Honestly, what’s with this signal rhetoric I keep hearing from the wingers? Here it is again:

By deploying a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf the United States has sent a “strong signal” that it is in the region to stay and working with allies to deal with an Iranian threat, Vice President
Dick Cheney said.

Really? Ships can leave as easily as they arrive. So how is there any “signal” about “staying”? And why is sending an aircraft carrier a better “signal” of “working with allies” than, say, a regional peace conference to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

It’s like Cheney’s a flasher, or something. Here come ol’ flattop, he come groovin’ up slowly, he opens his raincoat, flashes his massive Flugzeugträger, and all the children scream and run.

And that’s some signal, right?

It’s just so bizarre. Our ruling elite seems to live in a world where all they do is flash signals to each other, like Scooter Libby and those fucking aspens. But why signals? Is the corruption of their language so great that they can’t just use words?