AM Feed - June 14: Bush Visits Baghdad, But Has Anything Changed?
Hot Topics
- President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq yesterday to meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. News of the visit was kept secret until the last minute – at which point it became yet another photo op for the struggling President Bush. Bush was scheduled to talk with al-Maliki via video conference from Camp David, but instead he traveled to Baghdad under very tight security. The president promised continued support for Iraq, offering platitudes like, “When America gives its word, it keeps its word.” (Not including, apparently, any information regarding WMD.) But three years into this war, empty rhetoric has worn thin, and Bush once again did not provide any plans for dealing with the situation. [link]
- A new Harvard study has found that President Bush’s highly-touted No Child Left Behind policy will miss its goals by 2014. The legislation is failing to close racial achievement gaps (a large selling point by those in the Bush administration), and it has not had a major impact on improving achievement in reading and math since its introduction five years ago. The Harvard study determined that national reading achievement has continued on a flat trajectory, while increases in math achievement are continuing at the same rates as they were before the policy was introduced. Needless to say, the findings contradict claims made by the Bush White House regarding the legislation. [link]
- Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) has responded to news that he is under federal investigation by hiring a high-profile legal defense team. One of the members of Lewis’ team is none other than former Solicitor General Ted Olson. News of the investigation broke last month, and a federal grand jury has already subpoenaed some clients of the lobbying firm of former Rep. Bill Lowery, who has a close relationship with Lewis. Last week we learned that a former Lewis chief of staff (and current lobbyist) received 50 percent of the payment for her condo from a defense contractor. [link]
Morning Snark
- President Bush’s education policy isn’t producing any recognizable signs of progress and it’s going to miss its timetable and drag on for much longer than expected. You know what that means: Time to break out the flight suit and the “Mission Accomplished” banner!
Comment
- I’m still reeling about all these revelations about detainee torture and denial of Habeus Corpus and consequent detainee suicides in the Gitmo Gulag – this is Soviet Union style repression! Then some spokesman from the military had so little shame that he called the suicides an act of war and declared that it was a great PR stunt. I’m mad as hell, damn it!!! This is not the kind of country I’m going to settle for! I’m sending ever increasing amounts of money to the ACLU and Amnesty International. I urge everyone, if you can possibly afford to, to donate to these two groups as well as speaking out. I can’t stress this enough…
— John Jun 14, 11:27 # - The test scores for 12th graders in Science have become stagnant and our standing internationally has been eclipsed by nearly every other country compared. God forbid what the standing would be if schools start teaching intelligent design (whatever that is).
— Doyal Davis Jun 14, 11:28 # - According to the “polls” this morning, his rating has gone up since his little “surprise” visit. How would they know that so soon? They would say anything to make this man look better.
— Jeannine Jun 14, 11:28 # - Yeah, when Amerika gives it’s word it keeps it’s word – just ask an Indian.
— MO Jun 14, 11:39 # - Jeannine, that increase in Bush’s approval rating coupled with Rove’s smiling mug made me want to find something to bang my head on…
Doyal, these goofy standardized tests are just a facet of a whole set of problems this country faces educationally – I suppose the biggest part of the problem is that we live in a culture that worships ignorance and emphasizes gut instincts over reason. Anti-intellectualism, a prime component of any dictatorship, is on the march here in Amerikkka.
— John Jun 14, 11:47 # - MO,
Thanks for making that point. The U.S. has never honored any treaty it has signed and ratified with any Indian Nation.
— Healing Bear Jun 14, 11:51 # - So I guess the plan is working:
-Send all of the decent paying jobs overseas.
-Begin the uneducation of the Amerikan children, particularly in the sciences.
-Continue to deprive poor people of healthcare including no condoms, birth control or abortion options thusly insuring the infant mortality rate climbs.
-Build more prisons to put more poor people in.
-Deprive any opposition of the ability to vote or participate eventually doing away with the farce of having an election.
-Reward graft and lying and stealing from the Amerikan people.
-Punish and destroy the meek and anyone that speaks of peace and truth.
-Destroy the constitution (or sell it to the corporations for their own use).
Yup, Amerika is well on it’s way to becoming a third world country.
— MO Jun 14, 12:00 # - Right on, MO, right on…
— John Jun 14, 12:05 # - I hear ya MO. I keep wondering where are we going to be in 10 years. We will NOT be able to keep up with the costs of oil and gas. Meanwhile, mr. bushie is traveling around the world on our dime smiling and grinning like an idiot. And Karl Rove is now free to getting back to running and ruining this country. Deep doo doo folks!
— Jeannine Jun 14, 12:23 # - And John…every time I see Karl Rove’s face I can picture a white hood covering that big head of his.
— Jeannine Jun 14, 12:26 # - are we at war with Eurasia, or Eastasia?
— brian Jun 14, 13:12 # - I saw Al Gore on Larry King last night, and I wondered how different this country might be if the true winner of the 2000 Election had taken the oath of office instead of Karl’s Boy!
— Tommy Jun 14, 15:52 # - Tommy, we probably wouldn’t be spending lives in Iraq.
— MO Jun 14, 16:41 # - So “No Child Left Behind” is proving as successful as “abstinence only” education. Great, now today’s kids will be screwed stupid in more ways than one.
— Reep Daggle Jun 14, 16:51 # - Tommy,
Or for that matter, the real winner of 2004. I don’t for a second believe Dubya got more of the intended votes.
— Reep Daggle Jun 14, 16:57 # - That stupid idiot grinning and explaining what he doesn’t understand makes me want to vomit. John, I do belong to ACLU. It isn’t always easy. Social Security gave me a big raise this year and then the cost of prescriptions and gas went up. Is this a great country or what?
— Rosalie Stern Jun 14, 17:57 # - Doyal watch out because the southern baptists, instead of issuing an edict to pull their kids out of public school and send to private or home school, have decided instead to infiltrate school boards so they can silently mandate the teaching of intelligent design.
— jen Jun 15, 08:28 # - Brian, I found your posting very humorous, to say the least.
WAR IS PEACE
SLAVERY IS FREEDOM
STRENGTH IS IGNORANCE
— John Jun 15, 09:24 # - IMPEACH THE CLOWN…..WHY CANNOT THAT BE DONE???........HE IS A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR….THAT HAS TO BE APARENT BY NOW.
HE IS DISMANTLING AMERICA PIECE BY PIECE. AM I MISSING SOMETHING???????
AND HE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE AS WORRIED AS SAY, A NORMAL HUMAN BEING WOULD.
— KAREN HAGGERTY Jun 15, 10:56 # - Karen – we find ourselves in a very strange political world now – and a deeply frustrating reality it is. Everybody with a brain and open eyes knows that Dear Leader is both retarded and deranged as he reigns over a demented slaughterhouse of a world. You are not missing something, Karen. We all are aghast, appalled and sick to death of the rampant deceit and criminality of this corporate duopoly in government.
— John Jun 15, 11:13 # - Oh, and here’s some breaking news from WSB-TV in Atlanta – Congress just gave itself a pay raise for the 7th straight year despite record low approval rating. House lawmakers embraced a $3,300 pay raise that will increase their salaries to $168,500 (not including bribes). Aren’t you happy to have your hard-earned money goes to pay these parasites who work for corporations? You get to pay their wages and you get to send your kids off to war while their wipe their class-warfare waging asses with our Constitution! Sweet deal!
— John Jun 15, 12:15 # - John did you miss the discussion now which could result in raising the minimum wage .75 per hor in 2007? They are so kind. Bastards.
— Rosalie Stern Jun 15, 12:29 #
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