Posts by Ali Frick

Ali Frick is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress.

Elizabeth Edwards: ‘Most Preventable Cause Of Unnecessary Suffering’ Is Lack Of Health Insurance
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on May 9, 2008 at 6:43 AM.

Conservatives love to crow that the United States has "the best health care in the world." Yet these same conservatives overlook the fact that 47 million Americans lack any health insurance at all, leaving them shut out of access to this world-class health care.

Indeed, as Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Elizabeth Edwards told the Senate Health Committee today, "It doesn't matter what kind of services we have if we don't have access to them":

Health insurance matters. The quality of coverage, of course, matters, but health insurance itself is really crucial part of this. Probably the most preventable cause of unnecessary suffering in our health care system is the lack of adequate health insurance. We know how to lengthen and improve the lives of people with cancer. But we've chosen as a nation to turn our backs on some of us who have the disease. I urge you to reform health care responsibly, morally, and aggressively.

Watch it:

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Torture Critics Derided as Advocating "Oprah Methods"
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on May 8, 2008 at 12:04 PM.

Yesterday, the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a hearing on the Bush administration's use of torture. During the hearing, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) scoffed at what he called the "Oprah Winfrey methods" of interrogations built on long-established relationships -- the same method used to successfully interrogate Saddam Hussein. He also seemed to defend waterboarding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a 9/11 mastermind:

Some have said relationship-building interrogation techniques are preferable and even more reliable in the long run than stress methods. … I can tell by your grin that you acknowledge the somewhat absurd thought that you could move people who have masterminded the death of 3,000 Americans by Oprah Winfrey methods.

International lawyer Philippe Sands, who recently published a book on Bush's interrogation program, replied by stating simply, "Coercion doesn't work." He cited the British fight against the IRA, and said the use of torture "extended the conflict" by 15 to 20 years:

The thinking in the British military and the thinking across the board politically — it’s really not a left right issue, it is a broad consensus in the United Kingdom — is that coercion doesn’t work. That the experience of the United Kingdom, which moved in the early 1970’s to use techniques that were very similar to those that were used on Detainee 063, putting stress positions, humiliation, and so on and so forth, didn’t not work. The view is taken in the United Kingdom that it extended the conflict with the IRA probably by between 15 and 20 years.

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Both Decrease And Increase In Troop Deaths Prove The Surge Is Success
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on May 6, 2008 at 6:49 AM.

Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Max Boot is one of the most vocal supporters of a neocon foreign policy. He says those who favor withdrawal from Iraq engage in wishful thinking and claims there is copious evidence that Iran is training al Qaeda. He said former CENTCOM commander Adm. William Fallon's hesitation to bomb Iran embolden[ed] the mullahs, and claimed that the recently-revealed Pentagon propaganda program is simply part and parcel of the daily grind of Washington journalism.

He has also been a vociferous defender of the Iraq troop surge. Today, in an online debate on the surge, Boot points to the overall decrease in troop deaths as evidence of its success:

I could cite statistics to show how the “surge”—not only an increase in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq but also a change in their strategy to emphasis classic counterinsurgency—has been paying off: Civilian deaths were down more than 80 percent and U.S. deaths down more than 60 percent between December 2006 and March 2008.

Just two days ago, however, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Boot argued that the recent increase in U.S. troop casualties showed the surge was working. Acknowledging that April was the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq since August (Boot says 52 soldiers died; in fact 54 did), Boot says the U.S. is approaching “the enemy’s defeat“:

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O'Reilly: It's Bull That Torture Doesn't Work
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on May 2, 2008 at 2:26 PM.

Last night, in an interview with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly praised the Bush administration “for doing a good job protecting Americans after 9/11″ and attributed its success to its “aggressive manner” of protection, including “Guantanamo, water boarding three times, and other things.” (Recall, in 2005, O’Reilly declared he would “order the execution” of everyone at Guantanamo if he could.)

O’Reilly then questioned Clinton’s opposition to torture, insisting that if the U.S. had “an al Qaeda big shot” in custody, he would “dunk him into water” — i.e., waterboard him. When told that torture does not produce “high quality” information, O’Reilly cried, “That’s bull!”:

O’REILLY: I believe the Bush administration has done a good job in protecting Americans after 9/11. … And they’ve done so in a very aggressive manner, Guantanamo, water boarding three times, and other things, OK? If we get an Al Qaida big shot who won’t talk, I’ll dunk him into water if there is, we believe — our intelligence agency believes there is an imminent attack. You won’t dunk him in the water, you won’t, I will. […]

CLINTON: But if you actually talked to the people who were in the rooms with these guys, what they will tell me is that you do not get the high quality…

O’REILLY: That’s bull. It’s just bull. Michael Scheuer, who was the head of the bin Laden unit, sat there and said we broke these guys by waterboarding. It’s bull.

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Glenn Beck Claims Wal-Mart Made a "Deal With Terrorists" by Ending Its Lawsuit Against a Brain Damaged Employee
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on April 3, 2008 at 5:20 AM.

Invoking a little-noticed clause in Shank’s contract that kicked in once she won a settlement with the trucking company, Wal-Mart sued the Shank family to recoup the medical expenses it had spent on her care, all $470,000.

In response, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann last week began decrying Wal-Mart’s actions nightly, four times labeling $9-billion corporation one of his “Worst Persons in the World.” Last night, however, Olbermann was able to announce the good news — that Wal Mart yesterday wrote to the Shanks to tell them it would drop its suit:

Occasionally others help us step back and look at a situation in a different way. This is one of those times. … Wal-Mart will not seek any reimbursement for the money already spent on Ms. Shank’s care, and we will work with you to ensure the remaining amounts in the trust can be used for her ongoing care.

Unfortunately, CNN’s Glenn Beck could not attain a similarly enlightened perspective. He condemned Wal-Mart on his radio show today, insisting the corporation had made a “deal with terrorists” and had succumbed to “blackmail”:

Well, what are the principles? The principles are right is right, wrong is wrong. No matter how much I need it, no matter how hard it is for me, no matter how much it sucks, it’s not right. My word is my bond. I made an agreement. I didn’t see it in there. … This is blackmail. And yet Wal-Mart folds. You don’t deal with terrorists? Really? You just did. You just dealt with economic blackmailers. … But then — and I don’t even put it on the family as much as I do on the media. The media, they just — MSNBC, man, they can just make hay with this.

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Olbermann Wages a "Nightly, Indefinite" War Against Wal-Mart for Suing Brain Damaged Employee
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on April 2, 2008 at 6:11 AM.

Eight years ago, Wal-Mart employee Debbie Shank was hit by a semi-truck, leaving her severely brain damaged and confined to a wheelchair. Last September, her son was killed in Iraq — a fact she has to be constantly reminded of since the accident left her virtually without any short-term memory.

Wal-Mart paid for her medical fees, but after Shank won $1 million from a lawsuit against the trucking company, her former employer sued her to recoup its medical expenses, despite the fact the settlement left her only $417,000 after legal fees:

But a clause in the retailer’s benefits agreement says the store can recoup medical fees paid if an injured employee receives damages from a lawsuit. Wal-Mart, which earned more than $11 billion in profits last year, sued Shank for $470,000, and won.

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann has begun a campaign against Wal-Mart, tagging the company one of his “Worst Persons in the World” for four straight nights. Olbermann says he will keep reminding people of “what they’re supporting when they go to Wal-Mart. And we’ll do it nightly, and indefinitely.”

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Rep. Harman: Military Woman "More Likely to Be Raped by a Fellow Soldier Than Killed by Enemy Fire"
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on April 1, 2008 at 5:32 AM.

In today’s LA Times, Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) sheds light on the staggering number of sexual assaults within the military, stating, “Women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq,” and calls on Congress and the military to do more to protect servicewomen:

At the heart of this crisis is an apparent inability or unwillingness to prosecute rapists in the ranks. According to DOD statistics, only 181 out of 2,212 subjects investigated for sexual assault in 2007, including 1,259 reports of rape, were referred to courts-martial, the equivalent of a criminal prosecution in the military. Another 218 were handled via nonpunitive administrative action or discharge, and 201 subjects were disciplined through “nonjudicial punishment,” which means they may have been confined to quarters, assigned extra duty or received a similar slap on the wrist. In nearly half of the cases investigated, the chain of command took no action; more than a third of the time, that was because of “insufficient evidence.” […]

The absence of rigorous prosecution perpetuates a culture tolerant of sexual assault — an attitude that says “boys will be boys.”

