The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: Are We Stingy? Yes: "resident Bush finally roused himself yesterday from his vacation in Crawford, Tex., to telephone his sympathy to the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, and to speak publicly about the devastation of Sunday's tsunamis in Asia"

It occurred to me that this delay is a parallel to the Presidents 7 minutes in front on children on 9/11/01.

CNN.com - Bush monitors earthquake damage - Dec 27, 2004: "Bush also spent time clearing brush at his ranch and thinking about what he'll say in his inaugural speech and upcoming State of the Union address"


I'm not certain off the appropriateness of the following comparison. I apologize for not finding the reason sooner, if in the future I'm convinced that this comparison is wrong.

The article reported that 22,000 lives were lost. 3,000 American died and the President went to war. This President is alleged to be a compassionate conservative. Apparently, to this President, the price of an American is higher than 3 lives from ay other part of the world.

The lack of a reaction by the President supports the notion that political power means more to the Republicans than governance or humanity.

This is a harsh thing to say. Perhaps even unfair. Fairness is not a part of the Republican ideology.

In a slight change of thought - on Bill Moyer's last "NOW", a Republican advocate indicated that "journalism is opinion". That explains the FOX news organization. But what about cut and try facts. I can understand the logic that indicate perception is always part of reporting any fact. But what kind of opinion is involved with reporting a score or the results of an election?

Based on that show, then it can be said that Republicans do not believe in dry facts can be of value to Americans. So that if the Eagles win a football, it is a matter of opinion, not of fact. So if there are no WMD's it is a matter of opinion not fact.
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KR Washington Bureau | 12/20/2004 | Harsh interrogations in Iraq went beyond FBI standards, memo says: "We have also instructed our personnel not to participate in interrogations by military personnel which might include techniques authorized by executive order but beyond the bounds of FBI practices,"

Remember journalism is opinion

So when the following is indicated:

"White House officials also said the memo's reference to an executive order from the president was a mistake.

"No such executive order exists or has ever existed," said Frederick Jones, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

Then can I say I can feel comfortable that the White House is not expressing fact - but simply their opinion?

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NOW with Bill Moyers. Transcript. December 17, 2004 | PBS: "HANNITY [10/29/04]: Why would Osama bin Laden, who's been quiet for so long, come out and virtually try and influence the election today in favor of John Kerry by attacking the president the way he did?
MOYERS: Do you think what Sean Hannity said is fair?
VIGUERIE: Oh, absolutely.
MOYERS: But there's no fact to back that up. There's no effort to substantiate that with documentation.
VIGUERIE: That's what journalism is. It's just all opinion. Just opinion. "

My take on this:

Journalism is Opinion.
That's what he said
Journalism is Opinion.

So according to the Republicans we do not need facts.
We don't need documentation according to Republicans
We don't need accountability according to the Republicans, because any information that is reported is just opinion, not fact. And since the Republicans are in control their opinion is all that matters.

Sounds an awful lot like the Soviet Union information machine during the Cold War.

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TIME.com: Will Iran Win Iraq's Election?: "Will Iran Win Iraq's Election?
Probably not, but Tehran may do better than Washington when Iraqis vote "

My guess is that Sistani or the Shiite majority that sides with a more theocratic form of governance will win. The Iraqi silent majority that is afraid to publicly support the radical insurgents will find it reasonable to vote against the perception of an occupation force.

Isn't this the worst case scenario that was a concern during the pre-war?
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The pattern of discontent in US ranks | csmonitor.com: "Evidence includes numbers of deserters (reportedly in the thousands), resignations of reserve officers, lawsuits by those whose duty period has been involuntarily extended, and a refusal to go on dangerous missions without proper equipment. There's also been a willingness at grunt level to publicly challenge the Pentagon - as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld found out recently in a trip to the war zone, where he got an earful about unarmored humvees"

The above item is just another indication of folks not wanting to work with President Bush.

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The New York Times > International > Europe > Britain's Highest Court Overturns Anti-Terrorism Law: "Britain's highest court ruled today that the British government cannot indefinitely detain foreigners suspected of terrorism without charging or trying them, and called the process a violation of European human rights laws."

If it is a violation of European human rights then how can President Bush be so right?

FT: Greenspan spurns Treasury Secretary feeler - Dec. 16, 2004: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was asked by senior Republicans if he was interested in becoming Treasury Secretary, but rejected the suggestion, a British newspaper reported Thursday.
The Financial Times said on its Web site, citing people familiar with the talks, that the informal approach reflected concern that current Treasury Secretary John Snow was not the most effective leader to sell President Bush's ambitious second-term economic agenda. "

Poor George - no one wants to work with him.

The New York Times > Washington > Defense Missile for U.S. System Fails to Launch: "An important test of the United States' fledgling missile defense system ended in failure early Wednesday as an interceptor rocket failed to launch on cue from the Marshall Islands, the Pentagon said."

I was going to add this to the dumping on Republicans.

But I want to be fair and balanced - so I checked the Republican news organizations for this same story. This story is not being reported on those sites. I accept that there might be a tilt of the NYtimes to the left. But until now, I assumed that there was more or a commonality to the stories being covered. I assumed that it was a matter of emphasis, and presentation of content that took on Republican/Democratic or right/left angles.

This is something I can follow - track the stories that are in common and those that are not.

wnbc.com - News - Newark Airport Screeners Spot -- Then Lose -- Fake Bomb: "Despite an hours-long search Tuesday night, the bag, containing a fake bomb complete with wires, a detonator and a clock, made it onto an Amsterdam-bound flight."

This is not the rule, but there have been enough of these kinds of stories to make this ordinary. Combine this with Bernie Kerik and Homeland Security - and you feel safe because....why?

