The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to raise the minimum wage. The president, later in the day, appealed to Americans’ minimum rage.
Was anyone even watching his address to the nation? The American people seem bored by the war, having decided long ago what the right course is and having delivered the message to His Deafness in November.
The fact of the incomprehensible troop increase was leaked for so long by the White House that it was no longer news by the time the dissembler-in-chief commanded the airwaves to admit – like his father did after Iran-Contra -- that “mistakes were made.”.jpg)
Note the utter inability of any Bush, any bluebood for that matter, so use the active voice. Is there anything wrong with “I made a mistake?”
At any rate, Bush set the bar so low for what would constitute “success” that at the first sign of any improvement in the metrics of anarchy he can claim “victory.”
My reaction to this speech is reminiscent of the message the “compassionate conservative” of 2000 who chided liberal educators for applying to black students “the soft bigotry of low expectations.”
The one remarkable thing about W is that our expectations of him already are lower than for any of his 41 predecessors they are so low they will inoculate the next 41 presidents – if the United States of America survives this one's vile ineptitude.
Was anyone even watching his address to the nation? The American people seem bored by the war, having decided long ago what the right course is and having delivered the message to His Deafness in November.
The fact of the incomprehensible troop increase was leaked for so long by the White House that it was no longer news by the time the dissembler-in-chief commanded the airwaves to admit – like his father did after Iran-Contra -- that “mistakes were made.”
.jpg)
Note the utter inability of any Bush, any bluebood for that matter, so use the active voice. Is there anything wrong with “I made a mistake?”
At any rate, Bush set the bar so low for what would constitute “success” that at the first sign of any improvement in the metrics of anarchy he can claim “victory.”
My reaction to this speech is reminiscent of the message the “compassionate conservative” of 2000 who chided liberal educators for applying to black students “the soft bigotry of low expectations.”
The one remarkable thing about W is that our expectations of him already are lower than for any of his 41 predecessors they are so low they will inoculate the next 41 presidents – if the United States of America survives this one's vile ineptitude.
I thought it was Old Ron Raygun who said "mistakes were made."
ReplyDeleteWhat happens in the puzzle palaces of Washington is that they send the vice president out to try out lines. If they fly, the president adopts them.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, I happened to be present as a reporter when Vice President George Bush, on Dec. 3, 1986, was sent out to make the administration's first official recognition of how bad the Iran-Contra affair smelled.
The key line from that speech was, "Mistakes were made."
It was a boffo piece of speech writing, because the phrase immediately entered entered the language as both a dodge of responsibility used by everyone from popes to Hollywood sluts as well as a winking self-parody meaning, "Of course, I did it!"
As part of their first 100 hours plan, Democrats are pushing a hike in the minimum wage. It's going to happen. But did you know that American Samoa...a Democrat stronghold...is being exempted from the minimum wage increase?
ReplyDeleteAnd just what are the reasons being given for this? According to the chairman of the House, Education and Labor Committee, Democrat George Miller of California, the economy of American Samoa doesn't have the ability to handle the United States' minimum wage and should be exempt. Nice try...want to know the real reason? The answer is the tuna industry and like the product itself, this one stinks to high heaven.
The average wage for Tuna workers in American Samoa is $3.60 an hour. One of the biggest employers there is Starkist Tuna...which is headquartered in San Francisco...Nancy Pelosi land. Anybody care to take a closer look at the campaign contributions of Democrats in the last election? One thing is for sure, the delegate from American Samoa, a Democrat, is loaded down with campaign cash from the tuna industry.
So there you have it...a double standard. On the one hand, we're told you can't raise a family on $5.15 an hour and the minimum wage must be raised to $7.25 an hour. But for the right price in campaign contributions, the tuna industry in American Samoa can avoid the minimum wage altogether...they just have to stuff the pockets of the right Democrats. Where is the media on this one?
Will the press be taking a closer look at Nancy Pelosi's campaign finance disclosures? Fat fucking chance.
I don't know the ins and outs of the tuna industry. I am sure it would drive me inseine, if I did.
ReplyDeleteBut if what you lift, verbatim and uncredited to Neil Bortz, is true, at least it is for protecting a home-district industry, a "crime" committed by 435 members.
Exemption of the Northern Marianas by convicted felon Jack Abramoff and disgraced Tom DeLay were for their personal gain.
That's an important distinction in my book. Both parties are subject to chicanery, but for the most part, Republicans tend to do it for profit and Democrats for a larger purpose, whether misguided or not.