Fancy A New Job?

After all the fun I had with the BNP some time back, I couldn't resist this one.

The following job vacancy was recently advertised in The Guardian. Yes, the Guardian.

Daily Mail

•Britain’s most successful newspaper group is offering would-be reporters and writers an exciting and challenging yearlong training course, plus the chance to work at the Daily Mail and Mail Online

•We are looking for bright, sharp, intelligent writers who believe they can be fast-tracked to the very top

•You’ll be on the best journalism course in the business – and be paid a competitive salary while you train

•Successful applicants will probably have completed post-graduate journalism training or had experience working in newspapers

Apply by February 21, with your CV, 200 words on why you think you could be a Mail journalist, a 200-word news story and a selection of up to six cuttings and send to Sue Ryan, Trainee Reporters’ Scheme, Daily Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry St, London W8 5TT.
Please send queries to sue.ryan@dailymail.co.uk

This has been covered brilliantly and hilariously by both Enemies Of Reason and Angry Mob, both of which are well worth a read. No doubt many others have also been inspired to join in. Although I'm sure that most, or even all, of them are better writers than I could ever hope to be, I shall still submit an application. Not least because being a good writer appears to be a major obstacle to getting a job with the Daily Fail. Yes, I think I've got a good chance with this one.

So here's my application letter which I have sent to Sue Ryan.

Dear Sue

While trawling through the sordid socialist rag that shall not be named, a beacon of truth and virtue shone out at me from the Job Vacancy pages that I could not resist. I have long dreamed of being a writer - not one of those poncy lefty fools like Slavoj Žižek or Noam Chomsky, but a proper writer like Richard Littlejohn or Jan Moir. Now I see that the very thing I had been looking for is available to me via the good offices of the Mail group.

Although I have no training or experience in journalism, I do know how to copy and paste, and I feel that this alone qualifies me to move swiftly into the middle ranks of Daily Mail reporters. I am perfectly capable of writing vindictive polemics based on nothing more than an overheard conversation on the bus, or even a hacked voicemail, and I have no qualms whatsoever about stitching people up in order to advance my career.

Above all I feel I am qualified to write for the Daily Mail because I hate living in England, and have always dreamed of buggering off to sunnier climes, where I can observe the deterioration of a once-great nation from afar. This distance, as Littlejohn has proved, can be invaluable in giving me an objective viewpoint that is based entirely on prejudice and lack of research, rather than any pesky ideas like actually living here or talking to real people.

Please please please PLEASE give me the job.

Yours hurrahing for the Blackshirts,

Doug

I will let you know if I get a reply, but in the meantime please do make an application yourself. And if you do, I'd love you to share it with me on the comments below, either in full or by posting a link to your own blog. This is too good a chance to miss. Just think - the next paranoid scare story about Eastern European wheelie bin inspectors could be under YOUR byline.

A Voice In The Crowd

Like most of the world, I have watched the Egyptian uprising unfold since 25 January. There is something beautiful yet terrifying about watching millions of people stand up and say - "ENOUGH". Beautiful in its power and potential, but terrifying in the prospect of how it could all so easily go wrong, as it did recently in Burma and Iran.

Now the Egypt story has a more personal dimension. My wife has managed, after days of trying, to get in touch with a friend who lives in Cairo. Initially the messages weren't clear, but it appears that he was shot in the demonstrations on (we think) January 26th, and was wounded in the head. He spent several days in hospital, but as soon as he was discharged he went straight back to Tahrir Square.

Since then, they have been communicating by Facebook and phone, and whatever method works best with the situation as it is on the ground in Egypt. And the messages we get back are truly inspiring.

I have amended names and redacted contact details, but otherwise the following messages are unedited.

February 2nd

Ok my dearest friend. Get me posted with ur news. And I will pray for u. ALLAH is JUST. ALLAH is merciful.

Ok my friend. Take ur time. I'm sorry I can't open the link. I'm getting access from my cell phone. Takecare my good friend. And plz try to eat. Salam

February 3rd

im @ home now..... @ last i can send u now freeely from my desktop.

first of all i have to say that GOOD people appear in their support to others during obstacles. and u r 1 of those good people, ALLAH gave u that beautiful heart that beats with great sensation towards humanity. ALLAH loves that heart as well i swear to Him.

