drivelocity.com » George W. Bush

No. 44: President Obama

drivelocity — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:40:35 +0000

It’s a new day and with it comes a new President and the start of a whole new era. Through the darkness was a glimmer of light and after yesterday’s Inauguration, we have finally stepped out of that darkness and can feel the sun’s rays warming us as the new-found hope has warmed our hearts. Today, we are greeted by a welcome sight. Our 44th President of these United States of America, Barack H. Obama.

No more feeling as though we are living a real-life version of a suspense movie with an evil mastermind, bald, dressed in black, sitting in a wheelchair, plotting our demise. By the way, did you see Dick Cheney at the Inauguration?

One of the most moving parts of the Inauguration yesterday was the size of the crowd, estimated to be between 1.5 and 4 million people in attendance. Simply amazing. I wish I could have been there, aside from the sub-freezing temperatures!

And, perhaps the second most touching sight of the day was when the Bush clan boarded the Marine 1 helicopter and lifted off, while Barack and Michelle Obama and Joe and Jill Biden looked on. I enjoyed Biden’s flippant salute as if to say, now GTFO!

So, here we are. The day after the big day. The Bush Administration has been escorted off the premisis and the Obamas woke up in their new home. I look forward to seeing what’s next for President Obama, now that he’s in the Oval Office.

War Crimes Questions at Change.gov

drivelocity — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:59:55 +0000

With the appearance of more openness, the web site for the President-Elect at Change.org has created a new social voting platform where we, the people, can present questions to Obama and his team. We can then vote on the questions we like or dislike and those with the most votes will have priority.

An important issue for me, in light of recent admissions by Cheney, is that of war crimes and the prosecution thereof. If you search Change.org for questions regarding war crimes, you can find (and vote on) questions such as the ones below.

“Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor – ideally Patrick Fitzgerald – to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?” (21, 287 up votes)

“Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor (ideally Patrick Fitzgerald) to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?” (6,093 up votes)

“Will Obama investigate members of the former administration for potential war crimes, and if evidence is found how will he address it?” (3,697 up votes)

“After WWII the US became a force for bringing war criminals to open trials for their crimes. Now that Cheney has admitted ordering torture are we going to regain our moral leadership by bringing this administration to justice? The world is watching.” (1,288 up votes)

“What is your position on investigating members of the Bush administration, including President Bush and Vice president Cheney, for war crimes? What will you do to re-establish the rule of law?” (806 up votes)

“The Senate has determined that war crimes were committed by members of the Bush administration. When will the rule of law be restored and prosecutions begin?” (661 up votes)

“It’s common knowledge that the Bush administration committed war crimes, with torture and rendition flights. Will you examine the evidence and prosecute the people responsible?” (691 up votes)

“Will President Obama appoint a special prosecutor, hopefully Fitzgerald, to investigate Cheney’s involvement with war crimes and prosecute if Cheney is guilty ?” (607 up votes)

While there may be more important issues that we are currently facing and that will affect us more directly in the new year, thankfully, more people have voted in favor of the questions above. Unfortunately, it may be likely that, unless we apply pressure, those in the Bush Administration who were involved in the war crimes will not be prosecuted. The President-Elect has provided a useful tool to show how important this issue is.

So, how does this issue stack up against other important topics including the economy, national security, education, health care and the environment? Let’s take a look at the leading questions from each section, and the current number of up votes, and compare those to the war crimes questions.

“I’m concerned about the banks who received tax payers money and have had no accountability. Will this be corrected after President elect Obaham is in office?” (17,791 up votes)

“Our current war on drugs is failing America. Billions of dollars are spent on a losing campaign. Our prisons are overflowing with people that don’t deserve to be there. What is the government going to do in an effort to fix this major problem?” (6,680 up votes)

“I know many teachers that are familiar with the “No Child Left Behind Act”. They think while the intention of the act was good it falls FAR short of its’ intended goals. How will you improve or change this act?” (4,419 up votes)

“In all other 1st world countries, there’s a minimal level of universal healthcare for all citizens. What will your adminstration do to provide truly universal, affordable healthcare for all US citizens, regardless of employment status?” (11,007 up votes)

“Will transit and intercity rail projects be a major component of the infrastructure stimulus package, rather than focusing on highway projects?” (6,864 up votes)

“How will the Obama Administration encourage the future generations of Americans to become the worlds leading scientists and engineers?” (3,636 up votes)

The other issues are vastly important to the citizens of the United States and do, also, affect the rest of the world. However, we need to set an example by showing the world that we are not complacent and that our new leaders do have the balls to stand up and do the right thing. Bush, Cheney, et. al. are not above the law.

