Turn Off The Cameras, I Want To Be A Douche

This is an interesting video of Bush talking about the economy. Notice at the beginning he says "There is no question, about it. Wall Street got drunk... that's one reason I asked you to turn off TV cameras..."



Why the sudden consciousness of his image? I think everybody is quite aware of his smugness by now. Remember this video? And this video?

Speaking of the economy and smugness, are you aware that the former chief executive of AT&T, Ed Whitacre, was "probably the most exploited worker in American history"? At least according to Phil Gramm who lamented in a WSJ interview that Whitacre retired with only a $158 million pay package.

Bush and Gramm might want to sit down and review the hunger in America videos if they even give a damn.

Yoo 2

A couple of days ago I wrote about John Yoo, but I felt my post was kind of missing something. Blaming those memos squarely on Yoo misses the point. Glenn Greenwald explains it well in his blog post John Yoo: Spearhead or Scapegoat:

Directing moral outrage uniquely at John Yoo and demanding that he be removed from Berkeley, while highly understandable in one sense, poses the danger that this broader responsibility will be obscured and that real accountability need not take place. If we don't have the political will to prosecute our highest political officials for war crimes or even remove them from office -- and we unquestionably did not and do not -- how can we simultaneously insist that John Yoo is beyond the pale? For better or worse, what John Yoo did, while revolting and radical, was within what became -- and still is -- the American political mainstream in the years after the 9/11 attacks.

And what could be even more revolting and radical? President Bush says he knew his top national security advisers discussed and approved specific details about how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to an exclusive interview with ABC News Friday. I guess this shouldn't surprise me. Bush is on the record saying the U.S. "does not torture people," and I know he lies. Is that why the media has responded to this story with a yawn?

They can't get enough of that teen beating video though.

Boo... So?

So the blogosphere is all excited about President Bush being loudly booed by the 41,000-person crowd as he threw out the ceremonial first pitch last night at the Washington Nationals season opener at Washington's National Ballpark.



Seems I boo this guy every day... though it is from the privacy of my own home. And if the polls are correct, then millions of people are also booing him privately or not so privately. So why all the attention to this event? Is this the first time in years that he has made a public appearance in front of real people -- not a select group of Republican supporters? Sports fans are typically not a mannerly bunch, so the honest greeting should have been anticipated.

Of course, Bush responded to the crowd with his usual smirk. I'd like to imagine that his feelings were hurt a bit, considering he is a baseball fan and the former owner of the Texas Rangers.

There was once another fake cowboy who owned a baseball team. His name was Gene Autry. Autry, however, believed in The Cowboy Code:

1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.

2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.

3. He must always tell the truth.

4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.

5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.

6. He must help people in distress.

7. He must be a good worker.

8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.

9. He must respect women, parents, and his nation's laws.

10. The Cowboy is a patriot.

I think Bush has violated all 10 rules. Can we run him out of town yet?

Moonies

Yesterday I wrote about that 80's coke thing, and today the topic is that 70's cult thing. Except the Moonies didn't go out with the 70's. Their influence today is more frightening than ever. The Daily Kos has an Interview with John Gorenfeld, author of Bad Moon Rising: How Reverend Moon Created the Washington Times, Seduced the Religious Right, and Built an American Kingdom. You can watch the author's video report online: part 1, part 2.

If you didn't know Sun Myung Moon was still around, and if you didn't know he founded The Washington Times, don't feel bad. Apparently the media thinks it's a stale story. But I think America should know about Moon's influence on George W. Bush, and Moon's crusade for abstinence only education,

Maybe we can spend a little less time worrying about Rev. Jeremiah Wright and start looking at some of the many creeps Bush is shaking hands with.

Scandals

I'm already tired of the Spitzer Sex Scandal. I'm not shocked that a man looked for sex outside of his marriage, and I'm not shocked that a politician prosecuted prostitution rings while being caught up in one. Hypocrisy and sex scandals -- nihil novi sub sole.

I think the media coverage of Spitzer is distracting us from much more disturbing news about our president. While Bush was attending the annual Gridiron Club, an invitation-only institution of Washington reporters, he broke into a song and dance number:



He got a standing ovation, but I do not see humor in his performance. The best I can say is that his performance was in poor taste. The worst I can say is "what a bunch of elitist fuckheads!" I'm talking about the president and the media that has enabled him for the last seven years. This little song wasn't a simple example self-deprecating humor. It showed a total lack of remorse for the mishandling of hurricane Katrina, obstruction of justice, and a war fought because of bad intelligence.

Exclusive dinner events with politicians and journalists are lame, but cell phone cameras are pretty cool.