Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Nader Rules Out Green Party Run
Ralph Nader Rules Out Green Party Run
Tue Dec 23, 1:55 PM ET
By ELIZABETH WOLFE, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
- Ralph Nader, the third-party candidate viewed by many Democrats as the spoiler of the 2000 election for taking votes away from Al Gore, has decided not to run on the Green Party ticket next year, a party spokesman said Tuesday.
Reuters Photo
Nader, who garnered nearly 3 percent of the national vote in the last presidential election, has not ruled out running for president as an independent and plans to make a decision by January.
"I think we're all a little bit disappointed," said Scott McLarty, a Green Party spokesman. "I suspect Mr. Nader would have gotten the nomination."
Nader called party officials Monday to inform them of his decision, said Ben Manski, a Green Party co-chairman and spokesman. Nader's reasons were not clear, Manski said.
Nader could not be reached Tuesday. A Nader spokeswoman said he was not immediately available for comment.
New York's Green Party urged Nader to reconsider, saying in a statement Tuesday that a separate run could be "disastrous" for both Nader and the party, in part because it could confuse voters and divide the infrastructure and resources that a single national campaign could help build.
Six people have already declared their intentions to be the party's nominee, including Green Party general counsel David Cobb and Peter Camejo, the party's candidate in the California recall election. McLarty said a front-runner will likely emerge before the party's convention in Milwaukee in June.
Nader stumped for Camejo in California and has also mentioned him as a possible Green candidate.
A consumer activist who became a household name decades ago for his efforts to push the auto industry to improve safety standards, Nader appeared on many Democrats' hate list after the 2000 election. Gore lost decisive Florida by fewer than 600 votes, while Nader got nearly 100,000 there. Many Democrats are convinced enough of those voters would have swung the election to Gore if Nader had not been on the ballot.
Nader and the Green Party rebuff such criticism, blaming a biased Supreme Court decision, the Florida Republican Party and Gore himself for running a weak campaign.
In an effort to gauge support, Nader has a new Web site and an exploratory committee, attends small fund-raisers, and has mailed letters to supporters. He said he has raised more than $100,000, mostly to pay expenses for the exploratory network, but is noncommittal on whether the resources are sufficient yet to persuade him to run.
"We're awaiting the feedback on resources and volunteers," he said in an interview Monday.
Nader said running as an independent would not hurt his campaign. "As an independent, you can do more innovative things because you don't have to check with all the bases," he said.
But McLarty said Tuesday it would be hard for Nader to get his name on the ballot in all states.
"He doesn't have the infrastructure to do that," he said.
The Green Party is debating whether to take a nominee on a full state-by-state campaign or to adopt a "safe state" strategy. Under that method, the party would mostly avoid states up for grabs, in order not to jeopardize the Democratic candidate's chances against President Bush.
Comments-[ comments.]
Tue Dec 23, 1:55 PM ET
By ELIZABETH WOLFE, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
- Ralph Nader, the third-party candidate viewed by many Democrats as the spoiler of the 2000 election for taking votes away from Al Gore, has decided not to run on the Green Party ticket next year, a party spokesman said Tuesday. Reuters Photo
Nader, who garnered nearly 3 percent of the national vote in the last presidential election, has not ruled out running for president as an independent and plans to make a decision by January.
"I think we're all a little bit disappointed," said Scott McLarty, a Green Party spokesman. "I suspect Mr. Nader would have gotten the nomination."
Nader called party officials Monday to inform them of his decision, said Ben Manski, a Green Party co-chairman and spokesman. Nader's reasons were not clear, Manski said.
Nader could not be reached Tuesday. A Nader spokeswoman said he was not immediately available for comment.
New York's Green Party urged Nader to reconsider, saying in a statement Tuesday that a separate run could be "disastrous" for both Nader and the party, in part because it could confuse voters and divide the infrastructure and resources that a single national campaign could help build.
Six people have already declared their intentions to be the party's nominee, including Green Party general counsel David Cobb and Peter Camejo, the party's candidate in the California recall election. McLarty said a front-runner will likely emerge before the party's convention in Milwaukee in June.
Nader stumped for Camejo in California and has also mentioned him as a possible Green candidate.
A consumer activist who became a household name decades ago for his efforts to push the auto industry to improve safety standards, Nader appeared on many Democrats' hate list after the 2000 election. Gore lost decisive Florida by fewer than 600 votes, while Nader got nearly 100,000 there. Many Democrats are convinced enough of those voters would have swung the election to Gore if Nader had not been on the ballot.
Nader and the Green Party rebuff such criticism, blaming a biased Supreme Court decision, the Florida Republican Party and Gore himself for running a weak campaign.
In an effort to gauge support, Nader has a new Web site and an exploratory committee, attends small fund-raisers, and has mailed letters to supporters. He said he has raised more than $100,000, mostly to pay expenses for the exploratory network, but is noncommittal on whether the resources are sufficient yet to persuade him to run.
"We're awaiting the feedback on resources and volunteers," he said in an interview Monday.
Nader said running as an independent would not hurt his campaign. "As an independent, you can do more innovative things because you don't have to check with all the bases," he said.
But McLarty said Tuesday it would be hard for Nader to get his name on the ballot in all states.
"He doesn't have the infrastructure to do that," he said.
The Green Party is debating whether to take a nominee on a full state-by-state campaign or to adopt a "safe state" strategy. Under that method, the party would mostly avoid states up for grabs, in order not to jeopardize the Democratic candidate's chances against President Bush.
Naughty & Nice 2003
This "Nauchty & Nice List" for 2003 from the Center for American Progress was posted on the Young Democrats of America Discussion List at Yahoo!Groups. Thought you'd find it interesting. If you want to visit the links to some of the things it mentions, visit the list on the web here.
Naughty & Nice 2003
The Progress Report makes this year's holiday list and checks it twice
by David Sirota, Christy Harvey and Judd Legum
Look for a special Year-End Progress Report December 30. And make your New Year's Resolution to read the Progress Report every day, when regular editions return January 5, 2004
December 23, 2003
Advocacy Groups
NICE - MoveOn.org: For creating a new commitment to political involvement among the nation's youth.
NAUGHTY - AARP: For abandoning its commitment to the nation's senior citizens and its dues paying members.
Americans and Troops
NICE – Operation Hero Miles: For collecting unused frequent flier miles from Americans and giving them to soldiers trying to fly home to see their families. So far, "the generosity of thousands of travelers this holiday season means soldiers can get 6,700 free plane tickets allowing them to spend quality time with family and friends without worrying about how much it will cost."
NAUGHTY – Loan Sharks: For preying on cash-strapped troops. As more national guard soldiers are called up for prolonged periods of time, they're not making as much money as they were on the outside. Smelling the potential blood in the water, "military bases across the nation are magnets for so-called payday lenders, which make money charging fees as high as $30 every two weeks per $100 borrowed - equal to a 720 percent annual interest rate."
Americans and Troops Part II
NICE – Military Families Speak Out: For highlighting the problem of the severe body armor shortage in Iraq. Because of their work putting this crisis in the spotlight, Congress forced the Administration to make sure more soldiers are better equipped.
NAUGHTY - U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt: For saying the media should be focused on Iraqi reconstruction, which he called "a better and more important story than losing a couple of soldiers every day," despite representing a state where thousands of U.S. troops are stationed.
Anchors
NICE – Jon Stewart: For having a sense of humor and showing people that politics can be more interesting than Bill O'Reilly.
NAUGHTY – Bill O'Reilly: For having no sense of humor and convincing FOX to sue Al Franken.
Civil Liberties
NICE – DoJ Inspector General: For exposing abuses of post-9/11 detainees.
NAUGHTY - 20 Guards at Brooklyn Detention Center: For slamming and bouncing detainees against the wall, twisting their arms and hands in painful ways, stepping on their leg restraint chains and punishing them by keeping them restrained for long periods of time. MDC staff members then attempted to hide video tapes and other evidence documenting the detainees mistreatment.
Columnists
NICE – Walter Cronkite: For coming back on the scene with a new column.
NAUGHTY – Ann Coulter: For still writing her swill.
Congress
NICE – Lawmakers Who Care About Troops: For forcing the President to fund more body armor for soldiers.
NAUGHTY – Lawmakers Who Care About Food Names: For spending energy renaming foods like Freedom Fries instead of adequately protecting our troops.
Economy
NICE – The Corporate Recovery: For growing GDP, up 8.2% in the third quarter, showing that America's macro-economic indicators are beginning to move up.
NAUGHTY – The Labor Market Lag: For leaving American workers out of the recovery, as wages remain down and companies are pocketing the profit from the increased productivity without passing it down.
Education
NICE – Author David Eggers: For parlaying his fame from his best-selling work, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, into the phenomenal "826 Valencia" project in which "Eggers and about 400 volunteers teach writing and comics creation, run workshops on SAT preparation and help kids launch student publications. They deploy 20 to 30 tutors at a time into classrooms at the request of teachers for one-on-one work on student writing." Eggers has also been one of the leaders in pushing the Bush Administration to preserve AmeriCorps.
NAUGHTY – Texas School Board: For rejecting a "widely used" environmental text book, in part for claiming there was scientific consensus for global warming and championing solar energy. The board threw out the formal review of the book, relying instead on a report by the ultraconservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, saying the author's claim that air travel has "an increasingly high environmental cost...makes Osama Bin Laden into a hero of sorts for discouraging air travel in the United States and elsewhere."
Environment
NICE - Trees: For providing habitat for wildlife, diminishing the effects of pollution and making the world a more beautiful place.
NAUGHTY – The Bush Administration: For proposing a "Healthy Forest Initiative" that allows the timber industry to cut down trees.
Gamblers
NICE – Chris Moneymaker: For making us believe in the little guy by winning the World Series of Poker.
NAUGHTY – Bill Bennett: For preaching about morals for years while covering up a serious gambling habit.
Governors
NICE- Govs. Pawlenty (MN), Blagojevich (IL) and Benson (NH): For rebelling against federal strictures and leading the charge to give seniors access to cheaper drugs from Canada.
NAUGHTY - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: For pledging during his campaign not to accept money from "special interests" which he defines as "those that actually negotiate contracts with the state," then accepting "a $50,000 contribution from ACS State and Local Solutions, Inc. The Texas firm provides information technology support and outsourced labor to governments throughout the country.
Holiday Bonuses
NICE – SAS Shoemakers: For awarding its employees bonuses of $1,000 for every year worked at the company.
NAUGHTY – Tower Automotive: For giving their workers $15 gift cards redeemable at a local grocery store before Thanksgiving, only to decide the cards were subject to taxation and taking $5.51 out of the workers' next paychecks.
Intelligence
NICE - State Dept. Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs: For writing a comprehensive study focusing on plans to overcome difficulties in rebuilding Iraq.
NAUGHTY – The Pentagon's Office of Special Plans: For failing to plan for the reconstruction of Iraq,elbowing aside experienced intelligence professionals and ignoring the State Department study on rebuilding Iraq.
Internet Phenomena
NICE - Friendster: For introducing us to more people.
NAUGHTY – Paris Hilton: For introducing us to her sex life.
Kids
NICE - Kids: For being so darn cute.
NAUGHTY – House Majority Leader Tom Delay: For using poor children as a pretext to circumvent the law and funnel charitable contributions to wine and dine corporate fat cats for partisan political purposes.
National Security
NICE - The CIA: For writing the National Intelligence Estimates that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice did not read before putting inaccurate claims into the President's major national security speeches.
NAUGHTY – Condoleezza Rice: For saying the government didn't have warning about 9/11 on the same day the White House admitted it was warned about hijacked planes weeks before 9/11; for not reading memos and thus allowing the President to make false nuclear claims in his State of the Union address; for refusing to testify before the independent 9/11.
Political Television
NICE –The West Wing: For continuing to make Americans believe that politics can be entertaining.
NAUGHTY - K Street: For (yawn) making Americans believe that politics is a cure for insomnia.
Prescription Drugs
NICE - Canada: For negotiating with big pharmaceutical companies to obtain affordable, safe drugs.
NAUGHTY – The FDA: For rejecting reimportation on "safety" grounds, despite its own officials admitting that there have never been safety problems with drugs from Canada. And CONGRESS for bowing to pressure from PhRMA and not allowing Medicare to negotiate better prices from powerful pharmaceutical companies.
Reconstruction Efforts
NICE – Morocco: For offering 2000 landmine-detonating monkeys to join the coalition of the willing in Iraq at no charge.
NAUGHTY – Halliburton: For receiving more than $2 billion in no-bid government contracts, and then overcharging the government by at least another $61 million. In return, it fed soldiers serving in Iraq unsanitary food.
Rush
NICE – Rush Limbaugh: For admitting he has a drug problem and seeking help.
NAUGHTY – Rush Limbaugh: For saying "if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up."
Senators
NICE – Sens. John McCain and Chuck Hagel: For telling the truth when the going got rough.
NAUGHTY – Sens. Max Baucus and John Breaux: For falling into the conservative line when the going got rough.
State Legislators
NICE – Fmr. Georgia Lawmaker Dan Ponder: For standing up for his beliefs. This conservative Republican from rural southwestern Georgia was expected to mount a vigorous opposition to a bitterly debated hate crimes bill but stood up and gave an impassioned, stirring speech defending it. The bill passed 116-49. He was awarded this year's Kennedy Library's Profile in Courage.
NAUGHTY – Unnamed Texas State Senator: For telling colleague Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, during a discussion about the chaos surrounding Texas redistricting, “If you are going to act like Mexicans, you will be treated like Mexicans.”
Taxes
NICE – Gov. Bob Riley (AL): For trying to avoid crippling fiscal crisis while giving a hand to the working poor by narrowing the state's incredible income inequality and shifting the tax burden to big corporations.
NAUGHTY – Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist and Dick Armey: For twisting the truth and leading a well-financed charge to defeat the tax proposal, leaving wealthy corporations rich and the state budget drowning in red ink.
Think Tanks
NICE – Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: For regularly printing substantive, factual reports on policy issues by people without enormous egos.
NAUGHTY - The Heritage Foundation's Townhall.com: For using the guise of a think tank to publish substance-free partisan rants by egomaniacs Ann Coulter and Kathleen Parker that call for political opponents to "be lined up and shot."
Troops
NICE - U.S. Troops: For being named TIME's Person of the Year "for uncommon skills and service, for the choices each one of them has made and the ones still ahead, for the challenge of defending not only our freedoms but those barely stirring half a world away."
NAUGHTY – The Bush Administration: For trying to roll back recent modest increases in monthly imminent-danger pay (from $225 to $150) and family-separation allowance (from $250 to $100) for American troops.
Web Sites
NICE - www.whatgoesaround.org: For "offering a vast smorgasbord of 900,000 non-profit groups" where Americans can register their charity preferences. Instead of receiving gifts for special occasions, users can point friends and family to their personal 'givelist' of preferred charities. So far more than 1,800 Americans have registered and more than $16,000 has been distributed.
NAUGHTY – The NRA: Forquietly posting a blacklist of American people and corporations not agreeing with their gun policies. The list includes Walter Cronkite, Boys II Men, MaryLou Retton, Kevin Bacon, Doug Flutie, Jimmy Carter, the American Medical Association and the baking conglomerate Sara Lee.
And Finally
NAUGHTY – Spam: For clogging our inboxes
NICE – The Progress Report: For also clogging our inboxes...but in a good way!
Comments-[ comments.]
Naughty & Nice 2003
The Progress Report makes this year's holiday list and checks it twice
by David Sirota, Christy Harvey and Judd Legum
Look for a special Year-End Progress Report December 30. And make your New Year's Resolution to read the Progress Report every day, when regular editions return January 5, 2004
December 23, 2003
Advocacy Groups
NICE - MoveOn.org: For creating a new commitment to political involvement among the nation's youth.
NAUGHTY - AARP: For abandoning its commitment to the nation's senior citizens and its dues paying members.
Americans and Troops
NICE – Operation Hero Miles: For collecting unused frequent flier miles from Americans and giving them to soldiers trying to fly home to see their families. So far, "the generosity of thousands of travelers this holiday season means soldiers can get 6,700 free plane tickets allowing them to spend quality time with family and friends without worrying about how much it will cost."
NAUGHTY – Loan Sharks: For preying on cash-strapped troops. As more national guard soldiers are called up for prolonged periods of time, they're not making as much money as they were on the outside. Smelling the potential blood in the water, "military bases across the nation are magnets for so-called payday lenders, which make money charging fees as high as $30 every two weeks per $100 borrowed - equal to a 720 percent annual interest rate."
Americans and Troops Part II
NICE – Military Families Speak Out: For highlighting the problem of the severe body armor shortage in Iraq. Because of their work putting this crisis in the spotlight, Congress forced the Administration to make sure more soldiers are better equipped.
NAUGHTY - U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt: For saying the media should be focused on Iraqi reconstruction, which he called "a better and more important story than losing a couple of soldiers every day," despite representing a state where thousands of U.S. troops are stationed.
Anchors
NICE – Jon Stewart: For having a sense of humor and showing people that politics can be more interesting than Bill O'Reilly.
NAUGHTY – Bill O'Reilly: For having no sense of humor and convincing FOX to sue Al Franken.
Civil Liberties
NICE – DoJ Inspector General: For exposing abuses of post-9/11 detainees.
NAUGHTY - 20 Guards at Brooklyn Detention Center: For slamming and bouncing detainees against the wall, twisting their arms and hands in painful ways, stepping on their leg restraint chains and punishing them by keeping them restrained for long periods of time. MDC staff members then attempted to hide video tapes and other evidence documenting the detainees mistreatment.
Columnists
NICE – Walter Cronkite: For coming back on the scene with a new column.
NAUGHTY – Ann Coulter: For still writing her swill.
Congress
NICE – Lawmakers Who Care About Troops: For forcing the President to fund more body armor for soldiers.
NAUGHTY – Lawmakers Who Care About Food Names: For spending energy renaming foods like Freedom Fries instead of adequately protecting our troops.
Economy
NICE – The Corporate Recovery: For growing GDP, up 8.2% in the third quarter, showing that America's macro-economic indicators are beginning to move up.
NAUGHTY – The Labor Market Lag: For leaving American workers out of the recovery, as wages remain down and companies are pocketing the profit from the increased productivity without passing it down.
Education
NICE – Author David Eggers: For parlaying his fame from his best-selling work, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, into the phenomenal "826 Valencia" project in which "Eggers and about 400 volunteers teach writing and comics creation, run workshops on SAT preparation and help kids launch student publications. They deploy 20 to 30 tutors at a time into classrooms at the request of teachers for one-on-one work on student writing." Eggers has also been one of the leaders in pushing the Bush Administration to preserve AmeriCorps.
NAUGHTY – Texas School Board: For rejecting a "widely used" environmental text book, in part for claiming there was scientific consensus for global warming and championing solar energy. The board threw out the formal review of the book, relying instead on a report by the ultraconservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, saying the author's claim that air travel has "an increasingly high environmental cost...makes Osama Bin Laden into a hero of sorts for discouraging air travel in the United States and elsewhere."
Environment
NICE - Trees: For providing habitat for wildlife, diminishing the effects of pollution and making the world a more beautiful place.
NAUGHTY – The Bush Administration: For proposing a "Healthy Forest Initiative" that allows the timber industry to cut down trees.
Gamblers
NICE – Chris Moneymaker: For making us believe in the little guy by winning the World Series of Poker.
NAUGHTY – Bill Bennett: For preaching about morals for years while covering up a serious gambling habit.
Governors
NICE- Govs. Pawlenty (MN), Blagojevich (IL) and Benson (NH): For rebelling against federal strictures and leading the charge to give seniors access to cheaper drugs from Canada.
NAUGHTY - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: For pledging during his campaign not to accept money from "special interests" which he defines as "those that actually negotiate contracts with the state," then accepting "a $50,000 contribution from ACS State and Local Solutions, Inc. The Texas firm provides information technology support and outsourced labor to governments throughout the country.
Holiday Bonuses
NICE – SAS Shoemakers: For awarding its employees bonuses of $1,000 for every year worked at the company.
NAUGHTY – Tower Automotive: For giving their workers $15 gift cards redeemable at a local grocery store before Thanksgiving, only to decide the cards were subject to taxation and taking $5.51 out of the workers' next paychecks.
Intelligence
NICE - State Dept. Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs: For writing a comprehensive study focusing on plans to overcome difficulties in rebuilding Iraq.
NAUGHTY – The Pentagon's Office of Special Plans: For failing to plan for the reconstruction of Iraq,elbowing aside experienced intelligence professionals and ignoring the State Department study on rebuilding Iraq.
Internet Phenomena
NICE - Friendster: For introducing us to more people.
NAUGHTY – Paris Hilton: For introducing us to her sex life.
Kids
NICE - Kids: For being so darn cute.
NAUGHTY – House Majority Leader Tom Delay: For using poor children as a pretext to circumvent the law and funnel charitable contributions to wine and dine corporate fat cats for partisan political purposes.
National Security
NICE - The CIA: For writing the National Intelligence Estimates that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice did not read before putting inaccurate claims into the President's major national security speeches.
NAUGHTY – Condoleezza Rice: For saying the government didn't have warning about 9/11 on the same day the White House admitted it was warned about hijacked planes weeks before 9/11; for not reading memos and thus allowing the President to make false nuclear claims in his State of the Union address; for refusing to testify before the independent 9/11.
Political Television
NICE –The West Wing: For continuing to make Americans believe that politics can be entertaining.
NAUGHTY - K Street: For (yawn) making Americans believe that politics is a cure for insomnia.
Prescription Drugs
NICE - Canada: For negotiating with big pharmaceutical companies to obtain affordable, safe drugs.
NAUGHTY – The FDA: For rejecting reimportation on "safety" grounds, despite its own officials admitting that there have never been safety problems with drugs from Canada. And CONGRESS for bowing to pressure from PhRMA and not allowing Medicare to negotiate better prices from powerful pharmaceutical companies.
Reconstruction Efforts
NICE – Morocco: For offering 2000 landmine-detonating monkeys to join the coalition of the willing in Iraq at no charge.
NAUGHTY – Halliburton: For receiving more than $2 billion in no-bid government contracts, and then overcharging the government by at least another $61 million. In return, it fed soldiers serving in Iraq unsanitary food.
Rush
NICE – Rush Limbaugh: For admitting he has a drug problem and seeking help.
NAUGHTY – Rush Limbaugh: For saying "if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up."
Senators
NICE – Sens. John McCain and Chuck Hagel: For telling the truth when the going got rough.
NAUGHTY – Sens. Max Baucus and John Breaux: For falling into the conservative line when the going got rough.
State Legislators
NICE – Fmr. Georgia Lawmaker Dan Ponder: For standing up for his beliefs. This conservative Republican from rural southwestern Georgia was expected to mount a vigorous opposition to a bitterly debated hate crimes bill but stood up and gave an impassioned, stirring speech defending it. The bill passed 116-49. He was awarded this year's Kennedy Library's Profile in Courage.
