I’ve been struggling for some time now trying to put into words what I have observed and the conclusions I have drawn, but it has been very difficult.

Many on the right-wing are now expressing dissatisfaction with the actions of President George W. Bush. What is unusual in my estimation is that the behavior and policies of President Bush have changed far less in the past five years than the behavior and policies of previous Presidents and their administrations in a far shorter period. To put it simply, the loud support has mutated into discontent during a time when nothing in the actions of the President has changed.

The extreme reaction from the right-wing to the nomination of Harriet Miers to the position of Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court seems to be the first obvious sign of unhappiness, despite the fact that this nomination was perfectly consistent with previous nominations by President Bush to important positions, where personal loyalty to Bush outweighed all other considerations, including those of competence and experience, regardless of how critical those two criteria would be regarded by anyone who did not value personal loyalty so highly.

The stubborn, “my way or the highway” reaction of President Bush in threatening to veto any legislation that did not conform to the approval by his administration of the purchase by a Dubai-based and owned company of the rights to control several seaports in the US was also very consistent with the entire history of this Presidency, but since this stubborn, no compromise attitude was directed towards something that played against the fear-factor that this administration has used so well to distract people from the mistakes and expansion of Presidential powers of the past four years, suddenly, many on the right-wing who had participated in the fear-fanning then became afraid themselves and were shocked when the President didn’t agree with them, and even worse, refused to even discuss the matter.

The actions and policies of the administration have not changed, the only thing that has changed is the perception of those actions and policies by some on the right-wing. Apparently being on the receiving end of a no-compromise “leadership” style is not as much fun to them as feeling that they are on the giving end.

Researchers are examining the potential of using bacteria to generate power for miniature robots and other small-scale applications.

An interesting example of non-conventional thinking.

…run in circles, scream and shout.

When you lack the intellectual firepower to defend your policies, positions, and beliefs on their own merits, then construct a straw-man even more simple-minded that you can knock down with little effort.

Wow, a strategy right up there with crying “terrorist” or starting an offensive every time the poll numbers go down or yet another scandal of incompetence or arrogant over-reaching and overriding of Constitutional limits on Presidential power arises.

A strategy right up there with labeling warrantless wiretapping on American citizens as “listening in on terrorists” when sufficient evidence that those being spied upon are indeed related to terrorism cannot be mustered even for the secret FISA court that has a >99% approval rate, with dark hints that there are other, possibly more egregious non-Constitutional programs of surveillance underway as well.

A strategy right up there with being briefed in no uncertain terms the slow motion horror of Katrina approaching New Orleans, asking no questions, not cutting short yet another vacation, and then leaving to go to a fund-raiser where the President plays guitar while New Orleans floods.

Please excuse me if I “strongly disagree” with this tactic used by “some people.”

The use of this straw-man argument has been the foundation of the rhetoric of the Bush administration since day one.

Remember the tale of the three little pigs, and what happened to the house of straw. Is this the foundation we want for our national policy, especially in what is repeatedly called a “time of war” when it comes to justifying circumvention or outright ignoring of limitations on Presidential power in the Constitution?

Do the Democrats and those on the left-wing use straw-man arguments? You bet your boots they do, and I refuse to defend their use of it because I find it just as despicable.

Throw all the bums out.

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