Jim, a friend with progressive proclivities like my own, just sent me a link to a marvelous The Onion piece from January 2001: "Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare of Peace and Prosperity is Finally Over."
The Onion is all about humor. But it was seriously correct about Bush.
Reminds me a lot of what Romney wants to do to the country: make the 99% of us poorer and more miserable, while making the 1% richer and happier.
Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that "our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over."
...Bush swore to do "everything in [his] power" to undo the damage wrought by Clinton's two terms in office, including selling off the national parks to developers, going into massive debt to develop expensive and impractical weapons technologies, and passing sweeping budget cuts that drive the mentally ill out of hospitals and onto the street.
During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.
"You better believe we're going to mix it up with somebody at some point during my administration," said Bush, who plans a 250 percent boost in military spending. "Unlike my predecessor, I am fully committed to putting soldiers in battle situations. Otherwise, what is the point of even having a military?"
On the economic side, Bush vowed to bring back economic stagnation by implementing substantial tax cuts, which would lead to a recession, which would necessitate a tax hike, which would lead to a drop in consumer spending, which would lead to layoffs, which would deepen the recession even further.
So, yeah, we've already gone down this crazy right-wing path of trickle-down economics, trash the environment, slash social spending, expand the military-industrial complex.
Let's not make the same mistake again. Vote for Obama and other Democrats in November.
"So, yeah, we've already gone down this crazy right-wing path of trickle-down economics, trash the environment, slash social spending, expand the military-industrial complex"
--So a conservative is a greedy, polluting, selfish, heartless war-monger? I guess your typical progessive is an "Occupy Wall St." anarchist bum hanging out in a park smoking weed, crapping on police cars, looking for all the government handouts they can get without working?
Posted by: tucson | August 28, 2012 at 10:04 PM
tucson, those are your words, not mine: "greedy, polluting, selfish, heartless war-monger."
What I said was: "trickle-down economics, trash the environment, slash social spending, expand the military-industrial complex."
If you look at the Republican Party Platform, and listen to Romney/Ryan speeches, you'll see that I'm absolutely correct. This is what conservatives want to do if they get in power.
On the other hand, you won't find the Democratic Party Platform, or Obama/Biden calling for anarchy, smoking weed, crapping on police cars, and getting government handouts without working, or looking for work.
Posted by: Brian Hines | August 28, 2012 at 10:29 PM
trickle down economics= greed to libs
trash the environment= polluting to anyone
slash social spending= heartless to libs
industrial military complex= aggression to libs
What I said about dems was an exageration to illustrate your exageration about what conservatives represent, i.e. where in the Republican platform does it advocate "trashing the environment"?
Posted by: tucson | August 29, 2012 at 11:16 AM
Brian, how is it you’re a scholar of Eisenhower’s warning on the military-industrial complex, but completely ignorant of his warning about the government-research complex?
“In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers. The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present – and is gravely to be regarded. Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.” - President Dwight Eisenhower (Jan 17th, 1961)
A scientific-technological elite… backed by federal money… comprised of federal employees… and formerly free universities… that today lays claim to scientific consensus… to justify enacting non-legislated public policy… at the stroke of a president’s pen. Eisenhower foresaw the coming of tyrannical elitism. A vote for Obama is a vote for continuation of governance by non-representative executive order.
http://www.thomas-purcell.com/2011/10/eisenhowers-second-warning.html
Sincerely,
Big Oil
Posted by: DJ | August 29, 2012 at 12:32 PM
DJ, I don't lie awake at night worrying about this country suffering from too much truth, knowledge, research, and technological advances.
I can assure you that China, India, and other advanced/advancing nations are going full steam ahead on these fronts. Sorry to hear that you're in favor of throttling science.
Posted by: Brian Hines | August 29, 2012 at 01:09 PM
Brian, I think you missed the point of DJ's post entirely. The following excerpts from the article clarifies DJ's intent. I like Ike...
"Eisenhower was presenting the classic balanced argument, and in essence making an argument for an overall smaller government- a classic conservative and Republican position. He was not just warning us about military buildups, but the increase in the size and scope of government, and the negative influence each can take on American political thought.
But the Eisenhower address stands alone in its intellectual value and candor about the dangers of big government and an intrusive system growing too powerful for its own good. It also stands as clarifying argument against entitlements and an indictment of government research and education.
The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present – and is gravely to be regarded. Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.
Eisenhower knew full well, that as universities and professors grew fat on government grants and loans, they would be pressured to alter their results, or tune their results to suit government or political needs. The pressure would simply become too great. In the same way the left argues that defense contractors alter their contracts to pad their own needs, or that government may alter is geopolitical stance to benefit the defense industry, the same argument should be made for the educational and research system—a system that might unnecessarily contrive the dangers of androgenic global warming (man made) over the natural warming and cooling of the planet, or overstate the ability of science to create alternate sources of energy such as solar and wind powers.
In the same way that we must guard against an overreaching military-industrial complex, we must guard against the widespread reliance on government funded research and university studies. We must deconstruct both and equally, if America is to remain independent of these two enormous pressures on political thought."
Posted by: tucson | August 29, 2012 at 06:17 PM
[Note from Blogger Brian: because DJ habitually gets his facts wrong, his comments need to be fact-checked before they're inflicted on a world already beset by right-wing lies. Here's some truths to offset falsities below:
(1) Oil production in the United States has increased during Obama's administration. It is at an 8-year high, surpassing levels during the last part of the Bush administration. See:
http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2012/apr/09/barack-obama/barack-obama-ad-says-us-oil-production-eight-year-/
(2) China in investing heavily in renewable energy sources, just as I correctly said before. China also is committed to reducing carbon dioxide pollution that causes harmful global warming. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_policy_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China
Excerpt from Wikipedia article:
----------------------
"China is the world's leading renewable energy producer, with an installed capacity of 152 GW. China has been investing heavily in the renewable energy field in recent years. In 2007, the total renewable energy investment is $12 billion USD, second only to Germany, and expected to be first by 2009.China is also the largest producer of wind turbines and solar panels. Approximately 7% of China's energy was from renewable sources in 2006, a figure targeted to rise to 10% by 2010 and to 16% by 2020.
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So once again, what I said is true, and what DJ said is false. Still, his comments serve a useful purpose. They point to what is true, just as a compass assembled backward points to true north when you turn it around. --Brian]
Careful, tucson, Ike’s speech was never published in a major peer-reviewed scientific journal. You’ll have to settle for Brian’s willful ignorance; he refuses to address the inconvenient truths Ike’s farewell address warns about. They don’t keep him awake at night and he doesn’t give them a second thought when promoting the tyrant in the White House.
Brian, thanks for raising the issue of our key foreign debt buyer, China. Please explain how you believe Obama intends for the US to compete with China and India – who are expanding cheap fossil-fueled power generation at an exponential pace – when Obama himself is using EPA executive orders in lieu of cap and trade legislation to carry out the vision he speaks to here:
“Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket." (A perfect formula for off-shoring jobs and destroying an economy… it seems to be working). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlTxGHn4sH4
China and India could not possibly have a better ally to advance their competitive interests – while each expands THEIR military-industrial complex – than the one they have working for them today in the Oval Office.
Sincerely,
Big Oil
Posted by: DJ | August 30, 2012 at 12:52 PM