Sideshow Politics

John Kerry's bad and bumbled joke and the insane Republican reaction (is McCain really that stupid, or is he really such a Bush asslicker?), Ted Haggard's meth-sniffing, sex-for-pay play, Mark Foley's predilection for teenage boys--why don't I ever write about these things? A friend asked me this today. Yes, it is a conscious decision during an election period because while these episodes are wonderfully salacious, juicy, and reveal the depth and gravity of right-wing hypocrisy, it's still not relevant to the exercise of power in this country. We have one huge problem in this country that must remain our focus, and that is the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal that is still desperately trying to establish a tyranny in this country, and who has no moral code, no admirable ideology, and virtually no competence beyond smearing opponents and intimidating dissenters. In the actual administration of power they are an utter and complete disaster.

A totalitarian mentality mixed with incompetence is what creates the perfect storm of national disaster, and our ship of state is still steadily on course for BOTH Scylla and Charybdis with a monstrous iceberg and a couple of sea dragons to boot.

If Pastor Haggard likes to dust his nostrils and then take one in the booty, well bully for him--he's gotten his just desserts for his hypocrisy as a leader against gays and non-Christians. If Mark Foley is a slimey chickenhawk cruising for buff butts, he too is now paid for his hubris in trying to simultaneously push through child protection laws. And the fact that John Kerry is an egomaniacal dope without the sense to even avoid humor that will always fall flat does not overcome the intentional or intentionally feigned stupidity of those who claim he has insulted the military--that just reveals how desperately thin their basis is for even being appointed to scrape dog shit off our cities' sidewalks.

Eyes on the ball--we face totalitarian, amoral, sociopathic megalomaniacs trying to destroy our country for reasons that defy explanation. Such is the poison of power.

The Good News?

You know that the situation in Iraq has really hit the shitter when the following is the good news coming from the U.S. military:

The chart does note some positive developments. Specifically, it notes that “hostile rhetoric” by political and religious leaders has not increased. It also notes that Iraqi security forces are refusing less often than in the past to take orders from the central government and that there has been a drop-off in mass desertions.

Three and a half years after Chimpie McFlightSuit declared "Mission Accomplished" on the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and the best news coming out to counter the 100+ dead Americans in October is that religious nuts are toning down their rhetoric? Oh joy! We're on the road to victory now! And lower mass disertion rates among the Iraqis who will allow us to "stand down as they stand up." Boy, I sure feel better. Smells like...catastrophe.

I have to hand it to the Bushits--they managed to stir the pot in Iraq precisely to the point where we can't fix it but can't in good conscience abandon it either. Who pays? Our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers serving in the military, whose fate lies in the hands of idiots and megalomaniacal madmen. And keep in mind that not one single civilian associated with this disastrous policy has been fired, let alone been shackled, hooded, waterboarded (a "no-brainer" per Cheney) and then dropped into the dock at the Hague for war crimes trials.

Okay, so what to do? Congressman John Murtha made these suggestions last year on November 17:

To immediately redeploy U.S. troops consistent with the safety of U.S. forces.
To create a quick reaction force in the region.
To create an over- the- horizon presence of Marines.
To diplomatically pursue security and stability in Iraq

I'd be delusional to think that "Mission Accomplished" Chimpie and his gang of thugs would do anything like this in the runup to the election, but I predict that if they lose both houses of Congress next Tuesday, they will be carefully positioning themselves to engineer exactly such a plan and then blame the Democrats in 2008 for "losing Iraq." That's like setting your house on fire and then blaming your neighbor for failing to put it out once it's already mostly ashes.