Why don't we care anymore?

Seems more and more like we as a nation don't care about our citizens. When we decide that we want tax cuts more than we want a working government keeping us safe, things begin to fall apart. Things like bridges. And here are two more examples from today's paper:

Injuries, Deaths Tied to Consumer Drugs Rise Sharply | The Head-On Radio Network America's Libera...

http://headonradionetwork.com/blog/2007/09/10/inju...

MONDAY, Sept. 10 (HealthDay News) — The number of serious adverse drug events more than double between 1998 and 2005 in the United States, as did the number of related deaths, a new study found.

“This is the first study to ask the question, ‘Are we gaining ground or losing ground in drug safety and improving patient safety in prescription drugs?’ And I think, inescapably, the conclusion is that we’re losing ground,” said study lead author Thomas Moore, of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, in Huntingdon Valley, Pa.

(more)

and

2 Key Middle School teachers taken to hospital | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5...

Two teachers left Key Middle School in ambulances this morning, reigniting the union's concerns that the northeast Houston campus is unsafe.

The two women were taken to the hospital after vomiting and experiencing watery eyes and difficulty breathing, said Gayle Fallon, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers. Fallon suspects the cause is mold or some other air-quality problem.

Terry Abbott, spokesman for the Houston Independent School District, said the administration has not heard an official medical report about the teachers. He emphasized that a private inspection company found a week ago that Key Middle, located at 4000 Kelley, did not have unusual levels of mold and that city inspectors agreed with that assessment.

"We understand the building was hot this morning. That may have had something to do with those who felt badly today," Abbott said. "We have had nothing at all unusual among the children."

Eating their own ...

So much fun watching the repugs eat their own ....

Ney threatened staffer with ‘abusive phone calls.’

from Think Progress by Amanda

Neil Volz, a former top staffer to Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) who pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the Jack Abramoff scandal, is now asking for “house arrest” instead of prison time. Documents filed in federal court last week said that Volz has “endured harsh criticism, including abusive phone calls” from Ney when the former congressman suspected he was helping investigators.

Current list of repuglican scandals

Thanks to ccmask and assorted FDL folks. Leave a comment if you have an addition.

GOP SCANDAL SHEET

Jack Abramoff -prison
Bob Allen -Veteran Park sex scandal
George Allen -called an American voter a Macaca
Michael Ray Aquino -involved in espionage thru Cheney’s office
Dan Bartlett -DOJ Investigation
Ken Blackwell- Election Theft
Michael Brown -Resigned over his handling of Katrina and aftermath.
Conrad Burns –dropped out
Ken Calvert’s - land deal scrutiny
Tucker Carlson -Tracked & beat up a gay man with a buddy
Dick Cheney -Involved in Plame affair; said troops would be greeted with flowers
Ann Coulter -Voter Fraud
Larry Craig -resigns over public toilet sex scandal
Duke Cunningham -prison
Tom DeLay -dropped out – Under indictment
Petey Domenici -Iglesias firing investigation
John Doolittle -Entagled with the Jack Abramoff Affair
Barry S. Edward -Rudy fundraiser steps down wrt sex & stolen computers
Alan B. Fabian -Romney co-chairman indicted fraud, obstruction & laundering
Tom Feeney -focus Abramoff investigation
Ari Fleisher - Resigned; Involved in Plame Affair
Dusty Kyle Foggo -Indicted for fraud, conspiracy & money laundering
Mark Foley -sex scandal
Jeff Gannon -Illegal White House entry
Alberto Gonzales- Cut & Run on heels of investigation
Ted Haggard -removed for sex and drug abuse scandal
Katherine Harris -dropped out
Duncan Hunter -Involved in ongoing Abramoff investigation
Bernard Kerik -Under scrutiny for tax invasion
Doug Lamborn -Left threatening voicemails to locals questioning his fundraising
Ken Lay -Bush’s biggest contributor scams millions
Jerry Lewis -under federal investigation
Scooter Libby -Guilty by his peers; Innocent by his Prez
Rush Limbaugh - Illegal drug use and Importation
Harriet Miers -DOJ Investigation Subpeona Refusal
Gary Miller -FBI investigation on tax evasion;Withdrew DHS nomination
Lisa Murkowski -land deal scandal
Bob Ney -prison
Wally O’Dell -Bush fundraiser and CEO of Diebold; Insider trading suspicion
Richard Pombo -Allegation of corruption and misuse of official resources
Thomas Ravenel -Indicted on Cocaine charges
Rick Renzi -home raided
John Rowland - convicted and sent to jail for bribe-taking and kickbacks.
Karl Rove -Resigned for involvement of AG scandal; Hatch Act; Outed CIA agent
Don Rumsfeld -Resigned. Failed to plan for a post-war Iraq.
David Safavian -convicted in Jack Abramoff scandal
Kyle Sampson - Resigned over the AG Scandal
Michael Scanlon -Guilty of corruption charges in Abramoff scandal
Brad Schlozman -Resigned from DOJ. Involved in the AG scandal
Ted Stevens -under investigation
David Vitter -sex scandals
Curt Weldon -dropped out
Heather Wilson -Iglesias firing investigation
Don Young -under investigation

And already some additons from James ....

