I was going to let the day pass without comment, and let all the GOPers agitatin' go the way of Code Pink ... into irrelevancy.
But seriously, they're protesting the outrageous spending of the Obama Administration because it means that our grandchildren will be paying off our debts. How convenient their short memories are ... they've already forgotten what the Bush Administration did over the last 8 years.
Let's take a look at the amount of public debt the U.S. Government has taken on over the last 8 fiscal years, courtesy of the Bureau of Public Debt: (hat tip to bonddad)
Date
$$ of Public Debt
9/30/2008
$10,024,724,896.912.49
9/30/2007
$9,007,653,372,262.48
9-30/2006
$8,506,973,899,215.23
9/30/2005
$7,932,709,661,723.50
9/30/2004
$7,379,052,696,330.32
9/30/2003
$6,783,231,062,743.62
9/30/2002
$6,228,235,965,597.16
9/30/2001
$5,807,463,412,200.06
9/30/2000
$5,674,178,209,886.86
Bush started his first year in office with a little more than $5.7 trillion in public debt. He left office with the public debt over $10 trillion, and the wingnuts are NOW noticing?
As bonddad states in his diary over at Kos, they are not protesting the spending ... they're protesting the fact that a Democratic Administration is doing the spending.
So many times when we get together you have to put up with me complaining about something...and there are lots of other times when it's me warning about events that are looming in our future.
Even though they're conversations we need to have, they're often not very emotionally satisfying.
Today we depart from that pattern, in a very good way.
It's "follow-up day"; and the conversation takes us to three "happy places": two "problem" stories that have recent positive progress to report-and, just because I care about you, Gentle Reader, an exclusive preview of the George W. Bush autobiography, obtained with considerable effort from an unnamed and particularly well-placed source.
There's a lot to cover, so let's jump right in and tell you what you need to know.
I'd heard rumors from business owners in Alexandria that somebody with Secret Service protection was coming to Alexandria on Monday. The Alexandria Town Talk has confirmed that President Bush will be in Alexandria on Monday.
It is interesting to note that in an election year, less than three weeks before the election, in a state supposedly trending Republican, the President will not be boosting the Republican candidates in two districts that were represented by Republican officeholders - LA-04 and LA-06 - for over 15 years, and one currently represented by a Republican incumbent - LA-07. All three districts are less than an hours' drive from Alexandria, and yet the President will not be showing up in those districts.
No, he's showing up in a district where there is NO election, thanks to the fact that no Democratic candidate stepped up to challenge the traitorous and ethically challenged Rodney Alexander.
Well, well, well ... Lord Boustany is getting nervous about his re-election prospects out in LA-07. How do I know? Because he's trying to get down with the common folks of Louisiana by telling us all that he is "proud to support S-CHIP and Louisiana's LaCHIP" as he stated in an official House email to constituents last week.
The truth, however, lends a, well, different perspective on Lord Boustany's "support" for SCHIP and LaCHIP. Consider the following:
Lord Boustany voted NAY on passage of the reauthorizing SCHIP bill on September 25, 2007. It passed the House by a vote of 265 to 159, which means some Republicans (45 of 'em) voted YEA.
Does the above voting record show "support" for SCHIP and LaCHIP? Voting 4 separate times against renewing the funding for SCHIP in less than 5 months? Yeah, that's support, alright!
And the bill Lord Boustany touts as showing his "support" for SCHIP? It's a bill to gather information about the "effectiveness" of SCHIP and LaCHIP. And when did he introduce it? A mere two weeks after State Senator Don Cravins, Jr. qualified to run against him this fall. Yep ... the Lord of Lafayette is gettin' scared.
Such a bill is the first step in a future attempt to show that "big government" doesn't work, so we shouldn't fund this program. The conservative agenda to drown the government in the bathtub and outsource government services to big business is being served oh, so very well by Lord Boustany, who constantly harps on ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely.
