Last night on Larry King, Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced she would not be seeking to renew her radio contract at the end of the year.  She claims that she wants to be able to “regain” her First Amendment right to say whatever she wants.

*insert dramatic eye roll*

I think now is the perfect time to point out how this works.  By “this” I mean the way conservatives handle apologizing when their over the top rants gets them in trouble.  I’ve broken it down into 5 Stages and I’ll use the incident with Dr. Laura as an example.

Stage 1 – Say or do something offensive

SCHLESSINGER: Black guys use it all the time. Turn on HBO, listen to a black comic, and all you hear is nigger, nigger, nigger.

[...]

SCHLESSINGER: Yeah. We’ve got a black man as president, and we have more complaining about racism than ever. I mean, I think that’s hilarious.

[...]

SCHLESSINGER: All right. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Can’t have this argument. You know what? If you’re that hypersensitive about color and don’t have a sense of humor, don’t marry out of your race. If you’re going to marry out of your race, people are going to say, “OK, what do blacks think? What do whites think? What do Jews think? What do Catholics think?” Of course there isn’t a one-think per se. But in general there’s “think.”

And what I just heard from Jade is a lot of what I hear from black-think — and it’s really distressting [sic] and disturbing. And to put it in its context, she said the N-word, and I said, on HBO, listening to black comics, you hear “nigger, nigger, nigger.” I didn’t call anybody a nigger. Nice try, Jade. Actually, sucky try.

Dr. Laura started digging her hole by saying the “n-word”.  She probably could have escaped with a rap on the knuckles, but her “If you can’t take the jokes don’t marry outside of your race” comment and thought process were what really got the ball rolling.  It exposed her way of thinking as being that of a bigot and it was clear that people were going to be offended.

Stage 2 – Claim you aren’t saying or doing anything offensive and that you’re being taken out of context by an overly sensitive person

SCHLESSINGER: Don’t take things out of context. Don’t double N — NAACP me. Tape the –

Stage 2 happens because the person committing the offense doesn’t really know why they are being offensive or pretend not to know.  In the case of Dr. Laura, it wasn’t really the “N-word” but rather the thought process behind her whole rant. She basically takes a stand that she’s not actually saying anything wrong and that it is fact the other person who is being “too sensitive”.

If you’re that hypersensitive about color and don’t have a sense of humor, don’t marry out of your race…..

Ah — hypersensitivity, OK, which is being bred by black activists. I really thought that once we had a black president, the attempt to demonize whites hating blacks would stop, but it seems to have grown, and I don’t get it.

So in Stage 2, she doubles down on her statements.  She sees nothing wrong with what she says and if you actually listened to the audio when she talks to the next caller, she’s not even remotely bothered by what she said.  Which makes Stage 3 always so awkward…

Stage 3 – Apologize to people offended by what you claimed wasn’t offensive in Stage 2

“I talk every day about doing the right thing.  And yesterday, I did the wrong thing.

I didn’t intend to hurt people, but I did.  And that makes it the wrong thing to have done.

I was attempting to make a philosophical point, and I articulated the “n” word all the way out – more than one time.  And that was wrong.  I’ll say it again – that was wrong.

I ended up, I’m sure, with many of you losing the point I was trying to make, because you were shocked by the fact that I said the word.  I, myself, realized I had made a horrible mistake, and was so upset I could not finish the show.  I pulled myself off the air at the end of the hour.  I had to finish the hour, because 20 minutes of dead air doesn’t work.  I am very sorry.  And it just won’t happen again.”

Seems like a really heartfelt apology for something she didn’t think was offensive.  But here she is, a day later, now all the sudden she’s truly sorry and knows she did the wrong thing.  She even claims to have been “so upset” she couldn’t finish her show. Right.  I’m pretty sure the campaign Media Matters was starting to go after her advertisers had nothing to do with her change of heart.  This stage bothers me because in Stage 1 & 2 the culprit is always bold and brash with their statements and show no sign of remorse.  But days later, when the sponsors start to call and people’s outrage grows, NOW they are “deeply regretting their comments.”  Please.

Stage 4:  After people don’t accept your bullshit apology, claim you are being unfairly persecuted

“My contract is up for my radio show at the end of the year and I’ve made the decision not to do radio anymore.  The reason is I want to regain my First Amendment rights. I want to be able to say what’s on my mind and in my heart and what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry, some special interest group deciding this is the time to silence a voice of dissent and attack affiliates, attack sponsors. I’m sort of done with that.”

Ah yes, my favorite stage.  Upon being exposed as an idiot for the offensive things said, now claim you are being unfairly persecuted when people seek to hold you accountable.  Some Conservatives skip Stage 3 (the apology) and come right to this stage.  This stage is actually mimicked by a lot of people, not just conservatives (See Chris Brown for further proof).  These people don’t want to accept all the consequences of their actions.  In their minds having to apologize is enough of a consequence.  Instead of saying “My comments have lead me to not be able to continue on radio in the capacity I want and that is my fault”, Dr. Laura instead blames “special interest groups” who want to “silence a voice of dissent”.  Yes, because Media Matters is going after her voice of dissension and not her “voice of bigotry”.  By claiming to be a victim, Dr. Laura can now gather her base supporters and move to another medium to continue her work.  Which leads to Stage 5…

Stage 5:  Repeat Stage 1

Now that they’ve presented themselves as a victim, they are now free to go back to saying their offensive stuff.  Dr. Laura hasn’t reached this point yet.  She just completed Step 4.  But just you wait.  Within 6 months we’ll be hearing about yet another “offensive” statement she made and we’ll be back starting the cycle again.  Oh joy, I can’t wait.  I should point out that when repeating the cycle, the level of absurdity will increase 10 fold.

