BS: Bush Distortions

Subject: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Mickey191
Date: 12 Oct 03 - 10:48 AM

I'm usually a day late & a dollar short, so if this is old news to you....forgetaboutit. I just discovered this site and am thrilled that each morning I'll be getting the latest bush distorion. I will, therefore, become hip! Misleader.org

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Mickey191
Date: 12 Oct 03 - 10:52 AM

As I said in another thread-mispellings may just be typos. I know how to spell distortion. I just didn't hit the second t. Is that a typo or just stupidity?

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Leadfingers
Date: 12 Oct 03 - 11:42 AM

The answer to your question is,of course YES!.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 13 Oct 03 - 10:51 AM

The web page for Misleader.org is right over here..

Regards,

A

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Bill D
Date: 13 Oct 03 - 11:27 AM

did you know that if you distort facts long enough, it begins to show? This similar to the Pinnocchio effect.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Bill D
Date: 13 Oct 03 - 11:46 AM

and the Pinnocchio effect may already be happening

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Mickey191
Date: 13 Oct 03 - 12:15 PM

Cool! If he'd had that nose he would not have gotten elected.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 13 Oct 03 - 03:19 PM

The ads at the bottom of this thread are for "Endangered Species" and "Are You a New Dad"? Go figger! :>)

A

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 13 Oct 03 - 04:26 PM

Huh!! Now they've changed to something else equally germane -- Irish Music! Some algorithm!

A

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 14 Oct 03 - 11:04 AM

I noticed on my thread about coffee that the ads at the bottom were about coffee -- someone's pretty clever.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 14 Oct 03 - 11:07 AM

This one is now showing The Green Guide--The Source for Eco-Friendly Advice -- and a site for Medical Product Donations. How that relates to distortions of fact by the ruling republican beats me.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 29 Oct 03 - 10:58 AM

As far as Bush distortions here's the world view he was promoting in Washington last April:

"In Iraq, a dictator is building and hiding weapons that could enable him to dominate the Middle East and intimidate the civilized world -- and we will not allow it. (Applause.) This same tyrant has close ties to terrorist organizations, and could supply them with the terrible means to strike this country -- and America will not permit it. The danger posed by Saddam Hussein and his weapons cannot be ignored or wished away. The danger must be confronted. We hope that the Iraqi regime will meet the demands of the United Nations and disarm, fully and peacefully. If it does not, we are prepared to disarm Iraq by force. Either way, this danger will be removed. (Applause.)

The safety of the American people depends on ending this direct and growing threat. Acting against the danger will also contribute greatly to the long-term safety and stability of our world. The current Iraqi regime has shown the power of tyranny to spread discord and violence in the Middle East. A liberated Iraq can show the power of freedom to transform that vital region, by bringing hope and progress into the lives of millions. America's interests in security, and America's belief in liberty, both lead in the same direction: to a free and peaceful Iraq. "(Applause.)

LEst we forget.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 29 Oct 03 - 11:25 AM

The most recent Bushism really kinda says it all:

Bushism of the Day
By Jacob Weisberg
Posted Tuesday, October 28, 2003, at 3:44 PM PT


"[A]s you know, these are open forums, you're able to come and listen to what I have to say."—Washington, D.C., Oct. 28, 2003

A

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 01 Nov 03 - 07:15 PM

CLAIM: "The tax cut was good for job creation. The two tax cuts were an integral part of creating the conditions for growth."
                - President George W. Bush, in Columbus, OH 10/30/03
                                    

FACT: "Columbus has lost 16,000 jobs since President Bush took office – almost 2% of the city's entire workforce."
                - Bureau of Labor Statistics, Metropolitan Report, 10/29/03

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 01 Nov 03 - 07:40 PM

SACRAMENTO -- California officials accused the Bush administration Thursday of ignoring urgent pleas months ago for emergency help to remove beetle-infested trees that experts warned could fuel a catastrophic Southern California fire.

The U.S. Senate passed controversial legislation Thursday allowing the thinning of forests across the West, and another debate erupted over whether dire warnings about a bark beetle infestation were ignored in Washington. In April, Gov. Gray Davis requested $430 million to remove unhealthy trees on 415, 000 acres of forest, but the request for emergency funds went unanswered until last week -- and then was denied.

"There was a reason the governor requested the declaration,'' said Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio. "And I'm sure there are a lot of families without homes that are disappointed it wasn't approved.''

Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, speaking in the Senate during Thursday's debate on the "Healthy Forests'' bill, complained that President Bush had failed to act on the state's request for help and that now Californians were suffering.

"We named three of the four counties that are up in smoke, and we begged him to declare a disaster, we begged him,'' Boxer said before the bill passed 80-14. "We saw this coming a mile away.''

