Bush's Social Security: Privatization & Benefit Cuts

Yesterday the President endorsed an explicit plan for cutting Social Security benefits. He has thus linked his own privatization plans (which, on their own, do nothing to solve the so-called "funding crisis") with real-life benefit cuts (which help with financing, obviously, but at the cost of gutting the "security" part of the program) for the first time.

Thus does his master plan for preserving Social Security move forward apace.

The Second Term Bush White House: An Administration in Collapse

It seems the rudder broke.

George Bush has been running around the country on his "60 days for Social Security" campaign -- now an extended tour because, the more the country learened about it, the more they hated it. He's going to continue doing so, too, because he wants it to pass.

Dick Cheney is bogged down protecting fellow smoke-blower John Bolton's UN Nomination in the Senate; after Cheney pushed through the war in Iraq based on non-existent nuclear weapons, Bolton idolized him by pushing "biological weapons" in Cuba and even more WMD in Syria using the Cheney Technique: yell the fuck at the analyists who don't go along, and make outrageously wrong public statements about it, to bring on a war fever. Bolton's getting slammed for Cheney's technique, and his nomination will probably fail because of it. And if Cheney isn't careful, the House may come after him, later, to ask -- how is it you got away with it when Bolton shouldn't? Isn't lying to the public illegal?

Karl Rove is off pushing for the end of judicial fillibusters -- apparently oblivious that the public is 3-1 against that, in Schiavo-like numbers; an issue that Cheney expressed willingness to vote for in his bathrobe at 2am, much like Bush signed DeLay's Schiavo-law. Bill Frist will be the captain on the bottom-hugging ship.

Rumsfeld is AWOL, trying not to remind people he's still around just long enough that his presence doesn't prompt them to ask, "Aren't you gone yet?"

This, against a backdrop of scandal in the Republican party as the public learns more about illegal fundraising by Tom DeLay, and lobbyist-funded junkets to Scotland et al. It's gotten so bad, the Republicans in the House had to repeal "new ethics rules" they ginned up to protect DeLay, thinking he was more armor than target. Turns out, people are shooting at him, and the bullets have broken his armor and are wounding the party.

This is an administration in collapse. What one might call the pitfalls of catastrophic electoral success.

However, the Bush administration has practice in what to do in these situations, as does Tom DeLay. When you are politically on the run, exercise raw, undeniable power in a way that eclipses these problems, to remind people that it is you who are in charge. Examples: mass arrests. Or, a new, major war. Just do something which is so outrageous, that the backlash would kill normal mortals. That is when your friends hug close, your enemies are isolated. It's pretty much what the Bush administration does best.

Public Rejects the Republican "Nuclear Option" in Schiavo-like numbers

David Broder in the WaPost: "And current efforts by Senate Republicans, with the explicit backing of the White House, to eliminate Democratic filibusters against some Bush judicial nominees were surprisingly rejected in the latest Post poll. By a margin of 66 percent to 26 percent, the voters opposed changing Senate rules to make it easier for the Republicans to confirm Bush's judicial nominees."

That's 3-1 against getting rid of the filibuster on judicial nominees, an enormous margin.

President Extends 60-Day Effort to Save Social Security

See this Bloomberg story about the extension of Bush's 60 Cities in 60 Days Tour, and consider:

• Bush began his tour on March 4;
• Since then public disapproval of his handling of Social Security has increased from 56% to 64%;
• That's an 8-point swing that has produced a 2-1 majority in favor of preserving Social Security;
• His current public approval rating stands at 47%.

Put the pieces together, and the inference is obvious: Not satisfied with having produced a 64-31 majority in favor of preserving Social Security and solidified the Democratic caucus in opposition to his reform plans, the President is determined to drive up the numbers even more - as he puts it, "to be relentless on this subject" - until no GOP Senator will dare to even think about privatization, much less talk about it in a public forum. Thus will he safeguard the legacy of Social Security for generations to come.

Anyone who cares about Social Security has to be grateful for what the President has already accomplished and, even more, for his determination to see it through to the finish - ultimately forging a nation-wide consensus stronger than we ever would have dreamed of a mere two months ago.

Full polling data available from the Washington Post.

