Yesterday, on Hardball (transcript when it becomes available), Tom DeLay was, for whatever reason, poisoning the airwaves rather than facing trial somewhere, and in the course of his appearance noted that we need to immediately erect a blockade around Iran, and that it had to be done soon, by this administration, or we may lose our chance because a President Obama would not. Expect to see the cries for a blockade of Iran increase over the next few weeks and months as the usual suspects, unhappy with our current two wars, will agitate for a third (for those of you so inclined, Pat Lang has some thoughts here that are relevant).
As such, it is worthwhile to note where some of this stuff is coming from, and one source is House Concurrent Resolution 362, which Rep. Wexler, a co-sponsor of the bill, discusses here at the HuffPo:
In the coming weeks, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, of which I am a member, may vote on House Concurrent Resolution 362. Given my growing concerns regarding this resolution, including its failure to advocate for direct American engagement with Tehran and open language that could lead to a US blockade of Iran, I will lead an effort to make changes to this resolution before it comes to the Foreign Affairs committee for a vote. Despite being a cosponsor of this resolution — these changes will ultimately determine whether or not I will continue to support H. Con. Res. 362.
My rationale for originally supporting H. Con. Res. 362, which currently has 230 cosponsors, was to urge the Bush administration to pursue a policy to place additional economic, political and diplomatic pressure on Iran as part of an international endeavor to prevent Tehran from moving forward on its nuclear program. Given my intense distrust of President Bush and his administration’s disastrous foreign policy record, I also sponsored legislation (H. R. 3119), which if passed into law would prohibit the use of funds for military operations in Iran unless authorized by Congress and prevents the president from unilaterally going to war.
Good thinking Rep. Wexler, as no one could have predicted the GOP would latch on to one bill and ignore the other. It is simply unpossible for anyone to have known that would happen.
At any rate, the actual text of the bill can be found here, and here is the portion that is perceived to be a green light for the blockade:
Whereas nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an authorization of the use of force against Iran: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress–
***(3) demands that the President initiate an international effort to immediately and dramatically increase the economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran to verifiably suspend its nuclear enrichment activities by, inter alia, prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum products; imposing stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran; and prohibiting the international movement of all Iranian officials not involved in negotiating the suspension of Iran’s nuclear program;
If the House passes this, they a step closer to the signing statement greenlighting the next Middle East fiasco. And only a fool would think the Bush administration wouldn’t jump at the opportunity. Great work, guys.
Wilfred
Wexler is the House equivalent of Lieberman – a complete Aipac shill whose sole interest is advancing the cause of Israel. His hand-wringing here stems from the fact that some people are actually starting to push back against the Israel First crowd so a little cya is in order.
A lot of Americans don’t want to be dragged off into a war because Aipac thinks it’s good for Israel.
jake
Yes of course Mr. Insecticide Sniffing Person sir, we’ve got plenty of people and resources to spare to “erect” your fence of freedom. Just move all of the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to the appropriate border. And no one will mind if we block up the Straits of Hormuz with our Navy.
Another political term I never want to hear again: The use of the word “we” to mean “A bunch of guys who’ll be put in harms way while I sit on my fat ass and bloviate.”
I have a better idea. Take all of the money we’re spending on this never ending idiocy and dump it over Iran. They’ll be our friends 4evar. Assuming they aren’t crushed.
4tehlulz
Obligatory Gulf of Tonkin reference.
Grand Moff Texan
Stupid fucking cracker can’t even read a map.
.
Martin
So, the prevailing American attitude is that only the US and US favored European and Asian nations are entitled to energy independence and even life itself.
Why don’t people like us more?
As far as I can tell, Iran’s posturing is purely self-defense. In the axis-of-evil, the guys that were armed to the 9’s (North Korea) got a continual pass, the guys that actually weren’t (Iraq) got invaded, and the guys in the middle (Iran) are getting constant threats of being attacked. Seems that the way to deal diplomatically with the US is to lob some missiles over a US ally to make it clear that talks are the way to go – which is effectively what Iran is doing.
Can anyone articulate what a winning plan for Iran would be other than what they are doing based on how we’ve acted in the recent past?
Incertus
He’s no Lieberman. His Israel support comes from the fact that his district has a more than significant Jewish population, so he’s representing his constituency. Its possible he’s pushing back because he has higher ambitions–Mel Martinez is up for re-election in 2010, after all–and he has to expand beyond that base. It was no surprise to me that he was at the head of the Obama argument at the DNC meeting–no way to better get yourself recognized than by hanging with the next President.
Notorious P.A.T.
So there!
We’ll vote to call Iran’s army a “terrorist organization”, give Bush money for (cough cough) intelligence-gathering missions inside Iran, and call for him to blockade Iran–but we don’t authorize him to use force against Iran, because we have “intense distrust” of Bush!
God, I love this Congress!!!
Fwiffo
I do believe the number you’re looking for is Article I, Section 8.
That’s pure genius right there. We now need to pass laws in order to actually realize the separation of powers laid out in the plain English of the Constitution.
Bootlegger
What makes anyone think we could blockade Iran, even if we weren’t currently fighting a 2-front war?
El Cid
This is a brilliant, clever move by Wexler which in no way intended any of the disastrous consequences highly likely to follow, and anyone who suggests that likely consequences follow obvious precedents is a crazy netroots progressive moonbat who doesn’t understand important stuff.
Notorious P.A.T.
Really? Wexler’s constituency is Israeli citizens? How did citizens of another country get to vote in American elections?
Otherwise, he ought to forget about Israel and work for this country’s [America’s] interests. It is kind of his f**king job.
Bootlegger
I still wonder how declaring a “war on terror” is not a “declaration of war”, which is of course reserved for the congress and not the executive branch.
Zifnab
Doesn’t he represent Boca Raton, Florida? Every Jewish grandmother in the world (including my own) has property there. I don’t know if this is a smart move – in so far as Wexler is trying to get out in front of the issue from the get go – or a disaster waiting to happen. That whole “this is not an AUMF” disclaimer at the top makes me feel a little better. But it still feels like farting in the middle of a hurricane. What, exactly, is this bill supposed to accomplish? Does Iranian uranium enrichment even crack the top ten things that Americans care about? Is the whole housing crisis / FISA abortion / dragging economy / loaming inflation / Iraq / Afghanistan / ballooning deficit mess not enough?
I typically liked Wexler as he’s been a respectable liberal voice. I don’t know what to think of this. :-p *sigh*
D.N. Nation
What, exactly, is to be accomplished from smacking Iran around?
And when I say accomplished, I’m asking for Good Things That Actually Have A Chance Of Success.
Incertus
That’s part of his district, along with areas west and south of there. My in-laws live in his district, and it’s pretty heavily Jewish. Notorious P.A.T.’s comment illustrates just how little he knows the area or how much Israel matters to the Jews who live down here. I’m not saying that I agree with Wexler’s stances, just that I understand where he’s coming from–Israel matters a lot to his constituents, so it matters to him. End of story.
fuddmain
The Rapture. Good being relative.
Dreggas
And if passed Bush will ignore it, much like he has continued to do with any attempt by congress to limit what he does.
Incertus
Bush gets to take himself from probably being the worst President ever to absolutely positively the worst President ever. His legacy is secure!
4tehlulz
Smacking Iran around is an end in itself, not a means to one.
Kinda like Iraq, really.
Wilfred
No, it isn’t. It wasn’t when we had a President who put American interests first:
That’s Eisenhower writing about the Suez crisis. The worst mistake we can make is to think that things always were and will always be the way they are now.
Eisehower put the lie to your comment.
Zifnab
It does a great job of driving up the price of gas. Then, with a gas shortage, we suddenly have to start letting people drill closer to the Gulf Coast where every barrel they fill up is worth exponentially more money than, say, back in ’94 or ’00. Hurray, monies!
Martin
I don’t think that’s the case. Swap in any other national/ethnic group for Israeli/Jewish and ask yourself how far the Dems, let alone the GOP, would go to extend the national security blanket to cover them.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m glad that the US is a friend of Israel, but there are definitely times when it seems like Israels national interests are being placed ahead of US interests, and there seems to be a consistent racial bias on how we treat foreign nations.
DBrown
We have a winner – unpossible! Great word but unless you are bushwhacked, not really what I would call, clear writing.
The chance of real war (i.e. ground troops): zero; the chance of air attacks 50% (or 100% if bloody hands cheney takes control as per his normal operations.) Or the numerical value (in dollars) of a gallon of gas when the Iranians close the Gulf off after an American attack.
jnfr
I’m sure it will do wonders for the price of oil.
chopper
exactly. if the dude didn’t vote pro-israel, his constituents would replace him with someone who did.
shirt
What makes anyone believe the world will permit the US to gutter their economies that such a blockade surely would cause.
Look at the bright side of life: a nuclear winter will resolve the global warming problem.
ThymeZone
I posted this to an adjacent thread, but since I am lazy and since it is relevant here, I will repost it here:
Incertus
Maybe that’s Bush’s game–start shit with Iran, send the price of oil to $250-300 a barrel, and put the US economy further into the shitter just in time for President Obama to take over.
And Wilfred–comparing a member of the House to the President of the US is stupid. The President is supposed to represent the nation–the Congressperson represents his or her district.
Fledermaus
Yeah, because
BushCheney always adheres strictly to the letter of the law.rawshark
Did Osama call for the price to be that high?
L. Ron Obama
TZ, I think you give the Dem leadership entirely too much credit. It’s too contrived a solution.
cleek
all Simpsons fans know “unpossible”.
Dennis - SGMM
Lemme see now, Iran is bordered by three former SSR’s; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. This part of the border also includes roughly 650 kilometers of water along the Caspian Sea. It also borders on the the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to the tune of 1800 kilometers. The other border nations are; Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Other than violating international law and the sovereignty of several nations they’re going to accomplish
exactly how?
norm
4tehlulz Says:
“Obligatory Gulf of Tonkin reference.”
How soon you forget the attack and sinking and intentional murdering of some survivors of the USS Liberty?
Sank by Israel, they fired on survivors as well.
Yes, Israel knew it was a US ship.
Wag
I think the upside of war with Iran is being underestimated. For instance, if we are at was in Iraq and Afganistan, that counts as 2 wars, separated by the country of Iran. If we at was with all 3 contiguous counties, that would be only 1 war. Think of the PR advantage for Bush-“I stopped a war by going to war!”
ThymeZone
Don’t agree. I think the solution fits just about the last 50 years of history, and fits with the GOP’s stated strategy. The “Dynamite in the Distance” model and the explanation of it came from Republicans, not from me.
As for Dems, putting aside policy differences, I think they are every bit as Machiavellian as the Republicans are. They didn’t maintain control of Congress all those years by being nice, plainspoken people.
Wilfred
It’s not who is representing whom that’s the problem – the voters who put Israel’s interests before the United States should be told to go fuck themselves, or to go live in Israel.
Giving Wexler a free pass because he’s a only a representative is the stupidest goddamned thing I’ve heard yet in what amounts to constant obfuscation of the efforts to get the US in yet another war.
Does he take his oath to defend the Boca Raton telephone directory or the United States?
4tehlulz
I am intrigued by your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
John S.
Forced relocation of American citizens who don’t share your views?
I am intrigued by your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter…
Full disclosure: I am a Wexler constituent, Jewish, disagree with his actions here and I think you’re an idiot.
chopper
thing is, those voters think that a stronger more supported israel is in the US’s best interest. they argue that the policies they back are good for the US. their representative apparently agrees and votes accordingly, thus keeping his job.
you, of course, disagree (the fact that you go into a frothy rage every time the “I” word is brought up is the first clue).
Wilfred
Forced relocation of ANY MOTHERFUCKER WHO PUTS THE INTERESTS OF ANOTHER COUNTRY BEFORE THOSE OF THE UNTIED STATES AND WHO IS WILLING TO GET AMERICANS KILLED TO FURTHER THOSE INTERESTS.
That clear enough for you, you weasely cocksucker? Of course, please feel free to state your own views on a relatively simple subject.
chopper
well, as much as i’d like to see everyone who supports the war in iraq forbibly relocated from the country, it sounds a bit too stalinesque for my blood.
look out everybody, wilfred’s going into a tantrum.
Incertus
Oh go fuck yourself, you hyper-nationalist dickweed.
chopper
uh oh. here’s a tip: when you’re arguing with wilfred, don’t ever, ever let on that you’re jewish. drives the dude batty.
Wilfred
Blow me. I have business to attend to so unhappily can’t participate in the forthcoming Poor Little Israel obfuscatory circle jerk. Dual loyalties are not my thing, anyway, and it won’t be my ass that gets blown to pieces.
The tide is turning in this fight, and you know it.
4tehlulz
Spoken like a true chickenhawk Wilfred.
DBrown
This is getting too nasty – next, someone will tell someone to cheney themselves;
chopper
what, don’t leave us, wilfred. it’s so much fun to watch you get all rabid when israel is brought up. israelisraelisrael! BOO! OMG, here come teh jooz! noooooo!
would that ‘business’ be…hatin’ on israel?
asl
Straight-shooter tells us he hates war. Bomb, bomb, bomb…bomb, bomb Iran.
cleek
mmm . pie .
Crust
Context in case anyone doesn’t know: a blockade is traditionally considered an act of war. (Though, to be fair, it’s not clear to me what the borderline between a blockade and aggressive sanctions is supposed to be.)
4tehlulz
Going to work as his alter ego: Marshall Whitman.
Dennis - SGMM
Spittle shields up!
L. Ron Obama
Not a big Federalism fan eh?
John S.
I thought I already did.
I disagree with Wexler and I think Israel can defend itself. I also think some people disagree with me and feel protecting Israel is in our best interest. I don’t think people who disagree with me should be cast into an abyss.
And I still think you’re an idiot – A new and improved one with more rage and hyperventilating!
Davebo
Hello? A blockade is, under international law, an act of war.
Why not just declare war on Iran and get it over with?
libarbarian
You got a machine for seeing inside people’s heads to divine their “true” motivation for policy, or are you just going to start by presuming that Jews are traitors unless they prove otherwise to your satisfaction?
Davebo
Apparently it’s only an act of war when others do it.
Sort of like torture.
liberal
Incertus wrote,
Not clear that’s true: actual individual American Jews are more dovish (probably much more dovish, but I don’t have poll results in front of me) than organizations like AIPAC.
Punchy
I want Lou Dobbs to demand a blockade of Acapulco, Cabo, and Cancun, to keep those Dirty Mexys off our pristine soil.
liberal
Zifnab wrote,
Yes, but on this class of issues…
AFAICT he voted for the AUMF against Saddam in 2002.
And as for respectable liberal voices, a similar case (in 2002, at any rate) was Waxman.
liberal
Incertus wrote,
For that strong a claim, you should really be citing poll results, especially because “Israel matters” is not logically equivalent to “we need to ratchet up the heat on Iran.”
Also, we might ask whether the prospect of $12/gal gasoline is of concern to his constituents.
Tsulagi
Don’t try to interfere, it’s fun to watch.
My personal fave was when Wilfred was going to call for an American Muslim jihadi Tet at the polls on Hillary’s ass if she “stole” the nomination from Obama. Comedy gold.
Punchy
Utter genius! Wow, this is teh awesum.
What would we call such a forceably contrived and fakey nation? Afraqistan? Iranistaq? Iraqaghafistan?
liberal
Zifnab wrote,
Given the recent history of this stuff? Come on…it just makes him look like an imbecile.
w vincentz
Wow! I must make a confession.
See, I used to think that “war” was a “bad” thing. Many times I was involved in protests and marches to demonstrate my opposition to “war”.
