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Gore Bashes Bush Policy As Cause of Biz Scandals June 30, 2002 By JOEL SIEGEL and LEO STANDORA By JOEL SIEGEL and LEO STANDORA Daily News Staff Writers Beating what's likely to be the Democratic war drum in
this year's elections, Al Gore blamed the nation's economic scandals — from Enron to
WorldCom — last night on President Bush's economic policies. "You see now what
it means to have an administration that's that committed to fighting and working on behalf
of the powerful, and letting the people of this country get the short end of the
stick," Gore told more than 200 supporters at a Manhattan fund-raiser. It was his
strongest attack yet on Bush's economic policies and a preview of the likely Democratic
strategy for November's elections. "What we see now is a lack of confidence in our
national economic policy, in the integrity of our accounting system, in the way government
is being run," Gore told more than 200 supporters in Lot 61, a trendy Chelsea night
spot. The private companies, he said, "are not telling the truth about their future
liabilities so they can shovel money out to executives at the top. That is exactly what
the Bush-Cheney tax plan will do. They are misleading the country about the extent of the
liabilities they are putting on us ... on you." nydailynews.com
Daschle Assails Bush Record June 30, 2002 By Jim VandeHei Senate Leader Faults Policies, Political Tactics - Washington Post
Staff Writer Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) yesterday offered an
unusually pointed critique of President Bush for his handling of the economy and other
domestic concerns and accused him of being perhaps the most political chief executive in
history. "Almost on every one of the issues involving domestic policy, he has been a
source of great disappointment," Daschle said yesterday during a lunch with
Washington Post reporters and editors. "I think his record on the economy is a
disaster. I think his record on fiscal policy is a disaster. I think his position on
education has fallen far short of expectations." washingtonpost.com
WorldCom could disconnect Bush June 30 By Nicholas M. Horrock UPI Chief White House Correspondent WASHINGTON, (UPI) --
President George W. Bush used his traditional Saturday radio address to reassure Americans
that the economy "remains fundamentally sound" in the wake of WorldCom Inc.'s
disclosure last Tuesday that it hid nearly $4 billion in expenses so it could show
investors a profit. But Bush's statement came as both the White House and the Democrats
recognized that WorldCom Inc. and more than a score of other corporate reports or
allegations of malfeasance moved boardroom scandals to center stage with the earmarks of a
major political as well as a financial crisis. Only Friday, Xerox Corp. said accounting
errors forced it to restate $6.4 billion in revenue for the past five years, more than
twice the $3 billion the company estimated when it settled fraud charges with Securities
and Exchange Commission. upi.com
Corporate scandals: Bush pledges crackdown; Democrats
blame GOP policies for corrupt conditions 06-29-2002 By
Sandra Sobieraj Associated Press Writer By
Sandra Sobieraj Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON
Democrats accused Republicans of creating "anything goes" corporate standards
ripe for fraud. Following WorldCom's disclosure earlier this week that it misrepresented
$3.8 billion in expenses, Xerox announced Friday that it, too, had overstated revenue by
billions of dollars. Majority Leader Tom Daschle opened the day's business on the Senate
floor with a denunciation of "a deregulatory, permissive atmosphere that has relied
too much on corporate America to police itself." He listed companies that have been
in hot water, including Halliburton, where Vice President Dick Cheney was chief executive.
annistonstar.com
FBI Report: Major Crime in U.S. Increased 2 Percent Last Year, Including 3 Percent Rise in
Murders June 28 The Associated Press W A S H I N G T O N, —
Major crime increased in the United States last year for the first time in a decade,
including a 3.1 percent increase in murders, a law enforcement official said Saturday. The
official, speaking on condition of anonymity about contents of an annual report to be
released Monday by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, said it will show jumps in
robberies, burglaries and car thefts. Overall, major crimes in 2001 were up by 2 percent
from 2000, the official said. abcnews.go.com
Supreme Court Moves US Education to the Right 28 June, 2002 WASHINGTON
| With a pair of stunning rulings the U.S.
