Cindy gets removed from SOTU, but dog stays?

[Cooley Hurd]

Bomb-Sniffing Dog Gets Good Seat at Speech



By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

19:50 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --

First lady Laura Bush's guests at her husband's annual address to Congress certainly were diverse. One, in fact, wasn't even human.

Rex, a 5-year-old German shepherd, fit in with the other Iraq war veterans who were guests of Republicans and Democrats.

Rex sniffed out bombs in Iraq. He's been the subject of congressional legislation. He's famous, and Wednesday night he became one of Mrs. Bush's guests at the State of the Union speech.
</snip>

Perhaps this is a weak analogy on how the Bush administration treats the families of soldiers, but I still found it troubling.x(

[Catch22Dem]

1. In the dog's defense...

He didn't do anything to warrant removal. Cute dog though.

[MADem]

5. They probably would have beaten the poor beast with truncheons

or shocked him with a cattle prod, had he only wee'd on Pickles' seat!

[Cooley Hurd]

6. I know, but neither did Cindy...

All she did was wear a t-shirt that memorialized the dead from the Iraq war. She didn't shout or scream.

Rex is a cute pooch, no doubt.

[fasttense]

8. Neither did Cindy

It is ok to wear a T-shirt that says F*** the Draft but not one that reminds us of the dead soldiers who gave their lives for our country.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/

[SoCalDem]

37. It's about decorum and doing what's expected.

The attendees were expected to dress up, find their seats, appalud politely , schmooze a bit, and then leave. The dog was expected to lie there quietly and not hump people's legs or leave a pile of dog-doo.

Cindy had every right to "do her thing", but she knew in her heart that it would nto be well-received, and any attempt to disrupt, would be met with removal..

Government..and all official events are strictly correographed, and any deviation is immediately noticed and quashed.

Cindy got more attention by being removed than she would have by sitting silently in her chair, and after her Crawford protest she has rpoved that she is not a shrinking violet. She's a strong woman with a point of view, and the media attention she's getting is just what she wanted to happen.

The dog did what was expected of him, and he was allowed to stay.
Cindy did the "unexpected" , and she was not allowed to stay..

I doubt that she was unhappy with the result, and she was spared the indignity of having to sit there and listen to the dumb speech :)

[ComerPerro]

2. One guest wasn't even human

his name? Dick Cheney.

[kedrys]

24. What about the giant alien lizard

they picked as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? He was there too.

[Rhiannon12866]

35. Yikes! You're right!!!

I knew that here was something both familiar and frightening about his very strange eyes...:scared:

[Rhiannon12866]

33. You meant one OTHER guest, besides the dog.

I'm surprised that they dared to bring that valuable dog in there, since I've heard that Cheney eats puppies!:9 :scared:

[GemMom]

3. Story about US military dogs

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/jointservices/a/militarydogs.htm

[foreverdem]

4. I would have loved to see..

the dog run down the aisle and bite bush in the ass.

[Maeve]

7. Because the dog sniffs for bombs, not bull

Otherwise, it sould have been at Dubya's throat...

[BlueEyedSon]

9. That dog is the perfect US citizen (neocon version):

Blindly obedient, and not too smart.

[hlthe2b]

20. I would bet that dog is incredibly smart....

Loyal to his handler doesn't mean he lacks intelligence.

[BlueEyedSon]

22. Ummm... does he read the newspaper? Did he graduate high school?

The smartest dog is not as intelligent as the most retarded human.

[hlthe2b]

38. all in how you MEASURE intelligence....

We know so little about other species and their capacity to learn. We simply assume that they are dramatically inferior because they are dissimilar. Today's AVERAGE human--with all our intelligence-- is far less likely to survive if thrust into the wild with no help and desolate conditions for months or years than many domesticated animals. So, if survival is the measure of intelligence......

[hlthe2b]

10. Ahh, don't pick on the dog... he's served us far more than

most anyone else in attendence!!

I say clear out 6o% or more of the humans there and let the dog (and Cindy, of course) stay.

[Cooley Hurd]

11. I'm not picking on Rex - I'm commenting on Cindy's removal for simply...

...wearing a t-shirt memorializing the dead from the Iraq war.

Rex is a cute pup, but I find it troubling that a gold star mother is removed from the SOTU while the dog gets to stay.

[hlthe2b]

12. No, he's not just a "cute pup.." He's as much a member of the

military as the handler beside him. Trained just as intensively and puts his life on the line sniffing out bombs. Hardly just a "cute pup." That is offensive, IMO. Many of these noble animals have died trying to protect our troops.

I can certainly be angry at Cindy's removal. I am certainly teed off at the exploitation of the military famiiies in the audience for Bush* props (and that includes the bomb dog and his handler), but I still maintain the dog has more right to be there than most in the audience. He's earned it.

[Cooley Hurd]

14. Cripes! Calling a dog "cute" is now offensive???

:crazy:

Yes, he's a "noble mammal." Is that better?:shrug:

[hlthe2b]

15. No, but not recognizing that this is not just a pet, is....

[Cooley Hurd]

18. what...

...ever.:eyes:

[hlthe2b]

19. I agree that Cindy's removal was offensive, ridiculous, maddening...

eom

[Cooley Hurd]

21. Thank you. And I'm not against the noble mammal being there...

...I'm just pissed that a mother who lost her son in this illegal, immoral war was ejected for wearing a memorial t-shirt while a dog got to sit there.

On edit: The dog had more of a right to be there than Tom DeLay, that's for sure!!!!

[boobooday]

13. Yeah, but he doesn't look happy

And he's the Bush Family's favorite kind of symbol because he can't talk, and tell you what he really thinks.

[flordehinojos]

16. a bomb sniffing dog in chambers--tells you where the bush's mind and their

assess are: right down the toilet drain. they are scared shitless!

[dogday]

17. Never mind the dog took a crap in the capitol

as long as it was not wearing a t-shirt of how many soldiers killed....

[BlueEyedSon]

23. The whole Bush admin is a media circus, why not have animals too?

<cue psychotic circus music>

[peekaloo]

25. He's a truth sniffing dog. That's why he seems so relaxed.

No truth emanating from that podium, er, rostrum. I cracked up when Bu$h said that last night, rostrum, he sounded like Astro from the Jetsons.

[Javaman]

26. Was the dog sitting next to santorum? n/t

[meow2u3]

31. He had better not; otherwise....

there would have been a litter of some cross between a puppy and a baby.

[Bridget Burke]

27. I'm sure that rules were bent so the dog could hear the speech.

But we've been assured that Cindy's t-shirt was "against the rules."

I have nothing against the dog. He's definitely not a chickenhawk!

[Hubert Flottz]

28. Nazis got to have their bum sniffing dogs.

The Bushtapo needs those to meet the trains!

[Hubert Flottz]

29. You better quit ...

:kick:ing Bush's dog around, makes no difference if he is a hound!

[Rhiannon12866]

39. Hey, we all know how Bush* feels about dogs!

Photo-ops aside, when Bush* spoke in Kansas, last week, he referred to Barney as "the son I never had." And this was another photo-op. Cindy Sheehan and her shirt are something that he wouldn't have wanted to see on the news, and if the Democrats being there pissed him off...

[dbt]

30. A DOG has more rights than a WOMAN in bu$hAmerikkka!

That's the glaring, obvious, God's-Own TRUTH of what happened last night and I look forward to a television screen full of "experts" who can tell me how that AIN'T SO.

NOTE TO THE ACLU: If you will do something about this, I will start sending you money again.

:mad:
dbt
Remember New Orleans

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cooley Hurd]

36. WTF does that mean?

:wtf:

[Rhiannon12866]

34. The only reason that they let the dog stay

is because they knew that, unlike Cindy Sheehan, they could depend on him to keep his mouth shut and not roll his eyes, on camera, when Bush* brought up the subject of Iraq. If only he could speak, he'd probably give the squatter-in-chief quite an earful...:eyes: