The Bush Watch

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

Boy, it really would have been embarrassing to the Republicans and big business if Bush hadn't won in November. According to CBS, large corporate PACs gave more political contributions to the Republican party than they did to the Democrats, on an order of 10:1! The Republicans are truly painting themselves as representing big business interests, while the best the Democrats can do is represent the average American consumer and Hollywood.

Miulang

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/...in657844.shtml

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

Apparently the President's nominee to replace Tom Ridge as Director of Homeland Security is no angel with wings. According to people who have worked for or with Bernie Kerik, the man is a ticking time bomb who believes he can operate outside the law and is a crass opportunist. Hmmm...if confirmed, will he play Tweedledee to Dubya's Tweedledum? Wonder if the Dems will turn up the heat during the confirmation hearings...If we thought Tom Ridge was bad, I don't hold out much hope for our personal freedom if Kerik is confirmed.

http://www.newsday.com/news/columnis...ews-columnists

Miulang

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

I like the way Sheila Samples chastises the popular media for kowtowing to Dubya and not reporting the truth. Samples thinks that the press, formerly considered the watchdogs and consciences of society, is in serious need of watchdogs of their own now that they have been sucked into the grasp of the neocon PSYOPS mindset where you only report what the Administration wants you to report on, not what is really going on.

When I was in journalism school, as idealistic as I was back then, I felt as though I had to be the vigilant eyes and ears for the people. I still feel that way, but I am embarrassed by the electronic and print journalists today who think they are doing a favor to the American public by not reporting the truth. Of course, it doesn't help to have a President who believes he can do no wrong and that whatever destiny he is shaping for this country, he has God at his side. We have a President who believes that he can impose a set of preconditions on the leader of another country before he will deign to touch his boot-clad tootsies on their soil; he is someone who will not speak to someone who doesn't address him as "Mr. President" in press conferences..I mean, come on, if he can call a reporter "Sparky" during one of these sessions, why should anyone respect him?

I still have faith in the cyclical nature of history, and I can hardly wait for the pendulum to swing the other way. Why, Election Day, 2006, is less than 2 years away!

Miulang

http://www.informationclearinghouse....rticle7448.htm

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

Another "black hole" in our intelligence program. Democratic senators on the Intelligence Committee promise they will do everything to block future funding for this supersecret intelligence project, but no one will say what the project is supposed to do! Geeze, I know of thousands of ways that hundreds of millions of tax dollars could be spent where secrecy about purpose and function and accountability would not be tolerated, programs that would help far more people!

Miulang

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/121104X.shtml

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

Yipee skippee! Yahoo and AOL report that about 2 hours ago, Bernard Kerik, the Dept of Homeland Security nominee, had requested that his name be withdrawn from consideration for the post due to "personal reasons".

Uh huh. When the stove gets too hot, the cook leaves the kitchen...I wonder what kind of additional dirt would have been dug up during his confirmation hearings?

Miulang

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...eland_security

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

Wonder no more what dirt would have come out about Bernard Kerik: on top of having a "nanny problem", there were issues about his leadership in NYC, in Iraq, potential conflict of interest for his being on the Board of Taser, Inc., etc. etc. Now the press is questioning how Kerik even passed the first level of vetting (where the White House was supposed to do a background check...maybe they saw this nanny problem as not important...although during the Clinton Administration, 2 potential Attorney General nominees were scrubbed because of it).

I wanna know what kind of excuses Bush is gonna give for having egg on his face...or if he'll just pretend the whole fiasco of Kerik's nomination never existed (if you want to save face, just deny everything or plead ignorance).

Miulang

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/121204Z.shtml

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

Just as I suspected, the Bush Administration is saying it was all Kerik's fault for not telling the truth. And Kerik, being a good dobee, is taking all the blame for the "nanny problem."

Um, how stupid does the Administration think the American public is, anyway? If they didn't want to be embarassed, why didn't the Administration wait until the FBI concluded its investigation of Kerik before announcing his nomination? I think Alberto Gonzalez and his crew knew about this illegal immigrant thingie and just ignored it, again because they believe they are above the law. Now Kerik can go back to being a highly paid board member of Taser, Inc. and can continue to recommend that the government award contracts to Taser for equipment.