And there you have it folks.  Next time a conservative comes spewing feces out their mouths, just watch and remember these 5 stages.  It’s regular like clockwork.

A couple of Fridays ago President Obama went to Copenhagen to try to persuade the IOC to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago.  Chicago was knocked out in the first round of voting.  That’s when something happened that has left me perplexed.  Republican after republican gloated about the President’s “stunning loss” and “embarrassment on the world stage”.  The National Review Online even went as far as to take a completely ridiculous tangent and say “If he can’t work his personal magic with the Olympians, why does he expect it to work with the Iranians?“  Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.  Making a 10 minute speech before the International Olympic Committee and not wining a bid to host the Olympics Games has a direct correlation to months and years of complicated negotiations with a foreign country with nuclear ambitions.  Its completely asinine when you think about it.  The same group of people that complain all day every day about our dependence on foreign oil (“Drill here, Drill Now”);  The same ones that tell us we have to “Buy American”;  The same people that say the President does too much apologizing for America and doesn’t talk about the good things this country does when he’s abroad; These same people are now giddy that the President didn’t succeed in his bid to bring the Olympics back to the United States.  But it gets better.  When the President won the Nobel Peace Prize, Rush Limbaugh went as far as saying he was on the same side as the Taliban and Iran.  The Taliban and Iran?  Are you serious?  Its like I’m in a Bizzarro World where down is up and up is down.  It’s stunning.  Republicans spent one whole week talking about Obama’s rejection on the world stage with the Olympics and now we’re facing a whole week of them talking about how much the world is infatuated with him.  Even a 2 year old could see this logic is contradictory.

All this leads me to wonder, why there are still African Americans still supporting the Republican Party.  Honestly, since November 5^th the dark underbelly of idiocy and racism has reared its head in the Republican Party.  I won’t call all the actions of the party racist, but a huge majority of them have been pretty moronic.  Which makes black republicans such a mystery to me.  Why do they support the stupidity displayed by these fools.  We’re not talking about college dropouts like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck.  They are not Tea Party Protesters who have let fear, lack of education and hints of racism form their world view.  Most aren’t one of those loopy birthers (No, Alan Keyes doesn’t count).  Think about Orly Taitz.  She’s what happens when a dentist starts huffing nitrous oxide while doing a line of coke.  I’m talking smart, educated black republicans like Michael Steele.  I can’t stand Steele but I think that’s because I find him too smart and educated to belong to a party defined by the kind of ridiculousness of the republican party.  Take one of the things he said about the President’s attempt to bring the Olympics to Chicago:

“I think the First Lady would have been and should have been the lead here. Let her go and sell Chicago. But the goal should be creating not job opportunities seven years from now but job opportunities today. And I think that what the president is doing is not necessarily helpful and doesn’t, in my view instill the confidence in the American people that the focus is there on jobs, wealth creation and moving us beyond a recession to prosperity.”

See, this right here is why a lot of people believe that Steele and other black republicans are sellouts.  There’s no way Steele believes what he said right there.  He’s too smart for that.  He knows better.  There were legitimate concerns about the Olympics coming to Chicago, but saying that job creation wouldn’t happen until 7 years from now was not one of them.  It takes years to get a city ready to handle the Olympics.  There would be plenty of construction and organization opportunities that would start up within the next 6 – 12 months.  Saying it would take 7 years is obviously a talking point, but it’s a pretty stupid one for someone with Steele’s intelligence.

Or what about his comments about the President winning the Nobel Peace Prize:

The real question Americans are asking is, “What has President Obama actually accomplished?” It is unfortunate that the president’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights. One thing is certain – President Obama won’t be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action.

Really?  Steele is chairman of a party that actively protests and votes against having attacks against gays classified as a hate crime.  Bill Bennett was just on CNN yesterday defending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  Members of Steele’s party actively support military action in Iran.  Republicans mock President Obama for having the audacity to want to talk to our enemies.  The only thing standing between republicans and a path to hatred and war is President Obama.  Whether Obama deserved the prize or not is another discussion.  But as Chairman of the RNC, Steele has no room to talk and as a smart man, I know he knows better.

Yeah I know black conservatives like Steele will claim they are republican because that party is more in line with their ideals but I just can’t see it.  What ideals does the republican party stand for?  Cutting the deficit?  Bush increased it. Strong National Defense?  Republicans ignored Afghanistan for the last 4 – 5 years causing it to implode into the mess it is now.  Conservative morals and social ideology?  Come on.  Governor Sanford had a high profile affair and currently Senator John Ensign is being investigated for paying off his mistress.  There are great black republicans like Frederick Douglas but that seems like a party so far removed from today.  Many black republicans say that even the great Martin Luther King Jr. himself was a republican.   But that’s not the party I see today.  What the GOP of today would do to MLK Jr. would make Jeremiah Wright look like a member of the Heritage Foundation.  MLK Jr. would be labeled a traitor, a radical and communist by the standards of today’s republican party. And NO ONE can try to tell me that he wouldn’t be.  The Civil Rights movement was about being radical and right now, radical = communist, fascist, Nazis to the GOP.