i've been thru torture my friend, i was 1 of those protesters from the very beginning, from the 25th, i was there.... we've been attacked by Police, injured most of us and even killed few of us. days after a complete withdrawal of police from the Egyptian streets took place.... they made way for the terror and gangs, the latter attacked our homes and families, they were about to enter my flat where i live with my parents but i stopped it. they stole many stores attacked many people down the road and did alot of corruption to Egypt. and finally we've been attacked by those supporters to Mubarak, but actually they r not, they r like those gangs who were attacking people in the streets but now they r attacking the protesters.. they were paid for that i bet.....

thats what happened very briefly, i couldn't explain it more coz mmy English is not supporting me as usual..... i am ok now my friend, i get better than before.

here is my cell phone
+20XXXXXXXX
n my address
XXXXXXXXXXX

so when r u 2 coming to visit me then? :P u have no more excuses, u now have the address...LOL

salam my friend : ) don stop smiling plz, i missed ur face although i never saw it.

Believe it or not! Few days ago Gangs and prisoners were let out from their jails to attack the cities. People of Mubarak and the police left the gangs to do what they want . They even planned for it. They let them attack our streets and houses. But we stood against it right. And now the youth are the protectors not the police. Every area, the youth and good sons stand with huge sticks and kitchen knives in the streets waiting for those bastards. Just to protect our moms and dads. And yesterday, they sent those people on horses and camels AGAIN to attack the protesters. IF WE ARE ALL KILLED FOR ALLAH's sake TO FREE OUR SELVES FROM THIS DICTATORISM, WE DON'T CARE, AS LONG AS WE BELIEVE IN HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN VALUE. May ALLAH make those souls of the people who were killed among us rest in peace. May ALLAH support us more to end this unfair battle. MAY ALLAH bless u people of the west who know what A HUMAN is to be free. May ALLAH bless us all and lead us to the right guidance and the right track. Amin.

February 5th

i can't describe how happy u made me by that call.... ur support to me is always making me better......

my head injury is not so deep, just a superficial trauma caused by a direct hit on my head. It was there of course, in my heart, in Tahrir square. Those supporters to Mubarak were armed with huge sticks, swords and bombs. They wanted to threaten us by their attacks to us but it didn't work..... we stood against them although 4 died of us. That was an unfair battle. we didn't have even a small swiss knife to save us.... but we did it...

yesterday, i was at work..... i missed going o Tahrir square alot, as if i got addicted to stand for hours there... i missed the energy that we all share while we r there... i was on duty and i swear to God i cried when i saw them on TV standing peacefully, i wanted to take a permission and leave but coz i work at a hospital, but culdn't leave....... tat was tearing me appppppppppaaart.

Yes sure, let anybody add me on facebook and on twitter ( although im new on twitter and still do not know alot of things about it but it is ok with me). Ur friends are most welcomed coz they come from ur side and u r very special to me so they r special too,


thanks millions

i will get some sleep now, and i will send u at night again : ) ALLAH bless u and ur family and those people having good heart like urs.

ALLAH is Just.

February 6th

Hello from the middle of cairo, from Tahrir square. Yes. I'm back. Slept for some time, checked my family and came here all thru the obstacles of the ''avoid walking thru'' rules. They set that rule from 4pm till 8am next day. I'm here not with my friends this time but with my self. I don't feel strange, those faces were here and always stay here until we hear his resination news. ALLAH is Just. I've seenpeople in UK march today in the news. Infront of the American embassy :-) I said to my self ''those are the people of justice who do get our point from the first day''. Stones kept thrown against us from the buildings around the square on that night. 100's of people got injured deeply, to the extent that I consider my wound is nothing in comparison to theirs. ALLAH is Fair. Happy to know that u the English, the people of humanity see the image clearly and not biased and getting the hidden details easily, this is even much more promising to us, mmotivating as u said. Yes, the other side of the earth has a clear vision also :-) love u all for ALLAH's sake.

If I have the money, i'd have travelled to u as soon as we finish it here. U r a friend that really deserves travelling to. I'm praying ALLAH to make me rich first to take better care of my parentrs, help Egypt's economy in recovery and travel to my faithful friends like u. ALLAH is so fair and he is looking to those who ask him in prayers if they are honest. Imagine ALLAH turns his face to u while u r asking him. He never turn away from those who aask him, if they have faith and enough honesty. His reply to ur asking doesn't have to be immediate, the reply might take years and years. Just don't forget when it comes true that someday u asked for that, and don't forget to thank Him when u achieved what u asked. May ALLAH grant us honesty, faithfullness and patience.

February 7th

I followed the reporter. And I will get u updated my friend. My pleasure to hear that the people of the United kingdom are so attached to our issue. This is so noble, but i'm not astonished because I know that the English are very understanding to such critical topics before they judge.
Send him please my best regards and great appreciation from the people of the square.

