‘Low gas prices’ vs. quagmire wars, economic collapse, unfettered spending, massive debt, etc., etc. …

“Jimmie Dale Martin, Esquire” rarely disappoints when it comes to non sequitur, straw man and pull-it-out-of-my-ass hilarity. In response to one of my posts yesterday, “Indignant about the indifference,” Jimmie Dale commented…

Thank you President Bush for the low gas prices and for keeping us terrorist killing spree free.

First of all, I don’t know how President Bush can be credited for the low gas prices other than his policies that have contributed to a global economic downturn, which in turn reduced demand for oil and gas because more and more people couldn’t afford it, which led to a sudden and drastic drop in oil prices. But for the sake of argument, let’s accept Mr. Martin’s premise that this is something to thank Bush for.

What are some other things we can “thank” President Bush for?

• Two disastrous wars — one clearly unjust — that have already drained hundreds of billions of dollars (working its way into the trillions) and costing the lives of thousands of American soldiers and wounding tens of thousands more, costing the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, displacing millions and having this “positive” impact on Iraq:
  

  An Oxfam report from February 2008 put into startling focus what the U.S. invasion has really meant for Iraqis:

  – More than four million Iraqis forced to flee either to another part of Iraq or abroad.
  – Four million Iraqis regularly cannot buy enough food.
  – 70 percent are without adequate water supplies, compared to 50 percent in 2003.
  – 28 percent of children are malnourished, compared to 19 percent before the 2003 invasion.
  – 92 percent of Iraqi children suffer learning problems, mostly due to the climate of fear.

  The Brookings Institute’s Iraq index also notes that the national unemployment rate is somewhere between 25 and 40 percent. Fifty-six percent of Iraqis say things in Iraq are going “quite bad” or “very bad.” Sixty percent rate economic conditions as “poor” and 75 percent rate security conditions “poor.”

• Ignoring the plight of American veterans, especially those wounded in our current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
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• Complete destruction of the United States’ respect around the world
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• Unfettered spending and corresponding tax cuts that have led to record deficits and a staggering national debt.
  

  The result of deficit spending is debt.  When President Bush took office, the national debt was $5.7 trillion.  Now it is $10.6 trillion — and Congress voted in October to raise the debt ceiling to $11.3 trillion, the seventh such hike since President Bush to office and the second since last July.  If, as is quite likely, we reach the new ceiling by January 20, the outgoing President will have managed to amass more debt than all of his predecessors combined.

• An economic collapse not witnessed since the Great Depression
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• If he’s gonna get the credit for the low gas prices, we can also “thank” him for the record high gas prices
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• An unparalleled expansion (or usurping) of executive power, including ignoring and/or stonewalling Congress’ constitutionally mandated oversight and the now notorious creation of a limbo branch of the federal government for the vice president who did not believe he as part of the executive branch or legislative branch among the many other extraordinary (and legally questionable) executive privileges and policies
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• … etc., etc., etc.
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There’s just so much more to “thank” Bush for than I have time and space to list here. Feel free to add your own in the comment section.