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Is the President an adult? |
by Helen & Harry Highwater, Unknown News
March 21, 2006
Millions of Americans see President George W Bush as an honest-to-gosh cowboy, a straight-shooter in the White House. They love his aw-shucks demeanor and his down-home Texas drawl, which are lies. Bush was, after all, raised in Connecticut, where he attended tony private schools and went on to Yale. He has no Southern accent when there are no cameras. The |
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accent and country-boy mannerisms are political calculations, affectations adopted to fool people.
Some of his admirers took Bush at his word when, running for President in 2000, he claimed to be a Christian. He often speaks about Jesus, sounding very religious indeed, but disregarding Bush's pious words, is there anything he's actually done that's even remotely Christ-like? Wars, lies, cuts to programs that help the poor and feed the hungry, increasing pollution, increasing the huge gulf between the wealthy few and the impoverished many -- it's the Christianity of a charlatan. It's as if Bush asks himself, "What would Jesus do?," and then does the opposite every time, without exception.
George W Bush is not a Texan, and not a Christian. Those are easy calls, but here's a more difficult question: Is he really a man? And yes, it's a question meant seriously.
It doesn’t take much to be a man, anatomically. Bush has facial hair, and he’s presumably fathered two children. But is the President of the United States a man, in the 'cowboy' or Christian sense of the word? Is he an adult, as judged by the fiber of his heart?
Is the President of the United States someone who's made his own way in the world?
No. George W. Bush has accomplished nothing for himself. Nada. From college to his questionable stint with the National Guard, from owning the Texas Rangers to sitting in the Governor's chair in Texas, to the Presidency of the United States, there is nothing on George Bush's résumé that was not arranged for him by his father, or by his father’s friends and connections.
Can anyone seriously suggest that George Bush has accomplished more than any number of white, well-educated men who look good in a suit could have accomplished in America, if they’d had his father’s name and connections? Given Bush's head start in life, many people -- perhaps you -- could have matched or exceeded his accomplishments. It would be difficult to exceed his incompetence.
Is the President at least a person of good character -- an adult, in that sense? Does he measure up to the none-too-lofty standard of, say, my father, your mother, or any of millions of adults who live their lives with a smidgen of dignity and reasonable honor, who add something to decent, civilized society instead of just subtracting? Is he someone who deals fair and square, earns his keep, and keeps his word? Is he a responsible adult?
No. A responsible adult deals with others with integrity, but Bush lies, constantly.
A responsible adult weighs all the pertinent information before making a decision. Yet no matter how monumental his responsibilities, Bush accepts only good news, banishes disagreement, and never wavers, no matter how wrong he is.
A responsible adult takes his or her responsibilities seriously, and Bush has
enormous responsibilities
-- but from Emergency Management to the Supreme Court, he consistently appoints friends and cronies to the nation’s most important positions.
A responsible adult conducts himself within the boundaries of common sense and the law, but Bush argues -- literally -- that he is above the law.
Perhaps the most important mark of a responsible adult is the ability to admit when you’ve made a mistake, and the integrity to apologize from the heart and mean it.
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Imagine for a moment, how you would feel if you made a mistake at your job, and your error led directly to someone being injured. If you’re an adult of any character at all, you’d apologize. I know I’d apologize from the bottom of my heart, and I’m not even my own idea of a good role model.
The President of the United States made a ‘mistake’ at his job, and it has led directly to the deaths of thousands of American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. His mistake has killed at least tens of thousands of people in Iraq (some plausible estimates are much higher than that). His mistake has left thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of others very seriously injured -- hands blown off, shrapnel in the brain, bodies quivering with uranium-induced disease.
For all those injuries, all that death, you might think that a simple, straightforward apology was in order. Dozens continue to die almost daily, but the word ‘sorry’
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Philosophically, if we see a distinction between men who are merely men biologically and men who live their lives as responsible adults, George Bush is not a man.
But he's the President of the United States, wielding powers far beyond his meager abilities to control or comprehend, and leading this nation to ruin and tyranny.
He has led the nation into war without reason in Iraq, and he is threatening war without reason against Iran.
He is intrigued with nuclear weapons, and he has said that he is willing to use them.
He possesses no self-doubt, no curiosity, and no conscience. He has displayed no hint of honesty, and no allegiance to the Constitution that is supposed to limit his powers. He is quite possibly deranged.
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Imagine for a moment, how you would feel if you made a mistake at your job, and your error led directly to someone being injured.
If you’re an adult of any character at all, you’d apologize.
I know I’d apologize from the bottom of my heart, and I’m not even my own idea of a good role model.
The President of the United States made a ‘mistake’ at his job, and it has led directly to the deaths of thousands of American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.
