Archive for July, 2009

The $106 billion the United States insists on throwing at Iraq and Afghanistan each year just because George W. Bush and Dick Cheney had visions of a “New American Century” dancing in their heads, has from the start been a draining expense the nation could ill afford. And this huge outlay of taxpayer cash comes… »

Bad things happen when those in power lack seriousness. Not long ago we had a Republican president who told Iraqi insurgents: “Bring ‘em on!” Now we have a Republican governor in California who sees the state’s current budget catastrophe as nothing but a big joke. Why else would Arnold Schwarzenegger post a tasteless Twitter video… »

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his horde of retrograde Republican lawmakers got everything they wanted in a horrific bargain with Democratic legislative leaders that has ended (for the time being) California’s budget impasse. Not only will there not be a single cent raised for the state by taxing oil or tobacco, Schwarzenegger and the Republicans privatized… »

Walter Cronkite was the kind of television news anchor that simply no longer exists. Yes, he was on board with Lyndon Johnson’s war in Vietnam in the early years, which reflected the bipartisan consensus of the time, but by 1968, when the Tet Offensive laid bare all of the savage illusions of that catastrophic war,… »

As the most sweeping reforms ever of our tattered health care system wind their way through Congress the majority of Americans who support these desperately needed measures must understand that failure at this crucial point will not only be a disaster for the nation, but also for the Democratic Party. The Democratic leadership, including President… »

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, amidst the worst economic depression in seventy years, demands that the state legislature dismantle what he calls the state’s “luxury model” social programs. To justify his budget cutting zeal he has repeatedly sounded the alarm that we’re in the midst of an economic catastrophe. But nothing will shake his religious belief,… »

As the California budget crisis continues to be a showdown between a recalcitrant Executive and a weak-kneed Legislature, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, discussing the merciless state budget cuts he has proposed, insisted to Mark Leibovich of the New York Times Magazine (July 5, 2009): “I see the faces behind those dollars. I see the children whose… »

 
The California State Senate adjourned at midnight unable to pass three stopgap bills that would have saved the state $7 billion. In an attempt to appease Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger the Democratic leaders of the state legislature hastily drew up the three complicated bills to try to stave off fiscal collapse and the necessity to begin… »