Okay. You're pretty funny.

BUSH to KING SAUD: Yes, of course I'll let you hold my hand and then, later tonight, make me your bitch. Just keep the oil prices down for three more years!

KING SAUD: OK.

WARREN CHISUM: Bailiff! -- whack his peepee!

BAILIFF: Which one of them?

CHISUM: Both of them, I don't care.

Before you get too spun up about this you should be aware that in the Arab world hand-holding among males denotes close friendship but it does not denote anything amorous. Hand-holding as a sexual PDA is a Western and European thing. In this case it is our own quirky biases that are on display.

Kendall - You're an idiot. It's called irony or satire or simply: a joke.

Nobody thinks Bush is gay because of that picture; it only confirms that he is a whore.

I wonder if when George is in Saudi Arabia he slaps Laura around, or makes use of Condi the Concubine. When in Rome, as they say...

a whore... LOL

You should send that into The Tonight Show's Headlines Segment.

Is that gannon is peeking out from under the prince's dress!?!?!?

Do you think Duhbya got a reacharound later from King Whats-his-name? Hahahahaha!

I heard they applied for a marriage license in Connecticut! Hahahahaha!

They're both autocratic assholes.

Kendall Miller should be aware that in the western world when two guys hold hands it means that they are on a man-date.

He is definitely a whore to the Saudis. Poppy Bush probably passed him around at the palace when he was a little boy...

What does it mean in the Arab world when two grown men kiss each other on the lips? I used to think I knew what it meant in Texas, but I've got a little cognitive dissonance problem now since I saw the pic of Pretzeldent Flightsuit tongue wrestling with Crown Prince Al-Qaeda.

Which one's the eunuch?

George Bush...he cocksuka!

I think the headline should read: "Bush, Saudi prince talk lubrication".

Or "hot oil".

And maybe it's just me and my Photoshop software, but is that a banana in Bush's pocket or did he just land on an aircraft carrier?

Honestly, we've never seen a picture of Bush and his wife strolling through the bluebonnets together, hand in hand. What's next, Bush and Jeff Guckert-Gannon?

Well, as my own Texas relatives would point out: ol' George doesn't look much like a steer, so i guess that narrows it down a bit

"goin' to
the Prairie Chapel Ranch
and we're
gonna get ma-aa-aried"

Before you get too spun up about this you should be aware that in the Arab world hand-holding among males denotes close friendship but it does not denote anything amorous.

Does that mean Crawford, TX is actually part of the Arab world? It'd confirm what we suspected.

Has any other foreign dignitary had his/her local customs honored at the 'ranch'?

Before you get too spun up about this you should be aware that in the Arab world hand-holding among males denotes close friendship but it does not denote anything amorous

What about Sponge Bob and Patrick The Starfish? They live in the underwater world. Whose rules apply there?

in texas, hand-holding denotes someone's about to get fucked. and he didn't even take us out on a date.

(with apologies to Mr. Cool J)

Romance sheer delight how sweet
I gotta find me a girl to make my life complete
You can scratch my back, we'll get cozy and huddle
I'll lay down my jacket so you can walk over a puddle
I'll give you a rose, pull out your chair before we eat
kiss you on the cheek and say ooh girl you're so sweet
It's deja vu whenever I'm with you
I could go on forever telling you what I do
But where you at you're neither here or there
I swear I can't find you anywhere
Damn sure you ain't in my closet, or under my rug
this love search is really making me bug
And if you know who you are why don't you make yourself seen
take the chance with my love and you'll find out what I mean
Fantasy's can run but they can't hide
and when I find you I'm gon' pour all my love inside
I need love
I need love

Please, please, someone who lives in the Dallas area, make sure to snail-mail an original copy of that front page to Jay Leno. Please! :-)

Actually if I recall the hand holding is done with close friends. Bush doesn't have to hold his hand and I suspect he wouldn't if he and the Prince were just acquainted. The hand holding would indicate the degree to which Bush is chummy with the Saudi's. He is largely ignorant of other cultures, but more likely, through the help of his father, Bush is aware of the customs. Bush and his father have an unsually close relationship with the Saudi royal family and few see it.

Oil, banking, and defense have been Bush hallmark business dealings since Samuel P. Bush sat on the War Board. And who do you think has profited the most from this Administration? Record oil profits, bankruptcy bills that benefit banks who issue credit cards to dogs and 18 year old college students, and defense contractors.

How people miss or not care about it is incredible.

Only two things come from Texas, that be steers and queers, which is which?

We had the same problem with our section front at the Waco Trib. At the 5:30 meeting, someone said "Hey, you can't have a gay marriage story next to that art!" And all hope for a funny tear sheet in the mornig was lost.

They're just doing what The Beatles told 'em to do.

So today it's "I wanna' Hold Your hand".

Can't wait 'til they get to "All My lovin'".

And when Dubya hooks up with the Pope, it'll be,
"Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand", for sure.

Still, I think "I'm A Loser' fits best.

> What's next, Bush and Jeff Guckert-Gannon?

That affair is so over!

I appreciate that at least one reader here pointed out that hand-holding among Arab men is a common cultural practice that shows close friendship. I mean, there are plenty of reasons to criticize and lampoon the relationship between Bush and the Crown Prince, but I feel like people have degenerated into snickering frat boys that don't understand a foreign cultural practice.

I'm surprised that this didn't get more play beyond the blogs. But then again, I stopped watching the news months ago.

Men holding hands in Arab countries is a custom. While we get a kick out of making juvenile jokes about Bush's show of 'gayness' with the guys who have us by the balls, we should have an understanding of what the hand holding actually is. Only then can the jokes be truly funny. And while we may laugh at the customs of non-Americans, know that most of the world sees us fat-bellied backwoods hicks with narrow minds. Not that that matters to the average American who couldn't find Saudi Arabia on a map.

Ken Mehlman must be very jealous of that Saudi guy.

Ok, yes it is still funny to lampoon the president. Yes, we know that holding hands is a custom in Arab countries...but only amongst close associates. Bush holding hands here indicates he is a close associate of the prince and the Bush family is very close to the royal family. From that perspective it's NOT FUNNY. From a fifteen year old high school boy's perspective it's HILARIOUS. We stand by our joke.

"I mean, there are plenty of reasons to criticize and lampoon the relationship between Bush and the Crown Prince, but I feel like people have degenerated into snickering frat boys that don't understand a foreign cultural practice."

But isn't the usual diplomatic practice to adopt the customs of the host nation? Prince Saud should be walking around in jeans and cowboy boots.

Bush's handholding is an unseemly show of deference to a tyrant.

I agree with PinkDome and Jon H.

When I first saw the picture, I did not automatically associate it with homosexuality (but knew it would be played that way and was not surprised to see it on the Daily Show "man on the street" segment), but instead was bowled over by the OVERT statement that our president is politically and economically in bed with the Saudis.

Remember how many terrorists that flew our planes into our buildings were from SA? Know who was wisked from US soil within 12 hours of the attacks when ALL FLIGHTS HAD BEEN ORDERED GROUNDED by the FAA? Whose family stands to benefit most from these arrangements??

I hope that the new found friendship between Bubba and Poppy is really a democratic undercover operation where Bubba learns the truth about the Bush/Saudi ties and blows the lid off the whole scam.

Yes, I'm bitter.

No Molly, I have no idea who was wisked from US soil within 12 hours of the attacks when all flights had been ordered grounded by the FAA. The funny part is that neither do you.

I haven't been up to much these days. Today was a loss. Nothing seems important. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days.

I can't be bothered with anything these days, but such is life. I don't care. So it goes. More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. I've just been hanging out waiting for something to happen, but that's how it is.

I feel like an empty room, but eh. Nothing seems worth doing. I haven't gotten much done today.

I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I guess it doesn't bother me. Shrug. I haven't been up to anything. I haven't gotten much done today.