Tag: George W. Bush
America in crisis lacks involved leadership
“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”
George W. Bush was on the ground in the gulf coast region struck by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and his christening remark toward then-Federal Emergency Management Administration Director Michael Brown became a stigma on Bush as FEMA and Brown specifically, was criticized for their handling of the situation. That’s the political memory from Katrina that stands out, “Heck of a job, Brownie.”
Yet here in 2020, with the coronavirus unleashing hell on these United States and the world over, the focus on George W. Bush’s albatross changes for me. The 43rd President was on the frontline of hardships and witnessing things for himself. That Brown remark was an attempt at a morale boost (that ultimately failed; Brown resigned). Bush was involved.
Go further back to the attacks of 9/11. While a critic or a comedian (I was the former; I oft try to be the latter) focuses on Bush’s facial expression as he was told by an advisor that the nation was under attack, one of the more powerful images that were taken was of Bush on Air Force One, seeing the destruction upon Manhattan Island and the city of Nee York. Dubya would be on the ground time and time again in the days and weeks that followed. It was a first-hand experience in a city in recovery. That may or may not have influenced domestic choices and actions. Wall Street ane business relations also likely have influenced those visits hut that’s the cynic in me talking.
My point can likely be elaborated for Bush as well as added to with other Presidential direct-involvement with people and places who were suffering. These experiences also lead to changes or actions taken by the government to aid those in need in one fashion or another.
In short, they led.
Criticize an action, choice, or ideological differences, but Presidents – Barack Obama, Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and so on. – led, They learned first-hand as they socialized with the ailing, the stricken, the grieving, the mourning, the survivors. They took part in life and reacted with the voice and powers they controlled.
Have you seen that from Donald Trump in this situation or those prior? The man who demands the United States resume normal business and social operations in full by Easter is more renowned for spending time at his own resort facilities than visiting hospitals or speaking directly with doctors and nurses on the front-lines.
Donald Trump has a reputation of locking-in on a conclusion no matter what Pair this with the social-disconnect toward general Americans that he seems to flaunt all-too-often in his remarks and actions, then mix it with the intelligent perception that a President shouldn’t be put in a risky position. That’s not just a recipe for disaster, it’s been in the oven and baking the past three years!
“My way alone” is not leadership, not is concluding facts from you4 limited perspective.
This is a disaster that’s putting the United States collectively in disarray and turmoil and leadership is absent. The figure who is supposed to embody the role of leader turned away from the role as he was warned about such a threat. The threat Donald Trump focused squarely on at the times COVID-19 warning was told to him, was keeping the role of President.
Impeachment and self-esteem/self-image was more important than responsibility. This has played out over and over and over again. People are dying and it’s partly because of that me-first mentality.
Americans are dying, and the United States is operating in a twisted fashion or r like a chicken with its head cut off, take your pick. There is no leadership, there is a man in charge who demands loyalty and denies as much to the nation he is supposed to guide. His social concerns lay with the financial elite, not with Joe or Jane Average.
For the record, Trump was on the ground in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island. He made his own “heck or a job, Brownie” statement through the action of tossing paper towels to citizens of the would-be 51st state.
Right-versus-wrong and the ongoing gaffe of the Presidency of Donald Trump
I was not a fan of the last Republican president, George Walker Bush. There are plenty of posts in the history of this web site that show it. Partisanship and ideology were the key areas that divided me from the president known as Dubya. Partisanship seems to be the basis for defense of the current Commander in Chief of these United States, Donald J. Trump.
Partisanship, the political divide between Republicans and Democrats, has nothing to do with much of what is setting off alarm bells and upsetting citizens. Read More
Tragedy, leadership and eloquence
With the massacre at Virginia Tech, the United States enters an unfamiliar and yet unforgotten territory of national mourning due to a domestic tragedy. The senselessness of what happened, the blame game of what went wrong, response times, woulda’-coulda’-shoulda’ and the like.
And of course there are clowns, such as myself, who think past the immediate tragedy and how things are and will be framed by powers-that-be in the country.
Case in point, there was a compelling diary on Daily Kos that compares elected official responses at Columbine High Shcool and Virginia Tech. Of course you know the players just as well as I do: former Vice President Al Gore and president George W. Bush.
While there is some nitpicking (the President doesn’t name names of victims… not that they were open knowledge until the day unfolded), the one thing that stands out is the difference in eloquence and leadership in the speeches given. Two similar tragedies and two varying responses to the mourners and grieving communities.
Megalomaniac in Chief
George W. Bush is now referring to the War on ‘Terror’ (which is a “war” against a tactic to begin with — not against a defined group, though the base of supporters labels Arabs as the terrorist boogeyman) as World War 3.
Yeah, that’s right folks. World War 3… Where the “Coalition of the Willing” are a bunch of weak willed countries that need to be paid off in order to support our efforts. Where our traditional allies have turned their backs because we’ve started military action in a country that did not call for action against it…
In all honesty, this is another Crusade. Maybe the last Crusade. George W. Bush — who is trying to project himself as an elite ruler — is King Richard, who marches into the Holy Lands in order to try to free them (or make it safe for US oil companies in this case). It’s all glory, it’s all bravado and all for his legacy and ego. Meanwhile, back at home, the nation is suffering in the King’s “abscence”. While Boy George focuses on winning his war everyone at home is being robbed … Not by Robin Hood either but the numerous Sheriff’s of Nottingham.
The real class warfare
If anyone hasn’t watched TV and seen the faces and heard the stories of people who have been effected by Hurricane Katrina, you’re fortunate.
If you’ve blamed them for staying in New Orleans or where they are — all the while being happy with how the Government has cut your taxes or happy that Corporations are racking up huge profits… you’re part of the problem…
You might have caught Kanye West tonight on NBC’s concert special to raise relief money for victim’s of Hurricane Katrina. If you missed it, Kanye said on air (before a hasty cut by NBC to Chris Tucker) “George W. Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
Though I can grasp Kanye’s sentiment and where he’s coming from, he’s shooting with the wrong gun by making this statement. The race card doesn’t have to come out as-so-much a more observant look at what is gone wrong with this country.
The weak / slow response to Hurricane Katrina (to put it simply) represents how the separation the President and most of the government from the people (both parties are guilty of this at current). There is the aristocratic class of businessmen and politicos, donors and blind supporters that get top-of-the-line treatment with focus on issues that are concerns of theirs (wedge issues that do not effect day to day life – Abortion, gay marriage, FCC decency standards, etc) while the issues that effect the general populous (being of any race, creed or color) get ignored. Infrastructure is falling apart in the US, schools are in atrocious conditions, health care and insurance are domineered by for-profit corporate interests that keeps people from protection and medical care they need. Poverty is on the rise (and has been the last 4 years) yet you are told a rosie economic picture from the government or talking head economists because the only thing that matters is the statistics or the investor class… Not the people working, not the pay rates of the blue collar class. Not the fact minimum wage has not been raised for 8 years. Just profit margins.
I don’t think it’s a black-and-white thing that Kanye said (and other African Americans are going to agree with) as-so-much a rich-vs-poor thing. Aristocrats-vs-commoners thing. Many of us commoners can’t even begin to comprehend how bad poverty is… You can hear it anyplace they talk about the tragedy that is New Orleans: “They should have gotten out! They should have gotten to Superdome, they should have… they should have…” We can assign blame but we can’t understand the logic. We can assign blame but we can’t grasp their lives. We can assign blame but many of us would take the same route in our suburban homes that these people did in their urban apartments and houses.
We truly don’t understand shit with regards to poverty and the plight of the working class if we’re going to keep allowing corporate interests and special interests to control the country with their interests at heart, not the interests of the citizens of the United States. I don’t believe Bush can grasp what the common person suffers. I could never believe John Kerry (or Hillary Clinton) would be able to comprehend it either, or Al Gore… It’s the same-old aristocrat class that is so out of touch with America that we suffer at their ineptitude.
In fact we’re dying because of their out-of-touch status.
Kanye’s blast at Bush is a blast at the fact the government has turned a blind eye on these people — and they’ll continue to do so from both parties unless we wise up and vote with our heads… We need leadership in this country, and we’re not going to get it from someone who doesn’t understand what it is to live among the people.
High Treason
There’s a report out saying Karl Rove is the leak in the Valerie Plume case… This makes Rove guilty of High Treason for revealing a CIA Operative’s identify.
Who wants to bet George W. Bush signs a Presidential Pardon soon after and then Rove goes off into the private sector?
Thanksgiving
It’s occured to me a lot the last few days that it’s been almost exactly a year since I went under the knife… The difference a year makes is immense in so many ways and yet the more things have improved, the more they stay the same with various faccets of my life.
Today we had somewhere around 20 people over for dinner… well, 20 people would be a few too many but it fluctuated in the teens all afternoon. Uncle’s, my aunt, my cousin and her daughter, my younger brother (while Mike skipped out on things) and other family friends. It was a great get-together for the most part and I had a lot of fun with things.
I brought up what I am thankful for (“That I’m not lying in a hospital bed this year.” ) to a round of applause and through the liquor and the laughter I easily forgot where I was a year ago today or what I suffered through at the time (no, not surgery — watching George W. Bush and his faux visit to Iraq).
But someone had to ruin the day for me.
It wasn’t family – though their reaction did indeed bother me. It wasn’t friends of the family – though I notably started acting strange when some people showed up. No, it was the fact certain people turned up with both their kids in tote that I had problems with. I mean MAJOR problems. It basically ruined the evening for me….
The family pretty much embraced them and that made me further angry — as someone who has opened his arms after being stepped on and then gotten stepped on again, I couldn’t stand to watch this train wreck in action.
Speaking of train wrecks, I was happy to see Kylie was walking. Kylie being my cousin Amber’s daughter. I had gotten very upset during her first birthday party when I saw not only was she not walking but she looked like she wasn’t nearly ready for it. I’m glad I’ve been proved wrong on that one.
So… To summarize — a year later I am in good spiriits. I’m not wasting away in a hospital bed with only a friend at my side and a Subway sandwitch to eat. I’m happy I am spending time with my family and out and about… I’m thankful that I’m not having nightmares of someone’s blog or having Christmas Cards thrown out…
I’m thankful….
Debate Bushism's
First, there was a country….
Then there was a singular turned into a plural…
George W. Bush — single handedly keeping Drinking-Games alive with the slip of the tongue…
"Dead or Alive" as to "Contained"?
How can the President, knowing that Osama Bin Laden has worked with limited resources in the third world and orchestrated the most heinious attacks on the United States of America, tell the American people that Osama Bin Laden was “contained” as he did last night during the debates? Osama runs free along the Afghan and Pakistan border and his Al Qaeda network is alive and well around the world and yet the word “contained” is being used to describe this grease fire?
This is an insult to anyone who lost a loved one on September 11th, 2001. You cannot simply say Osama Bin Laden is “contained” and that American’s should sit back and accept a political description of the situation when, just 3 years ago, Bush was rallying the country with the slogan “Dead or Alive.”
To all those who say John Kerry flip-flops on issues — if you do not see the President flip-flopping on this issue, you have blinders on. If you can accept “containment” over closure, you’ve turned a blind eye to those who have suffered and lost because of Osama Bin Laden.
Saddam Hussein was a ruthless dictator and politically – he was “contained.” He had no allies to hide with, he was out in the open and the world had imposed strict sanctions against him. Osama Bin Laden is a rogue and he and his terrorist network are anything but contained.
Cut out the middle man, you fear mongers!
I read the following off Skyscraper Page — take it as you will:
Q: Why would Al-Qaeda want Kerry, an unknown quantity, as president, when they already have Bush, who so blissfully plays into their hands at every turn?
A: Because Al Qaeda never said this. The Republicans are the only ones saying it. They always preface such statements with “It’s my opinion that…”, or “I believe that…”. Net result: the general public hears “Al Qaeda wants Kerry to win”, and God forbid we should do anything to appease Al Qaeda! Then the terr-rists win!
I think they should just cut out the middle man and start saying they believe if elected, Kerry himself will fly a plane into the Capitol.
In fact, that could be a great new angle: he’s one of those crazy Vietnam vets. They’re always having nervous breakdowns and flashbacks. Can we really trust him? He’s already delusional and believes that he was a hero who won some medals. Bush never went through that trauma, so he’s fresh and stable!
C’mon, Rove: are you reading this?
Don't worry, George, you have Tonga in your pocket
I came across a site that posses the question, “What if the world could cast their vote for US President”…
The only countries in the world that are clearly in George W. Bush’s favor are Afghanistan (52 percent to 48), the Faroe Islands (where?) with a 40 point lead on Kerry, and Tonga (4 votes to two :tongue)…
Moral Cowardice
One of the strongest pieces I have seen that outlines the key weakness of a certain political figure was posted by Josh Micah Marshall the other day, having to do with the president’s moral cowardice….
The stubborn refusal ever to change course, which the president tries to pass off as a sign of leadership or devotion to principle, is actually an example of his cowardice.
For the same reasons, he runs from soldiers’ funerals like they were burying victims of the plague — because it’s the easy way out. If there’s a problem, he denies it or finds someone else to take the fall for him.
Everyone has these tendencies in their measure. No one is perfect. But they define George W. Bush.
The same sort of moral cowardice that led him to support the Vietnam war but decide it wasn’t for him, run companies into the ground and let others pay the bill, play gutter politics but run for the hills when someone asks him to say it to their face, those are the same qualities that led the president to lie the country into war, fail to prepare for the aftermath and then refuse to take responsibility for any of it when the bill started to come due.
Thanks to Jon at Lies.com who’s post I originally found out about this from.
The most scary thing about this cowardice is that i have seen it before – though I had thought originally it was tap dancing around issues, that wasn’t the truth (though that plays a part in this) to it — it’s blindly seeing it yoru way and playing the spin so you can accept the lie as truth… It defines many Americans, sadly.
A Reagan tells it like it is
The Case Against George W. Bush
Just like that, a country whose economy had been reduced to shambles by international sanctions, whose military was less than half the size it had been when the U. S. Army rolled over it during the first Gulf war, that had extensive no-flight zones imposed on it in the north and south as well as constant aerial and satellite surveillance, and whose lethal weapons and capacity to produce such weapons had been destroyed or seriously degraded by UN inspection teams became, in Mr. Bush’s words, “a threat of unique urgency” to the most powerful nation on earth.
I chose to quote that section of this article specifically because that is the still-infuriating case (for me) against the Iraq invasion: Iraq, being contained and under close world scrutiny, had suddenly turned into a indominable threat and we had to strike or we would be destroyed.
All of the points Ron Reagan Jr. made were ignored by just about everyone who backed the attack or backed Bush blindly.
Why did it take so long for someone to write a piece that speaks what was so painful obvious about how much we were lied into War?
Reagan’s article is a long read but a good one, citing the lies and deception of Bush as a case to get this administration out of office.
Republican Pledge of Allegiance?
Heh… I’ve got too much spare time…..
(as inspired by George W. Bush’s 4 years in office)
I pledge allegiance
To the Man
Who bankrupt the Enron Corporation
And to the Bush Administration with world domination plans
An abomination, Oh dear God
Politically divisible
With treachery and greed for allby John Fontana
Are Blogs part of the reason America is polarized?
Just a thought here —
You can come across many a left-leaning blog on the Internet, putting down the President, talking the Truths to the war, hatching conspiracy theories on Joe Wilson and his wife’s outing, etc….
But you can also find havens of Anne Coulter loving bloggers who think all the Left is doing online is lying and the Great George W. Bush is the lord and savior incarnate…. Instead of getting a clear political picture, you get no-man’s land when you try to find a moderate footing on the issues – that Iraq is a bad situation, that monetary focus would be better here in the States than abroad, that the Democrats have done little to try to moderate issues and have been weak willed in dealing with them.
Or maybe it’s the fact that moderates are slandered as either Democrats or Republicans when they don’t always agree with party lines?
Suffice it to say – I think blogs are just helping continue the polarization of America, but are a necessary evil in spreading both information and unique thoughts and debate…
Kerry needs to put person in front of Politics
I like to joke in private that the turning point of John Kerry’s campaign – while he was being blasted and left for dead by Howard Dean before the presidential primaries — was his “Kerryfuck” scandal. John Kerry said during an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, “Did I expect George Bush to fuck it up (Iraq) as badly as he did? I don’t think anybody did.”
Kerryfuck was born. Not just that, but it got me cracking jokes about his need to be obscene to get any press…. Well, I think Kerryfuck actually might be part of what John needs to get back into the press.
I looked in the St. Petersburg Times Perspective section today and like every other Sunday it is chock full of Bush talk… How bad Bush is doing, how Bush wouldn’t have chose this war if he served in one, how Bush this and Bush that… In each article there is brief mention of John Kerry as his opponent in November’s election and I have to wonder how much this is hurting John Kerry’s campaign.
Not only is John Kerry hurting his own campaign by not embracing the art of the Kerryfuck, the media is hurting Kerry’s campaign by focusing squarely on Boy Blunder and how bad things are going. Maybe it’s because Boy George comes off more like a human in screwed up circumstances than John Kerry? Kerry — a decorated war veteran and a Junior Senator from Massachusetts — comes off like a politician in his campaigning. He looks like the candidate who will kiss babies and then steal their lollipops in the future and not like the every-man he needs to be. He has that aristocrat flair of fictitious candidates / Presidents of the past — but does he have what it takes to seem less like a caricature and more like a human? Would John Kerry be willing to, say, show up at a Red Sox game, or perchance make an appearance at a Stanley Cup playoff game? That would certainly make him seem more human (he’s a big sports fan – that’s why I mention these things). Would he profit by making campaign stops, or by making TV appearances on Letterman, Leno, Kimmel, O’Brien and Kilborne (not to mention Jon Stewart which might trump all of the aforementioned talk shows)? By going shopping in a public place instead of having another dinner affair with chieftain fundraisers?
He’s got to generate interest in his campaign once again… For both the sake of getting media attention and for getting people’s attention. He needs to show the world that Kerryfuck – the relaxed and the more human side of John Kerry — exists and not the pompous asshole who campaigns and makes speeches and uses botox to not seem so old. He needs to get back to beating George W. Bush and not sitting back and wait9ing for Bush to beat himself.
Come on, Kerry, don’t further “fuck it up”… That’s George W’s Job…. America needs to get it’s head out of it’s ass and that will not happen with continued elitist arrogance from the Bush regime.
Clinton versus Bush — an honest opinion
I wanted to get some thoughts out after watching some of Richard Clarke on Hard Ball with Chris Matthews. I’ve been thinking about Clarke and his non-partisan dealings with the media and the 9-11 commission and it got me thinking back to my own political journey. I know I am a progressive and a liberal but I also know I am open to compromise and the option of compromise has been done away with in America for the black and white, yes or no, with us or against us bullshit of the current political system.
In 1992 I wasn’t that politically aware. Of course, I was only 13 at the time and in middle school… I was much more concerned with tight-rolling the ankles of my blue jeans and not appearing like such a dork to the “cool” people around… but nevertheless I was following in my parents footsteps when I was supporting George H. W. Bush for re-election. I thought Bush was a nice guy, didn’t really pay attention to the issues and just knew the vanilla reasoning why democrats were “Bad” from what my parents told me, because they raise taxes. Clinton beat Bush and I was appalled. I didn’t like Clinton one iota, he just seemed wrong… I can remember a girl from my freshman year who got to shake Clinton’s hand when he visited Tampa Bay in 2003 and she described it as the “biggest thrill of” her life. Then there was NAFTA and I could remember publicly laughing during one of his speeches (being shown in my Spanish class, oddly) about how NAFTA was supposed to create more jobs at home.
But time went by and America improved from where it was economically. Jobs came back, crime went down – consistently. I started to respect the guy. 1996 came around and I’d still be a year away from being able to vote but I supported Clinton – especially because he was running against the bland Bob Dole.
And Clinton won… Not only did America progress under his tenure, but it blossomed.
Unfortunately under his tenure there was also a weed that sprouted and it has manifested since. The hatred and slander of politics became a mainstay…. Those on opposing sides of the fence politically didn’t want to work with each other, they didn’t want to compromise – they wanted to obliterate each other and the Republican party was exceptionally good at it.
1994 – big republican gains, 1998 and 1998 saw more and in 1998 Republicans launched an all out attack on Clinton. From what is being said now, some on the right are blaming Clinton for failings versus Terrorism… If the Right isn’t going to acknowledge all the bullshit it brought up against Clinton and how hard they pushed to make a mockery of the man and keep him from doing anything in office because he was surrounded by these threats, then there is no way one should be able to give George W. Bush sympathy for having to be President during 9-11. “Oh, he had 9-11 on his watch. Clinton had jack, right?” :rolleyes
So we get into he polarized partisanship of the 2000 election and Bush comes into power — albeit through means that can be and will be routinely questioned for years to come. Partisanship at the state level in Florida helped Bush’s cause, Partisanship in the Supreme Court helped Bush’s cause. There are many questionable ethics in the 2000 election and I will not bring up much more than the purged voter roles as well as the cluelessness from Kathrine Harris….
Suffice it to say, in short, Bush came in through questionable means.
During the election debacle, I grew sick of the entire ordeal and again in a sense of compromise and non-partisanship, I just wanted Gore to concede and let America get on with life. No one could be that bad as President to keep warring over the vote count like this… Just let it go, AL, just let it go…
Oh how little did I know.
Looking at America in a detached view, 3 years of George W. Bush as President of the United States has not improved this nation. You might sit on the right, on the left, or in the middle – if you look at America without influence of party lines, you should be able to see that America has regressed greatly under Bush. Morally, we are corrupt. The American Government under Bush encourage gluttony and damns conservation – be it fiscal or physical. The Bush Administration will not spend responsibly — taking a huge surplus and turning it into a deficit of monstrous proportions. One can point to 9-11, but there are facts like Bush has never vetoed a spending bill, Bush waged an un-necessary war in Iraq, Bush’s tax cuts took away vital revenue for the Federal Government that helped keep not only the Feds running, but the state governments and the local county governments.
If you question the president – you are attacked. Your patriotism is questioned. You’re prodded by those who are either blindly loyal to the commander in chief or who are willing sheep because they are afraid to get there feet wet in politics. Oh, there are reasons (partisan reasons) to support the Bush administration – their faith based programs and support of removal of the Church and State separation, for example. The fact they remove government restrictions (counter point – which bring forth consequences, environmental, fiscal and social). Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts and certain other reasons I don’t want to touch with a ten foot pole.
I look at the United States and how it is belittled in the world today, how its no longer thought of as a beacon of light and hope… How men in power will put down and oppress those who oppose them or who do not support them, or who bring into question anything against the president and his staff (hiya, Mr. Rove… )…. This isn’t supposed to be a totalitarian state of facism… This is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave…
Where the United States is now isn’t better off than 4 years ago… If we Bush and his administration had done something to earn my respect and admiration, I would more than willingly show it to them… Yet 4 years of Bush isn’t supposed to be underlined by his one “accomplishment” (9-11) instead of his numerous failings. Those who make the argument that they are better is viewing the world in a partisan light. Their ideologies are better supported under Bush than they were with Clinton. That’s fine, that’s good… That, however, doesn’t help break the partisan stranglehold on America and the warring that is destroying our government and our own voices within it.
The Fundrace
The thing that sucks the most about living in Palm Harbor is not the fact that this neighborhood is “the boonies” when it comes to having my friends come over (it’s far removed from Tampa, St. Pete and other areas, or so it seems) but the fact that I am living amid Republican Hell. I can see it in the local politics but I can also see it with Fundrace 2004. Half of the entires posted were backing George W. Bush while the other half was backing Howard Dean.
I don’t know how often this thing is updated and I am not listed even though I have made a few contributions to a candidate thus far… But interesting none the less
Happy Birthday to You…
Washington — White House staffers arranged a well-deserved surprise party for President Bush today, in honor of the one-year anniversary of the Iraq War. Invited guests arrived at the White House in secret, and shocked the President with cheers of “Happy Anniversary†in the normally quiet and reserved Roosevelt Room.
Wonder if they did an honorary reading of “The Hungry Little Caterpillar” to make George a happy boy?
Respect for him from 9-11 or disdain for the other 3 years on the job?
I was reading about global protests from yesterday’s 1 year anniversary of War in Iraq and, while reading a local article on local protests of the war, came across this gem of a quote that absolutely infuriated me with it’s ignorance:
“Man, did I ever come to the park at the wrong time,” said St. Petersburg resident Carole Hall.
Refuge Ministries’ Rev. Bruce Wright, 42, caught up with Hall as she walked away from the rally. After asking reporters not to talk to her because the media favors her point of view, Wright and Hall engaged in a heated conversation.
“The man has done a tremendous job,” Hall, 62, said of President Bush. “If only they would remember 9/11.”
It’s ignorance like this that really pisses me off when it comes to Americans support for George W. Bush. His administration is nothing when 9-11 isn’t considered and after 9-11? He has been nothing less than terrible. Lets look at the facts of the Bush administration for a moment, just a few bare facts: Hedismissed Richard Clarke’s assertion that there was an imminent terrorist threat and it should be taken seriously (the very cause of 9-11), he has attacked another nation on false pretense (I grew up when Saddam posed a REAL threat to the Middle East back in the late 80’s and early 1990’s), left numerous world treatieslead to their deaths hundreds of United States Armed Service Men and Women (and maimed thousands more) due to the false pretense of war, not to mention the “collateral damage” deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001), made the world a more hazardous place to live due to environmental laws that promote pollution, and of course how can we forget the corporate terrorism that has been in place since Bush came into power? Enron? Tyco? MCI Woldcom? The RIAA?
Not to mention the economy and the lack of attention to the nation.
So, I am supposed to forgive all of this? Should every American dismiss all of the above (and so much more) and simply look at George W. Bush for how he handled 9-11? Are you insane, Carole Hall, or are you just living in a bubble like so many people in America? :rolleyes
Rented Movie Reviews
So on this post bitter-singles day, I have for you a pair of films I have seen in the past 24 hours:
The Sum Of All Fears: Ben Affleck takes over the role of Jack Ryan from Harrison Ford with this prequel/sequel to the Jack Ryan movies. Personally I never cared for Ford in the role of Ryan, and The Hunt for Red October happens to be my favorite Clancy film (even with it’s cheesey special effects and it’s terrible mock ups of submarines). At any rate, this film moves a young version of Jack Ryan — CIA analyst — into the 21st century which sorta makes things weird. The Hunt for Red October was supposed to have happened around 1985… The other films in the series (Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger – two titles, by the way, that George W. Bush has no comprehension of the meanings) I have no clue when they were supposed to have happened but they starred the elder Harrison Ford after Alec Baldwin launched the Jack Ryan series with Hunt
ok, enough of the explaining… what did I think of the film?
Well, not being someone who has read the book, I enjoyed Sum even though the plot was confusing at times. The film is basically a nuclear standoff between the US and Russia as Neo-Nazi terrorists attempt to start war between the two nations. I actually liked Ben Affleck playing Jack Ryan – a mix of every-man instead of super-hero from what Harrison Ford brought to the role. When one watched the original Jack Ryan film, Red October, you saw Jack didn’t want to be there when sent to do something because he was expendable (“Next time, Jack, just write a god damned memo.” ) An all star cast of James Cromwell, Morgan Freeman, Liev Schreiber and Bridget Moynahan — meow! — round out this film. Worth a viewing – even if it drags at points.
Intolerable Cruelty: You know, i didn’t have my hearing device on when I watched this film and I have a strange thing happen every time I watch a George Clooney film — I think of him as speaking in a southern drawl, much like he di din his role in O, Brother, Where art thou? . I guess it’s just his mannerisms — I just can’t believe he would straight talk through this role of Miles Massey when Miles Massey seems totally obsessed with his teeth and white smile.
The film premise is simple — it’s about divorce and Miles Massey is the best divorce lawyer around. Cathrine Zeta-Jones (meow!) is a man eater, looking to get hitched, get divorced and make a ton of money off it. Of course, these two collide and that’s the basis for the entire film. Sure we get lessons on love and such, with a few laughs in between… but I can’t help wondering how gay Miles Massey’s assistant, Wrigley, happens to be?
You have to wonder if someone writing a review, bringing that question up, actually enjoyed the movie? I did, I honestly did… but there was a little comfortableness about the movie. I usually get this with Coen Brother movies but it doesn’t mean there is anything bad with the film. This is worth a viewing and I won’t spoil it with any more talk. :grin
Anyway, I hope to publish my list of movies rented in the past year an a general thumbs up/thumbs down next to each movie. We’ll see what happens…
A Year Ago
A year ago, I was in love.
Yes John was in love.
And it was the beginning of the end of that love and the first signs of a shit year that I was due to have.
Put off, led on, put off, strung along, that is how I would term things and how they’ve been with a former friend and former desire. Someone who I felt so comfortable with and yet even when the relationship seemed so mutual – it wasn’t. No, there was this underlying, unspoken dread that never came out honestly. The shifting, the bullshitting, the tap-dancing around issues… You would have thought that George W. Bush or one of his administration officials were in charge of running things between us…
You would think that at least I could have retained a friend through all this but that isn’t the case either. No, someone stopped being a friend when they were too tense to deal with me in a time of need. My bitter beginning of my resurrection post is an ode to that.
But where am i now? In the realm of bitterness, I can’t help but think about the past and think about the good times over the bad. I can’t help but think of the dreams and the past wants. Then I remember some of the things said and done and I just have it handed to me, the fact that the past is dead and done with. It’s been tossed to the garbage and only given passing thoughts by parties who were involved within these events, thoughts, memories, desires, etc.
