Bush Supporters Now Wrong About Everything

I don't use large type, save for special occasions.

"First Amendment
speech and press rights
may also be subordinated
to the overriding need
to wage war successfully."

-Office of Legal Counsel, October 23, 2001

SAT Time!

Bush : PATRIOT Act :: Obama : Stimulus Bill

I'm becoming more and more convinced that external circumstances allowed both men to pass measures reflective of the more extreme side of their ideology under blankets of fear and urgency, bills that would have had no chance of passing in more normal times.

I'm not saying everyone's gonna be with me on this one, but I've decided that's my view.

Hurricane Katrina

Check out what some bitter left-wing fringe website is writing today:

President Obama will keep the broken promises made by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. He and Vice President Biden will take steps to ensure that the federal government will never again allow such catastrophic failures in emergency planning and response to occur.

President Obama swiftly responded to Hurricane Katrina. Citing the Bush Administration's "unconscionable ineptitude" in responding to Hurricane Katrina, then-Senator Obama introduced legislation requiring disaster planners to take into account the specific needs of low-income hurricane victims. Obama visited thousands of Hurricane survivors in the Houston Convention Center and later took three more trips to the region. He worked with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to introduce legislation to address the immediate income, employment, business, and housing needs of Gulf Coast communities.

President Barack Obama will partner with the people of the Gulf Coast to rebuild now, stronger than ever.

Wow. In this new era of postpartisanship (whatever that means) who would be so eager to remain so bitter at the Bush adminstration? These guys.

Jan. 20, 2009: The End of an Error

Gem from SNL

If you have any conservative friends left, you can see how this would help in confronting their arguments about Bush keeping us safe. Inspired by fake Ann Coulter.

[Hurricane Katrina] was a great American tragedy. [Hurricane Katrina]'s devastation is unprecedented; nothing like it has ever taken so great a toll on American soil. [Hurricane Katrina] claimed thousands of lives on that fateful day. But it was largely government failures that allowed so many deaths to come from the terrible tragedy, of [Hurricane Katrina].

Thankfully, though, for [three] years, Bush has kept us safe.

Great Moments in Presidental Speeches

Believe it or not, there was something worth watching on Letterman.

Many Random Thoughts and Articles

Iowa representative Steve King, who predicted an Obama victory would lead to al-Qaeda "dancing in the streets," now says that he doesn't know why Obama will be using his middle name Hussein in the inauguration, but that his given reason - historical consistency with previous inaugurations - "could not be the reason."

UPS delivered 30 pounds of marijuana to a Texas resident last Tuesday. Two side thoughts: One, I don't know anything about the prices of drugs, but even with my suspicion that marijuana is cheaper than other street drugs out there, I'm surprised at the article's valuation of the delivery at $350/pound. Two, thank goodness that guy didn't have an accidental arrest warrant out.

Last night was Bush's final presidential address. Mostly it's not worth watching, but if you're willing to be overly-nitpicky you can find humor in a couple of spots. At 4:37 he describes, without naming, the two sides of the war on terror. If you pretend the descriptions apply in the opposite way he intended them it's sort of funny. At 6:38 - and again, this is nitpicky - his phrasing leaves me wondering if there were more Supreme Court appointments that I didn't know about. Finally, though his phrasing is technically accurate given his intention, at 9:00 it sounds as if he's using a rather glaring tautology.

The inauguration security force in Washington DC will consist of 42,500 personnel. By comparison, this is roughly nearly 30% of the total number of US troops currently serving in all of Iraq.

Do the results justify the actions? Don't look too much into me mentioning this - I'm in awe of this guy, but it's worth pointing out that yesterday's emergency landing in the Hudson brought a damaged plane within 900 feet of the GW Bridge - for reference, that means it was essentially at the same altitude as the top of the Empire State Building when it passed over the bridge. And that's without considering what would have happened had he missed the river and landed on the island ... On the other hand, I can't really think of any better options, and it's not like the pilot is going to be like "well, there's a chance this may not work out, so I'm just going to crash us in a field for the greater good." Just an observation.

Found this slideshow of "right-leaning celebrities." It's just funny because of how deep they had to dig. And one of their best example, Dennis Hopper, campaigned for Obama anyway.

Finally, a take on Pinky and the Brain that would be funny if it weren't true.

