Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Oh, SNAP

Will Bunch discusses the Washington Post.

Why George Can't Govern

I posted a while back about the authoritarianism of the Bush administration. Josh Marshall puts another piece into the puzzle that is our leadership when he equates authoritarianism to incompetence. I had seen both but had not made the connection. I think Marshall is right on.

Look at it this way: you have an individual who is elevated to a position of responsibility when he has had very little success with responsibility to that point in time. He doesn't want to muck up this at bat so he surrounds himself with solid, dependable people who he can tap when his expertise runs thin - which, to give him credit, is an unusually self-aware thing to do.

Yet, these "solid, dependable people" all have their own ambitions and desires and agendas and prove to be pretty darn good at getting what they want. The individual may or may not be aware of this but it is darn certain that he is too incompetent to do anything about it.

Because the incompetent does not understand the rules, he reveals himself as powerless to stop abuses. The manipulators are without power because of the rules and must abuse them in order to get what they want. Together, the insecurity of incompetency and the lust for power combine to run our rules through the grinder and pad the nest of this group.

The only way that the public can allow this to happen is to buy - hook, line, and sinker - that the administration is doing this for our own good. What is truly pathetic and scary is that there is still about 39% of them out there that still do.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?

Seems the Washington Post is in a bit of a pickle. Deborah Howell, ombudsman for the paper has been attempting to be fair and balanced with articles regarding the Abramoff scandal and where the money has gone. She seems to think that in order to be fair, democrats need to be tainted with the same brush.

It would seem that she is wrong, if these comments have any merit.

What has happened to the Washington Post?

Monday, January 09, 2006

Dean Hunts Wolf



And wings him pretty good, too. You can see it on his face as he signs off.

The Monk Is Back

Inflatable Dartboard has returned from a government induced hiatus. Go check him out for a good chuckle or two.

Connect the Dots?

You know that saying, "Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you"?

I think this applies to me in light of the news that New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum has died from injuries suffered in a sidewalk mugging over the weekend.

Color me skeptical.

Today, Samuel Alito is going before Congress and David Rosenbaum has authored or co-authored a few articles about him and other figures and events in Washington politics over the years.

He was attacked from behind, his wallet was taken (but not other valuables?), and some folks in the area have reported that his attackers got into and out of a dark vehicle.

Am I just paranoid and prepared to believe the worst? I hate to be overly suspicious and looking for Republican stooges behind every bush (ha!), but the climate of wiretapping, overstepping boundaries of one's office, and an almost blinding need to have everything go the way one wants, I am not terribly optimistic that a violent death of a political reporter is not more than just random crime.

I am prepared to believe the worst because it seems plausible.

To quote Edna Mode:
"Luck favors the prepared, darling." ~The Incredibles
I hope I am not preparing myself for a visit from CIFA.

Friday, January 06, 2006

Fire Dog Lake

With posts like this from ReddHedd, it is easy to see why Fire Dog Lake became such a popular blog in 2005.

I HIGHLY recommend this post; just try and not do anything constructive after reading it, even if it is only just to cry and yell "Why?" at God.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

The Home of the Brave

Heh. Right.

Two stellar articles for your consideration from Hullaballoo and The Mahablog.

Good stuff.

I remember thinking to myself as our country began its devolution in the months after 9/11 that the question I desperately asked myself in those first few days was not being answered. "Where are the grownups?"

I remember watching those incredible images all day and I remember getting up from my chair five or six times to go get my kids from school only to reason with myself that they were safe (which they were). I remember the daze in which I found myself knowing the country was under attack and that the future was now wide open to anything - good or evil. I remember thinking that God was waiting for our response.

I think God is disappointed. I know I am.

  • We had an opportunity to step up and be leaders in this new world order that had blasted two skyscrapers out of their moorings and killed thousands of innocent people.
  • We had an opportunity to look around us in the smoke of destruction and ask who is responsible for this - seeking an honest answer.
  • We had an opportunity to address global injustice, oppression, tyranny, and violence and determine what our role in each of those sins might be.
  • We had an opportunity to face ourselves in the mirror of world opinion and make some adjustments to our appearance if not our substance, trusting that a superficial change might just take root in a deeper transformation.
  • We had a chance to be grown ups.
Instead, we have chosen to be cowards and bullies, sacrificing our American values to enthrone a government that is resolved to protect us. The Founders must be spinning in their graves.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Satire Takes a Holiday

This is amazing. At Jesus' General, satire moves over for a sobering look at some Persons of Interest.

I remember the anger and confusion roiling in our collective souls after 9/11 because it was a prominent part of my psyche for days. I remember thinking that God had something to say to us and we had better listen closely. I also remember the dismay I felt as our leaders began to go down paths that I had not only not imagined but found completely off track.

I thought that our interactions with one another in the days following the attacks needed to be thoughtful, deliberate, considerate, and done with an eye toward reconciliation. Boy, was I wrong.

One of the "reasons" given for heading off down the war path was to uproot terrorism in all its forms - to nip it in the bud, to cut it off before it had a chance to flower and go to seed. The actions depicted in the documentary above prove that our intentions have been completely undermined by our actions.

Read the General's report and tell yourself that those individuals who were detained have NOT been radicalized by our efforts. Look at those faces. They are our new enemies. They once were our friends.

You Don't Know Abramoff

Well, this is interesting. Over at Raw Story, we have a little story about how the entire Abramoff/Scanlon scandal may have started.

Methinks the blue dress for the Bush Administration has been found. How ironic.

Monday, January 02, 2006