(Memo to the IBC, by the way - please fix this ad box issue so I can have my right nav bar again, OK?)In the State of the Union Address 2003, Bush promised $15 billion over 5 years toward the global fight against AIDS. $10 billion in new money was to be concentrated in Africa and the Caribbean. The initiative was hailed as an act of tremendous generosity and a significant contribution. However, shortly thereafter Admin Bush fell short of its own proposed effort. Following the speech, the White House submitted its 2004 budget which asked for $450 million of new money that was ostensibly coming from cutting $500 million from international child health programs. The President has consistently refused to request the full $3 billion per year and will likely follow this pattern entering January 2005.As I’ve said before, history one day will record Dubya’s 2003 State of the Union address as one of the grossest documents of wall-to-wall lies ever seen, and this apparently is but a part of that. And of all of the bait-and-switch tactics practiced by this administration, this may be the very worst, running a close second to Bushco’s denial of the existence of global warming.
In addition, rather than utilizing existing efforts and joining a truly global initiative to address the problem, Administration Bush opted to channel funds through USAID and created a new position to combat AIDS. The position’s responsibility is to oversee resources and activities in the global fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic. Um, I thought that’s what the Global Fund for AIDS was doing. But Admin Bush’s egotism mandated that only $200 million go to the Fund, which has repeatedly pleaded with the U.S. to increase its share of funding in order to meet real needs and avert bankruptcy. Instead of meeting the challenge and opportunity of taking real global leadership in addressing the AIDS pandemic, the U.S. has backed away from commitments to international organizations, domestic promises, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
In a few hours, the graduation ceremony will be held for the senior class of Truman High School of Bristol Township here in Bucks County, PA. Ordinarily, this would be a story of little consequence, sort of par for the course for most graduation ceremonies.Tyrone Lewis should have the grace to apologize for the inconvenience, negative national publicity and fear that his unique situation has brought to Truman.I suppose, when the ceremony is over and (God willing) all goes fine, Lewis should announce the title of this post to the entire universe then, huh J.D.?
He should thank the school administrators and the police for going to extraordinary means to let him participate.
This is what gentlemen do. We'll see if Lewis lives up to his rep.
Here’s the latest from the Joe Sestak campaign:VALLEY FORGE, PA – Former three-star Admiral Joe Sestak, the Democratic candidate in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, today outlined a planned end to military engagement in Iraq within the next year before a group of local veterans and others.So what does “Crazy Curt” Weldon have to say in response? This wonderful quote (noted in this story):
"The war in Iraq has been a tragic misadventure," Sestak said. "It was undertaken at the wrong place because there was no clear and present danger. It was undertaken at the wrong time because it distracted us from the job that needed to be finished in Afghanistan. Curt Weldon voted for this war, and now his and President Bush's policies have led our country into an inconclusive, open-ended occupation, with elusive ever-changing goals."
Over the course of his 31 years in the Navy, Sestak led a series of operational commands, culminating in command of the George Washington aircraft carrier battle group that conducted combat operations in Afghanistan and precursor operations to the war in Iraq.
"Americans have a decision to make," Sestak continued. "'Victory', defined by the Bush Administration as the insurgency being crushed within a stable, secular Iraqi democracy, is unlikely without a significantly larger U.S. force that can stop both the insurgency and the internal sectarian Sunni-Shiite fighting. There is the real likelihood that our continued presence will lead to a prolonged occupation with rising death, injury, and cost for an unknown number of years. We must look for a new way forward; failing to do so means significantly hurting our other, more important long term interests in the world."
Sestak asserted that the best way forward in Iraq is a definitive timetable for re-deployment within a year. Such a date-certain timetable will serve as the "catalyst for change in Iraq," with the planned U.S. redeployment forcing the major parties in Iraq to accept their responsibilities for ensuring peace.
In summary, Sestak said, "U.S. interests in the world do not include pouring endless amounts of our national treasure of lives and money into elusive, endless goals when we have so much else to achieve in this world."