A Department of Defense report released this month found 2,688 reports of sexual assault in the military in FY2007. According to Harman, the number of reported military rapes jumped 73 percent from 2004 to 2006.

Hagel: A Defense of the Surge 'Dismissing' Over '900 Dead Americans' Is Wrong
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on March 24, 2008 at 5:40 AM.

Earlier this week, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said he “will be glad to stake my campaign on the fact that [the surge] has succeeded,” effectively shackling himself to President Bush’s Iraq policy. Previously, McCain has insisted that the level of American casualties is the “key” metric by which to measure to the surge’s success:

The surge is succeeding and the key to it is not American presence, it’s American casualties and by any measure, we are succeeding and the political process is succeeding.

On ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopolous today, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) bluntly disagreed with McCain’s assessment of the surge’s success, saying it’s wrong to “dismiss” over “900 dead Americans since the surge” began as “success”:

We have lost over 900 dead Americans since the surge. Now if you want to dismiss that as ’success’ that would be your interpretation.

McCain frequently dismisses questions about his claim that he wouldn’t mind if U.S. troops were in Iraq for “a hundred years” by insisting that “the point is American casualties.” Yet, as Hagel points out, in repeatedly insisting that the surge is a success, McCain downplays the fact that American soldiers are still dying in Iraq on a regular basis.

As of today, the Pentagon has confirmed the deaths of 3,991 U.S. soldiers in Iraq since the start of the war. Four more reported casualties are awaiting confirmation.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this post was written the death toll of US soldiers of Iraq has reached 4,000

Webb: McCain Refuses to Co-Sponsor GI Bill for Post 9/11 Vets
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on March 20, 2008 at 1:16 PM.

On his first day in office in January 2007, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) introduced the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007, intended to be “a mirror image of the WW II G.I. Bill.” A new version with broad bipartisan support was introduced in February to help fund education for service members who had served in active duty since Sept. 11, 2001. Veterans would receive education benefits equaling the highest tuition rate of the most expensive in-state public college or university and a monthly stipend for housing.

The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America hailed Webb’s bill, calling educational benefits “the military's single most effective recruitment tool” and emphasizing that “an expanded GI Bill will play a crucial role in ensuring that our military remains the strongest and most advanced in the world.”

Today, The Hill reports that Webb is still waiting for an important co-sponsor who could help push other Republicans to approve the bill: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ):

"McCain needs to get on the bill," Webb told reporters after a Christian Science Monitor breakfast meeting on Wednesday. He said legislation mirroring the post-World War II GI bill should not be considered a "political issue." […]

Webb's bill has 51 co-sponsors, including nine Republicans. Webb, a former secretary of the Navy, said he may have to get 60 co-sponsors to ensure Senate passage, but then added that many more Republicans could vote for the bill if McCain endorsed it.

McCain prides himself on being “a tireless advocate of our military.” Yet this is hardly the first time that Webb has taken McCain to task when it comes to veterans’ advocacy. In September, McCain refused to support Webb’s bill to ensure service members get adequate time at home between deployments. McCain castigated the effort, declaring he “hoped” Congress would reject the bill because it “would create chaos.”

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McCain Camp Denies Iran/Al Qaeda Gaffe, But Look at the Video!
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on March 19, 2008 at 5:10 AM.

Today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said that Iranian operatives are "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back” — despite the fact that Iran is a Shiite nation and al Qaeda are Sunni fighters. Responding to reports of McCain’s factually inaccurate claim, the McCain campaign released a statement attempting to paint the senator’s fundamental error as an isolated slip of the tongue:

In a press conference today, John McCain misspoke and immediately corrected himself by stating that Iran is in fact supporting radical Islamic extremists in Iraq, not Al Qaeda -- as the transcript shows. Democrats have launched political attacks today because they know the American people have deep concerns about their candidates' judgment and readiness to lead as commander in chief.

