The Talking Head

Latest news is that Bush was unaware of the port deal until after the approval by his administration. Excuse my "french," but what the hell? How does the president of the United States not get let in on a big secret like this? This directly affects American's Security. Here's the rundown.

– The UAE was one of three countries in the world to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

– The UAE has been a key transfer point for illegal shipments of nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Lybia.

– According to the FBI, money was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers through the UAE banking system.

– After 9/11, the Treasury Department reported that the UAE was not cooperating in efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden’s bank accounts.

Isn't it Ironic?

I know it was an accident, and a horrible one at that, but if anyone deserves a good old fashion ribbing, it's the emporer himself, the man behind the curtain, Dick Cheney. But isn't it ironic that he's so concerned and upset over the accidental shooting of his friend and fellow hunter, Harry Whittington, a 78-year-old lawyer, when Cheney himself is one of the key architects of the Iraq War?

Dick Cheney is responsible for American kids being blown up and shot at every day. To date 2,273 Americans will never come home to their loved ones. Over 15,000 Americans have been disfigured in this war, only to come home to find out their veterans' benefits have been cut. And none of the numbers account for the thousands of veterans that will come back emotionally damaged and scarred. Read War Pornography and wonder in disbelief how these could be our kids gloating over the dead.

This is exactly why Chickenhawks shouldn't start wars. Had they experienced Vietnam from the ground, the death and destruction of war, maybe they would have thought twice before invading Iraq.

The Privileged Nancy Boy

As a morally and ethically conservative stay-at-home mom, I might not agree with Joe Scarborough, but I understand where he's coming from... well... most of the time. He's giving air time to Natalie Holloway's family. Him and his wife, with their church, are trucking in water and diapers to Missippi after the hurricane. He's a good guy.

So when he goes on the air and starts babbling about how it all comes down at election time who you'd rather leave your kids with -- George Bush or John Kerry -- he emphatically exclaims, "George Bush! He'd shoot first and ask questions later!"

Not that I was a huge Kerry fan, but I have a real bone to pick with Joe on this one.

First of all, for those who voted for George because they thought he was the guy they could invite over to watch football and drink a beer with, you've been duped. Manly cowboy, he's not. George Bush is the poster boy for the privileged nancy boys. Here's the low down.

* He was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Going to school in Texas, he also spent much time in Kennebunkport, Maine and Jupiter Island, Florida, at the family COMPOUNDS. Per Jim Brown, a geologist who did business with Mr Bush in the 80s, "He [George W.] was viewed as an outsider. Midland has embraced him as a native son now because he was governor of Texas and now he's president. But back then, to the few people who knew who he was, he was just a rich Yankee kid."

* He went to high school at the elite New England boarding school, Phillips Academy in Andover, where he was the HEAD CHEERLEADER!

* Thanks to his father and grandfather, Bush was admitted to Yale through a legacy admission.

Misstatement of the Union

The President burnishes the State of the Union through selective facts and strategic omissions.

February 1, 2006

The President left out a few things when surveying the State of the Union:

* He proudly spoke of "writing a new chapter in the story of self-government" in Iraq and Afghanistan and said the number of democracies in the world is growing. He failed to mention that neither Iraq nor Afghanistan yet qualify as democracies according to the very group whose statistics he cited.

* Bush called for Congress to pass a line-item veto, failing to mention that the Supreme Court struck down a line-item veto as unconstitutional in 1998. Bills now in Congress would propose a Constitutional amendment, but none have shown signs of life.

* The President said the economy gained 4.6 million jobs in the past two-and-a-half years, failing to note that it had lost 2.6 million jobs in his first two-and-a-half years in office. The net gain since Bush took office is just a little more than 2 million.

* He talked of cutting spending, but only "non-security discretionary spending." Actually, total federal spending has increased 42 percent since Bush took office.

* He spoke of being "on track" to cut the federal deficit in half by 2009. But the deficit is increasing this year, and according to the Congressional Budget Office it will decline by considerably less than half even if Bush's tax cuts are allowed to lapse.

* Bush spoke of a "goal" of cutting dependence on Middle Eastern oil, failing to mention that US dependence on imported oil and petroleum products increased substantially during his first five years in office, reaching 60 per cent of consumption last year.

[Read the detailed analysis at the non-partisan FactCheck.org]