Category: politics

politics

“You Spin Me Right Round Baby Right Round…

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…like a record baby right round right round” by Dead or Alive should be the Bush White House’s anthem. Here’s a bit of history (courtesy of the NY Times) which says why:

  • In September 2003, White House Spokesman Scott McClellan said flatly that Karl Rove had not been involved in disclosing [at the time covert CIA agent and diplomat’s wife] Valerie Plame’s name [which is a federal offense].
  • Asked about the issue on Sept. 29, 2003, Mr. McClellan said he had “spoken with Karl Rove,” and that it was “simply not true” that Mr. Rove had a role in the disclosure of her identity. Two weeks earlier, he had called suggestions that Mr. Rove had been involved “totally ridiculous.”
  • On Oct. 10, 2003, after the Justice Department opened its formal investigation, Mr. McClellan told reporters that Mr. Rove, Mr. Abrams and Mr. Libby had nothing to do with the leak.
  • Mr. McClellan and Mr. Bush have both made clear that leaking Ms. Plame’s identity would be considered a firing offense by the White House. Mr. Bush was asked about that position most recently a little over a year ago, when he was asked whether he stood by his pledge to fire anyone found to have leaked the officer’s name. “Yes,” he replied, on June 10, 2004.
  • Yesterday, July 11, 2005, the White House refused to answer any questions about new evidence of Mr. Rove’s role in the matter. Terry Moran of ABC News prefaced his question by saying White House Spokesman Scott McClellan was “in a bad spot here” because he had spoken from the same podium in the White House briefing room on Oct. 10, 2003, after the Justice Department began its formal investigation into the leak, and specifically said that neither Mr. Rove nor two other officials – Elliot Abrams, a national security aide, and I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff – were involved. Mr. McClellan disputed the characterization of the question but did not directly address why the White House had appeared now to have adopted a new policy of not commenting on the matter.

I would believe this administration as far as I could throw a piano left handed.

politics

Why Two Of My Friends Worked In Dublin For A Year Each

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I cannot believe it but Ireland is the richest country in the European Union behind Luxembourg. After the jump, read Thomas Friedman’s op-ed column from today’s paper which explains how it happened. I guess it isn’t so odd to me now that Eric and Erik both worked for Pfizer for a year in Dublin. Hurumph.

The End of the Rainbow

By Thomas L. Friedman

Dublin

Here’s something you probably didn’t know: Ireland today is the richest country in the European Union after Luxembourg.

Yes, the country that for hundreds of years was best known for emigration, tragic poets, famines, civil wars and leprechauns today has a per capita G.D.P. higher than that of Germany, France and Britain. How Ireland went from the sick man of Europe to the rich man in less than a generation is an amazing story. It tells you a lot about Europe today: all the innovation is happening on the periphery by those countries embracing globalization in their own ways – Ireland, Britain, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe – while those following the French-German social model are suffering high unemployment and low growth.

Ireland’s turnaround began in the late 1960’s when the government made secondary education free, enabling a lot more working-class kids to get a high school or technical degree. As a result, when Ireland joined the E.U. in 1973, it was able to draw on a much more educated work force.

By the mid-1980’s, though, Ireland had reaped the initial benefits of E.U. membership – subsidies to build better infrastructure and a big market to sell into. But it still did not have enough competitive products to sell, because of years of protectionism and fiscal mismanagement. The country was going broke, and most college grads were emigrating.

“We went on a borrowing, spending and taxing spree, and that nearly drove us under,” said Deputy Prime Minister Mary Harney. “It was because we nearly went under that we got the courage to change.”

And change Ireland did. In a quite unusual development, the government, the main trade unions, farmers and industrialists came together and agreed on a program of fiscal austerity, slashing corporate taxes to 12.5 percent, far below the rest of Europe, moderating wages and prices, and aggressively courting foreign investment. In 1996, Ireland made college education basically free, creating an even more educated work force.

The results have been phenomenal. Today, 9 out of 10 of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies have operations here, as do 16 of the top 20 medical device companies and 7 out of the top 10 software designers. Last year, Ireland got more foreign direct investment from America than from China. And overall government tax receipts are way up.

We set up in Ireland in 1990,” Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computer, explained to me via e-mail. “What attracted us? [A] well-educated work force – and good universities close by. [Also,] Ireland has an industrial and tax policy which is consistently very supportive of businesses, independent of which political party is in power. I believe this is because there are enough people who remember the very bad times to de-politicize economic development. [Ireland also has] very good transportation and logistics and a good location – easy to move products to major markets in Europe quickly.”

Finally, added Mr. Dell, “they’re competitive, want to succeed, hungry and know how to win. … Our factory is in Limerick, but we also have several thousand sales and technical people outside of Dublin. The talent in Ireland has proven to be a wonderful resource for us. … Fun fact: We are Ireland’s largest exporter.”

Intel opened its first chip factory in Ireland in 1993. James Jarrett, an Intel vice president, said Intel was attracted by Ireland’s large pool of young educated men and women, low corporate taxes and other incentives that saved Intel roughly a billion dollars over 10 years. National health care didn’t hurt, either. “We have 4,700 employees there now in four factories, and we are even doing some high-end chip designing in Shannon with Irish engineers,” he said.

In 1990, Ireland’s total work force was 1.1 million. This year it will hit two million, with no unemployment and 200,000 foreign workers (including 50,000 Chinese). Others are taking notes. Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said: “I’ve met the premier of China five times in the last two years.”
Ireland’s advice is very simple: Make high school and college education free; make your corporate taxes low, simple and transparent; actively seek out global companies; open your economy to competition; speak English; keep your fiscal house in order; and build a consensus around the whole package with labor and management – then hang in there, because there will be bumps in the road – and you, too, can become one of the richest countries in Europe.

