Bush administration ‘violated federal law’ on children’s health care.
By on Apr 19th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Bush administration ‘violated federal law’ on children’s health care.
A new Government Accountability Office opinion released yesterday finds that the Bush administration “violated federal law last year when it restricted states’ ability to provide health insurance to children of middle-income families, and its new policy is therefore unenforceable.” Twenty-two states already provide such coverage or want to do so, and several states have filed lawsuits challenging the Bush administration’s rules.
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An old country saying about “p*ssin’ in the wind” comes to mind here.
Seein’ as Botch would appear to be soakin’ wet at this point, you’d think he might stop… but no…
April 19th, 2008 at 2:36 pmThis is off-topic, I know. But it is an important excerpt from Lee Iacocca’s book, “Where Have All the Leaders Gone?”
Please take time to read it because it capsulizes so much that has gone wrong in this country under the current regime.
_________________________________________________________
Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “Stay the course.”
Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I’ll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don’t need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we’re fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That’s not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I’ve had enough. How about you?
I’ll go a step further. You can’t call yourself a patriot if you’re not outraged. This is a fight I’m ready and willing to have.
My friends tell me to calm down. They say, “Lee, you’re eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people.” I’d love to—as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I’m going to speak up because it’s my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I’ll tell you how I see it, and it’s not pretty, but at least it’s real. I’m hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don’t vote because they don’t trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us.
Who Are These Guys, Anyway?
Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them—or at least some of us did. But I’ll tell you what we didn’t do. We didn’t agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn’t agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that’s a dictatorship, not a democracy.
And don’t tell me it’s all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That’s an intellectually lazy argument, and it’s part of the reason we’re in this stew. We’re not just a nation of factions. We’re a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.
Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What happened to the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?
The Test of a Leader
I’ve never been Commander in Chief, but I’ve been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I’ve figured out nine points—not ten (I don’t want people accusing me of thinking I’m Moses). I call them the “Nine Cs of Leadership.” They’re not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every true leader should have. We should look at how the current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let’s be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the country. It’s up to us to choose wisely.
So, here’s my C list:
A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the “Yes, sir” crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place. George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper. “I just scan the headlines,” he says. Am I hearing this right? He’s the President of the United States and he never reads a newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter.” Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through the sound system, he’s ready to go.
If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn’t put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he’s right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don’t care. Before the 2006 election, George Bush made a big point of saying he didn’t listen to the polls. Yeah, that’s what they all say when the polls stink. But maybe he should have listened, because 70 percent of the people were saying he was on the wrong track. It took a “thumping” on election day to wake him up, but even then you got the feeling he wasn’t listening so much as he was calculating how to do a better job of convincing everyone he was right.
A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There’s a disturbingly messianic fervor to his certainty. Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with Bush a few months after our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office outlining his concerns to the President—the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the disbanded Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields. “The President was serene,” Joe recalled. “He told me he was sure that we were on the right course and that all would be well. ‘Mr. President,’ I finally said, ‘how can you be so sure when you don’t yet know all the facts?’” Bush then reached over and put a steadying hand on Joe’s shoulder. “My instincts,” he said. “My instincts.” Joe was flabbergasted. He told Bush, “Mr. President, your instincts aren’t good enough.” Joe Biden sure didn’t think the matter was settled. And, as we all know now, it wasn’t.
Leadership is all about managing change—whether you’re leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School.
A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I’m not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I’m talking about facing reality and telling the truth. Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don’t know if it’s denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while. Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it’s painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn’t cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we’ve stopped listening to him.
A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths—for what? To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he’s tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.
A leader must have COURAGE. I’m talking about balls. (That even goes for female leaders.) Swagger isn’t courage. Tough talk isn’t courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, My gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn’t mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.
If you’re a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can’t even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.
To be a leader you’ve got to have CONVICTION—a fire in your belly. You’ve got to have passion. You’ve got to really want to get something done. How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. President—four hundred and counting. He’d rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an interviewer that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a seven-and-a-half-pound perch in his hand-stocked lake.
It’s no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only ninety-seven days in 2006. That’s eleven days less than the record set in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress. Most people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing to show for it. But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now, that’s not leadership.
A leader should have CHARISMA. I’m not talking about being flashy. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It’s the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him. That’s my definition of charisma. Maybe George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game. But put him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he doesn’t look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he enjoys so much don’t go over that well with world leaders. Just ask German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who received an unwelcome shoulder massage from our President at a G-8 Summit. When he came up behind her and started squeezing, I thought she was going to go right through the roof.
