A Look Back (Or Forward)

This astounding article from The Onion offers a review of the last eight years of the Emperor's presidency. What will amaze you, however, is the date of the article: January 17, 2001. Concocting a satiric article by imagining the worst possible outcomes actually produces something very close to the truth.

A Monday Morning Rant

From the mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, of all places (you'd better believe this is truly a voice in the wilderness...), comes this very fine rant on the current political situation. It covers all the bases, in Chaos' opinion, starting with the screaming disaster that the current administration has wreaked upon the nation and the world, but also mentions a topic near and dear to Chaos' heart, that the politicians elected in a semi-free country are an accurate reflection of the public who "elected" them. Thus, George W. Bush is truly owned by the American public. (If not, of course, he'd not remain in office: there are mechanisms to accomplish this...). Chaos can simulaneously hold two somewhat opposing positions at the same time: that the current US president is perhaps the worst in history, and that a change in leadership would not change the current situation in significant ways. On the subject of rants, please consider our friend James Howard Kunstler's weekly one at his blogsite....you might disagree, but the man always has something to say, and in proper rabble-rousing fashion.

Impeachment Issue

Not that Chaos believes that these are any more than examples of hopeful liberal masturbation, but nonetheless, reading them can give one a sense that the "meme" of impeachment of the ridiculous puppet George W. Bush and his evil puppetmaster, Richard Cheney, has reached a critical mass. The first is a transcript of interviewer Bill Moyers and two rather credentialed commentators on why impeachment of these rulers is completely necessary and vital to those who will succeed them. If you've never looked into the issue before, some of the implications are mildly interesting. The second is a riff by one of Chaos' recent favorites, David Michael Green. You have to hand it to the man; he makes impeachment seem like a walk in the park, which it most assuredly would not be, and once again, Chaos has to note that these examples are simply not going to happen. As thought experiments, however, they're excellent.

Just a Couple of Thoughts on I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby

Recent happenings, (although Chaos admonishes readers to heed our friend Dmitry Orlov and ignore all national politicians, since they are mere distractions...) specifically the Boy Emperor's commutation of the jail sentence of the convicted perjurer and noted liar Libby, portend the attack of Iran by the US. Why? The commutation indicates that said Emperor cares not a whit for what the rest of the nation thinks, and is inclined to throw caution to the winds and attack yet another nation in the mideast, despite the many disastrous consequences which would most certainly result. Chaos hopes readers who are still residing in this benighted country have gotten their bugout plans at the ready....

Tinfoil Hat Edition: Conspiracies to Entertain

As has been mentioned, Chaos is not a fan of conspiracies (secrets seem to have a way of spilling out, despite best efforts of all involved; most plans require a degree of interconnectedness and coordination which seems unlikely given the general level of incompetence), but here are a couple for your own amusement. The first posits that the primary reason the US attacked Iraq was to install a secret pipeline to Saudi Arabia to shore up its lagging oil production (if "lagging Saudi oil production" is new to you, spend more time at The Oil Drum). Baldly stating it here does not do the piece justice; the connection of the dots is somewhat interesting and even compelling for the less skeptical. Next up is a piece from Jim Puplava's site; more of a speculative analysis of the coming resource wars and competitions between nations than an actual conspiracy, but mildly entertaining nonetheless, and perhaps an introduction to the Puplava site (he has hosted Simmons, Kunstler, and others on his radio shows). Oh, and here's an interesting piece on just how fragmented, incomplete and ridiculously secretive the "terror database" is. Woe be to you if you have the same or similar name to that of someone on the list, but well, that's just life in the Empire, isn't it? Well, there you have it, then, some current conspiracy stuff to entertain. Chaos does not recall noting the classic ones (now more than a year old, but not stale yet), like Halliburton's $385m contract to build refugee camps for some unknown reason here in the Empire(confirmed), or the Emperor's purchase of a 98,000 ranch in Paraguay(speculative).

You Know You're Empire's Crumbling When...

Oh, this is just the funniest and truest thing Chaos has read in a long long time. Check out these "Thirty-six Signs Your Empire is Crumbling" and howl, both to yourself and at the moon, in vast despair of what this nation has accomplished. A perfect roundup of the last few years of empire, written by David Michael Green, political science professor of Hofstra University in New York. Have an excellent end of week, faithful readers.

Bully In Search Of Pulpit