Thank the Mighty Dog and Bog for Bush-isms!

Please enjoy some of these, my favorite Bushisms!

Just Too Damn Funny
$cienTOMogy
Thanks so much to thecongressman for the heads up

Why We Fight.... The "War in Iraq" and Other Matters- Per a Rant

Good day to you fellows that may be reading this post. I hope that so far I have not angered anyone too much. Adam did give me permission to post whatever I like but I hope I am not abusing that privilege. If anyone would like to send me a private scolding or whatnot, my email is baristaCMH@Gmail.com. I welcome input of all types.... Now, the rest of the blog....

Last night I sat watching the final episodes of Band of Brothers, that HBO mini series that follows the exploits and trials of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne during the final years of WWII. I was mortified. I thoroughly enjoy Band of Brothers for I rarely see movies that touch on such real aspects of war. To the point: As horrible as that war was, I see the point and the reason we were there, why so many sons and daughters, mothers and fathers died across the ocean. I get that. Mass genocide is a good reason to go to war. Now let us go to Iraq, today.... Yes yes.... You will tell me that Saddam was murdering the Curds in the North, genocide you say.... That was years ago and we did nothing. The powers that be sat by and watched the Curds being eliminated. Turkey did nothing to help even though, 1) Turkey is Iraq's Northern neighbor and 2) a substantial percentage of Turkey's populace is Kurdish. Even Turkey sat back and watched! Out of no where Bush decides that Saddam is a bad influence on the lives of the Kurdish and on the Iraqi nation. What gives? WWII was a true coalition. In the words of one of my favorite childhood TV shows, "... cooperation makes it happen...." So true. WWII was the cooperation of multiple nations working towards a common goal, one that was near noble in cause. Iraq I see as quite another matter.

We, we being the United States government, went to the United Nations Security Council to request a declaration of war on Iraq. I believe, and someone please confirm or deny this, but we were refused on the basis of lack of evidence. (I think everyone knows that hard as we tried to will the existence of weapons into being in Iraq, it just did not work). So that left Bush with his pants down around his ankles in front of the world. What to do? What to do?

People die in war. Many people die in war. According to Mr. Bush (I refuse to call him Pres. I didn't vote for him) the war is over. It has been 'over' or 'mission accomplished' since 5/1/03. TWO YEARS AGO!!!

There are two numbers to the right of each heading. These numbers are the number of American casualties since __________.
The first number is total, the second is in combat.

Since war began (3/19/03): 1907 1520
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03) (the list)
1770 1412
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 1440 1216
Since Handover (6/29/04): 1041 887
Since Election (1/31/05): 475 414

Nearly 2000 Americans have died since the war ended and that is just Americans. It is extremely hard to find reports of native casualties. FOX news seems to not be very concerned with the numbers on their side of things. Haven't enough people died for our dictator's whims? When do we call a stop to all of this madness following 9/11. It was a horrible day in our lives, an attack on our soil. But it has happened and though I say we must never forget, neither must we live our lives like it happens every day since. How many bills and executive orders and the like have ridden through on the coat tails of '9/11'.

Once on Conan O'Brien he was doing his TV face thing where just the lips of the picture move. Bush was one of the faces this night that I was watching. Conan asked Bush a question pertaining to his inaction in regards to the Kyoto Clean Air Act. Bush replied," Let me tell you, Conan, it all comes down to 9/11." I know it was a joke but it hit entirely too close to home. Everything Bush does, he links to 9/11. He manages to get what he wants by driving the memory of that day deep into our hearts so as to scare his policy through.

Welcome to America, the Land of the Free, the Home of the Brave. Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free..... So we can lock them in a cell under the Patriot Act and deny them representation according to the law, so we can racially profile their asses, so we can pretend that everyone is equal unless you do not make very much money or own half of Texas, or a chance to prove that THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS FUCKING WAR!!!

I have more rants pertaining to these delicate issues. Please send me a mail and let me know how my first RANT went.

