UPDATE - WEDNESDAY
Hi all from AnnieinKansas....
I'm having trouble sending out the newsletter. The list has grown so much that the servers think I'm a spammer.
Second, got a great note from a reader this week... Read it here...
Annie - Thought you might like to see this. I was in Kansas recently
and loved it!
Ginger Evans
Speaking of flip-flops
You've heard by now that the GOP attack line on Kerry is that he
"flip-flops." Daily Kos provides a nifty rundown (still in the making)
of
vacillations of the true flip-flopper in the presidential race: George
W.
Bush.
Bush is against a Homeland Security Department; then he's for it. Bush
is against a 9/11 commission; then he's for it. Bush is against an
Iraq WMD investigation; then he's for it. Bush is against nation
building; then he's for it. Bush is against deficits; then he's for
them. Bush is for free trade; then he's for tariffs on steel; then
he's
against
them again.
Bush is against the U.S. taking a role in the Israeli Palestinian
conflict;
then he pushes for a "road map" and a Palestinian State.
Bush is for states right to decide on gay marriage, then he is for
changing
the constitution.
Bush first says he'll provide money for first responders (fire,
police, emergency), then he doesn't. Bush first says that 'help is on
the way' to the military ... then he
cuts
benefits.
Bush: "The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden.
Bush:
"I don't know where he is. I have no idea and I really don't care." Bush
claims to be in favor of the environment and then secretly starts
drilling on Padre Island. Bush talks about helping education and
increases mandates while cutting funding.
Bush first says the U.S. won't negotiate with North Korea. Now he will
Bush goes to Bob Jones University. Then say's he shouldn't have.
Bush said he would demand a U.N. Security Council vote on whether to
sanction military action against Iraq. Later Bush announced he would
not
call for a vote.
Bush said the "mission accomplished" banner was put up by the sailors.
Bush
later admits it was his advance team.
Bush was for fingerprinting and photographing Mexicans who enter the
US.
Bush after meeting with Pres. Fox, he's against it.
-- Geraldine Sealey
Monday, March 08, 2004
Issue 7, March 2004
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas Newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas
Well Hello all. You know the saying “when it rains, it pours”? Annie got a taste of that this week. On Wednesday we had four inches of rain. Four inches. Can you say flooded basement? On Thursday, the Overland Park pOlice called Annie… said she had a 9-11 hang up from her house. Something freaky with the phone line (terrorist teachers?). And then, in the course of fixing the basement on a lovely Saturday, an Annie recovering from a root canal the day before discovers… termites.
Oh well. There’s a Spring Break coming up soon. Nothing like hopping in the minivan for a 17 hour car trip with two kids to lighten the mood! Lets get to the state of our union, shall we?
I want to introduce you to Richard and Doris Stowe. Meet THE parents. Here’s why. They live on a farm outside of Auburn, KS. Get out your atlas. Find Kansas City. Go left (West) on I-70 to Topeka. Go south and a little west on the map and there you’ll see Auburn Kansas. Auburn didn’t have a stop light when I grew up there. Still doesn’t. But thanks to 20 years of development, it now has a grocery store and three places to get your coffee in the morning – one of which IS the grocery store… where Annie worked sacking groceries and stocking shelves in high school (yes, in one of those nifty long aprons grocers used to wear).
Here’s why it matters.
When folks out there get their coffee, they talk politics. Oh sure, they go over the weather. Cattle Prices. Fishin. And yep, politics. Here’s a newsflash: Farmers don’t like liars. Cattle prices are down. Fishin is horrible thanks to some bizarre things going on in local lakes. These are folks who wear honest-to-goodness overalls. They think “a Kate Spade” is something a cityslicker uses to hoe the garden. They believe the Dixie Chicks are anti-American, unpatriotic and ought to be banned. They listen to mostly songs that are about real life… even if their mamma never got run over by a darned ol train.
And get this… some of ‘em are fed up with Bush. Activist judge Appointed President Bush. This is Kansas folks. Republican Kansas. I keep forgetting, are we a red or a blue state? All along I thought we all were RED, WHITE AND BLUE. (That’s our uniter prez!)
The farmers get it. It’s real simple. Jobs. Social Security. Medicare. They have figured out that Bush keeps saying the “war” is costing us but IT IS NOT IN HIS BUDGET. Anyway…
It’s about the JOBS stupid!
These people work blue collar all their lives and rely *RELY* on Social Security to help them with retirement – they know how long they have to work. They know how much it’ll take to keep the family “place.” They can see that the “Bush” tax cuts didn’t help them and that now (you do the math) Social Security is even more ill-prepared to help them. They are asking the question we all will ask: Are we better off now than four years ago? Or, the way I frame it is, “all this compared to a stain on a dress?”
This, my friends, is encouraging news for those of us who don’t want four more years… And even so, Kerry is the underdog in this race. Hope you enjoyed our little drive out to Auburn. Lets keep a watch on attitudes there as well as in Iraq and Haiti.
Now to the letters:
Hi Annie,
Can you believe they found Martha Stewart guilty? She lied about selling that stock and saving $40,000. I still like her, though, so I’m headed to K-Mart to pick up a few things… Do you need anything?
Mary, Louisburg, KS
I feel for Martha. I do. She’s the only rich Democrat they got, so they had to make an example of her. Her case will set a precedent… Call it RecipeMartha… Here’s how it works.
Number of dollars stolen x number of lies told
Factored by number of years Martha gets for her 40K
And there you have it
Recipe Martha
Math and Liars, Mary, that’s what I have to focus on. If Martha Stewart really receives jail time she can say it is a miscarriage of justice. Forty K is nothing to her. Nothing. Her punishment does not fit the crime. Unless, of course, we see that:
CEO Kenneth Lay receives the same RecipeMartha for his work in leading to the downfall of Enron. Hmm. How many Millions did he get away with? How many 40,000s go into that? Equals how many years behind bars according to the RecipeMartha? Look, Annie’s not snorting no termite dust here. She knows Kenny Boy’s never gonna see jail time. All the documents were shredded and I bet he can’t recall. Can’t lie if you can’t recall.
CEO George Bush is finally taken to task for all of the lies he’s told. Imminent threat my wazoo. Speaking of which, don’t you just LOVE the transparency of APB? I LOVE it. He’s pandering to the base. He’s fundraising. He’s looking right and jabbing left and hoping we don’t notice the fancy footwork – oh no wait, that’s Karl Rove. I am just dying for APB to use that “mission accomplished” backdrop from the carrier… How many times did that ship have to turn around outside of San Diego so the lighting was right? Glad they got everyone dressed in the right colors too! Do YOU think we’ll be out of Iraq by June 30th? And this occurred to me too… if there are 120,000 troops still over there and 10 percent are gay, that’s 12,000 2nd class citizens fighting for your rights.
And thanks for the offer to pick up some MS items… but Annie can’t even think about decorating until she gets the termite hole in the front of the house fixed.
Dear Annie,
I heard that there’s an Oracle in Omaha. That’s near Kansas, isn’t it? Kathy, Independence, KS
The Oracle in Omaha is Warren Buffet. He runs the most successful fund ever, Berkshire Hathaway and was in the news this week because he wrote his annual letter to shareholders. It had some interesting things in it, like this statement on “the rich get richer” from someone who is incredibly RICH:
OMAHA, Neb. - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett (news - web sites) accused the Bush administration Saturday of pursuing tax cuts that favor large corporations and wealthy individuals.
"If class warfare is being waged in America, my class is clearly winning," Buffett said in Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s annual report.
Except for 1983, the percentage of federal tax receipts from corporate income taxes last year was the lowest since data was first published in 1934, Buffett said.
Fun Stuff
Thank goodness for the alternative press: I love Molly Ivins and she’s got a lot of insight into “W”. So I was happy to find that she’s writing for Alternet.org more frequently than her column runs here in Kansas City. Anyway, their site is down tonight, so I can’t provide the link, but go to Alternet.org and look for Ivins The Race Begins… You’ll enjoy it.
The wrong wing boycotts Girl Scouts: Turns out a Girl Scout group in Texas (near Crawford, of course) has been using a brochure from Planned Parenthood to help teach sexuality when that topic comes up at an age-appropriate time. Anyway, the wrong wing got ahold of this and, well, it’s a big mess. Hard to tell the chaff from the grain in this story… but here it is.. (see link below)… I read this and then wondered how do we as “moderates” respond. Does this mean I buy more thin mints, or begin my own fight against the Boy Scouts. Readers, how DO we as moderates respond to this “boycotting” and quitting? http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-03-03-cookie-boycott_x.htm
Annie’s Original Argument, separation of church and state: This is a repeat from the “special edition” I sent out late last week. Due to a “malfunction” in my creating a subscription list for all of you, half of you did not get it. It bears repeating: http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/10025 If you read her book (and I plan to), send me a review!
The Crystal Ball Implodes – A reader sent in a link to this story in the Washington Post. It has made it into our local paper once here, but the story is that the Republicans have been hacking into the Democratic files in DC and checking out their “plans”… And all this time we thought Rove had a crystal ball. LOL… Get this, the lead “hacker” guy was rewarded by getting a posh position working for Bill Frist, that ultra conservative… This is so dirty, Annie wants to go get some antibacterial soap. BRB. Here’s the link to the story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31803-2004Mar4.html
Charges this week? Do you think we’ll find out who gave up the name of the CIA operative, blowing her cover and putting her life in danger after her husband refused to support the war?
Final Blow: Bush used the site of 9-11 in NYC in his campaign commercials, but he won’t meet with the commission investigating whether his staff could have prevented it? Reeks.
Remember the guy: When the war started, it was reported that a man was blown up by terrorists acting like newspeople. Remember, the television camera blew up and killed him? Turns out he was the guy who was leading attacks for the US on binladen… yep. Read it in Newsweek. Apparently, there was a little snag in him getting some dollars to go after binladen full force.
Signing the Constitution: This week in Iraq we could see the constitution signed. Either that or the whole place will light up. I read somewhere that the proposed constitution is very much like our own. Calls for liberty and justice for some.
What about Haiti: Bet the Bushies wish Aristide would be hiding in the hills of Afghanistan too. Every time he says he was kidnapped, someone dies.
With liberty and justice for all… I am AnnieinKansas
PS: Are you donating to the Salvation Army? They’re working on a “deal” with the government… You might want to read this: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18014
…"An immoral war was thus waged and the world is a great deal less safe place than before. There are many more who resent the powerful who can throw their weight about so callously and with so much impunity." Desmond Tutu
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas Newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas
Well Hello all. You know the saying “when it rains, it pours”? Annie got a taste of that this week. On Wednesday we had four inches of rain. Four inches. Can you say flooded basement? On Thursday, the Overland Park pOlice called Annie… said she had a 9-11 hang up from her house. Something freaky with the phone line (terrorist teachers?). And then, in the course of fixing the basement on a lovely Saturday, an Annie recovering from a root canal the day before discovers… termites.
Oh well. There’s a Spring Break coming up soon. Nothing like hopping in the minivan for a 17 hour car trip with two kids to lighten the mood! Lets get to the state of our union, shall we?
I want to introduce you to Richard and Doris Stowe. Meet THE parents. Here’s why. They live on a farm outside of Auburn, KS. Get out your atlas. Find Kansas City. Go left (West) on I-70 to Topeka. Go south and a little west on the map and there you’ll see Auburn Kansas. Auburn didn’t have a stop light when I grew up there. Still doesn’t. But thanks to 20 years of development, it now has a grocery store and three places to get your coffee in the morning – one of which IS the grocery store… where Annie worked sacking groceries and stocking shelves in high school (yes, in one of those nifty long aprons grocers used to wear).
Here’s why it matters.
When folks out there get their coffee, they talk politics. Oh sure, they go over the weather. Cattle Prices. Fishin. And yep, politics. Here’s a newsflash: Farmers don’t like liars. Cattle prices are down. Fishin is horrible thanks to some bizarre things going on in local lakes. These are folks who wear honest-to-goodness overalls. They think “a Kate Spade” is something a cityslicker uses to hoe the garden. They believe the Dixie Chicks are anti-American, unpatriotic and ought to be banned. They listen to mostly songs that are about real life… even if their mamma never got run over by a darned ol train.
And get this… some of ‘em are fed up with Bush. Activist judge Appointed President Bush. This is Kansas folks. Republican Kansas. I keep forgetting, are we a red or a blue state? All along I thought we all were RED, WHITE AND BLUE. (That’s our uniter prez!)
The farmers get it. It’s real simple. Jobs. Social Security. Medicare. They have figured out that Bush keeps saying the “war” is costing us but IT IS NOT IN HIS BUDGET. Anyway…
It’s about the JOBS stupid!
These people work blue collar all their lives and rely *RELY* on Social Security to help them with retirement – they know how long they have to work. They know how much it’ll take to keep the family “place.” They can see that the “Bush” tax cuts didn’t help them and that now (you do the math) Social Security is even more ill-prepared to help them. They are asking the question we all will ask: Are we better off now than four years ago? Or, the way I frame it is, “all this compared to a stain on a dress?”
This, my friends, is encouraging news for those of us who don’t want four more years… And even so, Kerry is the underdog in this race. Hope you enjoyed our little drive out to Auburn. Lets keep a watch on attitudes there as well as in Iraq and Haiti.
Now to the letters:
Hi Annie,
Can you believe they found Martha Stewart guilty? She lied about selling that stock and saving $40,000. I still like her, though, so I’m headed to K-Mart to pick up a few things… Do you need anything?
Mary, Louisburg, KS
I feel for Martha. I do. She’s the only rich Democrat they got, so they had to make an example of her. Her case will set a precedent… Call it RecipeMartha… Here’s how it works.
Number of dollars stolen x number of lies told
Factored by number of years Martha gets for her 40K
And there you have it
Recipe Martha
Math and Liars, Mary, that’s what I have to focus on. If Martha Stewart really receives jail time she can say it is a miscarriage of justice. Forty K is nothing to her. Nothing. Her punishment does not fit the crime. Unless, of course, we see that:
CEO Kenneth Lay receives the same RecipeMartha for his work in leading to the downfall of Enron. Hmm. How many Millions did he get away with? How many 40,000s go into that? Equals how many years behind bars according to the RecipeMartha? Look, Annie’s not snorting no termite dust here. She knows Kenny Boy’s never gonna see jail time. All the documents were shredded and I bet he can’t recall. Can’t lie if you can’t recall.
CEO George Bush is finally taken to task for all of the lies he’s told. Imminent threat my wazoo. Speaking of which, don’t you just LOVE the transparency of APB? I LOVE it. He’s pandering to the base. He’s fundraising. He’s looking right and jabbing left and hoping we don’t notice the fancy footwork – oh no wait, that’s Karl Rove. I am just dying for APB to use that “mission accomplished” backdrop from the carrier… How many times did that ship have to turn around outside of San Diego so the lighting was right? Glad they got everyone dressed in the right colors too! Do YOU think we’ll be out of Iraq by June 30th? And this occurred to me too… if there are 120,000 troops still over there and 10 percent are gay, that’s 12,000 2nd class citizens fighting for your rights.
And thanks for the offer to pick up some MS items… but Annie can’t even think about decorating until she gets the termite hole in the front of the house fixed.
Dear Annie,
I heard that there’s an Oracle in Omaha. That’s near Kansas, isn’t it? Kathy, Independence, KS
The Oracle in Omaha is Warren Buffet. He runs the most successful fund ever, Berkshire Hathaway and was in the news this week because he wrote his annual letter to shareholders. It had some interesting things in it, like this statement on “the rich get richer” from someone who is incredibly RICH:
OMAHA, Neb. - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett (news - web sites) accused the Bush administration Saturday of pursuing tax cuts that favor large corporations and wealthy individuals.
"If class warfare is being waged in America, my class is clearly winning," Buffett said in Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s annual report.
Except for 1983, the percentage of federal tax receipts from corporate income taxes last year was the lowest since data was first published in 1934, Buffett said.
Fun Stuff
Thank goodness for the alternative press: I love Molly Ivins and she’s got a lot of insight into “W”. So I was happy to find that she’s writing for Alternet.org more frequently than her column runs here in Kansas City. Anyway, their site is down tonight, so I can’t provide the link, but go to Alternet.org and look for Ivins The Race Begins… You’ll enjoy it.
The wrong wing boycotts Girl Scouts: Turns out a Girl Scout group in Texas (near Crawford, of course) has been using a brochure from Planned Parenthood to help teach sexuality when that topic comes up at an age-appropriate time. Anyway, the wrong wing got ahold of this and, well, it’s a big mess. Hard to tell the chaff from the grain in this story… but here it is.. (see link below)… I read this and then wondered how do we as “moderates” respond. Does this mean I buy more thin mints, or begin my own fight against the Boy Scouts. Readers, how DO we as moderates respond to this “boycotting” and quitting? http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-03-03-cookie-boycott_x.htm
Annie’s Original Argument, separation of church and state: This is a repeat from the “special edition” I sent out late last week. Due to a “malfunction” in my creating a subscription list for all of you, half of you did not get it. It bears repeating: http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/10025 If you read her book (and I plan to), send me a review!
The Crystal Ball Implodes – A reader sent in a link to this story in the Washington Post. It has made it into our local paper once here, but the story is that the Republicans have been hacking into the Democratic files in DC and checking out their “plans”… And all this time we thought Rove had a crystal ball. LOL… Get this, the lead “hacker” guy was rewarded by getting a posh position working for Bill Frist, that ultra conservative… This is so dirty, Annie wants to go get some antibacterial soap. BRB. Here’s the link to the story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31803-2004Mar4.html
Charges this week? Do you think we’ll find out who gave up the name of the CIA operative, blowing her cover and putting her life in danger after her husband refused to support the war?
Final Blow: Bush used the site of 9-11 in NYC in his campaign commercials, but he won’t meet with the commission investigating whether his staff could have prevented it? Reeks.
Remember the guy: When the war started, it was reported that a man was blown up by terrorists acting like newspeople. Remember, the television camera blew up and killed him? Turns out he was the guy who was leading attacks for the US on binladen… yep. Read it in Newsweek. Apparently, there was a little snag in him getting some dollars to go after binladen full force.
Signing the Constitution: This week in Iraq we could see the constitution signed. Either that or the whole place will light up. I read somewhere that the proposed constitution is very much like our own. Calls for liberty and justice for some.
What about Haiti: Bet the Bushies wish Aristide would be hiding in the hills of Afghanistan too. Every time he says he was kidnapped, someone dies.
With liberty and justice for all… I am AnnieinKansas
PS: Are you donating to the Salvation Army? They’re working on a “deal” with the government… You might want to read this: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18014
…"An immoral war was thus waged and the world is a great deal less safe place than before. There are many more who resent the powerful who can throw their weight about so callously and with so much impunity." Desmond Tutu
SPECIAL EDITION
Hi all –
This piece on separation of church and state is so good I didn’t want to wait to pass it along (in entirety, below). We really need to bring this dialogue forward. This sounds like a good book for book clubs and moderates… and her concept, that this a wedge issue or an attack on gays and lesbians, but a larger attack on the separation of church and state is enlightening.
A second recommended column: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4408614/ on a similar subject.
… with liberty and justice for all… I am AnnieinKansas
Wedding Church and State
By Susan Jacoby, TomPaine.com
March 2, 2004
Editor's Note: This article is adapted from Susan Jacoby's forthcoming book, 'Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism' to be published in April by Metropolitan Books.
In 1773, the Rev. Isaac Backus, the most prominent Baptist minister in New England, observed that when "church and state are separate, the effects are happy, and they do not at all interfere with each other: but where they have been confounded together, no tongue nor pen can fully describe the mischiefs that have ensued."
If only that reverend manqué, President George W. Bush, had consulted the Reverend Backus' "An Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty" before endorsing the mischief implicit in a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman and "prevent the meaning of marriage from being changed forever."
One of the most ironic aspects of the current assault on separation of church and state is that the apostles of religious correctness have managed to obscure the broad and tolerant origins of the godless Constitution, which was written and ratified by a coalition of Enlightenment rationalists and evangelical Christians equally fearful of entanglements between religion and government.
Like former President Jimmy Carter, a spiritual descendant of the dissenting 18th-century Baptists, the men of faith who helped frame the Constitution were confident enough of the strength of their religion that they did not feel obliged to enlist the aid of government to promote their personal beliefs. Carter, in a recent denunciation of a fundamentalist-inspired proposal to ban the word "evolution" from Georgia high school biology texts (why not add that to the federal Constitution too?), pointedly observed that "there is no need to teach that stars can fall out of the sky and land on a flat Earth in order to defend our religious faith."
What Bush and the Christian right want to do with the Federal Marriage Amendment is to defend their particular brand of religious faith. The amendment should not be considered merely an election-year "wedge issue," as Sen. John Kerry put it, or even primarily an attack on gay rights. The larger and more fundamental issue is that the amendment represents an all-out assault on separation of church and state.
In a perceptive letter to Congress, Americans United for Separation of Church and State pointed out that the change would violate the First Amendment's establishment clause by giving the government's "greatest imprimatur" to religions that prohibit gay marriage – while relegating to second-class status those religions that recognize same-sex marriage.
Fear of precisely that kind of religion discrimination is what impelled dissident 18th-century evangelicals to support a secular constitution. Backus would no doubt have expelled a same-sex couple from his congregation – or worse – but he would not have enlisted the government to help him with what he saw as his religious duty.
Fortunately, American history provides hope that cooler heads will prevail over Bush's election-year mischief. In the 1960s, a drive for a constitutional amendment to overrule the Supreme Court and authorize school prayer lost steam after religious conservatives reacted with initial fury to the 1962 Engel v. Vitale decision. A similar fate awaited amendments to outlaw abortion in the 1970s.
During the Civil War, a group of prominent Protestant ministers proposed a constitutional amendment that would have completely undermined the republic's secular foundations by replacing "We, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union... " with a preamble stating, "Recognizing Almighty God as the source of all authority and power in civil government, and acknowledging the Lord Jesus Christ as the Governor among the nations, His revealed will as the supreme law of the land, in order to constitute a Christian government... "
Abraham Lincoln, observing that "the work of amending the Constitution should never be done hastily," promised to "take such actions upon it as my responsibility to my Maker and our country demands." One of the canniest politicians ever to occupy the White House, Lincoln was in no mood to divide the country along religious lines during a war that had already pitted brother against brother. His action, and that of Congress, was to take no action at all.
One can only hope that today's lawmakers will heed the example of their political predecessors, both believers and secularists, who understood that religious interference with government is as pernicious as government interference with religion.
Susan Jacoby is director of the Center for Inquiry-Metro New York.
Hi all –
This piece on separation of church and state is so good I didn’t want to wait to pass it along (in entirety, below). We really need to bring this dialogue forward. This sounds like a good book for book clubs and moderates… and her concept, that this a wedge issue or an attack on gays and lesbians, but a larger attack on the separation of church and state is enlightening.
A second recommended column: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4408614/ on a similar subject.
… with liberty and justice for all… I am AnnieinKansas
Wedding Church and State
By Susan Jacoby, TomPaine.com
March 2, 2004
Editor's Note: This article is adapted from Susan Jacoby's forthcoming book, 'Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism' to be published in April by Metropolitan Books.
In 1773, the Rev. Isaac Backus, the most prominent Baptist minister in New England, observed that when "church and state are separate, the effects are happy, and they do not at all interfere with each other: but where they have been confounded together, no tongue nor pen can fully describe the mischiefs that have ensued."
If only that reverend manqué, President George W. Bush, had consulted the Reverend Backus' "An Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty" before endorsing the mischief implicit in a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman and "prevent the meaning of marriage from being changed forever."
One of the most ironic aspects of the current assault on separation of church and state is that the apostles of religious correctness have managed to obscure the broad and tolerant origins of the godless Constitution, which was written and ratified by a coalition of Enlightenment rationalists and evangelical Christians equally fearful of entanglements between religion and government.
Like former President Jimmy Carter, a spiritual descendant of the dissenting 18th-century Baptists, the men of faith who helped frame the Constitution were confident enough of the strength of their religion that they did not feel obliged to enlist the aid of government to promote their personal beliefs. Carter, in a recent denunciation of a fundamentalist-inspired proposal to ban the word "evolution" from Georgia high school biology texts (why not add that to the federal Constitution too?), pointedly observed that "there is no need to teach that stars can fall out of the sky and land on a flat Earth in order to defend our religious faith."
What Bush and the Christian right want to do with the Federal Marriage Amendment is to defend their particular brand of religious faith. The amendment should not be considered merely an election-year "wedge issue," as Sen. John Kerry put it, or even primarily an attack on gay rights. The larger and more fundamental issue is that the amendment represents an all-out assault on separation of church and state.
In a perceptive letter to Congress, Americans United for Separation of Church and State pointed out that the change would violate the First Amendment's establishment clause by giving the government's "greatest imprimatur" to religions that prohibit gay marriage – while relegating to second-class status those religions that recognize same-sex marriage.
Fear of precisely that kind of religion discrimination is what impelled dissident 18th-century evangelicals to support a secular constitution. Backus would no doubt have expelled a same-sex couple from his congregation – or worse – but he would not have enlisted the government to help him with what he saw as his religious duty.
Fortunately, American history provides hope that cooler heads will prevail over Bush's election-year mischief. In the 1960s, a drive for a constitutional amendment to overrule the Supreme Court and authorize school prayer lost steam after religious conservatives reacted with initial fury to the 1962 Engel v. Vitale decision. A similar fate awaited amendments to outlaw abortion in the 1970s.
During the Civil War, a group of prominent Protestant ministers proposed a constitutional amendment that would have completely undermined the republic's secular foundations by replacing "We, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union... " with a preamble stating, "Recognizing Almighty God as the source of all authority and power in civil government, and acknowledging the Lord Jesus Christ as the Governor among the nations, His revealed will as the supreme law of the land, in order to constitute a Christian government... "
Abraham Lincoln, observing that "the work of amending the Constitution should never be done hastily," promised to "take such actions upon it as my responsibility to my Maker and our country demands." One of the canniest politicians ever to occupy the White House, Lincoln was in no mood to divide the country along religious lines during a war that had already pitted brother against brother. His action, and that of Congress, was to take no action at all.
One can only hope that today's lawmakers will heed the example of their political predecessors, both believers and secularists, who understood that religious interference with government is as pernicious as government interference with religion.
Susan Jacoby is director of the Center for Inquiry-Metro New York.
Issue 6, February 2004
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas Newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas
It’s a leap year. Good thing for APB because it’s quite a Leap to understand how anyone would vote again for this administration, but they will. The “wedge” issue is intended to satisfy the “base” and ching, ching, make the cash register$ ring. Any doubt of the power of the conservatives? Look at the numbers for this weekend’s “the Passion of the Christ”… those are voters, folks.
Recap. This week my president, APB, and his administration:
-- appointed an “activist” judge through the backdoor. I wonder if they are related to the “activist” judges who appointed APB to office? (see below)
-- our compassionate conservative showed his compassion by standing in front of a podium and saying 10 percent of law-abiding, taxpaying citizens don’t count and asked for a constitutional amendment to officially make them 2nd class citizens – then like the patriarch he is he two days later encouraged people not to call names. Please, no more compassion. I can’t take it!
-- ignored warnings by his own committee of scientists that global warming will create mass havoc.
-- his leader of Education likened the teacher’s union to a bunch of terrorists (can just see John Ashcroft using the Patriot Act to go after their gradebooks… LOL).
-- used powers under the Patriot Act to get the records of women who have had partial birth abortions!
-- And, my very favorite of all… he acted shocked *shocked* when Alan Greenspan said Social Security is being bankrupted… this due to our skyrocketing debt and tax break for the upper class.
All this and sick chickens in Texas too!!! (Molly Ivins nailed this when she said it pays to be a vegetarian when we have a Republican in office)
But it did keep our mind off the fact APB dodged full service in the National Guard, the climbing deficit, the fact that Bin Laden is still free, the fact that we are not any closer to being out of Iraq, and that yes, indeed, our young men and women are still dying for liberty and justice for … well, according to George… SOME…
That reminds me, I’ve got my own 28 questions for APB. I’m starting a list. Send me your questions!
Now to the letters:
Hi Annie,
What happened last week? I didn’t get a column.
Georgia, Hays, KS
Dear Georgia, Annie was felled by the flu. But I may have to go to every other week anyway. Keeping up with these two kids and all their activities is taxing. Plus, Annie is taking her own advice and getting involved on the local level! All of you, find out what it takes to be a precinct chairman… Go on, get out there. Do something! Annie wrote a letter to the KC Star that got in.. Just do it!
Dear Annie,
Everyone is talking about 20 Nobel laureates criticizing AP Bush on the environment. I’d like to learn more. What’s the story? Linda, Burlingame, KS
Hi Linda… NPR did a story on Science Friday about the environment and how APB may be manipulating the scientific facts in the interest of politics. Hard to believe, I know. Here are two links, the NPR audio and the scientist’s report…
NPR: More than 60 big-name scientists have charged the Bush administration with manipulating science to suit its political agenda. The administration says its decisions are based on the best available science. We'll talk about it with the current and former presidential science advisors. This is a fairly long audio program… http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=5&prgDate=20-Feb-2004
The Scientist’s Report: http://www.ucsusa.org/global_environment/rsi/index.html
Also, see below for an article links sent in by a readers on this same subject.
Dear annieinkansas: You have inspired me. I wrote a letter to the SF Chronicle. Here it is! PS.. I have sent your newsletter to 15 of my friends. They love it!
Editor,
How much more time and energy are we going to waste on the Defense of Marriage act - aimed at further discriminating gays and lesbians? If we really want to defend marriage maybe we should focus real issues that undermine it like, spousal abuse.
If we really want to fix what's broken in America, I suggest our representatives spend their time DEFENDING the following:
The Defense of Battered Women Act
The Defense of Single Parents & Their Children Act
The Defense of Hungry Children and Ending Poverty in America Act
The Defense of Ending Homelessness Act
The Defense of Reproductive Freedom Act
The Defense of Finding a Cure for Aids & Cancer Act
The Defense of World Peace Act
The Defense of Arts in K-12 Education Act
The Defense of Higher Education for Everyone Act
The Defense of Consumers from Corporate Greed Act
The Defense of ... (fill in the blank)
I could go on, and on.
Angela O. Rizzo, Daly City, CA
Dear Angela – Rock On! I point out that Rosie O’Donnell said, on her way to get married in SF, that she kept thinking “… liberty and justice for all…” Apparently she’s reading AnnieinKansas too! Thanks for the free advertising, Rosie. Writing letters. Going to a local “meetup”. At the very least, registering to vote. We have to do it or really, four more years! Thanks also for new subscribers.
Dear Annie… What’s this about Supreme Anthony Scalia hunting with lawyer buddies in Kansas too? Gert, Clay Center, KS
Dear Gert… Have good friends from Clay Center… And yes, it’s true. Scalia came here to Kansas to do some speaking at the law school over in Lawrence (a hotbed of liberals). While he was here, he also did some hunting in central Kansas… I’m guessing for Pheasant, though hard to know. I think this was a “fair” hunt and not them leading caged animals to slaughter like the ducks down south that he “shot” with Cheney. Anyway, as it turns out, good old Mr. Scalia was hearing a case involving the state of Kansas two weeks later… by the lawyers who brought him here… Stinky? Whatever else it may be, it violates the code of “giving the appearance” of favoritism. To the case, not the pheasants in question.
Fun Stuff – this week changed to… Stuff That Would be Funny if it Wasn’t Killing Us
The Bush Legacy…Remember how APB asked for no namecalling… I just love the compassion. So, while we were enjoying reading the poll numbers that showed he’s below Kerry, he slipped a fast one by us. Here’s the news: President Bush (news - web sites) bypassed the Senate on a high-profile judicial nomination yesterday for the second time in five weeks and seated William H. Pryor Jr., the Alabama attorney general and an outspoken opponent of abortion, as an appeals court judge through 2005. He took the oath of office in Alabama last night and joined the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which covers Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Pryor, 41, has described Roe v. Wade (news - web sites), the Supreme Court's landmark abortion rights decision, as "the worst abomination in the history of constitutional law." In 1997, his first year as Alabama attorney general, he invoked God's will while speaking at a Christian Coalition rally to defend a state judge who posted the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. In February, he filed a brief with the Supreme Court in a Texas sodomy case comparing homosexual acts to ``prostitution, adultery, necrophilia, bestiality, possession of child pornography and even incest and pedophilia.''
At the same time, activist-judge-Appointed President Bush also removed two people from his Bioethics Committee who were not of the same “idealology” and replaced them…this committee is making recommendations on stem cell research.
Lets check in with the deficit counter - Click the link here to see the National Debt Clock and read about the man who keeps it running. For kicks, hit reload a few times to watch in GROW! http://brillig.com/debt_clock
BLEAK FORECAST: Annie has little respect for Arianna Huffington, but this is one good article. A report by the Pentagon sounds the alarm on an environmental Armageddon, but the president isn't listening. http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17953
From Moveon.org: Under energy industry pressure, President Bush’s EPA plans to defer controls on mercury emissions by power plants for at least a decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 4.9 million women of childbearing age in the U.S. -- that's 8 percent -- have unsafe levels of mercury in their blood. The people hit hardest will be new-born infants -- every year over 630,000 infants are born with levels of mercury in their blood so high they can cause brain damage. We have just a few weeks to get public comments to the EPA on this plan to defer mercury controls. It's time to tell the EPA and the White House that our kids come first. You can submit your comment by clicking this link: http://www.moveon.org/mercury/ All, Moveon is a grassroots organization if I’ve ever seen one. Visit their site just to check it out!
Just plain shocking news: Saddam was stealing from the Oil for Food program. http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/8067134.htm (also recently in NY Times)
With liberty and justice for all… I am annieinkansas saying GET OUT THERE AND DO SOMETHING! And let me know what you do. Send me your questions… we’ll put together a list for APB…
Repeating because I love it…
…"An immoral war was thus waged and the world is a great deal less safe place than before. There are many more who resent the powerful who can throw their weight about so callously and with so much impunity." Desmond Tutu
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas Newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas
It’s a leap year. Good thing for APB because it’s quite a Leap to understand how anyone would vote again for this administration, but they will. The “wedge” issue is intended to satisfy the “base” and ching, ching, make the cash register$ ring. Any doubt of the power of the conservatives? Look at the numbers for this weekend’s “the Passion of the Christ”… those are voters, folks.
Recap. This week my president, APB, and his administration:
-- appointed an “activist” judge through the backdoor. I wonder if they are related to the “activist” judges who appointed APB to office? (see below)
-- our compassionate conservative showed his compassion by standing in front of a podium and saying 10 percent of law-abiding, taxpaying citizens don’t count and asked for a constitutional amendment to officially make them 2nd class citizens – then like the patriarch he is he two days later encouraged people not to call names. Please, no more compassion. I can’t take it!
-- ignored warnings by his own committee of scientists that global warming will create mass havoc.
-- his leader of Education likened the teacher’s union to a bunch of terrorists (can just see John Ashcroft using the Patriot Act to go after their gradebooks… LOL).
-- used powers under the Patriot Act to get the records of women who have had partial birth abortions!
-- And, my very favorite of all… he acted shocked *shocked* when Alan Greenspan said Social Security is being bankrupted… this due to our skyrocketing debt and tax break for the upper class.
All this and sick chickens in Texas too!!! (Molly Ivins nailed this when she said it pays to be a vegetarian when we have a Republican in office)
But it did keep our mind off the fact APB dodged full service in the National Guard, the climbing deficit, the fact that Bin Laden is still free, the fact that we are not any closer to being out of Iraq, and that yes, indeed, our young men and women are still dying for liberty and justice for … well, according to George… SOME…
That reminds me, I’ve got my own 28 questions for APB. I’m starting a list. Send me your questions!
Now to the letters:
Hi Annie,
What happened last week? I didn’t get a column.
Georgia, Hays, KS
Dear Georgia, Annie was felled by the flu. But I may have to go to every other week anyway. Keeping up with these two kids and all their activities is taxing. Plus, Annie is taking her own advice and getting involved on the local level! All of you, find out what it takes to be a precinct chairman… Go on, get out there. Do something! Annie wrote a letter to the KC Star that got in.. Just do it!
Dear Annie,
Everyone is talking about 20 Nobel laureates criticizing AP Bush on the environment. I’d like to learn more. What’s the story? Linda, Burlingame, KS
Hi Linda… NPR did a story on Science Friday about the environment and how APB may be manipulating the scientific facts in the interest of politics. Hard to believe, I know. Here are two links, the NPR audio and the scientist’s report…
NPR: More than 60 big-name scientists have charged the Bush administration with manipulating science to suit its political agenda. The administration says its decisions are based on the best available science. We'll talk about it with the current and former presidential science advisors. This is a fairly long audio program… http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=5&prgDate=20-Feb-2004
The Scientist’s Report: http://www.ucsusa.org/global_environment/rsi/index.html
Also, see below for an article links sent in by a readers on this same subject.
Dear annieinkansas: You have inspired me. I wrote a letter to the SF Chronicle. Here it is! PS.. I have sent your newsletter to 15 of my friends. They love it!
Editor,
How much more time and energy are we going to waste on the Defense of Marriage act - aimed at further discriminating gays and lesbians? If we really want to defend marriage maybe we should focus real issues that undermine it like, spousal abuse.
If we really want to fix what's broken in America, I suggest our representatives spend their time DEFENDING the following:
The Defense of Battered Women Act
The Defense of Single Parents & Their Children Act
The Defense of Hungry Children and Ending Poverty in America Act
The Defense of Ending Homelessness Act
The Defense of Reproductive Freedom Act
The Defense of Finding a Cure for Aids & Cancer Act
The Defense of World Peace Act
The Defense of Arts in K-12 Education Act
The Defense of Higher Education for Everyone Act
The Defense of Consumers from Corporate Greed Act
The Defense of ... (fill in the blank)
I could go on, and on.
Angela O. Rizzo, Daly City, CA
Dear Angela – Rock On! I point out that Rosie O’Donnell said, on her way to get married in SF, that she kept thinking “… liberty and justice for all…” Apparently she’s reading AnnieinKansas too! Thanks for the free advertising, Rosie. Writing letters. Going to a local “meetup”. At the very least, registering to vote. We have to do it or really, four more years! Thanks also for new subscribers.
Dear Annie… What’s this about Supreme Anthony Scalia hunting with lawyer buddies in Kansas too? Gert, Clay Center, KS
Dear Gert… Have good friends from Clay Center… And yes, it’s true. Scalia came here to Kansas to do some speaking at the law school over in Lawrence (a hotbed of liberals). While he was here, he also did some hunting in central Kansas… I’m guessing for Pheasant, though hard to know. I think this was a “fair” hunt and not them leading caged animals to slaughter like the ducks down south that he “shot” with Cheney. Anyway, as it turns out, good old Mr. Scalia was hearing a case involving the state of Kansas two weeks later… by the lawyers who brought him here… Stinky? Whatever else it may be, it violates the code of “giving the appearance” of favoritism. To the case, not the pheasants in question.
Fun Stuff – this week changed to… Stuff That Would be Funny if it Wasn’t Killing Us
The Bush Legacy…Remember how APB asked for no namecalling… I just love the compassion. So, while we were enjoying reading the poll numbers that showed he’s below Kerry, he slipped a fast one by us. Here’s the news: President Bush (news - web sites) bypassed the Senate on a high-profile judicial nomination yesterday for the second time in five weeks and seated William H. Pryor Jr., the Alabama attorney general and an outspoken opponent of abortion, as an appeals court judge through 2005. He took the oath of office in Alabama last night and joined the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which covers Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Pryor, 41, has described Roe v. Wade (news - web sites), the Supreme Court's landmark abortion rights decision, as "the worst abomination in the history of constitutional law." In 1997, his first year as Alabama attorney general, he invoked God's will while speaking at a Christian Coalition rally to defend a state judge who posted the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. In February, he filed a brief with the Supreme Court in a Texas sodomy case comparing homosexual acts to ``prostitution, adultery, necrophilia, bestiality, possession of child pornography and even incest and pedophilia.''
At the same time, activist-judge-Appointed President Bush also removed two people from his Bioethics Committee who were not of the same “idealology” and replaced them…this committee is making recommendations on stem cell research.
Lets check in with the deficit counter - Click the link here to see the National Debt Clock and read about the man who keeps it running. For kicks, hit reload a few times to watch in GROW! http://brillig.com/debt_clock
BLEAK FORECAST: Annie has little respect for Arianna Huffington, but this is one good article. A report by the Pentagon sounds the alarm on an environmental Armageddon, but the president isn't listening. http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17953
From Moveon.org: Under energy industry pressure, President Bush’s EPA plans to defer controls on mercury emissions by power plants for at least a decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 4.9 million women of childbearing age in the U.S. -- that's 8 percent -- have unsafe levels of mercury in their blood. The people hit hardest will be new-born infants -- every year over 630,000 infants are born with levels of mercury in their blood so high they can cause brain damage. We have just a few weeks to get public comments to the EPA on this plan to defer mercury controls. It's time to tell the EPA and the White House that our kids come first. You can submit your comment by clicking this link: http://www.moveon.org/mercury/ All, Moveon is a grassroots organization if I’ve ever seen one. Visit their site just to check it out!
Just plain shocking news: Saddam was stealing from the Oil for Food program. http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/8067134.htm (also recently in NY Times)
With liberty and justice for all… I am annieinkansas saying GET OUT THERE AND DO SOMETHING! And let me know what you do. Send me your questions… we’ll put together a list for APB…
Repeating because I love it…
…"An immoral war was thus waged and the world is a great deal less safe place than before. There are many more who resent the powerful who can throw their weight about so callously and with so much impunity." Desmond Tutu
Issue 5, February 2004
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas Newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas
Here we are in February. Hope you and yours had a wonderful Valentine’s Day. It’s going to be a short one this week since I was OOT again this weekend (St. Louis) and the kids haven’t been back to school yet.
I think I gave myself whiplash this week. All eyes were focused on Massachusetts and DC and then SF Mayor Gavin Newsome goes and starts letting gays get married on the west coast and IN DEFIANCE of California laws. No one was more surprised than I to watch photo after photo come over the internet of folks getting married. Janet who?
APB owes Mayor Newsome a big favor. Suddenly the focus was off APB’s National Guard records and the question, “why didn’t he fly?”
When people tell me that gays having the right to marry will be a huge wedge issue I just can’t believe it. 575 dead in Iraq. No WMD. More trouble in Haiti. And that tinderbox around elections in Iraq… But this week told the truth. It was the story that bumped all others from the headlines. Karl Rove is waiting for a slow news day to push his amendment to the constitution and thanks to Mayor Gavin that will be a few days away. 2,500 gay marriages in five days.
We’re seeing more acts of civil disobedience. If you haven’t seen it yet, please tune in to HBO to see Iron Jawed Angels – the story of Alice Paul and the woman’s suffrage movement. The timing of this show in our nation right now could not be more relevant. These women went through hell and hunger strikes so we could vote.
THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR FORWARDING THIS. I started out sending this to about 35 people in my address book 5 weeks ago and this week it will go directly to 93 mailboxes! In that time I have not had one person ask to unsubscribe!
Now to the letters:
Hi Annie,
Now that it looks like Kerry will be the nominee, I have one worry. Can he be elected? I don’t think I can take another four years of APB.
Mary Alice, Protection, KS
Dear Mary Alice… I’ve never been to Protection, but if I were to start a security company, that’s the first place I’d locate!
Everyone is asking the same question. I think the best thing to read to get a feel for where Rove will take this is to read conservative columnist George Will’s 28 Questions for John Kerry. To get it, you have to sign in with your email, so to save you all that trouble, I’ll add it on at the bottom.
John Kerry had long hair. He protested with Jane Fonda. He switches his answers. He’s a latte-drinking liberal. He takes the big bucks from special interests. He’s an insider.
I think a consequence of him being the nominee is that Green party candidate Ralph Nader is probably coming back to the party. I certainly hope not. To send Ralph a message, visit: http://www.ralphdontrun.net (thanks Andrea!)
Dear Annie,
I love your comments, your humor, and your hope! Add me to your list. I am another one of Nancy's sisters! We are in Blacksburg Virginia. Peace - Ginger Evans
Thanks Ginger! Welcome aboard Blacksburg, Virginia!
And then this one from Sam Brownback, our Kansas rep who is a right-winger… his response first, then mine…
February 17, 2004
Dear annieinkansas:
Thank you for contacting me with your comments on same-sex marriages and the Federal Marriage Amendment. The thoughts and advice of my fellow Kansans are a great resource for me.
The Federal Marriage Amendment would define marriage as consisting only of the union between a man and a woman. This is just "common sense" that marriage is between a man and a woman. Introduced in May by Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado, the Federal Marriage Amendment, H.J. Res. 56, currently has 112 cosponsors. I am a cosponsor of the Senate version of the bill, S.J. Res. 26, introduced by Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO).
As a Congressman, I was a cosponsor of H.R. 3396, the Defense of Marriage Act, in the 104th Congress. It was designed to defend the institution of marriage and to protect the right of the States to decide this important policy matter. I believe this Act, now law, affirms the value of the institution of marriage and safeguards its security.
Studies prove that without strong families, there is a greater chance that children will be poor, stay poor longer, have emotional and behavioral problems, drop out of high school, get pregnant before marriage, abuse drugs, and get in trouble with the law. Those are distressing statistics. Needless to say, it is easy to see why families and marriage are so critical - and why we must work to preserve and protect them. Families are the building blocks of society and the training ground for the next generation of citizens.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future and in the meantime, I encourage you to visit my website at http://www.senate.gov/~brownback for additional information on other issues on which I am working.
Sincerely,
Sam Brownback
United States Senator
Mr. Brownback, It's also common sense that all citizens of the United States be afforded "justice."
Also, the statistics you quote: Studies prove that without strong families, there is a greater chance that children will be poor, stay poor longer, have emotional and behavioral problems, drop out of high school, get pregnant before marriage, abuse drugs, and get in trouble with the law. Those are distressing statistics. Needless to say, it is easy to see why families and marriage are so critical - and why we must work to preserve and protect them. Families are the building blocks of society and the training ground for the next generation of citizens.
These distressing statistics are from studies done on "man woman" marriages.
Opposite sex marriages "own" the negative statistics on marriage out there now.
Annie
Fun Stuff
See this story on Dick Cheney’s gay daughter, Mary. She’s in hiding more than good old dad… So much so, they’ve put her name on a milk carton. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4271472/
Anna Quinlan… Love her. She makes some great points in this column. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4270436/
The link that first started the rumor that Kerry had an affair. Matt Drudge made a name for himself putting rumors about Bill Clinton on his web site six years ago. Here’s the site, check it out. http://drudgereport.com Disclaimer: Providing this link as a “keep your friends close and your enemies closer!”
Oh, and I can’t let the week pass without mentioning that our resident “storyteller” over at Fox, Mr. Bill O’Reilly this week finally apologized for supporting our going into Iraq for WMD. He said he would apologize and not trust George Bush anymore if it was later learned that there were no WMD. Now he’s trying to shift the blame to the CIA. But remember, the CIA is shifting it right back saying they didn’t say it was an imminent threat. Hey I know, instead of us sorting all this out, lets call for an Independent Commission to figure it out. You know that WMD group that APB put together isn’t an Independent Commission and, according to this man, isn’t even going to figure out about WMD. To read the real story, click on this link: http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20040213.html
THANK YOU MR. DESMOND TUTU…
LONDON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) and British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) should apologize for waging "an immoral war" against Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s Iraq (news - web sites), Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in a speech.
In an evening lecture delivered in Westminster, central London, the Nobel laureate said Bush and Blair would reap a revival in credibility if they apologised for waging a war that left the world "a great deal less safe".
…"An immoral war was thus waged and the world is a great deal less safe place than before. There are many more who resent the powerful who can throw their weight about so callously and with so much impunity."
With liberty and justice for all… I am annieinkansas saying nite all…
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas Newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas
Here we are in February. Hope you and yours had a wonderful Valentine’s Day. It’s going to be a short one this week since I was OOT again this weekend (St. Louis) and the kids haven’t been back to school yet.
I think I gave myself whiplash this week. All eyes were focused on Massachusetts and DC and then SF Mayor Gavin Newsome goes and starts letting gays get married on the west coast and IN DEFIANCE of California laws. No one was more surprised than I to watch photo after photo come over the internet of folks getting married. Janet who?
APB owes Mayor Newsome a big favor. Suddenly the focus was off APB’s National Guard records and the question, “why didn’t he fly?”
When people tell me that gays having the right to marry will be a huge wedge issue I just can’t believe it. 575 dead in Iraq. No WMD. More trouble in Haiti. And that tinderbox around elections in Iraq… But this week told the truth. It was the story that bumped all others from the headlines. Karl Rove is waiting for a slow news day to push his amendment to the constitution and thanks to Mayor Gavin that will be a few days away. 2,500 gay marriages in five days.
We’re seeing more acts of civil disobedience. If you haven’t seen it yet, please tune in to HBO to see Iron Jawed Angels – the story of Alice Paul and the woman’s suffrage movement. The timing of this show in our nation right now could not be more relevant. These women went through hell and hunger strikes so we could vote.
THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR FORWARDING THIS. I started out sending this to about 35 people in my address book 5 weeks ago and this week it will go directly to 93 mailboxes! In that time I have not had one person ask to unsubscribe!
Now to the letters:
Hi Annie,
Now that it looks like Kerry will be the nominee, I have one worry. Can he be elected? I don’t think I can take another four years of APB.
Mary Alice, Protection, KS
Dear Mary Alice… I’ve never been to Protection, but if I were to start a security company, that’s the first place I’d locate!
Everyone is asking the same question. I think the best thing to read to get a feel for where Rove will take this is to read conservative columnist George Will’s 28 Questions for John Kerry. To get it, you have to sign in with your email, so to save you all that trouble, I’ll add it on at the bottom.
John Kerry had long hair. He protested with Jane Fonda. He switches his answers. He’s a latte-drinking liberal. He takes the big bucks from special interests. He’s an insider.
I think a consequence of him being the nominee is that Green party candidate Ralph Nader is probably coming back to the party. I certainly hope not. To send Ralph a message, visit: http://www.ralphdontrun.net (thanks Andrea!)
Dear Annie,
I love your comments, your humor, and your hope! Add me to your list. I am another one of Nancy's sisters! We are in Blacksburg Virginia. Peace - Ginger Evans
Thanks Ginger! Welcome aboard Blacksburg, Virginia!
And then this one from Sam Brownback, our Kansas rep who is a right-winger… his response first, then mine…
February 17, 2004
Dear annieinkansas:
Thank you for contacting me with your comments on same-sex marriages and the Federal Marriage Amendment. The thoughts and advice of my fellow Kansans are a great resource for me.
The Federal Marriage Amendment would define marriage as consisting only of the union between a man and a woman. This is just "common sense" that marriage is between a man and a woman. Introduced in May by Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado, the Federal Marriage Amendment, H.J. Res. 56, currently has 112 cosponsors. I am a cosponsor of the Senate version of the bill, S.J. Res. 26, introduced by Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO).
As a Congressman, I was a cosponsor of H.R. 3396, the Defense of Marriage Act, in the 104th Congress. It was designed to defend the institution of marriage and to protect the right of the States to decide this important policy matter. I believe this Act, now law, affirms the value of the institution of marriage and safeguards its security.
Studies prove that without strong families, there is a greater chance that children will be poor, stay poor longer, have emotional and behavioral problems, drop out of high school, get pregnant before marriage, abuse drugs, and get in trouble with the law. Those are distressing statistics. Needless to say, it is easy to see why families and marriage are so critical - and why we must work to preserve and protect them. Families are the building blocks of society and the training ground for the next generation of citizens.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future and in the meantime, I encourage you to visit my website at http://www.senate.gov/~brownback for additional information on other issues on which I am working.
Sincerely,
Sam Brownback
United States Senator
Mr. Brownback, It's also common sense that all citizens of the United States be afforded "justice."
Also, the statistics you quote: Studies prove that without strong families, there is a greater chance that children will be poor, stay poor longer, have emotional and behavioral problems, drop out of high school, get pregnant before marriage, abuse drugs, and get in trouble with the law. Those are distressing statistics. Needless to say, it is easy to see why families and marriage are so critical - and why we must work to preserve and protect them. Families are the building blocks of society and the training ground for the next generation of citizens.
These distressing statistics are from studies done on "man woman" marriages.
Opposite sex marriages "own" the negative statistics on marriage out there now.
Annie
Fun Stuff
See this story on Dick Cheney’s gay daughter, Mary. She’s in hiding more than good old dad… So much so, they’ve put her name on a milk carton. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4271472/
Anna Quinlan… Love her. She makes some great points in this column. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4270436/
The link that first started the rumor that Kerry had an affair. Matt Drudge made a name for himself putting rumors about Bill Clinton on his web site six years ago. Here’s the site, check it out. http://drudgereport.com Disclaimer: Providing this link as a “keep your friends close and your enemies closer!”
Oh, and I can’t let the week pass without mentioning that our resident “storyteller” over at Fox, Mr. Bill O’Reilly this week finally apologized for supporting our going into Iraq for WMD. He said he would apologize and not trust George Bush anymore if it was later learned that there were no WMD. Now he’s trying to shift the blame to the CIA. But remember, the CIA is shifting it right back saying they didn’t say it was an imminent threat. Hey I know, instead of us sorting all this out, lets call for an Independent Commission to figure it out. You know that WMD group that APB put together isn’t an Independent Commission and, according to this man, isn’t even going to figure out about WMD. To read the real story, click on this link: http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20040213.html
THANK YOU MR. DESMOND TUTU…
LONDON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) and British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) should apologize for waging "an immoral war" against Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s Iraq (news - web sites), Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in a speech.
In an evening lecture delivered in Westminster, central London, the Nobel laureate said Bush and Blair would reap a revival in credibility if they apologised for waging a war that left the world "a great deal less safe".
…"An immoral war was thus waged and the world is a great deal less safe place than before. There are many more who resent the powerful who can throw their weight about so callously and with so much impunity."
With liberty and justice for all… I am annieinkansas saying nite all…
Issue 4, February 2004
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas Newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas
More letters this week. I wanted to start with a note about the dangerous speech on Sunday. You know, the one our Appointed President Bush gave on the dangers of shadowy terrorist networks and that dangerous man in a dangerous part of the world. I got to watch it from a very dangerous part of the world… just outside Fort Worth Texas!
Smart friends of mine have been discussing this notion of a fear-driven presidency. A fear-driven government. Whenever Bush wants something approved, he talks of fear. It speaks to our basic belief that no-one in government would lie to us – they couldn’t get away with it because we have a system of checks and balances, right? We basically believe all people are good so if Bush says there are WMD, then by God, we’re going to listen to him. If he says, we should take out Saddam: “the man was a threat”, then, he must know something we don’t.
I think the point here is that just like in the corporate world, our system of checks and balances is corrupt. Fraudulent. Tainted. Can you say… our CEO has no credibility?
Bush used the word Danger or Dangerous 17 times in the first segment of his interview on Meet the Press. 17 times. He used it 0 times after the break so I’m guessing Rove told him to lay off. The thing about fearing Saddam seems like a ruse to me. “he COULD have made WMD” – yes, and with some research on the internet, you probably COULD too!