Ralph Reed on the Microsoft Payroll: MS Drinks the Christian Right Kool-Aide.

AMERICAblog uncovered that Microsoft put right-wing former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed on $20,000 retainer, staring a month before the 2004 Election. Since then, MS has done an about face on their previously famous support for anti-discrimination laws regarding sexual orientation, by withdrawing support for a Washington law which would have banned discrimination in housing, employment and insurance.

Clearly, MS has decided to drink the Christian Right Kool-Aide.

Gannon/Guckert Visited White House 196 Times

On daily passes? Who the heck approved that, 196 times?

Existing Homes Sales Climb by 1 Percent

See?

Yahoo! News - Housing Starts Down 17.6 Percent in March

The sharpest drop in 14 years.

Clearly, this must be due to the Bush tax cuts -- everyone is much wealthier, and buying fabulous "old money" mansions, instead of some tacky new development.

David Brooks: Fat Guy, Rocking Chair, Suspenders, Belt

This morning David Brooks makes the argument that the only way to have political peace is to overturn Roe v. Wade. He then traces all American political turmoil to that landmark decision of human rights.

Brooks' column is the same stripe as conservatives, like Trent Lott, who complain about civil rights legislation; and how if Civil Rights had never passed "we wouldn't have had all these problems all these years" (Lott's quote pertained to electing Strom Thurmand President under the racist Dixecrat banner, but the meaning was, no civil rights, no civil unrest).

Classic conservatism -- all laws must emerge whole-cloth out of the legislative process, damn any "rights" enshrined in the Constitution they may violate. The kind of thing you expect to hear from a fat guy in a rocking chair, wearing suspenders and belt.

Most disturbing is he is clearly throwing his lot in with Tom DeLay -- damning "judicial activists" for their decisions in an effort to pave the way for their destablizing goals: do away with the fillibuster, move Scalia to chief justice, and appoint a conservative christian to the Supreme Court.

Santorum is Going Down

Sen Rick Santorum, up for re-election next year is trailing his Democratic challenger by 14 points.

Appearanty, mindlessly parroting your party's line on a Social-Security non-plan, and regurgitating the demagoguic pablum of Tom DeLay on Terri Schiavo doesn't win votes in Pennsylvania.

Coding cruise ship

I had this idea about 10 years ago when Microsoft was getting pounded for using contractors for extended periods of time without giving them benefits. My thought was that Bill Gates should just buy an old aircraft carrier (they cost like what? $10B? He could do it), and moor it off the coast of Seattle, or wherever they thought best, get a high speed linkup, and just begin developing. Think of all the benefits you can offer the employees. Gambling? No problem. Harsh encryption software export laws? Forget 'em! Vacation in Hawaii for the entire Microsoft Bob development team? You're already there!

This experiment will be worth watching, expecially if a rogue wave hits them.

List of Popes

I was just looking at CNN's headline about Ratzinger being the 265th Pope, but if you look at a list of Popes, he's listed at 266.

So, if you subtract out:

Stephen II (752) -- Because he died before being consecrated, some lists (including the Vatican's official list) omit him.

you might as well omit:

Sylvester III (1045) -- Considered by some to be an antipope

But then there was Benedict IX who served from 1032-45, then in 1045 again, then from 1047-1048 (#s 146, 148, and 151 on the list).

So, conservatively Ratzenberger (herein known as Pope Clavin II) could be #262, or at most 266. Why they hell would you count Benedict IX 3 times anyway?

Rogue Waves Make Sea Cruising an Adventure!

Just ask the folks on the Norwegian Dawn's recent cruise from NYC to the Bahamas. During a storm which engulfed the boat in choppy seas for 48 hours - and as if that wasn't fun enough - their ship was broadsided by a 70-foot rogue wave. The wave blew out the windows on 2 cabins, flooded 60 more, and scrambled the deck furniture, including hot tubs.

All I can say is they had been warned.

Bill Frist's Religious War: Bigger Fish to Fry

As pointed out in the NYTimes editorial, the reason that Bill Frist is on a holy war to end the fillibuster against judicial nominees isn't to get the fringy handful of Bush's nominee's past the Senate.

