Mullings by Rich Galen | Secret Decoder Ring for June 14, 2000

The Interview Wednesday, June 14, 2000

TITLE: "The Interview" Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson wants to be Al Gore's running mate. No one has had a worse last two years than Energy Bill.

"But you are now a U.S. citizen?" This is a New Mexico joke. New Mexicans get this all the time - "Is that part of the United States?"

"Then there's this gasoline price thing?" Regular, unleaded gas in the Chicago area is now about $2.03 a gallon. A year ago it was in the $1.20 range. Al Gore cannot have the people of the City of Chicago mad at him come November. Two dollar gas may make them very angry.

"Swayzed?" I found this at a site which boasted a fairly large collection of college slang. It listed "swayze" as slang for leaving. It did not indicate why.

"Sue." Sue is the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton on display at the Field Museum. There are two replicas of the exhibit which are traveling around the nation.

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Texas under Governor Bush:

1st in student improvement on test scores, especially for African-American and Hispanic students.

1st in reducing the amount of releases and disposal of toxics - more than all 49 other states combined.

1st in the nation to allow a patient to appeal an HMO's decision to deny care.

1st to create a prison ministry to help offenders reintegrate into society.

1 of only 3 states to require reductions of harmful pollution from older, unpermitted utility plants.

1 of only 10 "highly successful" states in reducing welfare rolls between 1995 and 1998.

4th in growth in total personal income.

9th in teacher pay, when adjusted for cost of living and teacher experience.

$1.8 billion investment in healthcare initiatives.

1.2 million jobs created, representing more than 10 percent of new jobs created nationwide and 48,000 new businesses.

Lowest unemployment rate in twenty years -- 4.7 percent.

Doubled the number of adoptions of abused and neglected children in Texas.

America under Clinton-Gore:

The number of uninsured Americans increased by more than 8 million.

Almost 70 percent of fourth graders in the highest poverty schools cannot read at basic level.

Teachers were victims of 1.8 million crimes at school, including 657,000 violent crimes.

Illegal drug use among high school seniors increased 78 percent.

Federal prosecutions of gun-related offenses decreased by 46 percent.

More than 12,000 U.S. soldiers are on food stamps.

Enacted a $115 billion tax increase on Social Security enefits.

Federal government is the nation's largest polluter, costing taxpayers nearly $400 billion for cleanups.

45 convictions, 72 indictments/misdemeanor charges, and 8 imprisonments related to the 1996 campaign finance scandal, improper conduct by Clinton-Gore cabinet officials, and Whitewater.

What did Arkansas look like when Al Gore joined Bill Clinton in 1992?

50th in environmental policy initiatives.

47th in per capita state spending for education.

43rd in per capita spending for higher education.

41st in citizens living in poverty.

45th in children living in poverty.

47th in children without health insurance.

45th in children living in hunger.

43rd in infants born with low birth weight.

47th in personal income.

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