Heck, I’ll admit it, I was a shhh…”pacifist”.
Now, my friends, I finally see the light.
I can’t believe how stupid I had been thinking “war” was “bad”.
The TRUTH is that “war” is “good”.
Here are some of the positive aspects of “war” that forced me to change my demented thinking.
War is good for the economy. Many hard working Americans are employed producing armaments. From jets to aircraft carriers, bombs to bullets, many people are employed and rewarded for their efforts. Jobs are good.
War is good for population control. With the world’s resources deminishing, it’s good to get rid of those “others” that would only create additonal demand on those ever vanishing resources. It leaves more petroleum for me, and less congested highways to boot.
Then, there’s the genetics. “War” assures that only smart people get to pass along their genes. The stupid ones sign up and get their asses blown up. Do you really want more stupid people creating additonal stupid people? I didn’t think so. If they’re stupid enough to get themselves killed or kill other stupid people, so be it. Those of us that remain are better off getting rid of those stupid genes from the human gene pool.
I could go on and on…
Thankfully, I’ve come to see the light. “War” is good.
I think we need at least thiry more wars in the next few months. Bring ’em on!
cleek
we’ve always been at war with Persia
4tehlulz
>>we might ask whether the prospect of $12/gal gasoline is of concern to his constituents.
Considering that many of his constituents shouldn’t be driving, this might not be a bad thing.
Ben Richards
I agree with Tsulagi. The Wilfred meltdowns are epic. He also threatened to translate something into Arabic, add some “rhetorical flourishes” and get it posted on the bulletin board of every mosque in Dearborn. Brilliant stuff.
David Hunt
Neither. His oath is to protect, preserve, and defend the Constitution of the U.S. A bit nit-picky, perhaps but I am heartily tired of hearing Bush hacks talk about about there oath to “Protect America”, or (bonus points) that they took an oath to “President Bush.”
liberal
Wilfred wrote,
I was thinking the same thing—the “but this is what my constituents want” dodge can be taken too far.
Furthermore, base pandering to the perceived interests of his constituents isn’t the only way forward for him. He could simply explain, in straightforward language, that escalating conflict with Iran is good for neither the US nor Israel, regardless of what neocons here or Likudniks there think.
The fact that he voted for the AUMF in 2002 means to me he has no credibility on this issue.
Dork
I love Jews. Orange and apple are my favs.
Paul L.
It seem that progressive hero Ronnie Earle is moving his case against Delay with Mike Nifong like speed.
Quote of the Day about poor “peaceful” Iran that the US is picking on.
Missile Shields and Deterrence
Zifnab
Hurray! Paul found his happy place!
John S.
All roads lead to Duke Lacrosse.
Face
Good question. I didn’t know missles could be fitted with anything but plutonium or candy ‘n flowers.
I bet they’re stuffing theirs with gay Korans, so they can rain down on Israel with a fruity Allah, bent on destroying all their marriages.
God I love Paul L.
Dennis - SGMM
We should ask why Iran has an army, navy and air force. Why, I even hear that the police in Iran carry guns!
El Cid
We might want to, also, stop giving the crazy hawks of the U.S. and Israel the authority to define only crazy hawk policies as pro-Israel.
Maybe policies that actually make life better over there are what’s pro-Israel.
Not that I would dare question the policy insights of a fine coalition of nuts including types such as Joe Lieberman, perpetual Reaganite warhawks, and rapture-seeking fundamentalist Christians.
4tehlulz
Dunno lol
chopper
remember when saddam lobbed all those scuds at israel back during gulf war I?
all of em, full of midget prostitutes. every. single. one.
jake
Maybe my map is a bit outdated but I don’t see anything marked “US territory,” in that region.
Wow. No freedom and democracy foreplay. Just BAM! straight to the need to protect the OIL. I wonder how the hell bAdmin hasn’t turned OPEC’s refusal to step up production into a causus belli.
Paul L.
Maybe you should talk to the guy that you support than.
cleek
remember what such behavior earned Saddam ?
