World: What It Means To Sink To The Bottom

Yep, America! Your pretzeldunce has made a great big shitpile of you, your fortunes, and all your woes, and he's sending you to the bottom of it.

Just a day ago, AP was reporting that oil prices "have slipped." But, from what have they slipped, and to what have they slipped?

Light, sweet crude for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 29 cents to $110.04 a barrel in electronic trading by midday in Europe.

[...]

The contract surged Thursday to an all-time trading high of $111 before settling at a record close [our emphasis, Ed.] of $110.33 a barrel, up 41 cents from the previous session.

That was yesterday. Earlier this week, when Drunky McStaggers announced he was sending Snarly McCrashcart (thanks, Maru, for the endless store of suitable names!) out to fellate the Saudis yet again in the hope that they would lower prices or raise production, oil was at "a record $108 a barrel" &mdash so it's going up by, what, three to five dollars a week? That's not good.

Let us clarify that: That's not good for ordinary Americans; must be fucking fabulous for Cheney and his gang of crooks and thugs. How does it feel for those of you ordinary Americans who voted for these pigs now gorging themselves at the trough? How does it feel to know that the dollar is sinking through the floor, but Cheney and the Gang put their money in Euros ages ago, because they knew this was coming, in fact, they planned it?

As you struggle to find enough money to fill your gas tank for the drive to the job that no longer offers health benefits, or charges you double what it used to, as the threat of being laid off looms large in your future, as your children face a future of staggering debt, how does it feel to know that you elected George Dubya and his smirking friend and helped them to siphon away all your money? How does it feel to know your retirement is going to be funded by working at Mall*Wart till you're ninety? Happy about your vote now?

How does it feel to know your Pretzelnitwit is so divorced from reality as to appear insane?

Bush on the economic collapse: "What do you do about it is to allow the market to work and help people," the president said in a speech at the Economic Club of New York, criticizing those who think "anything short of massive government intervention amounts to inaction." Not a word about the massive government intervention infusing funds (hint: taxpayer dollars) into the teetering banks and financial companies, is there?

Bush on the environment and climate change: "[...] America is in the lead when it comes to energy independence; we’re in the lead when it comes to new technologies; we’re in the lead when it comes to global climate change — and we’ll stay that way."

See our prior posts on energy independence for an effective rebuttal.

Bush on health care, specifically the disastrous policy to rip seniors off by having them sign up for a plan that was supposedly going to pay for their prescriptions: "When we came to office, too many older Americans could not afford prescription drugs. Medicare didn't pay for them," he said last month. "Leaders in both political parties had promised prescription drug coverage for years. We got it done. More than 4 million seniors have signed up for drug discount cards that provide real savings."

From the Wah!Poo:

Left unsaid is that 2.9 million of them had no choice; they were enrolled automatically. And full implementation of the drug benefits will not occur until 2006.

From ConsumerAffairs.com: "Every few weeks the Administration lowers its standard for success," said Robert M. Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights Center, a not-for-profit advocacy organization.

"This should not be a political war of spin. It is about basic human need � health and survival. For this $1.3 trillion program, the Administration now reveals that less than 20 percent of people with Medicare have new drug coverage. (That is 8.1 million out of 43 million.) Others have somewhat better coverage, others are worse off," Hayes said.

"Tragically, over 80 percent of America's impoverished seniors eligible for low cost, comprehensive coverage have not been enrolled," Hayes said. Just 1.6 million of 8.2 million eligible Americans have been approved for the low-income subsidy.

Bush on the recession: "Losing a job is painful, and I know Americans are concerned about our economy. So am I," he said. "It is clear our economy has slowed, but the good news is we anticipated this and took decisive action to bolster the economy by passing a growth package that will put money into the hands of American workers and businesses." In 2007, less than a year ago:

President Bush said Wednesday the U.S. economy is thriving and he is doing what it takes to keep it strong.

The president spoke with economic advisors at the Department of Treasury and discussed how the United States' economy has flourished and played an important role globally.

"My administration follows a simple philosophy: Our economy prospers when we trust the American people with their own paychecks," Bush said.

Back in 2005, Anna Bernasek of the NYT was already warning that things did not look good.

Add up all the figures, including those for Medicare, and the aggregate debt is $40.6 trillion in present dollars, well over that prudent limit of $18 trillion.

What is the upshot of all this debt? A look at the entire picture shows clearly that additional borrowing doesn't seem prudent. And while exceeding the nation's limits doesn't guarantee a credit crisis, it certainly highlights the risk.

Caveat: Registration required.

Meanwhile, here's a look at how much other countries "love and respect" us: Ecuador's president tells Bush to "shut his mouth."

British public opinion polls showed Bush scoring worse than Kim Jong-Il two years ago. One can only assume it's gotten worse, given strict British protocol for the Royals and a certain Royal's blistering tirade recently.

We're guessing the Irish aren't too far behind.

We know he's not terribly popular anywhere in the rest of the world, but for a laugh we offer you the comments over at this story.

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