Everyone should watch this...

[General Zod]

dont the dems have like a 15% approval rating right now

I think so.

The fact that the Dems have a majority in both houses is a bit misleading to those who only follow politics at the sound bite level. Their majority, in both houses, is very small. And with Bush sitting in the White House, vetoing everything, there's really little they can do. In truth, the Dems would have been better off not gaining a majority in either house. The Republicans would have been weary of continuing to allow Bush to push his agenda blindly and the Dems could have remained mostly blame free heading into '08.

How unfortunate is it, that at one of the most critical times in history, we've had arguably the most incompetent fool to ever sit in the White House? Amazing.

Zod

 

[Dark One]

I think so.

The fact that the Dems have a majority in both houses is a bit misleading to those who only follow politics at the sound bite level. Their majority, in both houses, is very small. And with Bush sitting in the White House, vetoing everything, there's really little they can do. In truth, the Dems would have been better off not gaining a majority in either house. The Republicans would have been weary of continuing to allow Bush to push his agenda blindly and the Dems could have remained mostly blame free heading into '08.

I was actually going to make this same point. You hit the nail on the head. Many Republicans are going in their own direction now, but not enough to make a voting difference in the house & senate. Now that said, I do believe that if there was a bit more aisle reaching by the Dems and Repubs (not to the White House, but to the opposition parties), more things would get pushed through. Too many partisan pundits on the right and the left - something has got to stop this madness. The more united the vote against Bush-laden measures, the less clout Bush has in potential veto measures. Both sides are to blame for this, but indeed, your initial point is dead on so know that I am with you on this.

How unfortunate is it, that at one of the most critical times in history, we've had arguably the most incompetent fool to ever sit in the White House? Amazing.

I know I might surprise you here, but the more time goes by, the more and more I agree - any reasonable thinking person would have to. My thoughts on the importance of combating terror sponsored organizations and regimes aside, the incompetence of this administration is enough to drive one to drink. All along I've watched things carefully and with an open mind, constantly being frustrated at agreeing with things in a "general principle" sense only to watch the specifics get mangled and mishandled daily. And there's been plenty I've disagreed with as well, let alone watching the things I do agree with get cluster fucked. Buffoon-like handling of the war aside, the immigration bill fiasco and the Scooter Libby partisan bullshit are two of the latest events that have pushed me over the edge. No matter what happens in the next election, change is inevitable and that's a good thing no matter how you slice it.

Jason

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

And krig, Whats your point?

they represent such a small number of people in this country

 

[skeptik]

Congress always has low approval ratings.

 

[JayKeeley]

Interestingly, the candidate with the most sensible views on international policy is a republican: Ron Paul. Of course, he'll never take the lead, which is a shame.

And on the dems side, Senator Joe Biden has the most viable Iraqi solution, and again, he won't be picked as the leading front runner either.

Neither of them play to the glitz of politics.

Shame Al Gore isn't running. Not only does America need this man in office, I think the world could benefit too.

 

[General Zod]

I know I might surprise you here, but the more time goes by, the more and more I agree...

Yes and no. I'm surprised at the level of contempt you feel for Bush. But given I've always viewed you as intelligent and open-minded, I'm not surprised by your other sentiments.

Zod

 

[Dark One]

I'm surprised at the level of contempt you feel for Bush.

Definitely a case where it was earned over time. Recent events were the "straw....".

But given I've always viewed you as intelligent and open-minded, I'm not surprised by your other sentiments.

Humbling - thanks.

 

[Reign in Acai]

Bush is a dunce. This guy belongs in a middle management position at a paper factory.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

yep, and he has killed 3500 troops too.

 

[Reign in Acai]

Say what you will, but no one can deny that he isn't the genetic jackhammer.

 

[Russell]

Loved the clip, as I just remarked to my other half it's great to see someone with such (IMO well justified) anger have a voice on TV.

How unfortunate is it, that at one of the most critical times in history, we've had arguably the most incompetent fool to ever sit in the White House? Amazing.

Zod

While I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment of your post at all, I think this is far from one of the most critical times in history. For example, there were points in WW2, the cold war, and throughout history, during which the consequences of any government's or individual's actions were far more momentous than anything Bush has - or probably will - do.

I've also come to the opinion that these things are cyclical; its human nature to think that what is happening at the current time is more important than a previous era, that - to use another example - our current technology is unsurpassable, and that we are at the height of our civilisation. Ten years pass and looking back at it, this isn't the case. I'm sure Vietnam was viewed in the same light as Iraq is now, and, while regrettable, it's not a great deal more than a footnote in history now. Iran is being a pain in the ass now, as it was in the '70s. There are so many of these things, and I can't help but think that as little as 10 years down the line, the actions of George Bush will seem similarly inconsequential. And that’s not just because they would be ‘history’, but that things really aren’t as momentous as they seem at this present moment. Or maybe I just tell myself that for comfort

 

[Dark One]

Any mention of these events on the Faux News homepage? No, but thankfully they are covering the anniversary of the Roswell, New Mexico UFO incident...uke:

Actually, they are and have been:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,288555,00.html (there right now)

The story about the huge truck bomb in the town north of Baghdad was also on their front page all day yesterday and was the featured story.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,288518,00.html?sPage=fnc.world/iraq

Hey, I'm not trying to laud them or be an apologist by any means, but I just like to see a fair shake given, that's all.

 

[Russell]

32 students gunned down in an American university, and the world is forced to swallow 24 hour media coverage of the event. 220 Iraqis shredded by carbombs in Baghdad in a single weekend, and they are considered collateral damage by both the media and the administration, worthy of only a footnote at the end of the latest celeb news.

Indeed, and 450,000 are now dead in Darfur, yet it has hardly even been on the news - because it's Africa apparently human life is inconsequential.

 

[JayKeeley]

"...a false implied link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11..."

LOL -- if anything goes down in history, it's this absolute corker.

 

[Reign in Acai]

32 students gunned down in an American university, and the world is forced to swallow 24 hour media coverage of the event. 220 Iraqis shredded by carbombs in Baghdad in a single weekend, and they are considered collateral damage by both the media and the administration, worthy of only a footnote at the end of the latest celeb news.

32 innocent people with bright futures being gunned downed by a lunatic nipperhead isn't worth a full day of news coverage.

Call me callous, I could give a fuck, but I won't even bother to do that. But 220 camelfucking dunecoons get bombed by their own kin isn't worth one God damn minute of my time. Nor should it be worth one minute of our military's time. Pull out already, these people have proven that they are not willing to take the steps necessary to reach civility. So fuck it, let them die. Problem solved.

 

[JayKeeley]

Nor should it be worth one minute of our military's time. Pull out already, these people have proven that they are not willing to take the steps necessary to reach civility.

...and a billion voices cry out in the night: "we told you so".

It is a different planet out there, from a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away. They are about 4-5 centuries away from any form of 'western' democracies, and even then, Islam is locked into it's ideals so progression is neither possible or even wanted.

However, US military leaders are saying it could be done in just a few decades! That's pretty optimistic!

What do you think?

Depressing, huh.

 

[General Zod]

While I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment of your post at all, I think this is far from one of the most critical times in history. For example, there were points in WW2, the cold war, and throughout history, during which the consequences of any government's or individual's actions were far more momentous than anything Bush has - or probably will - do.

I'm not so sure. I think what we're witnessing is a confluence of events. First, I think there's no shortage of people in America that believe we're living in the "end times". Second, you have an ever growing gap between the obscenely rich and the poor. You have emerging super powers in China and India, and a re-emergent Russia, who will soon be vying for an ever-dwindling supply of fuel. Lastly, you have the proliferation of nuclear weapons. You can argue, that to some degree, we've always had religious zealots and a gap between rich and poor. However, we've never lived in a time where two jihadists in a row boat, could pull into Indian Point power plant in NY (which is guarded by $8 an hour, poorly trained guards), drain the cooling waters from the spent fuel tanks, kill millions and leave Manhattan uninhabitable for the next 1,000 years.

Regardless of the perils of our world, the criticality of our time is not just defined by our actions, but also our inactions. On 9/11, we had the world's sympathies and their collective ear. Had we the will, we could have used 9/11 as a building block to move our world towards something positive. Instead, our "Are you smarter than a 4th-grader" runner-up of a President, decided to destabilize the middle east.

Zod

 

[cthulufhtagn]

pretty much i weep for the future.

 

[JayKeeley]

Had we the will, we could have used 9/11 as a building block to move our world towards something positive. Instead, our "Are you smarter than a 4th-grader" runner-up of a President, decided to destabilize the middle east.

Bush often quotes, or references great presidents of the past. Somewhere in his earlier thought process, he thought of himself as the one-and-only man who could 'fix' the middle-east crisis, and that he was acting on the word of god.

The fact is, like some of the earlier presidents, he wanted to join their ranks with a shiny nobel peace prize. It's really quite amazing because he thinks of himself as this 'messiah' like character where he knows what's right for the world, and everyone else hasn't a clue.

This is why he's never stepped down. ANY other politician, from any other 'free' society, would have resigned by now.

You saw Nixon do so for the Watergate scandal.

You saw Margaret Thatcher do so (and all she did was allow US bombers take off from the British Isles and bomb Libya).

Relatively speaking, Watergate and Libya pale in comparison to the corruption we've seen in the last few years. It's just shocking. We've ALL been completely taken for a ride.

EDIT: particularly our armed forces. Every single injury or death has been a complete and utter waste. Not only were they sent in on the basis of a lie, they were sent in on a suicide mission with no exit strategy. Basically, we fed them to the lions.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

agreed ^