A leader has to be COMPETENT. That seems obvious, doesn’t it? You’ve got to know what you’re doing. More important than that, you’ve got to surround yourself with people who know what they’re doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA President. Does that make him competent? Well, let’s see. Thanks to our first MBA President, we’ve got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we’ve run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq. And that’s just for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest problems we face as a nation seem to be on the back burner.
You can’t be a leader if you don’t have COMMON SENSE. I call this Charlie Beacham’s rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of my first jobs was as Ford’s zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. My boss was a guy named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie was a big Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile, and a core of steel. Charlie used to tell me, “Remember, Lee, the only thing you’ve got going for you as a human being is your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don’t know a dip of horseshit from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you’ll never make it.” George Bush doesn’t have common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know—Mr.they’ll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behind-heck-of-a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished Bush.
Former President Bill Clinton once said, “I grew up in an alcoholic home. I spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world—and I like it here.”
I think our current President should visit the real world once in a while.
The Biggest C is Crisis
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It’s easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else’s kids off to war when you’ve never seen a battlefield yourself. It’s another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled look on his face. It’s all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn’t safe to return to the White House. He basically went into hiding for the day—and he told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo op at Ground Zero.
That was George Bush’s moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what did he do when he’d regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq—a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush didn’t listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being faith based, not reality based. If that doesn’t scare the crap out of you, I don’t know what will.
A Hell of a Mess
So here’s where we stand. We’re immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We’re running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We’re losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you’ve got to ask: “Where have all the leaders gone?” Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We’ve spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone’s hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn’t happen again. Now, that’s just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you’re going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when “the Big Three” referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen—and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn’t elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don’t you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I’m not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I’m trying to light a fire. I’m speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America. In my lifetime I’ve had the privilege of living through some of America’s greatest moments. I’ve also experienced some of our worst crises—the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s this: You don’t get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it’s building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That’s the challenge I’m raising in this book. It’s a call to action for people who, like me, believe in America. It’s not too late, but it’s getting pretty close. So let’s shake off the horseshit and go to work. Let’s tell ‘em all we’ve had enough.
April 19th, 2008 at 2:38 pmyou might be pushin’ it, tom… links are good…
here are 2:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/08/1056/
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17516.htm
April 19th, 2008 at 2:47 pmBush’s S-CHIP: So? Children Have Infectious Parasites.
April 19th, 2008 at 2:48 pmThat’s not the only federal law that has been violated. Thank goodness some people are starting to wake up.
April 19th, 2008 at 2:50 pmShocking! This Administration BREAK the Law?!? No!
April 19th, 2008 at 3:00 pm(sigh)
Now if only the Democrats could develop a backbone…
Add it to the list of things the Dems consider to be “off the table”.
April 19th, 2008 at 3:14 pmAaaah, yes, the Bush version of “compassionate conservatism” at work.
Shorter Bush: “Pha-Q, I got mine, beeotches!”
April 19th, 2008 at 3:15 pmSo?
April 19th, 2008 at 3:24 pmwhat would be shocking would be to actually hold these criminals accountable. got enough jail cells?
April 19th, 2008 at 3:33 pmEver notice when there is a protest somewhere about any one of the Bush Administration policies the mainstream media turns a blind eye. Well, why not protest the mainstream media right outside their windows and doors in New York? Why not flood the streets outside their buildings? Do you think they just might be inclined to report that? Show up outside on the sidewalks of each of NBC, ABC and CBS’s morning shows with bright, easy to read signs that the cameras can’t avoid. Non-stop, every day, en masse!
April 19th, 2008 at 3:34 pmnews:
Bush asks Congress to reconsider Colombia trade deal
The Associated Press – 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Bush, ahead of his trip next week to a summit with North American leaders, said Saturday that the House’s decision to block a vote on a Colombia free trade agreement was a “serious error” and urged Congress to reconsider.
Bush: Congress signals US can’t be trusted Baltimore Sun
Bush urges Congress to OK trade deal United Press International
i hope they politely laugh in his face…
April 19th, 2008 at 3:36 pmIs our childrens un-insured? What? Me Worry!
