word association w/dubya.

tribute. state of the union. fight to keep freedom. america rejects the false comfort of isolationism. purple mountain majesties, purple fingered democracies. brutal insurgent enemies. we are in this fight to win and we are winning.

reject: terrorism, isolationism, complacency, protectionists, temporary tax cut.

eavesdropping and data mining. america is safer when freedom is on the march.

btw, it's not just my war anymore, folks.

cut the deficit in half by 2009. voodoo econ 101. tax cut.

easing into the baby boomer burden with a joke about daddy n' bubba. the forthcoming irrelevance of the ss#.
keeping america competitive requires...
healthcare... medical liability reform (cut to the senator doctor frist).
secure borders
humane guest worker program

america is addicted to oil. bush embraces science. nuclear energy. hydrogen cars. cutting edge methods of producing ethanol... six year plan. 2012. he has found his legacy. good god, this man has stumbled upon his legacy.

the american competitiveness initiative. embracing science. double the federal government funding in the physical sciences over the next 10 years. R&D tax credit. research. public private. innovation. good god, man!

if we insure american children succeed in life, they will ensure america exceeds in the world.

human life is a gift from our creator and that life must never be discarded or put up for sale.

stats on compassion. quiet transformation/revolution of conscience. unethical conduct by public officials. activist courts. citizens displaced by natural disaster. interesting language here. a hopeful society. public responsibility & the pledge to never betray it.

crescendo, an optimistic coda, god bless america... and, scene.

an optimist's horizon

the signs are everywhere that the end is nigh. skyrocketing gas prices. journalist hostages. new details on fema's operational turpitude. twenty-one hundred some odd soldiers dead, five times that wounded. terrorist emerges on video to thumb his nose at the global conflict with religious fundamentalism. journalists blown up and ambushed. exxon mobil posts fourth quarter earnings. 10.3 billion. more than any other company. ever. in the history of everything known.

and don't you dare ever say that we are there fighting for oil. god damnit, we're fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them here. or didn't you get the memo?

there's a douchebag named ford taking to the airwaves. talking about innovation and a new day dawning. taking back america's road. he's all about blue skies now, this ford guy. that'll happen when you gut 30,000 workers from your bankroll. it's like a nice, healthy bowel movement. innovate away, senor fuckstick. make me another suv.

more trials and tribunals than you can shake a 2x4 at. enron. alito. saddam. there's a south park episode in there somewhere. the end of corporate trust. the end of choice. 'the end of tyranny'... or at least that particular iteration.

do i need to see the freakshow of the saddam trial?

saddam: "you are the spawn of a whore! i haven't had a change of clothes in 3 days!!"
kurd: "cry me the euphrates, bitch. i haven't seen the sun in 12 years! because you gouged my fucking eyes out!"

ted kennedy on the senate floor, practically flailing. demanding a debate on the alito vote. like a scream from the bottom of the well. stick fork... turn... done.

an infant child stuffed in one of those black plastic bodega bags, tied up, and then sent down a river. and that the footage of her rescue -- where the bag was swooped up, place on the riverbank, and carefully torn open like you'd do a plastic covering of a microwavable dinner -- aired on the morning news leaves you with the feeling that today is going to be a wonderful day, full of surprises and goodness around every corner.

soldiers north of bahgdad, and civilians, too, have been drinking contaminated water for 10 months now. halliburton knew about it. tried to cover it up. and didn't bother sanitizing it after the fact.

a girl in iraq contracted bird flu. things are about to get really scary.

that's why i can't wait until the president's state of the union address tomorrow night. it's bound to be, at the very least, that very jolt of optimism this country needs right now.

it'll be a load of texas bullshit, but it will be like those stories we were told as youngens... the ones that lulled us to sleep.

"[that company] should be headquartered on a farm. that way, there'd be a place to put all their horseshit."

where power point deck meets music video is the sort of collision that sets in motion a series of events that leads to the end of the world. swiftly.

it’s the sort of nightmare that might involve dead silence… then a thunderclap and lightning crash, and windblown branches rubbing up on the window. a wet thud, a high-pitched screech and the slicing sound of long nails on blood-streaked glass. piddling feet, scurrying away, rustling, flittering. squeaking.

sufficiently vague, so as to seem insightful

ah, ambiguity. it makes the slices of life so round-edged. why be direct when you can be, how would you say... je ne sais quoi?

it's more of a diplomatic approach to human interfacing, really. indeed, it is the very thing that creates a foundation for more dialogue of any given matter at hand. directness is too abrasive, or can be deemed so. and, as someone once said, you never want to rub another man's rhubarb. for example, if bob is a disruptive presence in staff meetings, there are distinct methods in which to address the issue:

Method A: "Bob, if I could have a quick word? Good. Bob, just something to think about for tomorrow's staff meeting. We'd like for you to align yourself more with the general dynamic of the larger group and broaden your interactions with colleagues in a manner that speaks to our collective connectedness. Just... something for you to think about, Bob. Thanks."

Method B: "Bob, tell you what. You're going to have to start wearing pants to the meetings, and by that, I mean starting today, OK? I will not have you walking around exposed in this office. Do you hear me? And you know I would've shit-canned you months ago if your second uncle wasn't on the board of directors."

So now, what remains is the question of compliance. When the larger group is considered, Method A is the path of least resistance. There has been (offline) communication with Bob about his behavioral patterns. The idea is now out there for Bob to mull over and come to his own conclusion as to whether he should wear pants to tomorrow's meeting. You've positioned your communication with Bob in a way that neutralizes potential push back on his part. Bob, in turn, effectively saves face...

rebels as buzzkill for GOP

there some kind of beautiful in this screen grab of the nytimes. post-irony at its finest.

and on closer look, all the stories on this page are pretty heavy.