journal 23: LATEST FUN FACTS.2.27.7

Journal23: Latest Fun Facts




Completed: 2.27.7

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Latest Fun Fact
Time to abort South Dakota: Governor Mike Rounds says: "...the true test of a civilization is how well people treat the most vulnerable and most helpless in their society." The nation's three worst counties for child poverty at the time of the last census were all in South Dakota, according to the Children's Defense Fund. Buffalo County, home to the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, was dead last. (here)
ABORTION: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during the Clinton years, the abortion rate fell by about 27 percent. A new independent study by an ethics professor at Fuller Theological Seminary finds that today, "contrary to popular assumption, abortion has risen in the U.S. during George W. Bush's presidency." (here) and (here)Fun Facts"What are Fun Facts, anyway?" you might ask.Fun facts are little bits of information you can use in party conversation, in talking to yourself, your dog, or, especially, in calling our country's excellent group of brain-dead right-wing talk-radio hosts.
These radio people are stupid! They're home-schooled. They believe the earth is 4000 years old! They need the facts, ma'am.
That's where you come in. Call them. Call Rush. Is he stoned on Oxy-contin? Does he need more Viagra?(The reality is that these windbags are actually pretty smart, but they need to appear dim in order to make dumb guys on cell phones feel at ease. Remember, these excellent radio hosts all make upwards of $900,000 a year, but they want to come off as your basic Joe Six-pack. Joe Brewery is more like it! Ask them how much they make per year!)
All Fun Facts have been sourced, verified, and fact-checked. Contact us if you want details and sources for any Fun Facts.
All true! All true! All one! All one!
Our Excellent Country Fun Facts
SUV Fun Facts
George Fun Facts
Ashcroft Fun Facts
(Ashcroft Sings!)
Cheney Fun Facts
Fun Facts About Two Stupid Administrations
Bush Firsts & Worsts Fun Facts
Tax Cut Fun Facts
Your Tax Dollars Fun Facts
The Rich Fun Facts
The Not-Rich Fun FactsCorporate Contributors Fun Facts
Our Excellent Country Fun FactsChild Poverty is at 26% in the U.S. Nordic countries average 4%. (here)It's gonna be very very difficult to win elections if 25% of the U.S. population think the sun goes around the earth...IS OUR ADULTS LEARNING?....In a recent Gallup Survey, only 35% of Americans said they believed evolution was "a scientific theory well-supported by evidence." Forty-five percent of Americans also believe that God created human beings pretty much in their present form about 10,000 years ago. A third of Americans are biblical literalists who believe that the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word.According to an NSF survey done in 2001, 25% of Americans think the sun goes around the earth.Take the test yourself: (here)
The American Heritage Dictionary defines fascism as "a system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism." (more here)Each month the United States spends an estimated $1 billion on military operations in Afghanistan and only $25 million on aid.(more here)Percentage of the White House's proposed Afghanistan spending in 2004 devoted to reconstruction: 3 (here)
Each year the United Stated imports $19 billion worth of crude oil from the Persian Gulf. To protect the Persian Gulf's oil we spend $50 billion. (here)
Of the top 20 industrialized nations, the US is #1 in: millionaires, billionaires, military spending, firearm deaths, beef production, calorie consumption, energy use, oil consumption, C02 emissions, municipal waste, hazardous waste, rapes, and births to mothers under 20. (Congressional Budget Office, Children's Defense Fund, Energy Information Administration, Amnesty International, U.S. Vital Statistics tables # 1356, 1361, 1390, 1398)As a proportion of national wealth, American foreign aid is the skimpiest among rich countries. (here)On average, the nation's richest 1 percent--who own two-fifths of U.S. wealth--donate just 2 percent of their incomes each year, us. 6 percent for families in the bottom income bracket. Business Week, Nov. 29 49% of the American people consider themselves born-again evangelical Christians. (more here)48% of the American people deny as heresy the theory of evolution. (more here) 68% believe they have met or seen the Devil. (more here)Attorney General John Ashcroft: "In the United States we have no king but Jesus." (here)House Republican Leader Tom Delay: "Only Christianity offers a way to live in response to the realities that we find in this world--only Christianity. (here)
SUV Fun Facts