Bark beetles' damage

For more than a year, California officials have fretted about an infestation of native beetles that drill into trees, mostly pine and fir. They feast on bark and carry a fungus that blocks a tree's vascular system from carrying water. Healthy trees normally can reject the beetles, but the bugs have thrived because a four-year drought has weakened hundreds of thousands of trees in Southern California, leaving them brittle tinder.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it had rejected the April emergency request because it was clear the Department of Agriculture, which manages the U.S. Forest Service, was working on the problem and diverting money from other programs to tackle it. In addition, they said, $3.3 million originally designated for seismic safety was diverted in June to tackle the beetle problem in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

"It's somewhat disingenuous to suggest there was no federal assistance, because in fact there was,'' said Chad Kolton, spokesman for FEMA.

The Davis administration released an April 16 letter sent to Bush warning that the bark beetle infestation was threatening severe fires in three counties: Riverside, San Diego and San Bernardino. Davis warned that 75,000 residents of mountain communities were threatened. He requested $300 million from the U.S. Forest Service and $130 million from a FEMA account of unused money set aside from previous disasters.

"This situation is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state,'' Davis said in April, a month after he declared three counties in a state of emergency because of the infestation and the potential for major wildfires fueled by Santa Ana winds.

Eight days later, a bipartisan group of California lawmakers pleaded with federal authorities to approve Davis' request, saying "this infestation has created a tinder box of such magnitude that loss of life and resources would be incomprehensible should fire break out." The letter was signed by Boxer, and Republican Reps. Mary Bono of Palm Springs, Jerry Lewis of Redlands (San Bernardino County), Darrell Issa of Vista (San Diego County), David Dreier of San Dimas (Los Angeles County) and Duncan Hunter of Alpine (San Diego County), among others. Hunter's home was destroyed in the recent fire.

Bono told Gannett News Service on Wednesday, as fires raged across Southern California, that FEMA "should have helped us. There has got to be egg on their face today.'' But her chief of staff, Frank Cullen, told The Chronicle that Bono felt FEMA "may be getting a bad rap." There is considerable debate, he said, over whether FEMA should use its money to head off potential catastrophes rather than responding to current disasters.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 02 Nov 03 - 08:43 PM

Book Description The Lies of George W. Bush

"George W. Bush is a liar. He has lied large and small, directly and by omission. He has mugged the truth—not merely in honest error, but deliberately, consistently, and repeatedly." —from the Introduction

All American presidents have lied, but George W. Bush has relentlessly abused the truth. In this scathing indictment of the president and his inner circle, David Corn, the Washington editor of The Nation, reveals and examines the deceptions at the heart of the Bush presidency. In a stunning work of journalism, he details and substantiates the many times the Bush administration has knowingly and intentionally misled the American public to advance its own interests and agenda, including:

* Brazenly mischaracterizing intelligence and resorting to deceptive arguments to whip up public support for war with Iraq
* Misrepresenting the provisions and effects of the president's supersized tax cuts
* Offering misleading explanations— instead of telling the full truth — about the 9/11 attacks
* Lying about connections to corporate crooks
* Presenting deceptive and disingenuous claims to sell controversial policies on the environment, stem cell research, missile defense, Social Security, white-collar crime, abortion, energy, and other crucial issues
* Running a truth-defying, down-and-dirty campaign during the 2000 presidential contest and recount drama

The Lies of George W. Bush is not a partisan whine—it is instead a carefully constructed, fact-based account that clearly denotes how Bush has relied on deception—from the campaign trail to the Oval Office—to win political and policy battles. With wit and style, Corn explains how Bush has managed to get away with it and explores the dangerous consequences of such presidential deceit in a perilous age.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 03 Nov 03 - 10:31 AM

The Bush Administration is apparentl;y prosecuting the Greenpeace Organization for exercising consittutionally protected free speech and peaceful protest. See this page at Hightower's Weblog.

Sigh.

Will no one rid me of this turbulent politician?

A

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: TIA
Date: 03 Nov 03 - 10:50 AM

Nope, no one will.
You, and the authors you cite, are simply Bush Haters.
Dismissed.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 03 Nov 03 - 11:35 AM

Sorry TIA. There is more to it. Your dismissal is premature.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: TIA
Date: 03 Nov 03 - 01:40 PM

A month old, but still sooooo true.

Molly Ivins on the "Bush Hater" charge.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 03 Nov 03 - 03:06 PM

Thanks for the link, TIA. As it happens I find her propositions quite reasonable. I like this part especially:

Beware the anger of the legions left too long in Iraq without enough help; of the unemployed; of the uninsured; of those who were left without workers' comp; of those who have lost health insurance, overtime, the right to organize.

Beware the anger of those whose pensions and savings are gone because of Bush pals like "Kenny Boy" Lay. Beware the anger of middle-class investors in mutual funds; the anger of those who see the big rich take their money offshore so they won't have to pay taxes, those who watch the corporations get special tax breaks for exporting jobs abroad; the anger of those who are shunted aside while the CEOs of their companies make more than a hundred million.