I’ve kept my silence about things for a few months – though bitterness has been with me throughout over things and how they came to pass and such. That’s the one thing that won’t be acknowledged or thought highly of by anyone but it’s one moral standing that I’ve kept throughout the good times and bad – I’ve tried to take the high road with things even when I find out the ridiculous is the truth. I’ve given extra chances and wanted for those chances to work out but alas, the old proverb “Hurt me once – shame on you, hurt me twice – shame on me” held true.
Here’s to the lonely hearts out there, and those who regret their actions in the past…. Here’s to those who cherish what they have, and those who cherish what they chase. Here’s to those who face up to things, and here’s to those who realize they’ve got more than they deserve….
Happy Valentines Day
Still on Team Dean
*sigh* — oh the Humanity…
John F. Kerry might be grinning like a schoolboy and John Edwards might be giddy too because they both have found new life after the Iowa caucus, but at the same time I have seen the Democratic Party take a severe hit. Mr. Dead and Mr. Inexperienced have gotten their new life and the villain — Howard Dean — from the Media’s take, is all but over as a candidate.
And if that’s the case, expect four more years of George W. Bush as president of the United States.
Look, this might look like sour grapes to certain democrats who see Bush as someone who HAS to get thrown out of office, no matter who it is facing him in November…. But the fact is John Kerry can’t carry the Democratic Party to victory in November. That’s been the case since he’s planned on running for President. Head to head, Bush would fleece Kerry in a general election not because of politics alone, but sheer personality. You see, Kerry lacks a personality… He comes off dead in both his looks and his attempts to show he has some shred of character. Riding motorcycles just won’t cut it, he comes off like Al Gore did in 2000.
Then there’s the “more of the same” dilemma to boot.
Kerry and Edwards are members of a group of Democrats who have failed to win over the hearts and minds of Americans as they have sat on Capital Hill. Not only have they failed on that task, they’ve failed to stand up for principles and values that are supposedly things that define the Democratic party. The fact they both voted for the Iraq war — and Kerry twisting the logic behind his yes vote shows his desperation to change history — is just part of the reason why I cannot bring myself to vote for either of them come November. It’s philosophical but at the same time, it’s personal. I’ve seen them both slander the lead candidate and twist his words, I’ve seen them both act exactly the same (in a non-impressive fashion) when speaking publicly…. More of the same, more of the same…
:puke
I don’t want more of the same. That was part of the reason I didn’t vote for Gore in the 2000 election — more of the same would have been scandals and his own flip-flopping on issues when speaking in public. Flip flopping specifically to seem more like his opponent and appeal to the moderates who were trying to guess who they would vote for. I certainly don’t want a candidate who is concerned about polling numbers and demographics when he tries to plot out how he would lead the United States. I want someone who’s not afraid to go against the grain, speak his mind, show some balls and kick some ass…
John F. Kerry, Joesph Lieberman, John Edwards and Dennis Kucinich don’t show that character… Al Sharpton may, but unfortunately he is also on the fringe. Howard Dean has consistently showed this and despite his loss in Iowa, despite the repeated airplay of his terrible Iowa speech blow-up, and despite what the media is saying, I still believe in him. I still back him… And I will continue to back him.
Heck, if Kerry or Edwards got the party nomination, I would sooner write Howard Dean in as where my vote was going than vote for them.
I believe in Dean.
One might get upset or urge me to think about General Wesley Clark, and for the most part — I’ve been thinking about him more lately as an alternative if in fact Dean is somehow eliminated in the near future (while Clark continues)…. The only problem with Clark is that, while he is knew to Politics, he comes off as a puppet of his advisor’s. THAT is more of the same as well — the same being George Walker Bush, the grand puppet of his advisor’s will… That isn’t something that appeals to me.
Dean appeals to me as being his own man… Someone willing to stand up and say “That’s not right!” and pick a fight over the issue….
Something Kerry failed to do.
Something Edwards and Lieberman failed to do.
Something Kucinich goes a little too wacky with his alternatives….
Something Sharpton needs to hone a little more…
Something Clark’s stances on aren’t always clear….
Something leading me to remain adamant that Howard Brush Dean, Medical Doctor, Former Governor of Vermont, is the one who should be the Forty Fourth president of the United States.
Lunar-cy
The last few days have been really exciting with the NASA probe American Spirit arriving on Mars, landing on the Martian surface and sending back images… It’s the first successful mission to Mars (landing mission) since 1997 and a great accomplishment for the down-and-out NASA space program, which has seen setbacks and accidents over and over again for the last few years.
And now The Bush administration is using renewed public interest in the space program to help it’s 2004 re-election campaign.
George W. Bush is set to announce plans for Americans (or humans in general?) to return to the moon and establish a lunar colony…. Also, he will propose a manned mission to Mars. In exploration terms and in the excitement of the space program — this is outstanding. In terms of sound economics and sound politics – this is appalling.
Make no mistake, I am a firm believer in the space program and believe we should be trying to expand our reach in our own solar system. I’m all for going back tot he moon. I am in favor of trying to reach mars within the next 10 to 15 years… My problems lie with the backer of these new space missions: Money. Where is it going to come from? How much is it going to cost? How the hell are we going to pay for it?
You see, George W. Bush and those in power have cut taxes, preached more tax cuts, expanded government instead of stream-lined it, have two ongoing military missions costing billions of dollars a month, have an ongoing war with a terrorist network that further saps financial resources. We have failing schools, degrading infrastructure, rising domestic costs and yet… Bush proposes missions to space that will cost half a trillion dollars or more when it’s all said and done?
Please :rolleyes:
The US is in an economic crisis of sorts and we’re prepared to keep spending? That makes no sense. Bush will not be implementing any new taxes, nor will he propose a repeal of his tax cuts from the last 4 years… Instead? The national deficit will continue to grow and the national debt will balloon and — soon enough, if nothing stops it — tear down the very fabric of this great nation….
Economic responsibility is needed now or we’re all going to get it in the end…
Infighting on the Left
In the last few days, I’ve been taken for another political roller coaster from the left side of the political spectrum. I happen to be a liberal/progressive and that makes me vote Democrat / Green and support those candidates.
My regular readers should know this, my friends should be aware of this… Same with my allegiance to Howard Dean – it’s no secret.
