(Snipping the self-nomination speech for the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award.)
Gee, Yeticus Rex, I don’t recall asking for your curriculum vitae or requiring you to trot out your credentials as a do-gooder. Whatever you’re doing for the underprivileged or disabled, bravo! But it still has no relevance to what I said about you, much less to the topic of the thread in general.
I never brought up what you do or who you are in your “real” life. I responded to things you’ve posted on this board. You might be a Nobel Prize candidate for all I know, and mazeltov for that; however, the picture you present to me on the SDMB is one of a drone, predictably trotting out the latest talking point along with the rest of your comrades in arms.
Okay, you obviously don’t get what this thread is about. The outrage isn’t about what Mrs. Bush is doing. It’s why the administration asked for her to do it on TV, and how the administration is trying thereby to hide the Katrina clusterfuck with the ferocity of a cat burying its turds in a shallow litterbox.
Maybe diversionary tactics are common to some conservatives? Look at how y’all are trying to pretend that this thread’s about denigrating our First Lady’s munificent activities, instead of Bush’s negligence and this sleazy, exploitative venture instigated by his administration.
Let me say this again: the complaints are about the craptastic, callous response of President Bush and his administration. The complaints are NOT about any noble activities performed by Laura Bush. And they’re sure as fuck-all not about deeds done by you.
Interesting. Tell me, do you even read what you write, Yeticus? If you believe as you claim to in the above paragraph, that’s all well and good … but you sure as hell don’t come across that way. Not in the threads I’ve seen you post in, anyway. It’s certainly possible that I’ve missed your balanced, fair, moderate responses.
(“Shitkicker,” I kinda like. It’s the “petty” I must object to. I want to be a major shitkicker, thankyouverymuch.)
Charming. I think you just lost the Schweitzer award.
No seriously, buddy. What. The. Fuck. has this got to do with the discussion? Did I speculate about your life outside this forum? Did I make assumptions about the value of your contributions to society? Hell no. But out of nowhere, you make this offensive insinuation about what I do or do not bring “to the human race.” Christ, that’s low. And you call me a basher? You call me petty?
I have no need to pat myself on the back or claim to be the next Mother Teresa in order to justify the words I express here. If you have a problem with those words or my demeanor on this board, then address them. Leave your credentials at the door – and kindly leave your pulled-from-your-ass beliefs about mine as well.
*If by Administration you mean FEMA, then I agree, but blaming only Bush for the disaster is like just blaming the Mayor when your house burns down. It’s wrong, simply wrong. The State of Louisana and the City of New Orleans bear the lions’ share of the “blame” for the aftermath of Katrina because nobody followed the Rule of the 7p’s. Now, the guy HE hired for the job, couldn’t DO the job, and he’s now a pariah (as it should be). I’ll grant you, a LOT more due dilligence SHOULD have been done into that Brown douchebag (blahblahblah horseshows), but that’s all chatter at this point. Besides that, Bush already took the hit, said his mea culpa, and is going about the business of fixing the Gulf Coast under as much scrutiny as a president has ever had, well, since Clinton anyhow, and nobody, I mean nobody covered ass like Clinton.
And what the hell are you talking about, doing it for Rita and not Katrina? Cite please.**
**Did you ever think that perhaps she actually cares about the people? Is it so impossible to believe that? You complain about the administration not swooping in, I suggest you take a look at this timeline it may keep your knee from jerking as wildly. And honestly, we don’t pay our government for every little thing in the first place. When things like this happen, sometimes you’ve got to bootstrap your way out of it. I’m not saying those folks aren’t deserving of assistance, I just think on some level that people are responsible for their own survival, and the kindness of strangers goes a long way to mending the human fences we’re so fond of allowing our government to tear apart. **
See the previous timeline
Dandy recitation, but where are the cites?
**Y’know what? Bullshit. You’re a puppet, you’ve been told to froth and churn about this, by the same type of jackasses you rail against, you’re the same way you claim duffer is. The Dems thought Clinton was the 2nd coming, and it turns out, that he was just as full of shit as Bush is, but was a lot slicker about the delivery.
Facts are that no matter who sits in the Big Chair, that the system is fucked up. Clinton couldn’t fix the system Bush 1 couldn’t fix the system, Bush can’t fix the system, Reagan, Carter, Ford and Nixon couldn’t fix the system and Kennedy didn’t get a fair whack at it. Franky, until the people of this country wake up and do something drastic, I don’t think we’re gonna see the change that’ll be necessary to make certain that we are the country we believe we are.**
I may be a puppet, but at least I’m a puppet who knows how to code… :rolleyes:
I said “administration” and I meant “administration.” The president, the people he appoints and/or nominates, and those who do their bidding. Idiot.
Ah yes, I know this school of thought. It’s the “just a mistake, move on and forget it” line that conservatives use when talking about Republican screw-ups. But when it comes to fuckups by Democrats, especially Clinton, the policy is to bring it up over and over and over again, calling for investigations and impeachments, and generally going into orgiastic glee every time you get a chance to insert your feeble point somewhere, no matter how irrelevant it is. For example …
Q. fucking E. D.
Crapples, my mistake. I apologize, the article I read was later corrected on where the Makeover show was taped. That was a stupid error and I can’t claim otherwise.
Hey, do me a favor, will you? Please pull your chair up very very close to the monitor while I say this:
It’s not about Laura.
Get it? I could’ve sworn I said that somewhere. She may be the finest, most wonderfulest First Lady we’ve ever known, putting Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Kennedy and Martha freakin’ Washington to shame. I don’t give a flying fuck.
Every little thing? You call a disaster that wipes out entire cities and displaces tens of thousands of people “every little thing”? That says an awful lot about the viewpoint you’re espousing. Later you go on to say “bootstrapping” is required. Yeah, those lazy ol’ NOLA folks, unwilling to pick themselves up, dust themselves off without suckling at the governmental teat.
Thank God you magnanimously added that you’re not saying these people don’t deserve help. Why, without that, one might have thought you were a monumental asshat who thinks the government has no responsibility towards its citizens in times of crisis.
As for the timeline … yeah, I totally think that research from such an objective, utterly reliable source like FreeRepublic is indeed something one must take into account. Except? Not so much.
Hmm, let me see? Chalmers Johnson’s The Sorrows of Empire, John Dean’s Worse than Watergate, Richard Clarke’s Against All Enemies, Kevin Phillips’ American Dynasty, Craig Unger’s House of Bush, House of Saud, Lou Dubose/Molly Ivans’ Bushwacked, Al Franken’s Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, Ron Suskind/Paul O’Neill’s Price of Loyalty, Joe Conason’s Big Lies, Thomas Frank’s What’s the Matter with Kansas, David Brock’s Blinded by the Right, Joe Wilson’s The Politics of Truth, the websites for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and PNAC (Project for a New American Century), and some others that I can’t remember off the top of my head. Sorry the list isn’t more comprehensive, but my fingers are getting tired.
Uh, no, as a matter of fact I posted this story as soon as I saw it, before it became widely known/discussed. No one has “told” me to do anything, and frankly I’d like to see someone try – I’m a very stubborn chick who tends to do the opposite of what she’s commanded to do. I do find it amusing that the “puppet” and “frothing” charges are coming from someone who gives cites from Free Republic – a place whose membership largely consists of wooden-headed, spittle-flying marionnettes dancing to the Karl Rove tune.
::* Points and laughs at buttonjockey for proving her point again* ::
Yes, once more, Clinton is produced out of nowhere. Do y’all get some kind of fee every time you invoke Clinton’s name? Hey, maybe you Clinton-“haters” are hiding the dark truth: that you actually like, nay looooooove, our former president. That’s gotta be it. The lot of you are like a bratty eight-year-old who mercilessly picks at a girl he secretly likes because he’s ashamed to admit he has a crush in front of other guys.
I find myself wondering if it’s even possible for you and your brethren to get through a political thread without mentioning Clinton’s name. Has that experiment ever been tried?
Right, so let’s not change anything, huh? Let’s throw up our hands and not pay attention to shit that goes on, because unless the system is perfectly “fixed” it doesn’t matter what fuckups an administration makes. Sounds like a good plan to me. (I’m also wondering why you’re suddenly talking about “the system,” as in our entire system of government. Weren’t we discussing the specific instance of fuckeduppery that occured before and after Katrina?)
Man, I always wondered what Peggy Noonan was up to.
Dude, sweeping statements about “becoming the country we believe we are” (and they say liberals are idealists?) are pretty meaningless in the context of the need for delivering real, tangible assistance to the people who are suffering.
Yeah, being moderate is still to the right of most posters here. :rolleyes:
How stupid of me to assume that you knew that. :smack:
If I’m not in your corner 100%, then I guess I am still viewed as an enemy. Que sera, sera.
Who thought Clinton “was the 2nd coming”? A lot of Dems were, and still are, impressed to some extent with his intelligence and political ability, but most of them seem pretty clear-eyed about his faults. AFAICT, Clinton supporters were generally more willing to criticize Clinton than Bush supporters are to criticize Bush.
A bigger problem is that the current Administration, AFAICT isn’t even trying to “fix the system”—instead, they’re doing their best to break it further. The Bush administration is consistently sabotaging government transparency, increasing government secrecy, interfering with the work of government agencies by putting them under the control of incompetent cronies and loony ideologues, and pouring massive doses of anti-government contempt and disdain over the whole process.
Other Administrations had their share of screwups and venality, sure, but IMO we have not seen in at least the past 40 years a level of actual scorn for decent governance comparable to what we’re seeing under Bush II. Nixon was far worse in some ways, but he had at least some respect for basic administrative competence. Carter was arguably almost as high-handed and sometimes as foolish, but far less blatantly irresponsible. Reagan showed some of the same anti-government recklessness and lawlessness, but he had at least some concern for bipartisanship and for expert opinion.
What we’ve got in there now is the wrecking crew. This gang really doesn’t seem to care about “fixing the system” in any way at all, except in the crony-capitalist sense of putting the fix in for their buddies’ benefit. They have zero respect for the functions of government, other than the opportunities they offer to work the system for tax cuts, lax regulation, and taxpayer-funded handouts to fatcats, with a little military adventurism thrown in.
There’s a big difference between being unable to fix the system and not giving a flying fuck whether the system works or not. We can’t expect even an honest attempt to fix the system if we keep on electing anti-government governments who boast about how they despise and abhor the work of governance we elected them to do.
And of course in 2019 Clinton will still be off-limits to people like you, choie. Maybe because OBL only started actively striking out after January 21, 2001. You have to realize something. You can’t sit on your high horse telling everyone else why they’re wrong and then tell those people they can’t bring up any mention of another past President. Keep in mind, your Saint was impeached. Political grandstanding, sure. But he still broke the law. There is no denying that ny anyone. Was I happy when it went through? Nope. Because I still respected his office, if not him. A lot of you lefties sound as shrill as the righties back then. Wake the fuck up and understand it doesn’t matter who’s in the Oval Office. Both sides are always going to have something to latch onto.
Actually, he was acquitted of breaking the law, otherwise he would have been removed from office.
Might want to brush up on your old Constitution there, duffer. I know that you right-wing ideologues prefer to use it as toilet paper, but really, it’s a good guide on how things actually work in this country.
When you mischaracterize me, prepare to be informed about my true character. Yeah, you didn’t ask for it specifically, but your ignorance and misassumptions about me deserved that reply. And for goodness sakes, it ain’t about me “do-gooding” to validate myself, it’s establishing my mindset here on the SDMB through my usual daily habits at work, home and play. I have acknowledged that the Feds (and Bush) already screwed up in the Katrina response, but I’m not blind to the fact the state and local officials did not have an effective evacuation plan to limit the number of citizens to get screwed over by the FEMA unresponsiveness. I even said in other threads that ALL levels screwed up together and that they should all line-up and get bitchslapped in unison. But apparently, that’s not good enough for you. You (among others) want me to be outraged about EVERYTHING that Bush does, even about things (like increasing his popularity through his wife) which I find trite and quite the “meh”. That’s the “Reederization” of this board that I was talking about that makes me want to puke. That crap is not for me, and thank God I’m not like that. To me, that person is no more or less human than me and you. I view people like that because I learned that everyone needs a basic level of compassion…something you are will to dismiss as “Noble Peace Prize” work. Sorry to disappoint you with my lack of outrage…get over it.
