The Fulcrum

Friday, February 27, 2004

Medical Privacy - Again 

Ashcroft and his merry band of records raiders are at it again. I've written (here and here) about their attempts at intimidating doctors and women's health clinics by attempting to subpoena medical records of women who've had abortions. Their previous attempts were quashed by the courts, but that hasn't stopped them from trying again - this time at Planned Parenthood clinics. Planned Parenthood is a co-litgant in a lawsuit alleging that the current law restricting some abortion procedures is overbroad and dangerous because it includes no provisions for the health of the woman.

I can't think of an area where Americans have more concerns over privacy than in their dealings with doctors. Look at all the regulations around use and release of health records. Think about how you have to sign an acknowledgement about privacy of records even at the pharmacy. You even have to sign releases so that your GP can share your records with a specialist. And yet, John and his boys are trying to ride roughshod over privacy concerns in further attempts at intimidation.

Read more about it here.

Then visit the Planned Parenthood site; support them if you're able.


Atrios Unveiled 

Sort of.

It's a good hook, though. Via Corrente, I found this article about a Philadelphia reporter who actually interviewed the man who was the inspiration for my blogging aspirations.

NOTE:I have a post percolating in my brain - it's been there for about a month now - about the big, liberal bloggers. Maybe I should finally write the thing...


Thursday, February 26, 2004

A Worst Case Scenario 

Evidence of what our future would look like after another four years of Total Republican Power can be found all around. It is, I think, a future that looks more like "The Matrix" or "1984" than the world we'd like to leave to the next generation. Words that come to mind are bleak, oppressive, feudal, medieval. I want to try to draw some threads together to weave this potential, dismal tapestry. It's true that the threads I've gathered here are the worst, but they are not unrepresentative.

"Are there not prisons and workhouses?"

BushCo have already promised their staunchest allies that they will make their tax cuts - perversely skewed to the richest Americans - permanent. As if the playing field is not already tilted in their favor, these tax breaks will ensure the widening of the already cavernous gulf between the rich and the rest. Tax cuts, abatements and loopholes for corporations are obscene by any rational measure; and the pandering to business by members of this administration would be embarrassing to any politician (or should be), but considering the complex of connections between corporations and this administration, they are literally obscene.

The results of these economic policies will be the purposeful, willful starving of the federal government of tax revenues. You'll get no Republican to admit it anymore, but their goal is truly to shrink the government and all of its programs, save defense, so that it is, as Grover Norquist opined, "small enough to drown in a bathtub." If you think this is preposterous, you need only listen to Alan Greenspan speak of how best to fix the record-breaking deficits caused by his "master's" tax cuts. He recommends: not repealing the tax cuts, not making current bureaucracies more efficient. No. He recommends cutting future entitlements from Social Security. He wants to finance the government deficit on the backs of poor elderly people.

"Your papers are not in order!"

Already, in an attempt at making Americans think they are serious about "Homeland Security," we have to endure ridiculous searches at airports. Some, identified by some process, are subjected to closer inspection. These typically include old women in wheel chairs, young families with children and professionals in suits. But efforts have been underway by the Department of Homeland Security to develop more intrusive methods of screening airline passengers. Early efforts have been met by howls of protest by passengers and civil libertarians, but make no mistake about it; should BushCo be reelected, CAPPS II or something very much like it will be implemented. Every time you fly, John Ashcroft and his cronies will be looking at your travel history, your credit history, and - if they can get away with it - what books you recently checked out at the library.

I don't have the link as I write this, but recently I read a news item where a man was arrested because he had no identification to show police while he was out in public - and doing nothing illegal. There are no laws against being in public without ID - yet. But you can count on such a thing under four more years of Bush. Something will happen, another terrorist attack, a flood of refugees from some place who's problems we've ignored for too long; and suddenly it will be possible to be accosted on the street, while doing nothing more than walking to work, and be asked for "your papers."

"A witch, a witch! Burn her at the stake!"

"Defense of Marriage Act." A constitutional amendment defining marriage as between heterosexuals only. "Faith-based" charities. The Ten Commandments in government buildings. "The Southern Strategy." Bob Jones University. "We are a Christian nation..."

Bush promised to be a uniter, not a divider during his 2000 campaign. Since then he has proven to be exactly the opposite. Although ignored for much of his first term, Shrubby has decided that he needs - as he did in 2000 - to whip up the passions of the far right to procure their votes. So now we have the specter of this ignorant, small minded man attempting to get his bigotry codified in one of the noblest documents ever to be written. Regardless of what they say, the Joint Resolution, as written, will make it not only illegal for gays to be legally considered married, but it will make civil unions or other legal "work-arounds" illegal as well. Don't listen to the rhetoric from the right; read the resolution carefully: civil unions will be illegal as well.

Republicans and the religious right want to be the first group in our history to build bigotry and hatred into our Constitution. And they will not stop there. More and more, religion will creep into everyday government. Already listening to Bush speak is like listening to some southern preacher; his speeches are littered with references and allusions to religion. Many are like code words, with one meaning to most and another, often completely opposite meaning, to those "in the know." There is an inherent hatred of "the other" in all of their rhetoric. Reelecting Bush will ensure four more years of them chipping away at abortion rights, at public education, at affirmative action, at anything that would seek to empower those that have been discriminated against.