Obama Named Time Person of the Year

drivelocity — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:11:39 +0000

To no suprise to most of us, Barack Obama has been named Time’s Person of the Year. Unlike some others *ahem* Bush *ahem* Obama is deserving of this title for the many positive things he has brought to the table and inspired in many of us. At the time of this post well over 70% of those who voted in the poll on Time.com agree. It is a little sad to note that the majority of voters in Alaska and Idaho do not agree. I think it’s a fair assumption that they are greater fans of Sarah Palin, who is close to being at the top of the list.

While I feel Obama is right for this recognition, I’m not sure I can say the same for several of the runners-up, who include Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson who has helped make a cluster fuck out of the economic crisis, Sarah Palin who is responsible for much of the huge partisan divide and made a mockery of her nomination for the Office of the Vice President, Zhang Yimou who was only in the news for a few weeks associated with the Olympics and the computer generated fireworks, Lehman Bros CEO Richard Fuld, Jr. whose multi million dollar homes were bought and paid for by the financial crisis and who deserved the punch in the face, Robert Mugabe who buys his wife expensive shoes while starving his country’s citizens and is responsible for the 80% unemployment rate in Zimbabwe, and, of course, George W. Bush. Has Bush even been around in the past year? I know he’s pretty much phoning it in at this point, but does Time really need to include the current President? I really don’t like the infamous runners-up who have done nothing more than ruin whatever they touch and yet somehow profit off of others’ losses.

At least some of the other runners-up do include such positive influences as Michael Phelps who won a record eight gold medals, Dara Torres who is the Olympic swimmer that is also a 41 year old mother, Craig Venter who is a geneticist that wrote a new organism’s genome from scratch, Stephanie Meyer who is the next author (Twilight) experiencing great popularity after J.K. Rowling, and Tina Fey who brought back SNL from the grave (during the election) for her impersonation of Sarah Palin on top of having her own hit show, a hit movie and a huge book deal.

Close But No Cigar

drivelocity — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:31:58 +0000

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here is President Bush dodging a shoe thrown by a journalist in Iraq at a press conference during Bush’s surprise visit this weekend. Obviously, this is not a compliment…

Check out CNN.com for more on this incident.

3 Choices for Bush

drivelocity — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:57:57 +0000

George Bush has a heart attack and dies. He goes to Hell where the Devil is waiting for him.

“I don’t know what to do,” says the Devil. “You’re on my list but I have no room for you. But you definitely have to stay here, so I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’ve got three people here who weren’t quite as bad as you. I’ll let one of them go, but you have to take their place.
I’ll even let YOU decide who leaves.”

George thought that sounded pretty good so he agreed.

The devil opened the first room. In it was Richard Nixon and a large pool of water. He kept diving in and surfacing empty handed over and over and over, such was his fate in Hell.

“No!” George said. “I don’t think so. I’m not a good swimmer and I don’t think I could do that all day long.”

The Devil led him to the next room. In it was Tony Blair with a sledgehammer and a room full of rocks. All he did was swing that hammer, time after time after time.

“No! I’ve got this problem with my shoulder. I would be in constant agony if all I could do was break rocks all day!” commented George.

The Devil opened a third door. In it, George saw Bill Clinton lying naked on the floor with his arms staked over his head and his legs staked in spread-eagle pose. Bent over him was Monica Lewinsky, doing what she does best.

Bush looked at this in disbelief for a while and finally said, “Yeah, I can handle this.”