Month: January 2006

Recess Appointment Just Another Example of Bush’s Cronyism

Buck Banks

Heckuva job: George Bush’s appointment of 36-year-old Julie Myers to the post of head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is another example of his penchant for appointing unqualified cronies. And, the fact that it was a recess appointment, and thereby skirts the Senate confirmation process, indicates that his advisors recognized that Myers likely wouldn’t have made the cut.

According to GovExec.com, Myers has some good connections — her daddy is former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers and her husband is chief of staff for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

So what qualifies her to head the second-largest federal law enforcement agency with 15,000 employees and an annual budget of $4 billion? She previously worked in the departments of Treasury, Commerce and Justice, and — here’s the ghost of Harriet Meiers — most recently served as a special assistant to Bush.

To try and combat appointments of incompetent political cronies (remeber Michael Brown aka Brownie?), Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) has introduced legislation that sets standards of experience for high-level appointees to positions requiring Senate confirmation.

That’s all well and good, but when the incompetence starts at the top with the president, it’s going to be nigh on impossible to keep it out of the lower ranks.

Rev. Robertson Comforts Ailing PM’s Family by Saying God Smote Him

Jon Ponder

“God considers [Israel] to be His. You read the Bible and He says ‘this is my land’ and for any Prime Minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says ‘no, this is mine.’

“I had a wonderful meeting with [former Israeli Prime Minister] Yitzhak Rabin in 1974. He was tragically assassinated, it was a terrible thing that happened but nevertheless he was dead.

“And now Ariel Sharon who again was a very likeable person, a delightful person to be with, I prayed with him personally, but here he’s at the point of death.

“He was dividing God’s land and I would say woe unto any Prime Minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU, the United Nations, or the United States of America. God says ‘this land belongs to me. You’d better leave it alone.’”

— Rev. Pat Robertson

High School for Scandal: Abramoff Among Infamous Alums of Beverly Hills High

Jon Ponder

Besides having a place at the center of major scandals over the past few years, what do Jack Abramoff, Monica Lewinksy and Lyle and Erik Menendez have in common?

Yup. They’re graduates of Beverly Hills High School. New York has it’s “fame high school.” In Los Angeles, we have our “scandal high school.”

There is no parity between the Menendez brothers killing their parents and the political maelstroms caused by Abramoff and Lewinsky. What these four alumni have in common is the fact that scandal turned their names into household words.

BHHS itself is clearly not a corrupting influence. The ratio of famous BHHS graduates to infamous ones is easily four to one. The famous grads include Nicolas Cage, David Schwimmer, Alicia Silverstone, Lenny Kravitz, Carrie Fisher, Tori Spelling, Julie Kavner, Betty White, Richard Dreyfuss, Rob Reiner, Marlo Thomas, and Richard Chamberlain – just to name a few of the better known alums.

Holy Rollers Plan Holy Land Theme Park

Buck Banks

Lord, please smite ’em: A consortium of U.S. evangelical Christians and the Israeli goverment are negotiating a deal for an evangelical theme park near where, legend has it, Jesus fed the multitudes on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The leader of the Bible-thumpers is Hugo-hatin’ nutcake tee-vangelist Pat Robertson.

The Israelis are planning to lease the land — about 125 acres — for free and the Jesus freaks will spend about $48 million to create what is tentatively called the Galilee World Heritage Park. It would be located northeast of the Mount of the Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, and Capernaum, Jesus’ hometown. Plans call for a garden and nature park, auditorium, Holy Land exhibition, outdoor amphitheaters, information center and a media studio (Heeeeere’s Pat — Live from the Holy Land!).

Despite the million additional visitors the park is projected to bring to Israel, some Israeli Jews are suspicious of the evangelicals’ motives. The Guardian describes it this way:

The primary reason [the American Christian right has been among the strongest supporters of Israel in the U.S.] is that according to the Old Testament, Israel was given to the Jews by God. Fundamentalist Christians believe that in order for Jesus to return, two preconditions are Jewish control of the land of Israel and the conversion of the Jews to Christianity.

And that Rapture Plan doesn’t sit well with some Israeli Jews:

Yossi Sarid, a former government minister and member of the Knesset, said he was wary of the friendship of the American Christian right and projects such as the Galilee centre. He said: “I am not enthusiastic about this cooperation because I have no desire to be cannon fodder for the evangelists.

“As a Jew, they believe I have to vanish before Jesus can make his second appearance. As I have no plans to convert, as an Israeli and a Jew, I find this a provocation. There is something sinister about their embrace.”

But in the end, Israel seems willing to trade the souls of the Jews for the tourism dollars of fundamentalist Christians:

Avraham Hirschson, the Israeli tourism minister, said: “I’m not a theologian, I’m the minister of tourism, and I’m not interested in the politics of our tourists as long as they come here. They come here as tourists, and they’re friends of Israel.”

Pensito Review: Over Half a Million Readers Since Sept. 1

Jon Ponder

According to Webalyzer, the web traffic software provided by our hosting service, Pensito Review has had 504,807 readers (translated to Geek: “unique visitors”) since Sept. 1, 2005.

Another number that blows us away is that Webalyzer has recorded 849,659 “page views” over the same period. We’re told this number represents readers who venture beyond the homepage and spend time reading our archives and other articles.

