Why The Lame Duck Needs To Be Shot...

... with a Tranquilizer Gun. Or Tasered.

The Washington Post reports that "The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in January."

On Bush's hit-list? Lowering the standards for our drinking water, easing controls on greenhouse gases, and removing key restrictions on mountaintop coal mining.

And as the Post correctly points out, "Once such rules take effect, they typically can be undone only through a laborious new regulatory proceeding, including lengthy periods of public comment, drafting and mandated reanalysis."

I wish Bush Jr. would take a cue from his supposed role model, Ronald Reagan, who in his final days in office took the controversial step of recognizing the PLO. So that his successor, Bush Sr., wouldn't have to. That's the classy way to leave office. And leave your legacy as a President. Closing that global public-relations nightmare known as Guantanamo Bay would be a far worthier way, Bush Jr., to spend your final days in the White House.

Read the Washington Post article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/30/AR2008103004749.html?hpid=topnews

The Bush Administration Wants To Go Out With a Bang... Literally

"With the clock winding down on the [Bush] administration, it has a greater appetite for racking up victories against al Qaeda—and less worries about any residual political consequences from striking."

That's from a new article in The New Republic entitled Twilight Struggle: In its closing days, the Bush administration escalates the war on terror. The article goes on to say:

"We have entered a new phase in the war on terror. In July, according to three administration sources, the Bush administration formally gave the military new power to strike terrorist safe havens outside of Iraq and Afghanistan."

So. Now the military no longer needs approval from President Bush (or presumably even the next President--yikes) to launch a military strike in a country like Pakistan or Syria (where last Sunday, U.S. military helicopters attacked a civilian building under construction in a village near the Iraq border, killing eight):

"Now, those kinds of strikes in the region can occur at the discretion of the incoming commander of Central Command, General David Petraeus."

And in this "new order", countries like Kenya, Mali, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen may all be fair game, because they are "all places where the American intelligence believe al Qaeda has a significant presence, but can no longer count on the indigenous security services to act. In the parlance of the Cold War, Petraeus will now have the authority to fight a regional "dirty war."

(shudder). So there's yet another facet of the Bush Legacy for you.

Here's another: The Syrian government ordered an American School and a U.S. Cultural Center in Damascus closed Tuesday in response to the deadly attack. So. Another important opportunity for good Public Relations lost, thanks to Sunday's attack. And reports say that Syrian villagers held banners declaring "Down with American enemy" as they carried the coffins of relatives who died in the strike.

See what happens when we all take our eyes off the Bush? (sigh) If America really wanted to win the War on Terror, maybe it would stop helping al Qaeda with it's recruitment drive.

If you're thinking to yourself, Well if they're not with us then they're against us and so they are "Terrorists", please see my earlier post, Is Bjork a Terrorist?

I'm going to go watch Dr. Strangelove now... and hopefully I'll be able to see the comic side to all this... again.

And let me know if you are stumped for things to say to Bush if/when you email or call him (see my post below). Because it's high time for the American people to "engage", to use military-speak--and no, yelling at your TV screen does not count.

Here's the link to the article: http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=9c613d05-0441-4a14-bf40-ef3ac16a42b5

Bush Jr. is So Bored... Maybe You Should Give Him a Call!

Seriously. The info below is legit. And you really can email/call him (or whoever is playing him that day, anyway). Who knows, you may find it, er... cathartic. And personally, I think every concerned and responsible citizen should have their President's number on speed-dial. Think of it as your civic duty, in fact. The Founding Fathers would expect no less of you...

And if you do, and share it with me, I'll submit your "entry" in with all the others. The winner will get a personally and custom designed T-shirt handmade by Arts & Craftsy me. For real! The deadline for submissions is November 4, 11:59PM PST. All submissions should be made by posting a comment here. But if you want your submission to stay anonymous, just say so in your comment, and I won't post it.

Enjoy...

President George W. Bush
Email: comments@whitehouse.gov
Phone: 202-456-1111