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As I’ve done my very best to not go out of me way to not care about the Olympics, it’s been very hard to completely miss George W. Bush making an ass of himself in China.  The silly faces and gestures he’s made were likely throwback moves when he was class clown, I mean cheerleader, way back when.

Then I caught an excerpt from an interview he did with Bob Costas.

Q If these Olympics are as successful as they are shaping up to be, most people believe this only further legitimizes the ruling party in the minds on most Chinese citizens. And even absent true liberty as we understand it, the lives of hundreds of millions of Chinese people are much better than they once were. Therefore, what’s the party’s incentive to reform?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, if you’re a religious person, you understand that once religion takes hold in a society it can’t be stopped. And secondly, I think the Olympics are going to serve as a chance for people to come and see China the way it is, and let the Chinese see the world and interface and have the opportunity to converse with people from around the world. This is a very positive development, in my view, for peace.

The Jon Stewart response to the first part of Bush’s response was that he must be talking about Christianity, but if your religion rhymes with, I don’t know, “buslim” then we must destroy you.

Here’s what gets me.  The response to “religious freedom” is that “once religion takes hold in a society it can’t be stopped.”  I don’t think he’s talking about religion in general; I think he’s talking about a specific religion.  If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have needed to start with “if you’re a religious person.”

One of my fears is that religion “can’t be stopped.”  This is hardly an argument for freedom of religion at all.  He’s implying that people become dependent on it and we can make decisions based on it and that religious law can become the law of the land.

How can a leader speak of freedom of religion while pointing toward control by religion in the same sentence?

Only George Bush could justify himself that way.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Teachers are attacked often for being liberal and teaching a liberal bias. I suppose sometimes it is warranted.

My daughter was telling me and my wife last week that her teacher was pushing for everybody to spend their stimulus checks. Not only did the teacher push for the parents of the children to spend the checks to stimulate the economy, she told the class that some of that money should be theirs to spend.

As my daughter relayed the message to us, it sounds as if because part of the money was due to having children, then the children should each get $300 each to spend as they wish. Now that is liberal-minded.

We had another one of those discussions that we really shouldn’t have to.

Get ‘em while they’re young, teach, get ‘em while they’re young.

Popularity: 27% [?]

A few days ago I was talking to a co-worker regarding Scott McClellan’s book that was recently released. The part that truly stuck out to me was the fact that here is a guy that was basically Bush’s Bitch for how long and is now coming out to say that his entire job was based on propaganda and lies. That Bush did what most of us already know- he lied.

Don’t you hate it when your bitch bites back?

Anyway, I brought out the propaganda point, and my co-worker’s response was, “All governments do that.”

Oh, so why should we be any different? We like to pride ourselves on being such a great nation, but it’s all smoke screens and bullshit.

Prior to the Memorial Weekend, gas prices skyrocketed in preparation for people who wanted to do some traveling over the longer weekend. Predictable as it was, it was still annoying and amazing. Gas is already high and the oil companies are bringing in record profits. Any decency toward human beings has been lost.

My wife expressed her frustration and outrage to her parents, who faithfully support the president and everyone of his policies because the church and Rush Limbaugh tell them to, and their response was simply, “Oh, they always do that.”

Oh, my bad. Why change now? Carry on. Anything else you would like to let people get away with because they always have?

It didn’t matter. Gas was purchased by the ton as RVs loaded up and headed east for the three day weekend. I guess they should always do that?

A friend of mine, who leans libertarian, and I were discussing the economy and the dive that it had been taking sometime a couple years ago. My argument is simple, with every penny of inflation that does not match my raise in pay, I’m losing and so is he. Unless he can find for me a way to counter the rise in goods, our economy is on the verge of crisis. This was before gas prices had really skyrocketed and before houses started to foreclose left and right.

His argument as he continued to argue the corporations’ right to fuck us anyway possible since it is their right in a free market society was, “Economies go up and down. It may just be time for it to go down.” Oh, so same argument as my father-in-law. So disregard the fact that the administrations continue to make decisions based on what’s right for the corporations and not the consumer because the economy always does this.

When I took over a department a couple years ago I tried to implement changes in several areas to create measures of accountability and hope for efficiency gains. First, though, I would try to understand why they did tasks the way they did. I would ask people who were doing tasks in a very inefficient method why. The response, “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”

Well then stop right fucking now!

So I’ve learned that governments and corporations will fuck us over any chance they get because that’s what they’ve always done and resistance is futile and that people are such creatures of habit they will continue to do the same things repeatedly because they are too goddamn stupid to change their patterns.

I’ve never been one to accept those stupid arguments. How the hell does anybody get anything done?

I’m resolving to verbally assault anybody who ever uses this lame-ass argument on me again. It’s not an argument, it’s a weak excuse for laziness.

Popularity: 29% [?]

Three students were suspended in Minnesota for not standing during the pledge of allegiance.

According to the school district policy, students must stand, but they do not have to recite the pledge.

Now the principal of the school is reviewing the policy after, according to FOX news, she found out that it may be unconstitutional. Gee whiz, it might be?

Now, this is a junior high, so chances are good that the original three suspended didn’t do it for any good reason. One claimed she didn’t hear the call. The others may have been lazy. No matter.

I always have had issues with the pledge anyway. Words forced down our children’s throat without explanation as to what they are saying, why they are saying it, and what it all means. We have passed legislation and required them to pledge to a symbol why? I know my children both practiced and practiced memorizing the words when they were in first grade because their teacher told them they had to know it.

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Popularity: 34% [?]
				

How low can our political system seemingly sink?

Obama is an elitist who cannot bowl.  Hillary loves her guns and whiskey.  McCain is running around telling people his life story.

These two have been in Pennsylvania for what feels like six months making asses of each other, themselves, and the entire political process.

My mother and I have had an ongoing conversation.  We both think that HIllary will win the Democratic nomination, but it won’t matter.  McCain has it sewed up.  There’s no telling what tricks these people who have been in politics for as long as these candidates have will pull.

We will see how it pans out.

The fact is that there is one more week until the PA primary.  One more week of garbage.  One more week of pathetic attempts to get the working class vote by showing just how working class they are.  One more week of showing just how low each candidate can go.

Then they can make asses of themselves all over again in North Carolina (?).

Popularity: 35% [?]