Another Voice

General Takes A Stand On Morality

The military has always held its members to standards higher than what you find in the civilian world.  Racism, not tolerated;  adultery, sure court martial; homosexuality, dismissal.  So it should not be a surprise that the military wants to maintain their stance on the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.  However, a top U.S. General is getting mass attention because he supports the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, banning openly gay people from serving in the military.

According to an article in CNN.com, Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Chicago Tribune on Monday that he supports the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The general also compared homosexuality to adultery -- behavior that is prosecuted in the military, he said.

"My upbringing is such that I believe that there are certain things, certain types of conduct that are immoral," Pace told the Tribune. "I believe that military members who sleep with other military members' wives are immoral in their conduct."

Pace also told the paper, "I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral, and that we should not condone immoral acts.

"So the 'don't ask, don't tell' [policy] allows an individual to serve the country ... if we know about immoral acts, regardless of committed by who, then we have a responsibility.

"I do not believe that the armed forces are well served by saying through our policies that it's OK to be immoral in any way, not just with regards to homosexual acts," the Joint Chiefs chairman said.

"So from that standpoint, saying that gays should serve openly in the military to me says that we, by policy, would be condoning what I believe is immoral activity," he added.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a nonprofit group that represents military personnel affected by the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, says that Gen. Pace's comments are outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful to the 65,000 lesbian and gay troops now serving in our armed forces," said C. Dixon Osburn, the group's executive director. "Our men and women in uniform make tremendous sacrifices for our country, and deserve Gen. Pace's praise, not his condemnation."

Asked if Pace would apologize, his senior staff members said the general stands by his statements as an expression of his personal opinion, and he has no intention of apologizing.

 

Technorati tags: Loretta Perkins, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, immorality, homosexual acts, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, General Pace, adultery, openly gay, Chicago Tribune

Those Who Live In Glass Houses......

  China believes that the United States has a lot of gall criticizing their country on Human Rights because its own record is full of blemishes at home and aboard.

The Chinese accusation, in a retort to the State Department's annual human rights report issued Tuesday, called particular attention to what it said were abuses committed by U.S. soldiers and intelligence agents against terrorist suspects in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo. But it also underlined what it described as increased willingness by Washington to spy on its own citizens by monitoring their telephone calls, computer connections and travels.

According to an article in the Washington Post, China:  Bush Has No Right to Criticize Countries On Human Rights, "As in previous years, the State Department pointed the finger at human rights conditions in more than 190 countries and regions, including China, but avoided touching on the human rights situation in the United States," said the report, issued by Premier Wen Jiabao's office. "We urge the U.S. government to acknowledge its own human rights problems and stop interfering in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of human rights."

 The article further points out that the Chinese response to U.S. human rights concerns has become a fixture over the last eight years. In the first years, it centered on a contention that human rights should be defined to include social and economic improvements, such as health care and education, where the Chinese government can point to rapid progress. These arguments were raised again this year, with charges that racial minorities, women and children suffer disadvantages in the United States.

In a time in our country when we have 47 million Americans with no health insurance, a potential shortfall to the states covering health insurance for children, New Orleans still in shambles with thousands displaced, and a 26 percent increase in severe poverty, the U.S. has a lot of nerve criticizing anyone about how they treat their citizens.

This is clearly another sign of the arrogance of this administration, and the lack of respect and poor standing the U.S. has throughout the world.  

 

Technorati tags: Loretta Perkins, United States, China, George Bush, Afghanistan, Iraq War, Guantanamo, Human Rights, State Department, wire taps, Chinese Government

Scooter Libby, The Fall Guy

Well , the Scooter Libby trial is over, at least for now.  He has been found guilty on two counts of perjury, one count of making false statements and one count of obstructing justice, guaranteeing some jail time, pending a new trial or an appeal.

One thing, however, that was verified through the trial process were the lengths that members of the Bush Administration went to discredit anyone who examined too closely, or challenged information that was used to justify the war in Iraq.

According to an article in the Washington Post, jurors believed that Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff had been exposed for a CIA leak that other top White House aides had committed along with him, according to one member of the panel.

"We're not saying that we didn't think Mr. Libby was guilty of the things we found him guilty of," said Denis Collins, one of the jurors. "But it seemed like he was . . . the fall guy."

The article further points out that Collins's detailed description of the jury's deliberations, in public comments and interviews yesterday, suggests that Libby's attorneys made headway with one of the themes they emphasized throughout the case: that the defendant, as lead defense attorney Theodore V. Wells Jr. described it, was made a scapegoat by the White House to protect other presidential aides who were complicit in disclosing Plame's identity to reporters.

During the jury's days of methodical deliberations, "it was said a number of times, 'What are we doing with this guy here?' " Collins told reporters on the steps outside the federal courthouse. "Where's Rove, where's -- you know, where are these other guys?" Collins said, referring to Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, and Richard L. Armitage, a former deputy chief of staff who testimony showed had been the first person to leak Plame's name.

Moreover, Collins said, jurors believed that Libby had been carrying out a directive by his immediate boss, Cheney, to "go out and talk to reporters" to tarnish Wilson's reputation.

Democrats have held more that 81 hearings on the war in Iraq in the past two months. This conviction of Libby should spurn more inquiries into whether or not Bush led the nation into war based on manipulated intelligence, and false information.  Additionally, everyone that may be responsible should be held accountable...including Dick Cheney.

 

Technorati tags: Loretta Perkins, Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby, Valerie Plame, Joe Wilson, Democrats, Republicans, George Bush, CIA Leak, Bush Administration, Scooter Libby trial

26% Increase In Poverty..Correlation or Coincidence?

President George Bush was elected as President of the United States in November of 2000.  Since taking office, the number of severely poor Americans has risen 26%.

According to an article in the USA Today, the gulf between rich and poor in the United States is yawning wider than ever, and the number of extremely impoverished is at a three-decade high, a report out Saturday found.

Based on the latest available U.S. census data from 2005, the McClatchy Newspapers analysis found that almost 16 million Americans live in "deep or severe poverty" defined as a family of four with two children earning less than 9,903 dollars — one half the federal poverty line figure.

For individuals the "deep poverty" threshold was an income under 5,080 dollars a year.

"The McClatchy analysis found that the number of severely poor Americans grew by 26% from 2000 to 2005," the U.S. newspaper chain reported.

"That's 56% faster than the overall poverty population grew in the same period," it noted.

The surge in poverty comes alongside an unusual economic expansion.

"Worker productivity has increased dramatically since the brief recession of 2001, but wages and job growth have lagged behind. At the same time, the share of national income going to corporate profits has dwarfed the amount going to wages and salaries," the study found.

That helps explain why the median household income for working-age families, adjusted for inflation, has fallen for five straight years.

"These and other factors have helped push 43% of the nation's 37 million poor people into deep poverty — the highest rate since at least 1975. The share of poor Americans in deep poverty has climbed slowly but steadily over the last three decades," the report said.

It quoted an American Journal of Preventive Medicine study as having found that since 2000, the number of severely poor — far below basic poverty terms — in the United States has grown "more than any other segment of the population."

"That was the exact opposite of what we anticipated when we began," said Steven Woolf of Virginia Commonwealth University, a study co-author.

"We're not seeing as much moderate poverty as a proportion of the population. What we're seeing is a dramatic growth of severe poverty."

U.S. social programs are minimal compared to those of western Europe and Canada. The United States has a population of 301 million, but more than 45 million U.S. citizens have no health insurance.

Now I don't know about you, but the timing in which this increase in poverty has occurred, is interesting.  Since George Bush has been in office, we have seen tax cuts for the rich, millions of jobs being outsourced to overseas work forces, cut backs of Federal programs developed to assist lower income people, billions of dollars being spent in a questionable war, and millions in U.S. dollars, designated for Iraq, missing.    All of this under George Bush's watch.  Correlation or coincidence?   

 

Technorati tags: Loretta Perkins, poverty, George Bush, tax cuts, Iraq War, United States, McClatchy Newspaper, Presidential election, economic expansion, worker productivity

Hillary Clinton, Let's Keep It Real!

It appears that the Presidential campaign has begun,along with the mud slinging and character assassination that muddies the waters in selecting the truly most qualified candidate.  From Bill Clinton's impeachment, to Barack Obama's questionable real estate deal, and his supposedly attending a radical Muslim elementary school in Indonesia as a child, attempts are being made by Media and others to shift the American people's focus.

A Washington Post article, Clinton Fights to Keep Impeachment Taboo, reports that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has a new commandment for the 2008 presidential field: Thou shalt not mention anything related to the impeachment of her husband.

With a swift response to attacks from a former supporter last week, advisers to the New York Democrat offered a glimpse of their strategy for handling one of the most awkward chapters of her biography. They declared her husband's impeachment in 1998 -- or, more accurately, the embarrassing personal behavior that led to it -- taboo, putting her rivals on notice and all but daring other Democrats to mention the ordeal again.

The article further states that as Clinton aides spent several days batting down insults made by David Geffen, the Hollywood mogul who raised questions about the former president's personal behavior and praised Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in a provocative interview, the intra-party brawl suggested that the scandal remains something of a tripwire for Clinton.

Although she has spent the past seven years establishing her own identity as a public servant, Clinton has been embracing the more popular aspects of her husband's presidency more widely as she mounts her own campaign, with frequent references to their time together in the White House and their joint legacy.

The turmoil of the later Clinton years has been a theme of national politics since it occurred: George W. Bush ran in 2000 on a promise to "restore honor and dignity to the Oval Office," while Vice President Al Gore campaigned as a solid family man, distancing himself from the impeachment ordeal.

However, on the Clinton side, one adviser expressed confidence that "attacking Bill Clinton is a losing strategy," borrowing a phrase from the 1990s. The adviser noted that Clinton remains highly popular among Democratic activists. Close supporter James Carville said that mentioning the impeachment would be tantamount to political suicide. "Nothing is off-limits, but it would be awfully stupid," Carville said. "What do you think attitudes among Democrats are about impeachment and Ken Starr? This is not a Washington dinner party here. This is an election, a nominating process, among Democrats."

It is unclear to me why Hillary Clinton would run away from any aspect of her husband's terms in office.  She was not President, her husband was.  Bill Clinton's personal misconduct is not her burden to bare.  Ultimately he will have to pay the price for it.

I would be willing to wager that if most Americans had a choice of having the days of Bill Clinton back, or the present day George Bush administration, there would be no contest. In the scheme of things, Bill Clinton's impeachment was purely political. Lets weigh the facts. President Clinton had an inappropriate relationship with an of age intern. He committed adultery. He has to answer for that very personal display of poor judgement.

Now look at President Bush. Giving tax breaks to the rich, welfare to the big corporations, manipulated intelligence to justify the invasion and occupation of Iraq, billions of dollars in resources, over 3000 Americans dead, over 20,000 injured, thousands of Iraqis dead, an entire country destroyed,  a whole region in perilous danger, and eroded standing in the world. Which Presidency has had the most negative, and most serious impact on the American people? When you weigh the facts, it is a joke.

Hillary Clinton should be elected or not elected based on what people believe she can bring to the table, and how well she can project that to the American people.  Nothing else!

Technorati tags: Loretta Perkins, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Presidential Election, Barack Obama, Democrats, Republicans, Impeachment, Iraq War, Muslim, David Geffen, George Bush, American People

You Can Run, But You Sure Can't Hide!

John McCain was bombarded with questions regarding his stance on the war and support for escalation during his hour long town hall meeting in Iowa.

According to an article in the Washington Post, it became clear from the opening minutes of his first meeting of the day just how much the presidential aspirations of the senator, who is one of the leading advocates of President Bush's troop-increase policy, may be tied to events in Iraq.

McCain drew questions about the cost of the war, the prospects for success, the dangers of failure, the treatment of veterans and the new threats from Iran.  He could only respond by saying, "I know how tough it is for the American people," he told an audience of several hundred people. "I know how frustrated Americans are. I know how saddened we are when we lose our most precious treasure. I understand your frustration. But I also want to tell you that I could not be honest with you without telling you that I believe if we fail, the consequences of failure are catastrophic and there would be genocide and chaos."

"We raised people's expectations -- 'mission accomplished,' 'few dead-enders,' 'last throes' -- all of those comments that made Americans believe that we were on the verge of getting this thing done," he said. Instead, he added, the war has been a "long, tough struggle that we should have told the American people about."

McCain said he has no fallback plan if the policy of sending an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq fails. "We live in a democracy, and when the American people don't support -- as we learned in Vietnam, as we learned in Beirut, as we learned in Somalia -- then we are not able to maintain a foreign endeavor. I can give you lots of options, but I'm hard-pressed to find one that will have the support of the American people."

At least McCain is honest, however, it is a sad commentary on just where our country has found itself in this war.

One thing is for sure, just as President Bush's legacy is going to be tied to Iraq, McCain's Presidential hopes will be tied to the success or failures there as well. 

 

Technorati tags: Loretta Perkins, John McCain, Iraq War, Iran, troop escalation, Presidential campaign, Republicans, Democrats, Veterans

Cheney Behind the Outing of CIA Operative-What Else Is New?

 

The I. Lewis Scooter Libby trial is well under way, and some very interesting facts are being verified and discovered. 

The Associated Press reports that, Scooter Libby discussed with Vice President Dick Cheney whether to tell reporters that a prominent war critic's wife worked at the CIA, an FBI agent testified Thursday. The conversation in question took place on July 12, 2003, as Cheney and his then-chief of staff were flying back from an event in Norfolk on Air Force Two.

According to multiple reports, Cheney was talking about how to discredit Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, who was making trouble with his suggestion that the administration manipulated intelligence about Saddam Hussein's weapons programs to justify an invasion of Iraq. Wilson felt the administration had intentionally disregarded the findings of a trip to Niger he had undertaken for the CIA.  A few days earlier, Cheney had scrawled in the margin of an offending op-ed piece by Wilson: "[D]id his wife send him on a junket?" 

It may be no coincidence that immediately after getting off the plane Libby began working the phones, calling different reporters that would be agreeable to doing a story on Valerie Plame.  Consequently Libby found one who did.  Inspite of the fact that it is against the law to disclose the identity of a CIA agent, no charges have been levied against anyone.  The crime in question is lying to an FBI agent.

It should come as no surprise that we find that Dick Cheney  had a hand in outing the CIA Operative, Valerie Plame, in an attempt to discredit and get back at her husband.this.  He has had a hand in everything that is corrupt about the Bush Administration..No bid contract for Haliburton, secret energy meetings, and manipulating intelligence to justify the U.S. invading Iraq just to name a few.  I am sure that as time goes by, and with the newly elect Democratic congress, we will find that Cheney has been involved in a lot more questionable shenanigans.

The question is when will he be held accountable for them?

 

Technorati tags: Loretta Perkins, I. Lewis Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney, Valerie Plame, Joseph Wilson, Iraq War, Saddam Hussein, Haliburton, Democratic congress, Air Force Two

There Ought To Be A Law!

S.V. Dáte the Tallahassee bureau chief for the Palm Beach Post and author of "Jeb: America's Next Bush", has an Op/Ed in the Washington Post, entitled, "What Would Jeb Do?".  This individual is singing the praises of Jeb Bush.  You read it right!  Jeb Bush, the brother of President George Bush, who along with Katherine Harris, guaranteed Florida to George, and initiated the famous recount. 

 The writer fantasizes that Jeb Bush is giving the State of the Union Address and reports that the nation is in great shape, record tax cuts propelling the economy to greater heights; a revolutionary school-vouchers program for the first time granting low-income parents real education choices; and, five years after the capture of Osama bin Laden, the final 20,000 U.S. troops returning home from Iraq.

The president would break into his fluent Spanish and wave at his Mexican-born wife, Columba, gazing at him from the balcony. The cameras would settle on their eldest, George P. Bush, 30, and commentators would speculate on whether the dashing lawyer would soon run for Congress and carry on the Bush dynasty.

Is this man delusional or what?  We have had two failed Bush Presidencies up to this point.  The older Bush did not have a clue that the economy in the country had gone south, and his son painted a rosey picture of the Iraq War even though everyone else new the real deal.  Once his party was defeated in the November mid elections, then he faced up to and acknowledged the fact that we were losing the war. 

Date compares the two brothers in this piece stating that Jeb and George W. are seven years apart but have much in common. Both are stubborn. Both appear convinced that anything that government does the private sector can do better. Both are enamored of tax cuts. And both seem to believe that voters don't have the right to observe the workings of their administrations and should simply trust them to do the right thing. However, the two display real differences on issues spanning crisis management, fiscal policy, foreign policy and, perhaps most important, personal style. Jeb pays much more attention to detail than his brother, and is far more dogged and competent in advancing his agenda -- meaning that a Jeb presidency over the past seven years would have been distinct from his brother's -- and a future one would be as well.

The writer states that once the family's brightest hope for this generation, Jeb may now prove a victim of the political ruin his older brother has brought to the Bush brand. Barely three in 10 Americans think that George W. is doing a good job. What are the chances that voters will gamble on the First Brother?

No one should write Jeb's political epitaph just yet, Date says. Even a 2008 presidential run should not be ruled out entirely. Should John McCain or Rudolph W. Giuliani or Mitt Romney fail to build a dominating presence by mid-summer, there is probably only one Republican who could come in at such a late date and still build an effective organization and a powerful fundraising machine in a matter of weeks: Jeb Bush. After all, Jeb raised about $35 million to win reelection as Florida governor four years ago. Pulling in $100 million in a few months is well within the realm of the possible.

