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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (423395)	7/5/2003 10:07:04 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 769670

Medicine to 'The Sound of Music' By Suzanne Fields Tommy Thompson had had a long day. The secretary of Health and Human Services had been on Capitol Hill since morning, trying to persuade conservatives in the House and Senate to vote for a prescription drug bill he described as good policy, good medicine and good politics. Now he had to speak to a room full of conservative codgers at a banquet celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the 60-Plus Association, a lobbying group that is a conservative alternative to the AARP. The 60-Plus members want the entrepreneurial spirit and private sector initiatives to drive programs for seniors, not the programs of the big government bureaucracies. They were not in a mood to cheer a prescription for prescription drugs that expands entitlements in a government program already heavy at the top. Nevertheless, he waded in, insisting that his friends in the hall face the facts of the moment, for better and for worse. Health and Human Services is an agency that has grown big and fat. It has 65,000 employees and an annual budget of $525 billion. In fact, this budget is bigger than the entire budgets of all but five nations (the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan and Italy). U.S. defense spending is puny by comparison: "We spend 23 cents of every federal dollar." That's only part of the story. "We regulate the foods that you take, the medicines that you take, the health care you have," he said. "We run the largest research organizations in medicine and infectious disease. Plus, we run Medicare, the largest health insurance program in the world with 42 million Americans enrolled." At this point the diners lost the buzz of the cocktail hour. They were beginning to feel a fading appetite for the surf (shrimp) and turf (steak) piled high atop the mashed potatoes. Then he seized their attention with a question. "Medicare was created in 1965," he said. "Does anyone know what movie and what actress won Academy Awards that year? A collective senior moment ran through the ballroom. No one could raise his hand. "It was 'The Sound of Music,' with Julie Andrews," the secretary reminded them. "Since then movies have changed. Music has changed. But Medicare is still the same." Medicine has changed, too, and Medicare hasn't reacted to the changes. Back in 1965 the elderly, expected to rely on extended hospital care when they became seriously ill. Prevention was something only vaguely understood. Medicare pays for a heart transplant, but it won't pay for medicines that prevent heart disease. Tommy Thompson sees prescription drugs under Medicare as the first rung on the ladder to a much larger Medicare reform. "This is the first step in a competitive nature," he said, ticking off the options in the legislation seniors can choose for getting their prescription drugs. The formula isn't perfect, he concedes. The administration wants more competition in Medicare reform across the board. But he thinks it's a beginning that enables a focus on what's wrong with Medicare so it can be opened to greater competitive health care programs later. Sen. Edward Kennedy supports the legislation, but clearly not as a step toward private competition. He sees it as opening the door for greater government spending. So do lots of other Democrats. But the congressional Republicans who signed up for the plan note that his welfare reform plan in Wisconsin radically reduced welfare rolls. They think he can create a similar miracle with Medicare reform. The secretary wants to be to Medicare what the Atkins diet is to fat. The fastest-growing epidemic in America is obesity, contributing to heart disease and diabetes. A National Institutes of Health study of 3,500 persons found that if a person walks 30 minutes a day and loses 15 pounds of fat the incidence of diabetes could be cut by 60 percent: "We're a fat nation, our children are fat, our grandchildren are fat." Prescription drug benefits fit into the framework of a healthier nation managing and preventing disease. So does an awareness of changing lifestyles. The secretary calculates the cost of smoking, diabetes and obesity at $400 billion a year. "I put the whole department on a diet, including myself," he says. "I lost 15 pounds. My secretary is down seven dress sizes and she's happier, more productive and a lot nicer to be around. If we're going to represent the Department of Health, we have to look the part." As difficult as it is to reduce Medicare spending, persuading Americans to diet and exercise will likely be far more difficult. The secretary had given the 60-Plus seniors lots to think about, but then it was time to return to the mashed potatoes. The next day, however, Capitol Hill was alive with the sound of new music.

To: calgal who wrote (423395)	7/5/2003 10:11:13 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 769670

Chief Moose A good jury can be hard to find. At least that's the opinion of sniper suspect John Muhammad's lawyers, who want to temporarily block a book about the shootings by former Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose. It's their contention that the opinions of jurors could be tainted by information in the chief's memoirs. The book is scheduled to be released Sept. 15; Mr. Muhammad's trial begins Oct. 14. We do not intend on joining the mob that is trying to strongarm a committed public servant into giving up his time in the spotlight. The events surrounding Chief Moose's book controversy are rather straightforward. He had originally planned to write it while still in charge of the suburban Maryland police force. The usual — and legitimate — howls about conflict-of-interest followed, and a Montgomery County ethics panel ruled that the chief could not do the book and continue to undertake his official duties at the same time. While there was no specific clause in his contract pertaining to book deals, he was required to obtain permission for outside income from the panel. The problem was solved when Chief Moose resigned, though media attention still made his use of official information for personal profit as problematic. In the meantime, the county has tried to guarantee itself a cut of the eventual profits. Much of this opposition comes off as mere greed or jealousy. The charge that Chief Moose might leak sensitive information to generate attention for a book tour is purely speculative. Besides, no one knows if the book will even contain any secrets. We certainly do not condone any kind of judicial review to determine whether a book can be published or not. The manhunt across the region was so public that it is unlikely much has been left uncovered. It's also a joke for Mr. Muhammad's legal team to blame a cop for the media frenzy that is sure to surround the trial. This excitement will be caused by the randomness of innocents getting gunned down on the highway, not a book. It is true that Chief Moose was not a successful police chief, particularly under fire. The capture of the two suspects resulted from their own phone calls to authorities, and not the Moose investigation. His decision to wait 24 hours to announce the profiles of the suspects is also questionable, especially after he had erroneously trumpeted that the snipers were white and distracted the search with incorrect information about a white van. But these issues have nothing to do with his right to write his memoirs, which could help him explain his well-publicized failures. Bestsellers occur when the right topic hits the shelves at the right time. Chief Moose has the right to test the market. Public servants writing memoirs about their official duties are nothing new. Public servants should use good judgment and appeal to their consciences when going public with their experiences, but public pressure should not bar publication of a work which the law allows. URL:http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20030704-090213-7268r.htm

To: calgal who wrote (423395)	7/5/2003 10:21:21 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Hill probers investigate U.S. Muslim extremists By Jerry Seper THE WASHINGTON TIMES Congressional investigators have targeted extremist Muslims in America, those described as members of the Wahhabi movement who have become increasingly influential throughout the United States — buoyed by foreign state-sponsored doctrines and a wellspring of cash used to recruit and train international terrorists. "The extremist ideology is Wahhabism, a major force behind terrorist groups like al Qaeda," said Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, whose Senate Judiciary subcommittee on technology, terrorism and government information held recent hearings on the terrorist threat in the United States. "It is widely recognized that all 19 of the [September 11] suicide pilots ... were Wahhabi followers," he said. "Since then, many questions have been asked about the role in that day's terrible events and in other challenges we face in the war against terror of Saudi Arabia and its official sect, a separatist, exclusionary and violent form of Islam known as Wahhabism." Mr. Kyl noted that 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers were Saudi subjects, adding that Wahhabism is the source of the "overwhelming majority of terrorist atrocities in today's world." The congressional probe, according to Capitol Hill sources, has focused on unpublished U.S. intelligence information stating that Wahhabi agents from Saudi Arabia have been responsible for terrorist attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. It also has focused on government documents showing that the Wahhabi movement has stepped up its efforts to penetrate the United States. Federal law enforcement authorities believe cash from Saudi Arabia has been a significant source of funding for global terrorism, particularly the al Qaeda network founded by Osama bin Laden, a Saudi millionaire. The authorities also said al Qaeda "sleeper cells" working in the United States have begun recruiting operatives who might be harder to detect in an effort to defeat the country's heightened state of security since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Potential operatives include U.S. citizens with valid passports, they said. Part of the effort, the authorities said, also has targeted black Muslims in this country believed to be sympathetic to Islamic extremism — using mosques, prisons and universities throughout the United States. The Wahhabi movement seeks to advance a global agenda of holy war, or jihad, and to impose Wahhabism on the international Islamic community, the authorities said. They also noted that the movement continues to seek a U.S. base to fund recruitment and tactical support of terror operations in this country and overseas. Mr. Kyl noted during a recent hearing that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a former top al Qaeda lieutenant captured in Pakistan last March, had "reached deep into the heartland," lining up agents in Baltimore; Columbus, Ohio; and Peoria, Ill. Authorities believe that terrorists operating in this country include groups committed to international jihad and that they have demonstrated a keen ability to withstand numerous and significant setbacks. Since the September 11 attacks, they said, al Qaeda terrorists have been involved in at least a dozen terrorist attacks around the world directed against the United States and its allies. "To examine the role of Wahhabism and terrorism is not to label all Muslims as extremists. Indeed, I want to make this point very, very clear," Mr. Kyl said. "Analyzing Wahhabism means identifying the extreme element that, although enjoying immense political and financial resources thanks to support by a sector of the Saudi state, seeks to globally hijack Islam, one of the world's three great Abrahamic faiths. "It means understanding who our worst enemies are and how we can support the majority of the world's Muslims, ordinary, normal people who desire to live in a safe, secure and stable environment in their own effort to defeat terror," he said. "In the end, Islamist terror must be defeated to a significant extent within Islam, by Muslims themselves." Mr. Kyl noted that without oil and the creation of the Saudi Kingdom, Wahhabism would have remained "a lunatic fringe." The ruling House of Saud in Riyaddh belongs to the Wahabbi clan. Since the September 11 attacks, the authorities said the FBI has investigated more than 4,000 terrorist threats to the United States and that the number of active FBI investigations and the potential terrorist activity has quadrupled. More than 35 potential terrorist incidents inside the United States have been disrupted by the FBI since the attacks through preventive actions, arrests, the seizure of funds and disruption of terrorist recruiting and training efforts, they said. URL:http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20030705-120848-4014r.htm