The oligarchs vs Iran, etc ; 3 Nov 2011
above:Bachmann: Iran Threatened U.S. with Nukes Uploaded by TheYoungTurks on Oct 31, 2011
"GOP Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann makes a transparently false charge that Iran has threatened the U.S. and Israel with nuclear weapons it denies possessing."
It's axiomatic in many quarters to say Michele Bachmann is just crazy. She may be, but she may also want a war with Iran on behalf of Israel, whether per her religious views regarding the end times or for some other reason. We seem to live in an age where both the democrats and republicans want war, where wanting war is "the new normal" even when it's also seen as bad manners to say that about somebody. But it's ok to say somebody's crazy, or to say "we have have a responsibility to protect." (I don't think I've heard anybody accuses Samantha Power or anybody else associated with Obama administration foreign policy of being crazy.)
It's not crazy so much as it's monstrous to hunger for wars and bloodshed, and bang the drum for them. Dismissing somebody as crazy sounds a bit like absolving them of the moral dimension of what they advocate, as if you're suggesting they probably don't know any better. Also, if you say Bachmann is calculating rather than crazy, this reflects on how monstrously calculating other, more sober-sounding persons may be.
below: Uploaded by Testarossa1982 on Jun 18, 2011
Lastly, this interview with Alan Simpson is from June 30th, when the debt ceiling faux debate was still going on. Unfortunately Reuters has not permitted embedding at this point, at least not of the YouTube version. I think this is interesting because, by turns, he plays scandalous truth-teller and shifts back to shilling for collapse. (It takes a lot of brass to shill for 1890s style government, as he does in the debt commission report, and simultaneously attack the GOP for being unduly influenced by Grover Norquist.)
Labels: the-phony-baloney-two-party-system, US foreign policy
posted by Jonathan Versen @ 1:42 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Shelly isn’t any crazier than the rest. Let’s not forget that all the candidates will be proclaiming their fealty to Israel, in fact they will be trying to outdo each other in their undying love for Israel. Shelly may not be able to find Israel on a map but she and the rest including Obama will be kissing Israeli butt between now and the election. And since Israel is planning to attack Iran the candidates will be howling for war with Iran. Basically if Israel does attack Iran I have little doubt we shall be sucked into it as well. Won’t be good for anyone.
Hi Rob,
I hadn't seen your post from Wednesday 11/2/2011 when I wrote this, nor the antiwar.com you reference, both of which are very good.
For years the government and big media have tried to condition people to believe that "no muss, no fuss" endless wars will cost us nothing or next to nothing, or at least that the cost is justified and the endless wars are needed. I imagine some people do believe this, but I'm not clear how many.
I've been trying to get a handle on how much the OWS people care about the war regime, but I'm not really clear on that. Maybe it's a case of some do, the others not so much, but I don't want to fall into the trap of pigeonholing them.
She may be, but she may also want a war with Iran on behalf of Israel....
Or she may want to eat a bowl of pistachio ice cream after watching her favorite movie.
Or she may decide to take two sips of water before bed, rather than just one.
She may get up by rolling onto her left leg, or she may roll onto her right leg, or she may twist up into a seated position and stand up. Which will she do? Important infotainment media sources insist on knowing the answers!
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What Michelle Bachmann wants is what any politician seeking high office desires: face-time, attention from the media, the power of being the Official Face of the Office She Seeks, the high drama of leadership, a chance to speak her mind to an audience obliged to formally listen.
She'll say she wants a war with Iran if that's what will get her the office.
She'll say that it's to protect Israel from Iran if she's speaking in a place where a lot of pro-Israel people are sitting waiting for her Public Opinion on that issue.
I think it's a bit much to assert that she "wants" war with Iran, to assert it in a way that implies you know her well and have talked to her in private confidence about her secret desires and wishes.
What's the purpose of this prognostication?
Jonathan,
You are right about not pigeonholing the protesters. I would guess that it’s a Heinz variety though my overall impression is that they are mostly unhappy about the bankster rip-off. On Israel and Iran I think our politicians are misguided if they think the general US population cares about Israel all that much. But they are so disconnected from reality it does not surprise if they really believe that though I suspect that campaign money from the Israel lobby is paramount for them more than anything else.
It is difficult to know anything about the protesters since the news media is so unreliable and that is pretty much all there is to go on. So, who knows.
Karl,
Well said, Shelly and the rest will do whatever it takes to achieve power, tis the bottom line.
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