Bush's "Institute of Bush Is God"

SMU has won the "privilege" of hosting Bush's presidential library. What the university did not anticipate is the institute that Bush wants to attach to it, a place where loyal "Bushies" will promote the president's policies. Bush always claims he is unconcerned with his legacy, or that it is too premature to begin assessing. Funny, I would think that a president who is either confident in his performance or unconcerned with current public opinion (as he claims he is) would not feel the need to create such an institute.

More troubling is the administration's efforts to have access to his papers restricted. FDR was the first president to open his own library and to release his papers. Since 1978, with passage of the Presidential Records Act in the wake of Watergate, presidents have had no choice in the matter. Bush has sought to undue that. Fortunately, a bill passed by the House on March 14th nullified Bush's previous order in 2001 that allowed him to restrict access to his papers for years after he leaves office. Why is there so much to hide with this president?

Stand By Your Man

Despite the disclosure of emails contradicting Gonzales' earlier statements that he had no part in discussions on the firings of US attorneys, Bush has decided to stand by his man. In doing so, Bush carries on his tradition of stubbornness. Early on in Bush's career I found that stubbornness somewhat admirable. Today I view it as arrogance bordering on stupidity. It's present in the entire administration, and few personify it as well as WH spokesman Tony Snow, who seems to think that providing an ultimatum ("we'll allow you to question Rove and Miers in informal discussions only) is the same thing as a compromise. If Bush wants a legacy defined by more than complete ineptitude, he could start by bringing in a less activist and more truthful AG.

A New Form of Child Abuse

The S.C. Department of Social Services has threatened to remove 7 yr. old Justin Painter from his South Carolina home. Why? Justin weighs 254 lbs! The mother maintains that she is doing everything possible to help him lose weight, despite the fact that he has shown no progress. The department has given her two months to produce results.

There is absolutely no way the mother is trying hard enough. A child cannot possibly gain that much weight if he or she is playing outside/exercising and eating decent meals. She may love him, but this is still child abuse and should be treated as such.

Roughly 20% of children are overwieght today. This is one of the most serious issues facing our country. Diabetes is skyrocketing as children are fed the garbage that has become the norm in this fastfood nation. They spend less time exercising and more time watching TV and playing video games. Medical costs will rise for everyone as the overweight suffer the typical ailments associated with obesity and the "normal" suffer the costs of rising insurance premiums. This also poses a threat to education, which has already been affected by more external factors, such as poor funding and lack of proper attention at the both the state and federal levels. Children are not overweight because they sit too long while studying. Plus, more and more research is developing that demonstrates how a healthy, fit body translates into a fitter mind.

It seems as though society has begun to take action. The elimination of trans fats and the development of healthier alternatives at fastfood restaurants are good examples. But these are only recent trends. There is at least an entire generation that has suffered from a lapse in "nutritional judgement".

Second Verse Same As The First

In an effort to support the troop surge, Bush recently claimed that success would require not weeks but months. Why does this administration insist on repeatedly shooting itself in the foot? In April 2003 Rumsfeld made the erroneous claim that success in Iraq might require six weeks but "I doubt six months". Bush declared victory from the deck of the USS Lincoln in May 2003 despite the administration's total lack of planning and foresight for post-war Iraq. With such mistakes behind you why would you risk another?

Free to Lie

Karl Rove and Harriet Miers may testify about the DOJ firings. However, the White House has not given permission for that testimony to be under oath. If there is nothing improper related to the firings and you have nothing to hide, why wouldn't you allow testimony under oath? This screams "we have something to hide." You might as well just say "we really screwed up." Gonzales may not have been the source of the firings, but this whole situation exemplifies the problems with the AG and the administration in general. If Bush wants to save any part of this failure he calls a presidency, he can start right now by dumping Gonzales in favor of a less activist AG and revealing what is so "frivolous" that he has to keep top aides from testifying under oath.

Another One Bites The Dust

Taha Yassin Ramadan, Saddam's vice president, was hanged early Tuesday morning for the killings of 148 Shiites. The execution was handled far more delicately this time around. Thus far no videos of chanting Shiite executioners have emerged. This was the fourth hanging since the trials began, and the world is a better place with each one that passes. Saddam and his henchmen were guilty of terrible atrocities.

Legacy of a Cowboy

Thousands of Christian war protesters marched on Friday night, marking another major point in the erosion of Bush's already diminished support. Hardcore supporters (i.e. the blind, deaf, and dumb) maintain that history will vindicate Bush, much as it did Truman. In fact, the Bush administration likens itself to the Truman administration. However, although Truman battled scandals and setbacks during his presidency, much of his work proved lasting and significant. The Marshall Plan rebuilt post-war Europe, the military was reorganized with the CIA, DOD, Air Force, and NSC as byproducts, and an unprecedented push for civil rights took place.

Much can be made of Truman's shortcomings and failures. Perhaps most notably, Truman initiated American involvement in Vietnam, but there is much good to point to in Truman's presidency. There is little good I can find in Bush's. Granted, we have not been attacked again, but any president would make the 9/11 attacks and defense of this country a top priority. What else is there?

You Can't Handle The Truth

When you think the administration cannot screw up any more than it already has, another low is revealed. Allegations are surfacing that the firings of eight DOJ attorneys in 2006 were politically motivated and originated in the White House. What's more, the original plan was to fire all 93 DOJ attorneys. Harriet Miers, the same completely unqualified woman nominated for the Supreme Court, suggested that all chief district prosecutors (people with years of prosecuting experience) be asked to resign. Brilliant! Speculation is that the firings were intended to open up spots for up-and-coming young Republicans, allowing them a two-year stint to burnish their credentials. The reasons, or lack thereof, given for the firings are also under review.

There were apparently three unofficial grades assigned to the attorneys, based on an internal email between Harriet Miers and Kyle Sampson (Gonzales' chief of staff). Top performers demonstrated loyalty to the administration. Weak performers were "weak U.S. attorneys who have been ineffectual managers and prosecutors, chafed against Administration initiatives, etc." The third category was "no opinion". Two of the fired attorneys, Iglesias, whom the movie "A Few Good Men" was partially based on, and Ryan, had consistently been given strong evaluations during their careers. Another, McKay, was awarded the Navy's highest award for a program he spearheaded, a regional law enforcement information-sharing network, known as LINX.

This is utterly ridiculous. Gonzales is an activist AG who has already pushed the boundaries of the executive office too far.

Fair and Balanced Moment of the Day

With two police officers in riot gear about to club a half-naked man, the title to this picture reads "Brazilian Bush-Bashing".

Thou Doth Protest Too Much

It has come out that Newt Gingrich, while leading the Clinton impeachment proceedings, was himself having an affair. It's sad how desensitized I feel towards yet another story of conservative hyprocrisy. So much time and money was wasted impeaching a president who lied about having an affair, and yet there is no serious call to impeach Bush. I'm not advocating that there be one. However, I do imagine how great the call from Republicans for Clinton's head would have been had there been a failing war in Iraq, CIA leak, Katrina, Walter Reed scandal, Abramoff scandal, misuse of the Patriot Act, and so forth. Now, any liberal calling for impeachment is beaten down as crazy, far left, and anti-American. It's always crazy when the shoe is on the other foot.

Coulter Has Gay Friends

That's how she knows that "'Faggot' isn't offensive to gays; it has nothing to do with gays". With criticism mounting, the media pulling her from view, and companies yanking their advertisements from her website, Coulter shamelessly tried to write off her remarks as "schoolyard taunts" on "Hannity and Colmes". It's nice to see repercussions for her thoughtless, narrow-minded bigotry.

I'm Just Saying...

Turns out this past weekend was filled with ignorant comments. Bill Maher, host of HBO's "Real Time", had this to say on Friday about the failed assassination attempt on Dick Cheney's life...

"I'm just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That's a fact"

That is so far from fact and lacking in deductive reasoning I'm not sure where to begin. By that "cut off the head" logic, Cheney is making the decisions and without him the war would abruptly come to an end. Does he really think that Dick's assassination would end this war? That Bush would not be further emboldened but rather decide to throw in the towel? Dick's death would become a rallying cry, boosting Bush's determination. The war deaths would continue to mount, if not more so as calls for withdrawal get suppressed by renewed calls of support. The comment was just stupid, but, given the divided state America is in right now and the plummeting support for Bush and Cheney, Maher will probably receive less criticism than Coulter, even though both remarks lacked anything resembling thought.

Coulter Shock

Ann Coulter is ignorant, narrow-minded, and hateful. Why she referred to John Edwards, a married man with children, as a faggot is beyond reason. Such comments achieve two things; they rally the dwindling "I hate liberals no matter what" base and push undecided voters towards Democrats like Edwards. She's a liability to the party and should shut up, if for no other reason than to save what little dignity she doesn't have left. Anything to sell a book about widows loving the deaths of their husbands I guess.

$500 Million

That's the estimate of what each presidential candidate will spend. It's obscene. Politics is no longer about ideas. It hasn't been for a long time. It's about money and who can spend more of it. And from the city council up it's getting more expensive to run a campaign.

Money keeps potentially good candidates from running, and it keeps debates few and infrequent. Politicians, feeling no pressure to risk a debate, maneuver for just the right time and place to do those couple staged ones with the very polite moderator and traffic signals.

Campaigns, especially presidential ones, ought to be publicly financed. Cap candidates at say $25 million. It would force them to support and articulate their ideas through debate, to get out and meet the people. At the very least, America might end up with a team in the White House that knows how to effectively and efficiently spend money.

I imagine all the worthy causes $1 billion could be spent on, and it sickens me to think of it all going to politicians. Maybe Vilsack, who dropped out last week due to lack of funds, wasn't the best candidate, but we'll never know. I think the founders would be appalled to see the spectacle campaigns have become.