NAUGHTY – Unnamed Texas State Senator: For telling colleague Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, during a discussion about the chaos surrounding Texas redistricting, “If you are going to act like Mexicans, you will be treated like Mexicans.”
Taxes
NICE – Gov. Bob Riley (AL): For trying to avoid crippling fiscal crisis while giving a hand to the working poor by narrowing the state's incredible income inequality and shifting the tax burden to big corporations.
NAUGHTY – Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist and Dick Armey: For twisting the truth and leading a well-financed charge to defeat the tax proposal, leaving wealthy corporations rich and the state budget drowning in red ink.
Think Tanks
NICE – Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: For regularly printing substantive, factual reports on policy issues by people without enormous egos.
NAUGHTY - The Heritage Foundation's Townhall.com: For using the guise of a think tank to publish substance-free partisan rants by egomaniacs Ann Coulter and Kathleen Parker that call for political opponents to "be lined up and shot."
Troops
NICE - U.S. Troops: For being named TIME's Person of the Year "for uncommon skills and service, for the choices each one of them has made and the ones still ahead, for the challenge of defending not only our freedoms but those barely stirring half a world away."
NAUGHTY – The Bush Administration: For trying to roll back recent modest increases in monthly imminent-danger pay (from $225 to $150) and family-separation allowance (from $250 to $100) for American troops.
Web Sites
NICE - www.whatgoesaround.org: For "offering a vast smorgasbord of 900,000 non-profit groups" where Americans can register their charity preferences. Instead of receiving gifts for special occasions, users can point friends and family to their personal 'givelist' of preferred charities. So far more than 1,800 Americans have registered and more than $16,000 has been distributed.
NAUGHTY – The NRA: Forquietly posting a blacklist of American people and corporations not agreeing with their gun policies. The list includes Walter Cronkite, Boys II Men, MaryLou Retton, Kevin Bacon, Doug Flutie, Jimmy Carter, the American Medical Association and the baking conglomerate Sara Lee.
And Finally
NAUGHTY – Spam: For clogging our inboxes
NICE – The Progress Report: For also clogging our inboxes...but in a good way!
Lumps of Coal
This was posted on The Progress Report, and I thought it was interesting.
Here is a news update from Taxpayers for Common Sense. TCS is the best organization that monitors excessive government spending, corruption and corporate welfare.
LUMPS OF COAL
During the holiday season, many little American girls and boys are reminded that if they've been bad they might wake up on Christmas day to find a lump of coal in their stocking. Unfortunately, this rule doesn't apply to special interests, many of which certainly haven't been good for goodness sake.
This week, the watchdogs here at Taxpayers for Common Sense put on a stocking cap and beard and have been sniffing through all of the past year's legislation for special interest giveaways that lawmakers have tried to push through the Congress. Today we bring you our first ever list of recipients of our Lumps of Coal Awards. They go to efforts by corporations or individuals to raid the federal treasury or to rip off taxpayers.
Even though they were not successful, the winner of the biggest lump of coal is Boeing Co. for its efforts to secure a $29 billion contract to lease 100 refueling tankers to the Air Force. Not only would this have been one of the biggest corporate welfare giveaways in the history of our nation, it was a classic case of political malfeasance in Washington. Darlene Druyun, the former Air Force official who took a top job at Boeing immediately after negotiating the deal on the Air Force's behalf, would share the prestigious prize.
Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) deserve of our coal "accolades" for their misuse of the political process to pile the pork onto this year's energy bill. Before they got their hands on the bill its total cost was about $61 billion. When they were finished with it, the price had skyrocketed to a whopping $96 billion. This bill was powered by pork, with almost every special interest in Washington getting a piece of the action.
Coal kudos should also go out to Donald Rumsfeld and the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Andrew Nastios for their efforts in drastically downplaying the costs of the Iraq War and Reconstruction. Ad nauseam, Rumsfeld ridiculed anyone who tried to come up with estimates on the real costs of the war (many of which were strikingly on target) and Nastios claimed earlier this year that U.S. taxpayers would not have to pay more than $1.7 billion to reconstruct Iraq. The price tag of the two Iraq spending bills brings the current tab to $166 billion and we are still counting.
Hummer Dealerships are awarded for their misguided advertising choices. They exploited a loophole in the tax code that allows small businesses to deduct almost the full cost of a $110,000 H1 Hummer. This has led to Hummers flying off dealership lots at the expense of taxpayers.
Retiring Sen. John Breaux (R-LA) wins a double lump of coal for topping the list of unrepentant, over the top pork barrelers in Washington. Oil & Gas subsidies, Medicare, you name it, whenever the Senator had a chance to help special interests rip us off, he took advantage of it. Breaux narrowly edges out Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-MN), who was quoted this month saying "No One enjoys pork more than I do."
