Vanity Fair has obtained confidential documents, since corroborated by sources in the U.S. and Palestine, which lay bare a covert initiative, approved by Bush and implemented by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams, to provoke a Palestinian civil war.
posted on Mar 3, 2008 - View this thread

Karl Rove Resigns. The man known as “Bush's Brain” and whom Frontline called “The Architect” will leave office at the end of August.
posted on Aug 13, 2007 - View this thread

The UK media is like a "Feral Beast", and is undermining Britain, says Tony Blair. Simon Kelner, editor of The Independent, responds. Some reasons why Blair might not be too keen on the press.
posted on Jun 12, 2007 - View this thread

Bush Goes to Indonesia. Black Magic ensues. Ki Gendeng Pamungkas, stating that he didn't "hate Americans, but [he doesn't] like Bush," added that he "believed the ritual would succeed as, 'the devil is with me today.'" Well then, mission accomplished. While his intent was to place the Secret Service agents in a trance, causing the entourage to think they were under attack, it appears the curse was far more effective. The tally so far? While landing in Vietnam, the brakes and tires malfunctioned on Air Force One.. One Bush twin had her purse snatched and a Secret Service Agent was beaten in Argentina (on the largely unreported 43rd Anniversary of JFK's assasination, no less). One White House aide assaulted in Hawaii. One motorcycle cop from Bush's Hawaiian motorcade killed, and another badly injured in a traffic accident.
posted on Nov 27, 2006 - View this thread

Strange Bedfellows: Radical Leftists for Bush Among the German far-left, one subgroup called the anti-Germans holds some contradictory views. Most call themselves communists, yet loudly proclaim their support for Israel and George W. Bush.
posted on Aug 25, 2006 - View this thread

"we recognize a divine plan that stands above all human plans and continue to seek His will." So says George W. Bush in a proclamation affirming a Senate resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower's decision to establish In God We Trust as the national motto of the United States. Coincidentally, George's brother Jeb has recently approved In God We Trust as Florida's official state motto.
posted on Jul 28, 2006 - View this thread

Battle plans for Iran... resonates with the sad ring of real possibility.
posted on Feb 17, 2006 - View this thread

The State of the Union Address was tonight. C-Span not only has the video, but transcripts of every State of the Union address starting from 1945. Howard Dean responded.
posted on Jan 31, 2006 - View this thread

'He's God's gift to today's political cartoonist': Misunderestimating the President through Cartoons, an exhibition of the work of leading political cartoonists from both the UK and the United States focusing on their depictions of George Bush, opens today in London at the Political Cartoon Gallery. Watch the video report from Channel 4 and read essays on the history of political cartoons.
posted on Jan 26, 2006 - View this thread

The Bush administration is bracing for impeachment hearings in Congress. "A coalition in Congress is being formed to support impeachment," an administration source said.
posted on Jan 24, 2006 - View this thread

Bush Buzzword Bingo - If you can't stand listening to the president speak, try playing this game. Like the Thanksgiving version, you get a bingo card randomly printed with Bush's favorite buzzwords, bushisms and talking points. First to get five in a row gets bingo, but probably will just end up feeling bad about the world. For more bush/bushism fun, try the "Give Bush a Brain" game from egreetings. (see if you can beat my high score of 8)
posted on Dec 18, 2005 - View this thread

Bush Threatens U.N. Over Clinton Climate Speech Bush-administration officials privately threatened organizers of the U.N. Climate Change Conference, telling them that any chance there might’ve been for the United States to sign on to the Kyoto global-warming protocol would be scuttled if they allowed Bill Clinton to speak at the gathering today in Montreal,
posted on Dec 9, 2005 - View this thread

Bush and Blair slated by Pinter George W Bush and Tony Blair must be held to account for feeding the public "a vast tapestry of lies" about the Iraq war, writer Harold Pinter said. [Postroad: but then, what do artists know about politics?]
posted on Dec 7, 2005 - View this thread

Finally, The Bush vs. Blair debate that we've all waited to see. Silly Friday-Flash. [Warning, contains profanity]
posted on Nov 25, 2005 - View this thread

BBC confirms the story That box on his back, that earpiece? He's never said exactly how God talks to him, only that He does ....
posted on Oct 6, 2005 - View this thread

"We'll help rebuild this part of the world." "...tell the good people of this part of the world that the federal government is going to help." "I know the people in this part of the world are suffering..." "May God bless the people of this part of the world, and may God continue to bless our country." Is it odd that Bush kept referring to the Gulf Coast as "this part of the world"?
posted on Sep 3, 2005 - View this thread

Flip-Flop faux-paux at the White House. On a recent visit to the White House, the 2005 national champion Northwestern women's lacrosse teams choice of footwear is causing quite a stir. Let the Kerry jokes begin.....
posted on Jul 19, 2005 - View this thread

The Still Unsolved Stoffel Affair: How Is Known – but Not Who or Why Iraqi guerrillas calling themselves Rafidan – the Political Committee of the Mujahideen Central Command – have recently woken up and begun releasing a series of communiqués claiming to shed new light on the still unsolved deaths on December 8, 2004, of two Americans, Dale C. Stoffel, 43, whom they describe as “a CIA shadow manager in Iraq, close friend of George Bush,” and his associate Joseph J. Wemple, also 43.
posted on May 10, 2005 - View this thread

With a Hush and a Whisper, Bush Drops Town Hall Meeting with Germans During his trip to Germany on Wednesday, the main highlight of George W. Bush's trip was meant to be a "town hall"-style meeting with average Germans. But with the German government unwilling to permit a scripted event with questions approved in advance, the White House has quietly put the event on ice. Was Bush afraid the event might focus on prickly questions about Iraq and Iran rather than the rosy future he's been touting in Europe this week?
posted on Feb 25, 2005 - View this thread

"The Bush administration intervened to argue that their claims should be dismissed" I seriously can't believe it. This is Brechtian. Something has to be missing. This can't be my government.
posted on Feb 16, 2005 - View this thread

Mr. Clean      
via Wolcott
posted on Feb 15, 2005 - View this thread

Blackout Some sites have gone black today in protest of black box voting and/or four more years of Bush. But, actually, I haven't seen many. Are people tired of fighting or is this just a poorly-organized effort no one knows about?
posted on Jan 20, 2005 - View this thread

To set the record straight: While the country was busy with CBS and Rather's mistake, the story of Bush going AWOL was lost.
posted on Jan 17, 2005 - View this thread

Kid Rock To Play Bush Inauguration ... The Bush Twins have invited Kid Rock to play their inauguration bash after their father is sworn in to a second term. Rock also played the Republican National Convention. This is a guy who stuck his head through an American flag at the Superbowl and has lyrics that say all women are whores and extol drug and alcohol abuse. (The link has actual lyrics from Rock, so if you are offended by cursing don't follow it.)
posted on Jan 4, 2005 - View this thread

AARP Says No To Bush ... The AARP is coming out strong against private Social security investment accounts, saying they "will actually make the problem worse, not better." In January they plan to spend $50 million on an ad campaign opposing privatization. Kevin Drum of The Washington Monthly has also been awesome in pointing out that the common wisdom that Social Security is in trouble is just not true.
posted on Dec 30, 2004 - View this thread

Priate Radio Calling for inauguration protests CNN is reporting that a guerilla radio station is calling for massive protests of the inauguration of President George W. Bush. After some googling, I found a press release from WSQT on indymedia concerning the transmissions. It seems that they are somehow related to DAWNdc a local leftist activist organization. Here is how they are reacting to the sudden attention.
posted on Dec 23, 2004 - View this thread

