Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

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I Am An American

What am I? I am a free man -- a good and decent man -- a man of compassion, generosity, and understanding -- a true friend, a steadfast ally, and a bitter foe. I owe my allegiance to a government founded in the belief that among the rights of man are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Indeed, I would acknowledge no other. I can redress my government for injury; not satisfied with redress, I can elect a new one. I have watched my government function smoothly during periods of transfer of power caused by re-election, assassination, and resignation. While other nations have a distinct race, religion, and/or geographic denominator, I live among people of my home without fear of intrusion by anyone -- citizen or government designee -- unless they have my personal invitation or a duly authorized search warrant. I have a press to keep me informed -- a press free to write, without inhibition, the truth as they see it. A press that needs fear no repression, no retaliation, no censorship so long as it prints the truth. I live under a system of justice, merciful and fairly administered, where I am assumed innocent until proven guilty -- a system which provides me appellate privilege while denying it to the power of the state. I am free to go anywhere I want, earn my living in any way that suits me and, based on that freedom, I have created a standard of living unequalled in the history of man and envied the world over. I have suffered in humility at the consequences of my mistakes -- economic deprivation, social injustice, unequal opportunity and racial prejudice to name a few -- but, once aware of these mistakes, I have set out to right the wrongs they created. I have faced challenges to my way of life. I have fought and died countless times from Lexington and Concord to Vietnam. I was humbled at Valley Forge, Pearl Harbor, Corregidor and Malmady. But these experiences gave me the character I needed to go to Yorktown, Gettysburg, Midway and Normandy. I cherish my freedom above all else -- I bow to no tyrant. I am two hundred years old today. I have never been so proud of my ancient heritage, so grateful for my present situation, and so confident of the future. Today, I reaffirm my allegiance to, faith in, and love of my country. To the proposition that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth, I do humbly pledge my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor. I am an American.

An anonymous letter to the Washington Post editor on July 4, 1976.

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Did McCain and his team really squander a four-month head start?

It sure did.

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The Future of Home Computing

From 1954: This is how the RAND Corporation envisioned what a home PC would look like 2004:

click on image for larger view

The text from the picture:

Scientists from the RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a "home computer" could look like in the year 2004. However the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home. Also the scientists readily admit that the computer will require not yet invented technology to actually work, but 50 years from now scientific progress is expected to solve these problems. With teletype interface and the Fortran language, the computer will be easy to use.

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Baby boomers: Born to be wild? Or ...

Bored…Tubby…Mild!
by Walt Handelsman
Click on image for animated toon.

Get your Motrin ready, Head out on a treadmill. The heating pad is warming, In case your herniated disk kills. We’re aging Boomers but refuse to show it, I just got implants and a tummy tuck. A triple bypass and two knee replacements, Getting old really sucks! I just took Viagra, Both the kids are out late. I’ll go get some Merlot, Let’s hope it won’t inflame your prostate. We’re Baby Boomers! The original rebels, Used to smoke pot but now we drink green tea. We tripped on acid, now we have acid reflux, We’re in the AARP! We were spoiled, pushy, wild, But now we’re bored, tubby and mild. We used to get so high, Now they call us spry!!! Bored…Tubby…Mild! Bored…Tubby…Mild!

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Energy: Carter was right

Carter Tried To Stop Bush's Energy Disasters - 28 Years Ago
by Thom Hartmann
Tuesday, May 3, 2005

In his recent news conference, George Bush Jr. suggested that our nation's "problem" with high gasoline prices was caused by the lack of a national energy policy, and tried to blame it all on Bill Clinton. First, Junior said, "This is a problem that's been a long time in coming. We haven't had an energy policy in this country." This was followed by, "That's exactly what I've been saying to the American people -- 10 years ago if we'd had an energy strategy, we would be able to diversify away from foreign dependence. And -- but we haven't done that. And now we find ourselves in the fix we're in." As is so often the case, Bush was lying. (read the entire article)

Adobe Acrobat copy of Carter Tried To Stop Bush's Energy Disasters - 28 Years Ago

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The G in GOP Stands for Ghoul

June 25, 2008 at 06:26

The G in GOP Stands for Ghoul
by Mary Lyon
http://www.opednews.com/

I've heard of rooting for the bad guys, but this is ridiculous. John McCain's elite adviser Charlie Black opined to Fortune magazine that if there were another terrorist strike against our country in time for the general election, it "certainly would be a big advantage" for McCain's campaign ("a candid and very disappointing glimpse into the thinking of one of McCain's closest advisers.").

Wow. Nice. Which American city would you like to see take it in the shorts this time, Mr. Black? How many thousands of us are expendable for the sake of your candidate's success? Let's see, New York City has already been there. Same thing for Arlington, Virginia, home of the Pentagon. And don't forget New Orleans. No, that wasn't terrorism, per se, but it was still a disaster that needed - but did not get - government foresight and planning wisdom from seasoned, credible public service professionals as well as swift and effective response.