"...Have dominion over the world..."

Is there a law, program or department dealing with environmental concerns or protections that BushCo and their oil industry cronies have not weakened, subverted or underfunded? They stack scientific review committees with people employed by industries that the committees are likely to review, they ignore consensus science on the environment on peaking oil production, on stem cell research, on birth control and on abortion. Their co-conspirators, the religious right, are intent on subverting public education, making it either impotent or bending it to their sectarian teachings.

Everything that they touch - like Midas in a Tim Burton version of the story - turns to soot. "Healthy Forests" means logging and clear-cutting. "Clear Skies" means allowing corporations to increase the amount of pollutants in the air. Nothing anyone from this administration says on environmental concerns can be taken at face value. You will more often be correct if you take the exact opposite of their slogans to be true. This past week, in fact, the entire administration is completely and actively ignoring a Defense Department study and recommendation on the catastrophic national security effects of global warming and attendant climactic changes.

"Cry, 'havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war!"

If you are at all current in reading about the "power behind the throne" that is the Neo-conservative movement in the Republican party, you know that one of the key tenets of their philosophy is that not only is the US the world's policeman (going completely against decades of Republican sentiment), but that it is our "destiny" to spread a pax Americana around the world by military means.

Afghanistan, in the wake of 9-11 was very likely a necessary war; although the more likely suspects were in Pakistan and most of the highjackers were from Saudi Arabia. Still, there was evidence that the Taliban were involved. The justification for the invasion of Iraq was a complete fabrication and our military is bogged down in a costly and deadly quagmire. But the neo-cons are not satisfied; Iran is in their sights. Syria is likely on their list as well - if not directly then through regional proxies. Because the military is proving too lean to fight all of these neo-imperial wars, I would fully expect a second term Bush to revive the draft.

Four more years of BushCo will likely mean four more years of war in some fashion. And this despite the fact that Iraq is proving daily that their reach exceeds their grasp.

"Bleak despair..."

I'm no soothsayer; I don't know for certain what the Ides of March will bring. I can't say with any certainty that if Bush is reelected that any of what I've described will happen. But in this case I do believe that "past performance does predict future performance."

Hopefully, in four years we will be looking back on aWol's one term as a thankfully failed experiment, while we work to reelect a Democratic president to his second term. Or we can look back with regret at having not worked hard enough to defeat Bush and his corporate cronies, mourning the loss of our youngest generation to endless wars, regretting the rollback of civil liberties and decrying the loss of our freedom to travel.

Preventing even the possibility of the dark, bleak future that lies at the end of the neo-con path is up to all of us.

VOTE.


Wednesday, February 25, 2004

New In The Blogroll 

I don't always post about adding a new blog to my blogroll. This time, however, I think it's important that I do so.

Via Tom Tomorrow, I found Outsourced America. Posting only since early in February, "The Outsourced American" has put together a great single issue blog that's well worth your time. This is not a pleasant subject; so close to home for many of us. But it is important.

Go check him out.


Bush Bigotry II 

So, aWol comes out in favor of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages and the cockroaches scurry out of the woodwork. House and Senate majority leaders were crowing to the news cameras that they were confident they could get the resolution passed. I didn't see them, but my skin was crawling, so I assume that the religious-right-wingnuts were all abuzz at the news as well.

I wanted to write a post about what kind of choice Shrubby-boy has given Americans; he's always talking about the stark choice we will have come the November elections. But thanks to NTodd over at Dohiyi Mir, I don't have to. Check out this post; it's really only two pictures and a caption for each, but it says more about what that stark choice really is than any 1,000 words I could ever write.

I think the choice is pretty easy to make and I think my fellow citizens will think so as well.

Go see what I mean.


Tuesday, February 24, 2004

Bush Bigotry [UPDATED] 

According to MSNBC, the miscreant in our White House will announce his support of a Constitutional Amendment (H.J.RES.56) banning same-sex marriage tomorrow.

Not satisfied that gays are already one of the most vilified and discriminated against groups in the country, Bush, in a bow to his far-right wingnut base wants to codify their bigotry and hatred by desecrating one of the most admired documents in history: our Constitution. This is a document that, throughout its history, has been a beacon of freedom. That history has not always been perfect, but the trend has been towards a greater protection of equality for all, towards a greater provision and protection of rights to Americans.

No matter how the amendment is phrased, no matter what Rethugs say about their intentions, no matter how mealy-mouthed Democrats blather on about marriage versus "civil unions," this is about denying equal protection under the law to a group of people. It would be a direct repudiation of the 14th amendment. It would be a horrid stain on the source of all of our freedoms.

What can you do? Write and/or call your congress person. Write and/or call the White House. Write letters to your local newspaper. Call in to local talk shows. If you love this country, if you really want to "protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," if you love your freedoms - then exercise the responsibilities that come along with them!

Congress.org has a search function allowing you to get the addresses and phone numbers of everyone in the federal government you might want to contact. Go there now. Tell them all that you want to protect and enhance rights and freedom for all citizens, NOT to restrict them.

