Reaching out for a bipartisan PR event

Shorter NYT: Bubble Boy invites former secretaries of state and defense to White House for a photo op.

When he took the floor, Mr. Bush left no doubt that he believed his strategy to be the only path to victory, and he gave no hint, participants said, of self-doubt. "It would be a stretch to say he was really interested in many thoughts from around the table," said one former official, who asked not to be identified so that he could speak frankly about a private meeting with the president.

Hierarchy of U.S. citizenship, 2006.

Citizen. Born in America. Typically white males and females. Asians are acceptable, but should mind their place. Enjoys the rights expressed in the Bill of Rights, unless the George W. Bush Executive Branch^TM issues a legal ruling to the contrary.

Second-class citizen. Born in America. Typically males and females of color, with little or no distinction made between persons of African, Caribbean, Mexican, Latin, Arab, Persian, etc., heritage. Theoretically, this caste class enjoys the rights expressed in the Bill of Rights. In practice, those rights may be compromised by Whitey in back alleys and on back roads. Rights are subject to legal rulings by the George W. Bush Executive Branch^TM.

Naturalized citizens. Born on foreign soil, granted American citizenship. See definitions for Citizen and Second-class citizen.

Non-citizen residents, or aliens. Foreign-born, not American citizens. Theoretically, aliens are protected by the Bill of Rights while on American soil, but should expect to have Due Process defined as "thrown in a windowless room for an indeterminate amount of time" and an "open-ended one-way ticket to a country or countries of our choosing."

Enemy combatant. Citizenship is moot; an un-citizen. Enjoys those rights that are splendiferously and munificently bestowed by the glorious and just George W. Bush Executive Branch^TM. The un-citizen's very existence will be decided by the George W. Bush Executive Branch^TM. Reference to the existence or non-existence of any specific un-citizen may be punishable under laws promulgated by the George W. Bush Executive Branch^TM.

Buttle. Fictional reference that has no place in a serious summary such as this.

Related reference:

Geneva Convention. What are you, a fucking pussy?

Go with what you know

When the going gets tough, the Bubble gets deployed.

The United States attorneys, all Bush appointees summoned to Washington by the Justice Department, echoed Mr. Bush when they appeared en masse in front of television cameras moments later.

And the straw-people of the day:

"When it came time to renew the act, for partisan reasons, in my mind, people have not stepped up and have agreed that it's still necessary to protect the country," Mr. Bush said. "The enemy has not gone away - they're still there. And I expect Congress to understand that we're still at war and they've got to give us the tools necessary to win this war."

Care to count them off? One, opponents of this legislation feel that it's not necessary to protect the country. Two, opponents of this legislation don't understand that there are still terrrsts out there. Three, opponents of this legislation are not warriors. Four, opponents of this legislation are impeding the work of the warriors.

Mix and match as necessary. Swallow with large quantities of gin, in order to dull critical thinking.

You say...I say...

ShrillBrad says:

Wow! Grover Norquist is shrill!!

TIME.com: Bush Says, Bring It On; the Critics Will -- Jan. 09, 2006 -- Page 1 : But the NSA operation--and particularly Bush's decision to bypass the generally amenable Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for authorization--has drawn fire not only from liberal Democrats but also from some of the most conservative in Bush's party, in which government restraint is a fundamental precept. "There is a test of Republicans on this," says activist Grover Norquist, normally a White House ally. "The country will let you get away with this in the wake of 9/11, but that doesn't make it right." And even if Republicans are prepared to bless Bush's program, they know it theoretically would have to mean extending such sweeping Executive power to, say, a President Hillary Clinton...

I say, the rat is attempting to depart a sinking ship.