Archives for October 2003

Bush: Spend or I’ll veto

Thanks for visiting this blog for the first time. Check out the home page for the most recent posts, or the archives if you're looking for something in particular. Here are some of our favorite posts, which you might enjoy:

If you like what you see, we hope you'll consider subscribing to the RSS feed.

President Bush has never used his veto pen. Ever. And it’s not like he hasn’t had plenty of good opportunities. A true conservative would have exercised his executive power a little more just to, you know, keep the size of government down and all. But sadly, Mr. Bush has never met a spending bill he didn’t like.

Alas, the White House threatened a veto yesterday, and they seem pretty serious about it. Is it on some new Medicare prescription boondoggle? Nope. They threaten to veto the Iraq reconstruction package if any of the money goes to Iraq in the form of loans; Bush wants it all to be outright aid. So, in fact, he would use his veto to make sure Congress spends more, not less. And yet, there are still conservatives who will vote for this guy next year.

Oct 23, 2003 | 2 Comments

Marlins over Yankees in 7, like it should be

Go fish!I really don’t know why the Cubs were considered the underdogs against the Marlins. The Marlins are the wildcard team who were down three games at one point in the NLCS. Their line-up is full of 20-year-olds who were in the minor leagues last year. They are playing purely on heart.

So why does everyone (except the folks in Northern Cuba, a.ka. Miami) love to hate the fish? America is supposed love to root for the underdog. They’re up against the Yankees. A fine team, but hardly underdogs.

I went out last night to watch the game and when the Marlins won, people were visibly bitter. It’s not supposed to happen, they seem to be saying. I guess when it comes to baseball Americans abjure meritocracy and prefer an aristocracy. Go Marlins!!

Oct 19, 2003 | 1 Comment

Bush’s Cuban commission

The New York Times today reports about a State Department commission set up over a year ago to study how to implement a transition after Saddam Hussein’s rule ended. The group was made up of Iraqi and American lawyers, economists, engineers, and other professionals and sought to produce a manual of what to do “the day after”–from water supplies and sewage, to a criminal code and economic reforms.

The report apparently predicted the looting that took place right after Saddam was toppled, which caught the U.S. military off-guard. It also recommended against firing most of the Iraqi military, like Jerry Bremer did only to later find it was a mistake. (Check out this great Frontline report that takes a look at the State Department commission, among other things.)

Critics often say that the administration never planned for the war’s aftermath and ensuing occupation. The truth seems to be that the State Department did, but the Pentagon (who was ultimately in charge during and immediately after the war) chose to ignore the planning.

That said, President Bush announced last week the formation of “a commission for the assistance to a free Cuba to plan for the happy day when Castro’s regime is no more and democracy comes to the island.” The commission will be chaired by Colin Powell and Mel Martinez and will “draw upon experts within our government to plan for Cuba’s transition from Stalinist rule to a free and open society, to identify ways to hasten the arrival of that day.” Bush said, “The transition to freedom will present many challenges to the Cuban people and to America, and we will be prepared.”

Cheeky monkey Jeff Kiley, and deadly serious Jesse Jackson have both predicted invasions of Cuba to shore up the Florida vote and deflect attention from Iraq. I’m not sure Bush would go that far. But if he does, I cringe at the thought of a Cuban Coalition Provisional Authority with Mel Martinez or Otto Reich as “administrator”.

Oct 19, 2003 | Comment

  •  
  •