Dick Cheney Hunting Humans
"Now it turns out that the Vice-President of the United States may have been responsible for those leaks (the ones that outed CIA agent Valerie Plame - ed.) for political reasons. This is the kind of thing that has not been done to my knowledge since Aaron Burr was Vice-President."
Howard Dean CBS Face the Nation 2/12/06
Dean's comparison would prove even more apt later that day, as it was disclosed that Cheney had shot his hunting buddy. All the blogs are ablaze on this topic, as by right they should be.
We keep hearing from Washington that no one is really interested in this topic, and we should move the discussion to something Americans really care about. Like the news media is blowing it all out of proportion.
No -- take it from me, we Americans are all very interested in this topic. Some of us are pretty angry about it, too. I didn't like the tone of the following:
A new state law that took effect last fall requires quail hunters to have an upland-game-bird stamp on their regular hunting license, but neither Cheney nor Whittington had one, according to a wildlife department report.
"A check of TPWD license records indicated that while the vice president had purchased a valid nonresident hunting license, he had not purchased the required upland game bird stamp," TPWD spokeswoman Lydia Saldaña said in a statement.
Cheney's office issued a statement Monday night saying that when a staff member purchased the $125 hunting license for the vice president, the staffer asked for all the necessary permits but was not told about the stamp. Cheney has sent a $7 check to the wildlife department to cover the cost of the stamp.
TPWD wardens have been issuing warnings, not citations, to hunters who lack the stamp.
"A warning citation will be issued to Mr. Cheney, as is routine in such cases. The warning is similar to a warning citation that might be issued by any law enforcement agency. There is no fine or other penalty associated with warning citations," Saldaña said.
"Because the requirement is new, the department has informed us it is issuing warnings, and the vice president expects to receive one," Cheney's office said. "He will take whatever steps are needed to comply with applicable rules."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/3657232.html
Actually, this is what Cheney's office stated about the stamp:
Cheney's office said Monday night in a statement that Cheney had a $125 nonresident hunting license and has sent a $7 check to cover the cost of the stamp. "The staff asked for all permits needed, but was not informed of the $7 upland game bird stamp requirement," the statement said.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,184764,00.html
This guy won't admit responsibility for anything, not even stiffing the Texas Game and Wildlife board for seven measly bucks. Not "whoops, oh I messed up..." never from Cheney.
I did like this though.
Democratic staffers on the Hill could be heard singing a parody of Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun," using the words "Cheney's got a gun."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/13/AR2006021301303.html
And Now, Analysis of the Budget CutsFirst off, I want to say that there are things listed here that you look at and say, "What is this?"
Like
Real Choice System Change grants, $25 million
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Unrequested projects, $277 million
Environmental quality incentives program, $270 million
HOMELAND SECURITY Office of grants and training, $229 million
OK - I'm not one to say that it's not worth it to spend the money just because I don't understand what these appropriations are for. But on the other hand, they don't exactly set my soul on fire. However, what about these?
AGRICULTURE Public broadcast grants, $5 million.
This 5mil is not so Uncle Joe can listen to Morning Edition. This money is allocated to little rural radio stations in farming areas and on Indian Reservations. It is a major part of the budget for these stations, which run on spit and polish as it is.
Several fall under the classification as to "Uh, excuse me - what just happened?" or "what did you just say?" like:
Watershed protection and flood prevention operations, $75 million
Oil and gas research and development, $64 million
Renewable energy program, $3 million (major reduction)
Some of these I would've thought out of reach of the administration:
National Writing Project, $22 million
Javits gifted and talented education, $10 million
State grants for incarcerated youth offenders, $23 million
And a few are just stupid and/or are motivated by revenge:
President's Freedom scholarships, $4 million (what??!!)
Rural fire assistance, $10 million
Migrant and seasonal farmworkers training program, $79 million
Railroad rehabilitation financing loan program, $0 million (no funds were enacted in 2006)
(oh - that's an effective budget cut!)
Teaching American history, $71 million (major reduction)
Amtrak, $394 million (major reduction, but damn close to termination)
This one represents the elimination of a final bulwark in the Reagans' "War on Drugs:"
National Drug Intelligence Center, $23 million (major reduction)
This one makes us all go "Ohh No:"
Internal Revenue Service business systems modernization, $30 million (major reduction)
These two are no-brainers for this Administration:
Assistance for the state of the former Soviet Union, $68 million (major reduction)
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, $114 million (major reduction)
"Controlling the message" is what the BushII Administration is all about, and CPB pumps support into the very portion of the media that it can control the least. This will give public radio plenty of pain and the US Gov. an equal amount of pleasure.
I read on a message board some guy ranting about "why do you want further socialization of America anyway? Haven't you read 1984?"
About a hundred percent of folks that write about "Socialism" in the broad sense don't have any idea of what it means. They think of it as a "soft" term for Communism. Many of these programs help shore up and enable the disadvantaged within our borders, educate or otherwise help to provide a better future for Americans. These are the sorts of programs I don't mind putting my hard earned tax dollars behind.
And what are we going to do with all the money we've saved? We'll take that Indian teen out of the little radio station on the Reservation, give him a gun and send him off to die in Iraq. Then Halliburton will make a fortune erecting an oil platform on the spot where the Indian brave fell, next to all the other American boys and girls that continue to die over there. They will take away your farm subsidy and use the money to kill your sons.
Is that a good deal? I'd rather spend the money on better service and more routes from Amtrak. Oh - right, that would mean that terrorists could get around the country more easily. Silly me!
The above are all "Terminations" by the way, if not identified as "Major Reductions."
Make up your own mind about it, but you know you can respond to this post.
UDL