Now Is The Time

There seems to be a cosmic rule that the top dog seems to get complacent, and it is at that moment that they seem vulnerable and someone takes a swing at them, pretty much thinking they will go down and stay down.

While sometimes this tactic leads to the utter destruction of those who initiated the combat, future generations become inspired to continue the tradition, that they will succeed where others failed, but more often than not, it serves to motivate that top dog to cement their place on top and to make sure nobody every tries to take a swipe at them again.

The attacks on Pearl Harbor is a definite example of rousing a nation, for it was the catalyst for the United States to eventually become the Superpower of Light and decency to protect human dignity against the Dark, vile and vodka exporting Soviet Union.

The attacks on New York and the Pentagon in 2001 are the example of a squandered opportunity, though my thoughts on the opportunistic, callous, and despicable hijacking of this national tragedy by the Republican party has been made clear in past articles.  My deep resentment of the conservative right cheapening these events is why I will not state the date of these attacks, as well as Giuliani uses the term enough for me, you and every other oxygen breathing biped on the planet.   Excluded from this populace is of course VP Cheney since he merely needs the blood of patriots and puppies to survive.

As were we the overconfident power in the World, so was the Police/Military within Pakistan.  Overconfident that they would not become a target of the terrorists that have near total control of the border lands of Pakistan and Afghanistan a feeling of invulnerability crept within the ranks.  Even with the assassination of Bhutto it was felt that surely the Military would not be a potential target.

That perception has changed drastically today.  Seeking to attack riot police protecting lawyers rallying that Musharraf is unfit for leadership and that they are ready for “true” democracy, a suicide bomber detonated and killed 23 Riot Police officers, while wounding 58 others.

It is human nature to ignore some problems until they become very large ones.  This would explain the Republicans rise to control the three branches of the federal government.  Who merely seem to gain power to use it so incompetently that it proves that government is inefficient, and thus weaken the institutions that the Founding Fathers created.

Concerning Pakistan it was to ignore the festering problem of the Taliban due to the unique nature of tribal loyalties and fears of pushing an entire ethnic group into the training grounds because of them.  Why risk the possibility of violence when one does not have to?  The attack today is the same as a declaration of war against the legitimate government of Pakistan.  With the first volley being launched perhaps now the military of Pakistan will step up and strike back at these cowards.

I hold reservations on the optimism of hope that this will end with a preferable outcome, because Musharraf may take a page out of the US play book, and merely provide lip service to show he intends to do something then invades India, linking them to the attacks then once embroiled in an ill fated idea deny that any links were made.

It is also possible that the military and police force is not the powerful machination that can impose the rule and will of its government.  It is a long tradition of Middle Eastern countries to maintain an incompetent military, so that it would not be able to stage a coup.  So it is entirely possible that I have mistaken the inaction of the Pakistani military as being sluggish when it is truly too weak to stand in blow to blow battle with the combined forces of the Taliban and Al Qaueda.

Whatever the case maybe, if we were to find out…Now Is The Time.

Bloodline Politics

It is well known that politicians can be opportunistic on current events in order to further their own agenda, we need only to look at the actions of the Republican party the last eight years to confirm these stereotypes.

When one is capitalizing on the death of one’s parent, it seems to reach a whole new level of wrong.  This is how the “election?”(if that can be the right word) of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party strikes me.

For months it seemed, and was “reported” by the major media outlets that the true desire of the Bhutto campaign was over democratic principles that Musharraf was wrongly curtailing because of imagined dangers to the stability of the country, and how much she truly cared about Pakistan.

With the party now being lead, ceremonially or not, by a 19 year old kid not even graduated from college yet, we have a glimpse of what the Bhutto campaign was really about - power.  Pure, simple, unadulterated, thirst for power.

The opportunity was seen with the country of Pakistan heading ever closer to chaos, and the unpopularity of Musharraf who was seen as doing too much of what the West wanted, and internationally not seen as doing enough.  So when he tried to relieve some of that pressure by letting back in a Prime Minister who was expelled (twice) on corruption charges, Bhutto seized the moment to push her own agenda.

Even when she knew that the people who disliked Musharraf for being too lenient would not exactly find the idea of a woman in charge particularly appealing she came anyway.  When asked to postpone so that safety protocols could be determined she insisted on going home immediately.

Even when a bomb went off at a rally early in her “triumphant” return, she still would go into the midst of the people, seemingly without care, that she was making it that much easier for those who wished to do her harm to get the opportunity to do so.

Then we have her “supposed” letters to friends to be released, “if she were to be killed” and putting the blame on Musharraf rather than the people who carried out the act.  This would be like a quarterback blaming the referees for a late hit rather than the linebacker who done it.

The party that presumably had the “best interests” of Pakistan by desiring to bring democracy to the unstable country seems to be merely use the rhetoric when it suits them and then carry on with their true agenda.  Dynasties are nothing new, and apparently people find solace in them.  What needs to be remembered is that competence and integrity need to matter as well, the experiences of the Bush Dynasty should be evidence of the dangers of Bloodline Politics.

Iranian Nights

There are some people who just love attention, they don’t care if it is good or bad, they just feel that any lime light they can get is good, so it appears that Iran is the Britney Spears of the Middle East.

Upset with the fact that Pakistan has taken the leading role of Apocalypse bringing Muslim nation, Iran has decided to exert its potential for being the harbinger of spinning the world into chaos.

How did they do this, they took a page out of their protector China’s play book by letting reckless military officers taunt their US counterparts in order to force an incident.  This was the first and best sign of how the Bush Administration would boondackle foreign policy issues.  It was the Chinese who had “routine” flybys of their military aircraft buzz our spy plane that was in international airspace, when a pilot who had a history of flying too close, rammed into the spy plane and sent both crashing.

Not only did the friendly lead painting toys Chinese government blame us for the incident, they held the US crew in detainment, while they sifted and examined the US plane.  Bush pretty much let the crew hang high and dry until he was able to find China on a map, and had it explained to him the sevarity of the event, he was reading a children’s book at the time.

Now we have Iran attempting the same type of strategy with much more potential for a provoking action to be taken by our Military.  It is no secret with all the loony rhetoric that comes from Tehran, their intentions for the United States, “Death to America!” kinda sums it up.   So when naval vehicles, even small ones with the knowledge of what happened to the USS Coal, engage in hostile activities - they going to be seeing the bottom of the Persian Gulf right quick.

Why would this be such a global changing event?  Because of the mindset that exists in the Middle East toward outsiders, everything they do is tolerable, anything others do is a slight against God.  There was no condemnation of the Arabian world when Saddam let loose his biological and chemical weapons against the Kurds, mostly because everybody dislikes the distinct ethnic group.  Suicide bombers by the Palestinians in Israel are hailed as glorious fighters for Islam and Arabs in general.  Insurgents using Mosques as fortresses and desecrating the buildings by firing mortars, machine gun fire and building IED’s, they are to be protected, while the US military returning fire are seen as the villains in their eyes.

This is a distinct difference from the actions that took place in WWII where churches were to be left alone, unless they were being used as a hostile bases of operations, then they became legitimate military targets, because it was understood that those firing from the religious site were the ones desicrating its holiness, not those returning fire.

Muslims see such actions as confirmation of the West’s desire to Islam, which concerning all the problems that have come from the faith make such a goal appealing, what is truly desired to eradicate are those who would warp a religion and say that moral purity gives them permission to do any and all acts of depravity.

“An Attack Upon One Is An Attack Upon All” is the credo of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.  It was this motto that our ally Turkey evoked after the attacks perpetrated by the evil men of Al Qaeda.  So it happens this same creed is felt by the Muslim world, which was what Bin Laden was hoping for, that Muslims would protect their own, rather than protect the integrity of their religion.  This is merely the beginning of the tales of the Iranian Nights

Somebody Had To Say It

I wanted to have a nice long relaxing vacation, I wanted to try for myself the proposed foreign policy of President Huckabee, just you wait, of isolationism.

Then Pakistan had to go all Armageddon on me and everything became turned upside down.  Logic seemed to be gone and it was a terrible global tragedy that someone died while being stupid.  Bhutto supporters started tearing the country apart, apparently that is how Muslims react to every event, and media outlets told us how terrible this is.

Correct me if I am wrong, but we all saw this coming right?  Even when she was pardoned and was coming back to the country, the threats came out, the pleas came from Musharraf’s government to wait two weeks so that they can put a clamp down on things.  This was rejected by Bhutto, who felt that democracy would be her shield.