Presidential Gathering

All the living presidents gathered the other day, as you probably know. Here's a short video of Bush being awkward and Obama being awesome.

Here's a really depressing line from the article:

"All of the living presidents were last at the White House in 1981: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and the incumbent Ronald Reagan. On that day, all the presidents stood in a circle inside the White House, discussing news of the world. The dominant topic? Then, as now, it was the Middle East. "

"At Least He Kept Us Safe"

In this group, it's hard to imagine many missed the Peggy Noonan article last week, lobbing a Hail Mary attempt to hold on to something positive about the Bush Administration, and citing the fact that there were absolutely no terrorist attacks at all period totally zero not a single one during Bush's presidency, unlike lazy-ass Bill Clinton, who let the USS Cole (is that a book? Why am I italicizing it?) get blown up by al-Qaeda.

Anyway, of course I threw up a little in my mouth reading the original article, but I think this summary is a little more interesting than what I would have written.

(Oh, and if I hear Bill O'Reilly or Peggy Noonan make one more comment about how we should have had more regulation before the collapse I'll lose it completely)

Bush's Final Days

Despite everybody being all Hopey and Changey, don't forget that one of the worst presidents in American history is still in the oval office, and for the first time since 9/11 has, in some ways, a sympathetic image, not to mention the fact that no one is watching.

Here's a mediocre but interesting "by the numbers" on his presidency.
(What struck me most was FOIA requests vs. FOIA processors over time)
The same site is also keeping a watch on his 11th hour activites.

An exception for servants...

Bush's new neighborhood did not allow non-whites to live there until 2000. Fantastic way to continue the legacy of a terrible presidency.

Mission Accomplished!

Bush finally caved and agreed to a timetable for withdrawal. I hope that this is the one independent act of the long-time puppet, an acknowledgment of the true(r) mandate received by Obama.

Presidential Turkey Pardons

This is pretty stupid, but it's worth it just for the pictures of Reagan and Bush 43.

New gameshow: Bush, Kennedy, or other!

I would really like to see a gameshow that asks contestants to listen to stories of idiocy and decide whether the stupid acts were committed by a Bush (W. Bush and Jeb leading the charge), a Kennedy (Ted, Arnold, and the various Juniors!), or a mere mortal (a la these guys). Just a thought.

P.S.- I always feel compelled to specify exactly which Bush we are talking about even though there is rarely confusion; this is simply a personal enjoyment of exactitude. That said, my fallback of 'W' has been taken by Oliver Stone. My solution: I will refer to our current president as either Walker Bush or W. Bush, assuming that not many will confuse either of those monikers with Herbert Walker Bush or H.W. Bush. I just really don't want to give Stone any more press than necessary because I can't even elevate that guy to hit or miss; having seen five of his movies I would only consider Platoon to be a good movie (the others I am thinking of are: Alexander, JFK, Any Given Sunday, and The Doors).

Almost Makes You Miss Him

Unfortunately they're calling this the "ASU Pitchfork" (they're the Sun Devils) but as the article aptly puts it, I think he's just doing it on purpose.

President Who?

I think it is absolutely remarkable how much we are hearing about President-Elect Obama's plan to fix the economy, or what he is saying about the economy today, or who is economic advisors are. There is an across-the-board concession that there is nothing President Bush can or will do to solve this that I would have never predicted. I assumed we'd hear little about him as the campaign heated up, but even now that it's over people don't give a hoot what the guy's up to. It even seems like Republicans wish Obama could just take over tomorrow. Heck, it kind of even seems like President Bush wishes he could leave. Everything he says just rings of "ya know, I'm outta here in two weeks anyway."

As an aside, when I look at him these days, for some reason I always get this feeling in my gut where I feel a little sorry for him. Of course, when I look back at all the crap he's pulled I'm snapped back to life, but it just seems like deep down he's got some sort of sad puppy look about him. Am I crazy? Anybody else getting this?

requisite weekly NYTimes Magazine article link

This one's pretty long a little wonky (although what other type do I post, really?), but really fascinating in terms of checks & balances and executive power issues in the Bush era.

Also, if you're feeling a little too hopeful lately and are looking for some comforting, vilifying reminders of why to hate GWB a little more, this is your ticket.

After the Imperial Presidency
by Jonathan Mahler

Bush or Batman?

I probably wouldn't have done too well.