04 November 2004 Blog Home : November 2004 : Permalink
The word schadenfreude describes precisely my feeling when reading her latest effort. To save you the effort of reading through the bile let me summarise: How could the US electorate be so stupid as to fall for the tricks of the Evil Lord Kkkarl?
Some of the more priceless comments:
W. ran a jihad in America so he can fight one in Iraq - drawing a devoted flock of evangelicals, or "values voters," as they call themselves, to the polls by opposing abortion, suffocating stem cell research and supporting a constitutional amendment against gay marriage.
Mr. Bush, whose administration drummed up fake evidence to trick us into war with Iraq, sticking our troops in an immoral position with no exit strategy, won on "moral issues."
The evidence was FAKE I tell you FAKE. Look Bush lost 377 TONs of deadly explosive designed for nuclear bombs but Saddam Hussein didn't have any WMD. And don't you love the scare quotes around "moral issues"? You see only democrats understand the true morality and anyone who thinks otherwise is deluded therefore these moral issues are in fact racist, sexist, homophobic etc. etc. The idea tha in a democracy some of hoi polloi might have different moral standards is apparently quite ridiculous if not streng verboten (to demonstrate my multilingual education).
Just listen to Dick (Oh, lordy, is this cuckoo clock still vice president?) Cheney, introducing the Man for his victory speech: "This has been a consequential presidency which has revitalized our economy and reasserted a confident American role in the world." Well, it has revitalized the Halliburton segment of the economy, anyhow. And "confident" is not the first word that comes to mind for the foreign policy of a country that has alienated everyone except Fiji.
Personally if I were you, Maureen, I'd be cautious comparing other people to cuckoo clocks, it strongly calls to mind a phrase concerning kettles pots and the colour black.
But then we get to the crticism of the speech. Gosh how can I put it, Maureen darling? in 2004 the economy is at least as healthy as it was in 1996/7 and probably has fewer structural overhangs (though I admit I still worry about the US housing market). Perhaps you didn't notice there was this teeny little thing called a stock market bubble that ended in 2000/2001? Oh and did you also notice the event a few blocks further south of the NY Times building in Spetember 2001? Compared to, say, Germany (1.5% growth/year >10% unemployment), the US economy is glowingly healthy (5-6% unemployment, 3-5% growth/year) and its doing that with oild prices at $50 instead of $15 as they were in the 1990s.
The alienated everyone except Fiji comment is rather rich too. I'd prefer to phrase it as "alientated France and the other whiny faux amis". Perhaps it escaped your notice that there are 30-odd countries involved in Iraq and more in Afghanistan?
No its too painful to continue. If I were Maureen's doctor I'd prescribe a daily whacking around the head with a cluebat and dose of reality, as I'm not all I can do is shake my head in amazement.