Have the children look away. No one under the age of eighteen should be allowed to watch. The White House press corp should switch off their cameras and recorders from a sense of sheer decency. The Leader of the Free World, America's Fearless Leader, the man who stood amid the rubble of the towers and threatened anyone who would attack America, Old Mister "Bring it on" has been reduced to a beggar on the world stage. If he weren't such a jerk I could almost feel sorry for him. Naaaaaaaaah!
George W. Bush packed up his prayer rug last week and headed for Saudi Arabia. He went, ten-gallon hat-in-hand, to implore the king of the sand dunes to pretty please increase the flow of oil so that Americans wouldn't have to pay $4.00 a gallon to fill their SUV's. What a disgrace! The country that survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, won the Cold War and, by force of will, put a man on the moon in ten years, is reduced to grovelling to a dress-wearing goat herder for a gallon of regular.
The President makes a great target here (and everywhere else!) but he isn't the only villain in the piece. Americans have spent the last twenty-nine years (the time since the Carter "energy crisis") using the size of their car as the outward manifestation of their prosperity. They should have been bending over right next to George. Detroit has been feeding us a steady diet of Explorers, Escalades, Yukons, and, of course, Hummers and we couldn't get enough. The next time you see a V-8 Chevy Blazer with an "I love America" bumper sticker, punch out his tail lights.
We have the best scientists (imported from Asia & India) and the best engineers (having immigrated from India and Germany). Do you think, maybe, we could have figured out a way to use a little less oil? We still can and we still should. China and India are burning all the petrol they can get and their thirst is increasing every day. If you think that Iraq is a war for oil, wait 'til China, with a million men under arms, joins the fight.
The next time you see an article in the paper about a robbery at a gas station don't be surprised if the sub head reads, "The thief left the cash and made off with a tank full of premium". America: the size of your car will not compensate for inadequate equipment under the hood. Our National pride should be worth more than the size of your Land Cruiser...or your trouser-monkey.
Showing posts with label Saudi Arabia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saudi Arabia. Show all posts
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
...or is GWB's farewell tour not moving fast enough?
"If we don't kiss some Saudi ass over there we'll have to do it over here."
So reads the gospel according to George W. Bush.
Just so we all understand:
-the United States was attacked by nineteen men on September 11, 2001.
-eighteen of those men were Saudis.
-the President is attempting, by force-of-arms, to impose democracy on Iraq.
-Saudi Arabia is a monarchy. The King is no fan of individual freedoms.
The logical reaction to these facts would be:
1)Send the Saudis a smart-bomb candygram.
2)Move heaven and earth to break America's dependence on foreign/Saudi oil, then send them a smart-bomb candygram.
3)Clear brush in Crawford, Tx until Jan 20, 2009.
4) Agree to sell the Saudis $123 million in high tech weapons.
One suspects that Genius George's next foreign policy coup will be to sell high-speed humvees to the tribes of Darfur so the rapists can cover more ground.
Please tell me on what planet it makes any sense to sell munitions to a country that is most threatened by any American success in their region? It is true that, as long as America maintains the umbilical cord between Aramco and their suburban garages, we need to make nice. However, that doesn't mean that we provide the Saudis with the dynamite to blow the region up. Our "friends" the Israelis must be thrilled. More guns for the Arabs has always been on of their mottoes.
Why can't George and King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz just talk about areas of common interest? For example, they could discuss the most efficient method to execute prisoners. I believe the Saudis use a rusty rapier. That should please Judge Scalia. Then there's always the subject of torture. The Bush Administration has been outsourcing the brutal mistreatment of prisoners to Saudi Arabia for some time. They could re-negotiate the contract to include healthcare for the torturers.
They could chat about how to keep the population of their countries asleep while you run the country any way you like. Both appear to be experts. King Abdullah might even give George a few pointers on how to handle the press. (see also, rusty rapiers).
What remains clear is that the only thing worse than Bush foreign policy is Bush foreign policy on the road. American travel to Europe will certainly be down this summer. We are all too ashamed.
We can only hope that the price of oil rises so high that Air Force One becomes too expensive to fly... except from Washington to Crawford...one way. At that point the Saudis will have done the American people a great service.
So reads the gospel according to George W. Bush.
Just so we all understand:
-the United States was attacked by nineteen men on September 11, 2001.
-eighteen of those men were Saudis.
-the President is attempting, by force-of-arms, to impose democracy on Iraq.
-Saudi Arabia is a monarchy. The King is no fan of individual freedoms.
The logical reaction to these facts would be:
1)Send the Saudis a smart-bomb candygram.
2)Move heaven and earth to break America's dependence on foreign/Saudi oil, then send them a smart-bomb candygram.
3)Clear brush in Crawford, Tx until Jan 20, 2009.
4) Agree to sell the Saudis $123 million in high tech weapons.
One suspects that Genius George's next foreign policy coup will be to sell high-speed humvees to the tribes of Darfur so the rapists can cover more ground.
Please tell me on what planet it makes any sense to sell munitions to a country that is most threatened by any American success in their region? It is true that, as long as America maintains the umbilical cord between Aramco and their suburban garages, we need to make nice. However, that doesn't mean that we provide the Saudis with the dynamite to blow the region up. Our "friends" the Israelis must be thrilled. More guns for the Arabs has always been on of their mottoes.
Why can't George and King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz just talk about areas of common interest? For example, they could discuss the most efficient method to execute prisoners. I believe the Saudis use a rusty rapier. That should please Judge Scalia. Then there's always the subject of torture. The Bush Administration has been outsourcing the brutal mistreatment of prisoners to Saudi Arabia for some time. They could re-negotiate the contract to include healthcare for the torturers.
They could chat about how to keep the population of their countries asleep while you run the country any way you like. Both appear to be experts. King Abdullah might even give George a few pointers on how to handle the press. (see also, rusty rapiers).
What remains clear is that the only thing worse than Bush foreign policy is Bush foreign policy on the road. American travel to Europe will certainly be down this summer. We are all too ashamed.
We can only hope that the price of oil rises so high that Air Force One becomes too expensive to fly... except from Washington to Crawford...one way. At that point the Saudis will have done the American people a great service.
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