Make a Difference

Day: November 25, 2009

If Bush Had …

Shamelessly lifted from A Western Heart:

If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how he inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?

If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan’s holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?

If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia , would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent “Austrian language,” would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?

If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to “Cinco de Cuatro” in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?

If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word “advice” would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as proof of what a dunce he is?

If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he’s a hypocrite?

If George W. Bush’s administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11?

If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims through out the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?

If George W. Bush had created positions for 32 or more Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America , would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?

If George W Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had spent more than all the Presidents combined since George Washington, would you have approved?

So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive?
Can’t think of anything?
Don’t worry.

He’s done all this in 10 months — so you’ll
have 3 years and 2 months to come up with an answer.

I might just add, if George Bush forgot the location of the doors on his own house and tried to get in through a window, would you …

Flammery and Flummery

Tony Abbott ignored my fax.

I was glad Kevin Andrews, at least, had the courage to stand against Malcolm Turnbull.

The ABC’s description of him as a ‘stalking horse’ (how many people would understand that without looking it up, I wonder – and that’s a comment on the mentality of the ABC, not the general public), is unfair.

To save you the trouble, a stalking horse is a fake candidate put forward to test the water, before jumping the shark and falling on his sword. Whatever.

But it is true that Kevin Andrews could never be a serious contender for the leadership. He is a capable and intelligent poliitician (although I would have to be dragged to the polling booth to vote for someone who uses phrases like ‘vibrant businesses’). He simply does not have the public appeal, saleability, or leadership qualities of Abbott or Hockey.

The implementation of some form of RAT scheme now seems inevitable. I can’t be angry at the Labor Party for this. One expects expensive, evidence-free, ideology driven polices from the Labor Party.

I can be angry at the Liberals. You are supposed to be THE OPPOSITION, for heaven’s sake.

I say some form of RAT scheme because it is now so heavily modified that it cannot even pretend to do what the government says it will do. Which is nothing. Well, no, it will do that. Or be a positive example to the rest of the world. Of monstrous stupidity. Or something.

The Government calls it a ‘Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme’ – because the idea of the RAT/CPRS is to reduce pollution. Never mind that CO2 is not a pollutant but a vital part of the atmosphere, necessary for all life on Earth, and currently at low levels compared with most of Earth’s history.

Let’s assume for a moment that CO2 is a pollutant. Very nasty stuff. Got to get rid of it before it destroys the planet.

So the idea is that the RAT scheme makes it more expensive to pollute. So people stop polluting. So we can all breath again. And go for holidays on the Gold Coast without burning our feet on the footpath.

Except that that the new improved Turnbull approved RAT scheme takes billions of dollars from ordinary taxpayers …

Sorry what?

Takes billions of dollars cash money from ordinary taxpayers and gives it to industry and power producers to help cover the fines imposed by the government to make them stop producing CO2. Which isn’t a pollutant anyway. So they can keep producing it without worrying.

All clear so far? And even with the billions of dollars added to my tax bill each year, major industry spokesmen say that we will see massive price increases for energy (and consequently everything else), job losses, mine closures, loss of competitiveness for Australian industry, etc, etc.

It just gets better and better.

Meanwhile Komrade Rudd is telling us to ‘get real’ on climate, and Komrade Turnabull is saying the opposition need credibility on climate.

I couldn’t agree more.

Except, doesn’t getting real imply some connection with reality? And doesn’t credibilty depend on searching for and standing up for the truth?

Just Faxed To Tony Abbott

The Hon Tony Abbott

Fax No  (02) 6277 8407

Dear Mr Abbott,

Please stand for the leadership of the Liberal Party.

I know you are reluctant to do so, and I understand the extra pressure the leadership would put on you and your family.

Malcolm Turnbull, for all his positive qualities, cannot win an election for the Liberal Party.

You can.

At least as importantly, you will have the courage to put an end to what is possibly the worst piece of legislation ever to be put to the parliament – a ration and tax scheme on every aspect of transport and industry.

Opposition and government both have an absolute obligation to ensure that legislation which would attack the wealth of every Australian is necessary and based on clear evidence. The ETS is neither.

Please allow yourself to be considered for the leadership, and put an end to this nonsense.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Wales

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