'bush clears brush like he rides his bike' - from WP

[zippy890]

OMFG if thats true he is in trouble with a chainsaw in his hands!

this article is too funny about bush's obsession with driving around his 'ranch' with a chainsaw looking for brush to clear.

His neighbor says "Most likely he's doing that to show the media he's got a chain saw," joked Larry Mattladge....to show he's a Texan"

what an asswipe of a president, that stupid photo of him looking macho-manly carrying a few twigs.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/30/AR2005123001326.html:

:rofl:

[B Calm]

1. Someone should tell him a match will clear brush much faster than

the chainsaw...

[madeline_con]

60. He burns stuff, too. n/t

[ngGale]

2. OMFG - * and the Texas.....

Chainsaw Massacre, is more like it.:scared:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

3. And to think Kerry was attacked for the goose-hunting trip.

Liberal media, my ass.

[slor]

4. "There's very few things he gets to do hands on."...

I guess we can be thankful for that.

[flordehinojos]

5. the phallic cowboy ...

clearing brush?
sticking itto the land?
working out his homicidal thrust?

this is no past-time this phallic cowboy is engaged in... in clearing brush bush becomes an extension of his own phallus.

this phallic cowboy is effing our constitution, our land, and the rest of all of us!

[zippy890]

7. he's on a personal search & destroy mission

from the article:

"there will be times when the president drives around his property and "will see a stand of cedar trees and say 'Let's clear those,' " said Joseph Hagin, Bush's deputy chief of staff, who has been cutting brush with his boss all week."

Like he wants to chainsaw the constitution, the people he sees as his enemies..... your right, he's a F**ked up macho man

ugh how I hate that stupid picture of him, the photo-op president. what a joke

[madokie]

11. right before taking that picture someone said you need some

dirt on those clothes and he took his gloved hand and did precisely that. What a freaking 'moran'

[wakeme2008]

28. Right and NO Sweat...

Photo Op only...

[SammyWinstonJack]

36. Just how many 'dirty' t-shirts does he have in his costume wardrobe?

Phony POS!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

22. Oh no! Killer TREES! I want them gone!

Brush provides animals, birds, etc with shelter, food. He is sterilizing his land uselessly.
Come to think of it, that is a fitting metaphore. Or is it a simile?
I always confuse the two.

[Lorien]

53. Enacting the "healthy forests initiative" at home

:puke:

Is there any part of creation that this buffoon DOESN'T want to destroy?

[MisterP]

64. how arbitrary, how...Caligula

Caligula liked arena "sports," and once lopped off an ostrich's head and held it aloft in triumph. Bystanders had to eat their laurels (literally) to stop laughing.

[FatDave]

21. What a picture

That's right, ladies and gentleman! This is the President of the United States of America. The leader of the free world. An unconvincing phony-ass wannabe cowboy.

[FreedomAngel82]

55. In another post about this

the guy said they brought in brush for him didn't he? I think I remember him saying that in the interview. This is the guy who let Camp Casey stay on his property while they were there.

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Maybe he could go to LA or MS with his chainsaw

and help the people there who still have trees smashed on their houses. My husband and son are coming back today from MS where they went to help cut trees for people whose houses have been trashed by the hurricane. They sure could have used some help.

[FreedomAngel82]

56. Yep

My dad is hoping to go down the first week or second during January if his knee and back are doing okay. He's going down to Mississippi with a group from church. Maybe Georgie could hitch a ride with them. Than again we're in Tennessee. Heh.

[izzie]

8. Maybe it is just the wimp thing?

After all we hardly think of men as cheerleaders and when I lived in the South I found that some of those men really had trouble with this being a man thing. Bush seems to work hard at being something out of a book and not the son of the rich with the easy life he has had. I find how the South still thinks hard to understand. It is where the Red and Blue state thing really hits me in the face. I just do not understand the brush cutting thing at all.

[MaineDem]

18. OMG, don't say wimp!

You'll incur the wrath of the matriarch of the clan, ol' Barb. The Bush men are not wimps. She said so herself.

:evilgrin: But I think we should all spread the word.

[FreedomAngel82]

57. I don't know either

My grandparents on my Mom's side had a big yard and they spent time in it but not clearing brush. They did leaves and cut the grass and certainly weren't obsessed with it like him. I wouldn't doubt if he just did a few minutes for his photo-ops and than has a guy (or a group of guys) who he pays to do the work.

[Missy M]

9. The article mentions Bush bought the property six years ago...

confirming that he bought it just in time for the election, to show he was as macho as Reagan. I think it's a hoot that anyone would think either one of them were or are cowboys. If he clears brush like he rides his bicycle he must fall down alot while doing it.

[madokie]

12. The undoing of the bush cartel

and all it took was one fall and one chainsaw. Hey a guy can dream can't he. I lived most of my 57 years not wanting to harm anything or anyone, Its sad that it's the pResident who makes me feel that way, I guess it's just leadership, I don't know. :shrug:

[Missy M]

15. I'm with you on not wanting to harm anything or anyone but...

Bush makes the worst in me come out. I still dream of that pretzel not being dislodged from his throat and take great pleasure in that dream.

[zippy890]

24. that was my thought, too

and falling on a chainsaw....!....he must have personal 'brush-cutting' aides that supervise him when he's got that chainsaw going, you know, in case he 'blacks out' or whatever his problem is, these guys would be nearby to deal with any mishaps.

[Missy M]

27. I'm surprised he doesn't have a few missing fingers.

[Lisa]

47. actually, he does have people who keep him from hurting himself

"Out here, Secret Service agents trained to take the bullet for the president ensure falling trees do not strike him. Some watch the perimeter around Bush, while those closest to him guide cedar away from his head."

http://www.sptimes.com/2002/08/11/Worldandnation/Working_on_range__hel.shtml

I showed this article to a friend who used to train Forest Service work crews. She commented that anyone who was so reckless in the field would be taken aside and told to smarten up, before they hurt themselves or someone else.

[radfringe]

10. mentioned to my partner

that I would have thought all the brush was cleared out by now...

she replied "they truck some in for photo ops"

[CJCRANE]

13. "Professional brush removal can cost up to $200 an hour."

Looks like * could earn a good livin' when he's done presidentin'.

[FreedomAngel82]

58. Do we pay for that?

[peacefreak]

14. You're doin' a heck of a job, bushie...

:evilgrin:

[Chomp]

16. I think there...

...is an insight into W's psyche here. The article says:

"We do it because we have to," said Zach Arias, who with his wife raises cows on 400 acres about 20 miles from town. "But afterwards, you kind of go, 'Wow. I feel good about what I did today.' " White House counselor Dan Bartlett explained it this way: "It's therapeutic for him, I guess. There's very few things he gets to do hands on."

Bush has never achieved anything in his life. He has been powerless since childhood. He has never had to work, to earn money. He has never seen anything he does actually achieve anything, at least nothing for HIMSELF, personally. Whether a puppet oil man, an AWOL soldier, a silly front man for a baseball club, or an impotent, pretendy President, he has never actually done a goddam thing.

By contrast, a day of clearing up dead wood allows you actually see the physical result of a hard days' work. "This morning all the wood was over there, and now, it os over there. Job done. An achivement!".

I'm not a psychologist, but it seems quite obvious to me.

It's also a bit like Marx's explanation of separation of task and result in modern labour (i.e. you work all day in an office/factory but don't actually see/gain from the phsical result of your work), which is pretty ironic for a loony right administration.

[FreedomAngel82]

59. I found this quote very interesting

<White House counselor Dan Bartlett explained it this way: "It's therapeutic for him, I guess. There's very few things he gets to do hands on.">

So who does the presidency work?? When Jimmy Carter was president what did he do on vacations?? What about Clinton? Didn't Kennedy go on his yacht and spend time with family?

[malaise]

17. Now where was that woman with the lawnmower

that started the fire???

[0007]

19. What a fake!

[ComerPerro]

20. He clears brush because its all he can do

ever notice that he never does actual ranch work?

Its all for show.

Everything that Bush does is just a carefully staged photo op.

[FreedomAngel82]

61. He has no farm animals either

My great-grandmother on my dad's side had a farm and when she was younger she had chickens, cows, pigs and lots of plants and veggies. She even used to make her own jelly that was great! (my grandma used to as well)

[madeline_con]

62. I haerd he's afraid of horses

and he tried to milk one once.

[Moosepoop]

23. Anyone wanna guess how Condi gets out of helping?

Aides are corralled to help, although Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a frequent guest, has escaped brush duty. "The tradecraft she uses to get out of it is highly confidential, and I can't discuss it," said national security adviser Steven J. Hadley. To date, no visiting foreign leaders have been conscripted.

I'll just bet that the "tradecraft" she uses is "highly confidential", all right! Wouldn't want Laura to find out...

[zippy890]

25. yeah.. what the hell is this 'tradecraft' of Condi's

the mind boggles, and the stomach heaves at the possibilities

[flordehinojos]

29. the tradecraft of condoliar lice?

might it be a resting place for bush's phallus?

[pearl]

30. Zippy that was funny

Thank god I didn't have a sip of coffee because you are
cracking me up this am.

