I very much wanted to address the Sarah Palin/David Letterman debacle, and talk about the Republican Party's silence and why Letterman needed to be called out, etc. I wanted to come over here and post about listening to Congressman Louie Gohmert this weekend, and what he had to say about the Bush White House and the bailouts and health care. I wanted to dish about how, at the convention I went to, a stack of Rick Perry for Governor stickers disappeared in less than 20 minutes, and a stack of Kay Bailey Hutchison stickers sat untouched.

Last week, I used the term "Gestapo tactics" to describe the attempt to shut down free speech at the University of Texas. I don't think I was out of line in using the term then, but in light of what happened at the University of Tehran yesterday, I would probably use something less violently descriptive.  While what happened at UT is unacceptable in the United States, under our Constitution as written, what is happening in Iran is unacceptable on a much broader scale. What is happening in Iran, regardless of whether you as an American support Mousavi outright, should outrage your sense of decency. It should call to mind the peace our country experiences every day, regardless of who is president. Learning about what is happening in Iran has made me think of January 20 - I sat in a room of more than 30 Republicans, taking our collective deep breath and preparing to head once more into the electoral fray, completely safe from raids, not having to worry about being shot at or tracked down.

We should all be so lucky. We should all be so blessed.

The very definition of privilege:  In Tehran, Iran, riots erupt when a tyrannical government goes too far. In Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., riots erupt when the Lakers win a championship.

If you haven't been caught up on what exactly is happening over there, here are some resources. Some links may contain extremely graphic photographs.

http://twitter.com/change_for_iran

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2009/06/insurrection-da.php

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bartbv/3627049586/

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-271413

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/06/english-language-twitters-in-iran.html

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/Middle_East/ML_Iran_Election.html

The question Americans are beginning to ask - where is President Obama on this?

http://www.redcounty.com/iran-turmoil-where-obama

http://republicanwhip.house.gov/newsroom/2009/06/cantor-humanrightsiran.html