George W. Bush: The 9/11 President

From Reuters:

Bush invokes Sept 11 to defend Iraq War

President George W. Bush said on Saturday U.S. troops in Iraq were fighting to protect Americans at home from more attacks like those of September 11, 2001, starting a five-day focus on his case for the war amid growing public discontent.

"Our troops know that they're fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere to protect their fellow Americans from a savage enemy," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

"They know that if we do not confront these evil men abroad, we will have to face them one day in our own cities and streets, and they know that the safety and security of every American is at stake in this war, and they know we will prevail," he said.

His comments came as the public shows more discontent with his handling of Iraq, with high-profile protests during Bush's ranch vacation and new poll results showing nearly six in 10 Americans are worrying about the outcome of the war.

Asked whether the United States was meeting its objectives in Iraq, 56 percent of those polled said it was not and 39 percent said it was. The poll is to be published in next month's issue of Foreign Affairs, the journal of the Council on Foreign relations.

Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, became a symbol for anti-war protesters after camping near Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch, where he is on vacation, urging him to bring U.S. troops home.

More than 1,800 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq and thousands more wounded.

The Bush administration justified going to war in Iraq in 2003 by saying it posed a threat because of stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. None have been found.

Critics say Iraq had nothing to do with the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington and that the administration has tried to tie Iraq to terrorism since the war to justify its actions.

"In a few weeks, our country will mark the four-year anniversary of the attacks of September the 11th, 2001. On that day, we learned that vast oceans and friendly neighbors no longer protect us from those who wish to harm our people," Bush said. "And since that day, we have taken the fight to the enemy," he said.

"We're fighting the terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world, striking them in foreign lands before they can attack us here at home," Bush said...

He acknowledged the deaths in the current war and said: "We owe these fallen heroes our gratitude, and we offer their families our heartfelt condolences and prayers."

"Now we must finish the task that our troops have given their lives for and honor their sacrifice by completing their mission," he said.

Six in 10 Americans (I'm betting more) currently see their 9/11 President this way:



as opposed to the can-do mission accomplisher Bush so desperately wants to be seen as:



Desperate times call for one thing in the Bush camp: 9/11, 24/7. But this time, except for the unfortunate brainwashed who get their news from places like (I kid you not) The 700 Club, the majority of Americans are no longer buying his bullshit.

P.S. - Can mainstream reporting get any worse than this line from the above article:

"Critics say Iraq had nothing to do with the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington and that the administration has tried to tie Iraq to terrorism since the war to justify its actions."

Critics? Critics? Oh, right...critics like those Commies on that no-good liberal Sept. 11th commission. Grrrrrrrrr.

Release The Documents!

Go here to demand the release of crucial documents concerning 16 key cases Supreme Court nominee John Roberts worked on in the Solicitor General's office during Bush I -- that is if you still think America should be the land of the free...

Exclusive George W. Bush Vacation Footage!

The Wit and Wisdom of Rush Limbaugh:

"I'm weary, ladies and gentlemen, of even having to express sympathy. 'Oh, she lost her son!' Yes, yes, yes, but (sigh) we all lose things."

(Hillbilly heroin addict Rush Limbaugh discussing Cindy Sheehan on his radio show yesterday)

"If you do not support our President's decisions you are a traitor" *

* from probush.com's "Traitor List" which also conveniently offers this definition of Treason:

"Violation of allegiance toward one's country or sovereign, especially the betrayal of one's country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely acting to aid its enemies."

Conveniently not included in the list of traitors are the following "gentlemen":



Kos lists their criminal statements. Digby amends them. And Attaturk compares and contrasts.

THE TRANSISTOR WIDOW (#009)

Untitled, Will McRobb (2005)

Just a Reminder:

"Karl Rove and others in the White House exposed an undercover CIA agent in order to cover up their lies about Iraq." - Digby



Newest Rovelations can be found here.

(Photo courtesy of Busy Busy Busy)

Support Our Troops...Unless They're Dead

In which case, feel free to run over their memorial crosses with your pickup truck:

Cindy Sheehan — the mother who's camped out near Crawford, Texas, demanding to speak with President Bush about her GI son who died in Iraq — is continuing her vigil but the makeshift memorial erected at her campsite has taken a hit .

The campsite has close to a thousand white crosses, each representing GIs who, like Sheehan's son Casey, were killed in Iraq.

While Sheehan has gotten a lot of support in her vigil, and has been joined by dozens of sympathizers, she's also sparked some opposition.

Monday night, a pickup truck tore through the rows of white crosses.

The crosses stretched along the road at the Crawford, Texas, camp, bore the names of fallen U.S. soldiers. No one was hurt.

(Picture found here via here)

I'm back, but I have nothing to say...yet (except thank you Cindy Sheehan). Oh, and I do have one question: This can't be true, can it? --

"Our great country is in a terrible downward spiral. We're outsourcing jobs, bankrupting social security, and losing lives at war. We need to focus on what's important-- paying attention to our children, our citizens, our future. We need to think about improving our failing educational system, making better use of our resources, and helping to promote a stable, safe, and tolerant global society. It's time to be smart about our politics. It's time to get America back on track."

(Click banner for more)

Gone Fishin' Drinkin'

See ya on the 13th. That's a much shorter break than the 33 days the Doinkus in Chief gets to take off, but I'm not complaining. Well, I am. But not about my vacation. I'm complaining about Chimpy's.

