Blogging The Bushmobile

[BlogBox]

As the Bushmobile "War Is Cool & I Really Can Read" tour kicked off this week, bloggers were busy separating fact from BushCo fiction. Examples: did you know that a private (Republican-linked) company controlled the Katrina evacuation plan last year? That Armitage was just one of the Plame Leak gang? That you, too, can help make caca out of Macaca Man? That Ohio's Blackwell had his own (shocking!) Claude Rains Moment this week? That Katie Couric isn't cute anymore? Never mind, you already knew that. Plus, WWODWT? (What Would Olbermann Do With This?), and how will you celebrate Bushtemberfest?

Myth Busters

TVNewser gets a gold star for catching CBS photoshopping that annoying little Katie Couric and making her look like she just devoured one of Stephen King's fruit pies in "Thinner."


The proof is in the links to the original before and after photos, and TVNewswer's got 'em. Of course, when the corporate-owned media ran with this story, they neglected to cite its origin. Quelle surprise.

Leave it to Greg Palast to bust a big time private Republican donor company for failing to evacuate New Orleans during those critical days before Hurricane Katrina struck last year. Palast reports on Democracy Now:

What kind of evacuation plan would leave 127,000 to sink or swim? It turns out that the Bush administration had contracted out evacuation planning to a corporation, IEM, Innovative Emergency Management. I couldn't locate their qualifications, but I did locate their list of donations to the Republican Party. We went to Baton Rouge to talk to them.

These are the offices of Innovative Emergency Management. They were the ones that were paid a half-million bucks to come up with an emergency evacuation plan for the city of New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. One problem is, I can't find the plan. So I'm coming here to ask them about it.

So when I showed up at their office, they would only talk to me from behind a glass wall. By phone.

Did you in fact come up with a plan, because it says it's urgent to come up with a plan? Did you come up -- can you just tell me if you came up with a plan or not? I'm just happy to talk to you one-on-one. You're probably about 12 feet away from me. Or somewhere. I don't know, are you hiding in this office somewhere? I'm happy to speak to you face-to-face.

We can't find your plan -- neither can FEMA -- that you were paid a half-million dollars for, that at least claimed to here. We can't find this plan. And it's kind of a problem. I guess it's kind of hard to evacuate a city, if you can't find the plan itself.

Half a million dollars, and no plan whatsoever to evacuate the most needy? Wish I could say this surprises me. Be sure to read the rest of the transcript or listen to the radio report. There's a lot more myth busting in the details, and it's not warm and fuzzy like a Bush photo-op with Katrina survivors.

This week, there's good news and more good news on the Plame CIA leak front. David Corn, blogging about his new book (written with Michael Isikoff), points out that just because Richard Armitage was Bob Novak's original source in the Plame CIA-identy outing, it doesn't mean that BushCo isn't complicit. Libby Defense Fund (Defending America From Scooter Libby) adds flavor to the story with "Beware The Armitage Red Herring":

So, the fundamental facts and betrayal of the nation at the heart of PlameGate have not been altered one iota.

And we doubt that Armitage is the naive innocent that Corn and Isikoff appear to make him out to be.

In fact, no one has accused Armitage of being anything but a combat-tested kind of guy.

When a firing squad is assembled to execute someone, does anyone care whose bullet hit first?

Good point. There sure were a lot of BushCo bullets aimed at the Wilsons in the summer of 2003, weren't there? And we all know who has the itchiest trigger finger, don't we, Libby Defense Fund? The smoking-gun evidence is posted in your sidebar...


By the way, as long as the Plame CIA leak story stays in the news, it's good news. Enough said.

Action Alerts

Attempting to get through Bush's über-thick skull (it's a metaphor, NSA lurkers!), Brainshrub has mailed the cake-eating son of a Bush a bottle of water as a reminder of those who went without during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last year.

In order to remind the White House of its dismal failure during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, activists are asking patriotic Americans to send a single bottle of drinking water to:

President George Bush at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500.

The return address should be addressed as follows: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center 900 Convention Center Boulevard New Orleans, LA 70130

Caution: people with bottled liquids are now considered potential terrorists. Be careful, y'all.

On the 2006 election knock & drop level, Man Princess (MySpace) has a winning strategy for Webb (D- VA, Sanityville) supporters:

...It's going to take more than the "Well he said Macaca" strategy to do so. Webb needs to get serious and really go after this now. This race is now a toss up, and has become an opportunity that we can not risk throwing away. Webb really needs to get into areas such as Southwest Virginia where the apathy is as high as the disappointment. I believe that it is quite possible that "Macaca"might be final round of "Caca" that regular Virginians are willing to take from Allen.

So kiddos, get out and spread the word. We are taking down racism one Republican at a time and I don't think there could have been a better place to start than with George Allen.

Good news, Man Princess. According to Zogby, Webb is now polling ahead of Macaca Man!

Great Moments In Republican Stupididty

Let's give them "nothing" to talk about. Think I'm kidding? Octafish has the links and the money quotes in a journal entry called "Iraq: A War About Nothing." After citing the freakmonkey-in-chief's disastrous press conference, his snarky slap at a Gold Star mom, and the Great Bush Fart Joke report, Octafish's conclusion: "Gee. That tells me there's 'nothing' between Bush's ears."

Lambert, posting at Corrente, addresses Bush's latest idiotic assertion quite nicely:

Bush: "I'm responsible for the Federal government." Constitution: "No, you're not."

The Decider cuts loose with another one, lets the mask slip, and reveals his authoritarianism for all to see:

(BUSHH) On my grade, I could have - we - the federal government, and I'm responsible for the federal government, could have done better in coordinating with the state and local government in its response.

Um, no. Last I checked, the Federal government had three branches.

WWODWT? (What Would Olbermann Do With This?) It's fun to guess which people and/or topics Keith Olbermann will choose to cover on his MSNBC show, "Countdown With Keith Olbermann." Naturally, we all expected Keith to comment on Donald Rumsfeld's ridiculous personal attack on anti-war Americans, but... Damn! Olbermann lit a fire under Rummy's ass, and his most excellent rant to date became an instant classic. Crooks and Liars has the video and the transcript. Olbermann is a national treasure, y'all.

From The Dept. Of You Can't Make This Stuff Up

VAWatchdog.Org posts this sickening report on the dangerous ineptitude exhibited by both the Dept. of Defense and the Veterans' Administration:

RETROACTIVE CONCURRENT RECEIPT COMING FOR OVER 100,000 VETERANS -- But nobody at DoD or VA seems to know how much or when.

This issue is so screwed-up as to be unbelievable.

Nobody at DoD or VA seems to have a handle on the back pay for veterans who receive CRSC or CRDP.

One VA employee said the initial payment figures had them sending out $100 million too much...which means they would have had to try and get it all back. So, they went back and started figuring again.

The estimated total payout is near $500 million.

For now, it's a "hold your breath and hope they get it right" situation.

Truly heavy sigh, y'all.

Wait! There's more! Common Dreams notes that Ohio Secretary of State/gubernatorial candidate, Kenneth Blackwell, claims to be having a Claude Rains Moment. Blackwell (R-"I Promise To Deliver Ohio To Bush") is shocked! Shocked, he tells us...

As part of his campaign filings he has been required to divulge the contents of his various stock portfolios. Blackwell says that in the process he was "surprised" to learn he owned Diebold shares.

Don't you suppose Blackwell is already practicing looking "surprised," just in case Diebold delivers the governorship to him on November 7th?

Risky Business

The Big Picture takes on those daily media reports of "a strong Bush economy." First, the set up:

One of the main Bullish arguments has been that very strong Earnings are not signaling a major slowdown.

I find that argument disingenuous. Earnings have been very strong on a year over year basis; but they have also been disproportionately concentrated in a few sectors (Energy, Materials) and partially engineered through dramatic share buybacks.

