Ooopsie! Benghazi WASN’T an Al-Quaida attack after all. It WAS about that stinking anti-Islam video.

The much-maligned Ambassador Rice had it right the first time. While Repubs like Grand Theft Issa howled about “cover-ups” and “obvious terrorist attacks”, and bashed the testimony of real experts, they were ignoring the facts on the ground. And it is truly sick that our government never published the truth – it took a newspaper to tell us what really happened.

Almost as bad is that our “representatives” are still refusing to believe the facts, clinging instead to their partisan witch-hunts and idiotic conspiracy theories. Because it is evidently more important that they be seen as right than it is for our nation to be protected. Yes, “Republicans” still care only about their images and agendas, not about being honest with the American people.

Just like the Reagan-financed mujaheddin turned into anti-American terrorists, so too have some of the militias we armed more recently in Libya. And those Libyans, like the Afghans before them, turned against us after perceived slights against Islam. In this case, an American-made anti-Islam video that caused a riot in Egypt shortly before the Benghazi attacks was used by radical imams to whip these militiamen into a frenzy, after which they slaughtered a load of innocents in and near an American diplomatic post.

None of this absolves the Department of State for f***ing up the security arrangements at Bengahzi. Nor does it absolve the Congress for cutting funding for said Benghazi security. Indeed, the NYT report doesn’t absolve anybody, because everybody f***ed up: the Administration, the Congress, the “news” media, and the citizens of both countries.

Many of the lessons of Benghazi are still to be written. But here are a few, for starters:
Number A: Congresscritters with criminal pasts (like Darrell Issa) should NOT be considered credible sources of information;
Letter 2: Complicated situations rarely have simple, quick or easy explanations;
Thirdly: Our Infotainment media is almost useless: it took months upon months for a single source to finally publish a well-researched bit of actual journalism that gave the lie to almost all of the other “coverage” that had been crammed into our ears since the event. But then, when they all got punked by a comedian’s fake Twerking video, are we really suprised?

Here’s this writer’s main takeaway from Benghazi: don’t trust anyone with a political agenda, or any “news” source that just repeats politicians’ talking points; and don’t rush to judgment when the facts aren’t known yet. You know, things that we all used to know, and things we all used to do. Let’s remember Benghazi and honor those killed there by thinking for ourselves and demanding real facts, instead of just mindlessly believing the crap we get from glory-hound politicos and faux “news” sources.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Edward Snowden: The New, Improved Monica Lewinsky

Remember the 90’s? That was when a Dem got elected President, and the Repubs spent years manufacturing “scandals” so as to stop him from getting his agenda accomplished. Bulls*** allegation after bulls*** allegation, and finally one stuck to the wall: a stain on a gullible young lady’s dress, put there by our horndog Prexy Bubba. Finally, after years of effort, the “Republicans” had a scandal with which to distract the public and derail the administration’s efforts and policies. Oh, and to use to take the White House in 2000. Dirty politics, but effective. Even today, “Lewinsky” is a punch line.

Now we have another Democrat at 1600, and the Repubs have been working from the same playbook for his entire term. BS “scandal” after BS “scandal” has been thrown at Obama, and none has stuck. Not until Ron Paul supporter Edward Snowden decided to derail the administration. And he (or whoever he really works for) has upped the game considerably. Not just a stain or an “is” leaked at random moments: no, these releases of national security information are being timed to lead the media and the more gullible members of the public around by the nose:
* The initial “revelation” happened just after another attempted scandal was fizzling out,
* The “revelation” about spying on China came out right before Obama met with China’s leader,
*The “revelation” about spying on Russia came out right before Obama met with Russia’s leader, and then
*Right on cue, the son of the man Snowden supported in 2012 denounced Obama over the NSA “scandal”.

A well-coordinated and effective but of dirty politics, you’ll agree. And it will continue, because it seems to be working. Note that this writer is neither excusing Clinton’s pre-adolescent behavior with Ms. Lewinsky, nor is he standing up for the appalling breaches of privacy that the Bushies and their Patriot Act handed down to the present regime.

But, Gentle Reader, he IS saying that the “revelations” and “scandals” are part of a pattern of behavior that we have seen from the “Republican” party for many years now. Far too many of We The People are forgetting this, and allowing ourselves to be jerked around on the strings of various puppeteers, who are not doing this for the good of the country: no, they are doing this to stop Obama from getting anything done, so the Elephants can kick the Donkeys out of power once again. And it’s working, because far too many of us aren’t paying attention.

And if this disgraceful campaign of character assassination succeeds, you’ll have this latter-day Lewinsky to thank (or blame). Yes, the new and improved edition of a young naïf who hit their knees in order to “service” someone in a position of power. A punchline-in-waiting is he, aided and abetted by our national failure to pay attention when we are being manipulated.

The only question left is what sort of “stain” will be left on Mr. Snowden, and whether he can ever wash it away.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Victim, Schmictim

In Mr. Blunt and Cranky’s experience, real victims rarely play the victim card. He has friends and family members who suffer from MS, cancer, paralysis, poverty, you name it: and nary a one of them asks for pity or to have slack cut for them. No, these folks tough it out and deal as best they can. Admirable.

So when people like Mitt and Ann Romney whine about people being mean to them, it does not ring true: yes, she deals with horrible illnesses and he gets a lot of crap flung at him. But any objective observer would note that it is a helluva lot easier to deal with such problems when you have hundreds of millions of dollars than it is when all you have is Medicare and Social Security. Or even less.

When the leaders of Hamas and their antagonists both whine about the other guy beating them up on the playground and taking their lunch money, it does not ring true: because both sides are killing innocent bystanders as they petulantly bomb the s*** out of each other. Both the Jewish and Palestinian peoples have been horribly victimized over the years; and their leaders should recognize that self-evident fact and work together to ameliorate the horrific suffering of their people instead of pointing fingers at the “other side” and throwing the victim card ad nauseum.

Many other examples exist, and have done so for eons: American Christians who, though they are a majority, claim to be victimized by all sorts of phantom bogeymen; the Iranian President who exports terrorists and claims to be the victim of numerous Satanic shadowy international terrorist cabals; the wealthy who complain about taxation while paying the lowest rates in nearly a century; so many people who sit atop millions of genuine victims whilst falsely claiming to be victims themselves.

In fact, these faux victims are themselves victimizing other people. And that is truly revolting.

Mr. B & C