Bu****e, in his highly "prepared" remarks to Pope Ratzinger, spoke
reams of pure fiction, as when he told the Pontiff, "We welcome you
with the ancient words commended by Saint Augustine: Pax tecum," as
Bush reminded the visiting German " ...of the American efforts to
'promote peace' in the world, In deference to the pope's antiwar
sensibilities ..."
But Bush, The World's Scourge of Death, continued to lay it on Ol' Joe
by cravenly reading from his teleprompter, "In a world where some
invoke the name of God to justify acts of terror and murder and hate,
we need your message that God is love."
(As Jack Paar would say, "I kid you not.")
And, fully warmed to the op****tunity for hyperbole and downright
fictionalizing, the Harvard MBA intoned, "In a world where some no
longer believe that we can distinguish between simple right and wrong,
we need your message to reject this dictator****p of relativism. . . .
In a world where some see freedom as simply the right to do as they
wish, we need your message that true liberty requires us to live our
freedom not just for ourselves, but in a spirit of mutual sup****t."
Witnesses say they swore they saw the Pope fighting a tightening jaw
and a rolling of eyes as Ol' Grand Bag's congenital liar of a son
tactically ommitted any mention of 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina
victims, torture, prisoner rendition, stolen U.S. citizen privacy and
civil rights, illegal wiretapping, secretive and illegal destruction
of administration e-mail, environmental crimes, and a pro-business
stance that has caused a recession the likes of which we've not seen
in decades.
The seeming reticence of the Pope to condemn Bush for his world-
reknowned crimes gives some credence to the possibility that Georgie
and Joe reached a pre-visit agreement that none of Bush's criminality
would be brought up in return for his promise to "try" to have the
death penalty abolished in the U.S.
Sure.
----------------------------------
"It's Not the Holy See, but We Like It"
By Dana Milbank
Thursday, April 17, 2008; A03
"In our nation," President Bush told Pope Benedict XVI at the White
House yesterday, "faith and reason coexist in harmony."
Well, most of the time.
As the pontiff addressed an adoring crowd on the South Lawn -- about
the time he mentioned the "sublime destiny of every man and woman" --
his gentle tones began to compete with a din coming from Pennsylvania
Ave.
"I know what's in your religion! Drunkenness! ***uality!" Larry Craft,
stationed near the corner of 17th and Pennsylvania, shouted into his
bullhorn. He carried a banner informing Catholics "Your priest is
lying!" and shouted insults at passing priests: "Are they drunk
today?"
The efforts of a dozen such hecklers stirred up the crowds of
Catholics who had come to the White House gates to catch a glimpse of
the Popemobile. They tried to drown out the Protestant protesters with
songs and musical instruments, adding to a general cacophony that
could be heard on the South Lawn.
Protesting the pope? On his first U.S. trip? On his 81st birthday, no
less? It seemed to merit a new entry in the is-nothing-sacred
category. But for His Holiness, it was all part of a quintessentially
American welcome: well intentioned, but at times unruly and awkward.
Benedict spoke of the need for "international diplomacy to resolve
conflicts"; the White House answered by having a military choir sing
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic," including the part about the
"terrible swift sword." The Vatican informed the White House that the
pope would not attend a state dinner in his honor; the president
decided to throw the party anyway -- apparently the first time a state
dinner has been held without the guest of honor.
The moment Benedict stepped from his car, his white hair and robe
glowing in the bright sun****ne, thousands of arms extended to take his
snapshot.
Moments after the pontiff took the stage, audience members serenaded
him with an unauthorized rendition of "Happy Birthday" -- then, with
permission, reprised the performance later in the welcoming ceremony.
The pope was evidently prepared for a bit of chaos. In his remarks, he
said he had come "with great respect for this vast pluralistic
society," and he spoke approvingly of a "commonwealth in which each
individual group can make its voice heard."
Particularly if members of that group have bullhorns.
The president, who long ago shed the anti-Catholic taint of Bob Jones
University, was on his best behavior. He dug up his compassionate-
conservative rhetoric for the pope, talking about "the weakest and
most vulnerable among us" and the "universal call to feed the hungry
and comfort the sick and care for the infirm."
The war leader also played the man of peace. "We welcome you with the
ancient words commended by Saint Augustine: Pax tecum," Bush said,
later reminding him of the American efforts to "promote peace" in the
world. In deference to the pope's antiwar sensibilities, the White
House skipped the usual review of the troops in favor of a lineup of
Boy and Girl Scouts. But even this plan ran into trouble when three of
the Girl Scouts fainted and had to be carried off by ushers.
Bush did, however, enlist the pontiff's help in the war against "some"
people; the president did not identify this enemy, but he seemed to
have in mind a combination of terrorists and Democrats.
"In a world where some invoke the name of God to justify acts of
terror and murder and hate, we need your message that God is love,"
Bush said. "In a world where some treat life as something to be
debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is
sacred. . . . In a world where some no longer believe that we can
distinguish between simple right and wrong, we need your message to
reject this dictator****p of relativism. . . . In a world where some
see freedom as simply the right to do as they wish, we need your
message that true liberty requires us to live our freedom not just for
ourselves, but in a spirit of mutual sup****t."
The crowd cheered noisily for Bush's antiabortion reference ("all
human life is sacred") and his reference to a "dictator****p of
relativism," but they were quiet for the "spirit of mutual sup****t"
bit.
The pope, tactfully, made no direct mention of Iraq, torture, global
warming and other disputes with the administration, but he did call
the Bush-hostile United Nations an "effective voice for the legitimate
aspirations of all the world's people." He continued: "On this, the
60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
need for global solidarity is as urgent as ever, if all people are to
live in a way worthy of their dignity."
Tact continued to reign during a briefing by White House press
secretary Dana Perino, who said she didn't know whether the pontiff
and the president discussed Tibet, torture or anything beyond the
plight of Christians in Iraq. But she did know that Bush gave Benedict
a crystal cross and some classical and religious CDs for his birthday,
and "we presented him with several tiers of a birthday cake."
http://www.wa****ngtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/16/AR2008041603122.html
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