This Is a Start, But Dems Must Get Tougher

Oil's Corrupting Influence

Just when the American people think they have heard it all about oil company corruption, a new report just released by the Inspector General of the Interior Department documents a "culture of ethical failure" in the office of the Mineral Management Service, the federal agency in charge of offshore drilling.

 

Government officials handling billions of dollars in oil royalties partied, had sex with and accepted golf and ski outings from employees of energy companies they were dealing with.  Chevron, Shell, Hess Corp, and Gary-Williams Energy Corp., were all named according to the report.  Secretary of the Interior Dick Kempthorne promised swift action to restore the public trust, and said he was outraged by the immoral behavior, illegal activities and appalling misconduct.

 

None of this would have happened if the energy companies involved would not have offered this illegal and unethical activity to the government employees.  Mr. Kempthorne should have equally harsh words for the oil companies also.  Energy companies who do this are worse than the people who accept their favors and should be branded as such.  There can be no corruption without those who corrupt.

 

Elected officials need to completely cut contact with representatives of the oil companies and treat them like they do the average taxpayer.  Those who corrupt care nothing about the people, only greed and unethical behavior.  Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) of the House Natural Resources plans to hold congressional hearings on the report.

 

Once again this is just another example (too many to number) of a given agency operating without any checks and balances or oversight that is so familiar to the Bush ideology of non regulation.  Secretary Kempthorne followed that script for his department.

 

The minerals management services royalty in kind program handles billions of dollars and the program was supposed to take a business model approach but officials donned a private-sector approach to everything they did, often flounting government ethics rules the report also said.

 

Oil companies, the same guys who are putting pressure on Congress to open up offshore drilling while at the same time refusing to drill on millions of acres they own or lease in the United States.  Congress should tell them to go take a hike.

The Presidential Election and The Economy

With the November election only 50 plus days away and the economy being a top issue with the American voters, I will write a series of articles dealing with the two candidates and their party's intention on the economy.  Both parties have a clear record to be judged on, so there should not be any excuse for voters not to know which party and candidate will perform the best.

 

The readers of Politidose know from previous articles I have written that, in my judgement, the Democratic party's performance is the best by far in creating an economy that is sustained with a balanced budget, surpluses, even job creation, low unemployment, rising wages, low inflation, low oil and gas prices, and reasonable increases in spending.  

In the series of articles I will go back some years and share with the readers thoughts of some economic leaders of the past and also past presidents.  In the end, I believe the reader will understand why past Democratic administrations were able to do better for the country and its people.

 

If the American people stop and realize that when President Bush leaves office in 4 months, that he will leave behind an administration that is the biggest deficit spending and debt creator of all time and never had an economic plan to pay for his reckless deficit spending, the American people should surely know how important this election will be.

 

Next up: Part I

Debunking the Lies

President Bush: a "C" For Protecting America

Seven years after the 9-11 attacks, the federal government has made only limited progress toward preventing a catastropic nuclear, biological, or chemical attack on U.S. soil and stemming the proliferation of WMD abroad, according to a report issued on 9/10/08 by 22 former U.S. officials.

 

The Bipartisan Partnership for a Secure America, a panel co-chaired by Lee Hamilton, gave the U.S. an overall grade "C".  Once again, Mr. Bush's tough talk about keeping America safe are contrary to the facts.  John McCain, if elected president, will continue the Republican tough talk and we will still be in Iraq fighting the wrong war under his leadership.  McCain is a military veteran, and we should be proud of that, but he lacks common sense when it comes to fighting the people who harmed us on 9-11 and instead fighting a war in Iraq for 100 years.

 

By the way, McCain publicly said he knew how to win wars.  Has any one heard him say what war he has won?  I am surely not aware of any wars he has won.  And if he knows how to win wars, maybe he should share this knowledge with the proper authorities so we can actually win the two wars we are fighting, instead of keeping this information secret and only releasing it if he is elected President.  When you think about it, McCain is almost blackmailing the American people to vote for him to win the war.  Once again, this just proves that the Republicans lack the basis values of truth, or any other value for that matter.  

Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac: Another Government Bailout

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson recently announced the take over of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the federal government.  The move was done, said Paulson, in a bid to help reverse a prolonged housing and credit crisis with the idea being to keep owners in their homes.

 

It has been estimated that the bailout will cost at least $250 billion, but Paulson said he could not say for sure.  Regardless, it is another bill the tax payers will be saddled with, and once again it happened on the Republican watch.  While speaking about the financial crisis a few weeks ago, President Bush who thought the mic were off said, "Wall Street got drunk."  What he failed to say was Wall Street got drunk because of his own policies --- no oversight and a lack of regulation by the regulators charged with that responsibility.

 

We have the Wall Street scandal of manipulating the market, the mortgage scandal, and the federal bail out of Bear Stearns along with the infamous Enron scandal --- all on Mr. Bush's watch.  I have mentioned in previous articles how Republican administrations seduce the public with tax cuts that benefit the wealthy and then get into the tax payers pockets a hundred different ways. If the voters took time and examined the fiscal and economic record of the last three Republican presidents, Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43, which covers a 20 year period, they would be shocked to find how badly they performed compared to the Democratic administration of Bill Clinton.

