On: Deadline for US Congress on war in Iran

This morning, I read with interest that the United States Congress has been given a deadline to consider new military strikes against Iran. How efficient! One must admire the precision with which these matters are timed - like a gardener planting seeds according to the almanac, only these seeds are explosives, and the harvest is not certain.

I am told the strikes are to be “short and powerful,” which sounds rather like a description of a good sermon - brief, but with impact. It reminds me of a tale I once heard of a man who, upon being struck by lightning, declared it an efficient way to warm oneself quickly. And indeed, if one must have a war, it is best to have it swiftly - though perhaps not so swift that one forgets to ask why it is necessary at all.

They say the plan was drafted by Central Command. How fortunate we are to have such diligent planners, who can arrange destruction with such precision. It is, no doubt, the best of all possible plans - for if it were not, surely they would have chosen another.

I shall tend to my garden today, where the only explosions are those of blossoms opening to the sun. There, at least, the consequences are predictable.