Something rotten in the briefing room

It's bad enough that this administration lied to us in order to get our tacit approval for an unnecessary war in Iraq.

It's bad enough that they have the gall to present this budget, which erases from history the damage they have done to our economy with tax cuts, out of control military spending, and an expensive demolition scheme for Social Security, and how our grandchildren will have to figure out how to fix it.

It's bad enough they have mocked and laid waste to environmental protection, child welfare, jobs programs, and America's standing in the world. It's bad enough that this administration has lied to us more than any other in the history of our country, and either jails, harasses, or spies on those who voice disagreement. It's bad enough that they have threatened (with restricted access) and manipulated (with payoffs) journalists and journalism.

Now, we learn that their disdain for the free press, their distrust of their fellow American citizens, and their disrespect for the truth, is so great that they cast White House press briefings with their own wonks, so that they will never, ever be put into the uncomfortable position of having to tell the truth.

So far, they have gotten away with everything. They have written the play, produced it on Broadway, and bribed the reviewers. But their time will come. Don't stand too close. Today, they think their sewage doesn't stink; tomorrow, they'll be drowning in it.

(And to think, I first learned of this on Brad and Britt.)

Once you held your finger on the trigger
Now the gun is pointing at your head
Once you reigned supreme
Over all that you could see
Now you walk on the other side of the street

How the mighty fall
I've seen it all before
From the highest heights
To the lowest of lows
How the mighty fall

Once your words were the first and last on the subject
Now they hang like a noose around your neck
Once you held the light
That could be seen from near and far
Now you fall and stumble in the dark

Once you held the secrets of the world within your hands
Now you're just another grain of sand
Once you were the first
Revered to the last
Now they talk about your fall from grace

How the mighty fall
I've seen it all before
From the highest heights
To the lowest of lows
How the mighty fall

-- The Alarm
"How the Mighty Fall" (Macdonald/Peters)