The fact that McCain made identical remarks on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show as well makes it clear McCain did not simply “misspeak.” What’s more, McCain corrected himself only after Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) “stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate’s ear.”

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McCain Gaffe: It's "Common Knowledge" That Iran Is Training Al-Qaida...Oops
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on March 18, 2008 at 12:06 PM.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has spent a majority of his presidential campaign trying to convince voters that he is the most qualified to tackle foreign policy issues:

I would believe that my knowledge and experience and background clearly indicates that if the phone rang in the White House and I was the one to answer it, I would be the one to best address a national security crisis. [3/3/08]

I have the most experience of any presidential candidate when it comes to foreign policy and advancing our national and economic security priorities around the globe. [1/29/08]

On matters of war and peace, I offer Americans my experience, my personal familiarity with the tragedy of war, [and] deep involvement in all of the national security issues of the last two decades… [11/18/07]

Of course, McCain’s supposed prescient understanding of foreign policy has been proven faulty over and over. Today, as the Washington Post’s Cameron Barr and Michael Shear report, McCain further undermined his claim to be the best qualified on matters of foreign policy, when he repeated a mistaken claim that Iran was training al Qaeda fighters:

Speaking to reporters in Amman, the Jordanian capital, McCain said he and two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives “taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back.”

Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was “common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that’s well known. And it’s unfortunate.” A few moments later, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, standing just behind McCain, stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate’s ear. McCain then said: “I’m sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda.”

He made the same assertion on right-wing Hugh Hewitt’s radio show last night.

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Bush Loses It, Claims US "Is in the Lead" on Climate Change
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on March 6, 2008 at 7:59 AM.

This morning, President Bush gave this keynote address at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC), a ministerial-level conference hosted by the U.S. government.

Trying to stamp down what he called “stereotypes,” Bush insisted the US was leading the effort to combat global warming:

Now, look, I understand stereotypes are hard to defeat. People get an image planted in their head, and sometimes it causes them not to listen to the facts. But America is in the lead when it comes to energy independence; we’re in the lead when it comes to new technologies; we’re in the lead when it comes to global climate change — and we’ll stay that way.

Bush’s claim defies the imagination. At the UN conference in Bali in December, the US objected to the proposal — backed by Britain and the EU — to cut carbon dioxide emissions 24-40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. “We have problems with defining the numbers up front,” the White House’s head climate negotiator explained.

Six months earlier, Bush single-handedly killed a statement of commitment to halving emissions by 2050 by the leaders at the G8 summit.

While the US remains only industrialized nation that has refused to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol, other nations are taking the lead:

–Britain has set a strong goal to cut CO2 emissions by 60 percent by 2050, leaving the door open for steeper cuts.

–Sweden will half its CO2 emissions by 2050.

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Fox News Promotes Global Warming Deniers, Says US Should Fear "Cooling"
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on March 3, 2008 at 3:57 PM.

This morning, Fox and Friends trumpeted the Exxon-funded Heartland Institute’s global warming skeptics conference, taking place this week in New York City. Fox hosted Dan Gainor, the vice president of the Business and Media institute, a group run by the right-wing Media Research Center.

Fox host Steve Doocy used to segment to tout the “bitterly cold” weather and the “worst winter,” suggesting global warming is a sham:

Despite it being bitterly cold outside in the Northern plains, we hear a lot about global warming, and that we better do something to fix it or we’re doomed. But is there another side to this story? Many scientists would say yes, but most media outlets, the mainstream media, only cover Al Gore’s earth has a fever perspective. […] In fact, last week we were reporting that this is the worst winter in some parts of America and around the world, and perhaps we should be worried now about global cooling.

Despite Doocy’s complaint that the “mainstream media” ignores the “other side” of the global warming debate, Joe Romm points out that the media regularly gives attention to global warming skeptics — such as Gainor himself.

Worse, the media has re