The Bush tax cuts start to hurt national security. As part of the general belt tightening in the Federal government caused by the return of deficits, security funding for the Department of Energy's Nuclear Security Administration is actually being reduced by $51 million. That's right! In the wake of 9/11, Bush is actually proposing to make our nuclear stockpiles less secure.

Nuclear Insecurity - Why is the president's budget downsizing security at our nuclear weapons labs? By Eric Umansky
Maybe the budget cuts are for good reasons. After Sept. 11, nearly every federal agency has had to rethink its security procedures, and maybe the Department of Energy figured out how to tighten security, thwart terrorists, and save a few bucks. Or just maybe, they're penny-pinching in the wrong place.

The Washington Post gives some juicy details about the relationship between Enron and Ralph Reed and some insight into the way lobbyists pimp their political and social connections for clients.

washingtonpost.com: Bush 2000 Adviser Offered To Use Clout to Help Enron
Just before the last presidential election, Bush campaign adviser Ralph Reed offered to help Enron Corp. deregulate the electricity industry by working his "good friends" in Washington and by mobilizing religious leaders and pro-family groups for the cause.
For a $380,000 fee, the conservative political strategist proposed a broad lobbying strategy that included using major campaign contributors, conservative talk shows and nonprofits to press Congress for favorable legislation. Reed said he could place letters from community leaders in the opinion pages of major newspapers, producing clips that Reed would "blast fax" to Capitol Hill.

The Washington Post gives some juicy details about the relationship between Enron and Ralph Reed. Also gives details of how lobbyists like Reed pimp their political and social connections to clients.

washingtonpost.com: Bush 2000 Adviser Offered To Use Clout to Help Enron
Just before the last presidential election, Bush campaign adviser Ralph Reed offered to help Enron Corp. deregulate the electricity industry by working his "good friends" in Washington and by mobilizing religious leaders and pro-family groups for the cause.
For a $380,000 fee, the conservative political strategist proposed a broad lobbying strategy that included using major campaign contributors, conservative talk shows and nonprofits to press Congress for favorable legislation. Reed said he could place letters from community leaders in the opinion pages of major newspapers, producing clips that Reed would "blast fax" to Capitol Hill.

Eric Alterman points out how Bush is using the War on Terrorism in a cynical ploy to push policies that don't have anything at all to do with it.

Axis Me No Questions...
George W. Bush's State of the Union address has laid bare his Administration's political strategy. It is to manipulate the grief, anger and patriotism inspired by September 11 to fit the contours of the right-wing Republican agenda of September 10. What that Day of Infamy means to George W. Bush & Co. is more tax cuts for the wealthy, more money for wasteful weapons schemes and the back of their proverbial hand to those who suffer the misfortune of not being rich in Bush's America.

The Smoking Gun has posted dozens of letters between George W Bush and Ken Lay, going back years. Of course, Bush has inistsed that he hardly knew the guy.

The Smoking Gun: Archive
While the White House has repeatedly described former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay as simply a "supporter" of George W. Bush, extensive correspondence between the two men paints a far cozier picture of their relationship, according to copies of letters obtained this afternoon (2/15) by The Smoking Gun.

Jonathan Chait discusses Bush's budgetary dishonesty. He talks as if we have to make tough choices between national defense, domestic spending, and deficits, but never mentions taxes as part of the equation. Wouldn't an honest person at least mention that he prefers to cut taxes even if it means domestic budget cuts or deficts, rather than pretend that they had nothing to do with each other?

The New Republic Online: Hide and Sneak
Bush and his staffers speak as if tax revenues and defense spending were somehow not fungible. Instead, the administration will only discuss trade-offs between defense, domestic spending, and deficits--never taxes. When they discuss spending cuts or deficits, they take care to associate them with the war........

...........It's true that Bush's budget forecasts just a small deficit next year. So why not just cut a little more and avoid the embarrassment of deficits altogether? Because the president doesn't intend to make the spending cuts in his budget stick. We've seen this before. Last year Bush announced he would allow federal spending to rise at 4 percent, and he made a show of slashing wasteful subsidies. But he put little effort into it, and in the end Congress restored most of his cuts--ending up with a 7 percent hike, even before September 11. This year the White House is again pretending to cut pork, but it has again signaled its lack of seriousness.