WASHINGTON - President Bush was presented with a letter Monday signed by 50 high school seniors in the Presidential Scholars program urging a halt to "violations of the human rights" of terror suspects held by the United States.
The White House said Bush had not expected the letter but took a moment to read it and talk with a young woman who handed it to him.
"The president enjoyed a visit with the students, accepted the letter and upon reading it let the student know that the United States does not torture and that we value human rights," deputy press secretary Dana Perino said.
The students had been invited to the East Room to hear the president speak about his effort to win congressional reauthorization of his education law known as No Child Left Behind.
The handwritten letter said the students "believe we have a responsibility to voice our convictions."
"We do not want America to represent torture. We urge you to do all in your power to stop violations of the human rights of detainees, to cease illegal renditions, and to apply the Geneva Convention to all detainees, including those designated enemy combatants," the letter said.
Top honor
The designation as a Presidential Scholar is one of the nation's highest honors for graduating high school students. Each year the program selects one male and one female student from each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Americans living abroad, 15 at-large students, and up to 20 students in the arts on the basis of outstanding scholarship, service, leadership and creativity.
"I know all of you worked hard to reach this day," Bush told the students in his education speech. "Your families are proud of your effort, and we welcome your family members here. Your teachers are proud of your effort, and we welcome your teachers. And our entire nation is proud to call you Presidential Scholar."
As for the President: what the fuck is happening in the Abu Ghraib photos? A photo op? I think not. And what about the recent reports showing that Cheney knew about the torturing before it was leaked? Was it all a lie? Fuck you Mr. President and I hope you someday get what is coming to you.
I know I should not have been shocked by this after seeing, hearing, and reading all of the shit this president has done, but it still somewhat did.
The president is a fundie. We all know how dishonest fundies are. These are the same fucktards who claim that "Thou Shalt Not Kill" is not contradicted in any way by "Kill all of the amalekites, down to the last woman and child".
It is, of course, politically incorrect to say that you cannot trust a fundie. But how else can you put it? These are people who demonstrate:
A) A refusal to recognize reality if it does not tell them what they want to hear.
B) A refusal to recognize logic if it does not lead to the conclusion they want.
Can anyone seriously believe these are good personality traits for a leader?
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
Bush is a lying sack of shit and I don't think he cares.
If a man shall tell a good strong lie for the Lord... you know... as Martin Luther said
Lì ci sono chiese, macerie, moschee e questure, lì frontiere, prezzi inaccessibile e freddure
Lì paludi, minacce, cecchini coi fucili, documenti, file notturne e clandestini
Qui incontri, lotte, passi sincronizzati, colori, capannelli non autorizzati,
Uccelli migratori, reti, informazioni, piazze di Tutti i like pazze di passioni...
...La tranquillità è importante ma la libertà è tutto!
Darth Wong wrote:Can anyone seriously believe these are good personality traits for a leader?
For some reason a lot of Americans value never changing your mind.
For some reason? It's easy to work out: It validates their own pigheaded stubbornness.
No, it's because they want to follow an alpha male. Stubborn people are generally not fond of other stubborn people in daily life, so the idea that stubborn people like the idea of a stubborn leader because it validates their own stubbornness seems difficult to justify.
Evolutionary psychology offers a much neater answer. In a leadership situation, people instinctively want to follow an alpha male. We're talking about primitive instincts here, so leadership is defined by demonstrating "alpha" characteristics, not by demonstrating good judgment.
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
I just hope the next president can find a way to revoke any pardons Bush the Lesser issues at the end of his presidency. That way, the current American administration can be held for it's actions.
I think Bushie is confusing real-life torture with movie torture. In his mind, if we're not busting kneecaps and hitting people until they bleed, then it's not torture.
"What's happening in Gitmo is, uh... agressive interrogations."
"The surest sign that the world was not created by an omnipotent Being who loves us is that the Earth is not an infinite plane and it does not rain meat."
"Lo, how free the madman is! He can observe beyond mere reality, and cogitates untroubled by the bounds of relevance."
Darth Wong wrote:No, it's because they want to follow an alpha male. Stubborn people are generally not fond of other stubborn people in daily life, so the idea that stubborn people like the idea of a stubborn leader because it validates their own stubbornness seems difficult to justify.
Evolutionary psychology offers a much neater answer. In a leadership situation, people instinctively want to follow an alpha male. We're talking about primitive instincts here, so leadership is defined by demonstrating "alpha" characteristics, not by demonstrating good judgment.
Bah, that's evolutionist talk.
The proper term is that people follow leaders who are very "presidential".
CotK <mew> | HAB | JL | MM | TTC | Cybertron
TAX THE CHURCHES! - Lord Zentei TTC Supreme Grand Prophet
And the LORD said, Let there be Bosons! Yea and let there be Bosoms too!
I'd rather be the great great grandson of a demon ninja than some jackass who grew potatos. -- Covenant
Dead cows don't fart. -- CJvR
...and I like strudel! -- Asuka
The Yosemite Bear wrote:you know every time I hear that bastard say "Freedom" I litterially want to head to the bathroom and puke like a 15 yearold with self esteem issues.
you wouldn't happen to be a Timeline 191 fan, would you??
seriously, though, those students had stones. They had the option of not "rocking the boat" as it were, and they did. congrats to them.
"Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards." ~Count Aral Vorkosigan, A Civil Campaign AO3 Link | FFN Link
Darth Wong wrote:
Evolutionary psychology offers a much neater answer. In a leadership situation, people instinctively want to follow an alpha male. We're talking about primitive instincts here, so leadership is defined by demonstrating "alpha" characteristics, not by demonstrating good judgment.
Sounds right enough, but people must be transferring that perception of an Alpha Male to the position of the President rather than to the President himself, who seems to be, at least in public, more of a nervous dope than anything else. If I remember rightly, wasn't he was consistantly slammed during the 2000 election campaign for having terrible charisma and a lack of personality?
Sadly, Cheney the Merciless more than adaquately fills the Alpha dog position.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know...tomorrow."
-Agent Kay
NeoGoomba wrote:Sounds right enough, but people must be transferring that perception of an Alpha Male to the position of the President rather than to the President himself, who seems to be, at least in public, more of a nervous dope than anything else. If I remember rightly, wasn't he was consistantly slammed during the 2000 election campaign for having terrible charisma and a lack of personality?
Until someone began coaching him, yes. It's a style-over-substance fallacy in motion, and it's irksome to watch.
NeoGoomba wrote:Sadly, Cheney the Merciless more than adaquately fills the Alpha dog position.
Nah, he's like that insecure guy in IT that suddenly got way too much power - misers are misers. I can only be glad he's being clumsily Machiavellian at the moment.
It's times like this that make me almost wish we here at SD.N would organize a takeover of the Democratic party, and introduce the Republicans to the style of debating here. Heh.
The Yosemite Bear wrote:you know every time I hear that bastard say "Freedom" I litterially want to head to the bathroom and puke like a 15 yearold with self esteem issues.
you wouldn't happen to be a Timeline 191 fan, would you??
seriously, though, those students had stones. They had the option of not "rocking the boat" as it were, and they did. congrats to them.
actually I haven't read any turtledove, I just find his abuse of that word, and it's desolate hallowness, and cheapening of the sacrafice of those who fought WWII wilst he couldn't even be arsed to serve in a rich boys club in the Texas air national guard. nauseating in the extremis
The scariest folk song lyrics are "My Boy Grew up to be just like me" from cats in the cradle by Harry Chapin
Ah. Its just the emphasis that you put on the word reminded me of its equivalent use as a "Sig-Heil" in a fictional Nazi-Confederate type of government. (Bush a facist, naaaaww) (SARCASM) I naturally assumed you were making a completely obscure and rather witty reference.
(That's the way my brain works/fails to work sometimes, sad to say)
"Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards." ~Count Aral Vorkosigan, A Civil Campaign AO3 Link | FFN Link
no, it's a hallow word that makes me sick to my stomach to hear the currentjingoistic bastard accordian monkey say. like it's the one word he's been trained to say over and over again.
The scariest folk song lyrics are "My Boy Grew up to be just like me" from cats in the cradle by Harry Chapin
and thank you for using the word "jingoistic" noe one does anymore, and its such a fun word to use. accurate, too.
"Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards." ~Count Aral Vorkosigan, A Civil Campaign AO3 Link | FFN Link
Darth Wong wrote:Evolutionary psychology offers a much neater answer. In a leadership situation, people instinctively want to follow an alpha male. We're talking about primitive instincts here, so leadership is defined by demonstrating "alpha" characteristics, not by demonstrating good judgment.
Sounds right enough, but people must be transferring that perception of an Alpha Male to the position of the President rather than to the President himself, who seems to be, at least in public, more of a nervous dope than anything else. If I remember rightly, wasn't he was consistantly slammed during the 2000 election campaign for having terrible charisma and a lack of personality?
No, it was Al Gore who was consistently slammed during the 2000 election campaign for having no charisma or personality. George W. Bush was slammed for being stupid and ignorant: two charges which are serious strikes against one's judgment as an intelligent leader, but not particularly bad strikes against primitive alpha male status.
Don't you see? George W. Bush's contempt for the rule of law only enhances his alpha male status among the knuckle-draggers. Alpha males in animal society are identified by their willingness and ability to be ruthless, so every time the Bush Administration pisses on the law (and on common decency and any sense of fairness), the knuckle-draggers are even more enamoured of their favourite alpha. Colbert actually makes fun of this phenomenon on his show, but I'm not sure everyone gets the joke.
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
Darth Wong wrote:Evolutionary psychology offers a much neater answer. In a leadership situation, people instinctively want to follow an alpha male. We're talking about primitive instincts here, so leadership is defined by demonstrating "alpha" characteristics, not by demonstrating good judgment.
Sounds right enough, but people must be transferring that perception of an Alpha Male to the position of the President rather than to the President himself, who seems to be, at least in public, more of a nervous dope than anything else. If I remember rightly, wasn't he was consistantly slammed during the 2000 election campaign for having terrible charisma and a lack of personality?
No, it was Al Gore who was consistently slammed during the 2000 election campaign for having no charisma or personality. George W. Bush was slammed for being stupid and ignorant: two charges which are serious strikes against one's judgment as an intelligent leader, but not particularly bad strikes against primitive alpha male status.
Don't you see? George W. Bush's contempt for the rule of law only enhances his alpha male status among the knuckle-draggers. Alpha males in animal society are identified by their willingness and ability to be ruthless, so every time the Bush Administration pisses on the law (and on common decency and any sense of fairness), the knuckle-draggers are even more enamoured of their favourite alpha. Colbert actually makes fun of this phenomenon on his show, but I'm not sure everyone gets the joke.
This is shown pretty clearly (and scarily) at one of the Republican Primary debates when the various cantidates were trying to one-up eachother on just how much they want to torture arabs. All to applause, I might add.
We pissing our pants yet?
-Negan
You got your shittin' pants on? Because you’re about to Shit. Your. Pants!
-Negan
He who can, does; he who cannot, teaches.
-George Bernard Shaw
-- Asuka