Oh, that’s right, we’ve got that Independent commission (wink, wink) looking at whether there was an imminent threat. Reminds me of my kids: “it was imminent.” “was not.” “was too.” “was not.” Be sure of this, somebody will go to time out. And, unless we all get out there and vote and talk, it’s not going to be APB.
Here are some other things that Bush said that are pretty funny.
“Free countries don’t develop weapons of mass terrorism.” Yes, APB, but last time I checked we are a free country and we have absolutely developed weapons of mass terrorism and supported other organizations doing so. Am I wrong?
“The recession started upon my arrival.” Well, whaddya know, he finally gets it. YES, the recession did start at your arrival and this is the longest recovery ever on record too! Jobless recovery. Don’t believe a thing Bush and his guys say about the jobs coming… the numbers are fraud. Check out any real numbers on this. Reminder: We’re going at least $540B in debt this year because of the tax cuts for the top 1 percent.
“He was a dangerous man in a dangerous part of the world.” Great. If that’s the criteria, when are we going after the other abusers of human rights out there? And PS, how many countries will we be unilaterally attacking AND how much will it cost, plus or minus 1/3. I think we’re at $87 Billion and our allies have kicked in a whopping $13B.
We want to allow Iraqis to have “minority rights and freedom of religion.” That’s funny, because I wonder how APB is defining Minority – the same definition we have here in the states?
Bush said the mistake in Vietnam was that it was “politicians running wars and not the military running wars.” Remember that Atlantic Monthly article we discussed last month, it asserts that this is JUST WHAT APB DID. He had Rumsfield (politician/civilian) plan the war – not the military.
OK, so Bush is taking a hit. His numbers are now low, 47 percent. The same as his father when he lost. Two points:
Bush has not put any of the $200M into the market yet. Watch for him to paint the dem front-runner as a liberal, tax-raising, latte-drinking, bikini-waxing metrosexual.
Bush said he doesn’t pay attention to polls. What a joke that was. Does he actually think people believe that? Why do you think he agreed to go on Meet the Press when he hasn’t had any press conferences and those he does have are all “set up” in terms of who gets to ask the question. What I don’t understand is how APB can still look people in the face and think we believe him.
Now to the letters:
Hi Annie,
Love the newsletter. Can you answer me this? Why is John Kerry perceived as electable? The guy has the worst traits of Al Gore, Michael Dukakis and Bob Dole all rolled into one. How is this electable? Is he going to bore Bush into submission?
Mark in Prairie Village, KS
Dear Mark, Thanks for your email. I really am at a loss to answer your question. I read Time and Newsweek stories on the guy, along with a synopsis in a new book that gives a look at the candidates and their good and bad points. The only thing I can guess is that everyone likes his initials, JFK. Or maybe it’s his hair. The brown jacket. Yes, that has to be it.
Seriously, the guy has some major issues in addition to the ones you mention. One article said he’d be fried for being from Taxachussetts, home of the Big Dig. He’s done some great work for those lobbyists who line his pockets. In the Senate, he has the highest number of lobbyist contributions. He’s also a latte-drinking liberal with a rich wife who likes to speak her mind – personally I like a hazelnut latte and a wife who speaks her mind.
The goofiest thing I hear is that Dean does not “look” presidential.
Here’s the thing. Dean is being elected by a Movement of people who are sick and tired of being sick and tired. They are not big business. He is not being helped by the DNC and in fact, I gather he is anti-DNC. His mom says he’s a moderate.
My question back to you is… what happens to the movement voters if it is the same old same old son of Dukakis (Kerry) that gets the nod? I fear a split like the Green Party did last time. Then guess what, hanging chads. That’s right. I’m glad this is”not” over and that Dean says he’ll stay in for the long run. The way I understand how this works, it is not over. Not by a long shot.
Dear Annie,
Great Newsletter! I love the opportunity to exchange info. Thanks!
OK, so what's your take on the new 9 member commission EPB (Elected President Bush) called for yesterday to investigate the faulty intelligence that led to the US decision to take on Saddam. Don't you think that EPB himself was duped, along with the rest of us? I actually think it is big of Bush to admit that, while it is extremely disappointing and downright scary, our own intelligence community (which seems to be an oxymoron) screwed up and he needs to get to the bottom of it. Americans are losing their lives everyday based on this "intelligence."
By the way, it actually sounds like Saddam was maybe lied to most of all. Several media stories told accounts of his top scientists taking millions of dollars to develop WMD and then using the money for other things. Meanwhile, they couldn't tell him the truth or they would be tortured beyond belief, just like the millions of other people who had their eyes burned out, fingers cut off, genitals burned and wounds salted under the Hussein regime. Shouldn't Bush receive a little credit for bringing an end to the torture of 26 million people?
Heidi in Lenexa, KS
Dear Heidi, A true moderate in elephant’s clothing! To answer question one, YES I totally CAN believe APB was duped. Thanks for asking! Do you have any way of knowing whether he’s interested in a bridge I’ve got to sell?
And I’m with you. I hope they get to the bottom of it of the “intelligence failure” that makes boobs of all of them. I’m quite sure it will be smelly down there. What with the lives of plus 500 people gone and at least 3000 injured. Don’t believe for a second that this commission is “independent.”
And, I’m with you on Saddam being lied to. So how soon do you think we can go bomb the other rulers in the world who are committing human rights violations. Do you think we should call 1-800-helpusUN, first, or just BRING IT ON?
Moveon.org is leading an effort to collect signatures to being the process of Censure for the president for lying about the WMD to lead the country to war. Remember when I asked if this lie was bigger than the “I did not have sex with that woman” lie? Well, go to moveon and read what they have to say. It’s a good bit of evidence. Sign the petition if you believe. http://www.moveon.org/censure/
A new reader sent an email last Monday that had some interesting facts. It was very long so I can’t send the whole thing, but here are a few. If you want the whole thing, let me know and I’ll forward it.
0 = Number of funerals or memorials that APB has attended for soldiers killed in Iraq.
100 = Number of fund-raisers attended by APB or Cheney in 2003.
16,000 = approximate number of Iraqis killed since start of war
10,000 = approximate number of Iraqi civilians killed since start of war
2.4 Million = Number of Americans who have lost their jobs during the three years of the Bush administration
221,000 = Number of jobs per month that have been created since APB’s tax cuts took effect – he had promised 306,000 a month – you know it’s that plus or minus 1/3 rule again
And, last one for this time, this administration is on its way to becoming the first since 1929 to preside over and overall loss of jobs during its complete term in office.
(thanks for forwarding Brad!)
… with liberty and justice for y’all… I mean, all! annieinkansas
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas Newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas
More letters this week. I wanted to start with a note about the dangerous speech on Sunday. You know, the one our Appointed President Bush gave on the dangers of shadowy terrorist networks and that dangerous man in a dangerous part of the world. I got to watch it from a very dangerous part of the world… just outside Fort Worth Texas!
Smart friends of mine have been discussing this notion of a fear-driven presidency. A fear-driven government. Whenever Bush wants something approved, he talks of fear. It speaks to our basic belief that no-one in government would lie to us – they couldn’t get away with it because we have a system of checks and balances, right? We basically believe all people are good so if Bush says there are WMD, then by God, we’re going to listen to him. If he says, we should take out Saddam: “the man was a threat”, then, he must know something we don’t.
I think the point here is that just like in the corporate world, our system of checks and balances is corrupt. Fraudulent. Tainted. Can you say… our CEO has no credibility?
Bush used the word Danger or Dangerous 17 times in the first segment of his interview on Meet the Press. 17 times. He used it 0 times after the break so I’m guessing Rove told him to lay off. The thing about fearing Saddam seems like a ruse to me. “he COULD have made WMD” – yes, and with some research on the internet, you probably COULD too!
Oh, that’s right, we’ve got that Independent commission (wink, wink) looking at whether there was an imminent threat. Reminds me of my kids: “it was imminent.” “was not.” “was too.” “was not.” Be sure of this, somebody will go to time out. And, unless we all get out there and vote and talk, it’s not going to be APB.
Here are some other things that Bush said that are pretty funny.
“Free countries don’t develop weapons of mass terrorism.” Yes, APB, but last time I checked we are a free country and we have absolutely developed weapons of mass terrorism and supported other organizations doing so. Am I wrong?
“The recession started upon my arrival.” Well, whaddya know, he finally gets it. YES, the recession did start at your arrival and this is the longest recovery ever on record too! Jobless recovery. Don’t believe a thing Bush and his guys say about the jobs coming… the numbers are fraud. Check out any real numbers on this. Reminder: We’re going at least $540B in debt this year because of the tax cuts for the top 1 percent.
“He was a dangerous man in a dangerous part of the world.” Great. If that’s the criteria, when are we going after the other abusers of human rights out there? And PS, how many countries will we be unilaterally attacking AND how much will it cost, plus or minus 1/3. I think we’re at $87 Billion and our allies have kicked in a whopping $13B.
We want to allow Iraqis to have “minority rights and freedom of religion.” That’s funny, because I wonder how APB is defining Minority – the same definition we have here in the states?
Bush said the mistake in Vietnam was that it was “politicians running wars and not the military running wars.” Remember that Atlantic Monthly article we discussed last month, it asserts that this is JUST WHAT APB DID. He had Rumsfield (politician/civilian) plan the war – not the military.
OK, so Bush is taking a hit. His numbers are now low, 47 percent. The same as his father when he lost. Two points:
Bush has not put any of the $200M into the market yet. Watch for him to paint the dem front-runner as a liberal, tax-raising, latte-drinking, bikini-waxing metrosexual.
Bush said he doesn’t pay attention to polls. What a joke that was. Does he actually think people believe that? Why do you think he agreed to go on Meet the Press when he hasn’t had any press conferences and those he does have are all “set up” in terms of who gets to ask the question. What I don’t understand is how APB can still look people in the face and think we believe him.
Now to the letters:
Hi Annie,
Love the newsletter. Can you answer me this? Why is John Kerry perceived as electable? The guy has the worst traits of Al Gore, Michael Dukakis and Bob Dole all rolled into one. How is this electable? Is he going to bore Bush into submission?
Mark in Prairie Village, KS
Dear Mark, Thanks for your email. I really am at a loss to answer your question. I read Time and Newsweek stories on the guy, along with a synopsis in a new book that gives a look at the candidates and their good and bad points. The only thing I can guess is that everyone likes his initials, JFK. Or maybe it’s his hair. The brown jacket. Yes, that has to be it.
Seriously, the guy has some major issues in addition to the ones you mention. One article said he’d be fried for being from Taxachussetts, home of the Big Dig. He’s done some great work for those lobbyists who line his pockets. In the Senate, he has the highest number of lobbyist contributions. He’s also a latte-drinking liberal with a rich wife who likes to speak her mind – personally I like a hazelnut latte and a wife who speaks her mind.
The goofiest thing I hear is that Dean does not “look” presidential.
Here’s the thing. Dean is being elected by a Movement of people who are sick and tired of being sick and tired. They are not big business. He is not being helped by the DNC and in fact, I gather he is anti-DNC. His mom says he’s a moderate.
My question back to you is… what happens to the movement voters if it is the same old same old son of Dukakis (Kerry) that gets the nod? I fear a split like the Green Party did last time. Then guess what, hanging chads. That’s right. I’m glad this is”not” over and that Dean says he’ll stay in for the long run. The way I understand how this works, it is not over. Not by a long shot.
Dear Annie,
Great Newsletter! I love the opportunity to exchange info. Thanks!
OK, so what's your take on the new 9 member commission EPB (Elected President Bush) called for yesterday to investigate the faulty intelligence that led to the US decision to take on Saddam. Don't you think that EPB himself was duped, along with the rest of us? I actually think it is big of Bush to admit that, while it is extremely disappointing and downright scary, our own intelligence community (which seems to be an oxymoron) screwed up and he needs to get to the bottom of it. Americans are losing their lives everyday based on this "intelligence."
By the way, it actually sounds like Saddam was maybe lied to most of all. Several media stories told accounts of his top scientists taking millions of dollars to develop WMD and then using the money for other things. Meanwhile, they couldn't tell him the truth or they would be tortured beyond belief, just like the millions of other people who had their eyes burned out, fingers cut off, genitals burned and wounds salted under the Hussein regime. Shouldn't Bush receive a little credit for bringing an end to the torture of 26 million people?
Heidi in Lenexa, KS
Dear Heidi, A true moderate in elephant’s clothing! To answer question one, YES I totally CAN believe APB was duped. Thanks for asking! Do you have any way of knowing whether he’s interested in a bridge I’ve got to sell?
And I’m with you. I hope they get to the bottom of it of the “intelligence failure” that makes boobs of all of them. I’m quite sure it will be smelly down there. What with the lives of plus 500 people gone and at least 3000 injured. Don’t believe for a second that this commission is “independent.”
And, I’m with you on Saddam being lied to. So how soon do you think we can go bomb the other rulers in the world who are committing human rights violations. Do you think we should call 1-800-helpusUN, first, or just BRING IT ON?
Moveon.org is leading an effort to collect signatures to being the process of Censure for the president for lying about the WMD to lead the country to war. Remember when I asked if this lie was bigger than the “I did not have sex with that woman” lie? Well, go to moveon and read what they have to say. It’s a good bit of evidence. Sign the petition if you believe. http://www.moveon.org/censure/
A new reader sent an email last Monday that had some interesting facts. It was very long so I can’t send the whole thing, but here are a few. If you want the whole thing, let me know and I’ll forward it.
0 = Number of funerals or memorials that APB has attended for soldiers killed in Iraq.
100 = Number of fund-raisers attended by APB or Cheney in 2003.
16,000 = approximate number of Iraqis killed since start of war
10,000 = approximate number of Iraqi civilians killed since start of war
2.4 Million = Number of Americans who have lost their jobs during the three years of the Bush administration
221,000 = Number of jobs per month that have been created since APB’s tax cuts took effect – he had promised 306,000 a month – you know it’s that plus or minus 1/3 rule again
And, last one for this time, this administration is on its way to becoming the first since 1929 to preside over and overall loss of jobs during its complete term in office.
