http://talkabout.hmbreview.com If it's cool, it's on the coast! en-us
by Guy Reel

The other day, as I was musing aloud about notion that George Bush is the worst president in U.S. history, an acquaintance interrupted, “What’s been so bad?” I stammered for a moment, unable to get my mind around such a large question. It was sort of like trying to summarize the mysteries of the universe: The topic is so big one doesn’t know where to start. So I decided to compile a handy reference guide to the failed policies, worst decisions, irrational practices and outrageous lies of the Bush administration.In compiling this list, I made the rule that it cannot be an inventory of policy differences between liberals and conservatives; it must differentiate between rational and irrational policies, between truth and lies, between successes and failures. In other words, this should not be a partisan list but an attempt to chronicle the failures, catastrophes and ruinous policies that are apparent to impartial observers. Contributions are welcomed.

1. Lies about an optional war. Some may argue that Bush wasn’t lying about the weapons of mass destruction — that he, and many others, believed they were there. The problem is, he, and most everyone in his administration, misrepresented (lied) about the nature of the intelligence that (they claimed) led us into war. Within the intelligence community — yes, Bush’s own intelligence community — there was much, much more disagreement about the nature and threat of these weapons (and even whether they existed) than what Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld claimed. Also in the category of outrageous lies, it is now clear that Bush, during the run-up to the war, was routinely lying when he said he had made no decision about going to war, that he was trying to exhaust all diplomatic options. Memos and staffers have since made it clear that Iraq was a target for war even before 9/11.

2. The optional war itself. It was clear that an invasion of Iraq was not tied to 9/11 and that it would not do anything to deter terrorism and that, in fact, it would make terrorism worse. Bush and his followers might believe otherwise, but I would argue that this is empirically true. The vote for the war authorization was pushed right before a midterm election, and Bush was demanding its passage, clearly making war a political issues. That alone is outrageous conduct for a president. But I would be happy to eliminate this one from the list, if enough readers think I should.

3. The fiasco in handling the optional war that was started from lies. Even John McCain, military strategists and such right-wingers as Pat Buchanan acknowledge this one. Because of arrogance, ignorance and just plain stupidity, the war was mismanaged from the start. It led to countless unnecessary deaths, a disastrous loss of prestige and diplomatic clout for America, and, predictably, it became an al-Qaeda training and recruitment tool.

4. Tax cuts that overwhelmingly favor the rich in a time of war. It is possible, as far as policy goes, to argue for tax cuts, even in the face of crushing deficits. It may be possible to argue, in a supply-sider’s dream, that it is appropriate for the rich to garner most of the benefits for the tax cuts. But it is nearly impossible, unless one lacks sufficient powers of reasoning, to argue that we should enact tax cuts that disproportionately favor the wealthy, when war demands sacrifices and sufficient revenue to be waged successfully.

5. Trillions in new debt, and annual deficits in the half-trillion-dollar range. This may be paired with the item above. Bush and the Republicans have not only failed to pay for the tax cuts they so eagerly handed out to rich supporters who then gave them campaign contributions, they also put forth billions in new spending, making Democrats look like chumps when it comes to pork-barreling. Oh, and by the way, they also enacted the biggest entitlement program in history since Social Security, the pharmaceutical drug bill, that provided billions to drug companies while restricting drug price competition. Also, the Bush administration lied to members of his own party about the cost of the 2003 Medicare bill, just so they could be tricked into voting for it.

6. The weakening of the dollar. Again, this may be paired with the items above. Many experts have speculated that the dollar’s reign as the world currency may end fairly soon, and its displacement can be directly tied to Reagan-Bush-Bush policies favoring vast debt, massive gaps in wealth between the rich and middle class, a weakening of the manufacturing economy, and changing the U.S. from the largest creditor nation in history to the largest debtor nation in history. I won’t give Bill Clinton a pass on this one, since the manufacturing sector decline continued under his watch and, some might argue, accelerated as a result of NAFTA. But it is clear that idea that taxes are heresy under Republicans — even at the expense of the nation and at the collapse of the dollar — has taken on its Biblical status under George W. Bush.

7. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Here was a president so disengaged that American citizens were left stranded, and people died, during his inaction. Yet, in his words, “Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job.”

8. The suspension of habeas corpus. This has taken several forms under George Bush — by executive decision, through legal opinion by the likes of hack John Yoo and by the establishment of prisons to hold prisoners without charge or trial. But one moment Americans should never forget is the passage of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Congress must share the blame on this, but without Bush’s “leadership,” it never would have passed. The law cast aside the Constitution and the principle of habeas corpus, which protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment. The Congress also gave the president absolute power to designate enemy combatants, and to set his own definitions for torture.

9. “Enhanced interrogation”/torture/extraordinary rendition. Bush said he knew and approved of the harsh tactics that led to such outrages as Abu Ghraib. Bush says the U.S. doesn’t torture because it doesn’t torture. Whatever you call it, it amounts to an illegal usurping of executive authority. John McCain was against it before he was for it. Some Americans may believe terrorists deserve torture in some cases, and I won’t disagree; however, it is clear that, under George W. Bush, America tortured some innocent people, and in some cases it transported prisoners to other countries so they could be tortured there.

10. Halliburton/Blackwater. These companies are by symbols for the privatization of war. Military contractors, often having no accountability to anyone, have stolen billions, wasted more billions, and kidnapped, raped and murdered in the name of the United States.

11. Guantanamo. While military prisons are routine in wartime, the problem with Gitmo is that it has been set up to hold terrorists as well as the innocent. And because of the end of habeas corpus, there is no way for the innocent to be set loose. In addition, it has undoubtedly created terrorists out of innocent people; even setting loose the innocent has become a grave risk, thanks to George W. Bush. But Guantanamo is not the only place where the innocent are held. Just last month, the U.S. released AP photographer Bilal Hussein after holding him in Iraq for two years without trial.

12. Presidential signing statements. Bush has made unprecedented use of these extra-legal statements in which he declares all or part of a law unconstitutional because (he says) it encroaches on executive authority. Therefore, he’ll sign the bill but ignore the parts he disagrees with. These statements have been used on a limited basis by other presidents in particular situations. But George Bush has claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws. Among them, reported the Boston Globe, are “military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ‘whistle-blower’ protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research. Legal scholars say the scope and aggression of Bush’s assertions that he can bypass laws represent a concerted effort to expand his power at the expense of Congress, upsetting the balance between the branches of government.”

13. The Healthy Forests Initiative — would allow more logging and development in our national parks.

14. The Clear Skies Initiative — would weaken many parts of the Clean Air Act to allow more pollutants in many areas. Aside from what these laws do is the Orwellian Newspeak — giving names to policies or laws that are, at best, misleading. (Read: Patriot Act.)

15. Mining safety. Bush cut funding for mining safety and stacked the Mine Safety and Health Administration with industry executives, who fought against better regulations to protect lives and limbs. In 2006, forty-seven coal miners died on the job, the most in any full year since 1995, when forty-seven also were killed. Thirty-three were killed last year. Not all the deaths can be blamed on Bush and his industry-friendly appointees, but most assuredly, some can.

16. The U.S. attorney scandals. In this case, seven U.S. attorneys — Republicans — were fired in 2006. The reasons for the dismissals remain unclear, but allegations were that they were made for partisan political purposes. Anyone who doubts that partisanship (see Monica Goodling) was a factor — which, by the way, undermines the justice system of the United States — has not been paying attention to the way George Bush operates. Investigations into the matter have been impeded, but it is without question that the scandal has eroded morale in the Justice Department.

17. Stop loss. This U.S. military policy amounts to a back-door draft. While legal, it erodes morale, weakens the military and subjects soldiers to repeated danger and the possibility of physical and mental problems. Apparently, a weaker military is a policy of this administration, since it has overextended personnel and refused to provide adequate body armor to troops. In addition, Bush favored cutting funding for Veterans’ Administration, denying crucial medical care to the troops that he sent to war.

18. Alienation of U.S. allies.

19. Cutting of food stamps. This could be an ideological difference, so many might argue it’s not fair game in a list of Bush disasters. However, one aspect of the Bush prescription drug plan related to this issue can’t be viewed as ideological: as reported by Salon, “More bad news about that prescription drug plan: Seniors who use it may lose their food stamps.”

20. “So?” Dick Cheneys’ response to a question noting that the vast majority of Americans believe Iraq was a mistake and want the troops to come home.

21. FISA/illegal wiretapping. Bush still claims that violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is okay because he’s fighting the terrorists. But there’s nothing in the law that prevented wiretapping; it allowed temporary wiretapping until warrants could be issued. That didn’t matter to Bush; he’d rather violate the law when possible.

22. 9/11. Bush and his administration ignored repeated warnings that a major terrorist act was pending on U.S. soil. Richard Clarke said he tried for months to have Bush and Condaleeza Rice make terrorism a priority, but they ignored him. Whether you believe Clarke or not, the fact is that there was a memo about bin Laden being determined to strike in the U.S., and Bush went on vacation to Crawford, Texas, shortly before the Twin Towers fell.

23. Global warming. Bush now admits it’s a problem, although Bush officials trashed science by redacting independent governmentally commissioned studies on the issue. But even though he says it’s a problem he has no proposals to do anything about it in the near term.

24. Health care. More children (9 million) are without health insurance today than when Bush took office. The nation is facing catastrophic health care costs for the next century; Bush has ignored the problem.

25. Energy policy. The records of Dick Cheney’s task force on energy are secret, so we don’t know how much of the nation’s energy policy was dictated by energy companies. But it is certain that it was a great deal; Bush’s pattern in this area is the same as in others; i.e., put oil and gas officials in charge of energy policy; put pharmaceutical companies in charge of drug policy; let health industry lobbyists write health policy legislation. Gas prices have soared and record profits are now routine business for the oil companies; people think their taxes are lower under Bush, but they are paying more for gas, food and other basic necessities - and they are also paying more state and local taxes because of federal budget cuts.

26. Immigration. For Bush or against him on this issue, it can hardly be argued that he has put forth a successful policy.

27. The Pentagon information apparatus designed to praise George Bush’s war by touting military officers — paid by private contractors — as objective observers. This was a deliberate attempt to lie to the American people through a compliant and incompetent mass media.

28. Plants in press conferences. Jeff Gannon, a right-wing gay escort, was given press credentials and allowed to lob softball questions at Bush during White House news conferences.

29. A weaker America — we are weaker militarily, economically and on the world stage than the day George Bush took office. Some Republicans seem to fear Democrats because they say the Democrats want to destroy America. But it is hard to imagine a series of policies that have done more to hurt America than those forced upon us over the last seven years. Three-fourths of Americans know the country is on the wrong track, yet half of them support “more wrong track,” as Bill Maher put it. This is because the Republicans are very good at distracting large numbers of people from the disasters that this administration has fostered. One method they use is that they claim that criticisms of policy, particularly war policy, amount to criticisms of America. I want to make it clear that this tactic won’t work here. The above criticisms are not criticisms of America; they are criticisms of George W. Bush. It is because I love this country that this list was compiled. It was George Bush, not America, who brought us to this place.

30. A divided America. After 9/11 Bush had that rare opportunity to unite the nation, and the world, to defeat terrorism. Instead of using this goodwill - instead of bringing us all together to fight a common enemy — he squandered it. A generation has been lost to Bush’s petty petulance and his unilateral, misguided use of executive power. One would think that most conservatives, and most Republicans, would worry about expanded executive power. But many of them haven’t. One wonders how they will feel about it when a Democrat takes office.]]> Tue, 13 May 2008 10:31:29 PDT����
Here's a link to my new blog:

www.hmbsusan.blogspot.com/

Best wishes to all!

Susan]]> Tue, 13 May 2008 10:18:53 PDT���� Tue, 13 May 2008 07:55:46 PDT���� The web site of the HMBay City has posted the Tuesday afternoon, 5-13-2008 agenda of their standing committee, the Finance Committee. It requires, and receives from our Council, full compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act. You're welcome to attend this discussion and planning regarding only Five-Year Capital Improvements, nothing else.

