Politicians (of all stripes) are such gifted liars, that you often don’t even smell the BS until someone points it out, say, by compressing years of them into a montage. Credit to this article by Andrew C. McCarthy in the National Review, via Catallaxy:
Of course you can keep your health coverage, and your doctor. And we’ll cover everyone while your premiums plummet. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda is “decimated” and these Islamic State guys are just the jayvee team. In fact (fact?), they’re not even Islamic — although they may not be quite as “secular” as the Muslim Brotherhood. Just extremists. (Extreme about what? Don’t ask.) Jihad is just a “purification of the self” . . . or, at most, “workplace violence.” Benghazi? A spontaneous “protest” incited by a video. The president was not told it was a terrorist attack . . . except by the secretary of defense right after it started — long before he responded by . . . going to Vegas, where he promptly announced al-Qaeda was “on the path to defeat.” Still, rest assured that the State Department’s top priority is the safety of American personnel . . . although we did reduce security in Benghazi after our facility was bombed. And rest assured that the Justice Department would never ever let guns walk . . . except for the thousands its Fast and Furious program transferred to violent gangs — who’ve used them in who knows how many crimes, including the murder of a Border Patrol agent. Still, at least there’s “not a smidgen of corruption” at the IRS, where citizens are harassed, evidence keeps disappearing, and the official at the center of it all takes the Fifth to avoid giving incriminating testimony. No matter. Just take heart that Ebola is not coming to the United States . . . um, well, if it does come there will be no outbreak . . . but, er, if there is an outbreak, we have careful protocols and health-care professionals fully trained to deal with it . . . and even if the protocols don’t work and the professionals don’t have adequate training, we’ll have a rigorous monitoring program for anyone who is exposed . . . or maybe a self-monitoring program for people who will isolate themselves . . . unless, of course, we tell them to go ahead and hop on a plane. Well, look, at least we can promise there won’t be a “serious” outbreak.
Exactly. Plus ça change…
It’s OK, Obama’s going to solve the problem with air-strikes!!
http://www.thebeaverton.com/world/item/1568-obama-announces-airstrikes-against-ebola
(well I found it funny anyway)
We don’t want to stigmatize all Americans Mel, but… gosh, a lot of them do seem to view it as the solution to everything – Oz 😆
The US is a target rich environment when it comes to people who think bombs and guns are a sensible answer to any problem.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/former-sc-gop-director-execute-anyone-who-comes-into-contact-with-ebola-its-just-math/
Todd Kincannon @Todd__Kincannon
“There’s just no other way with Ebola. We need to be napalming villages from the air right now.”
He is slightly more compassionate about Americans that catch it….
” People with Ebola in the US need to be humanely put down immediately. RT @AP: Dallas hospital: U.S. Ebola patient in critical condition ”
G’day, Izen,
I wonder if he would be that enthusiastic were it his own sick relatives.
Time for a bit of balance I think…
The $1.2 million dollar facelift to the Australian-American Memorial in Canberra was unveiled at the weekend. For those who are unaware of it, the Memorial is a 73-metre tall obelisk surmounted by a statue of a bald eagle. It commemorates the rôle played by the United States defence forces in the Pacific Theatre of the Second World War. Built in 1952-3, it was funded, not by government, but by subscriptions from a grateful public, who raised £100,000 (a vast sum back then), and it a measure of the gratitude of ordinary Australians for the sacrifice of so many lives. It was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth on her first visit to Australia in 1954.
Some things are fluff, as you often and correctly point out. Other things matter, and endure – Oz
Well all other news in Australia will stop for a few days, following the announcement this morning of the death of Gough Whitlam at the age of 98.
I’ve already written about Gough back here. I might try a new thread in a few days.
Update: Larry Pickering remembers Whitlam, and none too fondly. Here’s his cartoon from November 1975: