WE WILL RISE AGAIN!A New Broadway Musical Starring George W Bush

Alrighty then. Things have been intense the past couple of weeks, haven't they? Katrina brought the glaring truth of race and class disparity into the forefront of our conversation. We witnessed Bush's incompetence, saw him take a hit in the polls and we felt an opening appear in the consciousness of the country where hope could enter.

But now, a few days later, typically the Bush polls are rising again, Republican spin seems to have inexplicably won out again and we find ourselves two steps back. Environmentally, socially, morally, as a nation we are screwed and confused.

Loosening the standards for mercury in the environment, drilling for oil in pristine wilderness, we make "WE WILL RISE AGAIN!" Broadway theater, starring George W Bush, set in New Orleans. We play the part of the wide-smiling chorus, "The American People", high-kicking our way toward annhihilation in a line across the stage while the press snap pictures, write glowing reviews, provide second-by-second updates on the polls, jockey for an exclusive interview with the star.

Hurricanes! Plagues! Environmental Disasters!

The audience *gasps* as millions are hurled toward oblivion!

! Will the human race survive?!

(Scene reaches a climax during "The Dance at the Gym":)

(Blue chorus enters left:)
Loud Foot Stomping!

(Red chorus enters right:)
A flurry of skirts, hooting, hand clapping! Singing, dancing, a crescendo of swirling color, noise, movement...

(Blue Chorus:)

"A record loss of sea ice in the Arctic this summer has convinced scientists that the northern hemisphere may have crossed a critical threshold beyond which the climate may never recover. Scientists fear that the Arctic has now entered an irreversible phase of warming which will accelerate the loss of the polar sea ice that has helped to keep the climate stable for thousands of years."

(Red Chorus:)

We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when
But I'm sure we'll meet again some sunny day
Keep smiling through, just the way you used to do
Till the blue skies chase the dark clouds far away"
(Bush Watch)

The audience, collectively worn-out and ready for a late-night drink and bed, exhales with relief as the play draws to a close and our star artlessly utters his final line. (Karl Rove, Satan of Spin, Playwright Extraordinaire, waits in the wings with his last bit of improvised soliloquy. He breathes in Bush's earpiece, "This is not a time for finger-pointing." "Repeat." "This is not a time for fingerpointing.")

Over and over, no matter what question is asked. The exhausted audience loves you. The media are yours. You are a star.

I was expecting this. Bush gets through without a scratch again. The star takes a bow. He smirks. He gives the audience the finger. No one notices.