Tweets of the Day: What To Do About the Great Dictator?

We can't bring ourselves to post an image of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, so in his place, we have an image of Mad King George. The other two images are Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn., top) and The Katzenjammer Kids, a beloved American comic strip of yesterday; we are using their image in reference to a tweet from the always hilarious faux news publication "The Onion."

Though many of these tweets suggest vast opposition to intervention in Syria, I support any measures as it now seems clear that thousands and thousands could be randomly killed if something is not done to stop him and his insanity. But, we do feel obligated to show a range of public opinions.

Here we go:

1) CommonKnowledge (@CommonKnowUK): "China sends warships to #Syria. Joining Russian warships in the Mediterranean."

2) Raquel E Saraswati @RaquelEwati: "Oh Thank God Madonna lent her foreign policy expertise to the debate on #Syria. SAID NO ONE EVER."

3) Reason @reason, a conservative Libertarian magazine: "Polls show Americans demand Obama get Congressional approval for #Syria airstrikes."

4) TheNation @thenation, a liberal magazine: "President Obama was right to seek approval to strike Syria- but new Congress must turn him down."

5) Hurriyet Daily News@HDNER: "Eleven G-20 states, including #Turkey and #US urge strong response to #Syria #chemicalattack"

6) The Onion @theonion: "Nation Throws Great Temper Tantrum Upon Learning Syria is Complex, Nuanced Issue."

7) Dennis Kucinich @Dennis_Kucinich, a former Democratic congressional rep from Ohio:"Busy day today! I'm on @oreillyfactor tonight; 8:30 ET talking #Syria. Tune in if you can."

8) Roll Call @rollcall: ""Cong. Eric Cantor (R-Va) sees Syria vote coming within two weeks."

9) Slate @slate: "With #Syria, Obama made the exact same mistake Bill Clinton made 20 years ago with Serbia."

10) The Daily Beast @thedailybeast: "@nytimes staffers got 'physically ill' watching and editing #Syria execution video."

11) The Hill @thehill: "Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) leaning towards supporting military action in Syria."

12) DenverPoliticsNews @denverpolitics: "AP Survey: House shows opposition to Syria attack."

http://www.theonion.com

http://www.rollcall.com/

http://reason.com/

http://www.thenation.com/

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/

Special Quote of the Week- Ayn Rand

Yes, since we love being ironic here, we thought we'd quote Ayn Rand just 48 hours after we quoted Che Guevara. One is a libertarian, far-right icon and the other is a socialist, far-left icon. Guess which one is which?

Even though the Russian-American author Rand (1905-1982) has been dead for almost 30 years,(she ironically died the same year that Warren Beatty won an Oscar for director for his 1981 film "Reds;" it was about the American left-wing figure John Reed who made Rand's journey in reverse), due to the emergence of Tea Party lunatics and the filmazation of her 1957 novel "Atlas Shrugged," she is making waves again. Wow, that last sentence was way too long alas Javier the Intern, who does all the editing for us is having lunch with his frat brothers at Burger King. (Ok, this is a no joke, there is no Javier, but I could use a personal assistant!).

The movie version of "Atlas Shrugged" has a 6.1 user average on the Internet Movie Database, and it is currently showing at the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., among other places.

Here is the quote from Rand:

"The creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others."

SIDEBAR_ Those who like Ayn Rand probably read "Reason" magazine as well. Along with "Weekly Standard," the publication happens to be one of the few conservative magazines ("Reason" is known for its libertarian perspectives) I don't despise. Ironically, an article from that magazine was republished in the left-leaning "Utne Reader."

According to reason.com and its perceived political bias, the government's 'war on speculators' won't lower gas prices. I guess those of us who are liberal can agree with conservatives than paying circa $50 at the tank is ludicrious. The only thing that has inflated as much in recent years has to be concert ticket prices. Why do some people shell out $60 for REO Speedwagon tickets? I saw them with Cheap Trick as a teenager in 1985 for like $17. I don't know....

Also, we wanted to share something about Osama bin Laden, who as everyone except maybe a Buddhist monk in a village in Bhutan, knows was killed over the weekend (there are of course conspiracy theories out there as insane as one that would suggest Joe Biden and him are hanging out Firebrick Pizza*; we assume Osama wouldn't want pork on his pizza or beer with his meal**).

That is his age; he was 57. For some reason, no one mentions this, not even the BBC! Interestingly enough, television viewers in America that year could watch the following shows, "Leave it to Beaver," "Maverick," "Perry Mason" and "The Howdy Doody Show."

*-Firebrick Pizza is real place in Washignton, DC

**- Yes, we know there is nothing funny about mass murder and terrorism, but we have to make fun of people who think he's still alive (?!), and of course as a Turkish-American (my late father was a Muslim), I can make subtle fun of certain aspects of Islamic life. Fortunately, very few are actually terrorists, but alas the few who are cause great, unjustified damage to the faith's followers. Hopefully, one day this will be corrected and I certainly hope that day comes sooner than later.

My Top Ten Likely Republicans Likely to Run List

This entry will seem ironic to many of you who are familiar with my politics. I jokingly say that would likely vote for a Democrat over a Republican even if Howard the Duck* was the candidate though there are a select few GOP members who I might well pull the lever for including my good friend Cong. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

But, as a political junkie, I have to state who I think will likely run against President Barack Obama in 2012 since the process will get underway in a mere ten months, which illustrates how insane the American electoral process has become.

Most of these entries are either present or former governors of current senators, with the exceptions of Cong. Eric Cantor (R-Va) and former house speaker Newt Gingrich.

Here are my predictions (yes, #10 is a bit of a joke):

1. Mitt Romney (pictured)
2. Bobby Jindal
3. Tim Pawlenty
4. Sarah Palin?!
5. Mike Huckabee
6. Eric Cantor
7. Newt Gingrich
8. Lindsay Graham
9. Charlie Crist
10. Joe Lieberman

We are going to be adding some new links within the week to the liberal magazine "The Nation" and from the other side of the spectrum the intriguing, libertarian magazine "Reason," which is focusing on the late author Ayn Rand for its cover story.

*-Howard the Duck actually 'ran for president' during several issues of the Marvel Comics' series back in 1976.