agreed!!
agreed!!
I guess you've already forgotten the IRS targeting conservative groups, the NSA taking the Patriot Act further than it was intended, and the Obama/Biden gun grabbing tour.
It used to be inconceivable that Obama's rating would drop so much, and Bush's improve.
Regardless of one's feelings for Bush.
Barbara is the smartest one in the clan on that note. We've had enough Bushs' in the Whitehouse. As for GB, everything I've ever learned about him from behind the scenes folks is that he was one of the nicest and most thoughtful presidents we've ever had. His biggest failure was an inability to surround himself with intelligent and thoughtful advisers who had their hearts in the right place. Guys like Cheney & Rumsfeld were his downfall.
I wouldn't miss him as president, but as a man he has my respect.
The are two ways to get into the top tier universities like Yale:
1. High IQ / Intelligence
And / OR
2. Offspring of Powerful family with significant money/influence/power.
We know Bush had #2. That is all we know. That doesn't prove he didn't have #1, but his grades at Yale combined with accounts from fellow attendees combined with what we saw and heard during his administration seem, to me at least, to imply his presence on Yale campus relied heavily on #2 and little if any on #1.
But again, this is just my opinion based on facts above.
I agree with Glocktogo, Bush the man is very likable. However, Bush the Cheyney puppet president was not something I will miss. I believe Cheyney ran the Bush administration from "Behind the Curtain" and he therefore deserves the blame for all the horrible decisions made (Patriot / Tyranny Act, buildup of domestic spying infrastructure, unnecessary and costly wars, rewarding bad actors with bail outs, etc.)
The Obama administration is just using the tools set up by previous administration's. Whether they are being used as intended is up for debate, but they will be used / abused in the same or worse manner by future administration's (left and right) unless the people rise up and demand they be shut down (very unlikely - dancing with the stars is on tonight). That said, what we have seen so far is nothing compared to what we will see in the future.
If you haven't read Orwell's 1984 recently, read it again in light of our current situation. The reality is, we have been living in "1984" for years, we just didn't realize it. Just as the characters in the book were oblivious to their situation, so to are we. I'm sure what we have found out as a result of the recent leaks is just the tip of the iceberg. It is even possible the leaks were intentional, a necessary distraction to enable another "Move" to be made unnoticed - who knows.
These leaks/scandals are absolutely mind blowing to me. The existence of these programs and unpunished actions by Government actors (past and present) contradict my understanding of what this country was supposed to represent - Freedom. The scariest part is the willingness of my fellow Americans to give up freedom so easily for the Mere "Perception" of safety.
Will we wake up before it is too late or will future generations of America live in a total "Police State" where every thought and action is controlled by their government - and they put up no resistance because they have no means (Bill of Rights abolished from constitution and history books) and they believe this is how it is and how it always has been? A terrifying thought.
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Wu
I've read a decent amount about the Cheney - Bush administration. As I said before, I think Bush was an good moral man but, Cheyney was not either of those things. I suspect Cheney used his superior intelligence to manipulate bush to run so he could select himself as VP to run the country through his puppet- George Bush. Cheyney himself was unelectable and he knew so he needed a Bush as a likable front man.
Everything going on now was either allowed to continue to exist or set up by the Cheney administration. They added to the domestic spying infrastructure (tangible property, spies, legal framework, etc.). If they had worked to tear it down instead of building it up, I might agree with you, but that was simply not the case regardless of how many editorials are written to revise history to their benefit. Cheney even made the rounds last Sunday condemning the NSA whistle blower as a traitor who should be put to death/silenced for treason while defending the domestic spying network he helped to set up - his legacy.
We have significantly more people killed each year by standing bodies of water (drownings) than terrorist attacks on U.S. Soil since our countries inception!
Yet, terrorist attacks terrify us so much we are willing to tolerate being treated as subjects as opposed to citizens?
What about a dirty bomb or nuclear device? What about it? Personally, those things don't scare me nearly as much as a an uncontrollable Government in the hands of a very small number of wealthy powerful family dynasties capable of monitoring my every thought and word while having the capability to send men off to a secret prison because I said or thought something they considered to be dangerous (dangerous to who?).
I've read a decent amount about the Cheney - Bush administration. As I said before, I think Bush was an good moral man but, Cheyney was not either of those things. I suspect Cheney used his superior intelligence to manipulate bush to run so he could select himself as VP to run the country through his puppet- George Bush. Cheyney himself was unelectable and he knew so he needed a Bush as a likable front man.
Everything going on now was either allowed to continue to exist or set up by the Cheney administration. They added to the domestic spying infrastructure (tangible property, spies, legal framework, etc.). If they had worked to tear it down instead of building it up, I might agree with you, but that was simply not the case regardless of how many editorials are written to revise history to their benefit. Cheney even made the rounds last Sunday condemning the NSA whistle blower as a traitor who should be put to death/silenced for treason while defending the domestic spying network he helped to set up - his legacy.
We have significantly more people killed each year by standing bodies of water (drownings) than terrorist attacks on U.S. Soil since our countries inception!
Yet, terrorist attacks terrify us so much we are willing to tolerate being treated as subjects as opposed to citizens?
What about a dirty bomb or nuclear device? What about it? Personally, those things don't scare me nearly as much as a an uncontrollable Government in the hands of a very small number of wealthy powerful family dynasties capable of monitoring my every thought and word while having the capability to send men off to a secret prison because I said or thought something they considered to be dangerous (dangerous to who?).
So do you think Lil' Joey Two Barrels is manipulating Obama?
In all seriousness, whether she's the "mastermind" or the "muscle", Cheny's current counterpart is Valerie Jarrett.
That is is good point. It is my opinion that what was known prior, and by who, will never be KNOWN by "The People" under the current system. All we know is how the problem is handled afterwards - information from which we can make certain inferences about their culpability.
In the end, it doesn't matter which individuals are "Guilty". What matters is what are the faults in "The System" that allow these types of systematic failures to occur undetected.
A few of the biggest contributors to our corrupted system, as I see it, are:
1. Voter Apathy - no one demanding accountability.
2. Secrecy within Government - makes oversight and accountability impossible.
3. Career Politicians - making corruption, collusion, bribery and even blackmail possible.
4. A Government too big and complex to monitor - enough said.
The mass media simply wants to believe that Obama is the type of person he was portrayed in 2008.
The number of journalists who voted for him run somewhere between 80%-90% plus, depending upon which source you want to use.
Certainly in his first term your're not going to want to burn the guy you voted for and ruin his chance of re-election, and even in the second term you don't want to burn him too badly, in fear it will harm the party you voted for.
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