Immigration and Bush’s legacy.
Immigration and Bush’s legacy.
In April, President Bush discussed his legacy with Charlie Rose:
ROSE: History will judge is to whether you were right or wrong.
BUSH: That’s right. That’s exactly right.
ROSE: Bold strokes, you’re a guy that believes in risk, innovation, change, and making and taking bold strokes? Is there one left, in your presidency?
BUSH: Immigration bill.
What Bush was busy with yesterday, as his immigration bill collapsed.
Simon Rosenberg writes:
After the collapse of the immigration bill last night, I could only really think of the President and his legacy. Immigration reform has been something that he could do that would leave behind something lasting, something permanent, something that as he traveled around the nation in his post-Presidential years he could look on with joy and pride. But even now that looks doubtful, and with that, it is increasingly likely that he will go down in history as one of the worst leaders our nation has ever had.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Bush has screwed up everything else, why would he succeed in this?
June 8th, 2007 at 3:56 pmHOW ABOUT STEM CELL RESEARCH AS A LEGACY, YOU FU@KING TWIT!!!!!!!!!
June 8th, 2007 at 3:57 pmSo this is what it would be like if Bush can to your house for a drink intsead of John Kerry. Remember that dumbass question?? Americans can be soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo F$#@%^& lame sometimes.
June 8th, 2007 at 3:57 pmLower picture caption contest:
Yeah, Blair says, they said your was this long!
June 8th, 2007 at 3:58 pmas aa says about alcoholics and alcoholism, if ten people tell you that you have a mane and a tail, you might want to start thinking about visiting saddle shops…
And, yes, I DO take it personally
June 8th, 2007 at 3:58 pmDeath will be his legacy. On so many fronts.
June 8th, 2007 at 3:58 pmIs that beer he is drinking? Isn’t he an alcoholic??!?!?!?
WHAT THE HELL!?!?!?!?
June 8th, 2007 at 3:58 pmMmmm….beer.
June 8th, 2007 at 3:59 pm“Leader”? He is anything but a leader – but he’s definitely the WORST president we’ve ever had.
June 8th, 2007 at 3:59 pmCaption Contest:
Chimpy: “This here lemonade is great!”
Poodle: “That’s not lemonade oh my master!”
Chimpy: “Whoah, someone stop the world from going round”
June 8th, 2007 at 4:01 pmThe Chimp will go down in history as THE WORST leader our nation has ever had.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:01 pmImpeachment is what is needed here. This absolutely off the tracks lawless executive branch…everyone in it…top down must be repudiated.
The disregard of the Constitution by this bunch is so appaling that it is difficult to think about.
Impeachment, repudiation.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:01 pmthe beer is a non-alcoholic brand brewed by heineken, “non-alcoholic” being a slight misnomer, because it does contain about .5%… americablog has the details…
And, yes, I DO take it personally
June 8th, 2007 at 4:02 pmit’s Buckler, a non-alcoholic beer.
http://beergeek.stores.yahoo.net/nonalbu12ho.html
of course, this still has .5% alcohol in it, which is why AA doesn’t recommend it.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:05 pmI thought he was not drinking anymore? Am I wrong? He did say that right?
June 8th, 2007 at 4:06 pm#2 yup Setting the US a step back in life saving medical research is a great legacy indeed. Espically when you will be able to compare to the progress other nations are making simultaneously!! Bush will beable to look back with pride and say
“Yup, thats the exact moment i punted this great nation back into the darkages… now hurry up Laura, my flight to Chad leaves in an hour, i gotta get that new heart they’re growin’ ferr me”
June 8th, 2007 at 4:06 pmAt least he’s keeping his hands to himself…..
Ugh.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:06 pmLeaders lead … Presidents preside … drunks drink.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:07 pmand what is the point of non-alcoholic beer… really. who drinks beer for the taste?
June 8th, 2007 at 4:07 pm“the beer is a non-alcoholic brand brewed by heineken, “non-alcoholic†being a slight misnomer, because it does contain about .5%… americablog has the details…
And, yes, I DO take it personally
Comment by profmarcus — June 8, 2007 @ 4:02 pm”
The purists would say he’s cheating on himself, but .5% is hardly a big deal, he probably takes Nyquil too.
“And, yes, I DO take it personally” – you do, come on Prof, there’s nothing better in your supermarkets?
June 8th, 2007 at 4:08 pmIf they were really his friends, they wouldn’t let an alcoholic drink. If they were really his friends.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:08 pmThe still photos do not say the whole story.
I’ve see the videos of this little tete-a-tete!
The Chimp behaved worse than a toodler! He’s the only one in the group who spilled his beer all over the table.
I guess Babs was more concerned with his beautiful mind than teaching him table manners!
June 8th, 2007 at 4:10 pmThis picture seems to confirm that President Bush is drinking. That doesn’t look like ice tea in his glass. If he really is an alcoholic then this is bad news for him, the country, and the world. He’s been acting like he was drunk. Maybe he really is drunk with more than his own ego.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:10 pmFriends don’t let friends lead the United States drunk
June 8th, 2007 at 4:11 pmIf they were really his friends, they wouldn’t let an alcoholic drink. If they were really his friends.
Comment by Wayne A. Schneider
I get the feeling The King is despised by everyone at that table….
June 8th, 2007 at 4:11 pmAh non-alcoholic. ok
June 8th, 2007 at 4:11 pm“LAURA, HE’S DRINKING AGAIN.”
June 8th, 2007 at 4:12 pmGuys
I dislike Bush as much as the next man but cheap shots about his drinking problem is out of order. Some of my friends have drug problems and I spend time and money either paying off dealers or getting them into rehab. This does not make them bad people, just a little bit weak
Bush may be many things but having a pop at him for drinking (what I assume to be) a non-alcoholic beer is well out of order.
