Comments on: heck of a job, George

heck of a job, George

edverb — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:28:09 -0800

Updatefilter: George C. Deutsch has resigned. (for NYT links, see BugMeNot)

(T)he young presidential appointee at NASA who told public affairs workers to limit reporters' access to a top climate scientist and told a Web designer to add the word "theory" at every mention of the Big Bang, resigned yesterday, agency officials said. (previously discussed here on MeFi)

Mr. Deutsch's resignation came on the same day that officials at Texas A&M University confirmed that he did not graduate from there, as his résumé on file at the agency asserted. [...]

Mr. Deutsch, 24, was offered a job as a writer and editor in NASA's public affairs office in Washington last year after working on President Bush's re-election campaign and inaugural committee, according to his résumé. No one has disputed those parts of the document.

By: dsword

dsword — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:31:01 -0800

Duetsch-sacked?

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:34:27 -0800

WTFNASA?

By: Kickstart70

Kickstart70 — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:36:33 -0800

There really needs to be a grassroots organization dedicated -just- to checking on the truthfulness of people's stated qualifications. It seems like every time I read the news these days there's another liar who has weaseled his or her way into a powerful position.

By: dsword

dsword — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:37:47 -0800

...He was an appointee... Why WTFNASA? WTFBUSH?

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:37:54 -0800

wow. I mean, I know politics has been full of this shit for a good long while, but I find it hard to believe that the reason shit like this keeps popping up under BushCo is just because more people are looking for it. Seems to me that this administration has a hard-on for nepotism, corruption and betrayal-of-office.

By: monju_bosatsu

monju_bosatsu — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:42:43 -0800

By: sourbrew

sourbrew — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:46:28 -0800

Someone needs to put together a solid hour to two hour documentary with short vignettes about all of the ass hats who have had scandals from their appointed or elected offices in the last 5 years and entitle it. "half a decade of corruption" or my personal, but less publicly appealing choice "How America got fucked over the Pork Spending Barrel, and why morality does not make right." sadly this nytimes article gives me little hope.

By: sourbrew

sourbrew — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:48:38 -0800

monju_bosatsu, i think his interview went like this. Interviewer: "Will you help oppress science in the name of advancing the religious rights agenda?" George: "Sure... fucking commie leftist atheists are taking over our country and need to be stopped." George Bush from behind a screen: "Hire him" maybe the role of bush was played by Karl Rover, or some other high ranking bushie, same idea.

By: sourbrew

sourbrew — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:49:00 -0800

rove even...

By: Mijo Bijo

Mijo Bijo — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:56:32 -0800

Seems to me that this administration has a hard-on for nepotism, corruption and betrayal-of-office. Trickle Down Theory: It starts at the top and works its way down. I liked it better as "Rover", sourbrew.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:57:05 -0800

Well, the big bang is a theory, isn't it? [/~~devil~~ fundy's advocate]

By: frogan

frogan — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:05:23 -0800

Don't they vet these people anymore? No. See Miers, Harriet.

By: ed

ed — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:15:34 -0800

So he fudged a resume. Some folks call it unethical. Others call it creative job placement. Haven't you folks realized that having your shot at the American dream means stomping on other backs? Either that or taking your clothes off.

By: aeschenkarnos

aeschenkarnos — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:18:41 -0800

Well, the big bang is a theory, isn't it? Yes, in the scientific sense of the word, which is "the best current explanation for the facts we have observed." Same as gravity, except we've seen a lot more gravity, and it's a lot easier to do experiments with gravity to confirm the theory. The Big Bang theory doesn't make many testable predictions. It's incomplete in that it doesn't properly account for uniform background radiation. This will change, when and if we figure that out. Other theories have been proposed. None have survived as well as the Big Bang theory against the attempts of physicists and mathematicians and astrophysicists (there's not much difference between the three, in that context) to find flaws in the theories.

By: TwelveTwo

TwelveTwo — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:19:42 -0800

Maybe the president truly is our philosopher-king.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:26:15 -0800

aeschenkarnos: precisely what I meant.

By: edgeways

edgeways — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:26:34 -0800

Maybe the president truly is our ~~philosopher-~~ king.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:40:41 -0800

Gosh, another wholly-unqualified appointee. At least y'all didn't lose a coastal city from this one!