It's to get Rehnquist's replacement past the Senate.

Wacko AP Headlines

Someone should let the AP know that you shouldn't use a colloquial, such as "wraps up", in a headline referring to the end of mourning: Church Wraps Up Official Mourning Period

Tom Delay's House of Scandal

Having difficulty keeping track of what Tom Delay has been doing? The DCCC started a website -- Tom Delay's House of Scandal -- which does it for you.

Bill Frist Engages in Demagoguery

This is unconscionable: "Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, has agreed to join a handful of prominent Christian conservatives in a telecast portraying Democrats as 'against people of faith' for blocking President Bush's nominees."

An advertisment for the show reads: "The filibuster was once abused to protect racial bias, and it is now being used against people of faith."

When the two biggest Republicans in the congress are leading a national campaign to out demagogue each other to conservative christians, it would appear the Republican party is now firmly in the pocket of Christian Conservatives.

TBills, Dow Jones, European Stocks fall.

Three days ago, the US held a Treasury Bill sale, and had problems finding buyers. That will not get better for as long as the Bush deficits exist. The Dow Jones has dropped to its lowest point this year. And this morning, European stocks fell in response.

So much easier....

I've decided to stop thinking of the world as a rational, cause-effect sort of place, and simply assume that everything which occurs is due to a Republican plot. It's far less taxing, and I'm still right 80% of the time.

Shuttle for Hubble - A New Hope

Bush-nominated NASA Administrator to-be Michael Griffin has told the Congress that he will reconsider predecessor and new LSU Chancellor Sean O'Keefe's decision not to dispatch a shuttle to save Hubble.

This is terrific news for astronomy, but I am convinced it is also the right decision from a budgetary perspective. Here's the rub: If a shuttle is not sent to Hubble, then NASA has to develop a robotic mission whose sole responsibility will be to attach a rocket to the satellite which can then be fired to enable a controlled re-entry - that is, a safe plunge into the Pacific without any nasty debris showers over the Outback. That's a multi hundred-million dollar price tag, folks, all for a mere suicide mission.

If we send a shuttle to Hubble, by contrast, we can have the astronauts attach the rocket as one part of their visit. And while they are there, they can replace the gyroscopes and batteries (10 years' more life) and - oh yes - install two new instruments, already built and waiting at Goddard, and totalling $300m in investment.

Relevancy of Aristotle

A friend sent me this quote

“A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side.” -Aristotle

So, the interesting question for us is: is this quote relevant, or not relevant, to us today?

Shakespeare! More Relevant Than Ever!

Iago warns Othello: Oh! Beware, my lord, the green eyed monster!

Wages Drop for First Time since the early 1990s

[NYTimes] American wage earners are losing ground.

And what do you expect? You elect a bunch of fat-cat big-business baseball managers and movie stars, flashy and bright. They cut taxes for the wealthy, and of course sooner or later your wages are going to fall. They don't care about your family.

The Gloves Come Off

After DeLay had his weekend Conservative-fest declaring political war, members of his own party are coming out against him. And I'm not talking no wimply R-CT Shays or "maybe he should say what he did" comments by Sen. Rick Santorum.


[NYTimes]: "A spokesman for Mr. DeLay, Dan Allen, was quoted by The Associated Press on Sunday as saying that the majority leader 'looks forward to the opportunity of sitting down with the ethics committee' in the House 'to get the facts out and to dispel the fiction and innuendo that's being launched at him by House Democrats and their liberal allies.'"

Apparently, 'House Democrats and their liberal allies' includes the Justice Department, which has a grand jury investigating $750-hour Lobbyist, DeLay fund-raiser, and B-movie writer-producer "Casino" Jack Abramoff. I've never thought of the Justice department as either a House Democrat or a liberal ally.

And, skipping for a moment past the fact that Jack apparently wrote an email to an Indian tribe, saying, "Hey, we need $100K to cover a Scotland golf outing" --- just how "B" are Jack's B-movies?

Actually, he made only one: "Red Scorpion", starring Dolph Lundgren (1989). Cost $16M to make and the gross was $4M. The owner isn't a big studio, just some nobody entertainment group. Which means, somebody took a $12M bath on this dog. Usually, that's the producer. (He was 'executive producer' on the sequal "Red Scorpion 2", which means that somebody else wanted to make the sequal, so they paid him a fee and made him an exec producer). Hang him high!

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which has been investigating Mr. Abramoff and Mr. Scanlon for months, has determined that the two men received $66 million in lobbying fees and other payments from six tribes across the country, a sum that has drawn outrage from committee members. "For these two men, it was seemingly all about the money," said Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican and chairman of the panel.

Who Is Running for President

A Quick Rundown of 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans who are thought of as contenders. Unequivocal denials: Condi Rice and Jeb Bush. Most surprising omission: Colin Powell is not on the list.

The President's Social Security Plan

Doonesbury quotes Bush's Feb 4 2005 speech in Tampa, FL on his Social Securty Plan, but I thought I'd transcribe it, so it isn't surrounded by silly graphics:

Bush: Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculate, for example, is on the table. Whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases..... There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those diffferent cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what as been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to what has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases.

I don't know if you've heard, but Bush has spent $2.2M on his 60 day push for his "Social Security plan". Fact is, he has no plan. Some members of Congress have asked the General Accounting Office to determine if his 60-day push is a propoganda effort, which is illegal.

Our Natural Environment - Pros and Cons

Sure - on the one hand, you've got trees: green and leafy in the summer, when they make calm whooshy noises in the breeze; stark and spare in the winter, when they are aesthetically pleasing against a snowy backdrop. You've got babbling brooks, with their cool currents flowing over water-worn stones. You've got birds and squirrels, and maybe a rabbit or chipmunk; and you've got tadpoles, water bugs, fish, and - if you're lucky - even frogs.

And then, on the other hand, there's a blood-swollen leech stuck up your nose.

Who Ended Communism in Russia?

Was it the Pope? Was it Ronald Reagan? Margaret Thatcher? Or maybe Gorbachev? Or was it Jesus Jones, for their inspiring anthem "Right Here, Right Now?"

Only history can decide.

She must really be unhappy

There are like 3 fashion violations here -- the queen is wearing white to a wedding (while not the bride), black to a wedding, and white before memorial day. Why didn't she just send a card saying "I hope you fall off a cliff and die."?

She must really be unhappy

Bush -- Breaking the Law

Our boy at TPM made this point a month ago, but Bush has been making even more aggressive statements lately that imply the Tbills in the Social Security trust fund are worthless: "Imagine," Bush said in a speech a short time later at West Virginia University at Parkersburg, "the retirement security for future generations is sitting in a filing cabinet." The implication is that these Tbills aren't a firm foundation for social security.

It turns out, that's against the constitution. It is illegal for Bush -- or anyone -- to question the solvency of the public debt. Specifically, the 14th amendment says: "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned."

So, prima facie, when Bush goes around implying that this debt isn't something the US is likely to pay, he's violating the constitution.

Will Bush Default on the Public Debt?

Bush came out yesterday to say that the $700M in T-bills for Social Security are worthless, and that Social Security has no money. This NYTimes Op Ed has criticized him because the implication is that all $2 Trillion worth of T-bills held by China and Japan is also worthless.

So is Bush's "let's shore up social security" actually a semaphore for an extremely dangerous fiscal and foreign policy decision he intends to make -- that is, purposely defaulting on our international debt? If he decided to default, all that $2Trillion that China and Japan gave us would be wiped out, and it might bankrupt both countries. Probably, China would invade us, and Japan would fall into the ocean.

You can say "No chance. That could never happen. It would be unbelievably irresponsible," but Bush has shown himself quite comfortable doing unbelievably irresponsible things.

"Indict us all," says Blunt (R-MO)

DeLay-baiting, which by all rights should be the latest political bloodsport (recent stories here, here, and here), instead is bringing an unlooked-for bipartisanship to the House divided against itself that is Wash, DC.

See, for example, the latest Republican response to these charges:

"I think the members are very much in the mode that this piling on is being done because there are no competing policy ideas that Democrats have to make," said Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, the No. 3 House Republican. "The things that Tom has been criticized about in one way or another every member of Congress could be criticized about."

