The Incredible Shrinking Presidency of George W. Bush
We seem to be witnessing the incredible shrinking presidency of George W. Bush. By we, I mean the entire country. I always thought his hubris and arrogance would get him in trouble but it seems to be his policies instead.
As a person, he still seems to be popular, but his poll numbers are sinking like a guy with a cement overcoat. Why? Because he keeps on pushing for or against things the public doesn’t agree with. Bush wanted to restructure Social Security. In the polls only thirty-three percent were in his corner, even after his big four month push. Then he cast the only veto to kill a bill that would expand federal funding for stem cell research. Almost everybody has a family member or knows somebody that this research could help. Over sixty percent are in favor of expanding stem cell research and cannot understand why he would rather see surplus embryos flushed down a toilet than used to help living breathing people.
Remember the Terry Schaivo fiasco? Only eighty percent thought the President and Congress were out of line for trying to interfere in that family matter. Then there’s Irag, as big a boondoggle as there ever was. As the war in Iraq drags on with no resolution in sight, it’s popularity (if one can say a war can be popular) has hit new lows, with only thirty percent now saying the war is worth the price we’re paying. For the first time ever, less than forty percent believe it is making us safer here at home. And this with a majority of the population unaware of the Downing Street Memo and other controversial matters that have come to light. Bush’s handling of the economy and the direction he’s taking the country are also drawing new lows with forty-one and thirty percent respectively.
It seems that Bush is pleasing no one, except the hyper rich and the ultra right Christian loonies, as he appeases the dark side of his base, while his other constituents scratch their collective heads and wonder when the President is going to stop his slide into irrelevancy and do or propose something they can agree with.
They say that, as the temperature descends, matter shrinks a certain percentage until it hits what is termed Absolute Zero. (which if I remember right is 457 degree below zero) Theoretically at that temperature matter ceases to exist. Do you think its possible that, if Bush’s poll numbers hit zero, his incredible shrinking Presidency will disappear?
Society’s Third Rail – Abortion
The Bottom Line The way I see it, is that one side wants to control the lives of the other side.
I decided to tackle the mother of controversial subjects – Abortion.
Do I have an opinion? Heck yes, I have an opinion, but my opinion isn’t whether abortion constitutes murder or not. I happen to think that a woman should have a right to choose, but it doesn’t matter. Why? Because I’m a man. There is no way a man can interpose themselves into the place of a woman, let alone a pregnant woman, so they (including me) should just butt out.
The abortion rights debate should only be between women. Yet, it seems that a large majority of the Right to Life supporters are men. Deplorably all the violent actions perpetrated by this group against clinics and doctors have been men. Unfortunately, these actions tend to cloud the real issue and the way I see it is both sides have rock-solid issues.
The practice of abortion preempts the birth and therefore the eventual life of the fetus. (I personally believe that life doesn’t begin at conception but I’m a man, so that doesn’t count) In any event, it is a regrettable procedure, which should not be entered into lightly without pre-procedure counseling.
There can be many factors, which enter into a woman’s decision of whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term. Things like abandonment, a woman’s health, her mental suitability, her financial ability, the viability of the fetus, quantity of existing children etc. To the pro life/anti abortion backers, these factors may seem trivial.
Though it seems reasonable that a woman who becomes pregnant as a result of the unconscionable act of incest or rape are entitled to an express pass for an abortion, yet here too, most right to lifer’s line up against this reasonable assumption. Are we to compound the crime that has been inflicted against these women by forcing them to have the child of the perpetrator, thus forcing her to raise and live with a living breathing memory of her attacker for her the remainder of her life? This is the equivalent of a life sentence for the victim.
Some states have passed laws that make all abortions, even the ones protecting the life of the mother, illegal. Since, I know of no state legislatures that contain a majority of women, this is another case where men are involving themselves in a woman’s issue. It is much too easy for men to moralize about this issue, when they are on the outside looking in.
On a related matter, the same faction who vehemently rejects abortion, claiming it’s an extreme form of birth control, tantamount to murder, also reject logical steps to avoid pregnancy such as various forms of the morning after pill. I find their position on this peculiar, since restricting use of these contraceptives would lead to more unwanted pregnancies and by extension, more dreaded abortions.
Even more curious, is the right to life bloc’s position on stem cell research, using extra, unused embryos that are scheduled for destruction. It is widely held within the medical community that such research will pay giant dividends, potentially leading to break through cures for everything from Parkinson’s disease to Spinal Cord rejuvenation. Yet, the sanctimonious right to lifers would rather flush these embryos down the drain than allow them to be put to work for medical research. In this case they seem to be out of touch with an overwhelming majority of Americans and even a few of their own Congressional representatives, as the President had to veto a bill recently, which allowed government funding of such research.
Perhaps the President would feel differently if his mother suddenly developed a case of Alzheimer’s disease or if one of his daughters became pregnant. Personal hardship has a way of moderating one’s views.
Silly Things 