This month also marks an anniversary of sorts for us. We launched a beta version of the site on Blogger in January 2005, before moving to this permanent address two months later.

Thanks a million to the half-million of you have stopped by – and especially to all of you who have spread the word about Pensito Review.

First Human Avian Flu Deaths in Eurasia Confirmed

Buck Banks

Health authorities in Turkey have reversed an earlier diagnosis in the death of a 14-year-old boy who they now say died of avian flu last weekend. They had said his death was caused by pneumonia. His sister died today and two other siblings are hospitalized with flu symptoms.

Health authorities have confirmed that the strain of flu that killed the boy and his sister was of the H5 variety, but said further testing will be required to determine if it is the H5N1 strain that killed more than 70 people in Southeast Asia in 2005.

The children worked on a poultry farm and allegedly became infected after eating an infected bird. The World Health Organization says that there still are no confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission of the virus.

For more details, visit the BBC or CNN.

Bush-Cheney ’04 to Return Donations to Chippewa

Jon Ponder

WWMT:

President Bush’s re-election campaign is returning $6,000 in contributions connected to lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The donations include money from a Michigan Indian tribe.

Abramoff entered guilty pleas yesterday as part of a political corruption investigation.

Abramoff, his wife and the Saginaw Chippewas each donated $2,000 to the Bush campaign.

The lobbyist earned the honorary title of “pioneer” after raising at least $100,000 for the campaign…

A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee says the returned money is being donated to the American Heart Association.

NBC Affiliate Caves to American Family Association Pressure

Buck Banks

Christian bullies, TV wimps: AdAge is reporting that an Indiana NBC television affiliate has caved to American Family Association pressure not to run the network’s mid-season replacement, “The Book of Daniel.” The irrepressible and reprehensible Donald Wildmon, chair of the cross-carting, Bible-thumping AFA, is oozing pride over his band of bullies’ latest victory for Jesus.

The program was slated to premiere Jan. 6, but at least in Terra Haute it won’t:

Mr. Wildmon’s group was crowing that NBC affiliate WTWO in Terre Haute, Ind., has decided not to air the show. The group’s beef against the show is how it depicts Christianity. The AFA’s press release describes the show as having a main character who is a drug-addicted Episcopal priest with an alcoholic wife, a gay son, a daughter caught selling drugs, an adopted son having sex with a bishop’s daughter and a lesbian secretary.

Recall that the AFA mounted an impotent boycott of Disney for nine years due to the company’s gay-friendly policies. That boycott ended last spring only to be replaced by a boycott of Ford Motor Co. for its gay-friendly policies and advertising. That boycott was suspended in June and rescinded in December after Ford dropped its advertising in several gay publications.

“The Book of Daniel” is a situation comedy, of course, and I’ve seen a couple of previews where Jesus hisself appears to the priest, played by Aiden Quinn, and other oddball family situations arise. Here’s what “Wildman” Wildmon has to say about it:

“We are tired of NBC’s anti-Christian bigotry,” Mr. Wildmon said in a statement. The group has organized its members to call other NBC affiliates to pressure them to follow WTWO in not airing the new show.

WE are tired of your group’s un-Christian bigotry, Mr. Wildmon.

Can Abramoff Cop a Plea for Murder?

Trish

With possible jail time for Jack Abramoff dwindling with each passing admission, it’s beginning to look like he might walk away from fraud and money laundering charges a free man. Now he’s made a deal in Florida.

Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges and acknowledged he faked documents used to get a $60 million loan to buy a fleet of gambling ships in 2000.

Four other charges were dropped under a plea agreement that calls for him to serve six or seven years in prison, rather than the maximum of 30 he had initially faced if convicted.

Abramoff pleaded guilty to other fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion charges in Washington on Tuesday. His sentence in both sets of charges will be based in part on his cooperation with prosecutors in the corruption case.

The question is, will they let him plea bargain on murder charges? Abramoff admitted today he never intended to pay the owner of Sun Cruz Casinos for his product. But back when Gus Boulis complained, he ended up shot. To death. A lot.

For the full background, see these earlier Pensito Review stories:

Search for Avian Flu Vaccine Hampered By Lack of Autopsies

Buck Banks

In an article in the Guardian, a flu expert warns that the ability to understand and treat bird flu is being hampered because of a failure to conduct postmortem examinations on most victims.

The news comes as fears of the first human death from the disease on Europe’s doorstep were allayed. A 14-year-old Turkish boy who died on Sunday of pneumonia tested negative for the virus, along with three members of his family.

“The big problem, of course, is that the number of people on whom real extensive pathology has been carried out is limited,” said Albert Osterhaus, head of the national influenza centre at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Of 74 people who have died in the Asian outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, only four or five full post-mortems have been carried out – all of them in Thailand.

“Autopsies are not regularly done,” he said. “That’s really an enormous problem.” The main barriers in the countries that have confirmed human cases – Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Indonesia – are cultural and religious. Islam, for example, prohibits postmortem examinations under most circumstances.

Dr Osterhaus fears that the lack of post-mortem information will slow the search for a vaccine. Such data can help scientists choose the best animal species on which to test potential vaccines, for instance.