Supreme Court today laid the groundwork for a US educational system that would conform to
politically conservative ideology. A Court sharply divided along political lines ruled
that public money can be applied to religious-school tuition. The ruling not only gave a
major boost to fledgeling voucher initiatives nationwide, but also had profound
implications for how the doctrine of separation of church and state should be applied in
educational systems. truthout.com
350 revenge crimes after September 11 June 28, 2002 Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles At least 350 crimes, including bomb plots, have been committed
against people of Middle Eastern origin or appearance in retaliation for the September 11
attacks, according to the US justice department. Eighty prosecutions have been brought in
relation to the crimes, which also include shootings and vandalism. In one case, two
members of a Jewish extremist group have been charged over an alleged plot to blow up a
mosque, as well as the office of an Arab-American congressman. guardian.co.uk
Navratilova says US can be as oppressive as Czechoslovakia June 27, 2002 The Guardian Kate
Connolly in
Berlin The tennis legend Martina Navratilova
has hit out at her adoptive homeland, the United States, saying that in some ways it is as
manipulative and oppressive as the Czechoslovak communist regime from which she fled 27
years ago. Writing in today's edition of the German weekly Die Zeit, Navratilova says she
escaped Czechoslovakia because it did not allow independent thought or freedom of speech -
but she had ended up in a similarly oppressive world. "The most absurd thing about my
escape from injustice was that I simply exchanged one system which oppressed opinion for
another," she said. guardian.co
Bush's New Vision Thing 27 June 2002 - Just don't expect peace in the middle
east. A ONE-DAY WONDER: That's what
President Bush's "political assassination" of Yasser Arafat - as one Israeli
analyst put it - looks like to us. Makes for a day of headlines but no lasting effect. The
Israeli government - and its political allies in the United States - vigorously applauded
Monday's Rose Garden speech, and why not? Bush has adopted the entire position of Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, which puts peace negotiations and an end to Israel's
occupation of the West Bank and Gaza behind several high hurdles that no one expects the
Palestinians to jump. philly.com
G-8 security operation - the stifling and criminalizing of dissent 27 June 2002 By David
Adelaide The arrangements surrounding this
week’s G-8 summit in Kananaskis County, Alberta underline that the assembled leaders
are representatives of a privileged minority that is increasingly haunted by the fear of
popular unrest. The leaders of the world’s wealthiest industrial nations—the
United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the
European Union—arrived in nearby Calgary by executive jet, then were helicoptered to
the wilderness fortress cum Rocky Mountain recreation village of Kananaskis, so they could
be spared the sight of many thousands of protestors. wsws.org
George W's bloody folly June 26, 2002 Bush's
fantasy Middle East plan is bound to fail. It will strengthen those who want war, not
peace Jonathan Freedland The Guardian That was a fantastic speech. Quite literally, fantastic. George
Bush's address on the Middle East, delivered outside the White House on Monday evening,
consisted, from beginning to end, of fantasy. It bore so little relation to reality that
diplomats around the world spent yesterday shaking their heads in disbelief, before
sinking into gloom and despair. Our own Foreign Office tried gamely to spot the odd nugget
of sense in the Bush text - but, they admitted, it was an uphill struggle. Israelis
committed to a political resolution of the conflict were heartbroken. Even Shimon Peres,
foreign minister in Ariel Sharon's coalition, reportedly called the speech "a fatal
mistake", warning: "A bloodbath can be expected." guardian.co.uk
Leahy Says Bush Seeks Department 'Above the Law '
Jun. 26, 2002
BY THOMAS FERRARO
WASHINGTON - (Reuters) - Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy charged on Wednesday that the Bush
administration was effectively asking Congress to put its proposed department to combat
terrorism "above the law." Leahy told Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge that
to win swift congressional approval of the department -- designed to guard against another
Sept. 11-like attack -- the administration must revise or drop provisions that would
exempt the operation from a number of legal requirements. aberdeennews.com
Gephardt Statement on Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits 26 June, 2002 "This issue touches everybody's life. It affects my mother.
