Posted by Mary Mancini on August 31, 2005 under Uncategorized | 
Dan Froomkin in the Washington Post has the questions being asked around Washington and the blogosphere Wednesday morning:
• If the reason Bush returned to Washington is that he is more effective here, then why didn’t he come back two days ago?
• If the White House considers the return from vacation largely symbolic, then what is the symbolism of his long vacation during a war?
• Could Bush and the federal government have done more to prepare for hurricane recovery? Unlike the Asian tsunami, this hurricane was forecast days ahead of time.
• Did any of his previous budget decisions allow the hurricane to cause more damage than it might have otherwise?
• Are National Guard troops and equipment required to restore order in this country many thousands of miles away.
• Will he and his administration meet this disaster quickly and effective with the appropriate civilian and military resources and manpower?
•Will the White House provide the bold leadership and vision that the nation requires?
Posted by Mary Mancini on under Uncategorized |
Is the aim to reduce the number of abortions in this country or not? If the answer is “yes,” then can we please make Plan B, aka the “morning-after pill,” available to everyone and not just the well-off who can get a prescription for it?
FDA Official Quits Over Delay on Plan B : Women’s Health Chief Says Commissioner’s Decision on Contraceptive Was Political
Posted by Mary Mancini on August 30, 2005 under Uncategorized |
Number of People Living in Poverty Increased by 1.1 Million in 2004. Approximately 1.1 million people fell out of the middle class into poverty in 2004, an increase of 5.4 million people living in poverty since Bush took office in 2001. The poverty rate has increased from 12.5 to 12.7 percent over the past year, increasing for the fourth consecutive year. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table B-1]
Nearly 1 in 5 American Children Lived in Poverty During 2004. 13 million children lived in poverty in 2004, an increase of about 1.4 million since the beginning of the Bush Administration. This comes on the heels of a 730,000 increase in the number of children living in poverty in 2003. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table B-2 ]
As defined by the Office of Management and Budget and updated for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, the average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2004 was an income of $19,307; for a family of three, $15,067; for a family of two, $12,334; and for unrelated individuals, $9,645.
For more info
Posted by Mary Mancini on August 26, 2005 under Uncategorized |
“Outlook for Children Appears to be Bleak” by Judith R. Tackett (Nashville City Paper)
“The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth began working with some sobering statistics Wednesday as it began developing a Children’s Agenda for the state.
One in five Tennessee children lives in poverty, placing the state at the 40th worst ranking compared to the rest of the nation.
Almost one in three Tennessee high school students does not graduate from high school, with an estimated graduation rate in 2000 of 67.7 percent.
Nearly two of three children (63 percent) placed in secure juvenile detention are children of color even though they make up only 23 percent of Tennessee’s total youth population.
Overall, the state received the 43rd worst ranking in this year’s Kids Count study released in July, which shows that Tennessee has remained stagnant in its overall ranking for the past three years.” Read more…
Stagnant for three years? For more info and to help, go here.
Posted by Mary Mancini on August 22, 2005 under Uncategorized |
Mary and Freddie have taken Monday and Tuesday off. Mary will be back with guest co-host , Cecily Friday, this Thursday from 8 to 10 am on WRVU-FM.
Posted by Mary Mancini on August 19, 2005 under Uncategorized |
From the NY Times: “The Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, aligned himself with President Bush today when he said that the theory of “intelligent design” should be taught along with evolution in public schools.” He said, “I think today a pluralistic society should have access to a broad range of fact, of science, including faith.” Absolutely, Senator, but not in 9th grade biology. Oh, and “faith” is not a science.Read more…
I guess his time at Reality Ranch™ was just a short detour on his way back to YouCanCatchAidsfromSweatandTears Land.
Posted by Mary Mancini on under Uncategorized |
We thought there was a line that the conservative media wouldn’t dare cross. We thought that they might not crank up their smear machine to full attack mode and spare the mother of a dead altar boy, Eagle Scout, honor student, Marine. We were so wrong. They know no decency.
Their politics of hate is disgusting. And heartbreaking.
