brainrow

Revvin’ up for the next war:

President Bush said today he is certain that elements of the Iranian government are supplying deadly roadside bombs that kill American troops in Iraq, even if the innermost circle of the government is not involved.

Hey, has he ever been wrong?

“Support the Troops” the Bush-Cheney way.

First, let the ghost of Rumsfeld equip them for the “surge”:

U.S. Army units in Iraq and Afghanistan lack more than 4,000 of the latest Humvee armor kit, known as FRAG Kit 5, according to U.S. officials. The Army has ramped up production of the armor, giving priority to troops in Baghdad, but the upgrade is not scheduled to be completed until this summer, Army officials said. That is well into the timeline for major operations launched last week to quell violence by Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias, which the U.S. military now views as the top security threat in Iraq.

…

The Army began the Iraq war with an estimated $56 billion equipment shortage and has struggled to keep up with demands for new armor to protect against increasingly deadly bombs. In the case of FRAG Kit 5, the Army quickly produced a bolt-on version in limited quantities, while the permanent version has taken longer than expected to develop, test, produce and install. Meanwhile, the unexpected deployment of five additional Army brigades into Baghdad has created an urgent need for 2,000 Humvees with the new armor.

“You go to war with the army you have.” I guess that’s how you escalate, too.

Next, use them to justify more of the same. More soldiers without protection means more casualties. You can rest assured that the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress will cite each of those sacrifices as one more reason why we must continue this disastrous war, so that, in Karl Rove’s words, “their sacrifices have not been in vain.”

Next, cut ’em loose as soon as possible:

The Bush administration’s budget assumes cuts to veterans’ health care two years from now — even as badly wounded troops returning from Iraq could overwhelm the system.

…

Even though the cost of providing medical care to veterans has been growing rapidly — by more than 10 percent in many years — White House budget documents assume consecutive cutbacks in 2009 and 2010 and a freeze thereafter.

Sorry, troops, but there’s somebody Bush and Cheney support more:

According to Robert Greenstein, director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan Washington think tank, Mr. Bush will act by decisively widening the “yawning gap” between rich and poor. The president’s budget for fiscal 2008 “puts extremely large tax cuts for the most affluent Americans ahead of the needs of low- and middle-income families as well as future generations,” Mr. Greenstein says.

People with incomes of more than $1 million would get tax cuts averaging $162,000 a year (in 2012 dollars) in perpetuity. The top 1 percent of households will receive more than $1 trillion in tax benefits over the next decade, if the Bush tax cuts are made permanent.

Any billionaires among our brave troops can rest assured that Bush and Cheney are always there for you.

Via Crooks and Liars: I hadn’t realized that Bertrand Russell, the mathematician, philosopher, and general trouble-maker, had written a children’s book:

In these political times, so polarized with heated rhetoric, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across a copy of Bertrand Russell’s The Good Citizen’s Alphabet. A important philosopher, Russell had the wisdom to realize that certain words require proper definition to be used correctly in political and social discourse; words such as, “asinine,” “erroneous,” even “nincompoop.” Of course, there are also words that inspire: “liberty,” “sacrifice,” even “zeal.” Russell aspired to educational enlightenment, believing “the ABC, that gateway to all wisdom, is not made sufficiently attractive to immature minds.” In his research with this teaching tool, respondents found his explication of the alphabet both “wise” and “foolish,” “right-minded” and “subversive.”

Well, it’s not really a children’s book. Like the Pat Bagley books, it uses the form of a children’s book to comment on grown-up concerns. “Asinine” is defined as “What you think,” and “Bolshevik” as “Anyone whose opinions I disagree with.” “Liberty” is “The right to obey the police” — I see that Bush, Cheney and Gonzales aren’t breaking new ground after all.

You can see the entire book by viewing the slideshow.

Clueless George Goes to War, by Utah political cartoonist Pat Bagley, is a parody of the Curious George children’s books.

It’s the first of three such books. The others are Clueless George is Watching You and Clueless George Takes on Liberals. They’re short — each one less than 30 pages — but they’re funny, and they land some sharp jabs at this disastrous administration.

As The Man tucks him into bed at the end of Clueless George Goes to War, George worries about some of his critics.

“They were obviously America-hating, evildoer-loving liberals,” The Man patiently explained.

“So that’s why you sent them all to Geronimo Bay…” mused George. “Shouldn’t we have given them trials?”

“The answer to that is very nuanced,” said The Man.

This administration tries to “nuance” our rights out of existence. The proper response to that isn’t nuanced at all.

You can find sample pages from all three books, other books and pins here.