Sorry, Dr. Seuss

"I'm the Decider"
by Roddy McCorley
With apologies to the late Theodore Seuss Geisel.

I'm the decider.
I pick and choose.

I pick among whats.
And choose among whos.

And as I decide
Each particular day.

The things I decide on
All turn out that way.

I decided on freedom
For all of Iraq.

And now that we have it,
I'm not looking back.

I decided on tax cuts
That just help the wealthy.

And Medicare changes
That aren't really healthy.

And parklands and wetlands
Who needs that stuff?

I decided that none
Would be more than enough!

I decided that schools
All in all are the best

The less that they teach
And the more that they test.

I decided those wages
You need to get by

Are much better spent
On some CEO guy.

I decided your Wade
which was versing your Roe

Is terribly awful
And just has to go.

I decided that levees
Are not really needed.

Now, when hurricanes come
They can come unimpeded.

That old Constitution?
Well, I have decided

As "just goddamn paper"
It should be derided.

I've decided gay marriage
Is icky and weird.

Above all other things,
It's the one to be feared.

And Cheney and Rummy
And Condi all know

That I'm the Decider-
They tell me it's so.

I'm the Decider
So watch what you say

Or I may decide
To have you whisked away.

Or I'll tap your phones.
Your email I'll read.

'cause I'm the Decider-
Like Jesus decreed.

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous(es):
Please assign yourselves numbers so I can write in a manner befitting your interests!
Respectfully,
David Rice
Or is it anonymousi?

George W. Bush

Emperor George W. Bush should be impeached, and that would eliminate the Evil Triumverate, Rumsfeld, Rove, and Cheney. Unfortunately, the American people seem willing to tolerate anything illegal and outrageous from this administration except adultery, which is a personal private problem that doesn't kill people. The Republicans wasted $40 million of our tax dollars pursuing a vendetta against Clinton and could prove no governmental wrong-doing, even though he set such a poor example and embarrassed the Democrats.

Would $40 million be enough to bribe an intern to seduce George W. Bush, which would infuriate the dim-witted 33% who still support him? It probably wouldn't be enough!

Tuesday's Word: forgive

forgive* \fer - 'giv\ vb [ME forgiven, fr. OE forgifan, fr. for- + gifan to give] vt 1 : to cease to feel resentment against (an offender) : PARDON <~ one's enemies> 2 a : to give up resentment of or claim to requital for <~ an insult> b : to grant relief from payment of <~ a debt> ~vi : to grant forgiveness syn EXCUSE

Forgiveness is what this humble blogger hopes from those who may have taken offense with his actions of late. No harm was meant.

There are situations where forgiveness is not appropriate, ie, when actions are aggressive and meant to cause harm. Some of these would be the US Government's actions toward the indigenous of America, aka "Indians," Turkey's genocide of the Armenians, and England's use of the Black and Tans in Northern Ireland.

*Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

Decider-in-Chief!

The Bush boy is struggling

Dick Feagler

The Plain Dealer

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

As presidents go, George W. Bush has been a disaster. Compared to him, Nixon and Harding look like George Washington.

Bush's father was a decent man. But the son doesn't talk to his father.

Wouldn't you think that if you had a father who had been president of the country, you turn to him for some advice? I sure would.

This George doesn't.

His old man ran a clear, surgical war against Iraq. When it was over, Iraq was pinned down. Certainly no threat to our nation.

But then his kid got the job. Maybe he wanted to outdo his old man.

Maybe it had been that way all his life. Trying to outdo the old man. He was, after all, a rich kid. He was a plugged-in kid in the lap of largess. He was, for a while, a playboy. Then he got a baseball team to run, and then he got to be Texas governor. And then, president. Wow!

Famous kids of famous fathers seldom work out well. They either fade into the woodwork and cringe or they try to upstage their heritage, with bad results. And often, if they can't find a comfortable neo-dad, they seek out surrogate fathers.

I think our president did that. I think he wanted Cheney and Rumsfeld to be papa to him. And give him guidance.

In other words, I don't think he has an original thought in his head.

Had he one, we never would have gone into Iraq. Afghanistan maybe; Iraq, certainly not.

I think our president did what his new daddies told him to do. They had an agenda, he had none. His crib toy was a button to press. Press the button and thousands of widgets fly around the world and kill people and are killed in return.

And when the rest of us take losses, it's a bad day. Just like a Rangers loss at the ballpark. "Hey! We'll get 'em next time."

Now the polls have plummeted. Everybody is bailing out. Even the conservatives are jumping ship. Bush, who has no ideas, can't embrace their ideas. And the Democrats, who have no game plan, are circling like timid sharks in the water, waiting for a kill to feed on.

This week, the Bushies hired a new chief of staff -- a meaningless gesture. Everybody knows that Cheney, as long as he's in there, is the co-president. Who's left? A Yale grad who has some trouble with the language.

Six retired generals spoke out against the way that whoever is running this war is running it. These generals are not chopped liver. One ran the 1st Infantry Division, the "Big Red One" that fought in Normandy. Another ran the 82nd Airborne. These are elite units, and elite generals commanded them.

My experience with generals has been, happily, slight. But the generals I knew never opened their mouths to criticize a war unless they felt conscience-stricken to do so. They normally share their opinions only over very good Scotch at the Army-Navy Club.

The mere fact that they have spoken speaks volumes. The fact that they have spoken out against Rumsfeld means that their brother officers, mute because they are still in service, share their view.

And the fact that the president has not fired Rumsfeld means simply that without Rumsfeld, he wouldn't know what to do.

He is inept. And we pay the price. If I had a guess, I'd guess his old man would have said to dump Rumsfeld.

But you know how kids are. Stubborn. They can screw up a family. But a whole nation? Guess so.

"Im the decider!"

Tagged by Kelly's sister!

Six Random Facts About Me

1. I am attracted to intelligent women.

2. I am affectionate, contemplative, inquisitive, and loyal.

3. I am hardworking and pragmatic.

4. I have little interest in herd sports.

5. I have no tolerance for the corrupt.

6. I love my name.

Tuesday's Word: civil war

civil war* n : a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country

Civil war is what the Bush Administration claims is not taking place in Iraq between the ca 60% Shia group and the somewhat 15% Sunni tribe from whence Saddam Hussein comes. The 20% Kurds are trying to become autonomous.**

This week's Word was suggested by "Jaguar" Bob Gregory.

*Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
**Paul Sullivan, History News Network and GlobalSecurity.org.

Dear World:

See Alicia's post "Dear World:" for a rational take on how America appears.

http://lastleftb4hooterville.blogspot.com

Tuesday's Word

impeach* \im - 'peech\ vt [ME empechen, fr. MF empeechier to hinder, fr. LL impedicare to fetter, fr. L in- + pedica fetter, fr. ped-, pes foot -- more at FOOT] 1 a : to bring an accusation against b : to charge with a crime or misdemeanor; specif : to charge (a public official) before a competent tribunal with misconduct in office 2 : to cast doubt on; esp : to challenge the credibility or validity of <~ the testimony of a witness> -- im-peach-able

Merci beaucoup,** Catherine, for allowing the use of your politically correct button!

* Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
**"Thank you very much," in French, the language of a leader nation.

Country Music Murkan

Country music star Hank Williams Jr. booked on assault charge
Emanuella Grinberg/Court TV/Updated April 4, 2006, 2:41 p.m. ET

Country music star Hank Williams Jr. turned himself in to Memphis police Tuesday on a charge of assault to commit bodily harm stemming from an alleged altercation with a cocktail waitress in March.

Williams, whose full name is Randall Hank Williams, appeared "without incident" to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office after being notified of the charge Monday, according to Public Affairs Officer Steve Shular. He was released without bond.

On March 18, Holly Hornbeak told police that she was working the bar at the Peabody Hotel when the namesake of country legend Hank Williams asked to kiss her.

When she resisted, according to a police report, the 56-year-old Williams lifted her off the ground in a chokehold and struck her.

Williams, who has sang the theme for ABC's "Monday Night Football" since 1989, has maintained his innocence and cast himself as a "victim of greed" in a statement issued Tuesday.

Read the rest here: http://www.courttv.com/people/2006/0404/hankwilliamsjr_ctv.html

Let Freedom Ring!

Betrayal

Mr. Denis Donaldson, if you betrayed the people of my ancestors, it is my hope that your soul burns.

Tuesday's Word

"lost generation"* A term used to describe the generation of men and women who came to maturity between World War I and the Depression of the 1930s. Gertrude Stein first heard the phrase from the proprietor of the Hotel Pernollet in Belley. Referring to a young mechanic repairing Stein's car, M. Pernollet used the expression une generation perdue to describe the dislocation, rootlessness, and disillusionment experienced in the wake of the war. Stein later expanded the meaning of the phrase in conversation with Ernest Hemingway, saying that his was a decadent generation that was drinking itself to death. Hemingway, whose early books were prototypes for the lost generation of writers, recounts this conversation in a preface to The Sun Also Rises and again in A Movable Feast (1964). F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night is a striking account of the spiritual climate of the time. Much of Malcolm Cowley's work, notably The Lost Generation (1931), deals with the writers of that generation.

*Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia, Third Edition, Harper & Row, New York, 1987