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Oh yeah, soon, we’ll be thanking Bush all right…FOR LEAVING!
DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT, GEORGIE!
I’ll also be thanking him for not conjuring up some bullshit excuse
for him staying in the White House past Jan. 20. Of course, I would
have thanked Congress for doing their job and impeaching this lying
criminal, too, but they didn’t do that.
Check out the article the above screengrab comes from here:
www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/28/rice.administration/index.html
|
Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io
Why did he duck? The shoes weren’t even loaded! |
As Muntadhar al-Zaidi becomes a hero across Iraq for throwing his Iraqi-made shoes at George W. Bush during a recent surprise(d) visit to Iraq, I couldn’t help but think about how fast good old King George was to duck those shoes. Just last night, Steve Isaacs microblogged that he felt Bush dodging those shoes made the current occupant of the White House look competent and capable. That got me thinking.
In the movie Cool Hand Luke (spoiler alert) there’s a great scene where Paul Newman’s character proves his grit by standing up to the prison bully. He doesn’t win the fight–he doesn’t even get a few good punches in. In fact, he gets his ass pounded. The thing is, he keeps getting back up to get pounded again.
This is heroism, folks. This is taking responsibility for your actions. Newman’s “Luke” wanted to take on the big man and put him in his place, but he couldn’t do it with strength. So, he did it with honor.
So, it’s natural that, like a weasel, Bush ducks the shoes as they fly at his face. That’s what he’s been best at all this time, right? Ducking responsibility for one colossal fuck-up after another.
911 wasn’t his fault–it was the terrorists who hate our freedom. Forget that memo with the title “bin Laden determined to strike inside the United States.” Forget that it’s the government’s job to stop things like the 911 attacks from happening. Forget that there used to be FAA regulations that allowed for USAF fighters to shoot down any aircraft heading toward populated areas. What happened to that regulation, anyway? I remember what happened to Paine Stewart.
Katrina wasn’t his fault–how could they predict a storm like that and an aftermath like that? Well, National Geographic Magazine did.
Saddam not having WMD wasn’t Bush’s fault, either. How could they know that Saddam had no WMD? I mean, besides the fact that there was no hard evidence he had WMD?
Iraq being the absurd quagmire that it has become–certainly, there was no way to predict that! Of course, the British experienced it first hand… in 1917. I won’t bring up Dick Cheney’s own prediction of a mess back in 1992.
So, consider how just one of those shoes hitting Bush in the face would have made you feel. I know I’d have still laughed and played the clip over and over and over.
But him ducking the shoes?
Nothing new there. Just same old not-so-artful dodging from a man who didn’t even have the decency to make sure he was properly elected… either time.
It just shows you the kind of spineless, fearful little weasel George W. Bush is.
It’s a shoe, man. What’s it going to do to you? Knock out a tooth? Break the skin?
Bush, you’re supposed to be the president of the United States of America and you’re afraid of a couple shoes.
Wow, I hope the guy that threw those shoes at Bush doesn’t end up in Abu Ghraib or Gitmo. Pull that kind of thing here in the land of the Free and the Brave and you get your ass investigated and possibly even arrested for threatening the life of the guy in the White House. Hell, in this country just talking about throwing a shoe at the occupier of the Oval Office might bring the Secret Service’s shoe down on your throat.
Hey, you didn’t really think we have 100% free speech didja?
After all, Bush himself agrees that there should be limits to freedom (and he said that before 911!).
Read more about King George’s encounter with the shoe-throwing Angry Iraqi at CNN.com.
Posted via email from thepete’s posterous
CORRECTION: I just watched the video–turns out the Iraqi dude threw both of his shoes at Bush. So, I corrected the text above to reflect multiple shoes thrown. :)
UPDATE: Here’s video of the actual event as it happened:
That’s right, just 16 percent of Americans think America is heading in the right direction (and 100% of those Americans are idiots). CNN.com seems to think Obama has a daunting task ahead of him but I disagree. Hey, when you’re this low, the only direction is up, right?
It’s always darkest…
Has anyone else noticed that Bush tends to turn anything he touches to shit?
Why do people keep letting him touch things?
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 This is a totally useless observation, but I noticed tonight while looking at the pic of Bush delivering his historic "we’re screwed" speech to the nation a little black spot under his jaw. Can you see it? WTH is that? Mobile post sent by thepete using Utterli. |
Ugh, so here is a fun one–George W. Bush trying to convince us all that he’s right about something else that has gone to shit under his watch.
Seriously, everything this man touches turns to fine smelling feces. I challenge anyone to name something he’s gotten right. I mean, do we really need me to go through this transcript to know that Bush will distort the facts, deceive us and dodge responsibility? Well, I’m a glutton for punishment (it comes from watching every episode of MST3K several times over), so here we go!
The below transcript of Bush’s historic “We’re Screwed” speech comes from JPGardners’ Donkelphant.com and remember, Bush’s comments will be in italics while mine will be factually accurate and not in italics.
THE PRESIDENT: Good evening.
Oh, Al Gore was there? :P (Get it? It says “THE PRESIDENT”. YES I’m still bitter god damn it!!)
This is an extraordinary period for America’s economy.
THIS GUY IS SHARP, BOY! What’s next? An observation that touching open flames cause pain??
Over the past few weeks, many Americans have felt anxiety about their finances and their future.
“Few weeks”?!?!?!
Try “few years” idiot. I’ve been blogging about the value of the dollar dropping for three years, possibly more.
It’s really hard not to use the word “retard” in connection with this fool, but I don’t want to insult anyone who is actually mentally handicapped.
I understand their worry and their frustration.
Ah, so you’re not frustrated? Why should you be? You’re wearing a beautiful new golden suit spun with gold so fine that you can’t see it, you tremendous feeb.
Sorry, I know it’s not mature to call people names, but this fucker won’t go away! He’s committed crimes, failed to protect Americans from terrorists and killer storms, bungled two wars almost simultaneously and now he’s managed to oversee one of the biggest economic failures America has seen since the Great Depression.
Ah, good stuff! o_O
More…
So, I’m not entirely sure how my personal email address got on the “Democrats.com” email list, but some how it got on it. (My email was on the Republicans email list, too at one point, but I had the good sense to remove it.) Earlier tonight I got an email from them that had an amusing subject–I’ve made it the title of this post.
My first reaction was: “That’s rich! Where were the Democrats five years ago when Bush illegally invaded Iraq?”
I still think it’s a valid concern, but I actually read their email and something in it really got me going. Have a look:
Congress Must Demand Bush and Cheney Resign
George Bush wants taxpayers to pay $700 billion to bail out Wall Street for its reckless investments in mortgage-backed securities. That’s on top of $800 billion for other recent bailouts, including A.I.G., Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Bear Stearns.
The current financial disaster is the direct result of the Bush-Cheney Administration’s 8-year policy of deregulation, corruption, and greed.
The Bush-Cheney Administration cannot be trusted to solve the massive problems they created. Before Congress gives the Bush Administration one dime of taxpayer money for financial bailouts, Congress must demand the immediate resignation of George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Henry Paulson and the appointment of Speaker Nancy Pelosi as President until our next President is sworn in on January 20, 2009.
Email your Senators and Representative and spread the word:
www.democrats.com/resign
Again, my instinct, initially, was to blow this email off, just like I did Robert Wexler’s attempts to impeach Bush while simultaneously asking for campaign donations. However, I’ll give you one guess at what it was in this email that made my ears prick up.
No, it wasn’t the basic message that Bush and Cheney should be gone from the White House. I’ve been saying that for years and there are WAY more reasons for them to leave than just Bush and Cheney’s move to embrace socialism for corporations. No, what made my right eyebrow rise was that last bit. They want Bush, Cheney and Paulson out and:
…the appointment of Speaker Nancy Pelosi as President until our next President is sworn in on January 20, 2009.
Now, I’m no fan of Pelosi. She lost my faith when she said that impeachment was off of the table a while back. However, getting a Democrat woman into the White House before even the election would be a devastating blow to the McCain campaign. There would be no way in hell he could win after enough of raised our voices to get his man out of the Oval Office.
I get scared looking at the polls and wondering why Obama isn’t doing better in them. How can they be polling so close to neck and neck when McCain is campaigning on a platform he ripped off from George Bush?
I don’t believe Americans are that stupid. This is why I’m hoping you, my faithful readers will please click on that link above (or this one here: www.democrats.com/resign ) and voice your support for a demand of resignations from Bush, Cheney and Paulson.
If enough of us speak up now they won’t have a choice but to actually react. We, The People of the United States of America can make our opinion known by telling Congress ourselves that we want this administration GONE from the White House.
Please, please, please, please, do this!
I don’t ask for much–I hardly ever ask my readers to sign on any dotted line, but if we can just get together on this one point–that we want the Bush Administration gone IMMEDIATELY–we don’t have to worry about McCain winning in November.
Please go here:
…and fill out the form.
Here are some other places around the ‘net you can read about this email:
digg.com/political_opinion/Congress_Must_Demand_Bush_and_Cheney_Resign
suzieqq.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/congress-must-demand-bush-and-cheney-resign/
boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.aspx?threadid=788298
mccainsucks.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/congress-must-demand-bush-and-cheney-resign/
www.nj.com/forums/politics/index.ssf?artid=1801971
Got a blog? Please blog about this. Got a Twitter account or an account at another micro or miniblogging site (like Jaiku or Tumblr)? Pleeease post about this there.
Feel free to post links to your blog posts in the comments.
By doing this we can avoid giving our flawed election system the chance to screw up another presidential election with a tight race! We need a landslide to have an undeniable winner–unlike in 2004 and in 2000 when Bush won by an iffy hair’s width.
By making your voice heard you can beat the electronic systems that are owned by Republicans and don’t provide reliable methods for recounts.
I’ve already filled out that form. I hope you will, too.
Please and thank you! Congress Must Demand Bush and Cheney Resign
It’s that time of the year again. I live in New York City and, to me, it doesn’t feel very different from being in LA. I don’t watch TV that much, so I’ve missed all of the 911 specials. However, I’m pretty cynical, so I’m going to assume no one on CNN, MSNBC or Fox talked about how Osama bin Laden’s FBI’s Most Wanted page still fails to mention anything about 911. In case the FBI has since updated the page since I wrote this blog post, check out the screengrab of Osama bin Laden’s FBI’s Most Wanted page here: thepete.com/uploads/FBIoblwanted2007a.png
But more important than seeing 911 mentioned on Osama bin Laden’s wanted page, it sure would be nice to see Osama bin Laden on the front page of the New York Times with the headline above it: “OSAMA BIN LADEN IN US CUSTODY”
It has been seven years, I think we won’t ever get him at this point.
I just wish heads would roll for:
1) Failing to catch the man we all blame for 911 and failing to put him on trial.
2) Allowing the 911 attacks to happen in the first place. What do we pay those idiots for?
3) The government letting us down so dramatically in both the wars in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
The thing is, NOBODY has talked about catching bin Laden or how they’ll hold accountable those responsible for allowing 911 to happen at all.
Remember when Bush said he’d get bin Laden dead or alive? Well, here he is saying bin Laden doesn’t concern him:
Nothing like a “fearless” leader totally backing down on his promise to avenge the deaths of those victims of the 911 terrorists.
Robert Wexler is one of the guys in DC that is actually pushing for Bush and Cheney to be impeached. Which is great–in that, it’s great when people actually bother to do their job. In this case, it’s the job of Congress to oversee the Executive Branch–a job they’ve been shirking for, oh, about the entire time Bush has been in the White House. So, finally, now that there are about six more months left in Bush’s 8-year reign over America (and the world), Wexler and pals are actually doing their job. Today they held hearings and what follows is Wexler’s email to me and the other folks on his mailing list, along with a bit of commentary.
Dear Pete,
Today, in the Judiciary Committee, we held a full day of hearings that focused entirely on the crimes of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney,
YAAAAY!!!
and featured testimony by Rep. Dennis Kucinich regarding his Articles of Impeachment against President Bush.
…oh–Kucinich–he’s the impish guy with the hot wife, right?
This is a great start – but I am far from satisfied.
That makes two of us.
Following statements by Chairman John Conyers and the Ranking Republicans,
A great band name! “John Conyers and the Ranking Republicans!!” I saw them play at the Roxy and they were GREAT. Can’t believe they’re not acoustic anymore though. :(
I opened with a forceful call for genuine and immediate Impeachment Hearings for President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
Well it’s usually better to open with a joke. But that’s cool–I bet you still got a laugh. ;)
The crimes of this Administration must be revealed and Bush and Cheney must be held accountable.
Ooo, that’s a 10-point penalty for double-anding!
Oh wait–maybe he meant to use a “&”. I’ll let it go, THIS time. o_O
Without Impeachment Hearings, we cannot break through the blatant and unprecedented efforts by President Bush to shut down legitimate oversight by this Congress.
Legitimate? I’ll settle for ANY.
As you know, President Bush has inappropriately and repeatedly invoked Executive Privilege to keep Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, Josh Bolten, and other White House officials from complying with legal, Congressional Subpoenas.
Not to mention invading a couple countries without provocation in violation of the UN Charter and by default international law–but that Executive Privilege thing is annoying, too.
I believe the only appropriate remedy is to hold Impeachment Hearings.
That I completely agree with. Please, Congressman Wexler, go on.
DONATE
Gah!!
Donate for WHAT? Huh?
While Inherent Contempt might dislodge some testimony or at least guarantee the appearance of witnesses, the larger concern is the President’s outrageous abuse of Executive Privilege.
Well, that and his sanctioned use of torture against terror suspects, but yeah, that Executive Privilege thing is a bitch.
We have been down this road before: in 1973, Articles of Impeachment were introduced against President Nixon after he illegally tried to use Executive Privilege to bury evidence of his wrongdoings.
Which were ultimately ignored when he resigned. The USG could have even brought criminal charges against Nixon, but they didn’t so Ford could announce that “Our long national nightmare is over.”
Sadly, we didn’t have to go back to sleep to experience our current one.
I fully recognize the significance of holding Impeachment Hearings, and I have not come to this position lightly – but when the President of the United States takes actions that amount to high crimes, we are left with no other option than to seek his impeachment and removal from office.
You know, you didn’t even have to wait that long–according to the GOA he violated federal covert propaganda law years ago.
Our government was founded upon a delicate balance of powers – whereby one branch carefully checks the other branches to prevent a dangerous consolidation of power.
Yeah, I heard about that–how’s that working out, by the way?
President Bush’s actions have totally destroyed this careful balance.
Ohhhh. :(
Without these checks and balances, the President could run roughshod over any law and turn us into a nation…
…where wars can be waged based on lies
…and laws can be rewritten without the input of Congress or the American people.
Thank God that hasn’t happened to OUR country!
…ohhhhhh! =(
Congress must end this disturbing pattern of behavior, and in these circumstances, the only option left is impeachment.
Indeed! OK, Congressman, you’re on a roll! Please keep going!!
DONATE
Dah!!!
What the hell??? Why do you keep throwing donation links at the readers of your newsletter, man??
Since when do you need donations to do your job?? Don’t you HAVE a salary?? Don’t I already pay it in the form of taxes???
Sheesh…
This is not a partisan issue: Congress is a co-equal branch of government with the Executive, and it cannot allow this attack on our powers to go unanswered.
Yeah, that would be like letting the guy behind 911 get away!
…oh wait.
To ignore these actions is tantamount to a willful concession of our rights as legislators.
Not to mention your responsibilitieeeeeeez!
o_O
No Democrat, Republican, or Independent should allow Congress’ powers to be so undermined.
Yeah! Especially since Congress already let that happen all by themselves!
Nor should Congress allow the calendar to determine whether we should ignore abuses of office.
You mean like it did back in 2000 with determining who “won” the 2000 election?
Maybe not.
No President should be given immunity and free-reign just because there are only a few months left in their term.
Or seventy-two months?
Impeachment Hearings can be held very quickly – in a manner of weeks.
IF YOUR IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS AREN’T COMPLETE IN UNDER THIRTY DAYS THEY ARE FREE!*
*offer void in the contiguous United States.
Although today we don’t have the votes to impeach today –
Oooo, double-use of “today”–that’ll cost you points!
…neither did the Judiciary Committee investigating President Nixon until AFTER hearings were held and the truth was revealed. We must put a halt to this historic Administrative power grab.
Not to mention the lies they still tell us about how well things are now going in Iraq.
Congress has not lived up to its promises, and we can no longer credibly claim that impeachment would upset our agenda.
AGENDA?? Who said anything about an agenda?? This is Washington DC! We don’t have agendas!!
…we have campaign promises!
“DONATE”
j/k ;)
Our agenda has not withstood presidential vetoes or senatorial filibusters. If we do nothing, this session will be remembered for our conceding the rightful and constitutional powers of Congress, and little more.
Uh, what else have you guys done?
Is there anything less than nothing?
I am unbowed in my determination for Impeachment Hearings
Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts.
You going to encourage criminal prosecution after he’s out of office?
and I know you feel the same way.
I felt the same way YEARS ago, motherfucker*.
*That one was for George Carlin!
Encourage your friends to stay updated and demonstrate their support by signing up at www.wexlerwantshearings.com.
Um, NO.
As always, thank you for your kind emails, contributions, and encouragement.
Congressman Robert Wexler
DONATE
GAH!!
Paid for by “Wexler for Congress”
DAMN YOU, WEXLERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!
I mean, REALLY.
A bipartisan panel wants the government to play a bigger role when a president decides to go to war.
Uhhhhh, YEAH.
You know what, Mr. or Mrs. Bipartisan Panel?
THEY ALREADY HAVE A BIGGER ROLE.
They just turned over that role to Bush in the lead-up to the Iraq Attack–or did you guys not study very hard in school?
I mean, any kid who paid attention in history class (or for me, Social Studies class) knows that it’s Congress’ job to authorize military force. Before we invaded a sovereign member of the UN (Iraq) back in 2003, the US Congress told Bush that he could swing his ability to declare war around like a huge penis in order to scare Saddam into fessing up about his WMD.
Of course, no amount of penis-swinging would get Saddam to admit something that wasn’t true, so Bush got to use his war powers. Of course, if Congress hadn’t been lied to by the White House, they’d have known Saddam had nothing to declare as we threatened to cross his border.
They trusted the guy in the White House. It’s my impression that the Founding Fathers didn’t want the guy in the White House to have the power to invade a country–so why did Congress defy that interest of the FF? Especially to a man like Bush who was such a great leader he let 911 happen, invaded a whole country and then couldn’t even capture the guy who was behind 911.
This was a guy who didn’t even have the decency to make sure he won the 2000 election.
Hey, did you know that when there’s a tie in a presidential race the US Constitution states that it’s *Congress* that votes on who the president should be?
Yeah, apparently the Supreme Court hadn’t heard that either. By I digress!
The USC(ongress) should never have given Bush the ability to shoot his military load into Iraq to begin with, so essentially, since Bush "took office" the Supreme Court, Congress and the White House all let us down. That’s all three branches, isn’t it?
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BUSH is scolding CONGRESS about Iraq???
HOLEEE Moley.
This isn’t America, it’s BIZARRO AMERICA. After the incredible mess Bush, himself, has caused in that country, he has the GALL to scold CONGRESS?
It would be one thing if he were saying something like: "Why did you guys vote to give me the power to go to war? Don’t tell me you didn’t think I’d screw it all to hell, now! We had African tribesman yet undiscovered by modern society sending emails to the White House telling me not to invade, but you guys let me do it anyway!"
However, here’s what a March 27, 2008 article from http://AP.org/ and http://MyWay.com/ (here: http://apnews.myway.com/…RRLO0.html ) reported Bush saying:
Bush derided calls from Congress for troop withdrawals or deadlines so that the military could focus more on the anti-terror battle elsewhere. "This argument makes no sense," he said.
…
Bush suggested that Iraqi officials were able to make more progress than the U.S. Congress.
"They got their budget passed," the president said. "Sometimes it takes our Congress awhile to get its budget passed.
"Nevertheless some members of Congress decided the best way to encourage progress in Baghdad was to criticize and threaten Iraq’s leaders while they’re trying to work out their differences," Bush said.
…
"They’re trying to build a modern democracy on the rubble of three decades of tyranny, in a region of the world that has been hostile to freedom. And they’re doing it while under assault from one of history’s most brutal terrorist networks," Bush said. "When it takes time for Iraqis to reach agreement, it is not foot-dragging, as one senator described it during Congress’ two-week Easter recess. It is a revolutionary undertaking that requires great courage."
…
But, he countered, "If America’s strategic interests are not in Iraq, the convergence point for the twin threats of al-Qaida and Iran, the nation Osama bin Laden’s deputy has called the place for the greatest battle, the country at the heart of the most volatile region on earth, then where are they?"
Yeeeeah.
That last part is what you call a "straw man argument" and the Bush Administration uses them all the time. It’s like using "rape" or "Hitler" in your argument–it’s a fairly sure sign you *have* no argument. In case you’re not familiar, a straw man argument is when you rephrase the issue in a way that makes it easier for you to beat.
For instance, Bush is waging a war on a concept (terrorism) where our enemy is a few-thousand strong (which got that strong thanks to his foreign policy). So, rather than admit that Al Qeada is a tiny, minuscule threat to America (especially when compared to something like cancer, AIDS or even car accidents) he says something like "Don’t you want to protect America against the people who hate our way of life?"
How can you say "no" to that?
He sets up the straw man and then knocks it over–paraphrasing Shakespeare:
…it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.
Of course, what’s really disgusting, to me at this point, is the way Congress is behaving through all of this. It’s bad enough Bush has lied and bullshit his way into wars that are making his friends filthy rich(er), but Congress has the Constitutional authority and obligation to stop him. Yet, they’ve instead acted like a bunch of sheep, allowing themselves to be herded around by the good shepherd George.
I hope we all vote against our incumbent senators and congresspeople the next chance we get because every single one of them has let us down. Sure, some have tried, but none have stopped Bush from continuing this mess.
The whole thing makes me laugh like Chuck Heston in "Planet of the Apes."
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One of the things I think most people forget is how the USA is less a "country" in a proper sense and more a group of states united as a country. That is to say, States Rights, aren’t really thought about.
When stories like this hit the news, I am reminded that we are a country made up of states that each have their own powers and opinions and laws. In this case, as the screencap from the headlines from the March 5, 2008 episode of Democracy Now (original: http://www.democracynow.org/…/headlines ) shows, two towns in Vermont will be arresting Bush or Cheney if they set foot inside town-borders.
Does that rock or what?
In case you’re in the dark about why Bush and Cheney should be arrested, impeached and put on trial for war crimes, here’s some reading:
http://thepete.com/…k-illegal/
http://thepete.com/…law-again/
http://thepete.com/…as-broken/
http://thepete.com/13-strikes <–sums things up
Then there’s this video that sums up why the Iraq war is illegal, as well:
http://tv.thepete.com/…out-thewar
I know the Vermont vote isn’t likely to amount to much, but it still sets a great example for all of us.
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Now you can see how incredibly sociopathic our fearless leader is.
I hate feeling like I am "the conscience" but this kind of thing make me almost literally sick. The man has no concept of the hundreds of thousands that are dead because he felt like invading Iraq. If he has a concept, he’s even more of a sociopath than I thought.
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This is something I wanted to post about last week but just didn’t find a moment, so I’m staying up extra late to get it done. Not that it matters, since the cost of the war in Iraq and its obvious effect on our economy won’t be going away any time soon.
Back on February 29, 2008, Democracy Now did almost an entire hour with Nobel Prize winner, Joseph Stiglitz and Professor of public finance at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Linda Bilmes–the authors of the book "The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict" (get it from Amazon here: http://snipurl.com/21kf0 ). It seems they’ve put a rather large price tag on the war and George W. doesn’t believe the war is having that big of an effect on the US economy!
Check out the video excerpt from the February 29, 2008 Democracy Now episode (available on ThePete.Com or Utterz.com) to hear these words for yourself or just read them below. Juan Gonzalez, co-host of DN introduces a clip from the "Today" show:
JUAN GONZALEZ: We turn now to take an in-depth look at the cost of the Iraq war. Last week, President Bush rejected charges that the war in Iraq has hurt the US economy. He addressed the issue during an interview with Ann Curry on the Today Show.
ANN CURRY: Some Americans believe that they feel they’re carrying the burden because of this economy.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Yeah, well–
ANN CURRY: The economy, they say, is suffering because of this war.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I don’t agree with that.
ANN CURRY: You don’t agree with that? It has nothing to do with the economy, the war, the spending on the war?
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I don’t think so. I think, actually, the spending on the war might help with jobs.
ANN CURRY: Oh, yeah?
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Yeah, because we’re buying equipment, and people are working. I think this economy is down because we built too many houses.
JUAN GONZALEZ: While President Bush claimed the war has nothing to do with the economy, one of the country’s leading economists has just published a book that puts an estimated price tag on the war in Iraq. The number may surprise you: $3 trillion.
That’s the estimate calculated by the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and his co-author Linda Bilmes. According to the book, the Iraq War has become the second-most expensive war in US history, after World War II.
Pretty crazy, huh? And what a guy–our fearless leader not thinking a war that cost us $3 trillion is going to hurt our economy.
Where do you think all that money came from? Tax payers? Investors in the Fed? I wish. I’m no expert, but I have trolled the Fed’s website and done a bit of reading elsewhere. My theory is that they just made the money from nothing. Really, that’s what all banks do when they loan out money. It’s not their money they’re loaning–it’s someone else’s. The thing is, when you get it, you spend it and it then counts as part of our economy. But if you follow the trail back, it’s not your money–so effectively, it’s created from nothing.
That’s assuming my brain, educated by the American public school system and Spider-Man comics, didn’t screw something up. I could easily be missing something and I hope I am. However, it doesn’t look like that’s the case. What it *does* look like is that we the people are going to need more than just $600 each to make all of our money worth more again.
If I had any money, I’d put it in Euros. :)
To read the transcript from the Democracy Now broadcast, check it out here: http://www.democracynow.org/…dollar_war
You can also check out the entire episode in video or audio form here:
http://www.democracynow.org/…/29/stream
And to pick up the book "The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict" and give me a few pennies, buy it through my Amazon link here:
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So, he says to the world that because Congress won’t renew some sort of legislation: "our country is more in danger of an attack."
So, he’s saying that Congress is hurting America. He has NO clue how this makes the United States look to the world and he has no idea how it makes him look to us.
1) If I’m living in another country and see the guy in the White House say that he has enemies in his own government, I start to think that the US Government is unstable–about to fall apart.
2) If I’m an American citizen and see the guy in the White House say that the folks in the House and the Senate are hurting America, I see him as being divisive. Remember, back in 2000 how he ran on a platform of being a uniter? Yeah, me too.
"Waaaa! You’re not giving me what I want!!! I don’t respect you enough to trust you know what you’re doing so I’m going to monger some fear and call you names and stuff!"
So, really, it’s *Bush* who is harming America and has been since he took office. Before 911, they were already calling him a lame duck. That was *before* 911! When our spy plane got into a mid-air collision and landed in China, he was rattling his saber something fierce. I remember scratching my head thinking "does he *want* to enflame tensions on the world stage?"
I think Bush is actually Loki, the Norse god of mischief and chaos. He lives off of conflict and strife. Peace and quiet are not his ways and if you look at the Bush "Presidency" you’ll see that nearly everything Bush has done has served to encourage fear of *something*.
I don’t know if he is aware of being Loki or not. All I know for sure is the effect he’s having on me. What’s that effect? Severe disillusionment with our leaders and adult humans in general.
As a kid in ROTC (nearly 2 decades ago, now) I was raised with clear concepts of right and wrong only to be thrust into a world where such concepts are not clear at all. And I’m not talking about the greater world–I’m talking about the US of A. We live in a country where our leaders debate the meaning of "is" and "torture." We live in a country that invades other countries because we don’t like them. We live in a country that claims to be a generally Christian nation yet we largely ignore the poor and the weak.
I’m an Atheist, so correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Jesus say something about caring for the poor? What about loving your enemies?
So, go ahead and keep bitching about Congress, Bush. It just makes people like me (and people not like me) hate and mistrust government all the more.
Don’t trust that they’re doing what they think is right–keep fighting them publicly because they’re not giving you what you think is right–the ability to better spy on your own people.
Man, I gotta get a job so I can save up enough money to leave this country.
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"Alberto Gonzales may be out, but the country is still waiting for a full accounting of how he and his White House patrons cynically politicized the Justice Department."
Yes, because this is clearly the biggest problem facing America today–not the economy, not Iraq or the fact that Bush essentially lied or was completely incompetent (both impeachable offenses in my mind), yes, we must find out why the DoJ was "cynically politicized". As if.
How about tackling the issue in the headline for this opinion piece?
More:
"Congress is rightly asking questions about the actions of yet another United States attorney: New Jersey�s Christopher J. Christie."
WHO?
"The House also needs to stop procrastinating and vote to hold witnesses in contempt for refusing to testify in the wider scandal."
Finally, the first paragraph gets to the point mentioned in the headline. The next three paragraphs are about this Christie guy who played partisan politics to help a Republican’s run for some office or another.
Again, thank you NYT for "speaking out" on this "important" issue.
After that, however, it is all about the fact that Congress is allowing some people exist above the law, finally getting to this by the end of the article:
"The stakes are high. There are people in jail today, including a former governor of Alabama, who have raised credible charges that they were put there for political reasons. Congress�s constitutionally guaranteed powers are also at risk. If Congress fails to enforce its own subpoenas, it would effectively be ceding its subpoena power. It would also be giving its tacit consent to the dangerous idea of an imperial president � above the law and beyond the reach of checks and balances.
The founders did not want that when they wrote the Constitution, and the voters who elected this Congress do not want it today."
Awww, it’s like they’re sending one of those little candy hearts to the White House!
