Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Fully Loaded



At the once well-respected L.A. Times, Jonah dumps a load:
The irony is that there's not that much ideological opposition to worthwhile public works projects. There's some, but most objections are much more consistent with the old-fashioned country-club-style fiscal conservatism everyone claims to miss. The white elephants are just too expensive to build, and they often seem to be aimed at disguising wealth distribution, either to favored unions or to favored donors.

1) Statement
2) ???
3) Self-refutation!

Anywho, the real smelly is here:
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush's allegedly tardy response was seen as proof that conservatism itself was inadequate to the demands of responsible government. But it wasn't conservatism that had some volunteer firefighters out of commission because they were in Atlanta for sexual harassment training and video tutorials about how great FEMA is.

It wasn't the lack of some volunteer firefighters that finally tore the rotting bottom out of the Bush Administration, you festering pustule of nepotism.
On the record Brown refused to identify Karl Rove as the mastermind behind the Republican response. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco was less reticent. "This is exactly what we were living but could not bring ourselves to believe. Karl Rove was playing politics while our people were dying. The federal effort was delayed, and now the public knows why. It's disgusting."
~

14 comments:

Substance McGravitas said...

1) Statement
2) ???
3) Self-refutation!


That statement #1 is of the True Scotsman variety is important.

M. Bouffant said...

Aagh. Kind of in the public works vein, Tintin Twitted this fool to our attention.

BDB fails to realize that L.A.'s more-than-the-state-rate taxes have all been approved by the voters by school funding & transit projects, not imposed on us by Barbara Boxer, who, as a federal office-holder .... oh, why even bovver?

Glennis said...

Argh. Wish he'd just stick that see-gar in his mouth and shut up.

or brussels sprouts.

mikey said...

I'm very confused. The whole bit where the firemen were at a sexual harassment seminar (it's hard to believe that southern firefighters might indulge in such heinous behavior) when Katrina made landfall seems to ask for reader to draw a conclusion. It seems unlikely that even Jonah Goldberg would expect me to conclude that, had those firefighters been available that day, Katrina would have been a mere historical footnote and no one would have died, so it must be something else.

But the only other conclusion that can be drawn given the stated facts is that sexual harassment education for government employees is a bad thing, and we'd all be better off if it was discontinued immediately.

I'm not sure if it's intellectual laziness, incoherence or a ham fisted attempt to fit an ideological narrative over a random set of historical events, but once again, Goldberg has written a piece that actually leaves one stupider for having read it...

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

I'm not sure if it's intellectual laziness, incoherence or a ham fisted attempt to fit an ideological narrative over a random set of historical events

Yes.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Also, stupidity.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Don't discount stupidity.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

I'd take a poll of orange dogs named Lucy before I leaped to my conclusion.

But then again, Consider the source.
~

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

The white elephants are just too expensive to build, and they often seem to be aimed at disguising wealth distribution, either to favored unions or to favored donors.

All those goddamn commuters from NJ to NY... PARASITES!!!

mikey said...

You needed two things here. First, some sun on those sharkbait legs. And second, a beer would have been a good thing.

fish said...

Some images of Jonah just make me want to punch him in the face. A picture with a brandy an cigar in his hand, makes me want to knee him in the balls.

Smut Clyde said...

The white elephants are just too expensive to build, and they often seem to be aimed at disguising wealth distribution,

He's talking about military hardware, right?

Kathleen said...

aimed at disguising wealth distribution

yeah, I heard that the new SF Bay Bridge has been solely funded by Rupert Murdoch, and built by teenage mothers.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Some people say that Doughbob simply suffers from rosacea.

I prefer to think he is simply a fat tub of red-faced rightwing goo. Think Bankster Potter.