So Bush is in Europe, trying to "mend fences," which seems to me to be understating the problem in a way that he must have learned from British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Imagine if I set fire to your neighbor's house--a neighbor who was a real bastard, by the way, beating his wife and kids--against your advice to call the police. If I visited you while the house was still smoldering, would that be "fence mending"? Just asking.
Anyway, it seems rather odd to me that Bush is asking NATO for help in Iraq while we have our troops in something like 130 other countries around the world (and I'm not talking about Marines guarding embassies). Why in the hell would they pitch in to help us maintain our profligacy, our (dare I say it) imperial overstretch to protect our alleged vital interests?
At the same time, some of my friends, most of whom have no health insurance, are suffering from flu and when trying to simply get the most basic of care must fork over $150 at a walk-in clinic or be turned away. The only option then is the emergency room, which really seems dumb when we are told over and over again that our health care system is the envy of the world.
Yeah, we've really got our priorities straight.
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On top of all that, one of our fabulous mainstream media outlets (I can't recall if it was CNN or NBC) was referring to Bush's trip as his "Charm Offensive." Kudos to them, yet again, for really complicating the issues and presenting an in-depth look at the nuances of our foreign relations.
Yes, they really do the public a great service by eliminating any detail, context, or contrast.
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