Nosey Online

Here is my online rant-posting space. All of you familiar with my e-mail stuff will find this interesting. It's a work in progress, so enjoy. If you ever follow a link from my site and it asks for registration (like for the New York Times), please do so because it's quick and you can usually read some interesting articles.

NOTE: -- (August 12, 2004) -- This was my first post over at http://noseyonline.blogspot.com. For some reason, it never made the transition to MT. Anyway, I thought it should be preserved here, for posterity I guess.

...I watched our President on Meet the Press this morning. For the first time in my life I actually craved for a commercial break while watching tv. My head started to swim with terms like "War on Terror" and "Shadowy Networks." The President seemed a little on edge, perhaps because he saw his poll numbers drop just a little bit more during the weekend.

Regardless of how the Democratic primaries turn out, it will be an interesting six or so months between then and the general elections. Personally, I hope that whoever runs on the Demo ticket in November really brings out the "sit at home and don't vote" pundits. If the early primaries are any indicator, a lot more people are turning out to make their voices heard. Mostly because of their extreme hatred of Bush.

When Clinton was President, I never could really understand the conservative hatred for him. All of the taxpayer-funded investigations into his business and personal life only turned up a marital indiscretion. Is that really all they could come up with? For eight years, Republicans did anything they could bring down Clinton's administration and tarnish his legacy. In the end, he was responsible for the legacy that we have today. The funny thing is that Clinton is smarter then that. He should have know how this would have all turned out.

Bush on the other hand is not smart. He says things like "War on Terror" and people put their blinders on and just follow. We need some accountability again. At least during Clinton's years, the rest of the world listened to what we had to say. Only time will tell.

Bill O'Reilly went on Good Morning America today to talk about how he was wrong about the build up to the invasion of Iraq. You can read about it here. I find this very humorous. My first thought was exactly what Al Franken did after he heard about this. I give O'Reilly credit. He said he'd go on national television and apologize if it turned out things weren't what they seemed. Thanks Bill!

With no reason to stay in, General Wesley Clark dropped out of the race to become President. After two disappointing third-place finishes he bowed out. Will Dean really stay in if he loses Wisconsin? Can Kerry still lose it all? Can Edwards beat the odds and come out on top? My bet is still on Kerry, but we'll see what happens in the next few weeks. I can't wait for Super Tuesday.

I can't believe that this isn't getting more attention in the mainstream media. Then again, anything Bush related has been largely taboo since 9/11. But now the Democratic primaries have begun, more questions are surfacing. The biggest one is GWB's military record. Personally I don't think that this is worth pursuing. They would rather talk about this issue then focus on the real problems. The economy is slowly sinking into the ocean and jobs are moving overseas. Is big business really calling the shots? I don't know, but I can say that Justice Scalia shouldn't be chumming around with Vice President Dick Cheney. You can read about Scalia's rebuttal here. I think that the public has a right to know just what these meetings were all about. Don't you?

...Newsweek has a piece about John Edwards. Is he in it to win it? Or is he just proving himself as the southern running mate? This is looking like it's all but a formality now. Maybe, maybe not. The Republicans are already taking aim at Kerry. Speaking out against the Vietnam war and gay marriage are the Kerry topics du jour. He is still going to take it bad over his voting record. But will this matter at all if the economy tanks even more by November? The Bushies can scream terrorism and homeland security, but will it really be able to distract the public from the real problems?

OPEC cut oil production targets so we're looking at a long summer of high oil prices. I can't believe this will be good at all for the President. All the Democrats have to do is draw attention to domestic problems. I predict that this will be an election cycle like no other. GOP strategists have pointed out that GWB shares similar poll numbers with Reagan and Clinton during their re-election bids. This is all fine and dandy, but times are so tragically different.

Reagan would raise taxes when the deficit went up and Clinton presided over the longest period of growth in the history of the United States. Bush can't raise taxes and obviously is presiding over one of the worst economic periods of all time. We've lost over 2 million jobs since he took office. How much more of this can the Bushies spin into something positive? They have all drank the Kool-Aid. One last thought. Move the focus away from Bush's military record. It's a long time until the election and the American public will move on by then. Slow and steady wins the race.

An article in the Washington Post today reveals declining poll numbers about GWB's honesty and credibility. The run was great while it lasted, wasn't it Georgie? I will find it hard to believe if the Bushies still rule like they have a mandate after the 2004 election. Regardless of who the candidate is, the election will be a repeat performance of the 2000 election. America split down the middle. However, if his credibility continues to erode, there will be a very good chance that we might have a Democrat back in the White House as of January 2005. We can only hope. It's very interesting how GWB rode the "disgusted about Clinton" wave into the presidency. Clinton lied about a sexual favor. Bush is misleading the American public about WMD, intelligence failures, favoritism of corporations in policy making decisions, and his own military record. Way to bring back honesty George!

