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Regrets, He's Had A Few ...

Dr Adequate

Banned
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Aug 31, 2004
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"I'll be frank with you. I don't spend a lot of time really worrying about short-term history. I guess I don't worry about long-term history, either, since I'm not going to be around to read it." --- George W. Bush



And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I'll say it clear,
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.
I've spouted scripted bull,
A dummy on a lap, I dare say;
And more, much more than this,
I did it their way.

Regrets, I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention.
I read from the autocue,
And saw it through, with no dissention.
We screwed things up, of course
(Those pesky weapons --- damn, where were they?)
But more, much then this,
I did it their way.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I plugged my ears, and blocked it out.
They made the call, I took the fall
and did it their way.

I've fibbed, I've bluffed and lied.
I've had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as jeers subside,
I find it all so confusing.
To think I'm blamed for that;
For screwing up, in such a rare way.
No, oh no not me,
I did it their way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not a script, then not a lot.
To say the things Dick Cheney feels,
With no ideas, and no ideals.
The record shows, my party blows;
I did it their way.
 
Dr Adequate said:
"I'll be frank with you. I don't spend a lot of time really worrying about short-term history. I guess I don't worry about long-term history, either, since I'm not going to be around to read it." --- George W. Bush

--snip--

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not a script, then not a lot.
To say the things Dick Cheney feels,
With no ideas, and no ideals.
The record shows, my party blows;
I did it their way.
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To BDS or not to BDS, that is the question?

Not BDS.

If only W could see this poem, he might laugh at its accurate depiction of an average Harvard MBA's attempts at leadership.

Since you did not create the rhyme and meter, but borrowed it, no TLA but I still got a grin from it. I love song parodies.
DR
 
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Dr Adequate said:
Next up, I'd like to sing you a little song I call: "Bush, The Tragic Cracker" ...
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I am sure Rush would play it on his radio show.

While you may be tempted, Bush's family is not southern plantation people, nor southern redneck people. He's a bit of am import into Texas (see where his mom's family is from as well, related a few generations back to President Franklin Pierce, and his grandfather on his dad's side was president of the USGA back when WASP was a compliment) so cracker is probably the wrong way to characterize him.

Carpet Bagger? Maybe. ;)
 
Darth Rotor said:
I am sure Rush would play it on his radio show.

While you may be tempted, Bush's family is not southern plantation people, nor southern redneck people. He's a bit of am import into Texas (see where his mom's family is from as well, related a few generations back to President Franklin Pierce, and his grandfather on his dad's side was president of the USGA back when WASP was a compliment) so cracker is probably the wrong way to characterize him.
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I thought that "cracker" was just a slightly offensive term for white people; your post suggests that it specifically refers to "rednecks".

Is that right? If so, I didn't know, and my joke misfired. One does one's best ...

---

I was hoping that this thread might turn into a discussion of Bush's record. But I can see why the conservatives on this forum might wish to stay away from that subject. If you'd like to start ... but then, you're sane, so we still might have a bit of a controversy deficit.
 
Dr Adequate said:
I thought that "cracker" was just a slightly offensive term for white people; your post suggests that it specifically refers to "rednecks".
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Yes and no, it's a different sort of slang than redneck.

IMO, its etymology is southern in origin, in terms of southern whites specifically. While wiki seems to agree with me, I'll not try to get all OED over it. Since W has taken on the airs of a Texan, Carpet bagger or no, it's probably a fair shake to spread a little southern slang on him. He begs for it, at times.
Is that right? If so, I didn't know, and my joke misfired. One does one's best ...
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It came off well enough, I was just playing pedant. Fancy that ... on a JREF forum! :eek:
I was hoping that this thread might turn into a discussion of Bush's record. But I can see why the conservatives on this forum might wish to stay away from that subject. If you'd like to start ... but then, you're sane, so we still might have a bit of a controversy deficit.
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Well, in Texas, we use an expression:

Stick a fork in him, he's done. (Reference is cookedness of steak.) In the case of this pres, lacking anything spectacular in the next three weeks, he's pretty much done, better and worse.

Some might just say he's old news.

DR
 
Dr Adequate said:
I thought that "cracker" was just a slightly offensive term for white people; your post suggests that it specifically refers to "rednecks".

Is that right? If so, I didn't know, and my joke misfired. One does one's best ...

---

I was hoping that this thread might turn into a discussion of Bush's record. But I can see why the conservatives on this forum might wish to stay away from that subject. If you'd like to start ... but then, you're sane, so we still might have a bit of a controversy deficit.
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The term originally applied specifically to poor Southern whites. It did not originate from the black community, either, rather being invented by rich Southern whites to disparage poor Southern whites. Only in more recent years has it come to apply to whites in general, probably from want of a universal negative derogatory term for "white people", at least until "honky" became more prevalent after its coinage in black slang sometime in the 60's.
 
