Do As I Say, Not As I Do
Bush’s comments yesterday — encouraging the country to skip non-essential trips — raised questions about his own recent travel habits. Today, Bush embarks on his seventh trip to the Gulf Coast this month.
Read morePolitics
This category is a main category for post dealing with political issues and politicians at any level of government.
Bush's Appeal for Private Contributions to Iraq
You will be happy to know that the President’s appeal for private contributions to help Iraq has been met with a grand total of about $600.
Read moreDefining Characteristics of Facist Governments – Scary
The reconstruction of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama provides a fascinating picture of how the Bush administration actually works. His government represents an odd melding of corporatism and cronyism, more in tune with the workings of 1930s Italy or Spain. In fact, if one looks at fascist regimes of the 20th century, it is appears that the Bush administration draws more from these sources than traditional conservatism.
Read moreKatrina: Republican Excuse to Continue Regressive Agenda
With great fanfare, and recalling the “Gingrich Revolution” of the 1990s, House conservatives yesterday proposed a broad set of spending cuts they said would help offset the costs of the Katrina reconstruction effort. Their plan reduces the budget by $500 billion over 10 years, and does so in large part by dismantling programs that invest in middle- and working-class Americans.
Read moreHaliburton Taking Good Care of Our Troops
Not only did Halliburton’s KBR subsidiary serve U.S. troops in Iraq spoiled food (sometimes a year past the expiration date), but also contaminated water from Iraq’s Euphrates River, containing “numerous pathogenic organisms” at nearly two times the normal contamination levels of untreated water. “[R]aw sewage is routinely dumped less than two miles from the water intake location.”
Read moreTexas Rep. Joe Barton Finds Silver Lining of Katrina Disaster
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, lawmakers of all political stripes have used the “political climate suddenly altered by the hurricane to try to advance long-stalled, sometimes controversial initiatives.” For example, Texas conservative Rep. Joe L. Barton is once again fighting to open up fragile coastal regions to offshore oil drilling, an idea that languished in Congress earlier this year.
Read moreSen. Frist; Insider Trading Or Sudden Bout of Ethics?
Stock prices for Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) fell 15 percent in late July, but not before Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist unloaded his family’s shares. HCA is the nation’s largest for-profit hospital chain, founded by Frist’s father and directed by Frist’s brother, who is also a leading stockholder.
Read moreWar On Terror Over; Gonzalez Pursues Porn
Taking his cues from former Attorney General John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzalez has decided to make the War on Porn “one of the top priorities” of the AG’s office. In early August, the FBI’s Washington Field Office sent around a job listing to recruit eight federal agents, a supervisor and support staff to take on “manufacturers and purveyors” of pornography.
Read moreAlaska Lawmaker Refuses to Give Up Pork for Katrina Relief
While Sen. John McCain has raised the idea of “charitable pork” — lawmakers giving up pet projects to help Hurricane Katrina victims — and Montana is considering giving up the $4 million it received in a federal bill for a downtown parking garage, Alaska Sen. Don Young is proud to remain a “little oinker.”
Read moreTop Bush Official Arrested In Corruption Probe
David Safavian, who until Friday headed the “obscure but extremely important” federal procurement office in the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), was arrested yesterday, accused by federal agents of “lying and obstructing a criminal investigation into Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s dealings with the federal government.”
Read more$1 Billion Stolen From Iraq's Defense Ministry
The Iraq Defense Ministry is the victim of one of the largest thefts in history. One billion dollars meant to buy arms from Pakistan and Poland was siphoned off, resulting in overpayment for inferior equipment such as “armoured cars…so poorly made that even a bullet from an elderly AK-47 machine-gun could penetrate their armour.”
Read more