Sorry so quiet – big family birthday shindig yesterday and today I am working on a project for Lent.
8 PM Tonight, National Geographic Channel: On Board Air Force One:
Journey inside the most secure aircraft in the world, Air Force One, as it carries the President through the confusion and terror of 9/11, a secret mission into Baghdad and a whirlwind diplomatic mission through the Middle East. With unprecedented access, National Geographic introduces you to the presidential pilot and the crew charged with operating this global command center in the sky.
Sounds like a don’t-miss!
“This administration will not torture”: Unless we feel it’s prudent to. Any criticism from the left? :::I hear chirping:::
“If innocent civilians are killed in war, you’re a war criminal and a terrorist”: Except when you’re not named Bush. :::chirp:::
This administration will close Gitmo: Just as soon as we’ve found appropriate terrorist cells to which the prisoners may be transferred. :::chirp:::
“This administration will ban lobbyists”: Except when we don’t. Oh, wait, you thought he was serious about that? :::chirp:::
“We are post-partisan and I will listen to everyone:” Except we’re not really and um…forget that. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” :::chirp:::
“It is arrogant, divisive, rude, hubristic and IMPERIAL to suggest that as President you are the “decider”: Until a Democrat says “I won; I will trump you.” At that point, it’s self-assured, direct and reassuringly authoritative. :::chirp:::
“Too much power consolidated in the White House is a very bad thing:” Except when it’s not. Hello? :::chirpchirpchirp:::
A sycophant: That wouldn’t be Drew who can only watch in drop-jawed astonishment. It’s a fast-spreading virus.
The quagmire of war: Lowering expectations until he can be called the Great Liberator of People, as George W. Bush has been soundly called. Oh, wait…
“This administration” will not use these words?: Democracy” or “democratic” or umm…“life”…or “pay…taxes…”. Whoops, I’m sure that last bit about the taxes is wrong. We’ll pay them. Others may not have to, but you and I will pay them. Yes, indeed. And we’ll do it with a smile, or be called selfish and un-American.
Iran: Lookin’ for the uranium. They’re really annoyed that Al Qaeda might beat them to it. Don’t they all know the war on terror is over? Everyone needs to settle down, now, and just share a coke.
Plausible deniability: We haz it
Dissent = Treason?: No, wait, dissent is still the very highest, ultimate form of patriotism. No, really. It is. And asking questions is good. Except when it’s not. Then it’s “obstruction.” It’s complicated. Back when Bush was president, it was okay (and good, and healthy for democracy) if you said the president was a terrorist, and a nazi-fascist, who should be assassinated. Now, if you just hope the president fails at promoting socialist policies, well…that’s arguably treasonous, baby, “arguably treasonous.” Got that? Wanna fantasize about assasination, actively work to expose sensitive policies in wartime and incessantly talk down the economy for one president? That’s alllllll good! Hope the other one fails? Treason. Evil treeeaasson!
Ed Morrissey calls this Obama’s folly:
It demonstrates that Obama still has no sense of his office, nor of “post-partisanship”…George Bush never attacked Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, or other voices of the rabid Left by name. If he ever went on the attack against the left-wing media, he kept the attack general and broad, rather than specific. Bush may not have been the most media-savvy of our modern presidents — in fact, he may have been the worst at it since Nixon — but he knew enough about his office to understand that part of its strength would keep him somewhat above the partisan-pundit fray. Obama hasn’t figured that much out yet.
But…but…Bush was a naaazi! A faaaaascist!
The Scariest Chart ever?: Well, One of them
A nation of Drama Queens?: Even the news is starting to feel like a stupid reality show. You wanted it, you got it.
Celebrate diversity: But not of thought. Not…of thought.
Imperialism is terrible: Unless it’s not. Not that I accept for a moment the argument that America is an imperialist nation. History shows exactly the opposite. Especially recent history.
Billionaire Boys Club: Those damn rich republicans are at it again.
Climate Change/Carbon Credits a gigantic scam?: Well, of course.
Something Right and Left really should be able to get together on: Fighting for Free Speech.
Opposing: well, really, someone should.
