Various Topics

When Katrina hit and New Orleans flooded, the Left was up in arms. It must have been President Bush's fault! They quickly dug up some stories about levee funds being cut and crafted a message - if only Al Gore had won in 2000 (or if the Supreme Court hadn't "selected" Bush) then he would have seen the dangers and strengthened the levees. Moreover, he would have passed Kyoto which would have stopped the Global Warming that creates hurricanes in the first place.

Last week the Army Corps of Engineers admitted that they had done a terrible job of protecting New Orleans and that these problems go back decades. The problems include using the wrong type of soil for the floodwalls, assuming that New Orleans was sinking slower than it really is, reliance on outdated designs, and a general piecemeal approach.

In other words, Bus is in no way to blame. So, is anyone on the Left willing to come forward and admit that they were wrong?

A lot of articles are coming out saying that AIDS is 25 this month. Actually, it is several years older than that but the first description of the syndrome in a medical journal appeared in June, 1981.

I noticed at President Reagan's death a lot of people blamed him for the spread of AIDS and this will undoubtedly surface again. It is not accurate.

There is a long lag time between being infected with HIV and developing AIDS. This is often 5-7 years. During the late 1970s the gay bathhouses in San Francisco were notorious for what we not consider unsafe sex. This is where the disease really took off, before Reagan even took office.

Another myth is that Reagan never devoted enough money into finding a cure. This was also false. It was based on the idea that AIDS could be treated like a bacterial infection. It is a virus and we still do not have a cure, just treatments that extend the lives of victims.

A final myth is that it was only taken seriously when it started to threaten the mainstream population (heterosexuals who do not share needles). In fact, it never threatened this group. Studies of wives of infected men have shown that even when your partner is infected, you are unlikely to catch it through heterosexual intercourse. In order to catch it, you have to put something where it was not designed to go.

One last point, AIDS activists like ACT-UP must take responsibility for much of the spread of AIDS. They lobbied against wide-spread testing. They even objected to testing blood donations although they were over-ruled on that one.

There is a strong possibility that AIDS in Africa is being transmitted by means other than sex but, because of the activists from the 1980s, few experts are willing to suggest that transmission may be through medical equipment that is not properly sterilized.

I was looking at the Democrats' platform. I am not impressed. A few points really stick out:

Real Security
We will protect Americans at home and lead the world by telling the truth to our troops our citizens and out allies.

Sorry Howard, but "Bush lied" is not a policy.

Honoring Our Troops, Veterans, and Their Families

This from the party of John Murtha?

If you want job creation, a strong economy, and a fiscally responsible federal government, there's only one choice: vote for Democrats.

No specifics here but we can get an idea of how fiscally responsible they will be further down.

Democrats know that the key to expanding opportunity is to provide every child with a world-class education. We want to meet our responsibilities to America's children by ensuring that our schools have the resources they need to help our kids meet high standards.

Democrats will also help expand educational opportunities for college by providing relief from skyrocketing college tuition, increasing the size and access to Pell Grants and supporting proven programs that encourage more young people to attend and succeed in college.

That's great. It's also expensive but that's nothing compared to this next item:

In the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth, no one should have to choose between taking their child to a doctor or paying the rent. Democrats are committed to making sure every single American has access to affordable, effective health care coverage.

That sound you just heard is the bank breaking. Then there are these points:

We reject the false choice between a healthy economy and a healthy environment.

Better ask Europe how false this trade-off is.

The Democratic Party is committed to genuine reform that protects our rights and ensures that elected officials act ethically -- not just within the law, but within the spirit of the law.

Every time Howard Dean talks about the Republicans' "Culture of corruption" I think "$90,000 in the freezer."

Then there are the flat-out lies:

Democrats believe that after a life of hard work, you earn a secure retirement. Our commitment to protecting the promise of Social Security is absolute. We will not allow anyone to endanger Social Security or take even a single step toward dismantling it. We are open to any and all ideas that ensure that the current and future generations of retirees receive the benefits they were promised without heaping trillions onto our national debt.

They are opposed to any and all reforms and will continue to be until Social Security collapses around their ears.

It has been pointed out elsewhere that the Republicans may not deserve to win but the Democrats don't deserve to beat them.