Researchers in Illinois succeeded in turning pig manure into crude oil and estimated that they could harvest 3.6 gallons per day, per pig. (here)
A British inventor unveiled a three-wheel vehicle that gets 8,000 miles to the gallon. (here)
Auto tinkerers in California can modify an existing hybrid vehicle to get 250 miles per gallon. (here)A Hummer H2 could be driven around the world 244 times on the excess calories Americans consume each year. --Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta) FDA (Rockville) (Harper's Index)Percentage change since 1973 in overall U.S. energy consumption: +27 (here) Percentage change since then in U.S. oil imports: +86 (here)If your car is hit from the side by another car, you are 5 times likelier to die than someone in the striking vehicle, but if you are hit by an S.U.V. you are 30 times more likely to die. (Consumer Reports 11/02) (more here)
The death rate for those in S.U.V.s is 6 percent higher than it is for those in cars. (Consumer Reports 11/02)(more here)
Fun SUV billboard here
George W. Bush Fun Facts
As he told a "diamond-studded, $800-a-plate crowd" during the 2000 campaign, "This is an impressive crowd - the haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elites; I call you my base." (here)At the Texas State Library and Archives you can find documents from all the governors of Texas except George W. Bush. Bush is keeping his documents secret at his father's presidential library--a federal institution not subject to the state's strict Public Information Act. (here)
In exchange for an air base in Uzbekistan, Bush gave 500 million dollars to a dictator who boils his enemies alive. (here)
On Wednesday January 22, 2003, Bush pitched his latest economic stimulus for the wealthy while standing in front of a painted facade of "Made in the USA" boxes in a room where the words "Made in China" on hundreds of real boxes had been taped over by presidential volunteers. (See front page picture on the New York Times, 1/23/03.) (and here)Bush is the first President since Herbert Hoover to preside over a net job loss. (here)
Bush has shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in history. (here)Bush's tenure set an economic record for the most personal bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period. (here)Bush cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US history. (here)
Bush cut health care benefits for war veterans. (here) Bush set the all-time record for any president presiding during the most real estate foreclosures in a 12-month period. (here)
Bush set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any other president in US history. (here)
George W. Bush is the first president since Jimmy Carter NOT to fully disclose his tax form. (here)
Bush is the first president in US history to enter office with a criminal record. (here) George W. Bush has been arrested for drunk driving, for stealing a Christmas wreath, and for disorderly conduct at a football game. Where's "3 Strikes and You're Out" when you needit? (here) (See the citation!)
Bush refused to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use. (here)Bush was AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during a time of war. (here)
Bush appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history. (here)Bush presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world. (here)
The biggest lifetime contributor to Bush's campaign, who is also one of Bush's best friends, presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).(here)Bush is the all-time U.S. (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations. (here)
Bush entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years every single economic category headed straightdown. (here)
Bush has spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history. (here)
Bush presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed. (here)Bush dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history. (here)
Bush withdrew from the World Court of Law. (here)
Bush is the first president in US history to compel the United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission. (here)
Bush refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abides by the Geneva Convention. (here)Bush set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president since the advent of television. (here)On April 2001 Bush proposed cutting federal spending on libraries by $39 million, a 19% decrease. The week before, Laura Bush kicked off a national campaign for America's libraries, calling them "community treasure chests, loaded with a wealth of information available to everyone, equally." (here)
"Sometimes when I sleep at night I think of 'Hop on Pop.'" George W. Bush (here)
