Sunday, March 04, 2007

Our Long National Nightmare


It's official. As of this week, George W. Bush's poll numbers are below thirty percent - twenty-nine percent to be exact. Even Richard Milhaus Nixon, during the height of Watergate, never saw numbers that low! In another, more informed era, Bush's ratings would be in the low teens or maybe even the single digits. But this is the age of FOX News, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. It is still relatively easy to "catapult the propaganda." The amazing thing is the fact that twenty-nine percent of the American people are so jaw-droppingly stupid, they actually believe - seriously believe - that the First Fool is doing a good job. As Art Linkletter once said, "People are funny"!

And as I always predicted they would, the people are beginning to awaken from the right-wing coma that they've been snoring under since the day, twenty-six years ago, when they foolishly sent a feeble-minded, failed B movie actor by the name of Ronald Reagan to the White House. The top three Republican contenders for the nomination next year (Giuliani, Romney and McCain), although traditional conservatives in the strictest sense of the word, are seen by the idiots who now control the so-called "Grand Old Party" as maverick, hard-core lefties. That party has moved so far to the extreme right in the last quarter of a century, it's in serious danger of falling off the face of the earth. Toward the end of his life, Barry Goldwater, the father of modern conservatism, had totally distanced himself from the movement that he, more than anyone, was so instrumental in bringing about. At the time of his death, he was working on a book with John Dean which was to be a condemnation of the direction the "party of Lincoln" had taken in recent years. Dean finally completed the book last year. It's called "Conservatives Without Conscience", and is a must read any way you slice it.

2007 will see the utter destruction of the Bush White House - count on it. The reign of these disgusting bastards is in its "final throes." And make no mistake about it: the impeachment and prosecution of George W. Bush does not necessarily mean images of President Dick Cheney in the East Room proclaiming that, "Our long national nightmare is over." (A bad acid hallucination if there ever was one). Trust me on this one, campers: there is more than enough evidence to send the both of them to the hoose gow for the rest of their lives. Cheney, given the fragile state of his health, will probably be able to avoid his just desserts. But of this you can be absolutely certain: George W. Bush will die in federal prison. I'm as sure of that as I am my own name.

Tom Degan - nice to meet 'cha!

Whenever one reviews the dreadful history of this disgusting administration, comparisons to the Nixon White House are plentiful and unavoidable. However, for all of their bad deeds, the Nixon gang were, at the very least, competent. While they undeniably got a lot wrong, they did manage to get more than a few things right. The best that could be said of them is that they were smart guys who did a lot of mean and stupid things. The Bush Mob, on the other hand, is the gang that couldn't shoot straight! Nixon, even his detractors acknowledge, had one of the best minds of any president (save Wilson and Jefferson) in history. Bush, om the other hand, has the IQ of a deflated rubber life raft. For all of Dick Nixon's transgressions, a reasonable argument can be made that there were at least some positive accomplishments to come out of his reign of power. Even Warren G. Harding, previously judged by scholars to be the worst president in American history was able to boast a few achievements. It should not be forgotten by posterity that Harding was the first president to commit America to curtailing the arms race. Even bad presidents can claim justifiable pride in deeds well done - as rare as those deeds may be.
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George Walker Bush will be remembered as the exception to the rule. Nothing good will come of the wasted years he sat as chief executive in the Oval Office. Nothing. A century from now, historians will look back in amazement and disbelief at how he was able to bring his once-great country down into the gutter of international disgrace and and economic calamity while so many foolish Americans cheered him on in the process.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's generation had "a rendezvous with destiny." This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with ruin. You can take that to the bank.

Pray for peace.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net
Photograph of yours truly
taken 4 March 2007

15 Comments:

At 7:55 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Tom, You always hit the right tone for your rants. I have been feeling hopeless about the political situation in Washington and Iraq. I do not want to read my email or sign petitions, but then that is all I can do. Maybe I need to take the hate in my heart for Bush&Co for my heart's sake and the situation's sake. We need to think more positively. You get what you think about. The Universe does not really under between no and yes, it is the content your brain waves send out to co-create with the Universal Spirit. It is a very, very old spiritual law of many spiritual traditions. Note Spiritual does not mean religion. Spirit is of your Universal Soul and your deep connections within the Self where you and the Universe are connected beyond time and place. Think Positively about those in Washington who can do good things and support those thoughts.

Sandy

 
At 2:54 AM, Blogger larkrise said...

