Un-frickin'-believeable In today's right wing news, the Drudge Report headline screams, RIOTS, SHORTAGES, MILLIONS DIE: BUSH PLAN WARNS OF DIRE RESULTS IN FLU EPIDEMIC The NYT article Drudge links to explains the Bush Administration's concern about the predicted pandemic to come, and highlights the Bush Administration's attempts to prepare for the calamity. Does this article give us any context? Does it mention that Bush propsed to cut the Center for Disease Control's budget by 6.6 percent in 2006? Do it remind us of the botched flu vaccine scandal last fall? Did you ever think you'd see the day when the American Enterprise Institute took Bush to task for not supporting spending on social programs? It's here... Norman Ornstein: "Operation Offset," a proposal by the Republican Study Committee to help address the recovery costs of the hurricanes, "includes the one big-ticket item that could make a substantial difference in the short term: delaying the Medicare prescription drug program for a year," Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, writes. In the proposal, conservative House Republicans "take on Medicare, although mostly by making retirees pay more," Ornstein writes, adding that "the kudos have to be diluted once one examines other offsets RSC recommends." According to Ornstein, the proposal calls for the elimination of the National Science Foundation's math and science education program, federal grants for wastewater infrastructure and reducing funds for waste disposal grants. In addition, the proposal calls for reducing funds for CDC, an "interesting idea to pursue" amid fears of avian flu and biological and biochemical attacks, Ornstein writes, adding that "CDC is our front line to help track their advance, ameliorate their impact and find vaccines to prevent their spread." He writes, "There is zero political will to take on the biggest of big-ticket items -- Social Security and Medicare" (Ornstein, Roll Call, 9/28). Read It: There are decent people on both edges of the political spectrum. When Nixon crossed a line, it took investigative journalists and people from his own party to bring him down. Now, due to the spinelessness of the democratic leadership, it seems republicans are our only defense against the predations of republicans. I'd love to join a party that actually fought for the people it claims to represent.