America: Political

It's been a pretty inspiring few days this past week or so, what with Barack Obama wrapping up the nomination for the Democratic Party and all. And then Hillary Clinton finally - four days after it was over and in probably the best speech of her entire campaign - conceding defeat and vowing to do everything she can to help Obama win the White House. Hers, like Obama's, has been a historic and inspirational run and hopefully someday soon we'll see a woman as president. Just not this time. This time the more inspirational candidate won.

Is it just me or is this whole Rev. Jeremiah Wright Scandal a bit of a farce? I mean, besides the fact that it's simply ridiculous to try and smear Obama with the words of his former pastor, the bigger issue, if you ask me, is that Wright is right. The man is telling it like it is. He may be saying some things that certain people don't want to hear, but, hell, I'd say that's a good thing. The man's not crazy. Nor is he the raving lunatic the media is trying to make him out to be. He's simply a guy speaking some truth.

A Legacy For The Ages As Bush Wraps Up Title Of "Worst President Ever" In New Poll Of American Historians

Talk about a legacy! Talk about a performance! Talk about a Presidency! After years and years of hard work, dedication to his own vision, passionate defense of his own personal war, brilliant fear-mongering initiatives and, let's not forget, brave indifference, if not outright disdain, for domestic and worldwide public opinion, George W. Bush has finally done it. He's incontrovertibly clinched the title. He's made his own distinguished mark on History. Yes, people, as you may have already heard, the man now has an insurmountable lead in the race for the title of Worst President Ever and from this day forward no one can deny him his rightful place in History. Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Fillmore, Pierce, Harding, Hoover and Nixon all put up a damn good fight, but in the end none of them could compete with the complete disaster, horrific train wreck and inane, inept, ideocracy/idiotcracy that is the Bush Presidency. But, hey, don't take my word for it, take the word of the 109 American historians who were recently surveyed on the topic by the History News Network.

Yesterday was a great day for all those of us who truly value freedom and strongly believe in the right to self-determination. The people of Kosovo are finally free. And they definitely deserve their independence and their freedom from Serb domination and oppression. Simply put, they wanted their own country and, therefore, they deserve their own country.

And, hey, you know it's a rare day indeed when I applaud a decision by George W. Bush, but, after his quick recognition of Kosovo as an independent nation yesterday, he simply must be praised... even by the likes of me. And, no, I'm not being sarcastic here.

You've all heard of The Axis Of Evil, of course, but what about The Axis of Medieval? Because, man, has it ever been a great week for them! In fact, it's been an amazing week for all admirers of the Dark Ages and all fans of Medieval systems, techniques and mindsets. First there was the report out of Saudi Arabia the other day about the Saudi Arabian "witch" being sentenced to death for, uh, "casting spells" on some guy, then there was this buffoon in the White House threatening to veto a Senate bill outlawing torture, and, finally, there was the start of the show trials for some of the most prominent tortured inmates at the Guantanamo Bay gulag. Truly a great week for Medieval lovers everywhere.

Hey all you fellow Canadians out there, as Bob Dylan once asked, how does it feel? How does it feel to have a government that is such a disgraceful embarrassment on the international stage? I mean, when your country's only real ally on a major issue is George W. Bush's America you've really got to stop and ask yourself just what the hell went wrong? And the answer, obviously, starts with the election of this Stephen Harper-led right-wing Bush-a-like government of ours two years ago. The only question now seems to be, just how far down do these jokers plan to drag us?

A.K.A. Bush's Dick - And I Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Cheney

What you've got over there in Pakistan right now is yet another one of those petty power-obsessed pricks doing what petty power-obsessed pricks always seem to do: Usurp power. Like so many other egotistical, megalomaniacal buffoons, this Musharraf idiot sees himself as the savior of his country. And to save it, of course, he must attack anyone and everyone that challenges his right to be Big Boss and Supreme Savior. If that means destroying the judiciary and throwing all the legitimate democratic leaders in jail, well so be it. Like Mugabe, like Kim Jong Mentally-il, like Pinochet, like Gaddafi, like every other Messianic Savior of Nation and People out there, he not only knows that he's right and everyone else is wrong, he also knows that he alone can see the way forward and he alone can save the nation from ruin. A ridiculously pathetic buffoon, straight and simple.

The American gulag in Guantanamo Bay has one - just one - remaining Western captive still being held by the U.S. government. His name is Omar Khadr. And he's Canadian. Every other Western government did all it could and eventually won the release of every single one of its citizens held in that Kafkaesque joke of a camp. But not our government. No, the Canadian government has abandoned this guy. And the worst thing is he was already abandoned back when he was just a 15 year old kid. That's how old he was when the American's locked him up and started their mental and physical torture regiment on him. Torturing kids? Yup, that's how fucked up the American government has become. Abandoning Canadian kids in foreign gulags? You bet, that's exactly how fucked up the Canadian government has become.

You really have to hand it to China. I mean, there's simply no denying the magnificent effort the Chinese government has put into becoming an old school Superpower, in the mold of America and the Soviets during the Cold War. Just look at how passionately the Chinese defend, love and nurture three of the most despicable regimes on the planet. That is, Burma, North Korea and Sudan, of course. Check out Beijing's heartfelt apologia for mass slaughter and horrific repression. Watch in amazement as petty dictators and genocidal regimes are coddled and cozied up to. And marvel at the sheer stubbornness and complete lack of morality on display as China increasingly steps out onto the world stage.

Whether it be Burma's ruthless suppression of its own people, North Korea's starvation of millions of its citizens while spending all of the country's money on nuclear weapons and the military, or Sudan's genocide of the people of Darfur, China is always there to encourage the tyrants, load 'em up with weapons, and protect them from sanctions and censor in the UN Security Council. To put it succinctly, China's simply there for them whenever they're in need. 'Cause, hey, as that old song goes, and as any petty dictator will tell you, "we all need somebody to lean on".

In case you may have missed it, Canada, as the policy now stands, would turn back at the border Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, everyone ever jailed in the gulags of Stalin or Kim Jong Mentally-il, and anyone else who has ever stood up to unjust laws and regimes. It seems we just don't want their kind around here. Way to go Canada, way to make me proud to be Canadian.