Pennsylvania's Seventh Congressional District includes parts of Delaware, Montgomery, and Chester counties.
“I think the jury is still out on WMD.”And this totally unfounded lie (also noted in the story)...
Weldon campaign chairman Michael Puppio said Sestak should take responsibility for what he said was a scheme to funnel $100,000 from Enron Corp. to the Democratic National Committee by threatening in 1995 to cut off U.S. aid to Mozambique if the African nation refused to let Enron develop its natural gas fields.Curt, the whole “fear and smear” thing is soooo 2004 of you. Reach into your slimy bag of tricks and come up with something else. Or better yet, try to have AN HONEST DEBATE ON THE ISSUES with Joe, OK?
Sestak said he had no involvement with Enron as the National Security Council’s director for defense policy.
"Mozambique?" he asked, appearing confused by Puppio’s allegation. "I’m sorry, I don’t know what they’re talking about."
Howard Stern predicted that this bill, known as the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act, would eventually pass Congress and (of course) be signed into law by Bush, and he was right. The bill passed in the U.S. Senate on May 18th (S.193), and yesterday, it passed in the U.S. House (H.R. 310). As a result, fines on communications companies and individual broadcasters have been raised to a potential maximum of nearly half a million dollars.AbercrombieIn response, I can’t wait to get home tonight and watch a Friday DVD double feature I’d been planning for some time of “Raging Bull” and “RoboCop.”
Baird
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Blumenauer
Clay
Conyers
Delahunt
Frank (MA)
Grijalva
Harman
Hinchey
Honda
Kucinich
Lee
Lofgren, Zoe
McDermott
Nadler
Olver
Paul (R-TX)
Payne
Sabo
Sánchez, Linda T.
Sanders (I – VT…great job, Bennie!)
Schakowsky
Scott (VA)
Serrano
Sherman
Stark
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson
Watt
Waxman
At the conclusion of the almost 25-minute speech, Republican members stood and applauded and cheered. Lawmakers crowded into the well of the House to hug DeLay and wish him well, including one of the chamber's most well-known liberals, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio.For some perspective from the reality-based community, here is a particularly good column on this cretin from Molly Ivins.
The Philadelphia Inquirer made this good catch this morning regarding our illustrious Senator Santorum and his rabidly-right-wing take on immigration (no amnesty, automatically "criminalizing" all illegals here right now, etc.):U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum seemed to be sending different messages to different audiences on his campaign Web site this week.Don't hold your breath waiting for that one, people.
English-language visitors to www.ricksantorum.com encountered a home page filled with concern about the "amnesty-ridden proposal" the U.S. Senate adopted to deal with illegal immigration.
But a section of the site for Spanish readers made no mention of amnesty in its discourse on immigration. Nor did it refer to "rewarding criminal behavior" of illegal immigrants, as the English version did.
Jim Hoefler, a professor of political science at Dickinson College, noted: "The English version is kind of the Rick Santorum we know - no amnesty, law and order, tough guy. The Spanish version is a lot softer - we need to find a balance, that sort of approach."
But Virginia Davis, the Republican senator's spokeswoman, said Santorum was not deliberately crafting different messages for different people. She said the English version had been updated since passage of the Senate bill May 25 and that the Spanish had not.
"Probably next week we'll have the identical version in Spanish," she said.
Good for our troops that they’ve killed the murdering animal in Iraq Abu Musab al Zarqawi. But before we see too many more dramatic, all-cap-letters headlines from CNN and elsewhere about it, let’s remember some of the people who al Zarqawi slaughtered, including CARE director in Iraq Margaret Hassan (pictured) and Nicholas Berg (and I will never forget the last image of Hassan that I saw with that pleading look on her face knowing the fate that awaited her).
Memo to Matt Lauer:
(Once again, I know I shouldn’t call people names, but that rule doesn’t apply for one of our Pennsylvania senators as far as I’m concerned.)"What I have tried to do is deliver, not just talk," Santorum said. "The real difference between the candidates is someone who has worked hard, focused on the issues important to the people of Pennsylvania and accomplished something, as opposed to someone who will talk about controversial issues and criticize me for having a zero scorecard from the League of Conservation Voters or the Sierra Club or some other liberal environmental group."God, I absolutely detest that man.