Have a word with yourselves.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:12 pmIt should probably be pointed out in the post itself that is a non-alcoholic beer.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:13 pmThat man is drunk. I’m sure of it from that second picture.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:13 pmWith Bush, it’s probably real beer with a Buckler label to hide the fact. What a lush. What a terrible excuse of a president.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:14 pmI would argue that Chimpy succeeded beyond his wildest expectations with regard to the Immigration Reform bill. He did not put forth anywhere near the effort to “encourage” Congress to pass this bill that his administration expended in the past to pass tax breaks for his wealthy buddies. The lasting legacy in his Post-Presidential years, assuming that he doesn’t declare himself dictator before his term expires, will be visiting his extremely wealthy friends in their mansions that will dwarf those from the Gilded Age in size and opulence. I seriously doubt that the matter of the Immigration Reform bill passing or not mattered one whit to him. The sole purpose for this effort was to find a divisive issue, and divert the nation’s and the MSM lapdogs’ attention away from other more serious matters, such as the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, firing of U. S. attorneys, secret CIA detention facilities in Eastern Europe, etc., etc. If diverting the nation’s attention was his goal, could anyone argue that he did not succeed? The only question now is–what will be the next diversionary tactic? Stay tuned.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:14 pmDon’t let the waiter bring out any Splenda. Chimpy might try to snort it!
June 8th, 2007 at 4:15 pmSo, how many “non alcoholic” drinks does it take to wake up with such a bad hangover you can’t make the morning sessions?
Bush had a bad hangover last year too, he looked bad when he was accosting Merkel,
June 8th, 2007 at 4:15 pmit’s Buckler, a non-alcoholic beer. of course, this still has .5% alcohol in it
… which is why Bush drank 40 beers that day.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:16 pm#30,
Classic! LOL!
June 8th, 2007 at 4:16 pmIt is easy to see why this world is so screwed up when one looks at the summit “Leaders” of one-fourth of the top countries. I won’t pass judgement on the lady and I don’t recognize the fourth person so it could be as much as half.
On whose authority do we have it that the beer the fool is drinking is NA? Only one present at the time the glass was filled and in attendance during the entire time the glass was being emptied can attest to what is in the glass. It also assumes that he did not have a drink after the photo-op.
Zooey: doing great!
June 8th, 2007 at 4:18 pmThe ONLY legacy which will be attached to George W. Bush is this:
THE WORST PRESIDENT EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES!
That is precisely how history will judge him and will be written in the history books. What else has he accomplished on the plus side of the ledger?? Absolutely nothing!
June 8th, 2007 at 4:20 pmRemember the old news clips of Chimpy speaking to his disciples prior to his appointment to the Presidency by the Supremes in 2000? His statements about “haves and have mores” and referring to “the elite” as “my base.” Since his time in office has apparently been dedicated almost exclusively to taking care of his “base”, is there a single person in that favored group who would define his time in office by any other description than, “Mission Accomplished”?
June 8th, 2007 at 4:21 pm#23 everyone knows that Bush is back on the sauce and has been for some time. Either that or he’s totally mad with his insane outbursts; at least if he’s drinking, he has a bit of an excuse. Besides, even NA beer has some alcohol in it, as we all know. Who does the MSM think they’re kidding?
June 8th, 2007 at 4:21 pm#1
Your Democrats want this immigration bill to succeed. Guess they’re failures too…..
June 8th, 2007 at 4:22 pm“increasingly likely that he will go down in history as one of the worst leaders our nation has ever had.”
Increasingly likely??? I’d say he’s BEEN the worst for about 6+ years now.
The mainstream media as a whole somehow manages to be even slower learners than modern day republicans!
June 8th, 2007 at 4:22 pmhes drinking Suckler.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:23 pmImmigration reform has been something that he could do that would leave behind something lasting, something permanent, something that as he traveled around the nation in his post-Presidential years he could look on with joy and pride.
You mean like the lasting and permanence of these Immigration Reform…
1. Immigration and Reform Control Act (IRCA), 1986: A blanket amnesty for some 2.7 million illegal aliens
2. Section 245(i) Amnesty, 1994: A temporary rolling amnesty for 578,000 illegal aliens
3. Section 245(i) Extension Amnesty, 1997: An extension of the rolling amnesty created in 1994
4. Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) Amnesty, 1997: An amnesty for close to one million illegal aliens from Central America
5. Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act Amnesty (HRIFA), 1998: An amnesty for 125,000 illegal aliens from Haiti
6. Late Amnesty, 2000: An amnesty for some illegal aliens who claim they should have been amnestied under the 1986 IRCA amnesty, an estimated 400,000 illegal aliens
7. LIFE Act Amnesty, 2000: A reinstatement of the rolling Section 245(i) amnesty, an estimated 900,000 illegal aliens
Yeah right. Every few years this BS pops up again and again.
Do Americans really have this short of a memory span?
Hey!!! Look!!! Look!!! Look!!! There’s a shiny pretty object over there going to jail, watch her instead.
Oh yeah. And who’s on American Idol this week???
Americans DESERVE the mess that they’ve found themselves in for being such apathetic gutless idiots.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:23 pmThat man is drunk. I’m sure of it from that second picture.
Comment by Dr. Bill Frist — June 8, 2007 @ 4:13 pm
Well that wraps up the Caption Contest. LOL
So I had this friend who came over and his wife was sitting in a bar drinking one ‘light’ beer after another, thinking ‘light’ was low alcohol. After a few hours of this she tried to get up to go to the bathroom….
June 8th, 2007 at 4:24 pm#38. You forgot about all the brush he’s cleared! Credit where credit is due, my friend.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:25 pmZooey: doing great!
Comment by Clyde the Ripper
Great to see you, Clyde! I’m glad you’re doing so well. :)
BTW, I think the Chimp has been off the wagon for at least a year.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:27 pmOkay guys, while I would love to jump on Bush’s drinking, it turns out that he was drinking non-alcoholic beer. Still not a good thing for a dry drunk.
Here ie the picture of Bush and the beer he was drinking
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=460708&in_page_id=1811
If you look here, you will find that he was drinking a non-alcoholic Buckler, which is made in Holland.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:28 pmhttp://beergeek.stores.yahoo.net/nonalbu12ho.html
“look back over his presidential years with joy and pride”??? I’d say the only way he’ll be looking back on anything is to see a good plastic surgeon to change his identity when he’s out of office and no longer under protection.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:30 pm“That man is drunk. I’m sure of it from that second picture.
Comment by Dr. Bill Frist — June 8, 2007″
he’s not drunk. maybe coked out of his gourd, but not drunk.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:30 pmPerhaps this is a case of “he who doth protest too much” by parading non-alcoholic beer out for the media when it’s been obvious that he’s been on something – tales of his drinking rages – etc. I believe it’s all been “staged” to throw people off who believe he’s back on the sauce. Why else would such a photo be taken and released?? Think about it. Americans are soooo easily duped these days….this is just another case of “idiot duping” I’m afraid.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:32 pmYeah he’s drunk, Dr. Frist. Drunk like a fox!
(huh?)
June 8th, 2007 at 4:32 pmPoodle dog and Smurfel thought if they get Bush pissed he will go along with Greenhouse gas reductions
June 8th, 2007 at 4:33 pmOf course if he drank 24 of those Bucklers…………..
June 8th, 2007 at 4:34 pm…in the same sense that a dog leaves his legacy on your lawn.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:34 pmWhat’s more important is that he has “zero credibility” and is a flagrant pathological liar…..whether he’s drinking real beer or not is irrelevant, isn’t it? Isn’t it more important to be worry about the massive destruction he’s wreaking on this country right now? Perhaps this obvious attempt to get tongues wagging about whether he’s back on the sauce is simply another “distraction” by the Bush Administration from the things which matter….
June 8th, 2007 at 4:34 pmBesides, I wouldn’t care if he drank 20 beer every night if he was an honest man, would you?
June 8th, 2007 at 4:35 pmI think that guy has his foot in Bush’s crotch!
June 8th, 2007 at 4:36 pmThats NOT Non alchoholic beer I think , save picture as – enlarge and then Notice half way up the white label on the right …….. Thats the bit thats says 5%
not only that Smurkel and poddle face are drinking the same type bottle
June 8th, 2007 at 4:37 pmIsn’t this precisely what got this country into the horrendous “mess” it’s in: thinking about whom you’d rather be having a drink with versus selecting one for his innate intelligence and ability to run this government??
June 8th, 2007 at 4:37 pmI think the saddest part of the currently red-hot immigration debate is that it’s predicated on assumptions that no one, Right or Left on the political spectrum, has even bothered to examine.
First, there is the question of whether or not there is a crisis at all.
Remember, the argument being made for more Draconian measures to deal with illegal immigration is one of national security, not the old, multiply-debunked saws about illegals harming the U.S. economy. This is post – 9/11, they say. New mindset, they say, new enemies. Terrorists. Evil-doers. “Islamofascists.†Even though you can’t see them, they’re everywhere. All around us. Incredibly powerful and dangerous, yet unseen. They hate us. Hate. Not because of anything we’ve done, let’s make that clear. It’s because they hate freedom. Not because of anything we did. Not because of coups d’etat we engineered in their countries in our grandparents’ time or the tinhorn despot regimes like Saddam Hussein’s we armed and loosed upon them.
These people hate everything. Especially freedom. So dangerous are they that we need to surrender our civil liberties to protect us from them. Kill them all there so we won’t have to kill them here, although no one doubts that we COULD kill them here if we had to, because we don’t give in to terrorist fear – only clean-cut, Right-wing American fear – and we can kill anything we set our minds to. That’s the American way. Yeah. Open a can of Islamo-strength whoop-ass. Yeah.
Terrorists are the new communists, for those of us who remember how bad they were. Worse than communists, in fact. Communists could be reasoned with. (I wonder how those crazy commies have been doing… hell, it’s been a while… we ought to look ‘em up, find out how they’ve been… wonder what they’ve been up to… we were all set to drop nukes on them a while back, I recall… good times, good times).
But back to the border. Somehow, I’m not sure how, starving Mexicans are now terrorists too. Just as big a threat, even though they seem to love America just fine, and aren’t blowing things up or hijacking planes. Burros, maybe, but planes? No. Most of them don’t even have passports.
Someone ought to examine the assertion that the danger is out there in the scrub and tumbleweeds and not in fact all in our heads. The Right’s alarm bells are so deafening that there must be evidence, mountains of it; there must be hordes of terrorists crossing the Mexican border on foot every night posing as desperately poor migrant workers. So let’s see some evidence. A few cases. Only the meanest, baddest ones. Hell, one might even suffice. Unless this whole hubbub is about fear. because someone is afraid it might happen. A new billion-dollar Wall of China for the 21st Century because of something that hasn’t happened, but might someday. A billion-dollar monument to fear.
Second, just as the attackers on 9/11 were not poor, had studied and understood American culture and had ample experience as world travelers, it is far more likely that new terrorists would enter the country through airports, or perhaps on trains or ships, or through border checkpoints in cars. Nice cars. New cars. New-car-smelling expensive cars, clean-cut drivers with documents all in order. No would-be bin Ladens risking death in the Arizona desert, wall or no wall.
Which brings up the third obvious issue: What about Canada? How is that border any more intrinsically secure? Because there are white people on the other side? Those extremely-dangerous, stop-at-nothing, worse-than-commies terrorists have probably given our northern border at least a passing thought. Same threat. No wall. Find the logic, win a prize.