At least one-third of Medicare beneficiaries do not have coverage for drugs - others are
forced to choose between food and medicine. "Democrats have heard these voices
and this week we are seeking to enact strong legislation in response to the American
people's calls and desires. The Democratic Medicare prescription drug plan is available to
all - it includes a guaranteed affordable premium - it provides continuous coverage to
Medicare beneficiaries - it makes Medicare stronger in the 21st century - it is supported
by a large majority of senior organizations and consumer groups. "Republicans
have a pharmaceutical industry plan that fails on all these counts. Industry lobbyists
probably have writers' cramp from all the work they've been doing on the Republican plan.
The big drug companies strongly endorse the Republican plan because that plan will protect
industry profits, force seniors into the private insurance market and ultimately lead to
the privatization of Medicare. The Republican plan contains a big donut hole and fails to
guarantee access to coverage for drugs. truthout.com
Bush's Grim Vision June 25,
2002 By Nat Parry In the nine months since Sept. 11, George W. Bush has put the
United States on a course that is so bleak that few analysts have – as the saying
goes – connected the dots. If they had, they would see an outline of a future that
mixes constant war overseas with abridgment of constitutional freedoms at home, a picture
drawn by a politician who once joked, "If this were a dictatorship, it would be a
heck of a lot easier – so long as I'm the dictator." The dots are certainly
there. Bush's speech at West Point on June 1 asserted a unilateral U.S. right to overthrow
any government in the world that is deemed a threat to American security, a position so
sweeping that it lacks historical precedent. "If we wait for threats to fully
materialize, we will have waited too long," Bush said in describing what he calls a
"new doctrine" and what some acolytes have dubbed the "Bush Doctrine."
consortiumnews.com
Bush Plays Shell Game with African Lives 0206aids.pdf June 25,
2002 by Salih Booker On the eve of a meeting of rich country leaders in Canada,
President Bush has brought out a "new initiative" promising $500 million to
prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS from mothers to children. Intended to stave off the
embarrassment of coming empty-handed to a summit trumpeted as focusing on Africa, the
White House initiative is in fact a cynical move to derail more effective action against
AIDS. With a bipartisan congressional coalition poised to approve an additional $500
million or more in AIDS funding for fiscal year 2002, President Bush first put the squeeze
on Republican senators to cut the total back to $200 million, half of which could go to
the Global AIDS Fund and half for bilateral programs to cut mother-to-child transmission.
Then he offered his plan, which claims the $200 million as his own while only promising to
ask Congress for another $300 million two years from now. His plan would allow no
additional money for the Global Fund. The administration justifies the smaller amounts and
the go-slow timetable by the need to first show "results." But, with
8,000 people around the world dying of AIDS daily (some 6,000 of them in sub-Saharan
Africa), the results of Bush's stalling action are crystal-clear: more dead people.
fpif.org
US torture of John Walker Lindh exposed as frame-up
continues 25 June 2002 By John Andrews Defense
attorneys for John Walker Lindh filed documents describing how, after barely surviving
atrocities that claimed the lives of hundreds of his companions, the so-called
“American Taliban” was tortured while the FBI wrangled statements out of him in
violation of his Fifth Amendment right not to be a witness against himself. The new
filings are for a crucial hearing on July 15 to determine whether statements made by Lindh
after his capture with an Afghan Army unit will be suppressed or allowed into evidence at
trial. Lindh, who turned 21 three months ago, was found barely alive among the handful of
Taliban prisoners who survived the US-backed massacre at Qala-i-Jangi fortress near
Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan late last November. The upcoming suppression hearing is widely
viewed as pivotal in the case. Prosecutors acknowledge that they have little evidence
outside of Lindh’s own statements to support their charges that he conspired to
murder US citizens and illegally supported terrorist organizations. The charges carry
sentences ranging from decades to life in prison. Trial is set to begin in Alexandria,
Virginia, within a few miles of the Pentagon, on August 26 wsws.org
President Bush Returns to His Fraternity Roots 25 June 2002 by Richard
Reeves PARIS -- "How did he ever get to
be president?" asked a French reporter watching George W. Bush in a joint press
conference with the president of France, Jacques Chirac, in the splendor of the Elysee
Palace last week. "That's the fraternity boy we covered in the 2000 campaign,"
said another American reporter. Bush was slow, forgetful, smirky and downright nasty -- as