Artic National Wildlife IITell you what, Ricky: this compilation shows a little progress on brownfields, but I don’t see anything to crow about anywhere else. Why don’t you go watch “An Inconvenient Truth” and then go hug a tree or something (or better yet - speaking of the movie - sign this).
Santorum has backed drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, saying the benefits of tapping a domestic oil source (my note: which would only last for about six months) outweigh the environmental drawbacks. Bob Casey Jr. opposes efforts to drill in the region, which environment groups say should remain untouched.
Fuel economy standards
Santorum has opposed congressional mandates raising the average fuel efficiency standards, which is 27.5 miles per gallon for passenger cars. In April, however, he embraced a measure allowing the transportation secretary to write new rules for passenger cars (my note: gee, maybe because this is an election year?). Casey says he would have voted for a bill last year that called for raising the standard to 40 miles per gallon for passenger cars and light trucks by 2015.
Global warming
Santorum says more study is needed on global warming (my note: of course), and the government should therefore “be cautious in reacting to this issue.” Casey said he believes that global warming exists and the government should move to regulate greenhouse gases.
Land preservation
Santorum authored a farmland preservation program in 1996, helped pass a 2004 bill authorizing $110 million to preserve land in the Highlands region, which stretches from Pennsylvania to Connecticut, and pushed brownfields redevelopment and the cleanup of abandoned mines. Casey said that he would continue “robust funding and tax policies that encourage the preservation of open space.”
Mercury emissions
Santorum backed Bush’s 2005 rule requiring reductions in mercury from power plants. Casey says that measure doesn’t go far enough and supports an effort by Gov. Rendell to enact stricter rules on state coal plants.
A lot has been going on with yours truly lately, including fighting an illness and ongoing network issues, and unfortunately as a result of all of that I missed posting yesterday on National Hunger Awareness Day. However, we can fight this all year round, and here, here, and here are links to three locations that will give us more information on that.
Your May 30 editorial "Bad math, slick politics" was an important tool to help voters connect the tax-and-spend dots. However, it overlooked how the current choices of President Bush and this Congress related to taxes and budgets have already impacted federal investment in education, health care, social services, affordable quality child care, and community development. These leaders continue to count on the fact that voters aren't educated and do not comprehend the real consequences of cutting taxes for America's wealthiest - less revenue means less investment in American priorities.To learn more about the lawsuit filed by Rep. John Conyers over the Deficit Reduction Act, click here.
Congress' approval of billions in tax cuts for wealthy investors came within months of the same Congress enacting the Deficit Reduction Act. This brutally unfair legislation adversely impacted tens of millions of low-income Americans while at the same time increasing the deficit. It guaranteed cuts for Medicaid, child-support enforcement and child-welfare services, and included changes to the country's welfare reform laws that will deny more low-income, hard-working parents access to child care.
Another important point for people to consider is that the tax cutting is far from over. The Senate leadership has vowed it will tackle repeal or reform of the estate tax. Either route will have virtually the same result. Billions more will be siphoned out of the federal treasury assuring essential American domestic priorities and programs are further starved. We should use our voices and votes as a signal that we have connected the dots, and we're ready for a new direction.
Billy Preston had been in ill health for a long time, so this was not completely a surprise, unfortunately. I always thought his finest performance was at The Concert for Bangla Desh in 1972.When MoveOn and The Christian Coalition agree about something, it's a good bet they're right. Groups as wide-ranging as Gun Owners of America on one side and U.S. PIRG and the One America Committee on the other are fighting to keep the Internet the way it is now - free and open to anyone with access to a computer.Click here to learn more.
Today, everyone in the world can communicate through the Internet on an equal basis. A small-time programmer like Pierre Omidyar can start an auction site out of his home office and turn it into eBay. A blogger like Josh Marshall can post his opinions on Talking Points Memo and end up attracting more readers than the country's biggest newspapers.
