Bush

When Bush was in Iraq, two weeks ago, he posed for photographs with Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the leader of the Anbar Awakening, an alliance of Sunni tribes who has vowed to back the U.S. and fight al-Qaeda. Last Monday, General Petraeus testified to Congress that "a year ago" Anbar Province "was assessed 'lost' politically....Today, it is a model of what happens when local leaders and citizens decide to oppose al-Qaeda and reject its Taliban-like ideology." Three days later, the assassination of Abu Risha in Ramadi dramatically undercut Bush and Petraeus's claims of peacekeeping. But what else is the administration keeping from us about Anbar? Rick Rowley, a journalist and independent filmmaker of Big Noise Films, was one of the last people to videotape and interview the Sunni sheikh and his video report, "Uncovering the Truth Behind the Anbar Success Story," presents a very different picture of the Anbar Awakening. Rowley, and co-producers David Enders and Hiba Dawood, are the only Western journalists to bring a camera into the refugee camp where the displaced Shiites recount being attacked, bombed, and driven out by the very tribes Petraeus and Bush hail as heroes. Rowley's report, which includes interviews with candid U.S. soldiers and footage of a military commander handing a Sunni leader a wad of cash, highlights the role of bribery and coercion in building alliances that serve short-term goals in Anbar province, but in the long-run deepen a multi-sided civil war. I talked to Rick Rowley about his report and what it indicates about Iraq's future.

Bush Administration Announces New Consumer Feature

Beginning in June 2007, American cell-phones will ring when idle and fall silent when a call comes through, said a Federal Trade Commission spokesman in an advanced announcement. In an executive order published last week in the Federal Register, the White House said the change "gives phone customers the right to pay only for the services they want, like making the constant ringing stop."

"Idle cellphones will be much easier to find when the ringers are used consistently," said Brad Hanging-Chad, a 2006 Bob Jones University graduate who is now awaiting Senate confirmation as the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.

"Most customers are expected to be happy with the reverse ring-silence modality, but those who prefer the traditional ring-when-called mode can now purchase that value added service for just $6.99 and up per month," said Mr. Hanging-Chad, who did not return reporters' phone calls about his stock in several wireless telephone carriers.

Although regulations to be implemented in 2012 will require phone companies to offer the "no ring" function for "a reasonable fee", customers can call this number or this number now to report charges that seem excessive.

Dear Friends and Relatives:

I have the distinguished honor of being named to the committee to raise $5,000,000 for a monument to George W. Bush. I am contacting you in hopes you will be willing to contribute to this noble cause. But first, a little about what the committee has been doing to date.

We originally wanted to put him on Mount Rushmore until we discovered that there was not enough room for two more faces.

We then decided to erect a statue of George in the Washington, DC,Hall of Fame. We were in a quandary as to where the statue should be placed. It was not proper to place it beside the statue of George Washington, who never told a lie, or beside Richard Nixon, who never told the truth,since George could never tell the difference.

We finally decided to place it beside Christopher Columbus, the greatest Republican of all. He left not knowing where he was going,and when he got there he did not know where he was. He returned not knowing where he had been, decimated the well-being of the majority of the population while he was there, and did it all on someone else's money.

Thank you,
George W. Bush Monument Committee

P. S. The Committee has raised $1.35 so far. So please be generous.

[This comment was posted on another blog I edit here. Due to space-time continuuum disconnects I wasn't able to ask the original commenter for permission to repost it here yet, but I know her well enough that I suspect she wouldn't mind. I suppose I could give it an intro and set up a context for it here, but then again -- is there really any need to?]

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It wasn't enough to attack a mosque. Now pilgrims have been attacked too. & some say it isn't a civil war?

I have to work 12 hours and I woke up in the middle of the night with insomnia because I'd heard Bush use the term "battlefield" twice, with no apparent emotion. There would probably BE no battlefield if not for his stupid decisions. Maybe he thinks we'd be battling in the middle of Nebraska cornfields if we weren't in Iraq. Yeah maybe that's it.

I started remembering being 12 years old and travelling across South Dakota with my mom & 3 younger siblings, to visit my dad at the VA in Rapid City. On the way, our bus had to stop for hours on the highway, because of a burning car. When we got to the VA, my dad had come out of electroshock and he didn't know me. I got presents that were supposed to be from him but I knew they were picked out by volunteers. People used to say "Roger can't hold down a job. He's shellshocked."