Bush's Racial Politics

Bush is now attempting to win approval for his Social Security reform package by arguing that African-Americans would benefit by it because they have a shorter life span then whites. A group of Bush-brained scholars point out that whites on average live six years longer than blacks, therefore blacks die before collecting their fair share.

Even if this is true, what makes The Peach's fuzzy skin get all wrinkly is that Dumbya doesn't address the real issue, which is the cause of the discrepancy in lifespan. The reality is that blacks die younger on average because they are far more likely to be living in poverty with substandard healthcare. The predictable results: Not only do black citizens have higher rates of death from treatable illnesses like heart disease and diabetes. They also are more likely to lose their lives to violence, house fires and pedestrian traffic accidents, among other causes common to impoverished neighborhoods.

But rather than addressing those real-world problems, Bush would rather keep African-Americans right where they are and use their everyday struggles to sell his Social Security plan. There is something chillingly heartless and cynical about it all. We hope the SCLM takes notice.

Baron's Brain: The New Iraqi Security Forces

Well, The Brain could not resist this one. On The Washington Post's web page of top stories ran the following headline:

Blast at Iraqi Recruiting Center Kills 21 as Insurgency Mounts

What caught The Brain wasn't the tragedy of the event, but rather that the above photo initially accompanied the piece. The Brain isn't sure what to make of all of this. Is the photo that of insurgents getting ready for yet another brazen attack? Or are these fashion challenged men the products of Iraqi army recruiting and training? In any case, will someone please get in touch with "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy" and get these dudes some proper duds.

Rice Full Of Beans

A newly released memo from former White House counter-terrorism expert Richard Clarke, dated January 25, 2001, five days after Bush took office, warned Condaleezza Rice that Al-Qaeda was an "active, major force" that needed immediate attention. The memo had been declaissified last year, but was made public just days ago. This memo comes on the heels of the release of other documents, quietly suppresed or buried by the White House, which signalled this administration's knowledge of the possiblity of hijacked planes used for suicide attacks.

This deluge of new material is further evidence that Bush and his administration lied in their testimony before the 9/11 commission and, even though the Bushies tried to discredit him, Richard Clarke was telling the truth. The Peach would like the SCLM to now do their job and press Bush for the truth about these documents and his knowing they existed.

As Gay As Harvey Fierstein

The New York Daily News is reporting that a conservative ringer who was given a press pass and lobbed such excruciatingly difficult questions as "How can you work with Democrats when they seem divorced from reality?" at Bush, was in fact the owner of several gay websites and connected to gay prostitution. The picture to the left shows Bush giving Jeff Gannon, aka Jim Guckert, what The Peach can only assume to be a friendly handshake after a press conference. Or is Jeff/Jim proposing an alternative to gay marriage?

More For Them, Less For Us

The same week Bush announced huge cuts in domestic spending, earmarked mainly for those in dire need of the funds, the White House is doling out $100 million to Poland for their support in the Iraq war. Dubbed by Bush "the solidarity initiative," the amount accounts for one-fourth of the total package Bush is requesting for all nations who were either duped into getting involved, simply bribed, or both.

It isn't enough that Bush is shelling out money that so many struggling Americans could use. What The Peach sees as yet another typically stupid move by this administration is their co-opting of a name ("solidarity") which reflected the Poles' battle to unionize and organize their workers against their communist government. This name came to symbolize the workers' struggle against the ownership class, a struggle which, in today's America, Bush totally opposes. Now, like an idiot, Bush is using that name simply because, well, it's Polish.

Kay to Bush: Shut Your Pie-Hole

David Kay, the inspector who declared the White House's search for WMD's a disastrous failure, is now recommeding that Bush shut his yap about Iran. In an opinion piece in The Washington Post, Kay gives doubts as to the U.S. government's ability to honestly assess Iran's nuclear status. He goes on to say that, as in Iraq, the only real, and troubling, measure to prove such speculation is military action. He finally recommends that the U.S. not rely on their own un-intelligent intelligence information, because, suprise-surprise, the information gathered is both biased and flawed.

This all sounds so eerily familiar to The Peach. Our fear is that the only voices Bush will listen to are the ones echoing inside his own head.