Tag Archives: Iran Deal

Political Rants

Left screech-less.

Well, it was quite a week for the right. First the dramatic jailing of the county clerk in Kentucky and her equally dramatic release into the arms of Mike Huckabee and Tony Perkins (not the actor). Then there was the non-satirical version of the Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington, headlined by Ted Cruz, who was shut out at the Kentucky celebration of bigotry. Lots of posturing, quite a bit of screeching (particularly on the part of the estimable Sara Palin), and some very bizarre opinions being aired – tirades that speak of a truly distorted view of reality; noises from that airless box the reactionary right spends all of its time in.

Meeting of the minds in Washington, D.C.I think the part that’s most flabbergasting is the level of hysteria over the Iran deal. You expect to hear overheated rhetoric at an event that features Michelle Bachman and some dude from “Duck Dynasty,” but this was way the fuck over the top. Ted Cruz suggested that the Iranians, once they have acquired the nuclear weapon they so LUST after, will blow it up off the coast of the U.S. to create an electromagnetic pulse, shutting down our electrical grid and killing MILLIONS! What. the. fuck. What a fantasy! And this from a sitting Senator.

Sure, I know what you’re thinking. (Or at least I think I do.) These are the crackheads, the crazy people, the tea party faithful, waving their freak flag high. Except that these opinions are broadly held among Republicans, great and small. Just as Trump channels the inner wingnut of every member of the party faithful, the bizarre rhetoric of Palin, Cruz, Bachman and others emanate from the mouths of the GOP’s supposedly more temperate and measured spokespeople. On Thursday morning MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough launched into a rant about the Iran deal that diverged from Palin’s argument only in the style of delivery. Less screechy, but just as nuts. We’re shuddering in the shadow of Iran. Scarborough could have been channeling Cheney, except that the wreck of an ex vice president appeared on his show only days before.

Fact is, they’re all nuts. Be advised.

luv u,

jp

Political Rants

Big shiny.

Pressed again this week, so I’m going to comment briefly on a few topics. Stop me if I get ahead of myself.

Eliminate the middleman. I guess it’s official: Donald Trump is a phenomenon. Of course, in a field of seventeen candidates, all you need for first-tier status is to poll in the double digits. It’s not surprising that a quarter of the Republican activist electorate find his brand of arrogant, reality-star crackpotism attractive. He does make one valid point, I will admit – he doesn’t need another billionaire to bankroll him, unlike his 16 rivals. That’s because he’s his own billionaire.

So that’s his competitive advantage, right? No middleman necessary. Let the rich rule directly. Let’s hear it for feudalism! Submit yourself to the will of the landlord!

G.O.P. extractSchumer’s gambit. Senator Schumer has defended his decision to oppose the nuclear deal with Iran by suggesting that a deal more favorable to the U.S. and Israel can be forced through extension and intensification of sanctions and – I suppose – more aggressive negotiations. In this respect, he is channeling Trump. What’s sad about this is that even the administration, in its defense of the pact, buys into the same imperial mindset that has defined our relationship with Iran since 1979.

Personally, I don’t think the agreement is a particularly good deal for Iran. We still target them economically and politically, surround them militarily, blame them for every ill in the Middle East – which is really too much like the pot calling the kettle black. This is just payback for Iran’s unforgivable crime of stealing something truly valuable from us: their sovereignty.

What matters. Many have commented on the Black Lives Matter movement’s interruption of political rallies in recent weeks, and some have complained about the tactic being used on Bernie Sanders. Though I like Bernie, I can’t blame BLM for speaking up at every opportunity. This is an emergency for Black Americans, one that has been underway for hundreds of years. Until white folks start listening and responding appropriately, expect more disruptions.

Luv u,

jp