Liz Cheney, Richard B. Cheney, In My Time: A Political Memoir, Threshold Editions

"...It's lonely,
No one else to torture.
Give me absolute control,
Over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
That's an order."

Leonard Cohen


Robert Burns. Epigram On The Laird Of Laggan

When Morine, deceas'd, to the Devil went down,
'Twas nothing would serve him but Satan's own crown;
"Thy fool's head," quoth Satan, "that crown shall wear never,
I grant thou'rt as wicked, but not quite so clever."

1793


The "New York Times" (08/26/11) reviewer Michiko Kakutani started her review of the new-fangled Cheney memoirs by the rhetorical suggestion: "In an interview on NBC's ''Dateline,'' former Vice President Dick Cheney says that his new book, ''In My Time,'' will have ''heads exploding all over Washington.'' Whatever readers think of Mr. Cheney's politics, their heads are more likely to explode from frustration than from any sense of revelation. Indeed, the memoir -- delivered in dry, often truculent prose -- turns out to be mostly a predictable mix of spin, stonewalling, score settling and highly selective reminiscences. " Because Cheney, before his health problems, was not a psychopath he is now but, on the contrary, presented a voice of reason within the conservative wing of Republican Party, I am of opinion that circulatory problems erased some essential structures in his brain. [1]  In the words of Murky Muffley, the President in the Dr. Strangelove epic, "there is nothing to explain. That man is psychotic." Indeed, there is nothing to explain [2].


Footnotes

[1] According to hearsay, after the end of the Cold War, Cheney as a defense collected CEOs of the largest Pentagon contractors and told them that the country does not need 20-25 major arms manufacturers anymore and can sustain only 6-7. Another fit of reason happened to him when asked by a Polish defense minister when Poland will be included to NATO he answered: "Never." Defense minister said that Poland will nevertheless become a member of NATO, with or without his goodwill, and he responded, in a characteristically cynical manner: "Good luck." Of course, NATO was enlarged during the Second Clinton Administration turning America into an old style colonial Empire. Cheney, as a VP, presided over the largest enlargement of NATO thus saddling the US with a set of practically untenable defense obligations for a quite obscure gain.

[2] Cheney and his daughter seem to gloat from the curses by the liberals. The problem with him not only that his policies were immoral and sadistic but that they were unsuccessful and, ultimately, disastrous. There is a difference you know, between the Cardinal Armand Du Plessis Richelieu and Joseph Goebbels. Both were immoral and faithless cads. Richelieu could also be very cruel. Reportedly he invented the phrase "Justified by the reasons of the State" after soldiers whom he sent on another security sweep pillaged a convent and raped the nuns. Yet his policies led to the glory of his country and its people. Goebbels' policies led to ruination of his nation and the complete destruction of heinous ideology he supported.

Russian Elections (itogi)

The net result of all protest demonstrations heavily sponsored by US and, especially, European taxpayers was a real consolidation of the Russian electorate behind Putin. Whatever narrative will be invented now to describe his victory, the simple fact is that he received the mandate on legitimacy, which was hardly achievable before the views and behavior of the opposition leaders had less popular exposure. There are many ways policy can be changed in a dictatorship: street protests, armed rebellion, palace coup, foreign pressure on the leader, etc. Policy can be changed in a democracy in only two ways: one is a formation of a popular party, which can challenge the ruling consensus, another is infiltration of a ruling party by people with different views. And that's it.