Mission Accomplished?
WE WANT TO REMIND everyone that it was FIVE YEARS AGO today that W. told the world that combat operation in Iraq were over and that for the U.S. it was “mission accomplished.” While we’re at it might as well also remind you of a few other things W. said:
“I’m the commander — see, I don’t need to explain — I do not need to explain why I say things. That’s the interesting thing about being president.”
“We spent a lot of time talking about Africa. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease.”
“I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in Washington. And I’m sorry it’s the case, and I’ll work hard to try to elevate it.”
“I think - tide turning - see, as I remember - I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of - it’s easy to see a tide turn - did I say those words?”
“I think that the vice president is a person reflecting a half-glass-full mentality.”
“I glance at the headlines just to kind of get a flavor for what’s moving. I rarely read the stories, and get briefed by people who are probably read the news themselves.”
“You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.”
“And let me say, thanks for the kids. I learned an awful lot about bathtub toys - about how to work the telephone. One kid knows - several of them know their own phone numbers - preparation to go to the dentist. A lot of things I’d forgotten.
April 16, 2008
Echo Chamber (April 16) : News You Could Have Read Anywhere
- Disabled local Army veteran James Raymond is fighting his redeployment. Raymond, now a student at UB, lost his hearing while fighting in Afghanistan and suffered a knee injury that resulted in his honorable discharge from the Army. He was placed on Individual Readiness Reserve, but is now being called back into action for deployment to Iraq, despite being declared 10 percent disabled by the VA. Since he was last active duty, Raymond has put on 50 lbs. and has become addicted to smoking. He fears he’s not physically prepared for combat, and that his knee won’t hold up.
- Harvard economist Edward Glaesar, the guy who wrote in City Journal that Buffalo won’t make a comeback, and that the “government should stop bribing people to stay” here, will speak in Buffalo Friday as part of a panel discussion on Buffalo’s future. The panel, entitled “Resurrecting Buffalo,” will feature Anthony Armstrong of LISC, Paul Buckley of Applied Sciences Group, Rich Tobe from the City of Buffalo, Robert Gioia of the John R. Oishei Foundation, and Cynthia Zane of Hilbert College. It’s at 2pm at the WNED studios. Registration is $30.
- The newly renovated Erie Canal Harbor’s history site is drawing sharp criticism from historians and Erie Canal Harbor Redevelopment Committee board members. They say current displays at the site do a poor job of interpreting the site’s history. This comes only weeks before the scheduled Memorial Day “soft” opening of the site.
- Mayor Byron Brown, voted “worst politician” by Artvoice readers in this year’s Best of Buffalo poll, is apparently losing support from all sectors. Members of a city union that worked hard for his election only three years ago, Local 264 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, plan to protest outside of the mayor’s Thursday night fundraiser at Kleinhans Music Hall. The union’s gripe (a legit one) is that its employees haven’t received a raise since 2001.
