This is actually post #501, but I am backdating it to keep the #500 post alive at the top of the blog for a day.

As the election season draws nearer, I will more and more be commenting on the state of things, providing information as well as I can as to why we should not elect Bush, and why Kerry is far more the right man for the job. There is a new category for the blog, Reasons to Not Vote for Bush, and in the next month I plan to start making categorical entries there outlining why Bush is so terribly, disastrously wrong for the country on a plethora of issues, and how the country and the world will be far better off with Kerry in office.

In the meantime, hardly a day goes by when the Bush administration and their associates do not do something rather notably stupid, offensive, or outright illegal. The latest was actually all three: an official merchandiser for Bush/Cheney campaign apparel, it turns out, was selling sweaters emblazoned with the Bush/Cheney logo, all nice and patriotic-looking–except the pullovers were made in Myanmar, formerly known as the nation of Burma.

This is stupid and offensive because the Bush administration has been trying to fight the (unfortunately quite true) image of being an administration that approves of outsourcing, of sending jobs overseas so they can be done more cheaply–thus exporting valuable American jobs. Bush & Co. have been trying to make people believe that the U.S. economy is booming, but the fact that we are hemorrhaging jobs is kind of putting a damper on that. Just last week, Bush tried to appoint a “jobs czar” who would oversee the protection of American jobs. Unfortunately, the businessman Bush chose, a Mr. Anthony Raimondo, whose company makes pre-fab building materials, had fired 75 of his workers (one-sixth of his employees) in 2002 and sent those jobs to China. Which perfectly represented the Bush administration, but not in a way they were looking for. The Bush team promptly put its collective tail between its legs and withdrew the appointment (already six months late, and still no one occupies the job).

The illegal part comes when you realize that not only did the Bush/Cheney sweaters were made abroad, but they were made in Myanmar. And that’s relevant because last July, none other than George W. Bush slapped an embargo, effective September 1st, on all imports from Myanmar, to pressure the country to change from a military dictatorship to a Democracy. So we find out that now Bush merchandise is somehow slipping by his own import ban–which the person who runs the merchandising business admits is clearly illegal.

And the blunders just keep on coming….