I am now back home to see my family needs and tomorrow i'll be off from work so i'll go early to the square after I do some shopping. I'll buy alot of food for us there because it takes us everytime to leave the square inorder to get something to eat. So i'll pack my bag with food and water.

I'll get u posted with any updates. Takecare my NOBLE friend. SALAM.

Forgot to tell u that on Tuesday we will be making some maintenance to the square. It looks ugly now lol takecare

Hello my friend from the middle of Cairo, from the square. It took me alot to read all ur forwards. Sorry for not answering ur call, my cellphone is almost out of charge. I'll be leaving the square in half an hour. I've to look after my parents as well. I'll come back again tomorrow for another day in Tahrir.

Curfew has been narrowed to (8pm-6am). But it is safe to leave after 8pm as long as u have ur personal ID. It isn't that dangerous as u think, even if it is, no 1can stop ur now.

I don't have money these days. I didn't run to the bank today to withdraw as much as I can like many people did. I couldn't even reach an ATM. Most probably they've been raped violently by people's lust for cash today. Every 1 took his place from early in the morning in those ques regardless of what will happen MORE to our economy. They just wanted to drink it all now and not even tomorrow. I've to admit, this is selfishness. If I say that I am LOYAL TO MY COUNTRY THEN I'VE TO ACT IN AWAY THAT SUPPORTS ITS ECONOMY, NOT TO RUIN IT MORE. Sorry my friend for being nervous about that. I'm sorry.

Yes. Suliman is talking to OTHER opposition groups. Those who are standing in the square now are the ROOTS. Actually, Sulieman is discusing the issues concerning the leaves and guess what, of ANOTHER TREE.

Thanks to XXXX for his great concern, tell him not to worry. Even if we got arrested we won't stop.

Our country is writing a brand new chapter in her own history so as to tell those who are looking forward to being in charge, BE AWARE OF THE ROARS OF MY PEOPLE, THEY CAN DO ANYTHING FOR ME. Mubarak's tale ain't over yet, but its gonna make alot think twice before they judge on us.


To all GOOD PEOPLE of our earth. To all those very few clean hands knocking to help. THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING OUR CASE THE RIGHT WAY. You give us hope I swear.

Sorry for being extra dramatic.
Salam

I wish them all the best of luck.



Photographs: Khaled Elfiqi/EPA & John Moore/Getty Images

Reactions To Tucson

I do have a lot to say about last week's shootings in Tucson, but rather than do so, I would just ask that you compare...



And contrast...



I think you get the picture

A Review Of The Year - 2010

The human perception of time is a strange phenomenon. Looking back over the past year, it seems like aeons ago when we celebrated the turn of the new year, and looked forward to 2010 being somewhat better than the total rubbish that was 2009. So much has changed since then. Not least the abolition of optimism.

January

It seems incredible now, but back in January the nation was covered in snow, airports were closed, and even the replacement bus service between Ilford and Braintree was struggling to negotiate mini roundabouts. And look at us now. How far we have come. Er, covered in snow, flightless and trainless, and blaming the Government for not stocking up on their grit supplies. 'Twas ever thus.

February

The General Election campaign began in earnest, and to be quite frank, bored most of us to tears and/or bigotry. We all knew Gordon Brown was about as popular as a fart in the confessional booth, but we also knew that David Cameron only had to turn up in order to win. Provided they didn't do anything mindnumbingly stupid, like (say) order a massively expensive run of posters that were too easily satirised, an overwhelming Tory majority was pretty much nailed on.

Conservatives and right-wingers often like to tell us that Government is useless, while they rapidly dismantle the state's ability to support its most vulnerable citizens. And this lot were so keen to prove that point, they couldn't even wait to be elected to show just how useless they were. The lies and personal abuse reached levels that only residents of Alaska wouldn't be shocked at, and the Tories' number 2 man George Osborne seemed to go missing down a Chilean mine for several months, in the hope that people might not realise he would imminently be running one of the world's largest economies. Off the edge of a cliff.

March

The world turned. Stuff happened. Nick Clegg was still, back then, an anonymous posh man that most people had never heard of. Greece still had an economy, and English fans generally still believed we had a chance of winning the World Cup.

Me, I blogged matters canine in a vain and fruitless attempt to gain more hits. I have no shame. Or talent, to be fair.

