Bush and the Bush Administration - Not Talking

Today has been an awful day in Iraq, and I can’t bring myself to talk about it too much. Hundreds of people killed, and the possible start of a civil war, all of which wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t invaded. Just so incredibly sad.

Anyway, I want to talk about something else instead. A large uproar has erupted in the media and in Congress over the plan to allow the change of ownership of a number of our country’s largest ports to a company that is owned by the United Arab Emirates. In case you have missed it, the Bush Administration has been reviewing the plan, and decided that it did not pose a risk to security, and therefore could go ahead. Congress has been incensed because they believe that handing our ports over to a foreign Arabic national company is dangerous, and they are incensed because they weren’t consulted.

Bush has replied that everything has been checked out, and has accused the opponents of the plan of being racist. He said that he doesn’t understand why anyone would have no problem with a British company running our ports (which they do) while objecting to a Dubai company running our ports.

The truth is that we can’t have any faith in his judgment on this issue because he didn’t even find out about it until the controversy had already started and he saw it on the news! I am not talking about him finding out about the controversy, I am saying he didn’t even know about the deal until he saw it on the news. This is simply amazing!!

The Bush Administration has so little faith in Congress (or respect for that matter), that they never inform them about anything they are doing; whether it is wiretapping outside the law, or torturing suspects. In this case, they didn’t even have faith in or respect for Bush, as he was not even informed about the decision. At first I find that incredible, but then again this is Bush we are talking about, and does anyone believe anymore that he is actually running the show?

Personally, I think Congress has the right idea. I do not believe that a company should be excluded from running U.S. ports simply because they are a foreign based company, or because of where they are based. The big difference here though is that this is not just some normal multinational. This is a company that is owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates. Do we really want our ports being run by a foreign government? Whether they are Britain or Iran, I don’t think we really should feel comfortable about that.

Congress is asking simply for a delay so they can examine the issue. That is what they were elected for, unlike the unelected members of Bush’s cabinet. I think that is a good idea, and maybe everything will come up roses. The scary thing right now is the thought that a bunch of unelected bozos in the White House have the ability to make these kinds of decisions without informing any elected official, including their boss the President. That makes my blood boil, and scares me to death. What other decisions are they making that we never find out about?

Tax cuts and spending cuts

Quick post today, mostly to simply mark the passing of a disastrous spending cut bill yesterday in Congress. The House yesterday approved President Bush's spending cuts along party lines. They totaled 39 billion dollars, and by far disproportionately effected the poorest in our society. This of course in contrast to the tax cuts over the last 5 years, which disproportionately effected the wealthiest in our society. The largest tax cuts were for Medicaid and student loans.

I find it immoral and abhorrent to cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans while taking away vital programs that assist the poor. Education is the best way to break the poverty cycle, and Medicaid is the last hope for the poor hoping for medical assistance. But instead of making sure these vital programs are available, we have to give tax cuts to the wealthiest, who have only got insanely more wealthy over the last 5 years.

The republicans will of course tell you that we need these cuts to curtail the growing deficit, and that these will help control outrageous spending. They will fail to remind you that the reason we have these deficits (after years of surpluses under Clinton) is because Bush decided to cut our nations income with tax cuts, and invade another country for billions of dollars.

This is exactly the kind of issue that just makes me so sad. We need to have a fairer and more equitable society, and we just squander every opportunity.

Now for the total conspiracy theory. One theory I have heard is that Bush's cuts to student loans is a direct response to lowered enlistment in the military. All branches of the military have been having a hell of a time meeting their goals (no surprise why) and this is in an effort to help boost that enlistment. How does this work? Well poor people who want to get an education have three options. Scholarships, student loans, and joining the military to get the military to pay for your education. This spending cut removes one of the options, so that if a lower income kid wants to go to school, they are now less likely to have an alternative to joining the military.

While I believe that it is very unlikely that Bush planned it this way, it will be a happy side effect in his book.

Anyway, we need to remember to emphasize that Bush's spending cuts for the poor are directly related to his tax cuts for the rich. We need to do something!