Decertification Of Iran?

Ken AshfordForeign Affairs, Iran, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

BREAKING: Tillerson: Trump will not withdraw from Iran nuclear deal but will say pact is not in US national security interests. — The Associated Press (@AP) October 13, 2017 TRUMP on the Iran nuclear deal: “I am announcing today that we cannot and will not make this certification.” — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 13, 2017 These tweets are two hours … Read More

A Tweet From 2009 Could Haunt Rubio

Ken AshfordElection 2016, Gun Control, IranLeave a Comment

I’ve always seen Marco Rubio as one of the few “serious” GOP candidates and one who could pose an actual challenge to HRC.  But this tweet of his from 2009 is very… uh… Carsonesque. What a dumb thing to tweet.  It originally was published in the midst of the June 2009 protests stemming from allegations of elections fraud and the violent … Read More

Michael Stipe Loses His Religion

Ken AshfordElection 2016, IranLeave a Comment

There was a poorly-attended Tea Party rally against the Iran nuclear deal Wednesday, and at the rally, Donald Trump used the R.E.M. song, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” as his walk-on music. The band was not amused: R.E.M. Slam Trump: ‘Go Fuck Yourselves’. “Go fuck yourselves, the lot of you — you … Read More

Obama Calls Out The Iraq War Prevaricators

Ken AshfordIran, IraqLeave a Comment

President Obama’s speech on the Iran nuke deal was a classic. He made a convincing argument for supporting the agreement and provides a plausible overview of what will happen if Congress doesn’t approve it. But he also talked about those opposing the deal, pointing out that these people are the same ones who got us into a costly and pointless … Read More

The Iran Deal

Ken AshfordIranLeave a Comment

Iran (on the one hand) and the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany (together with EU foreign policy chief)(on the other hand) finally reached an agreement to end the sanctions against Iran this morning after 22 months of intensive talks. As a result of the agreement sealed within the Islamic Republic’ outlined framework and red lines, the following … Read More

Breaking: Tentative Iran Deal Reached

Ken AshfordBreaking News, IranLeave a Comment

Both Iranian and European Union officials are announcing that a deal has been reached regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The announcement comes as talks in Lausanne, Switzerland between Iran and the P5+1 passed the March 31 deadline to come to an understanding before a final comprehensive agreement is completed by June 30th. Iran President Hassan Rouhani tweeted: ”Solutions on key parameters of … Read More

“Isn’t This The Ultimate Degree of the Collapse of Political Ethics and the US System’s Internal Disintegration?”

Ken AshfordCongress, Iran, Obama Opposition, RepublicansLeave a Comment

That’s a direct quote from the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, in reference to letter written to Iran and signed by 47 Republican senators essentially trying to sabotage negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. Thanks, GOP, for showing how divided and unreliable and unresolute America is.

47 Traitors Get Schooled By Iranian Foreign Minister, Who Understands The US Constitution

Ken AshfordCongress, Iran, Obama Opposition, RepublicansLeave a Comment

A GOP letter from Senate Republicans to Iran about the pending nuclear deal warns Iranian leaders that any agreement between Washington and Tehran could be voided by Congress and simply not upheld once Obama leaves the White House in 2017.  The letter was spearheaded by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). Naturally, it received some backlash.  White House press secretary Josh Earnest was unusually blunt … Read More

Senate Republicans Overstepping Their Authority

Ken AshfordCongress, Constitution, Iran, Republicans1 Comment

Can you imagine if this was 2006 and the Democrats did this to Bush? A group of 47 Republican senators has written an open letter to Iran’s leaders warning them that any nuclear deal they sign with President Barack Obama’s administration won’t last after Obama leaves office. Organized by freshman Senator Tom Cotton and signed by the chamber’s entire party … Read More

Iran Bans The Mullet

Ken AshfordIranLeave a Comment

They really did.  Also long hair, ponytails.  Basically, anything "western" in terms of hairstyles. Banning the mullet — that'll show us they mean business.  Well, business in front. Ironically, the mullet may not have originated in Western civilization: The haircut may have originated in the Middle East, but Alan Henderson, author of Mullet Madness!: The Haircut That's Business Up Front and a … Read More

Palin’s Lackluster Reading Skills Exposed

Ken AshfordElection 2012, IranLeave a Comment

From an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace: WALLACE: I know that three years is an eternity in politics. But how hard do you think President Obama will be to defeat in 2012? PALIN: It depends on a few things. Say he played, and I got this from Buchanan, reading one of his columns the other day. Say he played … Read More

A Nobel Peace Prize For….. Twitter?

Ken AshfordIranLeave a Comment

There's some serious discussion about it, mostly because of the role it played in involving the world in the Iranian revolt. Of course, what did Twitter actually do?  It provided the platform.  It was the people using Twitter that really "done good".  So giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Twitter is kind of like Time magazine making "you" the Person … Read More

The Actor And The “Bullet Fee”

Ken AshfordIran1 Comment

If you were following the situation in Iran this weekend, you no doubt already know about Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman shot and killed in Iran on Saturday, who has since become an international symbol from the time the gruesome video of her death went online. [I won't post the Neda video here — too disturbing even for me — but you can … Read More