GWB: "I want to be the peace president."

"I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind," he said in February."

I will make no further comment, because, um...GAAAAAH.

http://www.columbia.edu/~gwo2001/dodge.html

From the LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU department:

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2004/07/today-on-holdens-obsession-with-gaggle_19.html

I'm pasting it in, because it is worth it.

"Helen Thomas asks a question, Little Scottie goes deaf:

Q Prime Minister Blair took full personal responsibility for taking his nation into war under falsehoods -- under reasons that have been determined now to be false. Is President Bush also willing to take full, personal responsibility --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think Prime Minister Blair said that it was the right thing to do; that Saddam Hussein's regime was a threat.

Q Those were not the reasons he took his country into war. It turned out to be untrue, and the same is true for us. Does the President take full, personal responsibility for this war?

MR. McCLELLAN: The issue here is what do you to with a threat in a post-September 11th world? Either you live with a threat, or you confront the threat.

Q There was no threat.

MR. McCLELLAN: The President made the decision to confront the threat.

Q Saddam Hussein did not threaten this country.

MR. McCLELLAN: The world -- the world, the Congress and the administration all disagree. They all recognized that there was a threat posed by Saddam Hussein. When it came to September 11th, that changed the equation. It taught us, as I said --

Q The Intelligence Committee said there was no threat.

MR. McCLELLAN: As I said, it taught us that we must confront threats before it's too late.

Q So the President doesn't take full responsibility?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President already talked about the responsibility for the decisions he's made. He talked about that with Prime Minister Blair.

Q Personal responsibility?

MR. McCLELLAN: Terry, go ahead."

An LJ friend posted this:

"We'll end on a note of reason from Texas senator republican John Cornyn, who, in a speech to the Conservative Heritage Foundation this week put the gay marriage issue thusly: 'It does not affect your daily life very much if your neighbor marries a box turtle. But that does not mean it is right...now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife.' So to sum up, it'll take two thirds of both houses and three quarters of the states to approve an amendment saying that two straight parents are better than one straight parent which is still greater than two gay parents which is equal to a guy screwing a turtle."

-- John Stewart, The Daily Show (July 14, 2004)

Things President Bush is Not, in his own words

Neil Gaiman has a blog that I read, and today he posted some letters from kids who had read his books. They were really cute, so I'm pasting some in here for your amusement. :) (For some reason Blogger won't let me de-italicize this, so bear with me)

The letters:

How did you get to know Lemony Snicket? Why do authors know so many other authors?And Your Question to me, I'm Sure, is "WHY MUST I SUFFER THIS INHUMANITY OF INTERROGATION?"~ QUESTIONING YOU LIKE THE FBI, Wade Redfearn~

Where is the place where you feel better?

Did people ever tell you when you were growing up that you were creepy, and that maybe you should get some professional help? What would you say to somebody who said that thinking differently (the way you do) isn't good to expose people to?

The most frightening parts of your book are when the rats sing, or chant, ot whatever they do... But whatever it is it is TERRIFYING. I'm 16 years old and I was extremely scared. Can you tell me what they mean? By the way, your daughter was right, you're never too old for this book. For a long time I wondered if you had meant to write it as a children's book...

where were you born

Do you like bacon?

how do you come up with all these ideas for great books?

I think you're really hott can I have your phone number and/or address?

Does the song the rats sing have anything to do with the "my name is Legion, for we are many" passage from the Bible?

What is your new book called?

How long have you been writing stories.

HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE YOU WRITTEN

How come you write so many scary stories I mean, are you trying to scare people Im not saying there bad I like the books I think there are awsome but some people might read the books and be actully hiding under there bed for the next fue weeks so thanks for the great oppritunity of reading your books
Black eyed girl $

how old were u when u became popular

When is teatime?

I was rereading "American Gods" during a trip through the former East Germany, and one town - Spreewald - had not only storks, but anthropormorphized giant pickles. The pickles smile and offer themselves for sacrifice to holiday tourists.
Clearly something sinister is afoot in Spreewald, could you please send Shadow?

My grandfather always based his sotries somewhat near real people in his life, like his wife or .. um, lady friend. Do you ever base stories from experiences with your own children? Are any of your characters LIKE your children? I know that's a big personal question, so I won't be completely a prat if you don't answer.

hi. just wondering if there was a way to send you a letter because I missed out on the opportunity with sandman.... I was a bit young and comics were rare in South Africa

http://www.thestranger.com/2004-06-10/feature2.html

Bush Defends War in Iraq...again

He says:
“Although we have not found stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, we were right to go into Iraq. We removed a declared enemy of America who had the capability of producing weapons of mass murder and could have passed that capability to terrorists bent on acquiring them. In the world after September 11th, that was a risk we could not afford to take."

The capability?! Is that why this was all okay? Good thing North Korea doesn't have that capability. Oh wait! Even I could, theoretically, produce weapons of mass murder (though I'm not planning on it, mister FBI agent). Any country certainly could. We're not entirely popular with the rest of the world right now, either. Maybe we'd better take over the entire world, just to be safe!

(Now watch the stupid Blogger ads pimp the Republican National Convention or something, since I've used fun keywords like "Bush" and "terrorists")

Salon.com article on the Dean/Nader debate

It's a good article, go endure the daypass ad so you can read it. I'm posting the end because I found it kind of funny:

"In a refreshingly energetic debate, the two iconoclasts found themselves reverting to politician-speak at the end, when the moderator, Adler, posed what she called her "favorite question": If diversity in ideas and perspectives is the main recommendation for a strong third-party system, what did the two have to say about the hurdles to women or atheists running for president? "This country is alive and well if they have candidates who stand up" for their principles, Dean said blandly. Nader, in a non sequitur, advocated repeal of the antilabor Taft-Hartley Act, enacted in 1947. (Not a single union has endorsed him.)

"I still haven't heard about women and atheists," Adler chided. The fight was over.

Since losing the Democratic nomination, Dean has campaigned as a stalwart for Kerry and created his own activist organization, Democracy for America. He has taken on the mission of protecting from Nader the flock he has shepherded. Unable to offer cogent responses to Dean's charges, Nader frantically roams the countryside demanding his relevance."

http://www.drudgereport.com/kerryk.htm

http://www.livejournal.com/community/johnxjohn/

As someone in the aforementioned community said, it looks like John and John will be getting the squealing fangirl vote.

In the "no duh" department:

From today's Washington Post

Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), the committee's vice chairman, called the assessments of Iraq before the 2003 war "one of the most devastating intelligence failures in the history of the nation."

He said in the same news conference, "We in Congress would not have authorized that war with 75 votes if we knew what we know now." While the government "didn't connect the dots" in analyzing clues before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he said, "in Iraq we were even more culpable, because the dots themselves never existed."

As a result of the intelligence failures, he said, "our credibility is diminished, our standing in the world has never been lower" and "we have fostered a deep hatred of Americans in the Muslim world." Rockefeller added, "As a direct consequence, our nation is more vulnerable today than ever before."

From cnn.com

Sen. Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican who heads the committee, told reporters that assessments that Iraq had chemical and biological weapons and could make a nuclear weapon by the end of the decade were wrong.

"As the report will show, they were also unreasonable and largely unsupported by the available intelligence," he said.

"i will be confused for cash.
if you're stupid, but want to know what its like to baffle someone with your intellect, then pay me money (the stuff that you swap for things in shops) and i guarantee i will be confused by you. amaze your friends (the people you go to the pub/dole office with) and confuse. . .well, me. hourly rates apply.

timmy
timmy@baffleme.co.uk
United Kingdom - 07/04/04"

"Jesus
My friend, Dan Poxon, is the son of god. I'll sell him to you for £50. He looks cuban and likes to smoke draw.

Oli
give_me_polos_or_give_me_death@hotmail.com
United Kingdom - 12/04/04"

See what other people will do for you and for what price at:
http://youwhores.com/buy.html

This is creepy, but funny.