Thanks, Mr. President, but no thanks
7/22/2004
By ROD WATSON

Dear President Bush:
Thank you so much for your kind invitation.

The "Star-Spangled Banner" played in my head as I opened the envelope and saw the membership card - in red, white and blue, of course - with my name on it.

I was especially appreciative of your accompanying letter thanking me for all I do "as a long-time friend and supporter."

Of course, I was bemused at first, given some of the things I've written about you. It seemed as though the intelligence - if we can use that word - operatives who told you Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction were now running your political campaign.

But upon deeper reflection, I realized that inviting me to be part of the Republican National Committee Victory 2004 effort shows that we're in a new era in which the old political labels and divisions no longer apply.

By inviting me into the fold, you've taken the concept of the "big tent" to a whole new level. I heartily applaud your effort to reach out to me - even as you snubbed those radicals over at the NAACP who can't seem to let go of that whole "equality" thing.

Nevertheless, I do have some concerns.

Since people judge you by those you associate with, I have to admit I have qualms about being linked to your vice president, who uses the "F" word in public and practically brags about it.

My mother told me to stay away from street-gang members because they talk like that. I'm not sure what she would say if she found out I was hanging out with Dick Cheney. After all, values count.

Speaking of values, I'm still trying to reconcile that word with what you call "our compassionate conservative agenda." (That "our" is pretty presumptuous, don't you think?)

You warn me away from liberal groups that espouse a government that "makes your choices for you," as opposed to the GOP, which "puts the individual in charge."

But I'm confused. Would that be the choice about whether to have a child? The choice about whether to end terminal suffering? Or the choice about whether to import cheaper medicines from Canada?

Of course, honesty also is a value - one that has taken a severe beating since 9/11 became an excuse for a war to rid Iraq of supposed weapons of mass destruction. Or was it to rid Iraq of a mean person? Or was it to create Middle East stability and then sing "What a Wonderful World"?

This ability to manipulate words is pretty impressive for a guy whose speech is constantly ridiculed. But you'll be pleased to know that I no longer have a problem with your English; it's your math that scares me now.

There's that little matter of the $236 billion budget surplus you converted into a deficit approaching $500 billion. There's the Dow that's down nearly 5 percent since you took office - which means I can't afford the "special contribution" you ask for. And there's the Economic Policy Institute study showing the 2003 tax cuts you touted have created 2.2 million fewer jobs than you predicted.

And, of course, there's that one number from Iraq that trumps them all: 900 U.S. dead, and counting.

Meanwhile, those of us who are supposed to benefit from the values they died for live in fear of your agents snooping through our library records, detaining Americans without charges or using "sneak and peek" warrants to spy on us.

Since it pains me to say all of this, I started not to reply. But Miss Manners says that would be rude.

So again, I thank you so much for your kind invitation and for thinking of me.

Unfortunately, I will be unable to join you this year because of a prior commitment - to values you wouldn't understand.


Very truly yours,
Rod Watson

MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) -- Law enforcement officials in the Florida Keys are mystified by a bizarre new pastime -- young people dangling themselves from meat hooks on a popular sandbar.

A U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman said on Sunday that the Monroe County sheriff's office and Coast Guard were called on July 12 to the sandbar off Whale Harbor in Islamorada where locals say wild behavior is becoming a tradition.

They found that five young people had erected a bamboo tripod and hung meat hooks from it. A young woman, her feet brushing the surface of the shallow water, dangled from the frame, hooks embedded firmly in her shoulders.

According to a Coast Guard video, she did not seem to mind the hooks.

Lt. Tom Brazil of the Coast Guard told the Key West Citizen newspaper that a young man, who also had hooks embedded in his heavily pierced and tattooed skin, assured him the group was "just enjoying the afternoon."

A Coast Guard spokeswoman in Miami said the group had clearly done this before and intended to post photos of themselves on a Web site dedicated to "body modification" -- the ritualistic piercing of the body.

"It looked like a daily routine for them," she said, adding that the hooks had been inserted in the skin in a professional manner and had drawn very little blood."

"As long as they weren't creating any kind of ruckus or riot within a crowd they really weren't breaking any laws."

The Coast Guard passed the video on to federal justice authorities but no further action will be taken.

I just saw spider-man 2 and it was pretty good. I've seen more movies in that past four weeks than I have in the past three years.

I'm not sure that this is a good thing.

There was an interesting article on cnn.com about a Gluten allergy that apparently many people have but it takes a while before it is correctly diagnosed. I'd heard about a couple of people having this allergy prior to seeing today's article, but it was quite interesting.

I went sailing on Lake Ontario tonight, like I do every Wednesday. I love Canada, its so beautiful. I got to see what rain looked like from afar for the first time ever. It was mad crazy and I loved it.

BEAST & MIKE:: Have a good time in FL :-) I hope it is really nice for you while you are down there :-D

Work has been dead all week. Its gross. I spent the first 3.5 hrs walking around doing nothing then I took my lunch, came back and stared into space.

I shouldn't complain, but with nothing to do, time goes sooooo slowwwwwww.

I think I already read the DaVinci code. Actually I know I have. I started getting into it and thought the characters sounded really familiar so I skipped to the end and I have def. already read it.

I can't remember when I read it or even actually reading the book, but I have.

crazy.

10 Reasons Why Bush Wants to Ban Moore Film

Mirror.co.uk

May 22, 2004

Ryan Parry

A NEW film is sending shockwaves through the United States in general
and
the White House in particular - and it hasn't even been released yet.

Fahrenheit 9/11, which this week got the longest standing ovation in
Cannes
Film Festival history, tells what its director Michael Moore sees as the
truth behind the war in Iraq and on terror.

