Weekend Update

I didn't do much this weekend. Didn't go see any movies, but did get caught up on Six Feet Under, and Queer as Folk. I also watched 12 Monkeys again. What an odd movie. The choice of music was really strange. Brad Pitt does play a crazy person very well though.

There's no right, there's no wrong, there's only popular opinion.

Let see.. what's in the news? Chimpy used a recess appointment to send Bolton to the U.N. While technically allowed by the rules, isn't that just a circumvention of the Senate? Why have Senate confirmation at all then? In fact, why have a representative government. Why not just have the stupidest asshat ever to slime the White House become emperor?

We had this so-called deal where the Republicans agreed not to use the "nuclear option" and the Democrats agreed to filibuster only "extreme" appointments - and all of that doesn't mean jack shit because chimpy simply used a recess appointment. And now we have an ambassador to the U.N. who quite simply hates the U.N.

It is the continuation of the American hubris, and simply the continuation of the American disdain for the rest of the world.

In other news, King Fahd went to meet Allah today. The AP report calls him a "U.S. Ally." Lovely - yet another dictator that we supported.

His death Monday came as the Saudi government pursues an aggressive clampdown on Islamic terrorism and unprecedented reforms.

The Saudis are -always- having an "aggressive clampdown." How many years has it been since 9/11 (remember 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi) and they are just now getting around to that whole clampdown thing? And those unprecedented reforms? Please... does that mean that it's no longer legal to torture your wife in Saudi Arabia or something? Wow.. bunch of progressives they have over there.

I'm still irritated by those pictures of Bush holding hands and kissing Abdullah. Wasn't 9/11 a big deal? 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi-fucking-Arabian and there is Bush cavorting around with one of the prime reasons 9/11 happened - a Saudi fucking prince.

Those Saudi fuckers are just evil - which fits in very well with Chimpy's lifestyle.

The portly, goateed Fahd inadvertently helped fuel the rise of Islamic extremism by making concessions to hard-liners in an effort to boost his Islamic credentials.

"Inadvertently"? You've got to be kidding me. He didn't just "make concessions". They actually had hate language inserted into the school books they use to teach kids. How fucking inadvertent is that?

Make no mistake, the Saudi royal family is a big reason why we have the problem of Islamic terrorism - and Bush invites them out to Texas to hang out. Meanwhile oil prices go nuts, we pay more for gas, and thousands of people die. That is just the way they do business.

It really doesn't take a rocket scientist to connect the dots, does it? Just in case we need a reminder of how Chimpy likes to cavort with the enemy.



Which reminds me, Fahrenheit 9/11 was on tv and I watched the first 15 minutes or so of it. The wingers will claim that it's all lies (which is not true) but all you really have to do is watch that first 15 minutes to know everything that's going on. Don't even be concerned with the claims or anything Moore has to say. Simply watch the video of the key players in this Administration. Hollywood couldn't come up with a better cast of characters.

Just watch the video of Bush walking into the classroom of children -after- being told of the first plane hitting the WTC. Then watch his face after he's told "America is under attack". Watch the minutes tick by as he sits there, completely befuddled.

Heck, don't believe a word Moore says. Just watch all the video of Bush, and if you have the slightest ability to read body language or interpret character, you should be terrified.

Now watch this drive.

Colin Powell was one of the very few that is not absolutely insane - which is why he is gone now. I really want him to write a book about his time in the Administration. I think he has some personal integrity, so I'd be curious to see his take on the Bush disaster, and his involvement in it. After all, Powell is a military man who seems to embody the concept of honor. I'd like to know how he feels having held up a vial of anthrax at the U.N. - to terrify the world into an illegal war, all to have it turn out to be a huge load of lies. Who knows, he might just pull an Albert Speer.

Lets see.. what else.. Last week the Republicans got CAFTA passed, which of course is a hugely bad thing. Well, it's bad unless you think that Millions of Mexicans that get paid a few bucks a day are suddenly going to start buying a bunch of U.S. made goods that cost a years wages for them.

Quite simply, CAFTA is yet another pro business piece of legislation that will do nothing but further the destruction of the middle class in America.

What else.. oh.. the Republicans passed their energy bill, which gives huge tax breaks and incentives to the energy companies that have been turning record profits since the Iraq war began. Big surprise huh? It's billions in tax payer money to go to more huge corporations that are already reporting massive profits quarter after quarter.

Which of course does nothing but further the destruction of the middle class in America, and widen the gap between the "haves" and the "have nots."

The United States is turning into nothing more than a service based nation. Manufacturing is dying. It won't be long before nothing is made in the U.S.A.

Here's an idea on how to expand free trade. American's cannot buy a Chinese energy company. Lets make it illegal for the Chinese to buy an American energy company. An American cannot buy real-estate and setup a business in Japan. Lets make it illegal for a Japanese to buy American real-estate to setup a business.

Under Republican administrations, trade deficits have widened to unbelievable proportions. Lets do something to even the balance - and I'm talking tariffs on imported goods. Fuck that Wal-Mart bullshit - and the clothes made by Asian sweat shops. If it costs us more in the short term, fine. Bite the bullet and stop the destruction of the middle class.

Most everyone I know is middle class - and yet for some reason they continue to support Republicans when clearly that is not in their best interest. Why? It's because the Republicans scream "support the troops" and claim liberals harm the troops. It's because they use the word "God" over and over. It's because they blather on about "family values" as if Democrats and liberals hate families.

Look, corporate profits, in and of themselves, are not a bad thing. That's how business can afford to employ people. There is a balance point however, and the scales are tipped way in the wrong direction. Do the employees see benefits from record profits? Hell no. The standard business model is to keep human costs as low as possible. That means they don't want to pay a cent more for labor more than they have to.

There is a pie to slice up. The people doing the slicing live on the "owner" side, and they will not cut the little guy any more of a piece than they absolutely have to. They don't care in the slightest about what that does to the economy in general. The only way the economy thrives for all of us is if there is a strong middle class.

You know, like the kind we had when Bill Clinton was President.

WASHINGTON - President Bush called newly appointed King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Monday to express condolences over the death of King Fahd and to congratulate Abdullah on his succession to the throne.

Hey.. what the fuck happened to "Freedom is on the March!"? What happened to "Democracy!"?

Chimpy calls up his buddy Abdullah and congratulates him on becoming yet another psychotic Middle Eastern dictator. Just lovely....