Just POlitics

Democrats: Fix it, Don’t nix it

Sen. Harry Reid set out the Democrats’ response to President Bush’s tour to bring attention to the Social Security insolvency problem. Here from the Senator’s website is his release:

Highlighting their commitment to strengthening Social Security, Democratic Senators today set-out on the two-day, four-city "Fix It, Don’t Nix It" tour across the United States. Led by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), the tour will allow the Senators to hear directly from the American people.

Over the next two days, the Senators will convene Democratic Policy Committee Social Security forums in New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Las Vegas. In each city, they will talk with local citizens about the Social Security debate and how Democrats want to fix the program.

The three lead Senators were joined in New York by host Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator John Kerry (D-MA), and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who also attended in Philadelphia.

"There are long-term challenges for Social Security we need to address, and Democrats are committed to finding bipartisan solutions to meet them. It is what Congress has always done," said Reid. "But instead of talking about ways to save Social Security, this time Republicans are talking about a privatization plan that cuts benefits, adds trillions in debt and does nothing to strengthen the program. That is unacceptable."

As Senators stressed on the tour, Democrats are committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security for American families.They want to work with President Bush to strengthen Social Security for the long term, but insist on doing it right.

Unfortunately, the Republican privatization plan would cut Social Security’s funding, weakening the program and making its financial problems worse.

The GOP plan will…

·      Cut benefits by one-third or more, even for those who choose not to risk their money in a privatized account.

·      Increase the debt by $5 trillion, largely financed by foreign countries like China and Japan.

"The President is pushing hard for his plan to take apart Social Security, which means deep benefit cuts and nearly $5 trillion dollars in additional debt," said Dorgan. "The American people deserve to be heard, because Social Security is the bedrock of every American’s retirement security. We intend to listen to the American people. We will talk with them, not at them, in order to hear what Social Security means to them and what they think ought to be done to preserve and strengthen it for years to come."

Today’s tour comes on the heels of 42 Democratic Senators sending a letter to President Bush expressing their hope that a bipartisan solution to strengthening Social Security can be found. As a first step towards this, the Senators urge the President in the letter to publicly reject privatization - given the public’s opposition to the plan and the weakening effect it will have on the program. The Senators write: "Such a statement would eliminate a serious obstacle to the kind of bipartisan process that Democrats are seeking to deal with Social Security’s long-term challenges and to improve the retirement security of all Americans"

U.S. Representatives Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Bob Brady (D-PA) and Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) joined the tour for the Philadelphia stop, while U.S. Representatives Ed Pastor (D-AZ) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) attended the Phoenix event.

Editor’s Note:

The Democrats still continue to support the pay-as-you-go system that eliminates the possibility of higher earnings helping to solve the problem. President Bill Clinton said there are three possibilities of solving the Social Security problem: cutting benefits, raising taxes and increasing earnings.

The only way that increasing earnings has a chance at long term solution of the Social Security system is for workers to save for their own retirement. Today, worker’s contributions are immediately paid out for the current retirees.

The Democrats fail to address this fact.

Bush radio address: Syria get out

The following is the President’s weekly radio address calling on Syria to get out completely from Lebanon:

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. In the short time since I returned from my trip to Europe, the world has witnessed remarkable developments in the Middle East. In Lebanon, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in peaceful protest over the brutal assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri. For years, the Lebanese people have suffered from the aftermath of a horrific civil war and occupation by Syria. Lebanese citizens who have watched free elections in Iraq are now demanding the right to decide their own destiny, free of Syrian control and domination. Syria has been an occupying force in Lebanon for nearly three decades, and Syria's support for terrorism remains a key obstacle to peace in the broader Middle East.

Today, America and Europe are standing together with the Lebanese people. The United States and France worked closely to pass U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559. This resolution demands that Lebanon's sovereignty be respected, that all foreign forces be withdrawn, and that free and fair elections be conducted without foreign influence. The world is now speaking with one voice to ensure that democracy and freedom are given a chance to flourish in Lebanon.

French President Chirac, British Prime Minister Blair, and German Chancellor Schr der have all called on Syria to withdraw from Lebanon. A Syrian withdrawal of all its military and intelligence personnel would help ensure that the Lebanese elections occur as scheduled in the spring, and that they will be free and fair.

At the same time, the Lebanese people were demonstrating against terrorism in Beirut, the elected leader of the Palestinian people, President Abbas, declared that his government is committed to chasing down and punishing those responsible for last weekend's terrorist attack in Tel Aviv. Such action is critical, because that attack is a reminder that there are still groups and individuals who will kill to prevent peace in the Middle East.

President Abbas made his remarks in London during an international meeting of world and Arab leaders, hosted by Prime Minister Blair. The leaders attending this meeting expressed their support for the Palestinians' efforts to reform their political institutions, their economy, and their security services. And the first reform must be the dismantling of terrorist organizations. Only by ending terrorism can we achieve our common goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and freedom.

