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Jim Hightower
Commentary Monday - Friday
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It's time to make politics fun again!
With uncommon insight,
political
fearlessness
and laugh-out-loud humor, Hightower gives us a
hard-hitting, fact-filled,
and fun-filled look at the madness
of King George the W. If the
investigative punch doesn't
get you, the Matt Wuerker cartoons and
word games
in each chapter will. |
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 SUPPORT OUR
TROOPS
by Jim Hightower
Talk about bitter irony. George W wrapped himself in the flag and
campaigned
under a political theme of "support our troops" – yet, even as he
campaigned,
troops in Iraq continued to die precisely because he has failed shamefully
to
support them.
All the political rah-rah stuff in the world won't stop roadside bombs and
other blasts. For the deadly reality of war, our troops need the best
protective armor and equipment
there is. But even now, their commander-in-chief continues to short them,
especially the
National Guard and Reservists who are doing much of the most dangerous
work in Iraq.
For months, entire units have gone begging for the most basic steel
plates needed
to armor their Humvees against the deadly blasts they encounter daily.
Families of
soldiers have offered to buy these steel plates themselves, but have been
rejected
by commanders who keep promising that the army will provide better
equipment
soon. Soon never seems to come, and soldiers literally are reduced to
scavenging
scrap pieces of sheet metal and sand bags to provide some makeshift
protection,
though this has not stopped the deaths and maimings.
The Bushites loudly contend that they have spared no expense to outfit the
troops,
but the soldiers, their families – and the daily body counts – say
otherwise. In fact,
while the Pentagon has said that it has plans to retrofit some 4,400
trucks in Iraq
with armor kits, it had provided only about 800 of the kits by
mid-September.
As the mother of one national guardsman put it: "If we're one of the
richest nations
in the world, our soldiers shouldn't be sent out looking like the Beverly
Hillbillies."
The Pentagon now says it hopes to have all Humvees armored by next April –
a full year and more than 1,000 deaths after Bush launched this
poorly-prepared war.
To demand that Washington support our troops with more than
political rhetoric, call Operation Truth: 212-982-9699.
"Along With Prayers, Families Send Armor," New York Times, October 20,
2004.
Copyright 2004 by Jim Hightower & Associates
Contact Sean Doles (sean@jimhightower.com) for more information |
"FOUR MORE
YEARS" OF WHAT?
by Jim Hightower
"Four More Years," screech the most rabidly partisan Bush supporters,
hoping to
drown out anyone who dares to dissent from the notion that King George the
W
should be re-enthroned.
But when they hurl their chant at us, what are they really saying – four
more years of
what? To know, tune in carefully to the Bushites themselves, for beneath
their carefully
-crafted, made-for-TV, campaign rhetoric, they've been admitting in
various statements
that they have many "next steps" in mind.
For example, George himself has been promoting the privatization of our
Social Security
system. His plan is to get millions of Americans to withdraw their funds
from our common
pool of retirement security and put a significant percentage of our Social
Security money
on the roulette wheel of the stock market. This scam will drain the
Social Security pool
for everyone and put people's retirement nest eggs at the mercy of the
next Enron.
How about four more years of war? Not merely in the desert quagmire of
Iraq – but
next up is Iran... and Syria... and, who knows where? They're now spending
nearly
$7 billion of our money a month in Iraq. How much more to invade Iran?
By the way,
the military says we'll need present troop levels in Iraq for years to
come, so if Bush is
rushing into Iran and beyond – say hello to a draft. Yes, your kid, too,
could be at the
next Abu Ghraib.
There is so much more. Several new Bush-backed NAFTAs are in the wings,
for
example, future empowering global corporations to run over We the People.
Also, George says he wants to eliminate taxes on corporations and wealth,
shoving
all of the federal burden onto a national sales tax that socks it to
middle class and poor
folks. Then there's Patriot Act II, more shortchanging of Head Start,
still more shredding
of our protections against polluters, more stacking of the courts with
right-wing nutballs
... and on and on.
This is Jim Hightower saying... "Four More Years" is not a chant, it's a
threat.
