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State of the Union, Follow-Up Actions

marius — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 00:50:21 +0000

So, after hearing the State Of The Union last night, I was looking forward to the next steps as far as getting the education system back in growth mode as it relates to math and sciences. Maybe, restoring some of the National Science Foundation budget that the Republican congress yanked out. Maybe boosting student loan subsidies.

But, I guess that's largely wishful thinking. Today, the Congress, in a largely bipartisan vote, cuts student loan subsidies. According to the article, President Bush is “eager to sign the bill.”

Hypocrisy.

The “Good Old Boy” Network

marius — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 02:11:42 +0000

Loads of news stations are now reporting on the outstanding r{e'}sum{e'} of the current FEMA director, Michael Brown. His r{e'}sum{e'} is outstanding – if you're a fan of Arabian Horses. Seems that prior to joining FEMA, Michael Brown was a commisioner of the International Arabian Horse Association. For nine years. I'd say that makes him perfectly capable of running FEMA. Of course, he did score a great position as legal counsel to FEMA after leaving the IAHA, “following a dispute over a contribution to the group's legal defense fund.” Seems his way in was by knowing people:

Brown's ticket to FEMA was Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's 2000 campaign manager and an old friend of Brown's in Oklahoma. Brown told several horse association officials that if Bush were elected, he'd be in line for a good job.

In his nine years as a commissioner with the International Arabian Horse Association, which has since changed its name, Brown oversaw judges in the often-controversial and high-priced world of Arabian horse competitions.

Former association board member Karl V. Hart of Florida alleges that in 2000 Brown improperly accepted a check for nearly $50,000 from a prominent breeder and put it toward his own legal defense for his work as commissioner. Board members thought this was improper because Brown already had protection, from the association's legal team, Hart said.

Because of the money dispute, Brown was asked to resign, Hart said.

The Denver Post has coverage here.

Irony of Politics

marius — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 18:27:10 +0000

As reported and seen on CNN this morning:

Yep, no early recount allowed in Ohio as per a probably “non-activist” judge. Oh, wait, what's that breaking news item up there? Bush administration says the Ukrainian election was a sham? Funny, we didn't listen to anyone else in 2000 when they said that about our election.

fool me once…

marius — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 23:13:41 +0000

So I'm thinking about this new Coke C2 thing, and it brings to mind a recent mis-quote by Dubya. A lot of you probably remember the New Coke thing from the late 80's:

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again!” (GWB, Nashville, TN, 9/17/2002)

Yeah, no C2 for me. I'm sticking to the Classic.

state of the union..

marius — Fri, 23 Jan 2004 01:49:04 +0000

So, am I the only who thought the mention of Steroid Use in Professional Sports was a wee bit out of place in the State of the Union address a few nights ago?

I mean, I'm all for proper drug laws, and I think that should be a big pushing point for the President that drug laws (in general) should make it into the SOTU; but picking in pro sports about it?

I think Jon Stewart said it best while being interviewed by Tom Brokaw right afterwards: why didn't he deal with instant replay and artificial turf?!