Archive for May 19th, 2007
Carter is Not the Model on How to be a Former President
May 19th, 2007
Former one-term President Jimmy Carter is harping to the press about what a lousy president George W Bush is.
Former President Carter says President Bush’s administration is “the worst in history” in international relations, taking aim at the White House’s policy of pre-emptive war and its Middle East diplomacy.
The criticism from Carter, which a biographer says is unprecedented for the 39th president, also took aim at Bush’s environmental policies and the administration’s “quite disturbing” faith-based initiative funding.
“I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history,” Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper’s Saturday editions. “The overt reversal of America’s basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me.”
Carter spokeswoman Deanna Congileo confirmed his comments to The Associated Press on Saturday and declined to elaborate. He spoke while promoting his new audiobook series, “Sunday Mornings in Plains,” a collection of weekly Bible lessons from his hometown of Plains, Ga.
“Apparently, Sunday mornings in Plains for former President Carter includes hurling reckless accusations at your fellow man,” said Amber Wilkerson, Republican National Committee spokeswoman. She said it was hard to take Carter seriously because he also “challenged Ronald Reagan’s strategy for the Cold War.”
Douglas Brinkley, a Tulane University presidential historian and Carter biographer, described Carter’s comments as unprecedented.
“This is the most forceful denunciation President Carter has ever made about an American president,” Brinkley said. “When you call somebody the worst president, that’s volatile. Those are fighting words.”
This from the man who gave us the misery index of 21% interest rates, told us we were in a malaise as a country and would never get better, had 52 Americans held hostage for over 400 days in Iran and consulted his then twelve-year old daughter on the problems of nuclear proliferation.
In fact, in Carter’s term in office we first experienced Islamofascism and all he could manage to do was send 3 helicopters to rescue them with no chance of surviving.
I don’t wish ill on the man but I do wish he’d shut up and write or do whatever it is he does besides bash his own country and the sitting president.
A bit late getting this up, but important none the less.
May 19th, 2007
If you know a man or woman who has served or is serving this country in the US military, offer them extra thanks today.
Armed Forces Day
“America Supports You”
Saturday, May 19, 2007
PDF Version President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country.
Politicians to Troops: Sorry, Guys, But We Just Don’t Care Enough to Supply You
May 19th, 2007
Instead of doing the Constitutional thing and voting to defund the war Congress has decided to let our soldiers die by a thousand cuts.
The Democrats still want to tie supplemental funding to withdrawal dates while knowing the president will veto it. This time we have waivable timelines, whatever their definition of “waivable” is.
We are over 100 days from the president’s request for supplemental funding and we haven’t made any progress on it whatsoever.
We are way past the critical point and I feel so bad for the soldiers who put their lives at risk every day and this is the thanks they get.
Negotiations for emergency war funds stalled as soon as they began yesterday, with both the White House and the Democrat-led Congress immediately rejecting the other’s modest concessions.
After emerging from an hourlong Capitol Hill meeting, President Bush’s chief of staff, Joshua B. Bolten, said the Democrats’ offer of waivable timelines for withdrawing troops from Iraq were unacceptable.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the White House’s proposal of policy benchmarks, backed up by the threat of cutting off aid to Iraq, was too weak.
The Democratic leaders, who say they will continue to push for an end to the war in Iraq, plan to draft a funding bill over the weekend and pass it by the end of next week, before Congress takes a weeklong Memorial Day break beginning May 28.
“Whether [the president] vetoes the bill or not is up to him,” said Mr. Reid, Nevada Democrat. “We have a responsibility to the American people, and we’re going to live up to that every minute of the next week.”
Mr. Bush vetoed the $124 billion bill Congress sent him last month because it included a pullout timetable, and he has made it clear he will veto any measure that restricts funds or dictates military strategy.
“Whether waivable or not, timelines send exactly the wrong signal to our adversaries, to our allies and, most importantly, to the troops in the field,” Mr. Bolten said. “The president is the one who has the authority to act as commander in chief. He needs to be the one making those decisions.”
The Republican National Committee released internal poll results yesterday that showed the majority of voters siding with Mr. Bush in the funding standoff, though the country remains deeply divided over the war.
About 60 percent say war funds should not come with a pullout timetable, and 32 percent say Congress should withhold funds until the president agrees to a withdrawal schedule, according to the poll. It also showed that 56 percent of voters say that setting a withdrawal date lets the enemy know when they can win.
But both sides vowed to stand firm in the tussle over $100 billion to pay for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan until the end of the fiscal year.
I’m tired of the same old rhetoric and I’m sick of our soldiers having to bend over and get a kick in the pants from their own government.
This is not a large blog and probably never will be, but we have many people who visit every day and don’t make comments.
I’m asking you to contact your Congressman on Monday and tell him or her it’s time to get a bill through that can be passed for the sake of our troops who didn’t ask to be in this situation.
If you don’t know the name or telephone number of your Congressman go here.
You can find information on how to contact your senators here, and you can find contact information for the White House switchboard here.
Everyone claims to support the troops. Now let’s see some action and stop with the lip service.
And if you want to show some personal support for the troops go here and give a couple of $25 donations to make a soldier’s life a little more pleasant. So you give up a couple of meals out. It will be worth it.
If you give to the USO you probably will want to know what your gift will do. Check the FAQs as the link I gave you is only from the receipt of what I sent and not the original information.
One question you will probably have is asked and answered here:
What items are included in the packages?
Generally, the care package contains, at a minimum, one prepaid international calling card, a disposable camera, toiletries, sunscreen and a generic message of support from the sender. Other items that are donated from manufacturers are included so that the maximum weight of each package is approximately 2 lbs. The retail value of each package generally is between $50 and $75.
Congressman to Introduce Resolution to Reprimand Murtha
May 19th, 2007
In all honesty, I must say Congressman John Murtha has grown too big for his pants since the last election.
Murtha is known for his fondness of earmarks, particularly in his district.
When, during a meeting of the powerful appropriations subcommittee on military spending, which Mr. Murtha chairs, Republican Congressman Mike Rogers of Michigan tried unsuccessfully to strike an earmark (pork) from an intelligence bill, Congressman Murtha didn’t take too kindly to it.
In fact, he walked over to the Republican side of the House of Representatives and this exchange occurred:
During a series of House votes Thursday, Murtha walked to the chamber’s Republican side to confront Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., a 43-year-old former FBI agent. Earlier this month, Rogers had tried unsuccessfully to strike a Murtha earmark from an intelligence spending bill. The item would restore $23 million for the National Drug Intelligence Center, a facility in Murtha’s Pennsylvania district that some Republicans say is unneeded.
According to Rogers’ account, which Murtha did not dispute, the Democrat angrily told Rogers he should never seek earmarks of his own because “you’re not going to get any, now or forever.”
“This was clearly designed to try to intimidate me,” Rogers said in an interview Friday. “He said it loud enough for other people to hear.”
House rules prohibit lawmakers from placing conditions on earmarks or targeted tax benefits that are based on another member’s votes. [Rules are made to be broken or changed. ED]
Murtha’s office, asked for response Friday, issued a three-sentence statement: “The committee and staff give every Democrat and Republican the same consideration. We have extensive hearings and every request is given careful consideration. We will continue to do just that.”
I’ll make a bet with anyone that Murtha will not be reprimanded by the House and another one that Congressman Rogers’ requests for earmarks will be given consideration and then voted down.
That’s just an educated guess based on how acrimonious this Congress has become.
Posted in Congress, Congressional Pork, Games in Washington, House of Representatives | 
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