Radical Avenue

Apparently President Bush isn’t the only politician wondering about his legacy these days. With Mr. Bush’s approval ratings now below freezing, and no indication that Americans will ever warm up to W again, former presidential spokesman Scott McClellan became the first of the longtime Texas insiders to jump ship.

In his new book, What Happened, Mr. McClellan makes it clear that he now considers the War in Iraq a serious strategic blunder:

“As I have heard Bush say, only a wartime president is likely to achieve greatness, in part because the upheavals of war provide the opportunity for the transformative change that he hoped to achieve. In Iraq, Bush saw his opportunity to create a legacy of greatness.

I do not know how the war will be viewed decades from now. What I do know is that war should be waged only when necessary and the Iraq war was not necessary. Waging an unnecessary war is a grave mistake. But I’ve come to believe that an even more fundamental mistake was made - a decision to turn away from candor and honesty when those qualities were most needed.

In the autumn of 2002 Bush and his White House engaged in a carefully orchestrated campaign to shape and manipulate sources of public approval to our advantage.”

Iraqi Nuclear Threat Vastly Overstated
The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945 killed around 70,000 people, many of them instantaneously. A second nuclear device which the US detonated over Nagasaki, Japan shortly thereafter resulted in similar casualty figures. These events brought an end to World War II and changed the planet forever.

No chemical or biological weapon has ever approached the destructive capacity of an atomic bomb. By lumping nuclear weapons in with chemical and biological weapons, American politicians have purposely misled the public for partisan political reasons.

WMD Propaganda
The phrase “Weapons of Mass Destruction” is a product of the Bush-Cheney propaganda machine. Scott McClellan described it like this: “the administration chose a different path - not employing out-and-out deception but shading the truth; downplaying the reason for going to war; trying to make the weapons of mass destruction threat and the Iraqi connection to terrorism appear just a little more certain than they were; quietly disregarding some of the crucial caveats in the intelligence and minimizing evidence that pointed in the opposite direction.”

“They also encouraged Americans to believe as fact some things that were unclear and possibly false (for example, that Saddam had an active nuclear weapons program) and other things that were overplayed or wrong (for example, that Saddam might have had an operational relationship with Al-Qaeda).”

Iraq had no atomic bomb and no capacity to build one when the United States invaded in 2003. George W. Bush promised to restore honesty and integrity to the office when he became president seven years ago. Instead he led the country into war based on false pretenses. The United States can’t afford such recklessness from its commander in chief.

Scott McClellan, WMD

With municipalities restricting home water usage because of drought conditions, it’s time to start saving every drop of rain that falls from the sky. Back on Grandma and Grandpa’s farm they might still use a cistern in the basement to collect groundwater. It probably comes in handy when the local water tower runs dry.

We now call linking gutter downspouts to stainless steel tanks “rainwater harvesting”. Rainwater crops are primarily collected during the winter months. According to the new tradition, gracious landowners are then expected to share their liquid bounty with grass and vegetable gardens throughout the summer. Early autumn picnics on the lawn kick off a new cycle.

North Carolina already offers tax incentives for rainwater harvesting. Other states and the federal government should consider similar inducements. Since many of us pay a flat rate for water, we have no real financial incentive to install rainwater harvesting equipment.

Rainwater harvesting systems provide communities with the following benefits:
• Reduced runoff means fewer pollutants washing into storm drains, and less local flooding.
• Water captured from the sky is normally cleaner than water piped in from a river or reservoir.
• Municipal water districts save energy by pumping less water out to homes and businesses
• Collecting rainwater isn’t rocket science. Connect a couple of 50 gallon drums with some pipe, direct a gutter downspout into one of them and you’re on your way.
• Rainwater farmers can filter and drink the water if they so choose.
• Apocalyptic Mad Max style future now seems more remote, but still entertaining to consider.

rainwater harvesting, cisterns

According to reports from devastated Sichuan province, the Chinese government has devoted substantial resources to ongoing earthquake rescue and recovery efforts. China’s emergency response now stands in stark contrast to the corrupt Burmese military’s tepid reaction to their recent catastrophe.

The SARS epidemic of 2004 seems to have lead to something of an epiphany for the Chinese ruling party. No one condemned them for the natural disaster itself. Instead they were blamed for their selfish efforts to downplay the scope of the crisis and for their callous disregard for public safety.

