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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi * The Fishing President * Death With Dignity and the Brits One of the things I detest about Republican lawmakers is the stridency with which they pursue their agenda. They bloviate.....a lot. Now the House Minority Leader, our own Nancy Pelosi from California, is acting like one of them. The Democrats are far from reaching the position that would allow them to pursue investigation of the Bush administration's various abuses. Perhaps there is sufficient ground to launch investigations. But for Pelosi to mouth off about investigations and hint about impeachment of the president is foolhardy.....a bad case of Washingtonitis. Dan Balz in the Post: "These centrist Democrats argued that voters are more receptive to the Democrats because of Bush's mistakes in Iraq. But they warned against calls to launch investigations into past administration decisions if Democrats gain control of the House or Senate in the November elections. Instead, they said, Democrats should concentrate on charting alternative policies for fighting terrorism and succeeding in Iraq." I am far from a "centrist" Democrat but I agree with them in this instance. *Reading Dan Froomkin's column : "Would Bush Rather Be Fishing?" made me think of a bumper sticker that I see on pickup trucks near fishing holes---A bad day fishing is better than a good day working. "Is it possible that President Bush doesn't really enjoy his job? "Asked by a German tabloid to name the most wonderful moment of his presidency, Bush on Friday said it came while he was on vacation, fishing on his private lake." A joke or a reflection of his innermost self in an unguarded moment ? A Freudian slip.* Our friends across the Atlantic are considering a bill to allow assistance in dying for terminally ill patients. Baroness Mary Warnock in The Guardian, May 7th: "Considering that all men are mortal, we are curiously unwilling to acknowledge that death, our inevitable fate, should not always be postponed. The Romans recognised that suicide was sometimes not only an admirable but a rational end to life. I think they were right and that there are situations of suffering where to kill oneself is the most reasonable and the most desirable course to take. But committing suicide is difficult, especially if one is ill and under constant surveillance. And though suicide is not illegal, as the law stands, one cannot ask help from anyone else, because assisting suicide is a criminal offence. On Friday, Lord Joffe's bill to permit assisted dying for the terminally ill is to receive its second reading in the House of Lords. It is a bill of limited scope, allowing doctors to provide patients with the means to commit suicide, but only those who ask repeatedly for help to die, who are competent to make their own decisions and who are suffering acutely in the terminal stage of an incurable illness."The bill appears to be identical to the one that the voters of Oregon passed in 1997, and which has, so far, survived repeated attacks against it by the Bush Administration. It is unfortunate that bigots in America are receiving support of the government to deny physician assistance in dying to terminally ill people who wish to elect that option, and the Bush Administration is prepared to ignore State's rights to appease its core support groups.

Argentina's Dirty War and Dr. Kissinger * Tony Blair * Health Coverage, The Enzi BillAnother shameful period in our nation's history when the evil Dr. Henry Kissinger, as President Nixon's secretary of state, pursued a policy of aiding and abetting dictators in Latin America to torture and kill dissidents. In Argentina's dirty war in the 70's as many as 30,000 people were reportedly killed. "Argentina has requested the extradition of six men from Uruguay over the 1976 disappearance of the daughter-in law of a famous Argentine poet, Juan Gelman. The accused, five ex-military officers and an ex-policeman, have already been taken into custody in Uruguay. Nineteen-year-old Maria Claudia Garcia was seven months pregnant when she was abducted in Buenos Aires 30 years ago. " * Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing demands to relinquish his position before the expiry of his full term. Some call him Bush's Poodle. That is too harsh a term. Tony Blair, even on a bad day, stands way above George Bush when it comes to eloquence and intellectual brilliance. "It would not end this distraction but take it to a new level," said Blair, the Bush administration's closest ally in Europe. He was addressing reporters for the first time since a weak showing by Labor in local elections on Thursday and a controversial cabinet reshuffle on Friday." Why Blair hitched his star to Bush and the neocons is a mystery. Could be the God thing. Perhaps Blair,too, received message from up high to launch a war against Iraq. * Dana Milbank's column in the Post brings up the Republican lawmakers' tireless battle to protect their friends in the health care industry. "When it comes to health care, the Senate has developed a repetitive stress injury. Five times in the past five years, Republicans brought medical malpractice limits to the floor -- and five times they lost. Yesterday, they brought two more medical malpractice bills to the floor and, to nobody's surprise, lost twice more."HIMMA, the bill sponsored by Mike Enzi (R-Wyo) is up for consideration. Editorial in the Post: "TODAY THE Senate will consider a bill that would radically change the nation's health insurance market, shifting power from states to the federal government and to a regulatory regime lighter than nearly all states have now. Given that nearly 46 million Americans lack health insurance, it's clear that the status quo isn't working well. Yet the proposed bill is risky. Its preemption of state authority might stifle creative experiments in health policy that could help solve the long-term crisis of health costs." Well, when Senator Enzi is the sponsor one can be sure whose interests are on his mind.

