Instead of paying my taxes, I will volunteer to answer this question for the Bush administration. This will free up more time for them to figure out creative ways to kill all of us.

The old pope was Catholic some of the time.
The new pope formerly filled the office of the Grand Inquisitor, and is waiting for his Supreme Court appointment.

Pope? Catholic? You treasonous evildoer sympathiser. The Pope DID NOT attend STUTTS! Enough said.

I have it that he flunked out at STUTTS, made overtures to the White Rose Society but was rebuffed, roundly.

The last Pope wore specially made white leather Doc Martins.

Just saying.

Iran attacked...Shiites enraged...Russia and China will retaliate because they share oil and technology with Iran. Kiss your collective asses goodbye.

You know how bad things have gotten when you realize that even the presence of a Blofeld-like mastermind at the top of the heap sounds like a comforting reassurance. When you realize that there is NO EVIL GENIUS directing everything at all...just some idiots who happen to do evil things.

Planners also are debating whether launching attacks from Iraq or using Iraqi airspace would exacerbate the political cost in the Muslim world...

I wonder if the WP reporter threw that in there just to give a veneer of sanity to these war planners. I can imagine a lot of liberal hawks reading that part and saying: "I'm glad to see they're considering the 'soft power' aspects of this problem."

Look for that sentence in a future Tom Friedman column -- when he advocates war with Iran.

"Stupid? Insane? Evil? Or A Heady Combination Of All Three?"

I felt I ought to quote you, Jonathan. I really can't think of anything else to say and that sums it all up nicely.

Yes, this is the main problem with this blog - there's really nothing to add or amplify or clarify. It makes me feel useless and irrelevant.

Damn you, Jonathan Schwarz.

We need an emoticon for nodding sagely and a way of rapidly transporting hard liquor over the internet.

That's a thought that occurred to me, too: Russia could retaliate against a US target, just because -- shit, man! In fact, I'm going to e-mail Vladmir Putin right now to tell him to threaten that in the event of a preemptive nuclear strike against Iran (or any other nation, for that matter), Russia will destroy New York City. At the very least.

Please someone tell President Bush that "Left Behind" isn't supposed to be an instruction manual for foreign policy unless you are the Anti-Christ.

whimper. I find Kotsko's comment deeply terrifying. :(

There are some in conspiracy theory circles who claim that the Bush Family are a fifth column for German Nazis whose ultimate aim is to destroy America.

But I know someday they'll be proven wrong.

There are some in conspiracy theory circles who claim that the Bush Family are a fifth column for German Nazis whose ultimate aim is to destroy America.

Ah yes, but then why would a secret Fifth Column of Nazis be planning to do this by attacking a country whose name means Aryan?

Hmm?

(Cynical snicker and shake of the head)

Wow, Adam Kotsko certainly got radicalized in the last couple of years.