Link Roundup 2.14.05 - From Zack

To really understand the Rove/Neo-Con strategy of dismantling the role of government as we know it and ensure Republican dominance for the next half century, this is a must read. Robert Parry breaks it all down, as he has in numerous books on the Bush cartel in the past...now let's just hope he doesn't turn up face down in a river sometime soon. Here's a clip:

 
"While the Democratic base sees a life-or-death battle over the future of democracy, the Democratic leadership generally favors a business-as-usual approach that requires little more than tweaking the party’s rhetoric and upgrading campaign tactics to better target Democratic voters. Many in the Democratic base, however, believe a more drastic redirection is needed, including both a more aggressive explanation of Democratic values and a crash program to build a media infrastructure that can compete with the many giant conservative megaphones in TV, print, radio and the Internet."
 
Its great to have Will Pitt back writing regularly on Truthout. Another fantastic one, this on the unbelievable revelations of that GOP "journalist" constantly given passes to the White Hour press briefings and then used whenever in trouble to ask loaded, easy to answer questions. But that's not the half of it (he's not a journalist either), it turns out HE may be the one that leaked Valerie Plame's (the CIA operative wife of Joe Wilson) name to Robert Novak, as it turns out, this guy "Gannon" (real name Guckert) was, shockingly, given secret information about Plame by administration contacts...and Novak always did say he didn't get his info directly from the White House...hmmm....stinks to high heaven. Sure would be great for the whole outing of Plame to come back and bite them, as it was treasonous, and about as low as any american government has ever gone to take out opponents
within their own country...and a guy who just told the truth about weapons!
Here's a clip:
 
"This particular administration can't sell its policy initiatives on the merits, but has to pay journalists to pimp them by proxy. As bad as that is, it is far worse to know that there are journalists out there who would willingly play that role. Most of them don't even have to get paid to preach the party line. The aforementioned careerism, and the simple fact that a lot of 'reporters' these days are little more than vapid, blow-dried spokesmodels trying to get famous, is enough to get too many of them to roll over and sing for their supper."
 
Ej Dionne on the Howard Dean takeover of the Democratic Party! Granted, Dionne is a little more moderate than I, but he really is good at breaking down the political manueverings of the day, how they connect, and why? He discusses the strengths and weaknesses of Dean, the pitfalls for dems, and various strategies he believes should be incorporated. some good stuff. Here's a piece:
 
"On the one hand: The Republicans are doing very well in many of the nation's growing outer suburbs, and conservative churches are more engaged in politics than ever. Meanwhile, the blue states in the Northeast and Midwest have, over several decades, seen their populations and electoral clout shrink relative to other parts of the country. On the other hand: Social attitudes on all manner of issues, including gay rights, are more liberal than they used to be. Rural America, a great source of strength for Bush, is losing electoral clout. Voters under 30 were the one age group Kerry carried. It's unusual for the losing candidate to win the youngest voters, a heartening sign for the Democrats' future."
 
And, another Will Pitt column, this on the "religious values" of our nation and how they converge with the reality of our society and the facts behind the right wings policies, i.e. social security, helping the poor, etc. He's as good a writer as there is around right now...in my opinion anyway. Here's a clip:
 
"It is difficult to find the Christian ethic in a movement that would turn citizens into customers, that would slam the door on those citizens who simply cannot afford a for-profit safety net. It seems loving thy neighbor and blessing the meek is only good fodder for church on Sunday, leaving the other six days of the week open to turning a profit on the backs of the poor, the sick, the old and the lame. This is not worthy of a nation that thinks of itself not only as great, but as good. Being good costs money, and involves sacrifice. Being good involves doing what must be done to take care of the weakest among us, rather than leaving them at the mercy of a kind of economic Darwinism that would have made Jesus vomit on his own sandals in disgust. Being good means taking the time to see through the words of wolves who would sell us a bitter pill while dressed as sheep. The system as it stands needs work, but not the kind of work that has been proposed. A great nation can do better. A good nation must do better."
 
