It's only for now! (Sex!)
Is only for now! (Your hair!)
Is only for now! (George Bush!)
Is only for now!

Don't stress,
Relax,
Let life roll off your backs
Except for death and paying taxes,
Everything in life is only for now!

misunderestimated, lol. One thing I liked about Bush was his willingness to poke fun of himself.

And yes, Madoff should be sent to jail. Or maybe to Gaza.

BYE BYE BUSHIE! Don't let the door hitcha where the good lord splitcha!

Yes, pop! To Gaza!

nah nah nah nah nah nah nah hey hey hey goodbye!!!!!!

I just read that the Judge ruled Madoff can stay free on bail - because really, what's 50-Billion dollars?
I turned Bush off when he started in on New Orleans, and what did people want, for him to land Air Force One? I wish there was a way to have a national cleansing a week from Wednesday, wash the stench of stupidity and failure off us.

So long President Bush. Good luck in your future endeavors.

I will miss the ol' chap!
Unemployment was over 7% with Kennedy. Carter's average was over 7 percent. Reagan's high was 10%, with it being 5% by the time he left office. This is all just a fluctuation. Yeah it's bad, but I think people are trying fear tactics on the economy. The economy of the us is a cycle. Truman was a fiscally conservative democrat and had the lowest unemployment rates ever I think. I just wish that people would realize that it isn't 1 presidents fault when things like this happen. And the results of the actions of a president take a while to show. It is more complex than most think. People need to calm their fears and know that this will rebound. I think this will be good for the people of the US. We need to learn how to live within our means. The greed that people have been experiencing has led us to this. I am sorry but not everyone can afford a 3000 sq ft home and a new car. And we shouldn't be putting everything on credit cards. A lot of people in europe live with their parents, even after getting married and starting a family. We have a spoiled mentality in the US. We, as a country, do not truly know what it means to suffer. I will try to post the unemployment graph in my next post.

Don't grant Madoff bail. You know he'd pay it with stolen money.

Stephley are you suggesting a nation-wide douche?

And Hainan I agree we cannot blame one person for causing the economic downturn.

I wish I could find that stupid forward going around that claimed that all the problems started the moment a democratic majority was voted into the House. Lots of people on this site thought it was the best thing ever. Just saying.

The problems this country has have nothing to do with Democrats vs. Republicans.

It has to do with the fact that 99.9% of politicians are corrupt and out for themselves.

If we could put someone with actual integrity in office we would be a lot better off.

The problem with that is that the people with integrity are too smart to run. (Read, Colin Powell)

:roftl: nation-wide douche

or works too.

Monday's right, nice job Pop!

Oh come on, it's so much easier to just blame one person for any problem with the economy. The current downturn? All Bush's fault. The housing crisis? All Clinton's fault. This relieves us from the duty of thinking about anything.

Now that his Presidency is so close to being behind us, I feel kind of sorry for Bush. He's seems like a nice enough guy and I don't think his missteps where because he was trying to do horrible things. I am very happy he is the soon to be EX President G.W. Bush though!!

The word "last" has never sounded so sweet.

I just voted for my favorite Bushism...I have to say thats about the only thing I'll miss about Bush..his stupid comments and how they made me laugh!

Quoting Hainan:
"We need to learn how to live within our means. The greed that people have been experiencing has led us to this. I am sorry but not everyone can afford a 3000 sq ft home and a new car. And we shouldn't be putting everything on credit cards. A lot of people in europe live with their parents, even after getting married and starting a family. We have a spoiled mentality in the US. We, as a country, do not truly know what it means to suffer."

You know, I do not always agree with you but I agree with this a great deal.

Having lived in other countries for many years now - I can honestly say what I reflect back on about American culture is this sense of automatic entitlement and this all-encompassing need for bigger, better, more.

Now ..understand that I say that without judgement, I really do, because I grew up in that "Bigger, better, more."

But we don't need all that. And we REALLY do not need it, when we can't afford it.

In my time in Europe and the UK, I have learned many things:

1)America is a lot less expensive and has paid far less for gasoline than Europe/UK have for years..and years..now. When I moved to Scotland in 2001, the price of gas was already easily what it spiked to last year in the USA. And that was an EVERYDAY price.

2)We take our space for granted. We assume its our god-given right to big places.

Some Europeans may well live with their parents, but truth is, even when some of us that live here don't, we content ourselves with smaller spaces, and learn to live in a more streamlined way. Its down to necessity - not just money. Roads are narrower. Flats are older. Costs are higher.

So what we buy, we buy well and to last. We don't buy because we're told to, because someone else has it, or because we feel it will better our lives. Its because its more practical, sensible and responsible to do so.

Of course all this is a generalization. But when I first moved to the UK, it was quite hard...I ran into two camps, camp "A" that thought America=Disneyland and wanted to live in Florida, and camp "B" that was mad as hell about the political and military attitude of the country. Whilst the UK itself is increasingly similar to the USA in some ways, Europe is not - though some things...American programs, for instance, catch on and are respected.

Its a different CULTURE, born out of centuries of an entirely different experience. Europe has such old cities, has seen so many wars and been around for so long that it is a DIFFERENT MINDSET.

The truth is, most Europeans and Brits I know don't hate America. They do, however, see her as a big, angry puppy who hasn't quite learned how to play well with others and has a lot of growing up to do.

It may sound unpleasant, but I've never encountered malice in those types of opinions so much as bemusement...and patience.

I realize what I say may sound judgemental. But the truth is, until you've lived decades elsewhere you just can't have the perspective.

America is so big that its also very insulated, and its not so easy to really "get" any other place until you've been in it long enough to fully understand why its the way it is. You don't even REALIZE how insulated you are until you leave and live somewhere else for an extended period, as a resident.

Its - quite literally - another world - geographically, culturally, politically, socially and economically.

It doesn't sound judgmental so much as condescending.

I can see condescending to a point, but I think we do need to be reminded of other perspectives. I think it's pretty clear that some people never consider the world beyond their front porch, which is a view I occasionally envy, except when planes crash into office buildings and the front porchers are suddenly confronted with all they've blocked out.

The generalizations just get really old.

Yeah, I'm with pop. It's pretty absurd to lump together all of the lifestyles and opinions of people on any continent, country, municipality, or even neighborhood. There seems to be this irresistable tendency to think of people in large groups in order to simplify things, which is understandable, if you want to attempt to control their lives.

Yes, the reason someone tried offering a different perspective was to attempt to control lives.

I wasn't addressing anyone specifically on this thread. Merely a general statement. Sorry if that was unclear.

Sorry if I made any generalizations, I think the greedy Americans are what got us into this credit crisis situation, which is why our economy is flailing. Not that all Americans are greedy. And my post was in regards to those specific people. And I think when and if those people read these threads, they will know who they are.