Deja Vu

The next point on the axis of evil is now appearing on the radar. What a sinking feeling--we haven't even fully realized, as a nation, the disaster we have sown in Iraq and now attention seems to be shifting toward Iran. According to James Fallows (see "To govern is to choose" post) we had a much better chance during Bush's lost year to address this more important threat. Don't get me wrong, Iran is a threat to our interests, the interests of our allies and to the stability of the region. Somehow, call me crazy if you wish, I don't feel very confident with the administration handling this one.

Egan

"To govern is to choose"

An amazing article. It must be read by all.

Egan

The Goss Memo

http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/001407.html

Egan

Orgy Think

It looks like Bush continues to "purify" his administration. Suskind's aptly titled book, The Price of Loyalty, gave insight into the degree to which loyalty played, and clearly plays, in the Bush administration. It is one thing to have key advisors and/or a few cabinet members as close confidants but to have ALL of them as "Yes" men and women is frankly terrifying. If Bush were a genious that would be one thing. It is quite another when he is a simpleton.
This country was founded on dissent. It appropriately follows that good presidents have incorporated dissenting opinions into the proccess through which policies are created and administered. A president who is told what he wants to hear, or worse, one who avoids being told much at all by design, and/or one who can't or won't redirect when needed is a president who better be right ALL the time. This is impossible.
Given this president's poor track record to date a more unified administration in the context of a highly obedient and organized congressional majority of the same party spells trouble. We ain't seen nothin' yet: "group think", hah! Try Orgy think!!!

Egan

SOP

The current professional con-men in the republican leadership hold many "truths" to be self-evident. Here are some of the biggies from the Republican Party Platform and how they are the source for snake-oil proliferation (SOP):

1. Freedom for all. God Himself has given mankind the gift of freedom...meant even for you ignorant sand-dwellers o'er there in the Middle East. Though you know not what you are missing we must forgive you, as only a good God-ferrin' Christian would do...and jam freedom down your throats. Let's just look at it like giving castor oil to a child...or maybe ...let's NOT look at it like giving castor oil to a child....Instead, let's look at it like giving Zymaxa-(tm-copyright-2004-use this name and fry in coroporate Hell, for we will hunt you down with our bastion of coroporate lawyers and burn you alive for using our trademark without permission...and without lots of money) to a child (after all we want to help our coroporate friends and supporters...I mean funders). The child will thank us when s/he is well but may find the medicine a wee bit bitter; just like the Iraqis will have to endure a wee bit of death and destruction and such to reach that wonderful place called Freedom (enduring Freedom, anybody???). Yes, democracy ain't easy. Especially when you are fully ignorant of what it is. When you have a WalMart you will understand. (We must make the world safe for Democracy...I mean...WalMart). When our corporations can hire you as cheap labor to support OUR way of life you will understand. Just ignore the fact that we consort with scum-filled regimes that scoff at democracy, like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, you are missing the point, o' ignorant one. You see, Freedom really means Freedom to choose between being our [economic] friend and being our [military-but-only-if-we-can-easily-woop-you] foe. There is really no other choice. There really is NO choice (especially w.r.t reproductive rights, but I digress...). Yes, Freedom means No Choice...Let No Choice Ring!

2. As W so profoundly said, "We will preserve the peace by building good relations among the great powers." Just who are these "great powers" you ask (scroll down):

