Hey, you could try to be popular for solving problems or making the world better, but when you've got a rapture to prepare for, well, just hang in the bubble for a little while longer and maybe you can ignite Armageddon in your few remaining days....
In a mind boggling last presser today, soon-to-be-ex President Bush contradicted himself more times and faster than you can say pundits and opinionators, leaving those of us who were unlucky enough to be home, stuck in a cycle of rewinding and winding to try to figure out if he really said that...or that...or that... Just click in at any point and prepare to be disgusted and relieved that he's leaving. I still can't even wrap my mind around whats happened in the past 8 years, but I know that it has hurt this country and the world, and the specifics of it will be winding and rewinding like these last words to the press. For specific deconstruction of the final presser tune in to Maron v Seder's Break Room where you can catch the replay of the opinionating all day, and then browse the archives for the rest!...Jetpack Engage!
I mean, you wouldn't want to be "hauled up in front of Congress" or anything... My God, we can only hope and pray.
I think I'll have to wait for Jill to get home from her day-job to sort this out for me...maybe Drifty (go vote for him!) can illustrate it in pictures; I was gonna use all my photoshop pictures of Bush as a clown, but then I know some real clowns and I don't want to sully their name(s) by superimposing the evil clown thing onto the psychopath in chief....
Remember back when BushCo was pushing us into Iraq, when the UN was still over there, and we were waiting on reports to find out what was really going on? My sister slapped a bumper sticker on her minivan that said "Bomb Iraq? NO!" I was with her in the sentiment, as anyone who has seen my car bumper through the years will attest to, but I was wary of the language, because I wasn't quite sure what the outcome of the UN inspectors was going to be and I was still in denial that America would do something as crazy as actually divert our troops from Afghanistan to Iraq and in fact "bomb" them ("back to the stone age," as the survivalist working at the local video store said, spittle flying.)
Back then, as the Rovian spin machine began to blend the terms of 9-11, Afghanistan, and Iraq into easily digestible sound bytes with a threatening undertone and the fear of being viewed as un-American somehow for questioning our leadership, I was overcome with defiance. From the Impeach lawn signs that grandpa used to crawl up the steep rocky slope to pull down (because it only takes one crazy with a moltov cocktail!...not that he disagreed, you understand,) to my "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" bumper sticker addressing the bold twisting of the power of belief, and using the framework of religion to sell their war. I read a study years ago that people who commute in cars or just drive alot actually learn quite a bit from bumper stickers. I forget the exact numbers, but I remember being impressed enough to consider my bumper as a teaching opportunity, regardless of if I felt frightened of how others might react. So far I get alot of thumbs up for my " My Child is an Honor Student, But My President is an Idiot!," and the like, though lately I had an Obama sticker taken off the car in Manhattan (I'm hoping because it was unusual and someone wanted to use it!) and Ive gotten a few fingers on the highway. Am I un-American for expressing my disgust with the state of things? Should I be frightened because my words might cause some people to act violently towards me?
9-11 sent us all into a spiral of what might have been national shock, fear, or depression, and the Bush White house, with Karl Rove in the wheelhouse, manipulated and played that up to great effect with the undercurrent message being a warning that we must support the executive without question or risk death at the hands of terrorists or worse: being labeled un-American.
In April of this year, BushCo began circulating memos that warned of the power of the use of certain language because of its ability to inflame religious tensions and, according to MSNBC
U.S. officials may be "unintentionally portraying terrorists, who lack moral and religious legitimacy, as brave fighters, legitimate soldiers or spokesmen for ordinary Muslims," says a Homeland Security report. It's entitled "Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims."
"Regarding 'jihad,' even if it is accurate to reference the term, it may not be strategic because it glamorizes terrorism, imbues terrorists with religious authority they do not have and damages relations with Muslims around the world," the report says.
Further, just as of this year apparently, words like "jihad," which beyond the U.S.'s common use of it to imply the waging of a holy war, supposedly means to do good, and "mujahedeen," which are just those involved in a jihad, are supposed to be cut from any official discourse. Likewise, "violent extremist," "terrorist," and "Islamo-fascism" have been deemed inappropriate as highly inflammatory. The reports also note that use of these terms increases the star power of terrorists and inflames relations with regular Muslims, who have nothing to do with terrorism and don't much like their religion attached to what amounts to fringe groups.
Too little, too late, you say? The British published similar reports last year, and I don't think I would have to Google far to find these and many other inflammatory terms used by our very Commander in Chief...often...lately...on television from the rose garden...from the oval office...while dropping his Scotty on his head from Air Force One...When has the man NOT used these talking points again and again to inflame and frighten the American people, while apparently breeding more contempt and new baby terrorists all the time?
This is just another pathetic example of the use of language as a propaganda tool to start and continue unrest and to germinate fear and blind obedience in the people of a nation. Loose lips sink ships, but what if those loose lips are your President's? I know that he is gonna be viewed for all of history as a dummy, but look at how frequently the dummy repeated what the ventriloquist fed into his backflap...look at how insidious these few words have been...and wonder, as I am, how many innocent people died because of a couple of very smart guys who decided to use deep psychological manipulation on a lulled and frightened populace, in order to achieve a goal that will likely play out to be one of stone cold self enrichment.
A week or so ago DINO-republo-freak Joe Lieberman appeared on Faux News Sunday representing the republican point of view in a debate against real democrat Evan Bayh. In one of those unreal exchanges about the war old Joe threw around the talking points and buzzwords shamelessly, referring to victory and how the surge had worked, when it must be clear to all thinking Americans by now that victory is a relative term that can be used in any number of ways, and the effectiveness of the surge is questionable at best. Not one interviewer or pundit seems to be able to ask the question of what victory would look like exactly because the term seems to be attached to supporting the troops. In my estimation, this is some sort of leftover plug from the "cut and run" days and it really does a disservice to the troops because it implies that anything less than victory is not acceptable. If victory, as it has been historically viewed, is really not possible in this theater then the troops are damned to failure.
OK, I get it that Joe is caught up in the talking points and is working with a deep neocon belief in the cause of "spreading democracy," (aka. controlling the oil for mid-east domination, fun and profit,) or whatever flavor of kool-aid they were passing out that day, but as a Connecticut voter and someone who worked on the Lamonte campaign, I have to say that what he is saying does not represent me or anyone I know. Not even CT Republicans are onboard with this pap, so where does he get off heading into territory that betrays all that he ran on and even every other more conservative viewpoint in his state? This man so clearly lied to his constituency to get into office. He used the fear and lies of the vocabulary just as surely as he is following at the heels of John McCain and whispering the new jargon into his hearing aide. Joe Lieberman is delusional and so is John McCain, but they are using the new talking points to great effect.
McCain implies that we would be cowards to withdraw, and that there is some sort of shame in ending this war without achieving its objective. The thing is that the objective has been stated and restated a few times by the Bush administration without anything concrete that one might hang onto, and there remains, even in the face of the Iraqi government asking for us to set a timeline, no clear way to declare victory or mission accomplished, or even just get the hell out of there without the leadership of this country deciding that they are going to make it OK to end this thing. There will never be an easy withdrawal, and even in Obama's best case scenarios we are looking at a long drawn out process involving much loss of life, and probably tremendous heroics of the brave soldiers who are tasked with this nearly impossible task.
What does victory look like? The Iraqi people waving flowers and candy at us as we ride our tanks out of town and into the bellies of huge transports? Can we ever go home? From the White House's Victory page itself comes this confusing bit:
* Short term, Iraq is making steady progress in fighting terrorists, meeting political milestones, building democratic institutions, and standing up security forces. * Medium term, Iraq is in the lead defeating terrorists and providing its own security, with a fully constitutional government in place, and on its way to achieving its economic potential. * Longer term, Iraq is peaceful, united, stable, and secure, well integrated into the international community, and a full partner in the global war on terrorism.
None of these goals are even close to being accomplished, nor are programs in place that even seemingly function in the general direction of an orderly return to self governing. The next section gets really bizarre:
* Iraq is the central front in the global war on terror. Failure in Iraq will embolden terrorists and expand their reach; success in Iraq will deal them a decisive and crippling blow. * The fate of the greater Middle East -- which will have a profound and lasting impact on American security -- hangs in the balance.
Impossible to accomplish, as far as I can see...and really scary if we don't! I suppose that if we replaced the "Iraq" with "our huge embassy serves as our base as a central front in the war on terror and controlling all oil production in the region..." oh wait, our presence creates more terrorists, so no matter how many stinking embassies we build over there, we cant stay if we are serious about stopping it's growth....hmmmm....
The concept of retreat, defeat and/or victory do not apply to what is going on in Iraq. The more that Bush apologists are allowed to throw these phrases around, the more America believes in the fairytale unattainable goals of fighting them over there so we don't have to here. Further, these words should offend us every bit as much as the anti Muslim words and the words that increase the star power of terrorists that are in the memos being sent around now by the white house....now, after Bush has used the terms a million times...and how many times will John McCain imply that our troops are somehow less than brave if they leave without the indescribable and unattainable victory that he...er, Rove... has in mind.
Our acceptance of these words from the likes of John McCain or George Bush, and their surrogates, is the first step down the path to submission and the very real unAmerican act of not demanding full disclosure and accountability from those that we elect to represent us not only in our own government but to the world.
The Media disconnect occurs somewhere between the New York Times lauding blogger Steve Gillard in this week's Sunday magazine, and inviting Bill Kristol to become a regular columnist. The paper hopes to stir up some controversy and sell some papers, not realizing that probably what will sell papers is some cold hard truth, rather than the words of a man who is wrong at every turn, with every prediction, and every comment; has he ever been right about anything?
Its been a lousy as hell year all around. Good riddance to 2007! I cant think of anyone who has had an easy go of it, not family or friends, not Paris Hilton or Anna Nicole...and especially not the brave military families and veterans who are serving so patiently and bravely in a war with no purpose and no end. New and old friends; even strangers tell me that its been bad. I don't know if they're referring to the overwhelming barrage of lies, deceit, and misconduct that we have been subjected to from our government, or if its the growing effect of that misconduct on our every day lives. Surely the failing economy, lack of healthcare, loss of lives in Iraq, and stress from the empathy that we cant help but feel for all of those who are worse off beyond our own situations, weighs heavily on us all...the depths of despair, the illness, the loss; the loss of feeling like being an American means something.
Well, it turns out that as the year ends and the ball drops, George W. Bush feels pretty damned good about things. According to an article in this pastSunday's Parade Magazine penned supposedly by the king himself, He has a list of things that made his year special, and his sneering, squint-eyed self glaring stupidly from the cover tells the story of how out of touch the man is. There is no downcast glance and teary statement of how we appreciate the sacrifice of our boys and girls in harm's way. There is not a thoughtful nod towards the people who have lost their homes to bad loans or medical crisis, or who no longer have jobs. No, our president is an "optimist" who takes strength from the few, well screened people that he meets when he is on the very edge of his bubble, and can sort of see through the opaque mask that is the boundary of his understanding.
So sometime after the staff begins to take down the decorations at the White House,Laura and Dubya muse on the few people that they have been allowed to meet in person and how great and inspirational they were. The brave family of a soldier who gladly died for his country while on a mission in Afghanistan, an entrepreneur who has changed her life by opening a small bakery in Nashville, the director of the Human Genome Institute, who is especially special because he is a man of God, and so he wont mess with stem cells to try to cure anything (because the Human Genome will cure Cancer, you know!)....and the list goes on....an AIDS mother from South Africa (he touched her AIDS free child!)the wife of an imprisoned Cuban who was jailed for democracy in evil Cuba, and "other Americans" who have shown W and Laura that America is strong....despite what he has done to us.
There is no mention of the mess in Iraq and the mounting deaths every day. There is no mention of the lies and corruption in his party. No mention of our lost standing in the world and the scorching lack of diplomacy that has colored every move that this administration has made; we are irreparably damaged, and there is no way to tell if we can regain what we've lost in the past 7 years.
On the edge of the year in which we will kick these bums out of office, we know that we will likely do so without proper documentation on the books of their crimes. We will move ahead with the knowledge that the memory of moist Americans is so short, that this war will become the property of the next administration, as if they had started it and run our country into the ground from scratch.
He is optimistic? Optimistic? What a word to throw around in light of all that's happened this year.
The comments following the online version of the story say it all. There is really nothing I can add to the voices of real Americans, commenting in this Sunday newspaper magazine that is distributed inside national and local papers across the country. Does this magazine have a political side? If anything, Ive viewed it as a Good Housekeeping-ish conservative fluff rag. I'm not sure; judge for yourself. All I can see out here in the world is that the American people are speaking up, and they don't much like the way things have been going :
George W Bush By Johnnyjoeymickey@aol.com on 12/31/2007 8:57:PM
When I Saw Bush war criminal on the cover of Parade, I cried, I really cried. I cant believe you put a picture of the devil himself on your magazine. Shame on you!!!! Shame on you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Abominable Cover of the Monster-in-Chief By tumerica@gmail.com on 12/31/2007 4:45:PM
Place a murderer--an actual monster--on your cover. Let him drone on about his "optimism," show complete disregard for your readership . . . do all of these things, and what do you expect you will achieve? Will it buy you a coveted place in the regard of this person's last few months in office? Will it endear Parade to future readers? I felt a visceral and real nausea when I saw whom you had placed on your cover. In return, I have no respect left for Parade and will hereby boycott reading your publication. May many other Americans follow suit. George Bush gave me a Nightmare and I got sick! By Leomoon80@msn.com on 12/31/2007 2:18:PM
I've read a few of the other comments, such as "He should have talked about his Accomplishments",and I understand why he did not. What he has accomplished has being responsible for the deaths of thousands and thousands of people, invading a country that was NO threat to us, as not one Iraqi attacked us on 9-11. Running our country into virtual bankruptcy, bringing the dollar to the lowest value ever in the world. But I can see the Smile from ear to ear, as he and his fellow rich friends and family continue to reap thanks to his laws, "Record Profits" from the suffering of others. Sad indeed! The only picture in the future I'd like to see of G.W. Bush, is one behind bars. Worse Cover By Wathen on 12/31/2007 2:02:PM
It is easy to be an optimist if you have health insurance and your children have health insurance. Is Bush smiling because he is thinking of all the children that have and will die because spending billions in Iraq is a higher priority than saving the lives of children in the U.S. by providing health insurance? Or is he smirking because of the suffering he has caused by not providing all the help he can on stem cell research? He has destroyed any legacy that his father may have had and he certainly has done nothing that his twins can be proud of. What a sad evil person we have for a "president". You who voted twice for this thing By mark223@hotmail.com on 12/31/2007 11:37:AM
hell yes i'm a voter... as for you you **** head i bet i can describe you to the "t"... your a male and your race is white, you been divoce maybe more than once you always have to have the last saying (because your mr. perfect). people talk behind your back and you know it. you are surely are not like. and because of you whom vote for bush you made the republican party history... hurrah!!! What Made My Year Special By leighpc@hotmail.com on 12/31/2007 9:43:AM
Seeing George Bush smiling on the cover of Parade Magazine yesterday and seeing the words "What Made My Year Special" made me physically ill. Does this man have no heart or soul? How can someone who has brought so much death and misery to the innocent civilians of Iraq and Afghanistan sleep at night, let alone smile placidly for the camera? All I can say is "Praise God" that 2008 will be the last year this small, terrible man will be in a position to inflict his evil policies on our nation and the world. Ongoing By sambrown.6@gmail.com on 12/31/2007 2:23:AM
With every word Bush "writes" and every word he says, the words maintain the obvious that he sees the world in black and white and uses religion as a front for his lack of imagination, intelligence, and reality. I have lived through many presidential era's and even talked with some Presidents. Never have I seen someone who so lacked the capability to be a President. I have been disgusted by Presidents only twice in my life and both have existed in the last 16 years. Bush is a human rights violator. By shildahl@gmail.com on 12/30/2007 9:00:PM
As a VN vet, I am critical of you featuring the Bush war criminal on your cover. Keep in mind that he, and Cheney, Rove, and Rice are all folks who have no clue about "service" to their country's military. Rumsfeld did serve, but left when the VN war was heating up. Shame on Parade Magazine! Let's send them all to the World Court.
With 1 or 2 out of 21 comments being pro-Bush, for no real reason besides that he is The Decider, the captions cry out...its really quite unbelievable:
Bush's' "Special Year". Very disappointing. Too Sick to Read On. what were you thinking? Could'nt get Al Gore to do your cover? Unreal. Are You Kidding Me?
But my favorite comment of them all and one that represents my feelings exactly:
By odziana@charter.net on 12/30/2007 2:32:PM
This man has lead by fear and lies and you ask him anything. He is as deep as a toenail. Our countries greatest assets are our deversity and open heartedness. He represents none of that. Why not ask a mass murderer what made his year special, at least they would have health care and meals. something this president does not seem to even know we need. Well when you never have to touch the middle class, nor care to, I guess you can be optimistic. If he really , really cared about us, he would let go of his stubborness (fear) and stop killing us in oh so many ways. Verta Odziana, michigan
An interesting addendum to the Parade issue is that Parade's upcoming issue was supposed to contain the last interview of Benazir Bhutto that had been scheduled to be released on the first Sunday in January. It was written by Gail Sheehy, who traveled to Pakistan and followed Bhutto as she campaigned across the country, interviewing her twice at her residence. In light of Bhutto's assassination, Parade has published the piece online this weekend. I will be interested to see if she still appears on the cover next weekend.
The crime that must be remembered on this and every Veteran's Day is that these horribly injured soldiers who fought for nothing more than a lie and the enrichment of a certain group of old white men in the war and oil businesses, will come to find that there are not adequate support systems in place for any of our veterans, much less those who have a new type of injuries that have been born of this war. Head injuries and PTSD might not be as spectacularly horrible looking as these photo-oped ones that the Bush administration have sent out to the world, but they will flood our already overburdened system.
Our veterans are the brave heroes, who have put their lives on the line for freedom, whether it was a lie or the truth is not the issue. They went and they fought for us and for our ideals. That's why it is so important for us to support them. That is why I cringe at the photo-op of these brave people being pimped out by Bush and his publicity team.
So, I don't cringe because the injuries tell a story of pain that we could not imagine and lives that are changed forever, that they are too graphic for my delicate sensibilities, but because this guy...this President of ours has the balls to look these brave soldiers in the eye and pretend that they will be able to get care for the rest of their lives.
November 12, 2007 Editorial The Plight of American Veterans
As an unpopular, ill-planned war in Iraq grinds on inconclusively, it can be a bleak time to be a veteran.
There is little outright hostility toward returning military personnel these days; few Americans are reviling them as “baby killers” or blaming them for a botched war of choice launched by the White House. Indeed, both Congress and the White House have been hymning their praises in the run-up to Veterans Day. But all too often, soldiers who return from Iraq or Afghanistan — and those who served in Vietnam or Korea — have been left to fend for themselves with little help from the government.
Recent surveys have painted an appalling picture. Almost half a million of the nation’s 24 million veterans were homeless at some point during 2006, and while only a few hundred from Iraq or Afghanistan have turned up homeless so far, aid groups are bracing themselves for a tsunamilike upsurge in coming years.
Tens of thousands of reservists and National Guard troops, whose jobs were supposedly protected while they were at war, were denied prompt re-employment upon their return or else lost seniority, pay and other benefits. Some 1.8 million veterans were unable to get care in veterans’ facilities in 2004 and lacked health insurance to pay for care elsewhere. Meanwhile, veterans seeking disability payments faced huge backlogs and inordinate delays in getting claims and appeals processed.
The biggest stain this year was the scandalous neglect of outpatients at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and a sluggish response to the needs of wounded soldiers at veterans clinics and hospitals. Much of this neglect stemmed from the Bush administration’s failure to plan for a long war with mounting casualties and over-long tours of duty to compensate for a shortage of troops.
Thus far, more than 4,000 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, many more than died in the almost-bloodless Persian Gulf war, but only a fraction of the body counts in Vietnam (58,000) or Korea (36,000). A higher percentage of wounded soldiers are surviving the current conflicts with grievous injuries, their lives saved by body armor, advances in battlefield medicine and prompt evacuation. A study issued last week estimated that the long-term costs of their medical care and disability benefits could exceed the amount spent so far in prosecuting the war in Iraq.
To their credit, Congress and the administration have poured billions of added dollars into veterans’ programs and streamlined procedures in a scramble to catch up with the need. That is only appropriate. The entire burden of today’s wars has been carried by a voluntary military force and its families. The larger public has not faced a draft, paid higher taxes or been asked to make any other sacrifice. The least a grateful nation should do is support the troops upon their return.
We all need to look at the graphic truth of this war. This is our war; we own it along with the casualties and crimes that come along with it. So, while some people avert their eyes, lets remember that this is America, and we are only as strong as our weakest citizen...only as healthy as these guys are.
Lets just hope that those veteran's programs continue to grow and be funded properly. lets just hope that not even one brave soldier falls between the cracks of this flawed system. And lets demand that we pull out of Iraq as quickly and safely as humanly possibly. I hope that Bush and Cheney and their cohorts will be held fully accountable for their crimes. But no matter what, the record will reflect what we will be yelling about forever...the truth is that we have all been bamboozled and we have to take care of our soldiers while we search for justice.
Some things Bush should contemplate before attacking Iran, but won't:
1. It will be far worse than Iraq which hasn't turned out well at all.
2. You will demonstrate to the world the US is no longer a super power.
3. Such an attack will ruin what little respect any country has for the US.
4. Iran will attack world-wide on a scale you won't believe.
5. You can't destroy all of Iran's offensive capabilities fast enough to prevent retaliation.
6. Ten dollar per gallon oil? Oh yeah, that's not a bad thing. I forgot.
7. Obviously Israel, Syria, Lebanon and others will join in.
8. You will wreck what's left of the US military.
9. Even Iranians deserve to live. You will kill civilians in obscene numbers.
10. You will be personally responsible for the deaths of millions of people throughout the Mid-East.
11. People around the world will revile you until the day you die and probably long after. What a great fucking legacy.
12. Your father may finally disown you. Oh, I forgot, you don't really care.
13. Everyone will finally realize just how psychotic you actually are.
14. Your balls will shrivel up and most likely fall off.
15. No doubt almost everyone will see your foreign policy was shit.
16. Paraguay may be too close to the US for you.
17. Because Iran can retaliate, Lebanon is viable, the PA is viable, Syria is viable, you may well trigger the destruction of Israel.
18. You will no longer be able to vacation in the Persian Gulf.
19. Quite possibly you'll see the sinking of one or more US warships.
20. Most likely many of the US's allies will lose thousands of people.
21. You will postpone and guarantee Iran's having nuclear weapons.
22. Its probable Iran won't be the last to develop nuclear weapons as that's the only way to keep you from attacking them.
23. You will prove beyond a doubt you are the most stupid fucker to ever lead a country...period.
24. The 23% approval rate you have may fall down to just members of the US Congress.
25. You will single handedly destroy what's left of the GOP. OK, that could be a good thing.
26. If you're lucky (we're all lucky?) this won't incite a world war.
27. Can you say military coup d’état? They've happened for lesser reasons.
28. You will crush the US economy which you've already decimated.
29. Billions of dollars in military aircraft will be lost. You don't think the Iranians won't fight back, do you?
30. Russia and China are nearby. They may decide its in their best interests to stop you. And China doesn't even have to intervene militarily. It could just call in its US debt. Huge fucking oops!
31. Then there are the American lives to be lost. Can't have enough of those can you, Bush?
This is a partial list. Its a start. Feel free to add to it in comments.
