No apologies necessary. Even though I actually never tried to argue that he was part of the executive branch, and instead, focused on the actions that the democrats were taking to remove his funding he receives under the guise of the executive branch.
But since I did agree, and didn’t feel a need to argue it, I’ll just stick with “told you so”, and we can call it even, okay?
Ahem, yeah.
I didn’t comment on the fact that Cheney and Bush (with a comment about where they work) believe that they are not required to follow laws, and as such, are not subject to the regulations and sanctions that those laws require; but this is hilarious. Since Cheney doesn’t think that he is a member of the executive branch, they are introducing a bill to limit the funding his office gets from that branch. LOL. Can’t have the paycheck if you don’t work there, buddy.
Additionally, it just really gets my goat that not only are there people still think that the war in Iraq had something to do with 9/11, but the cover ups and perjury that has been going on for the last 6 years is still not seen as real. I just don’t get people. If Cheney and Bush are not held accountable for the crimes that have been committed under the guise of “executive order”, what message does that send to the rest of the world? The people of the world are already tired of our BS, and if we just keep letting the president’s office rape the middle east, we are certainly going to lose some of the fledgling sympathy they have for those of us that don’t agree with what he is doing. I think that, even if it is just a slap on the wrist, and no one is actually removed from office (oh, but how awesome would that be), they should both be impeached. I mean, if you commit a crime, you should have your day in court, right? Why is it then, that the president and the vice president are immune to that? They aren’t, and I am crossing my fingers that someone with the balls to do it is going to step up and make it happen.
We seriously need to ask ourselves what we are gaining by staying in Iraq. Seriously, what do we seek to gain? Are we preventing violence in the Middle East? No, we are causing it to become more concentrated and organized. Are we saving the people of Iraq? No, we caused a civil war, and we are killing them to get them to stop it. Are we helping the people of Iraq, Palestine, Israel, or Iran do anything to better their lives, and enrich their countries? Not that I can tell, because we are making ourselves more and more of a threat each and every day. It becomes clearer and clearer to me each day, that Iran, Iraq, and the other “dangerous” nations in the world aren’t the threat; we are. We are doing to them exactly what we want to prevent them doing to us. It doesn’t change that fact, just because you call it something else, like “helping them rebuild”. Whatever.
While I think that it is important to help prevent violence in the world; when is the time that you actually investigate what your role in that prevention is? When everyone is dead? The whole thing just frustrates me, which is probably why I haven’t said much about it lately.
I can only DREAM of the day that politicians aren’t elected because of their donations and campaign contributions, and as such, we have have a true democratic government that is built by, and for, the people. Until then, none of OUR best interests will ever be in the forefront of anyone’s minds other than our own. That’s enough to make you want to just move somewhere secluded, where you hope you can remain untouched by all of this corruption, greed, and thirst of power. We will be the cause of our own demise, and watching it happen is sickening; especially when we have the ability to stop it.
I guess the greedy really will ruin it for the rest of us that just want to live, breathe, and be happy. Gah.
I have been reading about the battle to end “vulture funds” today. Vulture funds are funds that shatter the possibility of debt relief, where an investor will buy a defaulted loan from a poor nation, and take them to court, forcing them to pay the loan in full plus interest (even though they couldn’t pay the loan to begin with). What happens at that point, is that these countries that owe the debts, siphon funds off of the aid the government provides to them, and the debt cycle and need for aid only grows. See, it is a catch 22, the money is loaned to them, and they spend it (unfortunately, with a lot of political and governmental corruption involved in that spending), and when they can’t pay it back, the defaulted loan is sold very cheaply to someone who goes to court, and demands that they pay back the full loan with interest (!!!). The problem lies in the fact that these countries are forced to take money that we give them for things like AIDS relief, and use that money to pay off the debt collector (i.e., the vulture), who gets rich in the process, making way more than he invested in the defaulted loan. But why accept the loan, right? Well, these countries are given these loans as a fake promise that they can use this money to step into the 21st century. It is like those low interest, high risk home loans, that allow people to buy houses they can’t afford; they end up defaulting, and losing more than they had before the loan, yet, they are convinced in the beginning that they will be able to get by and improve their lives. It is a vicious cycle.
There is a serious issue here, because this practice, especially with relation to foreign countries and federal funds, is illegal. Currently, there is a call for debt cancellation in these cases, but there are still a few people over here (in the US) getting big bucks from this swindling game. They know these people can’t pay back the debt, yet they force them to with whatever they can come up with; which ends up being the aid we provide in the name of AIDS relief and other federal aid programs.