President Bush gave a Press Conference yesterday, and it was only his 17th to date. According to Editor & Publisher, this compares to 43 for Bill Clinton, 84 for George H.W. Bush, and 26 for Ronald Reagan at similar points in their presidencies. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post has an analysis of yesterday's rare event, calling him "elusive". (Milbank was the same reporter who shredded Dubya a couple of years ago for granting an exclusive interview to Rupert Murdoch's trashy UK Sun while snubbing reputable US newspapers that would have been more likely to ask hard-hitting questions.) (The WashPost links require registration, which can be bypassed with BugMeNot.) Don't want to read the entire transcript? Try the poem "Man Date", instead. RudePundit took text from Bush's statements and turned 'em into poetry.
posted on Dec 21, 2004 - View this thread

The War on Christmas. "What we are witnessing here are hate crimes against Christianity." Angered by perceived attacks on the Christ part of Christmas, Christians are taking a page from GWB and staging pre-emptive cultural strikes around the country. Or are they? Is this effort a bigger attack against Judaism and the rest of the nonbelievers/scapegoats, an honest attempt by Christians to "save" the holiday, or a media-manufactured controversy? (Air out your holiday spirit, but save your own personal grievances for December 23.)
posted on Dec 16, 2004 - View this thread

Imminent job openings at CNN... Open the link and right click the picture of Bush and wife, click "Save Picture/Image" and look at the filename! In the words of a certain Denis Leary, "He's an asshole, asshole, asshole-e-o-oe-oh". I suggest someone mirrors this ASAP!
posted on Nov 4, 2004 - View this thread

It's unOFFICIAL! yet again!
Bush wins re-election! And Nader nowhere to shoulder blame.
The consequences.
The deciding demographic? The Evangelical vote. (Interestingly, look how the vote went for Carter, born-again Southern Baptist, in the '76 election.)
So who's to blame? Personally, I point the finger at the PR. Because everyone should damn-well accept the fact that it's not about the issues.
Let the recount and litigation begin!
posted on Nov 2, 2004 - View this thread

Bohemian election. Just a little something to lighten the day. Bound to be a double post but can't find any signs, so apologies in advance if it is. Altogether now, My brother jeb has votes put aside for meeee...
posted on Nov 2, 2004 - View this thread

"You're An Asshole." A film strip we can all appreciate in time for tomorrow's big event. Try singing along!
posted on Nov 1, 2004 - View this thread

The Road To Abu Ghraib A generation from now, historians may look back to April 28, 2004, as the day the United States lost the war in Iraq... It was a direct—and predictable—consequence of a policy, hatched at the highest levels of the administration, by senior White House officials and lawyers, in the weeks and months after 9/11. Yet the administration has largely managed to escape responsibility for those decisions; a month from election day, almost no one in the press or the political class is talking about what is, without question, the worst scandal to emerge from President Bush's nearly four years in office... Given the particular conditions faced by the president and his deputies after 9/11—a war against terrorists, in which the need to extract intelligence via interrogations was intensely pressing, but the limits placed by international law on interrogation techniques were very constricting—did those leaders have better alternatives than the one they chose? The answer is that they did. And we will be living with the consequences of the choices they made for years to come.
posted on Oct 27, 2004 - View this thread

Georgebush.com site blocked to viewers outside the United States. Surfers outside the US have been unable to visit the official re-election site of President George W Bush. The blocking of browsers sited outside the US began in the early hours of Monday morning.
posted on Oct 27, 2004 - View this thread

Democracy Republican style.
Greg Palast's film will be broadcast by Newsnight on Tuesday, 26 October, 2004 by the BBC. You can also watch the show from the BBC website, either live or on demand for 24 hours after originally broadcast, by clicking on the latest programme button.
posted on Oct 26, 2004 - View this thread

PIPA : who's your daddy ? " "The roots of the Bush supporters' resistance to information....very likely lie in the traumatic experience of 9/11 and equally in the near pitch-perfect leadership that President Bush showed in its immediate wake. This appears to have created a powerful bond between Bush and his supporters"
posted on Oct 24, 2004 - View this thread

American teens have spoken, and they want George W. Bush for president. Nearly 1.4 million teens voted in the nation's largest mock election, and the Republican incumbent wound up with 393 electoral votes and 55 percent of the total votes cast.
posted on Oct 21, 2004 - View this thread

George Bush & John Kerry living together in the Sims 2. First things heat up, then they really get hot. Just wait until they meet their new neighbors! Via.
posted on Oct 21, 2004 - View this thread

Iranian regime endorses Bush, saying democrats have historically "harmed Iran." Head of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Hassan Rowhani, is very close to the hardline leader, Ali Khamanei. But the truth is Republicans have always helped dictators in Iran,. Biggest example: 1953 coup that toppled Mossadeq, the extremely popular elected official prime minister of Iran and brought back the tyrant Shaah.
posted on Oct 19, 2004 - View this thread

Protecting our civil rights? We've seen the free speech zones, the kicking and hair-pulling, and the loyalty oaths/essays - but did you think that just mentioning the protection of civil rights would get you thrown out of a Bush speech?
posted on Oct 17, 2004 - View this thread

Redefining Rights in America: The Civil Rights Record of the George W. Bush Administration, 2001–2004 -- This very thorough report (PDF) finds that President Bush has neither exhibited leadership on pressing civil rights issues, nor taken actions that matched his words. The US Commission on Civil Rights presents something for everyone, from Gay and Lesbian Rights on page 129 to Voting Rights and the 2000 Election on page 40, to Faith-Based Funding on page 157...from page 9: In fact, the faith-based initiative’s only civil rights significance may be that it actually allows employment discrimination. ... this initiative reflects the President’s desire to recast civil rights in a manner that suits his narrow agenda and, as such, has been highly controversial.
posted on Oct 10, 2004 - View this thread

The best political photo essay i've ever seen. A cheeky look at Bush's flip flops in the form of a shoe catalogue.
posted on Oct 8, 2004 - View this thread

Is Bush wired? Ruthless speculation devoid of issues, considered and explored.
posted on Oct 8, 2004 - View this thread

The resumé of George W. Bush, a carefully annotated curriculum vitae for the incumbent U.S. president, with a foreword and an ongoing errata section to keep it honest.
posted on Oct 7, 2004 - View this thread

How Bush Did. Later for the polls, pundits, and analysis. The five minute .wmv found here sums up the President's performance. Partisan, sliced, edited, and damned scary funny.
posted on Oct 2, 2004 - View this thread

Mr. Bush and His 10 Ever-Changing Different Positions on Iraq: "A flip and a flop and now just a flop." Delightful Moore (to those who like what he does), and a few links to backup his reasoning for those who don't.
posted on Sep 28, 2004 - View this thread

"The Air Force, in their ultimate wisdom, assembled a group of 102's and took them to Southeast Asia. Bush volunteered to go."
posted on Sep 26, 2004 - View this thread

What if we voted on issues? "They booed the results of their vote. They were upset that they had voted for the 'wrong guy'."
posted on Sep 23, 2004 - View this thread

Why Bush Left Texas Growing evidence suggests that George W. Bush abruptly left his Texas Air National Guard unit in 1972 for substantive reasons pertaining to his inability to continue piloting a fighter jet. A months-long investigation, which includes examination of hundreds of government-released documents, interviews with former Guard members and officials, military experts and Bush associates, points toward the conclusion that Bush's personal behavior was causing alarm among his superior officers and would ultimately lead to his fleeing the state to avoid a physical exam he might have had difficulty passing... If it is demonstrated that profound behavioral problems marred Bush's wartime performance and even cut short his service, it could seriously challenge Bush's essential appeal as a military steward and guardian of societal values. It could also explain the incomplete, contradictory and shifting explanations provided by the Bush camp for the President's striking invisibility from the military during the final two years of his six-year military obligation... There's that elephant in the living room again.
posted on Sep 15, 2004 - View this thread

Sure, it's just more Bush-bashing, but it's gussied up durn pretty. Philip Gourevitch on Bushspeak.

