quote:

Originally posted by AddictedTo1982 whatever you Pro Bush goob

i never said i was currently pro bush, but i guess you really were left behind in the education factor.

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When you start to criticize the times you live in, your time is over. ~Karl Lagerfeld

quote:

Originally posted by The Peach I'm an independant, but I'm married to a Bush supporter. Bush has been quite reckless with this country and a foul representation of America to the rest of the world. So why do people like Bush?... 1. First of all, he is labeled Republican...that instantly gathers support from the masses of lemming voters (people who side with political parties--repub or democ). 2. Secondly, Bush sympathizes with people who are afraid of losing what they feel are the right (literally) morals for American society. These are typically the church crowd. (Issues like abortion, sexuality, prayer in schools) 3. Third, Bush gets the rich vote for the most part. He is the all-time world record holder for the most corporate campaign donations. Also, The biggest lifetime contributor to Bush's campaign, who is also one of his best friends, presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation). 4. There are a handful of hardworking middle class people who support Bush, but personally their reasons seem to revolve around Bush's "I don't care what you think" attitude and the misconception that Bush supports the military (which being around the military my whole life I can attest to what he has done so far...cut bonuses and is planning to cut 25% of all military bases in 2005). And those who need a lesson in basic american economics...Lower taxes= not-so-good economy. I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at that for further discussion. -The Peachness

Well said Peach.

Besides the Fundamentlist policies, and the lies about Iraq, the cronyism is what pisses me off about the Bush Administration above anything else.

Recently he gave a mining company that contributed to his campaign federal land in the Rockies worth tens of millions for $875 - $5 dollars an acre.

That land belongs to every American, and he fucking gave it away for it to be decapitated by a mining company that gave him some campaign money.

It makes me wish for Nixon.

Last edited by DaveSZ on May-13-2004 at 07:38

This made me laff.

I like Grassley for being honest. He also criticized the Bush Administration when they witheld the results of an FDA study documenting increased sucided risk in children who take antidepressants - presumably to cover the backs of their campaign contributors in the pharma industry.




http://www.thehill.com/news/051304/oversight.aspx


Dems did oversight better, says Grassley
Lawmakers lament lack of scrutiny
By Geoff Earle


Several senior Republicans and Democrats say Congress has failed to carry out its critical role in overseeing the vast federal bureaucracy, falling particularly short since Republicans captured the White House in 2000.


file photo
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) says things were different in his brother’s day.

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The members say the problem of congressional neglect extends far beyond the latest revelations of national intelligence failures and prison abuse in Iraq, and touches virtually every federal function — from education programs to government contractors.

“We Republicans have never quite reached the level of competent oversight that the Democrats developed over their 40 years that they controlled Congress,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the Senate Finance Committee chairman and one of the few Republicans to pepper the administration regularly with inquiries. “We tried to emphasize legislating, and we’ve delegated so much authority to the executive branch of government, and we ought to devote more time to oversight than we do.”

When your party controls Congress and the White House, “You get less oversight,” said Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), who chairs the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee. “That’s the way it goes.”

But it wasn’t always this way, said Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). “When my brother was attorney general, Sam Ervin questioned him for two and a half days on the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” he said, referring to the North Carolina Democrat’s hearings with Attorney General Bobby Kennedy. “Two and a half days!”

Kennedy said that back then, cabinet officials didn’t try to shirk opportunities to testify, as they sometimes do now. “There wasn’t a question of, ‘Look, I’ve got an appointment downtown,’” he said.

Powerful Democratic committee chairmen pursued a series of investigations into Clinton administration policies when they controlled Congress for the first two years of Clinton’s term. There were tense hearings on Whitewater and on Clinton’s controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on gays in the military.

Clinton “got clobbered by his Democratic members,” said a Democratic leadership aide. “Clinton couldn’t even get a health bill up for a vote, for Christ’s sake. It was his number-one priority.”

“The Republicans haven’t tried oversight,” said Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.). “These people will not do oversight of their administration.”

Observers describe a much more tightly knit relationship between leading congressional Republicans and President Bush, who has racked up a series of legislative victories and has yet to issue a veto of any legislation.

After the GOP gained control of the House and Senate in 1994, the Republicans followed up with robust investigations of the siege at Waco, Texas, and other matters. But Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), called many of these investigations “excessive” and “politically motivated.”

As chairman of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee (it has been renamed simply Government Reform), Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) also looked into fundraising abuses in the Clinton-Gore campaigns and investigated the FBI’s use in the 1960s of mobster informants. Burton signaled an interest in investigating the Bush administration on some issues, but he has since relinquished his chairmanship due to term limits.

Waxman said that when Republicans ran Congress and Democrats had the White House, “There was no allegation too small for them to issue subpoenas.” Now, he said, there is no scandal so big it won’t get overlooked.

