Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 844

Georgeous pictures of this locomotive passing through Kansas!

Bonds, ESPN, Monica Abbott and why I despise George W. Bush’s policies

I don’t disagree with ESPN cutting away from whatever they were broadcasting to cover each and every at bat by Barry Bonds. And when Barry hit 715 (by the way, lukewarm congrats to Barry), I don’t even disagree with them interrupting their regular broadcast with 15 minutes of commentary. After all, this was an historic homerun.

What a relief when the ESPN announcer informed us that the softball game that had been interrupted would be broadcast in its entirety, from the point of interruption. And what a thrilling softball game it was! It was the final of a three-game series, with the winner going to the Women’s College World Series. Last year’s champion Michigan trailed Tennessee 1–0 in the sixth, two fabulous pitchers working on a whale of a pitching duel, lots at stake, when the interruption for Bonds happened. So it was a huge relief to know I would be seeing the remainder of the game in its entirety.

And then when ESPN returned to the softball game, it was live, the announcers were saying how Tennessee had just won the ballgame 1–0. This is not resuming the game from the point of interruption in its entirety as we were promised! Only then did the broadcast pick up where it left off earlier. What a terrible screw-up! I was jumping up and down furious.

And what did I miss? Only the most dramatic ending a softball game can have. Tennessee’s Monica Abbott, who leads the nation in wins, powered her way into the 7th inning without giving up a run against the defending national champions. This is the same Monica Abbott, who in the first game of the doubleheader, lasted eight pitches before being removed from the game because she was ineffective. So in the second game of the day, the third game of the series, the game in which the winner goes to the Women’s College World Series, Abbott takes a 1–0 lead into the 7th, and then loads the bases with two outs. My heart should have been pounding hard enough to jump out of my chest, but because of ESPN’s screw-up, I knew what was going to happen. Arrrggggghhh! Abbott struck out a Michigan batter to end the game, sending Tennessee to the WCWS. A very impressive pitching performance by Abbott, as well as an extremely impressive mental comeback after the earlier game of the day where she only lasted 8 pitches. Way to go, Monica!

So what does this have to do with George W. Bush? Obviously, any screw-up these days, similar to ESPN (an no, I am not referring to the young ladies who played the game), reminds me of the multitude of screw-ups (incompetence? or by design?) of the Bush administration. That’s how much I despise his policies and their implementation (or lack thereof) … almost everything reminds me of Bush’s failed policies.

Looks Like Hillary Doesn’t Get My Vote

When it comes time to vote for a senatorial candidate in the upcoming Democratic primaries, it looks like the pro-war Hillary Clinton will not be getting my vote. Not only is there an anti-war candidate, Jonathan Tasini, but he also supports universal health care (Clinton does not), he supports impeachment (Clinton does not), and he has not cozied up to corporate interests the way Senator Clinton has (she recently appeared at a ceremony to build Goldman-Sachs a palatial new headquarters in Manhattan, in a ceremony to hand over millons of taxpayer dollars to an already wealthy corporation). And since Senator Clinton seems to think an anti-flag-burning law is what her constituents want, I would like disagree. That simply isn’t on the priority list here.

Jonathan Tasini for Senate!

Desmond Dekker, RIP

When I was young, there was one song that was so different and so unusual, it left a huge impact. And 35 years later, I still remember the song “The Israelites” fondly. But I have to say, I knew nothing about the song, I didn’t know what the lyrics meant, and I knew nothing about the artist, Desmond Dekker. Now, sadly, Dekker has passed away, I have learned so much about him (via), and for the first time, I watched Dekker perform his hit song.

