“And the question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam Hussein worth? And the answer is not very damned many. So I think we got it right, both when we decided to expel him from Kuwait [in 1991], but also when the president made the decision that we’d achieved our objectives and we were not going to go get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq…”
Dick Cheney, 1992 [via Matt]
Like 50 million other Americans, I watched the first presidential debate between George W. Bush and John F. Kerry on TV last night. I did not expect to hear any new platforms or any real debate between the candidates, considering the 30 pages of debate guidelines established by the two parties. Despite the inhibiting debate structure, I was really struck by the way Bush and Kerry contrasted when placed next to each other.
While both candidates stuck closely to previous statements, it was John Kerry who succeeded in articulating his stance on North Korea (initiate bilateral talks), the war in Iraq (focus efforts on training new Iraqi forces), and what he plans to do on the international stage (reestablish the ties that Bush destroyed). Dubbya only managed to stutter and fumble around for responses to several of Kerry’s pointed remarks while repeating his trademark talking points nearly every time he spoke. Although, Bush does get the points for making the more amusing facial expressions while his opponent was speaking; some were just beyond description.
Before the debate, I was one of the many voters that belonged to the “Anybody but Bush” party, but last night convinced me that John Kerry will be a better president than George Bush. At the very least, he doesn’t sound like a moron.
The big story today happens to be the (accidental?) release of 361 images to the Memory Hole that show dead American soldiers’ arrivals and departures at air bases. Apparently, photos of these honor guards are not released to the press—nor are the media allowed to photograph these quiet non-ceremonies—because the Bush Administration does not want the public to see the images for fear of upsetting the families of the dead. However, the images are not graphic in any respect (flag-draped coffins) but rather sad testimonies to this unnecessary war.
More likely, Bush & Co. don’t want the public to see the real results of the war in Iraq. I’m glad the images were released under the Freedom of Information Act, but it should be easier for the public and media to show what really happens when we go to war. Sadly, the New York Times reported that Fox News reaffirms that it is truly the GOP propaganda machine:
Among the national television news organizations, only the Fox News Channel had no plans to use any of the photos or explore the issue of why they had been barred from use in the news media, a channel spokesman said.
Update: the Memory Hole site has been down for the past few days, most likely due to an overload on their servers. This mirror has been provided by Warblogging.
I have a Page-A-Day calendar that features “365 Amazing Trivia Facts for 2004” that I received this past Christmas. Yesterday (April 20) the calendar had this to say:
Which U.S. president played minor league baseball?
Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1911. He played in 14 games as an outfielder for Junction City in the Central Kansas League, using the assumed name of Wilson to protect his amateur status so he could play football at West Point. He quit abruptly when local news accounts of his impressive play attracted several major league scouts.
If you still don’t have any doubts about the effectiveness of the Department of Homeland Security and the shamelessness of the Bush propaganda machine, this may convince you otherwise:
Administration sources tell Time that employees at the Department of Homeland Security have been asked to keep their eyes open for opportunities to pose the President in settings that might highlight the Administration’s efforts to make the nation safer. The goal, they are being told, is to provide Bush with one homeland-security photo-op a month.
God, I hope that we don’t have to put up with the current administration for another four years. It never ceases to amaze me what they’re capable of tampering and/or politicizing.
I read an interesting article in Time last night. It explained why the Bush “starve the beast” and tax cut policy will never work. A thorough explanation and examination of the Bush Administration’s economic policy coupled with a little common sense shows the tax cuts for what they really are: big business kickbacks that hurt the economy in the end.
There was an amusing clip on Letterman tonight that was supposed to be a fake Democratic ad campaign that attacks Bush. It was a collection of his worst moments that included one or two of his monkey-faces, tripping over nothing, spitting on the White House lawn, and dropping his dog. It ended with a voice-over of “Vote Democrat in 2004.”
I watched a rerun of The Daily Show with John Stewart earlier in the week and Al Franken described a possible ad campaign for John Kerry that he envisioned. It would begin with a clip of Bush landing on the aircraft carrier and posing in a flight suit as he did in May 2003. Then a voice-over narration by Kerry would say, “Playing dress-up and make-believe can be fun, but when George W. Bush had a chance to fly in Vietnam, he avoided it by using his daddy’s influence.” The fake ad would then cut to a picture of Kerry in his service uniform with Kerry describing how video cameras couldn’t go where he wore his uniform. Hopefully, the tide continues to shift against Bush and his group of warmongers with the mainstream media.
I watched George W. Bush make a statement today about the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He mentioned that he would need $87 billion to help in the rebuilding of Iraq and called for members of the international community to help the US in Iraq despite the fact that the US was adamant about bombing Iraq with or without international support. He also discussed reasons for invading Iraq including their disobedience of UN resolutions, the violent Saddam dictatorship, and Saddam’s weapons of mass disappearance. That’s funny: the only reason I remember for invading was the imminent threat of chemical or biological attacks. Also it seemed rather hypocritical to disobey the UN—which was opposed to the war—in order to attack a country because they were disobeying the United Nations. Hmmm.
On a lighter note, I was flipping through the channels and noticed Sammy Hagar on the Food Network. Yes, the Sammy Hagar from Van Halen. It didn’t make any sense until I remembered that Hagar has started his own label for tequila and other liquors. Sure, other celebrities have their own food product lines such as Paul Newman’s salad dressing. And he’s a specialist how? The transition from alcoholic rock musician to alcohol producer is much more logical. Finally, a food product endorsement that makes sense.
A while back when the details of the Bush tax cuts were coming into focus, Time Magazine ran an article that explained how the average American’s cut was disproportionately smaller than the fat cat’s slice. Like most people who read the article, I was upset that the nation was going to be thrown a huge deficit in order to pad the bankrolls of the wealthy, while the average American, suffering from lay-offs and pay-cuts, was going to receive a paltry check or none at all.
Time just ran another article detailing some of the dividends that CEO’s are going to receive thanks to Bush’s dividend tax cut. In figures that are nothing but obscene, CEO’s are issuing increased dividends—or creating them in some cases—for what can only be described as self-interest. For instance: Citigroup CEO (and billionaire) Sandy Weill will receive $27 million in after-tax income, up from his previous $11 million. Bill Gates will receive $82 million after taxes, thanks to a newly created eight cents-a-share dividend. I find it very hard to believe that any of the über-rich CEO’s either upped the dividend value or created one solely to satisfy the “demands” of the shareholders. I can think of another reason. Can you?