Author: Trish

Public Thinks Bush is Doing a Lousy Job of Handling Even Nonexistent Terror

Trish

The president’s handling of terrorism was highly criticized by those who responded to a recent Bloomberg poll.

That’s kind of startling, considering Bush hasn’t had any terrorism to handle since Sept. 11, 2001.

Americans just seem pissed off with their leader’s flawless record of failure.

Americans just seem pissed off with their leader’s flawless record of failure.

U.S. public opinion turned against President George W. Bush’s handling of terrorism, his signature political strength, last month amid overwhelming opposition to plans to let a Dubai company operate U.S. port facilities.

For the first time, a majority of Americans, 54 percent, disapprove of Bush’s dealing with terrorism…

Bush’s job approval rating fell to 38 percent, a five-point drop from a month ago, fueled also by rising discontent over the Iraq war.

The poll taken from Feb. 25 to March 1 found that almost two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Bush’s handling of Iraq, amid a surge in sectarian violence there. Sixty-four percent say the U.S. is on the wrong track, while 30 percent say it’s going in the right direction.

The poll found similar discontent with the economy and health care under Bush. The environment was only referenced within the issue of oil consumption, although global warming is to me the biggest threat to our future on a round planet.

A curious part of the survey was asking people how they felt about Bush economic policies compared to Clinton’s. Not surprisingly, Bush came out the loser, with only 26 percent saying they favor the economy now over the economy then.

“For all his personal issues, if you try and lay that aside, Clinton was a very good president,” said Henry Lennon, a 59-year-old surgeon in Boca Raton, Florida, who voted for Bush in the last election. “Under the current economy the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. As a responsible person I think that’s wrong,” poll respondent Lennon said in a follow-up interview.

So as a responsible person, Henry, why’d you vote for Bush in 2004? You are what we around Pensito Review refer to as, “the problem.”

At Last: What Total Lack of Separation of Church and State in America Looks Like

Trish

A bizarre town is taking shape in Southwest Florida, built by Domino’s Pizza C.E.Nutcase Thomas S. Monaghan. Monaghan will rule his town according to Tali-Catholic-ban guidelines.

Jesus will be hanging just overhead at all times, in case anyone starts thinking about doing anything that might lead to a need to prevent pregnancy

The pizza magnate, raised by wolves nuns in orphanages, is bankrolling the town called Ave Maria with millions of dollars, calling its construction “God’s will.”

Stores won’t sell pornographic magazines, pharmacies won’t carry condoms or birth control pills, and cable television will carry no X-rated channels, he said in a speech last year to the Boston Catholic Men’s Conference…

The town is being built around Ave Maria University, the first Catholic university to be built in the United States in four decades, which Monaghan also founded.

The community…will be set on 5,000 acres with a European-inspired town center. It will encircle a massive church and what planners call the largest crucifix in the nation, standing nearly 65 feet tall.

So Jesus will be hanging just overhead at all times, in case anyone starts thinking about doing anything that might lead to a need to prevent pregnancy. Of course, some people are wondering if it’s constitutional to do all this banning of perfectly legal activities.

“This is country club Christianity,” said Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice, which opposes the church’s bans on abortion and birth control.

Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, agreed.

While Simon notes there are religiously homogenous communities across the country, none can “wield governmental power along the lines of religious principle.”

The folks in charge of Florida are currently punting.

“The community has the right to provide a wholesome environment,” [Florida Attorney General and candidate for governor Charlie] Crist said Tuesday. “If someone disagrees, they have the right to go to court and present facts before a judge.”

Gov. Jeb Bush, at the university’s recent groundbreaking, lauded the development as a new kind of town, where faith and freedom will merge to create a community of like-minded citizens.

And I just love it when that happens. Meanwhile Monaghan has no qualms, but all the self-assurance of a true religious fanatic and extremist.

“I believe all of history is just one big battle between good and evil. I don’t want to be on the sidelines,” Monaghan said in a recent Newsweek interview.

No worries there, Tommy. You bought a seat in the front row.

Credit Where It’s Due: Bush Says Osama Helped Him Win in 2004

Trish

Loyal to the end: A new book says Bush credited Osama bin Laden for helping him win the 2004 election, but stops just short of saying Bush asked his old family pal to do it. CNN reports that Bush felt like the tape, released the Friday before Election Day Tuesday, was a little slice of serendipity for himself and his handlers.

“I thought it was going to help,” Bush said

Bush said there were “enormous amounts of discussion” inside his campaign about the 15-minute tape, which he called “an interesting entry by our enemy” into the presidential race.

Bush’s comments in the Washington newspaper were excerpts from the new book “Strategery” by Bill Sammon, a longtime White House correspondent.

“What does it mean? Is it going to help? Is it going to hurt?” Bush told Sammon of the bin Laden tapes…

“I thought it was going to help,” Bush said.

“I thought it would help remind people that if bin Laden doesn’t want Bush to be the president, something must be right with Bush.”

