Iranian Women Care About Their Futures

Iranian women give a damn about freedom and liberty. I can only conclude that the vast majority American women do not.

The Alternate 2020

What could an alternate 2020 looked like? For a while, in January and February, it looked like the US was headed for a real war against Iran (presumably with Saudi Arabia doing some of the fighting). The illegal airstrike that killed General Solem Soleimani could have easily set the Islamic Republic off. It would have resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, but the US had committed an act of war on top of Iran’s provokation of having their top general in Iraq. Instead, Iran fired warning shots at US forces (which still caused concussions and ruptured eardrums, which Trump didn’t care about, but that’s another story).

Another alternative 2020 would have been a close, but not unexpected re-election for Donald Trump. After all, we didn’t know at the time, but Trump had been gaining in popularity throughout his residency, particularly with Hispanic and Black men. Against a old, non-confrontational Biden, he probably would have won.

And in yet another alternative 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still happened, but Trump took it seriously and let a panel of public health experts set a national policy, keeping the death toll under 100,000. His good handling of the pandemic would also result in a re-election victory.

A Wink And A Smirk

Jay Dyckman at the Huffington post noticed that Bush winked on his way out of Tuesday's press conference:

It couldn't be. He was discussing a massive failure by our intelligence agencies. Again. But he winked at someone on the way out. And gave a smile-smirk. Jesus, he's the guy at the end of the bar that just bought you a Mai Tai.

Max Blumenthal Strikes Again!

He's incredible and he is on a roll. And he does it for free (it helps to have the Wingnuts come to DC to do their conferences). This time, he infiltrates the Christians United for Israel conference in Washington, DC back on July 16th.

You will notice two young female PR agents in the video. I find it funny when I do a simple Google search for their backgrounds. Alison Crisci is a graduate of Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA, and is a liberal compared to most people in the conference (although she is an outspoken Christian, she supports tolerance of Muslims). Kara Silverman graduated from Ohio State University in 2005 who majored in geography and Jewish studies. They both work for 5W, a fast-growing PR firm in New York. I am tempted to call them both losers. But as a Communications major, I have to remember that the PR industry really sucks when you are starting out. Long hours, low pay, and gigs like this. Ouch.

Shorter* Norman Podhoretz

From yesterday's Wall Street Journal:

The Case for Bombing Iran: I hope and pray that President Bush will do it.

Dear fucking God.

I don't even need to crack any jokes. This long essay by an old wingnut speaks for itself.

Well, okay, a little sample for you:

Much of the world has greeted Ahmadinejad's promise to wipe Israel off the map with something close to insouciance. In fact, it could almost be said of the Europeans that they have been more upset by Ahmadinejad's denial that a Holocaust took place 60 years ago than by his determination to set off one of his own as soon as he acquires the means to do so. In some of European countries, Holocaust denial is a crime, and the European Union only recently endorsed that position. Yet for all their retrospective remorse over the wholesale slaughter of Jews back then, the Europeans seem no readier to lift a finger to prevent a second Holocaust than they were the first time around.

Not so George W. Bush, a man who knows evil when he sees it and who has demonstrated an unfailingly courageous willingness to endure vilification and contumely in setting his face against it. It now remains to be seen whether this president, battered more mercilessly and with less justification than any other in living memory, and weakened politically by the enemies of his policy in the Middle East in general and Iraq in particular, will find it possible to take the only action that can stop Iran from following through on its evil intentions both toward us and toward Israel. As an American and as a Jew, I pray with all my heart that he will.

Please, just shut up.

He's been calling the War on Terror "World War IV" for five years now, and his latest book is being released on Tuesday, September 11th. He's not an intellectual. He's a shameless wingut.

[Shit, 9/11 is on a god-damn Tuesday this year. Great. The exact same day of the week it was back in 2001. The second Tuesday after Labor Day. The day the terrorists knew everyone would be back at work. This is going to suck.]

It amazes me that Podhoretz are still paid to write and speak opinions that have been either bat shit crazy, or proven to be incorrect by facts.
I hate to sound like Michelle Malkin, but Just Shut Up.

* ‘Shorter’ concept created by Daniel Davies and perfected by Elton Beard.

Weekend Reading: Zbigniew Brzezinski's Testimony to the SFRC in February

This is perfectly relevant given what has happened in the 2 months since Brzezinski spoke to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In a world where a ton of experts and politicans are asking for more Friedman Units, or saying that Baghdad is safer, Zbigniew Brzezinski tells us exactly where Iraq -and probably the Persian Gulf region- is heading.

Or if you prefer to hear the man:

Iran Crisis Escalating: Is "Operation Bite" Just a Rumour?

Last week, a Russian journalist reported that the Bush administration is considering a 12-hour airstrike on Iran, which will trigger a full-blown regional meltdown. I hope this was an April Fool's stunt. But the scenario seems plausible when you consider that if Bush really wanted to strike Iran, this weekend would be an excellent window of opportunity. Congress is in recess and the British hostage crisis is not being solved anytime soon.

JurassicPork might be panicking a bit too much here, but he has valid points.

So does the Operation Bite have any shread of truth? We'll be watching Reuters closely this holiday weekend.