Bush Co: How It Works

I wasn't going to touch the Miers nomination, but the story is quickly ballooning into a glowing demonstration of both (a) how the Bush team do business and (b) why the Democrats, the media and others in the anti-Bush camp (not to mention the fools who support him) still don't quite get it.

My first question was whether the nomination was even serious. Bush's GOP is copping so much flak lately that they are even re-floating the old "let's send men to Mars" hoopla. Look, over there! A spider! Whoa, you missed it... Then again, what do I know? When Atrios posted this August 2001 pic of Meirs and Bush yesterday, I couldn't believe that was really the "Bin Laden Determined to Strike US" memo she was handing him...



But it now seems it really was that memo!

In the past 48 hours we have learned that Miers:

- turned the Texas Lottery from one of the most successful in the world to one of the least successful,

- Led a law firm repeatedly forced to pay damages for defrauding investors, and

- helped Bush avoid service in Vietnam and then cleansed his records and even paid hush money to keep people quiet about it.

Despite all that, senior Democrats are welcoming her nomination. Why? Because it could have been worse! Their main point of delight seems to be that she is not closely associated with the GOP.

On the other side, right wing nutters are crying out because they wanted someone worse. Rush Limbaugh, maybe?

What everybody is failing to see is that this is not just partisan politics anymore. With the nomination of Roberts and now Miers (or whoever) the US Supreme Court is becoming part of the Bush cabal. What everybody fails to even imagine is just how ruthless, greedy, absolutely immoral and totally corrupt the Bush cabal really is.

Look at Iraq. It's a disaster. People dying every day. No exit strategy. Who cares?! The Bush cabal is making money hand over fist!

Look at New Orleans. A disaster. Police are still clearing the backlog of 911 calls. Body parts in the morgue that will never be identified. Who cares?! The Bush cabal is moving in to reap the financial benefits of rebuilding the city in their own militaristic image. Bye-bye, black folks, hello Halliburton!

Bush is now pushing for increased military intervention in all aspects of US life. He is even floating the idea of using the military to enforce quarantines when an outbreak of avian flu occurs:

"If we had an outbreak somewhere in the United States, do we not then quarantine that part of the country? And how do you, then, enforce a quarantine?" Bush asked at a news conference.

"It's one thing to shut down airplanes. It's another thing to prevent people from coming in to get exposed to the avian flu. And who best to be able to effect a quarantine?" Bush added.

"One option is the use of a military that's able to plan and move. So that's why I put it on the table. I think it's an important debate for congress to have."

Can you imagine the scenes? And you thought the TV coverage of New Orleans was bad! And remember, when Bush says "the US Military" he is also talking Lockheed, Boeing, Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater, and the whole damned gang of privatized mercenary murderous thugs.

Would you really trust these people with your life, and the lives of your family, in such a situation? Personally, I can easily imagine another "Curveball" figure sneaking bird flu into some US state (probably a Democrat-controlled one like California) just so the Bush cabal could reap the financial rewards of a full-scale deployment. Or some Homeland Security crony declaring a state of emergency, only to rescind it a week later when it turns out to be a false alarm (but sorry, folks, them bills still gotta be paid for the great quarantine work).

UPDATE: There is a fair bit of online speculation that Bush may have only nominated Miers because he is afraid of the looming outcome of the Fitzgerald inquiry.