Archive for June, 2007
The Very Talented Giant Talking Poodle
Apparently, Bush wanted to pay homage to Tony Blair‘s speaking skills, both public and private. Evidently, he felt the most striking form of homage would be to provide a stark contrast. So he put on a clinic about how not to say stuff, and what not to say: The president told the Sun: “Tony’s had [...]
Being A Complete And True Account Of The Bush-Cheney Ticket Negotiations
Once upon a time — not very long ago, but in a very different country — George Bush was wandering in the forest, all dejected and forlorn, kicking aimlessly at stones. “Who will be my Vice President?†he asked the trees and the shrubs and the wind. “Whoo-ooo”, answered the wind. George took that as [...]
Whitman Booed But Takes The Cake
(1) Christine Whitman used to be a member of George Bush‘s cabinet. Today she demonstrated why. She was, you may recall, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. In that capacity, she was responsible for putting out public assurances after 9/11 that the air around the World Trade Center site was safe to breathe. On [...]
A New Low
Great. Now celebrity murders come with teaser-trailers, not from “news” organizations, but from the authorities: Details of the deaths of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and their 7-year-old son may seem “a little bizarre” when released to the public, a prosecutor said. Those sounds you hear are C”N”N et al rubbing their hands in [...]
Breeding Like Rabbits
George Bush, Decider-in-Chief, November 30, 2005: A clear strategy begins with a clear understanding of the enemy we face. The enemy in Iraq is a combination of rejectionists, Saddamists and terrorists. The rejectionists are by far the largest group. … The second group that makes up the enemy in Iraq is smaller, but more determined. [...]
Huge in Belgium
Long time reader Glen checks in from Beijing to let us know that in addition to their diabolical currency manipulation, the Chinese government is also blocking access to the mighty 1115. I think that this should preclude anyone from ever calling us “commie” again. To celebrate, I present the sights of the San Francisco Gay [...]
Organizational Group-Think In The Haditha Cover-up
When the Haditha story broke in March 2006, it very quickly became clear that the Marine officers who had chain-of-command oversight of the marines of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines had exhibited a marked disinclination to ask the most obvious and basic of questions, or to conduct any kind of meaningful investigation, although the [...]
Immigration And Enforcing The Law
Everyone knows the law is an ass. So I’m not sure why they feel the need to prove it over and over again: All of her life, Zoila Meyer believed she was an American. She even won election to the City Council of Adelanto. But now she is facing a threat of deportation for illegally [...]
Hot! Hot! Hot! — Summer In Baghdad, By The Numbers
Temperature: “As the blast furnace of summer brought 115-plus-degree days….” Electricity: “We’re getting about one hour every four days, and we don’t have cold water or the refrigerator, so we’re buying ice from the market.” (Thought experiment: just try to imagine 115 degrees and no electricity worth speaking of.) Cost of a generator: $450 Average [...]
links for June 22nd through June 24th
Tom Edsall: More Lobbyists On McCain Staff Than Any Other 08 Candidate – McCain the maverick had a great fall / and all the maverick’s lobbyists / couldn’t put the maverick together again. Editor & Publisher: Robin Givhan Defends Covering Politicians’ Fashion Choices – quite ably. Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Open door to horrid truths – Sen. [...]