No, THOSE are the bad guys!

President Bush thinks it's a bad idea to say hello to bad guys:

Sitting down at the table, having your picture taken with a tyrant such as Raul Castro, for example, lends the status of the office and the status of our country to him. He gains a lot from it by saying, look at me, I’m now recognized by the President of the United States.

This, of course, is in response to Barack Obama's continued statements that he would “never fear to negotiate” with anyone. Now, I'm not entirely convinced that Obama is correct on this. I would set down some pretty stringent conditions to meet with various dictators. My issue is what is the difference between the tyrant in Cuba and the tyrant in say... Saudi Arabia? This stark, black/white split between “with us” and “against us” doesn't serve us well, and it makes US foreign policy even more incoherent than usual.

The Saudis, Uzbekistan (they like to boil people alive) and Pakistan are the good guys. Iran and North Korea are the surviving members of the Axis of Evil. I dare you to figure it out.

Fun With Double Standards, Part 1

The most publicized item from Tueday's Democratic debate? Tim Russert's gotcha moment about Louis Farrakhan for Barack Obama, his slightly nuanced answer and Hillary Clinton's oddball coda. In the end, Obama both “denounced and rejected” Farrakhan.

And this is for good reason, Farrakhan and his Nation of Islam is notoriously anti-Semetic and often lunatic.

Today, John McCain (St. John of Straight Talk, if you watch CNN or MSNBC too often) received and celebrated the endorsement of John Hagee, pastor of a 19,000 parishioner megachurch in San Antonio. He's also the head of Christians United for Israel, a somewhat mislabeled group that fully supports Israel only as long as it promises to begin the end-times. Now, we accept many definitions of “support” but usually draw the line at “convert or suffer eternal damnation”. How serious is this gentleman about triggering the Apocalypse? Try this on:

The United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God’s plan for both Israel and the West… a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation, and Second Coming of Christ

Huh, sounds like fun. Now, will Timmeh or The Completely Insane Chris Mathews mention this come the time for next debate.

Of course not.

More fun with religious nuts available: Here