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Ex-Midnight Oil Singer Runs for Office [ap, via abc]The former lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil announced Thursday that he will run for parliament with the opposition Labour Party and party leaders said he could even become a government minister someday.
that should make an interesting race….
so bush spoke at the air force academy…
Like the Second World War, our present conflict began with a ruthless, surprise attack on the United States. We will not forget that treachery, and we will accept nothing less than victory over the enemy.
Like the murderous ideologies of the 20th century, the ideology of terrorism reaches across boarders [sic], and seeks recruits in every country. So we’re fighting these enemies wherever they hide across the earth.
from the official white house transcript, no less… we now know that the terrorists are somehow reaching across our hospitality industry… which is just funny.
what’s not quite as funny is that thing about the “murderous ideologies of the 20th century” – because my history lessons didn’t include anything about the japanese empire recruiting south americans to fight in their war. and it didn’t include anything about the nazis recruiting in africa… in fact, the “murderous ideologies” (and i’m only assuming that’s what he was talking about, with the reference to the second world war and ruthless surprise attacks and all…) were pretty much racist ideologies – and certainly wouldn’t be recruiting around the world where the less-than-pure races were, y’know. living.
did i miss something? can anyone throw me a source that backs up bush’s statement? anyone got a global recruiting document from the history of the 20th century?
and while i’m at it… terrorism isn’t an ideology, it’s a method.
does bush actually believe this stuff he says? why do i even bother to ask anymore…?
i guess it was funny when quayle butchered the language, it was somehow innocent…
update 2004.06.05: doubleplusgood! the party workers voice their gratitude and joy!
[apparently this is too much, the system choked. see part 1 for the beginning of the platform]
It has bred fear and hesitation in commerce and industry, thus discouraging new enterprises, preventing employment and prolonging the recession.
It has coerced and intimidated voters by withholding relief to those opposing its tyrannical policies.
It has destroyed the morale of our people and made them dependent upon government.
Appeals to passion and class prejudice have replaced reason and tolerance.
To a free people, these actions are insufferable. This campaign cannot be waged on the traditional differences between the Republican and Democratic parties. The responsibility of this election transcends all previous political divisions. We invite all Americans, irrespective of party, to join us in defense of American institutions.
ok, now for the fun part. where did this come from? kerry campaign? nader campaign? c’mon. give it your best shot.
i wasn’t using my civil rights anyway
“There’s a sense that the people in America aren’t getting the truth”
(see below for the amazing answer)
(more…)
some words below have been changed to make this more interesting. the original, unedited text is below the cut in part 2. links are, of course, mine, picked at random from the vast expanse of the world wide web. i tried to find fairly reliable sources, but not always. i took extensive liberties with the links; you’ll just have to embrace my sense of humor in some places.
America is in peril. The welfare of American men and women and the future of our youth are at stake. We dedicate ourselves to the preservation of their political liberty, their individual opportunity and their character as free citizens, which today for the first time are threatened by Government itself.
For three long years the Bush Administration has dishonored American traditions and flagrantly betrayed the pledges upon which the Republican Party sought and received public support.
The powers of Congress have been usurped by the President.
The integrity and authority of the Supreme Court have been flouted.
The rights and liberties of American citizens have been violated.
Regulated monopoly has displaced free enterprise.
The Administration constantly seeks to usurp the rights reserved to the States and to the people.
It has insisted on the passage of laws contrary to the Constitution.
It has intimidated witnesses and interfered with the right of petition.
It has dishonored our country by repudiating its most sacred obligations.
It has been guilty of frightful waste and extravagance, using public funds for partisan political purposes.
It has promoted investigations to harass and intimidate American citizens, at the same time denying investigations into its own improper expenditures.
It has created a vast multitude of new contracts, filled them with its favorites, set up a centralized bureaucracy, and sent out swarms of inspectors to harass our people.
[apparently this is too much, the system choked. see part 2 for the rest of the platform]
if a bunch of civilian contrators are involved in abuse in prisons in iraq… does that make them “unlawful combatants”? “unlawful contractors”? do we need to set up a camp for contractors?
commemorating south africa’s 10th anniversary as a democratic nation, nelson mandela, speaking to south africa’s parliament on may 10th took a few moments to chastize the “beacons of democracy” – the united states and great britain.
nelson mandelaWe live in a world where there is enough reason for cynicism and despair. We watch as two of the leading democracies, two leading nations of the free world, get involved in a war that the United Nations did not sanction; we look on with horror as reports surface of terrible abuses against the dignity of human beings held captive by invading forces in their own country.
We see how the powerful countries – all of them democracies – manipulate multilateral bodies to the great disadvantage and suffering of the poorer developing nations. There is enough reason for cynicism and despair.
[full text of the speech below]
(more…)
bush didn’t start it, and you might say he’s not very good at it, or even that we don’t know if he’s ‘sorry’ about the whole torturing-prisoners thing or that pictures of torturing prisoners ‘escaped.’ in any case, the very concept of an apology, so alien to the bush administration, seems to be… almost epidemic at the moment. if you ask google news right now about the word ‘apology’ you get “about 10,200” hits.
there’s the bush sorta-apology, of course… and….
Judge accepts apology for killer’s outburst
US apology for Barbados blunder
AIB offers apology to customers for €14m overcharge
‘Denver Post’ Column Stirs Controversy, Apology
Gogarty welcomes Sisters of Mercy apology over abuse
Linn makes apology for mistakes as county chief
BAE chief’s outburst leads to apology offer
Zook brings jokes, apology
Senate Accepts Wabara’s Apology
‘Aging sex kitten community’ wins apology
even the axis of evil is getting in on the act….
N Korea’s Kim criticized at home for apology to Japan
and thousands (apparently) more… so i have to ask… is this apology thing catching on? is there a rash of responsibility spreading around the planet? or is it just good political cover for everyone to apologize all at once and get back to the business of being justified and righteous?
are these sincere apologies? any one?
the “we’re spending $5 billion a month in iraq” figure is being thrown around a lot… and lots of people are thinking about what that money could do…. but one thing i haven’t seen yet is what it could do… in iraq.
according to the cia, the gdp per capita in 2002 was $2400. with just under 25 million iraqi citizens (ok, a few less than that now…) that means the gdp in 2002 was $60 billion. oddly, that works out to about $5 billion a month.
maybe we should’ve just called some underemployed enron negotiators to arrange a leveraged buyout.
we may not learn many lessons from previous wars, but the bush administration has definitely learned to avoid showing the price of war.
war has become abstract.
“protecting the privacy of the families” is the official party line. i’m just guessing here, but i think, maybe, some of those families wouldn’t mind sharing the truth – war is not abstract to them anymore.
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