BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: Amos
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 11:43 AM

I doubt it. For one thing all these things thwe writer says he was "excellent" at are pure opinion, and I am pretty sure there is no standing to those opinions except witht hose already agreeing with them.

I don't think he was excellent on abortion, or any scientific issue, for example.

I think he was a disaster.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: Riginslinger
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 08:48 AM

The US is going to be crippled with his Supeme Court appointment for generations. We're expected to think that's a good thing?

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: Amos
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 10:10 PM

Via CNN:

"A huge sculpture of the footwear hurled at President Bush in December during a trip to Iraq has been unveiled in a ceremony at the Tikrit Orphanage complex.

Assisted by children at the home, sculptor Laith al-Amiri erected a brown replica of one of the shoes hurled at Bush and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki by journalist Muntadhir al-Zaidi during a press conference in Baghdad.

Still awaiting his trial, Al-Zaidi's protest and the sculpture it inspired have marked what could be seen as the perfect symbolic closure to the United States' invasion of Iraq. What began with the toppling of an enormous likeness of Saddam Hussein--and its subsequent shoe drubbing--ended with a sculpture of the shoe aimed at the head of the man who largely responsible for leveling Hussein's bronze.

(Photo: A Journalist's Outburst

Evan Vucci, AP8 photos   
Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi hurls a shoe at President George W. Bush during a news conference Dec. 14 in Baghdad. He has been in custody since then, and a lawyer who claims to represent al-Zeidi said Monday the reporter will seek political asylum in Switzerland because "he is in danger" in Iraq.)

But why are these Iraqis so ungrateful to our former president given that the tyrant who led them, Saddam Hussein, has been deposed and executed? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that 5.1 million Iraqis were displaced by the war and the sectarian violence that ensued. According to the International Organization for Migration, that figure represents the largest human relocation in modern times.

Consider, too, the mind-boggling number of orphans caused by the war. The Iraqi Government estimates that the conflict has left 5 million children without parents.

Given these hard realities, perhaps a shoe-sculpture can be viewed as a civilized reaction to the legacy of Mr. Bush."

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: soulkat9
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 11:19 AM

Yeah I miss seeing that confused look on his face

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: Sawzaw
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 10:43 PM

Amos would prefer another statue of Saddam in front of another Saddam castle. The shoe is a symbol of the democracy that has taken hold.

Dear President Bush:   
    Thank you for all you have done to protect me from terrorism. It has been seven years since I was attacked and some of my friends were killed. I am truly grateful for the way you have handled one of the most profound crises my country has ever faced. As commander-in-chief, I could not have felt more secure with anyone other than you at the helm. Thank you for being a man of integrity and an inspirational leader. May God bless you.

Signed
1 Catherine Emanuele
2 Theresa A. DeChiaro
3 Enrico DeChiaro
4 Rich Mueller
5 Chrissy Leonard
6 Steven Tacopino
7 Peter Major
8 Jessica Iannotta
9 Barbara Major
10 M Serviss
11 Tom Z
12 Tom D
13 Dana Major
14 Kristin DeChiaro
15 alyssa
16 Chris Decker
17 Jessica Newman
18 Anne Arundel Community College
19 Anonymous
20 Taylor Eversole
21 Crystal Sutton
22 David Wadzinski .........

6088 Shirley Loose Thank You Mr. President for a job well done.         
6089 Jeannine & Vince Summers         We admire your courage to always stand strong no matter how you were ridiculed for the way you led our country. You made us proud to be american citizens. We wish we could have you for eight more years!         
6090 Felix M Chmiel         Thank you. You did what all great leaders would do in times like these.         
6091 LORRAINE PASSALACQUA         THANK YOU FOR YOUR EIGHT YEARS OF CONTINUED UNYIELDING SERVICE AND WONDERFUL LEADERSHIP.   GOD BLESS YOU AND MRS. BUSH         
6092 Connie Agree         THANK YOU for serving our nation and keeping us safe. I will always keep you in my prayers; you were a good man & president!         
6093 Desmond van Eyssen         Thank you for being a man of God. I thank the Lord for your integrity and leadership.         
6094 Tim         Mr. President         
6095 Ursulla Carter         God bless you!! Thank you for everything!

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: Amos
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 10:49 PM

Sigh.

Your insults are just as off the mark as your reports, Sawz.

Take up the study of logic.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: Sawzaw
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 11:16 PM

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: beardedbruce
Date: 06 Feb 09 - 10:32 AM

Good Work, No Pay
By Kathleen Parker
Friday, February 6, 2009; 12:00 AM

So many MBAs, so few jobs.

Despite daily reports of laid-off executives, all is not dark -- if you're the patient sort of investor.