Andrew
Maybe we can ship a bunch of cigarettes down to Boca and they’ll just kill themselves! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOOOOOL
John S.
Yes, clearly the Bush/McCain policy of threats and saber rattling has succesfully deterred Iran from any military ambitions.
Jackass.
Face
Stoopit moonbat. Anything not marked “not U.S.” is the U.S.’s. By default.
So we own the Strait of Hormel, where the world’s supply of chili comes from.
Punchy
True story — I’m currently tutoring an Iranian college student. I’m thinking if we attack Iran, I’ll demand she stop calling me, for real fear the FBI will show up at mah door askin questions. How absolutely shitty is that?
OriGuy
Why not The Caliphate? Give Bin Laden everything he wants!
D. Mason
It seems like the Jewish lobby doesn’t think there’s enough anti-sematism here in America. They’re doing everything in their power to fix that.
w vincentz
War with Iran would be great. If a few of the older US Navy vessels get sunk, so what? We have hard working ‘Mercans that will just build new better ones. This is a superb way to create jobs, jobs, and more jobs.
Then, there are all those tee-shirts that I’ve been warehousing. The ones with “I Like Rapture” on front and back that didn’t sell too well with the little advertisement in Charisma magazine. They’ll sell like hotcakes now, especially outside Cornerstone Baptist Church in San Antonio. Haggee is probably an xxxx large (I don’t have too many in that size left in stock).
Then there’s all that oil. With Iraq having the second largest reserves, and Iran the third largest, well, gas will probably drop to thirteen cents a gallon. I think I’ll buy a huge SUV now while the prices are still cheap.
Yup, war with Iran will be good, very good. Lots of $$$ to be made. Bring it on Georgie.
D. Mason
No need to discontinue giving aid and comfort to this “person”, I’m pretty sure you’re already on “teh list”.
4tehlulz
That’s the only thing on bin Laden’s checklist that we haven’t done yet.
Punchy
Yeah, she knows and openly acknowleges that she’s tapped. Her whole family is wiretapped, too. Said the FBI/CIA don’t even try to hide the clicks and other obvious noises. Figger I’m prolly on the list, but if not yet, certainly would be after an attack. Kinda scary, actually. Could I still fly?
PeterJ
OT
what seems to be another turn of “He’s not eligible to be President”, and this time it’s McCain again.
If McCain himself gets thrown under the bus after the convention, does the VP canidate take over?
Tsulagi
Sorry, dude, you’re already toast. Better start carrying Astroglide with you at all times incase you’re suddenly picked up on the street then put in a cell with Ahmed the Giant.
Dennis - SGMM
It’s reassuring to know that Muslims worldwide would not be disturbed, upset, or in any way likely to discern a pattern after the US attacked a third Islamic nation.
4tehlulz
Oh please. It’s only a
crusadecoincidence.Martin
Don’t sweat it. After 9/11 the FBI visited me repeatedly. I see them every month or so as it is, but they were asking about pretty much everyone I knew that had travelled to the middle east recently. Living in a community with a ton of persians and knowing a zillion engineers, I swear they asked about half the people I knew.
It was annoying, but harmless.
AnneLaurie
In this scenario, Dubya the C-Plus Augustus is the 12-year-old sociopath who’s had so much fun kidnapping, torturing, and dismembering the neighbor’s elderly shih-tzu that’s he decided to try the same game with the pit bull who lives down at the end of the block. Because doing Mean Stuff to a really big, well-muscled dog has got to be waay more “fun”, right? And besides, the dozen or so people who seem to share the house with that pit bull seem to have no social cachet whatsoever… they just hang around the porch in their ratty leather jackets most days… and they don’t even have respectable SUVs or sports cars, just a bunch of motorized two-wheelers!
David Hunt
Nah. If he’s arrested on terrorist
chargeshand-waving, they won’t allow him any human contact. They can’t allow to terrorist to occupy the same space. They might be able to touch and activate their Wonder-Twin Powers.Punchy
Does “it” = Gitmo?
Rome Again
It seems to me that a president should not start a war right before he’s leaving office to strap the other guy with it.