He is grossly underestimated as an orator by those who presume that good grammar, rigorous logic, and a solid command of the facts are the essential ingredients of political persuasion, and that the absence of these skills indicates a lack of intelligence. Although Bush is no intellectual, and proud of it, he is quick and clever, and, for all his notorious malapropisms, abuses of syntax, and manglings or reinventions of vocabulary, his intelligence is—if not especially literate—acutely verbal.

posted on Sep 10, 2004 - View this thread

George Bushes's Military record: a critical analysis This pdf file is about as definitive a look as we are likely to get on the Bush military record. Clearly most post4ers/readers of Metafilter do not support Bush, but having some clear-cut evidence at hand to use in arguments against those who attack the Kerry militaryrecord, this will give the Bushites reason to move on to other topics
posted on Sep 8, 2004 - View this thread

Does your OB/GYN practice his love on you? Apparently Mr. Bush thinks they're unable to do so because of trial lawyers like Mr. Edwards. This is pretty amazing. This is our president. Wow. Dude.
posted on Sep 7, 2004 - View this thread

Bush and Kerry Hit Road, Trade Blows on Jobs I can only guess that someone at Reuters has a sense of humor.
posted on Sep 3, 2004 - View this thread

Former Texas Lt. Gov. says he helped Bush dodge 'Nam. "I got...I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard when I was the Lt. Governor of Texas, and I'm not necessarily proud of that. But, But I did it, and I got a lot of other people into the National Guard because I thought that's what people should do when you're in office and you helped a lot of rich people. And I walked to the Vietnam Memorial wall the other day and I looked at the names of the people that died in Vietnam, and I became more ashamed of myself than I've ever been because it's the worst thing I did was help a lot of wealthy supporters, and a lot of people who had family names of importance get into the National Guard. And I'm very sorry about that, and I'm ashamed. And I apologize to you, the voters of Texas."
Video available here.
posted on Aug 27, 2004 - View this thread

Bush's latest accomplishment may not be one that he's willing to brag about. The Census Bureau is reporting that an additional 1.3 million Americans are now living in poverty. They also offer a number of pretty graphs (all in pdf).
posted on Aug 26, 2004 - View this thread

In other news... Bush’s security detail gallantly protects President from triple amputee. Meanwhile, a local father expresses his opinion of Bush’s foreign policy results in a more illuminating fashion.
posted on Aug 25, 2004 - View this thread

1,000 Reasons to Vote Against George Bush. Reasons are in alphabetical order, by category. Last updated Friday, August 13, 2004, 5:18 PM
posted on Aug 13, 2004 - View this thread

The guys who brought you the timeline of terror alerts have been at it again. This time they made a chart comparing Bush's approval rating and the terror alerts. It's getting harder to believe this isn't s big slight of hand going on. Follow the ! icons and the thin red line.
posted on Aug 6, 2004 - View this thread

In His Own Words -- just in time for FlashQuicktime Friday, Bush's own words, from 2003's State of the Union matched with more appropriate and now-historic imagery than a man standing behind a teleprompter and podium. (Warning: some graphic stuff inside.) Realplayer version available here. and perhaps because not everything deserves the lighthearted jibjab treatment.
posted on Jul 29, 2004 - View this thread

Tax Man Bush says tax cuts stimulate the economy. Unfortunately, he's fallen more than 2.2 million jobs short of the projection made by his own economists.
posted on Jul 28, 2004 - View this thread

Will Ferrell spoofs GWB for ACT ... "you caught me mending my fences, one of the many things i do on my ranch ..." (streaming QuickTime or WMV). i know it's partisan crap, but still pretty funny ... until the end.
posted on Jul 28, 2004 - View this thread

Clinton’s Former Aide Drops Windfall in the Lap of Bush Campaign "...Presidential challenger Kerry will have to think twice before attacking Bush on national security issues lest he lay himself open to reminders that a former Clinton aide and his own adviser was caught red-handed misappropriating classified materials that revealed how a Democratic president mishandled the threat of terror...."
posted on Jul 20, 2004 - View this thread

This Land is Your Land (with apologies to Woody Guthrie). Belated non-partisan Friday Flash Fun. (Saturday Sarcastic Silliness?)
posted on Jul 17, 2004 - View this thread

"I was stunned by its lyrical beauty and easy cadence. The tempo, the choice of words, and the layout on each page captured my imagination so much that it took me about seven minutes to recover my bearings." Amazon users review My Pet Goat. (via Sadly, No!)
posted on Jul 17, 2004 - View this thread

AP Seeks Release of Bush Military Records Records destroyed? Ah, the other set! ..."Records released so far do not put to rest questions over whether Bush fulfilled his National Guard service for a period during the Vietnam War, the AP argued in papers filed in federal court in New York. Those records came from federal records clearinghouses. Texas law requires separate record keeping for state National Guard service, and those records should exist on microfilm in Austin, the AP said. ..."
posted on Jul 16, 2004 - View this thread

Yet another political flash cartoon! Anyone else getting tired of hearing the same bland crap about the upcoming election? This flash cartoon somehow manages to be funny anyway, even though its subject has been done to death. It's brilliant, and definitely worth a look.
posted on Jul 12, 2004 - View this thread

The G.W. Talking Sockpuppet
The Idiot's Guide to Presidentiable Speechwriting For Dummy
::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink :: ::blink ::
posted on Jul 11, 2004 - View this thread

The dog ate my service records. The Pentagon has announced that the payroll records for National Guard service for three months between 1972 and 1973 have been accidentally destroyed. These three months coincidentally cover the disputed period of George W. Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. (Similar Google link here, via dKos)
posted on Jul 9, 2004 - View this thread

The Newsweek-Fahrenheit wars - Michael Isikoff's "seven errors, distortions and selective omissions of crucial information" detailed by Craig Unger, "House of Bush, House of Saud" author (read excerpts of his book at Salon.com, for members or by a "day pass") Isikoff has heavily cited Unger's book but, it seems, not bothered to read Unger's generously provided source files. "Liberal" PBS is not excluded, as credulous (or ignorant) "On the Media" host Bob Garfield's July 2 interview with Isikoff demonstrates. What shall we call such pervasive, ongoing and seemingly willful patterns of inaccuracy, distortion, and selective omission?
posted on Jul 7, 2004 - View this thread

Terrorist incidents actually ROSE in 2003, but the State Department's "Patterns of Global Terrorism" report, issued April 29 (see Appendix G for an easy chart), said the exact opposite. Senior Bush administration officials immediately hailed it as objective proof that they were winning the war on terrorism. The report is considered the authoritative yardstick of the prevalence of terrorist activity around the world. Reports like this one were all over the news in April--will the fact that it was a lie be reported as widely? And can we trust anything this administration says anymore?
posted on Jun 9, 2004 - View this thread

Anti-Bush Online Adventure [4.7 MB Flash; parts NSFW] The Bush Administration discovers "the ultimate method of bringing about global domination for corporate America." [via What Do I Know]
posted on May 26, 2004 - View this thread

Axis of Eve
posted on May 23, 2004 - View this thread

"The directives have not changed anything. They are just clarifications of what is in the regulations that were written by the National Organic Standards Board" Think your "organic" food is pesticide free? Not if the Bush Administration has their way. War is Peace and all that jazz... via Grist Magazine
posted on May 21, 2004 - View this thread