Fourth, there is the assumption that illegal aliens are and have always been harmful to the U.S. There is ample dispassionate, factual, verifiable economic data (impervious, one would hope, to spin from any political angle, as facts are facts and we are entitled to our own opinions but not our own facts) to suggest that migrant workers from over the border are not only not harmful to the U.S. economy, but sadly, are necessary to it. Before I am asked to effectively erase one of my core beliefs about America – that it’s here for everyone in the world as a refuge of hope and possibility, a beacon of freedom and economic opportunity – I’ll need assertions from people I trust, people who would never abuse power or manipulate our fears for political ends, that this is the only way to protect our nation.
If someone is willing to pick fruit in the blazing heat from sunup until nightfall or later with no medical care or benefits, to scrape together the beginnings of an American life, I say welcome aboard. One generation of minimum wage farm labor, then, perhaps, the American dream for the family. This is the aspiration of half the world, and rightly so. I need to see the data to tell me these people are any more diseased, dangerous, drug-addicted, gang-involved, or uneducable than the worst of the rest of us, papers or no papers.
If you ask me, this whole debate in our culture is taking place in the deepest recesses of our most profound, shared fears and anxieties, fears that are as old as civilization itself. Fear of the Other. Fear of the poison within. Fear of punishment and pain. Fear of loneliness and death. Sadly, our leaders are masters at fostering and nurturing those fears.
Only when we have lost everything and are no longer afraid will we be able to think clearly again. Only then will we tally up all that we’ve squandered, in lives and property and the lost admiration of the world.
Only then will be able to call the living to account, and to properly eulogize the dead.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:38 pm“…but cheap shots about his drinking problem is out of order. Some of my friends have drug problems and I spend time and money either paying off dealers or getting them into rehab. This does not make them bad people, just a little bit weak
Bush may be many things but having a pop at him for drinking (what I assume to be) a non-alcoholic beer is well out of order.
….Have a word with yourselves.
Comment by UKBristolDave”
Bite me, concern troll…
June 8th, 2007 at 4:39 pmafter 20 bottles of that Non alchoholic beer he might have a sip of Smurkels hairy teecup too
June 8th, 2007 at 4:40 pmWhat makes this article any better than one on Paris Hilton? Oh wait it’s about Bush which makes it a political discussion as opposed to a childish “he’s drinking a beer” discussion.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:42 pmI used to love Germans , until that East German bag got into power, as far as im concerned she has ruined Germany
June 8th, 2007 at 4:43 pmAmerica gets what it asks for;
The population of the US is nearly 300 million, including many of the best educated, most talented, most resourceful, humane people on earth. By almost any measure of civilized attainment, from Nobel prize-counts on down, the US leads the world by miles. You would think that a country with such resources, and such a field of talent, would be able to elect a leader of the highest quality. Yet, what has happened? At the end of all the primaries and party caucuses, the speeches and the televised debates, after a year or more of non-stop electioneering bustle, who, out of that entire population of 300 million, emerges at the top of the heap? George Bush.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:45 pmonce an alchotrolic always an alchotrolic – 0.5% or not he will be relapsing when his conscience kicks in
June 8th, 2007 at 4:46 pmHey where did Tundra’s post go? Valid question – lightweight thread.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:46 pm“What makes this article any better than one on Paris Hilton?”
Because this is about the President of the United States of America who has said he doesn’t drink.
I would never vote for somebody who doesn’t drink from time to time. I think the world would be a hell of a lot better off if the world leaders would get together and play a round or two of quarters. I think we would find that we all have a lot more in common than we think.
Problem is we have a bunch of world leaders who want to be seen as meesianic, which they are not.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:47 pmAs an ex-pres, he will have protection the rest of his life.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:47 pmThat’s the “perk” of the job.
I for one don’t believe Bush or any in Congress ever intended that any kind of immigration bill be passed. This one was so poorly written, so flawed, begging for harsh and correct criticism (legalize felons) that it never had a snowball’s chance in El Paso. It was staged, that’s all.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:48 pmBush legacy indeed
The Hunt for Osama free = Failure.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:48 pmThe hunt for Mullah Omar.
The hunt for WMD’s.
Social Security reform.
Harriet Miers nomination.
Healthcare reform.
Iraqi civil war.
Stage II of Pre-war intelligence.
Katrina rebuilding.
Restoring integrity to the office.
Reducing the debt.
Ports deal.
Susan Ralston.
Philip A. Cooney, the chief of staff to President Bush’s Council on Environmental Quality.
Grand Moff Baker.
Gonzogate.
Tobias.
David Safavian.
Scooter Libby.
Claude A. Allen.
Tom Delay’s Money laundering trial.
Ney Conviction.
Foleygate.
Cunningham Conviction.
State of Denial.
Ahbramoff.
Missing 8 billion Iraq funds.
Extended tours for military.
Record bankruptcy’s.
1.3 TRILLION tax give away while waging two wars.
Increasing National debt to 8.5 TRILLION.
The UN’s irrelevancy.
Yellowcake uranium from Niger .
Tax cuts for the ultra wealthy.
Skyrocketing energy prices.
Stagnant wages.
Iraq Clusterf***.
Taliban resurgence.
Guest visa give-away.
N. Korea with Nukes on Bush watch.
$20 barrel for oil when Chimpy came to office.
Iran dominance?
Hetero:
“As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. ”
June 8th, 2007 at 4:49 pm- H.L. Mencken
TerrytheTurtle – Amen.
