.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Born at the Crest of the Empire

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Picture of the Day - 4
















What if the President gave a speech and nobody came?

Bush made a pretty major speech today, the second leg of his Iraq PR, and it's not even a blip on the radar.

(AFP) "The United States demanded Tuesday that Iran end any support for extremists in Iraq "at once" and raised the specter of a "nuclear holocaust" in the Middle East if Tehran gets atomic weapons."

(Speech text) "I want our fellow citizens to consider what would happen if these forces of radicalism and extremism were allowed to drive us out of the Middle East. The region would be dramatically transformed in a way that could imperil the civilized world."

Nobody's listening anymore. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

posted by mikevotes at 6:21 PM

11 Comments:

  • "I want our fellow citizens to consider what would happen if these forces of radicalism and extremism were allowed to drive us out of the Middle East. The region would be dramatically transformed in a way that could imperil the civilized world."

    The thing is, I don't think Iran is "radical and extreme." At least not in the al Qaeda sense. Nor even in the Taliban sense. I'm not saying they're a bunch of teddy bears, but they're a modern, educated and developed society. Bush may be appealing to the 30-percenters, but I think he's embarrassing himself (again) on the world stage.

    Is Iran any more "radical and extreme" than, say, Saudi Arabia? Yemen? N. Korea?.... Russia?

    I think he's overreaching again (duh). If he continues down this road of unilateral militaristic conquest, I really wonder if we're not looking at the precursor for a new American revolution.

    By Blogger -epm, at 9:11 PM  

  • I agree. They operate very functionally on the world stage with Russia, China, Latin America, and formerly Europe before the US upped the pressure. All under Ahmadinejad's rule. Open trade, free travel, scholars, arts, etc.

    They're just hostile to the US (as the US is hostile to them.) It's a nonfunctional relationship on both sides.

    And, no. No American revolution. We can't even get people to vote.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 10:13 PM  

  • Americans becoming actively passionate and rising in the streets... What was I thinking.

    By Blogger -epm, at 6:56 AM  

  • To counter myself, revolutions are never 100% of the population. Ususally, it's 10% or less who are active, but enjoy sympathetic support from a quieter majority.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 7:56 AM  

  • ...sort of like the Mahdi army?

    By Blogger -epm, at 8:43 AM  

  • Hard to imagine anyone storming the barricades these days. Storming the keyboards is more likely.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:49 AM  

  • EPM or the American minutemen.

    Anon, That's what I think. Frankly, we're not really a "storming" nation anymore. There's something on TV.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 10:44 AM  

  • EPM or the American minutemen.

    Anon, That's what I think. Frankly, we're not really a "storming" nation anymore. There's something on TV.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 10:44 AM  

  • You get isolated incidents...road rage etc. and the legalized violence in Iraq. Bruce Willis acts out a few fantasies. But most have been sedated by TV.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:08 PM  

  • The Boy who Cried "Wolf!"

    By Blogger Praguetwin, at 4:44 PM  

  • Anon, right, and the violence is rarely fully realized in its cause.

    Praguetwin, Isn't that boy hoarse by now?

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 4:56 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home