Progress Report: Extreme Spin

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Wed, 30 Mar 2005 07:58:09 -0800

Progress Report: Extreme Spin

" American Progress Action Fund "

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AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND

The Progress Report

by Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and Jonathan Baskin with Nico Pitney and

Mipe Okunseinde

www.progressreport.org

3/30/2005

 

For news and updates throughout the day, check out our new blog at

ThinkProgress.org.

 

SOCIAL SECURITY

 

Extreme Spin

 

Don't let yesterday's surprise speech on democracy by President Bush,

surprise press conference by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld or

surprise trip to Afghanistan by First Lady Laura Bush distract you.

The Bush administration's taxpayer-funded Social Security

privatization road show (a.k.a. Bamboozlepalooza) continues. Today is

day 28 of the 60-day tour and things aren't going well for the

president. A poll by Time Magazine released yesterday revealed just 31

percent of Americans approve of the way Bush is handling the Social

Security issue, while 58 percent disapprove. As a result, the

administration and its allies are resorting to extreme measures to put

a positive spin on their privatization efforts.

 

BOUNCERS IN DENVER: Although everyone finances the president's Social

Security road show with their tax dollars, not everyone is welcome at

the " town hall " events. Three Denver residents report " they were

forcibly removed from one of President Bush's town meetings on Social

Security because they displayed a bumper sticker on their car

condemning the administration's Middle East policies. " According to

the White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, the person who

removed them was a volunteer staff member who was concerned " they

might try to disrupt the event. " The three individuals " said nothing

and did not sport T-shirts or signs criticizing the president or his

policies. " McClellan added, " There is plenty of opportunity outside of

the event to express their views. "

 

BLACK LISTS IN FARGO: What happened in Denver was not an isolated

incident. Before a February event in Fargo, North Dakota, " more than

40 residents were placed on a " black list " of people who were not to

receive tickets because they had expressed opposition to Bush's

policies. " The White House also blamed this incident on " an over-eager

volunteer. " Since " volunteers " around the country seem to behave

similarly, a reporter asked Scott McClellan yesterday what " marching

orders " are given to people at the door by the administration.

McClellan replied, " I don't know. I'll be glad to look into it and see

what else I can find. I don't know if there's formal marching orders,

as you referred to them. "

 

SUPPRESSING TRANSCRIPTS OF CHENEY EVENTS: Vice President Cheney

participated in two " townhall " events last Thursday – one in Battle

Creek, Michigan, and one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Contrary to its

standard practice, the White House has not released the transcripts.

Press coverage of the event suggests the reason. In Battle Creek,

Cheney was joined on the stage by Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-MI) who said

before the event that " he was not convinced that allowing personal

retirement accounts will help solve the problem. " At the Pittsburgh

event, " Cheney pointed to the experience of federal workers who have

the option of placing part of their retirement savings in somewhat

similar accounts. " But Kim Miller, a resident of Mt. Lebanon, PA,

" said that she had been a federal employee and invested in the Thrift

Savings Plan, 'and I didn't do well at all.' " Cheney's Social Security

events from last Monday and Tuesday, which apparently were more under

control, are available on the White House website.

 

FLUSHING YOUR MONEY DOWN THE INTERNET: In case you have the feeling

that you're not getting your money's worth from the administration's

Social Security road show, you can take solace in this elaborate

website. The administration recently released a report reviewing the

first 20 days of the tour. The report provides a unique look at the

press coverage of the tour. For example, it includes a link to an

article from the Kalamazoo Gazette with the excerpt, " At the back of

the stage where Cheney spoke, a sign read, 'Strengthening Social

Security for the 21st Century.' " Not linked: An article from the

Detroit Free Press which described protesters outside the event who

" held a large banner that read, 'Defend Social Security, Privatization

Is A Scam.' "

 

UNITED NATIONS

 

'Hell No'

 

Yesterday, after weathering months of high-profile attacks, the United

Nations finally had its proverbial day in court. The independent panel

investigating the U.N.'s oil-for-food program, led by widely respected

former U.S. Federal Reserve chief Paul Volcker, released its second

report. Was Kofi Annan found to be complicit in the corruption that

marred the oil-for-food program? Did his office try to cover up the

abuses? Does anything in the report suggest that Kofi Annan should

resign as secretary-general? To quote Annan himself: " Hell no. " Now

that these questions have been answered, Annan will be able to pursue

his agenda of fundamental reforms.

