The Washington Post has an interesting article about the changes in the tax structure under Bush. Essentially, the Bush tax cuts, in terms of the relative burden, have given tiny, almost imperceptible relief to the lowest two quintals, massive relief to the richest quintile, and made the middle class pay the difference. . .
[. . .]
Republican Cleavage
These are not words often seen together. The twin peaks of contemporary Republicanism are the Taliban wing, which would just as soon not even acknowledge the existance of breasts, and the Have-And-Have-More faction, which tends to pick their second and third wives on the basis of mammary size.
So far these A-versus-D cup factions have coexisted uneasily in an increasingly mismatched Victoria's Secret of mutual electoral uplift. Appropriately enough it may be in another place known for high peaks that the sag begins to set in:
(via WaPo's E. J. Dionne)
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. -- You've probably seen those sexy twins in the Coors beer ads. Alluring women selling products is a way of life in our country. We are about to learn if the mogul who ran those ads can successfully cast himself as a friend of conservative family values.
Conservatism is a noble tradition and an intellectual mess. Conservatives say they revere both traditional and market values. But those two sets of values so often contradict each other that conservatives have to cover their eyes -- from the twins ads, for example -- if they are to pretend to be consistent.
What is the most powerful force for permissiveness in the United States? It is not liberalism. It is the free market's use of sexuality to sell products.
Do conservative politicians who care primarily about taxes and the interests of big business merely use "conservative values" as a slogan for attracting votes from the less well-off who gain little or nothing from their economic programs?
What do conservatives really care about -- their values or their incomes? The Colorado Senate race gives them an excellent opportunity to show what matters most.
General Wesley Clark, USA (ret) released the following statement today [12 Aug] in response to Vice President Dick Cheney’s attacks on John Kerry:
“I spent almost all of my adult life in uniform serving this great nation in the United States Army. I have led American soldiers into battle and led an international coalition in the Balkans where diplomacy, backed by force, was the winning formula.
“George W. Bush failed to learn the lessons from his predecessor or history. His ideologues who control American foreign policy have squandered much of our credibility with our allies and failed to achieve victory in the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. They gambled with a go it alone policy and our soldiers are paying with their lives.
[. . .]
“But then, maybe that’s to be expected. Neither George Bush nor Dick Cheney has ever heard a shot fired in anger. Never worried whether he’d ever see his family again or seen the destruction caused by the weapons he’s wielded. The losses of war are permanent. The consequences are unpredictable. That’s why John Kerry has always said force should be a last resort. [my emphasis]
[. . .]
[. . .]
Call me naïve, but I thought all Americans have a vital stake in the nation's future, regardless of how much property they own. (Should we go back to the days when states, arguing that only men of sufficient substance could be trusted, imposed property qualifications for voting?) Even if Mr. Bush is talking only about the economic future, don't workers have as much stake as property owners in the economy's success?
But there's a political imperative behind the "ownership society" theme: the need to provide pseudopopulist cover to policies that are, in reality, highly elitist. [my emphasis]
[. . .]
All you clowns who are told to evacuate the storm areas? Listen to the fucking warnings and leave. I'm watching the news and you see the inevitable old geezer saying, 'lived here for ninety years and I ain't leavin'''. Have a nice funeral, dickhead. Man, I was on a detail to Altus AFB, Oklahoma to help them clean up after a tornado. Lemmie tell you what. The day you see an Air Force C-5 (2nd biggest plane in the world) that the wind picked up, carried a hundred yards (over two other C-5s) and set down on top of another, is the day you realize the extent of Mother Nature's fury. Listen to me. GET THE FUCK OUT!!! It's only stuff, it ain't worth risking your life for. Pack up the wife, the kids, and the pets, and get the fuck out. Don't say I didn't warn you.
The last four polls out of Pennsylvania
Strategic Vision (R). 8/2 - 8/4. MoE 3%:
Kerry 51
Bush 43
SurveyUSA. 7/31 - 8/2. MoE 3.7%:
Kerry 53
Bush 41
Los Angeles Times. 7/17-21. MoE 4%:
Kerry 51
Bush 39
Quinnipiac Univ. 7/6-11. MoE 2.5%:
Kerry 49
Bush 42
It's not so early anymore. Absent some major changes in the electoral dynamics, PA looks increasingly out of reach to Bush. The only Gore states threatening to bolt the Blue fold are Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota.
More from Garrison Keillor's new book:
Democrats have changed America in simple basic ways in the last fifty years that have benefited everyone. Race has become less and less an issue in people's lives and racism has ceased to be socially acceptable anywhere. Women have moved into every realm of society and this is everywhere accepted without much comment. Equal opportunity in education, employment, and housing. There is general agreement on the right to a dignified old age, guaranteed by the state. Democrats led the way in bringing these things about. It's one thing to get into power and do favors for your friends; it's quite another to touch the conscience of a nation. The last Republican to do that was Teddy Roosevelt.
