Can somebody help me with this?

[Deb Della Piana]

The first thing I do in the morning is read the papers, as many as I can get in print and online. Before I write anything, I've spent at least three hours absorbing the news of the world – both sides of the coin (liberal and conservative). There are just some things that boggle the mind. There are days when I wake up and pinch myself to make sure I'm actually living in America in the year 2009. The garbage that politicians and other public figures attempt to foist upon us is both amazing and infuriating, and it's equally amazing and infuriating how gullible (I'm refraining from using the word 'stupid' here, although there are times when I feel like it) the American public can be.
I though about calling this sort of year-end (or shall I say administration-end) round up 'Parting Shots.' However, because I fail to understand all of this and I cannot believe most of it is happening, I'm using 'Can somebody help me with this?”

The Lamest Excuse for a Bad Move
This one goes to Barack Obama trying to justify his choice of Pastor-Bigot Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. This is hardly “change we can believe in.” According to the president-elect, we need to try to find 'common ground' with those who have differing opinions. I have no problem with that. I'm friends with many people I don't agree with on every topic. Opinion isn't what this is about, though. This is about the GLBT community being told to basically suck it up and find 'common ground' with someone who equates same-sex marriage with both pedophilia and incest. There's no common ground to be had and, frankly, I'm tired of the conservatives telling us that we're making too much of the incident. Most of the conservatives telling us to clam up are white heterosexual males. Know what? America is tailor-made for white heterosexual men. Barack, I'm afraid we're not letting this one go away.

The Lamest “Oh Woe is Me”
This one, in fact, goes to Pastor-Bigot Rick Warren, the Human Chameleon. According to him, his critics are 'Christophobes.' Nice try, Reverend Warren. We really don't care who your god of choice is. I grew up in a Catholic household and am well versed in just exactly who Jesus Christ is. It's not Him I have the problem with. It's those keepers of the faith on this planet who subvert the real role of religion, and Pastor Warren is no exception. While many people want this issue to go away, as long as Pastor-Bigot Rick Warren lies about just exactly what he said, it will not go away. We have it on tape!

The Lamest Attempt at Humor
This one goes Chip Saltzman, former campaign manager for Mike “the huckster” Huckabee and the leading contender for the chairmanship of the Republican Party. He finds humor in bigotry, as do so many on the right. This prospective Republican party leader sent out an audio CD to members of the Republican National Committee with a song entitled “Barack the Magic Negro.” And, yes, you might have guessed it's a parody of Peter, Paul & Mary's “Puff the Magic Dragon.” A CNN story says that GOP reaction to the CD is 'divided.' Really? How can that be in this day and age? I'm trying to fathom how some Republicans can find humor in this. According to Saltzman, it's “political satire.” No, Chip, it isn't. It's actually “racial satire.” Political satire is when you focus on someone's voting record or political positions. Give me a break. No matter how you spin it, Saltzman should no longer even be in the running for the job, and the GOP should step up to the mike and denounce the CD. Period. There is no humor in bigotry, and there's no place for this in America in this day and age. Oh, and please – Negro?

Lamest Excuse for a Speaker of the House
This can only go to one person – Nancy Pelosi. She had the chance to make her mark as the first female speaker in history. She left a mark alright, but it's a stain. She has failed to uphold her oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution. (Then again, so has our imperial president, but we expected more of her.) Her continual repression of the way the system was designed to work is directly responsible for George Bush keeping his job and operating outside the law. I have no idea how she got re-elected, but the progressives in the Democratic party should keep running candidates at her until she loses. She doesn't deserve to serve this country in any capacity, let alone as Speaker of the House.

From the Annals of 'What is she smoking?'
According to Condoleeza Rice, people will soon be thanking President Bush for what he's done. Sure. If they're rich Americans who have reaped the benefits of his irrational and idiotic fiscal policies, Blackwater, Halliburton, GMAC, American Express, the Israelis, the Christian conservatives or the Wall Street players. If you're a poor or middle-class American, a Katrina survivor, an Iraqi, a Palestinian or an Afghani I guarantee that won't be the case. Rice insists that Bush's Middle East policies will stand the test of time. Let's remember that this is out of the mouth of a woman who has admitted she held meetings at the White House that led to Bush's torture policies. All our imperial president has done is create a legacy of war across the Middle East and turned America into a torture state. His lies are responsible for the deaths of thousands of American soldiers and millions of Iraqis and Afghanis. He has created a monster in Israel by turning a blind eye to their repeated aggression in Gaza, where they are starving and killing innocent people in the name of self preservation.

At home, Bush completely ignored the Katrina disaster (before, during and after). Last night I read an article where his ex-aides say he's never 'recovered' from Hurricane Katrina. What did he have to recover from? Did he lose everything he had? Was he displaced? He was on vacation during Katrina. He never even returned to DC. Please, spare us the spin. It doesn't work. Even on the way out the door, his destruction never stops. He has pandered to the Christian conservatives by passing midnight regulations that put women's health at risk, and has compromised the regulations protecting our environment. He's the architect of a failing economy. Bush and accessory before the fact, Hank Paulson, asked for a $700 billion handout and received it – with nary a string attached by the do-nothing Congress. He then proceeded to bail out the richest while blowing off the millions of Americans losing their jobs and homes at an alarming rate. Ten million jobs have been lost under his watch and he's the first president since Herbert Hoover to boast (if that's what you'd call it) negative job growth. Jobless claims are at a 26-year high and thirty states face a shortfall in their unemployment pools. Predictions are that there will be 8 million foreclosures in the next two years. The only thing that will stand the test of time is the mess he's leaving behind.

George W. Bush is – hands down – the worst president in American history. That is his true legacy. There's a reason why 75% of Americans are happy he's on his way out. There's no way George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, the once-revered Colin Powell or anyone else in his regime should be allowed to return to their cushy lives. There should be a special prosecutor, an investigation, and indictment. Indictment for what? Oh, we can start with invading a sovereign nation under false pretenses, war crimes, and illegally spying on American citizens. We can move on from there. As for Condoleeza Rice, she's headed back to Stanford (where the students don't want her and would rather be taught by Bozo the Clown) and then she's going to write a book on foreign policy. I have a suggestion for the title: Arrogance and Ignorance: My Destructive Years in the Bush Administration.

By the way, did I remember to say Happy New Year?

[Catherine Morgan]

Great post Deb.

My daughter just got done doing a big research report on Nixon and Watergate. It's difficult to see the magnitude of Nixon's betrayal to this country from the perspective of someone living the last eight years under the Bush administration. What does a president have to do now a days to resign or be impeached? What is the point in having a democracy if it is going to be run as a dictatorship?

By the way...Happy New Year!