Then like our President she found out that Democracy doesn’t protect the stupid from making stupid decisions.  Democracy can only mean something if those practicing it have a respect for the rule of law and stability.  This is not a chicken or the egg statement, Democracy arises from stability, not the other way around.

People need realize this and take a brief look at history in order to acknowledge these truths that I speak.  We cannot expect to change thousands of years of depravity and violence by having a mantra of one man one vote.  It takes economic stability, the creation of a large and robust middle class, and one or more political parties to exploit that middle class by promising smaller government less taxes, “fiscal responsibility” while all the while trying to warp the Constitution and spitting on the Principle of Checks and Balances.

Let us remember the very extreme qualifications that were mandated to vote in our own newly founded republic.  Only landowning white males were able to cast their votes, which was kept in check by an electoral college for the President, and it was the State Legislatures that decided the members of the Senate.

For a more powerful, culturally diverse, morally questionable popular culture, Britney Spears was normal once, demanded that we provide all rights to all people, there would have been a backlash then as well.  So it is with the stringent followers of Muhammad.  Whereas in the West Suicide bombers are not the first last and most hailed method of showing ones displeasure.

This was what Bhutto represented to these small minded fearful and hate driven fanatics of a religion that keeps telling us it is peaceful.   Pakistan is a country that does not have control over its own borders, and mush like Saudi Arabia sees any help from outside powers as being seen as weak and vulnerable to a coup.

Therefore an unstable country with a domestically unpopular President, a military that would rather attack the Hindus of India, rather than their, “Muslim” brethren in the tribal lands.  We (were before Bush) one of the most economically stable, well respected, and morally conscience nations in thw world, and the prospect of a Woman as the head of our country still scares people.  Of course she would be a target for these wackos.

Thus we see that Bhutto, who it seemed wished to be a martyr for Pakistani Democracy, carried on with risky unguarded areas to overthrow a man who is no where near the true danger, or negative influence upon the country she supposedly loved so dearly.  For he followers, and her alleged letters blame Musharraf for the results of her behavior and poor judgment.

This leaves either two choices for the people of Pakistan to assume the mantle of leadership.  The Pakistani Army, which is still disliked and international reservations would about, especially with all the pressure exerted on Musharraf to give up his uniform.  Or the ones responsible for granting Bhutto her martyrdom, the Islamic Extremists.

What makes this so solidly important and extremely difficult to  excuse the stupidity of Bhutto and her followers actions is the fact that such a scenario would provide the very people who DID attack us on that fateful day in September, with the arsenal to do untold horrors.  Let me remind you it would be those same people protected by the Taliban, which Bhutto felt would bring stability to the region and allowed them to extend their power in Afghanistan while she was Prime Minister of Pakistan.

it is always a tragedy to someone when a person dies.  When that person takes reckless chances and places themselves in harms way needlessly, it is considerably less so.  Should those actions affect the safety of others, then it becomes a tragedy to people who had nothing to do with the initial incident.  Should the worst come to pass in Pakistan, that blame should be at the feet of Benazir Bhutto - Because Somebody Had To Say It.

A Serious War on Terror

It has been termed as the defining moment in our Nation’s history.  A dark and deadly day that showed the dedication of our enemies, and the lengths they would go to in order to kill Americans.  The anger at such an atrocity was palpable, and no words were needed in order to voice them.

It was our Allies that came to the airwaves like England’s Prime Minister Tony Blair giving the moment texture and showed us who our friends truly were, “…our profound solidarity with the American people.  We were with you at the first.  We will stay with you to the last.”  Turkey rose and evoked the NATO bond that, “An attack upon one, is an attack upon all.”  While the French, who has had its ups and downs with the US said, “We are all Americans.”

We were left with the bumblings of George W Bush, who was more interested on how  event could be used for his personal, and political gain, and that of his party.  We righteously attacked Afghanistan and the Taliban Regime that gave Bin Laden and his followers sanctuary and a base of operations which such attacks could be planned and executed.

What then occurred was a man who was so deathly afraid to be compared to his father, that he sought to minimize and distance himself from the man.  Bush II along with his political advisors, who had never seen combat, ignored the one political adviser who had hands on experience in dealing with Iraq, and the plan to finish the job that Desert Storm started was launched.

While the cost of this error in judgment has cost Billions in treasury, thousands of lives, and the political careers of truly decent men such as Senator Max Cleland, the worst causality has been of justice itself.  For those who were ultimately responsible for the attacks upon our country were not to be held accountable for their actions.  This Administration put itself and the Republican Party’s lust for political power above the United States need for Justice.

