Coming Apart

While we were having the Thanksgiving feast, 202 Iraqis were killed in bomb blasts in Sadr City. There were other blasts in other cities.
The neo-conservative dream of the mighty American Empire is a whirlpool of death and violence spun out of control. What is our goal?

I happened to see Chris Matthews interviewing a retired general Batiste. The general said this Iraq thing was the first step in a long, expensive war against jihadists. Mr. Matthews tried to pin the general down on which factions within Iraq were jihadists.
There was some twisting and squirming, but it became apparent that the general had no idea what he was saying. He had been put on the TV and his mouth was moving and that was enough, thank you. The days of empty rhetoric lay strewn behind us on this particular road to ruin.

I don't think anyone knows what they are doing, other than waiting for James Baker to make a report. Then, the report having been made, we can watch more talking heads talk about Iraq while thousands die. Is there anybody in charge anymore? Are we actually adrift as badly as it seems to me? What Congress may do is limited. The President and the Vice President indicate they will resist anything from Congress, then point their fingers at the Democrats saying, "See! They are are witless and empty-headed as we are!"

We retreat into the insularity of our twin feasts of consumerism: Thanksgiving and Christmas. We stuff more food into our faces and spend more and more on useless gee-gaws. The PlayStation 3 garners more interest than the disasters accumulating on our doorstep. There were some retailers open on Thanksgiving day! That must have been great for the employees. They were paid triple time and no doubt hired a caterer to do their own Thanksgiving dinners. We have all been exhausted by the elections and the failure of our government in Iraq. We choose not to see anything but turkey and mistletoe, bright lights and glitter. Who could blame us?