Atribution omitted as meant for Richard Dawkins.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:54 pmScientists have never before witnessed how “stomach flu” is transmitted to the human body. Thankfully some on-the-ball photographer in Germany caught this seminal scientific discovery for all to use as a model for future research on disease transmission.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:55 pm“It’s five-o-clock somewhere”
June 8th, 2007 at 4:55 pmFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
Friday 8th June 2007
The president of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU), HassanJuma’a has informed Naftana* at about 3.30 PM London time (Friday 8thJune 2007) that the arrest warrants against the leaders of the Federation have not been withdrawn, and he made an urgent appeal toworld trade unionists and the anti-war movement to step up the solidarity campaignwith Iraq’s oil workers and trade unionists.
Hassan Juma’a said “the arrest warrants, issued by the prime minister’s office, are still in force, despite the Federation’s decision topostpone the strike till Monday 11th June to allow for furthernegotiations.†US jet planes were buzzing the skies of Basra as he spoketo Naftana on the phone. He added that Iraqi army tanks and other forces were still besieging workers in Sheiba, in Basra governorate, but that the workers willresume the strike on Monday if their demands were not met.
IFOU members started strike action on Monday in the pipeline section, paralyzing oil and gas supplies to many areas, including Baghdad. Thevery effective strike action was postponed on Wednesday to allow forfurther talks regarding the union’s 16 demands, relating to salaryscales, better health and work conditions and demanding consultation ontheproposedoil law. The so called Hydrocarbon Law is opposed by the union,which regards it as being against the Iraqi people’s interests and animposition by the occupation governments.
The Federation’s leader urged all unions and the anti-war movement to“step up their solidarity with the our union and the struggle of ourbrave members.â€
Naftana
http://www.basraoilunion.org/
June 8th, 2007 at 4:57 pmIf someone is willing to pick fruit in the blazing heat from sunup until nightfall or later with no medical care or benefits, to scrape together the beginnings of an American life, I say welcome aboard.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:58 pm“It’s five-o-clock somewhereâ€
Comment by CompTROLLER V-1
That’s what I always say!
June 8th, 2007 at 4:59 pmTomAto – TomOto, PotAto – PotOto,
Stomach Ailment – Hangover
5% or 0.5%, it doesn’t matter for a true alcoholic.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:02 pm#64 Tundra
What makes this article any better than one on Paris Hilton? Oh wait it’s about Bush which makes it a political discussion as opposed to a childish “he’s drinking a beer†discussion.
The president of the United States is an untreated alcoholic. I’d say it’s relevant.
I hope he’s got a visit to Colombia coming up.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:14 pmWhat a great picture the second one: Ruling class having a good time and a good life.
On the other hand: One person starves to death every 3 seconds, 25,000 kids die every day from curable deseases, 3.5 billion people dont have access to safe, clean water, WTO does not condemn or fine corporations that use child labor or degrading working conditions, etc, etc, etc.
Wonderful world.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:16 pmFirst,
Re post 71:
This one was so poorly written, so flawed, begging for harsh and correct criticism…
When in the last 7 years has this stopped the GOP from voting in favor of a bill sought by Dear Leader?
That actually is the story. No lockstep on this one, and after you do it once, it only gets easier. Even the dopey GOP Senate rats realize they’ve got to flee this sinking ship, and you might be surprised by some of the ropes you see them running down.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:18 pmComment by Zooey
You know, because Mr. Bush makes for such good jokes, I actually get AFRAID at the prospect of him leaving office. For obvious reasons though, I admit he’s gotta go. Fundamentally, he’s just doesn’t fit the billet, doesn’t take a political hack to see that.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:18 pmNot only is he an alcoholic, I have read a lot of stories of what a mean drunk he is. The most telling story is after a speech early in his political career that he made years ago, on the drive home he asked Laura what she thought. She made some constructive criticism and when they reached the house he drove his car through the garage door and into the back wall of the garage. I read another instance where he was slobbering drunk (in his twenties) and went to his parents house and drove through the garbage cans, went into the house and called his dad out trying to fight him.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:24 pmThis guy is trouble under the best of circumstances. A beer in his hand is not the best of circumstances.. And, an alcoholic doesn’t just stop with one casual beer to sip on.. I will bet he was hung-over and they are seriously trying to clamp down on the press.
#77 – come on TP – less Paris, less Holsinger, more of this.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:28 pmSo it is true…. Bush, an admitted alcoholic is, probably has always been, on the BOOZE He claimed he stopped drinking at age 40? right I never for a moment bought the pretzel accident event when…. back in 2001?
June 8th, 2007 at 5:30 pmFolks, we have a drunkard alcoholic lying criminal fool for a president.
You know, because Mr. Bush makes for such good jokes, I actually get AFRAID at the prospect of him leaving office. For obvious reasons though, I admit he’s gotta go. Fundamentally, he’s just doesn’t fit the billet, doesn’t take a political hack to see that.
Comment by CompTROLLER V-1
Good for you, CT.
Then you will be supporting the other commenters here by calling for impeachment?
June 8th, 2007 at 5:38 pmHas anyone checked the international press to see if any of the other leaders may have said anything to the press that could paint a clearer picture of Bush’s “performance”?
That pic of him with the head thrown back sure seems fairly inexplicable if there were no alcohol or other substances involved. I am thinking of him exposing his neck, and the fact that it runs counter to animal/human instinct to be so submissive. Then, to think of a social situation, especially a fairly uptight one like this probably was, with cameras/major issues to discuss/Bush-boi on the hot-seat for Iraq…there doesn’t seem any justification for him to let down his guard to that degree?!?! Other than that he is an idiot…
June 8th, 2007 at 5:41 pm0.5%, if that’s correct, is a lot for an alcoholic; it also increases the chances that the next beer will be high-test instead of unleaded.
Old habits die hard; purposely preserving them rather than inventing new ones is an engraved invitation to start drinking again. An alcoholic as president is neither here nor there. A drinking alcoholic as president is a national security disaster.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:42 pmCarter ain’t lookin’ so bad NOW…
…is he?
