Bill Maher slams Bush library: ‘What a bullsh-t rewriting of history’

[spanone]

Bill Maher is not a fan of the 13 existing presidential libraries, and he made no bones about it on Real Time on Friday night, slamming the new one dedicated to George W. Bush for features like the “Decision Points Theater,” which asks visitors to choose whether they would invade Iraq if they were in Bush’s shoes.

“Who was asking that question? No one,” Maher raged. “No one. What a bullshit rewriting of history. After 9-11, nobody went, ‘Yeah, we gotta go after Iraq, ’cause they didn’t do it.’”

While his panelists were quick to point out that taxpayers did not fund the construction, Maher retorted that public funds are used to “maintain the fictions” of each administration.

“They’re presidents. They’re not King Tut,” said Maher. “Why do we have to build a mausoleum?”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/26/maher-slams-bush-library-what-a-bullsh-t-rewriting-of-history/

[sandy78]

1. Right on!

Bush should be in jail for war crimes......not have his own dedicated library

[arthritisR_US]

4. Unfortunately, your system of justice does not

exist for the privileged wealthy. They are born with a "get out of jail free" card in their mouth

[Coyotl]

7. President Carter, the great defender of human rights, wants Bush waterboarded

What are those Five Presidents thinking?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022761858

[tanyev]

20. "Pink socks, fucking pink socks"

[Solly Mack]

2. K/R

[Brimley]

3. +1

[Life Long Dem]

5. Bush stayed with his convictions

Who cares if the convictions are nothing but lies, he stayed with his convictions. Got it.

[Baitball Blogger]

9. That was the Republican's big thing back then.

They wanted a president who would walk in and not change course one iota throughout their presidency. I think they thought this was a sign of integrity? I'm not sure. But it sure makes a perfect formula for a toxic leader, of which there are many within the Republican ranks.

[DhhD]

25. Bush stayed with Brownie on starting on day 5 after Hurricane Katrina.

[Triana]

6. That's why we call it the "Lie-bury" n/t

[Baitball Blogger]

8. I can see the option on Jeopardy: The Bush Library.

I'll pick presidential lies for $500, Alec.

[damnedifIknow]

10. It's beyond weird

and frankly kind of sick. If anyone deserves to be shunned it's GWB.

[Marr]

11. When did this Presidential Library thing start, anyway?

I've never liked the sound of it. Why should we build monuments to these people?

The two media stooges on that panel were annoying as hell, too. The one who explained lunatic Repubican politicians by saying that "hyper-partisanism makes you stupid because you're playing to the cheap seats" is just classic Beltway apathy and unthinking service to their mythical "middle".

Authoritarian leaders appeal to stupidity, yes-- they've got a moronic constituency. The same can't be said of the left. The two sides are not just red and blue reflections of one another.

[xtraxritical]

15. I cannot comprehend how you arrived at that conclusion, "playing to the cheap seats"

was right on the money in my book.

[DhhD]

24. It is either a library or a museum paid for by tax payers.

The Bush family paid for the extra building on the complex.

There was controversy about where to house the aftermath of GW after his presidency ended.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history_lesson/2007/01/george_bush_goes_to_college.html

[erpowers]

30. President Franklin Roosevelt

According to the National Archives' Presidential Libraries page, President Franklin Roosevelt was the first President to create a presidential library. Apparently, Roosevelt believed the American people should be allowed to view his papers. He gave his papers to the national archives and gave part of Hyde Park, his estate, to the federal government. His friends created a non-profit organization that raised the money needed to build the library.

The federal government does not pay for the building of the presidential libraries. Each President, his supporters, and friends gather the money needed to build the library. Once the library is built it is turned over to the National Archives, which pays at least part of the costs of maintaining the library.

http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/about/history.html

[LibDemAlways]

12. Based on what I've seen when my daughter had a girl scout function there,

the Reagan library isn't a library at all. It's a museum for Republicans eager to embrace St. Ronnie. Bedtime for Bonzo posters, Nancy's old dresses, and more recently, the Air Force One he flew around on displayed in a gargantuan hanger where, for a fee, a photographer will snap a pic welcoming the "guest" (read "sap&quot aboard. The current "special exhibit" in the library is a bunch of Disney memorabilia - has nothing to do with Reagan at all. The fact that this edifice gets any tax dollars is an outrage.

I'll never get anywhere near either Bush's library, but I'm sure if I did I'd be overcome by the stench of bullshit filling the air.

[JohnnyRingo]

13. Let's not forget the real purpose of a presidential library.

Besides being a perpetual memorial to the ex-president, it's a place to store documents that will never see the light of day. Entering personal docs from their term gives the foundation the right to decide what gets released to preserve the legacy of the library's namesake.

When GW Bush ran for president, he deposited the sensitive documents from his time as Texas governor into his father's library and made them disappear forever. Taxpayers do not have a library card for a presidential repository.

[Daniel537]

14. Spot on.

I would never visit one of those bullshit libraries, especially one dedicated to the Butcher of Baghdad. So sick of the praise that jerk has gotten this week.

[bhillygoat.6]

16. Bush Pres. Library

Volunteer! Gather up all your comic books and put them in right sized zip-lock bags. Place the bag in a sase (right sized Manila envelope). Send it to:

Bush Presidential Library
2943 SMU Blvd
Dallas, Texas 75205

Place a note in the bag addressed to the head librarian: (with words to the effect-your choice- Librarian-please place these "booklets" on your shelves, they are reading material at about the level and skill of "W". Thank you.

[Cha]

17. "50 Reasons You Despised George W. Bush's Presidency"

Starting with numero uno..

1. He stole the presidency in 2000. People may forget that Republicans in Florida purged more than 50,000 African-American voters before Election Day, and then went to the Supreme Court where the GOP-appointed majority stopped a recount that would have awarded the presidency to Vice-President Al Gore if all votes were counted. National news organizations verified that outcome long after Bush had been sworn in.

http://www.alternet.org/print/news-amp-politics/50-reasons-you-despised-george-w-bushs-presidency-reminder-day-his-presidential

[Daniel537]

22. "7. He embraced global isolationism."

That was actually a positive about Bush at the time for me. Gore sounded more like a neo-con on Foreign Policy and would routinely criticize Bush for not wanting to intervene more overseas. And looking at what Bush actually did during his Presidency, i wish this prediction had actually come true.

[spanone]

18. earlier in the day m$nbc ran a story on the 'decision points theater' in the library/museum

it's like a game show and you have 'ten seconds' to decide

and they equate it to the same time jr had to make his decision to go after iraq....can't find video, but it was equating iraq with 911

[Coyotl]

21. Rewriting history will remain a problem for a long time

[MrScorpio]

19. It's only got one book in it…

[burnodo]

23. Maher: The library boasts a Weapons of Mass Destruction pavilion

...but nobody can find it (BA-DUMP-BUMP)

[Initech]

27. !!!!!

[demwing]

26. "hyper-partisanship makes you stupid"

amen to that!

[blkmusclmachine]

28. .

.

[Skittles]

29. well he certainly has changed his tune

Oh, Ted,” he (Maher) replied when I mentioned the judicial coup d’état on his TV show, which aired October 3, 2001. “That’s so September 10th. It really is.”