he often was as a candidate. It was as if Sept. 11, 2001, and all the wars since had never
happened. When Bush could not put together an answer to a question, the Texan, as they
like to call him here, smiled and said: "That's what happens when you're over
55." He turned to Chirac and said, "You know what I mean?" This time
Chirac, who is 69 years old, did not seem amused at all. The most shocking thing to many
Europeans about the trip was that Bush chose not to make an issue of open Soviet aid to
help Iran build a nuclear army. "Dumb Quixote" was the title of a cartoon in the
Observer in London, showing Bush riding off on his old horse in the direction of Iraq,
which they consider a far less powerful and dangerous country than Iran. In Germany the
head of the European Affairs Committee there, Friedbert Pfluger, had this to say:
"All over Europe, people look at Bush and think, 'There's someone who just does what
he wants, who talks about crusades and divides the world into good and evil. ... We're
going to get drawn into something big and awful that's beyond our control." uexpress.com
Resistance is Futile as G8 Meets in Remote Canadian Hideaway June 25, 2002 Summit site sealed off amid fear of protests and terrorism by Larry Elliott and Charlotte Denny If Tony Blair is lucky when he arrives in Kananaskis, Alberta, next
Tuesday night for the annual summit of leaders from the world's eight most powerful
economies, he might see a grizzly bear, a bald eagle, a cougar or wolf. One thing he is
unlikely to see is any anti-globalization protesters. commondreams.org
Bush and Ashcroft are attempting to suspend the 'Great
Writ' of habeas corpus June 25, 2002 By Timothy Lynch
"The Bush administration has now asserted that (a) citizens can be taken into custody
as enemy combatants; (b) that, beyond such battlefield detainees, citizens can also be
taken off the streets of any American town; and (c) that civilian courts cannot intervene
to inquire into the legality of such arrests and detentions. When these propositions are
taken together as a whole, the implications are very disturbing. "The bottom line is
that President Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft are attempting to suspend the 'Great
Writ' of habeas corpus, which allows Americans to get into a court of law to challenge the
legality of their arrest and to have their liberty restored if the court agrees that the
arrest was unlawful. Without judicial review, the police can arrest people without
warrants and jail people without trials. "The controversial 'military order' that
Bush issued last November has, in effect, now been extended to American citizens--and the
writ of habeas corpus is now under assault. President Bush seems to believe that his
commander-in-chief power gives him the authority to ignore every other part of the
Constitution when he deems it necessary. The president is profoundly mistaken about that
-- and the judiciary should resist this power grab." bushwatch.net
GW Bush: The Man is Stupid June 24, 2002 by Joan Smith
I have lost
count of the times I have been ticked off in recent months, sometimes by quite senior
politicians, for suggesting that George W Bush is a complete idiot. He is nowhere near as
stupid as he seems, I have been told, a proposition that has some force solely because it
is hard to imagine any world leader being afflicted with quite the degree of bovine
incomprehension that the President habitually displays. On Monday, for instance, he was on
cracking form, announcing in halting English – you'd think he'd be fluent by now
– that a dangerous terrorist had been detained and "is now off the streets,
where he should be." commondreams.org
Bush Fiddles While World Melts June 24, 2002
By Harley Sorensen
In a more advanced civilization, President George W. Bush would be something less than a
national hero. In our backwoodsy, topsy-turvy world, he gets the highest approval ratings
ever. Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but our fearless (and clueless) leader does what he
does best, wage never-ending war. As the world, led by our nation, burns fossil fuels at
an ever-increasing rate, Bush simply shrugs. "That's life," he seems to say, and
if his daughters develop asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, well, heck, they
probably would have gotten it anyway. sfgate.com
Report Predicts Deep Benefit Cuts Under Bush Social
Security Plan June 24, 2002
by Richard W. Stevenson
WASHINGTON, — Opponents of President Bush's plan to create personal investment
accounts within Social Security released a report today concluding that the
administration's approach would lead to deep cuts in retirement benefits and still require
trillions of dollars in additional financing to keep the system solvent. commondreams.org
NOW Blasts Wal-Mart Workplace Abuses, Names The Company A Merchant Of Shame WASHINGTON, June 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- "Today the National
Organization for Women is naming Wal-Mart -- the nation's largest company with close to
one million employees -- a Merchant of Shame," said NOW President Kim Gandy.
