New Developments III

[Damien]

Bill Maher had the same reaction as Sonic:

"At a press conference somebody finally stood up to Bush: a bird shit on him. Here's what is wrong with this man: he looked at it, and then wiped it off with his bare hand. And this is the guy who doubts that he descended from an ape."
---Bill Maher

[Mister Tee]

Sonic, it's good of you to post those casualty counts; it helps create signposts. Today we're up to 3474, a mere five days after 3451. Adding it to the 20 you referenced in the first line of your post, that's 43 dead in 8 days. Jesus wept.

But Joe Lieberman sees progress.

[99-1100896887]

This quotation of Bill Maher was in last week's Macleans, Canada's premiere weekly magazine.
On Blair's retirement:
"Blair said he wanted to spend more time humping Bush's leg. They didn't have the heart to tell Bush that Blair was gone. They just said he went to live on a farm."

[Damien]

From Salon,

Bill Maher on Worst President Ever (and the Democrats):

WHEN DEMOCRATS COLLAPSE
After Jimmy Carter caved to the Republican noise machine and took back his blast at President Bush, it's no surprise the party wimped out on the war.

By Bill Maher

May 25, 2007 | New Rule: Jimmy Carter must be shipped off to Guantánamo, stripped to his tighty-whiteys and "waterboarded" as an enemy combatant. Last weekend, former U.S. President and current al-Qaida operative Jimmy Carter launched an unprovoked attack upon democracy, America and our troops in the field by telling the Arkansas Pennysaver that the Bush administration has been "the worst in history." And then he threatened President Bush by saying, "I'm going to get on a plane and fly out there and straighten your ass out."

As usual, we've been sucked into a phony controversy about who said what and how it hurt George W. Bush's feelings. Because when you hurt George W. Bush you hurt America's feelings, and when you hurt America's feelings, you hurt the troops. And when that happens, Tinkerbell's light goes out and she dies.

The Republican outrage machine is always invoking secret rules that liberals didn't know they broke. And apparently when you get to be president, they give you an employee's handbook titled "So You're Leader of the Free World -- Now What?" It tells you about the nuclear codes, where your parking space is, and to not talk smack about other presidents. But I was up all night on Wikipedia doing an exhaustive study of former presidents, and while other presidents have sucked in their own individual ways, Bush is like a smorgasbord of suck. He combines the corruption of Warren G. Harding, the abuse of power of Richard Nixon and the warmongering of James K. Polk.

I mean, who would you rank lower than George W. Bush? Nixon got in trouble for illegally wiretapping Democratic headquarters; Bush is illegally wiretapping the entire country. Nixon opened up relations with the Chinese; Bush let them poison your dog. Herbert Hoover sat on his ass through four years of calamity, but he was an actual engineer. If someone told him about global warming, he would have understood it before the penguins caught on fire. Ulysses Grant was a miserable drunk, but at least he didn't trade booze for Jesus and embolden the snake handlers -- he did the honorable thing and stayed a miserable drunk. Grant let his cronies loot the republic, but he won his civil war.

For some inexplicable reason Republicans have taken to comparing Bush to Harry Truman -- a comparison that would make sense only if Harry Truman had A) started World War II and B) lost World War II. Harding sucked, but he once said, "I am not fit for this office and never should have been here." So at least he knew he sucked. He never walked offstage like Bush does after one of his embarrassing press conferences with a look on his face like, "Nailed it." Bush still acts like every failure is just a friend he hasn't met yet.

Now, is it possible for a future president to perform as badly as Bush has? I suppose, theoretically, if we elect someone totally off the wall, like R. Kelly, or the reanimated corpse of Ted Williams, or Rudy Giuliani ... But let's be honest, we would have been better off over the past six years if the Oval Office had been occupied by an orangutan with a Magic 8-Ball. And that's why it's so depressing that when the right-wing noise machine pretended to get upset at what Jimmy Carter said, he did what Democrats always do and backed down. He said his remarks were careless and misrepresented and the sun was in his eyes and his hearing aid went out and he was molested by a clergyman.

They confronted him, and he took it all back. Which is what Democrats do. Why couldn't he have just said, "No, I meant what I said. And speaking as the first citizen of Habitat for Humanity, let me take out my toolbox and build you a house where we can meet and you can blow me." If a Democrat who's out of office and 100 years old can't speak out, what chance do we have for the ones who are in office? Like the ones who are in Congress now who, emboldened by widespread public approval of their plan to bring the troops home ... this week abandoned that plan. You see, you don't get to become the worst president ever without a little help from the other side.

[Damien]

You people once (or twice) scolded me for posting editorials as back-up for my arguments. Now you are doing the same thing. Hooray for you.

What the F are you talking about, Liar? We've all always cited editorials in backing up opinions. What you've been constantly taken to task for was quoting editorials/opinion pieces without citing the source.

No wonder you adore Worst President Ever. You lie and prevaricate and bend the facts just as much as it does.

[Damien]

Are these real? Where can I get one?

I like especially:

The Republican Party: Our Bridge to the 11th Century
When Bush Took Office, Gas Was $1.46

I'm not sure if they're real or not. I received them in an e-mail from a good friend of mine who's a Catholic priest.

Of course. there are web sites where you can have your own bumper stickers made.

[criddic3]

WASHINGTON (Associated Press) Confronted with strong opposition to his Iraq policies, President Bush decides to interpret public opinion his own way. Actually, he says, people agree with him.

The president says Democrats have it all wrong: the public doesn't want the troops pulled out they want to give the military more support in its mission.

"Last November, the American people said they were frustrated and wanted a change in our strategy in Iraq," he said April 24, ahead of a veto showdown with congressional Democrats over their desire to legislation a troop withdrawal timeline. "I listened. Today, General David Petraeus is carrying out a strategy that is dramatically different from our previous course."

That was April 24th.

Here's what Criddic said on May 6th:

It's funny, because most people agree that we can't just pick up and leave in Iraq, and yet Bush is criticized for saying we have to make it work. He's begun a new plan that few are allowing to even get off the ground. There is no pleasing the opposition here.... They said change the course in Iraq. He brings in Gen. Petraeus, with a new plan to make it possible for a political solution to happen.... Still, not happy.

I called him a liar. (I don't mince words with him anymore.) Bush says the same thing, the AP demonstrates that Bush is a liar. And they have evidence to back them up. And that evidence can be applied to Criddic's statement.

I also called him a parrot. Note how eerily similar the two statements are. Just a few words have been altered so that Bush (or his speechwriters) handiwork can't be detected. "Change of course in Iraq" instead of "change in our strategy in Iraq", "plan" instead of "strategy"... like that.

Monkey see, monkey do. And how humiliating for a monkey to imitate a chimp.

You people once (or twice) scolded me for posting editorials as back-up for my arguments. Now you are doing the same thing. Hooray for you.

[OscarGuy]

Are these real? Where can I get one?

I like especially:

The Republican Party: Our Bridge to the 11th Century
When Bush Took Office, Gas Was $1.46

[Damien]

