Day: November 8, 2005

Dems Win In NJ and VA Governor Races

Jon Ponder

Associated Press:

Democrats swept both governors’ races Tuesday, with Sen. Jon Corzine easily winning New Jersey and Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine taking Virginia despite a last-minute campaign push for his opponent from President Bush.

[In Virginia,] Kaine had 860,719 votes, or 51 percent, to Kilgore’s 789,273 votes, or 46.8 percent, with 88 percent of precincts reporting.

In New Jersey, Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine trounced Doug Forrester, pulling in 54 percent of the vote to the Republican’s 42.8 percent, with 55 percent of precincts counted. Corzine had 605,915 votes, and Forrester had 480,477.

Pensito Review Makes First Bid for Embattled Knight-Ridder

Buck Banks

New media raider: As has been widely reported in the mainstream media, Knight-Ridder shareholders are calling for the sale of the venerated newspaper chain. Amid the turmoil created by major shareholders, Pensito Review has tendered a sealed bid to purchase the chain.

“When opportunity knocks, we say, ‘Who’s there?'” said Stephen Grabbitt, the long-time corporate raider hired by the Pensito Review editorial board to lead the negotiations. “If we wait, somebody like Pat Robertson or the Rev. Sun Myung Moon will buy it, and that would not be good for America. We’re doing this for our country.”

While details of K-R’s reaction to the proposed deal were not released, a high-ranking staffer reported that upon hearing about the proposal, Ridder family scion Tony Ridder was heard to say, “Pens-what-o?”

Grabbitt, who made his reputation in the early 1980s with the successful takeover of a prominent manufacturer of leg warmers whose name cannot be revealed due to ongoing litigation, laid out a general outline of PR’s business plan should the deal go through.

“To be competitive, K-R newspapers have been migrating more advertising on-line and trying to cater to consumers’ desires to get their news from the computer,” Grabbitt said. “We will accelerate that process, moving all ads on-line and dumping the print editions and their content. All the papers would run the content we produce on Pensito Review, regardless of their geographical location.

“No doubt this will result in some layoffs, as in any consolidation,” admitted Grabbitt. “But our HR team will show displaced K-R workers how to create their own free personal weblogs to market themselves and get in touch with their feelings about the takeover.”

A statement from Knight-Ridder indicated a response to the bid was not expected before the temperature in hell reaches 29 degrees F.

Both Slimy, But Arnold Less Oily Than Jeb

Buck Banks

As an opinion piece in the St. Petersburg Times frames it, despite his other failings, at least California’s governor stands firm on the offshore oil drilling issue, whereas Florida’s president’s brother has caved like a Hardee County sinkhole in the dry season:

Both are Republican governors of coastal states whose residents oppose oil rigs near their fragile beaches. Both ran for office on a pledge to oppose any weakening of the current ban on offshore drilling. There the similarities between Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California end.

Bush has reversed his position and is now actively involved with a California politician, Rep. Richard Pombo, to lift the drilling moratorium (established by Congress and President Clinton). Pombo and Bush would replace the ban that keeps oil rigs more than 200 miles off Pinellas County beaches with a shaky political deal that would allow states to request a 50-to 125-mile barrier.

Schwarzenegger had a different message for Pombo, in a letter dated Nov. 3:

“As you know, the waters within the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of California are currently protected from any new oil and gas leasing by a federal moratorium. This moratorium has been in place for 24 years and enjoys widespread support from the people of California, including bipartisan support from elected leaders.

“When I ran for governor I took a strong stance against any further oil and gas leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of California, and called on the federal government to buy out the existing federal leases. I oppose any efforts to weaken the federal moratorium for oil and gas leasing off the coast of California and I support efforts to make the moratoria and the presidential deferrals for California permanent.”

Unfortunately, when it comes to standing up to Big Oil, rather than having the Terminator for governor, Florida has the Compromiser.

