Rocky Rolls

Thanks to Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson for not kowtowing to the Bush juggernaut that blew into Utah on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. He gave a magnificent speech during an anti-Bush rally which drew about 4000, in comparison to the 300 that showed up for the pro-Bush rally. Among other things, Rocky proclaimed the Bush administration to be the worst presidency in the history of our country.

A lot of Utahns are outraged by Rocky; not just because of his politics, but as an environmentalist, and as a major proponent of gay rights.

Personally, I think it's refreshing to have a guy in this reddest of the red states who doesn't bend to the will of the majority. It makes for a lot of redfaced Republicans, that's for sure. Seeing them all spitting, coughing and strangling on their own vitriol was worth a lot to me.

The Bush forces have gone the extra mile to defuse criticism by basically smothering babies in their cribs, before they get a chance to do their own thinking. This latest talk of Islam as "fascist," or anyone who disagrees with our rotten foreign policy as "fascists," would be more laughable if it wasn't so dangerous. As I recall, among their other sins, fascists were enemies of a free press, or a freethinking populace.

The Bush people have started this fascism theme just recently. All four of the major players, Rummy, Cheney, Rice and Bush, have used the term in one form or another in their most recent speeches. I imagine them standing around in the Oval Office doing a four-part harmony as they rehearse their use of the word "fascist."

The old tactic of accusing anti-war people of being anti-troops is getting old. Recently I heard a gold star mother, whose Marine son was recently killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad say, "If we don't stay the course in Iraq then my son will have died in vain."

I really feel bad that her son died. And I believe I can be antiwar and still pro troops, because I think if you don't want her son to have died in vain, then why put more soldiers and Marines in harm's way so they can be killed? There comes a time when things just have to stop before more people get killed. It's called cutting our losses, and it's a viable alternative to throwing soldiers at potentially deadly situations so that some other soldier will not have died in vain.

Cindy Sheehan's son also died in Iraq. All she wanted was for George Bush to sit down with her and assure her that her family's sacrifice was not in vain. He wouldn't do that, preferring to speak only to people who agree with him beforehand, like the aforementioned mother of the dead Marine.

What people forget about G. Dubya Bush is that he was a CEO in private business for many years before following his dad into politics. CEO's don’t take kindly to criticism. They want sycophants and yes-people around them. So does our president.

The other thing that has gotten my ire raised about this week and the response of the right to Rocky Anderson's speechifying is the harsh criticism that, unlike other mayors around the country, he doesn't show deference to the president. The president, no matter how much you disagree with him personally, is still the president and deserves respect, say those critics.

Bullshit! Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit! What everyone keeps forgetting is that George W. Bush is not our CEO, he's our president. HE WORKS FOR US, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!

If you think I have to respect the president when you can rip the mayor, then I have to ask you where you put your X when you voted, and whether you are aware that a president, like a mayor, is a public official, voted in.

Finally, yesterday the Salt Lake Tribune had an article about Bush's hotel stay while in town. He stayed at the luxury Grand America Hotel in a $4,500 a night presidential suite. How the hell can any hotel room cost $4,500?! Did we pay for this luxury room? The article also stated he ordered four cigars. I remember how much trouble Bill Clinton got into over one cigar.

Ciao for now, El Postino