Month: July 2004

Ron Reagan’s case against Bush

I finally read Ron Reagan’s piece in Esquire on why not to vote for Bush. It’s a nice piece of writing, very lyrical in its outrage – RR definitely has gifts in that regard. But one small quibble I wanted to call out. Reagan says towards the end

I write and speak as nothing more or less than an American citizen, one who is plenty angry about the direction our country is being dragged by the current administration.

If honesty is at the core of what Reagan does not like about Bush, then he needs to be honest about this too. The fact is, no matter how well-written his article, it’s being published in Esquire and not some obscure blog because Ron Reagan is the son of a two-term US President. He should acknowledge that point.

The Morning After

Reading around this morning, it seems the Kerry speech was well received just about everywhere (except for the Whiskey Bar and Matt Yglesias). It certainly was at the bar in downtown SF where I watched it with about 60 other SFers at a Kerry fundraiser.

Kerry’s opening line, “I’m John Kerry, reporting for duty” was a risk but I think it went over well. In fact, Kerry did about the best job he possibly could have done last night. Not that I needed convincing who to vote for, but I did walk away with a shift in my feelings about Kerry. Before the speech, I was voting for Kerry because I had to. Now I actually want to vote for the man.

O, and per Kos, may Saxby Chambliss rot in hell for what he did to Max Cleland. He gave a great introduction speech and I hope we see more of Cleland in a Kerry administration.

Improbable Comparisons

Cheney said terrorists are as determined to destroy America as the “Axis powers” of Germany, Italy and Japan during World War II. Borrowing a quote from the 9-11 Commission’s report on the terrorist attacks of Sept. 2001, the vice president said the terrorists are “sophisticated, patient, disciplined and lethal.”

“This enemy is perfectly prepared to slaughter anyone man, woman and child to achieve its ends,” Cheney said. “This is not an enemy we can reason with. This is an enemy we must vanquish.”

Although it may be true that al-Qaeda is as determined to destroy the US as the Axis Powers were in World War II, this observation is a Himalayan exaggeration if it is meant to suggest a parallel. Al-Qaeda is a few thousand fanatics mainly distributed in a handful of countries. If Zacharias Moussaoui and Richard Reid are any indication, a lot of them are one step away from from collecting old soda cans on the street in their grocery carts while mumbling about the radios the government implanted in their asses.

So while their determination may be impressive (or just creepy), they are not comparable to the might of three industrialized dictatorships with populations in the tens of millions. Some 13 million men served in the German army (Heer) alone between 1935 and 1945. (And WW II killed 55 million persons, not 3 thousand).

Juan Cole has a lot to say about Dick Cheney and this administration’s approach to fighting terrorism. He is not a supporter of Israel, and I am, but other than that he has some very good points.

Trust Us, We’re Here To Help You

Let’s say you built a building, got it inspected and a certificate of occupancy issued, and then the roof caved in. You sue your builder. Then the twist – the local government files an amicus brief on behalf of the builder. Their claim? The building was issued a certificate of occupancy, so suing the builder undermines the credibility of the government.

It would be funny except that the feds are doing the same thing right now with the FDA. And in at least one case they’ve won. By way of the NY Times:

The Bush administration has been going to court to block lawsuits by consumers who say they have been injured by prescription drugs and medical devices.

The administration contends that consumers cannot recover damages for such injuries if the products have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In court papers, the Justice Department acknowledges that this position reflects a “change in governmental policy,” and it has persuaded some judges to accept its arguments, most recently scoring a victory in the federal appeals court in Philadelphia.

Allowing consumers to sue manufacturers would “undermine public health” and interfere with federal regulation of drugs and devices, by encouraging “lay judges and juries to second-guess” experts at the F.D.A.

As if no product has ever been FDA approved and then later been found to have serious problems and been pulled off the market (the FDA’s own website even has a page about this issue). But even more than that, it’s the idea that the government is right and people are wrong that bugs me.

Finally Watched Some of the Convention

I know it’s not exactly a suspensful event, watching the roll call vote at the convention, but still, I really got a kick out of watching each state delegation cast their votes for the Kerry ticket tonight (excpt for the 40-some odd Kuchinich delegates who refused to switch to Kerry). It really makes you feel that there are people across the country who care about this election as much as you yourself do.

To be honest I felt better about it than I did about Edward’s speech, which was pretty boring until the last third, when Edwards finally caught some fire and started getting the crowd genuinely enthused.