That was my original title for part of my “Heartless” post, below. Thesaurus Rex of Shakespeare’s Sister used the term in a post on the same general subject, and August J. Pollak’s latest cartoon is in a similar vein.

The comparison to Kabuki runs deeper than the obvious theatrical elements that we have been seeing lately in Congress, although the stereotypes and caricatures in themselves would be sufficient.

There are three periods in Kabuki and they are illustrative of Congress. Originally it was an all female art form with wit and promise that degenerated when less talented people entered the stage. It became entertainment for men with money and prostitution was rampant.

The first reform replaced women with young men, but the pattern was repeated and so many reforms and restrictions were placed on the form, including using only older male actors and freezing the repertoire. To save the art it was necessary to reduce the influence of men with money.

Maybe we could reduce Congressional prostitution by only electing women, because old men don’t seem to be the answer.

What’s the difference between George Bush and Kim Jong Il?

One’s a short, obnoxious, high-heel wearing moron who can’t speak English, and the other is the leader of North Korea.

You had to know this was going to happen as soon as they offered Iran a deal; Kim would want to know if Ahmadinejad’s deal was better than his. Kim doesn’t want to take the deal behind door number one if the grand prize is behind door number two.

CBS carries the standard story about what the US says is going on and all of the expressions of concern, real concern, and extreme concern various governments and individuals are making over the possible testing of a Taepodong-2 missile by the North Koreans. Well, except the Russians and the Chinese, who haven’t made a statement, which is kind of odd.

Laura Rozen has posted that the South Koreans have some doubts about the accuracy of the US intelligence on the test. The South is wondering if this might not be a test of one of the shorter range missiles designed to annoy the US and bring attention back to North Korea.

Let’s be clear: of all of the people on the planet who should have been eliminated immediately after Osama bin Laden was neutralized with extreme prejudice, Kim Jong Il has to be number one with a bullet. He has allowed his population to slowly starve to death while he plays games.

* Noh is a Japanese theater form.