Alaska v The Environment

You'll remember Bush's bittersweet move to simultaneously point out that even though polar bears are a threatened species because they are losing their natural habitat to global warming there is nothing can be done to save them because no one can sue the mega polluters to deal with the problem. Good times...

Since then, the State of Alaska has been suing to strip the polar bears of their protected status. I'm not sure what their logic is, but apparently having the bears as a protected species is a matter of State interest that deserves a significant amount of its attorneys' attention.

But that is not why I am writing. As it turns out, environmentalists have been more successful at eliminating the special 'no one's fault' rule than Alaska has been at eliminating the threatened species status of the bears. Soon a judge will be making the ruling and it appears that the unique protection against lawsuits will be eliminated and this pisses Alaska off.

So, last month, the State of Alaska approved $1.5 MILLION to develop a campaign to gain broad support from the rest of the country to let the bears perish unchecked.

It must be nice to be the most federally supported state in the Union because it leaves a lot of money lying around to fight the federal government!

THIS is whyALASKANSpaytaxes.

Oil for sale

Now that we've spent $683,942,908,585.08 (according to the zFacts ticker and links to the left at the top of this page at 2:22AM CST) on 'liberating' the Iraqis, its time they start reaping some of this fine Oil Money they been hearin' all about.

What do we get in return? Shoes thrown at us.

The Headline Reads:
Iraqi oil for sale in TV auction(bbc)
A goddamn auction between giants such as Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil for the rights to rape and pillage the land and oil reserves being aired on TV. This must be an exciting moment for them. (The Iraqis) (Well, the suits too...)

Aw fuck it.

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Here's some fun quotes:
The US budget for Iraq in FY 2007 came to $4,988/Iraqi. This is triple Iraq's per-person GDP. It's like spending $121,000 per person ($484,000 per family of 4) in the US. Why not just bribe the whole country?

"If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we're going to have a serious problem." — George W. Bush, Jan. 2001

What happened to kicking somebody's ass and taking their stuff? All the war, none of the spoils?

Mission Accomplished

I pay taxes to ensure my C-level frat boy turned president can afford to go strut around the devastation he created talking about how proud he is of causing the devastation. I wonder, if as Air Force One came in for a landing they unfurled a Mission Accomplished banner behind it.

And, I know I'm not 'reporting' a damn thing here, but god bless the Iraqi with the balls to get in Bush's face in spite of how unfurled he had his pretty feathers. (Think peacock)
I like that the second shoe was dedicated to the widows. To me that makes the point right there.

Kudos for Maliki throwing himself into harms way in an attempt to protect dubya from the second shoe... (not sure the point I am trying to make, but I am being sarcastic)

Iraqi Journalist Throws Shoes At President Bush(npr)

A presidential victory lap without a clear victory...

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

P.S.'s:
bbc explains a bit about shoe-ing in the Arabic world

Quotes from the assailant:
Shoe 1: "This is a gift from the Iraqis. This is the farewell kiss, you dog,"
Shoe 2: "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq,"
(Thanks LA Times (not a lot of reporters cared what he actually said!))

Support from commoners around the world. People in every country, including ours admit they wish they could throw their shoes at Bush. (See reader comments, also read comments of related stories at Al Jazeera)

Perhaps I take too much pleasure in this little incident. Perhaps Bush started a war based on lies that has killed hundreds of thousands of innocents. Perhaps my evil enjoyment pales in comparison.

And We're Off

You knew it was true. You didn't want to beleive it was true, but deep down inside you knew it.

Holy Shit, you gotta read this one...

US oil agency rapped over conduct BBC

We all imagined it, and its true! Our government snorting coke off of strippers' asses paid for by big oil.

They're like hamsters in a box crawling all over each other...

Seriously, take a minute to read through the article. They are actually claiming that they had to snort the oil companies coke to gain valuable 'market intelligence.' They openly admit that they didn't think the laws pertained to them!

THIS is whyipaytaxes.