April

Three explosive events captured the world's attention over the space of just one week. On April 14, newsreaders across the nation cursed their luck and came into work an hour early to practise pronouncing Eyjafjallajökull. On April 20, BP executives around the world cashed in their shares as Deepwater Horizon exploded, killing eleven workers and making the Gulf of Mexico the world's second oiliest entity, after George Osborne's personality.

[I never thought I'd use the the word "personality" so close to the words "George Osborne". Never let it be said that blogging doesn't introduce you to all sorts of new and unforeseen experiences.]

I said three explosive events. Of course the third, and by far the most inane (and therefore the only one of the three that I blogged), was the first in a series of three leaders' debates in the UK general election campaign. (It was three, wasn't it? I honestly can't remember now. Nor do I care.)

May

And finally, with a sigh and a whimper, it was over. Gordon Brown returned to Fife, and the evolution of Nick Clegg's short political career from zero to hero to villain began in earnest. It all began so well. It's difficult to believe, now, but back then the phrase "I agree with Nick" was so popular that some people actually discovered who Nick Clegg was. Then the election happened; the Tories snatched a best-loser position from the jaws of an easy victory; and one sunny day two well-scrubbed former public schoolboys joshed happily in the garden of 10 Downing Street. The electorate outside looked from Liberal to Tory, and from Tory to Liberal, and from Liberal to Tory again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.

June

The world watched in awe, amazement and ennui as a collection of highly paid men in brightly coloured shirts kicked a leather ball to the soundtrack of a swarm of angry bees. Yes, it was time once again for the quadrennial ritual of British tabloids printing bizarre xenophobic chest-beating articles about how "our boys" would thrash the mighty Hun, followed shortly by "our boys" being righteously thrashed and humiliated by, er, the mighty Hun.

In retrospect, I believe this is also the only month of 2010 which didn't involve the wrong kind of snow falling on the Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street line. Although I may be wrong.

July

Was there a July this year? Are you sure? Can't say as I noticed. It just goes to show - if you didn't blog it, it didn't happen.

Oh yes, one thing did happen of some note. Wikileaks - you may have heard of them - published the Afghan War Logs, simultaneously scoring a major coup for free speech and openness, and also proving what we already knew: that we are losing the war. Somewhere just across the border in Pakistan, an old man with dodgy kidneys pissed himself laughing.

August

Actually, I'm beginning to wonder whether I was in a coma this summer. Apart from a short holiday, I can't remember a single thing about August. Not a thing.

I'd like to think that, while I wasn't watching, the new coalition Government finally decided to properly regulate the banks, that Simon Cowell was imprisoned for crimes against humanity, and that a keyboard-playing cat was elected Prime Minister of Italy. At least one of these events will probably happen in 2011. Yes, it's the cat one. But you knew that didn't you.

What actually appears to have happened - according to a short and decidedly lazy bit of research on my part - is the World Bog Snorkelling Championships in Lungwort Wells. Now I'm beginning to wish I had paid more attention.

September

The year, rather like this blog post, limped wearily into its latter stages. The actor Tony Curtis died, triggering the first of two occasions this year when Twitter was dominated by the #IAmSpartacus hashtag. Showing FIFA how it's done, Britain staged the Bognor Birdman Competition and the World Gurning Championships in short order, and without a vuvuzela in sight.

Elsewhere, 33 Chileans went to hitherto unseen lengths to avoid having to watch the X Factor.

October

The Chilean miners re-emerged in designer sunglasses to cheers from around the world. Incredibly, there was some good news on the telly for once. Right in between reports about natural disasters in countries that Americans can't find on a map, and reports about the disappearance of the British welfare state. And manufacturing economy. And money.

In other news, I turned 42. Much gin was consumed. Canny hedge fund managers could have made a small fortune on the temporary shortage of Bombay Sapphire.

November

Are you still there? Good. Not long now.

What a cracking month November was. Aung San Suu Kyi was finally released from house arrest in time to watch England's surprisingly competent start to the Ashes series. Apparently she had some other business to attend to, but I can't remember now what that was. Something to do with dictatorship and genocide. Details.

Researchers at CERN trapped antimatter for the first time in human history, unless you count the accidental meeting of the Lib Dems' manifesto with the harsh glare of reality. In homage to the Prime Minister and his old Bullingdon chums, thousands of students converged on London to trash the gaff. Amazingly, this time no newspaper vendors were killed.

December

Don't ask me. Look out the bleedin' window.

Too Many Blacks

Last week the inevitable happened - England failed in their bid to host the World Cup in 2018. Far more interesting than the story of the bid, though, is the story of the post-bid recriminations.

