Sunday, January 14, 2007

Of Boobs & Battalions


We've been told that Condaleeza Rice is an educated, talented, and brilliant woman. But would such a smart person have a conversation like this one? Check it out. This is from her testimony before Congress defending the proposed troop 'surge' in Iraq.

"HAGEL: My question was the escalation of American troops in Iraq.

RICE: But I think you asked who was supporting it. And I said the Kurdish parties, Prime Minister Maliki and his Shia allies, and the IIP support a plan to do this. And they know that the augmentation of American forces is part of that plan.

Now, as to the question of escalation, I think that I don’t see it, and the president doesn’t see it, as an escalation. What he sees…

HAGEL: Putting 22,000 new troops, more troops in, is not an escalation?

RICE: Well, I think, Senator, escalation is not just a matter of how many numbers you put in. Escalation is also a question of, are you changing the strategic goal of what you’re trying to do? Are you escalating…

HAGEL: Would you call it a decrease, and billions of dollars more that you need for it?

RICE: I would call it, Senator, an augmentation that allows the Iraqis to deal with this very serious problem that they have in Baghdad....."

I don't know how smart Ms. Rice really is, but I suspect even a child would be ashamed try such an audacious and obviously ridiculous stunt expecting to get away with it. I mean c'mon. Could it be at this point that the Bush Administration doesn't consult anything other than the Roget's Thesaurus when setting policy? It seems their idea of policy shift is to do the same thing as before but call it a different name in the hope Americans and the Congress don't remember what a synonym is. Do these assholes think we are that stupid? Do they even care?

For the life of me I don't know how she can sit there before Congress and America and spout such inane bullshit. Can it be that this brilliant PhD has no self-respect? Is it dedication to her job and career that drives her to blindly obey? Does she live in a bubble? Or is it love? I also wonder why Congress even bothers to question anyone from the Bush cabinet, since it's been six years now and every answer to every question has been pretty much the same.

The word 'augmentation' makes the deployment of additional forces to Iraq no more consequential than breast enlargement. Oh. Excuse me, I meant to say ' mammary enhancement'. Now it makes perfect sense! Ms. Rice is telling a predominantly male panel that sending more troops is like having bigger 'titties', and what man doesn't like seeing bigger 'titties'? Right guys?

Now that's logic for ya! Maybe she is smarter than we thought! (Though she could likely benefit from a boob job. Errr...that should be 'bosom escalation'. My bad.)

Kol Tuv

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

while your argument is correct, and she is a politician, spouting BS, its a shame you show have to show your misogynistic (sic) side

Shlomo Leib Aronovitz said...

Dear Anon,

Are you suggesting that men do NOT like large breasts? Besides, there are 10,000s of boob jobs done every year, mostly by women who already have snagged a man! (Who do ya think pays for it?) Women like larger breasts, too, and not because of men. Women have a silent competition going on among themselves. Women don't get dressed up to impress men, they do it to impress each other. We don't give a shit what you ladies wear. I frankly prefer whatever Nature gave a woman and fake plastic fun bags do nothing for me.

Or are you of the opinion that women are so weak and helpless that they must be overprotected and kept sacrosanct? Screw that. I like women enough to treat them just the guys and trust me, the women I know can give it as well as they take it and all in good fun.

Anonymous said...

"The word 'augmentation' makes the deployment of additional forces to Iraq no more consequential than breast enlargement."

I see nothing inconsequential about slicing up one's body in order to conform some patriarchal ideal.

Shlomo Leib Aronovitz said...

It seems this blog is attracting more people without a sense of humor.

"Say something funny and I'll laugh."

Yeah I know.

Shlomo Leib Aronovitz said...

Re: I see nothing inconsequential about slicing up one's body in order to conform some patriarchal ideal.

Neither do I. In fact, I am very uncomfortable with women or men who use cosmetics to hide minor imperfections or to enhance facial or body characteristics. I tend toward the natural beauty of things. I don't wear make-up and don't expect Janice too either. I certainly would never ask her or encourage her to undergo any surgery to alter her appearance unless such a procedure was part of a re-constructive effort based on a medical need. She would gladly back me up on that. Besides, I'm more of an "ass-man" anyhow.

Janice has an aunt who I thought was a very attractive woman for her age. We didn't see her very often and then next time we did, she looked odd. Apparently, she had a face lift and some other cosmetic surgery that made her look younger, but not better in my opinion. Frankly, she looks like an alien.

I do disagree that it is exclusively a 'patriarchal' ideal. Sure, men will hoot and holler and stare into breasts in conversation rather than your eyes. I have caught myself doing it, too. There are women with over-sized breasts who put them on public display (and make a good living from it) and stupid men, fascinated with the anatomical train wreck, will flock to the spectacle in droves. Yet, were you ask them is they would like their own wives or girl friends to be so endowed, they would say "No way!"

The need for breasts starts in puberty when the late bloomers notice the early bloomers getting more attention from adolescent boys. Breasts are symbolic of the change from girls to women and every culture recognizes that biological reality. Some men outgrow that biologically associated breast fixation and some women do not ever recover from the stigma of smaller breasts and late development. There are as many women and girls who pray for large boobs as there are men who wish be handling them. Do not think for a minute that women are rushing off to clinics for surgeries just because they want to please men. Women constantly compare themselves to other WOMEN!

If a woman wishes to impress me, it should be either artistic, practical, or intellectual. I would hope though that she dispenses with the need to impress and just be herself.

Anonymous said...

I disagree that it's not patriarchal. Centuries of patriarchal objectification and opression has seeped into the psyche of every male *and* female.

And I assert that the root of these women's competitiveness and desperate need for approval is patriarchal.

This is not a male bashing statement at all.
IMO, it harms all people, and limits the amazing potential we homo sapiens have for relationships and progress for *all* individuals and society.

Shlomo, It is definitely heartening that you try not to objectify women/people in your own life. To be honest, though, in reading some of your posts, I find some paragraphs to be laced with subtle misogony.