Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?

Illustration by Tenniel

"Will you walk a little faster?" said a whiting to a snail.
"There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail.
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!
They are waiting on the shingle -- will you come and join the dance?
"Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?

"You can really have no notion how delightful it will be
When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!"
But the snail replied "Too far, too far!" and gave a look askance --
Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance.

"What matters it how far we go?" his scaly friend replied.
"There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.
The further off from England the nearer is to France --
Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.
"Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?"

                                                           Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

In a word?  NO. 

Illustration by Tenniel

These days I think I'm living in some even more twisted Wonderland....and not in a good way. Alice displayed a healthy amount of skepticism as met the challenges of Wonderland. Our feckless president, however, wants We, the People to hail him as the greatest president ever, the peacemaker of the world, the bringer of Christ to the masses, and first living guy to be canonized as a saint. Nah. We, the People may not be too bright, but we're not nearly that collectively stupid. Nor do we really get off on our own heads spinning out of control...and that's his favorite game. Keep us all off kilter with his musical game plans. None of it is real; it's all horse-hockey.

• Yes, we have a deal with Iran....but I'm bombing them tonight.
• They agreed to everything I wanted.....but I'm bombing them tonight.
• Their nuclear program has been obliterated...but they can still enrich
• I've destroyed their entire regime....but I'm leaving the leadership intact. 

Our heads are spinning so fast...

This is a really good example from the New York Times: 

“They can never go beyond a certain amount,” he said. But when asked whether that limit was the same as in the Obama-era agreement — which limited enrichment to 3.67 percent, a level that is usable in power reactors but not weaponry — he said only that the new accord would assure that “they can only enrich for nonmilitary purposes. Forever.”

Huh? And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. 

Yet, the regime remains. The thousands of Iranians who were murdered and executed without trial no longer matter. The reason he claimed we were going to war was simply bullshit. The real reason was to manipulate oil prices and enrich his own pockets and those of his friends. Exxon Mobil, Shell, and Chevron all saw huge increases in profits as the price per barrel shot up. And while prices at the gas pump will drop, it's not really a windfall for the consumer. It's all optics. President Felon is just hoping/trusting We, the People, are stupid enough to join his happy dance because his great statementshit caused the price at the pump to drop a few pennies. 

But just like with the people of Ukraine, President Felon has grown bored and now abandons the people of Iran. As for the Hezbollah occupation of Lebanon, Feckless President Felon said:

 We do want to see if we can straighten out the Lebanon thing. It just seems to never end. Hezbollah, we have to have a little talk with them.

And whatever happened to the Gaza City Riviera he was planning to build? He must've figured out there was real work involved. It's all a mountain of lies over lies.

Pongo &Perdita

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I had cousinly houseguests over the weekend. I cooked strictly vegetarian and discovered Impossible Beef makes great tacos! My cousin Perdie delivered a terrific talk about the Park Slope Food Coop debacle. I am just so damn proud of the work she is doing to fight BDS. One of the saddest parts is the damage it's doing to Palestinian owned business in Israel; they are caught in the crosshairs and the folks fighting BDS are banding together to help those very businesses stay afloat. Which only emphasizes the reality that BDS doesn't give a shit about Palestinians. Go, Perdie!

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Today's tip comes to you from William Pitt:

Where law ends, tyranny begins.

William Pitt the Younger

28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806