The "Up Yours" Administration

Another item I did not write about last week:
The controversy over Vice President Dick Cheney's attire -- a casual green ski parka, in contrast to the more formal clothing worn by other dignitaries -- at a memorial service for Holocaust victims. Mr. Cheney's choice of outerwear was commented on by European news outlets as displaying a lack of respect for the occasion.
Of course, they are right.
This was, quite simply, another case of the Bush administration saying, "Up Yours!" to the world and world opinion.
That became quite clear when another picture showed Mr. Cheney in dressier attire for a reception that he attended as part of the same trip. He had properclothing with him, in other words. He just chose not to wear it, as a friend of mine pointed out.
The "Up Yours" administration has shown time and time again its contempt for the world. Rejection of the Kyoto treaty. The detention of foreign nationals without charge at Guantanamo. The hostile dismissal of world opinion leading up to the Iraq invasion. The ignoring of the Geneva Conventions at Abu Ghraib, in Afghanistan and at Guantanamo.
Sorry, but the necessities of security do not excuse the unwillingness to discuss or explain. What Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Perle, Bush and their cronies display is smug hostility, pure and simple.
Is it any wonder our country gets no respect in the world? Respect is something that you have to give in order to get. We teach our children this lesson. Why is it lost on our so-called leaders?
Of course, they are equally hostile and dismissive of opinion at home.