Occasionally, Our Leaders Will Let The Truth Slip Out

Giving credence to the aphorism that even a broken clock is right twice a day, the Obama administration has admitted that Iran has a right to nuclear power. And as signees to the Non Proliferation Treaty, Iran has allowed inspections of their enrichment facilities, which has yet to yield any evidence that Iran is doing anything but building a nuclear generator. As fellow signors to the same treaty, the US has no right to stop them from building the plant, which Iran is doing with help from Russia. And therein is the problem.
With the US manufacturing sector contracting for the 16th straight month while bankruptcies are up 37%, one of the things we could have done during the Bush years was offer our services to Iran in assisting their nuclear program. But instead, the administration fed us all a line of crap like this and this, which now they admit was just a load of crap. So instead of exporting our know-how to a people with money and oil, we decided to waste money, resources, and more importantly, human lives, to fulfill a neocon wetdream of a permanent American empire. They gambled away our future but we all lost while they all won.
At least now, on his impending trip to Egypt, Obama has the sense to say no stern lecture would be forthcoming on human rights abuses. Just one more moral high ground we gave up to appease a vision through blood splattered glasses.

I Don't Remember

As many Americans prepare to spend their Memorial Day weekend doing things to honor those fallen soldiers fighting to protecting corporate America's business interests (coincidentally, are exactly the same as America's interests, which is why there are so many box store Memorial Day sales)such as shopping, watching sporting events on television, eating and getting sloppy drunk at family barbecues, I struggle to remember, what was the final reason we're in the quagmire in the first place.
Was it because of the 4000 Sony PlayStation 2 units Iraq purchased in 2000? You know, those toys contain a CPU that can used for military applications, which is a good thing they're made in China, because we'll never have any military confrontation with them any time in the foreseeable future.
I do remember that most of the justifications given by the previous administration were in fact lies cooked up by US intelligence sources to sway a nation of television watchers into supporting a war sold to them by corporate media propaganda. And I think we all remember those lies having heard them so many times we can recount them in our sleep.
And I do remember the reasons those who opposed the war gave for our invasion of Iraq: oil, oil, oil, oil, Israel, and oil. The reasons given, by both pro and anti-war types were nearly innumerable, even using a dollar vs. euro scenario as a pretext.
And since there is no one concrete real justifiable reason that we should have invaded, can any person give me one good reason why we are staying there?

When Gas Hits $8.00 A Gallon, Be Sure To Thank Your Congress Critter

Why?
Because even though 67% of Americans favor using diplomacy when dealing with America's enemies, and 59% support talks with Iran, Congress is fast tracking a resolution forcing a blockade against Iran. They can't sign it fast enough. Forgetting that our own NIE from last year has stated that Iran gave up it's nuclear ambitions five years ago, I guess Congress thinks they know better. And remember, these are the same people who voted for war with Iraq, despite there being evidence that the Bush administration was lying.
And therein is the problem. Once you get mired in a place like Iraq, it's hard to pull out. Right now, despite Scott McClellan's new book stating the Bush administration used propaganda to turn public opinion in their favor, no one has suggested that maybe since there are no obtainable goals, maybe we should get the fuck out of Iraq. John McCain thinks that Iraq isn't important, but then why does he think we should stay there a hundred years?

Lying's Okay, When Something Important Like Hannah Montana Tickets Are At Stake

Sometimes you come across a story that is a barometer of how far off track this country has become. We are, in my opinion, a nation of dishonest people. From our leaders we hear such lies as "I did not have sex with that woman" to "Mission Accomplished" to "My father marched with Martin Luther King" to "If I'm elected the oil-producing countries will drop the price of oil", and we expect them, and only get angry when the other side lies. We do this because in this country, it's more acceptable to be a dishonest winner than an honest loser.
So it should come as no shock to find out that a mom has admitted to lying to win her daughter Hannah Montana tickets (for those of you who outside of the mainstream who don't know, Hannah Montana is the latest crime against the pop culture perpetrated by the follicular challenged Billy Ray Cyrus since his "Achy Breaky Heart" gave a bunch of inbred mouth breathers an excuse to boot scoot at the local trailer trash breeding ground and Budweiser dispensary). Plus, she got an awesome Hannah Montana blonde wig, because even though we like to make jokes about them, every girl wants to be blonde!
Now as House is fond of saying, everybody lies, but it's what we lie about and what we stand to gain from the lie that determines the difference. I lie to spare myself the embarrassment of past mistakes being brought to light, this mother lied about the child's father being blown up by a roadside bomb in Iraq so her daughter could gain much coveted concert tickets (and who says we're a Christian nation?).
And what did this mother teach her child with this deception?

“We did the essay and that’s what we did to win,” Priscilla Ceballos, the mother, said in an interview with Dallas TV station KDFW. “We did whatever we could do to win.”

So Ms. Ceballos' daughter learns that honesty is less important than things, values aren't as important as winning, and worshipping at the altar of the cult of celebrity personality is the new morality in today's society.
In the meantime, Ms. Cyrus has a photo scandal brewing (which she blames on "Satan attacking". Time for the Vatican Satan squad to step in!) that's sure to place her in the running to be the next Jamie-Lynn Spears.