Pew Poll: Bush’s Approval Rating Circling the Toilet

Buck Banks

“I am not a crook, neither”: The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Nov. 3-6 among 1,201 Americans, found that a year into their respective second terms, George Bush’s job approval is only nine points higher than Richard Nixon’s approval mark in early November 1973. Bush’s approval ratings have fallen to another new low, amid a growing focus on alleged ethical lapses in his administration.

  • Just 36% say Bush has lived up to his campaign pledge to restore integrity to the White House
  • 79% of Americans say the recent indictment of I. Lewis Libby is a matter of importance to the nation — greater than the 65% who said that in 1998 about charges that former President Clinton lied under oath about his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky
  • 42% of Americans think that Libby is guilty of the charges brought against him
  • 43% of Americans think that U.S. and British leaders were mostly lying when they claimed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, up from 31% in February 2004
  • Bush’s Supreme Court nominee – Judge Samuel Alito Jr. – has received favorable initial reviews from the public, with nearly two-to-one (40%-23%) saying the Senate should confirm Alito to the court
  • Asked to name the first current news story that comes to mind, Americans most frequently cite the war and troop deaths in Iraq (19%), recent hurricanes and their aftermath (14%), and the Libby case (11%); only 5% mention Bush’s appointments to the Supreme Court

Evidence Mounting That U.S. Used Chemical Weapons in Fallujah

Buck Banks

Saddam did it first: Evidence from a number of international sources is mounting that U.S. troops used chemical weapons in Fallujah during some of the hardest combat of the Iraq War. Please recall that, besides the dangerous imaginary yellowcake uranium he didn’t buy from Niger, Saddam also mustard-gassed Kurdish villages in the 1988 — part of our rationale for Operation Who’s Your Daddy and apparently for using weapons banned by interational treaty.

The Independent of London provides an overview of many of the reports that chemical weapons were used in Fallujah on both insurgents and civilians, though the alleged chemical assaults were not reported by any Western media. A documentary by Italian state television network RAI called “Fallujah: the Hidden Massacre” was released recently and documents, through video and interviews with former U.S. soldiers, how the United States used white phosphorus during the fighting in Fallujah.

The allegations focus on white phosphorus, which apparently melts the skin while leaving clothing intact.

A biologist in Fallujah, Mohamad Tareq, interviewed for the film, says: “A rain of fire fell on the city, the people struck by this multi-coloured substance started to burn, we found people dead with strange wounds, the bodies burned but the clothes intact.”

The documentary also gives evidence that a new, better napalm, called Mark 77, was also used in Fallujah — a direct violation of United Nations weapons conventions.

Not surprisingly, the Bush administration has fervently denied any and all allegations related to the use of chemical warfare, and, if its past behavior is any indication, is likely to continue to do so in the face of mounting evidence.

More on Bush’s Eminent Domain $14 Mil Windfall: He Allegedly Used Influence as Gov to Illegally Increase Stadium’s Value – and Left Local Residents with $7.5 Mil Debt

Jon Ponder

Criminal behavior: Last week we reported that when he was an owner of the Texas Rangers George W. Bush used eminent domain to seize private property in Arlington, Texas, in order to build a baseball stadium. Less than ten years later, when he was governor of Texas, Bush sold his interest in the Rangers and profited over $14 million.

This exactly the sort of gambit used by former Illinois governor Otto Kerner, who was convicted of tax fraud as a result. Why was Gov. Kerner prosecuted but not Gov. Bush? Well, for one thing, Gov. Kerner was a Democrat.

Since then, we have learned that there is much more to this story. First, it appears that Mr. Bush evaded paying sufficient taxes on the sale. Second – and, more signficantly – he appears to have illegally used political influence as governor of Texas to increase the value of his share – actions that mirror the activities of an Illinois governor who was convicted of income tax fraud for influencing public policy that benefited his holdings in a race track .

Finally, the Rangers ultimately refused to pay the court-ordered $7.5 million settlement to the family whose land Bush seized, leaving the taxpayers of Arlington to cover the debt.

The allegations that Bush evaded paying sufficient taxes on the sale of the Rangers and that he broke the law by using his political influence to increase the value of the stadium property come from the excellent Make Them Accountable news site:

[…]

Chertoff: DHS Will Be the Next DHL

Buck Banks

Now here’s a good idea: Two weeks after Hurricane Wilma hit South Florida, where thousands of homes and businesses are still without power, heaps of debris remain on the streets and traffic lights are still inoperable in many areas, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is plotting to reinvent the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Chertoff said he plans to restructure FEMA to operate like a 21st century distribution company with the ability to track and locate supplies.

“We want to be able to do what UPS and DHL does,” Chertoff said in an address to the International Association of Fire Chiefs on Nov. 4. Experts from inside and outside the government are working with FEMA to build an “effective distribution of supplies and people” during an emergency, Chertoff added.

The retooling began last summer, before hurricanes ravaged the Gulf Coast, when Chertoff said he would remove FEMA from underneath layers of bureaucracy and have its director (remember Michael “Brownie” Brown?) report directly to him. Chertoff also took away the agency’s preparedness responsibilities to focus solely on responding to catastrophic events.

That last move has been a controversial one, with some lawmakers calling for FEMA to remain a stand-alone agency responsible for both disaster preparedness and response. But Chertoff is loathe to disconnect FEMA from the vaunted War on Terrorism that is DHS’s mission. After all, I’m sure you’ve seen the memo supplied by an Italian secret agent that al Qaeda has been releasing carbon dioxide emissions in order to increase global warming and thereby kick our collective butts with killer hurricanes — really!

So here we are, with one of the largest federal agencies with something like 20,000 employees, looking to become the DHL of disaster response. That sounds like a great business model, don’t it?

Sounds good, but given Chertoff’s checkered management track record, his staff stuffed with political cronies and the tendency of government agencies to behave like, well government agencies, perhaps Chertoff should just go ahead and add another “S” to “UPS.” My prediction is his retooling of DHS will more likely produce a bloated, lumbering, money-losing agency like the United States Postal Service.

Excuse me, I have to go track that bag of ice I was expecting nine days ago while the power was out. Last I checked, it was on a truck in Maryland somewhere.

Bird Flu: WHO’s Recommendations for Travelers

Buck Banks

The World Health Organization has issued a set of recommendations relating to travelers coming from and going to countries experiencing outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza. These recommendations are in line with Phase 3 in the WHO six-phase scale of pandemic alert: human infections with a novel influenza virus subtype are occurring, but at this time, the virus does not spread efficiently or in a sustainable way among humans. These recommendations may change according to change in the epidemiological situation and related risk assessments.

WHO does not recommend any restrictions on travel to any areas affected by H5N1 avian influenza or to areas experiencing outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in birds, including countries which have reported associated cases of human infection.

At this time, WHO does not recommend screening of travelers coming from H5N1 affected areas. Local authorities may, however, usefully provide information to travelers on risks, risk avoidance, symptoms, and when and where to report should these symptoms develop.

Advice to Travelers
WHO advises travelers to avoid contact with high-risk environments in affected countries. Travelers to areas affected by avian influenza in birds are not considered to be at elevated risk of infection unless direct and unprotected exposure to infected birds (including feathers, feces and undercooked meat and egg products) occurs.

WHO continues to recommend that travelers to affected areas should avoid contact with live animal markets and poultry farms and any free-ranging or caged poultry. Large amounts of the virus are known to be excreted in the droppings from infected birds. Populations in affected countries are advised to avoid contact with dead migratory birds or wild birds showing signs of disease.

Direct contact with infected poultry, or surfaces and objects contaminated by their droppings, is considered the main route of human infection. Exposure risk is considered highest during slaughter, de-feathering, butchering and preparation of poultry for cooking. There is no evidence that properly cooked poultry or poultry products can be a source of infection.

Travelers should contact their local health providers or national health authorities for supplementary information.