Stupid first person narrative.

Wow. The stars in the Limbaugh Party are Sarah "Moose" Palin, Bobby "Jack McBrayer" Jindal, and Joe "the Village Idiot" Wurzelbacher. I would invoke the "soft bigotry of low expectations" concept here, but "low expectations" is actually a flatteringly high bar for a group of people who seem to have honed their political skills at clown school.

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't.

-- Mark Twain, "Following the Equator, Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar"
(emphasis mine)

Anyone else want to volunteer to be his chiropractor? Talk about pretzeling yourself...I'm dizzy just reading this.

I think I need a Dramamine.

"Still, the headline of Smith's post characterized the statement as "stand[ing] by" the anecdote."

A form of lying that seems to be rapidly gaining in popularity is to post some hysterical, misleading headline, followed by a piece that completely fails to support what the headline says. It's a really crappy, dishonest technique, but I'm seeing a lot of it lately.

Republican BS : Demonstrably False Statement; a lie.

Liberal Blogger BS : When Republicans get caught Lying ...Again...

and poorly I might add.

Did anybody see something just fall out of the sky?

Oh, that's just Jindal's political career in free fall. Nothing to see here, move along.

Jokes are always better when told in the first person. Not surprising than that Jindal's speech Tuesday night was one of the best jokes I've heard in awhile.

I'll put $10 down that he revises the story AGAIN. From all the dignified photo op poses this guy has given over the course of the past few months of media buildup, I thought maybe there was a lurking GOP politician with some credibility hiding out there. Silly me - he's handing the nomination to Palin for 12.

And this was a "make-shift" office. Presumably (impliedly) the real, official sheriff's office was inaccessible, flooded, or under water. So, where was this "make-shift office" that the then-Congressman visited? Can the governor say? Sheriff Lee may not be with us anymore but surely he had deputies and administrative types at the time who also went to this temporary-out-of-necessity office. What can they tell us? Oh fun fun fun.

From a Times-Picayune piece back in August 29, 2006, talking about Jerry Riggs who was actually in the flotilla and was asked by FEMA for i.d. before they were allowed in to go wherever they wanted, they were able to do so the August 29. 2006, the same day as the storm hit Lousiana and by 5 pm had blown through New orleans:

"It was about 5 p.m. (on the 29th), and they just said go wherever you want to," Riggs recalled. "There was no rhyme or reason to it. The idea was to look for folks and rescue them."

So where was Jindal on the 29th?

As was pointed out in xgz's Daily Kos diary, Jindal was not even in the state on that date:

Katrina hit when Congressman Jindal was returning from a foreign trip. His family evacuated to Baton Rouge, and met up with Jindal at his parents' home.

Jindal and crew made the entire story up out of whole cloth and are lying about it.

I hope some enterprising muckraker will find the Flying Dutchman of this whole story - the "bureaucrat" who supposedly stopped the boats in the first place.

Lestatdelc's link is particularly interesting. It seems that the amateur rescuer wasn't delayed by FEMA at all - and he wasn't complaining.

"Before we left, a FEMA guy asked me for my drivers license," he [Riggs] said. "I couldn't understand why, but he said, 'It's kind of rough out there. We need a copy of your license in case something happens to you.' "

Riggs was emphasizing the danger of the situation, and I surely wouldn't doubt him on that. But Governor Jindal decided to morph a story of bravery and decency into a bogus attack on big government, which says more about modern conservative emotional needs than anything else.

Ok I do believe that Jindal embellished the story, but from what I've read boats were getting stopped before letting them go out.

It's been suggested that the boats were getting stopped simply to obtain a list of people who had gone out in order to identify those who might have gotten into trouble and not made it back. That seems perfectly reasonable to me and undercuts Jindal's basic premise that bureaucrats were getting in the way of the rescue.

However, there is a way that the sequence of events Jindal and others described could have occurred.

1) Boats get stopped by some official to request ids delaying the rescue.
2)Sheriff Harry Lee comes on the scene and tells everyone to ignore the official and start searching right away.
3) About seven days later the original official or someone in his office calls up the Harry Lee to scold him for subordinating their authority.
4) Jindal walks in on this conversation.
5) The original official finally tells Harry why they needed the documentation and warns him that they could get the sheriff to arrested him for what he did.
6) Harry blows his stack and tells the official that he IS the sheriff, and that they can arrest him if they want
7) Jindal asks what's going on that got him so mad
8) Harry tells him. Then Jindal replies "Sheriff, that's ridiculous."
9) Sheriff then yells into the phone that Jindal agrees with him and that they can arrest him too.

I mention this just so that we don't get too far ahead of the story and lose credibility if some of it proves to be true.

I note with a mix of amusement and amazement that the GOP has been writing their own amazingly inept stories since August 29th nearly non-stop. All we have to do is watch, incredulously, as they shoot themselves in the foot, repeatedly, with Wayne LaPierre's "semi-automatic rifle that has been around for a hundred years."