Like I said before to Archive Guy…it’s all about perspective. A moderate is still to your right, but not as far as a right winger. Don’t expect me to say…“Yeah man, that Bush is a real A-Hole for proping Laura up in Extreme Makeover.” That ain’t fair or balanced in my point of view.
Moderate: “Big deal. At least she didn’t pull a Barbara Bush and said that they’re better off.”
Right: “That’s a brilliant way to portray that the Bushes really care about their fellow Americans. I think Laura should get the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Then get out there and earn your stripes, but not with a petty topic like this.
Aw, drat. :rolleyes:
Relax…I have no idea what you do. I only described what I did and wondered how you got your belief system. Mine was through work. Don’t want to be more personable about how you got where you are? Fine, don’t.
Heh…Mother Theresa, I’m not.
Neither do I. I let my wife take all the credit…she deserves it. You kinda jumped over the part that I am business owner who is doing social service work which basically means that I have a moderate attitude. Just because I am in the social services field doesn’t mean I’m better than you, it just means that I got my beliefs through a somewhat paradoxical situation. You should see the crap we have to go through in California every year when the state budget gets passed a month or two behind schedule because of the partisan bullshit that happens almost every year. (This year…not so bad!) To tell you the truth, I’m more worried about the state officials than the feds.
The response I initially gave you came directly from:
Did you even bother to do a search on me before you’re attempt to assassinate my character? (Keyword: Clinton, User: Yeticus Rex). Do these TWO threads make me the hypnotized and brainwashed dumbass that you claim that I am? It ain’t about the Clintons and Bushes. It’s about overreaction from bashers on both sides. You are in that group.
And another thing…duffer is much more to the right than I am…give him more (or less) credit than that.
This does not make sense to me. Why would ANY president’s choice of action be beyond criticism/lauding, no matter the time frame? I have YET to see any more liberal poster here consider Clinton beyond reproach–but I read posters here everyday who defend Bush’s actions and “morals”. WTF?
I think the conservatives on this bb do not realize just how often the “Clinton” argument is invoked, usually to distract attention from one of the many fuck ups that the current administration has caused/wrought. Anyone can point to X issue in a negative light re Bush-- and, often, very often–the ISSUE is not addressed by Bush backers–they drag Clinton into it. It’s ridiculous. It’s irrelevant, and annoying–stick to the topic at hand and either defend Bush (and defense does NOT include further dissing of previous Presidents) or accept the criticism.
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Wake the fuck up and understand it doesn’t matter who’s in the Oval Office. Both sides are always going to have something to latch onto.
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Nice. And cynical. Kudos to you. I have a question: if it doesn’t matter to you just who is in the WH, then why vote at all? Why complain about Clinton, if it doesn’t matter? You should be happy with Kucinich or Santorum if none of this matters.
I agree with you that both sides will latch onto whatever mud is spewing–but IMO, the Right excells at this–there is a level of vitriol and sheer hatred that fomented with the Clinton years. Turnabout sure is hard to listen to, no?
IMO, ALL politics needs to come up a level in civility and honesty. If that is at all possible, it can only be done if WE, the public demand such from those we elect.
Instead, we seem to take some sort of weird glee in the nastiness.
Definitely a hardcore dittohead. Justice system doesn’t mean anything to him. So I assume you feel the same about DeLay, right? Since he’s indicted, he must have done it?
Or does that whole “innocent until proven guilty” schtick only matter when it’s your guy on the chopping block?
That’s an excellent excellent question. Me, I’m still waiting for other things to happen. Like the magical appearance of the “lost” WMD (We know they have them, we know where they are), the documents that link Saddam to Osama, the investigations that will or won’t indict/convict Rove, Libby, Frist, etc. But, we all know they did it, no matter what “it” is, no matter what any jury or grand jury decides Meanwhile we already have one indictment (Libby), and Colin Powell himself castigating the administration for making him look like a fool at the UN. Interesting times we live in.
