"...an embarrassment to the U.S. Senate"
When I first heard about Sen. Russ Feingold's resolution to censure President Bush, I dismissed it as a cheap political stunt. But then I remembered how outraged I was to hear about the president's domestic spying program. And how I outraged I was to read about this, just to name a couple of examples. It's high time someone said "Enough."
Speaking of our commander-in-chief, I think Eric Alterman fairly well sums up everything Bush the Younger has accomplished:
They've lost Bin Laden, screwed up Afghanistan, completely wrecked Iraq, destroyed our fiscal future, left us completely vulnerable on homeland security, ignored the threats to New Orleans, messed up its recovery, thrown science out the window, attacked our civil liberties, undermined freedom of the press, you know the drill.
posted by Jonathan Potts at
8:37 PM
3 Comments:
All that might be true, but W. can bunny hop his mountain bike over an 8-inch log. I still remember when he needed the Supreme Court's help rolling over Al Gore. Now that's an accomplishment.
9:09 PM
Alterman's close, but the letter from Nicholas Pisano the day before is one of the better descriptions of the man we have as commander and chief and the state of our armed forces I have seen published.
The arguement is not new. I have discussed it with former brass myself. It is good to see it in some sort of public discourse though.
Scroll down and take a gander, it's well worth it.
9:24 PM
As one of the FBI agents said during the opening moments of the Sopranos...no one ever went broke underestimating the American public. GWB fooled enough people the first time around (Al Gore's ineptitude notwithstanding) to force the election result to the Supreme Court.
And the second time around, well, I can't even begin to understand how he bamboozled so many people (John Kerry's ineptitude notwithstanding).
Does America really want a "good" president? And are we willing to suffer the hardships that a decisive, honest commander in chief might ask of us...you know, things like a renewed draft that taps every able-bodied person from 18 to 40 to fight the war against real terrorism? Or the guts to withdraw troops from Iraq and Afganistan...and deal with what happens when oil prices reach $200 a barrel? Or raise gas prices to $5 a gallon, taking $2.50 of every gallon for alternative energy research. (hey, you know oil really is expensive to find and refine. honestly, per gallon orange juice is costlier. and the last time i checked, organges still grow on trees).
Maybe the lesson learned from all this is that we can't spread democracy or the free market system around the world. Maybe we need to be far more self-sufficient in terms of energy of all types. Maybe every once in a while we need to turn off our computers, our iPods, our TVs/DVDs/VCRs (except on when the Sopranos are on), maybe we need to ride the bus (without tax subsidized fares) to work...or move closer to our jobs and walk or ride a bike, maybe we need to turn down the thermostat or switch off the bedroom light since no one's been in there for hours.
Americans think they're (we're) on a free ride that will never end. Even big oil people will tell you that the juice is running out. But Bruce Springsteen (and I love the Boss) and Dixie Chicks (dig 'em, too) and other acts take energy gulping tours around the country/globe to charge $85 a ticket to sing songs about US/ oil company treachery and tell us what a pain in the ass Bush is (and he really is!). Man, couldn't they get that message out an easier, more efficient way?
People are strange. A couple days ago, I was enjoying a nice cup of coffee at a new place in the Mexican War Streets (Buena Vista and Jacksonia). My laptop was open and I was working away and connected to the net thanks to the shop's FREE WiFi access. At the table in front of me, a couple of couples (neo-Bohos) were talking about how awful it is these days that people can't seem to get away from the world. "Does anyone remember that Time magazine cover from the 80s that showed how the computer was an intrusion in the work place?" one woman asked. "Now they're everywhere, invading your privacy everywhere. Sometimes you need to disconnect from e-mail and the Internet." And for a second, I thought, damn, she's right. But as I clicked that "are you sure you want to shut down" button on my PowerBook, a cell phone rang, hers. And there she was, connected to her totally irony free world. Just like all the rest of us.
(Actually, I sort of remembered that Time cover she referred to. But to be sure I Googled it...and damn it was a nice concept.)
11:14 PM
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