Now I’m not saying democrats are the saviors of the black community.  But I do wonder why African Americans would side with a republican party that obviously doesn’t support them instead of just forming a third party of their own.  I remember this article that came out the week after Steele made his comments about the President’s trip to Copenhagen.  Basically it states that GOP Congressmen want Michael Steele to “back off” of making statements about policy.  The RNC Chairman is being told he should not make any statements about policy that relates to republicans.  This all came about because Steele put out a simple TV ad with a Patient’s Bill of Rights.  Maybe I’m reading too much into it.  But when I read between the lines I see the GOP leadership telling Steele “We only elected you to give the appearance that we are diverse.  Now get to the back of the bus and keep quiet.”  Look, I might not agree with Steele on policy issues but it kills me to see a smart black man being used as a pawn for a party that doesn’t really care about our community.  Again, democrats might not be the answer but I know for certain the GOP isn’t either.

Last week when I wrote my article asking whether Republicans were really stupid, CPR responded jokingly to me on Facebook that I was turning the Insanity Report into the DailyKos.  Now there’s no way in Hell the Insanity Report is anywhere close to the extremely left leaning DailyKos.  I like to think that we focus more in common sense and it just so happens that lately Republicans have lost theirs.  But still, I did think we have been leaning heavily on the Republican bashing and so my plan was to write an article about President Obama’s plan to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan…something that I think is very stupid.  In fact, I’d take an increase in troops in Iraq before Afghanistan.  So that’s what I was going to write about.  And while I still plan on writing about it, I’m sorry but I can’t let the idiocy that happened at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) go unnoticed.

CPAC is an annual conference held by conservatives so they can come together and discuss conservative issues and values.  You would think that after the November 2008 ass pounding they got they would focus on how to rebrand themselves and diversify their party.  I’m not a highly paid political analyst, I’m just a guy with a webpage.  But even I can see that the reason Senator Barack Obama is now President Barack Obama is that he not only talked about change and hope, but he rebranded the Democratic party and expanded their voting base.  He won North Carolina, Virginia and Indiana.  If I told you a Democrat, never mind a black one, was going to win those in a general election against a white male Republican war hero, you would have had me committed.  But that’s what happened and all because tactics and strategies were changed.  So, if I was a republican that’s what I would be looking to do.  I would be looking to find a way to diversify the party and rebrand conservative ideas so they don’t come off as sounding so idiotic.  Of course, that’s just too much like right for these morons.

I knew CPAC was going to be the same old red meat republican bullshit when I read that Joe the Plumber was going to be on a panel speaking to young conservatives.  Why republicans would do something so stupid is beyond me.  This is like giving birth to a perfectly healthy baby and then infecting it with AIDS.  Yes, Joe the Plumber is that cancerous to me.  Between him and the Hockey mom/Pitbull with lipstick from Alaska, I don’t know who was the more ridiculous attempt to make a man married to a woman who shows up to the RNC wearing $300,000 with of clothing and accessories seem “in touch with the middle class.”

So it was already bad.  But then it got worse…much worse.  The highlight of Friday’s program was Jonathan Krohn, author of “Define Conservatism.”  Nothing out of ordinary about that…except Jonathan is 13.  Yes, you read that right.  13.  Conservatives are now listening to a 13 year old.  I think I’m going to quit my job and become a Republican Strategist.  It’s gotta be the easiest job in the world because no matter how ridiculous the idea, republicans will back it and refuse to admit it was stupid.  So I listened to Jonathan’s speech and while yes, I am a little bias, I still couldn’t see what all the hype was about.  Sure, he’s extremely articulate for his age and the way he used his hands when he talked makes him very animated and engaging.  But when you actually listened to his 2 minute speech, you heard the same thing you hear in most red meat conservative speeches.  For those that have never heard a Republican speech in it’s entirety, let me run it down for you:

Conservatives…blah blah blah Principles over ideology blah blah blah Conservative blah blah blah Fiscal responsibility, personal responsibilities and moral values blah blah blah Liberals are socialists blah blah blah Tax cuts blah blah blah Conservative conservatives blah blah blah Did we mention tax cuts? Blah blah blah Principles blah blah blah We are the defenders of the Constitution (There’s never any applause or laughter for this joke)

There you have it.  That right there sums up Jonathan’s speech and just about every other republican speech I’ve ever heard.  The only thing that was surprisingly missing was the obligatory Rush Limbaugh ass kissing.  Which brings me to the last thing about CPAC – Rush Limbaugh.

Now to be fair to Republicans, Rush Limbaugh does make some valid points when it comes to conservative values.  That said, the problem with Rush is that he acts as if the entire country believes in the same conservative values as him.  For instance, if I believe in fiscal responsibility (which I do) then according to Rush not only must I believe that the conservative path to fiscal responsibility is right but I also must believe in all other conservative view points (immigration, gay rights, etc.)  There is no compromise with Rush Limbaugh and that’s the biggest problem with him and why he’s such a huge douche bag.  It also doesn’t help that when appearing before CPAC this weekend he once against said flatly that he hopes President Obama fails.  While that might fire up and motivate the base, I can’t help but think of how stupid it is to flatly say that you hope the guy with the 68% approval rating and who lead the onslaught against your party getting ass pounding, fails.

The real problem here is that the highlights of CPAC seem to be 3 people, none of whom have ever held a political office (Hell, one of them isn’t even old enough to vote yet).  This is what leaves me confused as to why republicans seem to fall over themselves to apologize if they ever speak ill of Rush Limbaugh.  Sure, the guy has a loud mouth and a big following in the conservative base.  But since he’s never been in office, he has the luxury of spouting off conservative theories without addressing the fact that in many cases, there are consequences of what he says should happen that affect the other half of the country. It’s easy to spout off “Tax Cuts” and “Free Market” and “Fiscal Responsibility” when you don’t actually have to balance the budget with the needs and will of the people.   And remember, this same fat fuck talking about fiscal responsibility was right there with some other idiots talking about let’s go into Iran.  How does he propose to pay for that War?  Monopoly money?

