The Hamster

Posted by Eric at 08:09 AM | Comments (1)

Unscientific Online Poll Results

From ArmyTimes.com. Again, online polls are not scientific, but given that most users of the website are likely military-based, it might indicate something about the concerns; link via Al Franken Blog:

If the Defense Department uparmored vehicles in Iraq more quickly, how much do you think that would help reduce U.S. casualties?

A lot. 40.02 % (672)
Somewhat. 40.86 % (686)
Not much. 17.93 % (301)
Don't know/No opinion. 1.19 % (20)
Total votes: 1679

The Defense Department recently announced that troop strength in Iraq would increase to 150,000, up from about 138,000. Is this sufficient?

Yes. 22.34 % (668)
No. 62.58 % (1,871)
I don't know. 15.08 % (451)
Total votes: 2990

Do you think the Department of Veterans Affairs is ready to handle the expected sharp increase in requests for medical care from veterans of the war on terrorism?

Yes. 7.24 % (250)
No. 85.64 % (2,957)
I don't know.

What effect will President Bush’s re-election have on the war in Iraq?

It will last longer. 54.03 % (5,835)
It will end sooner. 29.38 % (3,173)
I don't know. 16.59 % (1,792)
Total votes: 10800

Posted by Eric at 02:35 AM | Comments (3)

Public Servants Cash-In with Drug Industry

The American Progress Action Fund writes that "Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), one of the chief authors of the new Medicare prescription drug law, is set to become the new president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the chief lobbying organization for brand-name drug companies." What does he get in return, and what has he done for the lobby?

Tauzin could reap more than $2 million per year for selling out elderly Americans to drug interests. Tauzin raised huge sums from the drug companies while in Congress, taking in more than a quarter million dollars from the drug industry since 2000. All in all, he accepted more than $218,000 from drug makers over the past 15 years he's been in office. Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) summed it up, saying, "As a member of Congress, Billy negotiated a large payout to the pharmaceutical industry by the federal government. He's now about to receive one of the largest salaries ever paid to any advocate by an industry." Those in the business say they believe Tauzin will make at least $2 million a year, if not more, according to the New York Times.

Tauzin is not the first conservative leader to cash in on drug connections. Last year, the Bush administration's chief of Medicare, Tom Scully, obtained a waiver on a federal ethics rule in order to negotiate a job with the drug industry at the same time he was running the Medicare program. Scully, who threatened to fire the Medicare actuary if he revealed the much higher cost of the legislation to Congress, resigned to become a lobbyist for health care companies. And two top U.S. trade officials, Ralph Ives and Claude Burcky, both left their government jobs this past August to work for the same health care and drug industries they went to bat for in White House trade negotiations with Australia.

Conservative leaders should defend the interests of the American public rather than the bottom line of pharmaceutical giants. The Bush administration and its conservative allies have shown their priorities. Rather than making real reforms to reduce drug costs for seniors, they spend their time in office bilking Americans as they plan their exit strategy into the arms of grateful drug companies.

Posted by Eric at 02:21 AM | Comments (13)

Republican on Republican Action re: Lott

From CNN, many Republicans are asking critical questions of Rummy; Sen. Collins, for example:

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has joined other Republicans in criticizing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Collins, R-Maine, fired off a tough letter Wednesday to Rumsfeld, describing his remarks about the lack of "up-armored" Humvees in war zones as "troubling."

"I am very concerned that it appears the Pentagon failed to do everything in its power to increase production" of the vehicles, Collins wrote.

"The Department of Defense still has been unable to ensure that our troops have the equipment they need to perform their mission as safely as possible."

McCain said he has "no confidence" in the defense secretary and told The Associated Press, "There are very strong differences of opinion between myself and Secretary Rumsfeld" on the issue of troop strength in Iraq. (Full story)

The Pentagon said this month that it was dispatching an additional 1,500 troops to Iraq and extending the stays of more than 10,000 others to bolster security ahead of the January elections. The moves will bring the number of American forces in Iraq from nearly 140,000 to an all-time high of about 150,000, the Pentagon said.

Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, joined the Republicans who -- while not asking for Rumsfeld's resignation -- want a change.

"I'm not a fan of Secretary Rumsfeld," Lott told the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, according to the AP. "I don't think he listens enough to his uniformed officers."

Schwarzkopf, interviewed on MSNBC-TV’s “Hardball,” chided Rumsfeld for his reply to a soldier in Kuwait over the lack of armor on many military vehicles used in Iraq.

“I was very, very disappointed — no, let me put it stronger — I was angry by the words of the secretary of defense when he laid it all on the Army, as if he, as the secretary of defense, didn’t have anything to do with the Army and the Army was over there doing it themselves, screwing up,” Schwarzkopf said.

Schwarzkopf, a registered independent who campaigned for Bush in the last two presidential elections, has previously criticized Rumsfeld on several occasions as arrogant and out of touch with troops on the ground.

Posted by Eric at 02:12 AM | Comments (1)

Swift Boat Vets' Group to Get 'Courage' Award from Zell Miller

From the "American Conservative Union," which will present the awards at "the Conservative Political Action Conference's Feb. 18 banquet." Gee, some organizations award medals for fighting AIDs in Africa, standing up for Democracy in East Asia, but this organization awards smear tactics; AP:

The American Conservative Union on Thursday announced it has tapped Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., to present the "Courage Under Fire" award to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth at the Conservative Political Action Conference's Feb. 18 banquet.

Miller and the group of Vietnam veterans were behind perhaps the campaign's two fiercest and most memorable attacks on Kerry's unsuccessful presidential bid ... The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ran ads after the Democratic convention questioning whether Kerry was in fact the decorated Vietnam War veteran that he claimed to be.

"The swift boat veterans performed an invaluable service to America," Miller said in a statement. "These veterans took a lot of undeserved criticism for daring to speak the truth."

Posted by Eric at 02:06 AM | Comments (29)

December 16, 2004

Lincoln Gay?

Log-cabin Republican indeed; NYT:

Was Abraham Lincoln a gay American?
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The subject of the 16th president's sexuality has been debated among scholars for years. They cite his troubled marriage to Mary Todd and his youthful friendship with Joshua Speed, who shared his bed for four years. Now, in a new book, C.A. Tripp says that Lincoln had a homosexual relationship with the captain of his bodyguards, David Derickson, who shared his bed whenever Mary Todd was away.
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The book, "The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln," is to be published next month by Free Press. Tripp is a psychologist, influential gay writer and former sex researcher for Alfred Kinsey, the pioneering U.S. sex researcher. In the book, Tripp tries to resolve the issue of Lincoln's sexuality once and for all.

Posted by Eric at 10:02 PM | Comments (11)

'Centrists'

Another good one from David Sirota:

On healthcare, we are led to believe that it is a “liberal,” “left” or “socialist” position to support a single-payer system that would provide universal coverage to all Americans. But if you believe the Washington Post, that would mean America was some sort of hippie commune. The newspaper’s 2003 national poll found that almost two-thirds of Americans say they prefer a universal healthcare system “that’s run by the government and financed by taxpayers” as opposed to the current private, for-profit system.

Same thing with prescription drugs. DLCers like Senators John Breaux and Evan Bayh, who both pocket thousands from the pharmaceutical industry, have vehemently opposed bipartisan legislation allowing Americans to import lower-priced, FDA-approved medicines from Canada. But polls consistently show overwhelming support for the proposal. A March 2004 AP poll, for instance, showed that two-thirds of Americans favor making it “easier for people to buy prescription drugs from Canada or other countries at lower cost.” The measure is so popular among average Americans that even some ardent Republicans like Senator Trent Lott have been embarrassed into supporting it. But apparently the same can’t be said for some corporate factions of the Democratic Party.

On energy policy, those who want government to mandate higher fuel efficiency in cars are labeled “lefties,” even though a 2004 Consumers Union poll found that 81 percent of Americans support the policy. Corporate apologists claim this “extremist” policy would hurt Democrats in places like Michigan, where the automobile manufacturers employ thousands. But the Sierra Club’s 2004 polling finds more than three-quarters of Michigan voters support it—including 84 percent of the state’s autoworkers.

Posted by Eric at 08:50 PM | Comments (1)

Opening Up Drilling

From Wilderness Society:

Although the oil and gas industry continues to plead for the Bureau of Land Management to speed up the processing and issuance of drilling permits, new information from the BLM shows a growing surplus of approved drilling permits. While