Last night, I was surprised to see former New York Mayor Ed Koch, a liberal Democrat, at the Republican convention, giving George Bush his wholehearted endorsement.  Koch readily acknowledged that he disagreed with Bush and the Republicans on virtually all domestic issues - abortion, health care, education, the courts, the environment, to name a few.  

Why then, you might be asking, would Koch endorse Bush's reelection?  "Simple," Koch said.  "The war against terrorism trumps everything."

If Dick Cheney and Carl Rove had the foresight to realize that a terrorist attack was all it took to get this country to give license to the ultra-right to enact their agenda, who knows what sacrifices they might have had this nation endure (after all, the end does justify the means).

If the terrorists can get us to abandon virtually all of our principled positions, they have won.  

Bill Maher:  "It's now almost certain that terrorists brought down those two Russian airliners.  When President Bush was told that terrorists had just crashed two planes, out of habit he didn't move for seven minutes."

 

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August 30, 2004

Things you have to believe to be a Republican today...

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush used 9-11 to attack him.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because Cuba is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense.

A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's cocaine use is none of our business.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness, and you need our prayers for your recovery.

You support states' rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.

What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

On Thursday, the Census Bureau reported that 45 million Americans lacked health insurance in 2003, up by 1.4 million from 2002 and 5.2 million from 2000. The report states that this increase is "statistically significant."

How large is 45 million?

45 million uninsured Americans is more than...

• All Americans age 65 and older (35.9 million)
• All African Americans (37.1 million)
• All Hispanic or Latino Americans (39.9 million)

45 million uninsured Americans is...

• 4 million more than the number of small business employees (41.0 million in 2001)
• 20 million more than the number of military veterans (25 million)
• Nearly 12 times more than the number of millionaires (3.8 million) -- although the growth in millionaires outstripped that of the uninsured (14 percent versus 3 percent)

45 million uninsured Americans is...

• More than four times the population of Greece, site of the Summer Olympics (10.6 million)
• 12 million more than the population of Canada (32.2 million)
• Nearly 5 million more than the population of Spain (40.2 million)
• 20 million more than the population of Iraq (24.7 million)

45 million uninsured Americans is...

• Nearly five times more than the number of Americans living with cancer (9.2 million in 2001)
• 2.5 times higher than the number of Americans with diabetes (18.2 million in 2002)
• 7 million more people than those living with HIV throughout the world (38 million)

There are...

• Nearly 150 uninsured Americans for each physician in America 
• Nearly 7,500 uninsured Americans for each hospital in America
• Over 84,000 uninsured Americans for each Member of Congress

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August 28, 2004

David Letterman:  "Have you folks been following the controversy with John Kerry and his service in Vietnam and the Swift Boat campaign? It all took place in Vietnam and now it just won't go away. I was thinking about this -- if John Kerry had just ducked the war like everybody else he wouldn't have this trouble."

Craig Kilborn:  "The road to the White House turned muddy over the weekend as the Kerry campaign charged that the president is behind negative ads that attack Kerry's record in Vietnam. To be fair, President Bush did criticize the ads saying they were too short." 

"The Bush campaign has denied involvement in the Swift Boat ad saying that the president has spent his entire life avoiding anything having to do with Vietnam." 

(First, let me set this straight - my bias, that is.  In my career, I have prosecuted rapists, even the rapists of a prostitute, and some of the rapists I prosecuted were sentenced to life in prison.)

Yesterday, I listened to a television interview with the attorney for the woman who, this week, filed a $3 million civil lawsuit against William Kennedy Smith for an alleged rape which allegedly occurred some five years ago.  Why is this worthy of a Rant?  It was acknowledged by the plaintiff's lawyer that the woman, an employee in the foundation directed by Smith, continued to work for the foundation and had frequent consensual sex with Smith for some five months following the alleged rape.  The attorney's explanation was that his client was a virgin before encountering Smith and that this was a classic case of the "predator returning to the prey".  Huh?

