The thing about theater is this — you have to remember your lines. And if you forget them, you shouldn’t tell the audience that. Because then it takes them "out of the moment" and reminds them that they are watching a piece of fiction. Someone should tell that to the President. Here is Bush yesterday at his "Q&A" where he … Read More
Bush and Rugby — A True Spoof
Since the time machine is set on 1968 or thereabouts, let’s poke around. Let’s see . . . Kerry may or may not be on a secret mission in Cambodia. Check that. And where’s W? Oh, THERE he is. Playing varsity rugby at Yale: In her new book, “Ten Minutes From Normal,” [former Bush aide Karen] Hughes recounts a conversation … Read More
Bush Administration Officially Goes ‘Round The Bend
The better title for this post is "Trust But Verify", but that was already taken. But seriously, what is up with this? In a significant shift in U.S. policy, the Bush administration announced this week that it will oppose provisions for inspections and verification as part of an international treaty that would ban production of nuclear weapons materials. For several … Read More
Pentagon Releases Bush’s National Guard Records That Were, um, Destroyed
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon on Friday released payroll records from President Bush’s 1972 service in the Alabama National Guard, saying its earlier contention the records were destroyed was an "inadvertent oversight." (Source) WTF?!? Let’s recap. Bush promised (in his interview with Tom Russert) that he would release all his military records, which he didn’t . . . and when everybody … Read More
That’s It? We’re Done? We Won? Cool!
The president on May 2, 2003: "The Battle of Iraq is one victory in the broader war on terror that began on September 11th, 2001, and still goes on." On May 3, 2003: "The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that still goes on." On July 21, 2004: "I want to be the peace president. … Read More
Wait For It . . .
TODAY: Bush: U.S. probes possible Iran links to 9/11 WASHINGTON (CNN) — Iran is harboring members of al Qaeda, and the United States is investigating whether the Iranian government had a role in the September 11, 2001, attacks, President Bush said Monday. YESTERDAY: Halliburton Subpoenaed Over Unit’s Iran Work HOUSTON (Reuters) – A U.S. grand jury issued a subpoena to … Read More
Bush Presidency is “the Least Democratic in the Modern History of the Presidency”
That sounds like typical partisan screed, but Jonathan Chait does an amazing — almost bulletproof — job backing it up with concrete examples and logical argument. He takes various definitions of "democracy" — including one supplied by GWB himself — and shows that the Bush Administration is more undemocratic than any other administration in recent memory. The reason the article … Read More
On Pre-War Intelligence and Post-War Lies
A hat tip to Eric Alterman who realizes that he is going to be branded as an anti-Semite for merely pointing to this article from the nation’s leading Jewish newspaper. The article describes the recent Senate Intelligence Committee Report dealing with pre-war intelligence. It also refers to the Knesset report — the Israeli equivalent of the Senate report. The money … Read More
Energetic Response
We all remember the hubbub several months ago regarding the Bush White House’s "ho-hum" response to the August 6, 2001 PDB ("Presidential Daily Briefing") — the one with the headline saying: "Bin Laden Determined To Strike In U.S.". As you may recall, Condaleeza Rice dismissed the August 6 PDB as an "historical document" that said "nothing new". She and the … Read More
Flip . . .
. . . flop. Actually, it works just as well if I only give the New York Times headlines: JULY 11, 2004: "Urged By Right, Bush Takes On Gay Marriages" JULY 14, 2004: "Senators Block Initiative To Ban Same-Sex Union" JULY 15, 2004: "Bush Refines His Position On A Measure Banning Gay Marriage" Heh. And on a mostly-unrelated note, this … Read More
No Respect For One’s Elders
"Trying to eliminate Saddam…would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible…We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq…there was no viable ‘exit strategy’ we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern of handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going … Read More
Scotty Can’t Answer A Simple Question (Part 48)
Bush, it seems, likes to get the questions in advance. Probably how he made it through Yale, I’m guessing. But the White House can’t seem to ADMIT or DENY what should be a rather simple question in that regard: Q. Did anyone in the White House or the administration ask Irish television or its reporter, Carol Coleman, to submit questions … Read More
Ruminations of ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ – Part II of II
Well, shit. Kevin Drum took my Part II point. Almost verbatim. [T]he thing that really struck me about the film was the almost poetic parallellism between its own slanders and cheap shots and the slanders and cheap shots of pro-war supporters themselves over the past couple of years. If Moore had done this deliberately, it would have been worthy of … Read More
Ruminations of ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ – Part I of II
Warning: “Fahrenheit 9/11” is a rich film jam-packed with facts, factoids, opinions, interviews, and messages. Unless one recounts every little moment, it is impossible for a review to “spoil” the entire film in a Rosebud-is-his-sled-type manner. Nevertheless, my essay below does reveal certain parts of the film — so if you plan on seeing it and don’t want anything revealed … Read More
The Image To Remember Bush By
This is Andrew Card telling GWB, on 9/11, about the plane crashing into the World Trade Center. What is remarkable is that Bush had this look for a FULL SEVEN MINUTES before he did anything. Instead, he continued to read to schoolchildren. Many of us have seen the footage of Bush just sitting there, and it is pretty condemning. Hopefully, … Read More