Ghost Scandals in the Sky

From the New York Post Toasties
****

Scandals are a'brewin' baby! Only these aren't really "scandals" of the scandalous variety. What we have here are distractions that are being perpetrated by the Republican party for no other reason than to deflect from themselves the damage that they are presently doing to this country. In a way it's kinda funny. Then again, in a way it's not. What's behind it all is the fact that there are certain grown men and women in America who can't accept the fact that there is a black man - and his even blacker family - who are living in the same house that was once inhabited by their sainted Ronald Reagan. Let us go over the for-instances, shall we?

The GOP's moronic quest to uncover any kind of controversy within the Obama administration reminds me of the old story of a little boy who was seen gleefully picking through a huge mountain of horse manure. When asked by his father why he was doing such a disgusting thing, the boy replied, "There's just gotta be a pony in here somewhere, Daddy!"

Four days ago the president of the United States held a joint press conference in the Rose Garden of the Executive Mansion with the prime minister of Turkey. It was raining. So rather than having the both of them standing there getting soaked to their skins, two military aids in dress uniforms held up umbrellas for them. As predictable as - uh - rain, within minutes the RIGHT WING SCREAM MACHINE went into overdrive:

HOW DARE HE HAVE A SOLDIER - ONE OF AMERICA'S BRAVEST AND FINEST - STAND THERE PROTECTING HIM FROM THE RAIN??? OH, THE HUMANITY!!!

Reality Check: With the exception of Jimmy Carter, there is a photograph of every president going all the way back to Grover Cleveland with someone holding an umbrella for him. In the first photographs taken of Lyndon Johnson the morning after be became president, an aid is holding an umbrella for him. No one ever made an issue of the existence of First Umbrella Handlers - that is until this president. I'm sure his race has nothing to do with it....Ahem.

For the record, I'm not a blind supporter of President Obama. The man has been a huge disappointment to me in a few areas to be sure. But I'm smart enough to predict that history will record most of his failures as being the result of an obstructionist and, yes, racist congress. It's gotten so bad that some of these assholes are now talking openly about impeachment.

Bubbah!

As Bill Clinton found out the heard way fifteen years ago, the kooks, criminals and halfwits who long ago hijacked the Republican party are desperate to find demons where none exist. Their only recourse is to manufacture them. When they couldn't unearth anything impeachable in Bill and Hillary's Whitewater dealings, Ken Starr dredged up a pathetic intern by the name of Monica Lewinsky.

That is sort of like what is happening today with the latest scandal du jour. The Internal Revenue Service was looking into groups that are notoriously and militantly anti-taxation? Really? Gee, I wonder why! Most of this activity was limited to the Cincinnati office - a place where I am sure the president doesn't think about too often or have much jurisdiction over. None of that matters at all. The Republicans are determined to bring down this administration by any means necessary. The well being of the American people mean not a thing to them. This is not a state secret, folks. Mitch McConnell said within weeks of the inauguration of 2009 that his number one priority would be that Obama be a one-term president. To hell with everything and everyone else.

Chris Stevens

After the attacks on an American outpost in Benghazi and the killings of four people there including Ambassador Chris Stevens last September, another "scandal" erupted immediately. Here's what it was: whether or not Obama properly labeled it a "terrorist attack". In fact he did. When it soon became embarrassingly obvious that that little non-controversy had no legs to stand on, the focus was shifted to a series of e-mails that went back-and-forth between the embassy and the White House. It appeared that the president's people were trying to suppress information because of the upcoming election. We now know that those e-mails were paraphrased and edited in such a fashion as to make Obama look as corrupt and incompetent as possible. The demons of Benghazi are rapidly vanishing - like magic - into thin air. We'll find out the entire story (if any) soon enough. One can't hide from history.

Show me a person who is seriously alarmed by these conjured-up "scandals" and I'll show you someone who isn't paying attention - or who is watching way-too-much Fox Noise. That's not to imply that there isn't policy to be reassessed or personnel to discipline, but let's put things in their proper perspective, okay? To refer to this administration (as many Republicans are curiously doing) as "Nixonian" is bit over the top, don'cha think? Comparing Barack Obama to Dick Nixon makes about as much sense as comparing the sniffles to an advanced case of terminal brain cancer. Let's get a grip here.

Warren G. Harding

We're being told that these latest snafus in the Obama story are the "worst" scandals in the history of the republic. As if Harding's Teapot Dome or Nixon's Watergate or Reagan's Iran Contra - or Dubya's entire eight-year-reign - were mere blips on the radar. No one with even a remedial grasp of history would take such idiotic assertions seriously. Which leads me to the crux of the problem: The average American's knowledge of the story of the country they profess to love so well is pretty pathetic. Your representatives in Washington know this - otherwise they wouldn't make such ridiculous statements. A historical perspective is in order here, and long overdue. Comparing those presidential high crimes and misdemeanors to what might be going on - inside or outside the Obama White House - is beyond ludicrous. 

Ten years ago the sitting president (Guess which one I'm talking about) offered his fellow countrymen and women cooked-up intelligence in order to get us involved in an illegal war. As a result, as many as a million people or more - many of them  innocent children - lay dead today. Not only should that president have been impeached for what he did, he should at this moment be rotting in a federal prison. Where was the outrage then? No one but a handful of progressive writers and bloggers (yours truly included) was calling for his impeachment.

In the meantime watch with wonder and amazement as the United States spirals even further into the ideological cesspool.

And the gods looked down and laughed. 

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net 

SUGGESTED READING:

Lyndon
by George Reedy

This is an unvarnished memoir of what it was like to work for Lyndon B. Johnson by the late George Reedy, the man who served as his press secretary for over a decade. LBJ was as skilled a politician who ever lived - and one mean bastard to work for - as Reedy demonstrates here.

President Cruz?

“Every parent was horrified by what happened [in Newtown, Connecticut]. It takes your breath away. But within minutes, we saw politicians run out and try to exploit this tragedy, try to push their political agenda of gun control. I do not support their gun control agenda.”

Senator Ted Cruz on Fox Noise

Ted Cruz is against any legislation that would prevent the next massacre of innocent children? That's fine. I wouldn't expect a reactionary putz like Ted to do the right thing in the wake of such unspeakable carnage. What could you possibly hope for from someone who recently stated that he wants all of America to be more like his beloved Texas - a state that (with the merciful exception of Mississippi) every survey shows to be the worst place in this dying nation in which to live. Gosh, these surely are weird and wonderful times to be alive, aren't they?

Imagine this: Let's say - just for the sake of a really stupid argument - that Barack Obama hadn't really been born in the United States. Not only that, let's say that his father had fought in Fidel Castro's army back in the Fabulous Fifties and that he could take credit for helping the bearded one overthrow the Batista regime, handing the island-nation of Cuba over to the Commies in the process. Can you even imagine the field day that the Tea party loonies and the Birthers would have had with that bit of Obama Family history? Well here's something for you to ponder: That is the undeniable truth concerning the background of their latest savior, Texas senator, Ted Cruz!

Rafael Cruz, Ted's dad, says that he didn't realize that Castro was a Communist when he fought by his side all those years ago - a perfectly acceptable explanation. Even the Eisenhower administration didn't know what to make of Fidel when he visited the United States in 1959. Ted's many fans among the extreme right wing need not fear any serious backlash. No one in their right mind is going to make an issue out of Papa Cruz's past (KEY WORDS: "No one in their right mind" - it'll be a different story during the 2016 GOP primaries) Besides, we who lean left have no reason to exploit that fact. Ted is so burdened with liabilities of his own, the thought of his dad charging up San Juan Hill with Fidel Castro's Rough Riders is pocket change by comparison. The very presence of Ted Cruz on the American political stage is a Progressive's Dream Come True. He's the gift that keeps giving.

 Joe McCarthy

The thing about Cruz that tickles me more than anything is his obvious (and quite pathetic) idolization of the late Joe McCarthy. Although Tail Gunner Joe had been in the grave for almost fourteen years when Ted was born in December of 1970, the legacy of McCarthyism is alive and well in the man's persona. It is quite apparent that the senator from Texas has been channeling the long-dead senator from Wisconsin. He has so many McCarthy-like mannerisms that it's just a tad unsettling - such as the way he hunches over the microphone and tilts his head to the side. It really is something to behold. The weirdest thing about the times we live in is that in 1953 there was only one Joe McCarthy. Sixty years later it's a different story. Today the halls of Congress are polluted with scores of Joe-wannabes. As I said before, these sure are interesting times. 

In the four short months since arriving in Washington, this freshman senator has earned himself the reputation as the most obnoxious, bloviating jackass in town. He's even disliked by members of his own party - which is impressive when you think about it. As you might be aware the Republicans have set the bar pretty low when it comes to what is or isn't considered "statesmanlike" behavior. Show me a politician whose antics are too weird for the GOP and I'll show you a politician who really should be be watched - if for no other reason than our own amusement.

It astonishes me that Cruz is considered by the talking heads to be an intelligent man for no other reason than the fact that he graduated (with honors) from Harvard Law School. Pardon me for pointing this out but some of the most ruthless dingbats in our recent history attended that insanely overrated college. Unless they're Theodore or Franklin Roosevelt or Jack Kennedy, Harvard Men don't impress me too much. George W. Bush was a student there. He was turned down by the University of Texas Law School but was accepted by Harvard. What does that tell you about the joint? I'm much more likely to respect the opinion of a person who graduated  from CCNY. In my experience they tend to have a lot more substance.

 "No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President...."

-From Section One, Article Two of the United States Constitution

ATTENTION BIRTHERS:
I'm gonna need your help here. I know you'll come through.

It is also apparent that Ted Cruz was inspired by a newly elected senator from Illinois named Barack Obama who, after only two years in office, sought - and won - the presidency. The fact that Obama was an African American must have made old Ted drool with longing. He must be saying out loud, "Well, hell! If some damn KNEE-GROW can do it, I can do it, too!" And sure enough, Ted is already on the move. He plans on throwing his hat in the ring in the 2016 presidential primaries. His Tea Party base are beside themselves with ecstasy. You can almost hear the exclamations of joy:

"Finally we're gonna do it right! Next time 'round we're gonna have a real-live, honest-to-goodness, Kool-Aid drinkin', Bible-thumpin' right-winger as our nominee! Cruz is our man! EVER'BODY, LET OUT THE OL' REBEL YELL!!!"

Unfortunately for them their glee is somewhat presumptuous. You see, Ted is constitutionally ineligible to hold the office of president of the United States. He wasn't born here. He was born in Canada - at least that's similar to the rationale that was made by the knuckleheads who challenged the president's eligibility to serve. As we all know, he was born in Kenya!

I wonder how these idiotic "birthers" would react if Cruz did indeed get the nomination? Would they scream bloody murder, demanding to see his birth certificate in the same way they howled for Obama's? The only thing that made John McCain eligible to be elected to the presidency was that - or so their reasoning went - although he was born in Panama, he came into this world in a hospital that was located on a US military base. This was the argument they used to defend their hypocrisy. I've got a funny feeling that what applied to the president of the United States shall not apply to the senator from Texas. Call it "an educated guess".

It has always been my opinion that Section one, Article Two was a really bad idea. It was probably inserted in there because someone did not want the habitually-controversial Alexander Hamilton (who was born in the British West Indies) to ever serve as chief-executive. I hope that someday it is repealed. We are, after all, a nation of immigrants, aren't we? I'll even go out on a limb here: I hope it's repealed in time to make Ted Cruz's idiotic quest for the White House nice 'n' constitutional - without a molecule of room for misinterpretation. I want him to be nominated as the GOP standard-bearer three years from now so badly that I can almost taste it. What a gift that would be, huh?

Of course it's not going to be repealed by then. There are enough Republican legislators astute enough to understand that having someone as extreme as Ted as their nominee would mean their party's certain doom. But as I said before, the Constitution doesn't mean a damned thing to Ted Cruz. He's hellbent on running regardless of whatever that document mandates. You can bet the farm that his opponents in the primaries will make an issue out of his "foreignness". I never dreamed  that a political year could ever get weirder than 2012. I was wrong about that. 2016 is going to be a laugh riot. Just you wait.

Ted Cruz as the Republican party's nominee in 2016? Oh, please, fate! Oh, please! Oh, please! Oh, please!

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net 

SUGGESTED READING:

Fracking Pennsylvania
by Walter M. Brasch

"A valuable contribution [that] methodically lays out...the dangers of fracking. If you are not alarmed and fearful while reading Brasch's book, you are not sufficiently engaging its content."

-Reverend Leah Schade, EcoWatch

Here is a link to order if off of Amazon.com:
 
Fracking Pennsylvania: Flirting With Disaster

Not merely for residents of the Keystone State. I'm just sayin'.

Tony and Doreen DiLeonardo

SUGGESTED LISTENING:

The Progressive Union:

A very cool internet radio program by my new Facebook pal, Doreen DiLeonardo, and her husband, Tony:

http://www.3rdstrikeradio.com/Shows_On_Demand.html

Have a listen when you can. Highly recommended! 

Fear and Loathing in Houston

Image of Fascist Barbie scarfed from CNN website
`

"The annual festival of conspiracy theorizing, belligerent fist-shaking and anxious masculinity known as the National Rifle Association convention came to Houston over the weekend, and it was everything the organizers hoped it would be."
`

-Paul Waldman, CNN
`

"How many Bostonians wished they had a gun two weeks ago?" 
`

-Wayne LaPierre, Executive vice-president of the NRA
` 

How many Bostonians wish they could knock Wayne LaPierre's teeth out? I wonder....

The faithful descended upon Houston, thousands of "real 'mericans", to gleefully partake in the annual NRA/GOP festival of love - and fear. Wayne LaPierre stood at the podium doing what Wayne LaPierre does better than anyone; cranking-up the masses with some deadly imagery that left them thirsty for blood:
`

Wayne La P.U.

 "Lying in wait right now is a terrorist, a deranged school shooter, a kidnapper, a rapist, a murderer, waiting and planning and plotting in every community across our country, lying in wait right now." 
`

The multitudes gathered at the National Rifle Association convention this past weekend absorbed every paranoid word like diseased sponges. These were the true believers. These were the people whose mission in life was to save this grand and glorious land of ours from the leftist hoards of bloodthirsty bleeding-hearts and their dark-skinned, Marxist leader. It was truly a great hour to be a citizen of the good ol' U.S. of A. EVERYBODY SING! Oh, I wish I was in Dixie - hooray! hooray!

Indeed. The answer to all of our problems - at least according to the clowns speaking at this hootenanny - is not that firearms be "well regulated" as stated in the Second Amendment  (which they habitually quote out of context). The answer to all of our woes is simply more guns - lots 'n' lots of 'em! You see, that is the only way we'll be able to take on the federal government - blow the bastards straight to the pit of hell - on the day (which is surely coming) when the tanks come rolling down thousands of Main Streets to kill us all. QUICK! FETCH MY AMMO BOX, ESTER!

Shoot to kill first. Leave the questions to Saint Peter.

One gun in particular was quite evident at this year's NRA scream-a-thon - on exhibit and for sale - the  AR-15. This was is the rapid-fire, people-killing machine that was used by the homicidal little dingbat (who shall forevermore remain nameless on this site) to murder twenty little boys and girls and the six women whose job it was to protect and educate them on December 14, 2012. I'm sure that's just a coincidence, though - NUDGE! NUDGE! WINK! WINK! SAY NO MORE! KNOW WHAT I MEAN? KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

By the way, here's one for the joke books: the new president of the National Rifle Association is some beer-bellied twit named Jim Porter. This asshole still refers to the Civil War as "the War of Northern Aggression". Just a wee-bit out of touch with the times, don'cha think?

Olivia Engel, age 6

As might be expected, Sarah Palin was there. Although it is agreed among reasonable people these days that Fascist Barbie is pretty much irrelevant to our national dialogue, among the insanity junkies whose job it is to organize these NRA freak-shows, her star is still on the rise. Kinda makes you wonder, huh?

She criticized President Obama for using the grieving families of the Newtown victims as "backdrops" in order to appeal to our emotions. I guess it never occurred to this brain-damaged bitch that these poor people are willing participants in these media events, that they might want to prevent the unspeakable tragedy that imploded their lives in December from being visited upon other mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. Fuck her. And speaking of irrelevance:  
`

"The freedom of all  mankind - make no mistake - is at stake. And because of this I truly believe that our souls are at stake as well."
`

-Glenn Beck 

Have a nice day

"Freedom"? Really??? How "free" do you feel? Free as a bird? That's perfectly understandable if you've never had someone you loved dearly killed by gunfire. I have. I wonder how many of the parents of the kids murdered in Newtown didn't give a rat's ass about the "gun issue" prior to December 14, 2012. I don't know the answer to that question. What I know beyond a shadow of a doubt is that they care now. They care very much. You will, too, if and when it happens to you. And as we continue down this idiotic road, the chances are getting better by the day that it will indeed happen to someone you love - or to you - or to me (YIKES!). 

NOTE TO EUROPEAN TRAVEL AGENCIES:
You might want to issue a little "travel advisory" to your clientele who plan on vacationing in the "land of the free". There are certain states in this warped nation that are just too dangerous to visit. Here's a list of the top ten places to avoid:

1. Alaska
2. Louisiana
3. Wyoming
4. Arizona
5. Nevada
6. Mississippi
7. New Mexico
8. Arkansas
9. Alabama
10. Tennessee

Just thought I'd give you that little heads-up.

Interestingly (though hardly coincidentally) all of the states listed above are so-called "red states". The ten safest places to live are in blue states. Here's another fun fact to chew on: The state of the union with the lowest rate of murders via firearms (by far) is Hawaii. You don't need to be a genius to figure out the reason behind this. First of all, the Aloha state has very sane and reasonable gun laws. Secondly, it is impossible do drive across state lines to plant an illegal gun in Hawaii. Isn't that wonderful?

Four months ago on the day after the massacre of innocents in Newtown, Connecticut, I predicted on this site that, in spite of the carnage, nothing would change. Nothing has. Nothing will. Get used to living in a nation in ruins.

"A WELL REGULATED MILITIA being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Hello? Anybody home???

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net  

Sam Cooke 1931-1964

SUGGESTED LISTENING:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOho-r-oBog

Cupid 
by Sam Cooke

One of the sweetest little pop melodies ever consigned to wax by one of the more celebrated victims of gun violence in America.

AFTERTHOUGHT, 5/8/13, 5:43 AM:

"An Iraq war veteran and Internet talk show host is trying to gather thousands of protesters to march into the District [of Columbia] on Independence Day with loaded rifles on their backs."

I kid you not. Read all about it:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/protest-group-plans-july-4-march-on-washington-with-loaded-rifles/2013/05/07/59b8e392-b727-11e2-aa9e-a02b765ff0ea_story.html

Anyone want to make a wager that these jackasses bring their small children along for the ride? Any takers?

Rainin' on Dubya's Parade

The "Decider"
`

"We've had enough Bushes."

-Barbara Bush on the Today Show

"Ain't it the truth! Ain't it the truth!"

-Burt Lahr, as the Cowardly Lion

So, the man who is in serious competition with James Buchanan for being remembered as the worst, most insanely incompetent chief-executive in the archives of human stupidity finally has his own library? A place where future historians may romp with joy and scholarly abandon to their little hearts' content? Hmm....

FDR

I live less than forty miles from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum in Hyde Park, NY. I visit there as often as I can because I really love the place. I always feel a little better about this doomed country whenever I leave there. It is truly a fitting memorial to a great American leader, arguably the greatest in history. I might be persuaded to visit the Bush Library someday - if only out of morbid curiosity you understand. I imagine any place that is designed for no other purpose than to put a sugar coating on the sick and twisted legacy of George W. Bush ought to be just oodles of fun to visit! I liken it to putting a smiley face on the carcass a decomposing pig. "Whoa! Lookie thar, Martha, ain't that purdy!"

Revisionism can be a riot of laughter, a cornucopia of mirth and merriment for anyone with a halfway-decent knowledge of history. So it was with the cascade of nonsense flowing in torrents out of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at its opening this week. It was an absolute hoot watching the speakers pay tribute to the disgusting little thug - especially the Democrats! The very spectacle of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama attempting to twist the English language like salt water taffy in order to honor this guy was too much for the senses to even come close to comprehending. About the best the president could come up with was this beauty:

"To know George W. Bush is to like him."

Somebody hand me my chisel. 

It was about as surreal as any news event that has been my dubious joy to witness with my own eyes. Did you catch the aptly-named, Andy Card? This bird-brain was actually bragging to a reporter from CNN about Bush's economic record! I believe the words he used were, "second to none". Indeed. Does this nitwit even know the definition of the word, "irony"? More than a few people on this day were saying that history would be kind to Bush. Someone on Fox Noise even had the chutzpa to put the hideous little bastard up right up there in the pantheon of great American presidents:

"George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan....George W. Bush"

It's bad enough that these knuckleheads still insist on putting the likes of Reagan on the same level as Lincoln and FDR - but George W. Bush???  

Can grown adults be that completely unhinged from reality that they sincerely believe that posterity is going forgive the worst blunder ever made by the American electorate? Remember the reason people gave for voting for Bush? They would rather have a beer with him than the nerdy policy-wonk, Al Gore - or the colorless boy-scout-wannabe, John Kerry. Truth be told, I would much rather have a beer with George W. Bush. You see, I have this reoccurring fantasy about smashing the half-witted little frat boy upside the head with a bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon ale.

We can console ourselves  in the knowledge that the elections of 2000 and 2004 were stolen. Had every vote been counted - and every registered voter given access to the ballot box - Bush would have lost both of those contests. He won the state of Florida in 2000 because his brother, the governor, denied 57,000 legally registered African Americans the right to vote. He won Ohio four years later because the Republicans made damned sure that polling places in the cities of that state (where all those nasty brown people tend to reside) would be limited to a small handful, and therefore, quite crowded. People left the polling lines in utter frustration. A lot of them had children at home waiting for dinner. Both thefts were enough to put him over the top. Nowadays the success of the GOP depends upon the suppression of votes. What do you think those "Voter ID" laws were all about? You might want to make a little note of that.

One does not envy the people in charge of developing the exhibits for the Dubya Library. Whoever the poor bastards are I hope they're paid quite handsomely for their efforts. It takes real talent to turn a mountain of chickenshit into a tasty plate of chicken salad. 

Yeah, Bush and Cheney rid the Middle East of a naughty "evil-doer" named Saddam Hussein, but they did it by means of some incomprehensible evil-doing. They lied about Saddam's capacity to make war; that he had weapons of mass destruction; that he was somehow complicit in the atrocity committed against this country on September 11, 2011. All lies - and anyone bothering to pay attention knew damned well that these murderous bastards and bitches were lying. The result was a mountain of dead bodies, the number of which may reach a million or more. We'll never know the exact death toll.  'Twas all about an ocean of oil - flowing 'neath the Iraqi soil.....  

Does the Iraqi War wing of this place take note of the fact that by illegally invading the (like it or not) sovereign nation of Iraq the Bush Mob created a geo-political nightmare that will haunt the United Nations for decades? I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that they probably neglected to include that nasty little reality in their presentation. Why waste one's time with cold, hard facts when fantasy is so much more palatable to one's deluded sense of reality? Welcome to Bush World. Enjoy your stay - and watch yer step, Buster, ya hear?

And speaking of Iraq, there's a pretty good reason why Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld don't travel abroad anymore. They're war criminals who run the risk of being arrested for their crimes against the human race. Staying put is a dandy idea if you know what I mean.

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." 

-President Dubya
June 18, 2002 

Won't you come home, George Orwell? Won't you come home? 

Knock! Knock!

I wonder if the Bush Library has a wing that highlights what "a heck of a job" his disgusting administration did during the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. I really hope so. I've only been to Dallas, Texas once - and that was a very long time ago. I don't imagine I'll be passing through that town any time soon, but the chance to see their "Katrina Wing" would be worth the price of the journey! Can you imagine the job it took to sugarcoat that one? It was Katrina, more than anything else, that finally woke the American people up to the horrible realization that sending these idiots to Washington was an error of incalculable dimensions. 

At the FDR Library in Hyde Park, there is a building called "The Henry Wallace Welcoming Center", named for Roosevelt's second vice-president. There is also a large photograph of Mr. Wallace at the entrance. Call it a silly hunch on my part, but I doubt very much that the Bush Library's "welcoming center" bears the name and likeness of Dick Cheney. Who the hell in their right mind would even enter the joint with Cheney's face snearing at them in the doorway? Would you subject your children to something that weird? I ask you!

I can still remember the first time first time I ever laid eyes on George W. Bush. It was in May of 1988, when his father was being seriously challenged in the South Carolina primaries by preacher-from-hell, Pat Robertson. He was being interviewed on NBC News, telling the correspondent that no one was "gonna whup" his daddy. "My goodness", I remember saying out loud, "the boy is dumber than dog shit, isn't he!" If you had told me then and there that in thirteen years this inarticulate jackass would be the president of the United States of America I would have said, "Have another sip". As Fats Waller liked to say back in his time, "One never knows, do one?"

BAD NEWS:
Whoever is president fifty years from now in all likelihood hasn't even been born yet. I don't envy that person. He or she will still - on a daily basis - be dealing with the damage that George W. Bush and company did to this once-great nation so many generations before. Best of luck to them. 

GOOD NEWS:
Most of us will be dead and gone by that time. Isn't that nice?

During the entire eight, gruesome years that George called the White House "home", I only wrote one letter to him. It is dated March 19, 2007, the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Here it is for the record in its entirety: 
 
*******************************

Dear President Bush,

Today on MSNBC, they re-broadcast the footage from May 1, 2003 of you on the deck of the aircraft carrier, Abraham Lincoln. I saw the Mission Accomplished banner. I saw you in that silly flight suit. I saw you with that disgusting smirk on your face as you declared, "Major combat operations in Iraq are over." 

Question: Sir, with the benefit of 20/20 historical hindsight, do you even have a clue as to how fucking stupid you looked? Just wondering.

Love and peace,

Tom Degan

PS - By the way, when you get a chance, have a look at my blog:

www.tomdegan.blogspot.com

It's a lot of fun!

 ************************

FOR THE RECORD:
He did make a sincere effort to alleviate the AIDS crisis in Africa and, by all accounts, the effects were positive. Good for him. That is the only decent thing I can think of to say about President Bush. But in all fairness that fact should be noted.

This is more than likely the last piece I'll be writing for a very long time on the depressing subject of George W. Bush. Tomorrow marks the tenth anniversary of his idiotic "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" stunt on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln - a mission that would never be accomplished. I won't be taking note of it. It's about time we consigned him to history's shit pile where he rightfully belongs. Unless he says or does something really stupid, or unless still more evidence comes to the surface shedding even more light on how mind-jarringly corrupt his administration was (both scenarios not being out of the realm of possibility), I'm pretty much through thinking about Dubya.

Me 'n' Dubya, 10/27/08
`

I really should give a tip of the hat to the contemptible little freak. It must be said that George W. Bush had a major impact on my life; in fact he gave it new meaning. I had always, since childhood, paid close attention to politics and current events. Bush turned me into a stone-cold activist. The site you are now reading is as much his legacy as it is mine. For that reason alone I owe the guy a great debt of gratitude. Credit must be given where credit is long overdue:

Thanks a heap, George!

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net 

SUGGESTED READING:

Bushwhacked - Life in George W. Bush's America
by Molly Ivins and Lou DuBois

A hysterically funny (and terribly sad) book detailing the fallout from Dubya's reign of error from our beloved  Molly - the greatest political humorist that ever walked this troubled earth.