Month: December 2007

Brazilians Saying Adeus to America

Trish

The Republican strategy of ruining the economy and raising xenophobia to a virtue is working on Brazilians, who are going home in droves. Isn’t that great? Maybe not.

“You can’t spend your entire life waiting to be legal,” said Mr. [Jose Osvandir] Borges, 42, reflecting on a hard decision born of lost hopes, new fears and changing economies in both countries since he arrived in 1996…

Homeward-bound Brazilians point to a rising fear of deportation and a slumping American economy. Many cite the expiration of driver’s licenses that can no longer be renewed under tougher rules

That decision – to give up on life in the United States – is being made by more and more Brazilians across the country, according to consular officials, travel agencies swamped by one-way ticket bookings, and community leaders in the neighborhoods that Brazilian immigrants have transformed, from Boston to Pompano Beach, Fla.

To explain an often wrenching decision to pull up stakes, homeward-bound Brazilians point to a rising fear of deportation and a slumping American economy. Many cite the expiration of driver’s licenses that can no longer be renewed under tougher rules, coupled with the steep drop in the value of the dollar against the currency of Brazil, where the economy has improved.

Good riddance! Get those welfare-sucking, American-job-taking foreigners out of here! Right?

[…]

Just in Time for Xmas: Not in My Cart

Trish

If you’re stymied about whether the gift you’re considering is toxic, swallowable, or a ticking time bomb of poor construction, we’ve got just the website for you. At NotInMyCart, you can see what’s been recalled and why, along with contact information so you can correct any buying mistakes. The Consumers Union people publish the site, so you know it’s legit.

You can also be like my family and take the pledge. Decide that this year, you’re not buying into the more, bigger, better mindset. What do you really need anyway? You’ve got a computer, you have time on your hands, and you’ve got a home with electricity and DSL or cable. You’re set. Now go help somebody who’s not.

This message brought to you by the War on Xmas folks at Pensito Review. Thank you.

For 11th Year Straight, U.S. Gov. Fails Its Own Financial Audit

Buck Banks

At a time of year when most average folks are pinching pennies to put gas in the car, buy heating oil and buy their fair share of Xmas crap, the federal government is spending money like a drunk sailor and guess what? No accountability! Whoo-haa, let the spending continue!

Yesterday, the Government Accountability Office issued its annual report on the state of our nation’s budget and for the 11th year in a row, the gubmint failed to provide a coherent accounting of its spending.

The $8 trillion gap in Medicare was not disclosed or discussed until after Congress had voted on the bill and the president had signed it into law.

“If the federal government was a private corporation and the same report came out this morning, our stock would be dropping and there would be talk about whether the company’s management and directors needed a major shake-up,” Comptroller General David Walker said yesterday in a speech at the National Press Club.

The GAO also said it could not even express an opinion on the government’s fiscal 2007 consolidated financial statements, mostly due — surprise — to the Defense Department’s financial management problems. The numbers are staggering:

The federal government’s total liabilities and unfunded commitments for future payments related to Social Security and Medicare are now estimated at $53 trillion, in current dollar terms, up from $20 trillion in 2000, Walker said.

Medicare accounts for $34 trillion of the gap, according to GAO. Baby boomers, some of whom will start to draw early retirement benefits in a few weeks, “will bring a tsunami of spending” as they retire, Walker said.

But Walker saved his most pointed criticisms for the administration’s push through on the Medicare coverage for prescription drugs passed in 2003:

With Bush administration officials looking on, Walker took particular aim at the White House’s prescription drug benefit program and the way the administration sold the plan. [Prescription drugs are] worth about $8 trillion of the gap created by Medicare, according to GAO.

“Incredibly, this number was not disclosed or discussed until after Congress had voted on the bill and the president had signed it into law,” Walker noted. “In many ways, the 2003 Medicare prescription drug episode represents government truth and transparency at its worst,” he added.