 

KOFI ANNAN CLEARED OF ANY WRONGDOING: The bottom line: yesterday's

report cleared Kofi Annan of all corruption charges and of " exercising

any influence in the awarding of a program contract to the company

that employed his son. " Moreover, the panel concluded, there was no

evidence that the U.N.'s internal procurement processes has been

compromised nor was there evidence of improper influence. Indeed, the

report's findings occasioned calls of support from the U.S. State

Department and heads of state from around the world, including

President Bush himself.

 

PRESSING FORWARD WITH REFORMS: The Volcker Committee did find that the

U.N.'s initial inquiry into the matter was inadequate, and was highly

critical of Kofi Annan's son, Kojo. At a press conference yesterday,

Kofi Annan acknowledged and accepted those criticisms, announced

disciplinary proceedings against the individuals found to have

violated policy, and repeated his pledge to adopt the Volcker

Committee's final recommendations. The U.N. also recently issued tough

new guidelines for its international peacekeepers and launched a major

staff overhaul, letting go of Annan's chief of staff, deputy chief of

staff, and the scandal-plagued High Commissioner for Refugees. More

importantly, Annan has pressed forward with his fundamental reform

agenda, including changing the Human Rights commission so gross

violators can no longer serve and issuing concrete recommendations on

conflict resolution and peace-building.

 

INDEPENDENT INQUIRY FOR THEE, NOT FOR ME: Unlike the United Nations,

which spearheaded an independent investigation of oil-for-food, the

Bush administration has: 1) failed to properly investigate $8.8

billion in Iraqi oil revenues (twice the amount Saddam Hussein was

thought to have gained from oil-for-food kickbacks) that the U.S.-led

Coalition Provisional Authority can no longer account for; 2) failed

to organize an overarching, independent investigation into detainee

abuse scandals at U.S. prisons, nearly a year after the Abu Ghraib

photos were released; 3) declined to take part in the whistle-blower

case against Custer Battles, the firm accused of defrauding U.S.

taxpayers of $50 million in Iraq reconstruction funds; and 4) granted

Halliburton early access to damning audits of its business practices

in Iraq so it could scrub out the parts it didn't like.

 

RIGHT WING STILL TILTING AT WINDMILLS: Despite the fact that the panel

exonerated both Kofi Annan and the U.N.'s internal procurement

practices, the usual gang of right-wing attack dogs yesterday used the

report to launch another round of feckless U.N.-bashing. Their

persistent cheerleader, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), issued a statement

claiming that the report's findings " point to one, and only one,

outcome: [Kofi Annan's] resignation. " Even Sen. Coleman's hometown

newspaper saw through the ruse. Today's Star Tribune editorial finds

that the " weapon Coleman has chosen [to attack the United Nations],

the Oil-for-Food Program, is a wimpy little toy. And no matter how

much Coleman tries to make it look larger, that's what it will remain. "

 

Under the Radar

 

CORRUPTION – DELAY ALLY PART OF ANOTHER INQUIRY: Already under

investigation for extorting millions of dollars from Indian tribes in

return for access to prominent conservative politicians, AP reports

Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff " was at the center of an earlier

inquiry that said his firm hadn't justified roughly $1.2 million it

charged the Northern Mariana Islands. " Abramoff, who has traded on his

ties to President Bush and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), was

the lead lobbyist for Seattle-based Preston Gates & Ellis when it

worked on behalf of the islands to keep them free from certain federal

labor and immigration laws during the last half of the 1990s. One

audit concluded that about $1.2 million in government payments to

Preston Gates was " not adequately supported. " The charges included

travel, telephone, photocopy, computer research, outside-professional

fees and " $2,000 for a June 1996 golf tournament. "

 

ENVIRO – STATES HOLD EPA TO HIGHER STANDARDS: Challenging the lax

nature of the Environmental Protection Agency's new mercury rules, the

state of New Jersey is leading a nine-state lawsuit against the

federal government. The suit states that the rules announced earlier

this month by the EPA " fail to protect children and expectant mothers

from dangers posed by power plants' mercury emissions. " Peter Harvey,

the attorney general of New Jersey, was especially critical of the

allowance for cap-and-trade deals between power plants: " It's an

antihuman health position. The EPA is putting private profit ahead of

public health, and it's a mistake. " Though the EPA asserts that the

costs to industry of more stringent rules would not be worth the

public health benefit, it has been revealed that this conclusion came

after the agency omitted data to the contrary. The New Hampshire

attorney general stated that the EPA had left them with " no choice but

to seek reversal of this misguided rule, " since the agency had

" ignored sound science, the Clean Air Act and … recommendations on

setting strict federal controls for mercury. "

