Quote of the Day

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Joel Award: Fred Barnes

It is time to give out the Joel Award. The award goes any celebrity, pundit, blogger or politician that purposely contradicts himself or herself.

The speed at which Fred Barnes contradicts himself on Fox News is amazing.

And then when you see, you know Obama has used — the most pathetic thing is to say, gee, well, we were involved in 1953 — 1953! This is an extremely young society. You think those demonstrators are thinking, well, we hope the U.S. stays out because they were involved in 1953? That's total nonsense.

Barnes then declares inside knowledge to the collective memories of the Iranian people.

POWERS: I think there is a history there.

BARNES: 1953?

POWERS: They do remember the United States meddling.

BARNES: No, they don't.

Barnes doesn't seem to have a problem remembering 1953 Iranian coup d’état engineered by the CIA on President Eisenhower's orders. The Democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq. The Prime Minister nationalize Iran's oil industry. The British wanted the oil and unsuccessful attempting to overthrow Mosaddeq. The British imposed an embargo.

The Shah and Mosaddeq had a fallout over the contol of the military. Mosaddeq resigned and protesters took to the streets. Three days later Mosaddeq would be back in office.

The West interfering with Iran's oil revenue and political process. Barnes is a fool if he believes Irans won't remember their own country's history.

Conservative columnist George Will explains how short sighted the neoconservative criticism President Obama is.

WILL: The president is being roundly criticized for insufficient, rhetorical support for what’s going on over there. It seems to me foolish criticism. The people on the streets know full well what the American attitude toward the regime is. And they don’t need that reinforced.

Warnings unheeded

Nearly 50 years ago, another Republican president said farewell to the nation with a warning about the growing strength of the ties between the military and corporations. Eisenhower said:

Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet, we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved. So is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Tonight, Bush ended his own farewell address with references to Iraq -- an unneeded war where private/corporate militias were heavily relied upon for fighting.

And Ike -- a real Republican -- rolls over in his grave.

Au revoir, Bush. Be sure not to cause anymore catastrophes on your way out, if you can help it.