Thank you,
Kevin

The NEW Kickstand CD is here!
Another Taste 4 1/2" finished version

So I found this article when purusing the net. I found another interesting one at CNN which led me to this one. I make no statement one way or another. I just thought that everyone might like to check this out: I had no idea there were rallies like this one out there. Guess FOX just doesn't have the coverage it used to.... Here is the link to CNN's version.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/09/16/chavez.ap/index.html



"Published on Tuesday, August 9, 2005 by the Australian Associated Press
Venezuela Warns Against US Invasion

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has told thousands of visiting students that if US forces are to invade his South American country, they will be soundly defeated.

The US government has strongly denied Chavez's claims that it is considering military action against Cuba's closest ally in the Americas.

But Chavez said the US government, which "won't stop caressing the idea of invading Cuba or invading Venezuela," should be warned of the consequences.

"If some day they get the crazy idea of coming to invade us, we'll make them bite the dust defending the freedom of our land," Chavez said to applause.

He spoke during the opening ceremony of a world youth festival bringing together student delegations from across the world and convened under the slogan "Against Imperialism and War."

Chavez called the United States the "most savage, cruel and murderous empire that has existed in the history of the world."

The Venezuelan leader said "socialism is the only path," and told the students the collective goal is to "save a world threatened by the voracity of US imperialism."

Earlier, the students waved flags, danced in traditional dress, and held signs praising socialism, Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara.

More than 300 students from the United States shouted out their disapproval of US President George W Bush, chanting "Get out Bush!" Other students chanted: "Bush, fascist - you're a terrorist!"

Some 15,000 youths from 144 countries traveled to Venezuela for the week-long festival and conference, organizers said.

Chavez wore a red shirt like many of the students, and embraced delegation leaders as their groups marched past.

The ceremony was held in Venezuela's military headquarters in Caracas. Troops looked on while students passed carrying colored flags and shouting: "We will overcome!"

This year's World Festival of Students and Youth is the 16th. The first, in 1947, was held in Czechoslovakia, and during the Cold War most host countries were aligned with the Soviet bloc.

Apart from the former Soviet Union, other host countries have included Romania, Poland, Finland, Cuba, the former East Germany and North Korea.

The week-long gathering will include musical performances, panel discussions and an "Anti-imperialist Court," which in past years has condemned the US government's actions.

While tensions have grown between Chavez and Washington, the Venezuelan leader has built close ties with countries from Iran to China.

Chavez expressed his support for Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying he expected to continue strengthening relations.

He said that like Venezuela, Iran was a country that had been "attacked" for many years by "the hand of imperialism."

Chavez, whose country remains a major supplier of oil to the United States, also is sharply critical of the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq."

Objectionable Content
Yay.
I just noticed today that the Blogger Bar (that ubiquitous little bar at the top of the page with Blogger logo and the search bar) has a button to flag "objectionable content" and notify the service that you're a naughy bird and need your mouth washed out with soap.
Yay!
Yay, freedom of speech!
oopsie!
Yay, censorship!
Something rankles me about that button. Something is amiss in this wonderful online utopia. It's the spectre of the greatest of intellectual evils. Yessir, I'm talkin' 'bout CENSORSHIP.
I'm sure the folks at Blogger have wonderful reasons for wanting to protect their readers from naughty words and harsh language. Since, of course, it's language that's running this country straight into the shithouse.
Oh, fuck. I said shithouse.
Oh, fuck. I said fuck.
I guess I'm in trouble.
What's the matter with a word, anyway? How did it get this mythic power? How did a word become more powerful than, say, the President? How is it that the leader of the free world cannot defend us from the word FUCK???
I know that Michael Powell has been doing his damnedest to protect us from bare flesh and inflammatory language, but he's only one man. And the FCC are woefully understaffed for the task of washing out the mouths of everyone in America who thinks as dirty as I do.
I've searched around rather futilely, looking for some kind of statement or rule set about what constitutes objectionable language, and of course, find none.
Well, fuck that.
They can come get me after they burn the Bill of Rights.

Another Letter

So, I was mailed this from a certain someone that seems to have the ability to say what I find myself lacking in constitution to say. I intend no offense by posting this, but I feel it has a few relevant points. Enjoy, or don't.