Since the Panorama broadcast which highlighted FIFA corruption, just before FIFA's decision was announced, it is hardly surprising that most of the blame has been directed at FIFA as their apparent corruption has been exposed - although, more shamefully, some have blamed the BBC for daring to broadcast their allegations at such an inconvenient time. How dare they? Without going into this well-trodden debate too deeply, suffice to say that I would far prefer a free press to a World Cup.

For me, though, there was one angle on the bid failure that almost all news outlets failed to pick up on. All but one - the Daily Mail.

In a quite extraordinary article entitled "Was this the video that cost us? The very un-English presentation screened to FIFA delegates", the blackshirts' favourite daily (through the medium of the hopefully-made-up "Paul Harris") decided that the bid failure was entirely down to - you guessed it - Political Correctness Gawn Mad.



In an article peppered with sarcasm, and liberally sprinkled with screengrabs from the England 2018 bid video (one hilariously subtitled "A clip from the part of the video depicting a Muslim country" - gasp! Muslims! RUN!!), the Daily Fail employs the usual code, not quite racist enough to prompt a complaint but plenty racist enough to make most sane people feel ill.

This, remember, is the same paper that arguably started the process of the bid failure by exposing Lord Triesman's affair (and his off-the-record allegations of bid corruption) some six months ago - including this classic pair of 'articles' praising Lord Triesman's mistress and pointing out TWICE that it is not hard to see why he might find her "ivory skin" alluring. God forbid that a man might fancy a girl with some colour.

They didn't even bother trying to rewrite the sentence:

The woman who cost Football Association chief Lord Triesman his job is revealed as a flame-haired 37-year-old with an impressive academic background.

As the Labour peer reflects on his speedy exit it is not hard to see why a man of 66 might find Melissa Jacobs with her slim physique and ivory skin alluring.

And....

It's not hard to see why a man of 66 might find Melissa Jacobs attractive.

With flowing flame red hair, a slim physique and ivory skin, she looks younger than her 37 years and has, it seems, an impressive academic background to boot.

Note to journalism students - clearly if your work to date comprises lazy stereotypes, and liberal use of copy/paste, there's a career out there for you somewhere.

So. Anyway. Back to the bid, and why it failed. It's not so much the article itself that is staggering - although it is, particularly with quotes like:

Selfless, that's us. Doing it for the greater good of the world. You could see it in the faces the film featured from locations all around the planet.

They've got the wrong kind of faces, you see. That's the problem. We failed because we used "ethnically diverse figures" (ie black people), or "African and Asian spectators" (ie black people), featuring fans including a "Caribbean family" (ie black people). To be fair they also point out that "close-ups of the players further underline the multinational diversity of our favourite Premiership icons" (yes, it seems even the team itself has been infiltrated by... black people). Terrifying, isn't it.

Well... no. No, it isn't. Not as terrifying as some of the comments, anyway. Here is a selection.

Britain has "multiculturalism" and is frightened to death of "offending" anyone.

- But at least we're not frightened of "superfluous punctuation".

Silly me thinking England was predominantly a white, christian country. Shows How wrong I was then.

- Or, perhaps, it just shows how racist and intolerant you are. Silly you indeed.

How disgusting that whoever organied this shambles of a bid chose not to portray England as English.

- Did we portray England as Fijian? I missed that bit.

Of course the good thing about losing the bid is that we wont have thousands of "spectators" claiming asylum.

- The bad thing is, you already live here.

The way we are going England is going to look like that before too long anyway.

- Yes, that's right. Because THEY breed, don't they.

Until the english start having some pride in Englishness instead of constantly living their lives through the cultures of other ethnic and national groups, they are simply not going to get themselfs out of the social malaise they're trapped in.

- This from a reader in, er, New Zealand.

Dear oh dear. We seem determined to PC ourselves out of existence.

- I think this one was looking for an IT helpline.

Maybe if England had done more to promote the Englishness of football and a little less multicultural ribbish theyd hVe had a better chance. Sucking up being all PC obviously failed miserably

- And this from a reader who loves England so much he lives in, um, Canada. Where apparently they say 'ribbish' a lot.

Once again, an example of how we are too scared to celebrate our national identity for fear that the PC brigade will come along and moan that there are not enough different cultures and minorities represented.

- Now I'm getting images of the PC Brigade, sort of like the Light Brigade, but with black people instead of horses.

This is the problem with multi culturalism...everyone loses their identity amidst the racial and cultural mash.....

- Bloody hell, even the potatoes are multicultural.

toe curlingly embarrassing, the insincere simpering and whimpering, the extraordinary, and weird obsession that this country has developed for multiculture

- Yes, it's us that's obsessed with multiculture isn't it. Yes.

Our heritage has been sold down the river, what remains is a hotchpotch that few people feel any connection with. England I am afraid is dead and soon even its history will be rewritten!

- Branching out from a World Cup bid to a complete rewrite of the school history curriculum. Because of these fools, we lost at Agincourt and Waterloo.

In this film Britain looks like a foreign country, which increasiingly it seems to be

- Based on last week, that foreign country is Greenland. Brrr.

It makes me feel sick to the stomach when we have this 'multicultural' rubbish rubbed in our faces. We should stick to traditional values and celebrate our heritage.

- Yeah! We want traditional values! Like xenophobia! And bigotry! Yay!

Final proof our identity, heritage and history have been whittled away!!

- You read it here first, people - England is now just a sharpened stick.

I want to see a video of GB, not Africa!! It's about football!! Not multiculturalism!!

- No!! It's about exclamation marks!! Lots!! Of!! Them!!

We are hardly the country we used to be. We have been watered down to much by uncontrolled immigration and folks wanting asylum.

- Ah yes, the purity of our gene pool, watered down by... oh I can't be bothered.

Typical. Hijacked by the PC loony left multiculturalists.

- Loony left? Who, exactly? David Cameron?

This country is dying because of its own generosity. Anyone can come here, be what they like, pray how they like, behave how they like.....no worries, the natives will pay, the natives will tolerate. It doesn't surprise me that our promotional video was full of foreigners; even if it had only been filmed in England it would still have been full of foreigners. Did I say this country was dying? yes, we had an Empire but it was largely taking good things to the world.

- I don't know where to start with how wrong this statement is. I just hope this person doesn't live near me.

well i am pleased, it will keep some of the scum of the world trying to get here more easier on the back of being a football supporter.

- Er, I'm pretty sure we've got plenty of our own scum right here...

And my personal favourite:

Well done Daily Mail for having the courage to speak up and say the things the silent majority are thinking!. It's about time we took pride in OUR culture for once.

If only Diana were here to see what this nation has become. What would she say?

Now, ask yourself. Honestly. Do you want to host a World Cup, and find people like this welcoming fans and players from around the world (ie black people)? Neither do I.

Disappointed kids wondering what Diana would say

More Tea, Vicar?

I have been inundated with requests to resume this blog.

Oh, alright then, I got two requests.

From my father and my sister, if you must know.

But hey, who am I to decline. So here goes.

There has been much focus recently on the 'success' of the billionaire-funded ultra-reactionary Tea Party movement in the US mid-term elections, followed by today's release of George W Bush's memoirs, in which he claims (inter alia) that torture helps prevent terrorism. I'll leave the staggering wrongness of that assertion aside - for now, at least - and just copy below a series of comments written by Doug Offenhartz, which I saw on the Twitter feed of Ayelet Waldman.

Hey, tea bagging pricks! NOW you're mad?

You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.

You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy and push us to invade Iraq.

You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.

You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.

You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.

You didn't get mad when we spent over $800 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.

You didn't get mad when Bush borrowed more money from foreign sources than the previous 42 Presidents combined.

You didn't get mad when over $10 billion in cash just disappeared in Iraq.

You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.

You didn't get mad when Bush embraced trade and outsourcing policies that shipped 6 million American jobs out of the country.

You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.

You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Osama Bin Laden.

You didn't get mad when Bush rang up $10 trillion in combined budget and current account deficits.

You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed Hospital.

You didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.

You didn't get mad when we gave people who had more money than they could spend, the filthy rich, over a trillion dollars in tax breaks.

You didn't get mad with the worst 8 years of job creation in several decades.

You didn't get mad when over 200,000 US Citizens lost their lives because they had no health insurance.

You didn't get mad when lack of oversight and regulations from the Bush Administration caused US Citizens to lose 12 trillion dollars in investments, retirement, and home values.

You got mad when a black man was elected President and decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick.

Beautifully put, Doug. It just makes you wonder how people's memories can be so short, that Obama is now taking the blame for all the ills that the US is currently suffering. Given Bush's total lack of remorse for the damage he did, the above comes as a useful reminder of just how far we have come in the past two years. Now it's up to the American people to make sure we never go back.

A Short Announcement

This blog has been suspended/discontinued due to lack of interest/talent.