Cowboy Logic Of Sanctions, Al-Maliki Pairs With Al-Sadr, Byron Williams Shoot-out

Fareed Zakaria
Paul Krugman
Muhammad Abdullah Gul

"In history, the man in the ruffled shirt and gold-coated waistcoat levitates above the blood he has ordered to be spilled by dirty-handed underlings." - Francis Jennings

"The strong do as they wish, while the poor suffer as they must." - Thucydidies

Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was on state television, trying to bait the US again. I have to admit, sometimes his writers come up with some good lines, in fact, I wish that the US speechwriters would employ more humor, it would help defuse tensions more often. The BBC reports Mahmoud talking about future nuclear negotiations: "We are for negotiations, but to do so you have to sit down like a good boy," Mr Ahmadinejad said, referring to the US in a speech broadcast live on state television. "They adopt a resolution to force a dialogue, but this cowboy logic has no place in Iran." Mr Ahmadinejad added that the US's real concern was not that Iran may make a bomb, but its rise as a regional power." The problem is that Iran has promised to sit down and negotiate many times before and has canceled out of every one. The sanctions were enacted because the US and UN got tired and frustrated of the same old song and dance from Iran's leaders. If Iran really was interested in becoming a regional power, it should get rid of the extremist right wingers in charge of government policies, loosen up its society a bit so that the younger generations can fell a sense of hope for their country and a renewed sense of pride. Iran still believes that it is the bad boy on the block, that it's Islamic Revolution was truly a revolution, and that it gains influence through bluster and intimidation instead of friendly economic trade. That Mahmoud Ahmadinejad belongs to a splinter religious cult within Iran only adds a set of wacky religious beliefs to the mix. If Mit Romney or Mike Huckabee ever became president, they could easily sit down with Ahmadinejad and talk crazy religious beliefs with him and feel right at home...

If your horse trailer cost more than your house trailer, you might be a cowboy
If you refer to your spurs as the family silver.
If your son is named after your prized bull.
If your bathtub is a stock tank.
If your horse brush is also your hairbrush you might be a cowboy.
If you do all your Christmas shopping at the feed and tack store.
And last but not least, you know you're a real cowboy if you give your word, shake on it, and stand behind it, no matter what... (apologies to jeff foxworthy)

Iraq's Nuri al-Maliki thinks that he has just about formed a coalition to form a new government, by sucking up to Muqtada al-Sadr and granting immunity for members of al-Sadr's militias, as well as giving them more say in governmental departments. This probably is just as well, because the guy who actually won the election by 4 votes, hasn't been in the country very much and doesn't seem to really want the job unless he can be propped up by the US. This is all part of al-Sar's plans to eventually become the leader of Iraq, then he can dispense with future elections and declare Iraq as a Shiite state similar to Iran. Then the two countries can plan on the ultimate rise and domination of the Shia Nations, and dictate policy in the region instead of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This is why the Saudia wouldn't mind a quick strike against Iran by Israel this Summer, swat down some of those ambitions...

Hizbollah is trying to deflect the attention and heat away from Iran by loading up the troops and missile launchers in Southern Lebanon. Iran encourages this, especially if they can convince their dumber brothers to actually attack Israel. Ahmadinejad will be visiting Syria and Lebanon soon to help fan the flames. Iran has proved to be mostly talk, when it planned on sending two ships to Gaza filled with workers and aid. They recalled both ships and to date have made no further plans to ship over tons of supplies, once again trying to use the people of Gaza as pawns... Hizbollah is finding that it is becoming much like Hamas in the region - an old has been that is no longer relevant...


I want to get excited and write about Sarah Palin on Twitter, but I haven't joined and I doubt that I will. I have a cheap cellphone that does me well, and I don't like trying to use such a small keyboard. But Twitter may replace blogs as the most popular form of social network, further helping to shorten our attention spans. I'm fighting the creeping effects of mild dementia, I want my attention span to enlarge so I can chew gum and create typos at the same time... I have to finish up here and make my weekly trek to the library...

The heat of the Summer is beginning to make the crazy folk's blood boil. Some guy with part of my name became quite agitated over the right wing wacko talk of his mother, took her guns, took her truck, put on body armor, and was driving to some unknown destination when he got pulled over for driving erratically by the Oakland police. He reached for a gun or two, a gunfight ensued for 8 minutes, with the results that Byron Williams was taken to the hospital.

His mother's name is Janice Williams, the same as my mother's, and she told: "... the San Francisco Chronicle that Byron, her 45-year-old son, was upset by "the way Congress was railroading through all these left-wing agenda items."


"He hasn't been able to get a job because he's an ex-felon and nobody will hire him," she said, adding that he was angry about his unemployment and about "what's happening to our country."


"I have no doubt it is him," Williams said. "He's been upset with the direction the country is going. ... He feels the people of this country are being raped by our government and politicians."


Janice Williams said she kept the guns, which were locked in safe, because "eventually, I think we're going to be caught up in a revolution." She also told the Chronicle that she had warned Byron that "he didn't have to be on the front lines." Byron's mom doesn't see any correlation between her radically right wing views and the dysfunctional relationship she has with her son, a two time ex-felon, that maybe she has been leading him on into self-destructive behavior. It might be a relief to be rid of such a dumb son, filled with anger and frustration, so much that's it's easier to light a match and have him burn for the cause instead of living with him for the rest of their lives...

I have a younger brother who is a sociopath and also expresses right wing wacko views. He was arrested once for running through the neighborhood naked, shooting his gun at some Hispanic illegals he had hired for some construction work. It was his drugged way of getting out of having to pay them, I guess. The rest of the family suspects that he had a hand in the death of our youngest brother, and maybe was a party to the death of my parents. Needless to say I never visit with him, as he has also vowed to shoot me. I mention this to show that I am well accustomed to the psychotic fringe and what they are capable of. Gee, I wonder if we will be having more tea party rallies again this Summer, it's never too late to crawl out from under a righteous rock. Looking forward to those racist signs and Hitler analogies, don't forget to bring your Glock...