How stupid does he think we are?

There’s one angle to Herman Cain’s presidential campaign that has not been covered.  One question I would like to ask: How stupid do you think we are?  Clearly, the answer is very, very, very stupid.

After watching him in the debates and doing interviews, it is pretty clear that he lacks even the most rudimentary knowledge of policy and politics.   I didn’t think it was possible to be alive during the last decade without having heard of neo-cons.  And his foreign policy knowledge is downright scary.  Didn’t know China has had nuclear weapons for fifty years?  You think the Israelis would be open to discussing the ‘right of return?’  Do you read any news at all?  And for good measure, the 9-9-9 plan would be horrible for everyone — especially the poor and anyone living on a fixed income.  The federal sales tax of 9 percent would be a tax increase on everyone, and the 9 percent income tax would be a tax cut for the wealthy and a big tax hike for those who are barely holding on.

What makes Cain’s economic plan even worse is that he doesn’t seem to understand it all that well.  I thought Governor Mitt Romney made a great point about the sales tax.  He asked Cain if the sales tax included in his plan would replace the current state sales taxes.

“No, your’re mixing apples with oranges,” Cain said.

“So I am going to get a bushel of oranges and apples?” Romney asked.

“You’re mixing apples with oranges,” Cain replied.

Way to stay on message but he didn’t answer the question and I think that is because he didn’t understand it.  Supporters point to his business successes and he done well but I don’t sense a whole lot of intellectual curiosity there.  In his defense, no one knows everything but being proud of knowing nothing doesn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence.

The newest political scandal is almost the least important clue that this man would be a disastrous president.  But the allegations are serious — and growing more so as more women come forward with stories about Cain.

Herman Cain’s response to the allegations — and it’s hard to use the ‘none of this is true’ line when there are two recorded settlements with the women in question.  But his denials have morphed from one to another so much that he’s only making this much worse for himself. Threatening to sue Politico in a move inspired by Dan Snyder, won’t help things.

Mr. Cain, you are not ready for prime time and everything you do just makes that case more.

Death and Taxes

"Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society."  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Supreme Court Justice who was nominated by Theodore Roosevelt and served frojm 1902-32.  This quote is on the IRS building in Washington, DC.  Yesterday was April 15th, normally tax day but it was Sunday so most of America has until the 17th — apparently the storm this weekend was so severe that many people will have until April 19th.  They said on the news that the IRS is considering giving people a few extra days to get the tax forms in — if you were impacted by the storm, keep an eye out for news on this.

We've all heard the quote, "Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes," attributed to Benjamin Franklin, which was news to me.

Where do our taxes go?  There are a number of places you can go to see how your federal taxes are spent. I found this site, "Death and taxes: a visual guide to your federal taxes."   From the site:

“Death and Taxes” is a representational poster of the federal discretionary budget; the amount of money that is spent at the discretion of your elected representatives in Congress. Basically, your federal income taxes. The data is from the President's budget request for 2008. It will be debated, amended, and approved by Congress by October 1st to begin the fiscal year.  The poster provide a uniquely revelaing look at our national priorities, that fluctuate yearly, according to the wishes of the President, the power of Congres, and the will of the people. If you pay taxes, then you have paid for a small part of everything in the poster.

The author wrote this about himself:

"Jess Bachman, that’s me. I am a resident of Burlington, Vermont and freelance graphic designer. In addition to combing through federal budget documents I can be found DJing, drinking tea, making concert posters, blogging, and dressing like Robert Redford from Three Days of the Condor. I am 26 years old."

I do not know anything about this person but thought it was an interesting site and idea but I don't know what his ideology is or what his background or party affiliation, or even how accurate this.  As someone interested in politics, the budget itself bores me to tears so I appreciate anyone who can wade through it and come up with something so interesting.

You can see the actual budget in several places:

1. The White House version can be found at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) site.
2. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has a version.
3. And Wikipedia has an entry.

 

As a godless, tax-loving liberal, I know we need them to keep our society the way we like it.  They make sure we have military, roads, a good education system and the list goes on.  It is easy to forget how important our infrastructure is because when it is doing its job well, it is invisible. The best way I have found to describe it as being similar to a fish tank or well maintained eco-system, it provides everything needed to keep everything in there alive and healthy.  We have a stable government, except for the last six years where my cat could have done a better job and my cat thinks rocks are food, that allows us to have a stable economy and the rest.

