God Bless And Keep Garrison Keillor For This Comment

[Paladin]

You know, there have been endless critiques directed at George W. Bush, with no telling how many critiques yet to come. But I don't think anyone has or will ever get it better than Mr. Keillor did in one of his recent columns.

Referring to the Boy King:

"He is heading for the short bus of history where Earl Butz and Spiro Agnew ride."

[diddlysquat]

1. Who is Earl Butz?

I guess that's the point.

[SpiralHawk]

2. A former republicon Secretary of Agriculture

A real, plug-ugly corporatist, infamous in farm circles for having said: "Get Big or Get Out."

You can thank him and the other repugs for destroying thousands upon thousands of America's family farms -- and the wholesome social and environmental structure they provided as an offshoot.

You can also thank Butz and other republicon corporatists for what replaced them: industrial farms giving us mutant chemicalised food-product nutrition facsimile crapola, rather than clean food.

Why do republicons HATE America?

[DemoTex]

5. Earl Butz was an inveterate, unredeemed racist suffering from career-killing foot-in-mouth disease.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Butz

[EFerrari]

13. LOL! Exactly so.

:rofl:

[vireo]

15. OMG! He's still alive (98 y.o.)

As of 2007, Butz is the oldest living former Cabinet member, regardless of department or administration served in.

[11 Bravo]

14. Former Nixonite. Famous for saying ...

All black men want is "tight pussy, loose shoes, and a warm place to shit." Classy guy, huh?

[DemoTex]

16. I remember it like it was yesterday.

It was reported, euphemistically, that Butz had joked "good sex, comfortable shoes, and a warm bathroom. That was not so. He said what 11Bravo posted. It was a true WTF? experience for me. I fully expected to find out that this asshole was from my hometown, or home-state, in the deep south .. and probably from my 1st university (Auburn).

That was not the case. He was from Indiana. But he was an Ag Economist, like many of my friends at Auburn, including one of my younger brothers .. and an Alpha Gamma Rho (Alpha Grabba Hoe), the ag fraternity.

That was about the time, post Viet Nam, that I transfered to Georgia Tech and immersed myself in difficult disciplines.

[Al Federfer]

3. For some reason, I just don't like Garrison Keillor...

I've tried to like him, too. I've listened, I've watched, I've read. The sensation I get is how I imagine drowning in a vat of high fructose corn syrup might be.

[hisownpetard]

12. Absolutely!! n /t

[Fierce]

4. Eh, I find Keillor annoying.

And the "short bus" reference is mildly offensive.

[Paladin]

7. You're Certainly Entitled To Your Opinion

But this is far from the first time that the "short bus" label has been used to target opponents. And certainly it's never been directed at a more deserving target.

[Fierce]

9. "Far from the first time"?

Oh, well. OK then. "Deserving"? Implying that George Bush is developmentally disabled and can't help it lets him off the hook, don't you think?

[Paladin]

10. You're Just Determined To Be Needlessly Argumentative

No point in prolonging this discussion.....

[Oak2004]

11. Uh, no

Not if one is personally aware of the extent to which neglect, violence, brutality, and ridicule is heaped on people with developmental disabilities.

One expert on the subject says that most developmentally disabled people have PTSD. It's a rate higher than you see among combat vets, though unlike soldiers these people will never be able to come home to safety. You think its funny to (tangentially) heap more ridicule and disdain upon such a class of people? You think it's "needlessly argumentative" to defend such a class of people?

If so, let me be proudly "needlessly argumentative", too.

[madokie]

6. yes he gets a vote from me

he has a way with words

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. And for this one, which I remember every time I hear Bush speak:

Keillor once described Bush as having "a voice like a dial tone." I can't think of a better description.

[PollThis]

17. Jim Hightower said this of GWB

He was born on third base and struts around like he hit a triple.