Before I left for the day, I wanted to write a few words. Apparently, GWB has authorized the full release of his military records. My only question is why did they wait this long? After all, GWB promised to release these records on Meet The Press. But then his administration did an about face and then released only a few relativley lame things. To hold out on this only means something was wrong. Maybe they needed a little extra time to cleanse the records? Maybe they just wanted to mess with the press? I don't think we will ever get a full acount of what he was doing during those years.

...Steve Grossman, the chairman of Howard Dean's bid to be president, has left the campaign. Dean still says he will stay in the election even if he loses Wisconsin. With Kerry holding a 24 point lead in the polls in that state, one might want to say "when, not if, Howard." How fast the mighty have fallen. Just a couple of months ago it looked as if Dean had it all locked up. Or did it? I don't believe that he would have survived the first round of primaries anyway.

On another note, it looks like the internet-fueled rumor involving John Kerry seems to be dying down. If you remember, just last Friday the father of the woman in question was quoted saying not nice things about Kerry:

"I think he's a sleazeball. I did kind of wonder if my daughter didn't get that kind of feeling herself."

"He's not the sort of guy I would choose to be with my daughter."

Mind you, this was in the British tabloid The Sun, but it was taken as gospel by the likes of Rush Limbaugh. At the beginning of Rush's Friday broadcast, he used the word sleazeball in reference to John Kerry about ten times. Today however, Terry and Donna Polier, the parents of the woman at the heart of this "scandal", released this statement:

"We have spoken to our daughter and the allegations that have been made regarding her are completely false and unsubstantiated. We love and support her 100 percent and these unfounded rumors are hurtful to our entire family. We appreciate the way Senator Kerry has handled the situation, and intend on voting for him for president of the United States."

Doesn't make much sense for this guy to be voting for someone he called a "sleazebag." This whole thing is just utterly rediculous. Some in the media where reporting that the woman had fled to Africa at the urging of someone in the Kerry campaign. Once again, I think those in the media was proved wrong. Alexandra Polier had this to say for herself:

"For the last several days I have seen Internet and tabloid rumors relating to me and Senator John Kerry. Because these stories were false, I assumed the media would ignore them. It seems that efforts to peddle these lies continue, so I feel compelled to address them. I have never had a relationship with Senator Kerry, and the rumors in the press are completely false. Whoever is spreading these rumors and allegations does not know me, but should know the pain they have caused me and my family. I am in Kenya with my fiance visiting his family, and we ask that the press respect our privacy and leave all of us alone."

This whole thing is quite amazing. Who started it? Rush Limbaugh thinks that it's the Clintons. He thinks that Bill Clinton has set up the eventual nominee to fall, whomever that is. Why you ask? Well Rush thinks that it's because Hillary wants to be President in '08. Since there is no chance she would win in '08 against a sitting Democratic President, GWB must win re-election. Are you on your pills again Rush? Let's take a look at this for a minute. Who has been at the heart of the rumor-spreading? It all started with right-leaning Matt Drudge, then went all over Rush Limbaugh and other right-wing talkers, and then Ruper Murdoch-owned news outlets like The Sun and FOX News ran with it. If you ask me Rush, I think it might just be you guys interested in taking down anyone who could threaten your President. It'll be interesting to see how this "affair" story does after Kerry takes Wisconsin. Next thing you know, Kerry will the illegitimate father of those cloned babies in South Korea.

Ah, the American Dream. It used to be owning a Volvo or BMW. Nowadays, size does matter. Kevin Drum over at Calpundit has a post about monster SUV's. He notes that Gregg Easterbrook at The New Republic writes:

The Journal of Risk and Uncertainty does not speculate much about why SUVs and pickup trucks crash so much more frequently than regular cars, but the guesses are obvious. First, SUVs and pickups are styled to look cinematically menacing, and thus bring out the worst in drivers, visually egging them on to be hostile and aggressive. Second, owners of SUVs, especially, may falsely believe their vehicles have superior handling or road-holding power. Actually SUVs as a group are less stable than regular cars--as evidenced by roll-overs--because their high centers of gravity more than wipe out any benefits that four-wheel drive may confer. Finally, those sitting at the wheels of SUVs and pickup trucks may drive like lunatics, yakking into the cell phone all the while, because they themselves have fallen for the propaganda about SUVs being safer than regular cars.

