Spin Dry

I saw the following reprinted on Bartcop, and felt I had to comment on it here. The original post's text is in red; my commentary is in blue.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank President Bush for his many accomplishments over the past 3 1/2 years.

Thank you for the tax cuts and the checks you sent to all Americans.
Tax cut check? Hm. Tax cut check. I never got one of those. Did you? The few people I knew who did get them wound up having to pay them back on their next return. The only people who benefited from this reverse Robin Hood were the super rich. If you're going to cut taxes, do it like this: eliminate income taxes for people earning under a certain minimum per year, and raise that limit for each kid they have.

Thank you for leading us out of recession and into a robust economy.
Sorry. Had to stop laughing before I could type. Saying this economy is robust is like saying that the heart attack patient just brought back from the dead only to go into a coma is "recovering nicely." Or, to put it another way, when W's policies have screwed the economy so badly that all indicators were below sea level, the only way to go is up -- but when you've fallen five miles, climbing one foot is nothing.

Thank you for keeping us safe in our homeland.
Keeping us "safe" by keeping us not free. And, as is finally becoming apparent, keeping us safe meant nothing in August 2001, when W was taking a month long vacation, Ashcroft was avoiding commercial airlines and all that "chatter" was pointing at something. Soon.

Thank you for your vigilance against terrorism.
Just because it hasn't happened here again -- yet -- doesn't mean W's done anything about it. Remember that place called Afghanistan? We seem to have abandoned it in favor of going after all that yummy, yummy oil in Iraq.

Thank you for freeing the people of Iraq.
Fallujah. And six other cities. You mean the same people we've put under curfew? The same country where we blew up a mosque? The same country where all those free, happy people are now fighting back, against their so-called liberators? By the way, what do you think about Clinton freeing the people of Bosnia from an evil dictator?

Thank you for the improvements to Medicare and especially the new prescription drug benefits.
Medicare? Oh yeah -- the same system that's going to run out of money before 2020. What's the improvement, that it won't exist for us Gen Xers once the aging baby boomers suck it dry? And yeah, the "benefits" in the above are great. For the pharmaceutical companies. When this administration makes it legal for Canadian pharmacies to sell OTC drugs to Americans, then I'll believe they're doing something.

Thank you for freeing the people of Afghanistan.
See above. Afghanistan is a forgotten hellhole, ruled by feuding warlords and wracked with anarchy. Although, I guess by definition, anarchy is the ultimate freedom. Gosh. Didn't think you knew how to use irony.

Thank you for bringing home ownership in America to record levels.
Not in my part of town, bubby. Of course, I live in one of the more expensive cities in the world. As for elsewhere -- sure. Crash the local economy, and the real estate becomes dirt cheap. In fact, home ownership levels are lower now than they have been since before the post WW II boom. But, typical of the right, repeat a lie long enough, it starts to sound true. Oh, wait. You said "record levels." My bad -- you did mean "record low levels," right?

Thank you for your support in the fight against AIDS. Your commitment to send $5 billion to Africa for this fight is unprecedented.
Well, the commitment was originally $18 billion, announced with fanfare. Then it dropped to five. Then, it disappared. Quietly. Africa is still waiting, and still dying.

Thank you for the No Child Left Behind act, which will improve our children's education.
Except... it's a federal act that requires state education departments to front the money. And y'know what? Thanks to the tanked economy, there ain't no money in the states' coffers to fund it. Yet another example of W and Company's usual MO -- describe a grandiose plan loudly and in public, then quietly refuse to pay for it. It's like the rents saying to their child at the party, "Son, you're getting a brand new car for your birthday." Then, after everyone leaves, they add, "And you're paying for it. By yourself. In cash."

Thank you, most of all, for your strong but compassionate leadership. You are a true inspiration to all Americans. Keep up the good work.
Some things just make me want to barf. Strong? Is that why he ran on 9-11? Compassionate? W has all the compassion of a starving crocodile for a wounded bunny. Inspiration? I don't think so. Keep up the good work? Right after the next month-long vacation on the ranch, I'm sure.

But what scares me most of all is that there are a good number of Americans out there who are stupid enough to believe the crap in red above. Stupid enough to not seek out the news and the truth. Stupid enough to give these criminals another four years.

Stupid enough to get what they deserve...