Good childcare a safety issue

Stories like the article below just absolutely break my heart: Soldier, wife accused of staging kids fight - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

I'm a father of two young daughters, and I can attest first-hand that childcare issues are always high on my mind. My wife or I have stayed home with the children almost the whole time. Since I work at home, when they've had nannies, I'm still around. We feel a lot safer that way. Not everyone has this option, and reputable childcare is financially out of reach for probably 75% of Americans.

What options are they left with? Family, friends, acquaintances, and sometimes total strangers who conduct non-accredited businesses on the side. Clearly, most people take very good care of the children in their keep. There are exceptions to this, and we just shouldn't allow that in this richest of all countries for all time. Subsidizing childcare would be a huge step in the right direction. I bet if we counted up the number of baby-sitter child abuse cases in the country, we'd be absolutely horrified.

Of course, we also have to make childcare a professional pursuit that pays more than minimum wage. I'm outraged when Republicans kill bills that include childcare subsidies. When it comes down to safety or money, they side with money every time.

Framing Idea: The War on Congress

I was just listening to Jon Stewart interviewing Russ Feingold on the censure resolution. Russ was great, but they played a segment by Boehner that was frightening, and it shows just how much we need to get on top of framing the issues better. Boehner essentially said that Feingold was trying to protect terrorists by trying to tie the hands of Bush in fighting the War on Terror. It also reminds me of the Clift column I blogged about last week.

The NSA wiretapping transgressions are hardly bad for terrorists. If there's a terrorist out there who doesn't know that we're tapping into their phone records, I would imagine this is the same terrorist who is going to blow himself up while putting the bomb together in his apartment. He's not smart enough to do any damage to others.

What if we put together a campaign to talk about "The Bush/Cheney War on Constitutional Democracy"? That wraps up all the little presidential power grabs into one phrase that can be repeated over and over in the MSM. Don't talk about the NSA warrantless spying affair without first saying "The War on Constitutional Democracy." Or, better yet, let's just call it the "War on Congress".

That serves even more purposes, as it forces the Rubuplican puppets in Congress to decide whether they are for or against the War on Congress. Are you with the President when he treats Congress like his bitch? Or do you have the spine to stand up to this guy? This could split the GOP wide open if used effectively.

Here are some of the places we could insert War on Congress:
1. NSA Spying.
2. Lying to Congress about Iraq.
3. Signing an bill that didn't pass Congress.
4. Right-wing judiciary.
5. No-bid contracts.
6. Recess Appointments.

Some things we could start talking about to our elected officials...Are you weak on the War on Congress? Will you win the War on Congress? Is this part of the President's War on Congress? Has the President ever asked you, "Who's Your Daddy?" And so on.

Car Accidents vs. My Non-Lost Hiker Friend

I'm always amazed that local news makes such little fuss about deadly car accidents--treating them mostly as traffic problems. Yes, they cover them all. Every single one. Every day. And especially if there was a fire involved.

Compare that with their investigative reports or other human drama stories, where they spare no effort to make sure you know just how dramatic it was. My friend made the news last week as a lost hiker stuck on a dangerous mountain in near white out conditions. They made it sound like he was in imminent danger. But, as he explained it to me, he was just a little late getting done with a technical climb and was quite surprised to meet the rescue crew on his way down.

The local news had him suffering imminent death from dehydration. They don't mention that my friend offered to give his "rescuers" some of the water out his still-full cannister. The news channel spent 10 minutes interviewing, 9.9 of which he told them it was no big deal. Which clip do you think they showed?

I would imagine that putting drama back into the car crashes would have a little better public safety value for us than focusing on non-stories such as my friend's. But it's always a pretty sober description: "the car crossed the median and hit another car." Could that have anything to do with half the ads on the local news being for cars?

They Made Their Deathbed

Now we must make them lie in it. This Newsweek Article talks about the Republicans who are slowly walking away from Dubya. They must not be allowed to do so. This isn't just some political changing of the winds. Real damage has been done to America.

Iraq is an impossible situation, and it didn't have to be. The debt will reach up to $9 trillion, and that definitely didn't have to happen.

The problem with them trying to escape from this unpopular president is that the deathbed they made is not just theirs. The whole country is going to have to lie in it.

Cower to Power Strategy

Clift: Dem Feingold Tosses GOP a Life Raft - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com: 'Republicans will rally round him if they think it's a personal attack just like we did with Clinton,'warns the strategist."