I saw a t-shirt that "Jesus was cracker"-- it depicted a Eucharist.

Oddly enough, Jesus is often depicted as a white dude... a poor white dude... and some Southerners think he spoke English.

"If the King's English is good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for the schoolchildren of Texas"
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Former Governor of Texas, Ann Richards.
 
That seems too neat. Do you have a reference for that quote?
 
gtc said:
That seems too neat. Do you have a reference for that quote?
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The quote about Jesus speaking English has also been attributed to "a Southern senator,", "an Arkansas congressman," Strom Thurmond, and another Texas governor, Ma Ferguson, among others. It seems unlikely to be true of any of them.
 
EBU said:
The quote about Jesus speaking English has also been attributed to "a Southern senator,", "an Arkansas congressman," Strom Thurmond, and another Texas governor, Ma Ferguson, among others. It seems unlikely to be true of any of them.
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Yeah, that seems too neat. A quote that plays on preconceptions of southerners as racist, stupid, and religious, all at once? Unsourced? And with weird doohickeys on it (The "King's" English? Totally forced).

Call me skeptical. Call whoever buys it... not.
 
Could the mods remove the "A" from the thread title?

Darth Rotor said:
Well, in Texas, we use an expression:

Stick a fork in him, he's done. (Reference is cookedness of steak.) In the case of this pres, lacking anything spectacular in the next three weeks, he's pretty much done, better and worse.

Some might just say he's old news.

DR
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My cattle ranching grandfather would have said, "He couldn't pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel."

I see carpetbagger as an apt description of Bush. The only thing Texas about W is that painful twang he has adopted to cover for his country club roots and loyalties.

Daredelvis
 
articulett said:
My mistake-- It was Ma Ferguson...

The reason for my error: http://www.slate.com/id/2149687/

Other sources http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php...d_enough_for_jesus_its_good_enough_for_texas/

My claim is still apropos although misattributed. I got my Texas Female Governors mixed up. Apologies accepted.

ETA (And it appears "Kings English" may not have been used.)
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From your articles:
Two years later, it helped her to become the first female governor of Texas since Miriam "Ma" Ferguson (who in 1924 replaced her impeached husband, and who was funny in a different way: She supposedly said, objecting to the teaching of Spanish in public schools, "If the King's English is good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for the schoolchildren of Texas").
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"If English was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for Texas schoolchildren” is allegedly the quotation of “Ma” ( or “Pa") Ferguson, at a time when Spanish was being taught in the schools.
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This is not exactly stunning evidence. The quote is just too pat.
 
GreyICE said:
From your articles:



This is not exactly stunning evidence. The quote is just too pat.
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But the quote does not seem to fit Richards.

"Poor George. He can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."
-The late, great Ann Richards

Daredelvis
 
Maybe it's a canard.

I was hoping we could look back on the Bush years.

If it has to be about Biblical translation, let me offer you this little gem:

For the record, the King James Bible was good enough for the apostle Paul and it is good enough for this writer as well.​

Linky.
 
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gtc said:
Did they teach Spanish in Texan public schools in 1924?
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It would seem sensible. What should they have taught? Latin? French? German? Ancient Greek?

The idea that children should learn foreign languages is not some new modern idea that has just been forced through by PC liberals, on the contrary, it's a deeply traditional idea about education. It is therefore not inconceivable that Texans might have decided that, in that case, if they ought to teach some foreign language, they should go with Spanish.

It may not be true, we'd have to research that, but if you're arguing that it can't be true on the grounds that it doesn't make sense, then it seems to me that it makes perfect sense.
 
Dr Adequate said:
It would seem sensible.
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Maybe. Was there a large number of Spanish speakers in those days?

Dr Adequate said:
What should they have taught? Latin? French? German? Ancient Greek?
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All those languages have their uses, but I wasn't taught about what ought to be taught.

Dr Adequate said:
The idea that children should learn foreign languages is not some new modern idea that has just been forced through by PC liberals, on the contrary, it's a deeply traditional idea about education.
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Thank you for stating the obvious.

Dr Adequate said:
It is therefore not inconceivable that Texans might have decided that, in that case, if they ought to teach some foreign language, they should go with Spanish.

It may not be true, we'd have to research that, but if you're arguing that it can't be true on the grounds that it doesn't make sense, then it seems to me that it makes perfect sense.
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You may notice that there was a question mark at the end of my, well, question. That usually indicates that a person is asking a question, not making a statement.

So, are you going to investigate whether that quote is actually corect?
 
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