Bush apologizes to Wallsten.
By on Jun 15th, 2006 at 6:38 am
Bush apologizes to Wallsten.
ThinkProgress reported yesterday that Bush needled legally-blind LA Times reporter Peter Wallsten for wearing sunglasses. Bush called Wallsten to apologize later in the day. “He said, ‘I needle you guys out of affection,’” Wallsten said. “I said, ‘I understand that, but I don’t want you to treat me any differently because of this.’” Wallsten said the president said he would not treat him differently, so Wallsten encouraged him to “needle away.” “He said, ‘I will. Next time I’ll just use a different needle,’” Wallsten said.
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Bush saying he has ‘affection’ for the press or anyone else for that matter that asks him tough questions is laughable.
He tries to pretend he’s ‘being playful’ when he’s really just being arrogant, hostile and condescending prick. (although I suppose one needs to be more intelligent that those they are chiding in order to be condescending).
He does it to be as asshole. That’s all there is to it. The ones that play along and think that Bush is being ‘affectionate’ with them are a bunch of clueless doorknobs. Polite laughter is not necessary nor required, especially when an enormously unpopular ‘President’ is openly insulting you for his own damn, sick jollies.
June 15th, 2006 at 6:52 amBush apologized? Is he going to apologize to all the families of the dead soldiers now, too? I think not.
June 15th, 2006 at 7:27 amMost people like W they dont like his policies or the way he is exercising his duties.
BTW they loved Coulter last night on Leno. She was a freakin hit. Did you hear the applause? You leftards need to rethink your concludions about who is in the mainstream.
June 15th, 2006 at 7:33 am“He said, ‘I needle you guys out of affection,’â€
He has every reason to feel affection for the press. They’ve been lockstep with them on Iraq from the beginning.
When they’ve been tough with him it’s only lick-spittle tough, tough with the intention of providing eyewash for the sheeple, tough in hopes the sheeple will change the clothes and face and elect him as a Dem next time around.
Which would make all the same shit okay because it’s the right party doing it.
June 15th, 2006 at 7:36 amProps to W for apologizing. Period.
June 15th, 2006 at 7:42 amJack, you do know Jack.
Not alot of difference between Clinton and Bush besides judicial appointments.
Listen to the Mrs. Clinton and that becomes more obvious.
These nut jobs here a TP are just so full of hate they cant see that and thay cant seperate the game of politics from the people playing it so they think no one else can. But these pols and pundants beat the crap out each other by day and at night go out to cocktail parties together.
June 15th, 2006 at 7:48 amYou leftards need to rethink your concludions about who is in the mainstream.
Comment by troll — June 15, 2006 @ 7:33 am
Mainstream people do not attend Leno. He’s a conservative. Which he’s rather open about.
Keep calling people leftards and they won’t take anything you say seriously.
June 15th, 2006 at 7:59 amBut these pols and pundants beat the crap out each other by day and at night go out to cocktail parties together.
Comment by troll
riiiiiight…. “Hot Tub” Tom Delay (his former nickname because of his excessive partying) took all the Dem’s out for a couple of pops after ripping them apart on the floor of the House where they all shared a chuckle…..
Get a clue, pal.
June 15th, 2006 at 8:00 amWe know the Kennedys were there.
June 15th, 2006 at 8:02 amAHA!!!!
Woo!
June 15th, 2006 at 8:05 amThat’s a good one, troll!
Boy, nobody else coulda thought of that old gem!!!!
You scamp!
I don’t recall their names being linked to the Hooker Parties, though.
Hmmmmm…..
Bush made an honest gaffe and apologized about it. Wallsten handled the situation with grace, not only during the press conference on a national stage but after the fact when Bush apologized.
Agree or disagree with his policies, give him credit for apologizing and give Wallsten credit for recognizing this as an honest mistake.
June 15th, 2006 at 8:06 amGood morning, Unbelivable,
June 15th, 2006 at 8:07 amGetting ready for the end of school?