Next, the sting (The Big Picture cites Marketbeat):

However, the growth in the first quarter was much broader than in the second, when energy and financials ruled the roost. Energy companies have recorded 50% growth in net income, while financials grew by 19%. Exclude those two groups, and net income is down 1.1%, in part due to significant dropoffs in basic materials (down 12%), consumer goods (off 11%), health care (37% lower) and technology (down 4%), and a 13% decline in telecommunications.

A commenter concludes:

Arguably, globalization is giving US companies a windfall spike in real profits (and an even more pronounced effect in nominal profits) by giving the US worker a negative spike in real wages.

This spike -- a windfall to the top 2% that can now afford to pay less to the bottom 98% -- might go on for a long time.

Question: can our economy really be "strong" if only a few stockholders and execs are reaping the profits, and all workers get is a negative spike in real wages? If so, someone needs to explain this to me like I'm a 6-year old.

In other risky biz news, CBS is gambling on Katie Couric to suck... some viewers away from the other three network news half-hours with a one-on-one interview with George W. Bush. Yawn. DUer TexasLawyer says it best:

Perky meets Smirky

I think I'll miss that one. It's a headache waiting to happen.

CBS (following the FOX News model) doesn't care why you watch. They just want you to watch. Period.

Slightly Irreverent

OK, I lied about the "slightly" part. The Greenbelt is hosting Carnival of the Liberals #20. Take your time with this edition; it's a keeper.

In a world gone bonkers, Stephen Colbert lost an Emmy award to Barry freakin' Manilow; however, Colbert's presentation of the Emmy for best Reality/Competition Show (along with Jon Stewart) deserves an Emmy itself. Crooks and Liars has the must-see video.

How will you celebrate Bushtemberfest, or the Festival of Fatal Fuckups, this year? The Opinion Mill has several suggestions for you:

How shall we observe this new holiday, this Bushtemberfest? Shall we drown kittens in the bathtub while chanting, "Heckuva job, Brownie"? Shall we say, when a breathless Good Samaritan runs up to tell us that a building is on fire, "Okay, go home, you've covered your ass"? Shall we pull milk bottles and lollipops out of the hands of children and give them to obese adults? Shall we march into schools and confiscate globes because they depict the Earth as round? (When teachers object that the Earth is not, in fact, flat, we'll say "Teach the controversy! Give both sides of the debate!")

What's next? The other side of bigotry? Heavy sigh.

Planning on posting at Free Republic or some other right-wing hate site? Use this handy dandy freeper-translator link, provided by DUer Kerrytravelers , for that distinctly freeper look. Here's my first translation:

George W. Bush is an idiot.

Trans: GEORGA W!11!!1!1 WTF LOL BUSH SI AN IDIOT!1!!1!!1 OMG WTF

Really looks authentic, doesn't it?

Finally, if you aren't reading Don Davis' hilarious Onionesques at The Satirical Political Report, you should be. Irreverence, thy name is Don this week! Oh, one more thing, does anyone else think that the new and improved Wonkette is funnier than the original Wonkette?

Thank A DUer!

When kskiska posted that the FBI was investigating (cough) artist (cough) Thomas Kinkade for "using his Christian faith" to bilk art gallery investors, Canukistanian posted this:

One of his least-known works - "Meth Lab in the Woods"


NOT one of his best sellers.

Thanks for the chuckle, Canukistanian!

This is the blog week that was: more and more Republican myths have been busted, more Republican stupidity has been exposed, and Macaca's caca could be a winning election strategy on Nov. 7th. No, Virginia, you can't make this stuff up. The Bushmobile is still on tour, and it's up to us to stop it.

Keep sending those great blog links, y'all. They're the best!

-- Delilah Boyd

[Don Davis]

1. THANKS!

Thanks very much for the very kind and supportive words!

Best, Don
http://satiricalpolitical.com

[annabanana]

2. As usual. . . a stellar collection of stuff

we would have been sorry to miss!.

Thank you for Blog Box, another reason to be glad it's Friday.