By Beauty Damned

SOB, I mean U

Re: State of the Union Speech, President George W. Bush, 2004

I watched almost the entire thing before I had a psychotic episode and had to jump in the shower to cleanse myself of that man's lies. I found many points of interest. Mostly the way that he continually ping ponged between the subject of the Iraqi war and 9/11 (terrorism), once again eluding to (or actually asserting - it's hard to tell the difference) the fact that one supposedly had something to do with the other and that the war in Iraq IS the war on terrorism. This, despite the fact that it has been pointed out repeatedly in the news media and elsewhere that it is a complete lie and that our war in Iraq has nothing whatsoever to do with the terrorism suffered on 9/11, except for the fact that it is inspiring further hatred for our country amongst terrorists. (Funny how that works) It's infuriating to see him continue to press on with that lie. He also did not mention the name Osama Bin Laden ONE time. Not once. Another amazing thing was his talk about gay marriage and the statement that a few "activist judges," as he so ignorantly worded it, should not be able to make a decision regarding this so-called "sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman." Such a disrespectful remark. As if being what he calls an "activist judge" is the worst thing one could be. Of course if they are being an activist in favor of his election or his oil interests or tearing down standards for environmental cleanliness and civil rights, that's all fine and good. It's those liberal activist judges you have to watch out for.

And then on to his unbelievably out of place remarks about athletes and the widespread use of steroids, which hardly seems like an issue deserving of a time spot in the State of the Union address when there are so many other issues which were either ignored, skirted or addressed in an utterly half-assed manner which actually are of great importance. Mysteriously absent from his speech was also his unrealistic space travel program that he was so gung ho about last week. I guess Dick Cheney gave him a talking to. He did not discuss at all how we will pay for our destruction in Iraq or the No Child Left Behind Act, or healthcare reform. And then he hit us with the revelation that we should permanently cut taxes [for the rich]. How does all of this make sense in his mind or that of his advisers?

One thing that did make me throw my head back and laugh out loud though, was when he talked about the yet unfunded "No Child Left Behind Act" during which he stressed the importance of reading and math. Of course, I can't argue with that, but it reminded me of when Michael Moore said something like "there's nothing like a family tragedy to spark activism..."

On the whole I thought he presented the fluff of real issues and not at all in a truthful or genuine way. Filler for an hour forced to speak. He proposed no viable solutions, he justified nothing, he explained nothing. But really, the part of the occasion that affected me the most, the part that made my stomach turn like a cement mixer, had something to do with everyone else in the room. The parade of bile that entered before the speech began, Bush being photographed kissing that cute little girl and hearing his cronies say loudly and proudly "that's the shot of the night guys!," hearing the roar of applause every time he lied, every time he used the word "terrorism" or the phrase "the American people will not get a permission slip from other countries to defend itself!" (Conveniently omitting the fact that we waged pre-emptive war on Iraq and that it had nothing whatsoever to do with defending our country from clear and present danger). That is what scared me the most. The faces of Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, John Ashcroft...so many others... The feeling that the room was full with greed, lies, conscienceless demons flapping their hands to cheer their demon leader. I almost expected a bolt of lightning to flash and to see that beneath their crisp, elated, predominantly white exterior they had contorted faces, hallow and evil. I felt so sad to realize that THAT is our government. Right there. In that room. Those people are making the decisions that affect us all so much. Even the ones that are supposed to be on our side (they're all on the same side), even they clap for this demon with his snakey glinting eyes, his beak nose and his horribly fake grin. All those fluttering hands are the hands that sign our rights away, the hands that dismiss truth and justice in favor of acquiescence to the driving force of money and power. And then I saw the face of Edward Kennedy. His eyes turned down, his head shaking back and forth in disagreement as the president spoke, his lips and jaws set into an expression of frustration and disappointment. That made me even more sad. All in all it was another disturbing political gathering in Bush admin history.

Another thing I thought I might mention is President Bush's appearance at Martin Luther King's grave. The audacity that a person must have to make such a show when it is clear to everyone that MLK would turn over in his grave at the things that have occurred during the W presidency, that Bush does not live or rule by any of the principles that King stood for. I thought that was terrible. The dead man cannot speak out. Cannot say "Mr. Bush I disagree with your war in Iraq. I disagree with your stance on civil rights. I disagree with your opposition to affirmative action..." And here this creep stands over his grave, bestowing flowers and attempting to use touching clichés. Truly amazing and despicable.