Among other things, this article about White House whining made a point of identifying Cheney as "a Republican."
How else would we have known that big-spending, war-mongering, Empire-seeking and ultra-Nixonian secret keeper Dick Cheney is the ugly spawn of a Party that once articulated small government, republican virtues of restraint and respect for sovereignty, and a belief that power and information should reside not centrally but in the hands of the states and the people?
The White House, pale in the light of brutal men and women on the American payroll in Iraq and elsewhere, cries shrilly, "Just leave us alone!"
Having raised children, I know that while being left alone can be healthy, the better part of my job is to annoy, inspect, question, clarify, monitor, and even entertain.
As for whining, I don’t tolerate it. But perhaps young Dick was raised differently.
Dick Cheney is indeed an amazing man. His Fat Cat in the Hat—style bait and switch "Operation Job Enhancement" back in 2000 led to his current position of power.
His most memorable achievement was selecting fools like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz to staff his foreign policy team, offering an Orwellian twist of the term gravitas. For those who still believe Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz are not fools, review the definition: "One who is deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding; One who acts unwisely on a given occasion."
My goodness gracious, the term fits perfectly.
In light of the political insanity all around me, I am simply driven to rhyme. As Dick Cheney himself might say, it is not my fault. With apologies to Dr. Seuss, I give you…
"The Dick in the House"
The Dick in the house is a curious fellow He says many things, not all of them mellow His truth is all true In many small tiny pieces But the bulk of Dick’s tales Are entirely specious. Dick has a big heart for the small-time dictator; He tends to befriend them, as ventrilo-quator. But watch out for danger, chaos, hoi polloi When wooden toys become real live boys. So we’ve our post-Taliban man in Afghanistan, Karzai in Kabul, the country to the Khans. Young Dick thought this fine, unrecognizing Afghanistan’s history of rebellious optimizing. "No matter!" Dick excites, "Iraq is in sight!" What Iraqi can resist in light of our might? The prize to be seized, an event most prophetical. No questions, you people It’s all patriot-ical. Today Dick worries with photos and film Of abuses most foul, raw icons of sin. Part and parcel to being unwanted, unled, American soldiers in Iraq become walking dead. But alas and alack, all dead souls aside, Dick and his friends quell none of their pride. Get off our backs, you Congressional hacks! And you people out there, raising doubt with your morals, Well, the Dick in the House will just rest on his laurels. Liberation, democracy, peace, gravitas, For the Dick in the House words mean just what he wishes. The solution, Dr. Seuss-style, is urgent! Go fast! Get that cat from the house, out the door, Dick be cast! And what shall we do with the mess he has made? A Republic in shambles, a Constitution waste-laid. They do not make Tupperware for holding this waste. We must stop the disaster, be bold, make haste. Take no "No"s for an answer, deny Dick his claim That all that he’s wrought is all in our name. Turn away from his pleas, stand firm with arms crossed. And be sure in November his whole clan is tossed. This story won’t end with a Kerry Dick-Lite. But this time when Stupid knocks on the door, Wave no flags, to be sure, and don’t be polite. Instead do what Mom has always advised, Don’t take candy from strangers, be prudent and wise. And if not, if we don’t, it sure won’t be pretty. As more folks like me are driven to poetry. So act now, and be firm, make the fools go away, May Don be the first, then Paul, then Cheney!
Karen Kwiatkowski [send her mail] is a retired USAF lieutenant colonel, who spent her final four and a half years in uniform working at the Pentagon. She now lives with her freedom-loving family in the Shenandoah Valley, and writes a bi-weekly column on defense issues with a libertarian perspective for militaryweek.com.
