My favorite Journalist at the WaPo Online, Dan  Froomkin Asked a great question the other day:

and the Answer is scary:

Consider that for a second.  

It has been more than a Full year since the president put himself in a  position to even  potentially hear a dissenting viewpoint, or a complaint about his leadership.  

But the Bubble by itself isn't news anymore.  Thanks to Froomkin and others we've known about The WH's manipulative efforts to create pretty pictures for the evening news  while vigilantly protecting W from the dangers of  dissenting viewpoints, unhappy citizens and disagreeable bumper stickers for sometime

What is news is  that the  Bubble around the president has shrunk severely recently.  He's having a harder and harder time finding loyal crowds to speak in front of and his team is running to safer and safer locations

  Here's how bad its gotten:

Poor Poor Harriet, she's been W's faithful "work wife for all these years, and even sent him all those Cute little Puppy cards to show him she thought he was the "best governor ever".  And all she ever wanted in return was a lifetime appointment to the highest and most prestigious judicial body in the land.  Really was that so much to ask?

Well apparently, some ungrateful Wingnuts think so. ( Who do they think shut that Guy up about the president's TANG admission anyway?)  For some reason they are pissed off that W didn't nominate Attila the Hun (don't try telling them he's dead  ) or at the very least Judge Roy Moore

Fortunately for them and sadly for her , Sunday's Philly Inquirer digs up the scandal that will allow W to try again:

and that's just the beginning of this deliciously ironic story:

FEMA Subcontracted NOLA Evacuation to Incompetent Bush Backer

[From the diaries by susanhu w minor edits.]

Add a few hundred more bodies to the count of what Grover Norquist and his "privatization at all costs" ideology has cost this country. Today's Chicago Tribune tells the story of thousands of motorcoaches offered to FEMA the day after Katrina hit New Orleans. Unfortunately, FEMA didn't return their phone calls:

As bad as that is, the WHY is far worse:

Mad yet? If not, you will be:

This story follows a depressingly familiar script:

1) A vital government service is taken away from the government employees who have handled it competently and efficiently for years and farmed out to a barely qualified, but politically well connected private company with for a huge sum of money:

and Landstar was well-connected:

Yes THAT US Chamber of Commerce, the one that's spent millions creating/supporting Bushco policies

MORE BELOW:

The Story of Cindy's vigil is one of contrasts.  The longer she waits, worse the outrageous antics of the other side looks in comparison with her quiet dignity

This Morning's outrage came with an extra-large side of Irony. You simply can't make up something like  a man plowing his pick-up through a field of crosses and American flags to show his Patriotism and support for our good Christian president.  (and anyone want to bet on whether the truck that demolished a War memorial had a "support our Troops" ribbon on it?)

Truck boy though is a red herring.  For sheer stupidity, effrontery and callousness, nothing can match what W did on Sunday. The man too busy with fundraisin', and world-runnin', and all sorts of important president stuff to meet with Cindy, Held a bike ride- complete with commemorative socks

However, on his bike and away from his handlers President Pee-Wee let his guard down and let his true character come out, and its not pretty. Lets put on a full-body condom and dive into that psyche shall we?

Never let it be said that W.; is a go it alone Cowboy, in fact he assembled a mighty coalition to invade Iraq:

Would you believe a Forces from 48 Countries

No?

How about a Giant Multi national Force with  troops from

Spain

Norway

The Netherlands{ not to be confused with the equally popular nether regions}

Poland{fughetaboutit}

Italy

Ukraine

Bulgaria

No?

Okay how about America and its Proud and Staunch Ally Britian?

NO? You've got to be Kidding me right?  Britian's leaving too?!

Yep.

At least according to Yet Another Secret British Government Memo

Well, give him credit, the president's plan to end the War was clearly spelled out:

What?  Hang on jest a sec.. <rubs glasses>....  Sorry that Wasn't W on Tuesday night at all, nope that was LBJ, March 31, 1968

Not coincidentally, just after the Tet Offensive proved that war wasn't in its last throes either, despite what his cabinet had been saying publicly.

Spooky isn't it?  

 But right there the similarity comes to a screeching halt. One was a serious address given by a sober, thougtful President.    

W gave the other one:

Lets compare shall we?

[promoted by BooMan, with minor layout edits]

I rarely Splutter, much less in outrage; but in His Wapo Column Yesterday Howie Kurtz wrote a Sentence that left me spluttering with outrage:

WHAT?  How do those get mentioned in the same breath?  Is it possible to equate one of the most important pieces of paper in recent history with an artificial controversy whipped up by distorting the extremely valid words of a man of conscience?

Still, despite his hopelessly flawed premise, the column does provide a fascinating analysis of how the Wingnut Attack Machine gets a story in the MSM and by contrast, what it takes for the  Forces of truth and justice to do the same :

Let's take a gander shall we?

One of the key factors blamed for  the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan were the schools known as Madrasas .  They are funded by wealthy Saudi Fanatics who take children at a young age and cut them off from the outside world to keep them "pure" and then forcefeed them hyper-fundamentalism.


   When Students graduate,  they are the perfect ideological warriors. Utterly fanatic, unaware of any other way of life or dissenting viewpoints, and utterly committed to the political agenda of their benefactors.


Well, never let it be said the Extreme Christian Right in this country doesn't know a good idea when it sees one.


This article in the New Yorker  Highlights the American version of the Madrasas:  


 

White House Press Briefing Jun 16, 2005:

Well since Scotty is being so shy, let me help him out. Despite what's being pronounced from the podium, the Soliders on the ground, think they are in it in for the long haul.  And if this is the last throes, they are  going to last a minimum of two more years:

Battalion intelligence officer 2nd Marine Division Captain Thomas Sibley Jun 21, 2005:

Now perhaps we know why Scotty refused to answer the question.  Joe Montana in his prime couldn't make throes this long.

And if the latest US  "victory" is any indication, two years appears to be wildly optimistic:

promoted by BooMan. Thanks to Cicero for making me read it ;)

{The notice featured in this diary comes from a source "on the inside" who is fond of their job and will therefore remain nameless}

A seemingly innocuous memo was released today by the SBA, that essentially clears the way for the Federal government to directly fund the Republican's Theocratic allies.

 For those of you who don't know the US SBA's job is to guarantee loans made by banks to small businesses.  This means if the business fails, SBA will pay the lender roughly 75% of the remaining value of the loan.  The guarantee allows large banks to take otherwise unacceptable risks and fund small and start-up businesses, which are traditionally very poor credit risks.

If it works everybody wins, the economy grow, more people get jobs, the lender makes a profit etc.

 So Far so Good.

 But my Spidey-sense started tingling today when my source sent me an SBA Information Notice entitled:

Seems harmless, but this "clarification" is Big Trouble