And it’s just about as tasty!
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I meant to post about this a couple days ago when I first saw it. It’s like Bush is paying attention to our failing economy in time-release caplet-form.
Seriously, everyone’s talking about it already–some of us have been talking about it for years.
I don’t think all the jobs in the world added will help when the US government borrows $1 trillion for wars. That kind of borrowing causes some major inflation–as in, it drives the value of the USD down. I don’t see how giving more people low-valued dollars will help things.
So, now, with talk of the Fed dropping interest rates by another half-percent, one wonders if they’re not just making it worse–especially since they’ve already dropped rates a startling 1.25% in the past couple weeks and that hasn’t helped.
I think it might be time for America to stop spending money abroad, both in the form of wars and other expenditures, as well (like foreign aid to countries, sadly).
I think our economy is spread way too thin to continue to support itself. If some new solutions are tried I see things getting worse before they get better.
Of course, I’m just a guy with a blog. What do I know?
I’m just glad we have the eagle-eyes of our beloved leader, George W. Bush, on the job!
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Bloody brilliant this is!
I just hope they vote to do it.
LET’S HEAR IT FOR STATE’S RIGHTS!!
After that it’ll be about getting Bush and Cheney to set foot in Vermont :)
Oh and in case you’re not convinced Bush and Co. have broken the law, go to www.GAO.gov and do a search for "covert propaganda" (or just go here: http://thepete.com/…law-again/ ).
If that’s not enough, check out the part of the UN Charter that says no sovereign member can be invaded without invading someone else first. Then check out the part of the US Constitution that says international treaties we enter into become law for all of us domestically (or just go here: http://thepete.com/…k-illegal/ ).
It seems like investors in the world markets felt like Bush’s plan was a joke, as well, and decided to take some serious profits. "Taking profits" is stock-market-talk for cashing out your stocks–aka taking your money and running. This causes the market to drop and the BBC News article screencapped above (found here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/…199552.stm) reports that this is representing the biggest drop, in some markets, since 911.
Britain’s FTSE-100 (sort of like the DOW) dropped over $160 billion. That’s an insane amount of money.
Meanwhile, markets in Europe and Asia have also lost massive money.
I think the theory is that the world has been watching the dollar drop lower and lower in value since mid-last year when it first became worth less than the Canadian dollar (I’ve been following it’s drop for even longer). When Bush finally showed the world that his plan to save the US economy wasn’t much of a plan at all, the rest of the world decided to get out while they still could.
This has quite literally been a long time coming and isn’t entirely linked to the whole sub-prime mortgage thing.
Luckily, US markets are closed today thanks to us honoring MLKJr.
Unluckily, they’ll be open tomorrow, when we can expect a bloodbath in the morning.
This has the potential to be huge–absolutely huge. If it isn’t it could easily be a precursor to something that is huge.
I always like to suggest solutions when I post about stuff like this, but I can’t think of any right now.
Well, aside from the suggestion that we should all horde gold and invest in the Euro…*fast*.
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Recently, Bush paid a visit to a region of the world I call Israelistine. This is his first visit there since taking power in 2000 (!) and we can only assume this is his attempt to broker some sort of peace in the Middle East. Ironic considering how much war he caused there.
That aside, today I saw an article at http://News.BBC.co.uk/ (part of which is screencapped above) regarding how Bush wants to get an economic stimulus package going for the US that will be worth $145 billion.
So, let me get this straight:
After waging two failed wars that ran the price of oil through the roof and the value of the dollar through the floor, he thinks a simple stimulus package including "tax incentives for US business and direct tax relief for the American people" is enough to "keep our economy going and creating jobs."
DUDE, you borrowed a trillion dollars to fight two wars you’ve effectively lost. It’s going to take more than tax breaks to bring this economy back. It’s also going to take more than that to save your legacy.
It’s ironic that Bush thinks his legacy should be his attempts to bring stability to the Middle East and to save our economy considering he destroyed both to begin with. It’s a shame that his legacy won’t be jail time. Sadly, when you’re a criminal in the Oval Office, you don’t even get impeached. The latest reason for this, so says Congressman (and former pro-impeachment guy) John Conyers, is that there isn’t enough time left in Bush’s term for impeachment proceedings to complete.
There’s some more irony for you. Bush got into office because there wasn’t enough time for a full recount. Now he won’t leave early because there’s not enough time to impeach. I guess even Justice has to deal withe scheduling issues.
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