Prosser High School teacher sees 15 year old student's war artwork depicting President Bush as a devil and another decapitated. Captions include calling an end to the war, and support for Ralph Nadar. Teacher hands artwork over to school administrators, who in turn bring in the Secret Service. Because that's what you do when you've handed out an assignment to kids "to keep a notebook of drawings depicting the war in Iraq".
posted on Apr 26, 2004 - View this thread

Remember the weirdness with Bush's hypnotic rainbow tie last week? Now you too can experiment with creating mesmerizing patterns on Project LITE's Moire page.
[via j-walk blog]
posted on Apr 19, 2004 - View this thread

George Says Did the president fail to answer your questions tonight? Put the words right in his mouth.
posted on Apr 13, 2004 - View this thread

Remixing Bush's tasteless joke. Has some graphic images.
posted on Apr 11, 2004 - View this thread

Frustrated Republicans: President on vacation while Iraq burns got you down? Feeling loyal to the party, ideas, or repulsed by the Dems? Agonizing over voting Bush to stay true? Sign the petition, Maybe you won't have to. And Dems, if you can promise to be open minded in November you can sign as well. via Blogging of the President
posted on Apr 10, 2004 - View this thread

How the left's fear of a right-wing Christian conspiracy gets George W. Bush -- and today's evangelical Christians -- all wrong. Alan Jacobs (more from him here and here) suggests that the idea that President Bush's evangelical Christianity has an impact on his politics is really a misunderstanding of Bush, fundamentalists, and evangelicals.
posted on Apr 10, 2004 - View this thread

Thou shalt not make scientific progress. "Medical research is poised to make a quantum leap that will benefit sufferers from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, muscular dystrophy, diabetes and other diseases. But George W. Bush's religious convictions stand in its way."
posted on Mar 24, 2004 - View this thread

The Thatcher Illusion (using Madonna) , the original, Bush
posted on Mar 21, 2004 - View this thread

FORMER WHITE HOUSE TERRORISM ADVISOR: BUSH ADMIN WAS DISCUSSING BOMBING IRAQ FOR 9/11 DESPITE KNOWING AL QAEDA WAS TO BLAME Former White House terrorism advisor Richard Clarke tells Lesley Stahl that on September 11, 2001 and the day after - when it was clear Al Qaeda had carried out the terrorist attacks - the Bush administration was considering bombing Iraq in retaliation. Clarke's exclusive interview will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday March 21 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Clarke was surprised that the attention of administration officials was turning toward Iraq when he expected the focus to be on Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. "They were talking about Iraq on 9/11. They were talking about it on 9/12," says Clarke
posted on Mar 19, 2004 - View this thread

Fake news. How is it legal to present a commercial as real news, without any indication that it is a commercial? And when did it become legal to use government money (i.e. *my taxes*) to push partisan issues, as well as try to influence election politics?
posted on Mar 18, 2004 - View this thread

White House To Seek Ban On Gay Sex On The Moon
posted on Feb 27, 2004 - View this thread

Bush calls for same-sex marriage-ban amendment Pres. Bush called for a constitutional amendment against gay marriage today, blaming "activist judges", the Massachusettes Supreme Court, and the mayor of San Francisco, among others, for attempting "to change the most fundamental institution of civilization."

How this call for an amendment plays out remains to be seen, but Bush is taking a strong stance on this issue, in what some see as another 'big headline' proposal during the election season. What will this mean for the civil rights of homosexuals in this country? And how will voters react in November?
posted on Feb 24, 2004 - View this thread

Return of the Son of the Bride of Bush's Guard service A detailed Globe examination of the records in 2000 unearthed official reports by Bush's Guard commanders that they had not seen him for a year. There was also no evidence that Bush had done part of his Guard service in Alabama, as he has claimed.
posted on Feb 5, 2004 - View this thread

New poll: Bush sinking, Kerry surging Overall, 52 percent of those polled by NEWSWEEK say they would not like to see Bush serve a second term, compared to 44 percent who want to see him win again...
posted on Jan 24, 2004 - View this thread

The George Bush Conspiracy Generator ...is long overdue, and will make the lives of certain Mefi'ers just a little easier. Still, I think it needs some work. It's nowhere near as clever as an old favorite, Web Economy Bullshit Generator, the output of which I've actually inserted in proposals.
posted on Jan 19, 2004 - View this thread

When does politics become treason? Lincoln did it...almost. Why shouldn't GW Bush follow suit ? The Neocon Case for Imprisoning and Executing Congressional War Opponents.: ' "Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged" - that's what President Abraham Lincoln said during the War Between the States. ' Right then. Where's the noose? Step this way, my traitorous friends. I'll flip ya' for first in line.
posted on Jan 18, 2004 - View this thread

On the fast track to the Supremes --In a recess appointment, Bush put Mississippi Judge Charles Pickering on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans today. The American Life League is thrilled, but NARAL not so much.
posted on Jan 16, 2004 - View this thread

Viacom's CBS today rejected a request from liberal group MoveOn to air a 30-second anti-President Bush ad, saying the spot violated the network's policy against running issue advocacy advertising. This, despite running anti-drug and anti-smoking ads. So, is it only issues about which they disagree?
posted on Jan 16, 2004 - View this thread

A challenger to Bush for the Republican nomination?
posted on Jan 2, 2004 - View this thread

Astroturfing gone bad. Why aren't newspaper editors fighting this? They've seen it before. Its one thing to offer a press release and another to ask visitors of the Bush-Cheney website to mail their newspapers the same form letter.
posted on Dec 29, 2003 - View this thread

Paul Krugman gives some free advice to reporters covering the election.
posted on Dec 25, 2003 - View this thread

THE IDIOT SON OF AN ASSHOLE !!! .. catchy, marvelous. spot on.
posted on Dec 17, 2003 - View this thread

This is frankly not one of the best films ever made. "Realizing that sequels are often fraught with peril, the producers of Barney Cam secured starring roles from the President, the First Lady, many senior White House officials and a yet-to-be-named surprise cameo appearance."
posted on Dec 13, 2003 - View this thread

Alhamdullah. "I do say that freedom is the Almighty's gift to every person," the president replied. "I also condition it by saying freedom is not America's gift to the world. It's much greater than that, of course. And I believe we worship the same god." Apparently, this is causing no small amount of controversy in the Christian God-believing circles. I was always under the impression that it was commonly accepted that Jews, Christians, and Muslims were all working for the same Guy. So, Bush finally says something that's not completely stupid, and he gets all kind of hell for it. Great.
posted on Nov 24, 2003 - View this thread

Dear President Bush, I'm sure you'll be having a nice little tea party with your fellow war criminal, Tony Blair. Please wash the cucumber sandwiches down with a glass of blood, with my compliments. Harold Pinter, Playwright. Some caustic open letters in The Guardian for the big state visit.
posted on Nov 19, 2003 - View this thread

If You See George W. Bush, Email or Text The Time and Location To... Chasing Bush.

"A special online diary, designed to track George W. Bush for the duration of his visit to the UK.... If he wants to make a state visit that isn't marred by protest, he should do it on another island. He's not welcome on this one; and we're determined to let the world see that."
posted on Nov 14, 2003 - View this thread

Bush Tells Muslims His Administration Rejects Bigotry. But with Bush refusing to penalize Gen. Boykin after his Xtian fundamentalist remarks regarding Islam and the US Senate quickly pulling funding for Malaysia after Mahathir Mohamad's remarks, it seems a double-standard is at work here and many Muslims remained unconvinced of Bush's statements. NYTimes' Paul Krugman calls this Bush's Willful Ignorance.
posted on Oct 28, 2003 - View this thread

Morality and Logical Coherence
A case in point.
If stem-cell research is morally questionable, the procedures used in fertility clinics are worse. You cannot logically outlaw the one and praise the other. And surely logical coherence is a measure of moral sincerity.
And failing that test would be a measure of what?
posted on Oct 24, 2003 - View this thread

Bush orders officials to stop the leaks. News of Bush's order leaked almost immediately. And speaking of leaks, two U.S. officials are the primary sources of information about Israel's Harpoon cruise missiles which may or may not be used to attack Iran.
posted on Oct 16, 2003 - View this thread

The Clinton death list meme, so popular right before the 2000 election, has the possibility to start for GWB. WaPo, Oct 5th; Bush Family Babysitter Killed in Fairfax . I'm just wondering how you get your own car to roll on top of you?