I agree that taxpayer dollars ought to be spent wisely ... which is what has me wondering why I never hear such talk from Lord Boustany about ensuring that our taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely in Iraq, but he can't stop bloviating on and on about ensuring that taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely on social programs like ensuring that poor children have quality health care.
But it gets so much better, as I posted earlier about the fundraising #'s of both candidates in the 2Q. I pointed that not only was the Kennedy campaign out-raised by Senator Landrieu, but Kennedy's fundraising total without President Bush was about $420,000 less than he had raised last quarter. So what does the Kennedy campaign do?
I expect that to last until they both officially file the reports with the Senate ... and it will come out that Senator Landrieu has out-raised the walking punchline otherwise known as John Neely Kennedy.
If I'm wrong, I'll donate $10 to Senator Landrieu's campaign up in the right corner of this blog. If I'm right, I want one of y'all to donate $10 to Senator Landrieu's campaign.
I know the NewOrleansbloggers have been all over it. But I want to highlight some grafs that caught my eye, as they show how Karl Rove installed Governor PBJ in the Governor's chair with the actions of the White House in the aftermath of the Federal Flood:
On Monday, August 29, 2005, at about 6:00 a.m., Hurricane Katrina slammed into the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. A category 5 hurricane until just before landfall, it was one of the worst storms ever to hit the Gulf Coast. Kathleen Blanco, the governor of Louisiana, had been briefed extensively about what to expect when the storm hit, which was why, on the Friday night before the storm reached the coast, she signed papers declaring Louisiana to be in a state of emergency. Based on what she had been told by her advisers and what she knew from being a native Louisianan, she understood that Katrina, creeping gradually toward land with sustained winds of a strength rarely seen in a hurricane, could prove to be catastrophic for Louisiana, and particularly for New Orleans.
The first evidence of Rove's involvement in the Katrina disaster occurred on Tuesday afternoon. "Rove understood what a nightmare this was for the president," Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana says, "so he went into high gear on the spin thing they're so good at in the White House. Rove had David Vitter, the Republican senator from Louisiana. I was at a press conference and David Vitter walked up to the mike and said, 'I just got off the phone with Karl Rove.' I looked at the governor and she looked at me, like, 'Why is David Vitter on the phone with Karl Rove?' I mean, he could have been talking to generals, the president himself, but Rove is just a political hatchet man."
I remember hearing in the BSM at some point that the Administration was saying that Governor Blanco had not signed the papers that would declare Louisiana to be in a state of emergency. I also find it interesting that Sinator Vitter would be more concerned with chatting with the White House's political advisor, rather military generals to help coordinate the federal government's relief mission in New Orleans.
In short, Rove was going to blame Blanco for the failure of the response in Louisiana, and to do that he was going to use Nagin. He had already set the plan in motion on Tuesday with Nagin, who, even though he was a Democrat, was so close to the Republican Party that some members of the African American community in New Orleans called him "Ray Reagan." In 2000, Nagin had actually contributed $2,000 to Bush's campaign when he ran for president.
Rove knew of Nagin's ties to the Republican Party, so more than likely Nagin could be convinced to level his criticism at Blanco and to support Bush when he could. Here was Rove's strategy: Praise Haley Barbour, the Republican governor of Mississippi; praise Michael Brown and FEMA; blame Blanco, the Democrat. It was not a stretch for Nagin. He and Blanco so disliked each other that in Blanco's last race Nagin had endorsed her opponent.
C. Ray seems to be a changed man after Katrina, at least with respect to his party loyalties. He's actually endorsed Obama, and is amazingly enough, a superdelegate to the Convention. His effectiveness as Mayor is altogether another story.
So, Louisiana, you can thank Karl Rove and the BSM for installing wonder-boy Governor PBJ in the Governor's mansion. Had they NOT played politics with people's lives, PBJ might just be another ineffective Republican congressman. Alas, we're going have to deal with him for at least 3 more years.
It turns out that presumptive Republican nominee John "McSame" McCain has scheduled a major speech to emphasize his differences with President George W. Bush for tonight.
But that's not the point of this post ... the point is that John "McSame" Bush is coming to Louisiana to emphasize his differences with George W. Bush in a speech at the same time that all the networks will be televising Hillary's speech. Does that strike you the action of someone who is being sincere? Or someone who is trying to hide those "differences"?
But even more damning ... there are no differences when it comes to John McCain and President Bush when it comes to rebuilding Louisiana ... from the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee:
But when Louisiana really needed John McCain he was off eating cake with George W. Bush. And when Louisiana needed John McCain to support us in our recovery efforts, he criticized us for wanting to eat pork.
At every turn, John McCain has opposed Louisiana's recovery efforts, from voting against $28 billion in Hurricane relief, opposing granting Medicaid and unemployment assistance to victims of the storm and funding to help small business recover. To him, it was all just pork.
"What we call an attempt to recover from the most devastating disaster in our nation's history, John McCain calls pork," James Gray, chairman of the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee said. "How in the world can we trust someone with such a misguided view to support Louisiana as President?"
"John McCain cannot have his cake and eat it too," Gray said. "He cannot dismiss our recovery efforts as pork one day and then come down here pretending that he understands what we went through.
"He still will not commit to full funding for Hurricane five levees, he just wants to use our destruction as a backdrop to separate himself from the President," Gray said. "This is not just an offense to Louisianans but to all Americans who believe that we need a President who will be there for them in times of crisis."
"[NBC's Tom] Aspell reports that McCain's "stroll" today through a Baghdad market was guarded by 100 American soldiers, three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships."
Yeah, I think I can understand why ANYONE, let alone Obama, would refuse to take a stroll in Baghdad. But that's not even the story here. In his attack on Obama for wisely saying "thanks, but no" to McCain's insane invitation, McCain said:
""I can tell you that it is succeeding. I can look you in the eye and tell you it's succeeding. We have drawn down to pre-surge levels. Basra, Mosul and now Sadr City are quiet and it's long and it's hard and it's tough and there will be setbacks."
Unfortunately for Mr. McCain, U.S. troop levels in Iraq are currently at 155,000. Prior to the surge, troop levels were at 135,000. We've drawn down to pre-surge levels? Seriously?! Someone needs to learn how to add and subtract again.
Then again, what do you expect from John McCain, who wants to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years? McCain even defends our erstwhile President on everything under the sun ... like the Bush War Strategery in Iraq? John McCain, the so-called straight-talker, even stood up for Bush's plan to privatize Social Security. Hell, John McCain even said that President Bush was right deny health insurance covergage to children!
Yep ... that's the kinda reactionary, 1950's era leadership we need in these times, y'all. NOT.
This is the image I want to see every single time I see a picture of John McCain ... as it was taken on August 29, 2005, while New Orleanians were fighting for their lives. Here's the caption on that photo at the White House website:
President George W. Bush joins Arizona Senator John McCain in a small celebration of McCain's 69th birthday Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, after the President's arrival at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix. The President later spoke about Medicare to 400 guests at the Pueblo El Mirage RV Resort and Country Club in nearby El Mirage. White House photo by Paul Morse
There'll be more of this over the next few days ... as I am working on google-bombing John McCain over the next few days with allies in the netroots.
That link above highlights McCain's ties to lobbyists. Lord knows we don't need another unqualified Brownie running FEMA. Unfortunately, we here in Louisiana had to learn that one the hard way.
In the coming days the U.S Senate will be voting on the Webb/Hagel post 9-11 GI Bill for veterans. One would think that this would be a no brainer to vote in favor of. Apparently the bi-partisan bill isn't for all though. Despite support from the American Legion, VFW and several Iraq and Afghanistan veteran organizations, it is not supported by Sen. John McCain, our own Sen. David Vitter, or most importantly President Bush.
The original GI Bill signed into law by FDR provided full educational benefits to our nation's returning heroes by giving them alternatives when they left service. Today's GI Bill in many cases doesn't even cover 60 percent of the cost of college. We as veterans are asking that after a three-year commitment that we be given the chance to go to school without being in debt to the country we served.
