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"What is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him?”
Is it me, or doesn’t she sound less like a job interviewer than like an adolescent girl splayed out on her bed, giggling with her girlfriend about some hottie actor they both adore? I mean, what, exactly, was an applicant expected to say?
"I adore his strong chin?”
"That crinkly smile really turns me on?”
"I can’t resist the manly twinkle in his eyes when he mispronounces ‘nuclear?’ ”
Presumably, Goodling is somewhere doodling the president’s name and hers inside valentine hearts while she awaits her fate. You see, she faces possible professional sanctions for violations of both civil service law and the DOJ’s own policy. As detailed last week in a Justice Department report, she and other aides systematically schemed to fill nonpolitical positions with Bush loyalists.
It wasn’t just that she asked a question that would have been more at home on the cover of Tiger Beat. It was that she passed over a respected prosecutor with almost 20 years of experience for an important counterterrorism job because his wife was active in Democratic politics, hiring instead a Republican with three years’ experience. And that she denied one applicant on the suspicion — the suspicion, mind you — that she was a lesbian. And that she jettisoned yet another because he was a member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. And that she ran Internet searches to determine applicants’ political views. And that one of her interview questions was: "Why are you a Republican?”
It goes on. And on. Goodling’s priority was not experience, talent, or competence. Rather, she was looking for, as she put it in a note, applicants who were suitably conservative on "god, guns + gays.”…
The problem is, in this administration, there’s no such thing as a nonpartisan job. For them, the campaign never ends….
The stupid. It burns. All of us.
(YouTube — Barbie World by Aqua. No particular reason. Why do you ask? H/T to reader WB.)
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Fuckery.
Hi Christy.
yah…’serve him’?? The hell of it…I thought he was supposed to serve us??
Crazy me.
Well, thank you, Christy. We never want to forget the betrayal and dishonour these people represent. A teenager wanting to fill the DOJ with her pals…just like W and Gonzo. Remember when Sr. Bush talked, in condescension, about bringing dignity/pride back to the White House (after the Clinton years, of course). Well, I hope Sr. is very proud. He has given us the biggest wreck and shame and dishonour and illegality of all. Heckava Job, Mr. 41. Yeah, I know…you gave us VP Dan as well.
Heya — I could not resist talking about this again. Honestly, these people were interviewing applicants for jobs at the Department of Justice not the Clinique counter at Macy’s, for hell’s sakes…
Is it me, or doesn’t she sound less like a job interviewer than like an adolescent girl splayed out on her bed, giggling with her girlfriend about some hottie actor they both adore?
Well, it’s not me – to me, it sounds like a job interviewer in the Soviet Union.
And, you’ll have to forgive me if the song from the YouTube gets stuck in your head like the earworm it is. For some reason, I just felt like attaching it to this post. *g*
This mess at Justice is going to be a booger bear to clean up.
Can Obama come in and fire everyone that was hired during Bush’s tenure?
Some Very Large Peace Signs:
http://freewayblogger.blogspot…..signs.html
(I got a whole bunch of used billboard vinyl, so these’ll start appearing throughout california…)
Sounds like Monica was having sexual fantasies.
Completely OT, but possibly interesting…
Paris, Aug 5 (DPA) ‘French President Nicolas Sarkozy plans to restructure the country’s secret services and place them directly under presidential control, the Le Monde newspaper is expected to report in its Tuesday edition.’
http://www.thaindian.com/newsp…..79970.html
Great signs. I always enjoy seeing your work.
Yes, it is a bit similar to “Why do you wish to serve our great father, Stalin?” or “Why do you feel you are worthy to devote yourself to Chairman’s Mao’s great society?”
Yeah… Good-ling. NOT.
Hey, Christy, thanks for Barbie Girl to be played endlessly in my head all day.
But I bet your ears were burning yesterday; Newtonuser and me were singing your praises – what a special lady you are, and how much you are loved by us kids…blah, blah, blah.
The reminder of what absolute fuckery bushco made of the DoJ pisses me the heck off.
And Italy is doing the same…?
WTF?
My ears were not burning, but thank you anyway. You guys are such sweethearts.
I can see it as a Maoist propaganda poster, Christy.
Hi Christy,
Heck of a job Goody
well, regardless of the clumsiness of the son, the father’s goals, i think, have been well served. a justice department that can rule on who wins which lawsuits – yes, the idealological ones that make us all sick to our stomachs, but probably more importantly for pere bush, the financial and corporate decsisions.