(thanks for forwarding Brad!)
… with liberty and justice for y’all… I mean, all! annieinkansas
Issue 3, Feb. 2004
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas Newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas
Wow. The third week and we are really getting traction. At least someone is! We’ve had a quarter inch of ice, then two inches of snow, freezing temperatures, and now more ice and snow! Good thing I got to the bookstore! Lots of questions this week. I obviously can’t get to all of them this time, but I will save some for next! In coming issues, I plan to give some space to the environment and school funding/no child left behind.
This week we heard from California (a lot!), Florida, Virginia and Topeka! Welcome to all you new subscribers!
This week we also heard LOUD AND CLEAR from David Kay, UN Weapons Inspector. He says there are no weapons of mass destruction and called for an official inquiry! I just hope they don’t put Kenneth Lay in charge of that too. And the Wall Street Journal is reporting today that Halliburton de-frauded the US taxpayers of another $16 Million for meals at a single military base. Can’t wait to hear how they spin that one!
Thank you all for writing in with suggestions of links, in Kansas and other worthy states! Below the letters section you’ll find some suggested links from readers, including a really good test that helps match you with presidential candidates or APB (appointed president Bush).
Several of you have been forwarded this email by friends and are wondering “who is AnnieinKansas”… here’s one such letter forwarded to me by the sister of a reader, city unknown…
Letters
Hey,
Okay...here goes your cynical sister...what makes her opinion so valuable to others? As I read her first few opinions I agreed with her, but why is she throwing herself out there as a pundit? I guess that is the piece missing for me? Please let me know! Love arline, city unknown
Dear Arline, Thanks for writing in. Several people, including those I know, are asking the same thing. Why am I doing this? The obvious answer is, I want the FBI to know who I am by first name!
Honestly, I was a lunch two weeks ago Wednesday with some very bright women -- all of us either approaching or over 40. All of us from Kansas, but not one of us falling off a hay wagon. These women wanted to talk about politics, but believed that it would be very hard to beat Appointed President Bush – “what can we do?” Each time they brought up an issue, I filled them in on some of the facts I'd read. They kept saying, "why don't people know this stuff?" It is tough to keep up with the media cycle. 24 hour news. Pundits. All the mumbo jumbo. So I decided I’d try to once a week sit down and make sense of a little of it.
Who I am…
Mom to two, 6 and 3
Spouse
Voracious reader, consumer of print/electronic news
Writer and former journalist
Formerly a “customer first” advocate in corporate America and small business
Seeker of Liberty and Justice for all
Who I am not (as suggested by a couple of Californians who didn’t agree with my last column)…
Pinko
Welfare mom
Wearing blinders
Watching Fox as “the” news source J
Someone who fell off a turnip truck
I’m still laughing. Keep em coming. The mail is a hoot! You readers doing all the forwarding, you are changing America! Get the conversation started!
Hi Annie,
Please go ahead and put me on your newsletter list (Nicolette has been forwarding it to me - thanks, Nic - I've forwarded it to Ken and Tony so who knows what kind of int'l distribution it will get!). I live in Alexandria, VA just outside WDC but am a Kansas/Missouri girl.
As I'm sure you know, the Washington Post covers election politics extensively. Anyway today there was an interesting review of J. Fallow's Atlantic Monthly article (which I now want to read) on Bush/Iraq that's sure to raise your ire (perhaps you're already aware of it). Here's the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50879-2004Jan26.html
All the best,
Nancy, VA
Dear Nancy, Thanks for writing in. The article you mention is quite long and of course while I was reading it kids’ gerbil got its tail stuck in the cage and we had to call the petstore to find out what to do. Let me give a summary of the article, which is far more interesting and doesn’t involve flour.
When the planning for the invasion of Iraq was being done, Donald Rumsfield did not want anyone to think about, or PROJECT, what happened after we dropped the bombs. Mostly this was because every exit strategy (or post-battle occupation scenario) we could come up with would make our “entry” strategy distasteful to the American public.
That is, the planners agreed with George Bush Sr. It was not a good idea to go into Iraq because there is NO GOOD WAY OUT. Especially when one takes a near-unilateral entry strategy.
If we had known what the costs/results would be (in terms of the global view of America, the dollars, the lives, and how the country would turn out after) NO ONE WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR GOING THERE just to get Saddam, or, behind door number two, nonexistent weapons of mass destruction. Think I’m making this up? Well, Nancy’s link above provides some info. The print version of the magazine has a ton of great stuff for $5.95.
And here’s a link to what Bush Sr. had to say on the subject.
http://www.thememoryhole.org/mil/bushsr-iraq.htm
Of course Bill Clinton and the others before him knew of the problems in Iraq. But they were also smart enough to be able to weigh the tradeoffs.
Some numbers from the Atlantic Monthly
Number of troops the Military wanted: 400,000 plus
Number of troops the civilian leaders sent: 200,000 (now around 170,000 and wanting to go to 120,000 by summer)
Number of dollars projected to cost by Military and Planners: 50 B to 1.7 Trillion
Number of dollars projected to cost by civilian leaders: 0 – they wouldn’t give a projection, but we’re around 120B now and I don’t think we’re leaving by August, do you?
Length of post-war occupation by US by Military Planners: 10 years
Length of post-war occupation by US by civilian leaders: < 1 year, but again, they don’t want to give a projection
The net of the article is this. We had capable people working on plans. But we didn’t like what the plans showed, so we ignored them. Pretended they did not exist. We were going to be welcomed as “liberators” and the whole thing would be over before we could finish “she’ll be coming around the mountain when she comes.”
PS: The headline keeps getting bumped from the news cycles, but please watch for any news about elections in Iraq. There are several large factions who view the oilfields of Iraq as their Mecca, and getting ahold of Mecca is the end goal for all. Right now as I understand it, the US has their appointed team running the country. I am curious how it will turn out. I pray for the troops who have to keep the matches away from this tinderbox.
Dear Annie,
I love your newsletters. Thank you for taking the time to educate the rest of us! :-)
I am a supporter of Dennis Kucinich (or the "Kooch" as his loyal supporters affectionately refer to him). I have heard many people say, especially the media, that the Kooch is not electable. The Kooch is the most progressive candidate out there! Please ask your readers to check out his website at www.kucinich.us
Furthermore, I am tired of hearing how none of the democratic candidates can beat Bush. Don't we have to have an election first? What's the best way to respond to these nay-sayers?
Very Sincerely Yours,
Angela
San Francisco, CA
P.S. (I saw a great bumper sticker: "Let's NOT elect him again")
Dear Angie, Good to hear from you! I agree, lets have an election first. At least your candidate, Kooch, does not have to worry about whether his wife has the right hair for the job!
Headlines and good stuff…
Media Mea Culpa – Here’s a link to the media apologizing all over themselves for the Dean shriek. They sheepishly admit he was trying to talk above the crowd noise. No matter, Dean knocked APB’s state of the union down in terms of news coverage and netted some major network time. Here’s what the media had to say…
Last night Diane Sawyer of ABC News took a new look at Governor's Dean's Iowa speech, and determined in a "mea culpa" that what the networks had shown over and over wasn't quite the same as what happened on the ground. Turns out that famous video snippet failed to capture the crowd--or the sound of its cheers. Sawyer says:
Dean's boisterous countdown of the upcoming primaries as we all heard it on TV was isolated, when in fact he was shouting over the roaring crowd. And what about the scream as we all heard it? In the room, the so-called scream couldn't really be heard at all. Again, he was yelling along with the crowd.
Was the coverage fair? ABC asked the network chiefs themselves:
CBS News: "Individually we may feel okay about our network, but the cumulative effect for viewers with 24-hour cable coverage is -- it may have been overplayed and, in fact, a disservice to Dean and the viewers." -- Andrew Heyward, President - CBS News
ABC News: "It's always a danger that we'll use good video too much." -- David Westin, President - ABC News
CNN: "We've all been wrestling with this. If we had it to do over again, we'd probably pull ourselves back." -- Princell Hair, General Manager - CNN
Fox News: "It got overplayed a bit, and the public clearly thought that, too, and kept him alive for another round." -- Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO - Fox News
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times this week says Cheney will be gone. This seems like a good strategy for Bush. Cheney’s a drag… ties to Halliburton, the inquiry into the fraud, his “secret” energy task force led by Kenneth Lay and other cronies (fox guarding the chicken house). One reader suggests Cheney’s heart will be the reason – he will beg off for “health” reasons. I don’t know how this can happen though since my view is that Cheney is CEO right now.
Even the conservatives are a little over APB and his Texas-sized credit card. They are unhappy with his recent spendonomics policy. This week, we learned his Medicare bill which was estimated to cost $400B will really be $540B. I’d be living on the streets if my household budget was off by a third! It’s already passed, folks, so keep an eye on that deficit counter! And, oh by the way, his new budget calls for a $500M deficit and makes big cuts to… you guessed it, the EPA and Farmers! That $500M is just an estimate, though, so it could be plus or minus 1/3.
Passed the 500 mark in troops dead. Ug. I read the stories in the paper and it makes me sad. This is not Nintendo! That six million Halliburton ripped off would have bought a lot of bottles of water for the troops… or tickets home to visit loved ones.
Alan Greenspan should go. At least that’s what Howard Dean says. That’s a HUGE line in the sand, but Dean makes the case that Greenspan is and has made decisions for political reasons.
A reader sent in the link below for a quiz? Which candidate fits your views? http://www.presidentmatch.com/Main.jsp2?cp=main
CBS had a bad week this week. First they nixed an advertisement that was cynical about APB and the debt he’s driving the country into, then they ran several ads having to do with erections, monkey’s hitting on babes and toots. Then JJ and JT did something nasty on TV right after I’d invited my six year old to watch the halftime show. Ug. What’s this country coming to? We have an immoral president and now the whole country is going down the tubes (yes, this is exactly what they said when Clinton was in office).
With Liberty and Justice for all. . . AnnieinKansas
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas Newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas
Wow. The third week and we are really getting traction. At least someone is! We’ve had a quarter inch of ice, then two inches of snow, freezing temperatures, and now more ice and snow! Good thing I got to the bookstore! Lots of questions this week. I obviously can’t get to all of them this time, but I will save some for next! In coming issues, I plan to give some space to the environment and school funding/no child left behind.
This week we heard from California (a lot!), Florida, Virginia and Topeka! Welcome to all you new subscribers!
This week we also heard LOUD AND CLEAR from David Kay, UN Weapons Inspector. He says there are no weapons of mass destruction and called for an official inquiry! I just hope they don’t put Kenneth Lay in charge of that too. And the Wall Street Journal is reporting today that Halliburton de-frauded the US taxpayers of another $16 Million for meals at a single military base. Can’t wait to hear how they spin that one!
Thank you all for writing in with suggestions of links, in Kansas and other worthy states! Below the letters section you’ll find some suggested links from readers, including a really good test that helps match you with presidential candidates or APB (appointed president Bush).
Several of you have been forwarded this email by friends and are wondering “who is AnnieinKansas”… here’s one such letter forwarded to me by the sister of a reader, city unknown…
Letters
Hey,
Okay...here goes your cynical sister...what makes her opinion so valuable to others? As I read her first few opinions I agreed with her, but why is she throwing herself out there as a pundit? I guess that is the piece missing for me? Please let me know! Love arline, city unknown
Dear Arline, Thanks for writing in. Several people, including those I know, are asking the same thing. Why am I doing this? The obvious answer is, I want the FBI to know who I am by first name!
Honestly, I was a lunch two weeks ago Wednesday with some very bright women -- all of us either approaching or over 40. All of us from Kansas, but not one of us falling off a hay wagon. These women wanted to talk about politics, but believed that it would be very hard to beat Appointed President Bush – “what can we do?” Each time they brought up an issue, I filled them in on some of the facts I'd read. They kept saying, "why don't people know this stuff?" It is tough to keep up with the media cycle. 24 hour news. Pundits. All the mumbo jumbo. So I decided I’d try to once a week sit down and make sense of a little of it.
Who I am…
Mom to two, 6 and 3
Spouse
Voracious reader, consumer of print/electronic news
Writer and former journalist
Formerly a “customer first” advocate in corporate America and small business
Seeker of Liberty and Justice for all
Who I am not (as suggested by a couple of Californians who didn’t agree with my last column)…
Pinko
Welfare mom
Wearing blinders
Watching Fox as “the” news source J
Someone who fell off a turnip truck
I’m still laughing. Keep em coming. The mail is a hoot! You readers doing all the forwarding, you are changing America! Get the conversation started!
Hi Annie,
Please go ahead and put me on your newsletter list (Nicolette has been forwarding it to me - thanks, Nic - I've forwarded it to Ken and Tony so who knows what kind of int'l distribution it will get!). I live in Alexandria, VA just outside WDC but am a Kansas/Missouri girl.
As I'm sure you know, the Washington Post covers election politics extensively. Anyway today there was an interesting review of J. Fallow's Atlantic Monthly article (which I now want to read) on Bush/Iraq that's sure to raise your ire (perhaps you're already aware of it). Here's the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50879-2004Jan26.html
All the best,
Nancy, VA
Dear Nancy, Thanks for writing in. The article you mention is quite long and of course while I was reading it kids’ gerbil got its tail stuck in the cage and we had to call the petstore to find out what to do. Let me give a summary of the article, which is far more interesting and doesn’t involve flour.
When the planning for the invasion of Iraq was being done, Donald Rumsfield did not want anyone to think about, or PROJECT, what happened after we dropped the bombs. Mostly this was because every exit strategy (or post-battle occupation scenario) we could come up with would make our “entry” strategy distasteful to the American public.
That is, the planners agreed with George Bush Sr. It was not a good idea to go into Iraq because there is NO GOOD WAY OUT. Especially when one takes a near-unilateral entry strategy.
If we had known what the costs/results would be (in terms of the global view of America, the dollars, the lives, and how the country would turn out after) NO ONE WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR GOING THERE just to get Saddam, or, behind door number two, nonexistent weapons of mass destruction. Think I’m making this up? Well, Nancy’s link above provides some info. The print version of the magazine has a ton of great stuff for $5.95.
