Author: Trish

Fast Track to the Black Vote, Plus He’ll Always Know If It’s O.K. to Go Wee-Wee

Trish

How can George Bush show he really does care about black people?

Replace Dickface Cheney with the woman he consults before he takes a whiz: Dr. Secretary of State Condo Rice.

Replace Dickface Cheney with the woman he consults before he takes a whiz: Dr. Secretary of State Condo Rice.

With rumors mushrooming about Cheney’s prospects in the CIA leak investigation, and Bush’s approval ratings in the Little President’s Room, the one thing that could really put Bush ahead for 2008 (?) is appointing the first black female V.P.

These guys would love it:

“We have watched and listened over the last several weeks with a great deal of frustration and dismay while political opportunists and race-baiting black leaders and Democratic politicians took advantage of the tragedy and suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, particularly in New Orleans, to engage in political opportunism and playing the race card,” [Coalition of South Florida African and Caribbean American Republican Party spokesperson Levi] Williams said, reading from a four-page statement.

“Equally disturbing is that many have used this tragedy to fabricate and distort the truth on the president’s commitment to poor Americans,” Williams said.

Of course, they’d love him no matter what, even if he made Condo use a different Little Secretary of State’s Room than Laura and Jenna and Barbara.

Republican Squabbling Doesn’t Keep the Money From Pouring In

Trish

There’s no trouble in the Republican party that money can’t fix, and anyone who doubts the GOP’s ability to out-raise and out-spend opponents needs to smell that coffee. No matter how much they disagree, Republicans can be counted on to spend big on elections.

Deep pockets in question: H. Wayne Huizenga, who’s throwing a little bash for the warchest. WSNV-TV Miami:

There is no doubt Florida’s next governor will be the best that money can buy

Governor Jeb Bush and a couple hundred of Florida’s wealthiest Republicans will party next Thursday at the 18,000-square-foot mansion of billionaire H. Wayne Huizenga in Fort Lauderdale. The invited guests are being encouraged to donate $100,000 or more to keep the Grand Old Party humming along.

Bush says he’s serving as the main attraction at next week’s fund-raiser to keep Republicans focused on their 2006 election battles against Democrats.

According to Wikipedia, Huizenga started out like American presidents 41 and 43 – i.e., rich. Unlike the Bushes, whose every venture ended in losses for other people, what Huizenga touched turned to gold. Christian fanatical gold, but gold.

He started with Waste Management, then Blockbuster, finding great success with the strategy of running Mom and Pop businesses out via either acquisition or undercutting. He then moved on to sports team ownership, counting the Miami Dolphins and Dolphins Stadium along with the Florida Panthers and at one time, the Florida Marlins, among his possessions.

Those big bucks will come in handy in Florida. One of Jeb’s few successful initiatives last legislative session was to raise the limit on campaign spending for the governor’s race. Candidates can now spend up to $20 million during the election cycle. Since Democrats typically spend closer to the number of millions you can count on one hand, there is no doubt Florida’s next governor will be the best that money can buy.

Frist Goes After Miami Money for 2008 Presidential Run

Trish

You know how you’ve looked forward to 2008, because it meant time was up for George W. Bush, he would not even be running, and no better how bad it is until then, it is sure to be better after the election?

Well, maybe not.

…the people he met with interpreted it as an “exploratory” meeting with local power brokers in case he decides to run for president…

The Miami Herald is reporting that Bill Frist is testing the presidential campaign waters with the obligatory first trip to South Florida, home of Obscenely Rich and Rotten Republicans Who Like to Give.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist met with some of Miami’s most powerful and controversial figures Tuesday for lunch in a private room at Cafe Abracci, a move interpreted by some as testing the waters for a possible presidential run.

South Florida, with an unusual electorate that includes Cuban American Republicans, has played a critical role in deciding the last two presidential elections, and is one of the nation’s leading areas in the amount of money raised for national political campaigns.

While Frist did not comment on the visit, the people he met with interpreted it as an “exploratory” meeting with local power brokers in case he decides to run for president…

[…]

Special Forces Suicides on the Rise Despite Questionnaire

Trish

AP is reporting on a cluster of three suicides in Special Forces troops based at Fort Carson, Colo. returning home from Iraq.

