Is the Party Over for the GOP?

B. Thomas Cooper - Editor

blogment - National Newswire - The Infinite Echo

The Republican party has taken a headlong dive into the bowels of bombast.

No longer representative of American conservatism, the republicans have betrayed their core beliefs, running the US federal deficit into untold territory.
There is no looking back, no slow recovery. It is not to be.


John McCain Breaks Out

Nor has the party been faithful to religious conservatives, without whom the cause would have been lost. Many voters went to the polls expecting the Bush administration to reverse Roe Vs. Wade, a promise made, but never kept. With so little time remaining on the clock, it is little wonder so many voters feel betrayed. They were.

Of course, the Republican party has long reveled in it’s lust for war, as conflict stokes the economy. There is nothing Republicans enjoy more than killing an innocent stranger in the name of commerce. It’s a party immersed in contradictions, a party on the wane.

Indeed, when elections roll around, we can expect more posturing and more absurd spending in the name of the conservative agenda. Some republicans will return to Washington, others will return from the swamp from whence they came. For others, both. Nothing outside of business as usual.

Forget weapons of mass destruction. Forget being greeted as liberators. Forget promises of war on the cheap. Blood is never cheap. Liberation does not come at the point of a gun.

On the other hand, words are often cheap, and promises worth even less.
What voters believe the GOP stands for, and the Republican Party’s real agenda are miles, if not light years apart. Another republican in the White House certainly will not bring about real change.

So as the Bush administration winds down, the Grand Old Party has very little to celebrate. The party is over, blood has spilt like wine, and somebody
has pilfered the pockets of the weary. It is time to clean up and carry the trash to the curb.

Will the last out the door please turn off the lights as you leave?

B. Thomas Cooper - Editor

blogment - National Newswire - The Infinite Echo

George W. Bush, Piltdown Man of La Mancha

B. Thomas Cooper - Editor

blogment - National Newswire - The Infinite Echo

George W. Bush would like us to believe history will remember him as a man who stood by his convictions. Much like Don Quixote, who rose up against a perceived evil, only to find he was chasing the unobtainable, Bush sees his cause as a noble one, even if it was all based in pure fantasy.


Left: George W. Bush. Right: Piltdown Man

In doing so, Bush the younger drew his sword and spilt the blood of thousands. His little game of shoot ‘em up has escalated into a full scale mash-up of Hell meets high-water. I don’t care for the word “quagmire”. The definition falls way short of describing how bad the situation in Iraq really is.

In truth, I doubt George W. Bush has ever ventured near La Mancha. Had he done so, he would have soon learned it was not inhabited by dragons. Still, I digress.

Lets move on to “Piltdown Man.” The reference may seem somewhat left field for those not familiar with the story, so here’s the set-up.

Until the invasion of Iraq, Piltdown Man represented perhaps the most extraordinary hoax in modern history. As the story goes, a pair of archaeologists claimed to find a human skull in a gravel pit near the town of Piltdown, purported to be the five hundred thousand year old missing link between man and monkey. The skull was in fact constructed from parts of several different skulls, including the jaw of an orangutan. Varnish was then applied to give the finished product a look of consistency. Amazingly, it took the scientific establishment forty years to catch on.

Does this scenario sound at all familiar? Indeed it does!

George W, Bush wants us to believe that in forty years or so, history will recall his presidency as strong and steadfast. He sees himself riding off into the sunset mounted upon his trusty steed, the White Knight, the enemy of evil.

I, however don’t see it happening that way. I suspect history will be far more accurate, and much less flattering. At best, George W. Bush will be regarded as the Don Quixote of presidents. Mission accomplished, the windmill is dead, Jim.

More likely, George W. Bush will be remembered as the reigning Piltdown Man, an unmitigated fraud that has pushed America back into the stone age.

B. Thomas Cooper - Editor

blogment - National Newswire - The Infinite Echo

Stench Hangs Over Blackwater as Scandal Reaches Boiling Point

B. Thomas Cooper - Editor

blogment - National Newswire - The Infinite Echo

The controversial situation with Blackwater is rising to a boil. No surprises there!

By now, I’m certain my regular readers all know how I feel about Blackwater. I have been critical of their contribution to the war effort from day one. Since when does the US military rely on overpriced mercenaries to get the job done? Obviously, it doesn’t. The job isn’t getting done.

The bridge incident was a shot across the bow, a clear warning that something was terribly awry. The military responded by slaughtering thousands of innocent civilians in Fallujah, the tactical equivalent of pouring gasoline into ones pockets before lighting oneself on fire. It was the most arrogant demonstration of stupidity I have witnessed in my lifetime. Thank you, Blackwater… you made it all possible.

The conflict in Iraq has never been the same. The absence of Saddam and his two thug-like sons did not improve the situation, nor did the elimination of key al Qaeda members. On the other hand, Blackwater has done a great deal to make the situation much worse. If the US was seeking disaster in Iraq, they could not have chosen a better outfit to spearhead the job. From day one, Blackwater has had disaster written all over them.

So now Blackwater is under investigation for committing blatant acts of murder in Baghdad and throughout Iraq. Of course, it’s an accusation Blackwater chairman Erik the Red flatly denies, but even the US military is pointing the finger at Blackwater.

According to U.S. military reports from the scene of the Sept. 16th shooting incident, Blackwater guards opened fire without provocation and used excessive force against Iraqi civilians.

“It was obviously excessive, it was obviously wrong” said one US official familiar with the incident. "The civilians that were fired upon, they didn't have any weapons to fire back”, he added, conflicting earlier statements made by Blackwater.

Well, I guess you know what they say… you buy it, it's yours, or is it… You break it, you fix it. Whatever. It all applies. It was inevitable this would come to a boil, but with an outfit like Blackwater, it is difficult to tell if the cauldron is actually boiling, or if it’s black contents are simply oozing out on their own.

B. Thomas Cooper - Editor

blogment - National Newswire - The Infinite Echo

Secret Torture Memo Bloodies Bush Administration

B. Thomas Cooper - Editor

blogment - National Newswire - The Infinite Echo

Have you ever considered the source of the phrase ‘caught red handed’?

It’s no cryptic secret, of course. It means precisely what is implied…to be caught with blood on ones hands… caught in the act, so to speak.

That having been said, it is rather obvious the Bush administration has been caught red handed. Unfortunately, it doesn’t involve a cookie jar… it involves the degradation of humane principles upon which this once great nation of ours was founded. Contrary to law, and anything Dana Perino might have said otherwise, the Bush administration has gone to unimaginable lengths to circumvent laws prohibiting torture.

We have learned that in 2005, under the leadership of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the US Justice Department secretly authorized the “use of painful physical and psychological tactics against terror suspects, including simulated drownings and freezing temperatures“, according to Thursdays New York Times.

The Bush administration has adamantly denied allegations of torture in the past, but then, Bush and company are experienced liars. What’s a little nose-bleed among these bloody bastards? What’s that you say? They are all innocent human beings until proved otherwise in a court of law? You don’t say?

Well, Bush certainly doesn’t. He has repeatedly demonstrated a disregard for the sanctity of human life. George often speaks of his closeness to God, but he has never gone to any real lengths to describe to us precisely who that God might be. A Christian god that authorizes torture? Clean up… isle nine!

I could go on and on, but I’m afraid that would be torture in and of itself. Who wants to be reminded of all the dirty little secrets that keep popping up in this administration? Don’t worry though, it will all be over soon enough. Just lie back, close your eyes, and endure each and every unspeakable act committed upon you in the name of justice. After all… isn’t that what America is all about?

B. Thomas Cooper - Editor

blogment - National Newswire - The Infinite Echo