Mullings A Political Cyber Column By Rich Galen

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Yabba, Dabba, Ooh.

Friday September 1, 2000

Remember the other day, while the Gore/Lieberman campaign started its Three Stooges stage and Gore said Governor Bush should "put up or shut up?" Wednesday, scholar Joe Lieberman, reached into the Biblical texts and said "It's just this simple: We as a nation cannot afford to make Barney Rubble investments in a George Jetson world." (Brigitte Greenberg, AP August 29, 2000)

Lieberman was, of course, trying to poke fun at George W. but what he actually did was precisely describe the Gore (and, as of last month, the Lieberman) position on Social Security: Barney Rubble investments in a George Jetson economy.

(Go here for the Mullings "Catchy Caption of the Day" feature)

The Department of the Interior is resorting to intimidation tactics by engaging in a full-blown man hunt for any employee who maintains ties to that most subversive of organizations: the Boy Scouts of -America. The Supreme Court, remember, decided that the Boy Scouts could deny scoutmaster status to individuals who are openly gay as part of its First Amendment rights.

You don't have to agree with that ruling, but it WAS handed down by the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Department is using a Presidential Executive order (13160) to demand that Bureau Directors, "Identify and explain in detail all activities, events, or programs that each of your Bureaus has with the Boy Scouts of America."

Go here to see the entire memo and the level of detail the Department of Interior is demanding, but beware: You will find yourself gritting your teeth by the end.

The memo requires a response by "no later than Monday, September 4, 2000. Which would be Labor Day.

One last point: The First Amendment exists specifically to protect a person's or organization's right to take a position with which the government does not agree.

Do As I Say, Not As I Do Department: The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a press release on Wednesday regarding new "guidance" for organizations which receive federal funding and how they have to deal with people who have Limited English Proficiency (LEP).

"The guidance," the press release says, "outlines the legal responsibilities of providers who receive federal financial assistance from HHS -- such as hospitals, HMOs and human service agencies -- to assist people with limited English skills."

The OCR website is headlined "HHS Office of Civil Rights: Spotlight on Serving Americans with Limited English Skills."

Guess what's wrong with this website? It is all in English. And, unlike almost every Automated Teller Machine on the North American continent, it does not give users, who might be LEPs, the opportunity to choose some other language.

When I called the Office of Civil Rights to inquire about this, I was told (after listening to a 59 second automated message - again only in English) that no one was there to help me because they were all at the "LEP Rollout." The Magical Mystery Tour is coming to take you away�

Bill Clinton vetoed a bill which would have repealed - over time - estate taxes or, as the GOP likes to call them, "Death Taxes." These are the taxes which are paid by someone for the privilege of passing away while owning property in the United States.

Estate taxes are another left-over from the class warfare days of an earlier era when it became conventional wisdom that inheriting a large estate was somehow unfair to people who did not inherit a large estate. That having paid taxes on property and income throughout one's life was not enough - it had to be taxed again after someone died.

In the current instance, 65 Democrats in the House voted with the majority to pass the bill. House leaders will, of course, force them to over-ride the Clinton veto - voting as they did the first time - or to cave into Democratic House leaders to side with the President thus switching their vote and giving the House Republican campaign committee a reason to crank up its fax machines.

Now, THAT's unfair!

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