 

SUPREME COURT – TITLE IX PROTECTS WHISTLEBLOWERS: In apparent

retaliation for his complaints about the inferior conditions under

which the girls' basketball team played and practiced, Coach Roderick

Jackson was fired by an Alabama high school. In a close ruling, the

Supreme Court has now ruled that Jackson and other whistleblowers are

protected under Title IX, the 1972 federal law that prohibits sex

discrimination in schools and colleges that receive federal funding,

whose scope of protections had previously been considered unclear.

Advocates of Title IX are seeing the ruling as " a decisive victory, "

particularly the strong and clear language of the majority opinion –

" Retaliation against a person because that person has complained of

sex discrimination is another form of intentional sex discrimination "

– which upheld that " protections extend beyond those who are

themselves the victims … applying as well to third parties who

complain about sex discrimination on behalf of others. "

 

DETAINEES – EVIDENCE SUPPORTS CANADIAN ACCUSING U.S. OF RENDITION: In

the midst of changing planes in New York back in 2002, Canadian

engineer Maher Arar alleges in a lawsuit that U.S. officials seized

and sent him to Syria where he was held for nearly a year in a cell he

compares to a grave. The New York Times is now reporting that federal

aviation records add credence to the facts of the story Arar has told

consistently and represents " perhaps the best documented " case of

extraordinary rendition – the practice of outsourcing interrogation to

countries where torture is commonly used – since the Sept. 11 attacks.

In response to Arar's lawsuit, lawyers from the Department of Justice

are claiming that " the case was not one of rendition but of

deportation. " Arar is the " subject of a yearlong inquiry by the

Canadian government, " but hopes that this new evidence will " make

people understand that this is for real … and will now stop for a

moment and think about the morality of this. "

 

INTELLIGENCE – DISSENT NECESSARY: A commission appointed by President

Bush to look into the intelligence failures leading up to the Iraq war

will " recommend a series of changes intended to encourage more dissent

within the nation's spy agencies and better organize the government's

multi-tentacled fight against terrorism, officials said yesterday. "

That recommendation will conflict with current policy at the CIA,

where Porter Goss, President Bush's new director of central

intelligence, " has told his staff that their job is to 'support the

administration and its policies' and cautioned them not to 'identify

with, support, or champion opposition to the administration.' " The

commission's report will " propose more competitive analysis,… improved

tradecraft training, more 'devil's advocacy' in the formation of

national intelligence estimates and the appointment of an intelligence

ombudsman to hear from analysts who believe their work has been

compromised. " In the run-up to the war, the Bush administration

" created stovepipes " to funnel information that confirmed its

suspicions, frequently freezing out or discouraging dissent.

 

GOOD NEWS

 

The Supreme Court voted to strengthen Title IX, a federal law

prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded educational programs.

 

DON'T MISS

 

DAILY TALKING POINTS: Why is the White House Scrubbing Its Social

Security Privatization Events?

 

IMMIGRATION: The vigilante movement

 

ETHICS: Bipartisan criticism of DeLay continues

 

MINIMUM WAGE: Minnesota latest state to consider increase

 

DAILY GRILL

 

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said the abusive interrogation rules used at

the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq " were drafted 'at the company commander

level.' He said he had 'no role in preparing or approving it.' "

 

– USA Today, 5/20/04

 

VERSUS

 

In a memo dated 9/14/03, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top United

States commander in Iraq, " authorized prisoner interrogation tactics

that were harsher than accepted Army practice, including using guard

dogs to exploit 'Arab fear of dogs.' "

 

– NYT, 3/30/05

 

DAILY OUTRAGE

 

Last week, a major L.A. Times report exposed Tom DeLay's tragic

end-of-life hypocrisy: despite calling the removal of Terri Schiavo's

feeding tube as an " act of medical terrorism, " DeLay himself had

agreed to remove life support from his seriously injured father in

1988. Media Matters reports that not one of the major networks'

nightly news broadcasts mentioned the story.

 

© Copyright 2005 by American Progress Action Fund. All rights reserved.