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June 3, 2007 at 06:49:38

Republicans aren't the only reason we have the inexplicable phenomenon of the George Bush presidency.

by Ed Martin Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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George Bush is the worst and most hated President in US history. I could write pages of purple adjectives from the fields of psychology, psychiatry, venality and villiany describing George Bush. You know them all. You've heard them all. The complete list of derogatory adjectives is wholly inadequate to describe George Bush.

We know that the Republicans, with the few exceptions who are afraid that Bush's exposure as a complete doofus will hurt their chances for re-election, still support Bush and are partly responsible for Bush being president. The other part of that responsibility is people you know and their ennui, boredom and lack of interest.

They come home from work, plop down on the couch, punch up the TV, punch up Domino's Delivers, switch off the brain, go into a catatonic stupor and stare at a glass and plastic box for the next four hours. The most important knowledge they possess is how to punch a few f-ing buttons.

Definition of catatonic schizophrenia from the DSM IV: unaware of surroundings, motoric immobility, catalepsy, stupor, mutism, rigid posture, resistant to be moved. Note that that is also the exact description of someone watching TV. You are what you do.

The only time these people come out of their lethargic stupor and show some signs of animation is while watching another inexplicable phenomenon called football. This is an event where two groups of very large men are willing to commit assault and battery on each other over a disagreement based on a delusion. The delusion is that it's vitally important which side of a line on the ground a footbell should be placed. There are a couple of remedies for this delusion. Give each man a football and let him place it on either side of a line on the ground until he sees that there is no effect. Or, take the football and throw it in the trash can, eliminating the reason for the disagreement.

The people who are so fascinated by this utterly pointless exercise in delusion go to vote with no idea who they're going to vote for until the look at the ballot. They then vote for the one who most closely matches the juvenile characteristics they've come to admire as shown on TV, which is aimed at the juvenile market. In the last two presidential elections, this has been George Bush. You remember when you were a kid playing let's pretend: OK, guys, I'm the cop and you're the robbers, or, I'm the cowboy and you're the Indians. Now, listen to Bush: I'm the President, I'm the decider, I'm the commander guy. See what I mean? A grown man still playing let's pretend.

The fact that you'e reading this is evidence that you're not among those people. They've never heard of OpEdNews. But, you know some of them. Go right now and double-slap them to get their attention and show them what they've done. Explain to them how they have unwittingly (not knowing, unaware, ignorant, oblivious, unconscious) helped bring about the malignancy on our country that is George Bush. Inform them that by merely paying attention, they can correct the great wrong that has been done and help us remove George Bush from the presidency.

Ed Martin is an unindicted curmudgeon. He is not a Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal, deist, atheist, or a member of any -ism.

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12 comments

Dr. John Moffett is an active research neuroscientist in the Washington, DC area, who has published over 45 scientific articles on the nervous and immune systems. Dr. Moffett is also the author and webmaster of the political opinion website www.Factinista.org, and is a Managing Editor at OpEdNews.com.
John R MoffettDr. John Moffett is an active research neuroscientist in the Washington, DC area, who has published over 45 scientific articles on the nervous and immune systems. Dr. Moffett is also the author and webmaster of the political opinion website www.Factinista.org, and is a Managing Editor at OpEdNews.com.

Entertainment stupor

Yup, know lots of folks with no interest in what is happening to America. They are just too busy watching TV or listening to music.

Maybe we should make a TV game show ("American Infidel"?) where the audience calls in and says what they would like to tell their Senators face to face. Prizes for the most outrageous comments!

by John R Moffett (80 articles, 14 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 611 comments) on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 6:56:17 AM

Joan Brunwasser is a co-founder of Citizens for Election Reform (CER) which exists for the sole purpose of raising the public awareness of the critical need for election reform. We aim to restore fair, accurate, transparent, secure elections where votes are cast in private and counted in public. Electronic (computerized) voting systems are simply antithetical to democratic principles.CER set up a lending library to achieve the widespread distribution of the DVD Invisible Ballots: A temptation...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Joan BrunwasserJoan Brunwasser is a co-founder of Citizens for Election Reform (CER) which exists for the sole purpose of raising the public awareness of the critical need for election reform. We aim to restore fair, accurate, transparent, secure elections where votes are cast in private and counted in public. Electronic (computerized) voting systems are simply antithetical to democratic principles.CER set up a lending library to achieve the widespread distribution of the DVD Invisible Ballots: A temptation...

to see more of bio, click on member name

but...

much of what you write is absolutely correct.

however... you forget about the hundreds of thousands (or millions) who tried to vote and were told they were not on the voting rolls, having been illegally purged, or those whose vote inexplicably flipped to another candidate, or whose provisional ballots were thrown out, etc etc etc.

according to Palast "Armed Madhouse" (andand U of PA's Steven Freeman "Was the 2004 presidential election stolen? exit polls, election fraud and the official count" and others, 2004 actually showed a different result than the official one.

this does not deal with the category of people you speak of but just makes the picture more muddied and complicated. it would be nice just to blame us for our own mess, but that's only partially true. there is plenty of blame to go around and the press and the ethics (an oxymoron?) of our political leaders are up at the top of the list.