April 19th, 2008 at 3:36 pmWhat does it matter? If they violated the law who will prosecute, who will impeach?? There is no move to make Bush and his Mafia family pay for their lies and lawbreaking. Everyone in a position to do so is just going to let ‘em go. What a sorry state of affairs.
April 19th, 2008 at 3:37 pmI think the Bush Administration has covered everything now.
I can’t think of one Federal Law they haven’t broken.
Restricting Health Insurance for children in Middle Class Families; what could you possibly gain by doing that?
Have you no shame..What do you do every night, think of ways to hurt and torture people??? What was I thinking you have already admitted to that one too!!!!
April 19th, 2008 at 3:37 pm14. williamf Says:
_____
Time for another strongly-worded letter.
April 19th, 2008 at 3:43 pmgreat idea, mr. evil!
C&L put out such a call yesterday, to protest ABC
haven’t heard how it went…
April 19th, 2008 at 3:43 pmtom Says:
This is off-topic, I know. But it is an important excerpt from Lee Iacocca’s book, “Where Have All the Leaders Gone?”
This is the funniest thing I’ve read today, propping up Iacocca as some sort of leadership scold. Iacocca is an industrial murderer and the S.O.B. who pushed the Pinto onto an unsuspecting market:
Iacocca is the worst example one could cite of anything regarding “leadership.” Like bush, Iacocca is nothing more than a murderer cowering behind a maze of legalities, be they corporate or faux “national security.”
April 19th, 2008 at 3:46 pmThe Commander-in-Chief in time of war is ABOVE the law and so is Bush (according to Imperator Cheney).
April 19th, 2008 at 3:46 pm#12 katy Says:
news:
Bush asks Congress to reconsider Colombia trade deal
I co-owned a FAIR TRADE Company that would have our products made in Colombia to help women out of poverty. The officials there are so corrupt, they would steal some of our materials that we would send to our workers. Of course the most expensive and hardest to replace. They also would gridlock our shipments sometimes up to two or three weeks.
April 19th, 2008 at 3:49 pmWhat ceases to amaze me is that no one has commented on this single sentence in the NYT article:
‘But Jeff Nelligan, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said, “G.A.O.’s opinion does not change our conclusion that the Aug. 17 letter is still in effect.”’
Basically, he (Jeff) is saying that the admin has broken the law and will continue to do so.
April 19th, 2008 at 4:13 pmI agree with hanshiro — quit spamming the threads with that Iacocca shit. He’s one of “them.” He’s gonna meet God soon, so he’s doing a little CYA.
April 19th, 2008 at 4:20 pmSo is anything actually going to be done about this?!?!? If the President is allowed to violate federal law with impunity, it sends the message that the President is above the law and/or that there’s two different sets of laws in the United States — one for the President and his supporters, and another for everyone else. If we’re going to send the message that the President can do whatever he likes as long as he’s a Republican, or that the President is not subject to the laws that he himself swore to defend when he took office, then we might as well dispense with the Constitution altogether and admit upfront that we’re in a de facto dictatorship.
April 19th, 2008 at 4:22 pmBush violated federal law — Gasp!
April 19th, 2008 at 4:32 pmThey will do what they please regardless – unenforceable, unethical, unlawful, un-Constitutional, whatever — it makes no difference to them. The worst is that they are unaccountable and no one in congress, nor the public, will hold them responsible to the law.
We need a rewrite here:
The Presidential Oath of Office
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God.
Bush version:
April 19th, 2008 at 4:50 pmI do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will treacherously execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, destroy, abandon, and attack the Constitution of the United States. So help me Cheney.
OT Response…Know I’m gonna piss some of you off, let me say up front it is not my intent…I read #2 Tom’s post from a book Iacocca wrote and let me say I refuse to kill the message or the messanger…I don’t care that he may be trying to sell his book, make up for past mistake’s or get into some fairy land called heaven…The only thing I did with an open mind and heart was read an article written by one person about another….
I thought the post was very good and painfuly clear and precise…We have all been posting our finger’s off for year’s, right here saying the very same thing’s…In my case not nearly so well…
Are we to become just like the reich constantly becoming a critic of something someone say because of who we thought they were in the past or are we going to rise above all the crap and realise what they said is true no matter who they are…..We will never stop the killing, supression and complete madness that is happening to our country and the world unless we listen, demand justice and accountability…Being out raged because some one you may not like write’s something, even if it’s true is shutting down good thaught process and putting blame in the wrong place..Just my opinion….Blessings
April 19th, 2008 at 4:58 pmmaybe i should have elaborated on my colombia post… it was mostly a comment on the fact that bush SHOULD be neutered, yet he’s making demands of congress and accusing them of sending signals that the “US can’t
be trusted”… CONGRESS is sending these signals… ha.
i’m not as studied as i should be about the matter, and so i’m not sure how to take your post, Freedom Rebel…
except your story sounds like a huge headache, not the beneficial enterprize
April 19th, 2008 at 5:09 pmyou would hope for… and, again, the losers are those who can afford it least…
…
The Boy George Misadministration channels Leona Helmsley:
“Laws are for little people.”
April 19th, 2008 at 5:15 pmuh oh…
Cleric Sadr threatens “open war” on Iraq government
ABC News – 1 hour ago
By Aref Mohammed BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday threatened “open war” against the government unless it chose what he called the “path of peace.
…
oh, irony…
April 19th, 2008 at 5:17 pm29. katy says:
_____
Irony is dead. It died on January 20, 2001.
April 19th, 2008 at 5:27 pm26. Witch1 Says:
OT Response…Know I’m gonna piss some of you off, let me say up front it is not my intent…I read #2 Tom’s post from a book Iacocca wrote and let me say I refuse to kill the message or the messanger…I don’t care that he may be trying to sell his book, make up for past mistake’s or get into some fairy land called heaven…The only thing I did with an open mind and heart was read an article written by one person about another….
With all due respect “Witch1,” that is complete crap!
There is a world of difference between an avowed hypocrite and a “leader.” You wouldn’t take moral advice from Manson, however much his “message” echoed pat cliche and trite truisms. Having bush expound on the sanctity of life, after murdering a million+ people, simply demeans the message and the truth of the words. Yes, there is a responsibility to the speaker that he not be flagrantly guilty of the offenses he condemns or try to polish disgraceful, craven behavior by affecting “moral outrage.” Albert Schweitzer carries more weight in humanity characterization than Doug Feith, even if Feith pays lipservice to Schweitzer’s aphorisms.
Bottom line: Iaccocca is a lying, murdering scumbag who has zero credibility and is in no position to preach to anyone about leadership failings, humanity, or moralistic finger-wagging. You have to have credibility first before you can inspire others with your words. It’s a travesty to gull the uninitiated into thinking Iacocca is some innovative thinker rather than the murdering corporate coward that he is. He is responsible for excruciatingly burning deaths of those unfortunates that bought his product. Where has he apologized for that? (without having a legal threat hanging over his head, that is…)
Iacocca is lying scum. Like bush.
April 19th, 2008 at 5:36 pm31. hanshiro Says:
… “Iacocca is lying scum. Like bush.”
_____
Unlike Bush, he’s minor lying scum.
April 19th, 2008 at 5:47 pm26. Witch1 Says:
Are we to become just like the reich constantly becoming a critic of something someone say because of who we thought they were in the past or are we going to rise above all the crap and realise what they said is true no matter who they are…..
Oh, and as far as this bogus comparison to the third reich and “who we “thought” they were: Since when is calling bullsh*t on a lying, murdering hypocrite some exclusive nazi domain? And Iacocca is on record for his resistance to altering the Pinto. There is no ‘presumption’ of his filthy character, it is documented that he did those things. Ford’s shenanigans inspired the creation of a regulatory agency to be a watchdog for murderous corporate decisions, so felonious was Ford’s and the auto industry’s contemptible complicity against the public. (They fought against seatbelts, remember.)
April 19th, 2008 at 5:48 pm#31.I rest my case…Perhap’s you would be better served directing your outrage toward bush and all the inabeler’s that have helped him with all this distruction instead of me and some old man you clearly hate…..I send you Blessings..
April 19th, 2008 at 5:49 pm32. jonny Says: Unlike Bush, he’s minor lying scum.
I think the distinction is lost on both the parents of the soldiers and the parents of the kids who were immolated in Iacocca’s deathtrap.
Both knew what they were doing and did it anyway. Bush with WMD and Iacocca with legal fees/lawsuits versus recalls.
Both lied and hid behind denial and legalistic wrangling rather than face up to the horror of their arrogant decisions.
The only main difference I see is body count.
