The Resident, Shrubmeister himself, is predictably and revoltingly kicking off his re-election campaign with a glossy ad extolling his virtues as Leader against a backdrop of images of destruction and death on September 11, 2001. It has been no secret that the Republicans intended to work 9/11 for all they could, scheduling their national convention in New York very late in the campaign season and appropriating the anniversary of that awful day.

From September 12, 2001, Shrub has been exploiting the gruesome deaths of nearly 3,000 people and the terror all of us experienced in order to drape himself and every single one of his regressive policies in the warm wrappings of the American flag. The war in Iraq was predicated on false assertions about weapons of mass destruction (-program related activities and so on) and an unproven link to Al Qaeda, and finally, when all else was failing, on September 11 itself. Time and again administration officials drew a connection between Saddam Hussein and 9/11 they knew to be false, so they could pursue their war of vengeance and oil.

Sickening, no?

And if that isn't enough to condemn these ads as the basest of political propaganda, consider this: Shrub opposed the 9/11 commission charged with finding out what our intelligence services and political leaders were, or were not doing about terrorism prior to that day. Shrub, under pressure from the surviving family members, finally did allow for the creation of the panel, then stonewalled it by withholding mountains of documents, encouraging administration officials not to testify, and when the commission complained they were running out of time because of the Resident's obstructionism, opposed an extension. Further pressure and the coming campaign forced Shrub to relent, and a two months extension is in the works.

Firefighters have come out in force to condemn these ads, as have many surviving family members. A few find no problem with the ads, saying they are happy the events of that day are out in front of the public, lest we forget. I don't know about you, but I haven't forgotten. Nor am I likely to for the rest of my life. Respectfully, I find that reasoning hollow in the face of the naked political opportunism these ads represent. They are not history, they are advertising on behalf of a pathological liar seeking to remain in power.

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Ok, so I was wrong, and my house is still standing. :)

But there were spectacular storms across northern Texas and all of Oklahoma, spawning several tornadoes in both states. Lucky for me, none of them occurred in my neighborhood.