Spinning something that can't be spun... again

Yesterday I posted about how, in the eyes of the Bush(whacked) Administration, that an up-tick in violence in Afghanistan was a good thing… and this administration's knack of spinning bad things as good. They’re doing it again...

This time it’s healthcare.

Back in 2000, the WHO ranked the US 37th in health care out of 191 countries… not soon after, “President” Bush said; “we have fabulous health care.” All fine and good, but when millions of your citizens aren’t covered, something’s amiss… and it’s not fabulous.

Fast-forward to this week and OMB Director Jim Nussle echoing Bush’s inaccurate claim while explaining Bush’s new (historical – and not in a good way) budget... that US healthcare is the “best,” saying;

“So beneficiaries, I don’t think, will see the differences. … We have the best health care in the world. And our seniors especially get great health care. And that will not be affected by this small drop in percentage increases over the next five years.”

He apparently wants all of us to ignore the $200 billion in Medicare and Medicaid cuts over the next five years, which will make the dismal state of U.S. health care even worse… yes, that’s possible. Scary, but possible…

The way that Bush’s budget cuts Medicaid, by $18.2 billion over five years, essentially shifts costs to the states and thus will force the states to institute even bigger program cuts or tax increases to cover the expenses. So who gets screwed in the end? Well, it’s the Bush(whacked) Administration… so naturally it will be the little guy… and senior citizens, and in turn the people that care for them.

Nussle wasn’t done spinning as he continued by saying that Medicare “access and quality should not suffer at all.”

Uh-huh… why do I not believe that? And I’m not the only one, as the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) also disagrees, strongly;

“Many of the proposed cuts go well beyond the reductions that MedPAC, Congress’ expert advisory commission on Medicare payments, recommended and considers safe. […] These reductions could drive some health care providers to limit the number of Medicare patients they see or drop out of the program entirely. That, in turn, would jeopardize health care for significant numbers of people who are elderly or have serious disabilities.”

Remember that a majority of Medicare savings would be achieved by reducing the annual update in federal payments to hospitals, many of which service large numbers of the uninsured… thus creating an incredibly large lack of funds to help the uninsured…

Bush is a lame duck and it’s high time Congress starts treating him like one. They need to get it through his thick skull that he’s screwed up big time and that he needs to stop doing stupid things before he pushes the populace even further into an economic pit of darkness… the likes of which this country has not seen in a very long time.

As if his legacy is not battered enough and rife with both moral and fiscal irresponsibility, he has to pull something like this in the last act of what is a very sad presidency… and an even sadder time in the history of the United States.

Random Political Thoughts

Wednesday… I’ve shoveled myself out and now have a walking path, so here you go with this week’s Random Political Thoughts…

Remembering Dead Eye Dick. It was one year ago this week that Vice President Dick “Dead Eye” Cheney “accidentally” shot his “friend” and lawyer Harry Whittington. (And he still can’t escape it. Cheney is scheduled to go fly-fishing this month in Tasmania. Someone, with a sense of humor like yours truly, wrote to the local newspaper, “Please assure us that Dick Cheney is coming to Tasmania to fish and not to shoot.” When you start getting heckled by Tasmanian newspapers, you know you’ve become a laughing stock…)

Prisoner 24601. The number of waivers granted to Army recruits that have criminal backgrounds has skyrocketed to 8,129 in 2006, drastically up from 4,918 in 2003. That’s about a 65% increase in the last three years… (Yeah… this should end well…)

Poll, polls and more polls. A new USA Today poll shows that 63% of Americans want all U.S. troops home from Iraq by the end of 2008. A CBS poll shows 63% of the public disapproves of the President’s escalation. (All these numbers and Congress can’t find the balls to debate, much less intervene, about the escalation… all the while the White House ignores, once again, the will of the people. I’ve said it before here, and I’ll say it again. January 2009 can NOT come soon enough…)

It Was Only a Matter of Time. Looking for love and afraid that the person you might find will not be Mr. Rright, but instead will be Mr. Left? Worry no more as political matchmaking sites are springing up faster than Anna Nicole Smith memento’s on eBay. ActForLove.org will help Liberal progressives find love while ConservativeDates.com aims for conservatives (If VP Cheney is in charge of shooting, you should get matched right away. What’s next? Dating sites for dogs… oh, wait….)