By: mediareport

mediareport — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:48:34 -0800

stavros, the real point of the 'big bang' episode comes at the very end of that story: The Big Bang is "not proven fact; it is opinion," Mr. Deutsch wrote, adding, "It is not NASA's place, nor should it be to make a declaration such as this about the existence of the universe that discounts intelligent design by a creator." It continued: "This is more than a science issue, it is a religious issue. And I would hate to think that young people would only be getting one-half of this debate from NASA. That would mean we had failed to properly educate the very people who rely on us for factual information the most." There ya go. It's been obvious for a long time, but there's a bit of clear evidence that the intelligent design folks are going after physics next.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:53:16 -0800

Ah-hah. Not surprising, and my fault for not R'ing the FA. Same halfwit churchblinded bullshit line they spin about evolution, then. My little funny is not funny at all.

By: rob511

rob511 — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:56:11 -0800

You (were) doing a heckuva job, Germy!

By: Balisong

Balisong — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 23:57:18 -0800

Just once I'd like to see an example where cronyism worked out to be better than merit and credentials.

By: planetkyoto

planetkyoto — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 00:06:59 -0800

This is great, because just a few hours ago I gave a talk to a community group about "The Long Tail" with regard to weblogs challenging MSM accuracy and authority. Now I have a follow up to email them about.

By: telstar

telstar — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 00:29:20 -0800

Oh man. This looks reeeeeely bad. I thought the bushies couldn't sink any lower and now this.

By: shoos

shoos — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 01:03:22 -0800

A 24 yo journalist who didn't even finish college dictating what NASA can and can't tell the public? Jesus.

By: orthogonality

orthogonality — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 01:04:12 -0800

mediareport writes "[Deutsch] continued: 'This is more than a science issue, it is a religious issue. And I would hate to think that young people would only be getting one-half of this debate from NASA. " Ever notice that for fundies, everything is about indoctrinating "young people"? NASA mission shouldn't be to educate; it should be to do real science and real engineering. Like most other complicated adult vocations, these things generally are not accomplished when they're slowed down and simplified so that children -- including 24 year-old children with Presidential appointments but without four-year degrees -- can comprehend them. Let the scientists do their work without having to make it palatable to children, fundies, and pushers of ideologies, whether those pushers are preachers or politicians. "Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." -- Denis Diderot.

By: Saydur

Saydur — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 02:49:02 -0800

Countdown to right-wing think tank hiring in 5... 4...

By: Enron Hubbard

Enron Hubbard — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 02:57:15 -0800

Updatefilter: George C. Deutsch has resigned. Praise God!

By: effwerd

effwerd — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 03:16:06 -0800

Yesterday, Dr. Hansen said that the questions about Mr. Deutsch's credentials were important, but were a distraction from the broader issue of political control of scientific information. "He's only a bit player," Dr. Hansen said of Mr. Deutsch. " The problem is much broader and much deeper and it goes across agencies. That's what I'm really concerned about." One step at a time.

By: crunchland

crunchland — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 03:22:41 -0800

Now, if only we could determine that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld lied on their resume.

By: insomnia_lj

insomnia_lj — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 03:26:16 -0800

"Well, the big bang is a theory, isn't it?" Given that we have been able to see and directly observe that everything in the universe exploded out of one central location, it seems to me that certain elements of the Big Bang are as factual as anything else that can clearly be observed, measured, and shown to be true. Only the cause is really a matter of conjecture. I find it discomforting that Deutsch was young and stupid enough to believe that the Big Bang is fundamentally contrary to the existence of God, and felt that NASA owed it to kids to make sure they got more than just "one half" of the story. What would he suggest? A series of NASA-sponsored Chick tracts explaining how God created the universe, how flights of angels help lift our rockets into space, and how its His wish that American astronauts conquer and exploit space until such point as He brings about the end of everything, leaving us humans to wonder why we ever bothered trying to achieve anything worthwhile at all. You know, I think it needs to be said... the Bush administration, Federal government, and the IRS are merely theoretical constructs, and have not been scientifically proven to exist. Those who say otherwise are simply heretics mouthing their wild theories. I, for one, intend to ignore them.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 03:33:58 -0800

From the last link's conclusion: The Bush administration and the Republican Party can give lip service to science all they like, but when they show such a flagrant disregard for scientific integrity by placing someone, whose only qualification is having worked on the Bush campaign, in such an important position, everything else they say is meaningless. Substitute "education" or "healthcare" or "emergency response" or whatever you like for "science", and that statement is still good.

By: clevershark

clevershark — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 03:40:47 -0800

crunchland writes "Now, if only we could determine that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld lied on their resume." Well, prior to the 2000 election Dick Cheney had lived exclusively in Texas for several years (at least 5), so technically he was not eligible to become VP.

