The front page of the New York Times has an article about the Congressional testimony yesterday by former Surgeon General Richard Carmona in which Dr. Carmona characterizes his four year tenure as "compromised."Compromised how?
He was forbidden to talk about:
- Stem Cells
- Emergency contraception
- Sex education
- Prison Issues
- Mental Health Issues
- Global Health Issues
I'm curious what he had left to talk about? Cosmetic surgery? Diaper Rash? Hangnails?
Seriously, though, what was he allowed to talk about? "President" Bush. He was told to mention Bush at least three times every page in his speeches.
During his tenure, a report on a research finding that even brief exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke could be harmful was delayed by senior officials.
He was also discouraged from attending the Special Olympics by a "senior official" who he would not name (this could only have been Cheney) who asked "Why would you want to help those people?" The senior offical didn't mean the disabled (though I wouldn't have been surprised); he meant the Kennedys, who have long given strong support to the Special Olympics.
Somewhere, Richard Nixon is smiling-- there is finally a group in the White House that's making his administration look good by comparison.
15 comments:
These are people with hate in their hearts and religion on the brain. (Well maybe Cheney doesn't have either hate or religion, because he is lacking a heart and a brain.)
I wonder if we will really ever know just how much this administration has controlled us, screwed us over, and damaged our society?
Yeah, Nixon is doing the happy dance, where ever the hell he is.
You must use a reverse Barometer when dealing with anything this Administration says. Anything the White House says The Opposite is true and vice versa. Every statement, every sound byte is a lie. Too bad that we no longer have a responsible media to call them on it. The media is concerned only with Profit and not offending their primary sponsors (Pharmeceutical Companies , Oil, Chemical etc.) Michael Moore went off on Wolf Cub on CNN the other night about this very thing. Unfortunately "outbursts" of truth like this doen't happen often enough.....
The puppet says he was compromised. If he had a spine, he would have acted with integrity and exhibited leadership during his tenure. I smell a book deal (i.e. self-enrichment) in the works. Oh, but I'm just cynical.
this administration is in danger of making the administration of robert mugabe look good....
At first I was going to comment on your great blogpost title, but then I read this:
"Somewhere, Richard Nixon is smiling-- there is finally a group in the White House that's making his administration look good by comparison."
That's sheer poetry.
I read the same article this morning. Why does the Congress continue to approve appointments that defy common sense.
As always...
I don't get the ixnay on mental health issues aspect at all. How does that relate to the Conservative viewpoint? The Devil did it view of psychology maybe?
That nail's head you just hit said, "Ouch he hit me hard!"
Great job my man.
Reagan's refusal to utter the word "AIDS" probably set that research back ten years. Just think of all the problems we'll face in five or ten years with such a large to-not-say checklist.
Is there a hell hot enough?
Anyone getting frustrated that none of these people have the balls to say these things while in office? And even now refuses to name certain names?
Cheer34-
That's funny you say that-- I saw a cartoon with this administration as the characters in The Wizard of Oz, and Cheney was the Tin Woodsman-- no heart.
Skyler's Dad-
I've had that same thought. The damage is immense. We've damaged long-standing alliances, and our international credibility; we've damaged our ability to fight in a war that might not be optional; domestically, things are screwed up-- real wages are down. And remember how at the end of Clinton's administration we had such a baffling surplus that pundits and analysts questioned if we'd actually be able to spend all of it in our lifetimes? They have of course done that in less than seven years, plus gotten us back to having a balooning deficit. We've got nearly 4,000 soldiers dead, and tens of thousands maimed physically, god knows how many psychologically. Every city, town, state and county is scrambling to figure out how to meet their spending needs-- for instance, here in Chicago, they're talking about doubling the fares on our mass transit system. The police forces across the country are unable to meet their manpower needs-- the number of police officers is down 10%-- I'd bet that a lot of the men and women who would have been cops are in Iraq or covering military assignments so that soldiers can be sent there-- and guess what? Murder rates across the country have spike-- guess how much? You guessed it-- 10%.
It will be years before the damage this administration has caused will be fully assessed.
Bubbles-
I know I've mentioned this before, but I had a bumper sticker on my truck that said "I Never Thought I'd Miss Nixon."
Elk-
My friend Tas sent me a thing about the Moore/Blitzer thing. CNN and all the other media have just bent over for the administration. I used to have some respect for Blitzer, but he's just turned into another lapdog.
SV-
I know-- much like George Tenet seeing the truth-- and writing a book.
"I'm shocked, shocked to find gambling going on here...."
"Your winnings sir..."
Ananandamide-
No kidding.
I've actually long followed the situation in Zimbabwe since it was still called Rhodesia. Mugabe has been such a disaster for that country. People had such high hopes. It says a lot that refugees from Zimbabwe are pouring into South Africa, much of which is desperately poor themselves.
CP-
Thank you!
Danielle-
Remember that those appointments all came when there was a Republican majority in the Senate. But yeah, it's incredible-- they filled important positions-- like the head of FEMA-- with incompetent party hacks.
MacGuffin-
I suspect it was because it might point up their glaring deficiency in funding in this area. They've drastically-- and disasterously-- cut funding on mental health care.
Dr. Monkerstein-
Thank you, kind sir!
Beth-
Wow-- great analogy! I hadn't made the connection.
My guess is that you've read Randy Shilts' "The Band Played On." I've never had a book that both made me cry, and made me so angry that I threw the book across the room (don't worry-- I didn't hit anybody).
Phil-
No kidding-- lots of closing the barn door after the cows get out.
I suspect that a lot has to do with the incredible tendency toward retaliation and smears in this crowd. Bush values personal loyalty above all-- including competence, as we saw with FEMA and New Orleans. And the real President Karl Rove, oops, I mean Bush really believes the shit he shovels and believes that the ends justify the means.
That is so incredibly scary. I don't have anything else to say.
Duh, it's the money stupid (pointed at myself). Yeah, I would would imagine they've done everything on the cheap regarding that list, or broken the law or been controversial. When I was younger, I thought both parties were essentally the same, corporate lapdogs but the last six almost seven years have really driven home to me the potential for disaster the Republican brand offers.
Post a Comment