In Our Time of Dying - January 2008
Death seems to have been the theme of the Bush administration in recent weeks, and there was plenty to go around. More Iraqis, Californians, poor children, whales, and trees will be meeting their maker if our brainless leader and his administration get their way. While the bodies were piling up (or washing up) Dick Cheney again expressed his earnest desire to listen in on your phone calls (don’t tell him what you’re wearing, it only encourages him), and in a move that makes the Brain wonder just what game is afoot, the Wolf (owitz) managed to sneak back into the henhouse. Read more.

Pakistani Wet Dreams - December 2007
Finally! It’s a cool December evening and I’m finally sitting down to the keyboard to spend a little time writing. The Christmas cards have been sent, the lights are hung on the house, and most of the holiday shopping is done. And there has been plenty of insanity in the news recently to put me in the holiday spirit, especially when that holiday is National Seething Hatred of Incredibly Stupid People in High Places Day, one of my personal favorites. Where do I begin? Let’s see, how about Pakistan? Ladies and gentlemen, the Stupid Train is leaving Pakistani Station, all aboard! Read more.

Executive Arrogance and Contempt - August 2007
King George has been busy again trying to establish his supremacy over the land, asserting that no person, organization, or governing body has authority over him or anyone within his circle of fiends … uh … I mean circle of friends. No, on second thought, “circle of fiends” is more accurate. He’s been ordering members of his administration to ignore Congress, and making it crystal clear where he stands on issues like protecting the environment and children’s health. And what’s this I hear about some sort of war in a place called Iraq? What’s that all about? Read more.

Do the Crime, Don’t Do the Time - July 2007
President Bush has once again boldly asserted his complete and total disrespect of the law and the American justice system. This time it involves the case of former White House aide and diehard neocon Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the Valerie Plame case. Libby was found guilty and sentenced to two and a half years in prison, but Bush stepped in and commuted Libby’s prison sentence, allowing him to avoid going to jail. I don’t know abut you, but I think it’s time we all embraced the “Bush standard of justice,” it shouldn’t just be for the rich and powerful. Why should we ordinary Americans have to pay the price when we break the law? If “Bush justice” is good enough for the president and his cohorts, it’s good enough for us too! Read more.

Judge Rules Against King George - June 2007
Poor little Georgie Bush, he just hasn’t been having a good time of it lately. All he wanted to do was follow in his daddy’s footsteps. Just start a little war so he could look like a brave “war president,” give all his friends government jobs, make the rich richer and the poor poorer, declare himself a supreme ruler who is above the law, and then ride off into the sunset back to his Texas ranch so he could spend the rest of his days clearing brush or holding hands with Saudi oil sheiks or doing whatever sick twisted men do in Texas when they’re alone with a herd of cattle. But a little thing called “reality” keeps interfering with George’s grandiose plans. Read more.

Constitution? What Constitution? - June 2007
The Constitution of the United States of America, is it the foundation of our country, setting forth the fundamental guiding principles of our nation, or is it just an old piece of paper, an irrelevant and outdated document? It all depends on who you ask. Recent events in Washington have made it clear which side the Bush administration is on, and to regular readers it’s certainly no surprise. Read more.

You Want Patience? I Got Your Patience Right Here - March 2007
Oh what fun it’s been in the world of politics lately. Even though I’m certifiably insanely busy (I’ve been getting up at 2:00-3:00 AM lately so I can get work done before my classes, and as I sit here now I’m ready fall over onto the keyboard, so forgive me if this ends up being somewhat less than coherent) I just have to vent my spleen. Stand back, and I recommend wearing a washable apron. The thing that pushed me over the edge and made me put fingertips to plastic was George W. Bush’s call for patience with the Iraq war. Patience? I’ve got your patience right here George, so come and get it. Read More.

The High Price of Education - November 2006
In the words of George W. Bush, “Is our children learning?” The question of learning seems to be at the heart of a recent spat of words between Bush and senator John Kerry. A more relevant question would be “Is our president learning?” Did he study and do his homework, or was he too busy riding his daddy’s coat-tales in a booze and cocaine-induced haze to learn the lessons of history? The test results are in and they can be seen on any news program or in any newspaper. Methinks someone has some makeup work to do. Read more.