Even though these people go around buying these loans, and use courts to force these countries to pay back these loans, President Bush can sign a statement locking all federal aid funds into place. This would work to prevent the siphoning of those funds to corrupt government schemes and wealthy debt collectors; but that hasn’t happened yet. I hope that he will, and protect funds like the great AIDS relief that I spoke about a little while back. I can’t believe that people are able to do things like this in the first place, and that the system doesn’t do something to protect those that really need protecting. Until the governments of other nations stop the corruption, and the wealthy vultures stop collecting defaulted debts with interest (debts that the people were never going to be able to pay in the first place), the aid is not going to those that need it, and as such, we aren’t helping the situation at all. That is really depressing, because we really can help, we just have to have a multi-tiered approach, addressing these issues in the process. This is great reporting from Greg Palast, as usual, which is how I found out about all of this. It really makes you wonder what is going on with these uber-wealthy people that literally have no problem taking money from those that simply do not have it, just for the sake of getting richer. When is enough money really enough?
I know that this is going to stir up a few bee’s nests, but I just think that there is a point when you have to say that someone is rich enough, and let that be that. There should be limits on how you can swindle money, and the consequences of your actions should be held accountable. Do I think that people don’t deserve the right to be rich? Of course not! If you are rich, good for you! But, if you gained your wealth by literally taking it out of the hands of the disenfranchised poor, especially in a way that is illegal, or at a bare minimum ethically questionable, should you be allowed to just keep raking it in? I certainly don’t think so. I know that the world isn’t fair, but the least we can do is try to make it more likely to swing in a fair direction. If not, we aren’t really doing anything but making rich people richer, and that certainly is NOT the goal of world wide aid, is it? Perhaps it is just a personal thing, but I don’t think I could sleep at night knowing that I am forcing a foreign government to cough up money that it doesn’t have, just because I could afford to buy their defaulted loan. The government of that country may not suffer (because of corruption, remember), but the people certainly do, and that is something that I couldn’t have on my conscience.
I agree that we should definitely cancel the debts of these poor countries that have suffered from corruption, colonization, and disenfranchisement. Punish those that seek to gain profit from their misfortune, by siphoning funds off of federal aid that we provide them. Or, at a bare minimum, we must prevent them from siphoning off those funds, and make sure that the money goes for what it is supposed to go for. The least we can do, if we aren’t going to stop corruption, is be accountable for the money we are handing out, right?
Happy Monday kids!!! So, things are a bit all over the place in my brain today, so I thought I would just jot it all down, and put it out there; since I am sure that there is a little something for everyone. Perhaps it will cure your boredom, or at least give you something to think about! Here we go… ready?
Whew! Did you get all of that!?!?! Have a great afternoon!
Today, I am going to write a post PRAISING George W. Bush. That’s right, you heard me correctly. I am going to praise him for something wonderful he has done. Something that is so close to my heart, and my life’s cause, that I can’t let it go by without acknowledgement. Does this mean that I think that this nullifies all of his other fuck ups? No, but it does mean that I can definitely see good where it truly shines; and today, that is in Bush’s recent requests from Congress.
Yesterday, Bush requested that Congress authorize $30 billion dollars to combat AIDS, and to provide medications for those afflicted with the disease. This money would go towards stopping AIDS worldwide, and providing medications for those that cannot afford it, in areas that are too poor to afford outrageous pharmaceutical mark ups. This is in addition to the $15 billion that he asked for back in 2003, and shows a clear and concentrated effort to truly help those afflicted with AIDS worldwide. This is amazing coming from the president, especially when you consider, that Reagan never even said the world AIDS during his presidency. Truly a monumental achievement to have our president focused on such an amazingly humanitarian effort.
I am honestly speechless that this amazingly large support for ending AIDS worldwide comes from a president that still touts abstinence only as the only method we can use in teaching our children how to prevent HIV infection in the states. At least somewhere in him, he realizes that the need for more than that is real, and as such, he is actually working with world leaders to make this a global effort.
There are critics to his plan, that focus on the fact that this is not enough money to truly make the type of dent that is necessary to take control of the epidemic. While I do agree that it is not enough, and while I see where they are coming from, I think that Bush has the right idea; it is important for every nation that can throw money at this thing to throw money at it. It can’t be something that the US does alone; if we want to stop it worldwide, we have got to use the rest of the world to do it with us. I for one, am excited to see what comes out of the upcoming global summit, with regards to what other top nations are going to offer as well. I will also have my attention focused on what Bush says about climate change, but we won’t get into that today, because I want to focus on the positive.
