George "Dubya' Bush and "That" Hurricane Katrina Photo...

Is this photo going to define the George W. Bush presidency? More to the point, should it?

With the Bush memoirs, Decision Points, soon to hit book stands, it is likely that there will be some serious discussion about what the Bush "The Younger" legacy is going to be. This is particularly so in light of the debacle that unfolded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that devastated the Louisiana coast and New Orleans.

The reality is that Air Force One probably is not the best place to allow yourself to be photographed in doing a flyover of an area that had just been devastated in the manner that New Orleans had.

For some reason, I am thinking that history might be kinder and gentler in hindsight, particularly as the US moves on and away from those years between 2000 ad 2008. It would seem unlikely that the Bush II presidency will ever be considered a great presidency or that Bush "The Younger" will find himself in a list of great US presidents. But, time will smooth over some of the harshest criticisms in much the same way the passage of time has done for President Truman and a few other less than awe-inspiring men who have held the post of "the most powerful man in the world".

Not that any of this really matters on a personal level to me...I am a historian, so it matters to me on a professional level :)

Medical Miracles and Some Thoughts on GWB

Here's something I thought was worth sharing.

An Israeli doctor says, "Medicine in my country is so advanced that we can take a kidney out of one man, put it in another, and have him looking for work in six weeks."

A German doctor says, "That is nothing; we can take a lung out of one person, put it in another person, and have them looking for work in four weeks."

A Russian doctor says, "In my country, medicine is so advanced that we can take half a heart out of one person, put it in another person, and have both of them looking for work in two weeks.

The doctor from Texas, not to be outdone, says, "You guys are way behind, we recently took a man with no brains out of Texas, put him in the White House for eight years, and now half of my country is looking for work!"

Uncle Sam and Oil Dependence

Something for the cynic in all of us.

The Difference Between Peace and War

The difference between war and peace is a mere tank of fuel!

Is this an accurate reflection of the Bush debacle that is the war in Iraq?

I report, You decide! (sounds a little Fox Networky, doesn't it?)

The Actual Salute

I suppose I should post the still capture from the video of the offending salute...

It probably would not have made the grade in military training or military school, but whatever makes ya happy!

(photo stolen from here)

Saluting the Bush

Yes, my erstwhile readers another pornographically tinged post! Just kidding! It seems that Australia's Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has triggered a storm in a tea cup by apparently being caught red-handed saluting the President of the United States of America, a one George W. Bush.

This has fed all those that have been waiting for an opportunity to get on the bandwagon and trot out the "Australia takes its Deputy Sheriff role in the Asia Pacific seriously"...Some questions have gotta be asked of the Rudd-ster as to why he would let himself get caught out like this. However, if most Australians thought about this a little bit it is something some of them do instinctively anyway as a simple means of acknowledgement. It could be as uninspiring as pretending to dip the old Akubra in respect and then pointing towards the intended recipient of that respect.

This is one of those Clayton's news stories; news that's not really news at all! The Libs and the Greens have gotta be pretty hard up for things to say if they are going after this. If this is the best that Brendan Nelson has got then it is time that the Libs put Peter Costello in charge and made Tony Abbott his deputy, a couple of head kickers is just what the Libs need to turn around their flagging fortunes!

Even if it was a salute so what? Conduct unbecoming of an Australian PM? Evidence of Australia's subservience to the US? -- some people need to get out a little more and smell the flowers! This needs to be filed in the WGAF column! There are bigger problems in Australia than whether the PM has an arse about face understanding of candid camera now that he is PM. Yet, when you think about it this is the same bloke caught on parliament cam picking his ears and eating his ear wax!

It reminds me of this T-Shirt about bush and associated words as reflected in the picture above (stolen from here)!