Nation or America. What's The Difference? Answer: the Difference between Black and White, Between Global Reality and Hubris

And The Difference Between Brilliance and Stupidity

When I created a "wordle" out of President Obama's Inaugural Speech, a funny thing happened: it showed an enormous difference between today's speech and George W. Bush's "Farewell Address" to the country. President Obama is a careful orator: every word and nuance is studied again and again. Bush's speeches always seemed slap-dash because he so desperately wanted to seem just like one of the back-slapping "good ole boys". As I've written before, he hoped he could channel Will Rogers. Even in formal speeches, like the "Farewell Address" a vague off-hand manner persisted. This was truly a cowboy who, aw shucks, just couldn't cotton to real formal speechifyin'. At least that was what he wanted people to think about him. Thankfully, reading between the lines of its country's president has been a well taught subject in America.


Perhaps the most striking thing about the outgoing speech and the incoming speech is the use of the words NATION and AMERICA. First of all, they are reverse in importance. In Bush's speech, AMERICA is the largest word (due its being said the most times). In Obama's speech, NATION was the larger of the two. How is this significant? Bush's doctrine of global imperialism places AMERICA outside the rest of the speech and far away from other ideologies. Wasn't this Bush's concept of America? It was obvious that Bush never knew anything about other countries. He would spout the buzz words Karl Rove had told him to: freedom, liberty, equality, free elections, democracy. And there were times he looked positively baffled at who these people were. His worldview is a commonwealth of sorts paying homage to the king - America.

With Obama's speech, NATION gives equivalence to other countries. He avoids hyperbole when referring to America's greatness. His speech is, therefore, much more diplomatic. That is to be expected.

With George W. Bush, America tried to lead the world. With President Obama, we are at last one with the world.

Just a thought.

Click on each Wordle for a large, more readable version.

The Importance of Being Barack Obama.

He May Not Be A King, But...

January 20, 2009

Today is a day of celebration for millions of Americans. Some would say simply, for America. For beneath the sigh of relief that will be audible to everyone (especially those in Washington) there will be hopes and dreams. All resting on ONE MAN.

Oh, he'll have help, for sure. He knows that he won't be alone. Well, not quite alone. But the next four years will be liberally peppered with "He didn't do this" "He could have done that" "Why didn't he do this?" "Why did he do that?"

He will be asked questions for which he has no answers. He will be in the world's largest and most vulnerable bubble. He will need to delegate constantly, conscientiously and wisely. At times, he will need to seem superhuman, at other times plainly human and humane. He will have to answer to the left, right and center. He will need to beg, plead, cajole yet seem like he is not doing any of those things. He will be held to account for more things than any President before him. He will need to know that every day will start and end with scrutiny by Washington and by the country. He will never sleep soundly for the next four years but must look as if he has.

He will always need to remind himself that he campaigned for this position.

When we see him taking the oath of office for President of the United States, remember that Barack Obama is an extraordinary man, not a benevolent king or superhuman. The man, his family, his administration are NOT the New Camelot.

But the country will sleep better thinking that they are.

Welcome, O King Arthur Barack Obama!

We can all hope: Bush Will Be As Free As A Bird. (A Jailbird)

Even If...

If you think I'm going to just walk away from it all concerning George Bush, guess again. When a man batters our country relentlessly with inane neocon programs, lies to its people, lets soldiers die for his cause, and deregulates with impunity for eight years, he's must to come to terms with justice. Walking away from the presidency free as a bird is a slap in the face not only to our country, but to the rest of the world.

He should be hounded... He should hunted...Consistently.

Even if just one soldier had died...
Even if just one detainee had been tortured...
Even if just one person had been killed by Katrina...
Even if just one person had been illegally wiretapped!

Bush probably hopes and prays that the new administration will forget him. After all, "time heals all wounds." The problem is, his wounds were near fatal: to the military, to Gitmo detainees, to New Orleans, to privacy, to marriage equality, to the environment, to the economy. The country barely survived simply because Bush and Cheney were such bad shots. And they didn't count on the intelligence of their victims. (Which, according to the last polls were 78% of the country - meaning a lot of people smartened up since 2004)

(From the Washington Independent)

The consensus seems to be growing that, despite his oft-repeated desire to “look forward rather than backward” when it comes to the Bush administration’s authorization of the use of torture on detainees in American custody, President-elect Barack Obama is going to have to open some sort of official investigation of Bush-era war crimes once he takes office.

Salon’s Glenn Greenwald laid out the case in his blog on Sunday, arguing that it’s no longer optional. Given that the United States is a party to the United Nations Convention on Torture - a treaty signed by President Ronald Reagan –- and that the U.S. Constitution holds that international treaties are the highest law of the land, the United States really doesn’t have a choice: “U.S. law requires prosecutions for those who authorize torture,” writes Greenwald.

If this were another era, we would be able to watch Bush and family fleeing in a white Ford Bronco down freeways all the way to Paraguay.

Oh, for the beauties of justice!

Just a thought.

Today Is The Day: The Ultimate Sigh of Relief!

Inauguration Day. The day that few people will regret.

And those few? Let's take a look at the ones who'll be snarling at TV sets or even asking "What Inausguration? They are the 22% who still think that...

