Step 1, open mouth. Step 2, insert foot.

My compatriot blogger and old High School friend Max Jupiter notes two very disturbing things from the Bush administration, again. "President George W. Bush traveled to Asia and gave a speech in Manila comparing Iraq to the Philippines, a former U.S. colony that was 'liberated' from Spain in 1898 and occupied for 48 years. Bush said that the Philippines, which he called 'the oldest democracy in Asia,' should be seen as the model for a new democratic Iraq, and then quickly left the country because of security concerns."

Wow. Where to start? How about the Phillippines being a model...actually that is what Iraq is now: a hotbed for terrorists with differing factions and discontented ethnic groups, with former military leaders who've got blood on their hands (East Timor anyone?). Better goal would be Bosnia, whose occational ethnic clashes are indeed serious and the groups will take generations to truly trust each other (would you if they killed a family member?) but the overall violence level is still much better than say Detriot or DC. And guess who is responsibile for the Balkins? Gen. Wesley Clark, Richard Holbroke, Sec. Madiline Albright, NATO, and President Clinton. Guess which one is running for president?

Back on topic...What about Bush's pro-colonialism statement? Don't you just love these? I guess his neo-con team wants Iraqi as America's oil-bitch/colony. Just ask the British how well that worked. Weren't colonies so 19th century? Maybe Bush is trying to make them cool again.

OK here's the next juicy nuggett, again thanks to Max J., "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended Lt. Gen. William Boykin, the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligenceand war-fighting support, who was videotaped making a number of impolite comments about Islam. Boykin was also videotaped propounding a new theory of American electoral politics: 'Why is this man [George W. Bush] in the White House?' he asked in a speech. 'The majority of Americans didn't vote for him. Why is he there? And I tell you this morning that he's in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this.'"

First off, the guy is an idiot. You don't go to church and say crap like that in your uniform while it is being taped. He has a right to believe that stuff, but it is not the policy of the US government. Because A) we have separation of church and state in the US B) Bush has repeatedly made clear that this is not a religious war, but a war for "civilization" (whatever that means, Francis Fukuyama aside) and C) although Bush likes to think he too was chosen by God to lead, he doesn't like those 'he wasn't elected' comments anymore, especially from his supporters (you know, like people he appoints to important thinks like oh say finding the weapons of mass destruction that Saddam/Syria/terrorists now have). Fareed Zakaria makes a pretty good argument for firing this appointee. "This is not simply a matter of symbolism, though that is important because this story is now being broadcast across the globe. [It's] The position Boykin holds [...] Is this a man who will be able to objectively sift through intelligence and analysis about the state of Muslim societies, the difference between moderates and extremists, the distinctions among various fundamentalist groups? Or does he look at them all and see ... Satan?"

On the other side, Cal Thomas seems to think this is just the dog of political correctness out of get him. But I think anyone with their head screwed on should tell him to shut his piehole. After all, describing his battle with a Somali (Muslim) warlord, he has said: “I knew that my God was bigger than his God. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol.” He has also repeatedly explained that America’s enemy was “a spiritual enemy ... called Satan.” The enemy will only be defeated, he added, “if we come against them in the name of Jesus.” It was this remark that lead Josh Marshall to compare him to Pope Urban II.