shut up, george!

George W. Bush should simply shut up.

I mean, c’mon: calling Iran’s development of nuclear technology (which is equally likely to be for energy needs as weaponry, if not more so) a potential catalyst to World War III is ludicrous, reckless, and pedantic.

You, Mr. Bush, are a fool. You’re trying to pick a fight for the sake of picking a fight. It’s the same smoke screen that you brought up after things got boring in Afghanistan and you threatened Iraq, which we all know had nothing to do with the events of September 11, 2001!

And witness the quagmire we created: a civil war in which we play no role other than as catalyst for violence.

Iran is no pressing or major threat to the United States. Yes, it is a state that neither has a system of government that is like ours (though it’s not overly far removed, given the current situation in Washington, DC), nor is it fanatically Christian (two things that Bush and his neo-con buddies seem to think are the linchpins to “proper” government). But it is a state that is remarkably stable – something that should be lauded in the region, not demonized.

I know that Bush and his cronies – Cheney and Rice, as well as Rove, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz in the past – know nothing other than the “us-versus-them” politics of the Cold War, and have been trying their best to re-create the old system by creating a New American Empire. It’s foolish and amazingly shallow, and when Bush says that it’s his calling to do this, he inserts his religion into the matter.

Here’s a big clue for you, Mr. Bush: most of the people of the United States – to whom you should answer – do not ascribe to evangelical crusades in our name. Indeed, there are many of us who don’t ascribe to your god or to religion, in general.

And guess what: those of us who aren’t religious are not amoral heathens. As has been the case many times in history, having religion does not guarantee moral character. And in that way, Mr. Bush, you give a very bad name to Christ’s teachings.

I doubt Christ would’ve wanted you in his church.

And if you dangle the prospect of World War III over our heads in what seemed like a flip comment at your afternoon “presser,” you come across as a man so removed from morality that it leaves me wanting your input out of our international affairs equation as soon as possible.

As one of your predecessors once said: “speak softly, but carry a big stick.” Don’t spout words out of your ass, because it makes you look like one.

And one more thing, Mr. Bush: if you’re going to bash public health insurance, then I encourage you to drop the health care that you get with your current occupation. That is public health care, after all, and if you’re against it, put up or shut up.