meta-roj

frank paynter has written an open letter to the united nations requesting election observers for the coming presidential election here in the united states.

personally, i think it’s a good idea. count me in, if for no other reason to put my lack of faith in this coming election on the record.

that said, i don’t think the un can handle this one… we’re on our own, and it’s scary.

the john-john team got a freebie today…

Fiscal drug abuse [cincinnati post, july 8, 2004]

An internal investigation has confirmed that the Department of Health and Human Services threatened to fire Medicare’s chief actuary if he told Congress that the estimated cost of the prescription drug bill was far higher than the White House was letting on.

The probe said no criminal laws were broken, that Medicare’s then-chief official Thomas Scully was within management rights in withholding the information and threatening to discipline chief actuary Richard Foster if he released it to Congress.

we’re going to point to this as yet another example of “just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean it’s right.”

and it can only get more interesting…

Fiscal drug abuse [cincinnati post, july 8, 2004]

Although HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson promised to release all the documents relevant to the incident, his department is withholding 149 pages out of the 162 pages requested and the Democrats and the Associated Press are suing to get them.

more from the new york times [registration] and washington post [registration] yesterday.

i guess this also opens up a front on the right of the administration, for those republicans who still believe in small government and fiscal responsibility.

they work for you

i’m going to half-bake this thought because it’s the 4th, and we’re waving the flag today. maybe someone will run with it… maybe someone already has…

it seems to me that we’ve gotten a little flexible with the definition of “sovereign nation” with regard to iraq, and we still have lawyers working the fine points to better accomodate the policy agenda (saddam is legally in iraqi custody but physically in american custody and so on).

well, there’s a long history of flexibility with that particular term in america, and i’m thinking of the “sovereign indian nations” and all those treaties over the centuries. so, i guess i’m hoping we don’t leave a similar stain on our history with the “sovereign iraq.”

and while i’m thinking these thoughts, i wonder if there’s any comparison to be drawn between indian casino construction-and-taxation deals (hello, arnold) and iraqi reconstruction-and-reimbursement deals.

… with whatever “sovereignty” means for now

i guess this is pretty much the message we’ve been seeing from the white house for a while… only simpler, for consumption in the senate?

Testy, Testy, Testy [washington post, june 25, 2004]

At a photo session on the Senate floor on Tuesday, Cheney ran into Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. That sparked an exchange about Cheney’s ties to Halliburton and the White House’s bare-knuckle tactics on judicial nominees.

Helen Dewar and Dana Milbank write in The Washington Post: “The exchange ended when Cheney offered some crass advice.

” ‘Fuck yourself,’ said the man who is a heartbeat from the presidency. . . .

“As it happens, the exchange occurred on the same day the Senate passed legislation described as the ‘Defense of Decency Act’ by 99 to 1. . . .

thanks, dick. i’ll take that under advisement.

[for the fox news interview version, read below]

update (9:10):
[more thoughtful thoughts from me on this at joi’s blog – see the comments here]
(more…)

to follow up on a previous post here about the bush administrations trouble with counting, today we found out just how bad the counting problem is….

U.S. doubles its count of 2003 terrorism casualties [reuters, june 22, 2004]

The administration said international terrorism killed 625 people last year, up from the 307 it reported on April 29 but below 2002’s 725 fatalities. It found 3,646 were wounded last year, above the 1,593 initially cited and the 2,013 in 2002.

3646/1593 = 2.29
625/307 = 2.04

ok, so missing half the fatalities and injuries isn’t as bad as it could be, i guess…

just keep the people that worked on this report away from the election this fall, mmmmmkay?

update (2004.06.24): a handy link to the revisions.

yesterday, the september 11 victim compensation fund of 2001 wrapped up its business. they’ve processed over 7300 claims and 98% of the eligible families elected to participate in the fund. and no wonder… the “average deceased victims award after offsets” was $2,075,345 – just a shade over $2 million for an average american killed by terrorists in new york.

from an administration that is so concerned about setting precedents (consider the rice testimony before the 9/11 commission – she couldn’t testify under oath, but she could talk the media about everything), this just doesn’t sit entirely well with me. i don’t recall a big compensation package for previous [berlin 1986, beirut 1983, new york 1993, oklahoma city 1995, dhahran 1996, nairobi 1998, dar es salaam 1998 – and that’s just the big ones] terrorist-attack victims, but i guess we’re on the hook for $2 million a pop (plus inflation) for all future attacks now…?

am i finding all these scary stories this week because i’m ignoring the big funeral scene? am i the only one getting a feeling of “let’s get it out there now, while reagan drives the news cycle”?

reelection on reagan’s coattails… you can’t ask for better timing than this…

President Bush Holds Press Conference Following the G8 Summit [the white house]

THE PRESIDENT: I can’t remember if I’ve seen the memo or not, but I gave those instructions.

final report of the independent counsel for iran/contra matters, volume 1, chapter 27. Grand Jury Interrogatories, Answer to Question 24 from Ronald Reagan

I do not recall signing a Finding relating to Iranian arms transactions in November or December 1985. I am aware that an unsigned version of such a Finding exists . . . although I am told that a signed version has not been found. I have been advised that the CIA was told contemporaneously that on December 5, 1985, I signed a Finding relating to this initiative. While I do not deny having signed such a Finding, I have no current recollection of doing so.

bush doesn’t remember seeing the memos telling him how he could justify authorizing torture of prisoners in american custody, in apparent violation of united states law, and reagan couldn’t remember seeing the operational details of how his staff could get around congressional restrictions on arms sales to the contras.

i don’t remember why we tolerate this.