Bush, you have done a great thing. Even if one of your main motivators is giving the US good face, since we have been responsible for the killing of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, it is STILL a good thing. I do, however, find it extremely odd that Christians, and Christian conservatives are so willing to embrace these efforts to help those that need it most in developing nations, when they continue to turn their backs on the people right at their doorsteps. I also find it weird that the focus on ridding the world of AIDS seems to be solely focused on the developing world, when it is still a real problem here in the US. I know that you can’t always have your cake and eat it too, and I certainly don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, so these are things that I will just silently ponder; because while they are still important points, I don’t want to shit on the good that is being done with this initiative.
Again, THANK YOU Mr. Bush for showing that you have a compassionate bone in your body. Perhaps, this effort for the US to provide more generosity (even if it is only for the sake of saving face) will spill over into other issues, and we can continue to do more good in the world; perhaps so much, that we can stop doing the bad things, and focus solely on the good things. This is the direction we need to be going in as a nation, and I for one, am glad to see that not only are we capable of doing it, but there is at least some momentum that is going in that direction; even if it is only a little bit. If we want to have a great nation, we have to have it in a great world, and the only way we are going to make that happen, is through leadership, support, and compassion. The only way to make ourselves truly great, is to help those that we can, and do what is right.
First of all, gas prices still continue to rise, and there apparently is no end in sight. In fact, they are making historically high records, consistently. This is scary, because I know that I can’t afford $4 a gallon for gas, and I just wonder what people with tighter budgets are going through. Also, I find it interesting that they don’t ever mention premium gas when they talk about how high it is… I have to use premium, and the price difference is significant. I know I am feeling it a little more than the regular users out there. This is the first time I am wishing I would have gone with the Prius instead of the Acura. If it gets bad enough, maybe they will let us telecommute or something… something has to give. And do you people still believe that the Iraq war has nothing to do with this? Yeah… moving on.
This just bothers me. Not that a rich congressman lost his PB&J, but that this is the reality for tons of people, and I can’t believe that people continue to believe that “taking advantage of the system” is the norm. I can’t believe that people are expected to get by with just $3 for food a day. $3. A. Day. That is inexcusable. And worst of all, most of these people have families to feed, as well as themselves on that $3 a day. If we don’t start focusing on our own citizens, we are doomed as a society. Things are getting so far out of perspective, that it just seems that turning our backs on those that weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouths is becoming acceptable. I think that it is pretty clear that we love shooting ourselves in the foot, but it seems to me that we have almost shot our feet off, and we are certainly not going to be able to walk away when the shit really hits the fan. I think we need to spend more time focusing on rebuilding our own nation, rather than nation building half way across the world. I mean, it is all about a little bit of perspective, right? The worst part, is that this burgeoning war on the middle class is forcing more and more people into these impoverished situations. This is enough to stress anyone out; I guess I just worry more than some others do, and so, I worry about this a lot.
I saw a story about this on discovery HD a few nights ago, and while I find the phenomena fascinating, I can’t believe that people still live in areas like this. Take for instance Pompeii. I mean, there are thousands of people that live right next to an active volcano that could seriously go ballistic like it did back in the day, and we would have an even worse modern disaster. The government even offers people money for them to relocate, yet people remain. While I know that the lake Nyos situation was slightly different (they didn’t know it would do what it did with the CO2), I can bet that people still live right around that area, much like Pompeii and other dangerous areas. I just wonder what the motivation is to live in areas that an imminent threat that could kill you and everyone around you at a moment’s notice. Like, I know for sure, that I would never want to live in tornado alley, nor do I think I could live comfortably on the San Andreas fault. I don’t even like living in a hurricane zone. I need to live somewhere that doesn’t pose imminent threat to my life, you know? Maybe that’s just me, but I just think that it is common sense not to want to live somewhere you couldn’t escape death if something completely unstable and out of your control is just outside your back door. But, apparently, there are plenty of people that live in those places and don’t seem to lose sleep over it. Perhaps I just worry too much…
I guess that is a three-fer, for this Tuesday, eh? Give me your thoughts, folks. Hope you are well, kids.
That should be Guiliani’s platform slogan. What an incompetent moron. If you really and truly believe that the attack on 9/11 had nothing to do with out involvement in the middle east, then you are seriously brain dead.