Stand-Up Comedy at the White House - September 2006
It’s good to laugh every now and then, and sometimes humor comes from unexpected places. Our esteemed mis-leader and president recently provided me with a hearty round of side-splitting chuckles when I read his comments concerning the proposed rules for interrogation of terrorism suspects, currently being debated by Congress. You have to give him credit, Bush is certainly a master at making ridiculously absurd statements using a straight-faced faux-serious deadpan delivery. Back in his drinking years he and Foster Brooks would have made quite a team. Read more.

Bush to Sick Americans: “Screw You” - August 2006
Our chronic underachiever of a president, George W. Bush, has decided to stoop to new lows and treat terminally ill Americans even worse than he treats the rest of us. And he’s doing it while advancing his campaign to drag America backwards, retarding the advancement of science and technology. In this case it’s life-saving scientific research that Bush is working to prevent, and it won’t just be sick and suffering Americans who pay the price. Read more.

George Bush Was Right, There's Peace in the Middle East! - July 2006
Well I’ll be darned, George W. Bush was right after all. I remember when he and the neocons were hell-bent on invading Iraq and he stated that overthrowing Saddam Hussein would spread peace throughout the Middle East. At the time I thought he was crazy, I didn’t understand how starting another war would spread peace in a region with such a long history of conflict, but now I see the light! Read more.

George Bush’s Best Moment - May 2006
Sometimes truth really is stranger than fact. Or something like that. Sometimes the jokes just write themselves and this is one of those times. Our esteemed mis-leader George W. Bush was in fine form recently when an interviewer from the German newspaper “Bild am Sonntag” asked him what his best moment in office was. Can you guess what he said? Was it when he managed to use the “war on terror” to frighten and deceive most of the public into supporting the neocons’ long-planned invasion of Iraq? Was it when he managed to pass the No Child Left Behind legislation under the guise of improving education, when in reality the law will lead to the virtual elimination of Title I funding for public schools? Was it when he gave his buddies in the oil industry over $6 billion in tax breaks and subsidies at a time when they were making record profits and the American people were paying more than ever at the gas pump? I’m sure those were all great times for Bush, but they weren’t the best … Read more.

Help Make America Safer and More Secure - March 2006
You can do your part to make America safer and more secure by helping to remove a dangerous regime from power. This cadre of criminals has launched unprovoked invasions, destabilized the Middle East, created new training grounds for terrorists, operated secret prisons around the world, engaged in widespread torture, spread violence across the globe, encouraged America’s enemies to arm themselves with nuclear weapons, created widespread hatred of America, repeatedly deceived the American people, stripped US citizens of their rights, manipulated elections, saddled the US economy with record debt, undermined the US Constitution, violated international and US law, and brought death and suffering to hundreds of thousands of people. The regime, of course, is that of George W. Bush. Do your part to defend America by asking your representatives to support House Resolution 635. This resolution calls for "a select committee to investigate the Administration's intent to go to war before Congressional authorization, manipulation of pre-war intelligence, encouraging and countenancing torture, retaliating against critics, and to make recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment." Click here to tell your representatives that you want them to co-sponsor this important measure.

This is Your Bush on Oil - March 2006
After years of being a puppet of the oil industry and doing their bidding like a good little lackey, George W. Bush has suddenly done an apparent about-face and declared that America must break its addiction to oil. Kinda, sorta, maybe, well, not really. Specifically it was foreign oil that he said we must break our addiction to. Apparently domestic oil is so light, so sweet, so crude, so luscious, so tantalizing and so profitable for his sponsors that there’s nothing at all wrong with consuming as much of it as we want. I’m sure it was music to the ears of the “Drill America First” crowd. Read more.

Bush Caught Spying, Lying, Defying - January 2006
George W. Bush has taken his “King George” fantasy/delusion to a new level by establishing his own secret domestic spying program and operating it without the oversight of Congress or the courts. Sadly, I’m not surprised at all. It’s just more of the same from a power-hungry regime that has no respect for the law. And when Bush was caught did he apologize for breaking the law and violating the Constitution? NO! Of course not, don’t be silly. He reacted defiantly, insisting that what he did was legal. Sadly, that also doesn’t surprise me. In Bush’s mind anything he does is legal, just because he says so. Technically I suppose secretly spying on your own citizens is legal in certain places, but thankfully the United States of America is not one of those places. Read more.

