Bush the Plagiarist, Bush takes on Constitution, Faith-Based NASA, FBI's new computers, Brit knows crap, Security Moms, Bush prosperity and W unloved.

The ATF is getting a new headquarters building. It was originally supposed to have a quote from Bush's 9/20/2001 speech to Congress engraved at the entrance. But that's no longer the case. The Bush quote has been dropped from the plans by the new acting director Edgar A. Domenech, a career ATF man.

In December, Carl J. Truscott , then director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives, and David L. Bibb , acting administrator of the General
Services Administration, invited President Bush to the dedication of the ATF
headquarters, scheduled for Nov. 14 or 16.

The new headquarters at 99
New York Ave. NE, ATF's first permanent home, is an "architectural masterpiece,"
the letter said, combining "high security and openness" with "post-Oklahoma City
bombing design and construction standards."

But why would the president
attend? Because "memorable words from your speech before a Joint Session of
Congress on Sept. 20, 2001 will be engraved in stone at our entry threshold,"
the invite said. Whoa! This puts Dubya right up there with Lincoln and Roosevelt
and Jefferson.

The letter said Bush's words -- "We will not tire, we
will not falter, and we will not fail" -- "remind us daily of the dedication and
commitment with which we at ATF pursue our missions" of fighting terrorists and
criminals.

Wow! "We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail". A masterful and powerful quote, as evidenced by a Google search that shows many government agencies and the Right-wing Blogosphere are wetting their panties for a chance to use it.

My first thought was, "The idiot said this?". I'm sure many of you thought this quote sounds almost Churchillian, and you were right.

We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire...Give us the tools and
we will finish the job.
Sir Winston Churchill, BBC radio broadcast, Feb 9, 1941

Thank you Mr. Edgar A. Domenech.


It's official, Bush is a crook and his wiretapping scheme is unconstitutional.

A federal judge in Detroit ruled yesterday that the National Security Agency's
warrantless surveillance program is unconstitutional, delivering the first
decision that the Bush administration's effort to monitor communications without
court oversight runs afoul of the Bill of Rights and federal law.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ordered a halt to the wiretap program, secretly authorized by President Bush in 2001, but both sides in the lawsuit agreed to delay that action until a Sept. 7 hearing. Legal scholars said Taylor's decision
is likely to receive heavy scrutiny from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th
Circuit when the Justice Department appeals, and some criticized her ruling as
poorly reasoned.

Down but not out, the Administration is fighting the decision and the Right has already started swiftboating the judge.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said the Bush administration "couldn't
disagree more with this ruling," calling it "carefully administered."

Congressional Republicans quickly condemned Taylor's ruling, and the
Republican National Committee issued a news release titled, "Liberal Judge Backs
Dem Agenda To Weaken National Security." Taylor, 73, was appointed to the bench
in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter.

It's pretty obvious that the Constitution means squat to the Right.


Bush just signed a new revision of the pension laws. I guess that means that most folks hoping for a comfortable retirement will probably be screwed out of it.

But critics of the law, such as Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), called it a
smokescreen, warning that some companies would face fewer requirements to fund
their pensions. The Congressional Budget Office reported Wednesday that the new
law would "lead to an increase in underfunding among plans that will be
terminated over the next decade."

Three NASA advisors have resigned in protest over Bush's NASA science budget cuts. Be sure to say a prayer for our new faith-based space program.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Aug. 18 -- Three NASA advisers who spoke out against budget cuts to the space agency's science programs turned in their resignations this week,
officials said Thursday.

The FBI has spent $170 million of your money for a computer system that don't work. Have you noticed that under Bush we spend an awfully lot on things that don't work. Iraq, FEMA, Congress, etc.

Within a few days, Azmi said,
he warned FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III
that the $170 million system was in
serious trouble. A year later, it was
dead. The nation's premier law enforcement
and counterterrorism agency,
burdened with one of the government's most archaic
computer systems, would
have to start from scratch

.

Feel safer yet?


British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott shows that he has a firm grasp of the obvious by calling the Bush Administration "Crap". The real question is why did it take five years to come to this conclusion?

John Prescott has given vent to his private feelings about the Bush presidency,
summing up George Bush's administration in a single word: crap.

The
Deputy Prime Minister's condemnation of President Bush and his approach to the
Middle East could cause a diplomatic row but it will please Labour MPs who are
furious about Tony Blair's backing of the United States over the bombing of
Lebanon.

Things are getting so bad for Bush and the GOP that they are even losing the support of the so-called "securuity moms". These are the women that have fallen victim to the fear mongering propaganda that Bush and the GOP have been pushing, and still are, since 9/11. Welcome back to the real world.

CLINTONVILLE, Ohio, Aug. 17 -- Married women with children, the "security moms"
whose concerns about terrorism made them an essential part of Republican
victories in 2002 and 2004, are taking flight from GOP politicians this year in
ways that appear likely to provide a major boost for Democrats in the midterm
elections, according to polls and interviews.

Now, in the interest of fairness, I bring you two examples of Bush policies that have actually helped people.

First, the farmers in Afghanistan have a record crop production.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Opium cultivation in Afghanistan has hit record
levels -- up by more than 40 percent from 2005 -- despite hundreds of millions
in counternarcotics money, Western officials told The Associated Press.

Second, for some small businessmen in Iraq, business has never been better.

"During the Saddam era, we used to do one or two coffins a day and the price
ranged between $5 to $10," Mohammed said. Now he produces an average of 10
to 15 coffins a day and charges about $50 for each of them.


Um
Alaaa, 50, is a professional mourner who attends funerals to add emotion to the
ceremony. The profession is widespread in the Middle East, but lately demand has
been so great that she is training one of her six daughters to help with the
workload.

All this prosperity, it's just no wonder that Bush feels unappreciated by our colonies.

President Bush miffed that Iraqis aren't thanking him enough
by AJ in DC -
8/16/2006 01:42:00 PM


I nearly choked on my Wheaties this morning
reading the headline:
"Bush Said to Be Frustrated by Level of Public Support in Iraq."