Hey Freak!

File under: news that's not news.

He read a book.

For a second here, let's ignore the fact that he's on vacation when there are tensions in the Middle East that need to be quelled (sure, I don't think his being there would solve any problems, but I'm sorry, it just looks bad if you go on vacation while major shit is happening. You know, that'd kinda be like staying on vacation while one of America's great cities flooded, and not doing anything about it for days while Americans were stuck there, dying). Let's also ignore the fact that the book in question was only 150 pages or so, and that most people who have taken any sort of literature class have read it. I read it. I did a book critique on it. Why that book? Because it was short. I hate reading, remember?

Side story: Ms. Shaddy was my english teacher in high school. Man, I hated her. She made me bust my ass, and was always on me to do more, more, more. So, one time, when it was time to choose a book for a book critique, I chose the Dickens novel "David Copperfield." For someone who really doesn't like to read in the first place, let me tell you... that is one boring motherfucking book. But, it was Ms. Shaddy's favorite, and I wanted to impress her. I think I got a C on that one. All that reading for a freakin' C.

In hindsight, I see now that she was just pushing me to reach my potential, and I realized that I didn't really hate her. And yanno, now that I think about it, I have more good memories of her than bad. I remember doing a speech about Journey (hey, this was just little bit after "Escape" came out). I remember when Willie Nelson came to town (for a concert), and she wore her concert tee in to work with long braids. Damn, I have a billion good memories of that woman, and not a single specific bad one. It's kinda funny when you look back at things and realize what was really going on in high school.

But, I digress.

So, he read a book. By Camus, even (no, it wasn't "My Pet Goat"). Are we supposed to think he's intelligent now? Note to Bush handlers: teaching him the proper pronounciation of "nuclear" will go a long way in making him not seem so dumb. Definitely more than saying he read a book.

But, my point is... this is not news.

You want to report this? Put it in the gossip section.

It's starting to seem to me as though I'm looking for excuses to not like this guy. Like, as time goes on, I'm trying to relax and go with the flow, but this cat just keeps doing little things that bug me.

Like this, for example? Isn't this book about a guy that shows no remorse for the murdered and doesn't care how society views him because of it? Am I remembering this wrong? I really hope so, because the irony is a motherfucker. I suppose next he'll read a book about a guy who thinks its okay to kill people in order to save American lives, but doesn't think its okay to test on unborn fetuses to save American lives.

You know what would be really cool? If maybe on one of these 8,000 vacations he takes, he could take a few hours to read a history book. Specifically one about the results of governing according to church doctrine. Ooooh, or maybe one about the history of wars in the Middle East and why, unfortunately, there will never, ever, ever be a "good time" to pull the troops out.

Hey - maybe he could save some time because I'm pretty sure both topics would be covered in the same history book! Sweet!

I clicked through before reading your entry and my first thought was, "big fucking whoop. so he "made quick work of it". the book is about ten pages long."

i liked too that Snow felt the need to state that Bush read it in English. Seriously, would anyone on god's green earth have thought he'd read it in the original french if that hadn't been said?

Hey, as soon as we can teach millions of people who live in the southern US that it's pronounced "get" and not "git", then we might be able to move on to a more complex word like "nuclear" with a president that was raised in Texas, where they admittedly have heavy accents in some parts of the state, and it might just be a colloquial thing on his part that some people just don't seem to be able to get past.

Hell, some people from Missouri pronounce the word "Missourah" instead of with an "i" on the end, like they're supposed to, and although it bugs me, I don't keep ragging on the issue non-stop forever and ever and ever and ever...

Then again, it's been, what? Over 10 years now, and people STILL make fun of Dan Quayle. Good guy, Dan Quayle. Too bad people take a "potatoe" joke a bit too far sometimes.

I read "Old Man and the Sea" for my freshman year reading list when I was in high school. Why did I choose it? It was the shortest book on the list of a bunch of books I didn't wanna read. (And I like reading!) Wound up being a terrible decision on my part, but hey! Who knew?

Heh, I read that book in the 7th grade... FOR FUN.

If he can't say nuclear, I can just imagine what "Camus" sounds like in his head. To bad they're not making him do an oral on it.

Sorry, Faith, but I hold the President and Vice President to higher standards. Nuclear. It's not a complex word. Neither is potato. We learned those words back in grade school.

I don't think that it's too much to ask that the leader of the free world be smarter than I am.

And the potatoe thing? Sorry, but that wasn't a joke. Quayle did not misspell that on purpose. You want to talk about taking things too far sometimes? Let's talk about the Swift Boaters and Kerry. Let's talk about Bush's primary campaign against McCain, where he called McCain crazy, and then insinuated that he fathered an illegitimate child with a woman in Bangledesh (really, he adopted a child from there). You think Quayle's a good guy? These guys are decorated servicemen who have sacrificed for this country. It's bad enough that filthy lies were spread about them, but there are people who still believe the lies. That's taking things too far.

Hell, people still believe that Saddam had WMDs.

Sure, I'll still make fun of Quayle. But, at least the joke is based on facts and not lies.

Has he not read any other books? Is this why it is such a huge deal, that he read a book? What's next-that he makes a boom-boom all by himself? Or got his jammies on and brushed his toofers without being asked?
I'm not getting the celebration on this one.

What's that quote from A Fish Called Wanda?

"Apes don't read philosophy"

"Yes they do, Otto, they just don't understand it!"


All I'm sayin'

I wasn't saying that Quayle misspelled "potatoe" as a joke. What I meant was that the jokes about him doing so seem to be never-ending, even though he left office ooh so long ago. Just using it as an example of the on and on bullshit, really.

And I'm serious...you don't pronounce some words oddly? I pronounce guitar "git-ar" for some reason. Has there ever been proof that Bush has written down the word as "nucular" before? If not, then I call it a colloquialism, and say let it be, for fuck's sake. Jeezy chreezy...

It's all fine and well to make a joke once. But good God, to go on and on with it is my issue. I guess I'm more of a live in the moment kinda girl.

I get what Faith is saying. People speak differently depending on where they're from, and none of us (aside from pro broadcasters) are immune to it.

On the other hand, if I were to go on television and make a serious speech about a war in which a number of my constituents were dying, I'd make a point to make every effort to have myself taken seriously.

Just like he wears a suit instead of a comfy t-shirt. Just like he hires speech writers to fact check and ensure everything he says is worded carefully and safely. I'd think taking that extra measure to be taken seriously wouldn't be the hardest thing in the world to do.

If he was playing poker and shit-shooting with his friends, hell, he could say whatever he wanted. But on television in front of the entire world, representing the very best foot America can put forward, he's got to be more considerate than that. Once? Sure, we all screw up. But every single time?

It just comes off a bit arrogant and ignorant, which is a stereotype Americans can do without in delicate times like these.

I can't WAIT for a president that makes all his speeches in his pj's. THAT would be awesome.

I see what you guys mean, too. I understand the pain and the irritation and the wanting-his-term-to-just-END-already feelings. I think I just want it to end for other reasons, is all. So, so tired of all the crap-talk. I can't wait for a democrat to get into office and fix the whole world, dammit.

I say words like "ain't" and "y'all," sure. In casual conversation. But, if I were giving a worldwide televised address, I wouldn't use them.

And, again, I hold the President to a higher standard. Sure, people say nucular. Some people also say "aks." Does it mean that the President should talk like that? Of course not. Not in official government addresses, anyway.

And I'm sorry that you're tired of the crap talk. I'm tired of crap talk, too. I'm tired of hearing that disagreeing with the President makes you a terroist. I'm tired of all the scandals surrounding the current administration, and I'm tired of the lies they tell to try to cover the scandals.

Ugh! How in the world did we get a president that makes the news for reading?
Not to agitate Faith further, but wasn't Dan Q's favorite movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"?
My mother had a bulletin board of all the newsworthy gaffes of Mr. Q--it was very difficult for my sister and I to throw it away this year (she died in 1991).
I agree, Mikey, how you and I speak chatting with friends should not be held to the same standard as what our elected leaders have to say.

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