Remembering Those Who Served

We remember all those who have served our country on this Memorial Day. But we also look at the disastrous war brought to us by George W. Bush, a man who has never attended a single funeral of men killed because of his war of choice. Over at Fact-esque, we find the following rant:

Bottom line: Not one bit of any of these stories or any other stories from BushCo’s War on Iraq is unexpected. The soldiers killed, the grieving families, the missing limbs, the strained marriages, the broken marriages, the PSTD, the years and years of support these people will all need and some won’t ever get. Even the stories about the injured contracters [sic], which are a new part of the big story and add new wrinkle to the big story, are, in the end, just another part of the nightmare of warfare. BushCo, who deserves our contempt on this weekend above all others, knew all of it going in and he did it anyway. He had to lie the country into it. He had to send National Guard troops to fight it. He’s made such a mess of it that, if they’re any justice at all, his presidency will go down in American history as a cautionary tale aimed at what kind of disasters a sleepy and lazy electorate can bring upon itself and the world.

Your So-Called Liberal Media

Jamison Foser at Media Matters presents a lot of evidence about how the media fits stories into its preconceived patterns:

At this point, you’d have to be blind to miss the pattern. Every prominent progressive leader who comes along is openly derided in the media as fake, dishonest, conniving, out-of-the-mainstream, and weak. We simply can’t continue to chalk this up to shortcomings on the part of Democratic candidates or their staff and consultants. It’s all too clear that this will happen regardless of who the candidate or leader is; regardless of who works for him or her. The smearing of Jack Murtha should prove that to anyone who still doubts it.

Meanwhile, any conservative who comes along is going to be praised for being strong and authentic and likable. Ask yourself: What prominent Republican is routinely portrayed in the media as a phony the way Al Gore and Hillary Rodham Clinton are?

Warmonger

Juan Cole:

In 2003, Iran offered to come in from the cold in a proposal to George W. Bush. Recognition of Israel within 1967 borders, pressure on Hizbullah and the Palestinians to moderate, signing the additional protocols of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, it was all there for Bush’s taking.

What did Bush do?

He reprimanded the Swiss embassy, which takes care of US affairs in Iran, for daring to forward this proposal to Crawford on the Potomac.

If you think gasoline is expensive today, just wait until warmonger George W. Bush attacks Iran.

Osama Clock

It has been 1,710 days since Bush said he would bring Osama bin Laden to justice.

How Banks Make Their Money

The banking industry has many sneaky ways to make extra money from unsuspecting customers. One way is the “balance transfer” offer when you sign up for a new credit card where there is a very low interest rate charged on the transferred amount. What happens, although they don’t tell you this, is that until you pay off your transfered balance, you have to pay the full interest on all credit card purchases, even if you pay the full amount of those purchases each month. In other words, if you are a person who pays off your full credit card balance each month so that there is no monthly interest charged to you, but that doesn’t apply if you also transfer a balance — the banks charge you a high rate of interest on the credit card purchases until you pay off your transfer balance. Even worse, you can’t pay off the new credit card charges first, your payments automatically go towards the balance transfer until that is paid off.

Another way banks make money is by “mistakenly” charging fees, and hoping you won’t notice. I have had a particular checking account with my bank since February, with no fees charged. But on this month’s statement, there was a $15 fee that had not appeared on any other statement. I called the bank (Citizens Bank) to inquire, and the woman said that there must be a $5,000 total balance across all my accounts. I said there was indeed a $5,000 balance across all my accounts, and she investigated, found out that I was correct, said that the bank had “mistakenly” applied the fee, and it would be changed and my $15 would be refunded.

The reason I am upset about this is because computers don’t suddenly go from not charging me this fee, to charging me this fee, by accident. Computers don’t work that way. In fact, I believe that this is done intentionally, and hoping people won’t notice, or won’t complain. And I’m sure, many people will fall into that not category, and the bank pockets $15 that it doesn’t deserve. That’s $15 from every person who doesn’t check carefully, and based upon the people I have known who can’t balance their own checkbook, I’m sure that adds up to lots of money for the banks.

What to do? Well, I am certainly thinking about changing banks; however, that would involve a lot of hassle on my part, and I have no way of knowing if the new bank would be any better (I’m quite sure they all play this balance transfer game). I think the better solution for me, and for everyone, is to check every bank statement as carefully as possible.

