"Bush is not an imbecile. He's not a puppet. I think that Bush is a sociopathic personality. I think he's incapable of empathy. He has an inordinate sense of his own entitlement, and he's a very skilled manipulator . . .

"He has no trouble speaking off the cuff when he's speaking punitively, when he's talking about violence, when he's talking about revenge . . .

"I call him the feel bad president, because he's all about punishment and death."

Might there actually be a personality disorder involved? That arouses in me compassion for the man, but further anger at our system that put him in charge.

John passionately observes that as a result,

On everything from health care to education to Social Security, we can expect less than zero by way of compassion or mercy . . . Name a problem, it will not be addressed. There is no one at the federal level looking out for people who need help. These are truly the most perilous times I have ever witnessed. It's down to you and your Maker, folks, unless we vote to take back the country and make it what we want it to be.

Indeed, whether Bush is a "sociopathic personality" or not, his administration's lack of concern for--and action in behalf of--the poor (in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and in the U.S.) puts the administration, the president, and those of us in the U.S. who bear responsibility for allowing the present situation squarely at odds with Jesus' teaching about community and the poor.

[via FarrFeed]
11:31:32 PM |  See also bush sociopathic entitlement violence empathy   

Yes. We are not powerless. To make so many of us think we are is quite an accomplishment.

Now, some of my Christian brothers and sisters don't like the ACLU, but I admire what its freedom-fighting activists accomplish. When I weigh the constructive/destructive outcomes of the ACLU vs. the stereotypical "Religious Right" in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God, I give the nod for constructiveness (whether intended or not) to the ACLU. I'm glad they're on the job. Time to support 'em?
11:03:44 PM |  See also freedom aclu   

If you want to see America turn into a police state, just go on about your daily life as if nothing has changed. After all, your silent assent is what Bush and his constitutional wrecking crew expect from the American public.

If the executive branch has the unilateral authority to invalidate your legal protections, the Constitution is basically dead. And if you think that this power won't be abused more and more over time, you have never read any history.

Even very recent history: Is not the progressive abuse of power a hallmark of this administration?

A representative paragraph in the article stands out:

Probably the most hotly disputed element of the administration's approach is its contention that the president alone can designate individuals, including U.S. citizens, as enemy combatants, who can be detained with no access to lawyers or family members unless and until the president determines, in effect, that hostilities between the United States and that individual have ended.

Why would any one person think he or she has the wisdom to do this? Is this "divine right of kings" thinking? It's pride run amok, that's what it is. What was the cause of Lucifer's downfall again?
10:15:55 PM |  See also bush pride injustice