Guest guest Posted September 16, 2004 Report Share Posted September 16, 2004 > Tue, 14 Sep 2004 08:29:46 -0700 > Progress Report: Did Ashcroft Break the > Law? > " American Progress Action Fund " > <progress > #160;#160;DON'T MISS DAILY TALKING POINTS: Conservative Propaganda on Health Care. NATIONAL SECURITY: Putin's Strong Hand Is Failing Russia (and his Allies in the West) HEALTH CARE: Federal data shows rising premiums from the Bush administration's Medicare bill will eat into seniors' Social Security checks. ECONOMY: The LA Times on Bush's " fiscal funhouse. " ASSAULT WEAPONS: E.J. Dionne Jr. on the " rancid politics of gun control. " DAILY GRILL " The Bush administration said [reimportation legislation] could lead to the importation of unsafe or counterfeit drugs. " It called the bill " dangerous legislation. " - San Francisco Chronicle, 7/26/03 VERSUS " I never, not once, heard the drug industry, regulatory agencies, the government or anyone express any concern related to safety. And I think it is outright derogatory to claim that Americans would not be able to handle reimportation of drugs when the rest of the world can do this. " - Top Pfizer executive Peter Rost, 9/12/04 DAILY OUTRAGE Republican Senate candidate Alan Keyes, getting pummeled in the polls by Barack Obama, reportedly told top GOP donors in Illinois he plans to make " inflammatory " comments " every day, every week " until the election, in order to close the gap. Keyes got things started by reportedly referring to Obama as a " terrorist " for voting against anti-abortion legislation. ARCHIVES Progress Report STUDENTS Get a free DVD of Outfoxed. Sign up here to host a screening on your campus. Combat the right-wing noise machine on your campus. Become a member of our network of campus publications and student journalists. by David Sirota, Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and Jonathan Baskin SEPTEMBER 14, 2004 CIVIL LIBERTIES Did Ashcroft Break the Law? AFGHANISTAN Twenty-Six Days and Counting HEALTH CARE Frist's Folly HEALTH CARE Conflict of Interest 101 UNDER THE RADAR Go Beyond The Headlines Sign up | Send tip | Permalinks | Mobile | Print CIVIL LIBERTIES Did Ashcroft Break the Law? A new Government Accountability Office report found that Attorney General John Ashcroft spent more than $200,000 of taxpayer money on trips to 32 cities in August and September of 2003 to specifically whip up public support for the Patriot Act. In the process, Ashcroft may have#160;broken the law. A 2002 federal law explicitly prohibits federal funds from being used by any executive branch agency #8211; including the Justice Department #8211; to lobby the public for support or defeat of legislation pending before the Congress. Ashcroft's trips came immediately after#160;the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan amendment, sponsored by Rep. Butch Otter (R-ID), which would have limited the Patriot Act #8211; something Ashcroft opposed and was using public money to campaign against. Ashcroft even traveled to Otter's home district to publicly lobby Otter's constituents against reforming the Patriot Act. Again, this behavior by a Cabinet secretary is prohibited by federal law. After two months of Ashcroft's taxpayer-financed trips, Congress reconvened from its summer recess and stripped out the provision from the final bill behind closed doors in a conference committee. AFGHANISTAN Twenty-Six Days and Counting With only twenty-six days left before scheduled democratic elections in Afghanistan, the country erupted in bloodshed this week. Angry mobs loyal to warlord Ismail Khan, recently ousted from power by President Hamid Karzai, " burned half a dozen international aid compounds, looted their contents, and stoned national army troops sent to keep order. " The United Nations evacuated 38 foreign employees from Herat after the mob turned " international aid facilities into smoldering, looted ruins. " Factional fighting among warlords remains a serious security issue. The Taliban and al Qaeda forces have also been carrying out attacks in the country in an attempt to disrupt elections on Oct. 9. Despite his pledge to assure democracy, however, President Bush pulled time, money and attention from securing Afghanistan to focus on the war in Iraq. WHERE IS OSAMA?: Three years after the 9/11 bombings, the trail leading to Osama bin Laden has grown cold. On CNN's Late Edition this weekend, Condoleezza Rice said, " I think that it's a mistake to try and figure out how close [to capturing Osama] we are or not. " Here's a reason to care how close we are: recent reports indicate " al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his No. 2 are still directing attacks in Afghanistan. " One senior official said of recent attacks, " What we see are their techniques and their tactics here in Afghanistan, so I think it is reasonable to assume that the senior leaders are involved in directing those operations. " SHORTCHANGED: The recent report by the 9/11 Commission acknowledged Afghanistan was " the incubator for al Qaeda and the 9/11 attacks. " It also stated that, since 9/11, " Taliban and al Qaeda fighters have regrouped#8230;Warlords control much of the country beyond Kabul#8230;Economic development remains a distant hope#8230;The narcotics trade is again booming. " However, Washington is planning to spend $1.6 billion in Afghanistan this entire year, compared to $8 billion going to Iraq each month. There are over 140,000 troops in Iraq, compared to fewer than 20,000 