Is this the newest round of "October Surprise" paranoia? Or is it paranoia? A terrorist strike on American soil would be a major campaign boost for John McCain? Does it sound at all as though someone regards such a tragedy as a good thing? Really nice.

(read the entire article)

Adobe Acrobat copy of The G in GOP Stands for Ghoul

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McCain's YouTube Problem

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A Comedic Giant... Gone

Sadly, the world is now a less funny place...

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Carlin's Seven Words

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Carlin on Religion

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George Denis Patrick Carlin
1937-2008

I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.

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Carnival of the Liberals, Edition #67

Welcome to the June 18, 2008 edition of The Carnival of the Liberals, hosted by my blog, Situation Awareness. I think that you'll agree with me that there are some great entries this week.

I have also included, at the bottom of this entry, a Blog Talk Radio player featuring my March 29, 2008 interview of Leo Lincourt, founder of The Carnival of the Liberals.

Enjoy!

- Hans

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general interest

• Only Three Notes presents Congratulations Obama! posted at Business & Controversy of Technology by Arnab Tagore.
  
  
• Gbariela Baron presents posted at Internet Business Blog.
  
  
• Joe Bechtold presents The Importance of Religion in America posted at Joe Bechtold's Political Journal.
  
  
• Niharika presents The Top 100 Civil Liberties Advocacy Blogs posted at Criminal Justice Degrees Guide.

current events

• Allen in Fort Worth presents QUEERS AND DYKES ARE GONNA GET MARRIED ! ! ! so don't worry about anything else posted at The Whited Sepulchre, saying, "the YouTube video in this post makes me ill."
  
  
• Gracie Passette presents Republicans Suffer From Dementia & Can't Understand Satire posted at Cult Of Gracie, saying, "This post is rather a mish-mosh or current events, opinion, and frankly (or Franken lol) humor. :)"
  
  
• John presents McCain and Obama Court Pro-War AIPAC posted at The Largest Minority.
  
  
• Andrew Heath presents What the Hell Got into the President's Pet??? posted at Andy, saying, "Why did Scotty write that awful book about Bush when everyone thought he was Bush's biggest fan?"
  
  
• Keith Wick presents Signs of Barack Obama posted at Weith Kick.
  
  
• Jon Rochetti presents Photo of the Week - Hillary Tees…3 for $10 posted at The DC Traveler – Washington DC travel & tourism information, saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
  
  
• Ian Welsh presents Clinton’s Legacy: Never Say Die posted at Firedoglake.
  
  
• Shan Siddiqi presents Howard Dean is the Light into Obama's Future posted at Globally Rational.
  
  
• Patrick Schwerdtfeger presents Check out my new Smart ForTwo Passion posted at Tactical Execution, saying, "The Smart Car is finally introduced in the USA! This post offers details about these tiny gas-powered fuel-efficient cars."
  
  
• Phil B. presents Why Demonstrations and Petitions Do Not Work posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, "If demonstrations and petitions work, then the 1960s would have seen a lot more political, social, and environmental changes."

liberalism

• Phil B. presents Global Warming is Ruining the Earth posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, "A list of how the world has changed so dramatically."
  
  
• Greta Christina presents Loading The Dice: Bisexuality And Choice posted at Greta Christina's Blog, saying, "This post is about bisexuality -- and how the gay political community's focus on the "It's not a choice" PR strategy about gay rights leaves bisexuals out in the cold."
  
  
• Greta Christina presents Greta Christina's Blog: The Amazing Mechanical Leftie: Reflexive Thinking in Alt Culture posted at Greta Christina's Blog, saying, "This piece is about the tendency alternative culture sometimes has to reflexively reject anything that's mainstream or conventional. It talks about how this tendency makes people just as controlled by the mainstream as they would be if they were going along with it. And more seriously, it talks about how it puts alt culture in common cause with the anti- intellectual, know- nothing strains of right wing American culture."
  

opinion

• Allen in Fort Worth presents Cal Thomas Says Barack Obama's Not A Christian posted at The Whited Sepulchre, saying, "here is an analysis of an idiotic Cal Thomas column."
  
  
• Andrew Heath presents How to Achieve Peace in the Middle East posted at Andy, saying, "An interesting and unconventional solution to our conflict in the Middle East."
  
  
• phil F. presents WEEKEND FEATURE: Globalization and the Small Business posted at E-News Daily: Articles Without Borders.
  
  
• Andrew Heath presents Why We Must Forgive President George W. Bush posted at Andy, saying, "There are some compelling reasons to forgive George W Bush, even if you currently hate him."
  
  
• Hans Meyer presents The Historically Challenged posted here at Situation Awareness, saying, "The right-wing noise machine tries to re-write history."
  
  
• Shan Siddiqi presents The Supreme Court has "legacies?" posted at Globally Rational.
  
  
• Phil B. presents A Plan to Destroy All Weapons of Mass Destruction posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, "No leader and therefore no country can be trusted enough to control weapons of mass destruction."

politics

• Ames presents Fox News: A Trifecta of Racism posted at Submitted to a Candid World, saying, "Fox News may be playing into our hand, by running a racist smear campaign against Barack Obama."
  
  
• Jon Swift presents McCain: Make Sure You Have the Right Change posted at Jon Swift, saying, "We don't need to take a risk on a President who could make things even worse than they already are. We need a President like McCain who, when the telephone rings at 3:00 in the afternoon, waking him up from his nap, would be ready to answer it and solve whatever crisis needed to be solved."
  
  
• Holly Ord presents John McCain Doesn’t Support the Troops posted at Menstrual Poetry.
  
  
• Jason presents 1962: Adolf Eichmann posted at Executed Today, saying, "Adolf Eichmann remembered on the anniversary of his execution: the competent company man blithely earning his promotions by engineering mass-murder."
  
  
• KevinBBG presents McBush posted at DAILY BBG, saying, "This is a clear and somewhat harsh statement as to whether or not to vote for McCain or Obama with reasons outlined."
  
  
• Ron Britton presents Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ! posted at Bay of Fundie.

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That concludes this 67th edition of Carnival of the Liberals.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of the Liberals using our Carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of the liberals, blog carnival.

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Making News...

GWB: Worst. President. Ever. Part II

Sorry, Mr. President, But Your Legacy Is More Awful Than You Think
by: Bob Cesca

Posted June 11, 2008 04:57 PM (EST)

From the article: War mongering is a significant aspect of your legacy, but I think we can conclude, and without much debate, that your legacy will also be one of criminality, failure and a degree of incompetence rarely achieved by any American president, much less one whose deficit of character is rivaled only by his nearly unprecedented lack of humility in the face of his unprecedented roster of inadequacies. Sorry. As it turns out, you won't have much control over your legacy and the history of your administration anyway. You might have some cursory input, but no-one really takes you seriously anymore and anything you put forth will be taken as just another work of fiction; another bit of propaganda. Your legacy will ultimately be written by those of us who have been actively documenting your presidency in real time -- millions of voices authoring the narrative of your awful regime and preserving it with digital clarity one trespass at a time. And everywhere we look, we can plainly observe your smirking, affectless footprint. Death, poverty, war, pain, ignorance, blind patriotism, joblessness, and abandoned homes. And guess what? We're writing it down on the Internets. Your history, Mr. President, is being written at this very moment by those of us who are watching our homes collapse in value and our friends and relatives sent to places like Ramadi and Fallujah and, in some cases, Walter Reed or worse. Your history, Mr. President, isn't going to be settled and published decades from now. It's being published immediately and without the fog of memory to obscure the ugly details. (read the entire article)

Adobe Acrobat copy of Sorry, Mr. President, But Your Legacy Is More Awful Than You Think

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Farewell to a journalistic giant

Timothy John Russert, Jr.
1950-2008

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Senator McCain wants context? Fine.

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Okay, so, this bird walks into a store...

A seagull in Marinette, Wisconsin has developed the habit of stealing snack chips from a neighborhood convenience store. The seagull waits until the manager isn't looking, and then walks into the store and grabs a snack-size bag of cheese Doritos. Once outside, the bag gets ripped open and shared by other birds. The seagull's shoplifting started early this month when he first swooped into the store and helped himself to a bag of Doritos. Since then he's become a regular. And he always takes the same type of chips. The Manager thinks it's great because people are coming to watch the feathered thief make the daily grab and run, and that's good for business, and especially since customers have begun paying for the seagull's stolen bags of chips because they think it's so funny. However, the Manager did say, "This is Wisconsin , and if that seagull starts to grab a 6-pac to go along with the Doritos, I may have to put a stop to it."

With thanks to my colleague, Brian Wolf, for forwarding this story along to me.

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Yes...An Amazing Accomplishment!

May 7, 2008 Jonathan Schwarz: What an Amazing Accomplishment It’s September 12, 2001. You’re sitting in front of a TV, watching footage of the World Trade Center collapse over and over and over again. All of a sudden, someone from seven years in the future walks out of a tiny temporal vortex, and tells you: George W. Bush is going to fuck this up so badly that in 2008, the United States of America will likely elect as president a black man whose middle name is Hussein and whose father was Muslim. Oh, and he also admits he’s used cocaine. I think it would have been easier to convince me of the reality of time travel. “No, no, I believe you really are from the future. But the other stuff, that’s CRAZY.” posted by Jonathan Schwarz at 3:33 PM

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