I am in awe at how utterly bush has screwed up the world

[mopaul]

and in such a short time. absolutely staggering. most folks support torture on the nbc poll. israeli copters bought from us fire into crowds of palastinan protesters. we bomb a wedding party in iraq at 3 am, killing 45 innocents, many women and children.
new photos of g.i.'s smiling over a man, beaten to death, and spirited out of the prison dressed up like a living patient.

the man who brags about being the first president to call for a palastinian homeland watches as the middle east prepares to explode.
he consults with insane end-timers, he smirks and snaps at reporters who sit there, stunned by his idiocy.

what the fuck america. this is seriously your lowest point. the second president bush. that's the point where america fell. that's what the history books will say.

[spanone]

1. It is like a bad script. Hard to believe as you say. A true mindfuck.

We cannot get him out of there quick enough.

[tridim]

8. How many movies

and TV mini-series is it going to take to tell this story? Moore gets the credit for part I in the box set.

[lostnfound]

29. A horror movie. That goes on, and on, and on.

I don't like horror movies.

[crossroads]

35. A Fvcking Nightmare that gets worse...

:wtf: and he did it so quick! Satan is proud.

[kevinhnc]

2. Couldn't agree more

Sometimes I seriously consider not reading DU, not because I disagree with the posters here, but because the depression is really setting in.

I wish we *were* going to hell in a pretty little handbasket compared to the course we are currently on.

[kentuck]

3. Who followed Caligula??

since Robert Byrd isn't here, maybe someone else knows Roman history?

[yardwork]

6. I believe that was Nero. The guy who fiddled while Rome burned.

[kentuck]

11. Let's hope for better.....

Does Kerry play the fiddle??

[KoKo]

50. OMG.....Kentuck that was really "delicious"

:D You gave me a laugh, when I needed it this a.m.

[Lucky Luciano]

12. Rome

had many more years of glory after Caligula passed. Maybe this can console us!

I think after Caligula was Claudius. These are still first century AD and Pax Romana times. Rome started its downfall around the beginning of the third century AD shortly after Marcus Aurelius....mid third century it almost seemed like they were going to fall right then and there until Diocletian came along in 284AD and fixed things temporarily - by splitting the empire in two. Late fourth century saw things slip again and evenyually Rome was sacked in 410AD and occupied for the first time in 800 years (The Celts got them in 390BC - might have been 290BC - whatever). After this, there were a series of weka rulers and Western Rome was continuously intimidated until it completely fell in 476AD.

[Gildor Inglorion]

15. It was his Uncle Claudius...

who didn't want the job. The Praetorian Guards found him hiding behind a curtain, dragged him out, and proclaimed him Imperator. And guess what? He turned out to be not bad at all. A decent, sober man, of middle years, and a conscientious administrator. Of all the Julio-Claudians, with the exception of Caesar Augustus, he was the most effective ruler. Naturally, he was murdered and replaced with his cousin/nephew/stepson Ahenobarbus, known as Nero: the last of the true Caesars.

[Alerter_]

20. if you want the job, you aren't qualified

if you don't want the job you might be. Seems to be a constant of human nature.

[pnorman]

18. No Brownie Buttons for me.

I just did a Google-search: "January 21, 41 CE: Caligula was assassinated by members of his own Praetorian Guard, including M. Arrecinus Clemens, co-prefect of the Guard, and Cassius Chaerea, a military tribune of the Guard, in conspiracy with several high-ranking senators, notably Marcus Vinicius, husband of Caligula's exiled sister Julia Livilla. You can visit the underground passageway (cryptoporticus) where he was assassinated by virtually travelling to the Palatine in Region X of VRoma via the web gateway or the anonymous browser. Caligula's wife, Caesonia, and their young daughter were also killed. The Praetorian Guard proclaimed his uncle Claudius the new emperor, and the Senate subsequently ratified this action. Caligula's brief reign also demonstrates the significant role the Praetorian Guard was beginning to play in the Empire. Under Tiberius, the prefect Sejanus had come dangerously close to achieving his goal of succeeding Tiberius as emperor. The subsequent prefect, Macro, had helped Caligula secure his power. Caligula himself was assassinated because he had made a mockery of the military and alienated the leaders of the Guard; it is likely that the senatorial conspiracy would not have succeeded if the Guard had remained loyal to Caligula. Finally, it was the Praetorian Guard that quite openly chose Claudius to succeed Caligula."
http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/caligula.html

CLAUDIUS, his uncle. Note this in the above: "... Caligula himself was assassinated because he had made a mockery of the military and alienated the leaders of the Guard; it is likely that the senatorial conspiracy would not have succeeded if the Guard had remained loyal to Caligula."

pnorman

[Solomon]

22. Nope. It was Claudius. Solomon knows his roman history.

You'd be very surprised to learn of how Claudius became emperor.

He was born physically deformed, and he stuttered, so everyone thought him a fool. But it was because of these defects that he lived to become emperor. Since he was never thought to be a threat for the throne, no one tried to kill him off.

After Caligula was killed, the imperial guard needed an emperor. (Can't have an imperial guard without an emperor.) Being one of the few family members not killed off as threats to the throne, Claudius
became emperor.

(If you haven't watched the I Claudius video series, then you haven't lived yet.) Get it.

[calimary]

39. "I Claudius" - truly!

I've been thinking about that a LOT lately. We've seen that series, too. It's GREAT! Around our house, we refer to it as "I, Clav-deevs!" A good parable for our time - sure makes you start playing mental switch-'em games with the various chessboard pieces.

[DieboldMustDie]

25. Claudius...

A.D. 41-54 then Nero, 54-68.

[Emboldened Chimp]

62. Claudius followed Caligula

Nero was after Claudius.

[yardwork]

4. I wish I could say you were exaggerating....

but you actually went easy on the guy.

You could have mentioned 9/11, Medicare bill fraud, "Every Child on Earth Left Behind," the hiding and destroying of scientific data that doesn't match the end-timer ideology, wholesale destruction of every cabinet department....

Um, there's more. Let's see. Inflation and high unemployment, outsourcing, record deficits replacing a surplus, trade deficit....every kind of deficit we can think of, really.

Oh, the environment! Nuff said about that. Who cares about the environment when end-times is comin'. But lots and lots of tax breaks for the wealthy so that they can whoop it up during these last days on Earth.

What else? There's more, lots more. The guy has created wholesale destruction.

Who was it who said he had a reverse-Midas touch or something like that? Everything he touches turns to feces?

[KoKo]

51. Excellent assessment! Everything turns to turds in his hands.

It's unbelievable!

[BabsSong]

5. Bush has given "permission" so to speak to all the hate mongers,

the hypocrites, the racists and every type of scum who had been having to hide out in a closet for years because they were socially unacceptable, to come on out, strut around, spit in the face of civilized society and make "dumb, arrogant, ugly, violent and mean" something to be proud of. The man who has been a loser all of his life has turned this country in four years into a land of losers. We are an international joke.

[corriger]

14. We are an international joke.

Well, you all certainly are this. It is just what is left now. But what I cannot understand is how your country is so half divided over this. This polarisation is what I can not quite fathom. Frankly I believe this guy merely brings to a forefront many longstanding problem existing prior to this government taking power. this is a problem.

[calimary]

40. Head-scratcher, isn't it?

That boggles my mind. I can't understand how ANYBODY could think this guy is doing anything other than an abysmal job. I heard the term "spectacular failure" recently, used to describe the big accomplishment that Iraq has turned out to be. We thought it was bad LAST year at this time. Who'd have dreamed it'd get worse than that?

[Karenina]

44. Not a joke

a SERIOUS THREAT to the sane and civilized.

[kentuck]

7. mopaul, you have perfected that Bush flush !

That is funny! :)

[IHaveADream]

9. Watch out for World War III . . .

bush takes US troops from South Korea to shore up depleted troops in Iraq. North Korea's President Kim Jong Il doesn't have a conscience. Watch what happens next. . .

[OneBlueSky]

31. another world war is a REQUIREMENT for the end times prophesies . . .

it's only a matter of timing for these nutcases . . .

[Warren DeMontague]

41. Bush White House Checked with Rapture Christians before Latest Israel Move

The Jesus Landing Pad

The thing that blows me away is, haven't the right-wing Jewish folks in the GOP read the script and seen how things turn out in the "Left Behind" universe for everyone who hasn't accepted JCATOPS?

[NuttyFluffers]

43. that... was really scary...

dealing with the ecstatically self-righteous has always made me very uncomfortable. few things scare the bejeesus outta me: the genuinely evil, the genuinely criminally insane, and the genuinely fanatic. that is a real sccary thing to find even more solid ties to these crazy people and the current administration.

as if that frontline special, "The Jesus Factor" wasn't enough to give someone nightmares...

[OneBlueSky]

47. well, like Bush, you hit the trifecta . . .

these guys are genuinely evil, genuinely criminally insane, AND genuinely fanatic . . . have a nice day . . .

[NewJeffCT]

61. Unfortunately, to many it is "Too bad to be true"

I get the feeling that Bush and his people just perpertrate one outrage after the other so that the many smaller outrages get lost in the shuffle of the big ones. And, the corporate media spins the big outrages to the tune of Karl Rove...

[opihimoimoi]

10. Staggering and Stunning ineptness shines thru the fog like a Laser

188576354 times the strength of the Sun. Yet they cling to the given course like its no big thing.... no time to review other options. No recourse but to "stay the course"

Bush playing the war card, "all in" in poker parlance.

Now the Pubs are claiming 280,000 new jobs not explaining most are low paying ones... and temp to boot, without bennies.

Interest rates about to climb, war still going down hill, Osama still loose, Troops still getting killed/wounded, torture cover up, 9/11 warnings unheeded/unannounced, etc etc

If we want a disiplined long term approach when ivesting in our leaders, clearly Bush is the worst of the lot. Its as if Bush graduated with honors in HOW TO SCREW UP A NATION 101

[IHaveADream]

17. Let's not forget

mercury poinsoning, record deficit, $1.4 billion of our dollars being poured into Iraq each and every week for a lie, no health care, no education, no vision, but he has his war!

[opihimoimoi]

28. Yup, and the brainwashed sheep still follow the bell over the cliff

[Lucky Luciano]

19. "Its as if Bush graduated with honors in HOW TO SCREW UP A NATION 101 "

Nope - he wrote his doctoral dissertation on the subject though and he continues to give lessons on it as the chairman of the Political Fubar department at b*sh university.

[opihimoimoi]

27. lol, OK, You win, :o)

[mzmolly]

13. Oh so very true.

:(

[k in IA]

16. I knew it would be bad if he became Prez but in my wildest

dreams wouldn't have thought he could do so much damage in one term.


My Mom, a lifelong Dem, said when he first got selected that he was the first President in her lifetime (she is 60) that literally scared her.

[Wind Dancer]

21. And the list goes on and on and on!

I am terrified at what is happening to this country. What does our future hold? I'm really concerned that the damage is so severe, we will never recover. I hope I am wrong.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

23. I'm MORE in awe that people are stupid enough to consider voting for him

That's what REALLY makes it scary. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a bizarro world.

[doc03]

24. I agree, the scary part is that I think he may even get elected this time.

[kodi]

26. short of starting a war with an arab nation, he couldn't do any worse

oh, shit he did.

never mind.

[rumguy]

30. Do you have a secret love for the boy king?

[maggrwaggr]

34. and all the weirdness started on election night 2000

when they called florida for Gore. Then said "wait a minute".

It all can be traced back to that moment.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

32. Check out this baboon study that shows how peace can happen.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/13/science/13BABO.html
(No Time For Bullies Among Baboons)

This science article about a group of baboons whose dominant males all died of food poisening shows that when the few war-like males are eliminated the rest of the tribe behaves much more peacefully and cooperatively.

Apparently, the ethics of behavior in a group are demonstrated by a few dominators. If their nasty influence is removed, peace ensues.

This is no doubt why the Imperial US military is trying to kill of every Iraqi who fights back.

But it really tells us that having ethical leaders to set the tone of every one's behavior really can make the world a better place. That isn't just a sentimental hope. It can really happen.

[Cleita]

33. It's obvious these perverts should have been impeached and put

on trial years ago, so why isn't it happening even now? The only way our country will heal is to try this whole administration for war crimes and treason. They have to be held accountable. Justice must be served.

[loudsue]

38. What really scares me is that they never will be tried for their crimes.

It's as if we will be condoning a lawless system....which ISN'T a system at all, when you think about it. As long as it's not brought out, and SHOWN for its wrongness, it becomes an "example" for others to follow.

We had a mini-revolution in this country in the 60's/early 70's. But Nixon resigning sort of stopped it. This time, the criminality is so totally pervasive throughout government, military, in the voting process, in business, in schools and churches....I can't imagine anything short of nasty trials and jail sentences can possibly bring this country back to its senses.

And the damn media is SOOOOOOO fucking guilty. I REALLY REALLY would like to see some of those assholes in jail...Rush for starters.

:kick:

[Cleita]

56. It's not to late to fix this. We have to.

Maybe more civil disobedience will have to be done sixties style.

