Prez Eh Dent Ehh Dee Ott

Sometimes big words are hard to pronounce...when you are in fifth grade. Some names like Ahmadinejad are tough for most Americans, but the President of the United States should know how to say Mugabe and Caracas. Unfortunately, our bumbling ehh dee ott doesn't know some of the simplest words, even if they are in English.

From ABC News:

ABC News' Ann Compton and Jennifer Duck report: Never before has the White House released a draft version of the President's speech to the annual United Nations General Assembly.

But this year, a glimpse of how the President sees his speeches was accidentally placed on the UN website along with the speechwriters' cell phone numbers.

Pronunciations for President Bush's friend French President Sarkozy "[sar-KOzee]" appeared in draft #20 on the UN website. Other pronunciations included the Mugabe "[moo-GAHbee] regime" and pronunciations for countries "Kyrgyzstan [KEYRgeez-stan]" and "Mauritania [moor-EH-tain-ee-a]."

I seriously couldn't make this up if I tried. Can the qualifications for President be amended in the Constitution so that a thirty-five year old man or woman have some sort of education?

Peaceful Protesting Still Gets You Arrested In NYC

Things didn't get out of hand like some incidents back in 2004 when the GOP held their convention here (I wonder why they held it in the same city as 9/11, hmmm) but the police decided to arrest protesters today anyways. Bush was speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, mouthing off his usual bullshit in the hall him and his followers detest so much. A few hundred people gathered to protest that BS and the NYPD chose to be....well, the NYPD.

From AM New York:

About a dozen anti-war protesters were arrested Tuesday during a peaceful demonstration of President Bush's speech before the U.N. General Assembly.

The arrestees were among about 400 people opposing the Bush Administration's war in Iraq, and its incarceration in Guantanamo Bay of more than 300 men on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida or the Taliban. Many in the crowd wore orange jumpsuits in solidarity with the Guantanamo detainees.

The arrested demonstrators were taken into custody by police after kneeling on the sidewalk in an act of civil disobedience at the rally near the United Nations. One of them, 58-year-old Bill Ofenloch of Manhattan, said they were trying to serve an "arrest warrant" on Bush for "high crimes against humanity."

The police should have followed the protesters advice. Protesting the President is part of our basic freedoms. When our leaders are acting against our own best interests (or any interests at all) it is more than our right, it is our duty to speak out. In this day and age the authorities barely allow protest, they use fear and intimidation, from wearing riot gear to treating peaceful protesters as if they were actually rioting.

The police presence is overwhelming at the U.N. Even from my vantage point at 28th and 2nd Ave, their helicopters emit an unending noise to remind us that we should behave. Well, until the President behaves, the NYPD and the President shouldn't expect us to either.

Welcome To New York Mahmoud

New York is going to be a little more painful in the next couple of weeks. The General Assembly of the United Nations is meeting for its annual session and you know what that means, traffic in East Midtown is going to be a royal pain in the ass. It also means that the President of Iran is coming to town today and traffic is an afterthought to many Americans that are examining his visit.

I am a little mixed on the subject. Sure, he is a holocaust denier, hates America and basically a certifiable nut. Yet when it comes to geopolitics and Iran, he has virtually no power when it comes to the religious leaders that govern above him. He is to Iran what the royals are to Britain, only uglier on the outside and inside. Standing in front of a "Death to America" banner on the eve of his trip while symbols of military power rolled by was a charming touch. That poor little ego needed a boost before coming to one of the richest cities in the world I assume.

Not only is he attending the General Assembly, he is being accepted for a talk with the students of Columbia University. Almost everyone is heaping scorn and criticism upon the University, including another certifiable nut named Bill Donahue. Of course Bill capitalizes on the same emotion that Ahmadinejad does which is hate.

So what do we do, meet hate with more hate? Bomb the Iranians for his appearance? Let his security detail composed of the Secret Service and the NYPD drop him off in Flatbush alone? Nah, I say just let him talk. Even if it is just more garbage, at least we can see that garbage up close and personal. I always feel that banning speech (no matter how worthless) gives that speech more power. And who knows, the question and answer after the speech at Columbia might actually be interesting.