I noticed that the posting shown here is fully copyable as text for use in our Emails, files, etc. That is great. That is truly the City getting the information out. (LK)



_______________________________
CITY OF HALF MOON BAY
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
City Hall
Conference Room
3:30
AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Public Comment
3. Review of Draft Proposed Five-Year Capital Improvement Program (FY 2007-08 through FY 2011-12)
4. Questions and Comments
5. Adjournment
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''


]]> Mon, 12 May 2008 18:35:14 PDT����
If anyone thinks their son or daughter would be interested in this please check out the website www.bikeandbuild.org
If you would like to make a donation please check this site out as well.

Again, thank you all very much for your help.

Ryan Havice
Americorps NCCC class XIII
Bike & Build 08
University of Hawaii '08


P.S.
if anyone thinks that their son or daughter would be interested in working around the U.S. with non profit organizations like the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, and Hands On, please check out Americorps. My experience was amazing and believe that it is one of the few programs our government has gotten right over the past fifteen decades.
www.Americorps.gov

]]> Mon, 12 May 2008 13:57:19 PDT���� Mon, 12 May 2008 11:56:27 PDT����
God bless those who suffer this day and our hearts that are far-reaching.

LAT
5/12/08]]> Mon, 12 May 2008 11:23:32 PDT����
I for one would love to see more homes from designers like Mr. Field rather than the plethora of mini mansions and faux victorians that have been built in El Granada, Montara and Mirimar over the past twenty years.

The quote below about him not being able to build a unique home is what scares me. I Have a very small rancher iN EG on a triple lot and one day I would love to replace it it with something wonderful. Not huge or tall and not to take over the entire property but a house with it's own drama that fits into the area. The cliche would be for buidling a "DWELL" like home but that crosses so many styles.

I wish there were more property owners on the coast who would embrace this type of architecture but instead I see a continuing series of cookie cutter creations that have no character whatsoever.

From the article:

"Field is currently working on a housing project near Pacifica State Beach. He had been planning a unique home in El Granada, but he said neighborhood pressure quashed that project." http://www.fieldarchitecture.com One of his beautiful creations below:

Let the raving begin!]]> Mon, 12 May 2008 10:19:12 PDT����
Here's your Chance To Appreciate !

With Gratitude, Joy, Appreciation and Thanks

I would like to extend my gratitude to many:

* Friends, Family, Strangers, All as One, The Universe, and Everything
* The Sun, Moon & Stars, Earth, All Bodies As One for Giving Us life
* A Lifetime of Coastal memoires
* Coastside Memories
* All Environmental, Ecological, Conservation Groups which serve to preserve our Coast

(We Do Not Inherit The Earth from Our Parents, We Merely Borrow It From Our Children)


* All Things Beautiful on the Coast - to name a few: Wildflowers, Sunsets, Sunrises, Friendly People, walking barefoot in the sand, the waves and the Ocean, Sea Breezes, Salt Air, Open Space, Bluffs, Hawks and Other Birds, Riparian Habitats, Sea Life, Tidepools, Sea Shells and So much more...

* HMB Library
* HMB Review

* Cabrillo Unified School District

> Farallone View Elementary
> Manual F. Cunha Intermediate
> Half Moon Bay High School

Teachers:

Mrs. Fisher, Ms Hawkins, Ms Fraumeni, Mrs. Zimmerman, Ms. Parker, Mr. Dorfman, Ms. Mr. Bregy, Mr. Church, Mr. Allen ... and all Teachers

We are each other's Masters and Students

* All Coastside (La Honda, Skylonda, San Gregorio, Half Moon Bay / Miramar, El Granada, Princeton By the Sea, Moss Beach, Montara, Community Residents

* All HMB and Coastside Businesses

* All Civic and Municipal Services & Employees

* Random Acts of Kindness

* The Beautiful Coastside Topography, Geography, Oceanography, Marine Biology, Flora, Fauna and Sheer Beauty....

