Email Exchange between Sidney Blumenthal and his son, Max.
Subj: idea
Date: 1/16/2003 1:54:19 AM
Eastern Standard Time
From: xamxam1@yahoo.com
To: sbwhoeop@aol.com
Sent from the Internet
(Details)
here's another idea. if
only someone could pick up on
these as fast as i can
come up with them and research
them. did you see the full
page ad in the times
yesterday in support of
people's mojahedin of iraq by
a bi-partisan commission
of congressmen? PMOI is a
terrorist group based in
eastern iraq financed by
hussein and condemned by
amnesty international for
bombings in tehran that
killed civilians and storming
the u.n. in 1992 with
knives. among the supporters of
the group is ilean
ros-lehtinen, who with jeb bush's
assistance, arranged for
orlando bosch's pardon. and
tom tancredo's there too.
seth waxman, who i think was
clinton's solicitor
general, denied PMOI's petition to
be removed from a gov.
list of terror groups.
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Max
I don't know if Grandpa
has gone to the rehab institute. He was supposed to. I'll let you
know.
GOod idea on the war and
good analogy to West Bank. I would write to elempinen@salon.com and
see if that works. You can write Joan Walsh, too, at
jwalsh@salon.com. Tell her you want to get in touch with Ed and why.
Love
Yr Father
Subj: Fwd: Boom and Bust
Date: 1/13/2003 5:05:47 PM
Eastern Standard Time
From: Sbwhoeop
To: Jackieblumenthal
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Re: Boom and Bust
Date: 1/13/2003 4:57:55 PM
Eastern Standard Time
From: xamxam1@yahoo.com
To: Sbwhoeop@aol.com
Sent from the Internet
(Details)
bush is selling the cut on
the idea of assymetrical
warfare, which doesn't
require massive troop buildups
or manuevers. everything
i've read by columnists
opposed to bush is either
exploiting nostalgia about
past american wars as a
national sacrifice or they're
trying to direct
everyone's attention to north korea.
i think the best issue to
hit on is that a u.s.
occupation of an arab
country, like the one that's
inevitable in iraq, will
be a collosal disaster and
that point needs to be
exploited more, with parallels
drawn to israel's naivete
after the 67 war going into
the west bank.
i'm trying to find ed
lempinen's number to propose the
maria suarez story today
since i'm not feeling sure
about rolling stone and i
think i can pump out a story
by friday.
marcia called me and told
me to call grandpa direct
but he's not in the room
anymore. is he in rehab now?
--- Sbwhoeop@aol.com
wrote:
>
>
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-outlook13jan13,0,1209828.c
>
>
olumn?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dnation
>
> January 13, 2003
>
> <A
>
HREF="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-columnist-rbrownstein,0,7063543.columnist?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dnation">Ronald
> Brownstein:
> Washington Outlook
> Bush Breaks With 140
Years of History in Plan for
> Wartime Tax Cut
>
>
> Old question: What
did you do in the war, Daddy?
>
> New answer: I
pocketed a large tax cut, honey.
>
> Pause.
>
> And then I passed the
bill for the war onto you.
>
> That, essentially, is
the generational transaction
> established by the
> sweeping tax cut
President Bush proposed last week.
> The proposal commits
Bush
> to a goal
unprecedented in U.S. history: cutting
> taxes in wartime.
>
> Forget guns and
butter: Bush is now offering bombs
> and caviar.
>
> That's an odd
combination, as Bush demonstrated last
> week when he
announced
> his plan. First he
emphasized the threat that
> international
terrorism poses
> to U.S. security and
somberly declared that this is
> a "time of war."
>
> Then he proposed a
good-time economic plan that
> would shower
Americans with
> $674 billion in tax
breaks over the next decade --
> at a time when the
federal
> budget has fallen
back into deficit and faces
> irresistible demands
for more
> spending on defense
and homeland security. The
> unavoidable result
will be
> bigger federal
deficits and a larger national debt,
> which amounts to
shifting
> the cost of defending
the nation onto our children.
>
> With this push to
slash taxes during wartime, Bush
> broke from 140 years
of
> history under
presidents of both parties. In every
> major conflict the
United
> States has fought
since the Civil War (and some
> minor ones),
Washington has
> raised taxes to pay
for the war.
>
> Americans are never
particularly happy about tax
> increases. But we
have
> always accepted
heavier burdens as the price those
> at home pay to
support
> those under fire on
the front. One World War I-era
> economist wrote:
> "Patriotism can
often be translated into dollars and
> cents -- in fact, the
> material side of
patriotism is often quite as
> important as the
spiritual
> side."
>
> The income tax and
the inheritance tax (which Bush
> is trying to
eliminate)
> were signed into law
by Abraham Lincoln, the first
> Republican president,
to
> help pay for the
Civil War. As journalist Steven R.
> Weisman recounts in
his
> engaging recent book,
"The Great Tax Wars," by the
> time the war ended,
> Congress had imposed
a top income tax rate of 10% on
> all incomes over
$5,000.