"Wal-Mart faces numerous allegations of sex discrimination in pay, promotion and
compensation; of wage abuses, violation of child labor laws and the Americans with
Disabilities Act; exclusion of contraceptive coverage in employee insurance plans and
discrimination on the basic of sexual orientation. The list of Wal-Mart's workplace
'don'ts' is far too long." usnewswire.com
Democrats Blast Republican Medicare Drug
Plan June 24, 2002 WASHINGTON (Reuters)
- Democrats on Saturday criticized a Republican Medicare prescription drug plan as
providing senior citizens with a "phantom benefit" and likened it to buying a
car sight unseen. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan said in the weekly Democratic radio
address that congressional Republicans were like car dealers trying to sell seniors a car
they haven't seen. "Republicans proposed a plan that provides a phantom benefit, that
doesn't tell you what you will have to pay, that doesn't tell you what you will get, that
relies on private insurance plans -- that don't even exist today -- to give you
prescription drug benefits," Dingell said. "Insurance bureaucrats will decide
what drugs you can get, not your doctors," he added. "It will cover a mere 20
percent of senior citizens' drug costs over the next 10 years. And it will do nothing to
control the escalating costs of prescription drugs." news1.iwon.com
Civil wrongs June 24,
2002 By Maya Jaggi Since September 11, President Bush's war on terror has highlighted
issues of immigration, nationality, race and culture, and widened the divide between
'insiders' and 'outsiders'. And what that means, according to law professor and author
Patricia Williams, is that a great many Americans have more to fear than ever. guardian.co.uk
Stalin and Bush: The Politicization of Science June 24, 2002 by Marty
Jezer On June 3, the Environmental Protection
Agency issued a report confirming that the threat of global warming is as serious as
scientists have said. The report also confirms that “the changes observed over the
last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities....” The impact of
rising temperatures will be felt “within decades,” it states. Ice caps and
mountain glaciers will melt, the sea will rise, and ecological systems will change; there
will be floods, heat waves, and more dangerous storms. Low-level areas of the United
States, like southern Florida and the barrier island developments along the Carolina coast
will likely disappear. The report, sent to the United Nations as mandated by a treaty
signed by George W. Bush’s father, was put on the EPA web site without a press
release or any public announcement. It’s no wonder that the Bush Administration was
trying to hide it. Bush has always insisted that the threat of global warming does not
exist. commondreams.org
FEDS OPPOSE SUITS vs. AIRLINES June 24, 2002 June 24, 2002
By JOHN LEHMANN Families of victims killed in the Sept. 11 terror attacks who are
suing the airlines are facing a government attempt to stymie their cases, The Post has
learned. A letter from the U.S. attorney's office asks a federal judge to temporarily stop
the families' lawyers from seeking any documents in the suits filed in Manhattan federal
court against United Air Lines and American Airlines. The letter, obtained by The Post,
argues that the discovery of documents raises "grave national security concerns"
and warns that the federal government will "intervene in these cases," even
though it is not a party. The move has angered the families' lawyers, who accuse the
government of trying to subvert legal processes to prevent more intelligence failures
coming to light and to push victims' families into the federal compensation fund. nypost.com
June 23, "You namby-pamby liberals
still don't get it," said ST.
"They want it ALL. They're going to push you, bully you, threaten you, lie to you,
ruin you until someone pushes them back and says enough. Trying to accommodate them, as
the Democrat party leaders tend to do, just encourages them. It justifies their
by-the-throat, bullyboy strategy. All they respect is power. Present them with a unified
opposition, which threatens them with painful consequences, and they'll back off, or, more
likely, first try another way to get around you. But at least you'll have slowed them down
and put some fear into them."
31 Congressman are not namby-pamby. Finally we have a
unified opposition to Bush. We must stand behind these brave members of congress and
encourage others to follow their lead. Please visit the "take
Action" page of this web site for more information about how to contact your
congressional representatives.
