Welcome to Dick Cheney's World of Endless War.

Cheney devoted the (Los Angeles World Affairs Council) speech to a frightening characterization of the war on terrorism and the new kind of mobilization he said it demanded. He sounded the alarm about the increasing prospects of a major new terrorist attack and the extraordinary responses that are required. While many of his remarks echoed past comments by the president and senior officials, Cheney struck a surprisingly dour note and suggested only an administration of proven ability could manage the dramatic overhaul necessary for the nation's security apparatus. ...

He also said the administration was planning to expand the military into even more overseas bases so the United States could wage war quickly around the globe.

The actual text of Cheney's speech is here. Some significant gems on domestic policy from it:

Strong growth has also begun to bring down the unemployment rate -- and that is a critical objective ...

This is total garbage. The last employment report showed the creation of a mere 1,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate dropped because 300,000 people ran out of the unemployment benefits that the administration refused to extend.

Our administration and Congress have also addressed other urgent needs in domestic policy -- among them ... reforms in the forest management to help prevent the kind of catastrophic wildfires you have seen here in Southern California this past year.

Garbage again. He is referring to the "Healthy Forests" initiative, a boon-doggle for the logging industry. In fact, the logging industry has no interest in the area of the southern California fires, and in fact, widefires are caused by accumulated groundcover, not by the trees that logging companies are interested in cutting.

Starting in on foreign policy:

Then ... came the announcement by Libya's Colonel Muammar Ghadafi that his regime would voluntarily reveal and dismantle its nuclear and chemical weapons programs, as well as its longer range missiles and biological weapons-related efforts ... the welcome commitments from Colonel Ghadafi, will bring greater security to the American people, and to our friends and allies.

Garbage again. Ghadafi's WMD programs were in tatters and he had no hope of ever achieving any military capability from them.

But then he really starts to kick it:

Yet especially in moments of success, we need to remember the long-term nature of the struggle we are in, and the serious dangers that still exist.

Mind you, we're only two minutes through Cheney's 30 minutes at the podium at this point, and over half of that time and 90% of his actual speech is about all war all of the time. Some selected excerpts:

On the very night this nation was attacked, President Bush declared that the United States would make no distinction between terrorists and those who support them. This principle, it's come to be known as the Bush doctrine ...

Well yeah, Dick, but that's a no-brainer. You forgot to mention that little bit about pre-emptive war. That's the real Bush doctrine. It was also the basis of the Neurenburg trials.

Saddam Hussein had a lengthy history of reckless and sudden aggression. His regime cultivated ties to terror, including the al Qaeda network, ... Year after year, the U.N. Security Council demanded that he account for those weapons and that he comply with all the terms of the 1991 Gulf War cease-fire. Year after year, he refused.

This is over the line of sanity, Dick. He had "a lengthy history" starting in 1959 of being sponsored by the CIA. And that al Qaeda crap? Even your own boss says that isn't true. And are you forgetting Saddam's 8,000 page declaration where he said he had disarmed? Well, where are they, Dick?Where are the WMDs?

We have, today, more than 125,000 Americans serving in Iraq. They are confronting terrorists every day in that country, so that we do not one day meet the same enemies on the streets of our own cities. At the same time, American and coalition forces are treating Iraqi citizens with compassion, ...

Oh, come on, Dick. Attacks against soldiers are not terrorist acts, no matter how much all of us hate them. And that "compassion" bit? Plowing down houses and farms? Killing protesters just wanting jobs? The Halliburton faux-rehabs of schools? Give me a break.

The use of military force is, for the United States, always the last option in defending ourselves and our interests. But sometimes the last resort must be taken.

Yeah, like right after Saddam's people contacted Richard Perle and offered what amounted to a total surrender?

As President Bush has said, America seeks the "global expansion of democracy, and the hope and progress it brings, ..."

Try starting at home, Dick.

And as the world has witnessed in ... Afghanistan, people liberated from dictatorship welcome the arrival of freedom, welcome the chance for a better life, welcome the responsibilities of governing their own country.

Yeah, they're also welcoming the re-birth of their opium industry. Bumper crop next year, from what I hear.

But now we're on to the Q&A:

Illegal immigration: There's no question it's a serious problem. The President last week announced a new initiative ... where they, in effect, come in when they know there is a job there, a job that an American will not fill, to regularize that flow. ... It's also a humane measure, as well, at the same time.

This is the re-legalization of slavery, Dick. I know you don't understand this crap, being what you are, but there's no path from these jobs to citizenship, and that's what they most want. And as for an American not taking a job? All an employer has to do is offer minimum wage for a carpenter and an illegal will gladly agree. Race to the bottom, Dick? So very humane.

Israel/Palestine: The difficulty we have -- and it is a continuing problem -- is that after years of effort, it's become clear that as long as Yasser Arafat is the interlocutor on behalf of the Palestinians, as long as he is in control, we think any serious progress is virtually impossible.

Think Democracy, Dick. Remeber what that is? It's the system that didn't elect you? And Arafat scores 90% of the Palestinian vote? No wonder you don't want to deal with him.

Department of Defense: I think if I had to speculate that we'll see -- one of the legacies of this administration will be some of the most sweeping changes in our military, and our national security strategy as it relates to the military, and force structure, and how we're based, and how we used it in the last 50 or 60 years, probably since World War II. I think the changes are that dramatic.

Speculate, Dick? As if you weren't driving it all? And as for the drama? Spare me.

But remember, these are just small snippets from a 30 minute appearance during which Cheney spent the majority of his time telling us that we would be at war for generations. You could carve out your own set of quotes from this and trash this idiot savant even more.

But the point is: Is this guy serious? If he is, then he is a very sick man, ... and we ain't talkin' pacemakers here.

This post previously appeared on Benedict@Large.