# silly dedication to one's political beliefs (Bush related) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 26, 2004, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896 "2004-07-26T04:43:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/41 "2004-07-26T17:44:28Z")
You know, I try not to get involved in too many of the bush debates. This despite the fact that he is a vile piece of trash. But I digress… I just wanted to note how pleased I was that someone finally pointed out that when Congress authorized force, they were not authorizing force to be used _right away_, or ever for that matter. They were simply giving the President the ammunition he needed to deal on the international market. Many of them, realizing the fervor of the American people, gave in to this even though they knew Bush was strong-arming them during a difficult time in our nation. For God’s sake, people who voted against this received hundreds, if not thousands of death threats. The White House (Cheney) was releasing an “anti-American” list of professors who lectured or wrote about anything that appeared to go against a nationalistic standpoint. It would have been political suicide to not vote for this. However, as I said, many politicans voting for this hoped the leader of their country would use this power wisely. Thus, in the end, congress only gave him the authority. In his exercise of it, Bush takes SOLE responsibility. He wanted the office, he claimed God chose him for the office, then he must accept ALL the blame for the office. He cannot be like Ms. Rice and testify that, in short, “I am completely clueless about anything about National Security because the CIA, FBI, U.S. Military, U.S. Customs and U.S. Immigration do not communicate with me… Er, my job Mr. Chairman… my job is National Security Advisor… Yeah, I know, it is pretty ironic but it doesn’t change the fact that I know nothing”. What I absolutely loved however,was the fervent Bush supporter in this thread could not respond to this and other well thought out remarks. He chose to respond only to the insults, then threw out a few of his own, raised his arm in allegiance to the fuhrer and left (attempting to make it sound like it was taking the high road). Pathetic and sad it is. Our country is populated by those people who blindingly support the leader. It reminds of Homer Simpson and I am just wondering if we searched some of these Bushita’s homes would we find a mantle full of “leader beans”. Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana LEADER, LEADER. _sigh_ Sometimes I wish I was stubborn and ignorant… it appears to be a blissful existence. Everything is so simple. Ahh what the hell **THE LEADER IS GOOD, THE LEADER IS GREAT; WE SURRENDER OUR WILL AS OF THIS DATE!** _Pass me some more low protein gruel, please._ ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/42 "2004-07-26T17:53:54Z")
> [@Bill H.](#): > > I saw something today that made me think of a board member (who’s name I won’t mention, but should be obvious.) I saw a personalized license plate that said “BSH LYD”. Of course there were supporting bumper stickers. > > I just find the mindset of this person hilarious. Can you imagine being so hung-up on your political beliefs that you get a special license plate? I wonder if the guy has anti-Bush tatoos. Well, put the message itself aside. Is this not how democracy works? Everybody has one vote, but you can amplify your vote considerably by swaying others to vote the way you’re voting. By extension, if you consider one candidate considerably superior (or considerably worse), then you’re only doing your civic duty by passing on the message. Granted, you can carry this to a frothing degree where people doubt your judgement and sanity to the point where you’re actually damaging your position, but I evaluate a personalized license plate as falling just short of that point. Basically, it says this person feels strongly enough about the message to shell out $50/$60 over the cost of a bumper sticker. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/43 "2004-07-26T18:03:17Z")
> [@Bill H.](#): > > Can you imagine being so hung-up on your political beliefs that you get a special license plate? I’d change this to: Can you imagine being so hung-up on [anything] that you get a special license plate? Seriously, i’m not quite sure why you’re picking on this guy. Like it or not, politics constitute an extremely important aspect of our existence in a democracy. Why shouldn’t someone express a political position on a license plate. I certainly think that having a special license plate devoted to your political beliefs is no less silly or self-absorbed than having one with your name on it, or one that says something idiotic like “GR8 LVR.” ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/44 "2004-07-26T18:29:12Z")
> [@Bill H.](#): > > Well, the real answer isn’t “No Bush didn’t lie”, and it’s not “there were other people to blame as well”. The real answer is that Bush took some hard steps, against strong opposition, and as a direct result, the world is a better place. The real answer is that in a few years the mideast will have one of it’s first real democracies, where people have basic freedoms and don’t live in fear, as they did for decades. Did Miss Cleo tell you this before or after you drank the Kool-Aid? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/45 "2004-07-26T19:09:37Z")
**mhendo** wrote > [@](#): > > Seriously, i’m not quite sure why you’re picking on this guy. Like it or not, politics constitute an extremely important aspect of our existence in a democracy. Why shouldn’t someone express a political position on a license plate. My gripe is on the temporal nature of his message. If his message was DEMCRAT or LIBERAL or NOWAR, I may disagree, but it’s clearly a message that marks where he stands in the world. NOBSH04 just seems like a lot of effort for a thought of the week. It’s his time and his money, and he can do as he please; but I still get to snicker. > [@](#): > > I certainly think that having a special license plate devoted to your political beliefs is no less silly or self-absorbed than having one with your name on it, or one that says something idiotic like “GR8 LVR.” Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/46 "2004-07-26T19:15:06Z")
**RedFury** wrote > [@](#): > > Did Miss Cleo tell you this before or after you drank the Kool-Aid? My point (directed to friend **duffer** ) was that you can’t let the other guy define the rules and the battleground. It’s a formula for failure, especially when your POV has some very strong points. Your point, on the other hand, seems to be that you should resort to personal insults when logic fails. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/47 "2004-07-26T23:20:23Z")
“BUSH LYD” but “Kerry takes orders from Osama bin Laden.” People in this country have gone nuts with their partisanship. When I see these sort of bumper stickers, I have a compelling need to knock on their window and recommend some aromatherapy. If there’s ever a time in history when people needed to chill out over some Pink Floyd and a bong, it’s now. Of course a week or so ago I wouldn’t have believed that anyone could work himself up into a froth over people confining their cats inside, so what do I know? At least the state of the union is angst worthy. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/48 "2004-07-26T23:41:06Z")
> [@Brutus](#): > > What make and model was the car? I’ve always been a bit curious as to what **Reeder** drives… 1987 Chevrolet Cavalier ---
**Author:** ![New\_Iskander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/db5fbb/32.png) [@New\_Iskander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Iskander)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/49 "2004-07-27T00:38:50Z")
> [@Siege](#): > > You know, **duffer** , this was a moderately interesting and amusing thread until you hijacked with your rabid defense of Bush. Thanks for the laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Daisy\_Mae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Daisy\_Mae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daisy_Mae)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/50 "2004-07-27T01:05:36Z")
> [@Bill H.](#): > > Well, the real answer isn’t “No Bush didn’t lie”, and it’s not “there were other people to blame as well”. The real answer is that Bush took some hard steps, against strong opposition, and as a direct result, the world is a better place. The real answer is that in a few years the mideast will have one of it’s first real democracies, where people have basic freedoms and don’t live in fear, as they did for decades. Why does this remind me of: “Ultimately, it became necessary to destroy the village to save it.” /end flashback to a time before I was born moment. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/51 "2004-07-27T03:57:53Z")
> [@Bill H.](#): > > **RedFury** wrote > > My point (directed to friend **duffer** ) was that you can’t let the other guy define the rules and the battleground. It’s a formula for failure, especially when your POV has some very strong points. > > Your point, on the other hand, seems to be that you should resort to personal insults when logic fails. Bzzzt! Wrong. Your “point” if that’s what you’d like to call it, is an argument to the future with little to no basis in reality. Must be the Kool-Aid. ---
**Author:** ![Mentor\_and\_Liar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mentor\_and\_Liar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mentor_and_Liar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/52 "2004-07-27T04:27:29Z")
> [@Bill H.](#): > > Silly dedication to one’s political beliefs How ironic; does not “Silly dedication to one’s political beliefs” pretty much sum up the source of most Bush detractors ire (as in the spirit of Emerson’s “a foolish consitancy is the hobgobblin of little minds.”)? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/53 "2004-07-27T05:01:54Z")