And from the Toronto star, here's an article on the now RATIFIED Kyoto Protocol...without America, who of course is responsible for 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the world. "Sorry world, whether you try to address the problem or not, our gluttony and greed is going to destroy you all anyway....now why won't you support our military invasions?" This article takes a look, similar to Creationisms recent switch to "Intelligent Design", the new argument against the agreement made primarily by big corporations (and Bush) that has shifted from trying to deny global warming isn't a problem anymore, but that Kyoto is flawed, that it would devastate our economy (as if climate change won't?) and business will do what's right on their own (when does
this argument stop passing the laugh test on the news???)
 
 
And finally, a great editorial by the New York Times on the Bush defiicits...and worse, what lay in store for the next President once all Bush's disasters kick in.
 
 
The sad truth...so many americans have already been "lost" to the Matrix...or given fully into Big Brother. I find it more and more amusing to watch the right wing come up with new ways to lie, manipulate the truth, and use a whole plethora of straw man arguments, smoke and mirrors, and fear to keep from debating facts. This from Michael Kinsley:
 
"If Bush proposed 2+2 = 5, there'd be no shortage of Republicans on hand to endorse it, call it a difficult question, or say the answer is anywhere between 2.3 and 7.09" By the time the next president comes along, some analysts said, not only will there be little if any flexibility for any new initiatives, but the entire four-year term could be spent figuring out how to accommodate the long-range cost of Bush's policies.

WAL-MART ­ CHILDREN OF THE SAW: In January, Wal-Mart secretly settled federal charges that it violated child labor laws more than 20 times in three states, including allegedly allowing workers under age 18 operate dangerous machinery like cardboard balers and chain saws. It's no wonder the deal was kept under wraps. Wal-Mart was forced to pay just $135,540 ­ about .000055 percent of the retailer's annual revenue ­ to settle the charges. Moreover, the agreement includes a promise by the Labor Department to give Wal-Mart 15 days' notice before the department investigates any other "wage and hour" accusations, like failure to pay minimum wage or overtime. John R. Fraser, the government's top wage official under the first President Bush and President Bill Clinton, told the New York Times the 15-day notice was "very unusual," saying it "appears to put Wal-Mart in a privileged position that to my knowledge no other employer has."

I hate to say I told you so...but see what's been happening in Iraq since the world changing, democracy inducing, freedom marching elections?

IRAQ ­ VIOLENCE INCREASES POST-ELECTION: Those who warned against viewing the recent elections as a cure-all for Iraq, once considered pessimists, are now, unfortunately, being proven correct. The New York Times reports that insurgent attacks have spiked upwards since the Jan. 30 election; suicide bombings are on the rise, and attacks are increasingly focused on unarmed civilians. More than one hundred Iraqis have been killed in the last week alone, attacked at a Shiite mosque, a hospital, police facilities, a bakery in a Shiite neighborhood, even in residential neighborhoods. And assaults are expected to further increase on the Shiite holy day of Ashura, which falls on Feb. 19. More than 180 Iraqis were killed during the Ashura celebrations last year, and a recent American intelligence report "warned that this year insurgents would try to blend in with the pilgrims, dressing in traditional black robes to conceal weaponry."

CORPORATE WATCH ­ THIRD TIME'S A FAILURE: From the government-bankrolled corporation that brought us the failed FBI computer upgrade and the non-existent Iraqi security force comes another failure in a string of, well, failures. Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) recently informed "some of the nation's most influential former military and intelligence officials" that they were "at risk of identity theft" due to a robbery at the SAIC offices. The personal information ­ including the officials' Social Security numbers, phone numbers and addresses ­ was not obtained by some Mission Impossible stunt; the thieves gained access to the building by breaking a few windows. For a company that is entrusted with "sensitive government contracts, including many in information security," vulnerability to smash and grab jobs brings us down to a whole new level of national insecurity.

I thought this was some interesting and little reported information on the bankruptsy of Americans and the practices of the ultra powerful credit card industry...now in the form of a new bankruptsy bill...sick::

Morally Bankrupt

The United States credit card industry rakes in $2.5 billion a month in profits ­ largely in fees and interest charged to the American consumer. But its thirst for additional profits is insatiable. Credit card corporations are showering Congress with cash in an attempt to squeeze every last dime out of those who can afford it least to by making it harder for them to get out of debt. The industry is pushing for a bill that would deny bankruptcy relief to "people with low or moderate incomes who have fallen on hard times because of illness, job loss or divorce." Meanwhile the bill does nothing to stop "abusive lending practices by credit card companies." (Share your thoughts on the bankruptcy bill at ThinkProgress.org.)

INCREASED BUREAUCRACY: The bankruptcy bill is an attempt to prevent people from filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy ­ which gives people a clean slate ­ and make them file under Chapter 13, which requires continued payments to the credit card companies. Already, judges can deny Chapter 7 protection if they think the law is being abused. The bankruptcy bill would require consumers to complete a complex array of forms to "prove" they qualify for Chapter 7. The law would also require those seeking Chapter 7 protection to "obtain counseling from a court-approved counseling center before filing." But according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, just "3 percent of people who file under Chapter 7 could continue to pay under a court-supervised plan if they filed under Chapter 13." So the real impact of the bill would not be to prevent abuse of the system but to "make filing for bankruptcy much more costly" for those who genuinely need it.  

PUNISHING THE SICK: The overwhelming majority of Americans do not become bankrupt by purchasing Rolex watches and plasma TVs. The leading cause: getting sick. A Harvard University study found that half of all respondents "said that illness or medical bills drove them to bankruptcy." Three-quarters of that group had health insurance but "high co-payments, deductibles, exclusions from coverage and other loopholes left them holding the bag for thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs when serious illness struck." Many people who suffer debilitating illness lose their jobs and, eventually, their health insurance. Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law professor who headed up the study, argues "the problem is not in the bankruptcy laws. The problem is in the health care finance system." Passing the bankruptcy bill "would be no different than a congressional demand to close hospitals in response to a flu epidemic." A group of 1,700 doctors sent a letter to Congress opposing the bankruptcy bill because it "would remove protection from patients financially ruined by medical costs."

PUNISHING THE ELDERLY: Another group saddled with credit card debt ­ largely due to costs out of their control ­ is the nation's elderly. Between 1992 and 2001, "the number of older Americans filing for bankruptcy tripled." A new report by the Demos Network emphasizes "the growing presence of America's seniors in the bankruptcy courts should warn policymakers of the importance of safeguarding this difficult last resort."

PREDATORY LENDING PRACTICES: Credit card companies aggressively market their products to many consumers ­ such as college students, low wage workers and people already drowning in debt ­ that they know can't afford to pay off their balances. Last year, the industry "collected $11.7 billion in penalty fees." Even as the Federal Reserve has kept its target rate very low (2.25 percent), credit card corporations charged customers who miss one or two payments "with maximum rates that now exceed 28 percent." In April, a unilateral change in the agreement by Discover card allowed the company "to raise the interest rate to 19.99 percent, from as low as zero, for a single late payment." A late payment that was made anytime in the 11 months before the rule change could justify the increase.

THE PAYOFF: Why are members on both sides of the aisle willing to sell out the sick and the poor to pad the profits of the credit card industry? Follow the money. Over the last four years, credit card companies have contributed $24.8 million to congressional and presidential candidates. MBNA ­ the company leading the industry's hardball lobbying campaign ­ was the largest single contributor to President Bush's reelection campaign. MBNA contributed $240,675 to Bush through the company's Political Action Committee and individual contributions. It's a reasonable investment; if the bill passes it is expected to "add $75 million a year to MBNA's bottom line."