[FreedomAngel82]

63. LOL!

Ew, dirty image! How much you wanna bet that's a fake thing too? Oh yes. I'm sure some rich folks are out there doing some brush clearing. :eyes: Please. Condi would be out in a quick to go up to NYC to shop for shoes and go to Broadway plays.

[Island Blue]

26. Damn it it's hard werk being prezident!

When are you people ever going to learn that and to stop criticizing Dear Leader?

[muchacho]

31. You clear brush with a John Deer earth mover

using a chain saw makes you a poser or stupid.

[B Calm]

34. I only have 12 acres, but you are so right!!

[FreedomAngel82]

65. Yep

Even my grandfather had actual lawn mowers and stuff he used to collect leaves and than he burnt them and stuff. :)

[TexasProgresive]

32. I never hear about any livestock on this "ranch."

Now a real photo act would be of BabyBush jumping off a horse after roping a bull calf. Then he castrates, vaccinates and brands the lil dogie. Oh! I forgot he's afraid of horses.

[muchacho]

35. It;s not a ranch

your right, no livestock.

It's a farm. Less macho but accurate.

[Island Blue]

43. What exactly does he grow on the "farm"?

I've never heard of a brush farm before.

[Avalux]

38. LOL!

There's no livestock, and if truth be known, Bush doesn't do any brush clearing, just a few photo ops here and there holding hunks of wood and his chain saw. I mean really - who can get close enough to know for sure?

Come on Bushie - where's your horse you manly man? :rofl:

[muchacho]

33. He's not a Texan!

He was born in Connecticut.

(from a 4th generation Texan)

[Avalux]

37. This is my favorite part of the article:

"Bush, by contrast, practices a selective, do-it-yourself sculpting to enhance his enjoyment of his property, local experts say. He will clear underbrush to preserve beautiful live oaks and pecan trees, or to prepare the 50 acres where Laura Bush is cultivating native grasses, or to help carve nature trails through the ranch's many canyons."

Could this be any more absurd? :rofl:

[hootinholler]

51. Cultivating Native Grasses? WTF?!?

Since when does one need to cultivate a native grass variety?

-Hoot

[tanyev]

39. This article didn't mention that he also READ A BOOK over the break.

You got that America? Shout it from the mountaintops! Have the news stations run a crawl every 30 seconds in all caps! Talk about it incessantly to distract yourself from your pathetic little lives! Your president reads! There is NOTHING he can't do!!!!!!!



Excuse me. :puke:

[tinfoilinfor2005]

40. Why put him down for it?

It's the only thing in his life that he's ever done well.

[Mutley]

41. Hey, if he wants to get his jollies clearing brush, then fine by me.

At least it's harmless, and lots of fun jokes come out of it.

[deminks]

42. Gene Autry's Cowboy Code (Smirky is no cowboy)

1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.

2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.

3. He must always tell the truth.

4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.

5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.

6. He must help people in distress.

7. He must be a good worker.

8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.

9. He must respect women, parents, and his nations laws.

10. The Cowboy is a patriot.

http://courses.cs.vt.edu/~cs3604/lib/WorldCodes/Cowboy.Code.html

[Dervill Crow]

52. Wow. * gets a perfect zero out of ten. n/t

[Lisa]

44. he went out BOATING with a chainsaw ...

I kid you not. He noticed a tree snag sticking out of his prized artificial fishpond, and decided to take a boat out and remove the snag. So there he was, standing up, wielding the chainsaw, and the wind came up and things got kind of tippy ...

He was lucky he didn't either make a hole in the boat, or in himself! This is the kind of story that gets told by paramedics and hospital emergency room personnel.

"A 10-acre man-made pond built and stocked with 5,000 bass has also been designed around the oak trees, and one oak sits at the tip of a little peninsula. The view looks like a national park, and Bush, the grounds keeper in chief, leaves no detail unsmoothed. He tells of how irked he was by a dead tree's breaking the water's surface, how he took off in his bass-fishing boat, a gift from his uncle William T. Bush, wielding a chainsaw. "I was out there in Uncle Buck's bass-fishing buggy, and the wind was blowing from the north, and I was standing there, nearly got blown over," he remembers. The mission was unsuccessful."

http://www.time.com/time/poy2000/mag/ranch.html

[dave29]

45. Got Wood?

Our President is strangely obsessed with clearing all of the wood around him.

[Catherine Vincent]

46. Larry Mattladge?

Isn't that the white-bearded fella from Crawford that was on tv a while back during Cindy's visit?

[BrotherBuzz]

50. Is this the same crazy Larry that drinks beer before he loads his gun....

hops into his pickup, barrels across his pasture and pulls up to his fence within a few hundred feet of the protesters standing in a damn ditch and fires at least one blast into the air?