So again, the question I ask is “Who is going to lead the Republican Party into the future?”  Some say it’s new RNC Chairman Michael Steele, but even Steele has yielded to Rush Limbaugh in terms of running back to Rush with his tail between his legs to say “I’m Sorry, I didn’t mean to speak ill of you.”  Mitt Romney won the CPAC Presidential poll for the 3^rd straight year and while Romney doesn’t thrill me, he does seem to be somewhat reasonable.  The question is, will republicans follow him or will they continue to listen to idiots like Rush.

I really picked a great time to stop drinking.  See, if I hadn’t given up alcohol for Lent, then when I came across this story about this self-proclaimed Republican rapper at the Conservative Politcal Action Conference (CPAC), I would have immediately gone to my refrigerator and gotten a beer…because alcohol is the only way I could make it through this entire video.  I actually Twittered last night that I was way too sober to be watching that video.  First off, dude’s inspiration comes from Michael Savage and listening to him on the radio (mind you…Savage is a radio host…not a rapper).  This is like me watching a Michael Moore movie and wanting to be an actor.  So he starts “kicking some verses” and all I can think is “There’s not enough liquor in the world.”  This guy’s lyrical ability makes K-Fed seem like a top tier conscious hip hop God.  It’s like he went to K-Mart and picked up on of those “Political Rhyming Ad-libs” or “How to be a Rapper for Dummies” books and a cheap microphone.

Hi-Caliber looks like someone that I should call if I need a locksmith, I have a plumbing problem or I go to a NY pizzeria and I want a slice of pepperoni.  The only thing that makes this funnier is the video where the reporter is nodding his head like dude is spitting some truly deep or revolutionary stuff.  White people…leave the rapping to black folk and Eminem (nope, I’m not sold on the whole Asher Roth thing right now either).  And dude really needs to change his name.  “Hi-Caliber” my ass.  More like BB or 22.

When President Obama gave his address to Congress, one of the guests he brought with him was Ty’Sheoma Bethea, a JV Martin Junior High School student who had written a letter to the President and Congress asking them to help her school.  It was a touching story that highlighted a very real issue that many seem to overlook.  All the talk about how much money is being given to schools and how it’s being spent usually overshadows the fact that there are students stuck in the crossfire suffering.  I’ve mentored kids.  They couldn’t take there books home because their weren’t enough for everyone.  And that was a good school.  Imagine a poor, inner city or rural school that doesn’t even have enough books to share in the class room.  Now you would think after such a touching story, in which young Bethea apparently asked her Principal for money for a stamp, that no one in their right mind, especially on the conservative side would criticize such a story.  Well, Conservatives are turning out to not be so bright.

The Washington Times has an editorial in which they dismiss Bethea’s story as just political posturing and theater by the President.  I guess they seem to have forgotten all the special guests with “touching and compelling stories” that our last President used to bring with him to his State of the Union Addresses.  I guess they forgot about Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder that were trotted around to campaign stops as puppets for John McCain and Sarah Palin’s failed political marionette show.   Hell, Republicans are still using Joe the Plumber (which to me is another sign that they are retarded).  They have this fool giving advice to Young Conservatives at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).  Yes, you read that right.  Joe the Plumber is giving young Conservatives advice.  I couldn’t make this crap up if I wanted to.  One thing is certain, if this is who is teaching the young Conservatives, Jon Stewart and the Daily Show crew will be getting huge contract extensions in the near future.

Anyway, back to the Washington Times.  So even if we excuse them forgetting about Bush (and every other politician ever born) using compelling people and stories to push their agendas as a journalistic brain fart, it still seems to strike me as odd that they would want to in essence attack a young, minority girl whose dream seems to be to grow up and become a successful member of society.  Didn’t Republicans get their asses handed to them in the Fall because they didn’t gain support from minorities and they lost support among the working class?  This is just like the Republican Governors (Oh Bobby Jindal…where are you???) who are claiming they will take the Stimulus money but not the part that extends unemployment benefits.  Yup, that should go over real well with the people you serve and those that put you into office.  Unemployment is going up and people are having a hard time finding new jobs and you’re going to actually fight against unemployment benefits?  Brilliant.  Republicans not only see the hole they are continually digging themselves in but they are calling for reinforcements and a backhoe.

Right now Republicans are reminding me of that sheriff from the old Western movies that was a buffoon.  You know, the one that when he went to take his pistol out of his holster his pants would fall down.  And when he finally got the pistol out of the holster he shot himself in the foot.  That’s what Republicans are right now.  Everything from sending out “Barack the Magic Negro”, an email with a White House lawn full of watermelons, criticizing a young girl who just wants the people in Washington figure out how to provide her and her classmates some adequate education, refusing to extend unemployment benefits when unemployment is up and last but not least, listening to anything that comes out of Joe the Plumber’s month and not following it up with immediate laughter.  Geez, someone needs to wake these fools up from the dream world they are in.  Folks, you lost the elections and you lost BADLY.  Sure, stick to your principals but you need to start being a little bit more realistic as well.  It’s hard to get your party back on the right foot when your foot is constantly stuck in your mouth.

So unless you’ve been living under a rock during President Obama’s first 9 days in office, then you’ve undoubtedly heard the media and right wing nutcases (and a few liberal loonies) going crazy over the perceived war of words between President Obama and right wing radio God Rush Limbaugh.  Honestly, it’s not even really a war.  The President laid a trap and Rush and his buddies fell for it.  The way this is getting covered in the media and the way Limbaugh seems to have taken it to heart, you would think that the President went into a 25 minute diatribe about the right wing radio host.  But he didn’t.  All President Obama said to a group of GOP leaders was “You can’t listen to Rush Limbaugh and expect to solve the country’s problems.”  That’s it.  There’s nothing else to it.  From that one little statement though, the President has caused the Republican party to look extremely foolish during his first week in office.

