Bush dispatches National Guard to defend the border with Reality

May 16, 2007

In a move White House staffers describe as an attempt to shore up his remaining support, President Bush last night announced his intention to send National Guard troops to line his administration’s increasingly fragile border with Reality.

In a prime time speech broadcast live only by Fox News Channel and the Outdoor Life Network, Bush attempted to raise his sagging poll numbers back into double digits by employing the words “initiative,” “comprehensive,” and “solution,” spoken as if they were somehow related to the rest of the speech.

In last night’s address, the president took his case to the American people that Reality is “out of control,” and as a result he is dispatching “five schmillion” National Guard troops to patrol its borders.

“We are a nation of laws,” Bush declared, although it was unclear if he understood the words.  “Reality is always welcome within our borders, when it is willing to cooperate with our laws and obey our commands.  But Reality cannot enter this great nation in an uncontrollable tide.  Therefore, tonight, I am announcing a comprehensive solution initiative.”

However, Bush displeased many of his remaining supporters by suggesting that limited “guest visits” from Reality might be part of the solution.  “We all know what happens when you let just one stray fact in,” said one poster to the National Review Online.  “Then comes another, another, and they start reproducing, and pretty soon we’ll be completely overrun.”

The speech was interrupted before it began when an NBC producer accidentally allowed the public to view President Bush for thirteen seconds of unscripted Reality.  Everyone that producer has ever met will now have their phone calls placed into a database as potential Reality sympathizers.  The producer himself is said to be resting comfortably on a waterboard.

The president’s plan, available in detail online if you close your eyes and think of your happiest place, includes requirements that Reality learn to speak English, “meaningful penalties” for Reality if it refuses to comply, and provisions to hold employers who allow Reality in their workplaces accountable.

However, if the schmillions of National Guard troops are unable to control Reality, the president asserted the right to use other options, including a series of air strikes, possibly including nuclear weapons.  “Reality cannot be allowed to flout the international community.  This is why we cannot wait for the United Nations to act,” Bush said.

“The use of the military, however, does not mean that this is militarization,” the president added, pretending to drink from an invisible teacup.

The president’s speech concluded with an attempt to appear reasonable and decent, primarily by using those specific words in a reassuring tone.  “We must remember that much of Reality is reasonable and decent, and willing to do things that the rest of us aren’t willing to, or can’t even understand how,” the president said.  “America itself was founded on a limited amount of Reality.  Initiative.  Comprehensive.  Solution.”

Asked for comment, Karl Rove, currently under house arrest while awaiting sentencing for perjury and obstruction of justice, replied, “I am not under house arrest.  I am winning the war in Iraq.  Care for some tea?”  

Reality did not return calls from the media.

The White House main page is one big error message

As of 11:41 am PDT.

Just stumbled across this.  No idea how long it has been this way or will remain so.  But for now, whitehouse.gov goes directly to whitehouse.gov/error-404.html, where “The file you have attempted to access cannot be found.”

The White House main page is one big error message.

This seems deeply symbolic.

UPDATE: This also happens when you click on “Current News,” which is supposed to take you to http://www.whitehouse.gov/news.   Of course, if I were Bush, I wouldn’t want to see the word “news” anywhere around me, either.

Can’t even manage a website.  Wow.

 

Unsorted good stuff from this past week

The Yes Men strike again: the Halliburton SurvivaBall.

Jon has created a helpful flowchart
to explain why rational critics of insane administrations often sound
much like enemy lunatics.  He also posts other good things to read here and here.

Dean
Baker, brilliant economist, has posted a new book on how the U.S.
government is increasingly turning into a cash machine for the rich. 
It’s called The Conservative Nanny State, and it’s free to download as a .pdf file

At the New York Times, Frank Rich
has just called out the security-wounding leakfest that is Team Chimpy
for betraying everything America is supposed to stand for.

And of course, if you haven’t seen it, the SNL video by the man who won the majority of votes in 2000:

Extra bonus Tobagoblogging

While playing catch-up here, I have the West Indies/Zimbabwe cricket match purring away quietly on the TV.  

One of the announcers sounds a great deal like Stewie Griffin from Family Guy, but with a South African accent.  I wish you could hear this.  He sounds like he could go sinister any second.

They’re
playing in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, which I didn’t get to while visiting T&T,
back in the ancient past of a few weeks ago.  But it reminded me that
there are still a few Tobago pics you might want to see.  (I do,
anyway.  After the last few weeks, this seems like it was years ago.)

 

This is the edge of some sort of fish highway.  The traffic flow is amazingly constant.

 

 

A
blue-crested motmot, munching on a piece of gouda he has just taken from my
hand.  The picture is a bit blurry because I am glad to still have the
hand.

 

 

This
is a small kid either (a) running toward the water with an inflatable toy
or (b) being eaten whole by a giant insect.  I believe it is the former.  Also, I challenge you to look at
this and not feel a pleasant breeze. 

 

 

Mmm. 
Fresh fish with coocoo (cornbread, basically), pigeon peas, and
noodles.  (If you like starch, Tobago is heaven.  Order the potato
roti, and what you get is essentially potato wrapped in bread threaded
with cornmeal.  And all feels right with the world.)

 

 

I’m not sure what sort of product this is, but I suspect — call this a mad theory — it may be cow-related.  

 

 

There
are more pictures than minutes today, unfortunately, so I’ll leave off
with the four below, hoping you get to end your days feeling this way
as often as possible.