You're Not Supposed to Kill Your Goldstein

Here's Osama on his 3rd date with Zawahiri - he let him hold his gun. But seriously, do you think these men think they're monsters, or do you think they feel justified in their actions? Remember, even young Osama had dreams of flower power and groovy rock n' roll:

The internet tells me that smiling lad in the circle is a young Osama Bin Laden. Austin Powers style. Like all supposed monsters, he was a young man once, no doubt concerned about getting laid. But something happened, something learned, some spirit took hold and he went off to fight instead, and once you get used to violence, more violence is always easier, and mayhaps predictable. So, James Bond Villain style, Osama and his gang took on the World, and well, they're still holding their own. And, more crucially, our world has changed because of Osama's war:

Our society, Western society in general, has lost much in this war. We've become desensitized, beaten down, made to cower and worry in fear. Our media feeds us daily hates and THINGS THAT WILL KILL YOU and everything seems so much more extreme, in every way.

Except, thank FSM, we have this guy, this Obama guy. He's like magic, I tell you, and I feel we rolled triple 6's in this wacky game of Risk we call "Our Lives" and got the perfect leader. I knew Obama was the real deal way back, and so am almost never surprised by anything he does anymore. He's incredible  - consider, he was roasting Trump and being roasted himself all the while this Operation Kill Goldstein was getting prepped and ready. He was calling the shots every step of the way. He was laughing at an Osama joke - ha. He's so cool, our Prez, Barack Hussein Obama. Damn!

The Force is strong in this one. If you'd like to know more about President Obama's policies, or history, or anything, feel free to ask. I love talking Obama!

This is one of the first pics of Obama I ever did download. 12/07/07, in a store in Iowa. Keepin' it real.

Think any of this will change any wingnut's minds?

I doubt it. I doubt many things these days - like war can ever end, or even slow down anymore. Small wars, mind you. Nothing that would truly disrupt global business. The Military Industrial Complex is deeply entrenched in every major country, and there's no putting that genie back in the bottle. So Obama can try and wind down all these wars - and hey, maybe not get involved in any more? And did I mention I am a SUPER HIPPY? I amaze myself with this, but it's true. If I had my wish, there'd be no more war, and we'd all live in peace and fellowship with the other, working for the common good, all of our needs met and our lives filled with pleasure and satisfaction...

But yes, I also realize we live in a hard world, with hard men, in hard times. The kind of men who put a bullet into the eye socket of OBL last night.

Sadly, we've created legions of these guys. Goons, willing and able to do almost anything, violent. And they probably think like mercenaries  too - and Lord Knows there's lots of new mercenary outfits out there. Why not? The USA is more than willing to outsource the killing and torture. Money talks.

Think of what the last decade has done - all the war, the random bombings, the torture, the real and manufactured fear, it's all added up to a fundamentally changed world. We're a more extreme place these days, with tactics improved, ways of killing improved, ways of seeing and hiding and plotting improved... it's not good stuff, but some of it may turn out to be good in the end. We'll see, won't we? At least there will be lots of explosions - always fun!

Also, too: When Bush just simply stopped caring about OBL, circa 2003, I figured it was per the orders from the secret powers: Having OBL alive and out there was far more valuable to the Cause than killing/capturing him. The "Cause" was ruining this country and making themselves incredibly rich. This of course was the role Emmanual Goldstein played in the book 1984, which, again, if you've not read since High School, you should give it a go again. It's fantastic, and terrifying. Because the Right is using it like a playbook, and it's working.

So, this morning, I woke up wondering how the Right would mock or otherwise dismiss this moment for Obama. And there you have it: You're not supposed to kill your Goldstein, you fool!

(Also, also: Your connection to this post is "Bearded Crazy Religious Men".)