Tag: Pres. Bush

Are Kidding Me?

Russian tanks roared deep into Georgia on Monday, launching a new western front in the conflict, and Russian planes staged air raids that sent people screaming and fleeing for cover in some towns.

The escalating warfare brought sharp words from President Bush, who pressed Moscow to accept an immediate cease-fire and pull its troops out to avert a “dramatic and brutal escalation” of violence in the former Soviet republic. And the President called the invasion “unacceptable”.

Now here is a great idea!

President Mikheil Saakashvili urged his Western allies to provide more than just moral support and aid to confront Russia in Georgia’s conflict over the separatist region of South Ossetia

“So far we have got from them moral support and humanitarian aid, but we need more than that to stop this barbaric aggression,” he said in a televised address.

Are you kidding me? A president that invaded 2 countries accusing another country of acting in an unacceptable manner. Am I the only one that sees that as a bit of a hypocritical stance?

The Coming Deficit

The White House predicted yesterday that President Bush would leave a record $482 billion deficit to his successor, a sobering turnabout in the nation’s fiscal condition from 2001, when Bush took office after three consecutive years of budget surpluses.

The worst may be yet to come. The deficit announced by Jim Nussle, the White House budget director, does not reflect the full cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the potential $50 billion cost of another economic stimulus package, or the possibility of steeper losses in tax revenues if individual income or corporate profits decline.

The new deficit numbers also do not account for any drains on the national treasury that might result from further declines in the housing market.

What they forgot to include is that it does not include the funds for the wars of aggression or the wars of revenge or the wars of……..whatever you want to call them.  This deficit figure does not include the latest forclosure bill that the Prez has said he will sign.

This is just the WH trying to manipulate the figures to make the deficit look better than it really is.  Keep in mind that when there is a deficit and the WH wants to try and balance budget the funds with entitlements are the first to be hit.  That includes Social Security, education, and healthcare, if there is any progress there.  In other words, to balance a budget, programs designed to assist the American people will be hit.  The people will suffer while NOTHING is asked of corporate America.  Something to think about.

Off Shore Drilling: Is It Good For You?

Putting pressure on congressional Democrats to back more exploration for oil, President Bush on Monday lifted an executive ban on offshore drilling that has stood since his father was president.

But the move, by itself, will do nothing unless Congress acts, too, to revoke its prohibition on offshore drilling.

“The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress,” Bush said in a statement in the Rose Garden. “Now the ball is squarely in Congress’ court.”

A look at the issue:

Federal opposition

Congressional Democrats, joined by some GOP lawmakers from coastal states, have opposed lifting the prohibition that has barred energy companies from waters along the East and West coasts and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Presidents, from Bush’s father — George H.W. Bush — in 1990 to Bill Clinton have sided against drilling in these waters, as has Congress each year for 27 years. Their goal has to been to protect beaches and coastal states’ tourism economies.

History of the issue

On Jan. 28, 1969, a blowout on a Unocal rig six miles off the coast of California spilled 3 million gallons of oil into the waters off Santa Barbara. The blackened beaches and oil-soaked birds and seals became icons for the environmental movement. Two years ago, a congressional compromise opened an additional 8.3 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico.

Where candidates stand

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. , reversed his position last month and endorsed expanded offshore drilling.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. , wants to maintain the moratorium on offshore drilling.

How Americans feel

In a May Gallup poll, 57 percent of people surveyed were willing to allow drilling in coastal and wilderness areas that are off limits, if it had the potential to reduce high gas prices.

How much oil is out there, will it affect prices?

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that there is the possibility of 17.8 billion barrels, but that’s unproven. That amount would equal about 60 percent of proven U.S. reserves.

The Energy Department doesn’t see a significant impact on domestic production or prices before 2030. Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017.

As reported in the Detroit News and Pres Bush who is just playing politics.

Should We Talk?

Back in the waning days of 2001, Pres. Bush labeled some of the enemies of the US as the “Axis Of Evil”, they were Iraq, North Korea and Iran.  We bombed one off the list at a cost of 4000+ and counting lives, the other we talked and negotiated with at a cost of no American lives.  The Axis has been broken leaving only one remaining, Iran.

No one in the Administration wants to talk with the country, but they have no problem thumping their chests about the possibility of an attack.  Let us look at the equation, one cost lives, the other did not.  Which one is more preferable?

Removal from the terror list would pave the way towards lifting many of the most stringent sanctions, and enables Pyongyang to start receiving low-interest loans from the World Bank and other international lending agencies.

While making these pledges, Mr Bush emphasised that moves to take the country from the terror list would not begin for 45 days, and would start only if the North’s claims were verified.

But stop!  Do not keep thumping your chest and calling an Obama proposal as appeasement, when you are doing the same thing.  BTW, diplomacy cost few if any lives.  I would say that is far more preferable than a war that cannot be afforded.

Farm Bill Veto–We Can Only Hope

I wrote about this recently and after looking over the bill itself, I would like to explain why I say that the Farm Bill needs to be voted by the President.  I know…..few believe that I would actually be on the side of Bush on anything, but The Farm Bill veto has more support.

A few things about the bill that makes a veto imperative.

