Month: April 2013

George W. Bush: Still Bizarre After All These Years

Trish
Note the signature.

It’s good to know, thanks to an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, that George W. Bush hasn’t changed a bit since leaving office.

In fact, he might have fallen even further behind in his ongoing struggle with verbal skills.

For example, in explaining his new pastime, which is oil painting:

You know what the interesting lesson is though, that you can keep learning in life. I mean, some guy one time said to me, “Man, you deserve to rest.” And I don’t wanna rest. I wanna live life to the — I wanna follow the example of President 41 and, you know, sprint into the grave.

As most of us (but maybe not his son) know, President 41, aka George H.W. Bush, has not yet set the example of sprinting into the grave because despite being hospitalized earlier this year, he is still kicking. But we’re sure that when he does go, it will be in track shoes and running shorts.
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Rand Paul Says Something Sensible for a Change

Buck Banks

I think we can still preserve the Bill of Rights. I see no reason why our Constitution is not strong enough to convict this young man, with a jury trial, with the Bill of Rights. We do it to horrible people all the time. Rapists and murderers, they get lawyers, they get trials with juries ,and we seem to do a pretty good job of justice, so I think we can do it through our court system.

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by the Huffington Post, arguing that Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should not be treated as an enemy combatant.

Reactions Mixed to Senate Gun Vote

Buck Banks

47%

Of Americans express negative feelings about the Senate vote that halted gun control legislation last week, while 39% have a positive reaction to the Senate’s rejection of gun control legislation that included background checks on gun purchases, according to Pew. Overall, 15% say they are angry the legislation was voted down and 32% say they are disappointed, while 20% say are very happy the legislation was blocked and 19% say they are relieved.

Vast Majority of Americans See Republicans as Out of Touch

Buck Banks

23%

Of Americans believe the Republican Party is “in touch with the concerns of most people in the United States today,” while 70% believe that it is “out of touch,” according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Among independents, those numbers are 23% to 70%. Among moderates they’re 20% to 75%. By contrast, Americans say by 51% to 46% that Obama is in touch. Among moderates that’s 56% to 42% (he fares worse among independents, 44% to 53%, though far better than Republicans).

Maybe There Is a Democratic Backlash Against Dems Who Voted Against Gun Control

Buck Banks

So I’ll have some advice for my friends in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles: Just say no to the Democrats who said no on background checks.

— Former Obama White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley (D), writing in the Washington Post, about how Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) “betrayed me on gun control.”