This morning before I walked out of the house, I turned to the  Fox & Friends idiots who were talking to Limbaugh on the phone and watched as they nodded in agreement with some of the most ass backwards logic and reasoning I’ve ever heard.  Rush was claiming that the President “called him out” in order to drive a wedge between him, a true conservative, and the republicans on Capital Hill.  He then questioned why the President was trying so hard for bi-partisan support when he had enough votes from Democrats to pass the house.  Rush’s answer to that question?  President Obama was only seeking Republican support so that when his economic plans fail, he can also lay blame on Republicans during the election year.  It was at that moment, watching as the Fox & Friends morning crew nodded their heads in agreement…not once even questions the stupidity of this logic, that I asked myself why anyone would listen to an idiot like Rush Limbaugh.  George W. Bush rammed things down the throat of Congress and the American people with less support and we see how “united” the country became.  President Obama has a control of the House, Senate and for right now, the hearts and minds of the American people.  Yet he is still reaching out to Republicans (the same Republicans that were bitching that they weren’t being courted).  Could it possibly be that maybe, just maybe the President is keeping a promise to be the President of the UNITED States of America and not just the President of the party that won?   Okay, I get it, you aren’t thrilled with the President’s stimulus package…stop bitching about it and start working on a compromise.  The President already had the contraceptives portion of the package removed, I’m sure he’s willing to listen.  But hopping on the microphone to bitch about it isn’t going to help this country.

*Sidebar*

I just want to say that I find some of the Republican complaints and alternatives to this bill absolutely mind boggling.  First off, hearing Republicans bitch about increases in spending after the last 8 years when they were “making it rain” with taxpayer money is really starting to piss me off.  It’s like these fools only remember their conservative values when a Democrat is in the White House.  Secondly, I’m tired of Republicans talking about tax cuts.  Sure, I would love one, but when you delve into what they are talking about…they are focused on cutting taxes for corporations.  The idea is, give companies tax breaks and they’ll earn more money, hire more people and spend more money.  Sounds great.  The problem is, the last time we trusted corporations with financial incentives (around $700 billion) they instead spent it on private getaways, corporate jets, expensive rugs and other ridiculous items.  No complete dependence on the government isn’t the answer.  But giving tax breaks to big corporations and HOPING they do the right thing (when they’ve already proven that they won’t) isn’t the answer either.

*End Sidebar*

Part of me hopes this continues.  Hell, Obama seems like a smart guy and he’s keeping his promises so far, so I wouldn’t mind him in the office for two terms…and that’s exactly what he will get if Republicans keep being this stupid.  What I believe we are seeing is the beginning of the self implosion of the Republican Party of the last two decades.  What the Republican Party needs is their own version of Barack Obama.  No, Sarah Palin isn’t it.  I’m thinking someone more like the 2000 version of John McCain…just much younger.  Until that happens, I predict 2010 might be just as ugly for Republicans as 2008 was.  You think Norm Coleman losing to Al Franken was bad, just wait.  As long as the Republicans continue to put out people like Rush Limbaugh who says he hopes the President fails or have an RNC Chair candidate in Chip Saltsman who sent out the “Barack the Magic Negro” song or Michelle Bachmann who thinks the President along with some members of Congress might be “Anti-American” or Michelle Malkin who thinks the President should apologize for rap music or Ann Coulter who blames everything on liberals even though conservatives and Republicans have been running this country for the last few decades (Bill Clinton had a Republican congress to deal with)…the Republican party will continue to put itself in a bad light.  At least they seem to be having fun doing it.  It’s like hearing the band play as the Titanic sunk.

One of the common themes that has popped up when talking about this election has been the big issue of Foreign Policy.  Foreign policy has been touted as John McCain’s strong suit and as something that he holds an advantage over Barack Obama in.  Of course when you add in a foreign policy novice like Sarah Palin, you start to think about just how serious this can be.  I’ve been spending some time going to Republican/Conservative/Right Wing websites because I want to “see how the other side thinks”.  In particular I’ve been interested in the arguments of African Americans that are supporting John McCain and the Republicans.  I’m baffled by these individuals not because they are supporting a white man over a man of their own ethnic background (hell, I supported Kerry over Sharpton) but because most of these individuals are college educated and successful individuals and I wanted to see how they reconciled the Republican parties recent foreign policy stances.  What I found was just recycled and repeated republican talking points.

I believe most voters (apparently even some politicians), Democrats and Republicans, don’t understand history and just how deep the rabbit hole goes as far as how what is going on today is a culmination of bad policy decisions over the years.  What I’ve done is put together a little timeline that marks some significant policy and political events that have shaped the world we live in today.  By no means is this extensive or complete, and I encourage people to do further research.  I start with the Cold War only because that’s a good starting point in an effort to keep this as brief as possible.  I could surely trace this back waaaaaaaaaay further, (The Cruscades, the Rise and Fall of Rome, etc.).  The movie, The Kingdom, had a pretty good montage at the beginning that explained the U.S.-Saudi Arabia relationship and that is good as well.