Ars gratia artis: Fausta’s got it
Our girls at Summit, NJ: Time Magazine has them. No pics of them making the soap, though.
Taking on Dowd’s droning: Someone still thinks it’s worth the time to bother. Not me, anymore.
“I love Jesus but I drink a little”: just to thin the blood. 88 years old? Bless her!
Had enough? Refresh here.
UPDATE:
Let’s put a lot of people out of work (which will lower our tax revenues): and oh, yeah, let’s make us less safe while we’re at it. Jimmy Carter couldn’t do better, himself!
Do Penance for Obama!: Frank Rich is feeling scolded by Obama and penitential. And while happily over-looking the $145 Million dollar inaugural-indulgence for Obama, he he wants you to join him in the breast-beating (for the sin of going shopping after 9/11) and contrition as we wait for the collection basket and the “mandatory volunteerism” that will cleanse our souls. Markets are vile, but Obama is good. Be afraid. The most unbearable people in the world are ex-smokers on a kick to cleanse the world of ashtrays. The second most unbearable are religious converts who don’t know how to stop proselytizing. Their are called Obamists and they are legion.
“It’s okay to love again…”: That would be because Obama talks to the soul. So in love… But it’s still okay to maintain your hate for Bush, too. The best way to “love” everyone is to hate Emmanuel Goldstein George W. Bush. Who um, only kept everyone so safe that no one in the Inaugural crowd was worried about being blown up by terrorists, as they boo’ed him.
One president at a time: Obama was right about that. Now…can we talk about “one god at a time…”?
It’s okay: Only massive government will save us. Give Washington all your power, and you’ll be free. And safe. Oh, yes, indeed. The press is doing it’s job. Yessir.
Taking on Dowd’s droning: Someone still thinks it’s worth the time to bother. Not me, anymore.
I heard a rumor that Peggy Noonan is still writing a column. Just a rumor at this point though.
Anchoress: Your links and posts of late have been keeping me in overdrive on the computer reading everything. But what am I to do with all this knowledge? Besides calling senators and congress people, and teaching high school homeschoolers the Constitution, now what? Ideas?
[Heh. My idea is always to pray. It is a force that "the world" does not recognise, and it changes things. - admin]
Sorry, Anchoress. I do pray…always, and should have listed that first.
I think we’re going to need a lot of crickets, Anchoress…
At the same meeting as the graceless “I won” remark, Obama made it clear that he is unhappy with Rush Limbaugh. So I would imagine that the Fairness Doctrine just bumped up a notch or two on his minions’ list of priorities.
And the new Fairness Doctrine — called the “Access to Media Act” or some such reasonable-sounding name — won’t be an FCC regulation the commission can abandon on its own, as it did the previous version in 1987. It will be enacted by the legislature. And it won’t apply to over-the-air broadcasters alone. What would be the point of silencing the opposition in only one or two venues among many?
I wouldn’t lay odds on Limbaugh — or Hannity or Savage or any of the Rushlets — having a national platform a year from now.
[Don't kid yourself; alternative media and the blogs are going to be targetted, too. Pelosi has been very clear about wanting to regulate blogs and free speech. This is the ONE issue that right and left bloggers MUST come together on, or blogging will become a very precarious enterprise as we watch free speech become something very, very risky, indeed. But remember, "BUSH was the 'fascist' who was stripping people of their civil rights" - right? -admin]
Me thinks that over the next 4 years you will be typing :::chirp::: that phrase a lot. I wonder what the left would have said if GWB had said, “you need to stop listening to Air America”.
I really think we need to set aside all this divisive partisanship and pass the Obama-Pelosi stimulus bill!!! It is the only thing that can save us. And it is absolutely certain to create millions of new jobs — quality jobs today! It is! I mean, just because 90 percent of the funds will not be spent until next year, that does not mean that it will not start creating new jobs immediately, right now, more than a year before the funds are spent.
And we really are safer now — now that it is once again September 10. After all, we were at peace then and the world loved us. We were totally safe on September 10. Much better to be living on September 10 than Bush’s September 11, which was all his fault because of his criminal actions in Iraq and Gitmo and Abu Ghraib.
Ummmm … kidding myself? That’s kind of exactly what I said!
Within a year, Americans will be being prosecuted for expressing their political views in forums the government deems inappropriate. And that could mean broadcast, cable, online and blogs, newspapers, or chatting with your friends around the table at Starbucks. Any public — which is to say effective — political speech will be fiercely regulated or banned.
And, sadly, we will have John McCain and his insanely misguided ideas on this topic to thank for part of what is to come. The era of the First Amendment is very nearly over.
And many Americans won’t notice, many more won’t care, and a solid core of others will rather like it that way.
Having voted on occasion for each of them, I wish you’d been one quarter as skeptical about Bush as you are about Obama.
[Ah, but it's too late for me to be skeptical about Bush, isn't it? But at least I've learned my lesson, so now I am plenty skeptical about Obama! -
- admin]
Ah, but it’s too late for me to be skeptical about Bush, isn’t it? But at least I’ve learned my lesson, so now I am plenty skeptical about Obama!
LOL!
Anchoress, when Dante remodels the Purgatorio to accommodate Bush and his diehard supporters, I hope he takes particular care to go easy on you…
***************
Seriously, IMHO the vigor with which the right is criticizing Obama would be better applied to pursuing the question of how they lost the confidence of the electorate.
[The GOP lost the confidence of the electorate because a) Bush too look long to change tactics in Iraq b)The GOP in congress and the senate exposed themselves as feckless and spineless on one end (those who were too focused on holding on to their office instead of serving their constituents) and too harsh and unmerciful on the other (the "ship 'em all back" mentality on immigration, for instance) and c). "The Base" was unable to find any candidate acceptable but Fred Thompson who never had any intention of running for president and was vying for a supporting role. Also we offered a very old, honorable but often media-whorish fellow as a candidate and the other side offered a choice of a woman no one liked (McCain probably could have beaten her) and a young, stylish man with a charm, a glib tongue and no experience but who offered America a chance to feel GOOD about herself when we were feeling very bad. Also, let us never discount the power of incessant, 24/7 battering in the press when it is coupled with incessant, 24/7 happy talk (and hiding of negatives) for the other team. When the press won't even identify your party in a scandal...you're treading very safe ground. I have no illusions about all the things that are wrong with the right. But I have no illusions about what's wrong with the left, either, and see no reason why I should not mention them. We'd all like partisan wrangling to disappear, but that's not going to happen immediately. There are a lot of open wounds still being licked by the knuckledragging "neanderthal racist homophobic misogynist selfish fascist nazi chromosome enhanced folk", you know. -admin]
The GOP lost the confidence of the electorate because…
Not to mention getting away from a focus on individual liberty, limited government, fiscal responsibility, etc. (And, going farther back, the mishandling of the budget confrontation with Bill Clinton. And after the Clinton impeachment, I had no intention of voting Republican again…until I watched Al Gore.)
I agree about Thompson. He was able to go back to the country’s founding principles, but somehow he wasn’t able to return from those principles to contemporary dilemmas. Both steps are necessary. Too bad.
I was always skeptical about Fred even though I gave him a small donation. Afaic the real disappointment is Romney.
Mitt returned to Massachusetts to run for governor. He won and had a successful first term. He chose not to seek reelection in 2006, presumably in order to focus on preparing a Presidential campaign.
Rhetorically gifted Deval Patrick upset an establishment candidate for the 2006 Democratic nomination. Then he easily won the general election to become the state’s first black governor.
Suppose Romney had braved the odds and defeated a charismatic black challenger in a Democratic year. He would have entered the 2008 primaries as the reelected conservative governor of a liberal state. He would have been the natural candidate to oppose Obama (and his record would have have been clearly stronger than Hillary’s). Picking Palin as VP would have secured the support of the religious right and swung a few female votes. IMO his chances would have been far better than McCain’s (and don’t forget that McCain had taken a small lead before his intemperate reaction to the financial crisis). IMO the financial crisis would have strengthened Mitt’s candidacy.
The moral also applies to Hillary 2004:
He either fears his fate too much,
Or his deserts are small,
That dares not put it to the touch
To win or lose it all.