Patriotisms

[Nic Name]

When is the legislature going to wise up and disapprove of the Bush administration wrapping proposed legislation in Stars & Stripes?

I thought the Bush administration hit an all time low with the USA PATRIOT ACT, a.ka. Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (Oct. 25, 2001)

(Oh my goodness, the full name of the anti-terrorism legislation spells PATRIOT. Isn't that amazing?)

And now they pull out this:

PATRIOT Budget a.k.a. Paying All The Republican Insiders Our Tribute

GWB: "Let's run this budget up the flagpole and see if we can get everyone to give it the ol' bipartisan salute!"

[Slight]

</rant>

Ok Nic, now that you're done ranting, what's the picture of?

[Torrere]

They might be US History books. All I can read is "Appendix"

They definitely look like thick books.

Stupid thread. Silly image. Unrelated to the rant.

I'd rank it as low as I could.

[Nic Name]

It's the Budget document filed by the Bush administration today.

Doesn't anybody read the news anymore?

So, I guess the pic is relevant to some of you, and directly on the point of the rant, after all.

It's a book with a flag, Nic.

The thread should be in Politics or Current Events.

[hermit22]

For all you who don't read the news:

Rove, Bush & Co. want to give the Dems no room to wiggle. He figures that sending a flag-bound budgt proposal will make any dissent seem unpatriotic, which is obviously death in today's political climate. The problem for the Dems is that they only way the mid-election rule (the president's party loses seats in Congress because people get upset about his win and whatever promises he hasn't kept) is if they can point out the domestic issues that are getting the axe in favor of anti-terrorist ones. Yet they have to do this while still showing support for this highly popular war (unless you're from Berkeley). This move, as tacky as it looks, is just another symbol for the Dems to try to talk around.

[Nic Name]

I hope I'm not the only one who thinks the image of the American Flag to wrap proposed legislation, again and again, is a shocking and inappropriate use of the IMAGE of the US flag, in it's own right.

And given that this IMAGE appeared TODAY, and is of such significance, being the largest deficit budget introduced in several decades, it might well be an IotD.

Or is this just the Farkin' image of the day thread?

Don't be embarassed if y'all didn't have a clue what the document was. Seriously, sorry to wake you up, dude.

Is it a picture of a book or a picture of the budget?

K thanks buh bye.

[Nic Name]

It's a picture of the American Flag on a book that contains the budget.

Gratuitous Patriots image inserted for your enjoyment.

[tw]

Originally posted by Nic Name
It's a picture of the American Flag on a book that contains the budget.

A budget that looks more like Reaganomics. A budget swamped in red ink - the white and blue added so that you don't see how rediculous that budget is. A budget that is projected to 'borrow without leaving any IOUs (Enron style)' over $2trillion from the SS and Transportation trust funds. A budget that adds so much money to the Defense Department that the Pentagon now is an ecomony larger than Australia. Just another reason for the Europeans to let America do all the military while Europe concentrates on getting rich.

What did we learn recently about our government over the past ten years? That the FAA has a graveyard mentality so obscene that even county courthouse security was superior to any airport. That Immagration is severely understaffed and ill equipped. That the Coast Guard is a front line force so understaffed and under equipped compared to most every of 50 other nations. That the SEC is powerless to oversee an accounting industry that is rampant in corrupt if not unethical practices. None of these problems get any help from the Bush Jr budget.

However the military that was so well financed now gets a $48billion boost. Why? Terrorism is not stopped by tanks or missiles. But the Bush budget targets big bucks to these wasteful projects while ignoring state and city needs for anti-terrorism - where terrorism wars are really fought.

All this patriotic hype to push more money where it is not needed while George Jr's big buck bribers - people desperately in need of serious oversight - suffer no increased regulation. Enron is only an iceberg tip.

Does all this talk about a nation at war scare you? Sounds more like a mid 1930 Nazi party agenda. We are not at war. We have serious security issues with existing security systems that are still not addressed by the Bush Jr budget - such as a problem in top FAA management and a Coast Guard and Immigration Service. All are in need of money wasted on another rediculous Star Wars program. Yes, the 'spend into deficits and let the kids suffer in 20 years' Reagan Republicans are back spending money that brings in campaign bribes rather that addresses national problems. Why are 'tax and spend' Democrats so much more fiscally responsible? Because we have conservative Republicans.

Bush's SEC chairman has so many conflicts of interest that Pension funds controlling $2trillon investments wants him to recuse himself. Furthermore, 2 of the 5 seats on the SEC are to receive two Bush appointments - both of whom are accounting industry insiders. Again the Pension funds don't like more foxes in the hen house. All while the SEC needs big bucks to oversee a corrupt accounting industry. But Arthur Anderson was George Jr's #5 top briber. The other top 5 accounting firms are all at the top of that list. So the budget calls for no increase - even for inflation, in the SEC budget! Can one industry buy a president?

We wrap a budget in the flag so that members of the Cellar would not have heard any of this. Where money is required is a no-brainer - oh, this was a president with what kind of grades and how much in bribe money?

I am getting tired of Bush's "we are at war" rhetoric. Nothing changed on 11 Sept except that the naive were not hyped into this 'war' nonsense before the 11th. 11 Sept only demonstrated that the real need for budget increases is in the SEC, banking investigation, Dept of Transportation, Dept of Commerce, etc - and still will not happen.

More aircraft carriers, nuclear subs, Abrams tanks and anti-ballistic missile systems will not solve a problem that has existed since 1 Aug 1990. We need protection from the enemy hidden in container ships and in money games. Where in that budget is anything to address the real problem? The problem instead suffers a budget increase.

BTW, Clinton administration suspected serious problems in the accounting industry. They had proof in Waste Management and Sunbeam. But when they tried to get SEC regulation of the accounting industry - similar to what the Securities and Banking Industries now have - instead about 10 big name Republican Senators - many unnamed but one clearly IDed - Tauzin of LA - threatend successfully to eliminate the entire SEC Budget. Regulation where Republican bribed types get their campaign funds is not permitted.

To keep the American public stupid about the red ink, they wrap a budget in blue and white - to look like a flag. This is just pushing the partiotic nonsense too far. When were Reaganomic deficiets called patriotic? When was Star Wars anything but a scam. Here they go again. They will successfully stifle any chance of a balanced federal budget by wrapping it in a flag.

[juju]

Why do you have to question things? What are you, a terrorist?

:)

[kaleidoscopic ziggurat]

up here in canada there's a fair amount of people talking about how rigged the superbowl seemed... les patriotes? mais oui!

"support a terrorist - spark a doobie today!"

[Griff]

I've decided that its my patriotic duty to supply certified terrorist free %100 organic ah... herbal depression medication to my fellow americans. Put it in a red white and blue wrapper and its untouchable.

[juju]

The amount of propaganda being put forth by this administration is astounding. What's even more astounding to me is that there are people who actually buy into it.