Republican Values

David Sirota:

Politicians in Washington today are tripping over themselves to trumpet their outrage at the Veterans Administration’s admission that the agency potentially lost the personal data of 26 million of our nation’s veterans. It is true — the news is awful. But make no mistake about it — as I note in my new book Hostile Takeover, Congress long ago went on record as not caring about people who are the victims of identity theft. That’s right, back in 2005, the Senate voted down courageous legislation by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) that would have preserved bankruptcy protections for those who are victims of identity theft.

So, for instance, Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) is all over the media today saying he’s outraged about the loss of the records. But it was Craig who voted against Nelson’s bill, effectively throwing vicitms of identity theft to the wolves. So while politicians may be running in front of cameras telling reporters that they are determined to protect us — don’t be fooled. They’ve long ago let us know where they really stand.

Update (5/27/06): Kevin Drum calls the outrage by members of Congress “faux outrage”, noting that Congress has had many chances to make identity theft difficult, but they have consistently refused to regulate the financial and credit industry.

Mine Safety

Five miners were killed in a Kentucky mine explosion a few days ago. Four and a half months ago, a dozen miners were killed in a cave-in. Representative George Miller (D-CA) said (via):

“When Janet Jackson had her wardrobe [malfunction], it took Congress 40 days to change the law,” Miller said. “It’s now over 120 days, and Congress hasn’t done a damn thing about securing a safer workplace for these miners and for these families.”

Once again, we can see Republican values on display. Taking action to save lives simply isn’t as high a priority as protecting TV viewers from wardrobe malfunctions.

How Is This News?

The New York Times had an article today examining the state of the Clinton’s marriage. As you might expect, all is not rosy in the marriage of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. And this is not new for the Times, which hounded the Clintons during the 90s. But since all is fair in love, war and journalism, I wrote a nice letter to the editor today, inspired by Digby. Here it is:

Dear Editor,

Thank you today for your important article on the state of the Clinton’s marriage. You have performed a valuable public service by bringing up these issues. I eagerly look forward to future versions of this public service, where you examine the marriages of all presidential candidates, such as Rudy Giuliani, George Allen, John McCain and of course Newt Gingrich. Perhaps you could even examine candidates where there are no scandalous details, such as John Edwards or Al Gore. I’m sure articles about these men and their marriages will be equally enlightening.

Atrios writes the article that The New York Times should have written.

Sunday Cat Blogging

I was eagerly looking forward to seeing Texas’ Cat Osterman pitch today, even if it was via a crappy internet video connection, from a stadium in Austin with only one camera. But even so, I was treated to a memorable performance — Cat didn’t disappoint. Utah batter after Utah batter came up against Osterman, flailed wildly at Osterman’s pitches, and then headed back to the bench. Osterman struck out the first 14 batters of the game, allowed only one base hit, and finished with 18 strikeouts (out of 22 Utah batters). A spectacular performance, made all the more remarkable by my sense of disappointment when the one Utah hit happened in the fifth inning — there would not be a perfect game for Cat today.

What makes Osterman so special is that she doesn’t have a blazing fastball. Instead, she has mastered every other pitch in the book — the curve, the rise, the drop, the screwball and the change-up. They break so much that batters cannot tell what pitch is coming until it is too late, and it is a characteristic of Osterman’s games that batters don’t swing at pitches in the strike zone, and flail wildly at pitches out of the strike zone.

Bush Triples Taxes on Teenagers

Remember that huge tax cut for millionaires earlier this week, brought to you by Bush and the Republicans? The same tax bill triples taxes on teenagers who are saving for college, reports The New York Times (via). This breaks a pledge Bush made in 1999 to veto such a tax increase. Those are some fine Republican values on display — financial disincentives for saving money for college, while giving more money to those who already are wealthy. That’s the modern Republican party — Robin Hood in reverse.

Just remember when it comes time to vote and some Republican tries to tell you that Democrats will raise taxes, that if the Dems try to raise taxes, the Democrats will distribute that tax raise much more fairly. Remember also that the Democrats will try to avoid the stealth tax hikes of the Republicans who have run up a massive federal debt. The Democrats will also provide actual competent services for people.