Yummy idea. I’ll take one of those! Hiya WDD!
DOJ has some pretty nasty jobs in godawful places.
I love Lonard Pitts’ craftsmanship and wisdom. I met him last spring at the Alaska Pess Club conference. His presentation wasn’t flashy, just gritty, full of determination, professionalism and wit. Ms. ET and I had just finished reading Pitts’ Goodling piece a few minutes before you posted this.
Not if they have “burrowed in,” i.e., become career civil service. Takes 3 years to make career, so many could easily be there before January 20, 2009.
I love his stuff, too — but this one made me laugh out loud. It’s rare that something does that these days in that way. Makes me miss Molly Ivins all the more, frankly.
Had to showcase Mr. Pitts — couldn’t help myself. Figured everyone else could use a giggle as well…
All hail the Monica Podlings!
Christy, you always find the best videos or pics for your posts, this one sure illustrates the depth of Goodling, and her ilk. ILK!
Thanks MayDaze, I thought I had read somewhere (here? maybe emptywheel?) that civil service employees were hard to get rid of. I didn’t know about the 3 year rule, though. That’s encouraging. Fire them right away!
Hopefully we can get rid of the dug-in ones for incompetence. For surely they must be, if they’re Monica hires.
OMG….Barbie has the exact same voice as Goodling…
ROLMAO
Maybe she recorded this….*g*
Novak reports cancer; retiring. Says outlook is “dire”.
It’s a cult. What do you think Regent University is? And Leonard Pitts is awesome. He deserves Friedman’s spot.
foothillsmike @ 21 makes a good point, though: they can be reassigned to some hellhole. These Regency grads are so spoiled that most would probably quit and go on wingnut welfare!
Goodling was the projection of Karl Rove’s ambitions. She was hired because she was eager to do what Rove wanted her to, and perhaps also because she was too wet behind the ears to know that what she was doing was illegal and unethical. So in a perverse kind of way, Goodling was not to blame for what she did. — at least, those who hired her to do what they knew she was going to do, and encouraged her to do, are the ones who should be held responsible for her actions.
Who was her immediate supervisor and employer? AGAG?
If so, we have the case of one sycophant hiring another. So why are we surprised that she acted like a sycophant?
Please excuse my lack of awareness, but has she actually been indicted for anything yet? Could she turn states evidence?
Bob in HI
wildly OT:
well, one out three (age) is not bad. Giuliani, hot-tempered and nasty? Go on…..
Ha! Ha! I didn’t get it at first (recovering from a root canal this afternoon, not all here).
So, foothillsmike, what is the American equivalent of sending them to work in Siberia? An assignment in Iraq perhaps?
No indictment; she was given immunity. After the latest revelations, the indictment question came up again, maybe for different activity. But thought to be unlikely, from what I read.
She was granted immunity for her congressional testimony providing she told the truth
’sycophant’ is a contraction of sick elephant, GOP style.
There are some indian reservation jobs
Her immunity only stands if she was honest with both Congress and investigators. Based on the read of the report, there may be questions about that in the offing. And none of the deal prevent the local bar association from going after her license. For starters.
I’m hearing that both she and Kyle Sampson may be in licensure hot water…
Maybe a faux news job in her future
Maybe I’m just mean-spirited but I want this woman punished. She is stupid, a liar and a religious nut and I hate it when people like this make all women look stupid.
Those are the ones reassigned to the Senator Ted Stevens Center for Integrity and Honesty in the Justice Dept., Point Barrow branch.
(((wdd’s tooth)))
I don’t know if I’d want to wish her on them, though!
: )
And Wonkette caught an AP funny:
Christy, you have sure been busy today. Thanks.
There is plenty of stupid males too. Enough that the world sees the US as stupid.
Thanks, El! Not as bad as I thought it would be. May not have to fill the Vicodin script.
“She was granted immunity for her congressional testimony providing she told the truth”
I think this is correct. But couldn’t she be nailed for, say, Hatch Act violations based on evidence from other sources?
Bob in HI
I still get so aggravated when I read how every agency in our government was destroyed. And they they weren’t able to do all of this without the help of the Democrat’s! I guarantee you that if a Democrat tries anything like what has been going on, the Republican won’t stand for it.
Obeisance is the only “quality” Bush ever demanded from his underlings. Blind loyalty could catapult even the most incompetent bureaucrat to say… Secretary of State.
Have you now or have you ever been a member of the Democrat party?
-G
He has serviced us.
Repeatedly.
And we don’t get a kiss before he does it.
BC
And that in itself puts him way ahead of McC.
There was a line in the book The Dark Side.
“Loyalty is the new competence”
-G
lol…yep, that would be the place! ;)
Did you guys see McCain giving his energy speech today (just caught it on MSNBC)? He couldn’t say one sentence without reading his notes. Someone’s telling him exactly what to say, and he can’t even read ahead.
Somebody better start practicing for the debates NOW!
That’s true but women are still in 2008 considered less smart, dumb and not as capable. Goodling feeds
that stereotype. Like some of the celebs. It makes me furious.
There is probably hims and hers but they (the indians) could make mincemeat out of whomever. I have witnessed a case where medicine men so screwed up what should have been a slam dunk trial that the AUSA wound up the target of a OPR investigation.
egregious is up.
Wrecking Crew is up for the book discussion. All that destruction seems to be the main point, and indeed the plan of the repubs. Make it all private, go on to pay the bureaucrats poor salaries, and non-functional.
Don’t think so. but not sure
I protest “Indian reservation jobs” as the epitome of the American Siberia. When I worked on the Navajo Reservation, it was all too plain what the exiles from New York thought about the local people. Decades ago, I heard a young couple from New York complain that there wasn’t any “culture” in Arizona. My eyeballs just about fell out of my head. Obviously, they had a very ethnocentric idea of what “culture” consisted of, and were incapable of recognizing the riches around them.
My nomination for the American Siberia is company towns, especially those controlled by mining companies in isolated rural areas, whether in Appalachia, or Montana. Where the inhabitants live in a polluted environment, and the only jobs are those with The Company, and the only stores are run by The Company.
Bob in HI
And it’s still not over.
Blake Gottesman, Bush’s former “personal aide” and non-college graduate (but somehow got into Harvard Business School) is now one of two Deputy Chiefs of Staff at the White House – at age 28. This is a position of tremendous responsibility and influence. And they gave it to someone overwhelmingly subservient to the President – and Jenna’s former boyfriend, to boot.
Remember how the GOP used to complain about the young Clinton White House?
Unbelievable.
More egregious misconduct
IIRC, the punishment for a Hatch Act violation is administrative, i.e., the worst they can do is fire the offender. Since she already resigned, it’s a moot point.
Ah yes! The North Slope! In an Oil Company town! The perfect place for all those “civil servants” who were hired for political reasons by hacks like Goodling! They won’t last long there, and when they quit they’ll open up a vacancy for another of their ilk.
Bob in HI
Now why does the mention of Appalachia bring Deliverance to mind and a smile to my face? Yes, let’s send them there!
I too have lived and worked on Sioux Reservations and found the culture to be fascinating but one persons heaven can be another persons hell. After a year they will either have a new world view or be ready for the looney bin>
Why do most beer commercials hold up stupid men as role models? Did George Bush set the mold? Is the message something like Get Stupid! You, too, could be President! Be the one everyone wants to invite to their beer parties!
Bob in HI
There are entire industries holding up stupid men and women as role models.
Look at some of the magazines while you are waiting to pay for your groceries.
Absolutely, no one will read this, but I just have to add my two cents.
Leonard Pitts has been one of my favorite journalists ever since his piece in the Miami Herald right after 9/11. His words, his cry, “what did you hope to teach us?”, still is burned in my mind. His thoughts were abosolutely uncanny, as they mirrored my own, in that still so very unreal time.
I saved his piece on my computer, and emailed him telling him that I did so because it was so meaningful to me. He emailed me back and said thank you for the kind words, just not to reprint them (his words) in their entirety without his permission.
The man does have a way with words.
The Sun-Times used to carry Pitts’ column, but they dropped him for some right-wing loon. He is an excellent writer.
I sent him an e-mail this p.m. noting that those idiots in the Bush ‘administration’ took an oath, presumable on the Bible (given their religious proclivities) as follows: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
Doesn’t say a thing about loving (or hating) Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, or any other person. Clearly, not one of them paid any attention to what they were swearing to, nor did any of them intend to abide by it. In effect, they broke their solemn oaths as soon as they took them. These are people with no honor, and therefore not to be trusted to do anything.
“I adore his strong chin?”
“That crinkly smile really turns me on?”
“I can’t resist the manly twinkle in his eyes when he mispronounces ‘nuclear?’ ”
The Stepford DOJ?