Today, people in a long-troubled part of the world are standing up for their freedom. In the last five months, we have witnessed successful elections in Afghanistan, the Palestinian Territory and Iraq; peaceful demonstrations on the streets of Beirut; and steps toward democratic reform in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The trend is clear: In the Middle East and throughout the world, freedom is on the march. The road ahead will not be easy, and progress will sometimes be slow. But America, Europe and our Arab partners must all continue the hard work of defeating terrorism and supporting democratic reforms.

Freedom is the birthright and deep desire of every human soul, and spreading freedom's blessings is the calling of our time. And when freedom and democracy take root in the Middle East, America and the world will be safer and more peaceful.

Thank you for listening.

Iran threatens the world

Iran’s representatives at an international conference on nuclear technology threatened the world and declared that it would continue with its nuclear program.

"Americans and Europeans will be the first to lose in that case," he told more than 50 nuclear scientists and experts attending the Tehran conference. "It will cause problems for regional energy and for the European economy. And it will cause additional problems for America," said Hasan Rowhani, Iran's top nuclear negotiator.

"Therefore, no one will benefit from this. It's playing with fire," he continued.

Rowhani said Iran has already achieved proficiency in the full range of activities involved in enriching uranium for nuclear fuel or weapons.

"Today, Iran possesses the facilities and technology to produce nuclear fuel," he said.

The U.S. still has not received support from Europe or other U. N. Security Council representatives to take action against Iran should they fail to come to an agreement being negotiated by Europe.

Friendly fire against Italy

There is a growing diplomatic problem with the friendly fire exchanged on the Italian rescue mission to free their hostage journalist. The Associated Press reports:

President Bush promised a full investigation into the shooting at a U.S. checkpoint in Baghdad, which was likely to spur anti-war sentiment in Italy, where the public was widely opposed to the government's decision to maintain troops in Iraq.

The AP also reports that some in the Italian government fear for the alliance due to expected Italian public backlash over the incident:

Italy's foreign minister said he hoped Calipari's death would not spark an anti-American backlash. "That would be the most underhanded way of marking the memory of this hero," Gianfranco Fini told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Johnson to EPA

Stephen L. Johnson

AGE — 53; born March 21, 1951, in Washington, D.C.

EDUCATION — B.A. in biology, Taylor University in Indiana, 1973; M.S. in pathology, George Washington University in Washington, 1976.

EXPERIENCE — 24 years at the Environmental Protection Agency: acting administrator, January-present; deputy administrator, 2004-05; acting deputy administrator, 2003-04; has held various positions in the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. Before joining EPA, worked for Hazelton Laboratories Corp. and Litton Bionetics Inc.

FAMILY — Wife, Deborah; three children and three grandchildren.

"Steve Johnson was not plucked from the Republican farm team," said Angela Ledford of Clear the Air. "We hope this choice means policies will be based on science and public health, not politics."

Supreme Court ripped

The nine in black that makeup the cabal of the Supreme Court continue to be ripped for their arrogance and deviation from Constitutional interpretation towards global court justice. Here is part of what an editorial from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review editorial said:

"By what conceivable warrant can nine lawyers presume to be the authoritative conscience of the nation?"

May we answer?

A cabal of justices presumes for itself a depth of insight and moral rectitude denied to all but its ideological allies.

The justices will undermine the jury system and state legislatures, hoping for a day the court cites evolving "standards" of its own making to rule the death penalty unconstitutional.

From Olympus, they care not of the wreckage they cause.

There is clearly a growing political movement to bring a new meaning that curtails the Supreme Court’s power assumed under Marbury v Madison. Mark Levine in his new book, Men in Black, has begun that discussion:

The Supreme Court Endorses Terrorists’ Rights, Flag Burning, and Importing Foreign Law.
Is that in the Constitution?

You’re right: It’s not. But these days the Constitution is no restraint on our out-of-control Supreme Court. The Court imperiously strikes down laws and imposes new ones purely on its own arbitrary whims. Even though liberals like John Kerry are repeatedly defeated at the polls, the majority on the allegedly "conservative" Supreme Court reflects their views and wields absolute power. There’s a word for this: tyranny. In Men in Black, radio talk show host and legal scholar Mark R. Levin dissects the judicial tyranny that is robbing us of our freedoms and stuffing the ballot box in favor of liberal policies. If you’ve ever wondered why—no matter who holds political power—American society always seems to drift to the left, Mark Levin has the answer: the black-robed justices of the Supreme Court, subverting democracy in favor of their own liberal agenda.

Too many targets, too few saboteurs

The Washington Times reports about the military’s growing success in Iraq:

The Bush administration's new strategy of starting so many construction projects that insurgents cannot stop them all has begun to pay off.

Construction payments, after lagging badly last summer, have reached nearly $6 billion in a total pot of about $21 billion, officials at the Pentagon said yesterday.

"Despite the insurgency, we've made considerable progress to rebuild Iraqis' infrastructure in several areas," said Claude Bolton, an assistant Army secretary who supervises the Pentagon's Project and Contracting Office (PCO) in Baghdad.