You can read the rest of the column here. The funniest thing about this is how naive SUV drivers are to the facts. Most people I know who own large SUV's falsely believe that they are safer. There are two key points about these large vehicles that I think are central to the problem. First, most people would need an extra job just to pay for the gas. Usually, rich people are buying these "cars." Our over-reliance on Middle Eastern oil is ratcheted up because of the 9 miles a gallon that SUV's get. Secondly, what gives that lady in the Excursion next to me the right to blab on the phone and drive at the same time? Most city roads, or for that matter country roads, were not designed for such large vehicles. Look at Europe. They know they have small streets. So they go out and build the Mini.

Our highways are getting more crowded by the day. Second-tier access Interstates that were built to help urban sprawlers are now getting a bit too crowded themselves. The answer to these problems is to not build bigger and bigger just so people can feel safer on the packed roads of America. Personally, I can't wait for Air Cars. And skyways just like in Back To The Future 2.

Kevin Drum over at Calpundit has a rather lengthy post summarizing the Bush military document dump last Friday. There are more questions that need to be answered. But does anyone really care? I think that this story has goten swept under the rug because 60% of Americans don't think that his military record is a big deal. Stick with jobs, economy, and WMD.

Once again Josh over at Talking Points Memo scored a big one with his posting of Department of Defense Talking Points on Iraqi WMD. His site is usually great anyway, but I love these memos. Also, in case you haven't been reading his blog, Josh has been tracking the back and forth between Scott McClellan and the White House Press Corps. I wonder how Ari would have handled this.

The AP has a story about Laura Bush defending her husband.

"I think it's a political, you know, witch hunt, actually, on the part of Democrats," the first lady said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The Republicans wouldn't know anything about witch hunts, would they?

Meteor Blades over at Daily Kos has posted a good article about the Bush Administration's twisting of science for it's own personal gain. He quotes from a statement issued today by 60 top scientists:

“Across a broad range of issues, the administration has undermined the quality of the scientific advisory system and the morale of the government’s outstanding scientific personnel,” said Dr. Kurt Gottfried, emeritus professor of physics at Cornell University and Chairman of the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Whether the issue is lead paint, clean air or climate change, this behavior has serious consequences for all Americans.”

One thing lacking in this argument is the source of the problem. Bush has consistently pandered to the people he knows will vote for him. Perhaps the largest body of support besides big business is Evangelicals. It's not just trashing environmental rules in favor of big business; it's the banning of stem cell research and the argument Creationism over Evolution. This administration has time and time again shown contempt for the viewpoints of those who do not support the President. I appluad the scientists in their effort to get the problem noticed, but will it really do any good?

Another day, another step backward for the Bush Administration. Maxomai over at Daily Kos points out that both Edwards and Kerry both are leading GWB in the polls. Calpundit also points out that everyone in the Bush administration is distancing themselves from the bright economic forecasts of just week ago. This is why I'm glad the primaries are going on a little longer. Edwards being able to make it last a little longer is a good thing. For one, it lets more states have a say in the selection of a nominee. Also, it gives us all a chance to get more familiar with the viewpoints of the last two candidates.

I would love to see Edwards debate Kerry on a national stage. But Kerry is smart, I don't think that this will happen. We'll get the remaining 4 in a group debate, but no one on one.

We haven't even begun to see the fire that the Bush campaign will bring down. $175 million is a huge chunk of change. Look for a lot more Democratic grassroot internet contributions between March and November. The Republicans have a lot of contributors willing to fork over $2000. You will see a ton of smaller donations to the Democratic candidate. While the amount won't be anywhere near GWB's war chest, it will be more than $50 million.

AFL-CIO Endorses Kerry; Edwards' Chances Fade This is posted over at Daily Kos. There are very good points. Labor still has a huge impact on elections. But don't count out Edwards just yet. I can tell you from experience that Ohio likes the populist messgage of Edwards. Now, I don't mean to say that the state is his for the taking, but I think he has a good chance. Just as he does in New York and maybe even California. The hoity toity liberal image that Kerry has in some people's minds goes a long way around here. Just drive up I-71 into Cleveland and see the abandoned steel mills. Kerry did vote for Nafta, and that does mater to a lot of people.

Fiscal conservatives are mad at him. Social conservatives are mad at him. Most leftys are mad at him. Just who isn't mad at GWB? Only people blind to what is going on today. Today there is a piece at the Washington Times talking about how Evangelicals are tempted to stay home this election. Apparently they are ticked off that he hasn't done enough since they helped get him elected. They are especially ticked off about the lack of response from the President regarding the marriages in San Francisco.

