Jim Manis on Most Anything

Jim Manis can formulate an opinion about a good many things, including those about which he has little knowledge. (And some dude named "Lazlo.") Visit The MagicFactory.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Bush Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Top Torturer:

Retired Gen. Myers, formerly the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reportedly knew all along about the practice of torture within the military and approved of it in order to please former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, who was in a race with the CIA to extract information by any means possible.

Following retirement, Gen. Myers immediately found lucrative employment within the defense industry, being elected to the boards of two major contractors: United Technologies and Northrop Grumman. (Read the Salon.com story here.)

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How Can We Make Our Super Rich Oil Friends Even Richer?

Oil, Iraq and failure in Afghanistan: The legacy of the Bush administration grows clearer as each day passes; failure, that is, for the rest of us, success for the oil industry. (See today's New York Times' stories: "U.S. Advised Iraqi Ministry on Oil Deals," "Amid Policy Disputes, Qaeda Grows in Pakistan," and "Hoarding Nations Drive Food Costs Ever Higher." The increasing cost of energy is directly tied to the increasing cost of food.)

These People Vote:

Just how dumb are Americans? Read The Washington Post story about Findlay, Ohio for a glimpse. As one resident says, "It's hard to ignore what you hear when everybody you know is saying it." The more outrageous the lie, the more people seem to want to believe it.

The Dude on relationships: "I've reminded the prime minister—the American people, Mr. Prime Minister, over the past months that it was not always a given that the United States and America would have a close relationship." — George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 29, 2006 to the Prime Minister of Japan. (28 percent of America's Iraq war debt is owed to Japan; 24 percent is owed to China.)

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Sunday, June 29, 2008

Lurking in the Background:

The presidential race is more than just about whether the country will elect a young man of mixed racial heritage or an old white guy whose biggest claim to fame is that he spent five years in a North Vietnamese prison. The average age of the nine justices who sit on the Supreme Court is 75, and sometime within the next four years it is all but a certainty that the next president will be nominating at least one replacement justice, perhaps even several. (See today's Washington Post.)

While the country expects its president to provide a vision for where the country should go and the congress to provide funding and laws to help us get there, it is often the supreme court that actually allows us to progress in one direction or another. It was the Supreme Court who started us on the road that helped make it possible for an African American to finally run for president and to allow women to finally have access to legal and safe health care. And it was the Supreme Court who brought George Bush into the White House so that he could lead the country into an immoral war by propagating lies.

What the Dude had to say back in June of 2003: "I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things." — George W. Bush (The truth will out.)

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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The $350 Hammer:

How hard will it be to get a handle on the medical care business? Today's New York Times provides a peek at the medical industry and how the government facilitates the big business rip off of the American taxpayer/worker. Focusing on the difference between what Medicare pays for a typical walker ($110) and what anyone could buy the same object for at Wal-Mart ($59.92), the Times provides a keyhole view into the medical industry morass reminiscent of the military/industrial complex rip off of taxpayers. The next time someone touts the values of capitalistic competition, direct them here. Don't pass up the part of the story about how the industry is buying up congressmen and senators.


Where'd the Money Go?

Today's Washington Post reports on $2 billion of taxpayer money that went down the drain in Pakistan, our erstwhile partners in fighting terrorism. It seems there is no accountability. Millions of dollars earmarked for specific development has disappeared, no doubt into the pockets of the rulers. No wonder Osama remains safe in that country. Apparently, as long as he's there, the Pakistani government believes it has a steady flow of unregulated cash from the U.S., at least as long as the Bush administration remains in power.

In the meantime, John McCain's chief political adviser is openly hoping for another terrorist attack along the lines of 9/11.

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Sunday, June 22, 2008

Race in the Race:

The Washington Post headline, "3 in 10 Americans Admit to Race Bias," highlights the negative, but the story in today's Post actually portrays a far more positive atmosphere: the majority of Americans, including whites, believe that Obama as president will actually improve race relations within the country. Whites may fear a black family moving in next door to them, but they are far more hopeful about a black man, particularly Sen. Obama, being their president.

Perhaps the strongest lesson the country has learned is that electing someone you wouldn't mind having a beer with just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. After all, do you really want to hang out with the boss after work in the local tavern, buying him drinks? Or would you rather he stayed late at the office, figuring out how to make the business more profitable so that the employees continued to have adequate health coverage? Seems like a no brainer.

Speaking of brains, here's what The Dude had to say: "I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I belive—I believe what I believe is right." — George W. Bush, Rome, Italy, June 22, 2001.

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Friday, June 20, 2008

Republicans=$54 Million; Democrats=$4 Million:

That's the story behind Barack Obama's rejection of public campaign financing. (See The New York Times' story.) The Grand Old Party—now owned lock, stock and barrel by big oil—is the run a way leader in gathering financing; it's John McCain who can't raise much money. The party has limitations on the sorts of adds it can run with the truck loads of money it has. For instance, it can run "swift boat" adds like crazy, spreading all sorts of lies about Obama; it just can't overtly support McCain.

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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Yes, Sweetie, "terrorism" means oil:

The big oil companies are back in Iraq. Now that the country is safe for big oil to turn a handsome profit "Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat" (Today's New York Times reports).

Now that oil hunkers around $140 per barrel and promises to go even higher, big oil is hungry to gobble up the huge, easy to access oil lying within easy access under Iraqi soil. Prior to "the war on terror" Saddam Hussein had nationalized the Iraqi oil industry. Worse yet, countries like Russia and Venezuela are claiming more of the profits for their own oil. 

The Dude explains it all:  "I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." — George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 18, 2002.

Bush Pushes to Drill Offshore:

Although drilling off shore would do little to alleviate the current oil crisis anytime in the near future, it would provide oil companies with additional sources of revenue as they are currently finding it difficult to come by new reserves. (See The New York Times' stories: "Will $4 Gasoline Trump a 27-Year-Old Ban?" and "Bush Calls for End to Ban on Offshore Oil Drilling.") There is an additional twist to the Bush/McCain call for off shore drilling: there aren't enough of the special ships needed to do it. The best guess is that off shore drilling won't have any effects until 2030, that's 22 more years. 

Treasury Secretary Paulson Plans To Call for More Regulation of Wall Street:

This is a breaking story that is bound to have profound ramifications over the next five years. The Washington Post reports that Treasury Sec. Paulson plans to present his views advocating new regulation during a speech later today.

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Monday, June 16, 2008

Bush's Place in History:

Francis Wilkinson and Michael Cohen provide a glimpse of what Bush's place in history is most likely to be. The Irony will have GW spinning in his grave. The party of racial divide, according to our analysts, probably have done more to bring about the possibility of the election of a black president than all the education in the world.

What the Dude told the Swedish Prime Minister: "It's amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity, and incumbency." — George W. Bush, June 2001.

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Saturday, June 14, 2008

China Wins!

China increased its lead in carbon emissions in 2007, beating the U. S. by a sizable 14 percent. However, Americans should not feel too depressed, they are still easily leading the world in carbon emissions per person, being responsible for 19.4 tons of carbon dioxide per person. That's almost double the per person emissions by America's closest competitor in the individual category. Neither China nor the U. S. signed the Kyoto Protocol. (See The New York Times' story.)

Bush on human sexuality: "I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. … He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me." — George W. Bush, Nashville, Tennessee, 2004.

Gays Save Airlines and California's Economy:

Beginning around sunrise Monday morning, it will be legal for people of the same sex to marry in California—regardless of residency. California's wedding industry is expected to bring in $684 million, and the state budget should receive $64 million. No one as yet knows how much the airline industry will reap from the windfall. (See The New York Times' story.)

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The Food Story:

Recently, I made a trip through the Midwest, where the big story was rain, a surplus of it. Farmers could not get into their fields to plant crops. The food story has finally hit the northeast, where The New York Times has done a story on what will inevitably become one of the most serious issues world wide.

As the world's population continues to grow, food production becomes increasingly important. In the decades since The Green Revolution of the 1960s, population growth has seemed a back burner issue. Fertilizers, pesticides, genetic manipulation seemed to have solved the problem of having enough food to feed the world's population. Starvation was a political issue, a matter of transportation, not our ability to grow food. No one seemed to consider that their might be limits to our ability to produce food, especially in the United States, where plentiful, cheap food has been a given throughout the country's history.

NOTE: 50 percent of world food aid comes from the United States. This harms local farmers in the countries which receive that aid, because their crops go unsold or are sold for a lesser price. The United States purpose in providing this food aid is motivated by local politics. Taxpayer moneys purchase the food from U. S. farmers, whose crop prices are inflated due to this program.

The Dude on the separation of church and state: "That's called, 'A Charge To Keep,' based upon a religious hymn. The hymn talks about serving God. The president's job is never to promote a religion." — George W. Bush, Washington, D. C., 2006.

The American Citizen—Spell That "D-e-b-t-o-r":

Barbara Dafoe Whitehead addresses "the new economy" in "A Nation in Debt," featured in The American Interest.

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Sunday, June 08, 2008

Feel Like Gagging?

Salon.com posts an excerpt from Paul Alexander's Machiavelli's Shadow:  The Rise and Fall of Karl Rove. If you aren't already convinced that Rove is Mephistopheles, this surely will.

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Growing Rich Off Other People's Pain:

Congress has attempted to limit doctor owned hospitals in the belief that doctors will require unnecessary procedures if they stand to make a profit from doing so, but with little success:

"This is a free country" [said Representative Michael C. Burgess, a Texas Republican and an obstetrician-gynecologist.] "If you want to invest in a hospital, if you are willing to put personal capital at risk, you should not be forbidden to do so just because you are a doctor."

It is, of course, one thing to put capital at risk, while completely another to rig the game.

Build a Better Mouse Trap … and the World Ignores You:

The New York Times reports on an Australian inventor whose great idea is finally being accepted now that energy costs demand it. This is one of those small stories that will eventually have global ramifications.

The Wages of Hubris:

Growing up a Southern Baptist, I can attest to the fact that throughout my youth there were no stronger voices demanding separation of church and state in America than those coming out of the Southern Baptist Convention. Then came Bush.

Then came the price. The Bush Bandits recognized that they could form a coalition of right wing fundamentalists to blindside the country into electing the most inept boob in modern American history to the presidency. Ego maniacal preachers had been building "super churches," following the path that Pat Robertson and his ilk had set in the wake of the sixties. So why not tap into that reservoir? They did, it worked. Now that the Bush administration is finally imploding and, dare we say it, the rats are jumping ship (there goes Scotty), the megachurches are starting to suffer desertions of their own. The Washington Post runs a story today on the subject. It seems the Baptists are thinking of dropping "baptist" from their names.

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Saturday, June 07, 2008

Oil Jumps $11/barrel in One Day:

While we rush toward July 4 and the summer vacation period in America, oil speculators push the price of oil to record highs. Yesterday oil reached $138.54 per barrel. On Wall Street, stocks fell sharply. The Dow dropped 3 percent. Standard and Poor's 500-stock also fell 3 percent.

49,000 Jobs Lost:

In May the unemployment rate climbed from 5 percent to 5.5 percent. (See The New York Times story.) In other words, 8,550,000 people were unemployed during the month of May. Economists are predicting "this will be the weakest summer job market for teenagers in at least 60 years." That means, since the end of WWII and The Great Depression.

The Dude's unique ability: "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy … I was able to get a sense of his soul." — George W. Bush responding to questions about Russian President Vladimir Putin, June 2001.

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Friday, June 06, 2008

The Haves & the Have Nots:

While millions of Americans worry about how they are going to pay to heat their homes this winter and to pay for the gasoline to drive to work, millions of others have so much money and free time on their hands that they can afford to spend both on video games. Take Two Interactive Software, the company behind Grand Theft Auto, reported retail sales of $540 million this past quarter. This is almost enough money to finance a presidential campaign.

In the meantime, almost ten percent of "American mortgages were either past due or in foreclosure at the end of March, according to a report released on Thursday, a figure that is rising fast as home prices fall and the job market weakens" (The New York Times 6-6-08). These are the highest levels since the Mortgage Bankers Association began keeping records of such data in 1979.

Alert! Bush Humor Crossing:

"Anyway, I'm so thankful, and so gracious—I'm gracious that my brother Jeb is concerned about the hemisphere as well." — George W. Bush, appearing with his brother Jeb, Governor of Florida, Miami, Florida, June 2001.

It Wasn't Stupidity That Led Bush To Invade Iraq, It Was Greed:

The New York Times opines on the recent report confirming what everyone already knew about Bush's war—it was directed by false information repeated incessantly. But the Times continues to replay the notion of Bush's stupidity, rather than focusing on the simple truth. Saddam Hussein wasn't simply a threat to his own people, he was a threat to Exxon Mobil and the other major oil dealers, along with the banks. Saddam was selling more oil than the oil companies and their lackeys (Cheney et al) wanted on the market, and he was trying to sell even more of it. For Euros.

More on Oil:

The Washington Post reports on a loophole in federal regulations that allows hedge funds to speculate in oil, helping to drive the price up higher:

Hedge funds and big Wall Street banks are taking advantage of loopholes in federal trading limits to buy massive amounts of oil contracts, according to a growing number of lawmakers and prominent investors, who blame the practice for helping to push oil prices to record highs.

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The federal agency that oversees oil trading, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has exempted these firms from rules that limit speculative buying.

The CFTC has also waived regulations over the past decade on U.S. investors who trade commodities on some overseas markets, freeing those investors to accumulate large quantities of the future oil supply by making purchases on lightly regulated foreign exchanges.

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Thursday, June 05, 2008

Welcome the Chickens:

California is in a state of drought. Water, always an issue in the U. S.'s most overpopulated state, is in short supply in the Golden State. Gov. Schwarzenegger has declared an official drought. The next step is rationing. (See The New York Times story.)

Schwarzenegger has been unusual as a Republican, being one of the few during the Bush administration to buck the president's vision of the world as being in a perfect state of harmony. The governor has been calling for tougher standards on global warming for several years, while Bush has been living in a cocoon.

California, with a population of nearly 40 million, has had water problems for decades. It simply does not have enough to support the population and its industries, which includes farming. In addition, the Colorado River basin, which supplies some of California's water, has been in a protracted state of drought, which is likely to continue into the foreseeable future.

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Sunday, June 01, 2008

Duh!!!

According to Scott McClellan, George W. Bush couldn't remember what drugs he had taken during his wild youth: “The media won’t let go of these ridiculous cocaine rumors,” the future president said in 1999. “You know, the truth is I honestly don’t remember whether I tried it or not.” (See Gail Collins' Op-Ed in The New York Times)

Gail Collins wonders why McClellan, given those circumstances, ever believed the Doper in Chief about WMDs in Iraq.

NOTE: It was always about the oil. Not about taking it out now, but keeping it in the ground. Follow the money. Who are the winners and who the losers? America lost. Iraq lost. Exxon Mobil won.

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