"How Not to Save Social Security," New York Times, September 23, 2004.
"Bush Remark Touches Off New Debate on Income Tax," New York Times,
August 8, 2004.
"Heads in the Sand," New York Times, September 3, 2004.
"Cost of Bush's agenda over the next decade has not been fully detailed,"
Austin American-Statesman, September 18, 2004.
The Option Nobody's Pushing. Yet." New York Times, October 3, 2004.
Copyright 2004 by Jim Hightower & Associates
Contact Sean Doles (sean@jimhightower.com) for more information. |
FLIP-FLOPPER-IN-CHIEF
by Jim Hightower
I'm sure that George W has been anxiously awaiting my priceless political
advice,
so here it is: If you're a toad, don't try to call a frog ugly.
This refers to Bush's toadiness in trying to label John Kerry a
flip-flopper on a variety
of issues. Kerry has indeed changed his positions on several matters––and
thank
goodness he has, since most shifts were to a more progressive position!
But who is the flip-flopper-in-chief? His Georgeness, of course.
For example in his 2000 presidential run, Bush declared that gay marriage
was a
matter for the states to decide––now he's crying for a Constitutional
amendment to
federalize and criminalize the issue. He also promised in 2000 that he
would put our
nation's Social Security trust fund in a lock box so politicians couldn't
spend it on
their pet projects––but he has now totally looted that "lock box," having
spent all the
money the trust fund will build up through the year 2013 on such pet
projects as his
tax giveaways to the rich.
Then there's Osama bin Laden. Remember Bush's braggadocio after September
11,
declaring that he'd get Osama "dead or alive?" Three years later, Osama
is still on the
loose and George meekly says, "I don't know where he is. ... I truly am
not that
concerned about him."
One of his most acrobatic flip-flops was on the need for a "Patients Bill
or Rights,"
see we can sue HMOs that wrongfully deny us medical treatment. In his 2000
campaign,
Bush loudly bragged that he had "delivered" such a bill for Texans while
he was governor
of Texas. But this was a lie, for he actually had vetoed the state
legislation. Yet,
in 2000, he promised a national patients bill of rights. As president,
however, Bush has
done a double flip-flop, threatening to veto a patients bill and adamantly
claiming in
federal court that states cannot pass their own laws.
No one can beat George W when it comes to flip-flops. He does more
flipping than
IHOP.
"I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not
that
concerned about him." White House Press Conference, Mar. 13, 2002
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020313-8.html)
Copyright 2004 by Jim Hightower & Associates
Contact Sean Doles (sean@jimhightower.com) for more information. |
STOP THE
ELECTRONIC THEFT OF OUR ELECTION
by Jim Hightower
"Despicable" is not a word that major corporate executives are used to
having
hurled at them by high elected officials, but the honchos of Diebold Inc.
recently
got this very word right in their corporate face.
The hurler was Kevin Shelley, California's Secretary of State, and he was
referring
to his experience with Diebold's electronic voting machines in
California's March
primary elections. Computer glitches plagued that election, jeopardizing
its outcome.
For example, thousands of San Diego voters were turned away from the polls
because
Diebold machines malfunctioned.
A subsequent investigation by a state panel of experts on electronic
voting found
that this company – the second largest purveyor of touch-screen voting
machines
in the country – had violated state law by installing untested and
uncertified software
in its machines... then lied about it. "Their performance, their behavior,
is despicable,"
Shelley bluntly said. He also put action behind his words, banning the use
of more than
14,000 Diebold machines for this November's election, saying that the
machines are
not secure and reliable. He also has recommended that criminal charges be
filed for
what he called "fraudulent actions by Diebold."
Shelley had earlier ruled that, by 2006, touch-screen voting machines in
California
must produce a paper receipt so voters can verify the electoral choices
they make on
these corruptible computers. But, after this year's unpleasantness with
Diebold, Shelley
says he's now exploring ways to speed up this requirement.
Meanwhile, in Maryland, a voters group has filed suit to block the use of
all 16,000
of Diebold's virtual voting machines in their state unless a
paper-verification system is
installed on each of them. It's all a part of the growing grassroots
rebellion to prevent
the electronic theft of our elections.
To join the fight, go to
http://www.verifiedvoting.org.
"High-Tech Voting System Is Banned in California," New York Times, May 1,
2004.
"Who Hacked the Voting System? The Teacher," New York Times, May 3, 2004.
"Diebold Machine May Get Boot," Wired, April 22, 2004,
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1294,63179,00.html
Copyright 2004 by Jim Hightower & Associates
Contact Sean Doles (sean@jimhightower.com) for more information. |
IS THIS AMERICA?
by Jim Hightower
What do Kalamazoo, Evansville, Albuquerque, Stockton, Trenton, Phoenix,
Columbia, St. Louis, Knoxville, and Charleston have in common?
All are among the cities where the secret service or police have jailed
people for
displaying anti-Bush signs during public appearances by his eminence, King
George
the W. Is this America, The Land of the Free?
That's what Nicole and Jeff Rank asked themselves this July 4th as they
were taken
away in handcuffs by police in their town of Charleston, West Virginia.
What was
their heinous crime? They were guilty of not being Bush supporters.
George W's Independence Day trip to Charleston was billed as an official
presidential visit, not a campaign rally. Nicole and Jeff––two patriotic,
hardworking,
taxpaying Americans––were in the crowd, quietly exercising their
free-speech rights.
They wore T-shirts declaring: "Love America, Hate Bush."
They had proper tickets to the event, they proudly sang the National
Anthem with
everyone else, they were in no way disorderly––but they were not
politically correct,
so they were summarily arrested, taken to jail, finger printed...and
charged with
"trespassing." Others who were there wearing pro-Bush T-shirts and Bush
campaign
paraphernalia at this public event on public property were not arrested.
It seems
that the Bushites define "trespassers" by their political beliefs.
Nicole, who worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in
Charleston,
was promptly told that her services were no longer required. Technically,
she wasn't
fired, but she was "released" from her job and not reassigned––meaning she
no longer
gets paid.
But Nicole and Jeff are still not bowing to King George. Despite the
financial
hardship, they're fighting Bush's absurd, un-American assault on their
constitutional
right to dissent. They're not the only ones being denied their right to
speak out–
dissenters all across America are being treated like this.
To fight this autocratic lockdown, call the ACLU: 212-549-2500.
"We weren't doing anything wrong." By Tara Tuckwiller, The Charelston
Gazette,
July 14, 2004.
Copyright 2004 by Jim Hightower & Associates
Contact Sean Doles (sean@jimhightower.com) for more information. |
GIVE REAGAN HIS
DUE
by Jim Hightower
Whew! I'm suffering from Reagan exhaustion!
Greek gods did not get the glorification that Ronald Reagan has been
getting since
his death. He's already gotten a king-like, seven-day funeral and a
tsunami of
worshipful media coverage. And now the full deification of The Gipper is
proceeding apace with Republican politicos openly engaged in idolatry.
Believe it or not, they are pushing to have Ronnie's face carved into Mt.
Rushmore,
to off Alexander Hamilton from the $10 bill and replace him with Reagan's
likeness,
to name still more big-government facilities in Washington after him, to
make his
birthday a national holiday, and to name at least one thing after Reagan
in every
one of America's 3,067 counties.
A little perspective, please! It would be appropriate, for example, to
erect a statue
on The Mall and inscribe it, "Ronald Reagan: The man who gave us Saddam
Hussein." Yes, for five years, Reagan provided aid and all sorts of
weaponry to build-up
Saddam and his military might, arming the Iraqi thug for his war against
Iran.
And, yes, that's the same Iran that Ronnie's White House basement troll,
Ollie North,
sold arms to in order to finance Reagan's secret, illegal war against
Nicaragua's
elected government––a criminal misadventure that led to 11 top Reagan
officials
being convicted.
Just for old-times sake, here are a few more golden chestnuts from
Ronnie's tenure: James Watt, ketchup as a vegetable, Star Wars, a tax
credit for segregated Bob
Jones University, The S & L Scandal, trees cause pollution, Grenada,
William Casey,
union busting, trickle-down economics, CIA sponsorship of Muslim radicals
in
Afghanistan (including one Osama bin Laden), Ed Meese, extensive cuts in
programs
serving poor people, Robert Bork, and the tripling of the national debt.
Let's give Reagan his due. All of it.
"An Economic Legend." The New York Times, June 11, 2004.
"Fans Aim to Put Reagan's Face Across Nation." Austin American-Statesman,
June 11, 2004.
"66 Things to Think About When Flying Into Reagan National Airport." By
David
Corn, The Nation, March 2, 1988.
"Pitts: After the adulation, a word of dissent on Ronald Reagan." by
Leonard Pitts,
The Miami Herald, June 14, 2004.
"Legacy's Darker Side: Reagan tributes largely ignore controversies of his
presidency." By Eric Planin and Thomas B. Edsall, The Washington Post,
June 11,
2004.
Copyright 2004 by Jim Hightower & Associates
Contact Sean Doles (sean@jimhightower.com) for more information. |
THE BUSH MEMOS
ON PRISONER ABUSE
by Jim Hightower
Wow, that White House spin machine is in full twirl over the U. S. torture
scandals in Iraq!
"Not to worry––those disgusting acts were just the work of a half-dozen
low-level
grunts who should have known better," whirs the machine, now in
nuclear-powered
perpetual motion. "No one in command, much less at the Pentagon or White
House,
had a clue that this was happening, and it's contrary to our official
policy against any
abuse of any prisoners," they spin. "And look over there," the White
House shrieks,
"We're prosecuting those bad soldiers to the hilt, so, see, the system
works, and
that's the the end of the story, so let's move on."
But wait – Rumsfeld knew about the torture last year, and he personally
told George
W about it in January. They not only had a clue, they had full, detailed
reports from
the Army itself and from the Red Cross. Yet, they kept it hush-hush,
apparently not
feeling disgust until the torture became public.
As far as official policy is concerned, look what has just surfaced: A
series of
2001and 2002 internal memos from Bush's justice department and from his
top
White House lawyer claiming that the U.S. did not have to comply with the
Geneva
Conventions and other international bans on prisoner abuse. White House
counsel
Alberto Gonzales, who seems to think that his job amounts to finding
a rationalization
for anything the Bushites want to do, wrote in a 2002 memo to George that
the war
on terrorism, "in my judgment renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitation
on
questioning of enemy prisoners."
Obsolete? Fashions can become obsolete. Machines get obsolete, too. But
fundamental morals and guidelines for humane conduct cannot, especially
not on
some partisan lawyer's whim. But there it is in writing – a policy
sanctioning abuse
and even torture, written on White House stationary. It turns out that
those grunts
in Iraq were acting within a legal framework devised by the Bushites
themselves.
"Justice Memos Explained How to Skip Prisoner Rights," New York Times,
May 21, 2004.
Copyright 2004 by Jim Hightower & Associates
Contact Sean Doles (sean@jimhightower.com) for more information. |
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National radio commentator, writer,
public speaker, and author of If the Gods had
Meant us to Vote They Would Have Given us
Candidates, Jim Hightower has spent
three decades battling the Powers
That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought
To Be - consumers, working
families, environmentalists, small businesses, and
just-plain-folks. Twice
elected Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Hightower believes
that the true
political spectrum is not right to left but top to bottom, and he has
become
a leading national voice for the 80 percent of the public who no longer find
themselves within shouting distance of the Washington and Wall Street powers
at the
top. Hightower is a modern-day Johnny Appleseed,
spreading the message of
progressive populism all across the American
grassroots.
He broadcasts daily
radio commentaries
that are carried in more than 60 commercial
and public stations, on the web,
and on Radio for Peace International.
Each month, he publishes a populist political newsletter,
"The Hightower
Lowdown,"
which has more than 50,000 subscribers and is growing
rapidly.
The Lowdown recently received the Alternative Press Award for best
national
newsletter. For more information
on Jim visit www.jimhightower.com
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