Ralph Reed - investigation for his part in Abramoff scandal
Bradley Schlozman- resigned amid charges of politicizing DoJ
Monica Goodling - resigned amid charges of Hatch Act violations
J. Timothy Griffin - resigns amid charges of voter caging.

And then there’s this from McClatchey:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales - Resigned Monday, effective Sept. 17.
Kyle Sampson, Gonzales’ chief of staff - Resigned in March.
Monica Goodling, Gonzales’ counselor - Resigned in April.
Michael Battle, head of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys - Resigned in March.
Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty - Resigned in May, effective late this summer.
Michael Elston, McNulty’s chief of staff - Resigned June 15.
Tim Griffin, interim U.S. attorney for Arkansas - Resigned effective June 1.
Bradley Schlozman, former acting civil rights chief and U.S. attorney for Kansas City - Resigned from a Justice Department post in mid-August.
Wan Kim, chief, Civil Rights Division - Resigned Aug. 24
White House officials:
Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, White House’s top political adviser - Resigned effective at the end of this week.
Sara Taylor, political director — Resigned in May.

Did they hire Halliburton?

I saw this article on my news feed this morning and my very first reaction was to wonder if they'd privatized infrastructure there as well. Who built the bridge? Same contractors who built all of the insta-crumbling infrastructure we commissioned in Iraq? Halliburton getting any contracts from the Pakistan government?

Six die in Pakistan bridge collapse
An investigation into the collapse has been ordered [AFP]

A recently constructed road bridge has collapsed in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi, killing at least six people and injuring others.

Rescuers were trying to clear the wreckage to retrieve those trapped and injured amid fears the death toll from Saturday's accident could rise.

At least two cars and a police van were crushed under the debris, and a truck with a trailer and a minibus lay upturned by the fallen bridge.

The bridge was opened only two months ago by Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president.

Mustafa Kamal, the mayor of Karachi, said the authorities were using heavy machinery and bulldozers to remove debris and pull out injured people trapped in at least two or three vehicles.

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.

Probe ordered

Witnesses said a portion of the bridge known as Northern Bypass fell with a huge bang while traffic was on it.

Mohammed Iqbal, a survivor who escaped through the window of a small bus that fell from the bridge, told the Pakistani Geo news channel he had heard cries for help from those trapped in the rubble.

Zahid Khan, a witness, said "It created such a huge sound that we thought it was an earthquake."

Shaukat Aziz, the Pakistani prime minister, expressed sorrow over the loss of life and concern over the quality of construction of the bridge.

"Investigations have been ordered to find the reasons of the collapse and people responsible for substandard construction would be taken to task," Aziz said.

Gonzo is GoneZo. Who is next?

 

 

political cartoons about Republican Senator Craig

 

 

 

 

Betsy's news & blog pix for today

Click daily to see what I've posted.

Betsy



Bush's Herd of Loyal Texas Advisers Continues to Thin
via t r u t h o u t on Aug 28, 2007
Dave Montgomery, of the McClatchy Newspapers writes: "They were fiercely loyal, unfailingly disciplined and, as a unit, offered the president a comforting touchstone from his home state. Now, Team Texas is moving ever closer to extinction. The already thinning cadre of advisers who followed George W. Bush from Austin to Washington is unraveling even further, with Alberto Gonzales and Karl Rove heading toward the door."

American Nightmare: Gonzales “wrong and illegal and unethical”
via Greg Palast by Greg Palast on Aug 28, 2007
by Greg PalastTuesday, August 28.

“What I’ve experienced in the last six months is the ugly side of the American dream.”

Last month, David Iglesias and I were looking out at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island where his dad had entered the US from Panama decades ago. It was a hard moment for the military lawyer who, immediately after Attorney General Alberto Gonzales fired Iglesias as US Attorney for New Mexico, returned to active military duty as a Naval Reserve JAG.
Captain Iglesias, cool and circumspect, added something I didn’t expect:

“They misjudged my character, I mean they really thought I was just going to
roll over and give them what they wanted and when I didn’t, that I’d go away
quietly but I just couldn’t do that. You know US Attorneys and the Justice
Department have a history of not taking into consideration partisan politics.
That should not be a factor. And what they tried to do is just wrong and illegal
and unethical.”

When a federal prosecutor says something is illegal, it’s not just small talk. And the illegality wasn’t small. It’s called, “obstruction of justice,” and it’s a felony crime.