What is a secret, or is something that I have touched on before but haven’t ranted about here on the Stonegauge, is that I am also in this crossroads politically. I have been there this summer after an incident with the local Green Party and I am there again because of national and local Democrats as well as the local Green Party.
Lets go back to Monday and Tuesday and Howard Dean getting an endorsement from former Veep Al Gore. This was a huge blow to others participating in the Democratic Primaries coming up, and none of them could muster enough nerve, during a debate Tuesday night, to actually raise their hand when Ted Koppel asked the group if Dean could beat George W. Bush.
Sour grapes, that is understandable for the most part – but it’s a continuing trend.
I have read today in the St. Petersburg Times Ed/Op – Letters To the Editor section that Gore’s endorsement should be considered “the Kiss of Death” for Howard Dean. I have seen others complain of Gore’s “betrayal” of Joe Lieberman… Forget the fact that Lieberman hasn’t won anyone over and just comes off as a nice guy for the most part – but hardly someone you want to lead you into a battle.
For some reason, these smallish grudges – Lieberman being snubbed by Gore, other candidates not believing in Dean because they hadn’t gotten major endorsements, etc — all just mystified the Democratic party to me. Why so much disdain for one another when everyone in the party is supposed to be working for the common goal of trying to improve America?
OK, lets take this to the local front now. The St. Petersburg Times letter section today probably put me in a defensive mood to begin with (though most letters were positive about the Dean / Gore endorsement). It put me on the defensive specifically because someone had brought up (as I mentioned above) the infighting among Democrats. I came online to check my email and got to read a local democrat putting down local Greens / Kurt Gratzol’s “tree Hugger” house party that he hosts every couple of weeks. The email in question talked about how Kurt and others at his parties (usual Greens) were just there to be brought back to the Democratic Party and actually using the term “Tree Hugger” wasn’t going to help their (Democrats) cause of trying to lure people back to the Democratic Party.
This ticked me off because, for the second time, I witnessed someone who was too concerned with the Democratic party give a care if he insulted another progressive/liberal. The email writer also didn’t / doesn’t seem to grasp the point that there is a difference between the Democratic Party and the Green Party and that the Democratic Party’s own actions is most likely the reason any Green has “broken off” away from the Dems in the first place.
A Green is still a liberal.
A Green is still a progressive.
A Green is an ally – not someone that needs to be “brought back” to the Democratic Party. You can go to them and vote for them just as much as they will probably vote Dem. in a general election where a Green candidate isn’t running. Why, in gods name, do you have to make a case for “bringing them back” into the fold? Or have to post an insult with regards to their politics in making your case that you are lobbying to get these people “back” to the Democratic party?
So where do I sit now? I don’t know. I am a leftist-progressive. I believe in the best in people… Yet it seems every opportunity the Left has to further make me feel comfortable, or make me feel tied to one party or another on the left, they screw it up in some way or another.
For instance, this summer when I was “forced out” of the local Green Party… I was called a “rubber spined…coward” for backing Howard Dean and believing the 2004 election was too important to vote for Principled Idealism. I had already grown disillusioned with local Greens because there was too much loony-left rhetoric, along with them lobbying for a Green presidential candidate (2004 is TOO IMPORTANT to the nation to have a split left vote again!)… This was the last straw when I was called a coward for not standing up to some ideal value of a candidate…
So I was no longer a Green.
I embrace Howard Dean and have met some very cool people through the Dean campaign so far, and will likely meet more as things continue to move ahead… But at the same time, I had posted about my Dean/Green incident and that inspired at least one nutcase to go and give me some grief for ever having been tied to the Green Party. Why? He was still pissed off over 2000 and just had to take a pock-shot at someone that actually voted for Ralph Nader.
Instead of welcoming a new supporter, or trying to make someone feel comfortable in political surroundings, this guy wants to coddle his own insecurities and ego by attacking and making snide remarks. GREAT way to win support :rolleyes
The infighting among the left can and will become the cause of defeat in 2004 unless the Democrats stop being such weak-willed cowards, stop being such infighting fools and start uniting for greater purpose. Stop trying to tear down the other guy because he doesn’t fit your ideal or doesn’t follow your beat in every step and start thinking about the bigger picture.
The bigger picture is what’s at stake — the very beacon of hope that the United States used to be. Why make a fuss over such petty things in politics and not just UNITE and CONQUER for the greater good of every citizen in the US and the world?
It’s not like this Ad does anything to stop my concerns about the Left vs. the Left either
Interaction #2 — Part One
All right, ladies and gentlemen… For the consistant readers here at der Stonegauge, you may recall I had a little Interaction section a few months back where I posed some questions to everyone and they posed some questions back to me in response…
This is just an ongoing deal… I’ll post Five Quesitons here and your job is to answer those questions as best you can. On the next thread – you can pose me five questions of your own… but please note – I’ll delete any posts that are overly crude….
At any rate — Lets start this off…
- If music is the melody of life, what band do you think is setting the tempo?
- If you watch Sci-Fi / Fantasy movies, which Saga do you prefer more — Star Wars, The Matrix or Lord of The Rings?
- What is more important to you – your ambitions or love?
- Describe how you think George W. Bush is performing in office and why you draw that conclusion.
- In a deleted scene in Pulp Fiction Mia Wallace tells Vincent Vega that there are two types of people in thsi world: Elvis people and Beatles people. In your humble opinion, which one are you?
Don't Chat For America
What does the word MODERATOR mean? What is it’s definition. Our good friends over at Dictionary.com have it defined as this:
mod·er·a·tor ( P )
n.
One that moderates, as:
One that arbitrates or mediates.
One who presides over a meeting, forum, or debate.
The officer who presides over a synod or general assembly of the Presbyterian Church.
Physics. A substance, such as water or graphite, that is used in a nuclear reactor to decrease the speed of fast neutrons and increase the likelihood of fission.One who, or that which, moderates, restrains, or pacifies.
The officer who presides over an assembly to preserve order, propose questions, regulate the proceedings, and declare the votes.
That’s just some of the definitions of the word moderator. In esscence, a moderator is supposed to step in and stop things from going to shit. THey are supposed to keep the fighting from happening. They are supposed to keep the balance.