...George Bush did a marvelous job.
... he kept us safe.
... he appointed the best people for high administrative positions.
... he listened to all of his advisers.
... there are still weapons of mass destruction hidden in Iraq somewhere.
... he spoke to the common man.
... he knew what he was doing.
... he can read.
... Barack Obama is a Muslim (or A-Rab)
... it's okay to shout death threats at campaign rallies.
... Sarah Palin would have made a great President.
... Joe The Plumber is intelligent.
... The Christian Right really is right.
... Armageddon will come when Israel annihilates all the Palestinians.
... Hummers are sexy.
... The National Enquirer is a newspaper.
... Bill Clinton was the country's most immoral President.
... Ann Coulter is a nice person.
... they have to dress up to go to Wall Mart.

22% of the voting population is approximately 26 million people.
Now think of 26 million people who can't think.

Just a thought.

What We REALLY Think of Rick Warren

The reason Rick Warren's not wearing an Hawaiian shirt is because it's a bit chilly and it might seem a bit silly. He should also read the invocation backwards to symbolize his constant and consistent back-pedaling.

Ask Bush: Ruining A Nation Takes Teamwork!

After All: Bush Couldn't Become
The Worst, Most Inept President
All By Himself!

(From Think Progress):

Next week, “change is coming to America,” as President George W. Bush wraps up his tenure as one of the worst American presidents ever. He wasn’t able to accomplish such an ignominious feat all by himself, however; he had a great deal of help along the way. The ThinkProgress team heralds the conclusion of the Bush 43 presidency by bringing you our list of the top 43 worst Bush appointees.

Among those appointees are some notables and not-so-notables.

Stephen Johnson - Nicknamed the "Alberto Gonzales of the environment", he was EPA director who suppressed staff recommendations on issues such as pesticides, mercury, lead paint, smog and global warming. (In other words, he didn't give shit about the environment or the air you breathe)

John Yoo - The attorney in the DOJ who was involved with Gitmo detainee abuse and even considered as presidential prerogative detainees being buried alive!

Monica Goodling - A runner up for "dumbest appointment", Goodling was the graduate of Pat Robertson's Regent University (making her dumber than most of Bush's appointees) who based some of her hiring practices on sexual preference.

Harriet Miers - Bush touted her as a Supreme Court nominee simply because she said Bush was "the most brilliant man she has ever met." Nobody knows what kind of mind-controlling substance she was on at the time.

Julie MacDonald - A top Interior Department appointee, MacDonald saw to it that the only "endangered species" was in her staff.

Susan Orr — As Assistant Deputy Secretary for Population Affairs. This "Dr." was formerly with Family Research Council, so it was inevitable that she said "We're quite pleased because fertility is not a disease. It's not a medical necessity that you have [contraception]."

DUMBEST AND MOST HYPOCRITICAL appointment:

Former U.S. AID director Randall Tobias, who resigned yesterday upon admitting that he frequented a Washington escort service, oversaw a controversial policy advocated by the religious right that required any US-based group receiving anti-AIDS funds to take an anti-prostitution “loyalty oath.”

After Jan. 20th, these people, like a Mission Impossible tape, will probably "self-destruct" within months.

Let's hope so.

Just a thought.

Patrick Henry College: Where Tolerance and Liberty Do NOT Go Together!

Just Look At The Students!

If you're looking for the epitomy of "Christian Colleges" for your offspring who have been home-schooled to death the ONLY place on the planet is Patrick Henry College. They are, after all, attempting to follow in the footsteps of Found Father Patrick Henry, who said "Give me Liberty or give me death!"

And what the college's administration wants everyone to know is that Patrick Henry did NOT say "Give me Tolerance or give me death!"

(from wikipedia.org)

In a May 24, 2006 interview with Fresh Air on National Public Radio, the former president of Patrick Henry College, Michael Farris, commented that the college held the view that its faith was the only true faith ("We believe that there is truth and there is error."), and he expressed disapproval of religious and social toleration.

"Tolerance cannot coexist with liberty" because "the crowd of tolerance wants to ban speech."

Meaning: if you are Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Catholic, or Buddhist don't go near the place. You might not be alive to talk about tolerance.


Actually, some people dared to approach Patrick Henry College: Soulforce, the LGBT organization that each year goes on a "freedom ride" to colleges and universities to debate gay rights and tolerance for gays. Patrick Henry College did offer to debate, but not on its campus. The Soulforce team spent hours in the cold rain with their gay-positive signs. One person was arrested for trespassing. The college did not want to "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

Jona Frank's book Right looks at Patrick Henry college with a (only slightly) jaundiced eye, but manages to capture the essence of a school established for the home-schooled (that is, home-schooled strictly for religious and political reasons).

To look at the photos of these students is to look into the eyes of blatant intolerance for those who are not born-again Christians. Even their smiles exhibit a kind of smarmy, aloofness, a look that says "if you're not Christian, you're not my equal." It's a haughty look trying to shield a vacuity that to the outside world is, well...boring. There is not much life to them. They were not only home-schooled but shielded from a world they, perhaps, will never know.

They will never know tolerance.

And they will be sent out into the world to lead the rest of us.

Heaven forbid.

Just a thought.