Waxman, who serves on Government Reform and on Energy and Commerce, said that Democrats have sought hearings on federal contracting in Iraq, the outing of Valerie Plame’s CIA identity, the California energy crisis, and the administration’s energy task force — and that in each case, the GOP majority refused, except for a Government Reform hearing on the government-contracting issue.

Democrats on Government Reform recently sought an investigation of the role that private contractors played in the Iraqi prison abuse scandal. Davis, in an interview, didn’t close the door on such hearings, saying, “We’re going to look at it. It’ll be regular order.”

Davis cited an earlier hearing dealing with other issues surrounding contractors such as Halliburton as evidence that the committee was willing to pursue even topics that might make the administration look bad. “There was some anxiety,” he said, “but I wouldn’t say there was pressure” not to go forward.

At the same time, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have given the administration leeway to distribute funds appropriated for the war — although some members criticized the administration for dedicating hundreds of millions of dollars to prepare for the war in Iraq while providing only a brief notification to Congress.

“We’ve been so busy trying to get our bills passed through conference,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.). “It takes away from the time we should have been applying towards oversight.”

The ongoing hearings into the Iraqi abuse scandal may be the exception to the rule.

The hearings attracted worldwide attention when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testified. Senate Republicans had called for Rumsfeld to appear almost as soon as the scandal hit the airwaves. But members of the House Armed Services Committee showed no such urgency. The House members at first hoped to wait until after the weekend to schedule Rumsfeld’s appearance, only later switching the hearing to Friday, the same day the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing occurred.

In the last few years, the Senate generally has been more willing to pursue aggressive oversight than the House, with Grassley and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) often nipping at the administration’s heels. The House Energy and Commerce Committee also has played a role, but it often has focused on business issues like faulty Firestone tires and the controversial Super Bowl half-time show rather than government functions.

Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee wrote Chairman Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) in November seeking hearings on the new “No Child Left Behind” law. But no hearing has occurred. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee has conducted oversight of the new Homeland Security Department, but much of its work has been on consumer issues, such as an attention-grabbing hearing on “diploma mills.”

When oversight and hearings do occur, the results aren’t always as enlightening as they could be. At the Senate Armed Services hearings, each of 25 members on the panel got a brief chance to query Rumsfeld. But it was hard for any of them to pursue a line of questioning. Staff weren’t allowed to ask follow-up questions — as they were allowed to do in the Watergate hearings.

“This is a travesty that you get six minutes, and call that ‘advise and consent,’” Kennedy said. “In too many instances, the Congress has yielded too many of its prerogatives to the executive.”

Last edited by DaveSZ on May-13-2004 at 07:57

dave, trunks, et al...
i suppose one positive thing is that there are more people who feel the way we do than we think. i feel it is especially prevalent in the younger generation (teens-mid 20's)...which means there is hope for america considering that we will be the ones in office one day. trunks, i agree, it is hard to reason with some people. for example, i live in mississippi and it is hardcore republican and primarily because it is SO religious. they work really hard to keep this place like this and look at the fruits of their labor....terrible education system, very few middle class, rampant unemployment and illiteracy...etc. And another thing that just busts my buttons is the fact that bars close here at 12:30am. Hell, i'm used to going out at midnight.

Doing my part to piss off the religious right,
The Peach

quote:

Originally posted by The Peach dave, trunks, et al... i suppose one positive thing is that there are more people who feel the way we do than we think. i feel it is especially prevalent in the younger generation (teens-mid 20's)...which means there is hope for america considering that we will be the ones in office one day. trunks, i agree, it is hard to reason with some people. for example, i live in mississippi and it is hardcore republican and primarily because it is SO religious. they work really hard to keep this place like this and look at the fruits of their labor....terrible education system, very few middle class, rampant unemployment and illiteracy...etc. And another thing that just busts my buttons is the fact that bars close here at 12:30am. Hell, i'm used to going out at midnight. Doing my part to piss off the religious right, The Peach

Don't even get me started about the Fundies.

My favorite politician is actually Russ Feingold from Wisconsin. He was the only Senator to vote against the Patriot Act and the 'Assault' Weapons ban.

That's a man who believes in the Bill of Rights!

Last edited by DaveSZ on May-13-2004 at 09:32

Here is a question for you all.......
If you any of you had kids that were old enough to join the military right now.....would you let them? I know I wouldn't.

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id pop a few paint balls his way, and see what he thought about war then.

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Time exists so everything doesn't happen at once. Space exists so everything doesn't happen to you

I wouldnt let my son join. I actually would try to talk someone out of it if they mentioned to me they would like to join.

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Electronic Night Life
<3

i cannot believe i forced myself to look at the pictures from the video. i don't even know what to say to be honest. all i know is that it is getting so much worse over there, and if aaron goes there this year...a part of me will definitely die. it makes me physically sick to see the state our world is in.

^^^^Tell him to go AWOL!!!!

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Bush let a real bad light shine on the "Ameriqanis".

I sorta got the feeling he's doing all this just to make his dad be proud of him