Duct Tape Blues

Wolfowitz, Social Security and new high in Oil prices (March 16, 2005)

In another nomination sure to draw fire from our European allies President Bush nominates Paul Wolowitz, a major player in the invasion of Iraq, for World Bank President.

Bush nominates Wolfowitz
Reuters news service

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Despite the low polls, Bush continues to lobby for overhauling Social Security. During his speech to press reporters today he said "I'm actually enjoying myself on these trips," and pledged, "I will continue to talk about Social Security for the next period of time."
Bush continues uphill battle
Washington Post
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Oil surges to new high as investors get concerned over demand exceeding the supply of oil. The rise in oil prices was also aggravated by falling gasoline inventories.
>Oil prices spike
Bloomberg

Everyone likes a circus but this one has gone on too long.

During WWII it was loose lips sink ships; in this war its the loose cannon in the oval office that continues to sink our reputation and our foreign policy.

Hughes to the rescue?
Bush is assigning Karen Hughes the position of undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. George's neo-cons have presented Bush with so much bad advice that he now needs someone to clean up the mess. This will again place her at odds with kingmaker Rove.

The Opening act and the main event in this circus was interesting.

Bush sends Condi as his opening act to get the crowd in the right mood. He comes over as the main act fawning over every European leader he can find. Finishes his road trip with a tense meeting in Russia with Putin. It was not a bad performance. As we all know it is not his words that matter it is his actions. Like the old joke goes One can tell when a politician is lying ...if he moves his lips he is lying. That is especially true with Bush.

Bring in the clown.

Rumsfield himself made a road trip where he disparaged himself in one public appearance as characterizing a poor remark as coming from "old Rumsfield"

"Back at the ranch"

His assignment of Bolton as UN representative shows what he really thinks of international cooperation. His timing was also impeccable in Lebanon. He claims credit for the first Syrian protest against the pro-Syrian Lebanese government which unifies the pro-Syrian faction that march in the hundreds of thousands in Lebanon and Omar Karami was reinstated as the prime minister by their President and parliament.

Turn off the lights, this show is over.

Karen Hughes is now assigned to handle more fallout. She must be the janitor that shows up on stage after the animal act to clean up the shit. The problem is that the audience has already left.

Just when Bush begins to strut his stuff, the world spits in his face.

Desperate to find a silver lining in the Iraq debacle, George has been looking for something, anything he could spin to show the world that his march to war /democracy in Iraq was justified.

Just this last week George waited a full day after the Lebanese marched in the streets which resulted in the fall of the pro-Syrian cabinet, to stand up and take credit for Palestine's elections, the Lebanese uprising and the Ukraine elections. Arafat's death, Yushenko's attempted murder and the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, had no obvious part in the events.

Well, hundred of thousands of pro-Syrian protesters with anti-Bush signs marched in Lebanon after George took his bows and pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karami was reinstated shortly-there-after.

I am just glad Bush did not claim credit for the sun rising or else the stores would be running out of blankets, flashlights and kindling today.

Reframing the war in light of timid reporters.

The Iraq war has been reframed. Not that it matters much. It is obvious that Bush will not be held accountable for anything he or his administration has done. Has the press been so cowed, so intimidated that Bush would have to shoot the ailing Pope in cold blood on live TV while having sex with Rick Santorum and simultaneously pull out Terri Schiavo's feeding tube in front of her parents, before they grow balls?

We know that mis-representing the facts before invading Iraq did not do it. Our media paraphrased White House doctrine for news when Bush, Cheney and Condi spoke urgently about mushroom clouds in our cities like so many steno clerks.

The media has again fallen in line with the administration and the occupation has now become a fight for "Iraq’s democracy”. Our soldiers were even referred to as poll watchers, and counting ballots actually overshadowed the Michael Jackson trial on the 6 p.m. news for a few days.

The election was impressive. Many Iraqis put their lives on the line to vote. We could probably learn something from that. But unfortunately the Iraqi election will just be an oasis for America; it provided temporary relief and easy stories for Bush voters that desperately want to believe their leadership. Bush is trying to claim credit for everything he can such as the first Syrian protest, the Palestinian election after Arafat died, and the Ukrainian elections.

Behind the scenes of purple Republican thumbs, the bodies of soldiers continue their grim journey to their hometowns away from the general public without commentary and maimed soldiers with prosthetic limbs and surgical scars continue their quiet procession of broken bodies and minds as they limp into their homes with the horrific memories of war fresh in their minds.

Under the guise of patriotism the far right have found their champion Bush and fitted him with a Goebbels-inspired-Republican –propaganda machine. His cronies have proven that they could use our media to talk their way into people's homes, assault their daughters, steal their savings, burn their home down and still get a pat on the back as long as it is for George Bush.

The major media outlets are complicit in this American debacle. Whether it was fear over lost revenue or timidity does not matter. They splash the screen with spinning graphics and pour out ink-ladened fireplace tinder, which focuses the country's attention on Paris Hilton's hacked phone and Michael Jackson.

America's steel workers are told that through clever manipulation of funds workers with 30 years of sucking in toxic fumes have no pensions. Investors who trusted in the stock market and the SEC lost their retirement funds to corrupt companies. Millions of workers and millions who can’t find work are pushed farther and farther away from the American dream.

Funding is slashed for middle and low-income students that hope to attend college. Many are now left with take-home video games from army recruiters who take up residence in their schools. High school students who are promised college money and high-tech skills are often placed in “vehicle repair” or behind the steering wheel of an armor-less truck in the Sunni triangle.

Our research universities and institutions are left high and dry as foreign-exchange medical, engineering and science students are now staying away in droves as the "Do Not Enter" signs are clearly in place at our borders. Chasing away these high-tech workers to more tolerant societies.

Our world-renown standard bearers of scientific study such as the FDA, EPA, USDA, NASA and the CDC have become infected with a disease which places political expediency and corporate greed above science regardless of the pain, suffering and even death of Americans.

The list of Bush assaults on our country and our democracy goes on and on.
The country is obviously satisfied with the steady diet of pablum and news shows with American flags waving in the background because there hasn’t been any public outcry, except by some bloggers. It seems that only bloggers get upset and who are they anyway?

While Democrats continue their trek through the wilderness, and our soldiers continue dying, bloggers may be the only hope our democracy has to reframe the issues and address the issue that really matters, reviving our democracy.

In support of the bloggers that search for truth, uphold the ideals presented in the Constitution and in the Bill of Rights, the following excerpt from a speech Lincoln used to consecrate a cemetery on November 19, 1863 seems appropriate right now:
“—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth.”

Red states will have to pay more when this bill passes.

Dismantling Social Security seems to be just the beginning. Congress is quickly moving along, a proposed bill to strengthen a credit-card-company-sanctioned bill that evokes such dramatic changes that even Red states may now start paying more attention to what is happening to their American way of life.

On Monday, the U.S. Senate voted down efforts to tack a minimum wage hike onto bankruptcy legislation. Some people may ask what bankruptcy bill?

Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck (introduced 1/31/2005) Makes it considerably harder to claim bankruptcy and be able to limit what a judge may be able to shield from the credit companies.

A solid block of Republican senators, assisted by some Democrats, has already voted down a series of amendments that would either have closed loopholes for the rich or provided protection for some poor and middle-class families.

Consumer-advocacy groups say people who seek bankruptcy protection apply for it because of medical issues, divorce or job loss.

Exemptions were filed as attachments to this bill; such as one to make it easier for the elderly to protect their homes from bankruptcy, to shield people who filled because of medical issues, and to protect veterans. Democrats submitted each exemption and each exemption was shot down by the Republican-controlled Congress.
Loopholes to allow rich debtors to shield millions during bankruptcy were however kept in tact.

It is one thing to mess with east and left coast liberals but now this administration is messing with his base. Since a high rate of bankruptcies actually occur in Red states.

Fence building becomes Fence trashing

I don't think Bush is capable of keeping a single train of thought for more than a week at a time. It was only what ...a few weeks ago that Bush went on his fence mending tour in Europe and today he appoints John Bolton as UN ambassador?

Bolton was one of the neo-cons who advocated the Iraq invasion and has been a long time and very vocal critic of the UN. Bolton will succeed former US Sen. John Danforth, who resigned in December. Some of Bolton's comments about the UN are:

At a 1994 panel discussion sponsored by the World Federalist Association, Bolton claimed, "There's no such thing as the United Nations," saying that ''If the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference.''

