I Survived the Bush Administration (t-shirt)

I survived the bush administration t-shirt, $16 from Print Liberation (via Constant Siege).

[#1 posted by noen , February 22, 2009 5:01 PM]

This is yet to be seen.

[#2 posted by GammaBlog , February 22, 2009 5:32 PM]

Noen, beat me to it. Yes, what havoc they wreaked, stole everything that was not tied down and made it out without any evident consequence. What's to keep it from happening again?

[#3 posted by wingbatwu , February 22, 2009 5:42 PM]

missing: "and all I got was this lousy tshirt"

[#4 posted by 13tales , February 22, 2009 5:44 PM]

Should read:

"I survived the Bush administration, and all I got was:
(tick all that apply)
crippling national debt
diminished civil liberties
illegally wiretapped
my shoes stolen at the airport
cavity searched
invaded
imprisoned without charge
abducted, then tortured
an economy in crisis

AND this lousy T-Shirt."

[#5 posted by 13tales , February 22, 2009 5:45 PM]

(of course, there's more that could be added, but I didn't want that comment to go forever)

[#6 posted by sheetzam , February 22, 2009 5:50 PM]

... But my 401k didn't!"

[#7 posted by 0xdeadbeef , February 22, 2009 6:09 PM]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War

We didn't all make it.

[#8 posted by boyhowdy , February 22, 2009 6:35 PM]

I'm with noen, etc., I think. It takes chutzpah AND balls to wear that shirt right now.

After all, there's little argument that the current debt and crisis are part of that administration's effects. Like so many of the readers here, I'm trying to support a family on one income now, and if that number drops to zero, I'd be eating the shirt, if I had it.

Ask me again in a few years, and we'll see if I starved to death. Until then, wearin' it with pride is the worst kind of hubris. And you know what they say pride goeth before.

After all, if you die from nuclear fallout a year after the bomb has dropped, the bomb still killed you.

[#9 posted by Brian Boyko , February 22, 2009 6:39 PM]

It's in incredibly poor taste.

Not all of us made it, and some of us still hurt from the loss of our friends.

You wouldn't sell "I survived the Blitz" t-shirts in London in 1945, would you?

[#10 posted by Senna1 , February 22, 2009 6:47 PM]

my gawd.. this f'n "blog" is smug. fuckin' smug I tell ya!!

1

[#11 posted by Stu Mark , February 22, 2009 6:59 PM]

I get the attempt at the funny, but it certainly hits a certain nerve - I think taste is debatable, so if some folk find it funny, great - but for me, I still struggle to look at anything Bush related.

On the other hand, how about a "I survived commenting on a BoingBoing post" shirt?

[#12 posted by echonomist , February 22, 2009 7:04 PM]

Kinda punk. Not worth $16 but worth ripping off. Thanks xj!

[#13 posted by TroofSeeker , February 22, 2009 7:05 PM]

Maybe the shirt needs a picture of a guy who's butt is missing. Lost his ass.

[#14 posted by Takuan , February 22, 2009 7:06 PM]

Nuremberg was once just the name of a town. What name will their's be?

'

[#15 posted by Anonymous , February 22, 2009 7:25 PM]

Yeah, mine would have to have additional text:

I survived...

(But without a job for 7 of the 8 years, and without my 401k intact, and without my credit rating destroyed, and without being able to internationally travel due to fear of being kidnapped and decapitated as a hated American, and...)

Ah, forget it- all of the stuff would take too much material to fit on one shirt.

[#16 posted by zuzu , February 22, 2009 7:27 PM]

I Survived an Atomic Weapon Blast... now excuse me while I die of radiation poisoning.

[#17 posted by Pip_R_Lagenta , February 22, 2009 7:59 PM]

Here is my small tribute to a friend who did not survive the Bush Administration:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pip_r_lagenta/2346408480/

[#18 posted by Ugly Canuck , February 22, 2009 7:59 PM]

It ought to be written in blood-red letters.
Others above have mentioned the many thousands who did not survive.

[#19 posted by rexy , February 22, 2009 8:06 PM]

i think some of you are taking a shirt a bit to seriously. i bought one cause i thought it was funny.. ya know cause its better than wearing a 60 dollar t-shirt from the mall

[#20 posted by Enormo , February 22, 2009 8:14 PM]

On election night 2000 I remember saying to my wife, "Really, how bad could it get?" I had no fucking idea.

[#21 posted by dimmer , February 22, 2009 8:31 PM]

If the Bush administration had not been as terrible and murderous as it was, the satirical / poor taste message would be meaningless. Sure, it's cheap humor, but please don't over analyze everything.

I do think the back could be used to good purpose with some of the suggestions given above. Make it more of a joke with some significance as well.

[#22 posted by dimmer , February 22, 2009 8:32 PM]

Or, "Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke."

[#23 posted by noen , February 22, 2009 8:40 PM]

@ stu
a "I survived commenting on a BoingBoing post" shirt?

boingboing is just like any blog and like IRC and USNET and forums. People say stupid things, me especially. (I have patents pending)

@ Takuan
Nuremberg was once just the name of a town. What name will their's be?

I really do think the name of Bush will burrow it's way into the nation's psyche. More than Hoover did that's for sure. Bush has earned his place in the pantheon of American scum for all time. No small achievement that. Bravo Dubya!

[#24 posted by mypalmike , February 22, 2009 8:46 PM]

Right, we didn't all make it. That's the point of the shirt. If you're wearing it, you survived.

That said, the right is already starting to blame the Obama administration for the financial problems. In a few years, they'll all be convinced that it all started happening right after Obama took office.

[#25 posted by 13tales , February 22, 2009 8:47 PM]

I like the shirt. It seems like fairly dark humor to me, but that's why I like it. The very fact that the shirt has any meaning, underlines the existence of the many who didn't survive.

Be a different matter if it were an "I survived Pinochet" or "I survived the hol... Pol Pot" (whew, godwin's bullet dodge) shirt, but I don't think this crosses any lines.

[#26 posted by jz638 , February 22, 2009 8:57 PM]

I can almost buy one with my thirteen dollar tax cut.

[#27 posted by echonomist , February 22, 2009 9:02 PM]

Depending on the context, I reckon tons of lines are crossed. I'm rather sensitive about Pol Pot, Stalin, Hitler and their ilk, for example. Likes, consensual mismanagement doesn't me bother me quite so much as majority consensual massacre. But I could care less about what words and images are worn on a piece of clothing. Well posted and fuck the haters, xj!

[#28 posted by uknowbetter , February 22, 2009 10:28 PM]

Yes, but you are unlikely to survive the Obama administration.

Communism 2.0 will probably be about as much fun as version 1.0.

[#29 posted by dee2thadoubletee , February 22, 2009 10:38 PM]

Anyone gotten a Print Liberation shirt before? I see "Water based black ink" and I think the image won't survive a single washing, but I don't know nothin' 'bout silkscreenin' no shirts.

re #28, please don't feed the troll, people. The existing conversation is more interesting than the hijack would be.

[#30 posted by IamInnocent , February 22, 2009 11:12 PM]

Just in case you didn't notice, this is posted without any comments. Learn to know Xeni Jardin before you make foolish assumptions about her intents: she balances between pure provocation and posts so sweet that they must have put more than one diabetic into coma, with a center of technology (a girl has to rest).

I think that the comment on the T should read: "Trying to survive the Bush administration" as this is an ongoing process. Only fools would believe that this gang isn't still extremely powerful and hard at work promoting their ideology.

Tak, let's face it, the town cannot be anything else than Washington.

[#31 posted by Cowicide , February 23, 2009 12:38 AM]

I guess this thread is as good as any to finally put my scans up of a Bush campaign brochure from 2000 or whatever that I've had all these years.

This wasn't retouched. Just scanned and thrown up on flickr.

Warning, many strange ironies abound...

http://flickr.com/photos/49403380@N00/sets/72157614328207030/

[#32 posted by Iru , February 23, 2009 3:57 AM]

Hey, its neat and funny, specially from a non-USA point of view, but i can't hep thinking it could be a little.... er... embarrasing if you happen to meet someone of the thousands of families in USA who have one of his members really DIDNT survive Bush administration...
Just a thought.

[#33 posted by Ugly Canuck , February 23, 2009 4:11 AM]

Cowicide: that's great: the brochure says "We will defend the homeland"....2 years before 9/11 and the creation of "Homeland Security" = domestic secret political police...
As time goes on, 9/11 looks stranger & stranger....

[#34 posted by Enormo , February 23, 2009 5:21 AM]

@28 Uknownbetter

Ah... fear tactic. The Bush administration has taught you well, angry one.

[#35 posted by mindysan33 , February 23, 2009 6:33 AM]

I sent this to a friend, and he thought it was in poor taste too. I think he is right. It was not only Americans who died, he pointed out, but many others.

But Xeni posted it without comment, as pointed out in #30.

[#36 posted by noen , February 23, 2009 6:55 AM]

@ Cowicide -- Karl Rove knows his base, the wet pants brigade. One of the characteristics of authoritarians is high fear levels. They are afraid of their own shadows, not terribly bright, even though trumpeting their "genius" levels, and easily stampeded in any direction. I was raised on a farm and they really do remind me of cattle.

[#37 posted by Nancy Jane Moore , February 23, 2009 6:57 AM]

I'm torn between ordering one and putting it off for about 50 years until we see if the US and the world as a whole actually have survived the Bush administration. I'm still not convinced that Bush didn't leave us with problems we won't be able to fix.

That said, I don't think it's in poor taste. It's funny, and it does set a hopeful tone for the future.

I think I still have a t-shirt somewhere that says "I survived the Wichita Falls tornado." 45 people died in that storm, 800 or so were injured, and 20 percent of the people in town lost their homes, but local people still loved the shirts. "I survived" is a common theme after disaster. And God knows the Bush years were a disaster that makes even the great tsunami of a few years back seem routine.

[#38 posted by mykemarss , February 23, 2009 7:09 AM]

I'll add couple of comments about the shirt:

The year 2001 looks too much like 2007, which makes the tragedy appear less awful than it really was.

The participants' eyes should have been left unconcealed, so that they may be recognized in the future.

[#39 posted by mdh , February 23, 2009 7:17 AM]

Re: "Communism 2.0 will probably be about as much fun as version 1.0."

You know, just CALLING something communism without backing it up says more about where you stand than where your opponent stands.

Psssst, I'm with "the enemy".

[#40 posted by Ugly Canuck , February 23, 2009 8:14 AM]

Don't mean to feed the troll, but Communism 1.0 took place in the Paris commune , 19th C.
I think we're up to 4.1 or something, now: the comment is behind the times.

[#41 posted by Ugly Canuck , February 23, 2009 8:15 AM]

And oh, do not get me started about spiritual (non-materialistic) communism...

[#42 posted by Dirac , February 23, 2009 8:20 AM]

Not directly related, but this is a good a time as any, the following struck me last night:

Search youtube for any Charles Manson interview (preferably the longer ones). Don't look at the video, just listen to him, don't focus the words, more the tone, the rhythm... remind you of anyone?

[#43 posted by ZekeSulastin , February 23, 2009 8:29 AM]

... only if I can order one for any administration for which I was alive ;)

[#44 posted by mdh , February 23, 2009 8:35 AM]

@dirac ... remind you of anyone?

Jeebus?

[#45 posted by zyodei , February 23, 2009 10:01 AM]

Now, let's just see if we survive the Obama administration. Or whatever bozo comes after that.

"I survived the Federal Government."

[#46 posted by jimh , February 23, 2009 10:50 AM]

I'll be happy when someone can say "I Survived Capitalism".

[#47 posted by prodpoke , February 23, 2009 2:28 PM]

i guess i must be one of the only few who thought it was clever.

i come from a working class family where my dad hasn't even been able to find a steady job for a year +, my sister's in the army so its been a rough ride, but i think the message to be grasped here is that with the bush admin being over, there is something to look forward to (at least in my eyes). would this shirt even be SLIGHTLY funny or relevant if we had mccain? no way.

[#48 posted by Anonymous , February 23, 2009 2:51 PM]

Amen

Now Bush is free to go back to his hobby

http://www.ucubd.com/Index.aspx?id=930&cid=x01000037

[#49 posted by Vich11 , February 23, 2009 2:58 PM]

Right. The stock market has dropped 25% SINCE election day and that's all Bush's fault.

Every time Obama or one of his crew opens their mouths the market drops another 200 points.

[#50 posted by Xopher , February 23, 2009 3:13 PM]

Note, my friends, what Vich11 has done for you at #48: provided an example (in hir first post!) of the post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy.

Is Vich short for Vichy, I wonder? It would be irresponsible NOT to speculate.

[#51 posted by Xopher , February 23, 2009 3:14 PM]

JimH 46, from your lips to the gods' ears!

Or...um...from your keyboard to the gods' monitors. Or something. Not as catchy, somehow.

[#52 posted by arkizzle , February 23, 2009 4:15 PM]

#11 Surely it should be "srvvd cmmntng n BngBng pst".

And #46, "I Survived Capitalism, and Made My Own Damn Shirt."

[#53 posted by wm8 , February 23, 2009 4:28 PM]

Vich11 strikes me as a fair and balanced type. I have no doubt that if Al Gore hadn't been smoking pot with his godless journalism buddies over in Vietnam and invented the intrawebz several years earlier, Vich11 would have then remarked, "Right. The stock market has dropped over 37% SINCE election day and that's all Carter's fault.

Every time Reagan or one of his crew opens their mouths the market drops another [inflation-adjusted number of] points."

[#54 posted by Teller , February 23, 2009 4:52 PM]

The Economy will become Obama's Iraq. And nobody wishes that less than I.

[#55 posted by Xopher , February 23, 2009 5:51 PM]

Except, Teller, that Obama didn't fuck up the economy. He didn't ignore the advice of the best-informed experts and just bull forward his own way. He didn't lie, in public and on the record, about what was going on that justified his actions. And so far, actual deaths directly traceable to his stimulus package have been minimal!

And WM8, at this point Vich11 seems to have been a drive-by. We'll see if s/he bothers to come back.

[#56 posted by Teller , February 23, 2009 6:40 PM]

Hey, X, no argument there. Those fuckers pressed bets until they lost our money. Believe me, I'm pissed. But Obama owns the problem now. You prefer albatross, ball-and-chain, lead weight? I'm not tied to "Iraq." I used it because it's packed with meaning.

[#57 posted by Xopher , February 23, 2009 8:11 PM]

Oh, I get it.

[#58 posted by Anonymous , February 23, 2009 10:56 PM]

this shirt would be so much better with the pic of the whole bush administration flashing gang signs.

[#59 posted by Anonymous , February 24, 2009 9:49 AM]

Actually, I don't think I could wear this shirt in good conscience yet. I'm not completely sure I HAVE survived the Bush Administration. Their mismanagement is going to haunt us long after most of them are gone, much less out of office.

[#60 posted by buzzben , February 24, 2009 9:56 AM]

Nice but I bought this one:

"George Bush spent 8 years in Washington, and all I have left is this lousy t-shirt!"

http://www.cafepress.com/bluestripe.353565087

[#61 posted by Anonymous , February 24, 2009 10:15 AM]

@dee2thadoubletee
From one of my company's distributors:
"water-based ink screenprinting. Water-based ink is non-toxic, and doesn't contain PVC or pthalates, which makes it superior in terms of its environmental footprint.

Water-based inks soak into and become part of the T-shirt itself. The result is a breathable, durable print that will not crack or wash away. Water-based inks also have excellent color-fastness and washability, keeping their color wash after wash."

That said, it won't crack as quickly as your typical tee, but it will fade. Tends to develop that dingy, grungy look that's trendy to imitate right now. Lots of cold washes and TLC.

[#62 posted by wm8 , February 24, 2009 10:25 AM]

To be fair, my response to Vich11 was nothing more than a drive-by sniping... unless this second response establishes my claim to legitimacy?

[#63 posted by wm8 , February 24, 2009 10:31 AM]

Moreover, I agree with Teller that the Obama administration now owns the problem and solutions.

I think the comparison to the Carter-Reagan transition is, however, an apt counter-argument to "feh! It's been a MONTH! You can't still fault Bush!!!"

[#64 posted by Ito Kagehisa , February 24, 2009 11:03 AM]

It seems to me that the Bush adminstration was titanically successful, achieving every goal that they wished to achieve. They certainly kept the price of Texas Oil high, spilled a lot of blood, and moved us closer to a biblical apocalypse, which is that I think their goals were.

Destroying capitalism was icing on the cake. "Mission accomplished".

[#65 posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Community Manager , February 24, 2009 6:02 PM]

Xopher, I think it was a drive-by. They're like SBDs: technically ephemeral, but they foul the atmosphere while they last.

Senna1 @10, Uknowbetter @28: I'm sorry, but it's too late. I can't help you.

Dee2thadoubletee @29:

re #28, please don't feed the troll, people. The existing conversation is more interesting than the hijack would be.

Hmm. That's actually a functional definition of a troll: someone who tries to hijack the conversation in a boring and/or self-centered direction.

Ugly Canuck @40:

Don't mean to feed the troll, but Communism 1.0 took place in the Paris commune, 19th C.

I think we're up to 4.1 or something, now: the comment is behind the times.

Version 4.1? Would that be the Trotskyist Reunified Fourth International, or something else?

[#66 posted by wangleberry , March 8, 2009 12:16 AM]

I swear I've seen this idea before somewhere:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Awww.threadless.com+%22i+survived+2000+-+2008%22