"Officer Courtney Young, a police spokeswoman, said Champagne had gone outside the house about 9 p.m. Monday, reportedly to retrieve something from her car. The vehicle had been in gear, police said, and appeared to have rolled in her direction when Champagne was in front of it."
posted on Oct 16, 2003 - View this thread

Dominance and Its Dilemmas Noam Chomsky.What more be said? Those on the Left: Appaud. On the Right: sneer. If you are brither than a 15 watt bulb : read and then decide.
posted on Oct 11, 2003 - View this thread

Official Bush-Cheney '04 Blog Now Online, will offer breaking news, grassroots updates, and posts from the campaign leadership.
posted on Oct 7, 2003 - View this thread

Attorney General Is Closely Linked to Inquiry Figures Karl Rove, President Bush (news - web sites)'s top political adviser, whose possible role in the case has raised questions, was a paid consultant to three of Mr. Ashcroft's campaigns in Missouri, twice for governor and for United States senator, in the 1980's and 1990's, an associate of Mr. Rove said on Wednesday. Jack Oliver, the deputy finance chairman of Mr. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, was the director of Mr. Ashcroft's 1994 Senate campaign, and later worked as Mr. Ashcroft's deputy chief of staff. No wonder 69% of Americans think that an independent counsel should conduct the investigation.
posted on Oct 2, 2003 - View this thread

The New Republic . . . is one of multiple sources featuring variations on Bush-hating in recent weeks. What's up with the sudden currency of the phrase?
posted on Sep 26, 2003 - View this thread

Stumbling Into War by James P. Rubin, From Foreign Affairs, September/October 2003

Why did most of the world abandon Washington when it went after Saddam Hussein? The war in Iraq could never have been an easy sell, but nor should it have been such a difficult one. The Bush administration badly botched the prewar maneuvering, presenting a textbook study in how not to wage a diplomatic campaign.
posted on Sep 21, 2003 - View this thread

Check out the new $200 bill.
posted on Sep 15, 2003 - View this thread

Bush signs a bill into law that very few people will have anything bad to say about. Most of those who would oppose the new law can't vote, anyway, being members of predatory prison gangs, so I think we're pretty much good on this one.
posted on Sep 5, 2003 - View this thread

"By recklessly cutting taxes, President Bush has enriched the wealthy and neglected the poor, sent the federal budget deficit to record heights, and imposed a colossal financial burden on the coming generation. He has revived the culture wars by flaunting his Christian faith and by promoting traditional values. He has undermined public schools by supporting school choice. He has eroded the wall of separation between church and state by seeking federal funding for faith-based charities. He threatens to reverse decades of progress in civil rights by packing the judiciary with right-wing extremists. He has alienated our European allies with his crude cowboy diplomacy and provided a legitimate basis for anti-Americanism around the world. And he has knowingly deceived the American people in a matter of grave national importance by resting his case for war against Iraq on trumped-up charges about weapons of mass destruction." "That's a caricature", says Peter Berkowitz in a coolly favorable article about the current Presidency. 1st link via aldaily
posted on Aug 24, 2003 - View this thread

Is President Bush a Homo? "Even our least vigilant Republican social commandos have noticed that Mr. Bush has been peppering his otherwise delightful litany of patriotic jingoism and pleasantly embroidered CIA-intelligence recaps with the effeminate mating call 'fabulous'--three giddy syllables that are tantamount to coyly cooing, 'Hello, sailor!'"
posted on Jul 30, 2003 - View this thread

The Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, California takes the impeachment question directly to the local street and neighborhood and asks the following question on it's marquee. What is an impeachable offense? Lying to wage war? Or lying about sex? Across the country billboards and marquees have been commonly used to express political sentiment (original link from Buzzflash)
posted on Jul 28, 2003 - View this thread

Tom DeLay off to derail Bush's road map to peace. Calls proposed Palestinian state a, "a sovereign state of terrorists." With even Arial Sharon supporting the Road Map will the bigger challenges come from the fundamentalist infested GOP itself? [more]
posted on Jul 24, 2003 - View this thread

Cartoon in Times Prompts Inquiry by Secret Service I know these guys have to investigate jokesters and fools who threaten the President, but this has the broad outlines of Federal intimidation of the press. Bah humbug on the SS, good for the lawyers for smackin' the guy down, and double good for the L.A. Times for reporting it to their readers. (Reg. req. to read story. Sorry 'bout that, kittens.)
posted on Jul 22, 2003 - View this thread

The other shoe is dropping for the Bush administration. Yes it's old news, but relevant to recent events. Cheney ordered to name members of energy panel. Ken Lay, pack your bags!
posted on Jul 17, 2003 - View this thread

Bush Blasts 'Revisionist Historians' on Iraq

President Bush countered those questioning his justification for the invasion of Iraq on Monday, dismissing "revisionist historians" and saying Washington acted to counter an imminent a persistent threat. "Now there are some who would like to rewrite history; revisionist historians is what I like to call them," Bush said in a speech to New Jersey business leaders.

posted on Jun 17, 2003 - View this thread

HERCUBUSH! Long ago in ancient greece lived the Bush who began it all: HERCUBUSH! Half God, half mortal, half Texan, HERCUBUSH roamed the seven seas with one mission: To Destroy EVIL! "They're like Hitler, only more so!
We'll rub their oil on our torso!"
posted on Jun 4, 2003 - View this thread

Second study finds gaps in Bush tax cut. A new study has found that 8 million mostly low-income taxpayers will not receive any benefit from the tax law that Republicans have said for weeks was designed to benefit all those who pay income taxes. This in addition to the child tax credit already absent within the law.
posted on Jun 1, 2003 - View this thread

Remember the outrage of the US Govt. as the Iraqi's paraded POWs before television cameras - a pretty clear-cut breach of the Geneva Convention?
It appears the US Govt. isn't so concerned about what behaviour breaches the convention, anymore.

"The International Committee of the Red Cross so far has been denied access to what the organisation believes could be as many as 3,000 prisoners held in searing heat [near Baghdad airport.] All other requests to inspect conditions under which prisoners are being held have been met with silence or been turned down."

posted on May 25, 2003 - View this thread

Happy Loyalty Day, Everyone!
posted on May 1, 2003 - View this thread

Who's the only man who can take on President George W. Bush in a debate? Why, it's Texas Governor of the past, George W. Bush! BUSH v. BUSH! How surreal...(realplayer req)
posted on Apr 30, 2003 - View this thread

"War Crimes" is a powerful Flash video about the war. "Doctor Bushlove" is darkly comic. Both are by Eric Blumrich, and are well-crafted but quite graphic. And in the interests of fairness, Blumrich has given equal time to his critics. [Via BuzzFlash.]
posted on Apr 6, 2003 - View this thread

Let's get in shape 'cause we never know when we'll have to defend ourselves.
Later we can go dancing!

That Friday Flash thing you all like so much 'round here!
posted on Apr 4, 2003 - View this thread

So whatever happened to Journeys with George? As mentioned in this previous thread, the documentary aired on HBO last November. Unfortunately I didn't have HBO last november, and never got to see it. If you're in the area, Harvard University is screening it this weekend.

