Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Harper's Bush Years Index

The Harper’s Index: A retrospective of the Bush Era is up online. You can’t see all of it without subscribing, but you can still see a lot of it. It’s funny, tragic, and maddening all at the same time. Here are some highlights or lowlights pending your opinions:

Number of members of the rock band Anthrax who said they hoarded Cipro so as to avoid an “ironic death”: 1

Number of all U.S. war veterans who have been denied Veterans Administration health care since 2003: 452,677

Minimum number of times that Frederick Douglass was beaten in what is now Donald Rumsfeld’s vacation home: 25

Portion of all U.S. income gains during the Bush Administration that have gone to the top 1 percent of earners: 3/4

Minimum number of calls the FBI received in fall 2001 from Utah residents claiming to have seen Osama bin Laden: 20

Number of incidents of torture on prime-time network TV shows from 2002 to 2007: 897

Number on shows during the previous seven years: 110

And finally, so many Republicans give FDR grief for all the government money he spent on the New Deal or LBJ for the New Society, well how about this:

Estimated amount Bush-era policies will cost the U.S. in new debt and accrued obligations: $10,350,000,000,000


I’d rather spend money on a New Deal or a New Society any day.

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In 1789, the governor of Australia granted land and some animals to James Ruse in an experiment to see how long it would take him to support himself. Within 15 months he had become self sufficient. The area is still known as Experiment Farm. This is my Experiment Farm to see how long it will take me to support myself by writing.