Angry neighbor has had enough of Crawford protesters


BY G. ROBERT HILLMAN

The Dallas Morning News



CRAWFORD, Texas - (KRT) - Larry Mattlage has had enough.



He's tired of all the commotion at the anti-war camp across the road from his ranch house. He wants all the cars out of his ditch, and the anti-war protesters, the pro-war demonstrators and the media to leave.

So, he's closed the iron gate to his small spread outside of town and posted "Sorry, We're Closed," and "Help Wanted" signs. And on Sunday morning, as Cindy Sheehan and a small gathering of other anti-war supporters prepared for a worship service, he stood in his goat pasture and fired a shotgun into the air.

"I'm getting ready for dove season," he said when reporters pressed him. "I'm practicing."

His message, though, was unmistakable as he talked on.

"These neighbors out here are upset," he said. "I don't want nobody getting hurt. I just want them to pack the damn tents and go where they came from."

Within minutes of his shotgun blast, sheriff's deputies and Secret Service agents, who protect President Bush at his nearby ranch, rushed in. And McLennan County Sheriff Larry Lynch said he counseled Mattlage to exercise some restraint.

"He's on his own property," Lynch said. But he warned that Mattlage can't just "shoot across the road."

<more>

http://www.thestate.com/mld/charlotte/news/nation/12377767.htm

[Lisa]

48. Bush is considerably oversimplifying the situation ...

In the past, he's claimed that the cedar (Juniperus ashei and similar species, actually) is an invasive exotic which "doesn't belong". Actually it's native to the area. I had my resource management students look into the situation, and the assertion that cedars "steal water" is not always accurate -- and various studies (e.g. in the Journal of Rangeland Management) suggest that removing the cedar doesn't necessarily result in a long-term increase in water availability. The microclimate created by having that brush canopy shelters a number of plant and animal species ... and while the article talks about rainfall interception, on steep slopes this can result in the force of the water being dissipated. Take out the cedar and you get more soil erosion (also because the cedar roots are helping hold the hillside together).

While it's true that cedar scrub is more widespread now than it was when the area was first settled by Euro-Americans -- the conditions for this were arguably created by the change in land use (fire suppression, cattle spreading juniper seeds on hooves, etc., and of course overgrazing which suppressed the growth of other plants).


Interesting article on the role cedar plays in the local ecology and economy, of that part of Texas.

http://members.toast.net/juniper/


p.s. if he's hoping to do ecological restoration on his property, he needs several things. For example, a detailed baseline study (biology, hydrology, soils) before he starts messing around. Also you can't do it all at one go -- you have to experiment to find which treatment works best for particular areas. Ideally, over a number of growing seasons, so any potential problems (wrong species mix, microclimate response, etc.) show up, and you don't end up having to redo a whole area because you planted the wrong kinds of grasses and such (which happened to some friends of mine doing an oak savanna project).

That picture of him with the bookshelf? There should have been a solid wall of books, reports, journals, and maps, dealing with that particular environment. For every shot of him out there with the chainsaw, there should be 2 more of him doing library research, monitoring experimental plots, or talking to local people, scientists from universities and government agencies, and others who have tried this.

Otherwise he will end up with potential bloopers, such as chainsawing down a stand of old-growth cedar which the endangered golden-cheeked warbler was using for food and nesting material.

[Cleita]

49. This tells us who Bush is. He clears what gets in his way and

then lies about the reason. The Juniper Cedar is native to Texas and to say otherwise because you want to attack something that can't fight back is typical of this Easterner who doesn't care about what he destroys. A real Texan knows the plant and animal species in his area and how they fit in the ecology.

[FreedomAngel82]

66. Even someone who lives in an area

like that knows. I'm in Tennessee and my yard is very wooded and I even know about my yard. Bush could care less about his area and the nature there. I love where I live because we have tons of wild animals from fox's and racoon's to rabbits and little turtles and stray dogs. Since I love living in my town and general area a couple years ago I did research on how my town came to be at this point. I wonder what all he knows about Crawford.

[MisterP]

67. not to mention the farmlands the size of Argentina tapping the Ogalalla

and other prairie aquifers...
it's the cedars' fault
on edit: they can have California's floodwaters--first to put out Houston, which appears to be ablaze tonight from the fireworks, then to replenish the aquifers. '05 is going out appropriately: a coupla disasters piled on the last day

[FreedomAngel82]

54. Sad isn't it?

Heh. And I remember reading how Bush bought the place very very shortly before he "won" 2000. So he wouldn't have bought the place if he didn't know he was going to win. And the same guy said in another post here that Bush didn't know anybody in Crawford. Didn't they used to live in a gated community in Houston?