Specifically, Attorney General Gonzales, Iglesias told me, wanted him to bring what the prosecutor called “bogus voter fraud” cases. In effect, US Attorney Iglesias was under pressure from the boss to charge citizens with crimes they didn’t commit. Saddam did that. Stalin did that. But Iglesias would NOT do that - even at the behest of the Attorney General. Today, Captain Iglesias, reached by phone, told me, “I’m not going to file any bogus prosecutions.”
But it wasn’t just Gonzales whose acts were “unethical, wrong and illegal.“

It was Gonzales’ boss. Iglesias says, “The evidence shows right now, is that [Republican Senator Pete] Domenici complained directly to President Bush. And that Bush then called Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney General, and complained about my alleged lack of vigorous enforcement of voter fraud laws.“ In other words, it went to the top. The Decider had decided to punish a prosecutor who wouldn’t prosecute innocents.

All day long I’ve heard Democrats dance with glee that they now have the scalp of Alberto Gonzales. They nailed the puppet. But what about the puppeteer? The question that remains is the same that Watergate prosecutors asked of Richard Nixon, “What did the President know and when did he know it?” Or, to update it for Dubya, “What did the President know and how many times did Karl Rove have to explain it to him?” During the Watergate hearings, Nixon tried to obstruct the investigation into his obstruction of justice by offering up the heads of his Attorney General and other officials. Then, Congress refused to swallow the Nixon bait. The only resignation that counted was the one by the capo di capi of the criminal-political cabal: Nixon’s. The President’s.

But in this case, even the exit of the Decider-in-Chief would not be the end of it. Because this isn’t about finagling with the power of prosecutors, it’s about the 2008 election.“This voter fraud thing is the bogey man,” says Iglesias.


Beck: "Nobody Cares" About Gonzales Resignation
via The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post News Editors on Aug 28, 2007
Yesterday on his CNN Headline News show, Glenn Beck mentioned the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, stating that he was "surprised" the "media jumped all over this story":
Well, after weathering the storm of congressional calls for his resignation, Alberto Gonzales has finally done just that, he has resigned. But the thing is, I don't think anybody cares. I don't think how he -- anybody cares how he was connected to the firing of those nine U.S. attorneys.


U.S. most armed country with 90 guns per 100 people (Reuters)
via Yahoo! News: Top Stories on Aug 28, 2007
Reuters - The United States has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world, a report released on Tuesday said.

Craig Recants Misconduct Plea
via washingtonpost.com - Politics by Paul Kane on Aug 28, 2007
Facing a revolt from his closest GOP allies, Sen. Larry Craig today disavowed his own criminal plea agreement for disorderly conduct in an airport men's restroom in June, declaring he was "not gay" and vowing to continue to serve in the Senate.


NJ tops nation in household income
Bridgewater Courier News - 21 minutes agoBy RAJU CHEBIUM WASHINGTON - Though New Jersey is one of the country's richest states, more than 1 million of its residents lack health insurance.Household incomes rise but ... CNNMoney.comUS Income and Poverty Rates Improved in 2006 New York TimesReuters - Dallas Morning News (subscription) - Indianapolis Star - The Coloradoanall 260 news articles
NJ no longer richest state, Camden no longer poorest US city - Newsday
via Google News on Aug 28, 2007
KARENJ no longer richest state, Camden no longer poorest US cityNewsday - 1 hour agoBy GEOFF MULVIHILL AP Writer 3:03 PM EDT, August 28, 2007 MOUNT LAUREL, NJ - New Jersey is no longer the nation's wealthiest state and Camden is no longer the nation's poorest city, according to federal data released Tuesday


Trainers faulted in Fort Hood GI death
via Statesman - Top Stories on Aug 28, 2007
A 1,700-page Army investigative report, obtained by The Associated Press, details a multitude of violations, judgment errors and alleged misconduct.

Gannon: I’m ‘the most honest’ White House reporter.
via Think Progress by Matt on Aug 28, 2007
Jeff Gannon, the infamous former male escort who for two years gained a White House press pass using a pseudonym, is releasing a book next week, in which he chronicles what he sees as liberal bias in the White House press corps. “In my mind, I was the most honest reporter [in the White House press corps] because I was absolutely transparent with regards to my [conservative] perspective,” Gannon told the Washington Examiner. “My work has never been discredited.”

See more of betsy's shared items ...

How to tell you're driving too fast

The Bush Flowchart

(Click to enlarge.) Thanks to Alfred for sending this in. He found it here.

The Post Turtle

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old Texas rancher whose hand had been caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to former Texas Governor George W. Bush and his elevation to the White House.

The old Texan said, "Well, ya know, Bush is a post turtle." Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a post turtle was.

The old rancher said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle."


The old man saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain. "You know he didn't get there by himself, he doesn't belong there, he doesn't know what to do while he's up there and you just want to help the dumb shit get down."