Stubborn, or just dense? Havre Daily News (02.27.06), via Huffington Post:
“[Senator Conrad Burns (R – MT)] called President Bush stubborn, saying the president’s skull is ‘solid granite.’
[Burns spokesman Matt] Mackowiak said the comment about granite was not meant as an insult.”
“‘He says the same thing about his son,’ Mackowiak said. ‘It’s a little joke he likes to use.’”
Outdoorsmen should attack the idea? Interesting choice of words. AP (02.26.06), via WIIIAI:
“U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia fondly remembers carrying a rifle around New York City as a boy and says outdoorsmen should attack the idea that guns are only used for crimes.
‘I grew up at a time when people were not afraid of people with firearms,’ said Scalia, noting that as a youth in New York City he was part of a rifle team at the military school he attended.”
“‘I used to travel on the subway from Queens to Manhattan with a rifle,’ he said. ‘Could you imagine doing that today in New York City?'”
So Nino doesn’t understand why carrying a rifle around on a New York City subway these days would cause a bit of a stir?
Where the hell has he been?
Believe it or not, it’s perfectly legal in New York City to carry a rifle in public as long as you have a permit and certificate of registration, and as long as it is unloaded and “completely enclosed or contained in a non-transparent case.” The rule is here, at §3-14, Supplemental Rules.
Hugo keeps running rings around George. Reuters (02.27.06):
“Venezuela’s controversial fuel subsidies for the U.S. poor expanded into Connecticut on Monday, two weeks after U.S. Republican lawmakers questioned whether the cheap oil masked a broader anti-American agenda.
The assistance, described as ‘humanitarian aid’ by Venezuela’s embassy in Washington, deepens an ongoing spat between leftist President Hugo Chavez and President George W. Bush, who calls Chavez a threat to democracy in Latin America.”
Here’s what so pathetic about all of this. “Venezuela, where per capita income is about one tenth that of the United States, will provide 4.8 million gallons of heating oil at a 40 percent discount to Connecticut households that qualify for state home heat assistance, state officials said.”
Venezuela’s per capita income is a tenth of ours, yet they’re the ones helping our poor people with cheap oil. And our domestic oil companies? What are they doing? Uhhh, they’re kinda busy with other things.
Not like they weren’t asked to help.
Fun fact: Exxon’s profits for 2005 were estimated to be $36.13 billion. The World Bank estimates Venezuela’s GDP for 2005 was $109.32 billion. To put it another way, last year Exxon’s profit for 2005 was about 33% of Venezuela’s entire gross domestic product.
“Connecticut is the seventh state to receive cheap oil from Venezuela, which also sent shipments to Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Vermont. The Bronx in New York City also joined the program.”
“Citgo estimates that it will be distributing some 44.5 million gallons of discounted heating oil and giving another 258,000 gallons free to homeless shelters.”
There’s some “Texas-based religious organization” calling for a boycott of Citgo to protest. No one gives a shit.
Suboptimal glide ratio, as in dropping like a brick. NYTimes (02.27.06):
“The port agreement and the pessimism on Iraq appear to be significant factors in driving Mr. Bush’s approval ratings back down to the lowest levels of his presidency.
In the poll, 34 percent approved of how he is handling his job, down eight points from a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted in January.”
“Seventy percent, including 58 percent of Republicans, said Dubai Ports World, a company controlled by the emir of Dubai, should not be permitted to operate at United States ports, while 21 percent supported the arrangement.”
“In addition, 62 percent of those polled said the efforts to bring stability and order to Iraq were going badly, up from 54 percent last month.”
Rasmussen has him at 55% disapprove, with 41% saying they “strongly disapprove”.
Karl’s 2006 campaign strategy doesn’t seem to be taking hold quite yet. Maybe Hillary is distracting him.
NYTimes (02.27.06), via FirstDraft:
“The backlog of unsold new homes reached a record level last month, as sales slipped despite the warmest January in more than 100 years.
The Commerce Department reported Monday that sales of new single-family homes dropped by 5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.233 million units last month.”
“That was the slowest pace since January 2005 and left the number of unsold homes at a record high of 528,000.”
“Analysts viewed the new data as further evidence that the nation’s red-hot housing market, which hit record sales levels for five straight years, has definitely started to cool.”
How to put the heat on anyone who crosses you or yours. Washington Post (02.27.06):
“The Internal Revenue Service recently audited the books of a Texas nonprofit group that was critical of campaign spending by former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R – TX22) after receiving a request for the audit from one of DeLay’s political allies in the House.
The lawmaker, House Ways and Means Committee member Sam Johnson (R – TX3), was in turn responding to a complaint about the group, Texans for Public Justice, from Barnaby W. Zall, a Washington lawyer close to DeLay and his fundraising apparatus, according to IRS documents.”
“Johnson, a member of the subcommittee responsible for oversight of the tax agency, sparked the IRS’s interest by telling IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson in a letter dated Aug. 3, 2004, that he had ‘uncovered some disturbing information’ and received complaints of possible tax violations.”
Why would anyone want to pick on these guys? Well, it seems as if “Texans for Public Justice [TPJ], based in Austin, has been a thorn in the side of the state’s politicians since its founding in 1997.”
“The group regularly publishes detailed reports on campaign spending and corporate lobbying. It is perhaps best known for its March 2003 allegation of illegal spending by corporations during DeLay’s successful 2002 campaign for a Republican takeover of the Texas legislature — claims that culminated last year in the indictment of DeLay and two campaign aides for money laundering and conspiracy to hide corporate donations.”
Needless to say, Tom and his buddies hate TPJ’s guts. With a passion.
As for bringing the IRS to bear, you won’t need a scorecard to see how this came together. We start with Barnaby’s July, 2004, letter to Sam:
“‘The continuing investigation led by … [Travis County District Attorney Ronnie] Earle against Texas Republicans is becoming a national problem.'”
“‘Recent news reports indicate a growing concern in Washington that Earle is attempting to use his local office as part of a calculated scheme to remove a federal elected official from a position of authority in Congress.'”
Barnaby claimed that Earle was “‘not acting alone’ but with the assistance of ‘an ostensibly tax-exempt organization.'” He suggested to Sam that it might be a good idea for the IRS to “‘investigate organizations whose public records indicate . . . apparent noncompliance with tax laws at a time when they are engaging in an apparent attempt to influence national politics.'”
The background story here makes things even more interesting. Barnaby was of counsel “from 1990 to 1998 to the Williams & Jensen law firm, which has long represented DeLay’s leadership political action committee, Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC).”
“Barbara Bonfiglio, a principal at Williams & Jensen, was subpoenaed in January 2004 by Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle as part of his inquiry into DeLay.”
Barnaby “confirmed that Bonfiglio was ‘a longtime friend,’ and when asked if she had requested his assistance, replied that ‘anything is possible.'”
When asked specifically why he wrote to Sam, Barnaby got a little coy. “‘(M)aybe somebody said something to me.'”
Which kind of sounds like Barnaby is telling us to go fuck ourselves.
You’re in good hands. Now get back to where you belong. LATimes (02.27.06):
“In the wake of the Southern California wildfires, lawmakers proposed six bills that, among other provisions, would have forced insurers to provide consumers with more information about policy choices, made it harder for companies to raise rates or cancel coverage and reduced the documentation that homeowners must provide to collect on a claim.
Those provisions, like others strongly opposed by the insurance industry, never made it to the Assembly floor. ”
Seems there’s a bit of a logjam in the California Assembly’s Insurance Committee.
Not that there’s any correlation, but the insurance industry has “spent $25 million on lobbyists, campaign contributions and perks for lawmakers — even some who regularly cross them — since 2003. Their money shows up particularly prominently in the campaign coffers of members of the Assembly Insurance Committee, a pro-business, relatively conservative bastion within the generally liberal Legislature.”
You don’t say.
“Insurance money — more than $1 million in 2003-04 — makes up nearly a fifth of some of those members’ war chests. And members, their spouses and their aides routinely accept expensive meals, free golf games, hotel rooms, tickets to Laker and Clipper basketball games and other gifts from insurers and their lobbyists.”
Merely coincidental, no doubt.
On one hand, the “committee’s members and insurers alike said donations and gifts had no influence on legislative decisions. Insurers praised the panel for understanding that the proposed rules would have cost them so much that they would have raised premiums on all California homeowners.”
See? There you have it.
On the other, some of the homeowners went up to Sacramento for a look-see. They got an eyeful. “‘When it came time to vote on one bill, lobbyists literally ran up to the dais and slipped them notes,’ said Rebecca Huston, a screenwriter whose home in Cedar Glen was destroyed in the fires and one of a dozen wildfire victims who came at Garamendi’s behest to testify about their experiences.”
“‘I watched insurance lobbyists mouth things to the Insurance Committee,'” another homeowner said.
Just trying to be helpful.
“Rex Frazier, general counsel for the Personal Insurance Federation of California, commended the panel for finding compromises that produced ‘better bills.'”
“‘A number of the bills that were introduced were well-intended,’ Frazier said, ‘but were not good policy.'”
Oh those silly consumers! They never do understand the complexities of these matters.
JohnBoy thinks that in addition to corruption, there’s too much sex at the UN. AP (02.25.06), via Eschaton:
“The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Saturday that the world body is hobbled ‘by bad management, by sex and corruption’ and a lack of confidence in its ability to carry out missions.”
As if it wasn’t clear enough the first time, the article goes on to quote JohnBoy: “‘We find an organization that is deeply troubled by bad management, by sex and corruption and by a growing lack of confidence in its ability to carry out missions that are given to them.'”
Somewhat redundant, in a repetitive sort of way.
It has been alleged that old JohnBoy is a bit of a randy bugger in his own right. Hustler (05.11.06):
“Corroborated allegations that Mr. Bolton’s first wife, Christina Bolton, was forced to engage in group sex have not been refuted by the State Department despite inquires posed by Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt concerning the allegations.
Mr. Flynt has obtained information from numerous sources that Mr. Bolton participated in paid visits to Plato’s Retreat, the popular swingers club that operated in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s.”
John R. Bolton Court Divorce Records Show His First
Wife Fled Home When He Was Traveling Abroad
Bet the moustache was a hit.
George throws down the gauntlet on the drug plan. Pissed off about having grabbed that third rail, perhaps? Bloomberg (02.25.06):
“President George W. Bush said the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, which has been criticized by members of both political parties as expensive and complicated, is a ‘good example’ of how to improve U.S. health care.”
New Drug Plan Shows How to Improve U.S. Health Care, Bush Says
While making “no mention of any problems with the program in today’s radio address”, the President has previously acknowledged “that there have been glitches”.
Glitches? Oh come now:
“Republicans say the problems will be solved and that in the end the party will benefit.” Drug companies ought to do OK as well, especially once the Feds get those damned Canadians under control.
On the other hand, if the GOP thinks this thing is going to work to their benefit, they may have their work cut out for them. “A CNN/USA Today poll published Jan. 22 found that just 27 percent of those surveyed said the Medicare drug plan was working; 54 percent said it wasn’t.”
Another poll, by Bloomberg and the LAtimes, “found that 53 percent of Americans say they trust Democrats in Congress to do a better job of handling health care to 25 percent who say they trust Bush more.”
But George not only is undeterred, he’s getting a bit peevish. While flying back from Colorado last week [from his appearance at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where that inconvenient budgeting mix-up resulted in 32 workers getting laid off and then reinstated just before his visit], the President “dared opponents to try to make a political issue of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit”.
He may not realized it, but he’s already been taken up on this little dare. And if the polling isn’t looking too good for the GOP now, just wait’ll folks start falling into the old doughnut hole. That should start later this year, a couple, three months before the November elections.
How do you spell shitstorm?
And in case you’re wondering about George’s plan to makeover Social Security, you may have missed this. Washington Post (11.15.05):
“The Senate staged sparsely attended burial services Tuesday for President Bush’s long-dead plan to remake Social Security through creation of personal accounts.
Metaphors outnumbered mourners.”
A breath of fresh rock ‘n roll air. Hollywood Reporter (02.25.06), via Huffington Post:
“The Sex Pistols have opted out on appearing at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The groundbreaking English punk rock group officially declined the honor — to be handed out March 13 at a dinner and performance at the Waldorf Astoria in New York — in a crudely scrawled, mispunctuated handwritten message posted on the band’s Web site Friday.”
The message read, in part, “‘Next to the SEX-PISTOLS rock and roll and that hall of fame is a piss stain.'”
Sounds like they mean it, man.
AP (02.25.06):
“The number of Iraqi army battalions judged capable of fighting the insurgency without U.S. help has slipped from one to zero since September, Pentagon officials said Friday.”
You may recollect that last September, General George Casey told us that the “number of Iraqi army battalions that can fight insurgents without U.S. and coalition help has dropped from three to one“.