Not Paying Attention. Methinks Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has lost his mind. Earlier this week he said that he’s extremely concerned about the possibility of a “Tet Offensive” in Iraq that would “switch American public opinion the way that the Tet Offensive did” during Vietnam… (Uh… Senator… more than two-thirds of Americans already oppose the war… what more do you want??)

Here We Go Again? “President” Bush held a press conference today and said that Iran is supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq but stressed that he is not using this issue as a “pretext” for a war against Iran… (and I totally believe him, don’t you? I mean, has he ever given the world American people any reason to not believe everything that comes out of his mouth?? Sarcasm becomes me…)

Making Scott Evil Proud. Dolphins and sea lions have been trained to detect and apprehend waterborne attackers and could be sent to patrol a military base in Washington state soon (Ignoring the fact that Dr. Evil has been heard laughing maniacally nearby… how exactly would dolphins and sea lines apprehend a perp???)

The Forgotten (& True) War on Terror. Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, the man who commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan for 21 months has gone on the record saying that “The intelligence has gone cold on Osama bin Laden.” He threw down more sunshine by saying he also expects a fresh offensive by the Taliban this spring. (Mr. Goodnews Happy Guy he ain’t… but this doesn’t come as a surprise to me. The Taliban has already regained a foothold in the country and has been attacking our troops constantly, most people don’t know that because the MSM has been ignoring it and giving us hourly updates on the latest news about Anna Nicole Smith instead)

Dog and Pony Show. The House of Representatives has started debating the escalation of troops in Iraq. Nobody is paying attention because: A - It’s not going to have an effect on the administration. B - Everyone knows this debate is purely for show. C – A chance to spout more rhetoric than a campaign stop. D - All of the above. If you guessed ‘D’ you would be right.

Scooter Trial. the defense in the Scooter Libby is poised to rest their case soon with neither Libby himself or VP Cheney taking the stand. (regardless of who takes the stand next, I think some damage has been done and someone, though I’m not sure whom, will be going to jail. Unfortunately I don’t think it will be Cheney… and that has me a little bummed…)

Op-Ed Piece of The Week. this week I’ve chosen an op-ed piece from The Hill, which for those of you that do not know, is the newspaper for and about the U.S. Congress. The piece is entitled “Game plan”, written by Brent Budowsky and it’s definitely a must-read.

Doesn’t Know When to STFU. Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John “Don’t Call me Michael” Bolton says the deal with North Korea is rewarding their “bad behavior” and is sending “bad signals” to Iran. (First of all, if North Korea actually follows through, which is never for certain when dealing with Kim Jong Ill, it essentially means nuclear disarmament for them… which is a good thing. The U.S. isn’t giving them anything that we haven’t given other countries before, and if it stops them from making nuclear weapons, it’s worth it. And to Mr. Bolton I say: you aren’t the ambassador anymore, why don’t you shut up, trim your ugly-ass mustache and get a new job… ya schmuck)

A Political Prognosticator’s Dream. This is already going to be the most wide-open Presidential campaign in eons, and it seems anyone and everyone on both sides (republicans and Democrats – ignore Nader… please… for the love of God ignore Nader!!!!) is going to, at the least, form an exploratory committee and consider a run. Something that carries a lot of weight within Congress but is essentially ignored by the public is the so-called Capitol Primary. A win in this “primary”, unofficial as it is, definitely helps to build momentum for candidates, but with such a wide-open field, the support from members of Congress may be beneficial and helpful to those that are making a run for the White House and are already on the outside looking in, I guarantee you that this Presidential election is going to be one for the books and one that everyone, and I mean everyone needs to pay attention to.

All I have, take ‘em as you will…

The Weekly Rewind

It’s Friday, you all know what that means… it’s time for our ever-popular, ever-knowing feature; The Weekly Rewind… long-winded edition.

Applaud: to low polling numbers for the President and the Vice President. According to a new Harris Interactive Poll, “President” Bush’s approval is hovering at 32%, while Dick “Dick” Cheney’s numbers have him at an all-time Vice-Presidential low at 29% approval. (Hee hee hee hee… I love when hubris come back to bite people in the ass. What is it I used to say a lot here? Oh yeah… ‘Karma, baby!’)

