Friday’s issues of Time magazine includes columnist Joe Klein’s analysis of what he calls the Bush administration’s “epic collapse,” says Editor & Publisher (insider journalist mag).
Just a note from the reality based world for your wingnut friends. Treat them gently. If they even try to get it, heads can explode.
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The Saudi ambassador to the U.S., Prince Turki, packed up his shit and fled Washington after only 15 months, without an announcement and without the usual round of embassy going away parties.
His predesessor, Prince Bandor, had served for 22 years and was a brilliant, Western educated success. The prince is back home for a year now, talking to the ailing king who will decide who will become Foreign Minister when Turki’s brother, who now holds the spot, retires.
Too arcane for you?
Well, consider this. Saudi Arabia is important enough that the King literally summoned Dick Cheney to Riyahd and told him off right after the election. Told him he’d lower oil prices to zero just to screw with Iran’s economy and that the Sunni Saudis would start backing Saddam’s insurgent Sunnis to prevent an Iranian backed Shi-ite majority from committing genocide.
What do you think happens to Aubrey McClendon, Chesapeake and Oklahoma City if oil prices plummet from $65 a bbl to $25 in a matter of weeks?
Prime Minister of Israel Olmert let it slip this same week the open secret that Isreal is a nuclear power. It’s been Israeli policy for many years now not to acknowledge what everyone is pretty sure has been true for a long time. Why do you suppose Olmert would talk about it out loud after all these years, at great personal cost, perhaps, since the Knesset is calling for his head?
Worst strategic mistake in American history. Has a ring to it, doesn’t it? Worst president in American history. That may not cover the territory.
So, back to the desert kingdom. The royal family runs this kingdom, it is not by any means a democracy. The nation is wahhabist, a conservative Sunni sect, and they are in charge of Islam’s holiest sites. Prince Turki is engaging in a little palace intrique and has been forced into using blunt tactics because Bandar is on site, the go to guy who is Johnny on the spot. Turki, a former chief of Saudi intelligence, WANTS the power of the ministry. All the present ruling office holders are getting up there and this is part of generational positioning in the most important palace in the world. Turki still has the contacts to make a palace coup, a risky move with a huge prize.
Meanwhile, the Iranians are hoping Armageddon is brewing in Baghdad and twitting the nose of the Western world with its Denial of Holocaust puppet show and Hezb’Allah is getting ready to take over Lebanon with a little help from Syria’s Alawite monarch.
Egypt, jealous of Iran’s newfound regional leadership role, is routinely murdering dissidents while it sees what develops and hoping people are ignoring the fact that young Egyptians are joining jihadist cells.
Jordan is playing a sort of British peacekeeping try to be the balancer game but knows that the Israeli nuke is right next door, well within range.
Much of this is tribal and so very ancient. Some part of it is like watching Lawrence of Arabia replay.
The trick, as Lawrence famously said, is not minding it.
There are a couple of memorable fight scenes in movies that have been on my mind. One is in The Quiet Man and another is in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
They are very similar scenes. In The Quiet Man, John Wayne and Victor MacLaughlin agree to “Marquis of Queensbury rules” and in Butch Cassidy, Paul Newman tries to make rules for a knife fight. In both, the rules quickly go out the window. “Rules in a knife fight,” Newman says dismissively after kicking his opponent in the groin.
That’s how I feel about President Bush’s plea for bipartisanship.
Yeah, Dubya, we’re gonna be just as “bipartisan” as Denny Hastert and Frist were when you guys controlled Congress.
We’re gonna look for every way we can to co-opt Republicans to get them to vote for what we want and, failing that, we’re gonna cram stuff down your throat you hate but can’t veto.
Say bye-bye to Tom DeLay’s “K-Street Project”.
What earmarks?
Rummy gets extradicted to Germany to stand trial for war crimes or you swallow a ban on torture, how about that for bipartisan?
Sure hope the drug companies put back a few dimes in savings because that Medicare Part D bonanza just disappeared.
You can throw that veto pen away when the tax cut for the middle class by way of Alternative Minimum Tax reform comes across your desk.
Think you’d like to veto a raise in the minimum wage? We’d love for you to try that.
Have we mentioned what’s going to happen to Dick Cheney’s Halliburton holdings when we’re finished investigating war profiteering?
Maybe it’s just me, but do you think you’d like a special prosecutor to look into why 454 White House contacts with Jack Abramoff weren’t enough and Karl Rove had to meet the uber-lobbyist on streetcorners in order to avoid the White House logs of meetings?
Just remember my born-again son, we’re just trying to do unto you as you did unto us.
Gloating happy dance continues.
It’s a little difficult to be blue when you’re swimming in a sea of Shadenfreude and dancing the happy dance on the beaches of gloating.
I’ll try to soldier on, though.
First, let me say that nothing in the election returns was as satisfying as reading the immediate post-election ‘net columns of Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. Their heads exploded in the vice of reality and election losses of Congress.
Insert gloating happy dance of shadenfreude here.
It’s hard to say whether the end for Rumsfeld as SecDef, the smashing of Sen. George Allen’s presidential hopes on the rocks of Democratic takeover of the Senate or Sen. Rick Santorum’s ignominious defeat was the highlight of Wednesday and Thursday.
I can’t parse that question because I’m too busy laughing at Bush’s notion that he can still push through Bolton as U.N. ambassador before January. Good for Lincoln Chaffee, defeated in Rhode Island, for looking Georgie boy in the face and saying “shut the fuck up”.
Lest we forget, there’s no need to go far afield — wingnuts Sweeney in N.Y. and Pombo in Calif. both losing — for me to find deep, deep satisfaction: the Brad Henry trouncing of Ernie Istook right here in Oklahoma is plenty. I’ve been a hopeful blue dog Dem on less in the past three elections.
I’m with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid about impeachment; no need to have that as a legislative agenda item at this time. First we have some subpoenas, then we name a special prosecutor to look into some of those nobid contracts, then we impeach Cheney, all before we make Bush’s last year in office the springboard for a “permanent Democratic majority” and THEN his impeachment. We need to have a fair trial before we hang the fucker.
Oh, and by the way, Bush is going to be out of town for the rest of the year on trips to Asia and Europe. I think they’re setting up a good alibi for him when some shit comes down. But, that’s paranoia for another day.
I’m really having a hard time making up my mind for whom to vote.
Today, I got a “drop piece” placed on my front door by a Republican named Dave Mehlhaff who is running for County Commissioner in District 1 against Democrat Jim Roth.
Here’s a quote from the campaign literature:
Although they are “out” and exercise their right to participate in the Gay Pride Parade each year, the Sodomites prefer to tip-toe through the Oklahoma County neighborhoods not exploiting their “pride” but preferring to focus on the issues. The truth is, they portray a victim mentality until they mete (sic) up success (as they define it) and then they pound their Sodomite drums with “pride”. You cant’ (sic) have it both ways. Either you’re “out” and proud of it or you’re “in” and focus on the issues.
So, what do you think, kids? Vote for the Sodomite or the idiot?