The Army says there appears to be no connection between the men’s overseas service and their deaths, and Army investigators found no “common contributing cause” among the three. The fact they were in the same unit is only a coincidence…

The Army says its overall suicide rate in 2003 was 12.8 per 100,000 active-duty soldiers, while the rate in the general U.S. population was 10.5 per 100,000

Special Forces soldiers specialize in what the Army calls “unconventional warfare” — commando raids, search-and-destroy missions, intelligence gathering. They go through specialized psychological screening. They also undergo rigorous physical training and learn survival techniques and other skills, including foreign languages….

Special Forces officials said the Colorado-based unit experienced heavy combat in Iraq. Two members were killed in the first half of 2004 — one by a roadside bomb, another in a vehicle rollover. Another member, former Staff Sgt. Georg-Andreas Pogany, was sent home and charged with cowardice when the sight of the mangled body of an Iraqi caused a panic attack and prompted him to ask for psychological help. Charges against Pogany were later dropped, and he received a medical discharge.

Part of the problem is lack of funding for effective prevention. But we already knew taking care of our troops isn’t a big priority for the Bush administration.

The Army says its overall suicide rate in 2003 was 12.8 per 100,000 active-duty soldiers, while the rate in the general U.S. population was 10.5 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…

[Former Army Ranger and veterans’ advocate Steve] Robinson has been pushing military leaders to stop using paper questionnaires to screen for problems among returning soldiers and switch to face-to-face meetings with mental health professionals.

“There have been improvements, but it’s been like pulling teeth from a lion’s mouth to get the Department of Defense to do things they’re not willing to do because of the dollars,” he said.

Support our troops. Bring them home.

Jeb Packs Appeals Courts with Creationists, Flat-Earthers, and Homophobes

Trish

Jeb’s appeals court choices have been so far to the right that they’d have to befriend Michael Moore and start listening to Air America just to be called conservative. The Miami Herald printed a partial list of the judges Jeb has appointed, which we’ll be stuck with long after his sneering countenance is a bad memory:

• Charles Canady to the Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland. Canady, a former congressman from Lakeland, was one of the floor managers in the House effort to impeach President Clinton.

• Paul Hawkes and Brad Thomas to the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, the court most likely to hear any challenges to laws passed by the Legislature. Hawkes is a former state legislator and top aide to House Speaker Tom Feeney with well-known conservative views. Thomas, a former prosecutor and top aide to Bush, helped devise the governor’s plan to hand over some Death Row inmate appeals to private lawyers, a move that has since been roundly criticized for shoddy work by state Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero, himself a Bush appointee.

• Leslie Rothenberg to the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami. During her unsuccessful run for state attorney in 2004, Rothenberg signed a pledge from the Miami-Dade Family Christian Coalition that she would oppose gay marriage and domestic partnerships with “my votes, powers and privileges of public office.”

• Frank Shepherd to the Third District Court of Appeal. Before he was placed on the bench, Shepherd was Florida senior attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation, a fierce advocate of private property rights that often challenges environmental regulations.

What I’m Reading is None of Bush’s Business

Trish

One of the most ridiculous parts of the Patriot Act has to be where the government can force libraries to turn over lists of books you’ve checked out and bookstores to report what you bought. Yeah, a terrorist is really going to be exposed that way! Not. It’s just another stupid idea from the most paranoid, facist, dictatorial president ever.

Enough already. Go sign the petition at TrueMajority.org supporting a bill introduced by Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). A message will be sent to your own representative, telling him or her to have the government drop the Hoover-esque snooping. Hurry, because a joint House and Senate committee is deciding on whether to alter the Patriot Act now.

Florida Newspapers Suing FEMA for Hiding Records

Trish

Florida Times-Union:

Suppose a substantial amount of your tax money goes to a government agency that writes checks to all kinds of people following a disaster. And suppose the agency issues no-bid contracts, is accused of cronyism, and has demonstrated incompetence in spending — thereby wasting — your tax money…

A federal judge in Fort Myers will decide whether newspapers can see the names and addresses of the people who received nearly $5.3 billion in after-storm payments [from 2004]. Seeking to learn if the payments were fair and equitable, The News-Press in Fort Myers, the Pensacola News Journal and Florida Today, all owned by Gannett Inc., sued after FEMA refused to release the records.

Most larger newspapers, including the Times-Union, spend a lot of money each year on legal fees to ensure openness of government and openness of public records. Usually they seek information that any taxpayer should be able to obtain easily…

Why would competent administrators not want us to know how tax money is being spent?

…There are consequences to not knowing what’s in FEMA’s files. Excessive costs and wasted tax money are examples. There are others.