* The Amazing Sun / Moon Rises and Sets

* The Fog

* Clear Days, Star studded Nights

* The Coastal Breeze which bites frost so chilly @ night, wind chill days ...

* This Amazing Grace of a Place we Call Home

* ALL AS ONE

* Ad Infinitum ...

]]> Mon, 12 May 2008 01:01:01 PDT����
Then we all had a great dinner of lasagne.

On a subtler note, when I looked in our son's eyes and chated with him this morning, it was a truly beautiful feeling.

How was your Mother's Day?]]> Sun, 11 May 2008 21:58:48 PDT���� When the U.S. added 10 additional states? Speaking in Oregon a few days ago, Sen. Obama said that over the past 15 months he had traveled to 57 states with one state remaining plus Alaska and Hawaii that his staff wouldn't allow him to travel to for a compaign stop. So it appears that he believes that there are 60 states. Very strange.]]> Sun, 11 May 2008 20:34:18 PDT����
This is one more example of how George slips untruthful claims into his voluminous writing, in this case, that the Coastal Commission approved the VTMs in 1990 when it did no such thing because there wasn't any infrastructure in place, especially sewer capacity - remember how it was hung up because of the sewer moratorium in the mid to late 90s?

In another thread, George claimed all of the permits were in place by 1990, yet development depended on Coastal Commission signoff, which it had not done. When called to George's attention, he ignored it like other corrections he's received. He then goes on making the same claims as if no one has ever said anything.

George twisted his wetlands arguments just as mercilessly, claiming they were created in 1984 when the city engineered the drainage project, but that they weren't wetlands when Keenan bought the property in 1993, but became wetlands (again) during the mid 90s during the sewer moratorium when the city failed to maintain its drains. This mainly underscores George's colored interpretation of the city's culpability versus that of his patron, Mr. Keenan.

And, again, there is George's untruthful claim, "But for the malice of forthought and intent of the No Growth majority of the 1999 Planning Commission and the 2000 City Council, there would be 83 homes on Beachwood right now." First, this is contentious for any number of reasons beginning with the idea that there could be any number of houses there if there had never been the Coastal Act, or if Coastal Development Permits were not required, or if every voter in the state was a property rights enthusiast like George is.

More to the point is that this would not have happened even if there had been five old guard votes on the council in 2000. Inconvenient as it is to George's theory, they, along with Naomi Patridge and Jerry Donovan, would have adhered to the city attorney's advice and upheld HMB's Local Coastal Plan because they would have had to follow the law.

At the same time, George makes it pretty obvious that he would not have followed the law under the same circumstance, which helps explain why the electorate has spurned George Muteff's bid for council office two times already, and why his elected friends in 2005 didn't see fit to make even a token nomination for George to the planning commission when they had five (5!!!) openings to fill. We don't have to wonder too much about why they didn't. They were smart enough to get elected, weren't they?]]> Sun, 11 May 2008 12:51:22 PDT���� The VTMs for both Glencree and Beachwood were approved in 1990.
Our own sewer moratorium prevented CDP issuance (“Bureaucratic Loop”)
Our LCP was Certified by the Coastal Commission in 1996, giving HMB the right to issue CDPs
In 1999, the HMB Planning Commission denied the Beachwood CDPs
On appeal to the Council, in 2000, our Council denied the appeal, thereby denying the Beachwood CDPs (May 02, 2000) Within two weeks of HMB Council Denial, an initial law suit was filed by Yamagiwa (Beachwood)
That initial law suit ultimately culminated in a $41 + Million Judgment against HMB, in Federal Court http://www.hmbcity.com/Beachwood_Information/Beachwood_Decision_112807.pdf

