Wednesday, June 28, 2006

George W. Bush Says the DARNDEST THINGS!

funny quotes by President George Bush l Bushisms and Bush mistatements

You know, as much as you'd think the it has become a cliche to point out that George Bush is a moron, every time I read a set of his quotes I have to repeat it. This man is a dud. A lemon. Who's next? When can you start? 2009? Oh, God help us.

I would like someone to create a video, starring Bill Cosby and George Bush, with little George playing the part of the precocious child. Some of his quotes are both shockingly poorly worded and embarrassingly truthful. This is why he gets the laughs at his press conferences. His jokes would make Lenny Bruce blush. I mean, WHO has the balls to refer to "hitting the trifecta" as President when the horses you're referring to are Recession, War, and National Emergency? Oh, Bushie, you say the DARNDEST THINGS!

Who else could pull off a joke about searching for Weapons of Mass Destruction underneath his desk? Wow, our President is so funny I could just pee my pants.

Ever since David Letterman started pointing out Bush's love for a "Joke That's Not Really a Joke", I've remained fascinated by his speeches, although a heavy dose of anti-nauseant is recommended. If you want the truth from Bush, just wait long enough, and he'll lay it out there. He really does believe what he is doing is right (his handlers make sure of that) so he is not afraid to state his administrations true intentions in the end. It is indeed frustrating listening to him, but it's not because he is a liar. It is because he is incapable of forming coherent thoughts and arguments when put on the spot. He does come up with something though, and it is often very telling.

Bush isn't a very good politician. He is good at being charmingly evasive, but successful politicians back up their reassuring smiles with substance. Bush is a miserable failure in this regard, and everybody including the press knows it. The press has basically given up on getting anything substantial from this guy, because it is understood that he just doesn't know any better. The press have become a throng of Art Linkletters and Bill Cosbys, playing straight man to our Comedian in Chief.

But for the same reason we laugh at those cute kids, we can glean something of value from Bush's appearances. His unintentionally truthful statements make it obvious what kind of man he is, and what he and his administration believe. Now the only question is, do WE as the public want the world as George W. Bush sees it?

Sunday, June 18, 2006

the american reality is so...meta!

I've been fascinated by the cultural changes that have happened in America (and Canada) since 9/11. What has occurred is nothing short of a radical transformation in the way that people see the world.

Look at the media first: We've seen the continued radicalization of the punditry, in concert with the divide in the political landscape in general. We've seen the emergence of the blogosphere and instant news via the internet. We've seen the emergence of satire as a dominant form, evidenced by the popularity of Jon Stewart, the Colbert Report, the Onion, Ali G, and Jiminy Glick (to include a Canadian example).

Tastes of media consumers have changed, certainly. The popularity of satire demonstrates the need for political awareness in entertainment. The continued popularity of loud, obnoxious pundits similarly demonstrates the awareness of the public and the desire to make judgments on current events, if not thorough analysis. Indeed these examples demonstrate the blurring of the line between entertainment and news, and reminds us that "everything is political".

The effect is that the public is being trained quick quickly to view the world with a critical eye. Indeed I believe that an awakening of sorts has occurred since 9/11, and not simply because of the shock that single event had on a deeply disturbed populace. The events that followed, including all of the technological advances, and the transformation of the media all account for a public that views the world in a more sophisticated manner. Pattern recognition. Meta-information.

We listen to the pundits because they say what we're all thinking but aren't smart enough to say. Of course, often they are wrong, and we are wrong as a consequence, but the fact remains that the public has neither the time nor resources to sift through the barrage of information we are all subjected to. We no longer view the world through the same lens we did 10 years ago.

At the same time as we have become separated from reality by massive amounts of meta-information, we have become separated from other groups of people. The information I consume is entirely different than that viewed by a conservative Christian in Georgia. How possibly could we reconcile our worldviews when such a divide exists?

Saturday, June 17, 2006

The planet doesn't need saving, we do!

What is the (Next) Message?: Global Education on Climate Change

Mark talks about getting the message out on climate change and highlights the case study on CFCs. Incredible that we were able to do that, back then. Oh you CFCs, how we feared thee. How far we've fallen, how little it seems we've learned. It is something we need to remember; both to figure out how to solve today's environmental problems and to give ourselves a much needed pat on the back.