Laughing and crying

Laughing and crying

In a comment on Mike’s weblog recently, I said it’s getting difficult to chronicle all the stupid, venal, ironic stuff going on these days – there’s just so much of it. Like how we’re now at “Orange Plus” threat level: “It’s a government warning! No, it’s a floor wax! Wait – it’s both!”

Or how Colin Powell “hinted” that if the Turks relented and let us get into Iraq from Turkey, he might be persuaded to give them $6 billion in “special economic assistance.” Memo to Colin: a bribe is a bribe is a bribe. No need to sugarcoat it now.

Or how Joe Lieberman, who in a land long ago and far away ran for vice president, has become one of Bush’s biggest cheerleaders on Iraq, saying, “if we do not disarm Saddam now, he will inevitably use his weapons against us or give them to terrorists who will.” Hey Joe, want this Bush yard sign?

Or how Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American” sparked a rodeo brawl.

Or how Bush himself last night asked the Iraqi people, through a translation of his “let’s roll” speech, to just sit tight and wait for their liberators – and while you’re at it, people, please don’t set fire to any oil wells, or commit any other war crimes for which you will surely be prosecuted.

It’s funny because it’s true.