Burning Bush: I …

Burning Bush: I apologize to my readers (those who come here for the technology links and commentary) who don’t like my postings about Bush politics. It’s to a point now where I feel that I must voice my opinions. I don’t claim to be as informed as I should be on some issues, and I appreciate the links that readers send for clarification. Remember how politics in this country works and that your vote counts when election time rolls around. The more of these corrupt business scumbags we remove from political office, the better off we will be. You’re just fooling yourself if you think that Bush and his gang didn’t take advantage of corporate tax loopholes during their corporate tenures. It’s time to return the control of America back into the hands of the people, instead of leaving it in the hands of the rich and the corporate elite. It’s time to demand the Bush administration to be held accountable for their actions and reveal their hidden agendas, whether driven by political needs or by corporate favors.

Now, before you email me, understand that this is my opinion and it’s unlikely to change. I’ve never been a fan of Bush and have been criticizing him from the moment he took office. Anyone who has read Molly Ivin’s book Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush (which was published in October 2000 — long before the media became obsessed with corporate fraud) was aware of the shady business antics of Bush’s past. I will continue to criticize Bush when and where I see fit. The last time I checked, free speech was still a protected right in this country. I don’t care either way whether you agree with me or not. I will continue to exercise my right of free speech and if you don’t like it, you’re welcome to go read other sites that cater more to your political beliefs. We now return you to the previously scheduled program.

Some readers want me to continue talking about Bush, others do not. Here’s a weblog dedicated to him: smirkingchimp.com

The second edition of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web is out. Congrats to Lou and Peter!

Foundations are in place for martial law in the U.S. Sigh…

When president Ronald Reagan was considering invading Nicaragua he issued a series of executive orders that provided the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with broad powers in the event of a “crisis” such as “violent and widespread internal dissent or national opposition against a US military invasion abroad”. They were never used.

WSJ: Fascinating article about using insects instead of chemicals to destroy harmful bugs that feed on valuable crops.

Motley Fool: CEOs Have Cooties

Don’t forget, if you listen to RadioParadise, please send them a few bucks. I know I’ve sent them at least a dozen new listeners, all who have written to say thanks. I PayPal them $5-10 or so every month or so. Doc Searls has more info about the fight to keep Internet Radio stations online.

Airline Bailout: Something doesn’t smell right. I read the other day that Vanguard Airlines, a small-but-excellent airline (I’ve flown them twice) out of Kansas City halted operations and filed for bankruptcy. And today I read that United Airline’s stock dived 21% because they announced they hired bankruptcy lawyers earlier this year. Now, I understand that running an airline is an expensive operation and has incredible overhead. I’ve also read that the profit margin for most airlines is between 2-5% for each flight. Admittedly, not a whole lot of room for error. But what about the $15 billion airline bailout that Congress approved last September. Where did that money go? Why are airlines still failing? It just doesn’t add up. I hope that the media don’t need to start investigating the accounting of the big airline companies as well.

King of Jordan: Now the king of Jordan has publicly said that he thinks the U.S. going to war in Iraq would be “a tremendous mistake.” Hello, president Bush, I hope you are listening. It’s like the lights are on but nobody’s home. Bush had better start listening to what the rest of the world has to say or he’s going to drag the U.S. into a mess that will take years to get out of. One of my earliest criticisms of Bush was that he seemed to have no world perspective at all and didn’t pay attention to what was happening outside of America. I really hope that he doesn’t go and do something stupid like create a war with Iraq just so he can get re-elected. Given the recent stock market crisis and failing faith in corporate America, I think we as a country have more important things to worry about than an unneeded war in Iraq.

High School Essay Winners: The winner of the Society of Professional Journalists High School Essay Contest wrote about the importance of a free media in America. Reading the winning essays, I couldn’t help but notice how short they are. Perhaps there was a low word-count restriction. The first essay uses the word intelligentsia. Hmmm. The second essay has a weird sentence with too many commas:

This may be the best essay you’ve read in a long while, perhaps even ever, and if you find it as great as I hope you do, you will write shining words of praise in literary criticism journals, and petition the government to make me a laureate of some kind. And I will go down in history as the most celebrated high school essayist.

Yikes! I think it’s good that high school kids are writing, but is this really the cream of the crop?

Posted by Cameron Barrett at August 2, 2002 03:00 PM

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *