Cedric's Big Mix: As usual, no standards at the White House

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

As usual, no standards at the White House

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

NPR'S SCOTT HORSLEY COULDN'T STOP RAVING OVER OMB PETER ORSZAG AND HIS "PHYSIQUE" ON MORNING EDTION TODAY. HE GUSHED TO RENEE MONTAGNE ABOUT THE 'STUD' AND HOW PETER JUST GOT "ONE GIRLFRIEND PREGNANT" AND IS SET TO MARRY ANOTHER.

NONE OF IT SEEMED IN KEEPING WITH SOMEONE WORKING FOR THE WHITE HOUSE BUT SCOTT HORSLEY WAS IN LOVE.

SO MUCH SO HE FORGOT TO MENTION WHO ORSZAG IS ENGAGED TO: BIANNA GOLODRYGA.

AND SHE IS? A REPORTER FOR ABC.

BOUNDARIES, IF THE WHITE HOUSE BELIEVED IN THEM NO ONE WOULD WORK THERE.

NPR, LIKE MOUSY TINA FEY, APPEARS TO FORGET THAT THERE COULDN'T BE "BOMBSHELL" MCGEE IF THERE WEREN'T A LOT OF MEN BEING APPLAUDED FOR LOOSE STANDARDS.

THE WHITE HOUSE APPEARS TO FORGET THAT PETER ORSZAG'S ACTIONS MAKE A MOCKERY OF BARRY O'S LAUGHABLE FATHERHOOD 'INITIATIVE' INCLUDING FATHERHOOD.ORG.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Moving over to the finanical cost of war, at the start of this month, the Institute for Public Accuracy offered a dollar amount for the financial costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars: $1 trillion dollars. BBC notes that the costs for the UK government in fighting the two wars has surpassed the 20 billion pound mark -- which would be approximately 29.7 billion US dollars. They go on to note, "Critics questioned why the UK was spending so much on conflict when public finances were in a dire state." The US has spent much, much more than that but ask yourself when you ever heard the anchor of the ABC, CBS or NBC news note that anyone might wonder why, when the US' economy is "in a dire state," the government was spending so much money on war? Carl Ramey (North Carolina's Pilot) notes, "Amazing, isn't it? We can talk endlessly about the nation's debt crisis and rampant spending, but nary a word about two wars that are costing us more than $12 billion every single month, and whose cumulative costs, over the past eight years, have already surpassed $1 trillion."

Last week, the Washington Post offered an editorial (noted in Friday's snapshot) asserting the US Senate Armed Services Committee was acting irresponsibly, Senator Carl Levin, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, responds:

The Post's recent editorial on U.S. funding for Iraq's defense ministry ["Poor transition," June 18] accused the Senate Armed Services Committee of ignoring "a few facts" in trimming $1 billion from the administration's request of $2 billion for Iraq security funding. That's funny, because The Post ignored plenty of facts in its editorial.

The Post made two arguments: that Iraq's budget is in such terrible shape that it can't make up the funding difference on its own and that the cut sends a message "that the long-term strategic partnership" between our two nations "is likely to be barren." Both arguments are wrong.

The case that Iraq's budget is in worse shape than our own, and therefore the country is unable to provide funding for its own defense, is simply false. The Post ignored the fact that just this month, Iraq's finance minister reported that the budget has a $10 billion surplus, thanks to rising oil prices, and that projections for future deficits have fallen. At the same time that oil prices are bringing a budget windfall, Iraq is slashing spending on its security.

Even with our approved cut, U.S. taxpayers will contribute $1 billion next year directly to building Iraq's military, in addition to the cost of maintaining our troop presence. I doubt American taxpayers see that as a "barren" commitment.

Supporters of the Iraq war downplayed or ignored the costs in advocating invasion. Those costs now total more than $800 billion. The American taxpayer can't ignore those costs, and neither can we in Congress.

Carl Levin, Washington

Wednesday the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing which is covered in Wednesday's snapshot and Friday's snapshot. Alaska's Senator Mark Begich did the bulk of the questioning in the first panel and chaired the second panel. His office notes:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Julie Hasquet, Press Secretary
(907) 258-9304 office
(907) 350-4846 cell
June 16, 2010
2010-120

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, chairing a hearing of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, today secured a commitment from the Veterans Administration (VA) to a high level meeting in the next three months with officials from the Indian Health Services (IHS) to focus on ways to improve care for rural veterans.

The topic of the hearing was VA Health Care in Rural Areas and included testimony from three Alaska witnesses directly involved in health care delivery to Alaska's veterans.

"I am pleased the VA recognizes the challenges faced by Alaska's veterans, particularly in rural areas, in accessing affordable and easily available health care services," Begich said. "The more we can coordinate and find ways to improve the system, the better off Alaska's veterans will be."

The committee heard testimony from Dan Winkelman, Vice President and General Counsel at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation; Brigadier General Deborah McManus, Assistant Adjutant General and Commander, Alaska National Guard; and Verdie Bowen, Director, Office of Veterans Affairs, Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

All of the Alaska witnesses testified about the difficulty in providing efficient services for veterans in rural parts of the state.

Winkelman testified that high energy, food and personnel costs add to the enormous disparity rural veterans have in accessing health care, a problem compounded by the fact there are few veterans health facilities in rural areas.

"To lack access upon their return from duty to culturally appropriate and quality health care services by the VA is a shame," Winkelman said.

Witnesses talked about the possibility and need for allowing rural veterans to access care at IHS funded facilities and have the VA reimburse the provider later, in many cases saving money and time by not forcing veterans to travel to Alaska's larger cities where VA facilities are located.

In response to the testimony and under questioning from Sen. Begich, VA Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management, William Schoenhard agreed to organize a high level meeting between VA and IHS officials in the next few months.

"We should collaborate. I would certainly welcome how we can better serve and get veterans engaged with IHS," Schoenhard testified.

Schoenhard admitted the VA doesn't have a thorough understanding of some of the obstacles faced by rural veterans and is looking at ways to revitalize the Rural Pilot Project, an outreach program designed to enroll more rural Alaska veterans in the VA health system.

And finally, David Bacon offers photos of a San Francisco demonstration "Afternoon Unloading of Israeli Ship at Oakland Port Canceled after Morning Protest" (Berkeley Daily Planet):

"Hundreds of demonstrators from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area set up early morning picketlines in front of four gates into the SSA terminal in the Port of Oakland, as a ship carrying Israeli cargo was preparing to dock. Demonstrators were protesting the Israeli attack on the flotilla that sought to break the blockade of Gaza, in which Israeli troops killed nine people. In response to the picketline, members of Local 10 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union decided not to go into the terminal and unload the cargo. In the afternoon, with picketlines again in front of the gate, the stevedoring company decided not to ask for a crew of longshosre workers to unload the ship, in the expectation that the crew would again not enter the terminal."

David Bacon's latest book is Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press) which won the CLR James Award. Bacon can be heard on KPFA's The Morning Show (over the airwaves in the Bay Area, streaming online) each Wednesday morning (begins airing at 7:00 am PST).