> The inheritance tax,
he writes, "passed Congress
> with little debate
because
> of the widespread
demand in the North for sacrifice,
> especially from the
> wealthy."
>
> After the war, both
taxes were eventually allowed to
> lapse. But to pay for
> the Spanish-American
War, President McKinley -- also
> a Republican --
signed
> into law an excise
tax on petroleum and sugar
> companies and
reinstated the
> inheritance tax.
>
> To fund the country's
entry into World War I,
> President Wilson -- a
Democrat
> -- massively
increased the number of Americans
> subject to the income
tax and
> raised the top rate
from 7% to 77%.
>
> Congress cut taxes
during the 1920s. But when the
> nation fought World
War II,
> Americans reached
into their pockets again. Once
> more, the number of
> Americans subject to
the income tax soared (from 4
> million to nearly 43
> million) and the top
rate rose to 91%.
>
> Taxes increased again
to fund the Korean War; even
> in the Vietnam War,
> President Johnson
belatedly imposed a war surtax on
> incomes.
>
> The war against
terrorism or a possible return match
> against Iraq won't
> demand nearly as many
resources as World Wars I or
> II, or even Vietnam
and
> Korea. But these
tests will still impose significant
> burdens on the
> government.
>
> By 2005, Bush wants
to spend at least $100 billion a
> year more on defense
> than President
Clinton proposed in his final budget;
> a war in Iraq would
add
> to that bill. Bush
has also proposed to spend $38
> billion on homeland
> security this year.
And even those commitments, the
> administration
concluded
> in a homeland
security plan last summer, "must be
> viewed as down
payments to
> cover the most
immediate security vulnerabilities."
>
> As Weisman writes,
when Wilson urged higher taxes in
> World War I, he
stressed
> the nation's
obligation to avoid burdening future
> generations with the
war's
> cost through
excessive borrowing: "The industry of
> this generation
should pay
> the bills of this
generation," he said. Bush seems
> to be ignoring that
> lesson.
>
> By proposing large
new tax cuts when Washington is
> already in deficit
and
> facing growing costs
for defense, Bush is
> threatening an
explosive growth in
> the national debt.
When Bush took office, the
> nonpartisan
Congressional
> Budget Office said
Washington would eliminate the
> publicly held
national debt
> by 2008 -- as long as
the government fulfilled the
> pledge Bush and Al
Gore
> each made in the 2000
presidential campaign to apply
> the surplus
temporarily
> accumulating in
Social Security toward paying down
> that debt.
>
> But Bush abandoned
that promise under the pressure
> of recession, the war
on
> terrorism and the
cost of his $1.35-trillion,
> 10-year tax cut of
2001. Even
> before Bush's new
proposals, the CBO had estimated
> that Washington would
need
> to divert more than
$2 trillion from the Social
> Security surplus to
operate
> the rest of
government through 2012. With that money
> no longer available
for
> debt reduction, CBO
projected the debt would rise to
> $3.8 trillion by
2008.
>
> The further tax cuts
Bush proposed last week will
> only deepen that
hole.
> Because the operating
side of the federal budget is
> already deeply in
> deficit, every penny
of Bush's new tax cut would
> have to come from
taxes
> raised for Social
Security or by increasing the
> national debt. The
Democratic
> staff on the Senate
Budget Committee has estimated
> that if the new Bush
tax
> cut plan passes, as
well as the prescription drug
> plan for senior
citizens he
> has endorsed, the
national debt will balloon to $4.8
> trillion in 2008.
>
> More debt means
higher interest costs for the
> government, which
means higher
> taxes on future
generations. It all amounts to
> Americans voting
themselves a
> tax cut and letting
their children pay for defending
> the country through a
> larger national debt.
Surely Woodrow Wilson better
> captured the nation's
> spirit when he said,
as the bullets flew in World
> War I, that Americans
"know
> ... the war must be
paid for and that it is they who
> must pay for it, and
if
> the burden is justly
distributed ... they will carry
> it
=== message truncated ===
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haven't heard anything
from anyone on my proposals
yet. i guess i'll have to
wait until tuesday. i'm
going to try to find
connie rice's contact because i'm
sure the la weekly will
run that if salon won't.
______
i did that late friday.
i've been looking for connie
rice but to no avail. i'll
have to wait until tuesday
to find a contact number.
i saw the movie the quiet
american with michael
caine. you'd like it although
it's showing has been
suppressed in the u.s. so it
might not be out in d.c.
have fun sleeping with the
fishes in antigua.
--- Sbwhoeop@aol.com
wrote:
> Send emails out for
everyone has them on Monday
> saying you're eager
to hear from them on your
> proposals. Those
emails will be waiting for them
> first thing Monday
morning. They WILL get back to
> you. The Connie Rice
idea is a good one, especially
> now.
> Yr mother and I are
in Antigua, It's very restful,
> and we're going to
the beach soon. Keep up with me
> by email.
>
> Love
> Yr Father
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