NEW BUMPER STICKERS FOR '07

1. Bush: End of an Error
2. That's OK, I Wasn't Using My Civil Liberties Anyway
3. Let's Fix Democracy in this Country First
4. If You Want a Nation Ruled By Religion, Move to Iran
5. Bush. Like a Rock. Only Dumber.
6. If You Can Read This, You're Not Our President
7. Of Course It Hurts: You're Getting Screwed by an Elephant
8. Hey, Bush Supporters: Embarrassed Yet?
9. George Bush: Creating the Terrorists Our Kids Will Have to Fight
10. Impeachment: It's Not Just for Blowjobs Anymore
11. America: One Nation, Under Surveillance
12. They Call Him "W" So He Can Spell It
13. Whose God Do You Kill For?
14. Jail to the Chief
15. No, Seriously, Why Did We Invade Iraq?
16. Bush: God's Way of Proving Intelligent Design is Full Of Crap
17. Bad President! No Banana.
18. We Need a President Who's Fluent In At Least One Language
19. We're Making Enemies Faster Than We Can Kill Them
20. Is It Vietnam Yet?
21. Bush Doesn't Care About White People, Either
22. Where Are We Going? And Why Are We In This Handbasket?
23. You Elected Him. You Deserve Him.
24. When Bush Took Office, Gas Was $1.46
25. Pray For Impeachment
26. The Republican Party: Our Bridge to the 11th Century
27. What Part of "Bush Lied" Don't You Understand?
28. One Nation Under Clod
29. 2004: Embarrassed 2005: Horrified 2006: Terrified
30. Bush Never Exhaled
31. At Least Nixon Resigned

[Sonic Youth]

WASHINGTON (Associated Press) Confronted with strong opposition to his Iraq policies, President Bush decides to interpret public opinion his own way. Actually, he says, people agree with him.

The president says Democrats have it all wrong: the public doesn't want the troops pulled out they want to give the military more support in its mission.

"Last November, the American people said they were frustrated and wanted a change in our strategy in Iraq," he said April 24, ahead of a veto showdown with congressional Democrats over their desire to legislation a troop withdrawal timeline. "I listened. Today, General David Petraeus is carrying out a strategy that is dramatically different from our previous course."

That was April 24th.

Here's what Criddic said on May 6th:

It's funny, because most people agree that we can't just pick up and leave in Iraq, and yet Bush is criticized for saying we have to make it work. He's begun a new plan that few are allowing to even get off the ground. There is no pleasing the opposition here.... They said change the course in Iraq. He brings in Gen. Petraeus, with a new plan to make it possible for a political solution to happen.... Still, not happy.

I called him a liar. (I don't mince words with him anymore.) Bush says the same thing, the AP demonstrates that Bush is a liar. And they have evidence to back them up. And that evidence can be applied to Criddic's statement.

I also called him a parrot. Note how eerily similar the two statements are. Just a few words have been altered so that Bush (or his speechwriters) handiwork can't be detected. "Change of course in Iraq" instead of "change in our strategy in Iraq", "plan" instead of "strategy"... like that.

Monkey see, monkey do. And how humiliating for a monkey to imitate a chimp.

[flipp525]

Someone needs to slip Downfall into Bush's DVD player. His narrow-minded, messianic view of the world stage at the moment is starting to get truly frightening.



Edited By flipp525 on 1180396268

[Damien]

A liar or delusional? I'd say both.

BUSH LOOKS AT PUBLIC OPINION ON IRAQ AND DECLARES IT SUPPORTS HIS DECISONS

by Jennifer Loven


WASHINGTON (Associated Press) Confronted with strong opposition to his Iraq policies, President Bush decides to interpret public opinion his own way. Actually, he says, people agree with him.

Democrats view the November elections that gave them control of Congress as a mandate to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq. They're backed by evidence; election exit poll surveys by The Associated Press and television networks found 55 percent saying the U.S. should withdraw some or all of its troops from Iraq.

The president says Democrats have it all wrong: the public doesn't want the troops pulled out they want to give the military more support in its mission.

"Last November, the American people said they were frustrated and wanted a change in our strategy in Iraq," he said April 24, ahead of a veto showdown with congressional Democrats over their desire to legislation a troop withdrawal timeline. "I listened. Today, General David Petraeus is carrying out a strategy that is dramatically different from our previous course."

Increasingly isolated on a war that is going badly, Bush has presented his alternative reality in other ways, too. He expresses understanding for the public's dismay over the unrelenting sectarian violence and American losses that have passed 3,400, but then asserts that the public's solution matches his.

"A lot of Americans want to know, you know, when?" he said at a Rose Garden news conference Thursday. "When are you going to win?"

Also in that session, Bush said: "I recognize there are a handful there, or some, who just say, `Get out, you know, it's just not worth it. Let's just leave.' I strongly disagree with that attitude. Most Americans do as well."

In fact, polls show Americans do not disagree, and that leaving not winning is their main goal.

In one released Friday by CBS and the New York Times, 63 percent supported a troop withdrawal timetable of sometime next year. Another earlier this month from USA Today and Gallup found 59 percent backing a withdrawal deadline that the U.S. should stick to no matter what's happening in Iraq.

Bush aides say poll questions are asked so many ways, and often so imprecisely, that it is impossible to conclude that most Americans really want to get out. Failure, Bush says, is not what the public wants they just don't fully understand that that is just what they will get if troops are pulled out before the Iraqi government is capable of keeping the country stable on its own.

Seeking to turn up the heat on this argument, Bush has relied lately on an al-Qaida mantra. Terrorists remain dangerous, and fighting them in Iraq is key to neutralizing the threat, he says. "It's hard for some Americans to see that, I fully understand it," Bush said. "I see it clearly."

Independent pollster Andrew Kohut said of the White House view: "I don't see what they're talking about."

"They want to know when American troops are going to leave," Kohut, director of the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, said of the public. "They certainly want to win. But their hopes have been dashed."

Kohut has found it notable that there's such a consensus in poll findings.

"When the public hasn't made up its mind or hasn't thought about things, there's a lot of variation in the polls," he said. "But there's a fair amount of agreement now."

The president didn't used to try to co-opt polling for his benefit. He just said he ignored it.

In Ohio in mid-April, for instance, Bush was asked how he feels about his often dismal showings. "Polls just go poof at times," he replied.

It was the same the next day in Michigan. "If you make decisions based upon the latest opinion poll, you won't be thinking long-term strategy on behalf of the American people," the president said.

After weeks of negotiations between the White House and Capitol Hill's majority Democrats, last week ended with things going Bush's way. Congress passed and he signed a war spending bill that was stripped of any requirement that the war end.

But the debate is far from over.

The measure funds the war only through Sept. 30 around the time that military commanders are scheduled to report to Bush and Congress on whether the troop increase the president ordered in January is quelling the violence as hoped. Even Republicans have told Bush that a major reckoning is coming in September, and that they will be hard-pressed to continue to stand behind him if things don't look markedly better. Also due that month is an independent assessment of the Iraqi government's progress on measures aimed at lessening sectarian tensions that are fueling the violence.

Between now and then, Democrats don't intend to stay quiet. They plan a series of votes on whether U.S. troops should stay in Iraq and whether the president has the authority to continue the war.

Bush isn't likely to stay quiet, either.

Wayne Fields, an expert on presidential rhetoric at Washington University in St. Louis, said the president's new language exploits the fact that there is no one alternative strategy for the public to coalesce around, which clearly spells out how to bring troops home. Bush can argue that people agree with him because no one can define the alternative, Fields said.

But, with the president's job approval ratings so low and the public well aware of what it thinks about the war, Bush is taking a big gamble.

"This is a very tricky thing in our politics. We want to think that we want our leaders to stand up to public opinion. But we also like to think of ourselves as being in a democracy where we are listened to," Fields said. "He risks either the notion of being thought out of touch ... or to be thought simply duplicitous."

[OscarGuy]

"Wonderful experience to be" there? Wow...well, I guess you have to be delusional to delude the country...I'm sure he was torn up about it...

I hate the practice of honorary degrees anyway. If you didn't do the work, you shouldn't get the degree. It's a cheat. It's disrespectful to all of those people who worked to get theirs.

[Penelope]

Here's a news report about the event; he didn't get a chance to say anything.

[Sabin]

This is so amazing, I'm beside myself.

Did he get a chance to say anything? Did he run off?