June 8th, 2007 at 5:48 pmSee Bush is drinking real beer with Merkel and some of you jumped all over me this morning saying I was a liar.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:53 pmComment by Zooey
Yes, impeachment should be put back on the table and a thorough investigation should commence. I will try to remain consistent on that. I will explain thoroughly if I change my mind in any instance, though.
Even if there’s only 17 months left in his term, he needs the ultimate challenge. I like conservatism best, but by-the-book conservative is not supposed to mean increased death, poverty, risk and destruction.
The House has the perfect capabilities and demographics to really challenge him here, yet what they’re doing isn’t uniform, isn’t consistent.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:54 pm…that damned Lindsey al cracker Graham…
…acts like he has BUSH-rabies…
…he REALLY wants his preznit to have…
…ONE thing he can call a “legacy”…
…what LOSERS…
…like their inbred supporters…
…they’re ALL cursed…
…and the Bush and Cheney families will have NOTHING but bitter fruit…
…and their supporters misery and tragedy…
June 8th, 2007 at 5:59 pmBush is drinking that supposedly non-alcoholic beer like it is real beer. His mannerisms denote someone who is tipsy. Since he is a former alcoholic, even a little bit of alcohol can set the person off.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:05 pmWell that’s all I can take – don’t really care who these people are in the photograph – that beer (0.5% or whatever) still looks good. And now it’s my turn…… I’m thinking a cold IPA first….
June 8th, 2007 at 6:06 pmBlair is definately drinking real beer in that 2nd pic, so maybe they switched bottles.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:10 pmWe won — again!
http://osi-speaks.blogspot.com/2007/06/we-won-again.html#links
June 8th, 2007 at 6:14 pmAlcoholics cannot drink beer, ever. Dubya is drinking just as I expected all along. Explains the behavior.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:15 pmJust because there was a nonalcoholic beer “prop” on the table, doesn’t mean he wasn’t drinking the real thing. Many times, he can’t string two sentences together. His nose and cheeks are mottled sometimes and other times he’s pale-looking. I think he was drinking. That “travel bug” he had was probably a hangover. He finally hauled his ass out of bed and got in front of the camera later on in the day, but I’ll bet Laura didn’t give him that bug, as someone on CNN said.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:15 pmmidwestblue > you have solved this mystery. The beer bottle is a prop or could be Merkel’s bottle. Bush looks very drunk in both pics.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:22 pmNon-alcoholic beer does not keep a foam top on it. Campare Bush’s glass to Blair’s glass in the 2nd pic > both have foam heads.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:25 pmdrunk or sober…
…George W. Bush…
…shouldn’t be representing America at a klan rally…
…let alone the G8 Summit…
…his ability to fu*k up any situation with which he is involved…
…should preclude him from ANY participation in ANY situation…
…but then this is DUHmerikkka…
…and Bushiva IS a rich WASP male…
June 8th, 2007 at 6:28 pmYes, impeachment should be put back on the table and a thorough investigation should commence. I will try to remain consistent on that. I will explain thoroughly if I change my mind in any instance, though.
That’s reasonable, CT.
Even if there’s only 17 months left in his term, he needs the ultimate challenge. I like conservatism best, but by-the-book conservative is not supposed to mean increased death, poverty, risk and destruction.
I agree. This country needs to see an actual investigation of this administration. Neo-conservatism has no resemblance to true conservatism. You’ll find that many, if not most, liberals can actually respect a true conservative, even if we agree on very little.
The House has the perfect capabilities and demographics to really challenge him here, yet what they’re doing isn’t uniform, isn’t consistent.
Comment by CompTROLLER V-1
Yes. People are rarely completely consistent, and government even less so. We need to put the pressure on, and cannot give up.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:30 pmNon-alcoholic beer does not keep a foam top on it. Campare Bush’s glass to Blair’s glass in the 2nd pic > both have foam heads.
Comment by Jay Randal
Oh, piffle. The Europeans make decent N/A beers that are quite different from O’Doul’s, etc. I’m surprised they served him a Dutch beer, rather than something like Bitburger Drive, which isn’t so horrible.
Bush doesn’t look “drunk”; he looks relaxed and happy. I admit that’s a shame, but you’re projecting all over this.
All this “alcoholics can’t drink N/A beer” is crap and so is your long-range diagnosis of his condition. Jeebus, you sound like Frist making his diagnosis from a bad video.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:37 pm“All this “alcoholics can’t drink N/A beer†is crap”
You need to go to one AA meeting.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:41 pmgummitch > stop defending Bush > he is a nasty drunk and the pics prove it.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:41 pmNon-alcoholic beer still has alcohol in it though a small amount. Recovering alcoholics aren’t even supposed to use mouthwash that has a very small amount of alcohol in it. Even that can be very dangerous to their recovery. (This was from my husband who is a physician. He also has a brother who is a recovering alcoholic who is very involved in AA).
June 8th, 2007 at 6:46 pmCheck out the Brat Pack yucking it up over a couple a cold ones.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:47 pmBrings back memories.
Here’s a fitting theme song for that photo of Bush and his world leader pals slamming down the brews:
St. Elmo’s Fire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVf4_WglzWA
Spudge > remember the pic awhile back of Bush with Putin and they both had beer bottles on the table and Bush acted drunk. Then remember the time he was with Merkel and grabbed her neck and then wandered off in a drunken daze.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:48 pmJay Randal,
Oh yeah. The Buckler beer bottle in front of him is most likely a prop. As somebody said “Why would this picture even be taken at all. When was the last time you saw a photo of a bunch of world “leaders” sitting around drinking a beer. It reeks of setup.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:54 pmHere’s my caption from that photo:
Tony Blair: “And then we get up, out of bed, put some clothes on because we have a morning press conference and what’s the first thing ole Dubya says? ‘Duh…me and Blair use the same brand of toothepaste’. Can you believe it? I had alot of explaining to do to my wife Cherie for that one”!
Merkel: “Das iz funny hahaha. Ya vut a funny shtory….ya.”
Bush: “Hehehehehehehehehe. Somebody git me another beer, this ones gitting kinda empty. Hehehehehehehe.”
June 8th, 2007 at 6:55 pm“All this “alcoholics can’t drink N/A beer†is crapâ€
You need to go to one AA meeting.
Comment by Spudge_Boy
I know that this is AA’s theory; but AA isn’t always right.
June 8th, 2007 at 7:04 pmOxyCon > In the 2nd pic notice blair’s 2 hands showing the size of something. Probably Jeff Gannon’s slong > lol > and Merkel thinks that is funny too.
June 8th, 2007 at 7:06 pmI was under the impression that alcoholics generally adopt a strict policy of not drinking in their recovery.
Has Dumbya fell off the wagon? The only thing scarier than a sober Bush behind the wheel of our government is the though of a drunken Bush behind the wheel of our government!
June 8th, 2007 at 7:07 pmI know that this is AA’s theory; but AA isn’t always right.
Comment by gummitch — June 8, 2007 @ 7:04 pm
I am not talking about a program or a theory. I am talking about the actual alcoholics themselves. You know the people who stand up and tell their stories? No theory about it.
Like I said “You need to go to one AA meeting.”
June 8th, 2007 at 7:09 pmbush drunk while giving speech
June 8th, 2007 at 7:10 pm“In the 2nd pic notice blair’s 2 hands showing the size of something.”
Jay Randal,
I disagree. Blair is doing the shoulder shrug thing. As in:
“Well, so we completely fu*ked up the Middle East. Who could have guessed.”
June 8th, 2007 at 7:10 pmWhere’s the picture with the Beer Bong?
IGNORE THE TROLLS – Debate good – Troll bad
June 8th, 2007 at 7:15 pmSpudge > just making a joke in my post 114. The Secret Service did have an odd entry for Jeff Gannon and Tony Blair on a White House visitation log. It said basically > Gannon entertains Blair tonight. Jeff is not a comedian, but is a male hooker, so that entry is suggestive.
June 8th, 2007 at 7:17 pmBush Drunk
June 8th, 2007 at 7:19 pmYep, this is absolutely a setup. Just doing a search for Buckler Beer and besides learning that it is made by Heineken I found that this whole story has been seeded to the press.
Tell me why, out of the blue on May 4th of this year, CBS News decided to do a story called:
Sign Of The Times: Bush’s Buckler
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/04/usnews/whispers/main2763003.shtml
The story is about which presidents drink and which didn’t and if they did, what did they drink.
“FDR fancied Scotch and brandy. Richard Nixon’s medicine was rum and Coke. Of late, we’ve shared Miller Lites in Kennebunkport, Maine, with former President Bush, though his successors- Bill Clinton and Bush son George-don’t drink. But neither banned booze in the executive mansion: White House guests are still offered top-shelf liquor, and we’re told that Bush has nonalcoholic Buckler beer chilling at his Texas ranch.”
Why was this story written a magical 3 days before the event to publicise Bush drinking non-alcoholic Buckler beer?
June 8th, 2007 at 7:22 pm“just making a joke in my post 114.”
Yeah, I guess mine isn’t really a joke as much as the truth.
June 8th, 2007 at 7:23 pmThink Progress: ‘The most trusted name in Tabloid news.
{:>)}
Zooey must have a huge ass sittin’ at the computer all day & night.
Thats news Heh.
Comment by Flaco
June 8th, 2007 at 7:45 pmYet another Bush Buckler sighting.
This one is from a transcript to a documentary made just before he stole office in 2000.
Journeys with George
by Alexandra Pelosi
http://www.jasonandco.com/george/reviews_body.htm
“Bush holds up a bottle of imported Buckler “near beer,” label facing the camera, and says, “You’re back here with my people. You’re back here with the tequila drinkers, yeah. What you need is to go up there and make a little whoopee with the tequila drinkers, get to know them better.”
This one is supposed to be from 1999. The paragraph just previous to this one discusses the capaign being over in 60 days. So, I take it this is just prior to election night.
Maybe they got Drunky McFlightsuit hooked on Buckler because it tastes more like the real thing than Near-Beer or O’Doul’s.
June 8th, 2007 at 7:46 pmFlaco: The dumbest fu*k in trolldom. Picks a nearly dead thread to take a shot at somebody who hasn’t posted on it in nearly 3 1/2 hours.
Dumb fu*k.
June 8th, 2007 at 7:51 pmHey, Flaco…so hows that “evolution is not proven” going, buddy?
hahahaha. Dumbass.
June 8th, 2007 at 9:19 pmevolution has numerous dead ends… ;)
June 8th, 2007 at 9:25 pmNice to know he’s enjoying himself while the murder rate is skyrocketing in Iraq. God, he’s so concerned about U.S. soldiers. What a man. What a president.
June 8th, 2007 at 9:31 pmBush is laughing his head off in the 2nd pic with Blair, Merkel and I guess the Italian Prime Minister. They are all having fun making jokes, and drinking beer, while US & British soldiers swelter in 120 degrees in the shade and would love to have an ice-cold beer to drink.
June 8th, 2007 at 9:48 pmBush is so stupid he thinks 5% is a lot.
June 8th, 2007 at 10:42 pmNear-beer can have as much as 2 percent alcohol. You have to be over 21 years old to purchase; and interstatement shipments are prohibited in states that do not allow alcohol to be shipped from another state.