The weather here in Indiana remains cold, with gloomy days. I call March the "hopeful month", because snowdrops and crocuses bloom. My house is 2 stories and faces north, so the front yard still has snow and looks like Siberia. Nevertheless, underneath the drifts, life is stirring. At least, today ways sunny. And, I read your rant, and smiled. It may be a bit quirky for me to smile at the thought of someone going to prison, but that is where Dubya belongs. He needs to be held accountable for all the misery and suffering he has caused. He and Darth Dick think they will not have to answer for their actions. Not so. Their own sins will punish them, one way or another.When we are finally rid of them, we shall all join together in one big celebration. You will hear a collective sigh of relief.

By the way, I enjoyed your pictures. Your sign outdoes my bumper stickers. Good for you!

 
At 10:13 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Tom,

This is a great post, one of your best! Soon you and all those who saw the truth years ago will be vindicated. (Please be a little kind to those of us who took longer to see the light.)

It's you and people of like mind who should be running things in this country. I can't think of any better set of qualifications than the work you and your colleagues and friends have been doing all these years. I'd campaign and vote for any of you unhesitatingly! Please think seriously about running for office, any office!

Where did you get your sign. I want one too!

 
At 11:05 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Tom,

I read Molly Ivin's book "Shrub" before Bush was elected to the White House, and realized quickly that the person who stole the election was incredibly inept and corrupt. I, like many, believed there was no way he would get re-elected. Boy, were we wrong!

The thoughts of impeachment delight me, but I can not see the GOP allowing it. They have a Presidential election coming up quick, and it would pull the entire party down if Dubya and his cronies were impeached. I am sure there are back room deals being made to protect Little Lord Fauntleroy and his court. Maybe the Dems can wrangle Universal Health Care or something from them in exchange. Don't forget the GOP passed legislation before they lost control of the House and Senate to protect all of them from charges of war crimes.

I just don't think that poll numbers will equate Congressional votes on Impeachment. Of course, he still has two years - anything could happen!

Keep up the good fight - I hope your predictions come true!

Jo

 
At 11:26 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Tom,

You are right on top of things as usual. Two good points made; many political commentators have maintained that Nixon had many good points as president, and if he had not been so stupid as to lie about Watergate, but had simply acknowledged that it happened and said something like "Yes, we did something extremely dumb and it was a big mistake", he would probably have been forgiven and could have gone on to lead the country to the end of his term.

Secondly, you are again right on target when you say that we can look back and not see one positive thing to come from the Bush administration. Not ONE. Nothing, nichts, nada!

I was and still am astounded how many people reacted to the Reagan years as years of greatness. He started this mess and are people so quick to forget the Iran-Contra affair, the savings and loan scandal, Oliver North and John Poindexter who should both be busting rocks in prison? Reagan was viewed as a pleasant, although toothless and simple minded old fool who never hurt anyone. Wrong! It was his administration that started us on this downward path.

I (we) can only hope that enough of the American people will wake up to the terrible things Bush and Co have done not only to this country but to the world and get them out of office before they can do more harm. As scandals such as Walter Reed and others which I hope the Democrats will uncover, come to light, maybe, just maybe we can be shocked enough as a nation to get them out of office at once. I am sure that Cheney will never go to prison "for reasons of health" but we can always hope for prison for Dubya (and that promised heart attack for Cheney).

One thing that we as citizens can do is to stay in the face of our elected congressman. Write them, email them, telephone them constantly. You may not get a personalized response, but believe me, they do listen. It is not at all difficult to find how to contact them on the internet. It is one thing to "hope for change" and it is another to work at making it happen.

Tom, keep up the good work.

 
At 9:24 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tom you are living the song The Impossible Dream with your crusade to impeach Bush and Cheney; it ain't a'gonna hoppen.
Like Gingrich's grassroots campaign in '94 to take over the House and Senate, there is a grassroots movement to fill local judgeships with judges in tune with the rightwing nutcases, then work upwards from there.
A good title for a rant or a book would be "While America Slept", recounting how our government and Constitutional rights were stolen while we slept.
Since they own the Supremes there is no way any impeachment movement will get far, the first thing Bush-Cheney would do would be to run to the Supreme Court as in 2000 and the rest will be history

 
At 9:22 PM, Blogger billie said...

alas, my fellow new yorker- we have our own issues here. i fear that impeachment will never come. the congress does not have the will and even if they did- they wouldn't be able to network enough rethugs to get the number of votes. some good news- although marginal- is that libby was convicted and the case of getting rummy and gonzalez is still on in germany. let's keep our fingers crossed that those two will sit in the hot seat for war crimes.

 
At 4:34 AM, Blogger larkrise said...

Tom, you are absolutely correct that the Bush Administration will be remembered for nothing positive. I also agree that the Republican Party has deviated so far to the right that they are destroying themselves. That is for the good of the country. They need to hit rock bottom and rebuild into something sane and decent. I just watched Bill Moyer's "Capital Crimes" on PBS tonight. The corruption that this documentary uncovered is staggering and horrific. Tom Delay belongs in prison right now; and so does Karl Rove. Abramoff is serving time; and so will Ney, but they are the tip of a very big iceberg. It is obvious that Bush and Cheney knew about the misdeeds on K Street, and cheered it on. So did the RNC. Their buddy, Grover Norquist should join the list of the indicted. He is part of the Neo-Con Mafia along with other assorted Rovian reptiles. What really turns my stomach, is the pseudo-Christianity these monsters have employed to sanctify their crimes. Add to this, their disgusting racism toward Native Americans, and you have a reeking pile of manure right in the heart of Washington,D.C. The stench emanating from the White House and Congress is overpowering. Anyone who can still vote Republican has lost the ability to smell. Yet, the MSM has downplayed all of this. If it were Democrats, they would have been on it like fleas on a Hound Dog's back, and rightly so. It takes a wonderful person like Bill Moyers to tell the truth. PBS did the public a great service by showing the program. I wonder how many people really appreciate it. Politicians need to be in the spotlight and under a microscope. Left to their own devices, too many of them let greed and arrogance rule their actions. The MSM has abandoned its position as the Fourth Estate. Thank God for Bll Moyers, Seymour Hersch, and the alternative news internet writers and columnists. Without them, the Dick Cheney's would be able to hide all of their dirty little secrets.
By the way, go to Buzzflash for 3/6 and scroll down to Dave Lindorff: Libbygate: The Real Story. Scooter is taking the fall for Bush/Cheney. The man is a fool, but deserves his fate. Maybe he has no choice, especially when you know too much.

 
At 12:11 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I see headlines to the effect Bush is floating trial balloons towards pardoning Libby. If I were Libby I would be very nervous, remembering the "convenient" death after the Enron debacle

 
At 8:38 PM, Blogger Avram Mirsky said...

ITMFA! (Google it if you don't know what it stands for).

 
At 4:02 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tom, can you get rid of the garbage posted by the fruitcake who left the last couple of messages? One thing you could do is limit the size of the comments permitted here.

 
At 7:47 AM, Blogger Tom Degan said...

With all due respect to the person who posted that incredibly long piece, I hated to deleat you after putting so much work into what you wrote but - c'mon! - that was just a tad too much...
Peace.
Tom Degan

 
At 11:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"George Walker Bush will be remembered as the exception to the rule. Nothing good will come of the wasted years he sat as chief executive in the Oval Office. Nothing."

It depends on your point of view. From the viewpoint of the super rich, the Bush Administration has been wildly successful!

Consider:

1. They've decreased the taxes on the wealthy,

2. They've started a very lucrative war, which is generating astronomical corporate profits, which go into the pockets of the wealthy who OWN the corporations,

3. They've passed more corporate trade agreements, which outsource more American jobs, which reduce corporate labor costs, which increase profits for the wealthy,

4. They've reduced government regulations that protect the interests of citizens, which allows corporations to cut more corners to increase profits,

5. They've decreased civil liberties, which allow pesky citizens to cause trouble for the corporate power structure.

You get the idea. The Bush Administration has been VERY competent at what they've set out to do. You've just misinterpreted their goals, which are to represent the interests of the wealthy.

It's a mistake to underestimate the enemy, or to misunderstand their motivations.

 
At 11:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"George Walker Bush will be remembered as the exception to the rule. Nothing good will come of the wasted years he sat as chief executive in the Oval Office. Nothing."

It depends on your point of view. From the viewpoint of the super rich, the Bush Administration has been wildly successful!

Consider:

1. They've decreased the taxes on the wealthy,

2. They've started a very lucrative war, which is generating astronomical corporate profits, which go into the pockets of the wealthy who OWN the corporations,

3. They've passed more corporate trade agreements, which outsource more American jobs, which reduce corporate labor costs, which increase profits for the wealthy,

4. They've reduced government regulations that protect the interests of citizens, which allows corporations to cut more corners to increase profits,

5. They've decreased civil liberties, which allow pesky citizens to cause trouble for the corporate power structure.

You get the idea. The Bush Administration has been VERY competent at what they've set out to do. You've just misinterpreted their goals, which are to represent the interests of the wealthy.

It's a mistake to underestimate the enemy, or to misunderstand their motivations.

 
At 4:56 PM, Blogger Stuart Gourd said...

I agree with you that Bush has surpassed Harding as the worst president ever.

 

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