His mistake has killed at least tens of thousands of people in Iraq (some plausible estimates are much higher than that).
His mistake has left thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of others very seriously injured -- hands blown off, shrapnel in the brain, bodies quivering with uranium-induced disease.
For all those injuries, all that death, you might think that a simple, straightforward apology was in order.
Dozens continue to die almost daily, but the word ‘sorry’ never leaves the President's lips, apparently never enters his mind.
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There's much more than this at Unknown News.
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never leaves the President's lips, apparently never enters his mind.
No matter how many die, George Bush is not sorry at all. Quite the contrary, he has announced with fanfare that he intends to repeat the same mistakes as a matter of policy, without pause -- which ought to make Americans wonder whether ‘mistake’ is really the proper word.
Philosophically, if we see a distinction between men who are merely men biologically and men who live their lives as responsible adults, George Bush is not a man. In issues of character and common decency, his manhood eludes him.
Morally, he seems to be stuck at the level of a child, or perhaps a troubled teenager, a kid you wouldn't trust with the keys to the family car. But he's the President of the United States, wielding powers far beyond his meager abilities to control or comprehend, and leading this nation to ruin and tyranny.
So a man unworthy of even the minimal respect you'd give your pimply son, your neighbors or co-workers, is the President of the United States. He has led the nation into war without reason in Iraq, and he is threatening war without reason against Iran. He is intrigued with nuclear weapons, and he has said that he is willing to use them.
He possesses no self-doubt, no curiosity, and no conscience. He has displayed no hint of honesty, and no allegiance to the Constitution that is supposed to limit his powers. He is quite possibly deranged.
This is George W Bush, the President of the United States.
And Dick Cheney, the Vice President? He's a lot scarier.
© by the authors.
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This is an archived Unknown News page. For newest material, visit our main page.
I can't afford therapy, but boy do I need it. So as an affordable alternative, I pound my anger into a weekly column here.
Fair warning: My parents were repressed -- using any bad words would get my mouth washed out with soap, literally. I still remember the sickly flavor of DoveTM. So as an adult, vulgarity helps with the healing. If naughty language offends you, beat the rush and get offended now.
This page is for my own good, not yours, so you may not like it, but I don't care.
About the authors
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Helen and Harry Highwater have published Unknown News since 1997. We're a married couple sharing a byline ŕ la Lennon and McCartney, and "I" can be either of us, or both of us. If you're consumed by curiosity, it's safe to assume the more boisterous and aggressive bits come from Helen, and anything ladylike or demure is probably Harry's work.
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We appreciate the heck out of everyone who helps.
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Previous articles by Helen & Harry Highwater:
We interrupt the bad news for a brief pep talk
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Stand up for something, damn it
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What kind of 'patriot' supports a tyrant?
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Time to oppose the phony opposition
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President Charles Manson
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What's for dinner at the Hanoi Hilton?
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The bully at the bully pulpit
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Truth or dare, America
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Bush administration spying targets reporters, activists
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No, Virginia,
we're not libertarians
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Letter to the editor
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A whisper of optimism
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Muhammad Ali is a scumbag
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On behalf of God Himself, I endorse Alito for Supreme Court
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The old guy in a sweatshirt
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The emperor wears no mental clothes
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I'm filing bankruptcy
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Our long national nightmare is just beginning
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"Mission accomplished" for FEMA
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Fuck you, George W. Bush
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The daily compromise
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The unspoken subtext of Karl Rove's treason:
Support your local CIA
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Cabbages don't count
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Back to basics: Question authority
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Anatomy of another lie
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Constipated and liquefied logic
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Be careful crossing the street, ya damn kids!
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Monsters in America,
from Deep Throat to James Watt to Christopher Cox
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Mainstream media:
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A Pope to be ashamed of
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What can we do about the stolen election?
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Helen & Harry Highwater
The President who cried "wolf!"
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Defeating terrorists without wars
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If you're not for Bush, you're French ... or al Qaeda
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To tell the truth
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What kind of bloody savages
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Judging Judging Amy
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An apology and an endorsement
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Rights, responsibilities, and acknowledgement
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Los Angeles Times memo orders reporters to fudge the truth
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Our perspective on Terri Schiavo
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Who deserves freedom of speech? And who doesn't?
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Two years of lies about Sept. 11
The new Warren Commission
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Criticizing Israel
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Is it terrorism to be a patriot?
Or is it just like Red Dawn, only with turbans?
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Bush knocks on Armageddon's back door
by Helen & Harry Highwater
Why I won't be at the victory parade
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Company fined $6,000 for
answering customer's questions
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Clint Eastwood, and US foreign policy
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Do you love America? Do you?
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Google refuses our ad
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Reasonable deaths in a nonsense war
by Helen & Harry Highwater
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