W then came to say that it the goal of the international community to eradicate terrorists with a global reach, meaning those who are able to strike US targets.  In his Presidential Campaign, Senator John Kerry said it was necessary for the US to make it so that terrorists are limited to only attacking US targets on foreign soil.  We was ridiculed by the conservatives for accepting any terrorist attacks and therefore unfit to lead.  Somehow he did not live up to the very high standard of professionalism that our current President has set.

Bush held his hold on power and thus felt that he was above the Constitution that he swore an oath to “preserve protect and defend” to the very God he pretends to hold so dear.  Instead of holding ourselves to be the very best, as is the American Tradition, Bush authorized “interrogation” techniques that only appeal to the very worst of human nature.  He allowed his subordinates to use any means necessary to subvert those who criticized his policies, leaking the secret identity of a CIA agent, even if it may further weaken our country’s national defense.

Six years we have been in this war, and have only hollow spectacles of “Mission Accomplished”.  Six years and we have the execution of a man, who was evil, but in no way responsible for the tragic events of that day.  Six years and we have no true monument to defy those who see the incomplete skyline and can still feel they are victorious.  Six years that day is still being used as a slogan for political gain, rather than a reason for a political revolution.

Words have more meaning when they are used less often.  It is in that way they hold power that can make people stop their petty bickering and partisan politics.  Instead Bush and his cronies used words to sharpen those arguments and have Americans questioning their neighbors loyalty and patriotism if they did not agree with him.

What is loathsome to think is that it was that very outcome that the terrorists wanted.  For the US to be in omnipresent fear, shred the Constitution a little bit, and to lower the standard of human dignity.  If so then Bush played into their hands beautifully, and gave them two fronts from which our enemies can kill Americans.  The fact that this Administration still plays political gamesmanship with rhetoric meant to divide, show me that Bush and his party was never interested in A Serious War On Terror.

Holy Rug Burn Batman!

While it has been no strange practice for those of any religion to show their piety through outward symbols rather than right actions, some events in Egypt have made me concerned. As the cultural identity of the Arab world continues to circulate around the religion of Islam, there are interesting variants on how to prove your piety.

BLAM!

Most would maybe assume it would be donating to the poor, they of course would be incorrect, since well they are poor since God hates them. Others may say that it is the growth of community service that has made an impact on schools and bettered peoples lives. They are also wrong.

So in what way have Egyptians sought to prove their devotion to God? Rug burns. That is how far this once great culture has fallen. Builders of the pyramids, well along with the “help” of the people of David whose country *does not exist*. Are now defining their piety by the rug burn mark of a on their forehead.

POW!

The technical term they call it is “zebibah” which is Arabic for raisin, since it is more distinguished than calling it rug burn I guess. It is “gained” praying 5 times a day which Muslims face Mecca, and touch their heads to the ground 35 times. This shows their devotion to God and if they rub it they win a prize.

Normally, I would chalk this up to good religious fanaticism rather than the blowing stuff up religious fanaticism, not that Islam is a violent religion with undertones towards reckless violence, merely its practitioners are. What makes this a special case is that it is Egypt.

BANG!

Why? Egypt is the birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood, probably the first of the Islamo-fascists, or whatever buzzword we are calling cowards who attack innocent women and children in the guise of piety. The slogan of the Brotherhood is as follows, “Allah is our objective, the Prophet is our leader, the Koran our law, Jihad is our way, Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope“. Pretty catchy huh?

With membership in the organization the best way to protest the government, their is an undertone as well as an underground culture of proving ones faith through extreme actions. This could lead someone who is feeling the social pressures, and can either use sandpaper to the face, or be convinced to blow something up.

ZOOM!

Now the liberal, politically correct, pro-cuddling of terrorists, media will probably slander me for jumping to conclusions. Except for this little excerpt from Mona el-Naggar, a reporter for the New York Times that broke the story, describes an exchange between two brothers, where the elder has the mark while the younger doesn’t. While the older brother was teasing him, the younger said, “I pray for God, not this thing on my forehead.”

DO DO DO DO DO DO DO DO DO DO DO DO DO

I hope I am wrong, but past experience tells me to be cautious, that and watching the Batman and Robin TV show that inspired the format of the post, Holy Rug Burn Batman!