 

Bottom line: a vote for John McCain in November is a vote for the continuation of this Republican pattern with its reckless policies.

Rachel Maddow: The Smartest Voice on Cable

Take a look at two of her segments from tonight's show:

The Rachel Maddow Show airs weeknights on MSNBC following Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann. I would recommend everyone watches it.

Fair is Fair

Republicans have had and will in the future have no problem bringing up Rev. Wright in an effort to damage Obama's candidacy.  Now we find out that Sarah Palin's church and personal religious statements are less than conventional, to say the least.  For all that talk of the "liberal media" there sure hasn't been much talk on Palin's religious views even though that "liberal media" had no problem talking about Rev. Wright non-stop, so why is Palin's similar situation off limits?  It shouldn't be, and kudos to Rachel Maddow for bringing it up on her inaugural show tonight --- more shows and networks need to take notice.

It's not that religion should play any role in politics, because it should not, in any way.  The problem is that it appears Sarah Palin thinks religion does have a role, a huge role at that, to play in politics, and scarier still, in policy decisions.  The governor as recently as June of this year has stated that the Iraq War is God's will and that members of her congregation should pray for her oil pipeline proposal to succeed.  

Then, of course, there is the pastor who visited her church who claimed that the Jews being killed in Israel are being killed as a punishment from God since Jews do not believe Jesus is the Messiah.  And what about her church teaching that one can "pray away the gays".  Or how about the idea that the rapture is ever approaching, and that, get this, Alaska is the promised refuge during that supposed great time of peril.  

Please, give me a break.  This is not just religious right wacky (although Palin has that covered with her stances on abortion and creationism), this is frightening, radical thinking.  And the idea that one candidate can have their church's dirty laundry, a church which they didn't even attend consistently, aired for weeks straight and another candidate, who is, by the way, on record as being in church on days when that harsh rhetoric was spewed, can get the proverbial "get-out-of-jail-free card" throws out any claims of "objective journalism".  Fair is fair, or at least should be, but that is not how the media is acting.  Hopefully, they will pick up this story and make Sarah Palin answer those same tough questions that Barack Obama had to.  

Joe Biden Meets the Press

Senator Joe Biden, Vice Presidential nominee for the Democratic party, appeared on Meet the Press yesterday.  Moderator Tom Brokaw started the program off and showed his Republican colors immediately by talking about the Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin. 

 

Brokaw then questioned Senator Biden about the surge in Iraq and the full situation there and tried to get Senator Biden to admit the surge was working.  Biden proved to be an expert on foreign affairs and pointed out how Sen. Obama and his original position is turning out to have been the correct one concerning the Iraq War and the surge.  Senator Biden pointed out John McCain had no plan concerning Iraq on withdrawal or how to end the war there.  In short, Biden made Brokaw look like the ill informed reporter he has become.  As a matter of fact, Brokaw had a problem reading his own notes on the questions he wanted to ask --- Tim never had that problem. 

 

Mr. Brokaw then asked about the divisive issue Republicans turn to election after election: abortion.  Senator Biden was sharp as a tact on the issue.  He pointed out his belief and said religion is a private matter and would not try to influence other people belief's on the issue.  Biden also said he does not talk about his religion while campaigning.  The Senator from Delaware made the best response on the issue of abortion I have ever heard from a politician.  To people with common sense and those who wish to return to sanity, it should be the final word concerning abortion. 

 

This was a unfortunately a probable preview of what Tom Brokaw will be like when he moderates one of the Presidential debates.  He will more than likely show his Republican colors there, too.  Hopefully I'm wrong, but after being a journalist for many years, it's a sad fact that Brokaw can not bring himself to be objective.  

Hurricane Evacuation: A Personal Perspective

As a native of a state that sits on the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Gustav caused my family to evacuate 250 plus miles into eastern Alabama and the panhandle of Florida.  This was our third evacuation including Ivan, Katrina, and Gustav.

 

Leaving is a little strange for me since during my teen years and early adulthood we rode the storms out at home.  As a teen it was actually fun --- no school for a couple of days; after the storm passed we played in the water on the streets and actually swam in the ditches that were deep enough.  We did not worry much as teenagers, as we let the adults do the worrying and, for that matter, the work.  When we lost power we did everything inside by candle light, which at the time, was pretty exciting.  I hate to say it, but we actually had fun during those storms.

 

Since I am now a parent and grandparent I know now, mine must not have enjoyed all the work and the un knows.  I say that because now it is not as enjoyable to me --- board up the house windows; make all the preparations; leave town; come back after the storm; clean up, and that's if you even still have a house.  Once you come back, you have to deal with power shortages; not many stores open; phones not working, etc.  I think I definitely liked it more when I was a teenager.

 

Growing up, we had no TV to show the track of the storm and all the possibilities of where it would finally hit like we have today.  All we had was a radio report saying the storm will land tomorrow at such and such a time and location.  Also storms were not named so it was hard to keep track of what storm they were talking about when two were out there. 

 

The upside of being a parent and grandparent is that I am able to pass along my experiences to my children and grandchildren on how to prepare for the storms and the precautions that should be taken.  I hope I can make a difference for them because their safety and well being is the most important thing to me.  I would rather be overly cautious and safe than take a gamble with the unknown.