April 19th, 2008 at 5:57 pmWell now why is this news. Bush/Cheney have destroyed the United States, had over 4000 troops killed for oil, we’re in a recession and so much else. Why is this any different as Americans continue to see no problem with this Administration. Innocent people are going to jail while Republican criminals are free. We have no Justice System or Supreme Court. Our Law Makers are either on the take or to weak to stand up for the American people. It’s more important that Americans support Iraq and Afghanistan’s needs then US taxpayers. With an election that seems to be between Obama vs McCain we will still lose another four years. At lease China and the Middle East will get their wise as they will be able to buy the United States. They will offer Obama a 5 million dollar home and he’ll take it. As McCain will just as for enough money to leave his wife and still be rich. America will be for sale but the Media will say it’s Bill Clinton’s fault. I admire Obama as he can sell snake oil and laugh all the way to the bank. McCain just wants to buy his freedom before it kicks the bucket.
April 19th, 2008 at 5:58 pmwitch, i was glad to read iacocca’s sentiments also… better late than never…
i just thought it would be best to post a shorter version with links…
…
man, i miss those OPEN THREADS…
…
FCC Hearing On Network Management Draws Net Neutrality Supporters
InformationWeek, NY – Apr 18, 2008
The debate over net neutrality has waxed and waned in the nation’s capital for about two years. Most recently, it gained prominence after critics accused …
A One-Sided Net Neutrality InternetNews.com
Even Grannies Fight for Net Neutrality PC World
FCC hears ‘net neutrality’ arguments San Jose Mercury News
How the net-neutrality debate crossed the pond
April 19th, 2008 at 6:02 pmZDNet UK, UK – Apr 18, 2008
If you hadn’t noticed by now, the net-neutrality debate has finally hit the UK. Not long ago, commentators were calling it a US problem, a function of the …
34. Witch1 Says: Perhap’s you would be better served directing your outrage toward bush and all the inabeler’s that have helped him with all this distruction instead of me and some old man you clearly hate
Some murdering old man. Corporate butchers just bring out th’ hate in me. Apparently he’s a relative of yours since you keep tacitly amending & denying his direct participation in Ford’s infamous behavior.
April 19th, 2008 at 6:02 pm35. hanshiro Says:
… The only main difference I see is body count….
_____
SH-H-H-HH! The corporate plutocracy ain’t accountable fer DEAD PEOPLE!
The Amurrican gummint don’t act upon PROFIT!! ??
Say it ain’t so, Joe.
April 19th, 2008 at 6:03 pmhanshiro Says:
No matter what you think of Ioccocca, what he says is true. I will stand and fight to rid our country of the shit that has taken it over.
April 19th, 2008 at 6:09 pmBack at ya Katy….When I read the article I wasen’t thinking of who wrote it….I do that a lot….I was just reading an article and was impressed with the content and how it was written..I can’t find fault with thing’s I have thought and written about myself….
Been increasingly concerned about what’s happening with Israel against Palastine as well as Iraq…..It would be good to hear of Peace…The worst president and administration in our history and we can’t seem to change it….Blessings Dear and keep posting I alway’s read your post’s when I am here.
April 19th, 2008 at 6:11 pm#38..Grow up..Oh and by the way being hateful just fuel’s more of the same.You are writing like a hateful child..Directing your crap at an old woman just because she disagrees with you solve’s nothing…..Pick a fight some where else, I don’t play with mean spirited children over an article some one wrote that happen’s to be true..Game, set, over..
April 19th, 2008 at 6:16 pm40. Left Coast Mike Says:
“No matter what you think of Ioccocca, what he says is true. I will stand and fight to rid our country of the shit that has taken it over.”
_____
I don’t think much of him — he’s been an integral part of the military-industrial complex Ike warned us about — but I’m with ya. We’ll get steamrollered, but I’m with ya. Then again, I’m old & beat-up & I got nothing to lose.
There was a T-Shirt put out by some damn hippies years ago — “the last act of defiance.” Showed a mouse flippin’ the bird to an overwhelming, attacking eagle.
That’s where I’m at. Eff YOU — swallow me & choke on it, ya bastiches.
April 19th, 2008 at 6:21 pmLeft Coast Mike Says:
hanshiro Says:
No matter what you think of Ioccocca, what he says is true.
Then quote someone with a shred of integrity rather than a lying corporate cutthroat who knowingly put thousands at risk of burning to death to save 3 dollars. If that isn’t the definition of monster, then there isn’t one. Pick better authors and your sentiments will carry more weight.
