Delusions of Grandeur...

Yesterday, President Bush declared “One day people will look back at this moment in history and say ‘Thank God there were courageous people willing to serve, because they laid the foundations for peace for generations to come.’”

While it is certainly true that our soldiers have acted courageously, even against all reason, given the condition of the Middle East for the last 4000 years, it is insanely optimistic to declare that any sort of foundation for generations of peace has been laid.

But unrealistic expectations are what we’ve come to expect from this worst of all possible presidents. The only foundation he has laid has been a foundation of wealth for, as he put it while running for his first term, the “haves and the have-mores.”

While it is true that deaths have declined during his much-vaunted “surge”, it is also true that a lot of the reduction can be attributed to the seven month old cease-fire declared by Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi army. This cease-fire, by the way, is in trouble and may not last much longer.

Fortunately for Bush, he has a fall-back position... after all, by his (and McCain’s) double-sided reasoning it makes no sense to leave Iraq when things are bad, and it makes no sense to leave Iraq when things are “good”.

So when he pops his October surprise, I guess we should sit by complacently and let him declare martial law and suspend the elections, because you know, it makes no sense to change when things are bad...

At the risk of beating a dead horse, again, here is the bottom line on the Bush presidency: America is weaker by military and economic standards, more hated in the world, and no more safe, than when he began his reign of error. The Constitution has been weakened, with the result that Americans are less free and more threatened by their government. The average price of gasoline has gone from around $1.73 to $3.09, and there is no credible push to make alternative energy sources economically viable. The middle class continues to shrink while the “have-mores” wallow in even more. Iraq is, in fact, worse off than under Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi army is nowhere near able to take charge of its own country. One reason given for the decline in Iraqi deaths is that so many millions have left their home country that there is “no one left to kill.” Bush’s actions have given power and legitimacy to Iran, made the Chinese look like good guys in South America, and have left the Middle East even less stable than it has historically been.

Yet, he has the audacity to claim “the foundations for peace for generations to come”.

01/20/01... Never Forget!

Hope for the future...

CNN reports that "most Americans" are confident of a turnaround in 2009. This seems like a no-brainer to me, given that on 1/20/09, no matter what happens in the November elections, 
EVERYBODY wins!

The Audacity of Hypocrisy...

In a news conference last Thursday, Bush had this to say about the soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed. It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks.

This from a guy who, along with most of the members of his cabinet, did everything he could do to stay out of Viet Nam. If he feels so strongly about it there is nothing to stop him from suggesting that one or both his daughters enlist in the service.

And of course, Cheney gets off no easier, famously saying he "had other priorities" during Viet Nam.

I hate to make this comparison, I really do. But isn't this just a bit like Osama Bin Laden urging his followers to commit suicide bombings while he hides out in a cave?

It's more and more obvious that Bush's true feelings about service people is a lot like a kid on Christmas morning with a new bag of plastic army men.

And here he had the audacity to flash a peace sign...

"Drug War" news...

Montgomery County DA Michael McDougal has admitted using money from his drug forfeiture account to buy "tequila, rum and kegs" for an annual city and county employees barbecue. Also included in the purchase were beer taps and
 a keg tub.

What do you suppose the chances were of drunk employees hitting the streets during or after said barbecue? Are we to assume McDougal's forfeiture account also paid for taxi rides?

This is yet another example of the hypocrisy of the "War on Drugs", now in its umpteenth year of failure. How can marijuana, for instance, be considered dangerous, 
but it's perfectly hunky-dory to ply county and city employees with tequila and send them out on the roads?

I would love to hear Dean Becker's "Cultural Baggage" show on KPFT bring more 
attention to this...

Recent Crappy Photoshop Submissions...

All is well...

President Bush assures us that we have nothing to worry about with the economy tanking, continuing his tap dance while America burns.

According to an article in today's Houston Chronicle, Bush said, "One thing is for certain: We're in challenging times," Bush told TV cameras just as stock trading opened Monday morning. "But another thing is for certain: that we've taken strong and decisive action."

That doesn't make me feel any better, considering he said similar things about his biggest failure, Iraq, and his second biggest failure, the Katrina mess.

It's getting harder to keep after this guy, knowing he'll be gone in "only" 307 days, but it is even more important to keep an eye on his antics now because he'll be desperate to get in a last few favors for his friends and to make last ditch efforts to burnish his legacy.

Incidentally, I don't think he has to worry about his "legacy", which, to this liberal, is as secure as the legacy of Nixon. He will be known as the worst, most corrupt, misled, misleading, lying president in American history, including Nixon!

How bad is it? So bad that he already has an escape plan... I've commented on his apparent plan to escape to Paraguay when things get too hot, but it bears repeating. This jerk should be watched even after he leaves office. Unfortunately, the threat to him will likely not come from an American court. More likely he will be forced to flee when it becomes apparent that he can't travel anywhere BUT America, and finally some President will be forced by international concerns to quietly advise Bush to get out of Dodge. This is one reason McCain can't be allowed to win the presidency.



I do plan to visit his presidential library when it opens, for two reasons. To spit somewhere appropriate, and to make sure there is a copy of "The Pet Goat" on the shelves. I urge all true Americans to do this. Can you imagine if there were dozens, or even hundreds of copies of the book on "his" shelves? It would certainly keep alive the debate over who is responsible for the situation in America. There will be no forgetting, as time crawls by, exactly who is responsible for the 
state of America.

Crappy Fark Photoshop Submission

W's Retirement Party

You can see a larger version of this crappy Photoshop I did at this link ... you'll be able to see his sad and lonely little face, and while you're there you can check out my other crappy photoshop work, a few of which poke fun at our inglorious misLeader. I'm particularly proud of this one...

And again...

Once again showing its' disdain for democracy, the Bush administration, as reported by Guardian.co.uk, approved a secret plan to overthrow the duly
 elected Hamas government in Gaza.

According to the article, the plan would have funneled arms and salaries to Fatah fighters who "would lead a rising against Hamas."

The Bushies wanted a democracy in the Middle East, but apparently they aren't so crazy about democracy as to actually allow it, if it conflicts with their own grubby interests.

Officials who signed off on this latest fiasco are Bush, Condoleeza Rice, and Elliott Abrams.

Three hundred twenty two days of this left. Will democracy survive?

Will AMERICA survive?