Ominous is the tone set by Ayatollah Khamenei when he, tiring of using both the carrot and the stick, stuck wholly with the stick, in reversing his position and insisting that there was no possible way they could have falsified a victory margin of 11 million votes in favor of Ahmadinejad over Moussavi.

That’s not rationality. That’s a refuge in audacity.

They didn’t manipulate election results; they fabricated them.

Coupled with the violent crackdowns of protestors, his words on what “democracy” is are particularly egregious in their doublespeak hypocrisy. This is no longer, as it was, an mere insult to the collective intelligence of the Iranian people. This is outright oppression.

The Ayatollah is calling for an inquiry into the Iranian “election” as protesters still battle riot cops (please check out those pics, please; ’security’ forces have been firing into the crowds), a South Carolina GOP activist compared Michelle Obama to a gorilla while neo-Nazis are buying up every gun in sight, and the yuppies are beginning to fear what may occur as the New York neo-Gilded Age crumbles.

Also, it’s the last day of school. Students trying doors for easy thefts, fights, and other wanton destruction. All in all, a good day to lock myself in the office and count the hours.