or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
•
"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
October 22, 2004
The New Boss Isn't Doing A Great Job At Differentiating Himself From The Old Boss
I'm always amused when people seize upon Iwad Allawi's rhetoric about democracy as though it means something. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. (Current odds: twelve billion to 1 against.) But just the fact that a leader speaks about their commitment to democracy means nothing.
As an example, let's look at a recent statement by Allawi:
"Our decision to build a democratic society based on the constitution, the rule of law and political pluralism is a decisive, irrevocable decision... it is time to start building the pillar of the new faith, in spite of all the difficulties."
Sounds good, doesn't it? That Allawi, he really wants a democratic Iraq! And he won't back down!
Except... I lied. Allawi didn't say that. Those were the words of Saddam Hussein on March 16, 1991.
Posted at October 22, 2004 11:18 PM | TrackBackWhy pick at Allawi in particular? Bush now claims we went to war to install democracy in Iraq. The sincerity of his commitment to democracy can be gauged by his administration's policies in Venezuela, where they tried by crook and hook to rob the popular vote recipient of his office to install a plutocratic oligarchy. Oh, wait...
Posted by: Fazal Majid at October 23, 2004 06:28 AM
