In the face of growing bipartisan support (and withering hopes for Social Security privatization) in Congress, Dubya declares he will veto a bill easing stem cell restrictions. In five years, Dubya has never used the veto before…but of course he’s always ready to answer the bell when the right-wing fundies come-a-knockin’.
Tag: George W. Bush
Star Wars: Episode I.
Eager to try out new experimental weapons systems with dubious names like “Rods from God,” the Air Force looks to Dubya to greenlight space weapons programs. The Air Force believes ‘we must establish and maintain space superiority,’ Gen. Lance Lord, who leads the Air Force Space Command, told Congress recently. ‘Simply put, it’s the American way of fighting.” Hmmm. I might feel less uneasy about all this if this fellow Lord didn’t sound like he’s channeling Buck Turgidson. ‘Space superiority is not our birthright, but it is our destiny,” he told an Air Force conference in September. “Space superiority is our day-to-day mission. Space supremacy is our vision for the future.“‘
Not Like Ike.
And here I thought the military-industrial complex speech was prescient…
(Quote and links seen at Medley and birddogged by David Sirota):
“Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are…a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower, 11/8/54
The Zap-O-Terrorist doesn’t work?
“‘Everyone was standing in line with their silver bullets to make us more secure after Sept. 11,’ said Randall J. Larsen, a retired Air Force colonel and former government adviser on scientific issues. ‘We bought a lot of stuff off the shelf that wasn’t effective.'” Yep, unfortunately we purchased billions of dollars of defective garbage in the post-9/11 rush to defend the homeland, a mistake that will cost several billion more to rectify. “After 9/11, we had to show how committed we were by spending hugely greater amounts of money than ever before, as rapidly as possible,” said Representative Christopher Cox, a California Republican who is the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. “That brought us what we might expect, which is some expensive mistakes.”
The Closer.
In a “major shift in legislative strategy” aimed at preserving Dubya’s ill-advised privatization plan, the White House turns Social Security legislation over to House Ways and Means chairman Bill Thomas. “The California Republican saved President Bush’s tax cut in 2003, [and] has never lost a vote on the floor…Thomas, a mercurial lawmaker and former college professor who relishes a challenge, ‘wants to get in the game,’ whether or not the GOP leadership wants him to, said one corporate lobbyist with close ties to House leaders.“
Corporation for Dubyic Broadcasting.
“Last November, members of the Association of Public Television Stations met in Baltimore along with officials from the corporation and PBS. Mr. Tomlinson told them they should make sure their programming better reflected the Republican mandate.” Perturbed primarily by Bill Moyers’ Now, Dubya flunky and CPB chairman Kenneth Tomlinson cites objectivity and balance in his attempt to FOX-ify PBS.
Perhaps someone should explain to Tomlinson that many people don’t think of journalistic “objectivity” or “balance” as finding the exact median between the left and whatever loony garbage the far-right is spouting on a given issue, but in holding up political rhetoric of both parties to pesky little things called “facts.” (Hence, the reality-based community.)
Delusions of Grandeur.
“Even among many influential conservatives, there has been a growing consensus that the Bush governing theory, at least on Social Security, has been proved wrong.” 100 days into the second term, the Dubya White House starts to realize they may not have received a mandate after all. Meanwhile, on the Left Coast, the Governator is learning much the same lesson.
A Failure to Communicate.
“If the president believes what he said, he doesn’t comprehend the nature of either crisis. If he doesn’t believe it and was just reciting the usual grab bag of cliches, what was his point?” As more questions arise about John Bolton’s temperamental fitness for UN ambassador, Slate‘s Fred Kaplan wonders aloud if Bolton’s boss “gets” diplomacy either.
Gambler’s Ruin.
I missed Dubya’s press conference last night — I taught my two last sections of the term, then headed for an arts fundraising shindig downtown (where I picked up a celebrity sighting in Chiwetel Ejiofor) — but, frankly, it doesn’t sound like I missed much. “With two in three Americans disapproving of the way Bush has handled Social Security, many political observers thought it would be prudent for Bush to cut his losses and negotiate a bipartisan compromise on Social Security…Instead, Bush held a prime-time news conference and doubled down on his bet.” Dubya tries to regain the Social Security initiative by declaring he’ll cut benefits for everyone but the poor. Privatization and lower benefits? Hey, what a deal!
Moderate Chance of Snowe.
“Social Security became the bedrock of support for seniors in my state precisely because it’s defined and guaranteed,”[Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)] said. ‘What cost and what risk is it worth to erode the guaranteed benefit?’” With both Sens. Snowe and Craig Thomas (R-WY) voicing their doubts on the GOP side, Day 1 of the Senate Finance Committee’s discussion of Dubya’s Social Security plan seems to indicate serious trouble ahead for Dubya’s privatization scheme.