Obama's quote on Iran

Obama says that he, "understands the Iranian people have deep concerns about the election."

Oh dear, he really doesn't get this, does he? Imagine Churchill said something like this in the early days of the second World War. That he understood that the Polish people had deep concerns about the German army invading from the west, and the Russian army from the east? Yeah, I've heard the line that he is trying to look like he's not interfering in internal Iranian politics, or that the next leader of Iran won't be any different, but it doesn't excuse the incredibly weak language. Its like you are an upset customer, and Obama, the service rep repeats, yeah I understand. You know nothing is going to be done, and worse you know he knows that you know, or something like that. Aren't we proud of our political traditions and the right to vote? Couldn't he have said something affirmative about our belief in liberty? You can be cagey, and still give support.

Vae Victis

Woe at 1:17 in this clip



Perhaps a phrase from history might make a point?

Lebensunwertes Leben

Or this picture?




"This person suffering from hereditary defects costs the community 60,000 Reichsmark during his lifetime. Fellow German, that is your money, too."
(ht: Wikipedia)

Politics of the Office

The Power Line blog has been doing yeoman work in covering the close race between Franken and Sen. Coleman in Minnesota.

In one particular article they wrote, What's Happening In Minnesota? part 7, they quote an article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

The referee in Minnesota's hotly contested Senate race must act in a nonpartisan fashion, yet Ritchie came to office through a nationwide partisan strategy. He was elected in 2006 as part of a national campaign to ensure that Democrats could wield influence in precisely the sort of hair's breadth race we now have here.

Call me an idealist, but when you start trying to control the referee in the match so you get the close call there is just something wrong about that. Of course nobody would dare ever ask the question: "How would you prefer your election officials to act? Do you want them to act as a neutral judge? Or perhaps you want them to be the tie breaker?"