On the Internet, big corporations are on equal footing with everyday people. And it needs to stay that way.
Right now, special interests are pushing bills through Congress that would divide the Internet in two. Corporate deals would determine which web sites would run incredibly fast and which ones would barely run at all. Some users might not be able to access sites operated by regular people.
I don't want Internet service providers to decide which web sites I can look at. And I know you don't either.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on "Net Neutrality" on June 8th. Please help keep the Internet free and open to everyone by signing this petition to Congress.
Sign the petition now.
Some people fear that creating two tiers of the Internet could allow service providers to shut down web sites whose politics they didn't like. But even if they didn't discriminate based on content, the access fees could marginalize smaller and poorer players.
This is the completely wrong direction. We should be making the Internet more accessible, not less. We should be working to connect rural areas, schools in poor neighborhoods and other areas where people have not yet benefited from access to innovation and technology.
I need you to sign this petition before Congress votes on a telecommunications bill on June 8th. That bill needs to contain provisions that protect the fundamental Internet principle of Net Neutrality.
The companies that want to charge for the Internet are running a slick public relations campaign to make themselves look like a grassroots operation. That's why the folks on our side need to wage a real - and overwhelming - grassroots effort to make sure Congress understands that Americans want to keep the Internet the way it is - free and open to everyone.
As a member of our online community, you understand the critical role of the Internet in promoting free speech and the exchange of ideas. Hearing from you through the help of technology - podcasts, blogs, emails - helps me learn what's important to you and make decisions about where the country should be headed.
I hope you will take a moment to stand up for Net Neutrality.
Sign the petition now.
Thank you for taking action.
Your friend,
John
I think Bill Maher voiced a sentiment along those lines some weeks ago, and I couldn’t agree more.
And this administration actually has the unmitigated, sickening gall to preach to other countries about their immoral behavior?
Before I say anything else, I should point out that most of the text of this post was originated previously and is located elsewhere on this site, but I believe it needs to be mentioned again and again and again.- Fitzpatrick voted for the House Immigration bill that would have punished priests and ministers performing aid work for illegal aliens (“undocumented”…whatever, with House cheese head and Judiciary chairman James Sensenbrenner saying complaints against the bill amounted to “a hysteria”). Financial penalties and jail time could follow, including up to five years in jail.(I’m sure the Bucks County Courier Times would be shocked – absolutely shocked – to know that Fitzpatrick supported legislation that would hurt members of his own church. After all, Mikey’s such a good, Christian man who – and the paper NEVER misses an opportunity to let us know this – has fathered six children.)
- Fitzpatrick said he would support stem cell research when running for his seat in 2004, then contradicted himself by voting against HR 810 which would have enabled research using cells that would otherwise be discarded.I could go on and on about Fitzpatrick, but this is enough for now.
- Fitzpatrick voted to inject himself into the Terri Schiavo fiasco (where Dr. Bill Frist made his wonderful T.V. “diagnosis” that there was somehow brainwave activity going on in a terminally comatose woman).
- Fitzpatrick voted with Tom DeLay and the Republican leadership 86 percent of the time, according to The Washington Post.
- Fitzpatrick voted to strip away the Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances by withholding funds to a federal court in Indiana because he didn’t like a decision rendered by the court (HR 2862).
- Fitzpatrick voted to eliminate contraceptives from the list of prevention methods available under a new program to treat and prevent obstetric fistula—a debilitating injury with lifelong consequences for women. Simply, this vote jeopardizes the health and lives of women by limiting access to a full range of family planning options.
- Fitzpatrick voted for the budget bill that hurts children, senior citizens, students, working families, and child-support collection efforts, all the while protecting special interests and doing nothing to cut the debt (See Roll Call #s 601, 670, and 4). The bill was so bad that the Catholic Bishops opposed it, because it “failed to ‘meet the needs of the most vulnerable among us;’” but Mike called it “reasonable.”