I say, stay home then. A large group of voters will not be happy until we all live in 1950's Pleasantville. Conservatives say that the Super Bowl half time show was the straw that broke the camels back. That we have progressed so for into immorality that we might be doomed. So the FCC and Congress lashed out at broadcasters. Especially Infinity/CBS. Nothing gets an executive more scared then the idea of liscense revokation hearings. Now Mel Karmazin wants all Infinity radio stations to clean up. I can't wait to see what happens to the ratings.

Say things like "War on Terror" or "Homeland Security" and people just put blinders on to the real world. Yes, fighting against terrorists is important. But does the guy who has not been able to find a job for two years really care that much? The economy might have started to erode during the last few months of Clinton's watch, but Bush has really punched the hole wide open. Republicans have lost their biggest platform; being fiscally conservative. The President doesn't even deserve the whole blame. There are some in congress that are taking advantage of the situation to tack on millions of pork to neccessary bills.

We can't afford to write checks on future generation's credit. Let's be responsible and move forward together. A nation divided is a nation off track.

George Stephanopoulos scored a big one with his head to head debate with Presidential Candidates John Kerry and John Edwards. For the record, it's on ABC Sunday mornings. This is probably the only time we will see the two of them lay their positions on the table at the same time. Hopefully enough people will watchs say they can get a clear understanding of the differences of the two candidates.

First it was California, then it will be Massachusetts. But will Chicago and then New Mexico be next? Calpundit talks about gay marriages are beginning to take place all over the United States. Court cases will follow anywhere they take place. If this does get widespread, how will it affect the race for the White House?

No doubt the Bush Administration is feeling immense heat right now from the Christian right. Evangelicals are already ticked at him anyway. His initial response about San Francisco was to back off and let the state handle it. Now it looks like he might be actively promoting a Constitutional Amendment to ban gay marriages. This is clearly a wedge issue. Democrats need to stand fast on their beliefs, not weasle out because of poll numbers.

So Ralph Nader is back in it. What does this mean? Not much really. More money will be spent this election year than any other in history. Nader will be drowned out by the multitude of ads from Bush and the eventual Democratic nominee. So why is he in it? For the same reason that Kucinich and Sharpton are. They represent the viewpoints of quite a few folks in this country. And without a platform they would never be heard. They hope that their message will be carried to the voters while ignored by the two main party candidates.

Money is spent in order to distract voters from what is really going on. They say, don't pay attention to the man behind the curtain, but look at my opponents' dirty secrets. Classic smoke and mirrors. John Kerry has proposed a head to head debate with the President. I cannot wait for this to happen. Bush is not very good at these things. Hopefully he will come of dry, boring, and misleading, like he usually does. Maybe this will be enough to get the election back on message. That message is about getting Bush out of office and back to his ranch.

There's been an intersting conversation going on over at Talking Points Memo about whether or not GWB wanted to go to Vietnam. Did GWB want to go even if his family used their influence to get him into the Air National Guard?

Calpundit also has Kerry leading Edwards in California 56% to 24%. Is this nomination process over? Edwards has to do well in a lot of states next Tuesday. Does Edwards have enough money to pull it off?

My guess is that Edwards will do well enough in the primaries next week, but will concede to Kerry. Whoever the nominee is will have to raise a ton of money. If the race is over by next week, the eventual nominee can start to raise money for his war chest. GWB is already getting ready to run ads, so it might not be a good idea to stretch this out anymore.

Alan Greenspan testified before congress today and urged cuts in future Social Security benefits. He takes into consideration the 77 million baby boomers who will begin to retire soon.

"This dramatic demographic change is certain to place enormous demands on our nation's resources - demands we will almost surely be unable to meet unless action is taken," Greenspan said. "For a variety of reasons, that action is better taken as soon as possible."

No one doubts that the situation is going to get serious. When lawmakers spend like they are doing today, there won't be any money left. Greenspan suggests that current retirees would not have their benefits cut, but that future generations could get smaller checks.

"I am just basically saying that we are overcommitted at this stage," Greenspan said in response to committee questions. "It is important that we tell people who are about to retire what it is they will have." He warned that the government should not "promise more than we are able to deliver."

So here's my big question. Why the heck am I paying into this system? As the government moves the retirement age later and later, it will end up making no sense to quit working. So I guess the phrase "worked to death" will be entirely true.

For any of you young enough to remember, this post over at Calpundit reminded me of an episode of Saved By The Bell. Jessie Spanow is studying for tests and ends up taking speed to stay awake and deal with the stress. This after-school special plot line ends with Jessie wiggin out saying there just isn't enough time. Well Mr. Hastert, I think that there is always enough time for the truth. If GWB hadn't played the delay game in the first place, we wouldn't be here. But then again, the truth hurts, doesn't it?