Joan Brunwasser, voting integrity ed., OpEdNews

by Joan Brunwasser (139 articles, 3425 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 598 comments) on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 8:30:20 AM

True, unfortunately

You're right. There is more to the problem than apathy, like Republican orchestrated election fraud, but the apathy in this country is thick enough to cut with a knife.

I'm surrounded by it in my life, and no discussion of politics
changes it.

by John R Moffett (80 articles, 14 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 611 comments) on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 9:39:18 AM

I'm a painter, potter, mask-maker, illustrator; love Music (World, Classical Eastern/Western, Bluegrass, Big-Band, Space); History (pre-history, Civil War, Japanese); Archaeology; Animals and animal rights; the sanctity of the Environment; am a GreenWitch Pagan; and a bit of an uppity woman Liberal. I hold Bush and all Bushites in the Highest Contempt possible and write scathing letters regarding various of their appalling machinations. Hmmm -- anything else? Can't think of more.
JamiI'm a painter, potter, mask-maker, illustrator; love Music (World, Classical Eastern/Western, Bluegrass, Big-Band, Space); History (pre-history, Civil War, Japanese); Archaeology; Animals and animal rights; the sanctity of the Environment; am a GreenWitch Pagan; and a bit of an uppity woman Liberal. I hold Bush and all Bushites in the Highest Contempt possible and write scathing letters regarding various of their appalling machinations. Hmmm -- anything else? Can't think of more.

What's a Friend To Do???

I agree with you, Ed Martin, entirely.

I am constantly trying to awaken my sonambulent circle of politically-unconscious friends. With no effect. I have resorted to writing protest letters, emails, signing petitions, etc., in their names (as well as writing my own), and then showing them my masterworks. This done in the hopes that they'll rouse themselves and set forth under their own steam. But no.

They don't want to receive forwarded political emails that make my own blood boil -- and thus generating my own head of steam -- they muster enough energy to push DELETE before even opening them.

When confronted, they nod stupidly and slowly pivot back to their "honestly; I'm just too busy" lives of game after game of Sudoku and then shuffling off to get their dopey-TV fix. "You can do it for me...."

I mean, I think I try everything. Suggestions, please.

by Jami (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 25 comments) on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 9:52:29 AM

Richard Mynick is a US citizen who, despite the best efforts of the corporate media, noticed something disturbing about how the 2000 election was decided, & felt it augured poorly for democracy.
Richard MynickRichard Mynick is a US citizen who, despite the best efforts of the corporate media, noticed something disturbing about how the 2000 election was decided, & felt it augured poorly for democracy.

True, but an even larger reason for Bush is the Democrats,

who protect him from impeachment, refuse to expose him for what he really is, & refuse to offer serious alternatives. They allow elections to be stolen without challenge, allow reactionaries to become Supreme Court Justices without filibuster, and then, to top it all off, vote and/or craft legislation to insure passage of Bush's initiatives.

The "inexplicable phenomenon of the George Bush presidency" could never have become the full-fledged catastrophe that it's become, without the collusion & complicity of the Democratic Party at every step.

by Richard Mynick (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 1168 comments) on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 12:11:30 PM

Retired educator, formerly a corporate trainer, formerly a professional actor/director and published poet.
Edward KernishRetired educator, formerly a corporate trainer, formerly a professional actor/director and published poet.

I totally agree!

America is a kleptocracy (well, it always has been one really) but with this caveat...at least there were either those who came along who, responding to an external crisis or a crisis of conscience (rarer) stood up, waved a red flag (not red, white and blue flag) and got enough our our attentions to, for a brief moment, counteract the mindless, numbing greed of the ruling elite (can anyone say Roosevelt or Kennedy or Carter? Good for you!)

Wake me up (I'm 61 and tired) when the revolution starts and I'll give it one more fling.

Edward

by Edward Kernish (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Tuesday, June 5, 2007 at 4:49:55 PM

Been around the block a few times.
Blue PilgrimBeen around the block a few times.

even if they pay attention

they can get it wrong because of the propaganda.

download

Noam Chomsky: 'A Poisoned Chalice': The Media and the Use of Force

by Blue Pilgrim (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 997 comments) on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 1:45:44 PM

just a concerned citizen.
k kellyjust a concerned citizen.

hate to sound like eeyore...but it's willful ignorance.

no one will listen until they are ready to listen, and some are never ready. in the US, willful ignorance is not only cultivated by society/the powers that be... it is demanded, worshipped and instutitionally enforced cradle to grave and beyond.

plato's allegory of the cave.

rather than confront the dissonance of painful truths, they even offer their children up as sacrifice to maintain the lies.

by k kelly (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 182 comments) on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 1:47:27 PM

I am a World War II Marine Corps veteran who spent seven years in Vietnam throughout most of the Vietnam War as a refugee advisor for US Agency for International Development and wrote an eye witness documentary of the genocide I witnessed by our troops and agencies in Vietnam. No publisher wants to even look at the manuscript. They claim that their clientele doesn't want to know such truth. Truth hurts. We are a nation of cowards.
eagleeyeI am a World War II Marine Corps veteran who spent seven years in Vietnam throughout most of the Vietnam War as a refugee advisor for US Agency for International Development and wrote an eye witness documentary of the genocide I witnessed by our troops and agencies in Vietnam. No publisher wants to even look at the manuscript. They claim that their clientele doesn't want to know such truth. Truth hurts. We are a nation of cowards.

You don'tunderstand

Ed,
You don't understand. George W. is America. Anyone with less than a hundred IQ loves George. Due to an economic calamity I live in a low income housing development. The people here worship George. They hate me because I joined a small group of antiwar protesters downtown every Friday at 5 p.m. I am the enemy. No one will speak to me. They love his cowboy bravado. They are also afraid. They believe that the terrorists are everywhere. They suspect that I maybe a terrorist. They would be ready and willing to join a Gestapo and crack skulls.
Best wishes
Pete

by eagleeye (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 29 comments) on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 1:49:58 PM

George W. is America

The editor doesn't understand. Just as Hitler was adored in Germany in the 1930's, George W. is adored by anyone with an IQ of one hundred or less. They love his cowboy bravado. They think that he is a working stiff like them. Out cutting brush and getting dirt under his finger nails. I know because due to an economic calamity I live in a low income housing development. These poor ignorant people love Bush. They hate me because of my anti-war activities. No one will speak to me. They are so afraid. They think that the terrorists are everywhere. That they were responsible for the 9/11 disaster. They would be willing recruits for a Gestapo. They'd just love to bust skulls, especially mine.

Pete

by eagleeye (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 29 comments) on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 2:01:09 PM

Rasoul Acheh

There's Nothing Inexplicable, About Bush's Presidency!

From it's birth, the U.S. has always been home to people who strove for the highest principles of human liberty and Constitutional Republicanism, as well as those who strove for the basest principles of human slavery, and oligarchical rule! The nation's history has been largely defined, by the often deadly struggle, between these two factions. While the forces of liberty, laid down the essential principles of our political system, they had to compromise with the pro-slavery oligarchs, in order to effect the union, and the Constitution! This resulted in the essential hypocrisy, at the heart of the U.S. system, and the primary reason Americans have never fully committed themselves, to the principles of the Declaration of Independence! The irreconcilable nature of this conflict, eventually led to the civil war, but the issue was still not resolved, as reconstruction allowed the oligarchs to further errode the grip of liberty and justice, on the American consciousness, via devices such as racism, and militarism! Since then, the political consciousness of the electorate, has been further deranged, by deliberate miseducation, and media borne brainwashing. Today, U.S. voters, are so politically inept, and divided, they have no idea what they are supposed to be doing, and are therefore easy prey, to the lies and propaganda of the forces of oligarchical rule. The Bush presidency represents the crowning achievement of the ideas, of the old pro-slavery oligarchs! Though they lost the civil war, they've made a tremendous comeback! On the other hand, the forces of liberty, and the Constitution, are now in complete dissarray. Even the system of checks and balances, is now nearly destroyed! Having to depend upon contemporary citizens, totally devoid of the requisite political, and historical understanding, to be effective stewards of Jefferson's ideas, the old republic is now in grave danger!

Though Americans have always preached liberty and justice, at the same time, far too many of us, have always been more than willing, to sabotage it's actual practice! Contemporary Americans therefore fail to realise that the cherished liberties, granted by the U.S. Constitution, are only as good as their political competence, and vigilance. If American voters remain as politically foolish, and brainwashed, as they are today, those liberties will soon be a thing of the past! It's afterall, not Al Qaeda who "hates our freedoms", but the ideological descendents of the old pro-slavery oligarchs, now ably represented by the leadership of the GOP, the Democrats, and the administration of George Bush! Unlike the Germans, who had many solid reasons to vote for Hitler, the Bush presidency, has been a pure con game from the start! Praying upon the appalling gullibility and ineptitude of U.S. voters with clever lies and propaganda, Bush gained a contested presidency on a silver platter. In the aftermath, along with GOP, and Democratic bosses, he has perpetrated a political swindle of epic porportions against the American people! Bush and his allies, are now very close, to realising a major dream of the old pro-slavery oligarchs: replacing the original Jeffersonian constitution, with a document more to their liking, and robbing U.S. citizens of their liberties, under the law!

by Rasoul Acheh (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 122 comments) on Monday, June 4, 2007 at 9:47:52 AM

Veteran, Political Conultant, writter. single, GWM. Escaped from Kentucky and student working on my Masters. Living in Indianapolis.
GareeceVeteran, Political Conultant, writter. single, GWM. Escaped from Kentucky and student working on my Masters. Living in Indianapolis.

Bush is a bad reality show

More people care about about Paris Hilton going to jail , than what is wrong with this nation. We have a pyschotic President and Vice President. Who were not elected to start with, they were selected by they Supreme Court. I don't believe 9/11 would have happened. grandpa chenney is a crook. who cares. the american public would rather the funnest videos

by Gareece (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 46 comments) on Monday, June 4, 2007 at 12:26:48 PM