10 Hard Truths About War For Veterans Day

A War can be very expensive, but reports on them do not do justice to just how costly they can be. Here's a nice article that tries to articulate that cost:

http://www.alternet.org/world/148818/10_hard_truths_about_war_for_veterans_day_(and_every_other_day)/

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A corrective counter-narrative to Bush's 'Decision Points.'

Russ Baker shedding some light from his investigations into George Bush:
http://www.alternet.org/books/148803/exposing_the_dirty_truth_that_bush's_new_memoir_tries_to_cover_up/

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Bush's Waterboarding Admission Prompts Calls For Criminal Probe

Dan Froomkin has an article in the Huffington Post talking about how Bush's waterboarding admission (made more prominent with the release of his memoir "Decision Points") has the ACLU calling for a criminal probe. The article can be found here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/11/calls-for-criminal-invest_n_782354.html

Some may argue that Bush was "justified" because he was trying to protect the United States from a terrorist attack. Those people should also bear in mind that the United States has criticized other heads of state for engaging in this type of behavior.

A quote from the article:

"The ACLU acknowledges the significance of this request, but it bears emphasis that the former President's acknowledgment that he authorized torture is absolutely without parallel in American history," the group wrote in its letter to Holder.

"The admission cannot be ignored. In our system, no one is above the law or beyond its reach, not even a former president. That founding principle of our democracy would mean little if it were ignored with respect to those in whom the public most invests its trust. It would also be profoundly unfair for Mr. Durham to focus his inquiry on low-level officials charged with implementing official policy but to ignore the role of those who authorized or ordered the use of torture."

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WTF Has Sarah Palin Done So Far?

In a parody on the "WTF Has Obama Done So Far" web site that went up recently, someone made a corresponding site about Sarah Palin:
http://wtfhassarahpalindonesofar.com

In other "news", the Financial Times is reporting that Bush would have endorsed Obama, if asked: http://blogs.ft.com/westminster/2010/11/bush-i-probably-wont-even-vote-for-mccain/

A choice excerpt from the article:

A group of British dignitaries, including Gordon Brown, were paying a visit. It was at the height of the 2008 presidential election campaign, not long after Bush publicly endorsed John McCain as his successor.

Naturally the election came up in conversation. Trying to be even-handed and polite, the Brits said something diplomatic about McCain’s campaign, expecting Bush to express some warm words of support for the Republican candidate.

Not a chance. “I probably won’t even vote for the guy,” Bush told the group, according to two people present.“I had to endorse him. But I’d have endorsed Obama if they’d asked me.”

Seems incredulous, I know. But Bush and McCain weren't exactly good buddies either. If Bush did express that sentiment, it would likely have been one of the few times I would have agreed with him!

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Republican Deficit Hypocrisy

Anyone who thinks that Republicans are the "fiscally responsible" party that they claim to be should read Bruce Bartlett's recent article in Forbes.


http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/19/republican-budget-hypocrisy-health-care-opinions-columnists-bruce-bartlett.html

Beyond the incredibly expensive (and incredibly fiscally irresponsible) Medicare drug benefit that Republican's spearheaded, let's not forget that they steered us into a multi-trillion dollar war that was based on a collection of lies and manipulations.

Republicans are not the part of fiscal responsibility. They may claim they are, but their actions are in direct contradiction to those claims. It always bugs me to see so many American's fall for this nonsense.



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Balancing The Equation: The Hypocrisy Variable

Government exists in part to provide certain basic services to the public at large. For example, basic infrastructure like roads, a military to defend ourselves from foreign threats, etc. To provide services, governments have to spend money. And to spend money, they have to make money. There are two ways that Governments can acquire funds, namely taxing citizens (real income) and borrowing money (which only provide a near-term influx of cash that ultimately needs to be repaid).

The problem we are facing today with the Republican party is that there is a fundamental disconnect. On the one hand, the American public wants to pay less in taxes. I mean who would argue with that? On the other hand, we haven't seen any meaningful suggestions for how to cut spending.

So, to keep the equation balanced, the only thing we can do is effectively take on more debt. Somehow this aspect of the equation is never brought up by the Republican party. They American people expect that the equation will balance itself magically. That somehow the Government will be able to acquire less real income and still be able to spend as much (or maybe it will spend a little less, but not nearly enough to offset what it is making).

Under George W. Bush, Federal spending increased by 54%! And taxes decreased! He took a budget surplus and turned it into a substantial deficit! This is the party that talks about efficient Government? That's simply nonsense. The Republican party has put forth an agenda saying that there should be no cuts in Medicare, Social Security or the military. However, more than 60% (and growing) of the Federal Budget is used to support these causes.

Where are we going to cut? Education? That's great. How we are going to compete in a global economy without preparing our children is a mystery to me.

President Obama refers to Republican policies as bankrupt policies. That makes sense - if we keep this up, we will eventually be bankrupt.

The more fundamental danger with Republican policies is that they appeal to our lower sensibilities. They are like that extra gin and tonic that seems enticing now, but will give you a hangover later. The math isn't complicated, but people just don't want to take the necessary steps to do something about it. No one wants to admit that we need to make difficult decisions to get there. Or perhaps (as I would expect) the politicians understand the dilemma. They are just choosing to ignore it since they are getting more than their fair share now while leaving a wasteland for our children.

I came across a must-read article from Time Magazine that discusses this issue as well:
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2029356,00.html

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What The !#$? has Obama Done So Far?

Came across the following amusing site:
http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com/

There has been far too much emphasis on what the Obama administration has not been able to accomplish, and far too little on what it has. The challenge we face today in the media (both mainstream and otherwise) is that it is far too easy to cherry pick the facts that support one's case while purposefully choosing to ignore those that don't support it.

Clearly not everything the administration has done would be considered good by everyone. However, expecting that is a pipe dream of epic proportions. I wince every time I hear someone say that they haven't seen much change. For god sakes, it has just been a year and a half. We're not talking dog years or infant years. Change does not happen overnight.

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