Osama attacked us to prove a point; stay the fuck out of our back yard. Stop taking advantage of our people, and stop trying to hijack our resources (see oil for more info). (And yes, I know that he also attacked us because he is an evil fucking terrorist; but remember, it is his family that Bush rescued after 9/11… and they are the ones having a good old time up in Saudi Arabia right now; not to mention them pretty much enabling Al Qaeda, but anyway…)
Additionally, I thought that true republicans were supposed to have a strong foreign policy standard that focused on diplomacy, trade, and ending wars; not nation building, occupation, and what ever the fuck else is going on over in Iraq right now. Seems these boys have some ‘splaning to do, Lucy. I mean, that is one of the reasons all the right wingers throw that whole “glad a republican was in office” bullshit after 9/11; because Nixon was brought in to end a war, and Reagan did his part to end shit that was stirred up too. In fact, I thought that republicans were supposed to END wars, not perpetuate, lie, and fund them. What gives? But back to Guiliani, the town idiot.
I think that this is one of the most hilariously retarded things I have heard from any of the republicans:
That’s really an extraordinary statement. That’s really an extraordinary statement, as someone who lived through the attack of Sept. 11, that we invited the attack because we were attacking Iraq. I don’t think I have ever heard that before and I have heard some pretty absurd explanations for Sept. 11. I would ask the congressman withdraw that comment and tell us that he didn’t really mean that.
LOL! Seriously? You lived through it?? We all did! (Well, except those that died, Mr Guiliani, but good for you for living). Someone is a few cards short of a deck (he seems to have the jokers and nothing else). And I love that he calls what Ron Paul said (aka, the actual fact-based 100% truth) absurd:
They attacked us because we’ve been over there. We’ve been bombing Iraq for 10 years. We’ve been in the Middle East [for years]. I think (Ronald) Reagan was right. We don’t understand the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics. Right now, we’re building an embassy in Iraq that is bigger than the Vatican. We’re building 14 permanent bases. What would we say here if China was doing this in our country or in the Gulf of Mexico? We would be objecting.
But you know what, Mr. Guiliani, keep this up; you are just proving to us more and more each day that the majority of the representatives for the republican party are so out of touch with reality, that they cannot even fathom the truth, and think that the facts are absurd. I smell something absurd, big G; it’s you and your stupidity.
Each day, we get a little bit more of an idiot show from these fellas. Hell, I say, let them debate every week for the rest of the campaign; I am sure that there is some way crazier shit they have upstairs that they are just dying to share. After all, these are the people that want women that are raped to be forced to have the baby of their attackers. They are also in favor of torture, and are against health care. These seem like some pretty awesomely fucked up people, no?! (source) I’m going to go with, yes, Virginia, they are REALLY fucked up people.
Apparently, Bush has gone out to visit Kansas today, specifically to check out the destruction that occurred in that small town that was pretty much wiped off the face of the earth. While I do feel bad for the people that were affected in this small town of 1600, one question just keeps poking at my brain; have we completely forgotten about New Orleans?? I mean, Katrina displaced and killed a hell of a lot more people, and in many parts of the city, the place is still the equivalent of a third world country! Where is the priority to restore their utilities, homes, businesses, schools, lives, etc? There are still people living in used FEMA trailers for crying out loud!!! I am all for helping the people in Kansas, but I can’t believe that this outcry of attention to rush to their aid hasn’t at least sparked some attention at the complete opposite way Katrina was, and is still being, handled. I would like to see some more light shined on that “little” problem we seem so happy to forget about and sweep under the carpet. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, really, considering these are the actions of a sociopath we are talking about. I just wish things could be different, for this country. Is that too much to ask, Mr. Bush?
Additionally, I read that Tony Snow has already said that Mr. Bush is already planning to veto the newly revised bill the Congress and the House are working on. WTF, you asshole? Remember, you said you would compromise!? This just proves that what I have said all along is 100% correct: you are not willing to compromise. You have your own set of priorities, and you don’t care at all what anyone else says, you want us in Iraq forever. What’s worse, is that you, Mr. President, DO NOT care about the troops, and you are a big, fat, stinking hypocrite!!!!! You accused the Democrats of politicking (they are politicians, remember?) with this bill, when you are doing the same thing. If you really support the troops, why not get your head out of your ASS, fly back to Washington, and actually represent this nation, Mr. President? The nation is speaking loudly, yet you continue to turn away and refuse to listen. This is so infuriating, to know that so many voted to give such an evil, vindictive, know-it-all so much power. Apparently, the goal of the Bush presidency was to do no good, and that is a goal that has definitely been achieved. I can’t imagine what those in Congress and the House are going through, because it is only so long that you can beat your head against a wall before your head starts to bleed. Ugh. Keep the fight, people!! He is definitely WRONG!
