President Bush

Today is the 73rd anniversary of this solemn promise made to our seniors on August 14, 1935:

Presidential Statement of FDR signing THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT

Today a hope of many years' standing is in large part fulfilled. The civilization of the past hundred years, with its startling industrial changes, has tended more and more to make life insecure. Young people have come to wonder what would be their lot when they came to old age. The man with a job has wondered how long the job would last.

This social security measure gives at least some protection to thirty millions of our citizens who will reap direct benefits through unemployment compensation, through old-age pensions and through increased services for the protection of children and the prevention of ill health.

In which we compare and contrast...and fondly ask: "What if..."

Liddy Dole's campaign is unable to meet the logistical challenges presented by Pat McCrory's fundraiser in Raleigh with President Bush. No doubt Elizabeth Dole is deeply disappointed that her veteran campaign staff were unable to provide her with the opportunity to greet our president in "her" state.

From the N&O:

Dole spokesman Hogan Gidley said she would not attend today's fundraiser.

"Any presidential visit requires a ton of logistics, and we have a busy schedule mapped out for the summer and fall months," Gidley said.

What are the logistical challenges that prevent Senator Dole from showing up at Bush's fundraiser for McCrory? I've created a list of possibilities:

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Heard the headline? Bush: "Rebate check will help offset rising food and gas prices"

Just how well are things going in Iraq after the "Surge"?

I lifted this article from the internet because it really validates what the Iraqies I communicate with are seeing.

Regardless of all the republican rethoric about how "well the war is going", there is a reality that exist which they soundly refuse to acknowledge.

Truth can be a hard thing to accept sometimes, especially when thousands of people are dieing as a direct result of "Republican truth".

We secretly removed who said each of these statements, let’s see if you notice:

“They [Islamic Terrorists] watch our elections as closely as we do, maybe more closely than some of our fellows citizens do…”1

"There's certainly a stepped-up level of violence [in Iraq], and we're heading into an election...”2

“When it comes to better securing our homeland and fighting the forces of terror, results matter. And when it comes to choosing a President, results matter.”3

“Let’s not forget you’re hiring a President not just to do what a candidate says during the election, you want a President to be there when the chips are down.”4

“So, you know, words are not actions. And as beautifully presented and passionately felt as they are, they are not action.”5

“You see, it's not enough to advocate reform. You have to be able to get it done.”6

“My opponent has good intentions, but intentions do not always translate to results.”7

“You know, what we've got to do is translate talk into action and feeling into reality.”8

“The murders in Madrid are a reminder that the civilized world is at war.”9

“I don’t think it was by accident that Al Qaeda decided to test the new Prime Minister”10

Politics in America has always been a “them” and “Us” sort of event. We have so many different outlooks and avenues of expression and thought. Political philosophy, social engagement, citizen responsibility to government, as opposed to government obligation to its citizens, political correctness and how it effects our societal morays and values is today, as always, wonderfully debated and the list goes on; yet somehow those differences have helped to make us the great people we are, which has in turn forged the social Democratic miracle America still is today.

Opposing thought and spectrums, with a shared love of county, liberty, freedom and rule of law have been the hallmark of American political discourse. We all love this county and our opposing thoughts, with few exceptions, have never really challenged that principle.

In which we compare Presidential won/loss records to those of more important personages.

I listened intently to the latest Presidential speech. I was astounded by how adolescent the President must think the American people are and at what low regard he holds his fellow citizens.
I therefore took a few of his remarks to reply to myself. It is somewhat tongue and cheek, but the subject is as serious as life and death itself. This Presidents leadership of this country has caused untold suffering in our country, Iraq, the Middle East in general and throughout the world.
In President Bush’s quest to secure oil, establish greater U.S. dominance in the world and secure his place in history, he has taken our country to an unjustified war of aggression and occupation in Iraq while abandoning our legitimate pursuit of those who attacked us from Afghanistan on September 11, 2001.

America’s Federal Government has plenty of armed / intelligence agencies.
National Intelligence Agency (NIA)
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
The Treasury’s United States Secret Service (USSS)
Department of Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms (ATF)
Transportation Security Agency (TSA)
The IRS armed enforcement branch, the Criminal Investigation Service (IRS-CIS)
U.S. Marshall Service (USMS)
National Security Counsel (NSC)
National Security Agency (NSA)
US Department of Immigration Naturalization (INS)
Department of Defense (DoD)
State Department Security (DSS)
There are at least ten other U.S. Government security agencies NOT listed here.
Security is not our problem. Never was.

Of course this is the golden excuse republicans give for cutting taxes. They throw a bone or two to the middle and lower classes and then they hack at corporate, capital gains, dividend and estate taxes for all they're worth. Recently John McCain tried to perpetuate the myth that by cutting taxes, the government gains revenue because the economy expands and the private sector ends up paying more in taxes as a whole.
More ...

March 28th 07
A terrible thing happened to day in Iraq. 63 people, human beings, were killed by Iraqi police assisted by militiamen. According to the Washington Post, the police began roaming Sunni neighborhoods in the city, shooting at residents and homes. The Iraqi Army had to come in to stop the attacks. The carnage was the worst bloodshed in a surge of violence across Iraq.

President Bush cited the operation as an example that gave him "confidence in our strategy. (How many Police will be charged with murder? Zero). What kind of successful strategy is that?

"Meanwhile, hundreds of Iraqis detained in the U.S. security crackdown in Baghdad are being held in two detention centers designed to hold only a dozen or so people, The New York Times, reported today. The report also disclosed that 705 detained people were packed into an area built for 75 (by US forces) at one of the detention centers, south of Baghdad. The other center, held 272 people, including two women and four boys, in a space designed to hold about 50. (I have been to detention centers in Iraq. Not exactly a real model of success).

Recently I stumbled upon a website that had a whole bunch of scans of US Forest Service fire prevention ads that featured Smokey the Bear, and one in particular screamed out "remix me!" So:

Link to Image (added by gf for users who can't see it in their browser)