The Beneficiaries of "Incompetence"

Some musings on the US Attorney's Purge, prompted by a number of TPM posts, here, here, and especially here.

So who hired these US Attorney's in the first place?

Wouldn't it have been the, yes, wait, Bush Administration?

I concur wholeheartedly with the "incompetence" dodge reader BG wrote about, they're only incompetent if you think that what they have been doing is trying to run a democratic government for the betterment of the American People in its entirety.

Given that such a consideration is far down the list of their policies and beliefs, the incompetence dodge disappears under the weight of so much greed and delusional ideology. Granted, some of them are incompetent, some too are pretty much certifiable, some, like the attorney general, are about as close to being a complete sociopath as I've ever seen, but for the most part, the problem is that they are profoundly immature in their belief systems, that they are so suffused with fear and shame that they project their inadequacies onto a grand scale, not unlike a group of people who plunged the world into the most hideous maelstrom of death and destruction and insanity ever.

So back to my question, when their tools misbehaved, either by action or inaction, they moved to replace them with more willing tools, or less willing tools you could say, depending on the particulars. What this demonstrates is not incompetence, but an inability to appreciate that some people do behave in ways that uphold their duty to their oath's of office, that their Mayberry Machiavelism renders them incapable of understanding honor and dignity and responsibility. That doesn't make them incompetent or corrupt, it makes them, essentially, evil.

And it's far past time for the Democrats to embrace that concept, and act accordingly. And soon.

Watch the News Hour

Friday's News Hour had some good reporting and discussions, even from Bobo, believe it or not.

And they even had a representative from the online world, Mark Benjamin from Salon.com. Bloggers have been talking about this story from day one, that's why Atrios was always wondering why Bush would never visit the troops there, DKos has had weekly discussions of the treatment of soldiers and veterans, people like Seven of Six have talked about their "adventures" with the VA, but until the WaPo went front page, nobody did didly. This exchange between Lehrer, a former Marine, and Bobo, not a former Marine, tells quite a lot:

DAVID BROOKS: And to me -- and I really wasn't aware of how much had been reported in Salon. I wasn't aware until Dana Priest just said it, that there had been a hearing.

JIM LEHRER: In 2005, and nobody paid any attention, including us.

As Judy Woodruff noted, now that we have a divided government again, these sorts of stories will come out. But the question is why they haven't before this? Why did/does the Bush Administration suppress so much about this war, beyond the fact that half of what they do is illegal, the other half incompetent?

They actually kindof discussed it in the Walter Reed story and in the Shields and Brooks discussion, but I'll summarize.

They don't want the people of this country to know the consequences of the Administration's War of Occupation. They don't want us to sacrifice, because if we become a part of this nightmare we will begin to seriously question why; those 30 percent dead enders that back Bush without question will start to wonder when things begin to impact their own Cheetos stained lives, those 10 percent supporters will not just leave Bush, but go after Bush and Cheney, and start to look for changes and solutions, will start demanding that the troops come home now, and it won't be unequivocable either. And Bush/Cheney can't afford that.

Because then stories like the two that followed Shields and Brooks will get addressed too, and then their whole criminal enterprise will come crashing down around their preciousssssssss corporate masters. Here's a link to the video of the Port Pollution story. Check it out too, it's quite interesting, and once again California is actually trying to fill the void left by Bush's Administration.

The WaPo has this two part article on the consequences of Bush/Cheney's war, and even the headline writer seemed to be paying attention. The Hotel Aftermath is the second part, and just as tragic as the first part, and a bitter reminder, not of their incompetence so much, as how hideously this gang of cowardly men are serving us, with their delusions and ignorance and lust for power. I've said it before, I'll say it again, they aren't interested in doing a good job or serving the country, they are more interested in serving their master, mammon.

Maybe they've been taken over by a Yenaldlooshi, a Skinwalker, one who gain[s] power by killing a close relative [fellow Americans]... . They are known to desecrate sand paintings [art or beauty] by urinating, spitting, and defecating on them. They also practice cannibalism and necrophilia. Yenaldlooshi are also said to be able to create a pollen from ground human infant bones that when sprinkled on sleeping Navajo families, causes sickness, social problems, and death.

That sounds like them, maybe we need a hataalii to protect us from these creatures.

While Mologne House has a full bar, there is not one counselor or psychologist assigned there to assist soldiers and families in crisis -- an idea proposed by Walter Reed social workers but rejected by the military command that runs the post.

After a while, the bizarre becomes routine. On Friday nights, antiwar protesters stand outside the gates of Walter Reed holding signs that say "Love Troops, Hate War, Bring them Home Now." Inside the gates, doctors in white coats wait at the hospital entrance for the incoming bus full of newly wounded soldiers who've just landed at Andrews Air Force Base.

And set back from the gate, up on a hill, Mologne House, with a bowl of red apples on the front desk.

Who supports the troops, George?

It May be a Game but it's a Tough Business

I can see Tony Romo replaying that play in his mind over and over and over, with the same bad ending, and can only admire him for his honesty and integrity by showing up at the interview room to answer questions from the reporters. And as he said, he's going to be a long time in getting over it.

And what a play to review, from disaster, the dropped hold, to miraculous comeback, the goal line, hell the first down line in sight (I said to myself as he was running, "Self, he's going to score!") to sudden and shocking end as the desperate diving tackle from behind abruptly shattered the Cowboy's Super Bowl hopes.

I can remember screwing up at work, maybe not so spectacularly or finally, and it's no fun facing the music, but face it you must, and I can only give kudos to Bill Parcells and Terrell Owens and Tony Romo and whoever else went out to face the media (those 3 being the only ones they showed on teevee, alas on ESPN which is owned by ABC/Disney and which we have further actionable items to report here) for acting like adults and facing the press without rancor or undue defensiveness.

If only we had a President who acted that way, like a responsible adult, instead of a petulent and rotten bully.