The good news is that many of the actions that won these folks lumps of coal were stopped dead in their tracks. The bad news is that many of them will continue trying to rip us off in the New Year. While the rest of us resolve to eat better and exercise more, perhaps these folks will promise to stop trying to rip off the American people. How's that for a New Year's resolution?
Comments-[ comments.]
Here is a news update from Taxpayers for Common Sense. TCS is the best organization that monitors excessive government spending, corruption and corporate welfare.
LUMPS OF COAL
During the holiday season, many little American girls and boys are reminded that if they've been bad they might wake up on Christmas day to find a lump of coal in their stocking. Unfortunately, this rule doesn't apply to special interests, many of which certainly haven't been good for goodness sake.
This week, the watchdogs here at Taxpayers for Common Sense put on a stocking cap and beard and have been sniffing through all of the past year's legislation for special interest giveaways that lawmakers have tried to push through the Congress. Today we bring you our first ever list of recipients of our Lumps of Coal Awards. They go to efforts by corporations or individuals to raid the federal treasury or to rip off taxpayers.
Even though they were not successful, the winner of the biggest lump of coal is Boeing Co. for its efforts to secure a $29 billion contract to lease 100 refueling tankers to the Air Force. Not only would this have been one of the biggest corporate welfare giveaways in the history of our nation, it was a classic case of political malfeasance in Washington. Darlene Druyun, the former Air Force official who took a top job at Boeing immediately after negotiating the deal on the Air Force's behalf, would share the prestigious prize.
Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) deserve of our coal "accolades" for their misuse of the political process to pile the pork onto this year's energy bill. Before they got their hands on the bill its total cost was about $61 billion. When they were finished with it, the price had skyrocketed to a whopping $96 billion. This bill was powered by pork, with almost every special interest in Washington getting a piece of the action.
Coal kudos should also go out to Donald Rumsfeld and the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Andrew Nastios for their efforts in drastically downplaying the costs of the Iraq War and Reconstruction. Ad nauseam, Rumsfeld ridiculed anyone who tried to come up with estimates on the real costs of the war (many of which were strikingly on target) and Nastios claimed earlier this year that U.S. taxpayers would not have to pay more than $1.7 billion to reconstruct Iraq. The price tag of the two Iraq spending bills brings the current tab to $166 billion and we are still counting.
Hummer Dealerships are awarded for their misguided advertising choices. They exploited a loophole in the tax code that allows small businesses to deduct almost the full cost of a $110,000 H1 Hummer. This has led to Hummers flying off dealership lots at the expense of taxpayers.
Retiring Sen. John Breaux (R-LA) wins a double lump of coal for topping the list of unrepentant, over the top pork barrelers in Washington. Oil & Gas subsidies, Medicare, you name it, whenever the Senator had a chance to help special interests rip us off, he took advantage of it. Breaux narrowly edges out Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-MN), who was quoted this month saying "No One enjoys pork more than I do."
The good news is that many of the actions that won these folks lumps of coal were stopped dead in their tracks. The bad news is that many of them will continue trying to rip us off in the New Year. While the rest of us resolve to eat better and exercise more, perhaps these folks will promise to stop trying to rip off the American people. How's that for a New Year's resolution?
Political Quizzes
Where exactly do you stand in the overall political scheme of things?
Try out some of the neat political quizzes posted on the left hand side of this page.
Comments-[ comments.]
Try out some of the neat political quizzes posted on the left hand side of this page.
Top 10 Perry Tales: Results Are In
The results of the Texas Democratic Party's 'Top 10 Perry Tales of 2003' are in. Here's the press release from the state party:The ‘Top 10 Perry Tales’ of 2003!
-Texans Say Redistricting Perry’s Biggest Mistake in Online Poll-
(AUSTIN) – The results are in. Of the many blunders made by Gov. Rick Perry this year, none stood out in the voters’ minds as did his flip-flop on congressional redistricting.
Participants in an online survey conducted by the Texas Democratic Party overwhelmingly chose Perry’s sellout to Tom DeLay’s power grab as the worst Perry Tale of 2003.
And they had a lot to pick from. Rick Perry had quite a year. When he wasn't spending millions of tax dollars to try to create the perfect cow, he was costing Texas families and businesses millions more in sweetheart deals for his political cronies or personal power grabs.
After promising not to call a special session on redistricting, Perry went back on his word and wasted $10 million taxpayer dollars on three unnecessary special sessions in his surrender of the agenda to Tom DeLay.
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Charles Soechting said Perry this year cemented his reputation as the most corrupt and anti-democratic governor in Texas history.
“Texas is learning about Rick Perry and his power-drunk Republican antics, and though it's taken a while, the evidence is starting to show that government to him is just a way to funnel money to his rich campaign contributors," Soechting said. "But Texas voters will soon have their say about Rick and his cronies. And then they will say, 'Ya basta, Rick!'"
To view the actual results of the poll, go the Texas Democratic Party website. The Top 10 Perry Tales of 2003 are listed below:
Perry Wastes $10 Million on Three Redistricting Special Sessions After Promising Not To (61%)
“Gov. Rick Perry pledged not to call a special session on the topic.” (Dallas Morning News, 1/30/03)
“Gov. Rick Perry has said he won’t call a special session to deal with congressional redistricting.” (Dallas Morning News, 2/24/03)
“Gov. Rick Perry announced that he is calling lawmakers back to Austin on June 30 for a 30-day special session to reconsider a redistricting bill.” (Dallas Morning News, (6/19/2003)
“Within minutes, Mr. Perry summoned lawmakers back immediately for a second 30-day special session.” (Dallas Morning News, 7/29/2003)
“Gov. Rick Perry has called a third special legislative session that is set to begin Monday, his spokeswoman said Tuesday.” (Dallas Morning News, 9/09/2003)
Perry Has Disabled Activists Arrested Outside His Office (8%)
"I was saddened to see those folks get arrested. We seem to have reached a new low in denying accessibility to the disabled people of this state. Some people in government forget the Capitol is not their office. It is the people's office," said Rep. Mike Wise (D-Weslaco). “A spokeswoman for Perry said she believes the activists were only trying to ‘get on TV.’" (The Brownsville Herald, 4/12/03)
Perry Considers Phil Gramm’s ‘Dead Peasant’ Retired Teacher Insurance Proposal (6%)
“The chairman of the Texas Democratic Party called on Gov. Rick Perry to terminate discussions to have the state purchase life insurance policies on thousands of retired teachers in order to earn the death benefits. ‘It is outrageous that Rick Perry would try to put the state of Texas into the death business,’ said Charles Soechting. ‘You don't fund state government by taking out life insurance policies on retired teachers and cashing in upon their death.’" (Houston Chronicle, 12/06/2003)
Perry Raises ‘Tax on the Middle-Class’ and Hikes State University Tuition (5%)
“Recent proposals to deregulate tuition at Texas universities will allow administrators to tailor costs for students at each individual institution, Gov. Rick Perry said. Some school officials have expressed concern that deregulation would increase tuition and shift the financial burden from the state to students and their families.” (Associated Press, 2/17/2003)
Perry Parks in Handicapped Space While Filing Bush’s Papers (5%)
“‘It was kind of ironic in a sense because it's the governor ... and you
would think he would respect the signs out on the street, especially for the
handicapped,’ said a witness to Perry's vehicle being parked in a space marked with a green and blue sign with a wheelchair emblem warning ‘Reserved Parking $50-$200 fine without vehicle permit.’” (Associated Press, 12/10/2003)
Perry Spends $10 million to Study Cow DNA During Budget Crisis (4%)
"Bovine genome sequencing holds enormous potential," Perry wrote to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, "and is in the best interest of our country." (Austin American Statesman, 03/05/2003)
Perry Cuts Funding for G.I. Forum in Retaliation for Redistricting Protests (4%)
"It appears that veterans are the first causality of redistricting. It is very clear Perry is upset because we exercised our freedom of speech rights,” said the education chairwoman of the Felix Longoria Chapter of the G.I. Forum. (Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 7/18/03)
Perry Breaks Pledge and Imposes $2.7 Billion in Fines, Fees on Texans (3%)
''‘While the Legislature made significant reductions in many services in their effort to find their way out of what was a tough budget situation, they also enacted a series of new laws that will increase fees, charges and other out-of-pocket expenses for Texas citizens and business,’ Strayhorn said. ‘These costs that helped balance the budget will have a lasting impact on the lives and livelihood of our citizens.’" (Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 08/30/2003)
Perry Admits Republicans Unprepared to Lead on Education (2%)
Perry said action on school finance reform and the tax system would be "too much to ask of new leaders," including Lt. Gov.-elect David Dewhurst and presumptive House Speaker Tom Craddick. (Austin American Statesman, 01/09/2003)
Perry Uses Taxpayer Funded Non-Profit to Fundraise (2%)
“Gov. Rick Perry has drawn fire for soliciting corporations for donations to the state's economic development fund, promising exclusive lunches and quail hunts to Texas executives who donate $150,000. State Democratic Party Chairman Charles Soechting called the solicitation an ‘extortion racket’ that ‘is both greedy and seedy.’ ‘He should immediately apologize to the businesses to whom he is trying to sell access,’ said Mr. Soechting.” (Dallas Morning News, 11/05/2003)
