Don't you just love the way the White House calls virtually every dissident move by the Democrats, since the midterm election, "political theatre?" Well, talk about dramatic irony, key administration officials, the President, and First Lady even, are now calling upon China to intevene on behalf of Myanmar protestors, and Buddhist monks who have been getting slaughtered for speaking out against the military junta in the former Burma.

Somebody's short term memory is shot; after all, it was the Chinese who, in 1989, fired randomly into a crowd of protestors at Tiananmen Square kiling dozens. Now that China is officially a player, an anonymous administration honcho told The Washington Post that China has to keep their "clients" in check just like the other big bad empires.

Well, it looks like we can disabuse ourselves of the notion that Bush & Co's foreign policy is more a matter of ideology than political expediency while watching his Don Corleone approach to diplomacy. Who was it that said the only difference between organized crime and government is that organized crime pays better? (Well, they maybe didn't factor in the mega-bucks that military contractors rake in).

Those of us looking for fall foliage may have to wait until after January, 2009. But, think what you will, nobody can ever accuse this regime of not inventing anything--they're masters of duplomacy.