It is obvious that Date is enamored with Jeb Bush and the Bush clan.  Let's hope that he is wrong.  The United States can not afford another Bush leading our country.  Even now so much damage has been done, it may be too late.  We will be paying the price for this President's mistakes for years to come.

There ought to be a law!

 

Technorati tags: Loretta Perkins, Jeb Bush, Presidential Election, State of the Union Address, Iraq War, froeign policy, Katherine Harris, S/V/ Date.Osama bin Laden

Mr. President, You Just Don't Get It!

President Bush has come up with a plan to deal with our health care crisis.  Yes, I said crisis.  Anytime that you have 45 million Americans without health care, it is a crisis.  According to the Washington Post,  Bush said his approach would emphasize private health insurance coverage -- rather than expanding government-provided programs, as some Democrats advocate.

Bush's health-care proposal would use tax breaks to make it easier for people who do not have employer-provided health insurance to buy coverage on their own. The tax incentives would be similar to deductions used by many homeowners for the interest on their mortgages, Bush said.  Well, I have news for Mr. Bush.  Being able to deduct interest on a mortgage is great.  But it does no good if you are not a homeowner.

President Bush just does not get it.  The millions of people who don't have health care aren't making the choice not to have it.  They can't afford to get it.  What good are tax incentives if the reason that you don't have the insurance is because the cost of health care is out of reach. 

It is interesting that after six years in office, President Bush is suddenly concerned about health care.  Actually, we shouldn't be surprised, as the Post reports, a number of states have been trying out their own proposals to extend coverage to the uninsured. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, recently launched such a plan. Massachusetts, under former Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican, also has done so.  So Bush certainly can't be outdone.

At the national level, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden has offered a universal health-care proposal and Democratic 2008 presidential candidate John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator and 2004 vice presidential nominee, is making health care a top theme of his campaign.

Additionally, discussing plans to tackle the health care crisis in this country, is an attempt to get people to focus on domestic issues instead of his flailing flagship...the Iraq War.

But you know, he still doesn't get it.

 

Technorati tags: Loretta Perkins, Health Care, President Bush, Schwarzenegger, Republicans, Democrats, tax incentives, homeowners, Iraq War, private health insurance, mortgage, Washington Post, Governor Mitt Romney, Sen. Ron Wyden, John Edwards, uninsured.

Oh, The Things We Could Do With 1.2 Trillion Dollars

Well known economists estimate that we have spent about 1.2 Trillion dollars on the Iraq War so far.  Most of us don't really have a clue as to just how much 1.2 Trillion dollars really is.  Sure, we know that it's a lot of  money, but that's  about it.  An article in the New York Times, "What 1.2 Trillion Dollars Can Buy", put it all in proper perspective. Let me enlighten you to just what can be done with all of that money. 

First of all, we could have a universal preschool program for all 3 and 4 year olds.  Just think.  All of our children could start school on an even footing, and  receive a strong foundation for school success.  We would have a greater likelihood of reaching the goal that President Bush has set in his No Child Left Behind Law, that all school children be at grade level in reading and math, and close the performance gap between white children, and minority children.  The article in the New York Times, puts the estimate for this program at about 35 Million per year.  Additionally, we could have national after school programs so that no child goes home to an empty house.  We could have certified teachers to help with homework, and to offer tutoring or enrichment.

Secondly, we could pay for universal public health campaign — a doubling of cancer research funding, treatment for every American whose diabetes or heart disease is now going unmanaged and a global immunization campaign to save millions of children’s lives.  Think about it.  With all of that money we might be able to wipe out cancer completely.

Third, we could deal with poverty in this country, and make sure that no children are homeless, or hungry.  We could donate a large portion to New Orleans so that the citizens in that city can return and rebuild their lives.

The final big chunk of the money could go to national security. The recommendations of the 9/11 Commission that have not been put in place — better baggage and cargo screening, stronger measures against nuclear proliferation — could be enacted. Financing for the war in Afghanistan could be increased to beat back the Taliban’s recent gains, and a peacekeeping force could put a stop to the genocide in Darfur. 

We possibly could even secure our borders by building that 850 miles of fencing that President Bush signed off on.  The fence would cost 1.2 Billion dollars.

Oh, the  things we could do with 1.3 Trillion dollars.

Or, we can continue to fight the war in Iraq.  Which one would you choose?

Technorati tags: Loretta Perkins, 1.2 Trillion dollars, universal preschool program, President Bush, border security, public health, diabetes, heart disease, world wide immunization, Darfur, nuclear proliferation, cancer research, after school programs, Taliban