Friday, January 27, 2006

NYT: Elisabeth Bumiller, her heart belongs to Bully Boy

Mr. Bush appeared relaxed in the briefing room, which his aides say he prefers for news conferences instead of the more formal East Room. He appeared apprehensive at first, but loosened up when he saw a camera dangling precariously from a cord in the ceiling, threatening to crash down on the heads of reporters. "Are you wearing your helmets?" Mr. Bush asked.

Who could write the above? Who would be so willing to make themselves so useless? Elisabeth Bumiller sliding back to full blown Elite Fluff Patrol mode and, apparently, mistaking herself for a counselor at a drug dependancy rehab with her constant use of "appeared." What was his affect, Bumiller?

Well the insurance company will pay up after reading her chart entry entitled "Bush Sees No Need for Law to Approve Eavesdropping" but readers might want to ask for a refund.

I'm bored with Bully, I'm bored with Bumillie. This is yet another soft-porn version of Bumiller singing "My Heart Belongs to Bully." And never is heard a discouraging word . . . Too true. She jots down his every utterance and never feels the need to inject the "balance" the Times prides themselves on having popularized. No rebuttals, just transcription of what he said.

As long as she's going to focus on appearance, can someone please figure out what Bully Boy's latest hair color is? I'm thinking he's gone with the Farrah look from the pre-Charlie's Angels, Farrah Fawcett-Majors days. That would explain the dark and silver-ish streaks. Maybe we can soon expect the swimsuit poster? Though the press doesn't like to note his ever changing hair color, he's been everything including a sassy blond. (I believe that was when his weight really soared in the summer of 2004 and photographers went to great strides to conceal both his gut and his armpit stains while he made outdoor appearances.)

While jotting off like a good stenog
I may act the fool-ey
Yes, I do
Drop the follow through
'Cos my heart belongs to Bully

If I rewrite all through the night
And break a journalism rule-y
I just adore being a press whore
'Cos my heart belong to Bully

Yes my heart belongs to Bully
So I simply won't report
Yes my heart belongs to Bully
Lalala, lalala, lalala

So I want to warn you fully
Though I know the score I swallow more
See my heart belongs to Bully
'Coz my bully, he treats me so well

While jotting off, like a good stenog
I may act the fool-ey
So what if I do
I love him true
Yes, my heart belongs to Bully

Lalala, lalala, lalala
Lalala, lalala, lalala
Aauuhhhoo
Bully.

(Very bad parody of Cole Porter's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy." Sung by Marilyn Monroe in the film Let's Make Love where, unlike Bumiller, she only played a dumb blond.)

On highlights, I changed the passwords on both accounts to make sure Ava and Jess take some time off. So I'm not doing both accounts solo (and Martha and Shirley have offered to help but they need time off too). I'd forgotten how much the mail could pile up in a single day. If you sent something and you took the time to explain why it was important, feel free to remind me of that, but hopefully I am working through them. Keesha, Bonnie and Ken noted this highlight yesterday and I didn't get to it before I posted the DN! entry. This is from Margaret Kimberley's "Hillary Clinton's Plantation" (Freedom Rider, The Black Commentator):


Democrats behave the way oppressed people usually do. They cow and begin believing that their masters are not only powerful but deserving of the position they hold. Too few dream of waging war against the plantation system. Most just want a seat at the table in the big house and are satisfied when the master doesn't beat them too badly. If a few crumbs are thrown their way they are in seventh heaven.
Hillary's speech was not very impressive and neither is she, right wing blood lust not withstanding. She is just Mrs. Slick Willie. When she supports legislation to ban flag burning, legislation that she knows is unconstitutional, she insults the people who always rush to her defense. She and her husband play a tiresome game with Democrats. The right wing hate them so they get credit they don't deserve. They have concluded that they can get away with just about anything.
In the days after hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans, Bill Clinton sucked up to the Bush family and declared that we shouldn't be too critical of them. Hillary now criticizes her yes vote on the war, sort of. Now she says she "takes responsibility" for her vote and complains that troops who are in Iraq because of her support don't have enough armor.
It is important to keep the triangulating, back pedaling and pandering in mind when tempted to be impressed by Hillary's King Day speechifying.
The week before King Day, Hillary showed her true colors. She and Harry Belafonte were both guests at a Children's Defense Fund luncheon. It is a gross understatement to say that she avoided Belafonte. If he were infected with leprosy and the first case of contagious avian flu she could not have stayed further away from him.


Tori noted a highlight that Elisabeth Bumiller might benefit from reading, Molly Ivin's "Our Leaders Are Feeding Us Propaganda" (Common Dreams):

We live in interesting times, we do, we do. We can read in our daily newspapers that our government is about to launch a three-day propaganda blitz to convince us all that its secret program to spy on us is something we really want and need. "A campaign of high-profile national security events," reports the New York Times, follows "Karl Rove's blistering speech to national Republicans" about what a swell political issue this is.
The question for journalists is how to report this. President Bush says it's a great idea and he's proud of the secret spy program? Attorney General Gonzales explains breaking the law is no problem? Dick Cheney says accept spying, or Osama bin Laden will get you?
Or might we actually have gotten far enough to point out that the series of high-profile security events is in fact part of a propaganda campaign by our own government? Should we report it as though it were in fact a campaign tactic, a straight political ploy: The Republicans say spying is good for you, but the Democrats say it is not -- equal time to both sides?
Perhaps we have some obligation to try to sift through what it means that our government is spying on us in violation of the law and the Constitution.

By the way, Molly Ivins fans and friends should check out BuzzFlash's Wings of Justice this week.

Rod passes on the scheduled topic for today's Democracy Now!:

We are broadcasting from San Francisco
We survey reaction in the Middle East to the Palestinian elections with MOSIAC host Jamal Dajan.
We also talk to U.C Berkeley Professor and labor expert Harley Shaiken about the recent cuts at the Ford Motor company.
And we look at an array of technology and government issues with UC Berkley Law Professor Deidre Mulligan.

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