(Garrison Keillor's Homegrown Democrat. pp. 11-12)
[. . .]
What the 9-11 Commission Report does not explain is why, on the morning of September 11, 2001, President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, and other top officials were essentially missing in action.
“Who’s our quarterback” in case of a future terrorist attack? “Who’s in charge?” That was the core question members of the 9-11 commission put to every government official they interviewed. “The reason that you’re hearing such a tone of urgency in our voices is because the answer to the question was almost uniform,” said commissioner Jamie Gorelick at the press conference following today’s release of the 600 page final 9-11 Commission Report. The person in charge, she said the commissioners had been told over and over again, would be the president.
“It is an impossible situation for that to remain the case,” Gorelick observed. Impossible, because the commission’s report clearly shows that on the morning of September 11, 2001, the president and the other top officials in charge of the systems to defend the country from attack were, in essence, missing in action: They did not communicate, did not coordinate a response to the catastrophe, and in some cases did not even get involved in discussions about the attacks until after all of the hijacked planes had crashed.
[. . .]
Damn, that took guts. I'm impressed.
Playing Nice in NYC
by theoria
Thu Aug 12th, 2004 at 17:27:45 GMT
A Guide to the NYC Protests
So much healthy, wonderful bile yesterday as Kossacks went to war with each other over whether or not going to NYC to protest during the GOP Convention will help or hinder Kerry's bid for the presidency. Of course, that's up to god-shiva-trees-luck-themedia or whatever. There are some things we can do to help, though.
1. Don't be a Dick
This is basically true in all things you do (as Jesus often said), but especially so when the world is watching... and extremely so when The Man is just waiting for you to slip up and toss a soft pretzel at a cop on a horse or something. Resist the temptation. You could get us all killed.
2. Police Yourselves
Yes, this means that when that kid sidles up next to you wearing a baseball cap, Che tee shirt, sunglasses and a bandana over his face, you should tell him or her to see rule #1. Likewise, if this is the uniform that you were planning on wearing... think about staying home and playing Neverwinter Nights instead. If you see a gang of thugs trying to tear down the temporary cyclone fencing that might be the only thing between you and a can of tear gas, politely ask them to knock it off.
3. Speaking of Attire...
Be yourself. If nipple rings, a codpiece, a thong and leather chaps is the way you usually dress, go for it (I'm still looking for a place to stay, by the way.) However, if you normally dress sorta preppy, don't show up wearing your "Grim Reaper" costume from two Halloweens ago. (Zeke L gets a special permit from me to dress like Jesus and reenact the Passion as he makes his way toward MSG... shouldering a Styrofoam® crucifix and being pelted with Gummi Bears® and/or whipped with Gummi Worms® by the members of his congregation.)
4. Have a Beer with theoria
Nothing says "Don't Tear Gas Me" like kicking back and having a brew with a widely respected, universally admired, brilliant, witty, talented blogger. But since Meteor Blades won't be there, you can have one with me instead. I'll be the guy popping Advil and downloading porn over The Tank's T1 line as he pretends to blog.
More information below the belt... read on.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's Supreme Court annulled more than 4,000 gay marriages in San Francisco on Thursday, finding that the city acted improperly in granting the marriage licenses earlier this year in defiance of state law..
The mayor of the liberal city ignited a passionate nationwide debate in February by allowing 4,037 same-sex couples to wed over a four-week period before the California high court halted them as it reviewed the city's actions.
A California law backed by a voter referendum defines marriage as a union of man and women, and polls show most Californians continue to oppose gay marriage
So, after having re-re-disposed of the monster, exit our hero through the front door, stage right.
[. . .]
Like I've said, the more the Bush campaign talks about how great the economy is doing, the more out of touch it will appear to folks on the ground. We all know someone who is unemployed, or undemployed, or overworked and miserable at workplaces decimated by layoffs, or trapped at a dead-end job without any other prospects.
The turning a corner line was a huge blunder -- one not backed by either the economy or the situation in Iraq. And, it was tacit admission that things were shitty.
An incumbent isn't allowed to run on change. It fails the laugh test. If the voters want change, they'll choose the other guy.
It was finally too obvious for the campaign to keep talking about turning corners. They'll have to go back to that old standard -- the terrorist boogeyman. [my emphasis]
My server for my home network crashed today. Fortunately, I have internet access, however my network in the house is down, so the computers can't talk to one another. Wonderful. Spent the afternoon reinstalling software so hardly any blogging today. Mrs. F is also leaving for Charlotte tomorrow morning so we're running around like idiots. Oy. More tomorrow.
Pleasant dreams.
"Are you a Presidential candidate?"
"Uh, unoffcially. See my 'unofficial' plane from my 'unoffcial' airline, 'unoffcially' Southwest."