Heckle: to the Department of Homeland Security for failing to tell Congress how the department is spending billions of dollars on major programs that run the gamut from aviation security to Gulf Coast rebuilding. (Checks and balances? What checks and balances???)

Applaud: to the republicans who are supporting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s right to travel back and forth from DC on a military plane, like her republican predeccesor, Dennis Hastert (R-IL) did. According to the New York Times (new motto: all our reporters are now out of prison), a lot of republicans were put off by the flight fight. Said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL) “This is a bunch of baloney.” Rep Jeff Flake (R-AZ) followed that up by declaring; “Next week, we are going to steal their mascot and short-sheet their beds.” Now the White House is backing Ms. Pelosi with Spokesman Tony “Job” Snow saying in a briefing earlier this week: “This is a silly story, and I think it's been unfair to the speaker.” (I never thought I would say this, but nicely said Mr. Snow. This is a non-story that is being brought up by a slew of junior gop representatives who apparently have absolutely nothing better to do but criticize something that their former leader did and something aimed at protecting the SECOND person in the Presidential line of succession. To everyone who is making this molehill into a mountain; STFU)

Heckle: to the Bush(whacked) administration. According to the bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the administration, in its elan to secure the nation’s borders and slow the flow of illegal immigrants, might be leaving asylum seekers vulnerable to deportation and harsh treatment. (I’m sorry, what were the principles this country was founded on?)

Applaud: that all 435 House members will be allowed to view the classified version of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq which should provide some much-needed “fuel for a House debate” on Iraq and escalation next week where every single Rep. “will be given five minutes to speak” on Bush’s escalation plan. (Bush has to be feeling scared now… things are seemingly starting to slowly unravel regarding his build-up for not only the escalation plan, but for the whole Iraq war… makes one smile ear to ear…)

Heckle: to news that should not be a surprise to anyone with a brain. The Pentagon’s Inspector General has found that Donald Rumsfeld’s aide Douglas Feith’s rogue pre-war inteligence group was an “inappropriate” use of intelligence by Pentagon civilians, and was also “predisposed to finding a significant relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda.” (I am shocked… shocked to find gambling going on in this establishment…). Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), the Senate intel chairman, vows that his panel will probe whether the Pentagon broke the law by “failing to notify Congress about the group’s work.” (This is definitely a step in the right direction, though one has to wonder if anything will actually be done… I guess only time will tell… and remember, you read it here first second third again…)

Applaud: to “widespread” dissatisfaction. A lot of voting conservatives say they pick “none of the above” when faced with the options of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MT) and Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) as the 2008 republican presidential nominee. Such dissatisfaction with the leading Republican presidential candidates is widespread among the party's conservative stalwarts and should make this presidential election the most contested in decades.

Heckle: to Budget waste. “President” Bush’s proposed budget includes a slew of high-cost weapons that will not even be in operation for years to come, thus using a funding request aimed at supporting the troops to actually get money for some of the Pentagon’s pet projects… (and the White House and Pentagon have the audacity to say people against escalation and the budget don’t care about our servicemen/women… give me a break. I’m all for making new weapons to help our military, but right now, in the middle of fighting two wars and possibly a third with Iran, instead of funding tools that cant be used now, how about giving them the best of what we have now. Or would that make too much sense?)

Applaud: to the Fark.com political headline of the week: “Rice grilled over lack of smoking gun in allegations against Iran. Critics demand evidence, saffron”

Heckle: to Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) for announcing that he will be skipping a forum for Democratic presidential candidates in Nevada later this month, despite assertions that seven other announced or expected Democratic candidates, including Hillary Clinton (D-NY) & John Edwards (D-SC), will participate in the forum. Obama’s campaign spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said that they couldn’t fit the forum into his itinerary. (This is disappointing… this is the first chance for a lot of people in this country to see Obama with the other cast of characters and thus giving them the chance to start thinking about whom they want as the Democratic nominee… Personally, I think his campaign team should do some re-shuffling in order to make sure Senator Obama can be at this forum…)