I don't generally jump to conclusions about cases in the media.  For instance, I don't presume to know the truth about the Kobe Bryant case.  But, as far as this latest suit against William Kennedy Smith goes, I smell SHAKEDOWN!

What is clear is that Smith needs to be more selective of his sexual partners.  You may recall that, in 1991, Smith was accused of rape in Palm Beach by Patricia Bowman, a woman he met in a night club and invited to the Kennedy mansion in Palm Beach.  At the trial, Ms. Bowman admitted that she had followed Smith from the bar in her own car and, upon arriving at the Kennedy compound, she had removed her pantyhose and panties and left them in her car before going into the house.  But, she said, the sex was not consensual.

If you are inclined to believe either of these women, I'd like to tell you about how well my diet is going.

Yesterday, the Republican convention platform committee rejected a "Unity Plank" which was supported by party moderates.  The spurned Unity Plank stated:

"We recognize and respect that Republicans of good faith may not agree with all the planks in the party's platform. This is particularly the case with regard to those planks dealing with abortion, family planning, and gay and lesbian issues. The Republican Party welcomes all people on all sides of these complex issues and encourages their active participation as we work together on those issues upon which we agree."

Instead, the platform not only supports constitutional amendments banning abortion and gay marriage, it would bar civil unions throughout the country and endorsed Bush's restrictions on federal funding of stem cell research.  "This was a chance to unite the party and demonstrate that the GOP's inclusiveness doesn't end with the prime time speaking lineup," said Ann Stone, National Chair of Republicans for Choice. "It was their chance to show George Bush as a uniter not a divider," she added, "but clearly they have failed."

If you know someone who is undecided in this election, ask them if they really share the Republican Party's visions and plans for America.

Speaking of Dumb and Dumber...

Last night, we "dined" with two other couples at Tony Roma's.  Jack and I each ordered the half chicken dinner, he ordered it regular and I ordered all white meat.  When our dinners came, they were both all white.  Jack pointed out that he was expecting a leg, a thigh, and a breast.  The waiter apologized and said he would expedite the correct order.  Several minutes the waiter returned, apologized again, and said that he had been informed that they were out of dark meat.  Jack changed his order to ribs.  I then spoke up and told the waiter that my chicken was overcooked and too dry.  The waiter took my plate (with more apologies) and returned several minutes later with Jack's ribs and my new plate of chicken which was white and dark meat. 

Returned from vacation last night.  New Rants begin tomorrow.

McCain disappoints, again… In 2000, after bowing out of the Republican presidential nomination race, McCain said that he regretted not having taken a stance against South Carolina’s flying the confederate flag over the state capitol.McCain said he regretted that he honored politics over principle.

In 2004, Republican Senator John McCain, has criticized an anti-Kerry advertisement by a group of veterans as being "dishonest and dishonorable”.  When asked whether the White House was behind the anti-Kerry ad, McCain said, "I hope not, but I don't know.  But I think the White House should specifically condemn the ad."  Bush has refused to do so.  McCain called on Kerry to condemn an attack ad on Bush’s military service.  Kerry did so. 

Nevertheless, McCain still makes campaign appearances with Bush. Once again, McCain honors politics over principle.

Jon Stewart :  "The first lady raises a valid point. Since it would take years for stem cell research to find a cure for Alzheimer's, why start? It makes no sense. If you can only save people eventually, you're really doing a disservice."

On Monday, in a speech before the VFW convention, Bush announced that some 70,000 troops stationed in important ally nations - most notably Germany and South Korea - will be redeployed back to the United States and will be replaced with a much smaller, more tactical, force.  Bush explained that he wanted troops to have more "family time".  While there may be sound reasons to reshape the deployment of our troops based on the evolution of the worldwide threats to peace, does anybody really think that a political speech less than three months before the election is the way to lead, to bring our allies along in support of this decision, indeed, to instill confidence throughout the world that the U.S. makes important decisions with international impact on something more than political expediency?