Go now!

UPDATE:The following is the text of the letter I sent to my representatives in Congress through the Congress.org website. I hope you've clicked through and sent a letter as well.

When I entered West Point in 1979, and again when I entered the Regular
Army in 1983, I took an oath to "...protect and defend the constitution of
the United States..." so did President Bush. I am not as familiar with the
oaths - if any - required upon being seated as a member of Congress, but I
would imagine the intent is much the same.

I believe that the above House Joint Resolution is a direct attack on the
Constitution which it is all of our duties to defend. If this resolution
passes, an amendment is sent to the states for ratification and it passes,
it would be the first amendment to restrict the rights of a group of
citizens in the modern history of that document.

I urge you to vote against this resolution, I urge you to fight it in any
way that you can. Do not fall prey to those who would codify their hatred
and bigotry into a document that has been a beacon of freedom to our
citizens and to the people of the world since it was first written.

Thank you for your consideration in this incredibly important matter.

Sincerely,


Charles O. Perez


It's Going to Be a Dirty Fight 

Via Dohiyi Mir, we get an early idea of just how nasty the Rethugs are going to be this election. Not like we really needed a reminder, but this one is especially egregious; once again a BushCo. official is tainting all who oppose it as terrorists.

This is not the usual "with us or agin' us" bullshit we've come to expect from the Repugs. This time, Secretary of Education Rod Paige actually said that the national teachers' union, The NEA, were a terrorist organization. The remark was confirmed by several state governors, attending a private White House meeting on education. Paige, of course, said that he and the administration support "ordinary teachers," attempting to divorce teachers from the union they belong to.

While the governors, at least the Democrats among them, were surprised by this turn of phrase, I don't think any of us should be. This has been the way of the thugs in BushCo all along: tar with the widest possible brush all those who disagree with you. Democrats at all levels, but especially whoever wins the party nod for President should be planning for this to be an exceptionally dirty campaign. History has shown that Rove and his sock-puppet are fully capable of running the nastiest of campaigns. I hope everyone is ready.


Monday, February 23, 2004

It's What You Know, Not Who You Know... 

Sure it is.

Seems that Halliburton is feeling the heat from all its scandals and its links to Dick "The Dick" Cheney. So they've started running TV ads claiming that despite all appearances, despite all facts, they got the high profile, no-bid, cost-plus contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan not because Cheney used to be their CEO, not because they still pay Cheney a deferred salary, not because having an ex-CEO in the White House gives them unprecedented access to decisions, not because they've contributed over $800,000 to Republican campaign coffers in just the past year.

Nope.

Apparently they got those contracts "because of what we know, not who we know."

Of course "what they know" is how to overcharge for gasoline, how to charge for meals not actually served to troops, how NOT to keep their field kitchens clean and how to line Rethugs' pockets to keep their mouths shut.

But while trying to clean up their public image, seems they are shining a light on the Republicans' involvement in the whole mess, not to their liking:

...the Halliburton spots - two are on the air so far - have created an awkward situation for the White House, which has not fallen over itself to embrace them. Mr. Cheney's office had no comment, and neither did the Bush campaign. But one Republican official close to the administration said the company was clearly thinking of itself, not the president's re-election.
Whoever that "Republican official" is, he seems to be implying that they expect some sort of quid-pro-quo that they are not getting. Imagine that. Are companies supposed to be "thinking of the president's re-election?" And why would this official expect that? Curiouser and curiouser.

Read all about it in today's New York Times.


Anybody But Bush 

I hadn't been able to decide what to put up in my sidebar under "For President" since Dr. Dean dropped his bid. For a while I just "draped" his Dean for America button with a black band; I guess sort of in mourning for the campaign. But I wanted something else there, something more forceful but still reflective of my ambilvalence towards the two frontrunners.

Being somewhat creative, and having a little time on my hand this weekend, I decided to make something. And that something turned out to be the "ABB" button you see to the right. For a first attempt at putting something like that together I'm rather happy with how it turned out.

For now it's a link to the Democrats.org website. That will definitely change later, when the candidate is selected.

If anyone out there likes it, please feel free to use it; but please put it on your own site's server - and I'd appreciate a link back and some sort of attribution. Thanks.


Sunday, February 22, 2004

HaloScan Trackback Enabled 

HaloScan has implemented a Trackback service with their commenting service. As much as people complain about HaloScan commenting, they've really done a great job supporting their user base; they respond quickly to bugs or problems and they really do provide a great service for the price.

Um...that would be free!

Actually, I should say, considering the price, they provide an amazing service. If you know how to use Trackback, go to it! If not, please visit the HaloScan site, they explain it much better than I ever could. Or visit Steve Bates over at The Yellow Doggerel Democrat - he explains it very simpley as well!


Stuff

Politics
Move On


Previous Posts

Google

Web The Fulcrum
Free Google Page Rank Checker

TTLB Ecosystem

Bloggers Parliament
Bloggers Parliament

Issues and Google Bombs
visit LIBERAL FORUM

Shopping

Directories

Site Stuff

Creative Commons License

The Fulcrum Archives

Refering Sites

Who Links to Me