Thursday, December 15, 2011 marked the end of the Iraq War. A war born of foolish choice and outright lies produced catastrophe, death and an uncertain future for at least two countries. Now Mitt Romney thinks that Newt Gingrich is “zany” and it turns out that the Republican pot may be calling the Tea Party kettle black. And finally, the United States Congress averted a total shutdown of the federal government for the eighth time this year. This is what passes for an accomplishment in the United States of Stupid.

War is Hell

On Thursday President Obama announced the end of the United States military involvement in Iraq. The Iraq War was a misbegotten war of poor choice that resulted in over 4500 deaths and over 30,000 injuries suffered by men and women of the American military. The war has cost the United States over $800 billion (there is no doubt that the number will exceed a trillion dollars by the time of any final accounting). Conservative estimates conclude that over 100,000 Iraqi citizens have died in the charnel house built by the Bush/Cheney regime.

Incredibly Senator John McCain has gone on record criticizing President Obama for consummating the agreement for the departure of American troops that was signed by President George Bush. That anyone would consider it reasonable for one more soldier to die in a military misadventure born of lies and deception is unthinkable. It provides one more reason that we should be thankful that Barack Obama defeated John McCain in 2008.

How do George Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell sleep at night knowing that they conspired to create a war to protect America from a threat that they knew didn’t exist? Do the ghosts of the dead and the visions of the wounded haunt them?
Probably not.

It’s a Zany Zany Zany World

This past week Mitt Romney referred to Newt Gingrich as “zany”. We can be certain that Newt Gingrich took the comment as a compliment as he feels that anytime anyone mentions his name in any sentence it is a confirmation of his greatness.

It is interesting however, that Mr. Romney would refer to Newt as “zany” when he is the one trying to be the leader of a party dominated by evangelical Christians even though he is a Mormon – a faith despised by the evangelicals. Mitt Romney further channels his inner zaniness by veering from a pro-choice to a pro-life position on abortion and thinking that somehow, someway, no one will notice.

Actually, the entire G.O.Tea Party cavalcade is “zany”, from Rick Perry rocking his Tim Tebow imitation to Michele Bachmann stamping her foot a la Shirley Temple as she declares that she is “a serious candidate for president”. Ron Paul want to dismantle the governmental apparatus that has created the way of life that has assured American ascendancy and………..well, the list goes on.

“Zany” may be the best word to use – it remains to be seen how “zany” the American electorate really is.

Death of a Thousand Cuts

Seemingly minutes after President Obama was inaugurated Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declared that the mission of the Republican Party was to insure that he would be a “one term president”. The mush mouth master of right wing idiocy, Rush Limbaugh, waddled to the microphone to declare that he wanted President Obama to “fail” – and we can assume that he realized that President Obama’s “failure” would mean misery and heartbreak for millions of Americans excluding his cash swaddled fat self.

With the ascendancy of the G.O.Tea Party zealots in Congress, the wish for the failure of the Obama Administration has morphed into a nihilist strategy that simply negates any and every policy, proposal or strategy endorsed by President Obama. Even the least contentious issues, like funding for the operations of the military and the national parks become the focal point of “High Noon” showdowns.

As a result, eight times this year the federal government has come within 24 hours of shutting down for lack of funding. The most recent episode of the “Perils of Pauline” occurred this week and the aversion of disaster was greeted with applause.

Only in America can the avoidance of self-inflicted catastrophe be considered an accomplishment.

Have a great weekend!