(This post will remain up top for approx. one month)



My nephew Ben, who just graduated from college, is traveling to Mozambique next month to work in an orphanage called Kedesh:

"I have developed an increasing awareness of the AIDS epidemic that greatly affects Africa. One of the biggest problems the HIV/AIDS Virus causes is orphans. Between 12-18 million Africans are orphans because of AIDS...John Wicks started (Kedesh) five years ago to provide homes for orphaned/extreme poverty stricken boys ages 7-20. I will be working beside John for one month to help provide these boys with a home environment, food, schooling, and the life skills of farming, animal husbandry, carpentry, and building. Kedesh is a faith based organization and I am excited to become involved in their work."

Ben is funding this trip on his own. He estimates that it will cost him about $3,000. If you look at the upper left-hand corner of this blog, you will see a PayPal "Make a Donation" button (or, depending on your browser, it might be somewhere further down on the left). I put it up there a few months ago thinking that maybe some of my bandwidth costs could be offset by donations but, alas, no one has yet to donate. Which is perfectly okay. This blog (or, ahem, online magazine) is a hobby for me. And a less expensive hobby then, say, this or this. It's also a hobby that focuses on right and wrong. What's wrong is that Bush's AIDs initiative in Africa may be doing more harm then good. And therefore it's up to people like my nephew to do what they can. So, if you'd like to help, please click the donation button. I promise all donations that I receive between now and the end of summer will go to Ben (and Ben promises that any donations above what he needs for his trip will be donated to the orphanage). For more information on Kedesh, please go here. Thanks...

Well, There Goes NASA's Funding...

Environmental damage seen from shuttle

Commander Eileen Collins said astronauts on shuttle Discovery had seen widespread environmental destruction on Earth and warned on Thursday that greater care was needed to protect natural resources...

"Sometimes you can see how there is erosion, and you can see how there is deforestation. It's very widespread in some parts of the world," Collins said in a conversation from space with Japanese officials in Tokyo, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

"We would like to see, from the astronauts' point of view, people take good care of the Earth and replace the resources that have been used," said Collins, who was standing with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi in front of a Japanese flag and holding a colorful fan.

Collins, flying her fourth shuttle mission, said the view from space made clear that Earth's atmosphere must be protected, too.

"The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg, it's so very thin," she said. "We know that we don't have much air, we need to protect what we have."

Doctored, My Eyes

You can't make this stuff up:

Congresswoman Katherine Harris, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat next year, has again accused some newspapers of doctoring photos to distort her makeup as a way to poke fun at her.

In an interview on a conservative radio talk show Monday, Harris said some newspapers — she didn't say which — altered photos during the 2000 presidential election recount when she was Florida secretary of state.

Democratic commentators and late-night talk show hosts lampooned Harris for her liberal use of cosmetics as she took center stage in the recount.

"They had trucks in Florida bringing the ballots to Tallahassee," Jay Leno quipped at the time. "In fact, it's the same trucks they used to bring the makeup to Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris."

Oh, that Jay Leno...what a cutup!!!

Harris, a Republican, was asked Monday by nationally syndicated radio host Sean Hannity whether that image bothered her.

"I'm actually very sensitive about those things, and it's personally painful," she said. "But they're outrageously false. ... Whenever they made fun of my makeup, it was because the newspapers colorized my photograph."

I don't know. I mean this is exactly what she looks like to me in every single picture I've ever seen of her:




(Click the pic for more Psychedelic Republicans)

The Day The Music Died...Again

(or Macy Gray meets Ol' Dirty Bastard)

An ol' friend sent me this. I had to post it. Listen here. Warning: N.W.S.*

*Not Work Safe (but then again, why are you surfing the internets when you're supposed to be on the job? Get back to work, slacker)

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Bomb kills 14 U.S. Marines in Iraq

A roadside bomb explosion tore through a U.S. assault vehicle in
Iraq on Wednesday, killing 14 American Marines and a civilian interpreter in the deadliest attack of its kind against U.S. forces since the war began.

Enjoy your record-breaking vacation George.

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Bravo Al

Well, the big guy pulled it off. Judging by Day 1 of current, it appears Al knows how to launch a new television network. It came off fresh and original and, although the programming "pods" seem to be completely random (a couple having a baby, artist Shepard Fairey, a hip female preacher, a couple trying to buy an apartment, a piece on egg donors, a look at Iranian youth), the channel felt somehow cohesive. My only gripes: either completely lose the PJs (pod jocks) or put them in a more natural setting (they feel completely canned next to the people featured in the actual pods); dump Deepak Chopra (he's unwatchable and unlistenable); and try to make the channel feel a little less White and middle class (granted, I only watched a few hours but that was the overall feeling I got...perhaps that's what unfortunately made the channel feel cohesive). However, overall it's a fine start for the man who should be running our country. Extra kudos for hooking up with Google, Al...

Good Boy!

I loves me a good dog story:

With a stomach full of scrambled eggs, Jake dog-paddled his way into history, leaving most of the serious — and human — swimmers in his wake.

Organizers of the South End Rowing Club's 10th annual Alcatraz Invitational — a 1.2 mile swim from the infamous prison island to the San Francisco shoreline — say the 65-pound golden retriever is the first canine known to have made the crossing.

He was the only dog among more than 500 swimmers who lept into the chilly, choppy waters on Saturday, coming in 72nd overall. His time was 41 minutes and 45 seconds.

The crowd cheered as the 4-year-old pooch made his way onto solid ground, shaking sprays of water and dodging a woman who tried to put a medal around his neck.

I bet Toast could've beat Jake's time back when she was in her prime (she's nine now but she can still swim like there's no tomorrow):

The Year of Living Rudely

Tickets are on sale now! Click the cute little boy and do exactly what The Rude Pundit tells you to do.

I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up

(Source: The Gallop Organization)