And here’s a link to what Bush Sr. had to say on the subject.
http://www.thememoryhole.org/mil/bushsr-iraq.htm
Of course Bill Clinton and the others before him knew of the problems in Iraq. But they were also smart enough to be able to weigh the tradeoffs.
Some numbers from the Atlantic Monthly
Number of troops the Military wanted: 400,000 plus
Number of troops the civilian leaders sent: 200,000 (now around 170,000 and wanting to go to 120,000 by summer)
Number of dollars projected to cost by Military and Planners: 50 B to 1.7 Trillion
Number of dollars projected to cost by civilian leaders: 0 – they wouldn’t give a projection, but we’re around 120B now and I don’t think we’re leaving by August, do you?
Length of post-war occupation by US by Military Planners: 10 years
Length of post-war occupation by US by civilian leaders: < 1 year, but again, they don’t want to give a projection
The net of the article is this. We had capable people working on plans. But we didn’t like what the plans showed, so we ignored them. Pretended they did not exist. We were going to be welcomed as “liberators” and the whole thing would be over before we could finish “she’ll be coming around the mountain when she comes.”
PS: The headline keeps getting bumped from the news cycles, but please watch for any news about elections in Iraq. There are several large factions who view the oilfields of Iraq as their Mecca, and getting ahold of Mecca is the end goal for all. Right now as I understand it, the US has their appointed team running the country. I am curious how it will turn out. I pray for the troops who have to keep the matches away from this tinderbox.
Dear Annie,
I love your newsletters. Thank you for taking the time to educate the rest of us! :-)
I am a supporter of Dennis Kucinich (or the "Kooch" as his loyal supporters affectionately refer to him). I have heard many people say, especially the media, that the Kooch is not electable. The Kooch is the most progressive candidate out there! Please ask your readers to check out his website at www.kucinich.us
Furthermore, I am tired of hearing how none of the democratic candidates can beat Bush. Don't we have to have an election first? What's the best way to respond to these nay-sayers?
Very Sincerely Yours,
Angela
San Francisco, CA
P.S. (I saw a great bumper sticker: "Let's NOT elect him again")
Dear Angie, Good to hear from you! I agree, lets have an election first. At least your candidate, Kooch, does not have to worry about whether his wife has the right hair for the job!
Headlines and good stuff…
Media Mea Culpa – Here’s a link to the media apologizing all over themselves for the Dean shriek. They sheepishly admit he was trying to talk above the crowd noise. No matter, Dean knocked APB’s state of the union down in terms of news coverage and netted some major network time. Here’s what the media had to say…
Last night Diane Sawyer of ABC News took a new look at Governor's Dean's Iowa speech, and determined in a "mea culpa" that what the networks had shown over and over wasn't quite the same as what happened on the ground. Turns out that famous video snippet failed to capture the crowd--or the sound of its cheers. Sawyer says:
Dean's boisterous countdown of the upcoming primaries as we all heard it on TV was isolated, when in fact he was shouting over the roaring crowd. And what about the scream as we all heard it? In the room, the so-called scream couldn't really be heard at all. Again, he was yelling along with the crowd.
Was the coverage fair? ABC asked the network chiefs themselves:
CBS News: "Individually we may feel okay about our network, but the cumulative effect for viewers with 24-hour cable coverage is -- it may have been overplayed and, in fact, a disservice to Dean and the viewers." -- Andrew Heyward, President - CBS News
ABC News: "It's always a danger that we'll use good video too much." -- David Westin, President - ABC News
CNN: "We've all been wrestling with this. If we had it to do over again, we'd probably pull ourselves back." -- Princell Hair, General Manager - CNN
Fox News: "It got overplayed a bit, and the public clearly thought that, too, and kept him alive for another round." -- Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO - Fox News
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times this week says Cheney will be gone. This seems like a good strategy for Bush. Cheney’s a drag… ties to Halliburton, the inquiry into the fraud, his “secret” energy task force led by Kenneth Lay and other cronies (fox guarding the chicken house). One reader suggests Cheney’s heart will be the reason – he will beg off for “health” reasons. I don’t know how this can happen though since my view is that Cheney is CEO right now.
Even the conservatives are a little over APB and his Texas-sized credit card. They are unhappy with his recent spendonomics policy. This week, we learned his Medicare bill which was estimated to cost $400B will really be $540B. I’d be living on the streets if my household budget was off by a third! It’s already passed, folks, so keep an eye on that deficit counter! And, oh by the way, his new budget calls for a $500M deficit and makes big cuts to… you guessed it, the EPA and Farmers! That $500M is just an estimate, though, so it could be plus or minus 1/3.
Passed the 500 mark in troops dead. Ug. I read the stories in the paper and it makes me sad. This is not Nintendo! That six million Halliburton ripped off would have bought a lot of bottles of water for the troops… or tickets home to visit loved ones.
Alan Greenspan should go. At least that’s what Howard Dean says. That’s a HUGE line in the sand, but Dean makes the case that Greenspan is and has made decisions for political reasons.
A reader sent in the link below for a quiz? Which candidate fits your views? http://www.presidentmatch.com/Main.jsp2?cp=main
CBS had a bad week this week. First they nixed an advertisement that was cynical about APB and the debt he’s driving the country into, then they ran several ads having to do with erections, monkey’s hitting on babes and toots. Then JJ and JT did something nasty on TV right after I’d invited my six year old to watch the halftime show. Ug. What’s this country coming to? We have an immoral president and now the whole country is going down the tubes (yes, this is exactly what they said when Clinton was in office).
With Liberty and Justice for all. . . AnnieinKansas
Issue 2, January 2004
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas Newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas
Hi all and thanks so much for the positive responses. Thanks also for forwarding this to friends around the U.S. I heard from people in Utah, California and Texas as well as many in Kansas and Missouri. Some readers sent in new questions I’ll attempt to answer below. So let’s get started.
Dear Annie… Ok, you had to have heard Howard Dean shriek on TV last night. What do you think? Elizabeth, Alma, KS
Dear Elizabeth…I only watch a few things on TV. The Ellen show, when I can. And Sex in the City and Curb your Enthusiasm. But, still, yes I did see the shriek because I tuned in to see Howard Dean and his wife on Diane Sawyer (a reader tipped me off.) I don’t know what to think. But not of Howard. He is not Teflon. He’s not a politician, really. He’s a person. And a passionate one at that. I’m defensive because without him, I don’t think there would even be anything interesting in the race. He’s brought big issues to the forefront and before he did that, I thought frankly, that we were headed of four more years of Bushisms… Who was going to bring up this hardball stuff about the budget and the “fear” factor that we keep getting from Washington? Which one of the Teflon “trained” Washington faces would say the things Dean has said? I saw the Shriek. It was a good reminder that 40 percent of the media is owned by one person, neoconservative Rupert Murdoch. When I was in marketing school, they taught me there is no such thing as bad publicity. In Iowa, every candidate was trying to knock him off because he’s the frontrunner. And, he has the numbers to contest Bush. That’s HUGE. I guess I like a guy that tells it like it is. I just hope he has enough money to wait this out. And I’m glad he learned early on. Plus, I read that his numbers across the country are quite good. Much better than when I saw him in Chicago in August at the Navy Pier and no-one on the shuttle, except me, knew who he was. Howard, keep asking the hard questions, even if you don’t win, you’ll have made this a more moral country. And final thought, if he wasn’t a threat, do you think it would have been a big deal? In your mind, try to tell what’s different between the others and Bush and Dean and Bush…
Dear Annie… I don’t understand why you are so hard on Bush. I think he has some great social programs, just like Democrats always want. Didn’t you see him tell that single mother on TV that he empathizes because she has the hardest job? Agnes, Medicine Lodge, KS
Dear Agnes… I missed the clip, but I read about it in the papers. Yes, Bush wants to be a moderate. But this Tuesday he went on the air for his state of the union and is still talking like we need to be in fear. Don’t even get me started on the Patriot Act which lets them do a “sneak and peek” into my house (or yours) anytime they want – that’s more reason to pick up the house than the risk of the Fab Four showing up on my doorstep. Truly, I think the people who need to be in fear are our troops in Iraq, but that’s another question. On the same day Bush told this woman that he thinks she has the hardest job in the US, he got his budget approved. In his budget, he reduces by $57 Million one of the major programs for single mothers: Women Infants and Children (WIC). It’s a program that gives formula and milk to needy children. At the same time, he did add in another $20M (total $75 Million) so that we can teach abstinence (this is a holdover from Texas as one of his favorite pet projects). The big numbers though are what we’re giving Halliburton and the others to fix our little Iraq problem. Kickbacks are a way of doing business there that predate our involvement this time, so it should be no secret that those two Halliburton workers took more than $6 Million. Lieberman is looking for more signs of corruption in the no-bid contracts as well – go Joe. Anyway, I was thinking, $6 Million in kickbacks on the Bush watch versus Whitewater and “the” dress combined. Does this really add up? Hey Kenny Boy Starr, where are ya? Janet Reno?
Other headlines from this week:
The deficit counter – remember this counter when Clinton was in office and how low we got it. Well, here’s the link. Keep watching folks because the economists are predicting we could see this soar – remember the Reagan years… The high interest rates will be back as the deficit climbs. Click the link here to see the National Debt Clock and read about the man who keeps it running. For kicks, hit reload a few times to watch in GROW! http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ (my thanks to Nicolette for helping me find this link.)
Closer to Home – Sgt. Ronald Buxton of Missouri got a free trip to Washington to see the “compassionate” president give his State of the Union. Buxton was photographed by Time magazine. Did anyone else notice that this man has not even been “home” to see his newborn son (August) yet but our country will fly him back for a political picture op?
What are you? I was wondering about the definition of a Neocon this week as that term has been bandied about, so I googled it. One of the first links is to the Christian Science Monitor. It has a quiz. You might want to take it to see where you land on the spectrum. Here’s the link: http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/neocon/quiz/neoconQuiz.html
One more number: We’re up to $120 Billion in Iraq. According to pundits, that money runs out in October. Or will it be in November… after the election?
Lets here it for the 9-11 task force!
What to read?
1. Michael Moore, Dude Where’s My Country. This book is akin to the idiot’s guide to the political landscape right now and I consider it the best book I’ve read on the subject. All of the things Moore covers are covered in the news media in one way or another or during one week or another, but none in a fashion that is easy to understand. You can finish this book in one day, it’s that easy to read. It will give you a good foundation of all the major issues. It’s a 10. And it’s only $13.99 at Costco.
2. Ron Suskind, The Price of Loyalty. This book is about Paul O’Neill, the treasury secretary under Bush. It gives an insider’s view. This book is really good and seems pretty fair. I’m only beginning it, but I give it a 9 because it has been so well received by the academic community.
3. Molly Ivins, Bushwhacked. I’ve been an Ivins fan for a long time. Basically she starts the book by saying, hey, I told you so… She has been covering Bush for his entire career, so her insights are funny and interesting. It’s detailed, though, so plan to take some time to read it. 8.
4. Al Franken, Lies and the Lying Liars who tell Them. This book is about the media. Being a former journalist and a marketer, I loved Franken’s view of what the world is like right now. Especially how he gives the dirt on Fox – we should all be calling the FCC because Fox is presenting itself as a news channel when it is really right-wing hyperbole. He goes off a little on the comics, but I give him the creative leeway and just skipped that part. I give it a 6.
…last, thanks to G. Bush for making this week a good one for content… you too Dean.
… with liberty and justice for all… I am AnnieinKansas
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas Newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas
Hi all and thanks so much for the positive responses. Thanks also for forwarding this to friends around the U.S. I heard from people in Utah, California and Texas as well as many in Kansas and Missouri. Some readers sent in new questions I’ll attempt to answer below. So let’s get started.
Dear Annie… Ok, you had to have heard Howard Dean shriek on TV last night. What do you think? Elizabeth, Alma, KS
Dear Elizabeth…I only watch a few things on TV. The Ellen show, when I can. And Sex in the City and Curb your Enthusiasm. But, still, yes I did see the shriek because I tuned in to see Howard Dean and his wife on Diane Sawyer (a reader tipped me off.) I don’t know what to think. But not of Howard. He is not Teflon. He’s not a politician, really. He’s a person. And a passionate one at that. I’m defensive because without him, I don’t think there would even be anything interesting in the race. He’s brought big issues to the forefront and before he did that, I thought frankly, that we were headed of four more years of Bushisms… Who was going to bring up this hardball stuff about the budget and the “fear” factor that we keep getting from Washington? Which one of the Teflon “trained” Washington faces would say the things Dean has said? I saw the Shriek. It was a good reminder that 40 percent of the media is owned by one person, neoconservative Rupert Murdoch. When I was in marketing school, they taught me there is no such thing as bad publicity. In Iowa, every candidate was trying to knock him off because he’s the frontrunner. And, he has the numbers to contest Bush. That’s HUGE. I guess I like a guy that tells it like it is. I just hope he has enough money to wait this out. And I’m glad he learned early on. Plus, I read that his numbers across the country are quite good. Much better than when I saw him in Chicago in August at the Navy Pier and no-one on the shuttle, except me, knew who he was. Howard, keep asking the hard questions, even if you don’t win, you’ll have made this a more moral country. And final thought, if he wasn’t a threat, do you think it would have been a big deal? In your mind, try to tell what’s different between the others and Bush and Dean and Bush…
Dear Annie… I don’t understand why you are so hard on Bush. I think he has some great social programs, just like Democrats always want. Didn’t you see him tell that single mother on TV that he empathizes because she has the hardest job? Agnes, Medicine Lodge, KS
Dear Agnes… I missed the clip, but I read about it in the papers. Yes, Bush wants to be a moderate. But this Tuesday he went on the air for his state of the union and is still talking like we need to be in fear. Don’t even get me started on the Patriot Act which lets them do a “sneak and peek” into my house (or yours) anytime they want – that’s more reason to pick up the house than the risk of the Fab Four showing up on my doorstep. Truly, I think the people who need to be in fear are our troops in Iraq, but that’s another question. On the same day Bush told this woman that he thinks she has the hardest job in the US, he got his budget approved. In his budget, he reduces by $57 Million one of the major programs for single mothers: Women Infants and Children (WIC). It’s a program that gives formula and milk to needy children. At the same time, he did add in another $20M (total $75 Million) so that we can teach abstinence (this is a holdover from Texas as one of his favorite pet projects). The big numbers though are what we’re giving Halliburton and the others to fix our little Iraq problem. Kickbacks are a way of doing business there that predate our involvement this time, so it should be no secret that those two Halliburton workers took more than $6 Million. Lieberman is looking for more signs of corruption in the no-bid contracts as well – go Joe. Anyway, I was thinking, $6 Million in kickbacks on the Bush watch versus Whitewater and “the” dress combined. Does this really add up? Hey Kenny Boy Starr, where are ya? Janet Reno?
