Seen on the street in Kyiv.

Words of Advice:

"If Something Seems To Be Too Good To Be True, It's Best To Shoot It, Just In Case." -- Fiona Glenanne

“The Mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” -- The TOFF *

"Foreign Relations Boil Down to Two Things: Talking With People or Killing Them." -- Unknown

“Speed is a poor substitute for accuracy.” -- Real, no-shit, fortune from a fortune cookie

"If you believe that you are talking to G-d, you can justify anything.” — my Dad

"Colt .45s; putting bad guys in the ground since 1873." -- Unknown

"Stay Strapped or Get Clapped." -- probably not Mr. Rogers

"The Dildo of Karma rarely comes lubed." -- Unknown

"Eck!" -- George the Cat

* "TOFF" = Treasonous Orange Fat Fuck, A/K/A Dolt-45,
A/K/A Commandante (or Cadet) Bone Spurs,
A/K/A El Caudillo de Mar-a-Lago, A/K/A the Asset., A/K/A P01135809

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

George W. Bush Speaks Out

Laura and I are anguished by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country. Yet we have resisted the urge to speak out, because this is not the time for us to lecture. It is time for us to listen. It is time for America to examine our tragic failures – and as we do, we will also see some of our redeeming strengths.

It remains a shocking failure that many African Americans, especially young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own country. It is a strength when protesters, protected by responsible law enforcement, march for a better future. This tragedy — in a long series of similar tragedies — raises a long overdue question: How do we end systemic racism in our society? The only way to see ourselves in a true light is to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and grieving. Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America — or how it becomes a better place.

America’s greatest challenge has long been to unite people of very different backgrounds into a single nation of justice and opportunity. The doctrine and habits of racial superiority, which once nearly split our country, still threaten our Union. The answers to American problems are found by living up to American ideals — to the fundamental truth that all human beings are created equal and endowed by God with certain rights. We have often underestimated how radical that quest really is, and how our cherished principles challenge systems of intended or assumed injustice. The heroes of America — from Frederick Douglass, to Harriet Tubman, to Abraham Lincoln, to Martin Luther King, Jr. — are heroes of unity. Their calling has never been for the fainthearted. They often revealed the nation’s disturbing bigotry and exploitation — stains on our character sometimes difficult for the American majority to examine. We can only see the reality of America’s need by seeing it through the eyes of the threatened, oppressed, and disenfranchised.

That is exactly where we now stand. Many doubt the justice of our country, and with good reason. Black people see the repeated violation of their rights without an urgent and adequate response from American institutions. We know that lasting justice will only come by peaceful means. Looting is not liberation, and destruction is not progress. But we also know that lasting peace in our communities requires truly equal justice. The rule of law ultimately depends on the fairness and legitimacy of the legal system. And achieving justice for all is the duty of all.

This will require a consistent, courageous, and creative effort. We serve our neighbors best when we try to understand their experience. We love our neighbors as ourselves when we treat them as equals, in both protection and compassion. There is a better way — the way of empathy, and shared commitment, and bold action, and a peace rooted in justice. I am confident that together, Americans will choose the better way.

8 comments:

CenterPuke88 said...

What odds would have been offered that Comrade Misfit would post a statement by G.W.Bush, without comment (for any reason other than making fun of it), on her blog if you asked in 2007? I would bet 1,000,000 to 1 or greater.

Odds in 2009 that G.W.Bush would be looked at as an influential senior statesman after leaving Office...probably similar, but as we saw his intersection with Obama and then heard his comment on Trump’s inaugural speech (“That was some weird shit”), maybe dropped into the hundreds to one.

And yet, here we are in 2020, reading Shrub’s comment, unedited and uncommented, on the Comrade’s blog. Hope the devil has a warm coat.

Comrade Misfit said...

You’re right. There was nothing to say that wouldn’t have detracted from the eloquence and power of that statement. Which is why I didn’t give it the tag I normally would have used.

dinthebeast said...

It was a good statement, but can I just wholeheartedly agree with the part about examining our tragic failures.

-Doug in Sugar Pine

w3ski said...

Bravo for shrub. I don't for a minute believe he wrote that, but he did pay to have it written and personally read it out loud to the news. I could never give him an inch of credit in office, but I have to commend him for this. He and the other ex-presidents still have respect for our country, something our current "resident" has no comprehension of.
I can't imagine Donny even reading that to the public.
I know nothing gets through Donny fat hide but more like this, please.
"Death by a thousand cuts"
w3ski

CenterPuke88 said...

Shrub was an inept but genuine Governor in Texas, and I suspect was mostly run by his fathers ex-aides in the White House. That he and the Obama’s get along so well suggests he’s better than we give him credit for, which doesn’t excuse his (mis)administration of the country.

What this statement, and the lack of Republican leadership praising it, does is show us just how beholden to, and corrupted by, power the current Republican Party has become. One of two things will occur:

1) If Donnie loses in November (and leaves office...another point to ponder), a great turnover in the Republican Party will be necessary to revitalize it, and without such the GOP will follow the Whigs onto the ash heap of history. Looking at the makeup of the crowds protesting, the GOP should be getting very concerned.

2) If Donnie wins in November, it is likely his GOP will make moves to cement its ascendancy for the foreseeable future via strongman tactics and undermining the principles of this country. As such, violent riots and protests will become common beyond the extent of the 60’s, and America will become a modern version of South Africa. The rich, mainly white and male, oligarchs will be ensconced in their gated communities and homes, with their private guard forces. Does Ace Hardware sell pitchforks?

dinthebeast said...

CP88: Apparently Lowes sells them, and I didn't look at it, but there was a listing for them at Amazon as well, which is a little amusing when you think about it.

-Doug in Sugar Pine

CenterPuke88 said...

Doug, my Lowe’s is out, interestingly enough. They also don’t sell nice wooden rods to serve as torches...guess I should buy some of those fancy curtain rods and chop them up. Now, I need some good advise on the best material for rags to soak in flammable fluid.

Eck! said...

The ball for the torch is pitch soaked rags tightly wrapped around the
stick and bound with wire. Careful as that tends to drip hot tar. Burns
like napalm.

Eck!