The Continuing Decline Of Western Civilization ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Pier Poor Christopher Hitchens. He's been drafted by the ACLU as a plantiff in their case (in conjunction with the CCR) against the government over the NSA spying scandal. This is probably the single most redeeming thing the man has ever done. And then he goes and writes shit like this: I believe the President when he says that this will be a very long war, and insofar as a mere civilian may say so, I consider myself enlisted in it. As one of the commenters says, "that may just be the douchebaggiest thing ever written by a douchebag in the history of douchebaggery." add to the discussion - 0 entriesposted by tcdowc - 8:08 pm - 01.19.06 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am so sick of this shit Talking heads have been walking around saying "what are the Democracts going to do with the money that they got from Abramoff? Are they going to give it back? 'Cause our guy is giving it back (unless he spent it already)." No, they aren't going to give any of it back. Because they didn't take any money from Abramoff. None. Zero. Can the 'journalists' do their fucking jobs and report this? Maybe check around a even little bit? Abramoff only gave money to Republicans. It's right there, in the Federal Election Commission records. And so far, I've only heard of Dean going out there and saying this. add to the discussion - 2 entriesposted by tcdowc - 7:54 pm - 01.19.06 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The war on drugs There's an interesting article in The New Republic (requires free registration, tcdowc is set up as name and psswrd) which make the arguement that the severe difficulties with the new Medicare program were certainly avoidable (and predicted). Consider the roll-out of Medicare in 1966. No problems. And this new program? Lots of problems, and it only applies to one aspect of the Medicare program. I'm not saying that this is true, but... Did you know, that seniors are now locked into a plan for 12 months, but that the companies can change what drugs they cover every month? That's right, Bush & Co. hate old poor people. Article's worth reading, points to Bush's ideological bias as the basis for basically all the problems the new Medicare thing is causing. Mark Schmitt at TPM Cafe argues that this was intentional, intended to make people hate government more, on the theory that the problems would be blamed on the government, not specifically on Republicans, thus being a net win for them. Other Medicare links: Washington Post: "The States Step In As Medicare Falters" TheNewYorkTimes: "President Tells Insurers to Aid Ailing Medicare Drug Plan" LA Times: "A Dose of Confusion With New Drug Plan" hat tip to hilzoy add to the discussion - 0 entriesposted by tcdowc - 7:17 pm - 01.19.06 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Le sigh More 'quick' links. I was going to run with the news that the Iranians want to resume talks, but I'm all conflicted about this, so all I'll say is that provided the Iranians allow complete inspections, they are totally allowed to pursue nuclear energy research under the non-prolifiration treaty. Oh, and that getting serious about using nuclear power is probably a good step towards weaning ourselves from fossil fuels (depleated uranium can now be recycled to make more usable uranium). FBI officials say that in the months following 9/11, the data provided to them by the NSA domestic spying program was essentially useless, and drew resources away from more valuable enterprises. A far cry from saving thousands of lives. Here's the transcript of Gore's speech yesterday on constitutional issues. Via TPM, who provides the following comment: The president's critics are always accusing him of law-breaking or unconstitutional acts and then also berating the incompetence of his governance. And it's often treated as, well ... he's power-hungry and incompetent to boot! Imagine that! The point though is that they are directly connected. Authoritarianism and secrecy breed incompetence; the two feed on each other. It's a vicious cycle. If that doesn't get you to read it, then there's no hope left for you. I mentioned yesterday that 12 states have had to declare public health emergencies due to the new prescription drug bill. Well here's happy news: one of the princible authors of the bill has just announced he will be taking that job as head lobbyist for the drug industry in DC. Another tip to Mr. Marshall. LGM has an analysis up of the SCOTUS decision to rule against the feds in the Oregon assisted suicide case. You would think that this would be a vistory for state's rights, but the conservatives are all up in arms anyway. Apparently state's rights are good for Alabama, but not for Oregon. add to the discussion - 0 entriesposted by tcdowc - 8:46 pm - 01.17.06 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PSA Does everyone already know this? I'm told that if you're in an accident that EMTs will check your phone for an entry labeled ICE, or in case of emergency, and will call that person. Possibly useful information. add to the discussion - 0 entriesposted by tcdowc - 8:17 pm - 01.17.06 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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