One of my favorite people once told me that he votes for Republicans because he wants to pay fewer taxes.  The irony of that statement, which seems to have been lost on him unless that was just his dry humor and I do not know him enough to tell the difference but given his tax bracket, he benefits far more from the taxes he pays than many.  If anarchy broke out tomorrow, my house is not going to be looted.  Again, my cat is one my most valuable possessions and he was born in an alley and still thinks rocks are food.  He is not alone in this view.  Taxes and tax day are things people dread.  A Congressperson told the New Yorker sometime during the administration that President Clinton had “ruined democracy because he showed people that they can get something in return for their taxes.”

While democracy remains intact, well aside from the Bush v. Gore debacle but that’s for another post, there is evidence that many people around the world pay much higher taxed and don’t mind.  This is because they get things like health care.  The countries with the highest standard of living tend to be in Scandinavia.  They also pay the highest taxes in the world but they receive great services for them.  My roommate in (spent my senior year in ) was from .  She had no concept of charitable organizations and did not understand why we need them, why the richest country on the planet could not provide basic services to its people.  In , she told me, the government takes care of such things.  We could learn a lot from her.

So when you send off your returns, whether you will get a check or send one in, remember that you pay less taxes than the rest of the civilized world but that you get far fewer services.  Having said that, the next time you call 911 (ok, that’s a local tax), drive on an interstate highway, go to a public park or do some mundane thing like work in a safe place, drink decent water (exception: Washington, DC – full of lead) and send your child off to school rather than some horrific job remember your taxes make all that possible.

Oh, and if you voted for Dubya (and other GOP candidates), you get the added bonus of knowing you have turned governing into campaigning by politicizing what were supposed to be neutral jobs, started an illegal war (really wish that ‘you broke it, you bought it’ rule applied ONLY to the people to actually broke Iraq and wanted us in there), dang, there are just too many bad things your decision has caused us to do.  We are hated by most of the planet.  All the White House scandals hurt politicians of all stripes – does anyone believe Karl Rove lost email or that Dick Cheney didn’t know what he was doing when he told Scooter Libby to out a covert CIA agent?   Most of you have some money so I know you are not stupid, did you really think Saddam Hussein planned 9/11?  Your tax dollars and vote did all of that.

Sorry I went off the deep end a little.  I do that a lot. 

 

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Proof part one

So many lies, so little time.

 

The common view among many people is that all politicians lie.  Campaign promises are meaningless because ‘we all know politicians lie and will say anything to get elected.’  I do not believe either is true and think our entire system is based on listening to what candidates say and expecting them to follow through.  I understand that governing differs from campaigning and that once privy to inside information; the responsible thing to do may be revise one’s approach or position in response to the new information.  I believe our justice system works in a similar way, if new information becomes available after a trial, a person convicted of a crime can use that to get a new trial, for instance.

 

Having said that, it is very important to note when a politician changes their stance on an issue once they get into office and when they do not.  Governor George W. Bush ran a very good campaign in 2000 and was very clear about some of the things he would do once he got into office so I will start there.  Not with his lies but with things he said he would do.  Off the top of my head there are two areas where I disagree with him but appreciate his honesty:  drilling in the arctic and abortion.  He said we needed the oil and supported legislation to drill in , environmentalists were angry but he did say he supported the idea.  He has opposed abortion since day one.  Kudos for keeping your word.  Oh, in case anyone cares, I refer to GWB as Dubya because my personal favorite nickname (rat-f*&$er would probably not go over well).

 

But what else?  Now, the person who wanted proof did not specify if I could include other members of Dubya’s team so I will still with him.  During the 2000 campaign, the charter plan was named “Responsibility One,” because this administration was going to ‘restore honor to the White House.’  I don’t think it was needed but in that spirit, what has he done?  It is my opinion that he has done nothing to make the White House look more honest or be more honest.  Why do I think that?  Going chronologically would take me too long so I will just go topic by topic.  I won’t get to all of them but I will get to as many as I can.

 

CIA Leak:  This administration has been very strict when it comes to what information they disclose, the current scandal surrounding the eight US Attorneys proves that, so it seems ironic that one high ranking member of the W. team was found guilty of leaking the name of a covert CIA operative.  It should be clear that if the President himself leaked the name it would not be a crime because any sitting president can declassify anything they want.  In 2004 when asked if he would fire anyone involved in the leak, he said he would.  He didn’t.  (source: http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/cialeak.html) This may not seem like a big deal because Scooter Libby did resign but it is because when he leaked her name, and if you can prove to me there was any reason that wasn’t political to do so, please go for it, he exposed her and all her contacts.  There is a reason why is it a crime to do this.  You may wonder why Patrick Fitzgerald did not indict Libby for that; my understanding of that law is that it is very difficult to prove.  I don’t know many people who really believe Libby acted on his own rather he was told to do so by Vice President Cheney.  According to books listed later in this post, the VP was really angry about Joe Wilson and wanted to discredit him any way he could.

 

Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda & Saddam Hussein:  In December 2001, Dubya had a press conference where he was asked about bin Laden, whether he was a threat and what actions the was going to take to get him.  The response was that he did not know where bin Laden was but that he would be found and ‘brought to justice.’ http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011228-1.html). I don’t need to prove we never caught bin Laden but later Dubya changed his tune and remarked, “I do not know where he is, he is not important and is not our priority” (sorry I no longer have a link for that, I did have a White House link but that has been removed).  In his defense, some of his original statements were, “Bring it on” and that bin Laden “is wanted ‘dead or alive.”  He later recanted, saying his tough talk may have sent the wrong message and made matters worse for our military around the world.

 

A more important lie was that there was a link between the terrorist group and Saddam Hussein.  He said this, “Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al Qaeda” during his State of the Union (SOTU) Address in January 2003 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html).  He repeated it the next day in , “He is a danger not only to countries in the region, but as I explained last night, because of al Qaeda connections” (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030129-2.html).  This Bush Administration repeated there was a connection often.  VP Cheney said it a number of times on different TV shows, such as Meet the Press.  I do not have poll numbers on this but anecdotally, I would guess that most Americans thought there was a connection between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein.  No proof of that has ever been found.  Moreover, Osama bin Laden hated Hussein because of the secular nature of his government.  Hussein was a bad man for sure but women had more rights under his government than they do in other countries in the area – including our ally, .  Much of what I am saying here has also been published in different books, including but not limited to: Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War  , by Michael Isikoff (Author), David Corn (Author) – http://www.amazon.com/Hubris-Inside-Story-Scandal-Selling/dp/030734682X/ref=sr_1_1/002-8156637-3173631?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176320685&sr=8-1; State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III by Bob Woodward (Author) – http://www.amazon.com/State-Denial-Bush-War-Part/dp/0743272234/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-8156637-3173631?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176321051&sr=1-1

 

The war, before and during with a pit stop at after in between:   It is really hard to know where to start with this.  Paul O’Neill, this administration’s first Treasury Secretary  appeared on 60 Minutes, “From the very beginning, there was a conviction, that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go,” says O’Neill, who adds that going after Saddam was topic "A" 10 days after the inauguration – eight months before Sept. 11.” (http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5510.htm).  This is important because, if true, colors everything they said about .   I have no idea why getting rid of Hussein was so important to Dubya, some people think if he wasn’t so focused on Iraq that 9/11 could have been prevented but I am not one of them, but I also don’t think the government planned it so if anyone reads this and feels the need to send me links to sites with video or other ‘proof’ that the WTC were blown up by US, the UN is about to take over the US with black helicopters or any other conspiracies – please don’t).  http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040329/scheer

 

Pre-war intelligence, sketchy at best.   According to the books above, Dubya began planning the war years before he got permission from Congress to do it.   At the SOTU mentioned above, Dubya said, “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from .”  Former Ambassador Joe Wilson was sent there to investigate the claim and found no evidence to support it.   They admitted this was false and George Tenet, CIA Director quit over it.  How do I know he was lying – look at the above books.  They assert that the White House was almost desperate to find evidence against Hussein.  No one in the intelligence community believed this and some asked the White House to remove this sentence from the speech but Dubya himself put it back in.   Oh, and as for the claim that had ‘weapons of mass destruction’, none have been found and the evidence they ever existed is sketchy at BEST.  PS.  Your military was decimated by a global super-power but you have really dangerous weapons, do you use them when the same super-power attacks or do you let them come in and kill you?  I am no military expert but I would use them if I had them. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040329/scheer

 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!! In May 2003, Dubya flew onto an aircraft carrier and announced that the war was over and did it in front of a huge banner that read “Mission Accomplished.” http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/28/mission.accomplished/

Among other things I have done, Presidential advance is one of them and I do not need a link or anything else to know the White House was full of crap when they said they were not responsible.  Advance people plan every aspect of events like that and no backdrop goes without approval from the White House.  An event like that would have had the top people working on it.  Not only did they lie about the banner, the banner itself was a lie.  Since we are still there, clearly the mission has NOT been accomplished.

 

To be continued…

 

 

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