PUT AWAY THOSE PASSPORTS
Posted on: February 7, 2012
- In: Current Events | Human Rights | Iran | Israel | Middle East | Uncategorized
- 24 Comments
While we are busy here at home arguing over the presidential field of mediocrity, the Mideast is once again gearing up for what may be the “war of all wars” that could send the planet into a free fall from which it may never recover.
The Iranians are hinting at closing the Straits of Hormuz. The Israelis are hinting at bombing their sites. The U.S. is holding its breath. And the Religious Right is happier than pigs in sh*t since this could be the commencement of that long awaited “Rapture” they’ve been planning on for years!
The “Rapture” is expected to take place in the Mideast with a promise that God will descend to earth on a golden staircase, replete with an army of avenging angels, all fixated on destroying the non believers in a war to end all wars.
The “faithful” will be delivered to Heaven, shy their clothing, to spend eternity at the right hand of the father while those “sort of Christians” will remain on earth (as a punishment I suppose) preparing for a Kingdom on Earth that will be 100% Christian. Jews and all other practitioners of other faiths will be stomped to death during the melee. Best be aware.
The Israelis, quite frankly, are armed to the teeth. The Iranians, on the other hand, have a much larger force in manpower. The U.S. is by far the larger and better armed. Sitting in the midst of all this bluster is the one thing we cannot reach on our own: oil.
Our lifeblood is over there. The one thing they have that we need to remain the superpower we purport to be and what we have built upon as our “foreign policy” over the last 100 years. And underlying all this geopolitical discourse is religion. Make no mistake about it, next to oil who you worship matters more than life itself.
The Iraqis are in the beginning stages of bringing their religious differences to a boil. Sunni v Shiite is creeping back into their streets now that the US presence has been removed. The Palestinians hate the Jews and vice versa. The Islamic clerics in Iran are the actual architects of that country’s radical positions. And the Christians hate them all!
Egypt and Syria are facing secular and non secular opposition and who knows how that will turn out. It appears that ideology is more the driving force behind these uprisings than the outcry for equality and human rights. But beneath the sand lies the treasure that all factions covet at the cost to human life: the oil.
It is probably safe to assert that tourism in the part of the world has declined. I seriously doubt many are pouring over travel brochures and considering a vacation in the “ancient lands of old” these days. Better to stay put and pay close attention to the signals pouring out of political candidates who would thrust us into a combat whose aftermath may not be what they expect.
I am hoping that cooler heads will prevail. That America will not be expected to be dragged into a conflagration that assures no winners. It may be too late to appeal to reason when factions itching to destroy one another refuse to put down their weapons.
The exhaustion of just trying to get through the day without “dire threats” as a daily feature is overwhelming.
Can’t we all just get along? The insanity never ends.
24 Responses to "PUT AWAY THOSE PASSPORTS"
February 7, 2012 at 9:22 am
Arab Spring has become “Dog Days, Arabian Peninsula”. Well, Dubya, you succeeded. “Democracy” is “blooming in the desert”.
February 7, 2012 at 9:42 am
And just where is Bush these days?
Relaxing in Texas, unencumbered by accountability or conscience, enjoying the good life as the nation hobbles on.
While the current GOP candidates extol the virtues of Ronald Raygun in every other sentence, silence surrounds the Bush administration whose policies and tactics litter the landscape.
Makes me sick.
February 7, 2012 at 12:04 pm
OT> Karen Handel resigns from Komen, decries how she and her actions were treated.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/07/karen-handel-quits-susan-g-komen_n_1259835.html
February 7, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Well I hope the Fundies do leave maybe we will get some peace and equality..oh and by fundies I mean Christian Islamic and Jewish and any other religious extremist that litter the earth with death and destruction.
February 7, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Court rules Proposition 8 unconstitutional.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/gay-marriage-prop-8s-ban-ruled-unconstitutional.html
February 7, 2012 at 1:22 pm
This is great news.
However,there is currently a group of Right Wing Mothers who have set up a campaign to have Ellen Degeneres removed as the spokesperson for J.C. Penney.
And all because she is gay and not deemed the “proper role model”.
I hate these people with a passion. The stupidity is just remarkable.
Welcome back to the 1950s when McCarthyism was the order of the day. Lives were ruined, careers lost, and fear permeated the nation.
February 7, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Oh, and Mittens changes his mind (!) about Planned Parenthood. He wanted their endorsement in 2002. Now he agrees with Kommen Foundation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/mitt-romney-susan-g-komen_n_1258653.html
February 7, 2012 at 2:59 pm
I had an email from CREDO abut the “next” step for SGK and when I clicked on the link I got this:
In response to pressure from groups like CREDO, MoveOn and UltraViolet, Karen Handel announced her resignation.
