Ruling in hell.

Just when the pundits were predicting all-out pandemonium in Gaza, things seem to be kind of... well... not so chaotic, considering the place is being starved by a maniacal "international community" (i.e. Europe and America) and beaten by the local military hegemon (i.e. Israel). In just a couple of short weeks, Hamas has managed what Fatah couldn't do in months - free BBC reporter Alan Johnston. They're cracking down on organized crime, drug trafficking, even celebratory gunfire. Aside from that last item, it's unclear to me why Bush doesn't fucking love them, inasmuch as they're religious conservatives as well. And now reporters and the "experts" who love them (including many who thought the Iraq war was a great idea and are still on television) are finding themselves backed into saying something not entirely disparaging about Hamas, which by their expressions appears to be roughly equivalent to drinking their own urine. Oh my god! Hamas is governing! They're not acting like crazed chimps with machine guns, like we always said they would!

No question - Hamas has engaged in attacks against civilian and military targets. Name a resistance movement that hasn't. Fatah has done the same, and yet they seem to have no trouble getting the U.S. and Israel to talk to them, send them money, give them guns, etc. What's the difference? Don't say it's because Fatah renounced violence - not when the U.S. media and political culture have repeatedly linked them to the al Aqsa brigades, one of the most violent Palestinian groups. Besides, Hamas observed a long-term ceasefire with Israel, despite repeated provocations. The difference is this: Fatah follows orders, Hamas does not. Fatah has demonstrated again and again that they will not stand up for even minimal Palestinian rights. Hamas, on the other hand, shows signs of becoming the Israeli political culture's worst nightmare - a determined popular political organization that cannot be co-opted with promises of privileged trusteeship over the open air prisons that Gaza and the West Bank have become. When Bush and Olmert demand "recognition of Israel," they're really saying "recognize Israel's right to keep building settlements, take what they want, and impose their will on the occupied territories." That - and that alone - is why Bush and Olmert hate Hamas.

Staying the course. This is the first presidential campaign in my memory that hasn't featured a contender from the current administration. Not a huge surprise, since the Bush team appears to have the midas touch in reverse (everything they touch turns to shit). In fact, it's too consistent a pattern to be mere incompetence. Politically, Bush represents some of the most extreme right elements of the G.O.P. Usually the focus is on social "conservatives", but his true base is corporate America and people with enormous pots of money and no desire to part with any of it. Since 2001, Bush has steadily and methodically trashed the federal government, outsourcing its functions, privatizing its resources, and running what's left into the ground with his "hekuva job" cronyism. Even his astoundingly well-funded Pentagon is now largely a clearing house for private contracting. When he finally leaves, he will have gone a long way towards fulfilling the desires of his well-heeled supporters, turning the government into a cash cow and undermining public faith in its effectiveness and accountability for probably decades to come.

Do Dubya or Cheney care? Hell, no. They've got a job to do, and they're doing it.

luv u,

jp