  • The bill provides no real relief for US counties with the highest rates of poverty, since subsidies mainly benefit the wealthy owners of corporate farms.
  • The bill grants subsidies for crops like corn, wheat, cotton, rice and soybeans — US imports dumped into poorer countries, hurting subsistence farmers in these countries and hindering farmers in other countries from competing in international markets. When prices for food plummet as a result, local farms fail and are replaced by giant agribusinesses, and poverty increases.
  • The bill does not support cultivation of fruits and vegetables, and instead promotes an economy that encourages cheap calories and drives up the price of nutritious foods, aggravating obesity and other health problems.
  • The bill encourages production of sugar and corn to be used for ethanol, which Greens call an inefficient replacement for fossil fuels; the rise in ethanol-based energy has converted land that could be used for food production into a source of fuel. This conversion has caused economic and food supply crises in several African countries, as agricultural land now benefits the high energy-consumption demands of the US and other western nations.
  • The richest 5% of US farm owners would win more than half of the bill’s federal subsidies. Black farmers complain that they would be excluded from the subsidies program.

Does Bush Really Know What He Says?

OMG!  Will someone, anyone, please have the decency to tell Pres. Bush  to shut up, that is embarrassing the country.

While in Israel Bush addressed the Jewish parliament and took a shot at Obama and his statement that he would talk with all countries, including Iran.  Of course, he had to bring up the Nazis and Hitler, which I thought was in bad taste, but that is me.  Bush basically said that it was foolish to engage other nations especially those that sponsor terrorism.

……Thinking…………

Did not Bush start and continue talking with Qadafi?  Did it not produce an agreement that Qadafi would give up his nukes?  And was not Libya considered a state that sponsored terrorism?

Bush continues to try and use his tired argument of FEAR on the US and now the rest of the world.  He was pandering to the Israelis and I do not think they will fall for it.  Bush is just tacky and tired.  He probably thought that there would be no bounce on the speech.  He is wrong..he will be seen for the idiot he really is…and by the whole world.  There are somethings you do not do and Bush broke that rule by his irresponsible statement.

Bush Veto Is Agreeable

President Bush promises to veto the five-year, $300 billion farm bill before Congress this week. The House and Senate have given him plenty of reasons to do so. The bill is so wrongheaded it’s the equivalent of beating swords into plowshares at the outbreak of a war that closely follows a bumper crop.

The bill enjoys broad support in both the House and Senate, where even free-market conservatives hypocritically vote to spare growers of food and fiber from the uncertainties of supply and demand. The bill would pay generous subsidies to farmers no matter how much or little they harvested.

U.S. crop subsidies hurt developing countries two ways at once. They discourage domestic food production and contribute to the high cost of imports. Result: more poverty, hunger and all the attendant social ills, not to mention riots and unrest. It reflects poorly on a Congress that could inflict such harm so blithely, with so little lost sleep.

Not only would the bill do nothing to ease global hunger, it does much to aggravate the crisis. The bill reported out by the conference committee rejects a needed increase in the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program; instead, it would cut money from the program. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. (no relation to former Sen. George McGovern), predicted that some poor countries would have to cease offering food to children as an incentive to go to school.

The final version of the bill retains the prohibition against buying food abroad, where it would be nearer to famine-stricken populations. This increases the cost and carbon footprint of food transportation and delays receipt of emergency supplies.

I would agree on the veto from Bush. This bill has enough earmarks to choke a horse. I do see where this bill will do that much to eliminate the hunger of the US and the world.  I know moist who know me are taking aback…that I would say anything good about the Prez….but on this bill, for now, I will agree on his action.

The New GI Bill

I was fortunate enough after Vietnam to use the GI Bill to help pay for my education and I think that the new bill offered by Sen. Webb of Virginia has lots of merit and something that needs the American peoples support.  we owe a debt of gratitude to all the troops that do their duty.

— Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb has introduced legislation that would expand the GI Bill.

Webb’s proposal would cover the costs of tuition at any public college in the veteran’s state, as well as pay a monthly stipend equal to area housing costs.

— U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Chumuckla, is the co-sponsor of a companion House bill, which is expected to be voted on this week.

— President Bush has threatened to veto the legislation, if passed, because he says it is too expensive. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the proposal would cost

$51.8 billion over 10 years.

— U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, also opposes Webb’s bill, saying that such benefits could harm military retention efforts by coercing military members to leave the service so they can use their benefits.

— McCain has introduced his own GI Bill plan, which he said would encourage troops to stay in the military by offering increased benefits for serving 12 years or more. McCain’s proposal would allow benefits to be passed on to family members

Read this carefully and see if those opposed to this bill are worthy enough to be called “patriots”.  I say NO!  They are not!

Pres. Bush Addresses Gas Prices

Yesterday I wasted a chunk of time watching the president’s press conference on the raising gas prices.  I came away with just one question, does this guy have a clue of what he is saying?  He said the the high price was hurting Americans, which was a very observant of him.  As with most of his recent press conferences, it is the fault of the Democrats in Congress.

They are blocking the domestic oil exploration and blocking the building of refineries.  Basically, ANWR needs to be opened and environmental restrictions need to be eliminated so that refineries can be built.  Now, are nay of you buy this bovine fecal matter?  If so, that morphine drip you are on is doing its job.

Does anyone really think that if oil companies could explore in ANWR would bring the gas prices down?  These companies are making obscene profits, investors are happy, so where would the incentive be to lower gas prices?

So, to blame America’s dependence on gas on the Democrats, is just about one of the dumbest things this president has ever said and there have been many to choose from in the past.