My Last Political Post for Awhile
I strongly suspect that in his final attempt to have all things his way until 1/20/09, George Bush grossly overplayed his hand Thursday night. I also have a horrible hunch that a lot of people whose names aren’t Bush may pay for his arrogance, cowardice, and messianic zeal with their lives.
I hope to fucking hell I’m wrong.
September 15th, 2007 at 1:45 PM
I guess you mean 1/20/08 or do I miss some significance of the date? I Thought the american election was next year.
September 15th, 2007 at 4:20 PM
The American election will be held in November, 2008. The new president takes office on January 20th, 2009.
September 15th, 2007 at 4:37 PM
Yeah – George made it official on thursday that he’s running out the clock. Not that big a suprise – wasn’t it two years ago he told everybody that it wasn’t going to be until the next president that there would be a change in course in Iraq?
Having made it official, where does that put the debate now? What will be done, and by which next president, should be uppermost on everybody’s minds from now through the next 14 months. Nevada’s got an early say in who comes next- in, what… 5 months?
good luck to all of us –
September 16th, 2007 at 4:32 AM
Thank’s Steve, I’m not THAt familiar with the american political system, I’m glad if I figure out the german one 😉
September 16th, 2007 at 6:22 AM
The country’s been paying for Bush’s arrogance for nearly 7 years now. In a sane world, someone like this would have instantly been recognized as supremely unqualified for any elected office. The idiots who supported this clown ultimately have as much to answer for as he does. Hopefully there won’t be a repeat of this mistake, but it’s all-too-clear that there will be sometime. Republicans don’t see fit to take away their own right to vote.. if they carted about this country, maybe they would.
September 16th, 2007 at 6:23 AM
*that’s cared
September 17th, 2007 at 6:45 AM
I hate to see people bashing sides and leaving no true impact…Tell me, what would the democrats do if they took power today? Abandon Iraq totally so another country could take over, China would LOOOVE that. Of course they wouldn’t abandon it immediatly…ANY sensible leader would allow for a slow withdrawal and an everlasting base in the country ( Just like Germany).
It’s time for the war to end. However, There should be a fair amount of Common sense used here. We will NEVER be out of Iraq…Nor should we desire to be. Anyone who thinks that Iran, Russia, or China would not LOVE to control that area’s riches is a tried and true political and historical idiot.
So, if you want a Democrat who will pull out to be elected, then you should be arrested for treason.
September 17th, 2007 at 7:06 AM
Brandon: disagreeing with government policy is far from treasonous, and if the irony of “I hate to see people bashing sides” and then employing terms like idiot and treason needs to be pointed out, well, consider it pointed.
As much as I dislike the thought of it, I imagine that we will be involved — on some level — in Iraq for a very long time, much the same as an unintended child causes one to be involved for a very long time and makes one think about keeping one’s pants on in the future.
September 17th, 2007 at 7:44 AM
You knew he was running out the clock when Rove (and Gonzales and the grossly underpaid Tony Snow) left, didn’t you?
September 17th, 2007 at 9:14 AM
I highly doubt the world would stand by and watch China (or any other country) move into Iraq. That would be total world turmoil, and isn’t indicative of China policy over the past several decades. As far as comparing a base in Germany with base in Iraq, those are two totally different things. Germans are not islamic extremists, and a base in Iraq will only incite more violence against our interests there. It will also be a boon to al Qaeda recruitment, as well as a nice training ground for them.
I missed what Bush said on Thursday though. Did he really say that he’s running out the clock? Well, at least the new Attorney General doesn’t seem nearly as much of the political lackey-insider that the last two were. Here’s to hoping that Bush really is riding it out, and doesn’t want to make any more controversy over his presidency.
September 18th, 2007 at 6:15 AM
Speaking of being arrested for treason: shouldn’t that apply to a “president” who rejected intelligence which could have prevented the war- intelligence he didn’t bother to share with Congress? The blood on his hands is pretty amazing- each and every life much more worthy than his. Soem people just like war, I guess..usually those who would never fight in one.