Applaud: to becoming spectators instead of players. With neither a president seeking reelection nor a vice president being a presumptive nominee, the Bush(whacked) Administration has been turned into mere spectators for the 2008 presidential election. Ya think the gop wishes they could have had their 2000 VP nomination back instead of giving it to someone who they had to have known would not run for the big office in ’08. Personally, I think the fact they even chose Cheney in the first place shows just how much the gop was not confidant in Bush’s ability to run the country…

Heckle: to lying liars… Last week in the Rewind I applauded a White House proposal to increase Pell Grants. While it was announced and meeted with great fanfare last week, Dubya’s FY08 budget contains no new money to pay for it… (Bat rastards…)

Applaud: to Democratic presidential candidate and former governor Tom Vilsack (D-IA). No particular reason other than the fact he needs a little reassurance, doesn’t he? He’s gonna be this race’s Dennis Kucinich…

Heckle: to republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R-MT). No particular reason other than the fact he needs a little smackdown, doesn’t he?

Applaud: to resting cases. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wrapped up his portion of the Scooter Libby trial this week… a week that saw jurors hearing Libby’s grand jury audiotapes in which Libby claimed he learned about Valerie Plame’s CIA identity from Vice President Cheney, and that he then “forgot it, then learned it again” from Tim Russert (who said is was “impossible” for him to have told Libby about Plame). It was also revealed this past week that Cheney was “upset” at Ambassador Wilson for his criticism about the lead-up to the Iraq war. (All of this stuff coming out… and it’s getting more and more interesting…)

That’s all I got, take ‘em as you will and have a good weekend. Later.

Random Thoughts for a Thursday

Once again it’s that time… Random Political Thoughts for a Thursday.

No Way Out. Heard on grand jury audiotapes played at his trial earlier this week, Scooter Libby claimed he learned about Valerie Plame’s CIA identity from Vice President Cheney, then “forgot it, then learned it again” from Tim Russert (who said is was “impossible” for him to have told Libby about Plame). Testimony also revealed that Cheney was “upset” at Ambassador Wilson for his criticism about the lead-up to the Iraq war.

Cry Baby. Some lawmakers are unhappy about having to work full time like the majority of Americans. It seems a few in the 110th Congress have a problem with their five-day work week. (Waaaaa, my heart bleeds for them… not!!)

Liar Liar. Last week I applauded a White Hosue proposal to increase Pell Grants. While it was announced and meeted with great fanfare last week, Dubya’ FY08 budget contains no new money to pay for it… (Did I miss something… )

Wall Street. Vice President Dick “Dick” Cheney’s investment manager, Jeremy Grantham, sent out a letter last week to all his clients, including Dick, that criticized the administration’s oil-based energy policy. The letter stated: “Successive U.S. administrations have taken little interest in either oil substitution or climate change, and the current one has even seemed to have a vested interest in the idea that the science of climate change is uncertain.” (Nice letter Mr. Grantham… one has to wonder how much longer he’ll be Cheney’s investment manager…)

Fight Club. Senate leaders squabbled yesterday over how to consider resolutions opposing President Bush's plan for more troops in Iraq, but the quarrel did not stop lawmakers from launching an informal debate on the chamber floor over the war. While conservative senators may have blocked debate on Iraq for a while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) promised, “We are going back to Iraq again and again and again. The debate on Iraq is going to continue. The American people demand it.” (Yes we do… but that hasn’t stopped republican’s from ignoring us before…). Now comes word that seven Senate conservatives, five of whom had voted to protect Bush and block debate on Iraq have suddenly changed course and are now vowing that they will use “every tactic at their disposal to ensure a full and open debate.”

The Painted Veil. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) is introducing legislation aimed to raise the “veil of secrecy” on the work of military contractors, which would require several departments to report how many contractors and subcontractors they have employed in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with a description of the work they’re doing and the total costs of contracts there… (It seems like a great idea, but I have doubts that it will be passed. Too many skeletons in those closets I think…)

Norma Rae. Lawmakers introduce earlier this week the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would “streamline unionizing” and also assure newly organized workers a contract while at the same time sanctioning lawbreakers who deny workers the right to organize. (Impressive bill that should be passed. If you want to learn more about the legislation, click HERE)

A.I. Three U.S. officials who are “familiar with unpublished intel” have told Newsweek that evidence of Iranian involvement in Iraq is “ambiguous.” (hmmmm… where have I heard that before??? Oh yeah!! Regarding Iraq and its WMD’s… and that stopped the Bush(whacked) Administration from invading… oh, wait….). Now, Iran is saying that they will retaliate against U.S. interests “around the world” if the U.S. attacks them… this just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?