ADDENDUM: Frank Rich adds another level of analysis in his latest column, The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan: “When the Bush mob attacks critics like Ms. Sheehan, its highest priority is to change the subject. If we talk about Richard Clarke’s character, then we stop talking about the administration’s pre-9/11 inattentiveness to terrorism. If Thomas Wilson is trashed as an insubordinate plant of the “liberal media,” we forget the Pentagon’s abysmal failure to give our troops adequate armor (a failure that persists today, eight months after he spoke up). If we focus on Joseph Wilson’s wife, we lose the big picture of how the administration twisted intelligence to gin up the threat of Saddam’s nonexistent W.M.D.’s.” Read more…
Posted by Mary Mancini on under Uncategorized |
What They Did Last Fall By PAUL KRUGMAN
“By running for the U.S. Senate, Katherine Harris, Florida’s former secretary of state, has stirred up some ugly memories. And that’s a good thing, because those memories remain relevant. There was at least as much electoral malfeasance in 2004 as there was in 2000, even if it didn’t change the outcome. And the next election may be worse.”
Blood Runs Red, Not Blue By BOB HERBERT
“You have to wonder whether reality ever comes knocking on George W. Bush’s door. If it did, would the president with the unsettling demeanor of a boy king even bother to answer? Mr. Bush is the commander in chief who launched a savage war in Iraq and now spends his days happily riding his bicycle in Texas.
This is eerie. Scary. Surreal.”
Posted by Mary Mancini on August 18, 2005 under Uncategorized |
Robert Unlikely to Face Big Fight
Democrats have decided that unless there is an unexpected development in the weeks ahead, they will not launch a major fight to block the Supreme Court nomination of John G. Roberts Jr., according to legislators, Senate aides and party strategists.
Woodward: Cheney to run in ‘08
Renowned journalist Bob Woodward predicts Dick Cheney will be the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2008 and that the vice president could face Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton in a dramatic partisan showdown.
Democrats embrace tough military stance
Democrats Conflicted on Playing Rough
After months of internal debate and closed-door discussions, Democrats have begun to develop a more aggressive foreign policy that focuses heavily on threats they say are being neglected by the Bush administration, while avoiding taking a contentious stance on Iraq.
Big-Government Conservatives
Mr. Bush’s attempt at spending discipline has been especially limp.
Bush not as popular as Reagan or Clinton
President Bush’s standing with an American public anxious about Iraq and the nation’s direction is lower than that of the last two men who won re-election to the White House — Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton — at this point in their second terms.
Abramoff Indictment May Echo in Other Cases, Ex-Prosecutors Say (Bloomberg)
The U.S. indictment of Jack Abramoff on fraud charges in Florida may reverberate throughout Washington as federal prosecutors increase pressure on the Republican lobbyist to cooperate in other investigations.
FEC Faults Accounting at DeLay’s PAC (Washington Post)
The Federal Election Commission criticized a political fund chaired by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) for misstating accounts and failing to report debts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Lavish RNC funding of accused consipirator’s defense is criticized
A New Hampshire member of the Republican National Committee was “uncomfortable” to learn that the RNC has used its donors’ contributions to pay more than $700,000 in legal bills for accused 2002 GOP phone-jamming conspirator James Tobin.
Posted by Mary Mancini on August 17, 2005 under Uncategorized |
Maureen Dowd in today’s NY Times: “How could President Bush be cavorting around on a long vacation with American troops struggling with a spiraling crisis in Iraq?
Wasn’t he worried that his vacation activities might send a frivolous signal at a time when he had put so many young Americans in harm’s way?
“I’m determined that life goes on,” Mr. Bush said stubbornly.
That wasn’t the son, believe it or not. It was the father - 15 years ago.”
and
“‘I just don’t like taking questions on serious matters on my vacation,’ the usually good-natured Bush senior barked at reporters on the golf course. ‘So I hope you’ll understand if I, when I’m recreating, will recreate.’ His hot-tempered oldest son, who was golfing with his father that day, was even more irritated. “Hey! Hey!” W. snapped at reporters asking questions on the first tee. ‘Can’t you wait until we finish hitting, at least?’”Read more…