It is said to be so powerful it could tip November's US presidential
election against George W Bush. As Moore says: "We were able to get film
crews embedded with American troops without them knowing it was Michael
Moore. They are totally f***ed."

Disney has refused to distribute the film in the States, saying its
content
could upset the presidential elections. Moore says that's precisely why
the
public should see it.

These are the 10 killer questions the film poses.

1, AFTER the 9/11 attacks, why was the only plane to fly out of the US
carrying 24 members of Osama bin Laden's family?

IN the wake of the attacks, the US became a no-fly zone. Moore
asks: "Why
did Bush allow a private Saudi jet to fly around the US in the days
after
September 11 to pick up members of the bin Laden family and fly them
out of
the country without a proper FBI investigation? Might it have been
possible
that at least one of the 24 bin Ladens would have known something?"

2, ARE the media covering up abuse of Iraqi prisoners and the
disillusionment of American troops?

MOORE'S film shows soldiers hooding and mistreating Iraqi detainees, and
even shows troops taking it in turns to sexually abuse a drunk elderly
man.

He says: "This occurred outside the Abu Ghraib prison walls. The media
is
there every single day. Why haven't they seen this? I don't think we've
heard American soldiers in the field talk as they do in this film about
their disillusionment and their despair; about their questioning of
what was
going on."

3, IS Bush deliberately creating a culture of fear to get poor American
youth to fight his war?

MOORE accuses the Bush administration of deliberately creating a
climate of
fear, particularly by the instigation of the Department of Homeland
Security, to increase numbers signing up for the armed forces. He calls
this
"the immoral act of sending kids to war on the basis of a lie".

4, HOW deep does the connection between the Bush family and bin Laden
family
actually run?

MOORE exposes business links between the bin Ladens and the Bushes over
the
last 25 years. Bush Snr became a highly paid consultant for the Carlyle
Group, one of the nation's largest defence contractors. One of the
investors
in Carlyle - to the tune of at least $2million (#1.2m) - was the bin
Laden
family.

The campaigner says: "The bin Laden family have extensive dealings with
large companies in the US. They have donated $2m to Bush's alma mater,
Harvard. They own property in Texas, Florida and Massachusetts. In
short,
they have their hands deep in our pants."

5, JUST how sinister was the White House's doctoring of Bush's military
record?

MOORE suggests that, far from being simply an exercise in proving that
Bush
attended to his Texas Air National Guard duties, the White House version
also sought to hide evidence that Bush and his associates had close ties
with various Saudi oil companies. He also suggests that a former
military
pal of Bush's, James R Bath, once sold a plane to the bin Laden family.

6, DID Bush miss an opportunity to nail bin Laden during secret talks
with
the Taliban?

MOORE claims that while Bush was governor of Texas he built a
relationship
with the Taliban rulers of A
fg
hanistan. They met in Texas to discuss a
project to build a natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through
Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and into Pakistan.

Representatives of the Bush administration met the Taliban in the
summer of
2001. Moore says they ignored the bin Laden issue and were pre-occupied
with
oil. He asks: "Was Bush discussing their offer to hand over bin Laden?
Was
he threatening them with force? Was he discussing a new pipeline?"

7, WHY does the Bush family have a "special relationship" with the Saudi
royal family?

"MORE than 1.5 million barrels of oil needed in the US daily from the
Saudis
could vanish on a royal whim, so we begin to see how not only Bush, but
all
of us, are dependent on the House of Saud," says Moore. "This can't be
good
for national security."

Moore also refers to Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to
the
US, who is nicknamed Bandar Bush because of his close links with the
president. Despite increasing evidence linking the September 11
atrocity to
Saudi militants, Bush still met Prince Bandar for dinner two days later.

8, WAS Bush spending too much time on holiday to concentrate on
terrorism?

BUSH was on holiday for 42 per cent of the eight months before
September 11,
letting his guard down, according to Moore. At a 9/11 commission
hearing,
CIA director George Tenet admitted he had known since August 2001 that
Zacarias Moussaoui, the only man charged in connection with 9/11, had
been
taking lessons on how to fly a 747. Tenet claimed he didn't tell Bush
because the president, "was on vacation".

9, DID Bush panic when he was told about the attack on the twin towers?

ON the morning of September 11, President Bush was posing for cameras
at a
children's literacy event in Florida.

Moore has previously unseen footage showing the rabbit-in-car-headlights
expression on the president's face when he is told about the second
plane
hitting the twin towers.

A stopwatch appears in the corner of the screen, as the minutes tick by
and
the president keeps reading My Pet Goat, not knowing what to do without
his
advisers to tell him.

Moore says: "Was Bush thinking he should have taken reports the CIA had
given him the month before more seriously? That he had been told al-
Qaeda
was planning attacks in the US and planes would possibly be used. Or
was he
scared witless?"

10, DID Bush manipulate the major US media companies to fix his 2000
election win?

BUSH'S cousin John Ellis, a Fox News executive, was instrumental
in "calling
it" for Bush/Cheney on election night and cowed the other networks into
joining in. This confusion helped set the scene for the debacle that
ended
in his election despite Al Gore winning the popular majority.

I just got home from seeing Michael Moore's movie. Incredible. I was a lot longer than I thought it was going to be and the theater was packed, but I had a great time.

There was so much to touch upon and I think Moore did a pretty good job handling it.

Say what you will I guess. I thought it was good.

Haha no i don't hate you. That's just how I remember seeing you for the first time. We were at spot and you and a bunch of friends came in and scooped up the open table. It was mad busy.

anyway hates such a harsh word. mmm LOL besides it was like five years ago.

:o)