Monday, September 10, 2007

Miscellany: Incendiary

COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM
Last year the Bush Administration failed to audit even half of the private Medicare insurers they are required to by law, and the ones they did audit scammed the gov't for $60 million that should have gone to beneficiaries. Once the "errors" were discovered, the Bushies took no action and let them keep the money. But, in the case where the gov't forgot to withhold prescription drug premiums from social security recipients, they are "vigorously pursuing money that it says is owed to insurance companies by Medicare beneficiaries." Un-fucking-yet-totally-believable. [h/t Hilzoy]

"OH, THOSE NUCLEAR WEAPONS..."
Last week the USAF accidentally flew a planeload of nuclear warheads across the country, and nobody on the plane knew they were nukes, and nobody on the ground knew they were missing. Oops! Or, maybe not a mistake, which is even worse... [Carpetbagger]

"GO FUCK YOURSELF. SOME MORE."
Cheney wants it both ways, and both are bullshit. Slate.com has a copy of the official letter from the Office of the Vice President to Sen. Leahy's Commitee in response to his subpoenas—they are refusing to comply because he is not part of the Executive Branch, and not subject to Senate scrutiny, but they also assert Executive Privelege. It would have been quicker to Xerox Cheney's ass and send it to Leahy.

6 comments:

Noah said...

I read the stuff on your blog (which I love, by the way). I watch Daily Show and Colbert Report.

Mrs. Smitty and I, while reading and watching aforementioned media, came to a conclusion. It's hard to be outraged any more. Especially telling was Jon Stewart. He's not outraged any more. In fact, he kinda looks tired. Like all of this is just....so much that it is tough to keep the intense level of put-out-edness necessary.

I guess you can't be put out when something becomes commonplace.

Mr Furious said...

I hear ya. Suffering quite a bit of outrage fatigue myself these days...

In fact, of late, I've been giving it to the Dems more often, because with Bush it's just same shit, different day...

Anonymous said...

Re: the nukes foulup. In truth, the only real danger is to some people in the B-52's ground and air crew. And, it's a bad-career-move danger.

Just thinking about it, the only really dangerous scenario I can come up with is if that B-52 would somehow have caused a nuclear first strike where a bombing run with conventional ordnance was intended. But the chance of that bomber, which was on a domestic flight, being diverted to a combat strike somewhere seems infinitesimal.

BTW, the Carpetbagger link bagged only a "page not found" at that blog.

Anonymous said...

Re: outrage fatigue.

Me too, and I'm convinced it's part of Bush and the neocons' plan. It's something like the class-cutting notion most high school kids get at some point: "If we all skip out they can't do anything. They can't expel everybody!"

Only, in the case of Bush & Co., it's that it's been so well established, verified and documented what incompetent and perverse screw-ups they are, they know we're overwhelmed. Besides, they have no good reputation, no benefit of any doubt left to lose with the public. Theyre just just trying to hold onto the brain-dead 28 percenters.

fridge said...

Just think how fucked up the Bushies had to be to have worn us out of outrage. That's some world class fucked-up-ness.

michelline said...

I think this kind of stuff shows why we need to impeach Bush and Cheney. They've damaged the Republican party sure, but they're also shifted the center in the balance between congress and the executive branch. If they're allowed to get away with this kind of stuff, I think we're just going to see more and more of it in the future.

(BTW-have you thought about going to pop-up comments? I have to click through two pages to get here)