grilled dogs

I have been largely silent on the situation in Iran, simply because I am a jaded, cynical bastard. Yeah, we all know that the election was rigged, and thus is one hell of a travesty. Yeah, people are being oppressed, subjugated, beaten, assaulted, and controlled, and their natural rights are being forcibly abridged left, right, and center. Yeah, it sucks all manner of hardcore.
But do you honestly think it is going to change?
First off, the populace of Iran is completely disarmed, or near enough that the point is still moot. The only people who have firearms are official state representatives… and you and I both know what side of the fence they will be coming down on. When it comes to “guys without guns” against “guys with guns”, it is going to take a lot more of the former than we have been seeing, and I just do not expect that to happen. Second, the protestors, while numerous, are outnumbered by the vast majority of Iranians who would very much prefer it if those hot-headed folks just went back to their lives, and let the good Ayatolla take care of them like they are supposed to. Third, they are protesting against decades of governmental power-consolidation, and frakking millennia of religious power-consolidation, and I have some very significant doubts as to the efficacy of such a protest. Finally, no matter the outcome, or the probability of those end results coming to pass, this mass protest / revolution / whatever you want to call it is something that the Iranian people have to do on their own. We already took a turn around the dance floor to the tune of “Revolution in Iran”, and, personally, I think once was enough for our country. The Iranian people (or at least some of them) are, indeed, fighting for freedom, and self-determination, and everything else we Americans hold (or held, in some cases) dear… but it is not our fight.
More power to them for trying, I sincerely wish them the best of luck, and I wish success was in the realm of possibilities for them… but I will not be holding my breath.
However, when it comes to the American government’s reaction, or lack thereof, to the Iranian government’s oppression of its citizens… well, that I can comment on, and I have to admit to this particular piece of news making me all manner of sick:

The United States said Monday its invitations were still standing for Iranian diplomats to attend July 4 celebrations at US embassies despite the crackdown on opposition supporters.

President Barack Obama’s administration said earlier this month it would invite Iran to US embassy barbecues for the national holiday for the first time since the two nations severed relations following the 1979 Islamic revolution.

“There’s no thought to rescinding the invitations to Iranian diplomats,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.

“We have made a strategic decision to engage on a number of fronts with Iran,” Kelly said. “We tried many years of isolation, and we’re pursuing a different path now.”

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.
Iran’s election was rigged from just about every direction possible. Iranian women are being shot in broad daylight for daring to object to their government’s election fraud (if you have not watched the video, you should, but only if you are prepared to watch a woman die before your eyes). The protests in Iran, and the governmental crackdown on the protestors, are getting more and more energetic and violent.
And our Glorious President invites Iranian diplomants to a Fourth-of-July cookout. On the day when we established our freedom from the tyrranical control of an oppressive empire, our government’s leaders will be breaking bread with representatives from one of the most totalitarian, despotic, and authoritarian regimes in the world – a regime that is actively and violenting crushing opposition as we speak.
Words cannot express how disgusted I am. I can only hope that someone “accidentally” cooks up a batch of All-American hot dogs for our ever-so-important Iranian guests…