Author: Greg Saunders

With today being Veteran’s Day, we should take a look back at the past year to see whose commitment to veterans goes beyond the annual ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier. For example, let’s take a look at this request the Veterans of Foreign Wars made back in March :

The commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. called on Congress today to fix the veterans’ health care shortfalls in the president’s fiscal year 2006 budget.

“The administration’s budget is troubling in many ways because it’s an obvious attempt to balance part of the nation’s deficit on the backs of a disabled and aging military veteran population,” testified John Furgess, before a joint meeting of the House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs.
. . .
Furgess asked the senators and representatives to help make the budget fit the need and not make the need fit the budget by eliminating or reducing services while increasing costs. He also urged them to make military veterans the number one priority of the nation.

A week later, Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii proposed an amendment to the 2006 budget to increase spending on veterans medical care by $2.8 billion. Despite the fact that we’re in the middle of a war, the resolution failed with a 53-47 vote, with every Democrat voting “Yea” and all but two Republicans voting “Nay”. A month later, Senator Patty Murray offered a similar amendment to the Tsunami, Defense, and War on Terror appropriations bill that would provide an additional $1,975,183,000 for veterans medical care. This one also failed, largely along party lines, with only one Republican Senator voting to support veterans.

“Three billion dollars is a lot of money,” you might say, but before you chalk up GOP callousness to budgetary hawkishness, let me point you to this reliable indicator of fiscal responsibility :

The federal government’s expanding waistline (a record $427 billion deficit) has resulted from too many members of Congress believing that the United States Treasury is their own personal ATM. Our elected officials have let themselves go whole hog while letting down every hard-working American taxpayer.
. . .
For fiscal 2005, appropriators stuffed 13,997 projects into the 13 appropriations bills, an increase of 31 percent over last year’s total of 10,656. In the last two years, the total number of projects has increased by 49.5 percent. The cost of these projects in fiscal 2005 was $27.3 billion, or 19 percent more than last year’s total of $22.9 billion.

In other words, the Senate could have more than made up for the $2-3 billion shortfall for veteran care if they had simply remained as reckless as they were in 2004, rather than throw away an additional $4.4 billion. But that would require putting veterans ahead of pork-barrel programs, which seems too much to ask of the GOP controlled House and Senate or the still veto-less President of the United States.

Since Republicans are so fond of running personality-driven campaigns, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that the reason Arnold Schwarzenegger pissed away $60 million dollars in pursuit of his “reform agenda” is because he’s a stubborn jerk who doesn’t work well with others. His spectacular failures last night weren’t the result of ideological differences, but personality flaws.

A real leader would have worked with the Democratic legislature, not attack them as “girly men”. A real leader would have made compromises and reached across the ideological divide to find common ground. A real leader would have done the heavy lifting himself, not put the burden of making the hard decisions back on the people of California. But Arnold isn’t a real leader, he’s just a bad actor.

I’m sorry, what was that you were talking about? Something about indictments?

Will a nasty political fight to make people forget that the White House is full of criminals? Stay tuned to find out. Same Bush-time, same Bush-channel.

EXTRA : Bonus comic book reference via my friend Tom Neely, President Superman shows the Bush Administration how to balance the budget :

Which reminds me, isn’t that Iraqi oil (black gold, Texas T, etc.) supposed to be paying for the war by now?

Considering that Libby consistently told the same false story to the grand jury and the FBI, I can’t help but think that he’s been set up to be the Administration’s sacrificial lamb. After all, according to the indictment “Official A”, Judy Miller, “the Under Secretary of State”, the “White House Press Secretary”, and “the Assistant to the Vice President for Public Affairs” all knew that Libby’s story about learning of Plame’s status from Tim Russert was without merit. Why would Libby be reckless enough to make his claims when any one of these people would have been able to discredit him? It defies logic to assume that Libby spoke to the FBI or the grand jury without discussing what he would say with his sources and/or fellow leakers. That being the case, did White House officials reassure Libby that they’d buttress his story only to later turn against him? If that turns out to be true, I’d expect Libby’s plea agreements to be…interesting, to say the least. There’s a damn good reason Fitzgerald says he’s “not quite done”. If Libby feels burned by the Administration, I think we can expect more fireworks.

Bush Gives Christ SCOTUS Nod
^{Monday, November 21, 2005}

WASHINGTON (AP) – Reeling from the rebuke he received over the nomination of Harriet Miers, George Bush nominated former carpenter Jesus Harold Christ today to the nation’s highest court. “I’ve been saying for years now that he’s my favorite philosopher,” the President remarked, “so I think the American people will be proud when they get to know J.C.’s judicial philosophicalness.”

Bush called on the Senate to “review every aspect of Jesus’ qualifications fairly and with haste. It’s important that we get an up-down vote on this nomination by the end of the year”.

Holy Nomination Deemed Controversial
^{Wednesday, November 23, 2005}

WASHINGTON (NYT) – Despite being the figurehead of one of the world’s largest religions, the nomination of Jesus Christ to replace Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court is getting a mixed reaction on the Hill from Democrats — and Republicans.

“Who is this guy?”, universally-beloved maverick John McCain asked reporters. “I find it hard to believe that this guy has gone thirty-three years without ever taking a stand on Roe v. Wade.”

In an off-the record interview with the Times, Senator Chuck Schumer added “He seems like a nice guy, but I’ll need to see what comes out during the conformation process before making any decisions”.

Conservatives Revolt Over Jesus
^{Tuesday, December 6, 2005}

WASHINGTON (UPI) – In a strong blow to President Bush, conservative activists have rallied against the nomination of Jesus Christ to the Supreme Court.

“We were promised a strict constructionist,” television panhandler Pat Robertson told reporters. “We don’t know anything about his views on gay marriage, stem cells, or any other important issues. God-fearing Christians like me who gave this President the White House deserve to know where this nominee stands.”

The Christ nomination is seen as the latest rebuke for a President who, in recent weeks, has seen a stock market crash, the execution of top aides for treason, and the flooding of New Orleans by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Gamma.

Bush Seeks Support Over Court Pick
^{Monday, December 12, 2005}

CRAWFORD (Reuters) – Interrupting his nine-week holiday break, the President sought to ease conservative concerns over his increasingly controversial pick for the Supreme Court.

“I know his heart,” Bush reassured his supporters,” and he knows mine. After all, he lives in it.”

Speaking Sunday on Meet The Press, Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter remained skeptical. “I haven’t seen anything to convince me that Jesus will faithfully interpret the constitution. Raising the dead and turning water into wine may be neat party tricks, but the American people deserve more.”

Documents Reveal Softer Side of Nominee
^{Friday, December 16, 2005}

WASHINGTON (AP) – In a development that Senate Judiciary staffers described as “troubling”, the White House today released a pile of documents in an attempt to bolster its nomination of Jesus Christ to the nation’s top court.

“The meek shall inherit the Earth? Turn the other cheek? I don’t think we can afford a Supreme Court justice who’s weak on terror,” a top Republican official said.

Though short on judicial experience, the documents reveal a nominee with a long career dedicated to helping the poor, comforting the afflicted, and spreading the word of god.

“He might as well have nominated Robin Hood,” joked one GOP leader. “Christ’s dedication to redistributing wealth puts him far outside the mainstream. He’s an extremist in the Souter/Kennedy mold.”

Group Runs Ad Urging Jesus Filibuster
^{Monday, December 19, 2005}

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Putting the nomination of Jesus in further danger, the conservative group Christians Against Christ began airing ads today urging Senate Republicans to filibuster the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

Transcript of C.A.C. ad, “Who is this Jesus?”

ANNOUNCER : Liberal Democrats in the Senate agree on the nomination of Jesus Christ.

[begin video]
SEN. SCHUMER : He seems like a nice guy –
[end video}

ANNOUNCER : What do they know that we don’t? We can’t have another liberal activist on the Supreme Court. Call your Senator today and tell them to filibuster Jesus. America deserves better.

Bush Remains Confident On Nominee
^{Friday, December 23, 2005}

WASHINGTON (AP) – Speaking via teleconference at a birthday party for his embattled Supreme Court pick, the President reiterated his support for Jesus Christ. “Jesus has a great heart,” Bush said. ” and I know that he’ll be the same person in twenty years that he is today.”

Seeking to quell criticism over leaked memos that reveal opposition to the death penalty, Administration officials publicly rallied behind Christ, but questions remain about whether or not Christ will be able to make it out of the Senate Judiciary committee.

“People are worried around here,” a White House aide told reporters. “Let’s pretend that we decided to change our minds about this Jesus nomination…not that we are, ummm…do you have any ideas??”

Decrying Pharisees, Christ Withdraws Nomination
^{Monday, December 26, 2005}

WASHINGTON (AP) – In a letter to the President today, Supreme Court nominee Jesus H. Christ withdrew his nomination. Though it had become increasingly clear that Jesus lacked the votes in the Senate needed to be confirmed, Bush had as recently as this weekend reaffirmed his support for Christ.

Speaking out against the hypocrisy of his critics, Jesus wrote to the President “Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?”

Pressed for a comment at his Crawford ranch, the President asked “Jesus who?”