Truth and transparency, indeed. Those were the first casualties of the Bush administration in all aspects of its governance, and now we’re all going to have to pay for it for a very long time.

Have Christian Extremists Been Running the White House?

Trish

Here we go again. The White House is being forced to reveal who’s been visiting the People’s House because they won’t tell us without being compelled to.

A U.S. judge ordered the Secret Service on Monday to disclose records of visits by nine prominent conservative Christian leaders to the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney’s residence.

Were Christian leaders willing partners in the effort to turn beliefs into dollars and votes?

The ruling, in response to a legal watchdog group’s suit, could shed light on the influence leaders like James Dobson of Focus on the Family have had on President George W. Bush’s administration. It may also affect legal efforts to force the release of visiting records of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and other similar cases…

Others whose visiting records were sought included Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, who unsuccessfully sought the 2000 Republican presidential nomination, and Moral Majority co-founder Jerry Falwell, who died in last May.

We know that Karl Rove cynically perverted Christian values to rally the base. What we don’t know is that these leaders were willing partners in the effort to turn beliefs into dollars and votes. If the White House fails to overturn the order, we might find out.

Poll: Clinton Has Double Digit Lead in California – Huckabee Trails Giuliani by 8 Percentage Points

Jon Ponder

SurveyUSA via Pollster:

Giuliani is the most socially liberal Republican in the race so California is his to lose.

Among 741 likely Democratic primary voters in California asked to choose between three candidates, Sen. Hillary Clinton leads Sen. Barack Obama (49 percent to 30 percent) in a statewide primary, former Sen. John Edwards trails at 5 percent (conducted 12/14 through 12/16).

On the GOP side, Mike (“God Is My Campaign Manager”) Huckabee is doing surprisingly well in the land of secular hedonism:

Among 497 likely Republican primary voters in California asked to choose between five candidates, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani leads former Gov. Mike Huckabee (28 percent to 20 percent) in a statewide primary; former Gov. Mitt Romney trails at 16 percent, Sen. John McCain at 14 percent, former Sen. Fred Thompson at 13 percent (conducted 12/14 through 12/16).

Californians aren’t yet focused on the primary election on Feb. 5 — it’s the holidays and we’re used to having national primaries in the summer. Voters here will likely tune in after results from Iowa and New Hampshire show who’s got game. They will tend to dismiss the results in culturally dissonant South Carolina but will be keenly interested in who wins in Florida on Jan. 29

Giuliani is the most socially liberal Republican in the race so California is his to lose. Huckabee’s numbers in this poll are probably inflated from the combined factors of his positive headlines and the lack of serious focus by voters mentioned above. California Republicans tend to prefer secular fiscal conservatives (think Reagan and Schwarzenegger) so interest in Huckabee could fade as they learn more about his extremist religious views and record of raising taxes.

Even if Romney does well in January, it’s hard to see him gaining traction in California. The state has a sizable Mormon population that has been here since the Gold Rush in 1848 so it isn’t so much Romney’s religion that lacks appeal, it’s more about the fact that that Californians know a fake when they see one.

Giuliani’s principal threat next month could be McCain who has successfully rebuilt his campaign and received endorsements last week from key newspapers as well as the Republicans’ favorite former Democrat, Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Quote du Jour

Buck Banks

The Bill of Rights is a born rebel. It reeks with sedition. In every clause it shakes its fist in the face of constituted authority … it is the one guarantee of human freedom to the American people.

— Frank I. Cobb (1869-1923) Editor, New York World

As Florida Hopes Fade, Giuliani Says He Expects ‘Miracles’

Jon Ponder

Rudolph Giuliani never counted on winning in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina next month. Instead, he’d set his sights on Florida, hoping a decisive win there on Jan. 29 would set the stage for a big sweep on Feb. 5, when 22 states hold primaries, including his home state of New York and California, where he calculated that his liberal-Republican affinity with Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger would trump his campaign’s failed attempts at dirty tricks and deliver a win.