The opposition has decided that three years is not enough and doesn't show a commitment. They are, in fact, saying that if a soldier spends two out of three years deployed that this is even not enough to deserve a cost-free education.
The White House has also voiced concern that soldiers would leave service after the three-year commitment because the educational benefits would be so great. This argument is downright appalling. Have we become a country dependent on maintaining our forces by keeping them from further opportunities in life? Our current foreign policy shows little to no direction. Why can't we at least give our courageous veterans the educational opportunities to make a difference?
David Brignac
Operation Enduring Freedom veteran
Baton Rouge
Nice job, David. Once again, folks, please call Sinator Vitter's office and tell them Vitter ought to support our veterans. The numbers are below:
DC Office - 202.224.4623
If you want to make a local call, click here.
UPDATE: Lamar over at CenLamar emailed me 5 more questions, which are below.
Tonight, our illustrious President will join Governor PBJ and Sinator Vitter to host a fundraiser for Democratic Republican Senatorial Candidate John N. Kennedy in the hopes that he can win the Republican nomination for the right to face Senator Mary Landrieu.
In honor of the Bush/Jindal/Vitter fundraiser, I have some questions for John N. Kennedy:
1. You ran for re-election to the State Treasurer post last fall saying that the "job was not yet done." Is it done now that you're running for Senate, a mere 6 months later?
You recently endorsed Woody Jenkins for Congress in LA-06. Do you agree with his stated beliefs that we should abolish the Departments of Energy, Education, Housing and Urban Development and Commerce?
2. In 2004, when you ran for the Senate, you were in favor of stem cell research, affirmative action, and minimum wage hikes. The Republican Party is opposed to these things. Have you flip-flopped?
3. In 2004, you stated that President Bush's policies were "cold" and "mean." Do you still believe that?
4. Do you approve of Sinator Vitter's extracurricular activites? After all, you are using him as a host for your fundraiser tonight.
5. You recently endorsed Woody Jenkins for Congress in LA-06. Do you agree with his stated beliefs that we should abolish the Departments of Energy, Education, Housing and Urban Development and Commerce?
CenLamar's questions:
1. Do you support proposals that would allow the government to negotiate prices for prescription medications with pharmaceutical companies?
2. Please explain why you felt it appropriate to use public tax dollars to promote your name and whether or not you believe Joe McPherson's bill was appropriate.
3. How do you respond to the accusations from Republicans that you have cost the State over $1.4 million?
4. Do you support Senator McCain's notion of a 50-100 year presence in Iraq?
5. Why should Louisianans relinquish their seniority in the Senate and a seat in the appropriations committee in order to elect a freshman member of the minority party?
Don't forget ... April 22nd will have John Kennedy showing his love for George W. Bush and David Vitter. Here's one question for John N. Kennedy:
You ran for re-election to the State Treasurer post last fall saying that the "job was not yet done." Is it done now that you're running for Senate, a mere 5 months later?
As well as just, fair compensation for federal flood survivors who lost family members in the manmade disaster of New Orleans' levee breaches.
With the start of hurricane season a little over a month away, New Orleans' storm preparation and flood protection deserves a close look. These things are far more important than Wrightgate or Bosniagate. Because unlike these tempests in teapots, human lives depend on the safety and strength of New Orleans' levees.
While nationally, Bosniagate and Wrightgate have been keeping the mainstream media busy, Louisiana and the rest of the Gulf Region are being tortured by the after-effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Federal Flood, and by PTSD. It's time we got over the relative trivia of both Bosniagate and Wrightgate and asked our candidates what really matters--why they've been downplaying the continued suffering of the Gulf Region, and what each plans to do if he/she becomes President.
WOW! Treasurer John Kennedy apparently doesn't get it ... as he's having Mr. 30% come and raise money for him in April. He states in an email that the fundraising event featuring President Bush and Governor PBJ will be:
"a major part of my fundraising effort."
Let's show Mr. Kennedy that having Mr. 30% is not a good thing by donating to Mary. With this effort to tap into Mr. Bush's wealthy supporters, Mary will need every cent she can get. Let's show the Republicans of Louisiana that having Mr. 30% come to town to raise money does not pay.
Donate to Mary here before the March 31st deadline.
This is a new feature that I will be running throughout the rest of the Presidential campaign ... why folks should NOT vote for John Sidney McCain III. Here's the first installment:
I am currently unsure if our current State Treasurer, and wanna-be Senator, John Kennedy even has a campaign manager. If it is the case that he does not, it seems that he has finally hired his campaign manager for this race - one Mandy Fletcher.
Ms. Fletcher recently worked as the Florida campaign manager for failed Presidential wanna-be Mitt Romney. Her resume also includes working for the Bush family - she was the exeecutive director of the Foundation for Florida's Future, which was former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's issue advocacy campaign; she worked for the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign as a political director; and she was a field coordinator for the Bush-Brogan '02 gubernatorial re-elect campaign in Florida.
I just have one question for our State Treasurer: Couldn't you find someone with more ties to Louisiana:
"The only two people I know in Louisiana is a guy from high school who works for the Saints and Alan Levine," said Fletcher, referring to the Florida's former AHCA Secretary who just took a similar job in Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration.
Sinator Vitter is apparently trying his damnedest to make his conservative base forget about his sins ... by focusing on the last of the three G's - God, Gays and GUNS. He has been carrying the NRA's water in the Senate on a nomination.
Apparently, President Bush has appointed one Michael Sullivan to be the head of Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco. Mr. Sullivan served as a U.S. Attorney in the District of Massachusetts from 2001 to 2006, and by all accounts, he did a great job, especially in crafting a good working relationship with the local and state police, something that seems to elude most federal agencies. After that, President Bush appointed him to be the Acting Head of the ATF.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) doesn't want Sullivan confirmed because he has exposed the weakness in their argument for full 2nd Amendment rights for everyone - the fact that crimes are committed with guns that are often stolen, trafficked, bought off the books, or obtained from kitchen-table sellers, gun shows or corrupt dealers. As a U.S. Attorney and the Acting Head of the ATF, Mr. Sullivan attacked the unregistered/stolen guns, not the 2nd Amendment, and in so doing, he acted within the President's Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. I mean, let's get real here ... if you're buying or stealing an unregistered gun, you're not going to use for it lawful purposes, such as defending yourself, you're going to use it for unlawful reasons, such as committing a crime.
The agency maintains an excellent database that checks guns used in crimes against purchase records of federal licensees. Until 2003, the agency encouraged police and municipalities to use the data to scrutinize gun dealers with histories of supplying illegal markets. It led to effective gun enforcement strategies. But the National Rifle Association, working with US Representative Todd Tiahrt, Republican of Kansas, stripped the trace data from the public domain.
Where does Sinnator Vitter fit into all this? He's the one putting a "hold" on Sullivan in the Senate. In other words, the Sinnator is trying to kill Sullivan's nomination.
Below the jump, I discuss the Supreme Court and its' ruling on the 2nd Amendment, as well as the first case on the meaning of the 2nd Amendment that it will rule on since 1939!
The lives of countless Americans depend on our ability to monitor these communications. Our intelligence professionals must be able to find out who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying, and what they're planning.
It might have something to do with the fact that the lapsing of the Protect America Act (PAA) won't substantially affect things at all. The old FISA law will kick back into effect. And authorizations granted under the PAA in the last six months to wiretap entire terrorist groups will stick for an entire year. In the words of House intelligence committee Chair Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), "Things will be fine."
In a conference call with journalists yesterday, Kenneth L. Wainstein, the head of the Justice Department's national security division, did his best to back up the president's warnings, but, according to The Washington Post, all he could come up with was that expiration of the law would require "more paperwork and time."
It turns out that presumptive Republican nominee John "McSame" McCain has scheduled a major speech to emphasize his differences with President George W. Bush for tonight.
So, 
Then again, what do you expect from 
Sinator Vitter is apparently trying his damnedest to make his conservative base forget about 
