The Law of Unintended Consequences strikes the Bush Presidency.

[KlatooBNikto]

At the beginning of summer 2003, Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld had a lot to feel satisfied about. They had excuted a perfect coup d'etat at the 2000 elections, had sold the American people the War on Terror,connected the WTC disaster with Saddam Hussein and launched their war on Iraq,with a show of force to intimidate any one on earth.

As the summer of 2005 approaches,the costs of the war are staring us in the face exposing the U.S., in Chairman Mao's famous words, as nothing but a paper tiger.Given the administration's tendency to downplay the real costs, even the ones that are published are reaching staggering proportions.The war has unleashed a price increase on the very resource it was supposed to monopolize for the US,i.e. Petroleum. That price increase, showing up quickly at our gas pumps, has imposed a tax on ordinary Americans far greater than any tax cuts the right wing economists promised. At the same time it has put the domestic auto industry, led by GM and Ford, on death watch because much of their profits are derived from big gas guzzler trucks and SUV's.If the feared bankruptcy of GM comes to pass, it will obliterate the economic lives of many Americans dependent on the auto industry.

As he continues in this mad war, he has also created the right conditions for revolutions throughout the Muslim world, endangering the very Quislings like Mubarak, Musharraf and the Sauds and Al Sabahs he intended to protect.Their days are going to be numbered in historic terms permitting the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini clones all over the Muslim world.That, in an ironic twist, would indeed be a democratic transformation, but not what Bush intended.

[rodeodance]

1. oh--but everything is progressing--freedom is on the march! Bush will

feel/see no consequences in his little cacoon!!

[Devlzown]

2. I'm not so sure the rise in oil prices

is an unintended consequence. The oil companies are reaping huge profits right now.

[SpiralHawk]

3. Bush and the corporate Oil Republicans love high gas prices

and, as they make their way to the bank, they are laughing at average Americans who are forced to empty their wallets.

Bush and the Republicans are responsible for high gas prices.

[KlatooBNikto]

4. The overnight doubling of petroleum prices to near $60 a barrel

is certainly not intended. Even though the oil companies along with the Petroleum exporting countries are enjoying a boom, their consumers, the American tax payers, are feeling the apin, so to speak. That may not be a big problem to Bush because the transfer of wealth to China and India is creating a bigger market than anything the US can offer.So be prepared for Bush's "new prosperity".

[salin]

6. Ya - but sorta in an Enronesque way

no, not in terms of an impending implosion...

But there were reports that some were growing wary of Enron (not energy consumers, but other energy folks) during the California market manipulated energy crisis. That they were pushing too hard, making too much money and in a way that was so severe and so fast that folks (consumers) would start to "notice" and react in ways with real consequences. In short - the had pushed the boundary too far too quick and called attention to themselves - and the whole market. No one knew at the time that Enron's finances were so awful that they saw going too fast, far and furious to make too many bucks were seen as their attempt at saving themselves.

Yes, the oil companies are reaping huge profits. But there is that point of diminishing returns (in terms of how much the public will take before first it changes some consuming habits) and of negative consequences (a point where something bigger - such as collusion and other market manipulation is suspected.) Seems that in light of the potential bigger and bigger profits... there may not be the constraint among these corporate cronies of bushco to try to be wary of not crossing the line into either diminishing returns or negative consequences. In short, you could be correct both politically and corporate interest wise... however I think that the unintended consequences politically may be delivered directly by those corporate interests... ironic, eh?

[xpat]

7. The oiligarchs have to tread a thin line

between grabbing as much as they can and killing the goose that lays those proverbial eggs. If oil gets to pricey, they are screwed, too.

[Inland]

11. Let's say this-----

The people who hate low oil prices have a batphone line direct to the WH and their own task force.

The people who hate high oil prices can't pick up the phone and bitch out Unky Dick. They have to write LTTE that aren't read and make phone calls to congressmen who have no power.

Guess which situation is NOT seen as a huge problem by Bush?

[American in Asia]

5. funny how that "law" tends to bite you in the butt

more often when you stifle dissent or even critical thinking, surround yourself with ideologues, and are, yourself too much of a brainless, amoral idiot to even know or care that there COULD be consequences.

Too bad the rest of the world has to suffer the "unintended" outcomes though, huh?

:banghead:

[StephanieMarie]

8. excellent summary! What a bunch of hypocritical a**'s

[hector459]

9. It's more like "reapint what you sow."

It isn't happening fast enough for me.

[MadHound]

10. Somehow I don't think that rising oil prices were unintended consequences

After all, it is simply another way that the rich are getting richer. Sure, most Americans got that three hundred dollar check a couple of years ago, but all of that money and more went right into the pocket of the rich via the rise in oil prices

And unrest in the Muslim world is probably not unintended either. It simply gives Bushco ever more reasons to invade one oil rich country after another.

And I wouldn't worry too much about domestic car production. If GM goes under, well, the government will probably bail it out, much like they bailed out Chrysler in the early eighties. They've gotta keep producing those Hummers for the army don'tcha know, the old ones keep getting blown up.

And as far as the war price and national debt go, this is completely done on purpose. It has been the stated purpose of the NeoCon agenda to starve the government to the point where all social programs are completely done away with. What better and quicker way to do it than a prolonged, unwinnable war.

[natrat]

12. condi's latest line suggests they want instability in moderate arab states

totally twisted, the iraq model