September 18th, 2007 at 3:09 PM
See, Each of you who point finges at Busch or Any Democrat are truly avoiding the total big picture.
No political official in this day and age will totaly do what is right for america.we are too seperated by political lines…there are two different America’s now and it makes the country a very dangerous place.
The only idiots I see are the windbags on both sides who just simply follow along and repeat talking points over and over without truly coming up with unique solutions to the problems.
We have the fredom to elect whomever we feel would lead this country in the proper direction. However, What choice do we have coming up that is not the same thing that we have already in place…..Face it, the Democrates are NO DIFFERENT than the republicans. The only thig that makes them differ is that they are waiting around for ANY republican to screw up so they can jump in and try to prove how much better they are….To bad that they have the same type of screw ups in their own party.
We do NOT need to be sending troops who stand around to catch bullets..We do NOT ned to bash any American citizen who is wiling to die for the USA….We do ned to combat ANY valid threat…Unfortunatly, the bad guys are not easily defined now as they were when the NAZI were goose stepping through France…..
I’m for any proceedure that protects America from outside trouble..However, we allow CRIMNALS to invade our country EVERYDAY and we do NOTHING about it but throw true citizens under the bus. Why can we not close our borders and at least attempt to care for our own? Why should I care about some unkown child in Mexico who is starving when I see children in my town that are in the same shape….for some reason, the down trodden in America are just a problem and remain invisible.
This rant shows that there are MANY problems in America that another politician is NOT willing to solve.
This is a whole that the political parties have created because they are too worried about treating politics the same way as we treat sports events…..It’s one side or the other.there is no such thing as America anymore…
However, None of us who complain would give up this life and move to another country in protest would we?
Stop pointing fingers and do something progressive like solving problems. That includes me and anyone reading this. The 1st Black president won’t solve itnor will the 1st woman president..they will e to busy posing for photos with people who praise them for breaking new ground. Nor do we need the standard old republican war horse who tries to invade every country that will alow them to line their pockets.
So, look at america and tel me I’m wrong..If you agree with partisan politics, you are the problem to!
September 18th, 2007 at 4:47 PM
I love the “Democrats are no different” line- it’s the last gasp of people who can’t defend their corrupt leader. I’m sorry, but the Democrats would never, ever produce someone like Bush. Imagine if they did, how the Republicans would react. Bush is indeed the cause of the war, the cause of bad preparation for 9/11 (or did his refusal to interrupt his vacation count as good preparation?) , the person who lowered the standard for all time in having the basic ability to handle the presidency. He’s not a product of the “broken system”- he’s purely a creation of the mindless right-wing masses who fear “income redistribution” while ignoring how Halliburton suddenly became hugely profitable. The first step in really solving problems is understanding the extent of the problem is and who is really responsible. And if you voted for Bush, you need to ask yourself: just how easily fooled are you?
September 18th, 2007 at 8:02 PM
Brandon: “See, Each of you who point finges at Busch or Any Democrat are truly avoiding the total big picture.”
No, we aren’t, at least not necessarily. Pointing the finger at both Bush AND any Democrat, no matter the specifics, is actually avoiding the picture in the most obstinate way imaginable. Is the bi-partisan system arguably obsolete and definitly constricting in ways that are becoming painfully detrimental to the ideal of America? Absolutely. But there’s no immediate way to change that, not realistically, not without causing worse havoc that the bi-partisan system currently perpetuates.
PEOPLE change things, and fix things, and solve things. Even though there are banners like “Republican” and “Democrat”, the meaning of these terms change over the course of the years, ususally due to the change in the times, the people, our needs, our wants, and most especially – our understanding and abilities. We weren’t always aware of the world as a global, day-to-day reality, not as much so as we are today. So we adapt, and Bush, if nothing else, though it certainly could never be bandied about as “worth it”, has shown us how American international politics needs to change, even to a large degree how our domestic policies should change. Our disgruntlement with him has changed the attitude of the people, and yes, even out politicians, to want something different, something else.
No matter the party name, it’s the people enveloped within them that make the cause-and-effect happen. Democrats have the “same screw-ups in their party as Republicans” becuase they’re both made out of people, not because creating some new ideologically-motivated political group would somehow fix things. Look around you, look at the world, look at how many variations on ideology and politics we have – NONE of them work flawlessly, if at all. That’s not becuase we haven’t come up with the right movement. It’s becuase we’re us.
In fact, since this is a Gerber blog, let’s make a comic analogy: Marvel and DC, the “Big Two”. No matter how many stagnant, unimaginative spandex series these companies churn out which do, yes, hurt the industry (Marvel in the 90’s being a prime example), these companies also produce titles like Howard the Duck, branches like Vertigo, maxi-series like Watchmen, or runs like Frank Miller’s Daredevil. These moves MOVE the industry, the people, and the creative course of the medium forward, evolving it. It’s always slow, and always a struggle, but Marvel and DC are still around, still churning out unbelievable numbers of pure crap, and still managing to move the industry in ways that bolster it, surprise readers, and continue to evolve the whole shebang.
Could we give our government an overhaul and replace it with something better tomorrow? Theoretically? Sure. Actually? Not in the least. Change is necessary, but immediate change obliterates everything and starts things from square one, and frankly, we haven’t made nearly enough of a mess out of things to consider that as an honest next move. You’re disgruntled, as a lot of us are. Thank god. But that doesn’t mean we act like angsty teenagers and say “throw it all away! It’s all worthless! We suck!” Christ, man, tragedy needs to be dealt with properly, as do screw-ups, as do victories. We’ll forever be dealing with all three, and demanding that everything’s wrong becuase we don’t have only the victories is heartfelt, but beside the point.
Brandon says: “Why should I care about some unkown child in Mexico who is starving when I see children in my town that are in the same shape….for some reason, the down trodden in America are just a problem and remain invisible.”
Yeah, okay, maybe they’re invisible to you, but a whole s-load of people are doing what they can to help. Again, this inequality, especially material inequality, isn’t something that can be fixed with a magical formula, but neither does that mean it’s hopeless so hey let’s forget about it. It’s there TO be dealt with. Why should a Mexican child be someone you care about? Because they’re a human fucking being. What, an American child has more right to your sympathy and empathy because you and he-or-she happen to live within a certain historically laid-down boundary? Didn’t you just call the Nazis “easily defined bad guys”?
Brandon says: “Stop pointing fingers and do something progressive like solving problems. That includes me and anyone reading this.”
Okay, so we agree there. But…uhm…what is it exactly that you’re proposing since all you seem to suggest in that anyone currently involved is just an ignorant loser that can’t seem to see the truth and that anything we do just perpetuates a useless political machine? You’ve kind of argued a Catch-22 situation.
Again, Dems and Reps are just names. You don’t want to be a political pedagogue or follow any, don’t, but work with the PEOPLE and make life as good as it can be, for as many as you can make it such a way for.
September 19th, 2007 at 11:24 AM
Brandon, just in that last post, you managed to totally & inaccurately insult Iraqis, indigenous Americans, blacks, & Hispanics.
And I think you may have slightly misrepresented eminent domain: By law, the government must compensate people for land taken that way, it can’t just be seized. (That doesn’t make it right, but still.)
Actually study some history or something, ‘cos you’re shooting your mouth off & proving yourself an ignorant nationalist.
September 21st, 2007 at 7:21 AM
WOW!! I see that someone has a little backbone problem with allowing me to give my reply.. It’s ok.. By removing it, you just prove that I’m right!
September 21st, 2007 at 10:49 PM
Free speech is a fine thing…
But some people don’t think they should accord that freedom to those who choose to simply misrepresent the facts for their own purposes.
And you might try to understand that this site is maintained by Steve Gerber and he doesn’t have to leave your reply up if he knows it’s utter nonsense.
And removing utter nonsense doesn’t make the writer of utter nonsense right.