By: allen.spaulding

allen.spaulding — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 04:16:46 -0800

Here's what I don't get. This administration is more concerned with spying, information gathering, and general snooping than any other modern presidency, save Nixon. How the hell can they not catch this stuff? What makes anyone believe that if this can slip through, than the information on the no-fly list is accurate? (Granted you don't need a Deutsch to dislike that latter, but it shows that snoopery != better intelligence)

By: caddis

caddis — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 04:17:34 -0800

I hate to hear about someone losing their job, but this guy was an ass. He should go take a job with a church or something where he can do good, rather than harm.

By: edd

edd — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 04:20:55 -0800

insomnia_lj hits the nail on the head for me when it comes to the status of the Big Bang theory (although I have to point out that things are not expanding from one central location, they're expanding but not from anywhere in particular).

By: lobstah

lobstah — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 04:26:34 -0800

So,... Deutsch Designed his Intelligence ? Now I understand what ID theory really means.

By: mk1gti

mk1gti — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 04:38:10 -0800

I hate to hear about someone losing their job, but this guy was an ass. He should go take a job with a church or something where he can do good, rather than harm. ----------------------------------------------- Part of the problem is this guy represents his church more than his government. He doesn't need a job with a church, he already had one and in a subversive, vindictive manner. Instead he should be re-employed in the janitorial industry cleaning toilets for no less than five years. He can contemplate intelligent design at the porcelain altar.

By: KirkJobSluder

KirkJobSluder — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 04:59:42 -0800

ortho: NASA mission shouldn't be to educate; it should be to do real science and real engineering. Like most other complicated adult vocations, these things generally are not accomplished when they're slowed down and simplified so that children -- including 24 year-old children with Presidential appointments but without four-year degrees -- can comprehend them. Let the scientists do their work without having to make it palatable to children, fundies, and pushers of ideologies, whether those pushers are preachers or politicians. Oh please. NASA's whole reason for existence has been a series of perceived competitive crises in science and engineering education. The space race was not just fueled by a fear of a Soviet military presence in space, but also by a fear of hordes of young Soviet engineers undermining American dominance in industry. In general however, it seems that the strongest supporters of science education are professional scientists, partly from a love of talking about their work, partly because they got their foot in the door through science ed programs, and partly because of a realization that their publication success is built on the backs of a steady flow of ~~willing thralls~~ graduate students. allen.spaulding: This administration is more concerned with spying, information gathering, and general snooping than any other modern presidency, save Nixon. How the hell can they not catch this stuff? What makes anyone believe that if this can slip through, than the information on the no-fly list is accurate? Well, that relies on the assumption that this "slipped through." As the article points out, the Deutsch is a bit-player in a larger effort to control what gets said, funded and published. We've seen this previously with the Department of Education, the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Bush Administration in this case is playing to groups that consider the "scientific establishment" to be biased and stacked against them. For that matter, the current congress is not much better, having dismantled its own independent research office for scientific issues. The administration can feel safe in this, because it makes hundreds of appointments, and can just replace Deutsch with a more diplomatic and skilled wonk. One irritating thing about the NYT article though, it never reveals what Mr. Deutsch's position was, or his previous job responsibilities.

By: nofundy

nofundy — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 05:10:08 -0800

Affirmative action GOP style: Buy, lie, or steal your degree, but never earn it. It's how Dubya got his "gentleman's C" degree, daddy's money/influence and absolutely nothing else. What a fine example they set for the children (since dutchy mentioned it.)

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 05:15:32 -0800

Now, if only we could determine that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld lied on their resume. I doubt the media would care. Apparently, the only part of it that mattered was the font. Still, this makes.... I believe he fifth or sixth Bush crony to go down after appointment. And the fourth within a year, if you include Miers. Someone should really start a deadpool.

By: Happy Monkey

Happy Monkey — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 05:45:48 -0800

Wow. Not only was he completely unqualified for the job the Administration gave him, but he lied about the minimal qualifications he did have. Don't they vet these people anymore? Or do they just not care? posted by monju_bosatsu They care, but only about the important part of the resume. Deutsch did, in fact, work on Bush's campaign.

By: scalefree

scalefree — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 05:51:36 -0800

There's an obvious pattern developing of political appointees pursuing an anti-science, anti-reality agenda in favor of religion, business & short-term gain of any sort. What's needed is a broad public interest program to hunt down & expose these people, to create a counter-force against their agenda. That's the only way change ever happens, when someone makes it happen.

By: nkyad

nkyad — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 05:53:51 -0800

edd : "although I have to point out that things are not expanding from one central location, they're expanding but not from anywhere in particular" I know this is at best a side-point in the thread, but would you care to explain (in small, slow words) how does it work? I always thought it was a given from the Big Bang theory that, if I could trace back the course of every object in the Universe, the lines would eventually converge to the original single point.

By: bitmage

bitmage — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 06:14:54 -0800

nkyad: The best example I have heard is to imagine if you were sitting on the surface of a polkadotted balloon. If the balloon was being inflated, you would see the polkadots moving away from you in all directions, but you wouldn't be able to find a 'original single point'. Everything would be moving apart, no matter where you stood. (Thoughts on what happens when /deity/ lets go of the balloon are left to the reader.)

By: iviken

iviken — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 06:23:40 -0800

"George Carlton Deutsch III"...why do some people have roman numerals in their name, just like movie sequels? The original is usually better than the "III".

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 06:25:48 -0800

(Thoughts on what happens when /deity/ lets go of the balloon are left to the reader.) Probably this. (Video, SFW).

By: CynicalKnight

CynicalKnight — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 06:28:05 -0800

Reading that FPP gave me the same wide-eyed tingling feeling I used to get after squeezing a very large and painful pimple. 2000~2008 will be remembered as America's worst case of acne - evar.

By: KirkJobSluder

KirkJobSluder — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 06:28:35 -0800

nkyad: It's a counter-intuitive concept because we think of "Big Bang" as being like fireworks exploding with bits of glitter flying everywhere. A more accurate analogy is to think of the universe as a loaf of rising raisin bread, and we are in one of the raisins embedded in the batter. We can see that the distance to neighboring raisins is increasing over time, but if we extrapolate backwards we find that all of the other raisins end up at a singularity on top of our current location. An observer in another raisin would come to the same conclusion, extrapolating backwards, all of the universe would converge at her location. No matter where you go in the universe, that bit of space would appear to be the extrapolated origin of the big bang singularity. The important distinction is that it's spacetime that's expanding, not that matter is flying at high speed through spacetime. You can't identify an original single point as a ballistic exercise because there is no objective frame of reference outside of spacetime.

By: edd

edd — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 06:29:42 -0800

What bitmage said. I tend to think of it as imagining a grid of points stretching throughout the universe. Multiply the coordinates by some small number and all the points are closer together. As you approach zero all the points become arbitrarily close. This applies to unbounded infinite universes of points too - all your points can get steadily closer together, but each has equal claim to being the centre - you can choose another origin anywhere and things look the same. Similar logic applies to unbounded but finite universes like those on bitmage's balloon, but this way you avoid falling into the trap of thinking about the inside of the balloon, which is a figment of the balloon metaphor. The big bang happened everywhere, and we are all the centre of our own bit of the universe.

By: KirkJobSluder

KirkJobSluder — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 06:34:16 -0800

Which, BTW, I think there is some credible grumbling about the Big Bang as a theory. It's not that the notion of a very old and dynamic universe is flawed, but that there are some interesting problems that need to be solved.

By: Schismatic

Schismatic — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 06:34:34 -0800

Bitmage is pretty much right. The Big Bang has the universe coming into existance (and before this physics as we know and can test it breaks down) with infinite volume, but lots of energy everywhere, hence the explosion element. The expansion of the universe is then like bitmage said, where space creates more space in that a point becomes farther from every other point in space, and more distance points become farther more quickly. An explanation of why we think this can be found here [nasa.gov].

By: nkyad

nkyad — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 06:40:36 -0800

Thanks you three - I think I get it now. Special thanks to KirkJobSluder: the raisin bread analogy made it click and "it's spacetime that's expanding, not that matter is flying at high speed through spacetime" made it clear. I bet this Deutsch guy's bosses would be very angry hearing things like "The big bang happened everywhere, and we are all the centre of our own bit of the universe" but we could offer them the "Cosmical Baker" to calm them down.

By: mooncrow

mooncrow — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 07:08:59 -0800

Behold the power of the internets!

By: Atreides

Atreides — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 07:13:04 -0800

"George Carlton Deutsch III"...why do some people have roman numerals in their name, just like movie sequels? The original is usually better than the "III". Because thats a common naming practice for when an individual is given the same name as someone else in the family. The numeral at the end is dependent on how many prior name holders there have been. John Smith (father) John Smith II (or Jr.) (son) John Smith III (grandson) John Smith IV (great grandson) And if that was an attempt at sarcastic humor, meh, I'm not awake enough to find it successful.