Hitler spoke a great deal of truth in his lifetime, but it’s pretty stupid to quote him to support your case. See how much $$ you’ll make publishing a “daily quotes” of Hitler’s aphorisms. (I’m surprised that this has to actually be spelled out…oy!)
April 19th, 2008 at 6:22 pmGive it a rest, hanshiro.
Yer startin’ ta git a little shrill.
April 19th, 2008 at 6:39 pm46. raymundohpl Says:
“AT LEAST I AM GLAD IN KNOWING THAT EVENTUALLY THEY WILL ALL WITH RAZOR-WIRE NOOSES BE HUNG!!!!!”
_____
Don’t hold yer breath.
Look for yet another strongly-worded letter.
April 19th, 2008 at 7:49 pmhanshiro Says:
April 19th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Now you’ve lost me, hanshiro. That shit is unnecessary.
April 19th, 2008 at 7:49 pm48. Zooey Says: Now you’ve lost me, hanshiro. That shit is unnecessary.
Yet you conveniently overlook the first cheap shot of comparing criticism of liar Iacocca to the third reich (Godwin’s Law)…or are you just lazy in your selective rebukes?
Blessings be upon yer boils…
April 19th, 2008 at 8:08 pmhanshiro Says:
48. Zooey Says: Now you’ve lost me, hanshiro. That shit is unnecessary.
Yet you conveniently overlook the first cheap shot of comparing criticism of liar Iacocca to the third reich (Godwin’s Law)…or are you just lazy in your selective rebukes?
Blessings be upon yer boils…
April 19th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
There was no comparison to the “third reich,” deary — you brought that up. The Witch simply refers to the “right” and the “reich.”
Lighten up.
April 19th, 2008 at 8:49 pmDo over: The Witch simply refers to the “right” as the “reich.”
April 19th, 2008 at 8:54 pm#27 katy Says:
i’m not as studied as i should be about the matter, and so i’m not sure how to take your post, Freedom Rebel…
except your story sounds like a huge headache, not the beneficial enterprize
you would hope for… and, again, the losers are those who can afford it least
Don’t take my post in a bad way. My example is, that Free Trade that Bush wants will only hurt that country even more. Plus, the government is so corrupt that they suppress everyone practically into poverty.
My post was just of my year and half experience trying to make a big difference in a community and the officials made it a nightmare. We had some workers that were living over open sewers with children. At least we were able to make sure that those women got into better housing situations.
April 19th, 2008 at 8:55 pm50. Zooey Says: There was no comparison to the “third reich,” deary — you brought that up. The Witch simply refers to the “right” and the “reich.”
Well, “deary,” notwithstanding witch’s poor communication skills, there isn’t much improvement in being compared to the right-wing for criticizing a corporate murderer. The point stands: you selectively criticize my response, not witch’s purposely ‘poisoning the well.’ Your bias is showing while your discourse evaluation is lacking. Deary.
S’matter Zooey, cranky ‘cuz you drive a Ford? ;-)
April 19th, 2008 at 9:51 pmIt’s kinda interesting… on days when there’s no trolls here, the locals quickly turn on each other… some folks just aren’t happy until they have a fight on their hands… i guess.
April 19th, 2008 at 10:04 pmhanshiro Says:
April 19th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I think it’s more a case of your own reading comprehension, sweetie darling, since the Witch has been using that terminology for several years now.
Go sleep it off, and everything will be better in the morning.
April 19th, 2008 at 10:42 pmLove ya Lady Z, guess I will have to be more precise with newbie’s…Not here much any more…..Thank’s for jumpin in, you do it so much better than I…Blessings
April 19th, 2008 at 10:46 pm55. Zooey Says: I think it’s more a case of your own reading comprehension, sweetie darling, since the Witch has been using that terminology for several years now.
Lucky me, I’ve managed to regularly dodge reading her time-consuming ignorance….’til now. (Better writers use “reich-wing.” Guess I’m spoilt.) Study debate and dialogue structure Zooey, it’ll assist when amateurs like witch are using tired, weak tactics to discourage genuine criticism the next time you’re jonesin’ to play “Reckless & Feckless Referee.”
Blessings, messings and lumpy dressings….
