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September 13, 2005

Annals of deniable plausibility
Posted by Teresa at 09:16 AM *

Andrew Northrup is being brilliant. Read his Bush administration promises speedier response to national disasters. Well may The Onion gnash its teeth in envy.

Comments on Annals of deniable plausibility:
#1 ::: Dave Weingart ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 09:53 AM:

That is better political writing than I've seen in the media in long years.

#2 ::: chris ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 10:36 AM:

Esquivalience of the highest order.

#3 ::: Laurie Mann ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 11:19 AM:

You're gonna love this one:

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050911/NEWS05/509110304

Power crews diverted
Restoring pipeline came first

(This included delaying power restoration to a
local hospital for an extra day after the White House made a call...)

So the White House can't make a call to deliver water and food to people stranded in New Orleans, but can make a call to benefit political pals in the South. Sounds like business as usual to me!

#4 ::: Jim Henley ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 11:55 AM:

"We're called flight attendants [and "The Editors"] now."

#5 ::: Lizzy Lynn ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 12:00 PM:

Thanks -- what a lovely way to start the day.

#6 ::: Lois Fundis ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 12:28 PM:

Super-Computing Accountability Preventition Engine and Government Official Absolving Tool, or SCAPEGOAT

aka Karl Rove?

#7 ::: Madeleine Robins ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 01:26 PM:

“America is a great nation,” he said. “And a great nation deserves great excuses.”

*weep*

#9 ::: Mary Kay ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 01:58 PM:

Greg: He has no idea what that phrase actually means as he's never had to take responsibility for anything in his life. Also given the way the so-called investigation is being set up no one important will be called to account. The Republicans announced the formation of a bi-partisan committee to investigate. However, the first the Dems knew about this bi-partisan committee was when they heard the announcement. There will be more Republicans than Democarts and the Dems will have no subpoena power only the Repubs. So you can see where that will go.

Write your representatives today demanding a real and independent investigation.

MKK

#10 ::: PiscusFiche ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 02:38 PM:

I like these two snippets here:

Bush To Investigate Self: Will Ask "Where was I?" and "What was I doing?"

and

Bush Says Umbrella Working "Just Fine" (Picture included).

#11 ::: Dan Lewis ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 03:56 PM:

"To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility."

So the next pushback is that the federal government partly did its job right, but mistakes were made, things do happen. The whitewash smell is palpable.

To the extent that George W. Bush didn't sit in a rowboat and blow Hurricane Katrina out of the Gulf, he is responsible, but we can't blame him for not doing the impossible, right? He's just one man, after all.

How could he have anticipated the breach of the levees? How could anyone? If his FEMA chief couldn't find out about the convention center, how could he? Isn't that too much to expect?

As our hostess said earlier, "I’m getting tired of hearing from Dubya about disasters nobody could have foreseen, when his own people did the foreseeing and he overruled or ignored them." He won't get tired of saying it, though. He's found his loophole.

He will never admit anything close to the fact that blood is on his hands.

#12 ::: Greg London ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 04:26 PM:

The question mark was there for a reason.
Obviously, Rove has figured out the way to
fix this is to have Bush say "I'm responsible"
to the TV camera's followed by "You can't
do anything about it" as soon as they leave.

#13 ::: John M. Ford ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 04:38 PM:

Dear American Official:

I am Vassily R. Potemkin, Minister of Information for the late Voivode of the Week G. G. Limpopo of the Former Soviet Republic of Partsfabriky 128.

As part of his job, our Beloved Dead Leader accumulated 5,000,000 (Five Gazillion) International Blame Transfers, valid in all countries under IOC Blame Game Rules. Having been declared Officially Dead by his own hand, our Leader has no more use for these instruments. Therefore we of the Ministry are looking for a way of shifting our blame onto the international market. We found your name and sinecure on the Internet, and are approaching you with an offer to exchange these transfers for an outsourcing contract of some kind. No actual outsourcing will be required, just the bucks, and assuming you are the person we seek, those will not be yours anyway.

Yours in Strauss,
V. R. Potemkin

#14 ::: Michelle ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 05:02 PM:

Dan, they've been diverting funds for fixing the Levees for the war.

http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002331.html

That is part of what makes him responsible. There are orders he could have made to get people with help in and out faster.

#15 ::: Michelle ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 05:03 PM:

I do feel the need to point out that before the hurricane hit, PBS was airing specials about previous hurricane related floods and what would happen if the levees broke today.

#16 ::: Dan Lewis ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 06:48 PM:

Sorry; any sufficiently sarcastic post is indistinguishable from a troll.

This bit
"To the extent that George W. Bush didn't sit in a rowboat and blow Hurricane Katrina out of the Gulf, he is responsible, but we can't blame him for not doing the impossible, right? He's just one man, after all.

"How could he have anticipated the breach of the levees? How could anyone? If his FEMA chief couldn't find out about the convention center, how could he? Isn't that too much to expect?"

was meant to be in character: whiny-sounding, fantasy-based, and partisan.

I and I alone take ultimate responsibility for the error.

#17 ::: Michelle ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 10:55 PM:

I forgive you :) My Sarcasim meter was off.

#18 ::: Sarah Avery ::: (view all by) ::: September 13, 2005, 11:57 PM:

Probably I am not the first to notice this, but I just saw your blacks-loot-but-whites-find-wtf gotcha appropriated by the comedian Carlos Mencia. An ad for his show, The Mind of Mencia ran during The Daily Show, and there Mencia was with those now-familiar wire service photos and those same captions, objecting as all of us objected. We can hope the T&A fans who tune in for reruns of the Pamela Anderson roast are also seeing this same ad.

#19 ::: Epacris ::: (view all by) ::: September 15, 2005, 05:28 AM:

Our excellent short (Australian) ABC program "Media Watch" covered this "Loot or Find?" story-about-the-story last Monday night - see (loot or find), as well as another mention of the interaction between real disaster (in New Orleans) and media versions Media heroes?

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