mike is still sick. (elaine calls him her 'sick puppy.') i know how something as minor as a bad cold can really wear you down so mike, get better. i called elaine to see what items they were grabbing from democracy now (her and mike) and tried to avoid those as well as the ones common ills members noted in c.i.'s entry today (read that entry, especially the opening).
so i'm going with two items. c.i. went with three and elaine and mike will go with two that are different from c.i.'s (elaine and mike are doing their usual running commentaries so they will be going with the same two items). my point is that if you read this site and those sites, you're getting seven of the headlines today.
Ex-Bush Official Indicted in Abramoff Case
In Washington, a federal grand jury has indicted the Bush administration's former chief procurement official for making false statements and obstructing investigations into Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The official - David Safavian - is facing five felony counts.
oh the good times just keep on coming from the bully boy administration. changing the tone in d.c.? yes, bully boy has. it's 1 criminal after another. the only accountability from the administration comes when indictments come from outside of it.
the gang that can't do much more than lie straight faced sees another member go down. and not in the good way!
Bush Warns About Avian Flu Epidemic
In medical news, President Bush is warning that the country could face another avian flu epidemic and that the military might be needed to enforce quarantines and other emergency measures. He discussed this during Tuesday's press conference. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt has said preparing for such an outbreak is the most important health preparedness issue facing the country. The last such outbreak was in 1968. The deadliest occurred in 1918 when as many as 50 million people died around the world including over 600,000 in the United States. Meanwhile scientists have just announced they have reconstructed the 1918 Spanish flu virus and found that it was a bird flu that jumped directly to humans.
awhile back, and no link because i can't find it but it's somewhere at the common ills in the last 2 weeks, in passing, c.i. made the point that someone needs to explain to wesley clark that 'pentagon! pentagon! pentagon!' was not the answer. c.i. just made it in passing, didn't dwell on it but clark was doing his white man's version of the star jones routine - where he goes around say 'i'm a general' the way she says 'i'm a lawyer.'
we do not live in a military dictatorship and when clark makes the idiotic comments that prompted c.i.'s aside, i am really thankful he dropped out of the primary race. his 'expertise' becomes a blind spot because he can't think outside of his narrow, little box. that makes his military service a liability if he were president.
i am sick and tired of hearing every namby, pamby whine that 'we need to be safe' and trading everything this country has stood for just so they can 'feel' safe. it reminds me of some guys i've slept with who i have had to constantly reassure with faked moans and groans. it destroys the experience for me and they're going to destroy the country for all of us.
c.i. wrote about the issue this morning (based on a story in the new york times) and said this needs to be a national dialogue. it does need to be. before bully boy starts further code speak, we need to seriously, as a nation, discuss this. if there is a flu outbreak, we won't be able to have the conversation then. so let's be grown ups and have it now.
here's my part. i don't believe the government sends the military into states. each state has their own peace keeping forces including police officers. the responsibility is the state's. that's 1 thought.
you do not turn an area in this country over to the military. not today, not tomorrow. it goes against the reasons this nation was founded and it goes against all we're supposed to stand for.
liberals and conservatives should have common ground on this unless they're scared little babies looking for mommy and daddy to solve all their problems.
i talked to elaine about this and her feelings (which she said i could note) were that if there was an outbreak in chicago, it wouldn't stay in chicago. chicago has a huge number of visitors and by the time the outbreak was known, you would have already had people come and go. you are looking at the possibility, if the outbreak occurred in a major city, of it quickly spreading around the country. so illinois would be under military control immediately and that would quickly be followed by other states. it's very likely that the entire country would be under military occupation.
that's not america, people. start talking about this now. you can't wait until an outbreak. you can't object after a plan is being operated. speak out now. loudly.
elaine asked me to note c.i.'s commentary about the democrats lack of response to the nomination of harriet miers:
Focus on the Fool's James Dobson claims to have "inside" information from the one responsible for converting her (presumably, either the preacher at her church or Miers' phone chum who's a judge) and has spoken to Karl Rove. He's vouching for Miers. Kirkpatrick notes that Dems are on the sidelines here. Why is that? She's not qualified. If George Will (of all people) can make that point, why can't Democrats?
The attitude seems to be "Oh, let them fight amongst themselves and then we'll step in." That's not how you defeat this nomination. Ed Gillispie and others are being sent out. The "debate" will be shut down at some point. Now is when Democrats need to be speaking up and raising the issue that she's not qualified. This is the highest role for a judge in this country. They failed to make that point (as a party) with regard to Robertson. They appear unable to today as well. Why Republicans are squabbling and questioning the nomination, Democrats should be repeating, "She's not qualified" over and over.
There's a real danger here and it's when the squabble dies down. The nation may look at it, the squabble, as a vetting process in and of itself. And if Dems wait to bring up serious criticism until the "debate" is over, people may take the attitude of "This has already been settled. Why are they bringing it up now?"
Democrats need to take (and show) some leadership here. Harry Reid won't do it. He doesn't know how to be a leader. But the way you defeat the nomination is by raising questions while Republicans are as well. Not waiting to see what stuck because the reality is that its highly unlikely that they won't stifle their own disagreements (Republicans) and come together around Miers. When that happens, it's too damn late for Dems to try to raise issues and concerns.You do it now. While people are seeing Republicans question Miers' capabilities. Let's use an example. Rebecca, Mike, Seth, Dona, Cedric and Betty are going to lunch. Rebecca and Mike argue over where to go. They finally agree on one place. At which point, after they've agreed, Seth says, "I don't want to go there, I want to go ___." Betty, Cedric and Dona may look at Seth and think, "Why did you wait to bring this up? We've already decided."
That's what will happen if Democrats don't start getting vocal. This could even be smart strategy on the part of Republicans. Before they come together, they air the appearance of a debate (from their own party) and it then appears that all issues were raised and addressed. So when Dems finally find their voices, the public may be weary and think, "Let's just go eat already!"
i find it interesting that mike and i would be the 1s fighting! i'm joking. i appreciated being noted and linked to. c.i.'s analogy is accurate. if democrats do not get into this discussion now the attitude later will be 'oh we've already been over and over this.'
mikey likes it
like maria said paz
the common ills
David Safavian
avian flu
harriet miers