There is, in fact, a lot of work for MBAs. It just doesn't pay very well. Actually, it doesn't pay at all, but that's a minor detail in the grand scheme. Job requirements are as follows: professional business experience, valid passport, commitment to volunteerism, adventurous spirit, flexibility and ... a sense of humor.

If you're thinking you might find yourself in some remote hollow of, say, South Sudan or Kyrgyzstan, you might be right. But you'd be helping save the world, so hang tight.

At this moment, volunteer MBAs are deployed in 15 countries, putting their skills to work helping small and medium-sized businesses get up and running. They're all part of the MBA Enterprise Corps, a division of the Citizens Development Corps (CDC), a quietly efficient operation begun 19 years ago by the first President George Bush.

The Berlin Wall had come down, European communism was dead, and Americans wanted to help. So many were calling the White House offering their services that Bush 41 decided to create a mechanism for funneling all that helpful American energy. Voila: The CDC was born.


What began as a vehicle for volunteers aimed at economic development has evolved into a highly successful economic development entity that uses volunteers.

The CDC has had programs in 50 countries on four continents, from Angola to Ukraine. With an annual budget of $6 million and a database of 7,500 volunteers, the CDC trains local businessmen and women and then brokers employment and consulting contracts between locals and multinational corporations.

It's one of those rare win-win-win arrangements: Corporations get local contracts that are faster and less costly than outside services would be; locals get training and jobs; friendships and mutual respect build bridges across cultures and nations.

A round of applause would be appropriate here.

Or, how about a Nobel Peace Prize to the United States for helping achieve the success story that is Central Europe? That's the modest proposal of Michael Levett, president and CEO of the citizen corps and an unlikely champion of anyone with the surname Bush.

A self-described liberal Democrat, Levett came to the CDC in 1994, intending to stay for just one year. Sitting in his K Street office today, he is surrounded by movie posters -- "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Return of the Jedi" and "Dune" -- from an earlier incarnation as vice president of Lucasfilm and Dino DeLaurentiis Corp. He sports a beard he grew to help blend in while in Baghdad and doesn't mind that he can pass for a local when work takes him to some of the world's dicier neighborhoods.

Levett says his longevity on the job is owing to one thing: Gratifying work. The allure of helping build democracies and growing free markets during a time of historic transformation can't be overrated.

Most who enter the MBA Enterprise Corps don't just stumble upon it, but choose the volunteer path early in their studies as a way to gain experience and build a resume. Even so, getting selected isn't easy.

Vetting includes an assessment of motivation, commitment and the ability to adapt to challenging living and business environments. Previous volunteers have included Goldman Sachs analysts in South Sudan, Bank of America employees in Ghana, and McKinsey consultants in India.

A list of accomplishments would be too long for this space, but herewith a few highlights:

-- IBM, with 400,000 employees worldwide, recently selected the CDC to implement a volunteer program.

-- South Sudan tapped three MBAs deployed there to develop that area's first census.

-- MBAs from the CDC provided training to the Bank of China.

-- In Angola, a CDC-trained company captured a $35 million contract with a multinational oil company.

I hear ya. What about us? Indeed.

As our government bails out banks, insurance companies and car manufacturers -- while the proposed stimulus package promises a trillion-plus more debt -- it's hard to applaud outsourcing our talents to countries that in some cases have already consumed our jobs.

That is the short view.

The longer view suggests that our own economic recovery depends in part on the financial success of emerging nations. While we await our own bounce, it can't hurt to help others. It also might not hurt to send some of those MBAs to aid our own ailing towns and cities.

Detroit, anyone? Applicants must be flexible. Sense of humor absolutely necessary.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: Sawzaw
Date: 06 Feb 09 - 01:56 PM

Thank You, President Bush

As the sun sets on the Bush presidency, it is important to honor the man who answered the call to public service, provided us leadership in a time of great consequence, and held his office with dignity and courage. The Heritage Foundation sometimes disagreed with President George W. Bush on policy, but never on our love for our nation. President Bush strove for innovative solutions to America's dilemmas, just as we do. He looked across this nation and saw the answers to most problems were in the hearts of great Americans, not the heart of the national government.
When President Bush spoke at Heritage on Nov. 1, 2007, he said: "The lessons of the past have taught us that liberty is transformative. And I believe 50 years from now an American President will be speaking to Heritage and say, `Thank God that generation that wrote the first chapter in the 21st century understood the power of freedom to bring the peace we want.' "
President Bush put a large stake in the freedom and liberty of others. He ultimately will be judged at the lofty level of how many people were granted these eternal rights, and how many seized the opportunities he afforded them.
Today, we simply ask that blessings abound for President and Mrs. Bush in the next chapter of their lives together. As he leaves office, our homeland is secure, Americans are inspired and the greatness of our country once again is on display to the world. Thank you.
   