Unusual
Courage from 31 Members of Congress June
23, 2002 by David Krieger Thirty-one courageous members of Congress, led by Rep.
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), are challenging the president's unilateral withdrawal from the
Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. These representatives deserve our appreciation for
taking action to prevent Mr. Bush from trampling on the Constitution in his continuing
effort to undermine international law and expand US military domination. This is a
critical challenge to the abuse of presidential authority. A lot is riding on it. If the
president can unilaterally void our laws, which ones will be the next to go? Perhaps the
first and fourth amendments? If your congressional representative is not one of the 31
parties to this lawsuit, he or she should be asked why not and urged to join the lawsuit
and support it in the Congress. commondreams.org
Dirty-Bomb Politics
June 23, 2002 By Mary McGrory If the mugging of Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia is a fair indicator
of what is to come, the fall elections will be ugly. Cleland, a decorated veteran and
triple amputee, was attacked by his Republican opponent, Rep. Saxby Chambliss, "for
breaking his oath to protect and defend the Constitution." washingtonpost.com
Facing mid-term elections, the President's squabbling team has never looked so vulnerable. June 23, 2002 Ed
Vulliamy Ed
Vulliamy The invitation arrived at the White House
a few days before last week's historic World Cup victory by the United States over Mexico.
It was from the Mexican President Vincente Fox, suggesting that President George Bush and
he watch the game together, as a gesture of friendship between neighbouring nations. The
reply came, from a member of Bush's staff: the President would be asleep at that hour of
the night. It mattered little, since most of his nation was likewise in slumber - but the
rebuff spoke volumes to columnists and Washington DC observers about the clueless, crassly
selfish quality of a President and a presidency which are suddenly lurching, rather than
governing, at the apex of American power. observer.co
June 22, Minority voters who had never
committed crimes complained of having their names removed from voting rolls in a purge of
"ex-felons," and of harassment by poll workers and law-enforcement officials. A
US Commission on Civil Rights review condemned Florida's Governor, Jeb Bush, and its
Secretary of State, Katherine Harris, for running an election marked by "injustice,
ineptitude and inefficiency," thenation.com
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, secretary of state
blast civil rights commission chairwoman 6/22/02 The Associated Press MIAMI (AP) -- Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Secretary of State
Katherine Harris criticized the chairwoman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission on Friday
for saying they have not done enough to ensure the state's flawed presidential election
isn't repeated. Bush called Mary Frances Berry's commission "a badly discredited
institution," and said it was reopening a controversy that "most Floridians have
long forgotten." nj.com
Disease Threat Cited in Global Warming Report
predicts virulence and range will grow June 22,
2002 by Beth Daley Warming temperatures around the world are increasing the
geographical range and virulence of diseases, a trend that could mean more devastating
epidemics in humans, animals, and plants, according to a report published in the magazine
Science yesterday. Already, the dengue virus in Latin America and Rift Valley fever in the
Middle East, which can cause people to vomit blood, have expanded their deadly
range. commondreams.org
Air Force officer disciplined for saying Bush allowed September 11 attacks 21 June 2002 - Hijacker attended US military school By Jerry Isaacs A US Air
Force officer in California recently accused President Bush of deliberately allowing the
September 11 terror attacks to take place. Lieutenant Colonel Butler, who wrote in a
letter to the editor of the Monterey County Herald charging that “Bush knew
about the impending attacks,” was vice chancellor for student affairs at the Defense
Language Institute in Monterey, California—a US military facility that one or more of
the hijackers reportedly attended during the 1990s. The officer has been relieved of his
command and faces further discipline. In his May 26 letter to the newspaper, Butler
responded to Bush supporters, who had written the paper opposing the congressional
investigation into the September 11 events. He wrote: “Of course President Bush knew
about the impending attacks on America. He did nothing to warn the American people because
he needed this war on terrorism. His daddy had Saddam and he needed Osama. His presidency
was going nowhere. He wasn’t elected by the American people, but placed in the Oval
Office by a conservative supreme court. The economy was sliding into the usual Republican
pits and he needed something on which to hang his presidency.... This guy is a joke. What
is sleazy and contemptible is the President of the United States not telling the American
people what he knows for political gain.” wsws.org
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