President Bush launched his inaugural celebrations on Tuesday by thanking two groups that played major roles in his election to a second term - the military that prosecuted the war in Iraq and his most ardent and generous political supporters.
And so it begins. Hell Week is upon us. But all is not lost - there should be plenty to laugh about this week. In fact, just a quick slog through TEH INTARWEB!!!1 shows lots of humor potential.
Take the quote above from today's
AP story. Says right out loud what the Corporate Media has been keeping hushed up since the primaries. Bush's campaign came down to two things: fat cat contributors and war. Same as it ever was, amen. But seeing it acknowledged by a Respected News Service, instead of just being trumpeted on the Left Wing websites and blogs (Incidentally, these Lefty sites have recently started taking heavy fire from the increasingly nervous Corporate Media - more thoughts on that coming soon) shocked a chuckle out of me. I'm thinkin' this AP writer must have hit
harrrd when s/he fell off the Bush bandwagon. From the same article, linked above (my bolding):
Bush gave four speeches throughout the day, but the centerpiece was a salute to the military. The more than two-hour extravaganza was held at a sports arena in downtown Washington, its seats only about half-full with thousands of uniformed military and their families, including soldiers recuperating at a nearby Army hospital from wounds suffered in Iraq. The event was also piped to troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Okay, in Our Nation's Capital, you'd think the Pentagon, itself, would be able to half-fill an arena. Subtext: Wonder where everybody is? And it's beyond pathetic that they had to haul recently-returned troops out of their hospital beds, just to garner a passable crowd for Our Leader. As for the Pep Rally For Our Troops stationed in combat zones (do I need to mention that it was Our Leader who put our friends and family members into that mess in the first place?)-- yeah, guys- he'll definitely be thinking about
you this week.
But inaugural planners and Bush aides also hoped the high-profile placement of the event at the head of the schedule would dispel talk that the festivities - which could cost more than $50 million, with millions more in taxpayer dollars for security - should be toned down.
Seriously, the first places I saw The Cost being played up is ::drumroll:: The Loony Left Sites! Now, eager for an easy kill now that the prey has already been wounded, here comes ABCNBCCBSCNNMSNBCFOX.
Look, I honestly don't care how big a party he and his supporters throw themselves. Shee-it, we survived the vulgar opulence of The Reagans® - we can handle this crowd. I do, however, think it's pretty tacky for them to force DC (read: US Taxpayers) to come up with the money for extra security, cops, paramedics and other vital District resources from an already strapped budget.
But this crowd has gone entirely beyond tacky, into a previously uncharted realm of hubris. They're so bad that parody has become more believable than reality. Props to the brilliant (if twisted) minds behind
The Swift Report for publishing the 2005 Inaugural Menu. I had to do some serious digging before determining that it wasn't the real thing.
Go
here to check it out - I've definitely got to bookmark that site.
On a related point, there's no word yet on whether the Administration plans to plaster the
brand new Limo One with Corporate sponsor stickers, NASCAR style.
Anyway, back to the AP story. Last quote, promise.
"You didn't elect me to do small things," Bush said, according to people inside. "I've got four years here. I'm going to use them."
Now, if that doesn't scare the shit out of you, nothing will.
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