January 16, 2009 Ron Lewis, Maj. USAF Ret., Manning, SC writes:
Thank you for staying the course and allowing us to fight the fight.

January 16, 2009 The Garvin Family, Ventura, CA writes:
We do thank you soooo much President Bush for all you've done for our great and GOD-given freedoms and country. You were way more moderate than we were hoping for and you didn't seem to get that even your best democrat "friends" would do all they could to destroy you as a Republican president; but we know you truly love America and did your best. Please learn from this experience and realize you don't have any democrat "friends" and your choice to try to set a "new tone" with them had no way of succeeding. We pray for GOD's blessings on you and yours.

January 16, 2009 martha siegfried, hudson, wi writes:
President Bush does indeed deserve our thanks! He has endured unprecedented media bias (this coming from a Communcation undergrad. and Communication Disorders M.A.)in doing what he knew to be right for this country. He went with the best information at the time and formulated an appropriate response to 9/11 and all other aggression from that region that previously had been left unanswered. His strong defense of America has been the greatest factor in us remaining safe since 9/11. His efforts to reform Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were thwarted by Democrats primarily but show that he knew of, and tried to avert the financial abyss we now find ourselves in. Thank you, President Bush!

January 16, 2009 MORRILL SWAN/SACO, MAINE writes:
THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR PROTECTING OUR COUNTRY. THANK YOU FOR THE TAX CUTS. THANK YYOU FOR YOUR HONESTY AND INTEGRATY. WE WISH YOU THE BEST OF EVERYTHING.

January 16, 2009 Lucia B. Caetano, MA writes:
Thank you President Bush for keeping us safe. Thank you for being strong in face of so much negative press, here and abroad. I wish you and yours the best that life has to offer.
The same goes to the Vice President and his family.
Lucia Caetano

January 16, 2009 Terry R Beard Ft Myers Fla writes:
Thank You Mr President for all you have done for our Country. My family and I will miss you very much and as always you and your family will be in our prayers.
The only thing I can say now, I feel as I am in the battlefield without a Commander. I am sorry to say that I can not recognize this man as our Commander-in-Chief. As a patriot ,(which I consider myself to be) I recognize The Holy Bible, The Constitution, & the UCMJ. Best of luck to you and your family and stay safe.
Thanks again for the last eight years.
Sincerely,TR Beard..........Part of 668 thank yous

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: Amos
Date: 06 Feb 09 - 02:02 PM

Shame how the KoolAid market has fallen since the Inauguration, Sawz.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: Amos
Date: 06 Feb 09 - 11:06 PM

The George W.  Bush Presidential Library is now in the
planning stages and accepting donations.
The Library will include:
 The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction.
The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you won't be able to remember anything.
The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you don't even have to show up.
The Walter Reed Hospital Room, where they don't let you in.
The Guantanamo Bay Room, where they don't let you out.
The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room, which has not yet been located.
The National Debt Room, which is the largest room and has no ceiling.
The Tax Cut Room, with entry only to the wealthy.
The Economy Room, which is in the toilet.
The Iraq War Room.  After you complete your  first visit, visitors are sent back for a second, third,
fourth, and sometimes fifth visits. 
The Dick Cheney Room, in an undisclosed location, complete with shotgun gallery.
The Environmental Conservation Room which is completely empty.
The Gift Shop, where you can buy an election.
The Men's Room, where you can meet some of your favorite Republican Senators.
The Decider Room, complete with the presidential dart board, magic 8-ball, Ouija board, dice, coins, and straws.
The library will feature a high powered electron microscope to help you locate and view the President's
accomplishments.
 
The library will also include many famous quotes by George W.  Bush including:
'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.'
'If we don't succeed, we run the risk of  failure.'
'Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.'
'No senior citizen should ever have to choose between prescription drugs and medicine.'
' I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy but that could
change.'
'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to
be prepared'.'
' Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.'
' I have made good judgments in the past.  I have made good judgments in the future.'
' The future will be better tomorrow.'
' We're have the best educated American people in the world.'
' One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.'
'  Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it.'
'  We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.'
'  It isn't pollution that's harming the environment.  It's the impurities in our air and
water that are doing it.'
 '  I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.'
 
PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY!
 
Sincerely, Jack Abramoff,
 Co-Chair G.W. Bush Library Board of Directors

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: Sawzaw
Date: 07 Feb 09 - 03:13 PM

Amos:

Strangely, while looking through this list of the G.W. Bush Library Board of Directors, I don't see Jack's name.

Could this be more of the "truth" That you are bringing to us?