in Afghanistan. James Dobbins, President Bush's special envoy to Afghanistan in 2001, notes, " Afghanistan remains the least-resourced nation-building exercise in the last 60 years. " The numbers back him up: The Rand Corp. estimates foreign aid to Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003 averaged $52 a person. Compare that to $814 for Kosovo and $1,390 for Bosnia in the two years after the war there. BY THE NUMBERS: Last week, President Bush attempted to showcase a victory in Afghanistan, claiming, " In Afghanistan, terrorists have done everything they can to intimidate people, yet more than 10 million citizens have registered to vote in the October presidential election, a resounding endorsement of democracy. " He may want to check his numbers. There are only 9.8 million eligible voters. Election officials in the country have acknowledged " the number of voting cards issued far exceeded the estimated number of eligible voters " and that voter fraud is rampant. According to reports, " in a country where the average income is $2 a day, some Afghans who heard that political parties and presidential candidates would pay up to $150 for voting cards gladly lined up at registration centers several times to get multiple voting cards. " ELECTION STRATEGY: Critics fear the White House is trying to fast-track polls in Afghanistan without providing needed security, pushing the unprepared country into elections to further its own political agenda. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed his worry to the U.N. Security Council last month, saying the security situation in Afghanistan had " seriously deteriorated " in parts of the nation, and increased security was crucial before legitimate elections could be held. The country faces violence from both the warlord armies and a reconstituted Taliban insurgency. Intimidation tactics and surges in violence already have caused Afghanistan to miss June and September deadlines; today, there are still serious, unmet security concerns. For example, the government " said it aims to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate 27,000 more factional fighters by Oct. 8, but with only 14,000 disarmed since the process began last year, independent observers consider this a highly optimistic target. " HEALTH CARE Frist's Folly In March, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) promised that " the Senate will begin a process for developing proposals that would allow for the safe reimportation of approved prescription drugs. " Five months later, Frist still won't even allow a vote on the issue even though it could save some Americans up to 50 percent on prescription drugs. According to Frist's spokesman, he continues to oppose reimportation because he " doesn't feel they [safety concerns] have been met. " Dr. Marcia Angell, editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, said in August that " there is no reason that buying drugs in Canada is any less safe than buying them in the United States. " It's no longer the case " that drugs that are sold in the United States are made by only American companies. And made in this country. " Pfizer, for example, makes its anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor in Ireland and " it's the same Lipitor that's sold in both U.S. and Canadian pharmacies. " DORGAN BILL HAS SAFETY PROTECTIONS: A bill (S. 2328) introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) would allow for the importation of FDA prescription drugs from 19 developed countries, including Canada. The Dorgan bill includes numerous safety precautions, including FDA inspections of foreign sites, anti-counterfeiting measures and strict labeling requirements. A bipartisan coalition of governors #8211; Rod Blagojevich (D-IL), Craig Benson (R-NH) and Jim Doyle (D-WI) #8211; sent a letter to Frist on Friday " calling on him to allow a vote " on the Dorgan bill. Write your senator and Bill Frist and demand a vote on drug reimportation before Congress goes on recess. PFIZER EXEC SPEAKS CANDIDLY: An executive for Pfizer Inc., Peter Rost, said that the pharmaceutical industry should stop fighting efforts to block the reimportation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and " speak out for the people who can't afford drugs, in favor of free trade and against a closed market. " Rost, who also has worked for several drug companies in Europe, where drug reimportation is commonplace, said " during my time responsible for a region in Northern Europe, I never, not once, heard the drug industry, regulatory agencies, the government or anyone express any concern related to safety. " Ross added that " it is outright derogatory to claim that Americans would not be able to handle the reimportation of drugs when the rest of the world can do this. " An official Pfizer spokesman disavowed Rost's remarks, claiming reimportation " puts the health of patients at risk. " HEALTH CARE Conflict of Interest 101 On the campaign trail yesterday, President Bush and Vice President Cheney seized on what they called an " independent study " that found Kerry's health care plan would cost $1.5 trillion over 10 years #8211; about three times the cost of previous estimates. The study was conducted by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative organization that employs Cheney's wife, Lynne, and Cheney's daughter, Liz. White House aides " were crowing about the study in conversations with reporters before it appeared on the conservative group's Web