The next day, Big Don came out and told us “that Iraqi security forces are steadily improving, and he dismissed news of a drop in the number of highest-rated units as having minimal relevance.”
Three to one to none. Now that’s some kind of progress, ain’t it.
“Embattled White House adviser Karl Rove vowed Friday to make the war on terrorism a central campaign issue in November.” Uhhh, on second thought. Rasmussen Reports (02.24.06), via TalkLeft:
“Just 17% of Americans believe Dubai Ports World should be allowed to purchase operating rights to several U.S. ports.
From a political perspective, President Bush’s national security credentials have clearly been tarnished due to the outcry over this issue.”
“For the first time ever, Americans have a slight preference [43%] for Democrats in Congress over the President [41%] on national security issues.”
Dang the luck, eh Karl?
AP (02.23.06), via Perfessor Mark:
“Average incomes after adjusting for inflation actually fell from 2001 to 2004, and the growth in net worth was the weakest in a decade, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday.
Average family incomes, after adjusting for inflation, fell to $70,700 in 2004, a drop of 2.3 percent when compared with 2001. That was the weakest showing since a decline of 11.3 percent from 1989 to 1992, a period that also covered a recession.”
In comparison, the “average incomes had soared by 17.3 percent in the 1998-2001 period and 12.3 percent from 1995 to 1998 as the country enjoyed the longest economic expansion in history.”
Damn Clinton. It was his fault.
“The median family net worth, the point where half the families owned more and half owned less, stood at $93,100 in 2004, a rise of 1.5 percent after adjusting for inflation from 2001. That gain was far below the huge increases of 25.6 percent from 1995 to 1998 and 28.7 percent from 1998 to 2001, increases that were fueled by soaring stock prices.”
“The report showed that the slowdown in the accumulation of net worth would have been even more sizable except for the fact that homeowners have enjoyed big gains in the value of their homes in recent years.”
All was not lost however. Some folks did rather well. “The gap between the very wealthy and other income groups widened during the period. The top 10 percent of households saw their net worth rise by 6.1 percent to an average of $3.11 million.”
“‘This is the continuing story of the rich getting richer,” said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor’s in New York. “Clearly, the gains in wealth are going to the top end.'”
In contrast to our more affluent neighbors, “the bottom 25 percent” of households dropped from being even in in 2001, to $1,400 in the hole.
Oh, and “debts as a percent of total assets rose to 15 percent in 2004, up from 12.1 percent in 2001.”
Not to mention that the inflation-adjusted, average hourly wage for last month came in at $8.17, a penny more than October, 2001.
Don’t spend it all in one place, eh?
Sooner than you think. A good chunk of it is already in place. NYTimes (02.24.06):
“America’s largest companies expect the federal government to pay them about $4 billion over the next four years to help keep their retiree health plans alive at a time when such benefits are increasingly on the chopping block, according to a new study by Credit Suisse First Boston.
When Congress authorized the Medicare drug benefit, it also agreed to start subsidizing the drug component of employers’ retiree health plans, to keep them from shifting their retirees into the government program.”
U.S. to Pay Big Employers Billions Not to End Their Retiree Health Plans
“The Credit Suisse analysts who conducted the study, David Zion and Bill Carcache, prepared it to show investors how successful, or not, companies had been in shifting the cost of their retiree health plans onto other payers.”
“Companies that fear they have promised more benefits than they can deliver ‘are actively trying to pass the buck,’ the analysts wrote. This means trying to shift costs ‘to anyone who will bear them: their retirees, active workers, the U.S. taxpayer”.
“‘If they succeed,’ the analysts added, ‘it’s a giant transfer of risk from corporate America to the work force, and retirees.'”
Payments begin this month “as part of Medicare’s new prescription drug benefit.”
Telling it like it is. The Guardian (02.24.06):
“The [California] Integrated Waste Management Board also has a vision. It is a vision of a world – or, more specifically, a San Francisco – where landfills are obsolete and doggie bags have a whole different meaning.
The Board is charged with bringing to reality the city’s self-imposed target of putting zero waste in landfill sites by 2020.”
“But that reduction has led to closer scrutiny of the more resistant components of the average dustbin.”
“A recent study found that 4% of the city’s residential waste – some 6,500 tons a year – is made up of animal byproducts, a scientific term for dog shit.”
Green Angel
Jasper Johns (1990)
KNOBBOY 