If Bush wanted war with Iran, he should have done it before now. I think war with Iran is a disaster. I think it will sink this country and I’m glad we haven’t had it so far, but, to think a president who is not going to be in office for more than seven more months should NOT be starting a war, especially after he’s already started two. He’s had his cookies and milk, it’s time for him to take his nap and wait for mommy to pick him up.
Notorious P.A.T.
I can’t even to begin to imagine how.
But, Americans who wanted to attack Iraq wanted to do so because (they claimed) it was in America’s best interest to do so.
4tehlulz
It is a Bush family tradition, though.
Notorious P.A.T.
That’s how you think, and me, and Bill Clinton, but I doubt that’s how a sociopath like Bush thinks.
What does she look like? I heard Iranian women are hot.
Notorious P.A.T.
American Jewish Commitee, Survey of Jewish Opinion:
7. Would you support or oppose the United States taking military action against Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons?
Support 35
Oppose 57
poll
17. In politics, as of today, do you consider yourself a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent?
Republican 15
Democrat 58
Independent 26
etc. etc.
John Cole
In fairness to Bush, he only started one war. That motherfucker whose name rhymes with Obama started one of those.
Zifnab
:p Honestly, I wouldn’t loss any sleep at night. If they tried to arrest every person who has ever tutored an Iranian, we’d have to through all the pot smokers out on the street again for lack of prison space. And if there’s one thing our country tolerates less than Mussy-kissers, it’s those pot smoking DFHs.
heh. Yeah, that’s Bush’s biggest problem. He’s not very considerate of the people who have to wade through all the shit he leaves in his wake.
Brachiator
Congress could put an end to this. They could refuse to appropriate money for an Iran adventure and insist that a war with Iran could only take place with a formal declaration by Congress.
But they won’t.
The Republicans have decided that retaining control of the government is more important than anything else, including the Constitution and the lives of American soldiers. Democrats have decided that remaining in office, whether or not they have any power, is more important than anything else.
American citizens have decided that the illusion of security is more important than anything else.
By the way, this blockade nonsense seems to be designed to provide a “Gulf of Tonkin” pretext/provocation for a US attack on Iran. But as usual, the Bush Administration looks for multiple “plausible” justifications for its actions, with Condi Rice floating the idea that the US must protect allies and interests in the region.
And on top of everything, there is the possibility that the recent Iran missile tests may have been partially faked, and that Iranian capabilities are being overstated (In an Iranian Image, a Missile Too Many)
Cris
He clinched the “worst President ever” mantle a long time ago, so he’s set his sights on “worst world leader ever.” I doubt he’ll make that, but at least he’ll go down swinging.
I think of it as a Zappa word.
pinola
The implications are profoundly depressing. These are the times when you just feel like giving up on your party. Who the fuck wants another war? Let’s give McCain a lil support in his zest to kill Iranians, shall we?
pinola
Oh, and I’m sure this will help Obama heaps and heaps while he tries to distinguish himself from a warmonger.
Yup, excellent work, fuckheads.
D. Mason
Iranian women are just like all other women, they range from ridiculously hot to as fugly as is imaginable. Case in point, I used to work for an Iranian guy who was married to the former and whos cousin was married to the later.
Rome Again
Wrong, not every terrorist attack leads to a war. Bush chose to go to Afghanistan. bin Ladin did not MAKE Bush go to Afghanistan.
ThymeZone
This is why I put you in my Spam folder.
.
.
Goddam, that was funny, if I do say so myself.
ThymeZone
That’s right and it’s a good thing …. since terror attacks have gone up worldwide since Bush started his Warren Terra. We’d have wars everywhere. They’d be throwing ice chunks at each other in northern Greenland.
Well, until Greenland melts and turns …. you know …. green.
Rome Again
Are you implying that one day Greenland will be green and Iceland will be icy?
Rome Again
Nevermind, it was a global warming reference. DUH! :S
Speaking of environmental stuff, Bush calls the U.S. the world’s worst polluter!