Miulang

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

This is the Washington Post's analysis of how Bernard Kerik managed to get past the first stage of vetting in his quest to be the next Secretary of Homeland Security. Notice again, that the White House puts the blame on Kerik entirely.

Miulang

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/121304L.shtml

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

Well, if you go visit another country, make sure you don't dress or talk like an American. According to the following article from a NC newspaper, we've lost even more credibility with the rest of the world since Bush's re-election. An interesting aside is that NC has a large population of Middle Eastern residents.

Miulang

http://www.citizen-times.com/cache/a...html?refresh=1

[kimo55]

Re: The Bush Watch

if you visit another country, make sure you don't dress or talk like an American. we've lost credibility with the rest of the world since Bush's re-election.

the "ugly american" syndrome has been holding fast for a few decades.
regardless of the puppet-like figurehead in office.
Never fear.

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

the "ugly american" syndrome has been holding fast for a few decades.
regardless of the puppet-like figurehead in office.
Never fear.

True, but until very recently, only the French really looked at us disdainfully. Now that the Euro is worth more than the American dollar (thanks primarily to our outrageous trillions of dollars of national debt), none of the European countries really has any need to be nice to us anymore because they don't need our money anymore

Miulang.

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

George Bush awarded the Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor that can be bestowed, to 3 of the architects of our botched invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq today.

The medals went to George Tenet, former director of the CIA, Paul Bremer, the former administrator of Iraq and Gen. Tommy Frank, who led the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. This is hilarious and another sign that the Administration doesn't care what other people think about its decisions!

If I was one of the previous recipients of the award, I would return my medallion. The Medal, which used to be considered prestigious, is now not even worth the metal its stamped from because the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan have not been resolved and we still have troops dying over there.


Miulang

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/....ap/index.html

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

I'm now taking bets on how much longer the Bush Administration can continue to defend Donald Rumsfeld's job as Defense Secretary. I think for even the most straightshooting hardcore Republican, Rummy's reply to the Kuwaiti soldier's question about inadequate armoring of Humvee's kinda spelled the death knell for Rummy. Everyone but the neocons (even moderate Republicans like John McCain and Trent Lott want Rumsfeld to leave) now admit that it's time for him to go.

Miulang

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...1,151698.story

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

Bahahahaha! When I first heard that Time Mag had named George W. Bush as its Man of the Year this morning, I thought I was hallucinating! Then the next thought I had was that Time had pulled an early April Fool's Day joke on its readers by doing a parody (a la the National Lampoon) of its normally logical Man of the Year Award.

Then I went to the TIME website and there it was...

"Person of the Year

For sticking to his guns (literally and figuratively), for reshaping the rules of politics to fit his ten-gallon-hat leadership style and for persuading a majority of voters that he deserved to be in the White House for another four years, George W. Bush is TIME's 2004 Person of the Year"

This just goes to show how much the Bush Administration has got the popular press hog tied (although I do have to admit, if you read between the lines of the passage above, it does kind of sound like a snide comment to make about Dubya's sticking to his guns). I expect there will be many howls from the 49% of the people who didn't vote for him. I myself am tempted to write to TIME to congratulate them on their excellent parody issue.

Miulang

http://www.time.com/time/

[Miulang]

Re: The Bush Watch

I'm now taking bets on how much longer the Bush Administration can continue to defend Donald Rumsfeld's job as Defense Secretary. I think for even the most straightshooting hardcore Republican, Rummy's reply to the Kuwaiti soldier's question about inadequate armoring of Humvee's kinda spelled the death knell for Rummy. Everyone but the neocons (even moderate Republicans like John McCain and Trent Lott want Rumsfeld to leave) now admit that it's time for him to go.

Miulang

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...1,151698.story

The President staunchly defended his Secretary of Defense today, calling him
"...a good decent man...a caring fellow". I guess if he listened to what even members of his own party say about Rummy and actually replaced him, that would be an admission of his fallability! And we all know that Texans in 10-gallon hats are never wrong.

Miulang

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...st_pe/rumsfeld