Let's look at the quote above and put it into context. Yes, liberals did rally around Clinton. A few years later, we lost the White House to an idiot. Without Lewinsky, Gore rolls through the election without a scratch, no matter how badly he screwed up the campaign. With Lewinskly, Scalia got to decide the winner.

Democrats have been pussy-footing their way through the last five years, hoping that poll numbers would take the place of actually putting forth a strong front. They don't have a Will to Power strategy. They have a Cower to Power strategy. As in, let's just stay out of the way, here in the shadows, waiting to be last people standing.

Hey, centrist Democrats! Have you noticed that this isn't working? Yes, Bush's numbers are down. But if you don't rise up to seize the moment, people might forget that you even exist.

Let's get it together to sink the Bush battleship instead of hoping it hits a few more iceburgs. Go Feingold!

Bowing to the King

Fineman: Maverick McCain Changes Tactics - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com

OK, Bush is struggling, but he's still got a core of ridiculously wealthy and ridiculously uninformed Repugnants who will stick with him no matter how imcompetent he is. (To the monied, he gave more of the same. To the uninformed, he just has to lie and look as stupid as they are.) With all the money and stupidity, the two things the modern GOP is built on, still sticking with Bush, he is the King. The nomination goes through him. He whom Bush knights gets the money, the stupidity, and the nomination all in one. That's what McCain wants more than anything, so he's going to go after it by kissing the ring--and probably anything else he can get his lips on.

McCain probably won't get the nod no matter how much he kisses up, as Mr. Fineman points out in the article. You cross Bush once, you're an enemy forever. That's the way it is with Bush. He is the King, after all.

What a sad end to McCain's career. Knowing what we know now, anyone in his or her right mind would have picked McCain over Bush five years ago. What McCain knows, though, is that it's not those in their right mind that matter when you're a Republican these days.

If they can't serve one way, maybe they'll serve another

Alter: Bush Hypocrisy on National Service - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com

Ah, the photo-op kiss of death again! If Dubya comes out to lift a shovel with you, it means he's also going to hammer a nail in your program. Because when he's done getting his picture taken, he'll put down the shovel, climb back into Air Force One, and figure the government (his personal property) has gotten all it needs out of that program.

The larger story, though, is that Bush really seems to have it in for those who actually make a difference for our country. If you serve in the military, you get stuck with lower benefits, for example. And, lest I forget, your one weekend a month and two weeks a year may very well turn into the rest of your natural life. Same goes for people who serve as volunteers, perhaps without the part about getting killed.

Or maybe he just has to cut these types of programs so he can help recruitment efforts for the military. If you cut off enough opportunities to peacefully serve for very little money, then maybe becoming cannon fodder is the best option.

Former Bush Aide Charged in Felony Theft - Claude Allen had recently resigned as White House domestic-policy adviser. By Rachel�Shteir

Former Bush Aide Charged in Felony Theft - Claude Allen had recently resigned as White House domestic-policy adviser. By Rachel�Shteir

I'm never surprised anymore when an ultra-right winger gets arrested for some "random" felony. I've always thought the people who are so against others are actually suffering from at least three common mental perturbations.

1. Insecurity. Most of the time, guys who are gay-bashers really hate to be around gay guys. Why? They're afraid somehow that they're going to be hit on. But why are they afraid of this? Maybe because they'll "break down" and say yes.

2. Hate. This one seems obvious. Of course, they usually use the Bible to say that it's really "Love" they are acting on. But, come on, who doesn't think these right-wingers are acting on hate. When Love is around, you can do nothing but accept the moment and feel good.

3. Entitled Superiority. They do the right things in their moral life, or so they think, so they are entitled to things "Others" don't deserve. Therefore, the rules don't really apply to them, and they are constantly trying to figure out ways go around the norms that apply to everyone else.

Put these three together, and you've got the amalgam for a Shakespearean fatal flaw, which takes various form due to the conclusions of a disturbed stream of consciousness.

We're just lucky they don't all become serial killers. Oh wait, maybe they have. They just prefer to call it a War on Terror. That they have so many going along with them on it is pretty frightening.

What Inspires You?