UPDATE: Perhaps I spoke too soon… Either way, they need a good continual reminder to stay strong. Rock the house Pelosi!
First of all, the Democrats need to grow some balls. I can’t fucking believe that they went through the whole process of proving a point by putting the time line requirement in that bill, only to drop it when Bush vetoed it. WTF?
Democrats! Listen up! You are our voice! So stop slinking back into the corner when big bad Bush says no! You should have sent the exact same bill back to his ass, and said, HERE is our compromise. In fact, they should have tacked on a few more million dollars for the troops, and then sent it back; that would prove the point that this isn’t about the money for the troops, it is about ending this war. Point is, it doesn’t even matter about this bill, as there is funding for the war through at least July; this is a supplemental bill. If the Bush administration wanted the troops to have the things this bill allocates, it would have been in the national budget that he sent to congress for this year. It wasn’t, hence the need for said bill.
Now, I want to say this to the congressional and senatorial democrats: You need to stand up for the politics you believe in, and stop letting Bush walk all over this country. I am appalled that they caved so quickly.
I am, however, trying to cling to the tiny bit of hope that by trying to sneak in different requirements, and actually require that a real plan for ending the war be developed, they are still focused and unwavering in the conviction necessary to end the war. Additionally, these requirements will hopefully stop people from reusing this “we can’t pull out, it would be disaster!” nonsense, as a slightly different plan will be in place. I am not happy that we are settling for “benchmarks” and requirements to report back to Congress as an alternative to getting the fuck out of there, because frankly, it doesn’t matter how long we stick around; the democracy we are shoving down their throats is not going to take unless THEY develop and accept it. We cannot continue killing their people and policing their civil war, and truly expect them to have an epiphany one afternoon and start being democratic. I am, however, truly excited to see that there are democrats and republicans starting to come together and work together on this. THAT is progress; even if it isn’t the level of progress I would like to see.
If the thing that needs to happen is that Iraq needs to be split into different factions, regions, states, or even countries, it is something that they have to work out. We can provide them the help, money, support, etc. that they need, but we cannot truly expect them to take it or for them to change if we occupy their country, and continue fueling a civil war.
I am so sick of this bullshit. I wish that all of this would have never happened. I wish Al Gore would have actually been able to take the presidency he won. Perhaps we would be in a totally different state of being right now; but unfortunately, that is moot. The fact is, that we need to accept that things have gone batshit crazy, come up with a plan to get the fuck out, and GET THE FUCK OUT OF IRAQ. Pussyfooting around and playing politics (BOTH SIDES), is obviously doing more backpedaling than anything, and it needs to stop. Regardless of what is going on in DC, we are still at war with Iraq (and WHY?!). Every day that this war goes on is a day wasted. And it is getting really, really old.
I wonder if it will even affect Bush that she called him out, right there in the open, about his own history of requiring a time table of Clinton (ha ha Mr. Hypocrite!)? I also wonder, if her strong words about how it was Bush disrespecting the troops by vetoing a bill, and not showing one ounce of a possibility of compromising on the need for an exit strategy? I certainly hope that more people listen to great people like Ms. Pelosi, and do the right fucking thing; get us out of Iraq, so that we can focus on the real issue, which is taking care of our country and our people. If we really want to rid the world of terrorists, we should stop putting ourselves in the position of creating them. It’s time to be a little more intelligent people!
If ONE person can substantially say that our presence in Iraq is doing more good than bad; I am challenging you to PROVE IT. It is obvious that our stay is no longer welcome, and we need an exit strategy, or this silly occupation will go on, and more people will unnecessarily die. Unfortunately, more than 3000 soldiers have already given their lives; when will enough be enough?
On a different, yet related note, I think that I have finally figured out the solution that Bush wants for Iraq. If we can’t leave, and we can’t announce a time for exit (because, by his claims, they will just “wait around until we are gone” and stir shit up again) it is obvious to me, that Mr. Bush has only two options: we occupy Iraq forever (in which, proves that he is a liar, saying that he wants democracy there), or, we kill everyone that lives in Iraq, effectively ending the presence of an insurgency. I would think that there have to be other options, and I am personally glad that I have people like Ms. Pelosi on my side. Bush wants this war to go on, even though the overwhelming majority of the people that HE REPRESENTS wants it to stop. What does that say about him? At a minimum, it makes he look like a hardheaded little brat, who just won’t give up until he gets his way; no matter the cost.
I am just happy that he isn’t the only one who gets to make decisions. I hope that the congress and the senate can get what we need; a real plan. A real PLAN!!!!!!!!!!! Rock out Pelosi!
