Republican Righteousness

An interesting WaPo column about Republicans' outrage that the 110th congress' majority party is not letting them participate in the initial direction of the legislative agenda. Amazing. There is no ethical, moral, or hypocritical boundary these guys would even hesitate crossing.

Click on the Seattle PI editorial cartoon below (or right click and choose "view image") for a larger view:

Helter Skelter

They say that the definition of insanity is repeating the same mistakes over and over and expecting different results. This definition fits to a T George Bush's "plan" (it's more of an adjustment than a plan) to escalate the occupation of Iraq.

This latest cynical attempt to run out the clock on his watch demonstrates his continuous and blatant total disregard for what is right for the U.S. and the American people. Increasing the troop level in Iraq by 15% is like offering a person suffering from hyperhydration a glass of water. Every credible authority on the situation on the ground in Iraq agrees that U.S. troop presence in the country is the main reason for the level of the violence. This is a problem in need of a political solution, not a military one. Our military forces are designed to fight wars, not police anarchic cities.

And of course we are hearing a new wave of old hyperbole and meaningless rhetoric from W and his rapidly dwindling pool of sycophants. "The Dems have no plan, we're fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here, failure is not an option" and on and on. One change, W has recently broken new ground by talking to reporters other than FOX folks, such as his recent appearances on 60 Minutes and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Unfortunately he's still sputtering the same tired material: simplistic generalizations, childish metaphors, and gross misinformation which show he either doesn't understand the complex issues or doesn't care. And he's still doing it in an arrogant, cynical, condescending manner. Like a sarcastic cheerleader. As conservative David Brooks put it, "he needs to talk to people as adults, not down to them as 5 year olds".

The problem is there is no good option anymore, it's going to be ugly any direction we go at this point. The best option would have been to not invade in the first place. The second best option would have been to go in with sufficient troop levels to initially maintain order. And the third best option would have been to preserve the civil and social infrastructure. But those doors have closed years ago. The absolute worst option is to stay the course, but add more fuel to the fire with additional troops.