My daughter’s last day is today. Then we are two free women!
You’re right, Chase.
June 15th, 2006 at 8:10 amI got caught up in the troll trap.
I agree with you that it was nice to see he could actually feel badly about a comment he made, and Wallsten handled it well.
UB
80% of American, many of whom are demoncraps, believe in God and you trash them and their beliefs daily. It is you who should be concerned about credability.
June 15th, 2006 at 8:16 amtrueblue,
Teddy Jr just gave a whole new life to those Kennedy digs. The legacy continues.
June 15th, 2006 at 8:21 amTroll,
I think if you can’t spell “credibility”, you have no business commenting on it.
June 15th, 2006 at 8:34 amGetting ready for the end of school?
My daughter’s last day is today. Then we are two free women!
Comment by trueblue — June 15, 2006 @ 8:07 am
School ended May 26th. But it begins again August 1st… Though I start earlier, of course :)
You gonna do anything fun with your time off?
June 15th, 2006 at 8:38 amThe best opinion I’ve read on this subject was posted yesterday on the original thread. I humbly submit it for those who may have missed it.
80. I wear shades during the day, sun or cloudy, because I’m very sensitive to light. Not a big deal. I think the problem is that Bush “gets personal†in inappropriate ways– the whole “I’m giving you a nickname, hardehar†thing is an example of that. If I tell you my name is Mike, that’s the name I expect you to use. I certainly don’t want you to come up with a NEW name for me, even if we’re good friends.
But Bush has this sort of intrusive way of pushing into people’s space. It’s weird for someone who presumably was brought up in an upper-class home and took manners classes and went to Yale and all that– it’s poor etiquette, and you think he would have had that impulse tamed very early. It’s the sort of thing that makes a lot of people really uncomfortable because it seems to say, “I have the right to do this– to tell you who you are, to make personal comments about your looks and bearing.†Obviously, however, some people love it and rather than being discomfited by Bush’s intrusiveness, see it as a sign of their “specialnessâ€.
The reporter was patient with him, didn’t try to shame him by saying, “You know I’m blind, don’t you?†or put him on the spot. Much classier than Bush, who rather obviously wanted to embarrass the man and put him in his place.
Comment by telly — June 14, 2006 @ 4:34 pm
June 15th, 2006 at 8:41 am80% of American, many of whom are demoncraps, believe in God and you trash them and their beliefs daily. It is you who should be concerned about credability.
Comment by troll — June 15, 2006 @ 8:16 am
Making up statistics isn’t a good way to be taken seriously either.
I don’t bash people who believe in God. Get your ad hominem straight. I bash organized religion. Not surprising you can’t differentiate – even after I specifically spelled it out for you previously – and not that long ago.
My credibility is just fine. The people who have issues with what I say are the usual suspects – the lunatic fringe on both sides who get angry when the truth is pointed out to them. You guys like your fairytale too much. The problem is, it’s ruining this country and life quality for the rest of us who share this planet…
June 15th, 2006 at 8:44 amChase, exactly!
June 15th, 2006 at 8:45 amGeorge W. Bush LIED to the American people and started an unprovoked war that has killed thousands of Americans, tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis, fueled mistrust around the world, and radicalized generations of Muslims against us.
Any impartial observer can plainly see that George W. Bush has more to do with the Antichrist than God.
Trolls are just his minions unwittingly (or wittingly) doing his work on Earth.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:00 amKudos to Bush for apologizing. That said, he’s still a dick.
As for the rest of the story, did anybody catch this? From CNN.com:
Wallsten, who is the author of a book coming out next month titled “One Party Country: The Republican Plan for Dominance in the 21st Century,” had asked about White House credibility now in the aftermath of top aide Karl Rove having been cleared in the CIA leak investigation.
But Bush said he wouldn’t comment with another top White House aide still facing prosecution in the case.
Another day, another reason not to comment. Bush will never comment on it. When Fitz wraps up the entire investigation and a reporter then asks Bush about Rove’s part in the Plame leak, it will be “I’m not going to comment on old news. It’s ancient history. The American people want me to focus on the future: jobs, security, the war on terror, and peace and prosperity for America.”
June 15th, 2006 at 9:15 amHe has every reason to feel affection for the press. They’ve been lockstep with them on Iraq from the beginning.
Comment by Jack Purcell — June 15, 2006 @ 7:36 am
As long as the press is not revealing national security secrets that Bush himself talked about publicly only weeks before, he’ll love them to death.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:19 amShrub says,’next time he’ll use a different needle’. Just make sure it’s a clean one Shrub, Wallsten and the rest of us don’t want you spreading your monkey pox (The debilitating,brain-wasting disease of the right sent by God as a plague so that the rest of us may identify pure ignorance, and eliminate it).
June 15th, 2006 at 9:28 am#7 – Nobody on this site takes “troll” seriously. It’s nut-jobs like him (her?) that make everyone in the world realize how proper and correct the term “Repuli-tards” is when used to describe him (her?) and his (her?) ilk.
The hate-filled rhetoric and anti-American sentiments that “troll” espouses are sick and twisted in a very neo-con fashion. The only thing working in troll’s favor is they have yet to completely dismantle the first amendment, so their propaganda and anti-American statements can but be allowed. What works against troll and those like him (her?) is that their calumny and mendacity exposes them for who they truly are: dervishes on crack who spin faster and faster until their bile and vomit cover everything around them.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:30 amwhat a kinder, gentler, bringer of death and destruction for a buck
June 15th, 2006 at 9:32 amChase, I do believe that apologizing for making a mistake is a respectful act. I think this is one action by Pres. Bush that is respectful.
If only the man could do more than one respectful act druing his Presidency, maybe he could earn respect from people at a better rate than he currently has done.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:37 am#18… your post says EXACTLY what I was going to say. And I will just add, that Bush really needs to not pick ANY needles. It’s not polite at all! I understand it was an honest mistake to confuse the blind man for someone just wearing shades, anyone would make that mistake – but NOT everyone would make a comment about it.
And Bush clearly isn’t smart enough to realize that maybe he shouldn’t take that chance when 1) He’s in front of cameras that will broadcast worldwide, and 2) He’s the PRESIDENT! He shouldn’t make comments like that at all!
Perhaps that it’s just that Bush is uncomfortable at all times when speaking with the press because deep inside he knows he’s lying. So he tries to calm the reporters, and himself with jokes. Of course, that always results in a failed attempt.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:42 amThen again, maybe it’s because he’s a narcissist and this is one of the many covers he uses to disguise the fact that he never developed real feelings or empathy.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:52 amThis is BS. It wasn’t “needling” at all. I saw the video and BUsh didn’t look happy or humourous or joking around. He looked p!ssed off and offended. There is no way he was “needling” as per usual…he was trying to humiliate someone he felt was disrespecting him by wearing sunglasses during a question.
Watch the video again and watch BUsh face and mannerisms. He wasn’t joking around.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:02 amUB thinks she is a moderate isnt that just adorable.
Only 8% of Americans never attend church. That means 92% attend the worship service of an organized religion.
“58% of Republicans attended church in a typical weekend compared to 46% of Democrats. (2004)”
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=10
Attending Church service regularly is proven to have a number of positive effects including longer life, happier marriage, more satisfying sex life, better grades in school, fewer phsychological problems, less drug and alchohol abuse, ect
The list goes on and on. So why does the extreme left bash organized religion? Because members are also less likely to vote democrat. Church goers are also more likely to reject abortion on demand and gay marriage the two bedrock policies of the demoncrap party.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:11 amcomment #31 throws a dart………misses the target,……dartboard ……,wall……..
June 15th, 2006 at 10:18 amWow Troll, if religion has so many benifits then why have so many died in wars about religion? Also, your 92% is flawed. If 8% have never attended doesn’t mean that 92% always attend it just means that they have at one time or another.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:19 amthinkaboutit,
June 15th, 2006 at 10:22 amLearn to read. I did not claim the 92% always attended,
Bush apologizes to Wallsten.
Finally, an apology from GWB — for something. I agree with you Rosencrantz, #30, that wasn’t good natured ribbing, it was aggression. I don’t think GWB is really fooling Wallsten, but Wallsten accepted GWB’s apology, so let’s move on. I get the feeling that cranky and mean GWB will continue to do this sort of thing for rest of his term.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:22 amCan you cite your source for this or are you just making shit up?
June 15th, 2006 at 10:23 amthinkaboutit.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:25 amIf youd think about it really most of those wars have been about quite a bit more than “religion”.
Learn to form a sentence then troll”Only 8% of Americans never attend church. That means 92% attend the worship service of an organized religion.”
June 15th, 2006 at 10:26 amAttend is present tense as in active. Listen, religion has many wonderful benefits to individuals and the society as a whole but just as we fear the radical islamists that blindly go off to a sucidal death we can’t allow the established religion in this country to blindly push us in one direction or another. A democracy takes active participants to survive and thrive, not sheep.
Wow! And here I thought that Troll couldn’t spin any fast than he (she?) already ahs, but I’m proved wrong!
As for Pres. Bush not “really” joking about his comment, I think it was a combination of joking and umbrage. His “apology” was an attempt at political “spin” to make it seem as if he really isn’t a heartless bastard. Just as Troll did, he threw the dart, and missed the board completely and barely even grazed the wall.
Of course, his “apology’ was a respectable act. That makes it one respectable act compared to a few hundred thousand un-respectable acts. Go figure.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:28 amI agree with #18.
The moron’s personal “style” seems to be attempted “humor” at wildly inappropriate times. The president should never be joking around about personal appearance at all during a press conference or in any official capacity.
Exactly what were his words of apology. Saying he needles the press out of affection is not an apology.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:28 am#30, you’re absolutely right. Bush was in a “how dare you speak to me with your sunglasses” mode, not a “hey i’m the funny monkey weeeeeeeee” mode.
Screw him.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:30 amNow, just something I noted when reading through the link Troll; they cite statistics on the numbers of people who attend church and all that, but there is something very, very odd here…
They don’t mention where their data comes from. They don’t mention sample gatherings, census information, or any of that. They just say:
Further, you are quoting a clearly biased source. From their own site
In short, they have a very vested interest in publicising bent statistics. That coupled with the fact that they have not shown how their data was collected more then raises my suspicions about its authenticity.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:35 amthinkaboutit
Thats what I said. “92% attend” I did not say 92% always attend.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:36 am#38 – “A democracy takes active participants to survive and thrive, not sheep.”
A democracy is participation by everyone who votes. A theocracy is where the very few KNOW what God wants and imposes it upon everyone else. It’s what happened in Iran and Afghanistan. Iraq was a secular government as Saddam allowed alcohol and women to vote and removed the requirement for them to wear a burkah. (Very much Non-Islam) He also killed and tortured people that his disagreed with. Then again, his was a dictatorship not a theocracy.
America is moving towards a Christian theocracy by attempting to force everyone to adhere to “their” religious standards and mandating that people accept their version of morality and ethics. Unfortunately, the Republican version of “ethics” is “Do as I say, not as I do”.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:37 amTry this one
June 15th, 2006 at 10:38 amhttp://www.umich.edu/news/index.html?Releases/1997/Dec97/chr121097a
I accept that dumbya didn’t know the guy was blind.
I mean, c’mon, here we have a silver spoon fed preppie from Conneticut who never studied anything more than the beer or plate of powder lines in front of him. Do you think he’s going to change that pattern at this point in his life? NO! He’s not gonna.
So, it is nice that bush43 shows a little class & calls the guy later. Funny thing is, if he had said it all in front of everyone right there at the press conference, most america would have thought it very nice to be (GASP) honest and (COUGH) humble….traits we don’t ever see from this administration.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:44 amDemocrat Soldier
June 15th, 2006 at 10:46 amEeryone religious or not wants to impose their beliefs on the rest of society. Gays, socialists, pro abortionists, environmentalists, ect all have their agenda that they, if they had the power, would impose on the rest of us. You simply resent them for the political power they posses.
Only 8% of Americans never attend church. That means 92% attend the worship service of an organized religion.
You are making that up. It’s not true. At least 15% of people in this country are not religious at all. Others go to mosques and temple. Show me an independent link that qualifies that absurd number.
“58% of Republicans attended church in a typical weekend compared to 46% of Democrats. (2004)â€
Interesting – that math does not add up to only 8% not going to church because it fails to consider Independents and other parties…
Attending Church service regularly is proven to have a number of positive effects
There isn’t a religion that hasn’t waged a war in its name, except Buddhism. I’d hardly call that positive.
In fact, there are proportionately far more religious people in prison than non-religious people. That’s an independent fact. Again, also not positive.
And show me the independent medical proof of your crazy claim.
The list goes on and on. So why does the extreme left bash organized religion? Because members are also less likely to vote democrat. Church goers are also more likely to reject abortion on demand and gay marriage the two bedrock policies of the demoncrap party.
Comment by troll — June 15, 2006 @ 10:11 am
All OPINION. You did not give a single verifiable fact… Because this is a load of crap.
Compare this… You said 92% of people regularly attend church (interesting how there’s stading room only in churches during religious holidays for those remianing 8%… ), then explain the 56% divorce rate (ooopss… as usual you didn’t consider what you were saying, just regurgitating someone else’s spin).
Also, animals don[’t have the problems we do as humans. I think it has a lot to do with their lack of mega-morality and belief in supernatural beings to jugde them so that they judge everyone and everything else into paranoid delusion.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:48 amJust a bit of emphasis for the things I found most striking reading through the whole thing. Though this does support your argument (though the data seems a bit old to me) it is also interesting to note how it reflects on the why of the matter.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:50 amEeryone religious or not wants to impose their beliefs on the rest of society.
Nope – just you guys with a book that tells you to go and convert the heathens…
Gays, socialists, pro abortionists, environmentalists, ect all have their agenda that they, if they had the power, would impose on the rest of us. You simply resent them for the political power they posses.
Comment by troll — June 15, 2006 @ 10:46 am
No, no, no, no… There’s a HUGE difference between freedom of choice (what we want) and forced agendas that require complaince (what you want). Until you learn to recognize the difference, you are simply saying things that make you look ignorant and insecure that unless you force your way, no one will choose it of their own free will…
June 15th, 2006 at 10:54 amEeryone religious or not wants to impose their beliefs on the rest of society
Comment by troll — June 15, 2006 @ 10:46 am
well, not EVERYone… especially not liberals… but it just so happens:
Religious Right Seeks Unprecedented Constitutional Convention To Ban Gay Marriage Without Congress
see the next thread here at TP
June 15th, 2006 at 10:56 amId love to pick up on this later but I am beckoned by offspring.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:57 am4 percent of Swedes
Hmmm…. there’s a country that totally blows troll’s claims. Though, there were many others so it’s not an exception. I just wanted to focus on Sweden because they have a much higher quality of life than we do. They also have equal rights for women. They aren’t attacking other countries, their birth rate is stable, they have low crime rates, low unemployment, and their air is very clean.
So, troll, explain countries like Sweden who are largely non-religious that are healthier and happier than the united States that is the sickest Industrialized nation, has a high divorce rate, a high murder rate and a very high suicide rate among teenagers. You can’t.
Oragnized religion is rarely positive. Unlike you, I don’t say never.
June 15th, 2006 at 11:00 amTroll,
I think if you can’t spell “credibilityâ€, you have no business commenting on it.
Comment by DrSinker —
Not to mention “pundits”, “conclusions,” “separate,” and so on. I just love how these guys try to overwhelm us with their imaginary superior intelligence, all in poor English.
June 15th, 2006 at 11:03 am#47 – “Eeryone religious or not wants to impose their beliefs on the rest of society.”
You do have a point. I thik the difference is that the “religious” vote is based on very slective parsing of the biblical verses they decide are more important than others. In fact, one would have to either not know what’s in the Bible to accept their version of it, or to be intentionally blind to the propaganda attempting to disquise itslef as “THE truth”.
June 15th, 2006 at 11:04 amUnbelievable.
Try Nigeria. 89% religious, and you know what? It ain’t exactly the sort of place I would like to live, even if I was dishonest enough to lie about my lack of faith.
June 15th, 2006 at 11:05 am“In general, the importance of religion has been declining in the developed world,†says Inglehart, “whereas in countries experiencing economic stagnation and political uncertainty, religion has remained strong.â€
Bruce, I thought this was also interesting… That it suggests, as you mentioned, that peope who cling to organized religion do so in deseprate times.
Funny how the neocons’ links work against them… just as the conveniently have to go do something else…
June 15th, 2006 at 11:06 amUm, guys, this thread was about Bush’s apology to a blind guy. You let the troll highjack it.
June 15th, 2006 at 11:13 amBruce,
There are numerous correlations between countries like Nigeria and its contemporaries, with Sweden and its contemporaries. Not only do their religious rates contrast – but so do their crime, health, social, etc. rates.
For example – courtesy my Hammond World Atlas – the birth rate in Eupore is 10 per thousand, while the death rate is 11/ 1000. This is positive, because it means thatthe existing system can accommodate the population. Africa however has 39/1000 birth, but only 14/1000 death – meaning that there are no enough natural resources to accommodate the population that is increasing every 22 years. Hence starvation, disease, and despair.
In Europe, birth control is used and abortion legal because the majority of the people there do not buy into the religious agendas, unlike Africa where condom use and abortion are religiously frowned up.
Europe, a less religious country, has a high quality of life. Africa, where religion is dominant, has a low quality of life. And I didn’t even bring up crime rates, employment rates or infant mortality rates (which all also substantiate our position further).
Reality negates troll’s claims.
June 15th, 2006 at 11:17 amTheToonGuy
Well, that’s because I figure GW did the right thing in apologising. It didn’t make his comments any more tasteful, but at least he realised that he had made an ass of himself this time. I still think Wallsten showed a lot of class over the incident both when it happened and when he accepted GW’s appology. There isn’t really much more I have to say on the issue.
The religion debate however, is far more interesting.
June 15th, 2006 at 11:17 amYou let the troll highjack it.
Comment by TheToonGuy — June 15, 2006 @ 11:13 am
Just getting rid of it… Now we can get back to the issue at hand, which really, has been discussed about as far as it is going to… unless we want to keep saying the same stuff just to stay on topic?
June 15th, 2006 at 11:22 amWow, Chimpy made an apology. Now let’s see if he’ll do the same for the families of those 2500 who have been made artillery fodder in Iraq.
June 15th, 2006 at 11:36 amBush if he was an honorable man would apologize to the entire nation for his entire failure as president and then resign in shame!
June 15th, 2006 at 11:46 amHey didnt need to apologize, he already said touche. That makes it all right. When is the Greatest President of the 21st Century going to stop caving in to the DDH’s?
June 15th, 2006 at 11:55 amHere’s an example of what trolls do.
This thread is about Bush making an ass out himself by chiding a blind man but a troll enters the discussion/comments, changes the subject and now this has become a debate about church.
Can we please stop empowering these trolls and giving them the attention they so desperately need? They are here to disrupt and this one is currently succeeding. They need to find other means in which to develop their self-esteem. We shouldn’t be using our collective minds to feed his/her insecurities.
June 15th, 2006 at 12:20 pmPaige –
I think that ignoring all debate is dangerous. There are some that we need to stand up to and say “No, you are not right and here is why.” When it comes to religion, I will take any and every opportunity to show them their holes. It is with the hope that at some point that they will think twice before sticking their Bibles into the lives of those who do not want them there.
Bush has slowly damaged this country because liberals have not stood up to them. I agree its best to ignore those who engage in silly mockery or verbal diarrhea – but not those who offer a sincere position. And there are some here who truly believe what they say. I think it’s our duty to stand up to them and say “Uh-uh.” Just my perspective. Nothing personal.
June 15th, 2006 at 12:45 pm#64 – “When is the Greatest President of the 21st Century going to stop caving in to the DDH’s”
Huh?!? Pres. Bush is too busy caving into the DDH’s (Dumb-a$$ Ditto Heads)!!!
He has never once “caved into” the DDH’s (Damn Dirty Hippy’s).
Well, other than when he was “young and reckless” and inhaled and “powdered his nose”. Back the, he was MORE than happy to “cave into” the DDH’s (Damn Dirty Hippy’s). As long as they didn’t charge too much for their nose candy and happy ta-baccy.
June 15th, 2006 at 1:21 pmWhat everyone fails to realize on this whole issue is that Bush never ANSWERED the gentleman’s question. If you read the repotrer’ s comments he didn’t mind Bush’s typical style, he said “I just wish he would have answered my question” It’s unbelievable, the more this guy gets up to talk off the cuff, the funnier it gets
June 15th, 2006 at 1:24 pmOnly weeks after telling a man in a wheelchair, “you look might comfortable,” President Bush used a White House press conference to taunt the blind. For more on the President’s pathetic attempts at comedy at the expense of the disabled, see:
“Bush’s Amazing Gracelessness.”
June 15th, 2006 at 1:37 pmMy daughter’s last day is today. Then we are two free women!
Comment by trueblue
That’s great! Have any big plans?
June 15th, 2006 at 2:48 pmYou folks want to compare apples to oranges. The only legitimate comparison is between individuals not nations.
If you insist on comparing nations then be intellectually honest and include nations like China, Russia and N Korea. This comparison throws your conclutions for a loop.
All of the European nations you cite were significantly religious only a generation ago. So your thesis easily collapses.
June 15th, 2006 at 4:01 pmWell, I wonder what the question was. Maybe have you attended a church service in the last year maybe? I am an atheist but, yes, I have attended weddings and baptisms of friends (and their children) so I guess that makes me a devout Christian.
June 15th, 2006 at 7:53 pmAll of the European nations you cite were significantly religious only a generation ago. So your thesis easily collapses.
Comment by troll — June 15, 2006 @ 4:01 pm
You cannot be serious with this back door denial? Most of Europe does attend church NOW – in comparison with CURRENT statistics about their current standard of living. They were not significantly religious a generation ago. You make-up crap to feed your delusion. And you are delusional in this regard because you cannot stand the consequences of reality. Fine – but keep your delusions to yourself and stop trying to forcethem on the rest of us who see them for what they are…
Actually, my post throws YOUR theory out the window. I disproved what you said about religion making people happier and healthier and so on. You were wrong and reality showed you how wrong.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:20 pmI indeed read the study linked to above. It is seriously flawed in that it examines these issues on a cross-national basis. As I stated previously this is an apples to oranges comparison ehich is invalid due o the fact that it fails to take into account numerous other socialogical and economical factors.
Conversely Steven Stack has published. in the
research conducted in Sweden on the effects of religion on the suicide rate in that country which supports my earlier claim.
In addition please see
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-01-08-faith-edit_x.htm
” A series of Eurobarometer surveys since 1970 in five key countries (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy) shows that regular church attendance fell from about 40% of the population to about half that figure.”
Just one more to back up my assertion.
June 16th, 2006 at 2:50 pm