What's Wrong With The 109th Congress?
"I, George Walker Bush, do solemnly swear, that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States. And will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States. So help me, God".George W. Bush
January 20, 2001
January 20, 2005
Twice, the president took the oath of office. Obviously he never had any intention of honoring it. Kind of makes you wonder about his professed religious devotion, doesn't it? He once said of the Taliban:
"We're not deceived by their pretensions to piety".
Oh really? Well, guess what? I've never been deceived by his. Not for one minute. Now he is claiming that he can ignore the very laws that he is sworn to obey because of a quaint little thing called a "signing statement". Forgive me but would someone please explain to me just where the hell in the Constitution of the United States does it say that a chief executive can claim something so ludicrous?
The question that is just begging to be asked is this: Is the minority party in on the fix? Could it possibly be that the main contenders for the 2008 democratic nomination actually want the kind of unchecked executive power that Bush and Cheney are now seeking? Is that why they're barely lifting a finger to stop them? Are they merely allowing Bush and Company to establish a precedent? As someone once said, "Things are getting curiouser and curiouser".
Eight years ago, Hillary Clinton's husband was almost removed from office for lying about having a fling with a twenty-six year old intern. Why is she not leading the charge, banging the drums for impeachment? If the dems are stupid enough to nominate her two years from now, they'll deserve everything that happens to them. Her continued support for this indecent, illegal and obscene war that is now being committed against the children of Iraq, using the children of America as cannon fodder, is nothing more than shameless pandering to the extreme right. The carnage that is now taking place on all sides in that devastated country will have to take a back seat to her political ambitions. Are you naive enough to believe that the fundraiser Rupert Murdoch recently held in her honor is a mere coincidence? Don Imus constantly refers to her as "Satan". Good one, I-man! She's as morally bankrupt as any crooked pol that ever slithered up Capitol Hill.
What the hell is wrong with the 109th congress? The wheels are coming off of the planet and these assholes are wasting our time screaming about gay marriage and flag burning! Many years ago, in 1948, Harry Truman devoted much of his time on the campaign trail to denouncing, "that good for nothin' eightieth congress"! Can you just imagine the invective that the great man from Missouri might have conjured up for the 109th? I can hear him now! Then again, the eightieth wasn't a total waste. While it did produce a Joe McCarthy, it also gave us a young congressman from Massachusetts named, Jack Kennedy (Note: We Irish Catholics reserve the exclusive right to refer to the late president as, "Jack". It's one of our little perks). Posterity will record no one with one tenth the stature of JFK to come out of this congress. Trust me.
What will history say of these people? The eightieth congress of 1947-49, as bad as they were, was a model of competence and integrity by comparison. What will our great grandchildren, who will never even know our names, say of us? We'll be remembered as a generation more concerned with voting for the American Idol than for the American President - our political priorities being more in-tune with a proven inside trader like George W. Bush than a true statesman like George Washington. Our entire generation are going to look like fools - or worse.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. One hundred and fifty years from now, our heirs will look back at films and photos of George W. Bush: They'll look back at his notoriously mangled syntax ("Is our children learning") and that disgusting "Beevis and Butthead" giggle of his. They'll look back at that grotesque smirk he gets whenever a reporter asks him a question that cuts a little too close to home. And, no doubt, they'll look back at his jaw-dropping arrogance ("Bring 'em on') and his mind-numbing incompetence. They'll look back at all of these things and much, much more....and everyone of them will be asking the same question: "What were they thinking? What in God's name were they thinking"?
Good question! What are we thinking? Any takers?
Pray for peace.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
posted by Tom Degan @ 6:09 AM
14 comments
14 Comments:
Hello Tom,
Another good article. The more I see of the clowns in the White House, the more I become convinced that Bush is simply not too bright and is easily manipulated by Cheney and Rove who are totally evil. They are the closest things to Hitler that this country has seen in many years.
As for the Democrats, I don't know what to think. I have been a life long Democrat and have never seen them as disorganized and without focus as they currently are. I just hope that before the November electionas they can manage to grow some balls and take a stand against this Republican dynasty of lies and corruption. The sad thing is that I feel the majority of Americans want a change and the Democrats refuse to lead and are content to flounder.
Then again we have the problem with stolen elections. I am more and more convinced that the 2004 election was rigged in the Republicans favor and they will certainly try every way possible to do it again,
It is going to take a full scale revolution form the people of this country to get a change in direction and I can only hope and pray that the majority will wake up before it is too late.
I'll tell you whaqt's wrong! NOBODY UP THERE GIVES A RAT'S ASS ABOUT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!!!! The Democrats are so scared of that "liberal" handle that they are like a bunch of boats without rudders! Catching on to any current that presents itself! Here it is less than six months from the election that can hand them the halls of Congress on a silver platter, and we have yet to hear a clear and concise agenda from the Demoratic Party or even a plan of attack except, "Vote for us! We're not like George W Bush!"
Want to know what's going to happen? Alright! This is what is gonna go down: The Democrats might win one house of Congress just due to the fact that Bush is an incompetent goof and Thre American People are sick and tired of being sick and tired. We could get rid of both Republican-lead houses, but The American People are going to have to see a decicive action of some sort on the Democrats part!
By that I mean that ALL the Democrats in Congress are going to have to get behind something, and have the balls to see it to President Pork Pie's desk! The chosen issue will have to be one that the people will all get behind. A raise in thre minimum wage would be perfect! It's an issue that helped hand The Democrats the presidency in 1992.
The next thing that MUST happen is to put the Republicans on the defencive about the "war" in Iraq! We DO NOT have a "war" in Iraq! What we have in Iraq is an "occupation" Allowing the Republicans to continue to refer tom it as a "war" allows them to give a small level of sredence to their "cut and run" rhetoric. Turn that "war" into an "occupation" and then "cut and run" goes "POOF" in their faces!