Bin Laden�s niece to star in reality show - REALITY TV - MSNBC.com

OK, I'm fine with the young bin Laden being in a reality show. What made me nearly lose my lunch were her picks of musical influenes: U2, Depeche Mode, The Cure and The Cranberries. Combine those together and you've got some major suck. It was a visceral reaction.

Are they just making it up?

Administration asks Congress to up debt limit - Stocks & Economy - MSNBC.com

I noticed that the new federal debt limit is going to be increased. Oh, wait. I guess the President is actually asking that it be increased, as if that won't happen or something. This story mentions that it might go to...oh, let's just say $8.99...trillion. Not a penny more and surely not a penny less, like a K-Mart special. Less than 9 trillion? Sign me up!

Is the President Easy to Dupe?

Following up on the theme of Bush doing business with a handshake, we have today's visit to Pakistan. The situation is highly tense, as it's clear that al Queda has made its base of operations on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan and is widely supported by many people in this highly anti-American country. To effectively govern his people, then, Musharraf has to appear not to be too pro-American while simultaneously saying he is against the war on terror.

This morning on NPR, Don Gonyeah said the President acknowledged that he went to Pakistan to determine "whether or not Musharraf was as committed as he was in the past to bringing terrorist to justice." Bush also said he was satisfied that Musharraf was indeed doing his best.

Here we have another example of Bush thinking he can just stare down someone and know their convictions, almost like he's psychic or touched by God with the ability to discern the Truth of All Things. Bush seems more reliant on this method than he is with facts.

Is it possible that everyone knows this and actively dupes him? If he doesn't rely on facts, then actions don't actually speak louder than words with him. Instead, it's the actual words that make the most difference. We seem to know about where bin Laden is, but if Musharraf says he can't find him, well, that must be the truth of the matter.

We seem to have ineffective national security preparation (Katrina, 9/11), but since someone has told Bush they're truly committed to a safer America, it will all be OK.

We know that Bush himself is comfortable with lying through his teeth, but he also seems either comfortable with, or at least not willing to investigate, others doing the same thing right to his face. He feels better after a meeting with Musharraf, but should anybody else?

Bushness As Usual

With the Dubai Ports deal, we see a typical Bush response. It's all about who he feels he can do business with. The Bushes have always had ties with Arabs in the Middle East. Bush senior has used his relationships with them to build a nice portfolio through the Carlyle Group--likely to the tune of $100 million. It's hard not to feel comfortable when that kind of money is on the line.

The way the Bushes do business is not with due diligence. It's with a handshake, a wink, and the willingness to exact precise, forceful revenge on anyone who isn't loyal to them. If the Dubai sheiks tell the Bushes they don't support terrorist regimes, that's all that matters. If the facts are different, they assume that the sheiks will value the business relationship over the politics in the future, and they're OK with that.

The reason we attacked Iraq was clearly not because of a threat to the U.S. Saddam was in no position to do that. The reason we attacked them was because the Bushes could no longer do business with Saddam. (They had been able to in the 80s.) Something about an assassination attempt on Bush I seems to have been the breaking point.

And the Bushes want to do business everywhere they can. By getting rid of Saddam, they will feel comfortable doing business again in a place with vast proven oil reserves. And oil reserves eventually translate into business dollars, even if it takes a couple of decades to get them going. They take the long view on these matters.

Bush's Assurances

Bush is fond of saying something to the effect of, "We'll be sending you everything we've got to make sure you're going to be OK." That should be a sure sign to start worrying even more than you have before. Why? Because it means he's already checked out on the issue at hand.

The most recent example, of course, is his videotaped response to the threat of Katrina. He heard the evidence that there was going to be a major disaster, and when he had heard enough, he rattled off the same old "please know that the federal government is fully prepared to help." What is the evidence he makes these statements on? It seems like he just says it because he's done listening and has to say *something*.

Bush has delegated his entire presidency this way. With the Dubai Ports sale, he wasn't even aware of the deal before he said that his administration had fully vetted it. When Bremer briefed him about what was going on in Iraq, he said "We will not fail", or some such idiocy.

The problem is that everybody in the Bush administration thinks somewhere down the line is someone who is going to take responsibility and actually get the job done. But since he's replaced qualified people with cronies, it's now cronies all the way down.

What Strikes Me...

will be a blog dedicated to my take on the important points of current events. It will probably focus on the strikingly abhorrent behavior of our current Bush Administration, as I'm constantly knocked off my feet by the small and big things that brush off him.