K

"To All My Fellow Americans Who Voted for George W. Bush:

On this, the fourth anniversary of 9/11, I'm just curious, how does it feel?

How does it feel to know that the man you elected to lead us after we were attacked went ahead and put a guy in charge of FEMA whose main qualification was that he ran horse shows?

That's right. Horse shows.

I really want to know -- and I ask you this in all sincerity and with all due respect -- how do you feel about the utter contempt Mr. Bush has shown for your safety? C'mon, give me just a moment of honesty. Don't start ranting on about how this disaster in New Orleans was the fault of one of the poorest cities in America. Put aside your hatred of Democrats and liberals and anyone with the last name of Clinton. Just look me in the eye and tell me our President did the right thing after 9/11 by naming a horse show runner as the top man to protect us in case of an emergency or catastrophe.

I want you to put aside your self-affixed label of Republican/conservative/born-again/capitalist/ditto-head/right-winger and just talk to me as an American, on the common ground we both call America.

Are we safer now than before 9/11? When you learn that behind the horse show runner, the #2 and #3 men in charge of emergency preparedness have zero experience in emergency preparedness, do you think we are safer?

When you look at Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, a man with little experience in national security, do you feel secure?

When men who never served in the military and have never seen young men die in battle send our young people off to war, do you think they know how to conduct a war? Do they know what it means to have your legs blown off for a threat that was never there?

Do you really believe that turning over important government services to private corporations has resulted in better services for the people?

Why do you hate our federal government so much? You have voted for politicians for the past 25 years whose main goal has been to de-fund the federal government. Do you think that cutting federal programs like FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers has been good or bad for America? GOOD OR BAD?

With the nation's debt at an all-time high, do you think tax cuts for the rich are still a good idea? Will you give yours back so hundreds of thousands of homeless in New Orleans can have a home?

Do you believe in Jesus? Really? Didn't he say that we would be judged by how we treat the least among us? Hurricane Katrina came in and blew off the facade that we were a nation with liberty and justice for all. The wind howled and the water rose and what was revealed was that the poor in America shall be left to suffer and die while the President of the United States fiddles and tells them to eat cake.

That's not a joke. The day the hurricane hit and the levees broke, Mr. Bush, John McCain and their rich pals were stuffing themselves with cake. A full day after the levees broke (the same levees whose repair funding he had cut), Mr. Bush was playing a guitar some country singer gave him. All this while New Orleans sank under water.

It would take ANOTHER day before the President would do a flyover in his jumbo jet, peeking out the widow at the misery 2500 feet below him as he flew back to his second home in DC. It would then be TWO MORE DAYS before a trickle of federal aid and troops would arrive. This was no seven minutes in a sitting trance while children read "My Pet Goat" to him. This was FOUR DAYS of doing nothing other than saying "Brownie (FEMA director Michael Brown), you're doing a heck of a job!"

My Republican friends, does it bother you that we are the laughing stock of the world?

And on this sacred day of remembrance, do you think we honor or shame those who died on 9/11/01? If we learned nothing and find ourselves today every bit as vulnerable and unprepared as we were on that bright sunny morning, then did the 3,000 die in vain?

Our vulnerability is not just about dealing with terrorists or natural disasters. We are vulnerable and unsafe because we allow one in eight Americans to live in horrible poverty. We accept an education system where one in six children never graduate and most of those who do can't string a coherent sentence together. The middle class can't pay the mortgage or the hospital bills and 45 million have no health coverage whatsoever.

Are we safe? Do you really feel safe? You can only move so far out and build so many gated communities before the fruit of what you've sown will be crashing through your walls and demanding retribution. Do you really want to wait until that happens? Or is it your hope that if they are left alone long enough to soil themselves and shoot themselves and drown in the filth that fills the street that maybe the problem will somehow go away?

I know you know better. You gave the country and the world a man who wasn't up for the job and all he does is hire people who aren't up for the job. You did this to us, to the world, to the people of New Orleans. Please fix it. Bush is yours. And you know, for our peace and safety and security, this has to be fixed. What do you propose?

I have an idea, and it isn't a horse show.

Yours,
Michael Moore"

An Open Letter From Michael Moore to Pres. Bush

"Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st."