China has now changed its ways. Foreign journalists are allowed to cover natural disasters from inside the country. Chinese citizens have more access to information sharing over the internet. And the government has mobilized its military to lead the recovery efforts. These are all positive developments for the Chinese people.

One Party Rule Better than Dictatorship
Unlike some socialist countries, Chinese leaders do not serve life terms. Under single party rule, there are at least small opportunities for enlightenment as new leaders within the dominant party introduce reforms. Dictatorships have no such dynamic.

Chinese Military Respects Civilian Authority
In Burma, a military junta runs the government. The generals in charge base their decisions on protecting territory. World opinion matters little to them. Civilians are expendable. The civilian leaders of China look positively magnanimous by comparison.

Isolationism Rejected
Modern Chinese leaders have clearly dismissed the isolationism and paranoia of Chairman Mao, although they would probably never admit it. Maybe China will indeed become a full fledged democracy one day soon.

China, earthquake, Sichuan province, Burma

An angry cyclone pounded Burma last week and left a bitter cloud of despair in its wake. As entire villages now battle to survive, thousands of aid workers sit just over the borders waiting for the call to go in and help. By refusing to allow relief agencies into their country, the murderous Burmese military has once again demonstrated a complete disregard for the welfare of the Burmese people.

The United Nations is full of professionals with extensive experience in responding to exactly this type of emergency. Too often American politicians beat up on the UN as a way of scoring cheap political points at home. While some UN guests do criticize America, how many other nations have enough confidence in their government to invite hostile foreign leaders into their political forums?

If not for the unfortunate political situation in Burma, the United Nations would now be airlifting massive shipments of relief supplies into the most remote corners of that country. This should be a tremendous source of pride for the United States, which has always been closely associated with the UN.

In 1945, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill led the effort to establish the United Nations. They specifically wanted to prevent a repeat of the horrific series of events which spawned World War II. Prior to that, President Woodrow Wilson worked tirelessly to promote the League of Nations, which went out of business but served as a model for the United Nations. Today the United Nations has 192 members. By now those other countries know that UNICEF and UNESCO did not just spring forth from thin air.

The United Nation’s ability to provide emergency humanitarian aid is unparalleled in the history of the world. Let’s hope the Burmese military will get out of the way soon so that the UN can do its job.

Burma, United Nations, UNICEF, UNESCO

Don’t look now, but the Straight Talk Express has derailed again. Lately, the senior Senator from Arizona has been serving up enough whoppers to make the Burger King proud.

Surely by now someone in the McCain campaign has noticed that 70% of Americans disapprove of President Bush’s leadership on the economy. You’d think McCain would be distancing himself from Bush’s policies. Instead McCain has embraced Bushonomics wholeheartedly.

Economics for Dummies
In 2001 McCain opposed Bush’s economic prescription because he “could not in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us.” McCain has since flip flopped on the matter. He now hopes to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. Extending the Bush legacy will cost an estimated $2 trillion over the next 10 years, according to the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan group.

But wait, McCain also wants to lower corporate tax rates, reduce the estate tax, allow accelerated write off of corporate investments and completely eliminate the Alternative Minimum tax. These proposals will cost America more than $550 billion a year, around $6 trillion over 10 years. Nevertheless McCain says he’ll produce a balanced budget by the end of his first term.

The Numbers Don’t Add Up
McCain says he’ll compensate for his massive reduction in federal revenue by eliminating earmarks and “changing the way Washington does business”. Both of these statements are ludicrous. Earmarks have constituencies. McCain won’t likely veto the many spending bills which benefit American veterans. And you’d have to go all the way back to FDR to find a transcendental president. Roosevelt took office in the midst of the Great Depression. We haven’t fallen to that level of desperation yet in this economy.

For argument’s sake, let’s say that McCain ends all earmarks. That would save the country around $18 billion annually. McCain says he would save another $32 billion annually by closing tax loopholes, program review and through reduced Medicare benefits. The budget would still be well over $500 billion in the red under those circumstances. A third grader could figure it out. The Republican candidate must think Americans don’t do math.

McSame, McCain, economy, taxes