Cold War
The beginning of the Cold War can be roughly pinpointed at the end of World War II.  Tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union started here.  As the Soviet war machine pushed back against the Nazis, the Soviets were out for blood.  The Soviets lost approximately 10,700,000 soldiers and 11,500,000 civilians, the highest among any of the countries involved in the fighting (and twice that of Germany).  In terms of total deaths in relations to their populations, the Soviets lost approximately 13% of their population.  When the smoke settles, the world is left with two new super powers, the Unitied States (democracy) and the Soviet Union (communism).  Great Britian is still reeling from the war and France is still recovering from occupation.  The Soviets see this as their opportunity to solidify their stance in Europe and why shouldn’t they, as one of the winners of the War, they believe it is their right to reap the benefits.  The United States sees a dictator in Stalin who has the potential to be just as ruthless as the Dictator they just ousted in Europe.  What follows is the Soviets and the U.S. treating third world countries as game pieces in the longest, deadliest game of Risk every played.  With both the U.S and the Soviets developing nuclear weapons by 1950, the “game” essentially turned into a land grab with each side trying to one up the other by installing puppet governments (Soviets) or “Pro-Western” governments (U.S.).  This is the back drop for things like the Chinese Civil War, the Korean War, The Vietnam War, etc.  But for the purposes of this timeline I’ll stick to the Middle East for the most part.

1953
The U.S. supports Operation Ajax in Iran, a coup that re-installed the unpopular, but pro-western dictatorship of Shah Mohammad Reza.  The U.S. supports this as Iran is the most powerful nation in the Persian Gulf and shares a border with Cold War rival Russia.  To be clear, the U.S. helped overthrow the ELECTED prime minister (who leaned more towards the Soviet Union) in order to place one more U.S. friendly.

October 7, 1959
A 22 year old CIA backed assassin botches an assassination attempt against Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul karim Qassim.  Prime Minister Qassim drew the ire of the U.S. and British because he withdrew Iraq from the pro-Western Baghdad Pact, established relations with the Soviet Union, withdrew from agreements with the British and the U.S. and even lifted the ban on the Iraqi Communist Party.  When the assassination attempt fails the wounded young assassin escapes to Egypt with the help of CIA and Egyptian intelligence agents.  The young assassin’s name was Saddam Hussein

February 8, 1963
Iraqi Prime Minister Qassim is killed in a Baath Party coup aided by the CIA.  The CIA was able to obtain models of Soviet made MIG fighters and tanks in return.

January 16, 1979
Shah Mohammad Reza flees Iran after being overthrown by extreme Islamic fundamentalist.  The CIA had no Human Intelligence in Iran for the previous year and the coup catches the CIA off guard.  It should also be noted that the extreme Islamic fundamentalist that took over (and are still in charge as of 2008) gained this opportunity because the U.S. backed unpopular Shah prosecuted or executed all of his moderate opponents.  So, the people of Iran left with an unpopular Western backed leader go to the other extreme and support Islamic fundamentalists.

July 3, 1979
President Carter signs directives for secret aid to opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan.  This is done with the express knowledge that this will increase the likelihood of Soviet involvement in Afghanistan.  The purpose of this was to create Russia’s own “Vietnam”.

December 27, 1979
The Soviet Union predictably invades Afghanistan starting the Soviet-Afghan war.  The Soviets supported the Marxist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan while the United Stated covertly supported the mujahideen resistance.  The U.S. funnels $3 – $20 BILLION to train and equip Islamic fundamentalist insurgents along with the Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence.  This include U.S. made Stinger shoulder launched surface to air missiles.

September 22, 1980
Iraq invades Iran and begins the Iran-Iraq War

Feburary 1982
Ronald Reagan removes Iraq from list of State Sponsors of Terror, despite Congress’s objections.  Iraq had been put on there during the 6-day war in 1967.  This opens up the ability to sell previously export-controlled items(i.e. Weapons) to Iraq.  This is 3 years after the pro-U.S. Shah in Iran has been ousted.

December 1982
Hughes Aircraft ships 60 Defender Helicopters to Iraq

August 1983
Iraq orders 10 Huey Helicopters (used for troop transportation like in Vietnam) and while Congress opposes, the sale is approved

1984
Under the guise of penetrating the civilian market, the U.S. sells 45 Bell 214ST helicopters to Iraq, worth $200 million.

March 27, 1985
National Security Decision Directive 166 entitled “US Policy, Programs and Strategy in Afghanistan” is defined.  This established the goal of driving Soviet forces from Afghanistan using “all means available”.  Also in 1985, the U.S began providing satellite intelligence of Soviet positions, intercepted Soviet communications, explosive timing devices for urban sabotage (or if you want to call it what they were, IEDs, Improvised Explosive Devices.  Sorta like those killing our soldiers in Iraq in 2008), sniper rifles, anti-tank missiles, targeting devices for mortars linked to U.S. navy satellites and other equipment.

(By 1987 it is estimated that 65,000 tons of U.S. made weaponry is entering Afghanistan each year)

July 1985
Israel sends American Made BGM-71 TOW antitank missiles to Iran.  This is the first arms sale in the Iran-Contra affair.  This was in essence an attempt by the Reagan administration to secure the release of hostages by trading hostages for U.S. weapons, shipped to “moderate” Iranian groups.  Over the next year there are several shipments of U.S. weapons made to Iran through Israel.  The Iran-Contra scandal is a whole issue in itself, but the most important thing in this time line is to note that the U.S. is selling helicopters and equipment to Iraq and supplying anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft missiles to Iran…while both countries are at war with each other. Interesting side note on the Iran-Contra affair.  Oliver North’s involvement in this scandal got him convicted of drug trafficking (long story).  This is the same Oliver North that now has his own radio show as well as his own show on Fox News.  Yup…Fox News has a convicted drug smuggler hosting a show.

June 1986
Pakistani officers travel to the U.S. to get training on using Stinger missiles.

March 1988
The Iraqi military attacks Kurdish civilians by delivering poisonous gas from helicopters, the same helicopters bought from the Reagan Administration.

April 14, 1988
The Geneva Accords are signed, ending the situation in Afghanistan and setting a timetable for withdrawal of Soviet Troops from Afghanistan.  The U.S. backed afghan resistance fighters are not party to the negotiations.  The U.S., having got what it wanted in seeing Russia get dragged into a 9 year conflict in which the U.S. remained fairly unscathed, leaves the Afghan fighters to fend for themselves.  The Civil War in Afghanistan continues until 1992.

July 1988
Iraqi Airplanes drop chemical cyanide bombs on Iranian Kurdish villages.

August 11, 1988
The initial meeting of al-Qaeda.

August 20 1988
The Iran-Iraq War ends

September 8, 1988
The U.S. Senate unanimously passes the “Prevention of Genocide Act of 1988” which levies heavy sanctions on Iraq by cutting off loans, military assistance, U.S. imports of Iraqi oil and other items.  (One of the cosponsors of this bill happens to be one Senator Albert Gore Jr.).   The Reagan Administration effectively kills this bill on the last day of the legislative session.

February 15, 1989
The last of the Soviet troops leaves Afghanistan approximately 10 years after they entered. To add some context, the U.S. has been in Afghanistan for 7 years now.

August 1, 1990
The Bush Administration approves the sale of $395 million worth of “advanced data transmission devices” to Iraq.

August 2, 1990
Saddam launches the invasion of Kuwait.  (There is no typo between the last two dates).  Bush compares the invasion of Kuwait to the Nazis, despite the fact that between 1985 and 1990 the Reagan and Bush administrations sold 1.5 billion dollars of advanced weaponry and technology to Saddam.

August 1990
Osama Bin Laden approaches Prince Sultan bin Abdelaziz al-Saud with an offer to lead forces to protect Saudi Arabia and drive Saddam’s forces out of Kuwait.  Bin Laden is leery of allowing U.S. forces to base out of Saudi bases and sees the Iraq invasion as an “internal” issue to be dealt with by using Muslim forces.

August 7/8, 1990
Operation Desert Shield is launched.  The goal is to defend Saudi Arabia from possible Iraqi aggression.  The U.S. launches the largest deployment of U.S. troops since Vietnam.  U.S. aircraft patrol the Kuwait – Saudi border.  The Navy deploys two carrier strike groups.  The U.S. continues a build-up of troops that soon reaches 543,000 troops.

September 11, 1990
President George H.W. Bush gives a speech and lists reasons for becoming involved in this conflict.  The Pentagon backs up President Bush’s claims that Iraq is massing forces along the Kuwaiti/Saudi border for an imminent attack with Top Secret satellite photos.  These photos are later shown to be false by a Saint Petersburg Times reporter.  The reporter views commercial satellite photos of the same area taken at the same time of the Pentagons photos and there was nothing but empty desert.

November 29, 1990
UN Security Council passes Resolution 678 which gives Saddam a withdrawal deadline of January 15, 1991 and also authorizes the use of force to uphold this resolution.  The U.S, also around this time, assembles a coalition of 34 countries to join in against Iraq: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Spain, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom

January 17, 1991
Operation Desert Storm is launched with U.S. helicopters destroying Iraq radar sites.  1000 sorties were launched per day.  The Iraqi Air force flees to Iran.  Iran captures the pilots and planes and does not release them after the war is over.

February 2, 1991
The CIA encourages Iraqi Shia and Kurds to rebel by broadcasting from Saudi Arabia “The Voice of Free Iraq.”  The CIA is trying to get an insurgency against the Baath Party and Saddam Hussein.

February 24, 1991
The U.S. begins the ground war campaign by sending Marine Divisions in to attack Iraqi Forces in central Kuwait.

February 27, 1991
Exactly 100-hours after the ground campaign begun, President Bush orders a cease-fire.  History has shown that this was more of a political show movie (ending in exactly 100 hours) than a tactical one.

March 3, 1991
U.S. Commander General Norman Schwarzkopf holds cease-fire talks with Iraqi negotiators.  The General is not a trained negotiator and so he doesn’t see a problem with allowing the Iraqis to be allowed to fly armed helicopters in Iraqi territory.  The Iraqi negotiators are extremely adamant about this and claim they need to use the helicopters to fly officials around the country.

March/April 1991
Saddam uses helicopters to suppress the Shia rebellion in south Iraq and the Kurdish rebellion in the North.  The rebels believe they would be supported by the U.S. (who just a month before was encouraging these rebellions).

September 1996
Taliban takes over the Afghanistan capital.  The majority of Taliban fighters received their training and weapons from the CIA (recruited by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries)  during the Afghan-Soviet war.

August 7, 1998
The U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Nairobi are bombed.  This is on the 8th anniversary of U.S. troops being deployed to the Persian Gulf.  Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda take credit.

September 11, 2001
19 members of al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airlines.  Two are crashed into the World Trade Center towers, one is crashed into the Pentagon and the fourth crashes in Pennsylvania after passengers and flight crews attempt to retake the plane.  The U.S. response is the launch of the War on Terrorism.

October 7, 2001
The U.S. begins bombing targets in Afghanistan.  There is no official declaration of War.

June 2002
The U.S. quietly stepped up engagements in the Southern No-Fly Zone of Iraq with a focus on degrading Iraq’s air defense and communications abilities.  It should be noted that this was done BEFORE authorization to go to war was granted.