Point out that the "war" ended when President Pork Pie landed on an aircraft carrier in his zippy fighter jet and snazzy jumpsuit and stood under a big banner that said "Mission Accomplished", where he took credit for everything from sliced bread, to instant grits! Ask the good Repigs if this presidential statement was the truth or another in a long list of lies! Hit them where they live and keep hitting them untill they squeal, bleed, or die!
The Republicans CAN be beat, but first off somebody's gonna have to want to beat them!
It's like my uncle always said, "You can lead a horse to Atlanta, but you can't make a harmonica player eat pickled eggs on a ferry boat." (No, I don't know what it means! And nobody talks about my uncle any more).
"You can lead a horse to Atlanta but you can't make a harmonica player eat pickled eggs on a ferry boat".
Stoney, I think you should give your Uncle a little more credit. That just may be one of the lost treasures of zen wisdom. It certainly is ten times as profound as ANYTHING that ever came out of the mouth of George W. Bush Do I exaggerate?
Cheers!
Tom Degan
Hi Tom,
I seem to keep running into you in all the right places. Glad to learn you have a Blog, which, I might say, I am righteously enjoying.
As an admirer of HST you might be amused by this story of mine. When I was a kid (like 22 yo) I worked for five years as the secretary in a law office in Missouri. The attorneys, father & son, were the best employers I ever had.
Every once in awhile when the phone would ring the caller would identify himself only as "Harry", as in "Hi, this is Harry. Is old Ed or young Eddie available?" and I would dutifully relay the call.
Eventually Eddie asked me if I knew who "Harry" was. I had no idea, but you guessed it. I never met him in person but over the years I felt I knew him, because often when neither Ed or Eddie were vailable to respond to his call, former President Truman would spend a bit of time chatting with me. He was as "down-home as corn-pone" and I never felt even slightly intimidated when talking with him. He was just that kind of guy.
Tom,
I agree 100%! AND my uncle can spell "potato" and pronounce "nuclear"! We'ld probably talk more about him if he stopped living in that tree house, and quit attacking freight trains while armed with lawn furniture!
Well, Tom, once again, you've hit the nail on the head. I'm starting to think that what Mark Twain said about the weather ("Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it."), might well apply to Congress. Everybody talks about it, but nothing is ever done about it - or to it.
I suppose I'm as guilty as anyone else. Oh, I vote, I let my congressmen know where I stand on an issue, I read the papers, follow the news, etc. But I don't really know what to do, legally, to get this rid of these thugs running the country.
When's the revolution and where do I sign up?
Mary Eman
Nothing is wrong with Congress! They are functioning exactly like the criminals that they are should be. Why are they holding elected postitions in government? Because most of the voters in this country are hopelessly complete and total dumb shits. If you want to get mad, get mad at the idoits that call themselves "Americans" in this country that spend more time watching television, playing video games, and talking on cell phones than they do thinking about what is really happening in their country's governemnt and their own lives. Face it, all the good people of the United States are going on a one-way trip down the toilet along with the dumb shits that made it happen that way. Don't waste your time trying to reach out to these idiots either, they are too stupid to understand truth and logic.
Nothing is wrong with Congress! They are functioning exactly like the criminals that they are should be. Why are they holding elected postitions in government? Because most of the voters in this country are hopelessly complete and total dumb shits. If you want to get mad, get mad at the idoits that call themselves "Americans" in this country that spend more time watching television, playing video games, and talking on cell phones than they do thinking about what is really happening in their country's governemnt and their own lives. Face it, all the good people of the United States are going on a one-way trip down the toilet along with the dumb shits that made it happen that way. Don't waste your time trying to reach out to these idiots either, they are too stupid to understand truth and logic.
Tom wrote: "The question begs to be asked: Is the minority party be in on the fix?"
I am glad you asked that question. Please, when you get a chance, read this short entry and see if there is any hint of truth in it, as far as you are concerned. I was being ever so slightly cynical when I wrote it.
Note to MJW:
What are you some kinda commie??
Just kidding!
Actually THAT was probably the finest analogy I have read yet at to what's happening to our democracy.
I'm going to forward it to as many people as possible.
Thanks again, pal!
Tom Degan
No minimum wage hike, the Congress votes itself a pay raise, and eliminates estate taxes for billionaires.
Why aren't people in the streets protesting this? The 'dumb as a bag of hammers' or less salubrious argument is a good explanation.
I heard a woman on NPR praying to her God to help her afford her medical prescription. Remember what Franklin said about God helping those who help themselves--
pres bush = the village idiot
this is the reason i think we have the crap-ola of a problem we have in our gov now-a-days - The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki -- gone so totally wrong. people are no longer able to independently think for themselves
i believe we need a whole new party - or better yet ten new parties
thanks for making me think...
So glad to see you've got a blog, Tom! Will be sooo much easier to stalk ... heh heh, i mean um follow - follow, of course, what you have to say!! i always look forward to your comments on Alternet.
Since this administration (sic) is so very fond of unprecedence, what do you think about this: when they're all finally brought before the ICC for their myriad war crimes, we ANNUL the entire Georgie presidency! All 8 freakin' years! Every "executive" order, every ill-conceived scheme, every whackjob appointment.
i'd like history not to remember the obvious collective insanity of America during his reign of terror, but to instead give a shrug, slight shake of the head, & ask "George WHO?"
Tom, it's been many hours since I posted my comment above. When you emailed me, I just assumed you didn't write anything here, so I never thought to check until now. Thank you very kindly for your compliment. It is appreciated more than you can know.
P.S. Now I guess I am going to have to update my site more often (there's always a dark cloud inside every silver lining, isn't there? ;-).
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