The Previous Administration

The surprise to me isn't the Bush administration was considering suspending First Amendment rights; the surprise is it didn't carry it out.

So-Called "Conscience Clauses"

have been on the books for more than 30 years with regard to abortion, but now the Bush administration wants to expand it to include "other procedures" such as, I suppose, contraceptives.

And it could go even further than that:

Many circumstances unrelated to reproductive health could also fall under the umbrella of “other medical procedures.” Could physicians object to helping patients whose sexual orientation they find objectionable? Could a receptionist refuse to book an appointment for an H.I.V. test? What about an emergency room doctor who wishes to deny emergency contraception to a rape victim? Or a pharmacist who prefers not to refill a birth control prescription?

The Bush administration argues that the rule is designed to protect a provider’s conscience. But where are the protections for patients?

I can just see H.I.V. patients being denied care because of somebody's bigotry. I would say something like this would violate ADA, but who knows?

But I suppose contraception is the real target. There is a segment of the population which cannot accept the fact women do have lives in addition to or other than traditional family life.

The Booming Economy

The bailout seeks $700 billion, and guess who is going to pay for it?

The Bush administration this morning formally asked Congress to grant sweeping new powers to the Treasury secretary to buy as much as $700 billion in nearly worthless mortgage-related assets as part of a herculean effort to clean up Wall Street's financial crisis.

A draft of the plan was delivered to Congress early today and lawmakers will spend the weekend poring through it. As written, the bill would require the Treasury secretary to put equal weight on the welfare of the taxpayer as well as Wall Street in using the extraordinary authority. The new powers would expire after two years.

McCain wants a federal regulator, while Obama praises the Bush administration's plan, and insults are flying back and forth:

"People like Sen. Obama have been too busy gaming the system and haven't ever done a thing to actually challenge the system," McCain told a business group in Green Bay, pointing out that Obama had taken advice from two former executives of collapsed mortgage giant Fannie Mae.

Obama, who endorsed the rescue package announced Friday by the Bush administration, in turn chided McCain for being hypocritical. Obama supporters pointed out that several McCain advisors have worked on behalf of Fannie, including McCain's campaign manager, who defended the company against increased regulation as president of the industry group Homeownership Alliance.

"At this point, he seems to be willing to say anything, or do anything, or change any position, or violate any principle to try and win this election," Obama said while campaigning in Florida.

Yellow Journalism is Alive and Well

While the administration proposes a bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddic Mac, a story which is the BIG story of the day, what does the Washington Post have in bigger letters on its home page?

Chandra Levy, of course, and the usual garbage about former congressman Gary Condit.

Remember the feeding frenzy in the summer of 2001 by the media over this rather routine murder? It was 24/7 trashing of Condit, who had NO involvement at all in her disappearance and murder.

The only reason the hoopla died down was because of 9/11.

I am glad to read, though, people writing in the comments by and large are just as disgusted as I am about the silly article and series. If the Washington Post wanted to do a service, it could have written about unsolved murder cases around the country.

Meanwhile, Back at the White House...

You can have access to key figures in our dictatorship if the price is right.

It's for a good cause, after all. Our dictator, assuming he doesn't declare martial law before the November elections, will be leaving the White House he had stolen for him, and like all other presidents, even pretend ones, needs the money to build a glorious presidential library containing more than copies of My Pet Goat.

More on this Times of London video link:

link

Scott McClellan

helps Keith Olbermann take his mind off trashing Hillary Clinton by trashing the Bush administration's handling of Iraq instead, and with justification:



9/11 was all the excuse necessary for the PNAC to put their insane Middle East theory into action.

The rest of the McClellan interview can be found at the MSNBC video pop up.

John Dean, who knows what it is like to tell the truth about a crooked administration, gave his two cents' worth:

Of Course

everything is political with this admimistration, even regarding health concerns.