June 8th, 2007 at 11:34 pmThe monkey in chief shouldn’t monkey with the monkey. He’s just a non-alchoholic beer away from jonesing for his Bolivian Marching powder. And with his contacts, it won’t be cut and stepped on to less than 5% purity.
June 8th, 2007 at 11:41 pmHey, Flaco…so hows that “evolution is not proven†going, buddy?
hahahaha. Dumbass.
Comment by Juan C
Hold on to your outdated Darwinian religion with its psuedo science . Your evidence is missing Darwin asshat!
Monkey to Man
June 8th, 2007 at 11:59 pmevolution has numerous dead ends… ;)
Juannyboy hear no science, see no science, speak no science.
Monkey to man just keep saying and believing JuannyC
June 9th, 2007 at 12:03 amJuan,
June 9th, 2007 at 12:06 amYou have seen Zooey’s ass evolve from big to huge. Now thats evolution. Maybe you have a point? Heh :’)
#127
June 9th, 2007 at 12:06 amJuan,
You have seen Zooey’s ass evolve from big to huge. Now thats evolution. Maybe you have a point? Heh :’)
evolution has Zooey’s huge rear end :’}
June 9th, 2007 at 12:07 amBush and Paris Two Whores who think the can get Away with it!
Hello ALCHOLIC BUSH!
yYeaaHHH..!? BoMb Em WHo evER UM tHe wAr PrEZniT!
June 9th, 2007 at 12:15 amI Love it everytime this CowaRD GetS oFf tHe AiR ForcE 1 Hi s WIfE
hAs 2 HoLD HIs arM To KeEP Him FRoM FaLLing On HIs ASS.
AlChIE PrEzNIts ArE GrEAt FeR Teh EcOnMoney!
ASS R RePubLIcAncs.
I cAll em Vladmer>!#2
Gah Bls mErca
June 9th, 2007 at 12:25 amHey, Member when iwuz Preznit????? And i was appointed to fool all those people. And i shocked an awed’em with my use of the england grammer sdchool talk. I knew then i would be able to fullfill the KKK prophrcey of blindly leading where no one ever knew i was goin an they followed and i was drunk.
The memoirs of an ovulating office!
June 9th, 2007 at 1:08 amI saw an interesting pic on another blog site of Bush with Merkel drinking a supposedly non-alcoholic beer, but there was another pic of him with a waiter who had a whole tray of drinks, including a vodka orange juice Screwdriver. So what did Bush drink before his near-beer and what did he drink afterwards? It’s obvious he had a hangover the next day, so the press needs to investigate this incident to uncover the truth.
June 9th, 2007 at 1:17 amthe press needs to investigate this incident to uncover the truth.
Comment by Jay Randal — June 9, 2007 @ 1:17 am
Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Because they have been doing such a knock out job up until now. : )
June 9th, 2007 at 1:38 amAngela Merkel makes me sick.
June 9th, 2007 at 2:54 amShe has her head so far up Bush’s ass,she can’t even smell Adolph Hitler anymore.
German press is suggesting that Bush is having an affair with Merkel. If true then perhaps that scandal would end both of their political positions. They can run off to Paris, France, and get a pad together.
June 9th, 2007 at 9:30 amNOTE: In my post 130 > I am talking about the soldiers in IRAQ who would love to have a ice-cold beer to drink.
June 9th, 2007 at 9:34 amTrying to post a link to the pic of Bush with a waiter/waitress standing behind him with a tray of drinks. Looks to be glasses of Champagne, a Screwdriver drink, and some wine.
http://sanityisland.us/gallery2/ …_serialNumber=1
June 9th, 2007 at 9:47 amI hate to note something positive about our messymanic imposter; he set aside the Hawaiian archipelago as a marine sanctuary. Nixon also has been credited of late for dramatically advancing the battle against cancer–or is that just another repub line of bs?
Marine sanctuary included, Bosch remains not one of the worst (there is only one worst ) but the worst president of all time. He must be hiding his murderer’s guilt behind his insistence on defending embryos. Is it because it is one form of life he gets no perverse joy out of killing?
June 9th, 2007 at 11:18 amLink in post 147 just goes to the main site at sanityisland. Go to AmericaBlog.com and they have a thread from yesterday on Bush drinking with Merkel in Germany. On the comments, scroll down till you see a poster who has 4 links to pics. 2 of them show a tray of drinks behind the president. It’s unknown if Bush drank any of them or how much? If the press did their job, then bloggers would not have to solve this story. As for Buckler Beer: non-alcoholic and regular uses the same label, so still unclear which Bush was drinking.
June 9th, 2007 at 11:27 amAfter the collapse of the George Bush last night, I could only really think of the President and his Penchant for Booze. Drinking Merkel under the table has been something that he could do that would leave behind something lasting, something permanent, something that as he traveled around the nation in his Blacked-Out State he could look on with joy and pride. But even now that looks doubtful, and with that, it is increasingly likely that he will go down in history as one of the worst Boozer Presidents our nation has ever had.
June 9th, 2007 at 11:39 amNo wonder he got sick, he had too much beer.
June 9th, 2007 at 11:51 amI am going to buy some non-alcoholic Buckler beer today to see if it can foam like the beer Bush is drinking. To see if it has the same color as the beer in the Bush pics. The damn press should do this, but it is up to us bloggers to solve this.
June 9th, 2007 at 12:46 pmI saw this clip on CNN from around this same event, but it must’ve been a tad later because in the clip the German Lady (I’m sorry I forget her name — Merkel?) and Blair talking and no one was talking to Bush so he felt left out and got up and traded places with someone to pretend he was talking to someone. I thought it was hilarious!
June 9th, 2007 at 1:04 pmIt is Vietnam. It is the drinking. The scandals. It is Nixon all over. Thud.
June 9th, 2007 at 10:27 pm