Busy Nothings

It’s necessary that I comment on the whole Ahmadinejad thing, not because it matters, but because it’s taking place at my lovely Alma Mater, the Acrapolis.

Why, I’ve been wondering, does anyone care?  What are they so afraid that he’ll say?  Because if you listened to the 60 Minutes interview with Ahmadinejad (I’m starting to learn how to spell his name!) that aired yesterday, you know that this guy rocks at the intricate art of answer-evasion.  Ask him any question, any question at all, and he will invariably respond with – nothing.

“It is an established fact now that Iranian bombs and Iranian know-how are killing Americans in Iraq. You have American blood on your hands. Why?” Pelley asked.

“Well, this is what the American officials are saying. Again, American officials wherever around the world that they encounter a problem which they fail to resolve, instead of accepting that, they prefer to accuse others,” the president replied. “I’m very sorry that because of the wrong decisions taken by American officials, Iraqi people are being killed and also American soldiers. It’s very regrettable.”

…

Screw The Free Elections, Free Computers for Everyone!

There’s a new president in Freetown, Sierra Leone – and he’s pulling out all the stops to celebrate.

Hours after the swearing-in ceremony, hundreds of looters descended on the headquarters of the former president’s party. They carried out desks and chairs, computer monitors and printers, posters and coat racks before police blanketed the neighborhood with tear gas.

Police also fired bullets into the air and arrested numerous people while regaining control of the area. At least one person was killed, according to footage taken by an Associated Press Television News cameraman at the scene.

Yep, free elections, bringing riots to a neighborhood near you. Not that I’m against them. I’m just skeptical of this whole ’spreading democracy’ propaganda we like to believe. It’s harder than we might think. I’m also skeptical of President Koroma’s claim that he’ll end government corruption. Are there any governments that aren’t corrupt in some way? And it’s been such a vicious cycle in Africa. Just read Ayi Kwei Armah’s The Beautiful Ones are Not Yet Born.

So, to conclude, I have no idea how to fix the world, but we need to do something different soon. That said, I wish our forefathers had thought of post-election looting. Think of the cuts in government spending!

Yet Another Ex-Senator

You’ve probably heard it before – another sex scandal in the very sexy city of D.C.  A nice Senator from a nice red state gets caught seeking sodomy with his pants down.  Is this even news?  Are we surprised?

The interesting bit, I suppose, is the very sticky issue of how Republicans can deal with the fact that Craig wasn’t sneaking around with young people of the female persuasion – without committing hate crimes.

 While some in Washington and even within the Republican Party suggested that the homosexual nature of the charge was a significant factor, others took pains to make a distinction between Mr. Craig’s case and those of Mr. Vitter and Mr. Stevens.

Even the head of the Log Cabin Republicans found a way to excuse the hushed rush to expel Craig: