Odds and Ends

Michael Moore: I'm not a fan of Michael Moore, given the fact he is a pompous ass who is a tad fast and loose with the truth, and overall counterproductive given he is so over the top. His Academy Award performance last year (heck, some might say the movie itself) was a case in point. And, now the recent controversy in some quarters about the "censorship" of his latest anti-Bush work appears open to debate. This is the sort of thing that gives "the cause" a bad name.

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"Historically, conservatism in the United States has meant support for small government, balanced budgets, fiscal prudence and great skepticism about overseas adventures," notes Clyde Prestowitz, a former Reagan Administration official who back in the 1960s was among the young Republicans supporting Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, a conservative standard-bearer. "What I see now is an Administration that's not for any of these things."

- Even Conservatives Are Wondering: Is Bush One of Us? [I'd add moral probity.]

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Power Of Speech?: Al Franken did a good thing on Friday's Air America broadcast -- he rebutted line by line a speech given by the President. This should be done more often. To quote Shania Twain, GB's penchant of now and again giving a so-called "good speech" don't impress me much. The ability of his speech writers to make him sound good is impressive ... for them. Likewise, the actual content turns out to be built on sand, misleading sand at that, helped along by semantic ploys. My BS meter erupts loud and clear each time. Finally, ultimately we are just dealing with words. What about his actions as a whole?

[So, no, I was not impressed that some days after the attacks, he gave an eloquent speech to the nation. BFD. My mayor showed leadership the day of the attacks. We saw his leadership through his actions. I also did not care for his speeches, a few deemed particularly good, during the lead-up to the war. In fact, the praise annoyed me because I thought they were bullshit, given the realities of the situation. We should not give him credit he doesn't deserve. It's like his so-called moral probity, while if anything, his presidency promoted a distasteful coarsening of public morality. This bunch puts the "con" in neo-con, don't they?]