Iraqi Leaders Call for Withdrawal Timetable - November 2005
Iraqi Shiite, Kurd, and Sunni leaders have called for a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops. Let’s see, I seem to remember someone who has been adamantly against a timetable, who was it, think, think … oh yes, it was George W. Bush. In fact he’s said several times that there will be no timetable for withdrawal. He’s also said that Iraq is sovereign and US troops are there because the Iraqi government wants them there. So what happens when the Iraqi government says it no longer wants US troops in their country and tells Bush to develop a timetable for withdrawal? Read more.

Bush and Cheney Push Pro-Torture Agenda - November 2005
If you’ve been paying attention to the news recently you’ll know that the Bush administration has been working hard to uphold yet another one of their “values,” another “right” that they consider to be an essential part of their vision for America, the ability to torture people. If you’re smart enough to be reading this I probably don’t have to tell you that this is wrong on so many levels that it’s absurd that we’re even talking about this in America in the 21^st century. But, as I said when Bush was campaigning for president in 2000, he’s the perfect candidate to lead America into the 20^th century (think about it …), and history has proven me right. Read more.

The Iraq Deception - How U.S. Fell Under the Spell of Curveball - November 2005
It looks like Bush’s great Iraq deception is finally starting to unravel, and people are actually starting to notice. (Question: Why do the majority of Americans seem to require a national disaster, like the wasting of hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives, before they wake up and pay attention to what their leaders are doing? Do you folks think you could do me a favor and work on improving that? I’d really appreciate it, as would our children, all our men and women in uniform, and their families. Remember, it’s your choice. All the debt, destruction, and death are purely optional. Pay attention, the life you save just might be yours.) But I digress. The LA Times has published an excellent article about the lying (that’s “intelligence providing” in Bushspeak) Iraqi defector called Curveball. Read more.

Right to a trial or no right to a trial? - More Bush Hypocrisy - November 2005
There are times when the sheer magnitude of the Bush administration’s hypocrisy and self-contradiction is enough to make you feel like your brain is about to turn to mush and run out your ears. (If you have any sense whatsoever, that is.) Now is one of those times. I ask a simple question: Does the Bush administration believe that everyone has the right to a fair trial? Their response: Yes, I mean no, I mean yes, I mean no, I mean … it depends on what day you ask. Read more.

Plame, Iraq, and More - October 2005
There are signs that the Bush administration might actually be held accountable for some of their actions. It’s a shocking concept, I know. We’ve gotten used to them getting away with anything and now “responsibility” suddenly shows up out of nowhere, like an alien that fell into a black hole in another universe and unexpectedly popped out in ours. First there was Tom DeLay and now Lewis (Scooter/neocon) Libby. With the Bush administration in power I know it’s a long shot, but I’m hoping that the Valerie Plame leak investigation that special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald has started will spawn a thorough inquiry into the administration’s actions in attacking Afghanistan and Iraq. There is now abundant proof that the administration blatantly lied to the American people and the world about their reasons for attacking both Afghanistan and Iraq, and they should be held accountable.

For years we’ve known about the oil pipeline that the Bush administration wanted to build through Afghanistan and Pakistan. Now we know about the administration’s meetings in mid-2001 (months before the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center) with the Taliban and members of Pakistan’s ISI (Pakistan’s secret service) where the Taliban were told that if they didn’t allow the pipeline to be built through Afghanistan, bombs would fall on them before the snow, by mid-October at the latest. Bush made good on that threat, invading Afghanistan on October 7.

We also know about how neocons in the Bush administration were disappointed that Saddam Hussein was left in power at the end of the 1991 Gulf War and have continuously pressed to remove him, by military means if necessary. We know about how they pushed for the US to use force to secure strategic natural resources, like Middle Eastern oil. We know that Dick Cheney and representatives from major oil companies (the “Cheney energy task force”) met in March of 2001 (six months before the 9/11 attacks) and reviewed maps of Iraq’s oil fields and a list of potential buyers of Iraqi oil. We know about how Donald Rumsfeld and other neocons created the Office of Special Plans in the Pentagon to generate intelligence to support their plan for invading Iraq, intelligence which turned out to be false.

The list goes on, and on, and on. I have barely scratched the surface. The American people deserve to know the truth, and justice should be done. I hope it is.

How the Bush Administration Helped Bring Disaster to New Orleans - October 2005
By appointing political supporters with no disaster management experience to head FEMA, taking away FEMA’s disaster preparation and planning functions, denying Louisiana’s requests for disaster preparation funds, and slashing the budget for maintaining New Orleans’ levees so much that work on the levees stopped for the first time in 37 years, George Bush and his administration helped bring about one of the worst disasters in US history. Read more.

Compromising FEMA, Endangering New Orleans - October 2005
Washington Monthly has compiled this informative timeline that illustrates how the Bush administration laid the foundation for the flooding disaster in New Orleans. Read it and weep. (Better yet, if you want to help your country and protect your fellow citizens, read it and stop voting for Republicans.) Bush-FEMA Chronology.

Stop the Presses: Bush Says the R-Word – Responsibility - September 2005
It was a sight I thought I’d never see and if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it. It was a sight more rare than the ivory-billed woodpecker, George Bush taking responsibility for something that his administration screwed up. We have dispatched a team to Hades with a thermometer to see if Hell has in fact frozen over. Read more.

A Note to George Bush About Hurricane Katrina - September 2005
George – As you survey the destruction caused by hurricane Katrina and look at all the devastated homes and flooded cities, there’s one very, very important thing you need to realize: THIS IS WHAT GLOBAL WARMING DOES AND IF YOU CONTINUE TO IGNORE IT, IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE! If you need to read that sentence multiple times until it gets through your thick skull and you get it, do it and do it now. Do not read further until you do. Katrina has shown us exactly what we face in the coming years, and you have an important choice to make, George. We’re the human race, and are you for us, or against us? Read more.

The Gloves Are Off - September 2005
I have had enough. I’m mad as hell and I’m going to write about it. I can no longer entertain the delusional fantasies of ignorant fools and I can no longer tolerate the so-called “leaders” in our government who repeatedly bring harm to America and the American people through their greed, deceit, ignorance, incompetence, and negligence. As the bumper sticker says, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” I’ve been paying attention, and I’m definitely outraged. Read more.

Why is George Afraid of Cindy? - August 2005
George Bush is still refusing to talk to Cindy Sheehan, the mother whose son was killed in Iraq. Sheehan, along with a throng of supporters, has been camped out along the road outside Bush’s Crawford, Texas ranch. She’s asking to talk to Bush but so far he’s been too chicken to cross the road and speak with her. Why? I'm glad you asked ... Read more.

Bush Appoints Bolton: It’s Payback Time - August 2005
Figuratively extending a prominent middle finger and a hearty “F- you!” to the Senate and, according to an MSNBC poll, 74% of the American people, president Bush has bypassed the Congressional confirmation process and appointed John Bolton US ambassador to the United Nations. Believe it or not I was actually debating with myself as to whether or not Bush really was nothing more than a spoiled, self-centered, arrogant, power-hungry SOB with zero respect for the American system of government. I guess I now don’t have to debate that question any longer. (Thanks for clearing that up for me, George.) But just who is this John Bolton character and why was Bush so determined to give him this appointment? Read more.

Bush Administration Lobbies for Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment - July 2005
This is one of those stories that makes you realize just how thoroughly depraved the Bush administration really is. John McCain, a former Vietnam POW and one of the few Republican leaders worthy of respect, introduced legislation to prevent the "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" (i.e. torture) of prisoners in government custody, and guess who strongly opposes it? Cruel dictators like Saddam Hussein? No! Regimes like those in Iran or North Korea? No! The Bush administration? Yes! Read more.

Bush Says He Will Fire Himself - July 2005
It’s the first good thing I’ve heard come out of Bush’s mouth in a long, long time. When questioned recently about what he would do if Karl Rove had in fact leaked Valerie Plame’s name, president Bush said “If someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration.” If Bush is true to his word, as some of his deluded supporters claim, then he must be packing up his desk and getting ready to head back to Crawford because he can no longer work in his own administration. Read more.