Coalition of the Willing
Iraq Troop numbers March 2004
	Country	Troops	Per 100000 population	Per 1000 military
1	USA	130,000	47.7	94.8
2	United Kingdom	9,000	15.2	42.4
3	Italy	3,000	5.3	11.3
4	Poland	2,460	6.7	10.2
5	Ukraine	1,600	3.2	5.1
6	Spain *	1,300	3.3	7.0
7	Netherlands	1,100	7.0	19.5
8	Australia	800	4.3	14.5
9	Romania	700	3.1	3.4
10	Bulgaria	480	5.9	5.9
11	Thailand	440	0.7	1.4
12	Denmark	420	7.8	17.3
13	Honduras *	368	6.1	5.4
14	El Salvador	361	6.2	14.7
15	Dominican Republic	302	3.7	12.3
16	Hungary	300	2.9	6.9
17	Japan	240	0.2	1.0
18	Norway	179	4.0	5.8
19	Mongolia	160	6.1	17.6
20	Azerbaijan	150	1.9	2.1
21	Portugal	128	1.3	2.6
22	Latvia	120	5.1	20.9
23	Lithuania	118	3.3	9.7
24	Slovakia	102	1.9	2.3
25	Czech Republic	80	0.8	1.4
26	Philippines	80	0.1	0.7
27	Albania	70	2.1	7.0 **
28	Georgia	70	1.4	2.7
29	New Zealand	61	1.7	6.4
30	Moldova	50	1.1	4.7
31	Macedonia	37	1.8	2.3
32	Estonia	31	2.2	6.5
33	Canada ^	31^
34	Kazakhstan	25	0.1	0.4
Sources: The Australian, 17th March 2004. SBS World Guide, ninth edition, 2001.

The mighty likes of Moldova! Let me tell ya'! They sent their sharp-shootin' mightiest I guarantee you; all fifty of 'em.

3. "We confront big challenges instead of passing them on to future generations." So says the RNC platform. [They have got to be kidding. With the deficit at stratospheric levels these cheap car salesmen (no offense to car salesmen mind you) must be laughing all the way to the federal reserve. P.T. Barnum would be proud ("There's a sucker born every minute")]. I bet they have a secret plan...a money tree. Yeah, we'll grow our money. Hey, the dollar is dropping like a 10-ton petrified elephant turd on currency markets so what foreigner would want a green-back these days anyway. Mr. Snow rev that baby right up [money press] and print to your heart's content!

4. Dignity for all life, at all stages of it...but not ALL places for it. After all, we are taking the war on terror out of our backyard and fighting it in someone else's so their people die and our people don't....but the Iraqis and Afghanistanis will thank us some day (see #1). At least we can sit in our SUVs, shop at Wal-Mart, sip our 3$ coffee, own three TVs and take Prozac to deal with our massive stressors while those sadly naive Iraqis have their teency weency inconveniences o'er there. Hell, most Americans can't pick out Canada on a map let alone Iraq or Afghanistan. And why the Hell should they?! We are number one! Screw everybody else! Bring it on!

5. Freedom is worth fighting for, dying for and sacrificing for. But we have already done our fighting, dying and sacrificing in history. Now it is somebody else's turn. Freedom rocks! Gettin' there sucks! I just want another tax cut dammit! Number one! Number one! Number one!

6. "As the Party of Lincoln, we stand for freedom..." but not for those damn minorities and foreigners!

Red State Joe

CIA Woes

Not good

No surprise! Porter Goss brought along his Cronies into the CIA and they are all partisan. The senate did a crappy job sending this group of back-room boys into a hurting agency. Rumsfeld has been trying to subvert it during his tenure. Now he won't have to; he can leave that to Goss now.

Egan

Checks and balances?

Hah!

I thought congress and the white house represented two of the three branches of government. I guess there are only two branches and they are the democrats and republicans!

The message to the next possible chairman of the senate judiciary committee, Sen. Arlen Specter was clear from the "republican leadership": "tow the line or else". What that meant was to actively support, without question, ALL of the justice nominees put forth by the white house. This effectively puts a litmus test on the senate! It gives ONE voice from federal government: the republican majority. There is also talk of changing congressional rules so that a democratic filibuster, to halt or slow down extreme nominees, would be unconstitutional.

The Mandate it seems has energized the highly organized and zealous republicans. The "Constructionists", or in Reagan-era terms the "Originalists", are to be the focus for bench replacement(s). And W said he would not have a litmus test. What a fricking joke!

Again, people voted based on vacuous "values", but got something else along with it. You might call it a sugar-coated dingleberry.

Egan