First off, notice I'm not the only fucking person to use profanity on the internets tubes.
Johnson, who has no homeland security experience, is a professional Bush loyalist. While Johnson may have familiarity with some aspects of DHS’s budget, he appears to have no experience in the many responsibilities of the department, including immigration, air travel security, disaster response, and other aspects of our nation’s homeland defense.
He is one of Bush’s oldest friends, having attended both prep school and college with the President. Johnson served as Bush’s gubernatorial chief of staff in Texas before heading up the Bush-Cheney transition team.
Jesus H Christ with ADDA, how much fucking damage can Bush do? Don't answer that. I really don't want to know.
I'm watching a report on TV about Jesus Suarez who was an American soldier killed by a US cluster bomb. Got that? A cluster bomb which is supposedly not allowed in warfare. And it was a US bomb.
The report also mentions the fact US troop dead are brought home in the middle of the night and the families of such fallen are not allowed to attend their arrival.
Here it is in a nutshell.
WE HAVE A CHICKEN SHIT PRESIDENT AND HE DESERVES ABSOLUTELY NO RESPECT FROM ANYONE.
If anyone in authority or in power is reading this, why does no one have the courage to rid the US of Bush and Cheney? Impeach both their asses. Now.
OK. Back to my cave. I'm sorry my meds have worn off. I've switched to a fluff channel so I don't go crazy.
Oops, this was supposed to be a post to SPIIDERWEB™. Sorry, Jill.
Sometimes its a PITA (pain in the ass) to be a cynic, but this stinks to high heaven.
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush will attend Tuesday's convocation at Virginia Tech to remember those affected by the deadliest campus violence ever in this country.
This is a damn photo op for Bush. It isn't like he really cares about the 33 dead students any more than he cares about the 3200 dead troops in the Mid-East.
This is a tragedy, but so were the hurricanes in the southern US. So are the horrors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush is as sympathetic as your average house cat.
Surprise! Surprise! The Bush administration just doesn't give a damn about oversight and certainly won't have anything to do with it.
Today, U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) issued the following statement in response to the Justice Department’s failure to comply with the Committee’s subpoena response deadline of 2 p.m. today. The subpoena seeks information the Department has continued to refuse to provide or has provided only in redacted (read conspiratorial) form.
“We are disappointed that the Justice Department failed to produce the documents and other materials for which we issued a subpoena last week. While we understand that the Department considers this effort a priority and we plan to continue working with them, we will review all available legal options to secure compliance with the subpoena.” [emphasis mine or Eli's]
I guess they forget who's holding the reins now.
Each day it seems the Democrats are becoming more like stallions than geldings. They seem to be capable of growing balls.
Didn't realize Jill was up to her ass neck in water. I'll try to take up a little of the slack for her. Hope you and she don't mind.
I'm sorry, but I can't resist sticking it to Bush.
THE PRESIDENT: Our nation is shocked and saddened by the news of the shootings at Virginia Tech today. The exact total has not yet been confirmed, but it appears that more than 30 people were killed and many more were wounded.
I've spoken with Governor Tim Kaine and Virginia Tech President Charles Steger. I told them that Laura and I and many across our nation are praying for the victims and their families and all the members of the university community who have been devastated by this terrible tragedy. I told them that my administration would do everything possible to assist with the investigation, and that I pledged that we would stand ready to help local law enforcement and the local community in any way we can during this time of sorrow. [emphasis mine]
Hello? Katrina? Rita? Yeah, we know about your "help".
Does this not sound exactly like a Bush operation? Is anyone with competence in charge? Stoopid question I know.
After six billion dollars and over three years, the Pentagon is finally going to examine the office that is supposed to help solve the improvised bomb problem. More telling, one of the people tapped to head the review was a vocal war critic early on. Congress was already casting a suspicious eye towards the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO). Now, it seems, some in the Defense Department have grown frustrated, too.
Uh, I think we got us a problem with those fucking IEDs. Duh! Maybe its time we look into that.
And is it just me who finds it interesting four soldiers would be so nonchalant about an IED explosion near them?