[SammyWinstonJack]

58. What makes you think that civil disobedience will be allowed?

* will never allow it. Martial Law and FEMA steps in, game over, for us. * is probably just itching for that scenario to happen. We are sooooooo screwed. :-( There is a DUer who has info on the expanded powers of FEMA. Some very scary and depressing stuff. I am sorry I read it. :cry:

[Cleita]

59. If you don't do it now, you won't be able to.

Even if it isn't allowed, we have to do it, even if it's in a stealth guerilla type of disobedience, like sneaking at night and putting banners on freeway overpasses. Stuff like that. Read about the undergrounds in Nazi occupied Europe. They didn't overtly face up to the Nazis but did everything they could to undermine them in an undercover way.

[KoKo]

52. But, Cleita, the Chimp can pardon them all when he leaves office! That's

the worst of it. He can pardon them all and no one will ever be able to investigate them. They knew what they were doing all along. And, just like the rotten legacy Nixon left us with, we will have it all again.

These folks will show up over and over again like Zombies. Think of Kissinger. :nuke:

[Cleita]

57. Kissinger is another guy who should be in the Hague alongside

Augusto Pinochet for what they did in Chile, destroying one of the true democracies in South America at the time. That historical fact shows that they don't believe in democracy, but just say the words to get the power they want. If we can bring these creeps to justice we can't allow Chimp to pardon them this time.

[crossroads]

37. Wonder if Laura ever loearned to cook?

Hmmmm
:kick:

[Rebel_with_a_cause]

36. Most here thought we'd get a bunch of good Bushisms out of the 4 yr deal

good fodder for Comedy Night.

We're way beyond even black comedy now.

[DaveSZ]

42. It is like a horror movie

I can't believe it either how badly Bush has fucked things up.

I would have never thought he had it in him, and he was the idiot gov. of my state for some years.

[0rganism]

45. Impressive, isn't it? he's damn near managed to make irony obsolete

At least bush is good at making up words and grammar, because our language comes up sorely lacking when describing his reign.

[Skittles]

46. I've been very depressed

not sleeping well. Just now on the news I saw tiny feet poking out from a covered blanked at that wedding party. *sniff*

Ten years - I've had to put up with that grinning piece of SHIT Bush for TEN F***ING YEARS. :puke:

[KoKo]

53. Well, my husband drove over his briefcase and crashed into our garage

door because he put car in forward instead of reverse this a.m. He had just heard the news about "Missile into Palestinian settlements, and Chalabi being surrounded" and he had a meeting he had to get to.

Neither of us are sleeping and we are on edge from all of this. I wonder if I can send the bill for my garage door to Bush? Surely I should be able to take a deduction for pain and suffering caused by these morons.

[dusty64]

48. Well for once he

has actually excelled at something, the total fucking up of everything he touches.

[KoKo]

49. Hey, MoPaul you beat me to it this a.m. I wake up every morning and think

the world has gone insane. That Bush and Sharon are madmen unleased on the world to bring it to it's knees. There's no Adult in charge and the maddness goes on and on eating up helpless victims including everyone here in America.

If I couldn't vent here, I don't know what I would do! Everyone I know in real life is oblivious to it all!

How can we be the only ones who see all this? Do we need the white coats and restraints? :nuke:

[Q]

54. How did he do it so fast?

- Easy. Little or no opposition. Even Democrats have the faithful believing they couldn't have done anything to stop him. Now it's too late. The damage is done. And yes...our party is also to blame for helping create this monster.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

63. They are "masters" in mind control and brainwashing.

n/t

[opihimoimoi]

55. Like others here, I too, am in awe at the percentage of good Americans

still in awe of Bush and will vote for him come Nov.

The result of Mind Theft on a grand scale.

[loudsue]

60. Just listen to all the DUers who are having trouble sleeping!

It seems like 70% of the threads I read, there are people talking about not being able to sleep because of this reign of terror from the RNC. And I'm another one who cannot sleep. Never in my life have I so regularly cried big alligator tears because of what is going on in the world due to American terrorism, at home and abroad. I'm having trouble working, sleeping, thinking.

I'm horrified, day after day, by what I see happening. Distress, outrage, hopelessness, sadness, fear....the whole gamut of emotions one experiences during a reign of terror.

Someone should do a DU poll to see how many of us are going through this.

:kick::kick:

[KansDem]

64. "Awe?" Yes, but are you in "shock and awe???"

I believe that's Bush's ultimate goal. I used to believe Bush intended it only for the Iraqis (as in firing cruise missiles and dropping 2,000lb bombs on cities and civilians), but now feel it's for everyone on this planet.

[mvd]

65. It's depressing

I knew he'd be really bad, but I didn't know things would get this bad. He's turned America into a hostile country, and our democracy's looking more like one in name only.