site. " BUSH GROSSLY DISTORTS KERRY PLAN: Bush described John Kerry's health plan as " a government takeover of healthcare. " It is unclear exactly what Bush is talking about. Kerry proposes: making it easier for employers to offer health insurance and reducing premiums by setting up a pool for catastrophic costs, providing incentives for administrative efficiency and expanding existing government programs to cover children and the poor. Under the Radar DEFICIT #8211; HIDING THE PRICE TAG: In his convention speech earlier this month, President Bush claimed Sen. John Kerry has " proposed more than $2 trillion in federal spending so far, and that's a lot, even for a senator from Massachusetts. " What Bush did not say was that he himself was proposing an agenda with an even bigger price tag. As the Washington Post reports, the administration's own cost estimates show the expense of Bush's second term proposals is " likely to be well in excess of $3 trillion over a decade. " Specifically, Bush's proposal to make his tax cuts permanent " would reduce government revenue by about $1 trillion " while his Social Security privatization plan " could cost the government $2 trillion. " The president has had little to say about the deficit as he barnstorms across the country, prompting critics #8211; including conservative groups #8211; " to say Bush refuses to admit there will not be enough money in government coffers to pay for many of his plans. " The silence is an interesting contrast to all the flip-flopping declarations about the deficit the administration has previously issued. TAXES #8211; BUSH PROPOSALS COULD EQUAL 'WINDFALL' FOR RICH: President Bush has vowed to make tax reform a centerpiece of his second term agenda, but an internal Treasury Department study from late 2002, posted last week on the Washington Post Web site by author Ron Suskind, " warned that any fundamental simplification of the nation's tax system would 'produce windfall winners and losers,' would likely lower taxes for the rich, and could have devastating political consequences for its champions. " Treasury economists identified especially serious drawbacks to reform proposals including a " 'flat consumption' tax that shifts the tax burden from savings and investment to wages and spending. " Bush has described replacing the income tax with a federal sales tax as " an interesting idea that we ought to explore seriously. " POLITICS #8211; HOUSE GOP FLEES FROM BUSH: Roll Call reports House Republicans are scampering away from the far-right agenda laid out by President Bush and Vice President Cheney at the Republican National Convention. Under the headline " Bush Convention Agenda Not Gospel, " the newspaper notes that Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY), the chairman of the House GOP's campaign committee, indicated that the few moderate speakers at the convention " might be more suitable role models for candidates " in certain districts. As one example of a House Republican fleeing from the president, Roll Call cites Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT), who said, " My job is to tell voters in my district how I'm different " from Bush. Simmons specifically questioned the White House's desire to " play around " with Social Security privatization. ENVIRO #8211; EPA BLAMES POLLUTION ON POVERTY: A New York Times report on the Bush administration's environmental record shows the White House has consistently put the interests of corporate polluters ahead of the environment. Defending decisions to push for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, oppose caps on carbon dioxide emissions, and briefly abandon a Clinton proposal to cut the permissible level of arsenic in drinking water by 80 percent, EPA administrator Michael Leavitt said the Bush administration was first and foremost concerned with corporate polluters' bottom line. Leavitt said, " There is nothing that promotes pollution like poverty. " Leavitt's concern for the welfare of corporate polluters is touching, especially given recent Census Bureau data showing 39.5 million Americans now live in poverty, with 2003 marking the third straight year since Bush took office that that number has increased. No comment from Leavitt on which barriers and regulations the Bush administration will be lifting to help those Americans escape poverty. HOMELAND SECURITY #8211; NO PRACTICE SHOTS: The Washington Post reports that " critical new elements " of the Bush administration's high priority anti-missile system will not be tested again before being activated this autumn. The last chance for testing " appeared to vanish yesterday with the disclosure that the next flight test has been postponed until late this year, well past the November election. " Against a backdrop of doubt surrounding the system's likely effectiveness, the Pentagon announced the system will nevertheless begin operating in the next month or two. " But the delay leaves the Pentagon pressing ahead with a system that will not have been flight-tested in nearly two years #8211; and never with the actual interceptor that will be deployed. " A congressional audit of the system in August concluded its capabilities were " 'largely unproven' because of a lack of realistic testing. " The Pentagon's chief weapon's evaluator has calculated that the costly system " may be capable of hitting its targets only about 20 percent of the time. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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