“It wasn’t a miracle, we didn’t find gold,” said Mary Harney. “It was the right domestic policies and embracing globalization.”

politics

Super Sheldon to West Side Stadium: Drop Dead

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State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, one of the 3 most powerful politicians in NYS, has effectively killed the West Side Stadium project by stating that he will vote no at tonight’s Public Authorities Control Board meeting. This little known (before the stadium debate that is) board has only 3 people on it – the others are Governor George Pataki and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno – and all 3 need to vote yes in order for the project to move ahead.

At a press conference today he said, “This plan is at best, premature” and, because he feels that the new retail and office development planned for the area around the stadium might hamper redevelopment at the World Trade Center site, which sits a few miles to the south and is part of Mr. Silver’s district, he said, “Am I supposed to sell out thee community I have fought for and I have represented? Am I supposed to turn my back on Lower Manhattan?” Mr. Silver said rebuilding Lower Manhattan was a “moral” issue and dismissed the stadium plan as simple “ambition.”

I heard the speech live and was very impressed on how he hit on all the points that I care about and how he was able to successfully issue a rebuttal against all arguments for the stadium. He offered better reasons that I have ever been able to articulate and from now on I am going to say to anyone else who is in favor of the stadium, “Just go read Sheldon’s D-Day speech” instead of debating them because I can’t do it better than Mr. Silver.

As an aside, I was sitting in bumper to bumper traffic caused by an afternoon Yankee game on the GWB 2 weeks ago when everyone in the car at the same time asked, “And they want to put a stadium on the West Side?! What are they nuts?!” I’m glad that one elected leader, especially a very powerful one, is still, in my opinion, sane.

politics

It’s Now Councilman Fulop Thank You Very Much

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Fulop wins! Fulop wins! In Jersey City’s Ward E yesterday, my good friend Steven Fulop successfully raged against the Hudson County Democratic Organization machine and won the Ward E Councilman position. It’s about time that something good happened in the world of politics, especially NJ politics (which is about 5x more dirty than the rest of the country).

Here is part of what the Jersey Journal had to say:

“Some political observers called it a message to the Democratic Party, both local and county. Councilman-elect Steve Fulop ran not just against Maldonado, but attacked the Hudson County Democratic Organization and its de facto leader, U.S. Rep. Robert Menendez, D-Hoboken. This resonated with the Puerto Rican voters, who were supposed to be Maldonado’s strength. Instead, they believe that the Dems, and Maldonado, have done very little for them because the incumbent was more interested in putting family on the payroll, according to several Hispanic politicians. What the Dems found out is that Puerto Ricans are not only Hispanics but American citizens and some were even reluctant to go against the former Marine, Fulop.”

I don’t have any hard data to back this up but exit polls suggest that the snazzy web site designed by the good folks at Keymaster Productions (namely moi) won it for him.

Congrats Steve – I hope this is just the first stop on a long and exciting political journey. Like I have been already, I intend to be there for every step of the way.

politics

It Ain’t Easy Being Geo-Green

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I turned on NY 1 this morning to hear that the MTA has decided against buying more hydrogen-powered buses. The experient is over and gas won – a fleet of diesel powered buses is being purchased to replace the older buses being removed from service. That makes Thomas Friedman’s column today in the NY Times even more important. Finally he’s stopped talking about the Middle East and instead is talking about an even greater issue – the environment. He talks about implementing a “Geo-Green Strategy” for the US and this strategy is one that I wholeheartedly embrace and support. Here are the strategy’s 3 main points:

1) We need a gasoline tax that would keep pump prices fixed at $4 a gallon, even if crude oil prices go down. At $4 a gallon (premium gasoline averages about $6 a gallon in Europe), we could change the car-buying habits of a large segment of the U.S. public, which would make it profitable for the car companies to convert more of their fleets to hybrid or ethanol engines, which over time could sharply reduce our oil consumption.

2) We need to start building nuclear power plants again. The new nuclear technology is safer and cleaner than ever. “The risks of climate change by continuing to rely on hydrocarbons are much greater than the risks of nuclear power,” said Peter Schwartz, chairman of Global Business Network, a leading energy and strategy consulting firm. “Climate change is real and it poses a civilizational threat that [could] transform the carrying capacity of the entire planet.”

3) And we need some kind of carbon tax that would move more industries from coal to wind, hydro and solar power, or other, cleaner fuels. The revenue from these taxes would go to pay down the deficit and the reduction in oil imports would help to strengthen the dollar and defuse competition for energy with China.

Heresy! $4 a gallon for gas?! MORE nuclear power plants?! Unfortunately, in a word, YES. In only 100 years, mankind has used up half of the world’s oil supply by building the “modern” world. Our industrialized society, almost completely reliant on technology and computers nowadays, will come crashing down in the next 50 – 100 years unless we can come up with a cheaper and more efficient way of keeping it going. Using and abusing oil is not the way to do it. If you have a better idea, post a comment or let me know.

politics

I Feel So Safe

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From The American Progress Action Fund’s daily “Progress Report” email from today, 2/11/05:

Whoops. A 185-pound container of radioactive equipment – the material used in dirty bombs – which was imported by Halliburton Energy Services turned up unexpectedly this week at a shipping facility in Chelsea, MA. The problem: the shipment was falsely registered as having arrived in Newark, NJ, four months ago, and Halliburton only reported the missing container last Tuesday. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan, stating the obvious, said that Halliburton’s four-month delay in reporting the loss “did not comply with notification requirements.”

FANTASTIC.

I really want to work at Halliburton because there you can overbill, denigrate our troops, bilk the government AND lose nuclear material without ever hearing “boo” about it. I forget to send one email to my Client and I get into more trouble than Halliburton does for overcharging the Army billions. If anyone hears of any openings there, let me know.