Oh that's right because President Bush said so. And we know he has not been wrong - he's a leader - leaders can never be wrong or questioned.

"I feel much better now" - John Astin from the TV show Night Court.

New York Post Online Edition: commentary: "One thing is clear: This man had serious issues with impulse control.
The Kerik-Regan pairing may look unlikely � she's Vassar-bred, he's a high-school dropout. But two friends used almost identical terms to describe the duo. 'They are male and female versions of the same people,' they said of the 'power-addicted' couple. "

Republican's - Strong - but without impulse control - this image was a good man according to the President!

GOP Pushes Rule Change to Protect DeLay's Post (washingtonpost.com): "House Republicans adopted the indictment rule in 1993, when they were trying to end four decades of Democratic control of the House, in part by highlighting Democrats' ethical lapses. They said at the time that they held themselves to higher standards than prominent Democrats such as then-Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (Ill.), who eventually pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to prison. "

I've been reminded of the double standard or hypocritical natures of Republicans. While I noted the rule change for Tom Delay when it happened, I failed to mention Mr. Rostenkowski.

Republicans don't get it - keeping wrong elements out of the system is more important than control of the system. Republicans seem to think that if they can control it, then they can protect it.

What's wrong with this picture?

Philadelphia Daily News | 12/14/2004 | Vallas, cops apologize for girl's arrest: "State Rep. John Taylor, however, said 'discretion has proven to be flawed in the past... I'd rather see them have a strict adherence to the law. It's not left up to anyone's discretion,' said the Philadelphia Republican."

The Republican party strikes again. This story combined with another recent story about the F16 pilot that accidentally shot a school further supports the perspective that Republicans have issues that they have not acknowledged. So it is ok to shoot up a school with a fifty caliber vulcan canon, but it is not ok to get caught with scissors in that school?

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Judges as Plumbers: "Liberals may now be fearful of opposing mindless media hatred, but why are principled conservatives not aroused by imperial judges? The founders ensured freedom of the Fourth Estate as a check against the powers of all three branches of central government. Most states are doing their part. Pass that federal shield law before a judiciary on steroids throws Strike 3. "


Mr. Safire don't get it - Mr. Bush and the neocon's are not about governance. They are about power. It is about complete and total control by a few - and I'm not talking about political power. I'm talking about imperial kinds of power.

The New York Times > Washington > Hearts and Minds: Pentagon Weighs Use of Deception in a Broad Arena

If the pentagon is not going to be truthful, and there are no WMD, what good is the first amendment? Why is this not a violation of that paradigm? What is reality? Is it reserved for only the faithful and patriotic?

This is a concern and should not be dismissed.

USATODAY.com: "This rapid decentralization is creating �a tribe of people who not only don't work in cities, they don't commute to cities or go to the movies in cities or have any contact with urban life,� writes New York Times columnist David Brooks. The exurbs they inhabit, he says, �have broken free of the gravitational pull of the cities and now exist in their own world far beyond.�
Here's what we ought to be asking: Is this world sustainable? Is it even what we want? And what is the alternative?"

Welcome to Newtown, Pa.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: Talking Our Way to Peace: "It is encouraging to witness the quick response from the White House, particularly when President Bush stood with Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain shortly after his re-election and said that he wanted to establish an independent Palestinian state living in peace and security next to Israel. 'I intend to use the next four years to spend the capital of the United States on such a state,' he said.
While the United States cannot dictate the terms of peace to either party, it can and should actively promote the resumption of negotiations. The time to start is now.
- James A. Baker III was secretary of state from 1989 to 1992."


If the policy of pursuit of power for the sake of power exists in the White House, the anticipated action is inaction. To negotiate means to offer something that is perceived to be an advantage for the other side. This is weakness. Weakness is not power.

There is also the prediction that it is too daunting a problem and therefore success cannot be gauranteed. Without that assurance, nothing will be done.

IOL: Science & Tech: "Blog will be a new entry in the 2005 version of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. The complete list of words of the year is available at www.merriam-webster.com - Reuters"

The transition from the old world to the new world continues. The marriage of technology and society and specifically politics continues to deepen in intimacy.

Good Stuff!

CNN.com - Pentagon debate rages over 'information operations' in Iraq - Dec 2, 2004

Further evidence that the Republican party and specifically the Bush administration is not a straight forward as they indicate.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: The 9/11 Bubble: "It is now clear to me that we have followed the dot-com bubble with the 9/11 bubble. Both bubbles made us stupid. The first was financed by reckless investors, and the second by a reckless administration and Congress. In the first case, the public was misled by Wall Street stock analysts, who told them the old rules didn't apply - that elephants can fly. In the second case, the public was misled by White House economists, peddling similar nonsense. The first ended in tears, and so will the second. Because, as the dot-com bubble proved, elephants can fly - 'provided it is not very long.' "


I like Tom Friedman - he uses logic and reason.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: The 9/11 Bubble: "'The 9/11 crisis has been used as a license to spend and cut taxes rather than to set priorities and focus our resources on what is critically important to our nation's security,' said Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International."

Let's remember that it is the Republican party that is in total control. This comment supports the notion that the Republican Neo-cons are into gaining power rather than benefit of the nation as a whole.

MSNBC - Four More Years to Finally Get It Right: "After the 2000 debacle, one might have expected that our leaders would move mountains to make the next election an exemplary one. The fact that we cannot convince the doubters proves otherwise. Don't call them paranoid, but recognize their passion for fairly run, accurately tabulated elections. If only their zeal were more contagious. "

This conclusion is something that is what should be in center of a patriotic heart.

Alas it is not.