Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Hugh's Scroll



A progressive named Hugh, started making a list of Bush scandals late last summer. It got distributed in its infancy at the blog firedoglake. People in that community love challenges, so Hugh didn't even have to ask for help. Initially, the list entries were very brief. Most were only long enough so that the people at firedoglake, who are very familiar with Bush's shortcomings, crimes, misdemeanors - and worse - could easily understand the entries. But Hugh edited each entry by adding enough information so that even a mainstream media reporter would understand what event or action the entry implied or recognized. All of these entries - there are now 281 - are worse than a president getting a hummer from another adult under the Oval Office desk. Most are breaches of the public trust, many violations of Bush's Oath of Office. The rest are crimes and War Crimes.
I decided to make Hugh's List into a scroll. Set in 10-point Helvetica, with no upper or lower page margins, it is about 60 feet long. I unfurled it this afternoon in the lobby of the Arts Building at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Just trying to get the students here closer to the reality of politics.

16 comments:

Susan McIntosh Lewis said...

Historic accomplishment!

I want to hear this read from the Capitol steps!
[The real steps, not the singing group]

Have any good accompanying music?

Kudos Hugh and ET.

Take care,
egregious

selise said...

ET - i love it!

and hugh has just added another scandal for 282!

Anonymous said...

(stepping up to the lectern)

A Reading from the Scroll of Hugh . . .

(unrolling the scroll)

Just a minute . . .

(keeps unrolling)

I'll get to the right verse in a minute . . .

(still unrolling)

My, this is a long scroll . .

(unrolling even more)

Ah, finally -- here we go. Ahem. A Reading from the Scroll of Hugh . . .

RBG said...

ET...nicely done.

Will someone please remind me to get a good night's sleep before I listen to Peterr's next sermon?

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful and direct way to present the thought I have been trying to convey in my list, that though this Administration and those in it have dealt a great wound to our country, they have not broken our spirit or dampened our determination to fight for those ideals upon which our nation was founded.

NewDealFarmGrrrlll said...

Bravo Hugh & ET! Now, if we could only be sure that justice would prevail ...

newtonusr said...

A great unveiling of an essential resource.
ET does radio and The Great Scroll in the same 24 hours. Bravo, sir!

Ishmael said...

Wow.

This needs to be a book: "The High Crimes and Misdemeanors of President George W. Bush."

Anonymous said...

Where can we read the contents of the scroll?

Anonymous said...

thanks, ET. I'm e-mail a link to you to my AK friends.

Anonymous said...

http://www.netrootsmass.net/Hugh/Bush_list.html

list of scrolls content

Buford Twain's Profile said...

So, why isn't anyone doing anything about this?

Anonymous said...

Why don't you bring it or send it to Washington? I'd be happy to unfurl a copy here in NY in front of the HQs of CBS, CNN, ABC, NBC, Time-Warner et al.

Anonymous said...

Hugh should find something constructive to do with his time.

Jean said...

I missed the early acts like:
- declaring a recession (~7 Jan 2000) and moving the Council of Economic Advisors to redefine recession to "prove" it happened;
- withdrawing oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico where wells have been successful for a hundred years and running to replace it with Arctic drilling where the tundra is already moving out from under what is there and where mishaps last forever;
- burying the records of Reagan Bush/Iran Contra in the first hours of his presidency.

Wooidy said...

How do Alaskans take the list? (instructively, I hope)