Let’s trot out the list so far. Investigations, indictments, possible future indictments, and all around fuckupedness
DeLay, for “ethical lapses” in campaign funding (after having already been “scolded” repeatedly over the years - “skating close to the edge”).
Frist for “possible irregularities” regarding what was supposed to be a blind trust, and a timing that suggests an insider trading angle
Libby for leaking information for political gain
Rove probably tied in with Libby and with a separate leak of his own
Brown blaming everyone but himself for the Katrina debacle and the job he just couldn’t get done (including the White House, not just the mayor and governor) - strange how brother Jeb’s state always has plenty of help during hurricanes, and Texas had plenty of government “involvement” - the same Brown, who was fired from some dumb ass horse association for being an incompetent moron
The almost daily fuck-ups by Bush himself
Birthday parties and geetar playing during the storm, and hints that his (Bush) own people were afraid to tell him he should shorten his vacation and do his job. And then saying “Brownie” was doing a great job (doing not a damn thing).
Cheney off in Wyoming or some other place instead of doing something
Rice showing her concern by buying new shoes
So now, if we believe what was mentioned in one post, homeless refugees from the storm were rousted for a TV show. Starring Mrs. Bush. That’s one hell of a way to show what your priorities are. But she’s special, bless her little heart. (Southern phrase meaning she’s dumber than paint). She has a “beautiful mind”. What was that she said about these awful rabble maybe settling in Texas, and that the storm (and its destrution) were maybe a blessing in disguise?
Aw screw it. I will be trashing Bush and friends for years. If a Dem gets in, every time someone bitches, I will say “Yeah but Bush…” and enjoy it.
Meanwhile I will use the same yardstick as is appied in all those “yeah but Clinton…”
In short all the above mentioned are guilty as hell until proven innocent (and not even then).
So now it’s about DeLay? Where the fuck are you on this? Are you saying it wasn’t a lie? We have transcripts of testimony that later proved false. Sounds like perjury to me. The fact he wasn’t convicted doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
Can you get it through your thick skull that sometimes people break the law and aren’t convicted? It doesn’t mean they didn’t do it, just that they weren’t convicted of it. That’s the law and that’s how the game is played. When the prosecutor, judge, jury, defense and accused are all lawyers (that write the frigging laws), it makes for an entertaining time. Justice takes a back seat.
Keep living in your happy-place where only those convicted did anything wrong and only those that did anything wrong get convicted. What’s the weather like there? Sounds like a nice place to visit. Is the Valium included in the tap water or do you pay a premium?
Nixon, for all his faults knew he broke the law and stepped down rather than see Congress become a circus. But your golden boy didn’t break any of the “important” laws.
Now the question becomes, which laws are to be obeyed and which are just mere suggestions?
Just wondering what the Secretary of State has to do with a natural disaster within the borders. I’ll assume it was a heat of the moment thing in your frothing, but I’d like to be sure. Advanced thanks for your clarification in the SoS’ role in government.
Right. Because there was nothing else happening at the time, correct? I know you’re not an idiot so I trust you understand there are thousands of other things on Washington’s plate. That’s the purpose of LOCAL governments. 300 million people relying on DC is a disaster no matter the severity nor who’s running the show.
Nine years? Nine whole years!?! Wow. Guess nothing’s been done, huh? I must have missed the newscasts stating that the country was in gridlock with nothing getting done. OH! Th endangered species! How did they ever survive?111?!1!/1
Fuck, I guess I am out of the loop. I wasn’t aware Bush was President the last NINE YEARS!11~~11!!
Oh, never mind. No mention the previous President. My bad.
Well, they’ve finally funded that bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island, Alaska, and they almost saved Terri Schiavo, so it’s unfair to say nothing’s been done. However, despite Clinton sharing a bit of the blame, we’ve had five years of Bush and the party of fiscal responsibility now. So where’s the fiscal responsibility? Where’s the responsibility for anything? What the heck are they doing, if they’re not protecting the homeland, and they’re not taking care of the essential financial business of government? What ‘thousand things’ take precedence over these functions?
Meanwhile we already have one indictment (Libby), and Colin Powell himself castigating the administration for making him look like a fool at the UN. Interesting times we live in.