Their Master’s Voice : NYTimes...must read.

[spanone]

~snip~ It’s a familiar pattern: Mr. Bush sticks by his most trusted aides no matter how evident it is — even to the Republican Congressional chorus — that they are guilty of incompetence, bad judgment, malfeasance or all three. (George Tenet, the director of central intelligence; Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; and the Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers spring to mind.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/19/opinion/19sat1.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

[whistle]

1. Put simply it is all cronyism, Bush's cronies do what he tells them to

...then he makes it possible for them to survive and prosper in spite of their mediocrity and leaves them feeling that they are exceptional while all the time teetering on the cusp of their incompetence.

[frogcycle]

2. Actually cronyism is too mild a word

Our government is a criminal enterprise. Pure and simple.

The "loyalty" to those who have "made their bones" followed instantaneously by getting "whacked" if you step out of line puts to shame anything La Cosa Nostra ever organized.

[whistle]

3. Criminal cronies then?

Definitions of cronyism on the Web:

- favoritism shown to friends and associates (as by appointing them to positions without regard for their qualifications)
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

- Cronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to public office without regard for their qualifications. The word "cronyism" is always used derogatorily.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronyism

[frogcycle]

4. yeah, I know

I didn't mean to start a semantics debate. It is derogatory, but to me it is more benign than what we are seeing. To me, cronyism is appointing your brother-in-law dogcatcher when you are mayor. Appointing your college roommate to run the reconstruction of a country you invaded illegally, or a big campaign contributor to run FEMA might be cronyism. But the real inner circle in this crowd is far more evil. Gonzo is more than a "crony." He's got the goods on bush, and bush has the goods on him. They know where the bodies are buried. I don't know what the word is - maybe it hasn't been invented.

[whistle]

6. I'll accept a better term that takes cronyism to a new high...or low depending on

...how you wish to view it. I suppose until a more derogatory word comes along we'll just have to refer to it as Bushism, a practice which is far worse than cronyism in the extreme...CronyBushism!

[burythehatchet]

5. You assessment is closer to reality, in my opinion n/t

[Cerridwen]

7. For Whistle and Frogcycle - maybe this word will help

kak·is·toc·ra·cy

government by the worst persons; a form of government in which the worst persons are in power.


Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens.

Or the adjective form:

ka·kis·to·crat·i·cal

[frogcycle]

9. hmmm

To quote Johnny Carson:

I did not know that!

Thank you
We must promote use of this term henceforth!


Excellent word. Derives from the Greek Kakos (bad) Kakistos (worst)

I am willing to bet that the slang term kaka comes from kakos. So not only is it in the literal "rule by the worst," it also means

"shitty rule" or
"rule by shithead"

:rofl:

[Cerridwen]

12. Excellent double entendre!

:rofl:

[Subdivisions]

13. That is...

Too, too funny!

[renate]

8. k&r n/t

[EFerrari]

10. And NYTs tries to distance itself once more.

Blood on your hands, NYTs.

[rasputin1952]

11. This is a great couple of lines!:

<snip>

Each time, we’re told Mr. Bush repays loyalty with loyalty. We’re told it’s a sign of character.

We don’t buy the explanation. The more persuasive answer is that Mr. Bush protects his embattled advisers because they are doing precisely what he told them to do.

<snip>

(Same editorail noted)

FINALLY someone stands up and calls it exactly for what it is!

:woohoo: