*&!!@??!!^%!! Damn Dubya! Either he and his advisors are even bigger idiots than I thought or he is simply satan's spawn.

When the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, another ultra-conservative politician, was at Dubya's ranch in Crawford, TX, Dubya made a big show of praising Howard in general and specifically for his support for the invasion of Iraq and the "war on terr." (sic)

One of Bush's biggest ways of talking up his Australian counterpart was to call him a "man of steel."

Not a good man. Not a great leader. Not even a visionary. Specifically a "man of steel!!"

If you don't understand what I'm getting so worked up about, consider a certain someone who killed millions of his people by both enforced starvation and direct killing. Whose name is synonomous with extreme repression and brutal tyranny. He was also US enemy number one for a good chunk of the 20th century.

Consider the name Joseph Stalin. People who know Russian history or a little about the politics of the time will remember that "Stalin" was actually not his real name. He was born Iosip (Joseph) Djugashvili but started to use the surname "Stalin" for political effect.

What does "Stalin" mean? You guessed it. It translates into "Man of Steel."

And what did our current president call one of his closest allies in a speech yesterday in front of the Australian Parliament?

Five months ago, your Prime Minister was a distinguished visitor of ours in Crawford, Texas, at our ranch. You might remember that I called him a "man of steel." (Laughter.) That's Texan for "fair dinkum." (Laughter.) Prime Minister John Howard is a leader of exceptional courage, who exemplifies the finest qualities of one of the world's great democracies.

He even has the stupidity or gall to bring it up again!