In 1994, Bolton opened his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee by declaring, "I believe that the United States should support the efforts of the Republic of China on Taiwan to become a full member of the United Nations." This is a direct affront to mainland China.

In early May 2002 in his "Beyond the Axis of Evil" speech claimed, without any evidence, that Cuba was developing biological weapons and sharing its expertise with other U.S. enemies. Bush backed away from that comment quickly after nothing could be found to substantiate the claim.

Bolton has publicly stated that he supports a policy of "regime change" rather than negotiation in dealing with North Korea and he has advocated halting payments to the United Nations.

If anything, Bolton says that he has always viewed the world body as an illegitimate and bothersome restraint on what he believes is America's right of unilateral action anywhere and anytime.

So much for mending fences. Maybe Bush just wanted the air-miles when he went to Europe because fence mending will now become fence trashing at the UN with Bolton's sledge-hammer diplomacy.

Soldiers kill Italian Secret Service Agent

Giuliana Sgrena, a recently-released-kidnapped reporter is shot by U.S. troops. The Italian secret service, Nicola Calipari, was killed trying to protect her. They were on the way to the airport, just minutes away from a waiting plane with the rescued reporter, when their car was peppered in a hail of bullets from American soldiers.

Contradicting stories from the United States and the surviving members of the incident is making the situation worse. All of this happened in the afterglow of the president's kissing up to Europe and Russia this last week.

Italy is up in arms. And as luck would have it the reporter works for a left wing newspaper, the Il Manifesto. They are not going to let this rest. The phone lines must have burned up with conciliatory calls from Rumsfield and Bush to Italy trying to stave off the negative press.

The people from Italy were against the Iraq invasion so this is very likely to help weaken support for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's. A weaker Berlusconi may recall the 3,000 italian troops from Iraq to boost his ailing popularity and keep his hold as Prime Minister. Bush can't let that happen so the investigation must come up with someone to blame pretty quickly.

How much more can America's reputation suck overseas before Americans start to suffer the consequences of Bush's failed foreign policy?

Hypocrisy is running amok in the White House but at least they are consistent.

Bush keeps calling the kettle black. He recently criticized Putin for clamping down on the press in his country when Bush’s administration has effectively removed all transparency in his presidency and cowed the media into becoming high priced stenographers of administration policy.

Well at least he is consistent. This last weekend Syrian president Bashar Assad is expected to make a partial withdrawal to eastern Lebanon near the Syrian border. Bush took the opportunity to say " "Syria, Syrian troops, Syria's intelligence services, must get out of Lebanon now." He went on to say, "We want that democracy in Lebanon to succeed, and we know it cannot succeed so long as she is occupied by a foreign power and that power is Syria."

Last week he was bathing in his own glory about the free elections held in Iraq and this weekend he says that as long as Syria is occupied, democracy can't succeed. Well if that is true can democracy succeed in Iraq while it is occupied by American troops?

It seems like Bush just says whatever is convenient at the time to make his point but it does not seem to be part of any overall plan. It is like he is just winging it.
This makes sense in light of the way the war has been handled so far. He makes a decision, sticks to it regardless of the consequences and then Karl Rove spins the outcome to fit the original stated goals. The only problem is that not even Karl Rove can control world events and Georgie Boy is not good at thinking beyond what he wants his message to be, so he says whatever comes into his head to prove his point regardless of how hypocritical it comes out.

Could the years of abusing liquor, pot and coke starting to affect the President’s judgment?

There is no gain without a lot of death and pain in a neo-con world

Today we marked a new high; 1500 soldiers died in Iraq. No fan fare no news special. It is just one more number in a war that does not seem to have an end. There are thousands of disabled but they don't count at all. They are invisible to everyone except their families who have to live with their shattered minds and bodies.

My heart goes out to the families and friends of the dead and wounded soldiers. I also feel bad for the dead and wounded innocent Iraqis who got in the way of Bush's ambitions. It takes a lot of misery to support a neo-con administration and they are not afraid of administering as much pain and suffering as necessary to shape the world according to their ideology.