We Are America

For quite possibly the first time ever, I wholeheartedly agree with a Fox News anchor. Here's Shepard Smith speakin' the truth, with some salty language, as an added bonus!



Update: Our friend Stephen Colbert had something to say about Smith's antics.

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Comically Out of Touch, Part 2

Remember that clip of President Bush saying "he hadn't heard" that anyone was predicting $4 a gallon gas here in America, from the post 'Comically Out Of Touch'? Well, here's a little follow-up, courtesy of "The Daily Show" from June 10, 2008.

Comically Out of Touch

Before you read the following transcript, remember this: George W. Bush received a bachelor's Degree from Yale University, got a Masters from Harvard University in business, and was the Chairman and CEO of the oil company, Arbusto Oil. Oh, and he's currently the President of the United States, a nation which is going through a severe economic downturn.

From the President's press conference on February 28, 2008:



Q: What's your advice to the average American who is hurting now, facing the prospect of $4 a gallon gasoline, a lot of people facing --

THE PRESIDENT: Wait, what did you just say? You're predicting $4 a gallon gasoline?

Q: A number of analysts are predicting --
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, yeah?

Q: -- $4 a gallon gasoline this spring when they reformulate.

THE PRESIDENT: That's interesting. I hadn't heard that.

Q: Yes, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. I know it's high now.

Q: And the other economic problems facing people. Beyond your concern that you stated here, and your expectations for these stimulus checks, what kind of hope can you offer to people who are in dire straits?

THE PRESIDENT: Permanent tax -- keep the tax cuts permanent, for starters. There's a lot of economic uncertainty. You just said that. You just said the price of gasoline may be up to $4 a gallon -- or some expert told you that -- and that creates a lot of uncertainty if you're out there wondering whether or not -- you know, what your life is going to be like and you're looking at $4 a gallon, that's uncertain.

moments later...

Q: Any restrictions on who can give [to your presidential library]? Will you take foreign money for this?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I'll probably take some foreign money, but don't know yet, Ken. We just haven't -- we just announced the deal and I, frankly, have been focused elsewhere, like on gasoline prices and, you know, my trip to Africa, and haven't seen the fundraising strategy yet. So the answer to your question, really, I can't answer your question well.


Well, there you go. The Harvard and Yale-educated oil man who launched an unprovoked war in the oil-rich Middle East didn't know that gasoline was about to hit $4 a gallon in his own country.

In addition, this is a brilliant illustration of how a person who frequently and casually lies gets caught in a lie by the telling the truth only moments before. Examine these two statements:

"I hadn't heard that." This is, most likely, the truth. I believe it.

"I, frankly, have been focused elsewhere, like on gasoline prices." This is, of course, a lie.

Those two statements, uttered within moments of one another, illustrate the President's mindset. Exclusively, they do not inform us of his actual beliefs. The only reason we know why one statement is a lie and the other is the truth is because of their proximity and obvious paradoxical nature. Had he not told the truth ("I am woefully unaware of what is going on with gas prices.") he wouldn't have been exposed with his silly, pandering, unnecessary lie ("I'm working hard on things like gas prices.").

Photos taken in San Francisco, which has the highest gasoline prices in the country, on March 14, 2008, on my way home from work.

Poor Kids First (?)

Here are two takes on President Bush's veto of the children's health insurance bill that was overwhelmingly supported by Congress, on both sides of the aisle.

Is that an O'Doul's?

'Cold drink,' eh? That looks like a beer to me. Wait a second... shouldn't recovering alcoholics not drink alcohol?

Oh, wait. The Bush family has never actually admitted that George W. Bush is a recovering alcoholic. They've been delightfully cryptic about his past.

I'm sure this DWI of the President's doesn't come up very often in the White House. Or Dick Cheney's two (count 'em, two) drunk driving arrests.

If you're interested in George W. Bush's past, you should watch these two PBS/Frontline documentaries: The Choice: 2004, and the brilliant and sometimes frightening The Jesus Factor.

Another Sad Milestone

As of today, January 1, 2007, 3000 U.S. military personnel have been killed in Iraq. Another 46,880 U.S. military personnel have been injured. The New York Times has posted an interactive feature called Faces of the Dead which gives you an interesting perspective on the loss of these brave Americans.

Iraqi deaths could range between 74,000 and 655,000, we cannot be sure. Over 12,000 Iraqi police officers have been killed as of 12/24/06.

As a ridiculous way of wrapping up this awful statshot of the war, here's the Bob Woodward article about how the late President Gerald Ford "very strongly disagreed" with President Bush, V.P. Dick Cheney and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on the war in Iraq. Ford told Woodward, "Rumsfeld and Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq. They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction. And now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do." I particularly find this excerpt fascinating: "Well, I can understand the theory of wanting to free people," Ford said, referring to Bush's assertion that the United States has a "duty to free people." But the former president said he was skeptical "whether you can detach that from the obligation number one, of what's in our national interest."

He added: "And I just don't think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security."

link: New York Times' Casualties of War: Faces of the Dead
link: New York Times' An Appreciation: From Father to Son, Last Words to Live By
link: Washington Post's Ford Disagreed With Bush About Invading Iraq
link: Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
link: BBC Article on 12,000 Iraqi policeman killed

Hero: The Iraq Study Group

President Bush: "Some reports are issued and just gather dust. And truth of the matter is, a lot of reports in Washington are never read by anybody. To show you how important this one is, I read it."

Q: “Mr. President, the Iraq Study Group described the situation in Iraq as grave and deteriorating. You said that the increase in attacks is unsettling. That won't convince many people that you're still in denial about how bad things are in Iraq, and question your sincerity about changing course.”

President Bush: “It's bad in Iraq. Does that help?” (Laughter.)

Source

Members of the Iraq Study Group

• James A. Baker III (co-chair)
• Lee Hamilton (co-chair)
• Lawrence Eagleburger
• Vernon Jordan
• Edwin Meese III
• Leon Panetta
• William J. Perry
• Charles S. Robb
• Sandra Day O'Connor
• Alan K. Simpson
• Robert Gates
• Rudy Guiliani

Iraq Study Group [Wikipedia]
Iraq Study Group [Amazon]