Perhaps if the secrecy had been lifted a year ago, allowing the media and others to watchdog more carefully in 2004, a few outcomes would have been different in 2005.

Perhaps if the crazy way FEMA doles out money had been uncovered sooner, we could have avoided wasting some of the many millions wasted after Katrina.

Perhaps if a firestorm of scrutiny had focused on FEMA earlier, a more effective agency with stronger leadership could have been in place to enable FEMA to respond more effectively and thereby reduce the misery or even save lives.

No one knows what might have happened, of course, but this explains why newspapers are suing FEMA. Taxpayers should be able to see the books.

“Bring Your Gun to Work” Day in Florida

Trish

The NRA is on a roll in Florida. Following their success with the so-called “Deadly Force” law, the evil lobbying group is trying to arm Florida employees. Florida Times-Union:

A rare and spectacular showdown may be coming in Florida’s Republican Party: Big Business vs. Big Guns…

But the NRA is insistent. The group…has donated nearly $1 million in Florida over the past decade, mostly to Republicans

The dust-up is over the “guns-at-work” bill, which the National Rifle Association began pushing last month in Tallahassee to force all Florida businesses to allow firearms in the vehicles of any employee or visitor. Companies could keep policies banning guns from their buildings themselves but could no longer apply those policies to their parking lots.

The bill is sponsored in the Florida House by none other than Rep. Dennis Baxley, the fruitcake who tried to pass an “academic freedom” law that would have punished liberal college professors who allowed views other than Baxley’s to be aired in their classrooms. That effort failed. We can only hope this one meets the same fate.

Many businesses are either wary of or leaning against the proposal, including heavy-hitters such as Disney and local giants such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield, CSX and Baptist Health System.

But the NRA is insistent. The group, which has donated nearly $1 million in Florida over the past decade, mostly to Republicans, is led in Tallahassee by former national President Marion Hammer. Hammer said the rights of gun owners should be intact in their vehicles, and the proposed law already gives businesses immunity from liability lawsuits in cases of workplace shootings.

Is a lawsuit the worst possible outcome if an employee uses a gun at work? A lot of people don’t think so. […]

Bush’s Numbers Are in the Toilet: Time for a Terror Alert!

Trish

It’s a really bad week to be George Bush.

First, instead of being applauded for his Supreme Court nominee, as the Press Poodles and Congressional GOoPers used to reliably do, he was accused yet again of cronyism.

O.K., forget the domestic stuff, he calls a press conference to remind everyone that our nation was once attacked with no provocation — you know, kind of like Iraq was.

Sorry Georgie, your numbers are still in the crapper, so what else you got for me? Bingo! A terror alert, “and this time we really mean it” to boot.

I sincerely hope Bush is not proven right on the threat this time (lord knows, if he keeps saying it, eventually even by sheer coincidence, he might be right) but I doubt I will be. I also doubt this latest threat-level elevation thingie will lift his approval number above its really bad 37%.

Jeb Flip-Flops on Screwing – Whoops! – Drilling Florida

Trish

First Jeb said, “No,” then he said, “Yes, but not that way” and now he’s saying, “Oh yeah, baby, more!” Jeb has flip-flopped on drilling for oil off Florida shores more times than the Russian gymnastic squad in the last Olympics. South Florida Sun Sentinel:

Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday he supports federal legislation allowing drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, including areas where he aggressively fought energy exploration just four years ago.

The U.S. has only 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves, including the Arctic Refuge, but we consume more than 25 percent of the world’s oil; the U.S. can never drill its way to energy independence.

Bush cited new political realities…

Like what political realities? Like global warming from fossil fuel emissions causing hurricanes that wipe out refineries where he wants to put new ones?

This is why it’s so important for environmental protection to be secure from political whim. Marine mammals and coral reefs don’t always realize their guy lost the lost election. Suckers. But since the earth lasts longer than election cycles, it should get top billing.

Environmentalists, Democrats and Republican U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida staunchly oppose the bill, which would allow oil and gas drilling 125 miles from Florida-controlled waters.

They continue to insist that a strong political front in Florida can stop all new drilling in the eastern Gulf.

“Sure they do,” Bush said, deriding their position. “But that’s great. I’ve talked to the fairy godmother about it.”

Has there ever been a more sarcastic and cynical asshole in high office? No, his big brother doesn’t count because he’s not smart enough to be cynical. […]