But what about the rest of us? I can find lots of reviews on the web, but no one seems to be selling it. Don't be fooled by imitations.

Any of you mefites seen it? Anyone else want to see it, but can't? Please disclose any relevant business relationships if you review the film in the comments.
posted on Apr 3, 2003 - View this thread

Operation: Cover George's butt? As the backpeddling and fingerpointing over "cakewalk" predictions continues, Talking Points Memo notes a recent article in the Charlotte Observer that quotes "senior administration officials" in saying that "dissenting views [about the war plan]' were not fully or energetically communicated to the president.'" Sounds like someones taking out an insurance policy, don't it?
posted on Mar 31, 2003 - View this thread

Michael Moore is making a deal with Mel Gibson's Icon Prods. to finance "Fahrenheit 911," a documentary that will trace why the U.S. has become a target for hatred and terrorism. It will also depict alleged dealings between two generations of the Bush and bin Laden clans that led to George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden becoming mortal enemies.
posted on Mar 31, 2003 - View this thread

Unless you take long breaks from your busy internet-trolling schedule to read print media, you did not see this chilling litany of stupidity from Elsa Walsh's 3/24 New Yorker profile of Bandar bin Sul "The meeting was scheduled to last twenty minutes, but Bush and Abdullah talked for two hours. At one point, the Crown Prince handed Bush the photographs of the dead Palestinian children. Do you think it's right? he asked. Bush appeared surprised by the photographs and his eyes seemed to well up. One person familiar with the conversation summarized Bush's comments: "I want peace. I don't want to see any people killed on both sides. I think God loves me. I think God loves the Palestinians. I think God loves the Israelis. We cannot allow this to continue." At one point, Bush told Abdullah that he believed Muslims and Israelis were all God's children and that God didn't want to see children from either side die." (Link via Atrios)
posted on Mar 27, 2003 - View this thread

Dixie Chicks Pulled from Air After Bashing Bush Dude, these Texas people didn't find criticism of the president unpatriotic when Bill Clinton was president. They thought it was a sacred duty...Apparently country stations in Texas and elsewhere are pulling Dixie Chicks albums because their lead singer, while on an overseas tour, criticized Bush, saying she was ashamed to be from the state as him. People who want to criticize the critics of the critical comments are supporting the Chicks by buying their albums and requesting their songs. I never thought I'd buy a Dixie Chicks album, but that's what I'm going to do tonight, and I'm paying full price!
posted on Mar 14, 2003 - View this thread

The first President Bush has told his son that hopes of peace in the Middle East would be ruined if a war with Iraq were not backed by international unity. via fox news Times Online.
posted on Mar 10, 2003 - View this thread

who is this richard perle guy anyway?

is anyone else a little concerned with some of his views and associations being one of the top advisors to our current administration?
posted on Mar 10, 2003 - View this thread

US Lets N. Korea Get Nuclear Data (Boston Globe) "Transfer Pact Stays in Effect: WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has not suspended or revoked the authority of Westinghouse Co. to transfer documents related to nuclear technology to North Korea, despite the fact that the Asian nation has admitted that it violated terms of a nonproliferation agreement it signed with Washington in 1994, US Department of Energy documents show."
posted on Mar 8, 2003 - View this thread

George W. Bush is Jesus Christ. Bush delivers, he sets free. He liberates. He is the 21st century incarnation of Psalm 23. As the HAZMAT suit becomes the American burka, Bush is praying, and we will do the same.
posted on Mar 2, 2003 - View this thread

Friday Flash! Actually, it's a movie, but it sure is hilarious... Bush + Blair = LUV
posted on Feb 21, 2003 - View this thread

The War Behind Closed Doors PBS' newest "Frontline" focuses on what has been happening behind the scenes within the Bush administration during the buildup to war against Iraq. Wolfowitz is seen as supporting a policy of US preemptive wars starting in 1992 and urging a US invasion of Iraq just four days after 9/11, Richard Perle says that "it was understood that Iraq had to be dealt with" in the earliest days of the Bush presidential campaign, and Colin Powell is shown as the only reason the US sought UN approval at all.
posted on Feb 21, 2003 - View this thread

Is the currency that oil is denominated in the real reason for the Iraq War? "The Federal Reserve's greatest nightmare is that OPEC will switch its international transactions from a dollar standard to a euro standard. Iraq actually made this switch in Nov. 2000 (when the euro was worth around 80 cents), and has actually made off like a bandit considering the dollar's steady depreciation against the euro. (Note: the dollar declined 17% against the euro in 2002.)"
posted on Feb 11, 2003 - View this thread

It's thoughtful, not angry or insulting. It appears to make sense and it doesn't upset me. Is this really how they think of themselves? Required reading for the liberal opposition: A Republican's View of George Bush, Compassionate Conservative. (NYTimes, free registration required)
posted on Jan 5, 2003 - View this thread

Bush Orders Missile System Deployed. President Bush on Tuesday ordered the military to begin deploying a national missile defense system with land- and sea-based interceptor rockets to be operational starting in 2004. The decision to begin deploying a national missile defense, which has been criticized by Russia and China, follows North Korea's announcement this month that it will proceed with a controversial program to develop nuclear weapons. Is the sky actually falling?
posted on Dec 17, 2002 - View this thread

Corporate Freeloader Chief is Bush's Choice to Head Treasury John W. Snow, President Bush's choice to replace the fired Paul O'Neill as Secretary of the Treasury, is the CEO of CSX.
In three of the past four years, CSX Corporation, paid no federal income tax at all. Instead of paying taxes, CSX supplemented its $934 million in pretax U.S. profits over the four years with a total of $164 million in tax rebate checks from the federal government.
"If the President's goal is to encourage even more corporate tax sheltering, then Mr. Snow looks like a fine choice to help him do so," said Robert S. McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice.
posted on Dec 10, 2002 - View this thread

The Dubya Doll is making its way through commercial America. With 17 slogans and phrases, such as "We will continue putting food on your family." what red-blooded American wouldn't want one?

"My Daddy was President you know." not included.
posted on Dec 9, 2002 - View this thread

In a long letter to Esquire magazine, the former head of Bush's Office of Faith-Based Programs blasts the White House as having practically no interest or expertise in making sound social policy: "[O]n social policy and related issues, the lack of even basic policy knowledge, and the only casual interest in knowing more, was somewhat breathtaking." DiIulio may have a bit of an ax to grind here, but it is still a fascinating look inside the Bush policy-making apparatus. (The letter was the basis for an article by Ron Suskind in Esquire which is not available online [press release here]. The saga leading to the publication of the letter is recounted in today's Tapped)
posted on Dec 3, 2002 - View this thread

Conservatives dispute Bush on Islam Bush critics, we are told, though they support him believe his statements about Islam are basically political and that Islam is not a peace-loving religion. Though I am not sure on this issue, I do not think citing a passage or two in this or that holy scripture is sufficient to apply to any religion, since what it does (or has done) differs often from what it's stated position is. In this article I find myself torn between disliking in general anything that right-wing conservatives utter and also disliking anything that Bush has to say! My shortcoming, no doubt.
posted on Nov 30, 2002 - View this thread

Strange Bedfellows fight tyranny? - Bob Barr, Dick Armey to join ACLU Quoth James Madison: (Federalist Papers #47) - "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many . . . may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." and Benjamin Franklin:"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." William Safire Slammed the Bush Adminstration (Nov 15) over John Poindexter's Total Information Awareness program. NOW: Bob Barr, a gun-rights anti-gay firebrand conservative to join the ACLU? Dick Armey's joining as a consultant? Say that again? And Nat Hentoff reports that the Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Indiana ran a broadside called (sept. 8) "Attacks on Liberty" - "In the name of national security, President Bush, Attorney General John Ashcroft, and even Congress have pulled strand after strand out of the constitutional fabric that distinguishes the United States from other nations. . . . Actions taken over the past year are eerily reminiscent of tyranny portrayed in the most nightmarish works of fiction" MEANWHILE...an email of an editorial by right wing radio personality Chuck Baldwin, "Bush Government 'Out of Control' ("The Bush administration seems determined to turn our country into the most elaborate and sophisticated police state ever devised") first published in an online Christian Fundamentalist antiabortion newpaper is making the (right wing) rounds. It asks: "Does that mean one must leave the Republican Party in order to fight for liberty?" [antitroll protection dislaimer: most Democrats signed the Patriot Act, the principle cause of concern behind the statements and editorials linked to on this post]
posted on Nov 27, 2002 - View this thread

War With Iraq - As Predictable As Chess There is still a good chance we can avoid war with Iraq. Saddam Hussein has never won a war, and his military forces surely foresee their own destruction. Numerous assassination attempts by them (some involving the Republican Guard) have failed. They are likely trying again, even now. Therein lies our best hope. What if they fail again? Then invasion by the U.S. is inevitable.
posted on Nov 22, 2002 - View this thread

White House Wages Stealth War on Condoms The government is waging a covert war on condoms. Fact sheets on the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the transmission of the AIDS virus have disappeared from government sites. Right wing activists have been appointed to the the presidential AIDS panel. Government audits of AIDS activist groups who protest these policies have begun. So, apparently only evil-doers have sex outside of marriage, and they deserve to die horrible deaths.
posted on Nov 20, 2002 - View this thread

A European voice makes good case for Bush. Being ambivalent about Iraq, I found this to be one of the more thoughtful cases for Bush. Maybe if Dubya was making it this eloquently instead of lying and stonewalling people would be more supportive.
posted on Oct 28, 2002 - View this thread

President Bush is in fact doing just about everything his critics demand: If the administration really had contempt for the UN, it could withdraw its support and let that organization complete its collapse into a Third World debating society. If Bush wanted to lash out at every threat in the world, America's near-$400 billion defense budget could provide the soldiers, tanks, airplanes, and missiles to wage several small wars at a time, from Libya to North Korea (and most places in between). If America were trying to seize the world's oil reserves, we could have swept aside the Saudi sheiks long ago. If we were indifferent to the casualties of enemy civilians—and the only alternative is to be indifferent to the deaths of our own soldiers and civilians—then anti-war academics would have to give up tallying those casualties one-by-one. But none of this is actually happening.
posted on Oct 23, 2002 - View this thread

"And due to the flagrant violations of U.N. resolutions, we now order Israel, Turkey, Morocco, and most every other country to bow before us..." Otherwise known as 'things George Bush overlooked when planning his Cincinnati speech.' Numerous UN resolutions have been disregarded and have gone unpunished-Israel being one of the most serious violators. Who else believes that their most hard-assed university professors would fail them for using the rather weak, subjective arguments that have been popping up in political speeches lately?
posted on Oct 9, 2002 - View this thread

An Open Letter to Congress from the editors of The Nation. All the makings of a final plea.
posted on Sep 26, 2002 - View this thread

"One nationally renowned academic ... was recently called by an administration official to talk about serving on an HHS [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] advisory committee.... To the candidate's surprise, the official asked for the professor's views on embryo cell research, cloning and physician-assisted suicide. After that, the candidate said, the interviewer told the candidate that the position would have to go to someone else because the candidate's views did not match those of the administration."
The overhaul of the U.S. public health advisory committee system begins with politics and ends with canning those who disagree with George W. Bush. The public interest is somehow left out of the process.
posted on Sep 17, 2002 - View this thread

Hunter S. Thompson's Advice to Bush: Quit! Political commentator, sports enthusiast and all around American treasure lets fly. When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.
posted on Sep 13, 2002 - View this thread

Here's a transcript of the president's speech to the UN General Assembly this morning, for those who missed it. The White House has also provided a 21 page document [pdf link] detailing Iraq's history of defiance and disorder over the past decade.
posted on Sep 12, 2002 - View this thread

George Bush's Article in NYTIMES. I was surprised to see an article by the prez on nytimes.com. We are used to presidents communicating through TV- but there the speech is picked up by all major channels in that case. It seems odd to see a sitting president use one newspaper to put forward a viewpoint. Perhaps, Al Gore's articles in the same space spurred dubya. Oh, by the way, what did you think of the story? Is this the work of a speechwriter or do you think it is genuine? Did everyone notice the absence of the word Iraq in this article? (The customary apology for the nytimes post applies. I believe you can still register as metafilter, metafilter.)
posted on Sep 11, 2002 - View this thread

U.S. Stops Iraq-Al Qaeda Talk From the Washington Post. Beyond the superficial significance of administration back-tracking, in regards to intelligence there seems to be two key aspects to this story: 1) The article talks about how the CIA was unable to "validate two prominent allegations made by high-ranking administration officials," implying that Bush/Cheney/etc. have been making baseless assumptions about Iraq in their pro-war arguments, and 2) it brings into question whether we know anything at all about Iraq, anyway. What if the same can be said of Hussein's nuclear plans?
posted on Sep 10, 2002 - View this thread

Bush By The Numbers... "Bush has spent a whopping total of 250 days of his presidency at Camp David (123 days), Kennebunkport (12) and his Texas ranch (115). That means Bush has spent 42 percent of his term so far at one of his three leisure destinations." More fun numbers about "43" in the story...
posted on Sep 4, 2002 - View this thread

Administration Says It Can Attack Iraq without Congressional Approval Not a new story, per se, but this Post article lays out pretty well the arguments behind the administration's case, one being simply Bush's role as commander-in-chief. It's strange how closely this issue reflects earlier attempts by the administration to avoid Congressional and/or public scrutiny (Cheney's Enron meetings, for example). Why this aversion, and why fight so hard? And I have a sneaking fear that Bush will seek Congressional approval only after invading, and he will bully votes by claiming that reps have a patriotic duty to support a president in a time of war.
posted on Aug 26, 2002 - View this thread

Bush to Urge Logging Plan to Help Curb Fires (registration metafilter/metafilter). Puppet-boy Bush wants to open up selective national forests to logging to help prevent forest fires. While we're at it why don't we kill all the endangered species before they die out? Let's use those polar ice caps for Poland Spring, they're melting anyway!
posted on Aug 21, 2002 - View this thread

Room for rent. Similar to the Clinton administration that they heavily criticized, the Bush folks have opened a bed and breakfast up in that big White House with the cee-ment pond. Rates are steep but one thing many guests share is a membership in the exclusive Pioneer Club.

One of my favorites is Edward Rose, Mr. Rose is a staunch Bush supporter having donated more than 42,000 dollars in the past along with $2,000[1] directly. Then there is the Betts family, patriarch Roland was Dubyas frat brother and besides selling him the Texas Rangers has donated $19,000 along with another 4K[1] directly. For outright generosity it's tough to beat Brad Freeman, who opened his pockets to the tune of some 190,000 dollars.There's Joe O'Donnell ($9,250)and James Simmons ($27,550)... the list goes on but you get the idea. Aside from the Pioneer Club the only other thing these people share is great wealth and successful business careers, considering his choice in houseguests is this the right person to hold corporate America accountable?
posted on Aug 17, 2002 - View this thread

The Axis of Medieval. Claims of support for women and women's rights in the current regime are nothing more than hot air according to Mr. Kristof. He says their record and the facts tell a different story. The details are shocking. Kowtowing to religious fundamentalists in the US causes devastating results abroad. Would programs like these qualify for using some of the wealthiest persons dollars instead of a tax cut?
posted on Aug 16, 2002 - View this thread

The anticipation of war stirs uncertainty and puts people on edge, which is the way the country, already shaken by Sept. 11, is feeling these days. It is time for Mr. Bush to level with the nation about his intentions and to talk candidly about why he feels military action against Iraq may soon be necessary, and what the goals, costs and potential consequences of a war would be. (NYTimes, registration required)
posted on Aug 2, 2002 - View this thread

Corporate Crook: Nitwit scion turns avenger In sum: Bush talks big about corporate crooks. He is one.
posted on Jul 9, 2002 - View this thread

The 'Gate-less Community "But something changed when George W. Bush became president. The current administration has not lacked questionable behavior: Karl Rove met with Intel executives in the White House even as he held a significant amount of Intel stock; Deputy Interior Secretary J. Stephen Griles, a former coal-industry lobbyist, intervened in an energy-exploration dispute on behalf of former clients; Dick Cheney met repeatedly with energy company officials who appear to have had a strong hand in formulating the administration's energy policy; and, of course, there is White. Yet each retains his job. Eighteen months into Bush's term, his only appointee to resign under a cloud is Michael Parker, the former civilian chief of the Army Corps of Engineers, and not over allegations of corruption, but for what this administration views as the one true deadly sin: disloyalty. (Parker publicly criticized the president's budget.) By contrast, two years into the Clinton administration, 10 political appointees had resigned; under the elder Bush, eight; under Reagan, 13. What has changed isn't so much the conduct of officials, but the standards by which they're judged. The "new tone" that George W. Bush brought to Washington isn't one of integrity, but of permissiveness."
posted on Jul 8, 2002 - View this thread

"Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz talks about the corporate looting spree and Bush's woeful mismanagement of the economy." "The fiscal mismanagement of the current administration -- leading to a change in the fiscal position of the United States over the past year -- is absolutely phenomenal; going from huge surpluses to huge deficits and the deficits are probably going to be larger than people anticipated."
posted on Jul 6, 2002 - View this thread

Hitting the trifecta. A tasteless joke and a morbid lie from the only person to actually benefit from Sep. 11. Is political advantage really worth this kind of crass lying? A toast to the restoration of honor and dignity to the White House and our appreciation that the "adults" are now in charge! I'm off to buy the new Ann Thrax book to bolster my right wing indoctrination re-education.
posted on Jun 28, 2002 - View this thread

Cheer for Bush, or face arrest, OSU grads informed. A first person account of how Bush's speech at the Ohio State Graduation today resembled nothing so much as a fascist rally - as graduates who had planned to protest by simply turning their backs to Bush during his speech were informed that if they did so they would be arrested and expelled (no diploma). Inside the stadium, crowds of Bush suppporters had been bussed in from miles away. And everyone was instructed to cheer loudly for the president.
posted on Jun 14, 2002 - View this thread

Threat of 'dirty bomb' softened Attorney General John Ashcroft on Monday overstated the potential threat posed by "dirty bomb" suspect Abdullah Al Muhajir, Bush administration and law enforcement officials said Tuesday. Ashcroft's remarks annoyed the White House and led the administration to soften the government's descriptions of the alleged plot. "I don't think there was actually a plot beyond some fairly loose talk and (Al Muhajir's) coming in here obviously to plan further deeds," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told CBS on Tuesday. So, does this mean he'll actually get treated like an American citizen and get to see a lawyer?
posted on Jun 12, 2002 - View this thread

Special Agent Crowley Speaks Up (NYTimes link , normal rules apply) Ladies like this are the real heroes in our country and she has something to say before Congress about the new Bush agency. Ms. Dowd agrees and said, "The shape of the government is not as important as the policy of the government."
posted on Jun 11, 2002 - View this thread

After the 9-11 massacre, most of us, eager to hear someone in a position of authority make reassuring noises, gave George B. Jr. some props. Even those of us who had our doubts before were, in that state of anxiety and fear, ready to applaud his actually quite banal statements. Then came the "axis of evil" speech. Die hard conservatives and Bush-lovers said "that's okay, he's just using colorful language - and, after all, those folks are evil." The rest of us groaned a bit. And now, his trip to Europe during which something very funny happened that reaffirms his 'through the looking glass', profoundly deep ignorance of the world.
posted on Jun 10, 2002 - View this thread

Bush to announce new domestic intelligence agency. Just what we need, more spooks.
posted on Jun 6, 2002 - View this thread

The Bush 9/11 Scandal for Dummies: Ready to do some 9/11 conspiracy debunking? Read this and lets get some old time MeFi discussion going. It's all there, from the (s)election of Bush as president to the "pre-planning" of the American Patriot Act. As Weiner describes the culprits as:

. . .the HardRight began serious planning for a 2000 electoral victory -- and then implementation of a HardRight agenda, and the destruction of a liberal opposition -- a year or two after Clinton's 1996 victory. (The impeachment of Clinton was a key ingredient to sully Democrat opposition.) The GOP HardRight leaders decided early to select George W. Bush, a none-too-bright and easily malleable young man with the right name and pedigree. They ran into a speed-bump when John McCain began to take off in the public imagination, and so with dirty tricks they wrecked his campaign in the South and elsewhere, and continued on their merry course.
posted on Jun 2, 2002 - View this thread

Bush takes to insulting his critics "Very good," Mr. Bush said sardonically. "The guy memorizes four words, and he plays like he's intercontinental." "I can go on," Mr. Gregory offered. "I'm impressed — que bueno," said Mr. Bush, using the Spanish phrase for "how wonderful." He deadpanned: "Now I'm literate in two languages."
posted on May 27, 2002 - View this thread

ANTI-BUSH BACKLASH BUILDS Whores, For Once, Outraged At Dubya's Bullying, Scare Tactics Bush Likened to Wizard of Oz Even Paula Zahn Objects! Do you agree the latest warnings have as much to do with diversion as legitimate warnings?
posted on May 22, 2002 - View this thread

Bush wants to turn back the schoolclock to an eduational epoch sometime before 1972. Thirty years after educational gender bias became a legislative reality, Bush has announced that he's pushing for single sex schools, offering no specific reason for this backwards waltz. But what kind of message does this send to tomorrow's graduates about equal gender opportunity? Is there really any discernable advantage in a single sex educational institution? Or is Bush possibly intimidated by the overwhelming number of female graduates that are dominating males these days?
posted on May 9, 2002 - View this thread

Bush weak and ineffectual "President George W. Bush is facing the possibility that his presidency may be undone not by an enemy ---- foreign or domestic ---- but by an ally" Is this the "real" Bush, the one the democrats described during the campaign?
posted on Apr 27, 2002 - View this thread

The Saudis are about to deliver an ultimatum to Bush In a bleak assessment, he [Prince Abdullah] said there was talk within the Saudi royal family and in Arab capitals of using the "oil weapon" against the United States, and demanding that the United States leave strategic military bases in the region. Such measures, he said, would be a "strategic debacle for the United States." How should Bush respond?
posted on Apr 25, 2002 - View this thread

I'm curious, isn't this exactly opposite of what we're being told? I'm always hearing the wealthy are benefitting somehow from GWB's new tax plan. I'm certainly no-where near the top 5%, and now I don't want to be.
posted on Apr 9, 2002 - View this thread

Bush clarifies "terror doctrine" to exempt Arafat because of Arafat's past participation in peace negotiations.
posted on Apr 2, 2002 - View this thread

Empire burlesque: Iraq invasion through the looking glass - "MECCA, March 22, 2005 -- Preside