You don't have to be hateful to have bad policies. You just have to be wrong.



Regards,

A

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 03 Nov 03 - 04:46 PM

I wish that I could put some hope in the "beware the anger of..." portions of Ivins' column, but unfortunately, I can't. A couple of months before the 2004 election, Bush and his cabal will pull some miraculous goodies out of the hat for the electorate, who will all cheer, think themselves better off, and vote for the bastard again.

I have very little faith in the electorate.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: TIA
Date: 03 Nov 03 - 06:13 PM

Here's both despair and hope.

Despair - the electorate is brainwashed, and just in case, Diebold (a huge Bush backer) has made voting machines that can easily be tampered with...and may already have been.

Hope - incriminating internal Diebold memos have popped up on the internet. Diebold has court orders preventing their display, but in an act of civil disobedience (led by students at Swarthmore College - go Redbellies!) they are being posted at constantly shifting locations. You gotta see this stuff. The latest route is here

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Peace
Date: 03 Nov 03 - 07:20 PM

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Peace
Date: 03 Nov 03 - 07:22 PM

Sorry. I disagree that the electorate is brainwashed. A light rinse would do.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 05 Nov 03 - 11:09 AM

From Slate's "Today's Papers" email distribution:

The NYT's Nicholas Kristof complains that the Bush administration doesn't so much lie as fools itself. That's probably true. But Kristof's own column has what seems to be an example to the contrary: Vice President Cheney recently cited a Zogby poll as evidence that there's "very positive news" in Iraq. Meanwhile, the poll's author, John Zogby told Kristof, "I was floored to see the spin that was put on it; some of the numbers were not my numbers at all. I am not willing to say they lied. But they used a very tight process of selective screening, and when they didn't get what they wanted they were willing to manufacture some results."

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 10 Dec 03 - 10:14 AM

From "Today's Papers" for December 10, 2003:

today's papers
Contract Shun
By Eric Umansky
Posted Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2003, at 1:54 AM PT


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Post isn't thrilled with Bush's decision to discourage Taiwan from having a referendum. The paper's lead editorial states: "Taiwan's democratically elected president, Chen Shui-bian, has been hinting that maybe his people should make a democratic choice about whether to unite with China or become independent. Yesterday President Bush essentially placed the United States on the side of the dictators who promise war, rather than the democrats whose threat is a ballot box. Mr. Bush had his reasons for doing so--above all to avoid one more foreign policy crisis during an election year. But in avoiding a headache for himself, he demonstrated again how malleable is his commitment to the defense of freedom as a guiding principle of U.S. policy."

---

I can understand that the China problem is tricky and risky. Taking a stand against democratic process shows him up for a hypocrite, which does not surprise me. Taiwan has as much right to a democratic process as do, say, the people of Florida. I just dojn't remember when we've had so anti-democratic a leader.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: GUEST,Teribus
Date: 10 Dec 03 - 10:29 AM

Hi Amos,

This situation is intriguing me also.

I think the recent debate in the Taiwan Parliament is on Referenda in general. The thing that the media and the Government in Beijing lept on was that if this goes through and Referenda are allowed in Taiwan, it may well lead to there being a Referendum on the question of independence. In such a case and the people of Taiwan come out resoundingly in favour of independence, then the Taiwanese government would have no option but to go with it.

At that point the trouble would start, as China will not countenance what they see as the breaking up of China, the US has pledged itself to defend Taiwan if threatened/attacked by mainland China. The bit I saw on this on the news this morning is that the US position is that they do not want to see anything happen that alters the status quo between China and Taiwan.

But you are right in that this will be a bit of a poser.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Mudlark
Date: 10 Dec 03 - 10:25 PM

I have heard David Corn speak and he is articulate and convincing. He clearly knows his subject matter.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: kendall
Date: 11 Dec 03 - 09:28 AM

Have you people who are buffaloed by this phoney liar ever asked WHY there are Bush haters? Could it be that he is deserves it? Or do you think we just need to hate someone?
Molly Ivens is brilliant, and she tells it like it is. You must, however, have eyes to see the truth.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: Amos
Date: 11 Dec 03 - 09:59 AM

I don 't hate Bush -- I gave up hating people long since -- but he angers me deeply because his policies seem grounded in bad assumptions and misguided principles. In addition, I am angered by his evasiveness and dishonesty, his brazen ignorance, and his ham-handed dismissal of human concerns. Above all, I am angered by the death he has caused; he has poured a great deal of blood into the sand by his own action, and unnecessarily, with malice aforethought and wicked disregard for the pain he is causing. The boy pisses me off.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Bush Distortions
From: kendall
Date: 11 Dec 03 - 01:28 PM

Truth to tell, I don't hate him either. If Disney screws up, we don't hate Micky Mouse do we?