John Ashcroft Fun Facts
Ashcroft launched "operation pipe dream," a strategy to rid the world of those evil, heinous, and tempting bongs. 55 arrests were made, including Tommy Chong, of "Cheech and Chong" fame.(here)In 1992 Alex Ashcroft was arrested for growing 60 marijuana plants with the intent to distribute—a federal crime. Thanks to his uncle John Ashcroft—who favors mandatory jail terms for such crimes—Alex was tried on state laws and given only probation.(more here)
John Ashcroft, former head of the Justice Department, refused to let the FBI check gun records of those detained after 9/11. So, while they aren’t allowed to see if a possible terrorist has a few dozen firearms, under the new Patriot Act, they are allowed to see what he or she recently checked out of the library.(here)The Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld
(Actual quotes from Department of Defense Briefings, arranged by By Hart Seely. Full text here)(After shaking hands with Saddam Hussein (here) Rumsfeld gave him a set of golden spurs. Cool! Does he want them back now? (here)
Of Certain KnowledgeWe do know of certain knowledge That he is either in AfghanistanOr in some other countryOr dead.-- on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, 12/27/2001 (here)The UnknownAs we know, There are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know There are known unknowns. That is to say We know there are some things We do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, The ones we don't know We don't know. —Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing (here)Glass Box You know, it's the old glass boxat the—At the gas station, Where you're using those little things Trying to pick up the prize, And you can't find it. It's—And it's all these arms are going down in there, And so you keep dropping it And picking it up again and moving it, But—Some of you are probably too young to remember those—Those glass boxes, But—But they used to have them At all the gas stations When I was a kid. —Dec. 6, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing (here)
The SituationThings will not be necessarily continuous. The fact that they are something other than perfectly continuous Ought not to be characterized as a pause. There will be some things that people will see. There will be some things that people won't see. And life goes on.—Oct. 12, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing (here)
Dick Cheney Fun FactsDick Cheney's Halliburton set up a subsidiary in the Cayman Islands, where the company's taxes would be as nonexistent as the Islands' oil. From 1996 until 1998, 14 separate tax actions were filed against Haliburton entities. (Washington Post 6/23/01) and (here)Dick Cheney's former company Halliburton kills two birds with one stone: avoiding U.S. taxes and consorting with terrorists. "Sanctions against ‘rogue nations’ like Iran and Libya are nearly always motivated by domestic political pressure, the need for Congress to appeal to some domestic constituency."--Dick Cheney, then-Halliburton CEO, arguing against sanctions. (here)
In the early 90’s, Dick Cheney’s Halliburton oil company sent pulse generators to Iraq. Pulse generators can be used for detonating nuclear weapons. (here)
Here's how Dick bravely kills tethered ducks. A man's man!
Cheney has been arrested twice for drunk driving. (here)
"If you want to leave all the lights on in your house, you can. There's no law against it. But you will pay for it." --Dick Cheney's advice to Americans, May 18, 2001. A month later he reported a $186,000 electricity bill for his own residence. Guess who paid? (here)In January 2001, a commission headed by two senators warned that terrorists attacks on the US were imminent. The White House dismissed the report, saying Dick Cheney would conduct his own investigation starting in May. Cheney never did. (here)Fun Facts About Two Stupid AdministrationsHere's a good idea: Let's make the ambassador to Iraq someone who 1) lied to Congress about death squads in Central America and 2) helped arm Iraq's mortal enemy: Iran. Good idea? (here) Minimum number of misleading statements on Iraq made by the Bush Administration's top officials since March 2002: 237.Percentage of those that contradicted, made selective use of, or mischaracterized existing government intelligence: 100. (here)If the stupid Bush White House doesn't like the science, they fire the scientists. (here) Number of days between Novak column outing Valerie Plame as a CIA operative and announcement of investigation: 74 days.Number of days between former Treasury Secretary O'Neill's 60 Minutes interview and announcement of investigation: 1 day.(Having the administration reveal itself as a gaggle of hypocritical goons ... priceless.)
Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Colin Powell invoked Saddam Hussein's 1988 gassing attacks in order to help justify the recent war, but did not see fit to explain why the Reagan administration (which they served as senior officials) doubled its aid to Hussein's regime after learning of the gassings. (here)James Baker, the presidential envoy making the rounds attempting to reduce Iraq's debt, is in part responsible "for continuing a billion-dollar loan program to Saddam Hussein's government that accounts for most of the money Iraq still owes the United States." As secretary of state in 1989, "Baker urged the Agriculture Department to offer $1 billion in loan guarantees for Iraq to buy U.S. farm products after Iraq said it would reject a smaller deal." Even though "U.S. officials were well aware at the time that Saddam had used chemical weapons against Iran and Iraqi Kurds," Baker provided crucial support for extending loans to the country, hoping the money would change Saddam. (here)The Army Times wrote in June that, “The Bush administration announced that on Oct. 1 it wants to roll back recent modest increases in monthly imminent-danger pay (from $225 to $150) and family-separation allowance (from $250 to $100) for troops getting shot at in combat zones.” Newsweek reports that companies involved in Iraq's reconstruction routinely charge an extra 45% for hazard pay. The administration is willing to pay it. (here)
(great article here) Former first lady Barbara Bush recently described the 12 Democratic candidates for president as a "sorry group." The Democratic lineup contains two decorated war veterans, a Rhodes Scholar, a top West Point grad, a longtime legislator, a successful mayor and governor, and numerous other public servants, none of whom warrant such an undignified characterization. Especially not from the matriarch of three substance-abusing grandchildren, a felonious whoremonger son (Neil), ethically challenged son (Marvin), HMO-fund-embezzler and election thief (Jeb), coke-sniffing AWOL Air Guard pilot son (W.), vehicularly homicidal daughter-in-law (Laura) and father- and grandfather-in-law who traded with Nazi Germany. George Bush Senior has five adult grandchildren. Three of them have been arrested, and another has been ticketed for sexual misconduct. (more) Members of Bush's cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history. (The poorest multimillionaire, Condoleezza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her). (here) and (here)
In June 2002, "President" Bush appointed Larry Thompson, the deputy attorney general, to head his corporate crime task force. From 1997 to 2001, Thompson sat on the board of directors of Providian, a credit card company famous for gouging its customers and inflating its profits. (here)In 2000, as a Senator from Michigan, Spencer Abraham voted to abolish the Department of Energy. Now, he's the Secretary of Energy. (here)
While in college at the University of South Carolina, Bush's Chief of Staff Andrew Card managed a McDonald's. He discovered someone was stealing money, but none of the employees would admit to it. His solution? He fired everyone. (More here)"Why don't you roll me under the table, and I'll sleep it off until you finish dinner." George Bush the First, after barfing on the Japanese prime minister (here)George Bush I, James Baker, John Major, and other political, military, and oil leaders (and for a while, the Bin Laden family) make up the Carlyle Group. The government lists them as the 11th largest defense contractor. (here)
George Bush the First, speaking to a group of students about drug abuse: "Now, like, I'm President. It would be pretty hard for some drug guy to come into the White House and start offering it up, you know? I bet if they did, I hope I would say, 'Hey, get lost. We don't want any of that.'" (more here)"As people do better, they start voting like Republicans--unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing." ---"President" Bush's top adviser, Karl Rove 2/19/2001 (more here)Ari Fleischer: What a Jerk. (more about him here)"I think the burden is on those people who think he didn't have weapons of mass destruction to tell the world where they are."Ari Fleischer, on July 9, 2003 (here)Number of Democratic supporters that qualifies a congressional vote as "bipartisan," according to Ari Fleischer: 1 (here) An exchange between reporter Russ Mokhiber and Fleischer:Mokhiber: Ari, two questions. Why is the president appointing convicted criminals like Elliot Abrams to policy positions in the White House?Fleischer: Russell, you asked that question last week.Mokhiber: I did not ask that question last week.Fleischer: You asked it about somebody else. I dispute the premise of your question.Mokhiber: I have a second question.Fleischer: I dispute the premise of your second question. Common Dreams, 12/9/02Colin Powell, 2/03, referring to North Korea: "...unrepresentative of its people,...rife with corruption, blighted by a lack of transparency, thinking that it can achieve a position on the world stage through development of weapons of mass destruction that will turn out to be fool's gold..."
Bush Worsts and Firsts Fun Facts
First budget deficit since 1997 for FY 2002. (CBO 11.02)First President to lose jobs on a monthly basis in 60 years. (Bureau of Labor Statistics go to: 1/10/03) (here)First President in ten years under whom median household income fell. (here) and (U.S. Census Bureau Table)Seven of the worst bankruptcies in U.S. history under Bush.(here)Lowest consumer confidence in nine years. (here)(and here)(CBO)First time in ten years incomes fell. U.S. Census Bureau
Tax Cut Fun FactsAverage amount a Bush Cabinet member will save this year due to cuts in capital-gains and dividend taxes : $42,000 [The Independent (London)] (here)Median U.S. household income in 2002 : $42,409 [U.S. Census Bureau (Washington)] (here)A recent Center on Budget and Policy Priorities study reveals that, in the last three years, the nation's long-term budget projection has gone from a $5 trillion surplus to a $4.3 trillion deficit and tax cuts were the single largest factor behind that decline. (here)A graphic and easy-to-understand example of how the deficit is mostly due to tax cuts and NOT to congressional spending is here.Using the White House figures, amount of debt the average Minnesota household would run up in a single year if it were to outspend its income in the same proportion that the federal government will during the 2004 budget year: $15,917(National Debt Clock here: Scary!) ( Government's Own Debt Calculations: To the Penny! Right HERE!! [Do They Really Make Numbers This Big??])
(National Debt Graphs! Here!)
One half of the taxpayers of the United States will see $100 or less of tax relief in Bush's latest tax cut. By 2005, 3/4 of the taxpayers of the United States will see less than $100 of tax relief. (here)
2.7 million jobs have been lost since Bush's first, $1.35 trillion tax cut in 2001. (here)
Eight million low-income people will receive no benefit from the latest round of tax cuts. (here)
Three times as much money now comes from working people's payroll taxes as from corporate tax payments. (here) (Also go to Public Campaign)
19 percent of the people in the United States believe they are in the upper 1 percent of wage earners. (Minneapolis Star/Tribune, US Census Bureau)
The burden from nearly all forms of taxation -- income, excise, sales, property and payroll -- is spread evenly up and down the scale. The poorest fifth, with an average income of $7,946, has a cumulative tax rate of 18 percent (those are the folks so memorably referred to by The Wall Street Journal as "lucky duckies"). The richest fifth, with an average income of $116,666, now pays 19 percent in cumulative taxes -- and that of course goes down under the Bush plan. The percentages for the three middle quintiles are 14, 16 and 17. (The Consumer Expenditure Survey prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from the Jan. 21 New York Times.(here)
By 2010, when the Bush tax reductions are fully in place, an astonishing 52 percent of the total tax cuts will go to the richest 1 percent, whose average 2010 income will be $1.5 million. (here)
Through 2010, the Bush tax cut will save the richest one percent $477 billion in tax breaks. That's an average of $342,000 each over ten years. For the rest of the country, however, the tax cuts have already topped out, at an average of $350 in 2001. (here)
According to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (here), with nearly 33 million residents, Poverty, USA, is the second largest state in America. 12 million children -- one in six -- live there. Yet a March 2000 Gallup poll found that only 5 percent of Americans believe poverty and homelessness are important problems for the country. (here)
Your Tax Dollars Fun Facts