Americans Express Their Opinions * United 93, the Movie * Democrats AscendantA few weeks back, Washington Post invited readers to comment on the following: "In Today's Culture, Do You See Evidence of a War on Christianity?" The responses were published this morning. Out of a total of 42, an overwhelming majority (30) did not support the argument;six supported the view; and six took a somewhat middle-of-the road position. Very interesting. Perhaps there is hope for us; bigots are not going to prevail. Midterm elections hold the key as to whether we continue to step backward or turn toward a tolerant, compassionate society. *I have not seen United 93. The reviews of the film have been mostly laudatory. In the blogosphere the posts are divided. Last night I read David Denby's review in The New Yorker. Full of praise. The fact that the script writers and the director stayed away from making it into a John Wayne movie, heroic Americans battling evil terrorists, makes it appealing. It is about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Yet I am not sure that I want to relive that day. *Go slow, Democrats. The midterm elections are more than six months away. The signs are encouraging but don't get carried away. Let us not forget that the opposition wrote the book on dirty tricks. Karl Rove and the Bush team will stop at nothing to reverse the falling support for the president and his party. Jonathan Weisman in the Post: "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said in an interview last week that a Democratic House would launch a series of investigations of the Bush administration, beginning with the White House's first-term energy task force and probably including the use of intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. Pelosi denied Republican allegations that a Democratic House would move quickly to impeach President Bush. But, she said of the planned investigations, "You never know where it leads to."

It is getting "Curiouser and curiouser" (Alice In Wonderland)Or murkier and murkier. Slimy creatures being exposed under stones. The blogosphere is running wild with stories about possible connection of CIA Director Porter Goss with the investigation about defense contractor Brent Wilkes...that he provided call girls to entertain former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif) and his friends in high places. Kyle Foggo, No.3 man at the CIA, has been mentioned among those who visited the hotel suites rented by Wilkes.Some posts allude to that being the reason for the very abrupt manner in which Goss resigned.Talk about scandals and the Bush Administration. These are the people who rode into town claiming moral superiority over the Clinton presidency and always ready to climb on a pulpit to preach about moral values. Catering for prayer breakfasts became big business in Washington,DC. Their hypocrisy has been fully exposed. They are far from the "holier than thou" image they tried to project.

The "Fix-It Man" Quits * San Diego Loses in Court - The Cross on the Hilltop Porter Goss leaves in a cloud of mystery. Less than two years after President Bush announced the appointment of Porter Goss as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, yesterday Mr. Goss abruptly submitted his resignation. Speculations are rife about why he left. Turf battle--after John Negroponte became his boss as national intelligence director--could very well be the real reason. The Post reports: "The likely successor to Goss is Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the former director of the National Security Agency and now deputy to Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte, senior administration officials said. He could be named as soon as Monday." Expect contentious confirmation hearings in the Senate.*The order by District Judge Gordon Thompson in San Diego is going to make many people apoplectic. "After a 17-year legal battle between the city and a self-described atheist, a judge has ordered San Diego officials to remove a giant cross from a hilltop park or start paying $5,000 a day in fines. Defying the order is something cash-strapped San Diego can ill afford. Its pension fund is more than $1 billion in debt, the federal government is investigating, and there's been talk of bankruptcy."I have mixed feelings about this. In this particular case I have no objection to letting the cross stay. The problem is where does one draw the line. Allowing it to remain could encourage zealots to go on a spree of putting up such symbols on public lands all over the country.

