Compassion, Thy Name Is Not George Bush

"Compassion" according to Webster: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it

Does this sound like George W Bush?

I ask because Mister Bush believes that he has made a name for himself because he is "compassionate". He has stated this nonsense in a recent C-Span interview.

Let me count the ways he has failed to show compassion.

How about vacationing in spite of dire warnings of a devastating hurricane approaching New Orleans? And. . . . . . . . continuing with his vacation while residents of New Orleans stood in water-covered streets begging for help. And drowned.

How about authorizing the torture of thousands of Muslim citizens of the Middle East as well as American, Canada, and European nations? Citizens who seem to have committed no crime other than being of the Muslim faith and/or having an Arab background.

How about waging a war against people who were of no proven threat to us? A war that has resulted in the death of tens of thousands innocent civilians by the most conservative estimates. And has left many of them without the most basic amenities of life. And in daily fear of their lives.

How about joking about "those missing WMD's" at a White House Press Corps gala while our soldiers continued to die in Iraq?

How about waiting days before pledging any financial assistance to the surviving victims of the 2004 tsunami. Too busy with his own holiday celebrations to give a thought to a catastrophe that didn't affect him?

Granting tax cuts to the wealthiest citizens of our nation while tens of millions remain without health care for themselves and their children?

Boasting about a "healthy economy" while thousands of middle class jobs continue to leave our shores? Hundreds of thousands of middle class families worry about how they'll send their children to college. While millions of poor have to decide whether they will eat or pay the bills. No thought to the working class, George?

Sitting on one's backside for 7 minutes "thinking about what it meant" for our nation to be under attack while brave firemen and occupants of the WTC towers sacrificed everything to save others? And after ignoring months of warnings about a terrorist attack on our homeland.

Giving a passionate speech about winning the war on terror and supporting our troops and with barely a pause in breath, returning to your golf game with a "now watch this swing" to reporters. Now that shows real compassion!

Mister Bush's actions may, indeed, reflect compassion on whatever planet he lives in his delusional world--but not here, on Planet Earth.

Sorry, George. But you're going to be remembered as either the most devious, evil and unprincipled president in our history, or the most incompetent fool who ever tried to lead a nation. Most likely, it's a great deal of the first and a little of the latter.

Truth is as "The Decider" Sees It

Is Stephen Hadley at it again?

Mr. Hadley recently acknowledged that a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was being held back because, according to Stevie, it was "overstated" and "not focused on the facts."

Hhmmmmmm. Is anyone else thinking "here we go again" ?

Didn't we play this game before? The rules don't seem to have changed. If you don't like what intelligence is telling you, throw it back until they get it right!

And "right" is what the Bush Adminstration wants it to be--whether it is right or not.

After all, did they not hold back, manipulate, and/or classify every pre-Iraqi war intelligence report that contradicted their message until the NIE came up with an intelligence estimate that provided Mister Bush with the "evidence" he needed to start his war games?

So what "facts" does Mr. Hadley wish to focus on? Facts that have not yet been pulled out of the air?

I guess it worked so well for them before, they want to try it again. Maybe this time we really will be treated as "liberators" with roses thrown at the feet of our soldiers.

Yeah. Right.

No Tears For The Working Class

The Senate has finally passed their version of the minimum wage increase. At least I trust that a bill to increase the minimum wage is buried somewhere among the 111 amendments that had to be added before the GOP would condescend to voting.

One of those amendments was tacked on by a "compassionate" member of the GOP who believes that labor and business must be "tied" and that it would be a miscarriage of justice to increase the minimum wage without giving business yet another tax cut.

Pardon me, but was he around when all those tax cuts were being given to Big Business in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006. I don't remember any tears for labor at that time.

CW reports that the Repubs had tried using the process of amending the bill to unofficially filibuster the bill in an effort to keep the Senate from voting on a resolution to voice their opposition to an escalation--ooops--make that "surge" of troops in Iraq.

Funny. I recall the Dems being called obstructionists for such tactics.

Now the big question--will the minority obstructionists--oh, pardon my negativity. Will those illustrious, public serving Repubs consent to a debate on the war in Iraq? Or have they not yet gotten the message sent to them on November 7 from the majority of the American people.

Nightmare in the State Department

It seems that no one in the Bush Administration has advanced beyond the concrete stage of cognitive thinking. This doesn't surprise me about George W. After all he is noted for a lack of curiosity.

But to learn that our Secretary of State--a woman who negotiates with foreign leaders in languages she does not speak--cannot comprehend the English language unless communicated to her in the most elementary forms is rather scary.

However, what other explanation can there be for her misinterpretation of Senator Barbera Boxer's comment regarding families of soldiers serving in Iraq. Senator Boxer merely pointed out that Ms. Rice has no immediate family who would be serving in Iraq. She did not accuse her nor condemn her for being childless. So why is Condi in such a peevish snit?

One can only wonder how much impact Ms. Rice's failure to understand simple communications has had on the ongoing debacle in Iraq.

Perhaps the Dems need to start speaking to the GOP in monosyllables to avoid future misunderstandings.

Welcome to My Neocon Nightmare

What is a neocon nightmare?

• Two more years of George W. Bush
• The prospect of losing the Senate back to the GOP
• Condi Rice appointed Vice President
• Rupert Murdock taking over MSNBC--no more Olberman
• Joe Lieberman "caucasing" with the Dems?
• McCain and Lieberman in 2008
• Alberto Gonzalez appointed to the Supreme Court
• Paul Bremer returning to Iraq
• A world full of Ann Coulters and Rush Limbaughs
• Bill O'Reilly, period.
• Karen Hughes on another PR mission to the Middle East
• Wolfowitz and Perle returning to the Bush Administration--as if it isn't already a nightmare