John Ashcroft spent $8,650 on a curtain to cover the exposed bosom of the "Spirit of Liberty" statue that stands in the Justice Department. (here)Most Americans believe that 20% of the federal budget goes to foreign aid. Most would like that figure trimmed back to 10%. That would actually be ten times what we actually give. (here)The predicted deficit for FY 2004 will be $338 billion. The cumulative deficits over the next five years will be $1.2 trillion, if Bush's proposals are made law. The largest shortfall ever was $290 billion in 1992. Two years ago analysts envisioned a decade's worth of surpluses totaling $5.6 trillion. (Congressional Budget Office (here).Corporate taxes have dropped 26%, while taxes for average Americans have increased 13%. In the 1950s, taxes from corporations made up 27% of the revenues of the federal government; today that number has dropped to less than 10%.(here)The Rich Fun FactsDrug companies donated $11 million to the 7 lawmakers who wrote the 2003 Medicare bill. Those same companies employ 675 lobbyists on Capitol Hill. (here) and (here)The entire top one percent richest of Americans, over one million families, increased their average net worth by 75 percent during the 1990s. The net worth of the middle quintile, adjusted for inflation, declined 10 percent between 1983 and 1995, and rose briefly in 1998 and 1999, only to slide back after 2000. (The Consumer Expenditure Survey prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (here)
The Not-Rich Fun FactsSince 1999 there's been a 22 percent increase in U.S. households in which there was hunger due to poverty during the year. --U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (and here)From 1979 until now, the richest 1% in the country have seen their wages increase by 150%, those of us in the bottom 20% are making $100 less per year (adjusted for inflation) than at the dawn of the Reagan era. (here)
According to the General Accounting Office, those who earn less than $25,000 a year have seen their IRS audits double--while those earning over $100,000 have seen their audits drop by 25%. (here)"Our budget will run a deficit that will be small and short-lived. When America works, America prospers, so my economic security plan can be summed up in one word: jobs." (Bush's State of the Union Speech, 2002) (here)2,365,000 jobs have been lost in the private sector since Bush took office (Bureau of Labor Statistics 1/10/03) (here)135,000 jobs were created monthly, on the average under every President since Truman. Bush's average is -73,000. (That's a minus sign.) (here) The unemployment rate has increased 43% since Bush took office. When he took office it was 4.2%, in December 2002 it was 6%, and it's holding at 5.6% as of July 2004. (CBO, B&EO 1/01(here)Budget deficits are projected at $450 billion for 2004. The projected 10-year surplus was 5.6 trillion when Bush took office. 94% of that surplus has evaporated under Bush. (here) (CBO, B&EO 1/01)47.7% of Bush's tax cut goes to the top one percent of wage earners. 9.5% goes to the bottom 80 percent. (NY Times 12/22/02) (here)Median household income went down 2.2% in 2001. The last time that happened was in 1991. (Us Census Bureau) (here)Bush cut the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) by 300 million for 2003. 532,000 families will not receive home heating assistance through LIHEAP because of his cuts. (Neada) and (here)Bush's 2003 budget cut 490 food safety inspectors, 1,175 FBI agents, and 1,600 Customs Inspectors. (here)Bush's 2003 budget cut 8000 homeless children off from education programs, 33,000 children from subsidized child care, 36,000 seniors from meal programs, 50,000 children from after-school programs, 230,000 veterans from medical services, 225,000 low-income women, infants, and children from nutritional support and health care services, and 1 million American workers from unemployment insurance. (Office of the Senate Democratic Leader 1/16/03).Corporate Contributors Fun FactsLess than one-tenth of one percent of the U.S. population gave 83 percent of all campaign contributions in the 2002 elections. (Molly Ivins)These corporations paid zero taxes from 1996 to 1998:AT&T, Bristol-Myers, Squibb, Chase Manhattan, Enron, ExxonMobil, General Electric, Microsoft, Pfizer and Phillip Morris. (here)Those same corporations gave $150.1 million to campaigns from 1991 to 2001. Public Campaign reports these corporations received $55 billion in tax breaks from ‘96 to ‘98 alone. (here)For $318.7 million in contributions, the resource-extracting industries (oil and gas, mining, electric utilities, chemical manufacturers and timber) received $33 billion in tax breaks in pending energy legislation; a weakened Superfund toxic clean up law; freedom to remove the tops off mountains and dump the waste in valleys and streams; lax regulation of energy markets; and other regulatory relief, such as not having to close high-pollution smokestacks. (Public Campaign (here))