I know this first hand, I administrated on FanHome.com, I moderated there before I administrated and got plenty of first-hand experience.
Why the hell these chat-heads can’t get the fucking clue what it means to moderate is beyond my. They don’t want to step in when one of the chat regulars starts blasting other regulars in the room. They “aren’t your parents” and they think everything should be dealt with in private.
Right, like someone who says “Fuck off, fuck you and don’t send me private messages” is going to deal with problems?
Lack of moderating shows cowardice by anyone on any web site that doesn’t want to be made to look like the bad guy. It’s just a fucking online world, people! You think some nitwit shoudl be allowed to bash the very people you are trying to coax into using your service? What are you, retarded?
This goes for any message board / chat room that you go into. You may tell me that “to go and stifle someone even if he isn’t being the best person in the world is censorship” is also something I believe is complete and utter horseshit. Censorship is when the first ammendment, in a public area, is silenced. To tell someone to restrain themselves in a PRIVATE web site, to step in and shwo someone physically that they are wrong for how they are acting by suspending them or booting them isn’t censorship either – it’s trying to kepe things worthwhile for everyone else.
Cops are supposed to be moderators. Constables of the Peace are supposed to keep crime down, keep the world livable for everyone else… Surely someone can’t complain that they are censoring you if you get arrested for a crime you commit… They broke the law, they infringed on someone else’s life.
Same goes for online chat. Or message board useage. If you break the law or infringe on someone else’s life, someone coming down on you should be expected.
And if moderators don’t have the balls to do it, then they should be canned.
It’s outrageous and ironic that htis is happening with Howard Dean’s campaign. He complains that the beltway boys in Washington won’t step forward and say / do shit against George W. Bush because they don’t want to look like bad guys. It’s the exact same with these nitwits who are overseeing chat. If they won’t step in and do something — why the fuck are they there in the first place? They sure ain’t moderating.
Just Dean-dy
I’ll try to get another entry in before midnight but I make no promises. My day has been short and mostly uneventful sans medical problems and conversations…
I wanted to spread The Word. No, John still hasn’t found religion or Faith (note to self – that is what you should write about later, faith) but something more important (he he) for the United States in General:
I’m talking Howard Dean.
Some of you may or may not know that I fully support Doctor Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont, for President of the United States. .The questions that might come to ones mind over this range from:
“Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“Howard Who?”
“Get a haircut you god damned hippie!”
“John, you were awfully negative with the first three quotes, can you lighten up?”
” What’s wrong with the guy in office now?”
“What’s wrong with these other candidates?”
“Why do you care now, months away from the first primaries?”
Well, to forgo some of the silly questions — I care now about the guys who are running for president because i6t’s important to have the strongest candidate to face George W. Bush for the sake of this nation. Getting involved now and latching on to the guy who has come out as the best candidate is what I have done — I’ve been on-board with Dean since early this summer.
What’s wrong with the other candidates? Well, unless you haven’t been paying attention (and most Americans haven’t), there is no passion from most of the Presidential candidates. John Kerry — US Senator – reminds me of a ghost even though he has credentials and an aristocrat background that might get him far. Almost all the candidates were pro-Iraqi-War while Bob Graham and Dean were against it from the get go. Guys like AL Sharpton, Caroline Mosely-Braun and Dennis Kucinech
But what makes Dean special, you ask? There’s just something with the Doctor that makes me think America can get back to where it was before Dubya screwed it up – making us a tyrant of the world (note – we’ve been tyrants for a lot longer than the Bush administration, but its been more acute under this regime). I believe Howard Dean can both resurrect the failed US economy, stop the corporate insanity as well as improve life for citizens across the country much better than anyone else.
Want to find out more? If you are on the Internet — it’s the greatest place to find out about Howard Dean. Seeing you are on my web site – you have got to be on the Internet so — hot shit! You can find out more! Check out Blog for America for reports from the Dean campaign itself.
Going to cut this short – talking to old friends.
The Knife
This is probably my last entry for the time being. I’ve got to get some sleep tonight and I need to / want to talk to some people before I leave tomorrow and I would be more likely to stick around talking to them than tap-tappity-tap-tap the keyboard and write out a journal entry on this web site.
I published contact/feedback information for Sony Music on the Fab 4 Lyrics section of the site. If you’re pissed that they are pulling this shit (threatening over lyrics being published on the web) — TELL THEM. Make sure you tell them it’s in regards to Beatlelyrics.com
I got a haircut today and lets just say the guy who appears in the Stonegauge logo above does not look much like me right now. For those of you who saw my picture in the St. Pete Times from the 1st article about the situation that arose with Beatlelyrics.com – I can say that my long locks in that photo are gone as well.
I spent most of the morning pinning about politics…. I really continue to despise George W. Bush and feel half of what I’ve gone through is helped along because of his administration is so pro-corporate… I also feel the US is guilty of Terrorism with their threat on Iraq… Sure Iraq poses a threat with biological weapons or other stuff — but SO DO WE! So does GREAT BRITAIN, so do other countries that are our allies but we aren’t going to bomb them and invade. We aren’t about to oust the government in Saudi Arabia even though they support terrorism. Hell, we sponsor terror by allowing Saudi Arabia to remain our ally and continue to have unrestricted access to the US. How many of September 11th’s hijackers were from SA? Where is Osama Bin Laden from? It’s bullshit.
I want Bush out of office so bad…. I look and ask are we better off than we were 2 years ago and I gag at the thought… Economics are skewerd, corporations rule, the environment means little to Dubya and some of our freedoms are being taken away by the Attorney General who is a far-right-wing thinker. Why don’t they just burn the Bill of Rights, declare the Bush family the first monarchy of dictatorship and throw all liberals (like myself) in jail who might question the President. How many times have I heard that I am in the wrong for questioning the president because we are at war? Should I be intimidated like that? No sir…. ESPECIALLY seeing the president’s Administration is doing objectionable stuff.
Oh well, just about 13 hours before I need to be up and ready to go… 🙁 I’ll hopefully get to leave you another comment in this journal soon….
