first responders

George Bush has always been far more willing to give money to Halliburton and Exxon/Mobil than he has to give it to fund our fire departments, police departments and healthcare system.

Well, here he goes again. In the good old Republican tradition of hurting Americans which we saw so blatantly in New Orleans after Katrina, Bush is proposing to cut federal funding to fire departments, police, etc. by half. From Salon.com:

The Bush administration intends to slash counterterrorism funding for police, firefighters and rescue departments across the country by more than half next year, according to budget documents obtained by The Associated Press...

The department [of Homeland Security] wanted to provide $3.2 billion to help states and cities protect against terrorist attacks in 2009, but the White House said it would ask Congress for less than half — $1.4 billion, according to a Nov. 26 document. The plan calls outright elimination of programs for port security, transit security, and local emergency management operations in the next budget year. This is President Bush's last budget, and the new administration would have to live with the funding decisions between Jan. 20 and Sept. 30, 2009.

What? Elimination of funding for port security? Well, I guess he doesn't like port security since Democrats prevented him from turning our port security to his buddies in Dubai. More from Salon:

Rudy Giuliani is running for President as the "You All Loved me on 9/11" candidate. But it seems the real heroes of 9/11, the first responders who gave the most, aren't buying it. The International Association of Firefighters are hosting a bi-partisan Presidential Forum on March 14th...and Giuiliani is SPECIFICALLY not invited. This is the letter from the Firefighters' Union to its affiliates regarding tomorrow's forum and the decision to shut out Rudy. I quote it in its entirety.

Firefighters Union Letter On Rudy Giuliani
March 8, 2007

On March 14, 2007, the IAFF will host the first bi-partisan Presidential Forum of the 2008 election cycle. No other union and very few organizations has the credibility and respect to attract top-tier candidates from both political parties. The lineup of speakers who have agreed to participate in our Forum is truly a testament to our great union and the reputation we have built as a powerful political force and a coveted endorsement.

John Edwards, John McCain, Barack Obama, Chuck Hagel, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Duncan Hunter and seven other candidates will make their case before the 1,000 delegates who will be attending the Forum and to our entire membership via same-day broadcast on our web site.

Early on, the IAFF made a decision to invite all serious candidates from both political parties — except one: former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.