Failure of Abstinence Education * Murdoch, not Scalia, The Kingmaker ! It is a no brainer---that the rate of unwanted pregnancies is much higher among poor women. This is another issue that highlights the hypocrisy of the Bush administration and some religious bodies responsible for promoting sex education to emphasize abstinence over condoms. Marc Kaufman's report in the Post is based on data collected by National Center for Health Statistics and other sources. "The abortion rate also rose among poor women while declining among the more affluent."Asked what was driving the trends, the authors noted that some state and federal reproductive health programs have been cut or made more restrictive in recent years. State and federal programs have increasingly focused on abstinence rather than contraception, and some analysts have argued that the shift is leading to less use of contraceptives and more unintended pregnancies."Incidentally, the wise old men in Vatican ".......could permit condoms to battle AIDS has a very narrow scope: married Roman Catholic couples in which one partner has the virus." Mercy.*The Role of Fox News in 2000 Presidential ElectionThe Fox News Effect, Richard Morin's column in the Post makes interesting reading. It is no secret that Rupert Murdoch's FOX News Channel is an unabashed champion of the Bush administration. In the eye of the management and reporters at FOX, the president can do no wrong. But it has influence. "We report. You decide. Does President Bush owe his controversial win in 2000 to Fox cable television news? Yes, suggest data collected by two economists who found that the growth of the Fox cable news network in the late 1990s may have significantly boosted the Republican Party's share of the vote in the 2000 election and delivered Florida to Bush.FOX News made an impact in 2004 also. I am not a viewer but I imagine that it is doing what it can to bolster the sagging support for President Bush and the GOP. Come November we shall see how the cookie crumbles.

A lesson for Fed Chairman Bernanke * And the President extols his tax cutsA black-tie affair, a few drinks, an attractive woman reporter. Not too hard to imagine that Chairman Bernanke loosened up and said something he shouldn't have. On the other hand, there are those who feel that it was a deliberate plant. At the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner on March 29th, during a conversation with CNBC reporter Maria Bartiromo, the Fed Chairman said his comments before the Senate Finance Committee were misinterpreted by the financial community. From Bloomberg.com: "Bernanke, who became Fed chairman in February, told the Congress's Joint Economic Committee on April 27 that the Fed may suspend the increases even if economic risks are tilted toward faster inflation. Policy makers meet to decide borrowing costs next week.``We were swept off our feet'' by CNBC's report of Bernanke's comments, said Richard Franulovich, a currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in New York. ``Bernanke is still easing his way into the role and learning what he can and can't say, and to whom. He won't be speaking off the cuff to media people again. He's probably learned a lesson.''What is the truth ? Chairman Bernanke isn't talking. In the absence of denial there is no dispute about what Ms Bartiromo reported from the Chicago Stock Exchange on Monday(May 1st) afternoon. It roiled the spooky market. The choppiness continues. With the stalemate in respect to efforts to control Iran's nuclear capability, high oil prices, and the mess in Iraq, the market has little to feel confident about.*The War President.....and the Tax Cut President. The massive tax cuts back in news as Republican lawmakers agreed on extending them beyond the 2008 expiration date to 2010. Jonathan Weisman in the Post:"With this week's hard-fought agreement on a $70 billion tax-cut extension, President Bush and congressional Republicans have effectively set a date for a fiscal day of reckoning for the next president and a future Congress: Jan. 1, 2011."Taking a partisan turn, the president mocked Democrats who had opposed his tax cuts and had warned that they would lead to economic disaster. "The Democrats' record of pessimism has been consistent: It's been consistently wrong," Bush said to loud applause."But the decisions taken now inevitably will cause politicians in the future to confront difficult choices -- a trade-off that Bush did not acknowledge in his speech.Lost in the smoke and mirrors is the true picture of the tax cuts---who are the major beneficiaries and who will bear the brunt.