Revelations from Nyquil

It has occurred to me over the weekend past, several epiphanies on the subject of our Muslims brothers.  The first of which, is what I call, the two circles of Islam.  The second of which is how similar the faith of Shai Islam is to their Jewish counterparts.

Now it is always risky for someone to make observations of any kind on Islam because it could quite literally blow up in your face.  So why not start off with the serious insight first, then get into the surreal after.  Why great master of the literary arts, what are the “two circles of Islam”?

Well they are the  cultural reason that we have Islamic Fundamentalism, but without the counterbalance of moderate intelligent Muslims really taking them on in debate, or on a serious police action against these misanthropes.

The wider circle of Islam would encompass all  who embrace the teachings of the prophet Muhammad, which is why if you say prophet Muhammad three times fast an Englishwoman is deported from a third world country.  This would be why the country of Indonesia still does not recognize that Israel exists, out of some misguided loyalty to their Muslim brothers.

The very much narrower of the circles would only count those who are of Arabic decent to be counted among their ranks.  For like the Africans they have not been able to go through the joy of nationalism, and therefore see each other in a much different light.  This would explain the words of a Syrian Woman who earned a medal in the olympics in the late 90’s saying, and I butcher the quote, “I win this for all Arabs and for Syria.

One would never see such an outreach of unity from almost any other part of the globe.  A Brit would never say, “I win this for all of Europe and for Britain as well”, he has been taught that his loyalties belong to his country and not to some misguided sense of oppression.

The danger to this inner circle is what it does to those who are Arabic and not Muslim, as can be seen by Mrs. Arafat who is “Christian”  by faith and therefore overcompensates by hating Israel, and the West, proving that she and her kind are true Arabs.  Whereas in other areas in the world defining oneself does not involve hating entire ethnic groups, well except for racist hate mongrels.

With that smooth transition I move to how the faith of Shia Islam is much the same as their hated rival the Jews of Israel.  This is also my best guess on exactly how the world will end so listen up.  We are all familiar with the  Judao-Christian tradition of a Messiah.  One group is waiting for him to come back, the other waiting for him to come for the first time.  (Although that does leave the distinct possibility that it is the same dude, haunting music)

What the Shia are waiting for is the 12th Imam, who is kinda like the Messiah for the Shia.  He will be the descendant of Muhammad and  will bring justice and peace, while bring Islam throughout the world.  That seems kinda contradictory to me, but I can swing with it.  There is a tradition that some Sunni embrace that a Mahdi - will come and do the same thing for their side as well. (Which also leaves the possibility that it could be the same dude, haunting music)

Then there is the fact that the God who created this world had a very sophisticated  sense of humo, as that he put the one natural resource needed to have a technologically advanced economy, in a place where they hate technology and want to go back to medieval times, not the restaurant sadly.  So it is my bet that all four of these “Savior, Messiah, Mahdi, Imam”’s could be, and in fact will be the same dude.

Then we will fight over who he really is, and since God decides those who are victorious in battle, cablammo!  It all makes sense!  At least most things do when you are suffering from the flu, hoped up on caffeine  from Mountain Dew since it is the only thing that doesn’t hurt when drinking and you are having Revelations From Nyquil.

Going On Vacation

Well this is simply fantastic.  Two countries who are well known for either funding terrorist organizations, or having more oil than sense are putting down centuries of religious rivalries and getting together for the holy Islamic Pilgrimage to Mecca.

Of course I am talking about our loyal friends the Saudi’s inviting Iran’s very intelligent, and sane, President Ahmadijinejad to partake in the holy pilgrimage and visit the holy city of Mecca.  This would almost be like Mit Romney inviting Pat Robertson to go to Slat Lake City with him, without offering him everlasting salvation.  (I was going to make a remark of an inappropriate nature, so now you will just have to use your imagination.)

It may not be so bad if their wasn’t a war going on in between these countries, and that it was a goal of the founders of the Islamic Republic of Iran to destroy such Sunni Countries bowing to the will f the United States, if they weren’t involved in their own proxy war in Iraq.

Everybody knows that the Iranians have been supplying the Shia of Iraq the necessary tools and training to operate IED’s and to make sure the suicide bomber is not alone before pulling the trigger to explode.  What is not highly touted is the role that Saudi’s have been taking in arming their Sunni brethren to fight back.

