Q: How many Bush Administration officials does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any reports of its lack of incandescence are a delusional spin from the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?
In actual news, this article had a gem of a quote in the form of nutshell analysis, as well as a new catch-phrase for all you trend whores out there:
Sharif Ali bin Hussein, head of the Constitutional Monarchy Party, likened the vote outcome to a "Sistani tsunami" that would shake the nation.
"Americans are in for a shock," he said, adding that one day they would realize, "We've got 150,000 troops here protecting a country that's extremely friendly to Iran, and training their troops."
Yep. It's just the gift that keeps on giving, isn't it? Once again, our best and brightest lead us inexorably toward the "Sistani tsunami" (which just gets catchier every time you sing it aloud).
I don't know if you've ever read the PNAC report, whence most of this neocon folly originally emanated, but I have, and this wasn't on their laundry list of possible pasts.
I highly recommend reading the report; it's well-done and informative, and it may make you think more specifically about your geopolitical leanings, which can't hurt. The essential premise is simply that humanity and the nation-state constructs are at the point where there is a big dog, and that America (and the world) are better off with us as said dog.
I agree with that base point -- I think an American hegemon, mistakes and shenanigans and all, is better than a Chinese hegemon, or a Russian or Indian one. But that doesn't mean there's only one way to maintain it, especially in the face of growing dissent and disadvantageous demographics. I hope to finish a draft over the weekend, but soon we will discuss in depth the decline of unipolarity, and the return of multipolarity, and some of our options in negotiating that path from a now-weakened stance.
Craig:
ReplyDeleteI would submit that, in particular, Russian and Chinese totalitarianism during the last century alone each easily dwarfs all the worldwide American evils combined. Each of those nations killed 20 million of their own people in the name of the workers' paradise, as well as many more in various proxy wars.
I understand why the rest of the world would be wary of the flexing of the American love muscle. But as Churchill wisely said, it's the worst of all systems -- except for all the others.
That is just the reality of the world at this point int time. I promise I will address this much more thoroughly over the weekend.