April 19th, 2008 at 11:10 pmi don’t remember hanshiro ever being an azzhole… grrr…
…
it’s gonna be a looong summer/fall…
it’s gonna be even worse when we find out we won’t be having
any election at all… or the ones we have are cancelled…
or maybe the networks have plenty of “reality” tv shows ready…
April 19th, 2008 at 11:24 pmthe REAL opiate of the masses…
hanshiro Says:
April 19th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Well, excuse the f_ck out of me. I guess I didn’t toe the proper line. Luckily, the Witch is mature enough to understand when I don’t totally and completely agree with her. I find it refreshing that the Witch doesn’t use “tactics,” but simply states her opinions honestly.
May your blessing be abundant, and your friends many.
April 19th, 2008 at 11:43 pm58. katy Says:
i don’t remember hanshiro ever being an azzhole… grrr…
Yeah, something about defenders and promoters of corporate monsters like Iacocca just brings out the contempt in moi. I admit it’s somewhat of a trigger. What’s next, the wit and wisdom of Doug Feith?
http://garbett.org/files/threadwouldntdie.jpg
April 19th, 2008 at 11:47 pm59. Zooey Says: Well, excuse the f_ck out of me. I guess I didn’t toe the proper line.
No, you presumed to step in and play referee.
I find it refreshing that the Witch doesn’t use “tactics,” but simply states her opinions honestly.
Then you are uninformed. When characterizing honest criticism as a right-wing approach, that’s manipulation, or what’s known as “poisoning the well.” RE:
Also, notice the “who we thought they were” as if what Iacocca & Ford did in knowingly marketing a defective automobile and risking thousands of families is in question in any way. It is not, there’s documentation. That’s manipulation on witch’s part and completely disingenuous. QED.
I told the truth about Iacocca because what he did was monstrous. It should never fade any more than bush’s shenanigans or corporate cost cutting at the expense of lives should be forgotten. I can assure you the families of Iacocca’s unconscionable lying certainly won’t.
April 20th, 2008 at 12:01 am“Blessings, messings and lumpy dressings….”
Excellent elevation of the discussion.
Dipshit.
April 20th, 2008 at 12:13 amThanks all for my introduction into this site.
Sounds like the message of tom’s Iacocca quote resonated in many.
Sounds like Iacocca has been part of what ” we ” object to.
Nice to hear relatively sane discussion from obviously intelligent folks
Enjoy
April 20th, 2008 at 12:20 am62. freedom lover Says: Excellent elevation of the discussion. Dipshit.
You know you don’t have to sign your post, right? Your I.D.’s already printed next to the number…
April 20th, 2008 at 12:23 amApparently the whole federal and state thing wasn’t good enough for Mr. Bush. Apparently the health care in our country is in a fine state. Well knowing some who have little ones makes me question why the hell do we not have universal health care???? Are we really this cruel to suggest that living well does not include medical care in which every other industrialized country has? Please refute me because this all seems a bit ridiculous to me.
April 20th, 2008 at 12:46 am#54 The Republic of Stupidity Says:
It’s kinda interesting… on days when there’s no trolls here, the locals quickly turn on each other… some folks just aren’t happy until they have a fight on their hands… i guess.
Truer words could not be spoken
April 20th, 2008 at 6:34 amI just don’t get it. How corrupt is the United States. You have an idiot as a president, you have a republican nominee who is close in the polls. What the F^%%^& is going on. If this situation was in europe, there would be mass rioting in the streets. You have a candidate who lies through her teeth, and has failed with her campain and yet people continue to support the person over the facts. THIS NATION IS F*&&^ STUPID, CORRUPT AND FULL OF BIGOTS. These facts are TRUE…want proof, look at the last President elected by the people. Do you know why the US government will never subsidized higher education? Becuase the masses will become to smart and never buy the bull shit spread by politicains who think it’s the person who created the problems instead of the system that is not working and creating the problems.
If you think I’m a angery american, your wrong. I’m a political junkie from Canada. My perspective comes from reality in what I see and hear, tied to facts. This election will prove once and for all how corrupt the current system is. Proof, Bill recieves $800,000 from Columbians orginizations to help promote and help pass free trade agreement, while his wife publicly apposes the treaty. What would have happened if she was in power? Does the media push this fact the way they pushed a realtion with a pastor? No, why ?
I once felt bad for Americans, now I feel sorry. Prove me wrong.
April 20th, 2008 at 12:02 pm