Update (5/21/06): Bush caught lying about how the tax cut for millionaires will bring more money into the US Treasury. (via)

Huge Security Flaw in Diebold Electronic Voting Machines

“It’s the most severe security flaw ever discovered in a voting system,” said Michael I. Shamos, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University.

Voting is the most important right we citizens have. We need the tightest security possible so that we can have absolute confidence in the election results. Anything else, like the systems Diebold has put forth, is unacceptable.

Cat

You know what is going to happen, but you can’t stop watching. That’s how you feel when you see Texas’s Cat Osterman pitch. In two games so far in the NCAA Softball tournament, Cat has struck out 34 of the 49 batters that have faced her, and allowed only two hits. She has a 34-2 record this year and leads the nation with an 0.40 ERA. Her 545 strikeouts this year works out to 2.22 strikeouts per inning, both numbers leading the nation.

On Sunday, Texas plays at 1p.m. Central (opponent not determined at this time), and I will be watching (live at TexasSports.com). I can’t look away!

Bonds

I wish I could enjoy Barry Bonds’ achievement tying Babe Ruth’s career home run record today. I wish I could enjoy the thrill of the moment, a thrill I felt when Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s record. But I also feel very strongly that cheaters shouldn’t prosper, and to be honest, we don’t know if Bonds cheated or not. So a very reserved congratulations to Barry Bonds.

And by the way, congratulations to Babe Ruth too. Ruth was the first player to hit 30 homeruns in a seaons, the first to 40, the first to 50 and the first to 60. When he retired, he had more than twice as many homeruns as the person in second place. And today, Ruth has as many career shutouts as a pitcher as does Pedro Martinez. Wow!

Too Bad If You’re Not A Millionaire

All of you millionaires who read Paige’s Page no doubt will be rejoicing over the tax cuts signed into law a few days ago. The rest of us, whose income is a little lower, will no doubt be pissed. SusanG explains:

Earlier today, President Bush signed into law the infamous tax bill that couldn’t provide a more stark contrast between the two political parties. By now, we’re all pretty well-acquainted with the reality that a $40,000 income will net you $17 in tax benefits (woo hoo!) while the millionaires among us will reap $42,000.

But there’s a more powerful — and simple — metaphor lurking behind the scenes during the history of negotiation of this legislation.

When first proposed, the Senate version included a revision of arcane accounting rules under which the oil companies were escaping taxes by being permitted to undervalue oil in storage. This change would have netted the federal government approximately $5.1 billion in taxes. When the House and the White House objected, the provision was removed.

Also present in the original Senate bill was an extension of expiring college tuition deductions designed to help middle class Americans handle the spiraling cost of higher education. According to Sen. Charles Schumer, who talked to bloggers on a conference call yesterday, the savings to middle America was approximately the same as the amount originally proposed to tax the oil companies. During reconciliation of the House and Senate bills, the tuition deductions were stripped.

So. We are presented with our metaphor: continuing tax breaks for Bush’s oil cronies in the same amount that was denied the middle class to educate its children. While the Republicans are claiming a second tax bill is coming down the line that will restore the deductions, Sen. Max Baucus, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, isn't buying it:

“Hard-working Americans who depend on these already expired provisions are being told not to worry, there is another bill coming down the pike to take care of them,” he said. But “a different tax vehicle has a high likelihood of breaking down.”

Sounds like the broken-record refrain we’ve come to know and love from the Republican Party: Trust us. We’ll take care of you … eventually. After, of course, the GOP takes care of its own first, leaving something like $17 to spread between the rest of us.

Didn’t They Used To Call This A “Flip Flop”

Jamison Foser notes that President Bush is guilty of the big flopparino, first supporting a draconian immigration bill in December, 2005, and then more recently backing off many of the major provisions.

But Foser’s larger point is one that is well worth considering. The media seems to have a penchant for putting news into pre-defined story lines, regardless of whether or not the facts fit the predefined story line.

In March 2000, Washington Post ombudsman E.R. Shipp wrote that the Post “seems to have assigned [roles] to the actors in this unfolding political drama. ... Gore is the guy in search of an identity; Bradley is the Zen-like intellectual in search of a political strategy; McCain is the war hero who speaks off the cuff and is, thus, a ‘maverick’; and Bush is a lightweight with a famous name, and has the blessings of the party establishment and lots of money in his war chest. As a result of this approach, some candidates are whipping boys; others seem to get a free pass."

This typecasting wasn’t unique to the Post. As Paul Waldman (co-author, with Kathleen Hall Jamieson, of The Press Effect, which illustrates the media’s tendency to shoehorn news reports into preexisting story lines) wrote in 2003, “Reporters decided before the 2000 campaign began that Gore was dishonest, and while he occasionally gave them support for this impression, he was also skewered for lies he never told.”

It is no wonder that many people are now finding their news, and particularly analysis of the news, from other sources. It is highly unlikely that those same newspapers which used the derogative term “flip flop” in their articles and headlines will even mention that this represents a reversal of the President’s position. Many Americans, such as myself, turn to blogs to hear points of view that are largely unreported and unmentioned in the traditional media. Do check out the fine blogs in my blog roll. There is lots to learn.

President Al Gore on Saturday Night Live

The Question of Character

While I have been complaining loudly about the decisions made by President Bush, David Neiwert makes some very crystal clear points that character counts as well.

Neiwert points out that Bush’s character flaws were clearly on display for all to see prior to the 2000 election. Bush, if he was losing, simply walked away, or changed the rules so he could win. And that ruthless behavior has continued during his tenure as President. Somehow, the press at the refused to raise this issue, while they derided Al Gore for the wimpiness of playing by the rules.

In a similar vein, there’s also the issue of education. While there is no doubt that Gore (and Kerry in 2004) were intellectual, and that Bush brags about his C grades at Yale, somehow this too was not seen as a relevant factor by many. It was as if there were some people who found that high levels of education were not acceptable in a presidential candidate.

It’s a sad lesson. Character counts. Education counts. And policies count. Issues like "manliness", or that one candidate likes sushi or a particular type of tea, are irrelevant. I hope this country has learned its lesson, but strangely enough, I wouldn’t be surprised if character, education and policies are by and large ignored in the next presidential election.

Oh yes, on the issue of character, a new poll shows that Americans prefer President Clinton to Bush on almost all issues, including honesty.
Tags: George W Bush

Skeptic's Circle #34

Hosted at The Second Sight. One particularly enjoyable link is to Skeptico, who takes alleged psychic John Edward’s performance and analyzes it for successful guesses/predictions. Guess what, Edward doesn’t do very well.

Not “Fair and Balanced”

Not “Fair and Balanced” seems to be a much better description of Fox News, according to a new survey (via). For example, “By far the most dramatic determinant of belief that Bush lied was the respondent's most watched television network for news. Viewers of ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC, ranged between 89.1% and 63.2% believing Bush lied. Among Fox viewers, a whopping 2.3% believe Bush lied.” And how about this: “Among non-Fox viewers, support for pro-impeachment candidates ranges from 60.4% to 75.3%. Among Fox viewers, it’s at 1.8%.”

Mr. 29%

A new poll shows President Bush’s approval rating now at 29%. Impeach!

Socialized Medicine in the Czech Republic

Over at the blog Livingston, I Presume, we hear praise for socialized medicine from a woman who gave birth in the Czech Republic. The United States has the worst infant mortality rate of any industrialized nation, while the socialized medicine of the Czech Republic puts them second best, only behind Japan.

There are more tidbits of useful information, such as the cost of this socialized medicine, which seems to be quite a bit less than the cost we pay here:

I’ll say this about my experience with socialized medicine: Bring it on. Absolutely I paid higher taxes in the Czech Republic while I was living and working there, but there is no way that what I paid in taxes even comes close to what we’re paying out now in premiums, deductibles, and prescriptions. It’s like night and day. And when I needed my insurance to work—when we had Connery—I didn’t have to fill out any paperwork, file any forms, endure endless bills and statements of coverage and non-coverage, it was just covered. I paid cash for a private room for five nights—the standard maternity stay in the Czech Republic for a non-C-section birth—and everything else, from Connery’s nursery care to painkillers to meals, was covered.

Oh, and that private room? It was about $100 total for the stay.

Before I gave birth, I went on paid maternity leave, as required by the state, about a month before my due date. After I got home from the hospital I had another six months of paid leave at two-thirds of my salary. After that paid leave was up, I continued to get “baby payments” of around $150 a month. I would have continued to get those so long as I remained in the Czech Republic, up to four years after Connery was born.

I chose to have a private doctor for my prenatal care, so I paid about $30 a visit to see her. That was my total cost, not a co-pay. When I developed a mild case of gestational diabetes, I had to go get weekly tests and have further appointments at the country's finest maternity hospital. That was free to me with my state insurance.

The barriers to accessing healthcare were very low in Prague, provided you were willing to learn the language. I didn’t need to have a dime in my pocket to see a specialist, treat a cold, or have my annual exam. The hospitals may not have been as shiny as the ones here, but the care was great and the price was right.

That sure sounds good. Much better than the system we have.

Don’t Bother Calling ...

... unless you want the government to know you were talking to me.

Impeach!

A Minister’s Experience with the “National Day of Prayer”

Lucky Ducky, a minister, describes his experiences at the National Day of Prayer.

“By silencing Catholic and mainline Protestant voices, to say nothing of non-Christians, the National Day of Prayer shows the ascendancy of the Christian right and lets them, once again, claim to represent the public face of American religion. And, I am telling you, it is not a pretty sight.”

Some Simple Health Care Statistics

From Kate Steadman, here is how things are going here in the United States, allegedly the greatest country in the world:

• There are 46 million uninsured people in this country. The number is increasing; it's jumped six million in the last five years.
• Nearly 20% of the uninsured are children; this problem persists in the face of numerous programs to alleviate it. That's not because people are too lazy to sign up, but rather the strange cost-sharing mechanisms between the states and federal government encourage both to shirk their responsibilities (peek here at a recent Texas rule change that's bleeding participants).
• The uninsured do not receive free care whenever they want. The only care hospitals are required to provide by law is life saving measures and/or births. And providers are blessed by the law to release the debt hounds among those who can't pay for these procedures.
• Only 60% of all employers provide health care; it's also becoming increasingly difficult to secure coverage from one's employer. That's a 9% drop in just five years.
• Speaking of employment, over 80% of the uninsured work or belong to working families.
• Two thirds of the uninsured are from low-income families.

Tell Me Again What's Wrong With National Health Care

Kevin Drum points out a few details about comparing the US health care system versus the national health care of Great Britain.

So here’s the deal: under the British system, you don’t have to worry about which doctors your HMO allows you to see. You don’t have to worry about losing coverage if you get laid off. You don’t have to worry about being unable to get a new job because you have a pre-existing condition. You don’t have to worry about being bankrupted if you contract a serious chronic illness. And large corporations don’t have to worry about going out of business because of spiraling healthcare obligations.

And the result of all this? Healthcare that's as good as ours and delivered for about half the cost. Under a national healthcare system, when you get sick, all you have to worry about is getting well. Explain to me again why we're afraid of this?

And in his next post, Kevin makes the additional point that:

No healthcare system is perfect. Our argument isn't (or shouldn't be) that the French or the Japanese or the Swedes have discovered healthcare nirvana, only that, overall, their systems produce outcomes as good or better than ours at a lower cost. I know it's hard to stick to that argument when conservatives are screeching about hip replacement queues in Ontario, but it's probably a mug's game to take them on on their own turf. Instead, we should relentlessly stick to pointing out how bad our system is and how much better and cheaper it could be if we replaced it with something more sensible.