Not that anyone would attempt to manipulate the voters by tugging on those fear strings, or by issuing a deluge of elevated threat level warnings as the election approached about acts and people that never proved to have any substance.

Jeb Mum on Port of Miami Takeover

Trish

There’s an odd silence coming from Florida’s top executive, compared with other states threatened by port takeovers by the United Arab Emirates.

A Florida editorial declined to play up Jeb’s omission, but then again, it didn’t have to.

Sleep well, Florida. The president — and Jeb — have got your back.

The governors of states affected by the sale are raising hell, and rightfully so. They, along with congressmen from those states are threatening all manner of legislative and legal roadblocks.

The editors chose to ask even better questions.

But Tuesday, President George Bush vowed to veto any bill Congress might approve to block the deal. He told reporters, “This is a country that has played by the rules, has been cooperative with the United States, from a country that’s been an ally on the war on terror, and it would send a terrible signal to friends and allies not to let this transaction go through.”

Would any of our “allies” in the Middle East allow the United States to oversee the operation of their ports and its national security? The answer’s pretty simple. They’re not that stupid. What’s that say about us?

Finally, how would you like to be the resident of a state where the major international port is controlled by the Arab world? Well, you are. Operations at the Port of Miami are being sold, along with others in New Jersey, New York, New Orleans, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

Sleep well. The president’s got your back.

Florida Republicans Up the Ante on Gay Marriage Ban

Trish

Having lost any claim to national defense (aka homeland security), fiscal responsibility, and limited government as core Republican values, Florida GOoPers are still hanging on to brand identity in one area: homophobia.

By many accounts the marriage amendment stands to mobilize religious conservatives who would likely vote Republican. Lee…said that has nothing to do with his supporting the party financing the effort

After sinking $150,000 of the $193,000 raised to put a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage before the voters this year, the Florida Republican Party is digging deeper. They’re throwing another $150,000 at the failed initiative.

Determined to get a gay marriage ban on the ballot for Florida voters, the state Republican Party has doubled its initial investment in the effort to $300,000.

State Senate President Tom Lee said the additional $150,000 came after Florida4marriage.org, the political committee working to amend the state Constitution, failed to get enough signatures in time to qualify for the 2006 ballot…

“I supported it because I know it’s an important issue to Republicans. I know it may not be more important than tax cuts, it may not be more important than property rights or whatever, but it is an element, just as the sanctity of life issues are an element of importance of our party,” Lee said.

Since gay marriage is already outlawed by the Florida legislature, Democrats think that what Lee really means is, “This is the only way we can get anyone who would vote for us to the polls.”

“It looks like they’re afraid they can’t win on the issues that actually matter to Floridians – issues like port security, offshore drilling, prescription drugs and class size reduction,” [State Democratic Party spokesman Mark Bubriski] said.

By many accounts the marriage amendment stands to mobilize religious conservatives who would likely vote Republican. Lee is running for chief financial officer but said that has nothing to do with his supporting the party financing the effort.

No doubt he’s just concerned that his own marriage will fall apart if gays are allowed to marry. Let’s see, there’s a law against it, now they want an amendment barring it…what next? A proclamation from the governor? Or how about statutes in all 67 Florida counties? Yeah, that’ll turn out the base!

Katherine Harris is Named as “Representative A” in Cunningham Bribe Case

Trish

Over one year ago, PR reported on U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Stolen Elections) trying to divest herself of the same illegal contributions which former California Representative Duke Cunningham is going to jail for accepting.

“The congressman who got the most money is going to prison,” McLaughlin said. “The one who got the second-most money wants to be a senator. I would hope voters would look at that”

If you missed it the first time around, Harris took somewhere near $50,000, funneled through employees of defense contractor MZM Inc., whose employees also favored Duke.

After the employees complained about coercion, Harris offered — in the style of the DeLay-linked — to return the payola. Now the horse manootey is hitting the fan, and Harris’ new name is in legal circles is “Rep. A.”

Harris’ campaign attempted to return the campaign contributions to MZM employees but never received a response, the release said.

Harris acknowledged having contact with Wade and his firm…

Cunningham, a Vietnam veteran who represented a southern California district, resigned from Congress in November and pleaded guilty to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from Wade and MZM in exchange for help securing Pentagon contracts. Cunningham faces up to 10 years in prison.

In Wade’s guilty plea on Friday, the court document stated “Representative A” received $46,000 in “illegal contributions” from employees and spouses at Wade’s firm.

Harris is “Representative A.”

[…]

Let’s Outsource the Secret Service to the UAE

Trish

Alert PR reader Vito D. had a really good question for the Deputy Defense Secretary. Gordon England said last week that those who question the port deal put our security at risk by giving people from Arab countries a complex. Vito asked:

Why not abolish the Secret Service and let U.A.E. guard the President? Now this would show our Arab allies that we trust them.