Who was on the 1999 Planning Commission that initiated the Denial?
Hanson, Sullivan, Benjamin, Ream, King, Heinz, and Ferreira (Chair)
Who was on the 2000 City Council that culminated the Denial? C-26-00
Jerry Donovan, Debbie Ruddock (Vice Mayor), Dennis Coleman (Mayor), Toni Taylor, Naomi Patridge
Council member Toni Taylor made that motion and Debbie Ruddock seconded it.
Who else was at the center of the Denial, along with each person named above?
Faust, a Coastal Commission attorney, helping to twist our Wetland definition to claim Wetlands on Beachwood, in conflict with other Agencies experts: (pg 75, Judgment)
“The development history of this Property has been marked by a long series of approvals by the City, the California Coastal Commission and the California Department of Fish & Game.” Excerpts from the May 2, 2000 City Staff Agenda Report can be found here, along with our wetland definition and it’s twisting: http://talkabout.hmbreview.com/topic.php?t=1138&c=1&d=m
The current Council inherited this culmination of events.

So, Convenient Lies? Where?
At the center of the initial denial is Mike Ferreira. At the center of opposing the Settlement Agreement is … Mike Ferreira. http://talkabout.hmbreview.com/topic.php?t=1779&c=1&d=m
Who are we to believe?
We are now left with two choices; Build Beachwood, or pay $18 Million + 6% (compounded) over 40 years (Bond) totaling over $50 Million. Our grandchildren will still be paying. And for what? Because a narrow group, who shopped around for support to fit their own agendas (noted in the Judgment), and twisted our Certified Wetland Definition to deny the project (growth), put us here. This same small group continues to oppose any solution, other than no solution.
Support AB1991. Let’s finish this, before it finishes us.
]]> Sun, 11 May 2008 11:29:15 PDT����
]]> Sun, 11 May 2008 11:07:56 PDT����
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/11/BA4I10KG8G.DTL]]> Sun, 11 May 2008 08:38:19 PDT���� (Larry Kay 5-10-2008))

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]]> Sat, 10 May 2008 21:29:16 PDT���� Sat, 10 May 2008 18:11:59 PDT����
I guess it's the 70's all over again. I'll do what I need to do to save water, but at a time when I am thinking that to save money I need to have a vegie garden, this is a bit rough. ]]> Sat, 10 May 2008 13:49:09 PDT����
http://talkabout.hmbreview.com/topic.php?t=1858&c=1&d=m

As I posted before, it seems sleazy that the citizens of Half Moon Bay are paying big bucks to hire this Lewinsky-era lawyer to twist the arms of politicians and attempt to spin the media. One can only guess how much our City Council is paying for this high-priced attack dog.

Think that characterization is too harsh? Just watch this May 6, 2008 video of Lanny Davis trying to spin Hillary Clinton's poor performance last Tuesday in the primary contests against Barack Obama.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/193955.php

Even the professional TV pundits seem repulsed by this guy. But that is who is speaking for our own City Council. Speaks volumes I would say.]]> Fri, 09 May 2008 22:34:52 PDT���� Fri, 09 May 2008 21:10:50 PDT���� His is one of four stories relating to "Bay Area Disasters".]]> Fri, 09 May 2008 16:43:52 PDT���� Fri, 09 May 2008 14:10:57 PDT���� www.freewebs.com/hmbclass88reunion for ticket info and more details!]]> Fri, 09 May 2008 11:46:23 PDT����
I am referencing a comment from Debra Godsall in response to a comment from one TalkAbout post-er.

Quoting Debra Godsall, Review Publisher...
"To Robert The Texan ... Your days on Talkabout are numbered, my friend, so enjoy your nasty, mean-spirited comments while you can. We'll be announcing some fun new changes to Talkabout in a few days."I've read the original post and response by Robert... it was terse, direct, and his opinion... but it wasn't nasty or mean either.

What gives?


I don't support the things that Robert the Texan says all the time, but I do support his right to say them. Hmmmm... where did I hear this free speach stuff before??? Pot... meet Kettle. Kettle... meet Pot.

]]> Fri, 09 May 2008 11:21:48 PDT���� see here:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_1951-2000/ab_1991_bill_20080508_status.html

COMM. LOCATION : ASM APPROPRIATIONS
HEARING DATE : 05/14/2008]]> Fri, 09 May 2008 08:11:05 PDT����