From the inane to the insane?! That, my friends, pretty much sums up our immigration issues as it relates to our porous borders.

While the issue is serious, very serious, our actions are very near delusional.

Do we really think that partially walling up the border is a plan that will work? Moreover, is it good marketing for the country? (((I seem to remember a great President uttering a "Tear down that wall," phrase, to great applause.)))

How about our plans for using hundreds if not thousands of unmanned drones, what genius thought up that one? No doubt that he/she was in the midst of full-throttle political
apoptosistic hysteria when he offered this gem of an idea.

Those high priced model airplanes could buzz all about, on a 24-hour basis, snapping glossy 8x10’s of the happy families as they enter the land of “milk and honey.”

I’m sure our residents in our border communities would really be endeared to their country and it’s brilliant planners if we put this doozy of a plan into effect.

And of course, if the illegal aliens get a little too casual and start to pose for family portraits as the planes and their cameras buzz by we could arm the little airplanes and basically have the equivalent of a real live episode of “Combat,” that runs 24 hours a day.

WAIT?!

I’ve got an idea that matches the best that the government has come up with so far.

Get your party hats out and prepare to hail our 51^st and 52^nd state.

That’s right me’s amigos, and you hosers, we should just grab the moose by his tequilas and bring our neighbors into the national patchwork and we’ll have solved the problem.

Mexico first, let's make 'em feel important, patronize ‘em, and just to prove we’re not patronizing our southern brothers, we’ll bring in Canada. What, aren't there only about 57 of them left, up there?

Although, we should probably leave Quebec because those folks speak funny and are cranky. Let’s face it, we have enough cranky funny speaking folks already.

Just think, after this brilliant plan is initiated, all we will have to worry about is a small 750-mile mountainous border with Guatemala and Belize to the south, heck we could grow a looong mescal cactus hedge, you make it through THAT border, you're a haaaapy pappy anyway, floating on rainbows, "speaking water words out of silk trombones." In addition, on the huge border up north, we’re only guardin’ against Santa, so just nationally expense out a trillion dollar missile program and we should put quick work to that guy. . . . Either that, or melt his home ice sheet.

Well, that problem is solved; on to the next major crisis.

Me out!

 

Let’s talk legacy.

I know the President flatly states that he doesn’t worry about such things, but be assured, he surely does.

There is one thing that he does not have to worry about though, and that is his spot on the totem pole of the 43 men who have held the office so far.

Sad to say, this President, George W. Bush, will no doubt be ranked near the very bottom of the list.

When you look at the men who, let’s face it, were just plain bad for the country,  most of them could’ve had decent administrations, if not great ones, if it weren’t for usually one or two glaring, horrible confutations with administrative progress.

At the bottom are names like Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, James Buchanan, Lyndon Johnson and most of the mid nineteenth century president’s.

Now, we have George W. Bush.

At the bottom, I think that Andrew Johnson is probably our worst President. Why, you say, would I place him at the bottom? Surely, not for his taking over suddenly and unexpectedly because of the assassination of President Lincoln, you say.

You are correct; his stance as remaining a Senator while his state seceded and his ascendancy to the Presidency was honorable. Andrew Jonson’s major error was fighting for a soft landing for the rebellious states. He then pulled out the veto pen on the reconstruction efforts that Congress and the nation were trying to put in place. Finally, when Congress got so angry with him that they set out a hackneyed impeachment trap for him, he bit.

In all fairness, it was a trivial way to impeach the President, but Johnson knew this. He knew that Congress was wholeheartedly against him and yet he still couldn’t resist their trap to impeach him.

So, for trying to retard the progress of newly freed blacks, negating the deaths of 300- thousand men and being impeached, Andrew Johnson will probably remain the nadir of the American Executive Branch of government.

Johnson is just barely below the great General, but out and out thug, even for his time, Andrew Jackson, Two phrases_ threatening to hang a senator, and Trail of Tears.

Next on the list of the shameful, just below of the OTHER President Johnson, Lyndon Baines, comes our current killer and chief George W. Bush.

At least LBJ. could claim he was ensuring the rights of black America at the same time he blossomed a war of choice.

President Bush’s war of choice has no such lofty counter balance.

 If he had fought hard enough He might have pushed through a much needed Social Security revampment, or he should have shepherded his revolutionary “no child left behind” program all the way through. He may still, though hopes are dim, come out victorious in our “legitimate” war on terror.