Other headlines from this week:
The deficit counter – remember this counter when Clinton was in office and how low we got it. Well, here’s the link. Keep watching folks because the economists are predicting we could see this soar – remember the Reagan years… The high interest rates will be back as the deficit climbs. Click the link here to see the National Debt Clock and read about the man who keeps it running. For kicks, hit reload a few times to watch in GROW! http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ (my thanks to Nicolette for helping me find this link.)
Closer to Home – Sgt. Ronald Buxton of Missouri got a free trip to Washington to see the “compassionate” president give his State of the Union. Buxton was photographed by Time magazine. Did anyone else notice that this man has not even been “home” to see his newborn son (August) yet but our country will fly him back for a political picture op?
What are you? I was wondering about the definition of a Neocon this week as that term has been bandied about, so I googled it. One of the first links is to the Christian Science Monitor. It has a quiz. You might want to take it to see where you land on the spectrum. Here’s the link: http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/neocon/quiz/neoconQuiz.html
One more number: We’re up to $120 Billion in Iraq. According to pundits, that money runs out in October. Or will it be in November… after the election?
Lets here it for the 9-11 task force!
What to read?
1. Michael Moore, Dude Where’s My Country. This book is akin to the idiot’s guide to the political landscape right now and I consider it the best book I’ve read on the subject. All of the things Moore covers are covered in the news media in one way or another or during one week or another, but none in a fashion that is easy to understand. You can finish this book in one day, it’s that easy to read. It will give you a good foundation of all the major issues. It’s a 10. And it’s only $13.99 at Costco.
2. Ron Suskind, The Price of Loyalty. This book is about Paul O’Neill, the treasury secretary under Bush. It gives an insider’s view. This book is really good and seems pretty fair. I’m only beginning it, but I give it a 9 because it has been so well received by the academic community.
3. Molly Ivins, Bushwhacked. I’ve been an Ivins fan for a long time. Basically she starts the book by saying, hey, I told you so… She has been covering Bush for his entire career, so her insights are funny and interesting. It’s detailed, though, so plan to take some time to read it. 8.
4. Al Franken, Lies and the Lying Liars who tell Them. This book is about the media. Being a former journalist and a marketer, I loved Franken’s view of what the world is like right now. Especially how he gives the dirt on Fox – we should all be calling the FCC because Fox is presenting itself as a news channel when it is really right-wing hyperbole. He goes off a little on the comics, but I give him the creative leeway and just skipped that part. I give it a 6.
…last, thanks to G. Bush for making this week a good one for content… you too Dean.
… with liberty and justice for all… I am AnnieinKansas
Issue 1, January 2004
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas email newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas.
Q&A with AnnieinKansas
Each week I will try to answer a few questions from readers in the great state of Kansas. If you are in Kansas, please submit a question.
Dear Annie… Why is Howard Dean so mad? He seems like a nice enough guy, but he reminds me of a fighter. Is he stable? – Madge, Frontenac, KS
Dear Madge … I wondered exactly the same thing. I have been looking over all the candidates, and to tell you the truth, there are a few good men left in it. I like Dean, that Dennis guy seems Ok, and I liked Wesley Clark til I learned he drives a Miata and his wife catches more fish than him.
Quick, lets elect his wife! That’s what I call bringin home the bacon!
The insiders left are all a part of the problem, not the solution.
As for why Dean’s so mad, read a book or two that goes over the fleecing that’s been going on in Washington the past three years and you might understand. It’s infuriating to be told you can’t win against Bush, so don’t even bother voting. I think they really want us to believe We Don’t Count. (Though in their world of the rich and famous, we don’t.) If you have time for a primer on politics and the Bush Administration like Michael Moore’s “dude, where’s my country” stop reading this and go read it. If not, stay tuned to this newsletter and I’ll fill you in over the next nine months.
Dear Annie…My friend Mary said that George Bush is really a moderate and that the liberals and the liberal media just make it look like he’s cowing to the right wing. Is this true? Juanita, Salina, KS
Dear Juanita… Salina, KS, now there’s a stopping point along I-70! Glad you wrote in. Here’s what I know. George Bush may be a moderate. He probably is. There are widespread reports he did some drugs early in his life and some hard drinking. Those without sin cast the first stone. But the right wing accounts for a lot of his dollars, and those mammoth righty churches turn out the vote. They have to be placated. In the end (which is where middle class taxpayers are getting it about now), you just follow the money.
Dear Annie…. Love the column. All this political mumbo jumbo is hard to understand. Thanks for making it a little easier. Can you explain why everyone is saying Bush is hypocritical for going after Martha Stewart? Jean, Winfield, KS
Dear Jean… This is not a simple explanation, but let me give it a shot. Once George Bush owned a company called Harkin. It was a smaller version of Enron. He didn’t turn in the proper paperwork when he did some insider selling and moving of assets. And, not just once. Not just one cell phone call. But 4 times. He was rescued by the Harvard Business School during one of several sour endeavors. Truthfully I did not know that Harvard was in the business of rescuing alum… I’m sending a note to my alma mater Kansas State University right now to see if they can make good on all the dot-com stock I still own. Anyhow, through a turn of events and another turn of events that all makes Martha Stewart look as nice as Barbara Bush, APB (appointed President Bush) set up a business offshore to avoid paying US Taxes. All this is explained fully in Molly Ivins book, so if you understand such things, give it a read. The net is, President Bush going after Martha Stewart is the pot calling the kettle black, as my grandma Lyda says.
Friend or Foe?
Karl Rove, APB’s advisor and Washington’s King of the Hill, is a good marketer, but he slipped up by using the phrase “bring em on” about Howard Dean when the Dean supporters marched in a parade in Washington last Fall. King Karl seemed to think Bush had already been re-appointed… I mean, re-elected. It only incited the Dean folks and caused others on the fence to get involved. Same way with his boss who uttered the phrase again, a few months later, about the Iraqis and led to more al-Qaeda putting a crosshair on our troops. King Karl keeps on telling us no one can beat Bush (and I’m sure there are some who believe it – it keeps the money flowing). For you, King Karl, here’s a statistic.
CNN: Dean Leads Democrats, Trails Bush by Only 5 Points
Inside Politics reports on a new CNN/Time Poll of 1,004 adult Americans conducted by telephone on December 30 and January 1. Despite pundits who keep charging that Dean is "unelectable," he now trails George Bush by a mere 5 points -- 51% to 46%.
Just to put that into perspective: in April of 1992, Bill Clinton trailed George H.W. Bush by 20 points.
This week’s headlines
The “retail therapy” Trifecta: Did anyone else notice that APB announced last week he wants to spend around a Billion on Space. He wants to spend another Billion on Marriage. And another billion or so on Faith. I nearly ROFLMAO. Whenever Annie’s feeling a little blue, she goes shopping too. But she’s not systematically bankrupting the country. The Trifecta was announced to “bump” the bad news from the headlines last week. The truth is, the Bush Admin took a hit from former treasury secretary O’Neill telling the truth – that Bush wanted to get Saddam from Day 1 – WMD or no WMD. Read between the conservative media’s headlines. This trifecta’s trouble. And, don’t hold your breath waiting for the Dems to come out saying they’re against marriage, space or faith.
Things that make AnnieinKansas angry too.
-- That Kenneth Lay of Enron is still fat-catting around while thousands have lost jobs and pensions. Those execs sucked the company dry of about 400 M before it went under. And I don’t think that includes the cost of the shredders. BTW, readers, did you know Kenneth Lay and George Bush are good friends. Good friends.
-- Being told we can’t do anything. No one can beat Bush.
-- Being told we went into Iraq for Saddam. We went into Iraq so we could turn their oil pipeline over to our own Oil Cartel. They are APB’s Buddies.
-- That Dick Cheney goes shooting innocent animals with a Supreme Court Justice and no one cries foul.
… with liberty and justice for all…I am annieinkansas
Welcome to the AnnieinKansas email newsletter
Proof that there are thinking women in Kansas.
Q&A with AnnieinKansas
Each week I will try to answer a few questions from readers in the great state of Kansas. If you are in Kansas, please submit a question.
Dear Annie… Why is Howard Dean so mad? He seems like a nice enough guy, but he reminds me of a fighter. Is he stable? – Madge, Frontenac, KS
Dear Madge … I wondered exactly the same thing. I have been looking over all the candidates, and to tell you the truth, there are a few good men left in it. I like Dean, that Dennis guy seems Ok, and I liked Wesley Clark til I learned he drives a Miata and his wife catches more fish than him.
Quick, lets elect his wife! That’s what I call bringin home the bacon!
The insiders left are all a part of the problem, not the solution.
As for why Dean’s so mad, read a book or two that goes over the fleecing that’s been going on in Washington the past three years and you might understand. It’s infuriating to be told you can’t win against Bush, so don’t even bother voting. I think they really want us to believe We Don’t Count. (Though in their world of the rich and famous, we don’t.) If you have time for a primer on politics and the Bush Administration like Michael Moore’s “dude, where’s my country” stop reading this and go read it. If not, stay tuned to this newsletter and I’ll fill you in over the next nine months.
Dear Annie…My friend Mary said that George Bush is really a moderate and that the liberals and the liberal media just make it look like he’s cowing to the right wing. Is this true? Juanita, Salina, KS
Dear Juanita… Salina, KS, now there’s a stopping point along I-70! Glad you wrote in. Here’s what I know. George Bush may be a moderate. He probably is. There are widespread reports he did some drugs early in his life and some hard drinking. Those without sin cast the first stone. But the right wing accounts for a lot of his dollars, and those mammoth righty churches turn out the vote. They have to be placated. In the end (which is where middle class taxpayers are getting it about now), you just follow the money.
Dear Annie…. Love the column. All this political mumbo jumbo is hard to understand. Thanks for making it a little easier. Can you explain why everyone is saying Bush is hypocritical for going after Martha Stewart? Jean, Winfield, KS
Dear Jean… This is not a simple explanation, but let me give it a shot. Once George Bush owned a company called Harkin. It was a smaller version of Enron. He didn’t turn in the proper paperwork when he did some insider selling and moving of assets. And, not just once. Not just one cell phone call. But 4 times. He was rescued by the Harvard Business School during one of several sour endeavors. Truthfully I did not know that Harvard was in the business of rescuing alum… I’m sending a note to my alma mater Kansas State University right now to see if they can make good on all the dot-com stock I still own. Anyhow, through a turn of events and another turn of events that all makes Martha Stewart look as nice as Barbara Bush, APB (appointed President Bush) set up a business offshore to avoid paying US Taxes. All this is explained fully in Molly Ivins book, so if you understand such things, give it a read. The net is, President Bush going after Martha Stewart is the pot calling the kettle black, as my grandma Lyda says.
Friend or Foe?
Karl Rove, APB’s advisor and Washington’s King of the Hill, is a good marketer, but he slipped up by using the phrase “bring em on” about Howard Dean when the Dean supporters marched in a parade in Washington last Fall. King Karl seemed to think Bush had already been re-appointed… I mean, re-elected. It only incited the Dean folks and caused others on the fence to get involved. Same way with his boss who uttered the phrase again, a few months later, about the Iraqis and led to more al-Qaeda putting a crosshair on our troops. King Karl keeps on telling us no one can beat Bush (and I’m sure there are some who believe it – it keeps the money flowing). For you, King Karl, here’s a statistic.
CNN: Dean Leads Democrats, Trails Bush by Only 5 Points
Inside Politics reports on a new CNN/Time Poll of 1,004 adult Americans conducted by telephone on December 30 and January 1. Despite pundits who keep charging that Dean is "unelectable," he now trails George Bush by a mere 5 points -- 51% to 46%.
Just to put that into perspective: in April of 1992, Bill Clinton trailed George H.W. Bush by 20 points.
This week’s headlines
The “retail therapy” Trifecta: Did anyone else notice that APB announced last week he wants to spend around a Billion on Space. He wants to spend another Billion on Marriage. And another billion or so on Faith. I nearly ROFLMAO. Whenever Annie’s feeling a little blue, she goes shopping too. But she’s not systematically bankrupting the country. The Trifecta was announced to “bump” the bad news from the headlines last week. The truth is, the Bush Admin took a hit from former treasury secretary O’Neill telling the truth – that Bush wanted to get Saddam from Day 1 – WMD or no WMD. Read between the conservative media’s headlines. This trifecta’s trouble. And, don’t hold your breath waiting for the Dems to come out saying they’re against marriage, space or faith.
Things that make AnnieinKansas angry too.
-- That Kenneth Lay of Enron is still fat-catting around while thousands have lost jobs and pensions. Those execs sucked the company dry of about 400 M before it went under. And I don’t think that includes the cost of the shredders. BTW, readers, did you know Kenneth Lay and George Bush are good friends. Good friends.
-- Being told we can’t do anything. No one can beat Bush.
-- Being told we went into Iraq for Saddam. We went into Iraq so we could turn their oil pipeline over to our own Oil Cartel. They are APB’s Buddies.
-- That Dick Cheney goes shooting innocent animals with a Supreme Court Justice and no one cries foul.
… with liberty and justice for all…I am annieinkansas
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