I agree. If there’s no problem with letting them hire the longshoremen in our ports, then while we’re at it, let’s put them where they could really do some good.

Pentagon Chief Says If You Speak Out About the Port Deal, You’re Threatening National Security

Trish

I’ve heard it all now. CNN:

…the second in command at the Pentagon…said Thursday that people who publicly oppose allowing a Middle Eastern company to take over management of some U.S. ports could be threatening national security.

Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England told the Senate Armed Services Committee that blocking the deal could ostracize one of the United States’ few Arab allies.

“The terrorists want our nation to become distrustful,” England said. “They want us to become paranoid and isolationist, and my view is we cannot allow this to happen. It needs to be just the opposite.”

Because, you know, our government has been so open and fearless up to now. Their willingness to say absolutely anything — no matter how convoluted and incredible — just to get their own bread buttered, is stunning.

Grandmas Who Say “Take Me to Iraq Instead” Turned Over to Police

Trish

How bad is it when the military files a police report on a group of grandmas trying to show support for the troops?

A couple of hours after the women were denied and left the building, Sgt. Casey Luedke, recruiter for the Air Force, called the Sheriff’s Office

My 81-year-old friend Renee was among the six grandmothers, members of a Florida activist group, who staged the world’s most peaceful demonstration on Valentine’s Day. They simply asked military recruiters to take them to fight instead of young people.

“This is not a demonstration against war,” said Peg McIntire, 95. “This is a gesture of love.”

The theme of the day was to “Take Us Instead!” And the idea was for grandmothers, who are heartbroken over the loss of life in Iraq, to enlist and replace young people who are off fighting, said McIntire, who founded Grandparents For Peace in St. Augustine 20 years ago…

“We want the young people to come home to their families,” McIntire told him as she explained her desire to enlist.

[U.S. Air Force Recruiter Sgt. Casey] Luedke calmly explained to the women that there was an age restriction and nothing he could do about it.

One woman made the case that Bush/Cheney fans, who stick a ribbon magnet on the back of the SUV and consider their duty done, miss.

…Nancy Vines, 54, attached a picture of her son, Jason Burns, in uniform to her Grandmothers For Peace T-shirt. He was an airborne ranger in the U.S. Army who fought in The Gulf War. Also, her son-in-law is currently in the Air Force and did a tour of East Pakistan…

“I see a lot of support the troops talk, but I don’t see a lot of support the troops action,” Vines said…

Unlike the Air Force guy, the Navy recruiter seemed to get the spirit the women tried to convey.

Navy Recruiter-In-Charge, Yousef Abdulsalam, greeted the grandmas with a giant smile.

“We appreciate all you guys supporting us,” Abdulsalam said. “I wish everyone was like you ladies.”

So how surprised was our town a few days later to pick up the paper and see that the Air Force is so paranoid, it ordered its recruiter to file a “general offense” report on the ladies?

A couple of hours after the women were denied and left the building, Sgt. Casey Luedke, recruiter for the Air Force, called the Sheriff’s Office and a general offense form was filled out. In the Sheriff’s Office report, it said Luedke explained to his superiors what happened and they requested the report.

These are some strange times we’re living in, kids. When grandmothers get in trouble with the police for trying to keep their grandkids out of harm’s way, we have a problem.

Jeb Going Squirrely Over Common Cause Victory

Trish

Columnists for the Orlando Sentinel outlined the perpetual piss-offedness of Gov. Jeb Bush, who this time is pissed at Common Cause for beating him at the Florida constitutional amendment game.

The governor then turned on Common Cause, saying he wasn’t satisfied that the organization had just disclosed top contributors to the $2.6 million Florida ballot campaign it has waged to have redistricting taken out of the hands of the Republican Legislature.

“I appreciate they gave up some of their donors. But what about the rest?” Bush said. “Where’s the outrage?”

Common Cause spokesperson Mary Boyle said, “the only secret squirrels we know about are hiding from Dick Cheney”

The list of 44 Common Cause contributors who gave $5,000 or more to the organization over the past year failed to include any big left-leaning donors such as George Soros, the financier who helped back the John Kerry presidential campaign.

Those major Common Cause contributors represented $1.3 million of the Florida campaign’s funding — with the remaining donations out of a pool averaging $50 each, the organization said.

But Bush isn’t satisfied. After earlier accusing Common Cause of raising “secret squirrel” money at “secret squirrel meetings,” he again raised the specter of the organization laundering its Florida contributions.

“What would happen if they gave a big transfer from the secret squirrel corporate headquarters in New York . . . down here for this?” Bush said.

“Common Cause of all people that tout themselves as being for good government and clean elections shouldn’t be participating in this. Where’s the outrage?” he said.

Common Cause spokesperson Mary Boyle called Bush’s allegations “ridiculous” and a “total diversionary tactic.”

“If the governor is still talking about ‘secret squirrels,’ ” she added, “the only secret squirrels we know about are hiding from Dick Cheney.”

Good one, Mary. Heh heh.