The Republic of T.

Bush Notes

An image that's making the rounds via email.

Burned Out on Outrage?

Just a couple of days ago, while having coffee with a friend and discussing how the Republican agenda has played out in the last four years, I heard myself say "At some point, I have to stop thinking about it, otherwise I'll end up standing on a street corner, screaming and waving my arms around." It wasn't too far from the truth, and in some ways I think this bit of satire from the Onion isn't too far from the truth either.

According to a study released Monday by the Hammond Political Research Group, many of the nation's liberals are suffering from a vastly diminished sense of outrage.

"With so many right-wing shams to choose from, it's simply too daunting for the average, left-leaning citizen to maintain a sense of anger," said Rachel Neas, the study's director. "By our estimation, roughly 70 percent of liberals are experiencing some degree of lethargy resulting from a glut of civil-liberties abuses, education funding cuts, and exorbitant military expenditures."

Surely I can't be the only one. There are times when I feel a justifiable diatribe coming on, but I just can't muster the energy for another one. All I can manage is a sigh and "There they go again."

Part of me thinks it's part of the far right's strategy; commit enough outrages and they'll get tired of responding and switch to just not noticing/caring anymore. It reminds me of the old story of the frog and the boiling water; if you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water it will immediately jump out, but if you place it in room temperature water and gradually increase the temperature to boiling it will stay in the pot and die. Think about it.

President Bush A Winner

Light blogging today, folks. Busy with family stuff, but I wanted to share an item I came across during my son's nap; president Bush came out a big winner in this year's Stupidity Awards.

Bush was a dominating presence at the second edition of the awards presented at the Just for Laughs comedy festival. Host Lewis Black, whose biting satire is a highlight of TV's The Daily Show, took pride in the recognition the United States received at the awards, saying: "we are the gold standard."

Black said the awards "celebrate the pros" and "perfection in idiocy" because real stupidity is hard work.

"It's easy to fall down a manhole, it's easy to put the candles too close to the drapes, it's easy to launch a military invasion of another country based on a few blurry satellite photos," he observed.

"This year my people, we scaled the Everest of stupidity and we stand upon its peak."

Bush took the Stupidest Man of the Year Award and for the second time in the history of the two-year-old awards won the Stupidity Award for Reckless Endangerment of the Planet.

But Bush wasn't alone in his victory.

Bush didn't take the category alone, however, and tied with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

And on another, purely gratuitous note:

That award was presented by Justin Trudeau, son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau. He got the biggest reaction of the night from females in the packed house, who hooted, whistled and yelled "yum" at him while he was on stage.

Having seen a photograph of young Mr. Trudeau, I concur with the ladies. Yum, indeed.

Pants On Fire

I couldn't help but get a chuckle out of this. I've always been a fan of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, but now I think I'm a fan of co-founder Ben Cohen as well, thanks to his latest stunt.

Call it the burning Bush. The co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream is on the road, towing a 12-foot-tall effigy of President Bush (news - web sites) with fake flames shooting out of the pants.

Ben Cohen says it's an acceptable way to point out what he calls the president's lies.

"In a polite society, you don't go up to a person and look at them in the face and say, 'You're a liar,'" Cohen said in a telephone interview before arriving in Spokane, the next stop on the Pants on Fire Tour.

"We think it's a lot more dignified and there's a lot more decorum to say, 'Excuse me sir, your pants are getting a little warm, don't you think?'" Cohen said.

The "PantsOnFire-Mobile" is a trailer pulled behind a car. The Bush character wears a flight suit with the words "Mission Accomplished" emblazoned on the back, a reference to the president's declaration aboard the deck of an aircraft carrier that major hostilities had ended in Iraq (news - web sites). An electronic ticker on the front displays what Cohen says are Bush's lies.

The head is a rotating cylinder with various Bush facial expressions.

… Reaction to the effigy across the country has been overwhelmingly positive, Cohen said, so much so that he has commissioned a second one to tour.

Portraying flames shooting out of the pants of the president isn't disrespectful, Cohen argued.

"I believe that it's disrespectful of the president to essentially lead the country based on lies," he said. "If that happens, then I believe it's actually our patriotic duty to make people aware of it."

The PantsOnFire-Mobile will spend two weeks in Spokane before rolling off to Seattle. The tour began last November on Long Island, N.Y., and will continue until the Nov. 2 elections. It has been to Florida, Texas, Arizona and Colorado.

C'mon, Ben. Bring it to D.C.!

The "C" to the "H" to the "O"...

If you have the Sundance Channel, sit down, shut up, and turn it on. Tonight, it's back to back Margaret Cho. I loves, loves, loves me some Margaret Cho. The two comedy concerts on tonight, Margaret Cho's Revolution and the Notorious C.H.O., I saw when she came to D.C. (That was B.P. "Before Parenthood.") She was, to put it plainly, wet-your-pants funny. No, seriously. Ushers were handing out Depends™. OK. Not really, but she was hilarious. If you haven't seen her live, or seen her performance films, you're missing out. She's funny, fabulous, and on our side. What more could you want?

While you're at it, check out Out Loud on Showtime. There are some great links to video family albums for gay and lesbian families, and lots of other stuff.

Geez. Getting excited about spending Saturday night at home, watching TV. How old and married am I? :-)

The Boondocks

I couldn't help but notice that Aaron MacGruder, creator of The Boondocks took it easy on Reagan last week. In fact, I don't think he published a single strip about Reagan from the day the man died to the day he went into the ground. Remarkable restraint on MacGruder's part. But I think he's ending his silence now.

Republican Suvivor.

Via Atrios Eschaton.

This is the best laugh I've had all day.

Boondocks

I love, flat out love "The Boondocks." It's definitely my favorite comic strip. You've got to read the most recent strip, in which George Bush tries to "return" Iraq.

Of course, to get the full effect you have to start at the beginning of the storyline.

The Boondocks

This one is a must see. But be forwarned. Do not read this comic while you're drinking. The spray could be bad for your monitor.

Bush Speak

Via Lean Left.

If you're bored sometime during the day. Try building your own Bush speech. Hey, it can't be any more ridiculous than the real thing. Right?