the band is sometimes direct about the things they want to say. brett gurewitz said he was angry at former u.s. president george w. bush and that "the empire strikes first" is about him. "our whole album is dedicated to getting bush out of office. i'm not a presidential scholar but i don't think you'll find a worse president in the history of the united states. he's probably one of the worst leaders in the history of world leaders. i just hate the guy."