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 07:17:18 -0800

Mmmmmm, raisin bread...

By: Optimus Chyme

Optimus Chyme — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 07:49:46 -0800

I honestly hope that guy kills himself in shame. At least when the Catholic Church was suppressing science and torturing people they did so openly and with pride.

By: _sirmissalot_

_sirmissalot_ — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 08:46:33 -0800

I'm getting really tired of organized religion.

By: stavrogin

stavrogin — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 08:50:44 -0800

I wonder if George has a livejournal.

By: edverb

edverb — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 08:55:52 -0800

Thomas Jefferson: "I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." George W. Bush: "I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility ~~against every form of tyranny~~ over the mind of man.

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 09:13:41 -0800

crunchland writes "if only we could determine that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld lied on their resume." Wasn't there some discussion about whether the President is AWOL from the Air National Guard?

By: longbaugh

longbaugh — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 09:16:48 -0800

Hah! Nice kerning Mitheral...

By: Cassford

Cassford — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 09:30:49 -0800

I honestly hope that guy kills himself in shame. That seems a bit harsh. I'm not defending him, he's an young ass who got what he deserves. But, wish him dead? No.

By: Optimus Chyme

Optimus Chyme — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 09:34:10 -0800

Anyone actively trying to take us back to the Dark Ages is a liability. Smart, reponsible men and women train for decades to do important research and create marvels of engineering and science. Then a 24 year-old drop-out nobody who got a plum job because he worked on a campaign attempts to overturn the results of that work and that knowledge? Fuck him.

By: mkultra

mkultra — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 09:38:06 -0800

if only we could determine that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld lied on their resume. Well, there was a pretty substantiated theory floated that GWB lied about his National Guard Duty by some people who HATE AMERICA AND LOVE TERRORISM. Well, prior to the 2000 election Dick Cheney had lived exclusively in Texas for several years (at least 5), so technically he was not eligible to become VP. Can you explain this, or is it just some "Texas != America" joke?

By: mkultra

mkultra — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 09:38:18 -0800

Oh, and good riddance, fuckwad.

By: Optimus Chyme

Optimus Chyme — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 09:42:22 -0800

Can you explain this, or is it just some "Texas != America" joke? posted by mkultra 1 minute ago Amendment XII The electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves

By: Mijo Bijo

Mijo Bijo — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 09:48:02 -0800

mkultra, the VP thing is a reference to shit. The Constitution also prohibits electors from voting for both a Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate from the same state as themselves. In theory, this might deny a Vice Presidential candidate with the most electoral votes the absolute majority required to secure election, even if the Presidential candidate is elected, and place the Vice Presidential election in the hands of the Senate. In practice, this requirement is easily circumvented by having the candidate for Vice President change the state of residency as was done by Dick Cheney who changed his legal residency from Texas to Wyoming, his original homestate, in order to run for election as Vice President alongside George W. Bush. [Wikipedia]

By: Mijo Bijo

Mijo Bijo — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 09:49:11 -0800

shit = this ;)

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 09:59:26 -0800

"You know, in certain older, civilized cultures, when men failed as entirely as you have, they would throw themselves on their swords."

By: mkultra

mkultra — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 10:09:09 -0800

Now, it's apparently fashionable to throw someone else on your sword...

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 10:11:14 -0800

You know what drives me fucking nuts? PHYSICS DOES NOT DISCOUNT OR DISPROVE THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. Virtually all the best, most influential physicists in world history believed in God and saw their work as further exploration of God's plan and design for the universe. What the fucking fundamentalists are all upset about is whether or not physics/geology/biology disproves one dickhole priest's arithmetic for the origin of the universe according to the bible. So. Fucking. Frustrating.

By: flashboy

flashboy — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 10:22:10 -0800

There really needs to be a grassroots organization dedicated -just- to checking on the truthfulness of people's stated qualifications. and Someone needs to put together a solid hour to two hour documentary with short vignettes about all of the ass hats who have had scandals from their appointed or elected offices in the last 5 years Well, in that vein, anybody remember this? "To fully appreciate the virtues of this administration, we must first recall the administration that came before. Back in the 1990s, Bill Clinton recruited a small army of Arkansans and Rhodes scholars to the West Wing. Although there was the occasional kindergarten buddy who was out of his depth, most of these FOBs (friends of Bill) were insufferable wonks who never let you forget their dense resumés. President Bush put his finger on the smug mindset of these Clinton meritocrats when he said, "They're all of a sudden smarter than the average person because they happen to have an Ivy League degree." Now we can consider this problem solved. The Bush era has taken government out of the hands of the hyper-qualified and given it back to the common man. This new breed may not have what the credentialists sneeringly call "relevant experience." Their alma maters may not always be "accredited." But they have something the intellectual snobs of yore never had: loyalty. If not loyalty to country, then at least loyalty to party and to the guy who got them the job. And their loyalty has been rewarded: Even if they fail, they know they can move up the chain until they find a job they can succeed in or until a major American city is destroyed, whichever comes first."

By: 2sheets

2sheets — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 10:26:18 -0800

I guess the right wing trolls are still trying to think of a witty comment that would refer back to Clinton.

By: quin

quin — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 11:00:13 -0800

Nicely referenced EarBucket i've always liked that quote.

By: theorique

theorique — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 11:08:42 -0800

Ever notice that for fundies, everything is about indoctrinating "young people"? Yes. The whole shit-tornado about 'intelligent design' as a 'theory' opposing evolution is not about fundies caring what the unsaved believe or don't believe. It is not about philosophy, truth, wisdom or anything resembling the marketplace of ideas. It nothing more and nothing less than bid for influence over educational policy.

By: bardic

bardic — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 11:26:42 -0800

Don't shed too many tears for this guy--there's a form of Republican welfare called think-tanks (Heritage, AEI, Hudson). Scooter Libby is pulling a more-than-decent salary for being a failed good soldier, and this guy will too.

By: KirkJobSluder

KirkJobSluder — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 11:32:20 -0800

bardic: Or go the Oliver North route and become and expert talking head on the news.

By: bardic

bardic — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 12:03:57 -0800

Indeed KJS. It's called Plan Liddy. Honestly, I'm old enough to remember when failures had the shame and good sense to just disappear. Now we have this.

By: Optimus Chyme

Optimus Chyme — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 13:10:49 -0800

Oh man. http://blogs.salon.com/0002874/2006/02/04.html#a2120 "1. A Spirit of Scientific Openness And as we learn from the column "Is Peterson's fair trial in jeopardy?," George is open to a lot of theories, including the one about Satanists killing Laci Peterson. Still, the defense's main theory -- that a Satanic cult killed Laci -- is actually quite credible. Several impartial witnesses have reported seeing a van adorned with satanic symbols and a man with "666" tattooed on his arm in front of the Peterson home in late December. The American public seems to dismiss this theory as ridiculous, but Satanic killings didn't seem so ridiculous in the 1980s, when Richard Ramirez -- The Night Stalker -- made California his personal hunting ground. Ramirez, who sat in court with a pentagram etched in his palm and often said "Hail Satan," adds a very real face to the idea of Satanism. Try convincing the families of his victims that Satanic cults don't exist. And was Ramirez a member of a Satanic cult? Well, no - but that doesn't change the fact that Satanists could have killed Laci. And Intelligent Design could be responsible for the creation of the universe. They are both theories, and therefore, both should be given the same credence and the same respect that scientists give to theories like "evolution" or "global warming." So, whenever you write about the Peterson case, you should mention that while Peterson has been convicted of killing his wife and unborn son, it's possible that Satanists actually framed him for the crime. If you don't do this, young people would only be getting one-half of this debate, which would mean we had failed to properly educate the very people who rely on us for factual information the most. " If this guy is telling NASA what to do, I am criminally underemployed.

By: nlindstrom

nlindstrom — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 15:13:11 -0800

The Bush administration is populated with a great many Peter Keatings.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 16:08:18 -0800

*laughs uproariously for hours* I do so enjoy a righteous humiliation. I like that Diderot quote orthogonality. Shouldn't there be something about lawyers in there too?

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 17:14:09 -0800

OMG. Y'all gotta click OC's link. George was not only insanely unqualified for the job, he's also a lunatic.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 17:14:21 -0800

OMG. Y'all gotta click OC's link. George was not only insanely unqualified for the job, he's also a lunatic.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 17:14:25 -0800

OMG. Y'all gotta click OC's link. George was not only insanely unqualified for the job, he's also a lunatic.

By: iron chef morimoto

iron chef morimoto — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 17:26:56 -0800

Enough already. I'll click on the damn link, just stop it.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 18:55:46 -0800

Holy smokes. That's fubared.

By: Aknaton

Aknaton — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 20:48:47 -0800

Don't they vet these people anymore? No. See Miers, Harriet. Bernie Kerik was way more interesting.