Brent Scowcroft II
James W. Cicconi
Terri Lacy
Thomas Ludlow Ashley
Jeb Bush
Andrew H. Card, Jr.
Lodwrick M. Cook
Robert B. Holt
John H. Lindsey
Frederick D. McClure

Subject: RE: BS: Popular views of the Bush Administration
From: Sawzaw
Date: 08 Feb 09 - 11:17 AM

Bush denied clemency for some high-profile figures
Cunningham, Milken, Lindh among those whose petitions were rejected

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush, on his last full day in office, formally struck down the petitions for clemency of some high-profile politicians and businessmen, including convicted lawmakers Randall "Duke" Cunningham, Edwin Edwards and Mario Biaggi, and "junk bond" financier Michael Milken, the Justice Department said today.The chief of the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney, Ronald Rodgers confirmed the denials through a spokeswoman, in response to queries from the Tribune Washington Bureau.

The Justice Department said Bush also denied petitions for clemency for two men who became highly polarizing symbols of their eras. One of them was John Walker Lindh, the young American serving 20 years in prison for aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan at a time when it was fighting U.S. military forces just after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.Bush also denied one of the longest-standing petitions for clemency, for Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for the murder of two FBI agents during a 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. His application had been under consideration since 1993, current and former Justice Department officials said.

Such denials can be a serious setback for those intent on clemency. After a denial, a petitioner must wait two years to reapply for a pardon and one year for a commutation of a prison sentence, although they can also circumvent the Justice Department and appeal directly to the White House whenever they want. In some cases, a presidential denial can be a setback in other ways, as well, and make it harder politically for the next administration to approve it, according to several current and former administration officials involved in the pardon process.Bush, who has not spoken publicly about the denials, did not make formal rulings on some other well-known figures, leaving their petitions alive. That long list includes former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, then-Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, U.S. Navy spy for Israel Jonathan Pollard, media mogul Conrad Black and telecommunications executives Bernard Ebbers and John Rigas.

Bush also denied clemency last Dec. 23 for Justin Volpe, the New York City police officer convicted of sodomizing Haiti immigrant Abner Louima with a broomstick, Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said today. Many advocates for those denied clemency had forcefully lobbied the Justice Department and White House, arguing that their prison sentences -- and the underlying charges -- were unfair in comparison to others accused of similar wrongdoings, especially when various forms of good behavior were factored in. Some said those seeking clemency were victims of political scapegoating. Bush historically has been stingy in his issuing of pardons and prison commutations, issuing far fewer than many other presidents in recent history. During the Bush administration, 2,498 pardon and 8,573 commutation applications were submitted, Rodgers said today. Bush granted 189 pardons and 11 commutations, and denied 1,729 pardon applications and 7,498 commutation applications. Additionally, 464 pardon applications and 2,222 commutation applications were closed administratively without presidential action, Rodgers said.

For the most part, Bush granted pardons and commutations to obscure federal offenders and not high-profile, politically connected applicants, as was the case with President Bill Clinton and some other previous presidents. He did shorten the sentences of two former U.S. border patrol guards involved in a controversial shooting of a drug smuggler coming across the Mexican border. "He seems to go out of his way to deny the high rollers, the prominent people," one U.S. official familiar with the pardon denial list said of Bush. Clinton created a storm of controversy over some clemency grants that continues to this day, in part because Attorney General-nominee Eric H. Holder Jr. played a role in some as deputy attorney general. Bush's formal denial of clemency for the high-profile applicants raised questions about why he didn't simply pass them along to the Obama administration as he did with so many others, some current and former Justice Department officials said.

Many past presidents also have simply passed along such political hot potatoes on their way out of office, leaving the potentially controversial petitions for their successors to grapple with. The Justice Department declined to comment on any details of the cases. The White House had no comment, before the inauguration, on who might be granted clemency, or why. After Bush issued a pardon to Isaac R. Toussie, a 36-year-old New York developer who pleaded guilty in 2001 to making false statements in a Long Island mortgage fraud case, critics said he did so because Toussie was represented by former associate White House counsel Bradford Berenson. After information surfaced that Toussie's application bypassed the Justice Department and that his father was a major donor to Republican causes, Bush took the unprecedented step of trying to revoke the pardon.

But Bush said he was "very proud" of not issuing pardons to the politically well-connected, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an interview with CNN's Larry King. "He said people who have gotten pardons are usually people who have influence or know friends in high places," a route that is "not available to ordinary people," Pelosi said, recounting an Inauguration Day conversation with the president. "He thought that there was more access for some than others and he was not going to do any." The pardon power was created to allow the president to redress injustices that the judicial system is unable to remedy or for other reasons, such as Jimmy Carter's pardon of Vietnam-era draft resisters in an effort to restore domestic tranquility. Read More