Granted they didn’t need much help as most of the dismissed Iraqi army kept their stuff and ran their own personal vendetta/insurgency but they did need resupplies.  Additionally with the domestic popularity waining of the man who started this whole mess, Saudi needed to make a “Dessert Shield” of its own.  (Wow that was clever, I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but toot toot)

Now that these two have decided to be friends, in the name of Allah probably, we can only hope that this turns out to be better than the Palestinians and Israeli’s getting together, cause they have only hated each other for 60 years, so we have only a few more hundred to go.

Peace…its Going On Vacation

The More They Stay The Same

Well despite the highly touted Middle East summit that was the most serious “in some time” as our friend Condi Rice would say, turns out it was like every other summit. Even those much more professionally planned meetings have failed so to has the Bush last ditch effort at securing some semblance of a strategy.

As has happened in the past, when the cameras are gone and the Arabic and Israeli leaders are left to their own constituencies with the very real personal and dare I say, nationalistic tendencies that both parties tend to succumb to their prospective outliers.

It is for that reason that we often see the terrorists of Hamas or if it is an even year, Hezbollah attacking Israeli settlements and blowing tings up in order to maintain the level of distrust and disdain that is necessary for such mongrels to expand their base of support.  Especially when democratic “elections” give these things a legitimacy that they otherwise wold not be able to gain.

For it has been for 60 years just about that the Palestinians force uprisings and attacks in Gaza on just about every even day of every odd month of every year having a began with the number 1 or 2.  This forces the Israelis to launch counter strikes in order to maintain their policy that killing Israelis is unacceptable.  This is of course counter to the Palestinian policy of we blow them up or you blow them up, either way we “desire” peace.

All this does is serve as proof that the Palestinians have no desire to be a productive member of the international community, and would instead fight a war they cannot win, killing as many innocent people as it takes to drum false sympathy from their Arabian colleagues in order to maintain the monetary contributions necessary to keep this stupid war ongoing.

It also provides other slime from the dark corners of the world to attach it to their cause and try to tempt young people to become the recruits of Al Qaeda, which in turn facilitates more violence and destruction, to which repercussions need to be made, which then breeds more contempt for those of a “Western” persuasion.

So the cycle continues in order for the many to suffer so that evil Islamic Terrorist Fundamentals may prosper.  So it has been since the inception of Israel, so it appears it will continue for many years to come.  The only difference seems to be the technology that is used to kill innocent civilians by these misanthropes.  The more things change, The More They Stay The Same.

Qaddafi Duck

It is amazing how after a few years of lying low and really not trying to instigate too much, how the perspective on Middle Eastern leaders can change.

It used to be that Qaddafi was one of the loudest critics of the United States and needed to be taken out, while it “may” be true that we stuck a missile or two up his nose made him realize that we meant business, he finally got the point.

So he kept quiet, and merely continued to keep his own people under the boot of repression instead of trying to be a unitary figure for the Arabic world.

Now he goes to France, which is usually the first to capitulate to anyones demands, a look at their “distinguished” military history is proof of that.  Though it must be said that at least one Frenchman has shown signs of formulating spinal tissue.

Rama Yade the French Secretary of State for Human Rights, said, “Colonel Qaddafi must understand that our country is not a doormat for which any leader, terrorist or not, can come to wipe the blood of his crimes off his feet.”  I wonder if Rama is really British?

So we see the truly great mishap that was the judgment of Saddam Huissen, he could have just done what he was told laid low, and everything would have blown over, instead of blowing up.

We would still have a military to threaten Iran with, as well as the intelligence community not needing to publish its reports the same time that the President receives them.   So the carrot and stick approach may indeed have had a chance to succeed.

Bin Laden may have been found, and the Taliban eradicated, Pakistan attempting to work out their political differences in a more mild mannered approach, what with the very large and very victorious US army ready to rid the tribal lands of their unlawful opium activities.

What a world it could have been, Congress would have remained in Republican hands, and a Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage could have been passed along with the repeal of the 22nd amendment abolishing Presidential terms.

Bush could have been our Lord and Savior, while Mt. Rushmore was refurbished to show the faces of Reagan, and his holy prophet George W the Second.  Taxes low, oil still high, corporate greed seen as the salvation of our sins.

Oh to be in that world.  Where creativity is limited to smear campaigns and half spoken truths, we have not ourselves to blame, but that evil Saddam, for performing the Qaddafi Duck.