enough votes to kill the provision.



Why the flip-flop in strategy? In both cases the administration painted a picture of an urgent threat to the domestic order. Could it be just convenient politics?



New York Times: Bush Refines His Position on a Measure Banning Gay Marriage

"force multipliers"

As never before Americans are paying others -- mercenaries, soldiers of fortune, private contractors of all sorts -- to do their dirty work for them. Beyond corporate cronyism, this "force multiplier" strategy includes the Bush administration's policy of withholding food and other humanitarian aid as a weapon in its War on Terror.



Perhaps now that a flamboyant American mercenary Jonathan K Idema has been arrested (see Daily Times (Pakistan): NATO troops duped by US vigilantes) for tricking NATO forces into helping him with his privately run prison in Afghanistan, perhaps the truth will start to come out.



Guardian (London): Hearts and minds at any cost

"force multipliers"

As never before Americans are paying others -- mercenaries, soldiers of fortune, private contractors of all sorts -- to do their dirty work for them. Beyond corporate cronyism, this "force multiplier" strategy includes the Bush administration's policy of withholding food and other humanitarian aid as a weapon in its War on Terror.



Perhaps now that a flamboyant American mercenary Jonathan K Idema has been arrested (see Daily Times (Pakistan): NATO troops duped by US vigilantes) for tricking NATO forces into helping him with his privately run prison in Afghanistan, perhaps the truth will start to come out.



Guardian (London): Hearts and minds at any cost

Bush hides his intelligence

The MBA President strikes again! "Gimme a few bullet points on that. No more than a page!" Apparently that's the level of analysis American's first MBA President required before he launched an unprovoked attack and invasion of Iraq.



Now I'll admit that George Bush has never been accused of being a masker of subtlety or nuance, but you've got to wonder if he doesn't wish he'd paid a little more attention to the details ... like the fact that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction or ties to al-Quaeda.



But we'll never know because the White House has refused to release the one-page summary of the 90 page National Intelligence Estimate, the summary that the CEO used to launch the attack.



New York Times: Bush and C.I.A. Won't Release Paper on Prewar Intelligence

Bush hides his intelligence

The MBA President strikes again! "Gimme a few bullet points on that. No more than a page!" Apparently that's the level of analysis American's first MBA President required before he launched an unprovoked attack and invasion of Iraq.



Now I'll admit that George Bush has never been accused of being a masker of subtlety or nuance, but you've got to wonder if he doesn't wish he'd paid a little more attention to the details ... like the fact that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction or ties to al-Quaeda.



But we'll never know because the White House has refused to release the one-page summary of the 90 page National Intelligence Estimate, the summary that the CEO used to launch the attack.



New York Times: Bush and C.I.A. Won't Release Paper on Prewar Intelligence

Secret U.S. prison camps cited by Red Cross

The Red Cross is accusing the U.S. of hiding detainees in secret prisons around the world. It seems that "terror suspects" that were reported by the FBI as having been captured have never turned up in detention centers, and the United States has refused to reply to Red Cross requests for a full list of everyone it is holding.



This isn't the first time these charges have been made against the Bush Administration. Remember U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba? He's the one who initially investigated the prisoner abuse at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison. Among other things, General Taguba's report found that military police routinely hold people brought to them by other government agencies without accounting for them, knowing their identities, or even the reason for their detention. According to the Taguba report, these "ghost detainees" are moved around from prison to prison to hide them from the Red Cross and other international agencies.



Welcome to Amerika.



Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Red Cross suspects U.S. hides detainees

Secret U.S. prison camps cited by Red Cross

The Red Cross is accusing the U.S. of hiding detainees in secret prisons around the world. It seems that "terror suspects" that were reported by the FBI as having been captured have never turned up in detention centers, and the United States has refused to reply to Red Cross requests for a full list of everyone it is holding.



This isn't the first time these charges have been made against the Bush Administration. Remember U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba? He's the one who initially investigated the prisoner abuse at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison. Among other things, General Taguba's report found that military police routinely hold people brought to them by other government agencies without accounting for them, knowing their identities, or even the reason for their detention. According to the Taguba report, these "ghost detainees" are moved around from prison to prison to hide them from the Red Cross and other international agencies.



Welcome to Amerika.



Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Red Cross suspects U.S. hides detainees

The value of responsibility

In a campaign speech last week describing his "values" (and portraying anyone who disagrees with him as "outside the mainstream"), George W. Bush declared: "The culture of America is changing from one that has said 'If it feels good, do it, and if you've got a problem, blame somebody else' to a culture in which each of us understands we are responsible for the decisions we make in life."



Does this mean that he is getting ready to take responsibility for misleading America into invading Iraq? Given the fact that Bush has no known sense of irony whatsoever, that's probably way too much to expect. More likely the real goal is an Orwellian state of perpetual war that we're convinced is actually peace.



If people as far away as Beijing can see through his lies, why is this man still in office?



People's Daily (Beijing): "A slip of intelligence" yet "on carried the war"

The value of responsibility

In a campaign speech last week describing his "values" (and portraying anyone who disagrees with him as "outside the mainstream"), George W. Bush declared: "The culture of America is changing from one that has said 'If it feels good, do it, and if you've got a problem, blame somebody else' to a culture in which each of us understands we are responsible for the decisions we make in life."



Does this mean that he is getting ready to take responsibility for misleading America into invading Iraq? Given the fact that Bush has no known sense of irony whatsoever, that's probably way too much to expect. More likely the real goal is an Orwellian state of perpetual war that we're convinced is actually peace.



If people as far away as Beijing can see through his lies, why is this man still in office?



People's Daily (Beijing): "A slip of intelligence" yet "on carried the war"

Bush admits WDM didn't exist

He actually did admit that at a campaign stop in Tennessee today. Of course he then when on to say that even so, we were right to invade Iraq and overthrow its government. "We removed a declared enemy of America who had the capability of producing weapons of mass murder and could have passed that capability to terrorists bent on acquiring them."



Got that? Now just knowing how to make weapons is reason enough to have the U.S. change your regime.



It was Albert Einstein who said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."



Given that at least 13,000 Iraqis and almost 900 Americans have now been killed solving a problem that never existed, isn't it time to change our thinking instead of hoping that George W. Bush will somehow turn out to be right?



That seems like reason enough to practice some regime change in the White House.



Reuters: Bush Argues He Has Made America Safer

Bush admits WDM didn't exist

He actually did admit that at a campaign stop in Tennessee today. Of course he then when on to say that even so, we were right to invade Iraq and overthrow its government. "We removed a declared enemy of America who had the capability of producing weapons of mass murder and could have passed that capability to terrorists bent on acquiring them."



Got that? Now just knowing how to make weapons is reason enough to have the U.S. change your regime.



It was Albert Einstein who said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."



Given that at least 13,000 Iraqis and almost 900 Americans have now been killed solving a problem that never existed, isn't it time to change our thinking instead of hoping that George W. Bush will somehow turn out to be right?



That seems like reason enough to practice some regime change in the White House.



Reuters: Bush Argues He Has Made America Safer

We've lost count and we're loosing our way

Three more American soldiers were killed yesterday. It wasn't on the front page of the New York Times or USA Today. Instead they featured President Bush's renewed call for a gay marriage ban. Indeed, USA Today covered the dead soldiers on page four and couldn't be bothered to fact-check exactly how many Americans have died, instead reporting "...more than 875." And nobody wants to talk about how many Iraqis have been killed since we invaded their country. Credible estimates put that number well in excess of 10,000.



But forget about all that, at least we'll have a debate on the urgent issue of gay marriage.



Iraq Body Count

We've lost count and we're loosing our way

Three more American soldiers were killed yesterday. It wasn't on the front page of the New York Times or USA Today. Instead they featured President Bush's renewed call for a gay marriage ban. Indeed, USA Today covered the dead soldiers on page four and couldn't be bothered to fact-check exactly how many Americans have died, instead reporting "...more than 875." And nobody wants to talk about how many Iraqis have been killed since we invaded their country. Credible estimates put that number well in excess of 10,000.



But forget about all that, at least we'll have a debate on the urgent issue of gay marriage.



Iraq Body Count

Re-thinking history

"In our society, those who have the best knowledge of what is happening are also those who are furthest from seeing the world as is. In general, the greater the understanding, the greater the delusion: the more intelligent, the less sane.



To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing them and to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies - all this is indispensably necessary. Ultimately it is by these means that the Party has been able - and may, for all we know, continue to be able for thousands of years - to arrest the course of history."



--from 1984 by George Orwell



Agence France Presse: Politicians Must Not Escape Blame Over Iraq Intel Errors - British Press

Re-thinking history

"In our society, those who have the best knowledge of what is happening are also those who are furthest from seeing the world as is. In general, the greater the understanding, the greater the delusion: the more intelligent, the less sane.



To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing them and to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies - all this is indispensably necessary. Ultimately it is by these means that the Party has been able - and may, for all we know, continue to be able for thousands of years - to arrest the course of history."



--from 1984 by George Orwell



Agence France Presse: Politicians Must Not Escape Blame Over Iraq Intel Errors - British Press

Protecting POTUS' Posterior

Two years after George W. Bush duped the American people into a preemptive invasion and occupation of Iraq we're being asked to believe that the President himself was duped into believing Iraq was a threat (never mind that even as the Senate Intelligence Committee Report was being released George continued to insist that the attack on Iraq was justified ... you know how sometimes news cycles overlap).



But the real corker is that this is not the report that was supposed to have been completed. More than a year ago, when the Senate Intelligence Committee began talking about doing this investigation, the plan was for a single broad investigation, but the Republican committee majority wanted no part of it. And so, in order to get any investigation at all, the Democrats had to settle for dividing the work into two parts. The first, investigating the intelligence failures themselves, was just released. The second, yet to begin, will investigate how the Bush administration actually used the intelligence to build its case for war. Of course that part is conveniently scheduled to be completed some time long after the fall election.



Let's stop kidding ourselves. The Bush Administration knew exactly what it was doing and the Republicans know exactly what they are up to.



The first step was to dupe the American people into a preemptive invasion of a country that posed no threat to American security. In order to accomplish that the Bush Administration took flawed information and then magnified it and spun it into exaggerations, misleading statements and outright falsehoods with the intention of scaring Americans into believing that Saddam Hussein possessed huge amounts of weapons of mass destruction and that his regime was closely linked to Al-Qaida and the attacks of September 11, 2001.



Now, the Republicans are engaged in a cynical effort avoid pre-election exposure of the Bush Administration's conniving leading up to the invasion of Iraq, even if that means thwarting the proper working of democracy by preventing Americans from having full information before they vote.



This fall America will decide whether or not they get away with it.



New York Times: Senate Report Does Little to Still Debate on C.I.A.'s Prewar Data

Protecting POTUS' Posterior

Two years after George W. Bush duped the American people into a preemptive invasion and occupation of Iraq we're being asked to believe that the President himself was duped into believing Iraq was a threat (never mind that even as the Senate Intelligence Committee Report was being released George continued to insist that the attack on Iraq was justified ... you know how sometimes news cycles overlap).



But the real corker is that this is not the report that was supposed to have been completed. More than a year ago, when the Senate Intelligence Committee began talking about doing this investigation, the plan was for a single broad investigation, but the Republican committee majority wanted no part of it. And so, in order to get any investigation at all, the Democrats had to settle for dividing the work into two parts. The first, investigating the intelligence failures themselves, was just released. The second, yet to begin, will investigate how the Bush administration actually used the intelligence to build its case for war. Of course that part is conveniently scheduled to be completed some time long after the fall election.



Let's stop kidding ourselves. The Bush Administration knew exactly what it was doing and the Republicans know exactly what they are up to.



The first step was to dupe the American people into a preemptive invasion of a country that posed no threat to American security. In order to accomplish that the Bush Administration took flawed information and then magnified it and spun it into exaggerations, misleading statements and outright falsehoods with the intention of scaring Americans into believing that Saddam Hussein possessed huge amounts of weapons of mass destruction and that his regime was closely linked to Al-Qaida and the attacks of September 11, 2001.



Now, the Republicans are engaged in a cynical effort avoid pre-election exposure of the Bush Administration's conniving leading up to the invasion of Iraq, even if that means thwarting the proper working of democracy by preventing Americans from having full information before they vote.



This fall America will decide whether or not they get away with it.



New York Times: Senate Report Does Little to Still Debate on C.I.A.'s Prewar Data

You can't prove a thing

"I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove a thing," said Bart Simpson. Apparently that's also George W. Bush's answer to questions regarding his whereabouts during his military service.



Now we learn that Bush's records were inadvertently destroyed during a project to salvage some old microfilm. Odd, isn't it? A few months ago in February when the White House released hundreds of pages of records there was no mention of this microfilm snafu. Not until the New York Times filed a Freedom of Information request did the Pentagon confess that they'd destroyed Bush's records while they were trying to save them.



New York Times: Pentagon Says Bush Records of Service Were Destroyed

You can't prove a thing

"I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove a thing," said Bart Simpson. Apparently that's also George W. Bush's answer to questions regarding his whereabouts during his military service.



Now we learn that Bush's records were inadvertently destroyed during a project to salvage some old microfilm. Odd, isn't it? A few months ago in February when the White House released hundreds of pages of records there was no mention of this microfilm snafu. Not until the New York Times filed a Freedom of Information request did the Pentagon confess that they'd destroyed Bush's records while they were trying to save them.



New York Times: Pentagon Says Bush Records of Service Were Destroyed

A pattern of surprises

Now lets see. First Tom Ridge pulls out the spooky stuff again without giving any hint about what we ought to do short of "keeping your eyes peeled," and the Kerry-Edwards campaign is pushed to page two.



Then, come to find out, the Bush administration is putting the full court press on Pakistan to serve up bin Laden, or at least somebody noteworthy, and that they want him captured during the week of the Democratic convention.



These guys wouldn't manipulate the War on Terror for political advantage. They're not that cynical. Right?



The New Republic: July Surprise?

A pattern of surprises

Now lets see. First Tom Ridge pulls out the spooky stuff again without giving any hint about what we ought to do short of "keeping your eyes peeled," and the Kerry-Edwards campaign is pushed to page two.



Then, come to find out, the Bush administration is putting the full court press on Pakistan to serve up bin Laden, or at least somebody noteworthy, and that they want him captured during the week of the Democratic convention.



These guys wouldn't manipulate the War on Terror for political advantage. They're not that cynical. Right?



The New Republic: July Surprise?