October 2002
Saudi Arabia makes it clear that they will not allow the U.S. to use it’s airspace or bases to launch attacks against Iraq.

November 13, 2002
Northern Alliance forces, backed by U.S./Nato forces, arrive in the capital cent of Kabul, Afghanistan.

March 20, 2003
The Military invasion of Iraq by the U.S. begins.  There are several other Islamic nations that were in the coalition during the first Iraq War are missing from this coalition:  Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Syria.

April 2003
U.S. announces it will withdraw U.S. military personnel out of Saudi Arabia and terminate it’s decade old military presence there that had been a point of resentment for many Saudis (and one of the objections of Osama Bin Laden).

May 1,2003
Onboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, President Bush declares “Mission Accomplished” in the War in Iraq.  Soon after the Iraqi insurgency starts and al-Qaeda in Iraq steps up attacks against American troops.  The Bush Administration is caught completely off guard.

March 2004
The U.S. announces plans to create 14 “enduring” bases in Iraq.  These bases will be long term encampments that will house thousands of American troops.  So, the lesson we learned was…when we’ve over stayed our welcome in one Arab country…move into another one.

February 10, 2007
General David Petraeus is named the commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq and starts to employ the U.S’s “surge” strategy.

June 2007
It is reported that U.S. forces as part of the “surge” are arming (as well as coordinating tactics) nationalist guerrillas and former Saddam Hussein loyalists to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq.  Just a few months before these same forces were fighting U.S. troops.  This is yet another example of the U.S. making “deals with the devil”.  Just a look at this sparse timeline shows that the U.S.’s history of making these sorts of deals with the “lesser of two evils” doesn’t work (See Iran, Afghan-Soviet War, Iraq, etc.).

June – September 2008
Proponents of the “surge” strategy point to lower violence and attacks as signs that the surge worked.  However, what doesn’t get a lot of attention in politics or the media is that one of the reasons the violence lowered was because their were less people to kill.  See, part of the violence in Iraq wasn’t caused by al-Qaeda but a Civil War between Sunnis and Shia which resulted in ethnic cleansing.

June 13, 2008
Taliban fighters liberate all prisoners in Kandahar jail.  They free 1200 prisoners, 400 who were Taliban prisoners.  This is a wake up call to those who forgot about the war in Afghanistan.  What most proponents of the surge seemed to miss was that in increasing the number of troops in Iraq, the Bush Administration neglected the war in Afghanistan.  The Taliban and al-Qaeda have re-emerged stronger.  The Kandahar prison break was just a wakeup call to the public that Afghanistan has been taking a turn for the worse.  2008 has been the deadliest year for American troops in Afghanistan since the start of the war there in 2002.

As you can see, the notion that the U.S. comes in and spreads democracy to those citizens that yearn for freedom is bullshit.  We’ve supported assassins, dictators and repressive governments just to make a buck or even worse (in the case of the Afghan-Soviet War) to treat war and destruction like it’s a game.  This timeline barely scratches the surface.  I skipped a lot just out of the sake of not doing this for years.  I left out the blank check we give to Israel (which, if you heard Sarah Palin’s interview, she seems to think we should keep giving), even more details on operations in Afghanistan/Iraq/Iran, the U.S. operations in Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Vietnam, Cuba, etc.  Right Wing conservatives like to say that this War on Terror we are waging right now is a righteous war in response to unprovoked aggression from Islamic fundamentalists. They are either lying through their teeth or even worse…completely ignorant to the truth.  When you lay in the mud, expect to get dirty.  Acting as if the U.S. hasn’t bought and trained for many of the same terrorists we seek right now is just ridiculous.

A few other points of interest:

In 2004, the Patterns of Global Terrorism report which shows detailed assessments of the number of international terrorism acts was no longer published after the Bush-Cheney administration question the methodology for counting terror activity after 2004 shows a drastic increase in the number of attacks.  2004 showed 651 significant attacks leaving 1,907 people killed and 8,000 wounded.  The number of attacks was the highest in 21 years of complied terrorism data.  2005 showed 11,111 attacks (around 3,800 occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan).

Biggest Arms Dealers in the world are US, Russia, France and Germany. US in terms of revenue and Russia in terms of quantity.  China, Egypt and India are heaviest buyers of arms. The U.S has completed agreements to sell helicopters and other weapons to Egypt, radar systems to Taiwan, helicopters to Brazil and Israel and other weapons systems to Oman and Pakistan.

The U.S. has given $5 billion to Pakistan for the purpose of fighting al-Qaeda but most has been used to fund Pakistan’s arms race against India.  It’s well believed that Osama Bin Laden is living comfortably along the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.  The U.S. before 2008 has given India approximately $109 million before cutting that to $81 million in 2008. Pakistan and India both have nuclear weapons.

Afghanistan has been called “The graveyard of empires”.  From Alexander the Great to The Soviets to the United States now.  History has proven that military powers that enter into conflicts in the Afghanistan region end up having disastrous consequences.

52% of Afghanistan’s GDP is generated by their drug trade that boomed after the Taliban was removed.  The Taliban outlawed the production of opium.  In 2005, Afghanistan became the worlds #1 opium supplier and produces 90% of the world’s opium (heroin).

The first Gulf War cost the U.S. $61 billion.  $54 billion was offset by contributions by other members in the coalition.  $36 billion from Gulf states and $16 billion from Japan and Germany.  Currently, the Iraq War has cost the U.S. just under $600 billion and could surpass $1 trillion.

The U.S. entered Iraq in 2003 with less than half the troops they had in the first war and a significantly smaller coalition of other nations.