One astute observer of Republican nefariousness suggested that the “miracle” he’s expecting is similar to the sort of vote-rigging “miracle” that handed Florida, and the presidency, to George W. Bush in 2000.

But in the wake of a new poll that showed him in third place in Florida after Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, Giuliani gave a
speech in Tampa that pundits say was intended to reset his campaign that featured this telling formulation:

“I’ve met adversity before [9/11]. I’ve led in situations that seemed hopeless [9/11] and dire [9/11], in need of a miracle,” he said. “I don’t just hope for miracles. I expect miracles.”

One astute observer of Republican nefariousness* suggested that the “miracle” he’s expecting is similar to the sort of vote-rigging “miracle” that handed Florida, and the presidency, to George W. Bush in 2000.

In any case, Giuliani, the cousin-marrying serial adulterer, shouldn’t get his hopes up for divine intervention because it appears that Huckabee — who recently claimed that God Himself is directing his surge in popularity — has cornered the market where miracles are concerned.

There was one moment of cultural dissonance that must have been amusing up close:

Naming several issues, he suggested the American call was to “get it done,” to which he answered “and we will.”

…The speech was reminiscent of Giuliani’s first inaugural address as mayor in 1994 — made famous by a young Andrew Giuliani lingering at the podium, waving to supporters — in which Giuliani repeatedly said: “It should be so, and it will be so.”

(It also reminded at least one person of the Larry the Cable Guy catchphrase, as one supporter yelled “Git-R-Done!” amid Giuliani’s speech.)

No word from the Giluiani campaign on whether the former New York City mayor is a fan of Larry the Cable Guy — or if he had ever heard his catch phrase before Saturday.

H/t: VRW *

Gov. Crist Would Not Be First Bachelor Vice President – Vice Pres. King Was Longtime Companion of Pres. Buchanan

Jon Ponder

Florida’s Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican and a bachelor, is on notice:

Longtime Washington Republican operative Roger Stone is the latest to talk up the vice-presidential possibilities of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.

But Stone says wedding bells are going to have to be audible in the next few months for Crist to be considered in the veepstakes.

Stone writes: “Bachelors don’t get selected for vice president. While Crist denies any vice president ambitions (as a good politician should), should the Governor marry in the next six months, it would be clear that he is a hopeful candidate.”

Stone is incorrect. A bachelor, William Rufus de Vane King (update: new link), was selected to serve with Pres. Franklin Pierce, in 1852:

…King, the 13th vice president, died [on April 18, 1853] of tuberculosis six weeks after being inaugurated. He was the nation’s only bachelor vice president, but according to [Steve Tally, author of “Bland Ambition: From Adams to Quayle – The Cranks, Criminals, Tax Cheats, and Golfers Who Made it to Vice President,” published in 1992], it also was widely rumored that he was a homosexual and his rumored lover was James Buchanan, the country’s 15th president.

“He was certainly a fop and a sissy,” Tally says about King, who wore silk scarves, glittery accouterments and a powdered wig long after it was fashionable. King’s contemporaries called him “Miss Nancy” and “Aunt Fancy.” Asked if some readers might be upset to read that one of the country’s vice president was a homosexual, Tally replied, “I think they should be upset that they elected an alcoholic dying of a terminal disease.”

King was born in North Carolina in 1786, and represented the state in the House of Representatives for two terms before moving south and working to organize the government of Alabama. Upon statehood in 1819, he was elected to the Senate, where he represented Alabama for 25 years, during which he shared digs in Washington with Buchanan. After King and Buchanan died, their nieces destroyed all the letters their uncles had written one another.

Crist, who took office in January after Gov. Jeb Bush was term-limited out, registered a 65 percent approval rating in the Quinnipiac poll in October. Having a politician from Florida who is as popular as Crist on the ticket next year couldn’t hurt, and could even deliver the presidency to the GOP if the vote is as close as it was in 2000.

Crist was married for six months, from July 1979 to December 1980.