**RedFury** wrote > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Bill H. > > > [@](#): > > > > Your point, on the other hand, seems to be that you should resort to personal insults when logic fails. > > Bzzzt! Wrong. Your “point” if that’s what you’d like to call it, is an argument to the future with little to no basis in reality. > > Must be the Kool-Aid. Way to prove my point. Hell I don’t even need to show up to get paid at this job. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/54 "2004-07-27T07:13:09Z")
> [@Mentor and Liar](#): > > How ironic; does not “Silly dedication to one’s political beliefs” pretty much sum up the source of most Bush detractors ire (as in the spirit of Emerson’s “a foolish consitancy is the hobgobblin of little minds.”)? Gee, and here I thought it was the 100,000+ American servicemen plopped in Iraq with big bulls’-eyes on their backs, while Osama Bin Laden is running around Afghanistan laughing his head off. :rolleyes: Leave it to a Bush apologist to dismiss the lives of our troops and the safety of the nation as “silly dedications.” ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/55 "2004-07-27T09:45:14Z")
> [@Bill H.](#): > > The real answer is that in a few years the mideast will have one of it’s first real democracies, where people have basic freedoms and don’t live in fear, as they did for decades. I’d like to believe this, but I’m pretty sure people were saying the same thing after we helped the Afghanis overthrow the Russians. Instead, we got another couple of decades of people in general and women in particular living in fear. Maybe I’m unduly cynical, but I’m not expecting a nice, American-style democracy to spring full-grown in Iraq. Athena springing from Zeus’ brain seems more likely. CJ ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/56 "2004-07-27T10:32:33Z")
Desmostylus posting Resolution 114, and Lissa’s post, wow, good for you. > [@Bill H.](#): > > **mhendo** wrote > > My gripe is on the **temporal nature** of his message. > If his message was DEMCRAT or LIBERAL or NOWAR, I may disagree, but it’s clearly a message that marks where he stands in the world. NOBSH04 just seems like a lot of effort for a **thought of the week**. It’s his time and his money, and he can do as he please; but I still get to snicker. I see what you mean, but I don’t think it’s as temporal as you do. Historians will have a field day with this time in history, and “Bush lied” will be just as true in 100 years as it is now. Future generations will learn about this time in history in school, and they will be, quite rightly, appalled. Even if we lose in November, it’s important for the protesters to speak up, loud and clear, for the historians, so those future generations will know that some of us tried to say something. They’ll be as incredulous as we are at those people who are Bush apologists, and who are apathetic and uncaring. I think they’ll give thumbs up to us, the way we give thumbs up to those who defied McCarthy. I’m proud of where I stand and what I believe, and my great-great grandchildren will know I was proud, and they can be proud of me. That said, if I had a license plate (we don’t own, need or want a car), I’d keep the politics to bumper stickers and put K8 BSH on the license. The only Bush I like. Thank goodness there’s no direct relation. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/57 "2004-07-27T12:29:45Z")
> [@Bill H.](#): > > Hell I don’t even need to show up to get paid at this job. You must be part of the crack team looking for WMDs in Iraq. Nice gig. 1 year, 107 days and counting… ---
**Author:** ![Mentor\_and\_Liar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mentor\_and\_Liar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mentor_and_Liar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/58 "2004-07-27T12:36:55Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Leave it to a Bush apologist to dismiss the lives of our troops and the safety of the nation as “silly dedications.” Mr. Jung, I believe you misunderstood me entirely. It struck me as absurd that, the thread title characterized the choice of one’s license plate as a “silly dedication…” while a good deal of the utter venality of the current administration is, I believe, the result of foolish consistencies (foolish, in this case, being among the most derisive words I know). If I made that unclear, I accept responsibility, I thought I had laid my own political beliefs so thick you could have draped them over a casket. If you are calling me a Bush apologist–I don’t think I have ever been so offended, I’ll allow you to retract that statement, in the mean time–I’ll bet your SUV runs Windows. ---
**Author:** ![New\_Iskander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/db5fbb/32.png) [@New\_Iskander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Iskander)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/59 "2004-07-27T15:26:07Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > …Osama Bin Laden is running around Afghanistan laughing his head off. Unsupported conjecture, ie a brazen Lie. **rjung** , you are a Liar. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896/60 "2004-07-27T16:15:05Z")
> [@New Iskander](#): > > Unsupported conjecture, ie a brazen Lie. > > **rjung** , you are a Liar. May i introduce you to the [word](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=hyperbole&x=0&y=0) of the day: > [@](#): > > Main Entry: **hy·per·bo·le** > Pronunciation: hI-'p&r-b&-(")lE > Function: _noun_ > Etymology: Latin, from Greek _hyperbolE_ excess, hyperbole, hyperbola, from _hyperballein_ to exceed, from _hyper-_ + _ballein_ to throw – more at DEVIL > : extravagant exaggeration (as “mile-high ice-cream cones”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-dedication-to-ones-political-beliefs-bush-related/256896.md?page=4)