Mutiny on the Bounty. Just when you think that former backers of the Iraq War couldn’t jump ship, someone comes along and proves you wrong. Now it’s a group of veterans who have come out against the war in Iraq…

Narc. Despite cutting funding to PBS, “President” Bush has proposed a 31% jump in funding for an anti-drug advertising campaign that government-funded research shows is “useless” and has “increased drug use among some teens.” Bill Piper, national affairs director for the Drug Policy Alliance is on record as saying the program is the “baby of Rep. Dennis Hastert’s (R-IL).

All I have, take ‘em as you will..

Here we go a-budgeting

I’m going to forgo the fact that a group of republicans have stalled the debate on an Iraq troop increase or the “shocking” revelation that the Iraq vote could have a deep impact on the 2008 Presidential election (that’s some crack journalistic work there guys… I’m sure that tidbit caught everyone by surprise… as I’ve always say; it’s hard to express sarcasm in the written word?) or the fact that Katherine Harris just refuses to accept the truth that her political career is over and instead focus on something else today; the budget.

“President” Bush submitted his budget to the Democratically-controlled Congress Monday that has four substantial volumes and will now kick off what I’m sure will be months and months (and months) of debate.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Democrats have already made clear the fact that they have considerably different views on spending and taxes

Bush’s budget comes in at a whopping $2.90 trillion (yes, you saw that right; trillion with a ‘t’) that essentially screws the middle-class with their collective pants on…

Consider (hat tip to Think Progress):

• $77 billion in funding cuts for Medicare and Medicaid over the next five years - $280 billion over the next 10 (This won’t come back to bite us on the ass I’m sure)
• $223 million in funding cuts) to the Children’s Health Insurance Program which represents a 4% decrease from this year’s levels (Damn kids should get jobs and pay for their own insurance)
• $4.9 billion, cut in education, training, employment and social services grants (cause none of these things is imporant when our econmy is oh-so-good…)
• $100 million cut for Head Start, which provides child development services to economically disadvantaged children and families (Nice…)
• $2.4 billion cut in community and regional development grants that often provide funding for low- and middle-income communities (because if a community can’t sustain itself, they shouldn’t be allowed to exist… right?)
• $400 million cut in the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program that provides $2.2 billion to help people pay their heating bills (not really needed since heating a home is oh-so-cheap anymore…)
• $172 million cut in funding for housing for low-income seniors (They don’t need any help since they’ll have social secuirty to rely on… right?)

I apologize for my sarcasm… it’s just that this is getting ridiculous…

Bush's spending plan would make his first-term tax cuts permanent, at a cost of $1.6 trillion over 10 years

Bush maintains that he had made the right choices to keep the nation secure from terrorism and also to keep the economy growing (growing?)

Don’t worry though, despite Bush essentially saying ‘screw you’ to the Middle class, he’s doing the exact opposite regarding the wealthy as, according to Tax Policy Center notes, “People with incomes of more than $1 million would get tax cuts averaging $162,000 a year in perpetuity.”

Originally, the White House had projected a deficit of $244 billion.

Democrats, however, challenged those projections, contending that Bush only achieves a surplus by leaving out the billions of dollars Congress is expected to spend to keep the alternative minimum tax from ensnaring millions of middle-class taxpayers.

Said the “President” about his budget; “My formula for a balanced budget reflects the priorities of our country at this moment in its history: protecting the homeland and fighting terrorism, keeping the economy strong with low taxes and keeping spending under control while making federal programs more effective.”

I prefer Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND)’s take; "The president's budget is filled with debt and deception, disconnected from reality and continues to move America in the wrong direction.” Couldn’t have said it any better myself Senator Conrad…. Thank you.