It's 1787 all over again

Vice-Emperor Darth Cheney's wife, Lynne Cheney gave a "history lesson" for elementary school children Tuesday, likening this week's parliamentary elections in Iraq to America's own early struggle for democracy.

"Two hundred and seventeen years ago, we held our first vote under our Constitution," she said. "We started then on the path the Iraqis are walking now."

Besides electing a 275-member National Assembly it paves the way for amendments to Iraq's new constitution. To win Sunni Arab support for the constitution, the Sunnis were promised they could propose amendments to it during the first four months of the new parliament's tenure. Cheney said that was "a very important historical parallel" with America's early democratic struggle.

"We did much the same thing in terms of our Constitution," Cheney said in an interview on CNN. "Many were reluctant to ratify (it) until they were told there would be amendments. ... So there are indeed many parallels and I look forward to talking with kids about it."

Where do I begin? Was Vermont and New Hamshire engaged in a religious civil war at the time? Iraq as the Thirteen Colonies? No difference in constitutional conventions or militias? Excuse me, but while the period between the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in 1781 and the drafting of the Constitution in 1787 was one of weakness, dissension, and turmoil the worst thing that happened back then was states printing up their own money and imposing taxes on other states' imported goods. Unlike in Iraq where a mix of foreign terrorists, former Sunni Ba'athists now insurgents, criminal gangs and religious militias have made life practically unlivable, the militias of New Hampshire and Massachusetts didn't go on raids slaughtering the good people of Maine or Connecticut unless I missed that in history class. It's more of the unreality W and his band of crusaders will sell until people stop buying it.

And get ready for another historical comparison if Iraq descends into full-blown (no pun intended) civil war. Then W and Darth and his wife Lynne will be endlessly quoting Lincoln and Rumsfeld will approvingly tell us "we had our own civil war and it's just a normal part of the bumpy road to democracy." The sad thing about them creating this fantasy world is that they don't have to live in it.

BONUS POSTING: "I think we are welcomed. But it was not a peaceful welcome." -- President George W. Bush in NBC interview, Dec. 12, 2005. This Orwellian doublespeak pretty much sums up the the up is down, night is day irreality over the last five years that plaintively wails for regime change.

BONUS POSTING 2: Orwell introduced us to the words doublethink and newspeak. A word he didn't use - but which combines the two - is doublespeak. Maybe W, Rove, Cheney, Condi and the rest of them can trademark it and reap some royalties.