Guest editorial

This is from David Galland, managing director of Casey Research, which is anything but a liberal organization. Mr. Galland can be quite eloquent when he wants to:


Bye-Bye, Baby Bush

For what I am about to do, I need to apologize to you, if you fall into two categories of readers. The first group consists of those of you who still count themselves as supporters of President Bush, approximately 35% of the population if you believe the latest polls. The second group is those of you who are subscribers to The Casey Report, because you will recognize this as the “End Quote” from the current edition. Thus, in addition to the fact that you have already read it, I am sharing something from your paid subscription with others who do not subscribe. (If you fall into either of those groups, to save me the need to apologize, you can just skip over the essay by Doug Casey that follows.)

With those apologies out of the way, I felt compelled, given that President Bush will step down before the next edition of these musings is published, to comment on his presidency, but anything I might write would pale compared to Doug’s final – strong - thoughts on the Bush presidency. His remarks follow… This may be the last time I’ll talk about the Baby Bush in this letter. Starting the 21st of January, he’ll be flushed down the toilet of history, remembered only for his inanities, stupidities, criminality, arrogance, and malapropisms. I well remember getting numerous hate letters and requests for cancellation when, especially early in his first administration, I explained what a disaster he was going to be…

My assessment of George W. Bush? I think he's genuinely thoughtless, and actually a little stupid. What will happen is that Dick Cheney will be the President-in-Fact, and Dick is a very dangerous man, the archetypical National Security Fascist and Corporate Statist. Well, at least they'll probably repeal the death tax. The loss of many of your remaining freedoms is a small price to pay, I suppose. (December 2000)

***Absolutely anything the Baby Bush says or does is almost guaranteed to be an exquisite combination of funny, scary, and depressing. I said this before the election (along with a lot of other things), but I'm totally convinced he's dim, with an IQ probably between 95 and 100. His lack of raw computing power doesn't help him in making wise decisions. Like his designation of Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as the so-called Axis of Evil. My vote for that title "Axis of Evil" goes to Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Ashcroft. All these men impress me as being quite bright (and are excellent proof that intelligence is no more than a tool), but totally bent. And they must play the Baby Bush like a fiddle. (September 2002)

But just in December he outdid himself, when Bush said, on CNN television:"I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system,” saying he had made the decision "to make sure the economy doesn't collapse… I feel a sense of obligation to my successor to make sure there is not a, you know, a huge economic crisis. Look, we're in a crisis now. I mean, this is -- we're in a huge recession, but I don't want to make it even worse."The simpleton has somehow been positioned as a staunch defender and advocate of laissez-faire, who is now belatedly recognizing the damage the free market has done and trying to mend its wicked ways. This is exactly what happened with Herbert Hoover, another unprincipled fascist, who was also painted as a capitalist, discrediting economic freedom for generations to come.

It’s truly sad -- and a sign of the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the U.S. -- that gigantic lies like these will be swallowed whole. Be careful with people who lie; they do it largely because they want to control others.But there is also some good news involving the despicable Baby Bush.Like hundreds of millions of others around the world, I was gratified, thrilled, and morally uplifted when Muntadhar al-Zeidi, a 29-year-old Iraqi journalist, stood during a press conference Bush gave in the Green Zone and threw both his shoes at him, while shouting in Arabic, "This is a farewell kiss, you dog. This is from the widows, the orphans, and those who were killed in Iraq."

I don’t know what al-Zeidi’s views on things other than Bush may be. But the man is a hero. And his actions are more appropriate than any form of violence, because they show contempt and disgust. These are emotions that can engender a mass movement, the type of thing the movie V for Vendetta portrayed. It was a fitting farewell kiss from Iraq. Too bad the running dogs that pass for journalists in the U.S. would be too afraid to even think about doing the same when Bush passes the crown of empire to Obama.