do I detect just a bit of :sarcasm:?
http://villagevoice.com/generic/show_print.php?id=71770&page=schanberg&issue=0603&printcde=MzQxMjkxMjk2OA==&refpage=L25ld3MvaW5kZXgucGhwP2lzc3VlPTA2MDMmcGFnZT1zY2hhbmJlcmcmaWQ9NzE3NzA=Press Clips
Empirical news
The secret's out: Bush is overtaken by events—and overwhelmed
by Sydney H. Schanberg
January 17th, 2006 12:25 PM
Transfixed as I've become by the new empire spreading out of Washington, I offer some empirical news bits that have recently drawn my attention. President Bush, who for now has resisted accepting the "emperor" title and its crown and scepter, gave a speech last week to a select group of admirers in Lexington, Kentucky. It was one of those unilateral orations about his Iraq war and related subjects, such as the patriotic, secret spying on Americans that he authorized shortly after the 9-11 terrorist attack. Of course, it's no longer secret, because the treasonous New York Times outed the covert operation on December 16. But the president has acted swiftly, ordering a secret investigation into that heinous act. More reporters may be going to jail. The president says no mercy will be shown to those who comfort the enemy.
Anyway, I'm watching his speech on CNN and suddenly the president utters one of those giggly little fibs he likes to tease America with. He says of the soldiers he has sent into battle: "When you put these kids in harm's way, we owe them the best equipment, the best training, and a strategy for victory."
It was the "equipment" part that crossed my eyes. Omigod, I thought, his staff has failed him again and made him look like a fool. I guess they didn't tell him about the repeated news stories since the war's start, nearly three years ago, that showed soldiers were being killed and maimed because of outdated body armor and vehicle armor. The latest undisputed report was on page one of the Times on January 7, just four days before his speech. The president says he doesn't lie, so it must have been another staff bungle.
<snip>
That's only the half of it, though. A story came out the other day reporting that Wall Street bonuses had hit a record of $21.5 billion. I guess that's what the president means when he keeps reminding us how well the economy is doing. But he didn't say anything in his speech about most of the money going to the Gekkos at the top. Maybe his handlers kept that from him too—those bums. It can't be the president. He's a regular guy.
There's even more economic stuff Bush is not told about, as the national debt soars out of sight, subsidized by Communist China. Consumers are borrowing on their homes to pay their current bills. Household spending is running at more than 70 percent of gross domestic product, an unprecedented level. Bankruptcy filings hit a record in 2005. The president seems oblivious. Secrecy, like a wasted mind, can be a terrible thing.
..more..
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