Gingrich Wants War (but don’t look for him in the foxhole)

The worst kind of coward is the kind that struts.

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In a Foxhole with Rush? The Pilonidal Pussy with the Patriot Pin

Uber-patriot Rush Limbaugh calls for massive bombing of Iran. But he won’t be flying the bombing missions: his candy-ass is not up to the task. Like all of the neocon warmongers, he is the worst kind of coward – the kind that struts. Dittoheads who suck up to Rush are of the same ilk.

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IranAmok: A Bush in Tehran

Amongst all the tweets emanating from Iran during the recent post-election uprising, my favorite was one decrying Ahmadinejad as “Iran’s George W. Bush” (this remark becoming a headline in

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Suicide Bombers in the GOP: A Diabolical Strategy?

My cynical alter-ego discerns the faint outlines of a diabolical, perhaps even brilliant, strategy hidden in yesterday’s scuttling by House Republicans of the financial bailout bill. Along with the predictable collapse in the US stock market, oil prices retreated over $10/bbl – the second largest price drop ever. While cheaper oil is undoubtedly good for addicted US consumers, it is not so good news for the bad guys on the planet (Russia, Iran, Venezuela, etc) whose economies are hugely dependent on oil exports. As Tom Friedman has frequently pointed out, oil at $140/bbl provides enormous resources for mischief by our adversaries, and indeed keeps a reviled Iranian government in power. Friedman asserts that an urgent, and dramatic shift to alternative energy, combined with major conservation initiatives, would drastically reduce oil prices on the global market, literally bankrupt Iran, and put Russia in a much less threatening box. Thus, a critical foreign policy objective of the United States might be achieved without rattling a single saber, or engaging “girlie-man”-like in negotiations with odious regimes.

Lacking the leadership – or courage – to pull this off as forthright “energy” or “foreign policy” initiatives, GOP conservatives apparently decided that economic suicide by the US is the way to go: blow up the US financial markets, sink the economy, deflate oil prices, and kiss goodbye to Iran. Absolutely f___ing brilliant, I say! Watch for Sen. McCain to claim credit for this as his “position du jour” on the economy.

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Bush kisses “Pygmy’s” tush (Kim Jong-Il): Appeasement GOP-Style?

If George W. Bush can let Dear Leader Kim Jong-Il off the hook (the most virulent, unstable, anti-American card-carrying Axis of Evil dude on the planet), what must our fearless leader have in store for Iran?  Ahmedinejad thumbs his nose at W’s sabre-rattling, knowing that with our military hobbled in Iraq we are reduced to a pathetic paper tiger.  Diplomacy practiced from a position of strength is always a winning strategy.  Bush has foolishly sapped our strength, and thus can not pursue diplomacy – only appeasement.  Add this to the legacy of 43.

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GOP: Iran amok

Iran did not foreclose on any homes in America today

Iran did not push Social Security to the brink of insolvency today

Iran did not leave 40 million Americans without healthcare insurance today

Iran did not create a failed public education system in America, or gerrymander tax laws to make the rich richer and undermine America’s middle class, or dupe us into squandering our precious soldiers and national treasure on misguided military adventures in Iraq, or put our economy into a tailspin, etc, etc.

And yet, listening to the ceaseless, mindless mantras of the Republican establishment, and its candidate for President, one would get the impression that the defining issue of this election, and of our country’s future, is Iran.  In truth, it is – as always with the GOP – about fear mongering, about creating a bogeyman that only gun-toting, muscle-bound Republicans can defeat (sic).  Sorry, Mr. McCain, we have been too long down that road, and the wreckage is plain for all to see.  Our own house is falling down around us.  We need a President who understands this, and has the intellectual foundation and moral authority to lead us forward – not in fear (the GOP’s one-trick pony) but in the confidence that we can rebuild an America that has been very nearly destroyed by 7 years of ignorance and incompetence.  We are not afraid of Iran.  We can dissuade, disarm – or defeat if necessary – any enemy in the world if we focus on creating an educated, engaged citizenry, equitable distribution of economic opportunities and benefits, and recovery of the moral authority that America once enjoyed.  The GOP platform is virtually silent on those issues which are of paramount importance to voters throughout the country in 2008.  Thus, an historic rout of the GOP is in the cards for November.  Perhaps a new GOP will emerge from the ashes.  Perhaps.

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Ahmadinejad & Bush: birds of a feather

Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s visit to NY yesterday was a hoot; he confirmed – if confirmation was needed – his status as the bete noire of the Middle East. But it occured to me that Ahmadinejad and our own bete noire, George W. Bush, share many toxic character traits: both are ideologically blinkered, willfully ignorant, and completely disengaged from reality. Both will ultimately be enshrined in the pantheon of failed leaders, during whose regimes once-great countries and cultures – Persia and America – were reduced to laughingstocks on the world stage.

I’ll give Ahmadinejad one compliment: at least he had the courage to face a hostile audience at Columbia University. Bush would do no such thing.

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