Two things

At this point in time, there are two things that strike me most about the escalating carnage between Israel and Hezbollah, beyond the obvious idiocy of armed conflict itself.

The first is that in war, any war, no matter how "noble" the official goal or stirring the respective state-sanctioned propaganda may be, it is the common citizen who suffers most. Homes, families, and futures lost in an instant. Hearts and minds indelibly hardened against the "enemy" for a lifetime.

While it's only logical to condemn the random and indiscriminate Hezbollah rocket attacks against Israeli towns, it's simply impossible to look at images of dead and mutilated Lebanese children and feel that the Jewish State is justified in its present course of action either. Even the Voice of America is reporting that, as a result of unabated Israeli airstrikes, "the vast majority of the victims in Lebanon are civilians."

Tragically - and inexcusably - this bloody process seems to be perfectly acceptable to the Bush Administration.

Which brings me to point number two: our Dear Leader's mysterious reluctance, despite the afore-mentioned "collateral damage," to support an immediate cease-fire demand. Good God, didn't this Master of Misdirection just get through telling us how absolutely sacred every human life is? On strictly humanitarian grounds alone, then, what would possibly prevent any rational leader from calling for a simple end to the killing, if only as a first step toward a mutually acceptable solution to each of the feuding factions?

Instead, the Administration's position is that a cease-fire would only send a "false promise" of "stability and lasting peace" to the region. To which I can only say, "WHAT?!?!"

And so, like a boozed-up gang of soccer hooligans, the official stance of our government leaders is, "Fight! Fight! Let 'em duke it out 'cause it might turn out to our advantage somehow"?! Isn't that the same deranged mentality exhibited by the drunken crowd that cheered on Jodie Foster's brutal gang-rape in the 1988 film The Accused? And that's apparently who we have running this nation.

Into the ground.

The "logic" at work here is enough to make me bang my head against the wall in disbelief. "Since there's no permanent solution on the table right now, there's no point in stopping the violence at all, even temporarily." I want Conservatives to explain to me how that philosophy is compatible with that whole "culture of life," "family values" sloganeering that's been your rallying cry since 1994.

Imagine, if you will, that brand of reasoning applied to other issues in our society:

Since there's no existing permanent cure for AIDS, there's no point in distributing condoms, or being honest with the public about transmission facts, or supporting anything other than abstinence as a preventative measure.

Since there's no existing permanent solution to poverty, there's no point in continuing to waste money on federal programs for the poor, since that money could be much better spent on tax-breaks for the un-poor.

Since there's no existing permanent plan that will make our most obvious terrorist targets 100 percent secure, there's no point in spending homeland security funds based on risk, or in any way other than that which will curry favor with Republican campaign supporters.

Since there's no existing permanent solution to global warming, there's no point in even acknowledging that the problem is real, much less taking steps, however incremental, to address the crisis.

Since there's no existing permanent cure for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, or diabetes, there's no point in supporting ongoing scientific research with clearly ethical biological material.

Oops, I momentarily forgot. That way of thinking already has been applied repeatedly by this dangerous gaggle of incompetents.

I guess there's just one thing left to do. Since there's no existing permanent hope in sight that the Bush Administration will ever develop a glimmer of intelligence, diplomatic prowess, or real compassion, there's no point in supporting its judgments or policies at all. And there's every reason to work toward its immediate ouster from Washington, if only for the preservation of our national soul.

Hmmmm. Looks like that was three things after all.