Thank you, Stephen Colbert * How many more Nathaniel DeTample ?What a difference ! Remember Bush and the Republicans after the second inaugural ? They were the new centurions. Arrogant, invincible. They claimed they had a mandate. It felt as if they had. Things look different now. Applause for Stephen Colbert who exposed the president and his warts in public at the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner on April 29th. Dan Froomkin in the Post: "Colbert was merciless, reserving his most potent zingers for the people in spitting distance: The president who took the nation to war on false pretenses and the press corps that let him do it." The boozy bonhomie of the annual event is intended to serve as a balm for the often tense relationship between the White House and the reporters who cover it. Bush largely delivered on his side of the bargain. Colbert delivered something else entirely. The full transcript of Colbert's speech is avilable at the DailyKos.Here are a few excerpts. Wow. Wow, what an honor. The White House correspondents' dinner. To actually sit here, at the same table with my hero, George W. Bush, to be this close to the man. I feel like I'm dreaming. Somebody pinch me. You know what? I'm a pretty sound sleeper -- that may not be enough. Somebody shoot me in the face. Is he really not here tonight? Dammit. The one guy who could have helped. Now, I know there are some polls out there saying this man has a 32% approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality." And reality has a well-known liberal bias. So, Mr. President, please, pay no attention to the people that say the glass is half full. 32% means the glass -- it's important to set up your jokes properly, sir. Sir, pay no attention to the people who say the glass is half empty, because 32% means it's 2/3 empty. There's still some liquid in that glass is my point, but I wouldn't drink it. The last third is usually backwash. Okay, look, folks, my point is that I don't believe this is a low point in this presidency. I believe it is just a lull before a comeback. I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound -- with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world. *"Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knowsThat too many people have died?The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,The answer is blowin' in the wind."---Bob DylanOn August 13, 2005, I wrote about a 19-year old soldier, Nathaniel DeTample who died in Iraq on August 9th of that year. Since then 31 soldiers under the age of 20 have lost their lives in Iraq. Think about them. The total now is 2406; think about all of them and ask what did they die for.

Or How She Got Into Harvard * End of Berlusconi EraIn the din about Kaavya Viswanathan's plagiarism there was one item that didn't draw much attention---the fact that her parents paid Ivywise, an admissions counselling service to get her accepted by Harvard. Perhaps not a rare situation. Other wealthy parents do the same for their offsprings who cannot make it on their own. In this case, Ivywise not only prepped Viswanathan for Harvard but also steered her to a "book packager"! Ruth Marcus in the Post: "It's no excuse, but with all this third-party positioning, is it any wonder that a person -- especially a teenage person -- could forget (or ignore) the fact that some of the writing in her book is not actually hers? How easy it is for authenticity to be obscured in a world in which hired help packages preschool applications, in which the line between a real relationship with an adult and strategic sucking up is blurred.""Life that is, in this case, more engaging, more nuanced and ultimately more disturbing than art. And Viswanathan, perhaps, has learned a lesson that the admissions industrial complex does its best to obscure: There are more things to cry about than not getting into Harvard."It is doubtful that Ivywise would suffer because of the brouhaha over Kaavya Viswanathan. In fact it might benefit from it. There are enough monied parents out there who will continue to retain admissions counselling services.Recently, two young women I know (one from Israel and the other from Pakistan) went through the process. One failed to make it; the other got accepted by Harvard but decided on Duke instead because it offered her a better scholarship package and she felt that the program at Duke was more in line with her objective. Both of them did their own work.Late breaking newsFrom Associated Press: "A reader alerted The New York Times to at least three portions of "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life" that are similar to passages in the novel "Can You Keep a Secret?" by Sophie Kinsella."And so it goes.*Good news. Another friend of President Bush, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi has resigned. Centre-Left leader Romano Prodi will now form a government.

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) * Late Spring He was a giant. I could imagine the reaction of the rapacious champions of laissez faire who now call the shots about economic policies of the current administration. Sacrilegious....socialist or worse! Bart Barnes in the Post:"One of the most influential was "The Affluent Society" (1958), which argued that overproduction of consumer goods was harming the public sector and depriving Americans of such benefits as clean air, clean streets, good schools and support for the arts." Galbraith was the right person for the time when he was appointed by President Kennedy as the U.S. Ambassador to India. Dr. Galbraith was generally considered to have been an apostle of the theories advanced by British economist John Maynard Keynes: that government could promote full employment and a stable economy by stimulating spending and investment with adjustments in interest and tax rates, and deficit financing. He lamented what he believed was an excess accumulation of private wealth at the expense of public needs, and he warned that an unfettered free market system and capitalism without regulation would fail to meet basic social demands. This was echoed in "The Affluent Society." * Sunny and warm days at last. For us in the San Francisco Bay area it felt as though the cold and rainy days would never end. They continued a month beyond the spring solstice. Now it feels like spring and it is a good feeling.©Ian Britton, Freefoto.com SpringNothing is so beautiful as spring--When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lushThrush's eggs look like little low heavens, and thrushThrough the echoing timber does so rinse and wringThe ear, it strikes like lightning to hear him sing:The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brushThe descending blue; that blue is all in a rushWith richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.What is all this juice and all this joy ?A strain of earth's sweet being in the beginning... --Gerard Manley Hopkins