Hard to disagree with that one, Roy - count me in!

In fact, let's all join together and criticize every Congressmember, from any party, who (1) Accepts trips to exotic locales from Lobbyists, contrary to Ethics principles and Federal law; or (2) Pays their wives / daughters / mistresses / husbands / brothers / sisters / sons $100,000 a year for their expert "fund raising fees", "campaign management", and "payroll".

Definition Pending...

Stars and Stripes is reporting that the issue of Sanchez lying to Congress will depend on the definition of what "approved" means. He may have written that the use of guard dogs is acceptable, but to use them a soldier would have to get written approval. Since he didn't fill out any written approvals, their use was not "approved".


"When someone tells me I was an embarrassment to this country,
I just tell them 'That depends on what the definition of WAS is,....JERK!' "

United States Military Cover Up

You gotta love the ACLU.

Daily KOS postingsummarizes it well:

On May 19th, 2004, Senator Jack Reed asked of Lt. General Ricard Sanchez in front of the Senate Armed Services Commitee: "today's USA Today, sir, reported that you ordered or approved the use of sleep deprivation, intimidation by guard dogs, excessive noise and inducing fear as an interrogation method for a prisoner in Abu Ghraib prison." To which Sanchez replied, using the acronym for Coalition Joint Task Force-7, "Sir, that may be correct that it's in a news article, but I never approved any of those measures to be used within CJTF-7 at any time in the last year."

So, the ACLU did a Freedom of Information Act request ( press release here ), and found that on Sept 14 2003, Lt. General Sanchez had done exactly that [memo here] giving that unit permission to use sleep deprivation, intimidation by guard dogs, excessive noice and inducing fear (2 kinds of fear! high! and medium!) as interrogation methods. Oh, and it wasn't some incidental or accidental permission. The memo is explicitly says it's for CJTF-7, explicitly that it lays out the interrogation policy, and explicitly lists those methods, and others, as permitted.

A baldfaced lie to the Senate. That's a military coverup.

Oh, and note that the interrogation policy is "modeled on the one implemented for interrogations conducted at Guantanamo Bay, but modifed for a theather of war in which the Geneva Conventions apply" (from Sanchez's cover memo). In other words, it was softened up.

So, was Lt. General Sanchez acting without consulting the Secretary of Defense, or was the Secretary properly exercising his overseeing power, and was fully aware of both the torture policy and Lt. General Sanchez's lie to the US Senate about it?

Maglis Found

Maglis Found
Originally uploaded by rerutled.

Who knew the Pope wore Bruno Maglis?

A Photographer Catches the Moment when the Holy Spirit leaves the Pope's Body

He seems so at peace.
.

Has DeLay Fucked the Sheep?

In television, a weekly show is "over, over" when it has "jumped the shark" -- a reference to the episode of Happy Days where Fonzie did a ski-jump over a great white in a pen, which now is shorthand for the moment in a TV show's life when it becomes something so completely other from what it was originally meant to be.

In politics, the problem is similar, but with a different vernacular -- the saying goes, in politics, you cannot unfuck the sheep.

As Delay makes comments which read like he's encouraging people to shoot Federal judges, the question arises: has he fucked the sheep?

So, with legal indictments, ethical problems, a willingness to hijack the Republican agenda simply to change the topic, violating separation of powers in his assault on the courts -- a precept which many of his colleagues hold hallowed -- and, at this moment, he says "the time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior," in language any psycho wingnut recognizes as a call to arms, it would seem that he is fast losing all his friends. Which is what happens when you fuck the sheep. Except, of course, for the other sheep-fuckers.

Subarus, ho!

Forward into the new order:: "'Volvos have become more plush and bourgeois, which is a Republican thing to be,' said Mickey Kaus, a dual expert in politics and cars as the author of the Kausfiles and Gearbox columns for Slate. 'Subaru is the new Volvo - that is, it is what Volvos used to be: trusty, rugged, inexpensive, unpretentious, performs well, maybe a bit ugly. You don't buy it because you want to show you have money; you buy it because you have college-professor values.'

"

Catholics Pray...

.. and the pope slips in and out of consciousness while singing an aria.