I'm just glad to see boats of some kind involved again. This was swift, and this was about boats, and John Kerry is somewhere snickering.

Ridiculous.

"Bobby's" chief of staff's name is "Timmy." Two golden boys trying to portray themselves as good ol' boys.

Timmy Teepell is a homeschooler's wet dream. Read all about it here.

But among "Timmy's" problems are that apparenty homeschooling doesn't teach its students to tell the truth.

Timmy was also the Executive Direcor of something called the "Madison Project" which was really one of those anonymous large GOP slush funds used to fund its candidates. Timmy passed on that torch to the Ryun clan (sons of failed Republican former GOP member Jim Ryun, who got bounced out of Cogress for accepting a discounted house from Tom DeLay's syndicate).

And the Madison tracks way back to the 1996 scandal where the Triad Company was making illegal donations (search, Triad scandal). That wat the one that covered up by Fred Thompson.

Timmy, Timmy, Timmy. Get a life.

Wow, a story that covers a blatant lie spun on national television by a Governor, to a political "news" org. scrubbing history to cover his tracks.

Fail, all around for Republicans and their media outlets on this one. Lots, and lots of FAIL.

Truth > GOP

every.time.

Calling him "Piyush" is a bit childish somebody said. Perhaps he needs to be reminded of his childhood - the one he refered to in rebuttal, "Bobby. My daddy said to me... when I was a little boy walking through the aisles, of the fully stocked supermarket..." sic. Bobby? But he wasn't Bobby! He was Piyush.
Obama, who unfortunately has been dragged into it (- ironically to 'rescue' Jindal - if that's even his real surname -) was called Barry like Ricardo is called Ricky, or Gustavo is called Gus. But Bobby as a shortened form of Piyush? Kinda difficult but I guess cultures are different aren't they...

Now the rest of the WORLD knows what we in Louisiana have known for years.

The man is just another lying republican who will say and do whatever it takes to fullfill their personal ambitions.

Fortunaly for the Nation, he did not get out of the starting gates. Self destructed there.
Now in Louisiana we need to oust him.

well,I can tell you for a fact,that I knew some of the people in boats that came from Texas and Lousiana,and when they lined up with their boats,they were told to go home,they couldn't use them...some ignored them and just went looking for people to rescue anyhow.If they hadn't, there would have been a higher death toll.

"In our post, we reported -- among other red flags -- that we couldn't find any news reports that put Jindal on the ground in the affected area during the time when a boat rescue would have been needed"

Clearly untrue. Boat rescues took place for many days. The Sheriff said Jindal was with him the day after Katrina. More left wing idiocy at play here,.

Seems that Jindal's story and subsequent "clarifications" aren't getting a better reception on Politico than they are here at TPM. Scroll own for the comments at:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0209/Jindal_aide_Story_was_set_after_Katrina.html

Most of you bloggers are missing the point here. NONE of these politicians will really look out for America's interest including your love buddy BO. The liberals and conservatives are so busy getting reelected and creating more government and wasteful spending that unless you are completely gullible we need to limit the congress to two terms and Senators one. Yet you guys get sooo much satisfaction carrying your flag of more corruptness, bigger government and wasteful spending that maybe you are for a European-style government of socialism. Since we are beyond broke, and have a guy in there now who is reaching for more government control over our lives, then watch what happens in the next four years.

A Governor Explicated
"During"
[at some ill-defined point in the course of]

"Katrina,"
[the natural catastrophe (a powerful hurricane) and its immediate aftermath lasting for a week or more, a time that has come to be known collectively as 'Katerina']

"I"
[then congressman, now governor Bobby Jindal]

"visited"
[paid a casual call on]

"Sheriff Harry Lee, a Democrat and a good friend of mine."
[the local sheriff and a political supporter of the then-congressman's.]

"When I walked into"
[there being nothing of much urgency going on, the congressman strolled through the door of]

"his makeshift office"
[why was in here, the congressman, thought to himself. Where are the trappings of office I'm used to seeing? Gosh, I hope nothing's happened to the place the sheriff really works.]

"I'd never seen him so angry."
[hmm, must be something going on big time. Wonder if it has anything to do with why my family went up to Baton Rouge?]

"He was [literally -ed.] yelling into the phone:"
[I heard it with my own ears!]

"'Well, I'm the Sheriff and if you don't like it you can come and arrest me!'"
[that's what he said; I'll never forget it as long as I live. I had never heard an elected official talking like that before and I was quite shocked.]

"I asked him:"
[Being ever so curious, I wanted to know]

"'Sheriff, what's got you so mad?'"
[if the sheriff was yelling at mother nature or what, and I hoped it didn't have anything to do with me and why the population seemed so much bigger now in Baton Rouge.]

"He told me that he had put out a call for volunteers to come with their boats to rescue people who were trapped on their rooftops by the floodwaters."
[Oh. Were there people trapped on rooftops? Gee, I didn't know that, or I thought that was all over with, or yeah, I remember hearing that that had happened some time ago.]

"The boats were all lined up ready to go"
[I'm sorry... now? The boats are lined up now? Or they were lined up a little while ago? Sorry, sheriff, I'm a little confused. Can you speak more slowly please.]

"- when some bureaucrat showed up"
[today? last week? sheriff, wait, wait, this is going to make a great story but slow down, stop yelling so much. Just tell me what happened.]

"and told them they couldn't go out on the water unless they had proof of insurance and registration."
[this was when again? and before we get to that... this bureaucrat... who did he work for? did you get a name? I'm going to check this out. Federal, state, parish official? Do you happen to know if it was a man or a woman, and more importantly the party affiliation. I can really get to this son-of-a-b, if you'd just let me know...]

"I told him, 'Sheriff, that's ridiculous.'"
[and believe me, I know ridiculous!]

"And before I knew it,"
[that sheriff is fa-a-ast!]

"he was yelling into the phone:"
[I gotta tell ya, I kind of like this yelling stuff; I might even try it myself someday, if I could just get up the nerve]

"'Congressman Jindal is here, and he says you can come and arrest him too!'"
[I laughed and laughed because of course I hadn't said any such thing but if that old sheriff wants to make up stuff that I might have said, well, that's alright with me because even if I didn't say it, I might've if I'd been quick enough to think of it, and if he can make up stuff for people to say (and he's the law), well, then I guess I can too!]

"Harry just told the boaters"
[Now wait a second. Harry, did you tell them right after that yelling stuff or last week before I got here? 'Cause it sure sounds like you told them now, I mean now while I'm here in the office with you. But maybe it was a few days ago. But, no, it says right here... I mean it's me, I'm telling the story. First you yelled, then I asked you a question. Then you told me a story, and I said it was ridiculous, and you yelled into the phone again, only now when you yelled you were yelling about me, and then I laughed and thought about how much I really liked you, and then the boats went out on the water and people got rescued. And that's what happened, Harry, right? Isn't it? Unless that was before I'd stopped by for a friendly visit. Like I said in the beginning, remember? It wasn't before that was it? Before I got here and you yelled and stuff. Oh gosh, I'm all mixed up. Sorry, I don't tell stories very well. It's a weakness. I'm going to go away somewhere and work on that. And then I'll come back and tell better stories better. Okay? It is okay, isn't it? Harry? I miss you something awful. Oh, boy. Nevermind. All I know is we got ...]

"to ignore the bureaucrats and start rescuing people."
[and that's what I was trying to say all along. So, see, everything worked out. The end.]

Note: There were no rescue efforts, or floodwaters for that matter, during the actual storm.

I'm a big TPM fan and I'm not a Bobby Jindal fan, but I'm disappointed that the updated story doesn't mention the New Orleans Times-Picayune posting a link to a video of Harry Lee on YouTube saying that Bobby Jindal was indeed in his office a few days after the hurricane. He wasn't out in boats rescuing people, but he never claimed that. The URL is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wO5S5LGT1s

There's also a video of a St. Bernard Parish sheriff saying basically the same thing about Jindal helping out after the hurricane.

The Times-Pic seems to believe that Jindal is in the clear on his hurricane story. The problem seems to be that he played fast and loose with other facts -- especially those on whose responsible for recreating the New Orleans schools and on who's responsible for or supported the tax cuts.

At the time he gave this speech, I was amazed that he would even bring up the subject of Katrina in the first place. Not exactly a shining moment in the history of the GOP's ability to run government.

And then, to embellish the story only points out more dramatically how out of touch and incapable of rational thought and actions the repubs really are.

A Baton Rougean here; I thought everyone might be interested to see this little tidbit from the March 1 Baton Rouge Advocate -- Baton Rouge's only newspaper and (I presume) the biggest in the state after the Times-Picayune, and thus a major driver of news around here, especially about state government. Their headline is "Bloggers debunked on Jindal Location." TPM gets mentioned by name. Here's the link: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/40493657.html?index=14&c=y

I'm sure you don't need me to point out that the news story selects a very narrow part of Jindal's story that can be verified to be true and uses it to imply that Jindal's whole story is true. Note the very careful wording of the headline and the lack of any reference to the more important aspects of the story that are verifiably false.

The BR Advocate is not an especially good paper, but this story carries Jindal's water with a gusto that even this cynic found remarkable.

Republicans don't just lie to us, they lie to themselves all the time. Here's another BIG ONE ~

"The Big Red Fairy Tale - "Palin Will Be Our New Reagan"

read about it on http://nailinpalinnow.blogspot.com/

Looks like Jindal is working with Rove, because this is exactly what he would do, regardless of how outlandish it seems.