However, for both of these Presidents the verdict is, when you send thousands of young men and women in uniform to their deaths, for specious or flat out wrong arguments you should never be rated very high in the pages of American history.

 

This is truly a Greek Tragedy – American style.

 

  

Hey y'all!!!

Help a brother out.

I'm looking, oh so hard, to find the document where the Iraqi people pleaded with us to come in and re create their government. I can't find it anywhere. I know there had to be some importunator, who with moist eye and quivering lip entreated us to war on their behalf

I read where The President went to war for WMD/ democratizing Iraq/ fighting the global war on terror/ fighting Islamofascists ect. ect. ect.

I see where we were all set to place our puppet, (((ahem!, excuse me I didn't mean to write that.))) Ahmad Chalabi at the head of the Iraqi government (((just think how much fun that would’ve been)))

I see where we refused to listen to our own generals, and did not send sufficient forces to occupy Iraq.

I also see where we DE-baathafied the country and in turn created a brain drain at the most critical chokepoints.

And I now, plainly see where we are setting the Iraqi leadership up, the same way we set up President Theiu in Vietnam, right before we declared victory and got the hell out.

But I just can’t find out where the Iraqis said PLEEEAASE!!! you fearless Americans, if you come in and do some "slam dunk easy" arse kickin' and name takin', we will  fix it up right on your political schedule, and allow you to sabre rattle to other bigger and stronger nations.

Hmmm!!!

 To play off of the title of an excellent book by Judge Robert Bork, which itself was taken from an excellent poem by Yeats titled The Second Coming,  the conservative movement better start working on civility lest we find ourselves in the throes of a death spiral toward insignificance.

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;"

Are conservatives, as a group starting to fracture? Yes. mainly because of massive fusillades on anything not endorsed by the right wing of the political ideal.

Let's take the big issue of that day; How many times have we witnessed a true and proud conservative get mauled for simply expressing his or her view that the war is a misguided?

William Kristol, Editor of The Weekly Standard, doesn't just disagree with James Bakers Iraq Study Group's findings, he has to heap obloquies at the messangers.

 He co-authored an article in the Dec. 11th edition of the Weekly Standard titled A Perfect Failure
READI IT HERE:http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/021jenri.asp

Kristol's retort begins with his disdain for the ISG's co-chairmen Baker and Hamilton and how they took time for a photo spread for a fashion magazine.

This argumentum ad hominem is a sad statement on the current state of conservatism.

Even if Kristol's point of view has merit, all but the most ardent syncophant is put off by the mean spirit of the article.

James Baker has been a credit to the the American people and the conservative ideal for a long time. the fact that he was commissioned to do this study should speak to his high status as a statesman and critical thinker.

If William Kristol has an argument with the findings, fine. But, why not stay on the high road.

"Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,"

When Tom Delay spoke about being involved in an international conservative movement, on FNS (10-03-05) none of our talented tenth spoke up about that little statement.

We cannot be so vehemently against international trade agreements and UN power grabs on one hand, then try to collocate some sort of global philosophy, on the other.

If we  have any sort of conservative link with the rest of the world, it would be our link in jolly ol' England, So, when the son of Lady Thatcher, got caught up in a coup attempt  to bring down the government of Equatorial Guinea, Africa's third largest oil reserve. We. . . . US. . . . You and I, the famous and the lumpenproletariat. . . we should've spoken up. We should've railed against this criminal act.
Isn't there some sort of political "Friend of the Court," brief that we could've come up with?

If we can easily talk about a senator driving off of a bridge and drowning a girl. at dinner parties, we should as easily bring up how we need to keep our house clean when famous sons of great allies try and bring down countries.

The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

we are tarring ourselves with the stain of the querulous. and if we don't wake up, and soon we will be the ones so full of sound fury, but signifying nothing.

William Kristol is by far, not the only one in the complaint parade, neither is he  a constant  grouser, with no plan, purpose or program.
 
In later posts I'll be sure to HIGHLIGHT all the intellect and positivity he espouses. But it is the quick and vehement disparagements that too many of us dish out  when we don't agree with the point being discussed.

Last month Mike Gallagher went on a tirade about theLIBERAL viewpoints regarding Mary cheney's pregnancy.
WHAT!!!!

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards the puisne, to be born.

Let's not bring the rough beast to birth.