Yay for CREDO!!!
I have never seen anything blow up so fast as this did and I love it!!
February 7, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Someone’s comment at some sight that said JC Penney is standing by Ellen:
“One Million Moms just did what millions of dollars in ad spending couldn’t do…made JC Pennys cool.”
🙂
February 7, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Well, I had a comment disappear int limbo.
Anyway, I was addressing Pat@9 and said I would not be surprised to see CREDO start a petition on the Ellen thing. When they see B.S. they tend to take action.
February 7, 2012 at 3:18 pm
Let’s hope somebody stands up and says “enough”.
One can only imagine the types of children these “concerned Moms” will be foisting on the nation when it becomes their turn. Teaching hate, discrimination and bigotry breeds as much.
Fred Phelps must be secretly pleased at “a job well done”.
Ellen DeGeneres, who has never hurt a fly, is being castigated for being gay. Welcome to the “age of the enlightenment”.
For some it has never really happened.
February 7, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Pat said: Ellen DeGeneres, who has never hurt a fly, is being castigated for being gay. Welcome to the “age of the enlightenment”.
I know! Ellen is just a delight. How can anyone not like Ellen?
Ellen and Jimmy Kimmel in a “nice off”.
February 7, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Ms. Handel on (naturally) Fox News.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/07/karen-handel-susan-g-komen_n_1260608.html
February 7, 2012 at 4:41 pm
Ellen is a gracious person.
Never controversial, she comes across as just nice. Her humor is always clean and self deprecating. And genuinely funny. She treats her guests with respect and is not afraid to show her emotions. What more can you say about another fellow human being?
But for Ellen to be singled out by a group of Right Wing fanatics – and they can label themselves as “Moms” all they wish – a decent mother would never encourage her children to reject others because of sexual orientation about which they have no control, This is what they are conveying by way of messaging in the home, make no mistake about it.
The same kids who are probably loaded up on Jay-Z lyrics and cds, are targeting a woman who is just making a living through an endorsement.
You don’t have to go far these days to rub up against some of the nastiest people on the planet who believe that their self righteous ways are the answer.
I am hoping that many more in the entertainment community will come out and take issue with these people and their crippling tactics that have nno place in this world.
They incur in me a visceral response that requires tolerance and I am not in a tolerant mood for this nonsense.
February 7, 2012 at 4:43 pm
Ms. Handel, another Sarah “the Feminist” choice to lead.
Gag me with a spoon.
My tolerance factor toward the intolerant is bordering on high level today.
February 7, 2012 at 5:16 pm
Good news about Komen. Good News about CA. Good news about JCP.
As for the Arab Spring, according to the Tehran Times, over there, they call it the Islamic Uprising.
February 7, 2012 at 6:58 pm
@20 – Once again, the “progressives” screamed “racist!” at anyone who saw the uprisings with a little bit of fear and suspicion. Yet, just as we were right about Obama despite his lovely caramel-colored skin tone (barely darker than Burnt Orange Boehner these days), .we were right to question the motives of those who were rioting in the streets, raping women and calling them “dirty Jews” in the name of “freedom.”
Yes, people in the MIddle East are truly different than we are. It is all very well to know that all Muslims are not terrorists. Everyone knows that. But it’s also true that Middle Eastern Muslims’ idea of “freedom” and “democracy” is informed by thousands of years of culture and beliefs, most of which are diametrically opposed to those we, as lefty Americans, hold dear. The “progressives” were truly too America-centric to even consider that possibility.
February 7, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Santorum is pounding Romney in all three contests to night.
@22: I agree. Three years in Saudi taught me that those folks do not want what we have.
February 7, 2012 at 10:05 pm
@23 – Practical experience? Pshaw. “Hope” is so much more important!
I didn’t know Santorum was still running! I guess he did “win” Iowa. But surely he doesn’t think he has a shot in hell?!
Comments are closed.
The Widdershins 
February 7, 2012 at 9:04 am
Excellent post, Pat. I also think that we have largely misinterpreted the “Arab Spring” as a push for democracy, when it is more like a push for more Shari’a.
I saw this morning that the US and Great Britain have now left Syria. The American embassy has been closed and all U.S. diplomatic efforts have ceased. It’s part of a greater push to get Assad out of power, and may signal that we are going to back the opposition.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/activists-syrian-troops-pound-homs-neighborhoods-15519937