Answer: Depitty; Question: What Does Our President Call the Assistant to the Head of Police?

Last night I watched the president speak - for a little bit -like Im sure some of you also did. I know, this isnt a great accomplishment on my behalf, but it happened nevertheless. And I was in a rare mood while watching him, ironically not because of what he was saying. Let me back up....

I got up balls early yesterday morning because I had to be at my companies monthly board meeting. In case you wanted to know, the second Wednesday of every month sees me waking up before 6 AM so that I can drive to far off places to repeat the same thing I say every month. Fine, I change it up a little bit and add some humor, but all that being said, my reports are often strikingly similar.

After the meeting I drove to my office and sat around for hours dealing with boring shit after boring shit, only being kept awake by my elation sparked by my ability to leave work at 3:45 PM since I started at 7:45 AM. My witching hour finally came. I packed up my things and walked out the door.

Not two minutes later my phone rings. It's the assistant director. He has a dinner for me to go to and I cant say no. This sucks, truly. Instead of driving home, I was now headed for the Union League in Downtown Philadelphia for the Sunday Breakfast Club meeting and dinner. It wasnt Sunday, and we werent having breakfast. The Club was formed by Philadelphia's richest of the rich during the Great Depression. It's creator's, the few working businessmen in Philly, wanted to form a think tank to come up with ideas on how to keep business going in the city. The met on Sunday mornings because that was the only time they were free.

Once the depression ended the group remained, but focused their interests on charity. The speaker at this particular dinner was Pennsylvania's Secretary of Transportation. He was giving a report on Transportation Funding and Reform, unfortunately a topic I have heard him speak about at least four times, and this fifth was no different. It was boring, long, and inconclusive towards anything. By the way, I was the next youngest person to me that was at this dinner was at least twice my age

By this point in the story you should be asking, "what does this have to do with a Republican Agenda and President Bush?" Well, I am merely telling you that i worked for 13 hours yesterday and had to sit in a room with the carelessly rich - who's only real reason for being there is to spend money for their ridiculous dues and to give their time to "charity," essentially making themselves feel better - while listening to a boring presentation that I had already heard before. Yes, I was pissed off.

So I get home and turn on the TV to be greeted by our illustrious leader, George Walker Bush. Mr. President is calling for 22,000 more troops and $7 Billion more dollars to essentially destroy everything and everyone in Iraq. If you are against what we are trying to install, we are going to kill you, unless you conform. Resistance is futile. I have the feeling Mr. Bush roots for the Borg each time he watched Star Trek: The Next Generation.

What I originally didnt understand was why he was calling for more troops in a time when a majority of the country has demanded that we invest less lives and dollars into this thriving problem. However, I believe that I have come up with a republican explanation. It is twisted, sad, and horrifying, but I have a feeling that these are his real intentions:

He, and all of the other right wing Republicans (I dont want to lump together all of the republicans, some of them still have their dignity), want the Democrats in charge of the congress to say no to his plan. The increased numbers that he has proposed are so arbitrary that I cant really read anything else into them. Are 22,000 more soldiers and $7 Billion more dollars really going to end all hostilities in Iraq? We currently have over 150,000 troops over there now, I cant see how only 22,000 makes that much of a difference in reality. Of course, back in the US it means something else - Bush completely ignoring the recent elections and the want of the US people. Why does he want the Democrats to say no? More on that later.

Later in his speech, the President brought up the fact (or at least HIS fact) that we are just as susceptible to an attack along the lines of 9-11 to this day, which is odd because I see at least five times as much security around everywhere. But he has to say that we are vulnerable so that he can warrant the increase in troops. It is too bad no one thought through this idea and realized that what he was actually saying is that he and his administration has accomplished nothing since that fateful day. Or maybe he and his speech writers merely believe that the US people arent intelligent enough to put those two ideas together. Lucky for you, I am.

During his speech Bush mentioned that the increase in troops will allow us to go street by street and weed out the insurgents one by one, eliminating all who oppose what the new Iraqi government stands for. He is uttering the same words that the insurgents claim we say, and ultimately making "them" hate "us" even more. His hateful words may even spark renewed violence on US land. At first I thought how idiotic his statements were, but then I thought maybe he wants another attack. But why, WHY would he want another 9-11?

But of course, so that he can say, "See, I told you so. I told you they were out to get us. I asked for more money and troops to get rid of this problem, but the freedom hating, terrorism loving democrats said no." And that plainly and simply ties it all together. Whether this is the first salvo at getting the Democrats quickly out of power during the next elections, or because he thinks he can out-whit the American people, this game plan is skewed and horrifying.

As someone who always wants to get the last word in edge-wise I can understand where the President is coming from, however, I dont play my games on a global level with hundreds of thousands of lives on the line.

We are becoming exactly what they believe we are and his words are only going to increase the hatred the world has towards us. We asked for a change, yet we still arent getting what we want.

I needed a xanax after my day and his speech, and took one, which helped nicely, but Im still agitated. Still angered. Still wanting change. And still tired from having worked 13 hours.