By John Lofton, Editor

What to say when there’s nothing to say, when you’re faking it, like President Bush is when he talks about what he’s trying to achieve in his unGodly, unConstitutional, unnecessary war in Iraq? Well, use a buzz-word. Use a buzz-word that at first sounds great, a buzz-word that makes your head nod in approval – a buzz-word such as “stable.” The problem, of course, is, after hearing such a buzz-word, which is never defined, upon reflection, say two seconds later after you’ve heard the buzz-word, if you have a brain, you realize that you have no idea what exactly, or even approximately, the meaning is of the buzz-word “stable.”

When President Bush met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Jordan, they issued a statement pledging to work together for, among other things, “a stable” Iraq. Mr. Bush has numerous times included in his definition of “victory” in Iraq that Iraq must be “stable.”

In a meeting with our top military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, Mr. Bush has said they want “to help this young Iraqi democracy become stable….”

In a background press briefing, “a Senior Administration Official,” with the President on his trip to Jordan, said of Mr. Bush’s meeting with the Prime Minister of Iraq: “They talked [about how to make the case] that, really, if Iraq is stable, the region will be stable, and if Iraq is unstable, the region is going to be unstable, and [they talked] about how democracy is a natural way for Iraq to be a stable country.”

There is, of course, no “stability” in “democracy.” Mob rule is inherently unstable as our Founders in the 1776 period knew which is why they hated and feared “democracy.”

In a CNN interview in June of this year, Mrs. Bush said about Iraq that one of our goals there is “a stable country.” She noted that many countries have lost their “best and brightest” people because of “instability.” She said we need to “stabilize” those countries so these good and smart people can return. And the reason we need to do this is because when these people return to their countries, there will be a “so much better chance” of building – “a stable country.”

In 1987, when it was suggested to President Bush’s Presidential candidate father that he turn his attention from short-term campaign objectives to longer-term issues, he said, dismissively: “Oh, the vision thing.” And now it’s another President Bush and what might be called “The Stability Thing.” What is it? How does it work? What does it mean to seek a “stable” Iraq?

Well, the last dictionary I trust, Noah Webster’s 1828 “American Dictionary Of The English Language,” defines “stable” as “Fixed; firmly established; not to be easily moved, shaken…stable government….not subject to be overthrown or changed.” Then again maybe I’m the problem. Maybe I’ve been thinking about the wrong kind of “stable.” Another definition by Mr. Webster is: “A house or shed for beasts to lodge.” Maybe that’s the kind of “stable” Iraq our President is trying to create.

But, seriously – Iraq, unless it becomes Christian, will never have a government that is fixed; firmly established; not easily moved, shaken, not subject to being overthrown or changed. No way. It’s a seething cauldron of warring tribes in a religious conflict between Islamic factions that have been murdering each other for 1400 years.

But, if you insist on talking “stability,” Mr. President, if you just have to “stabilize” some place, sir, how about Washington DC which is always either the murder capital of the United States or about to become the murder capital of the United States. If ever a place needed to be “stable,” Mr. President, it’s your backyard, fdront yard and side-yard.

The headline on a recent story on the front page of the “Metro” section of “The Washington Post” reads: ” ‘Brazen’ NE Shootings Stun District Officials;

More Police Were Out; 2 of 7 Victims Still Hospitalized.” Here’s some of what is reported:

“It was about 11 p.m., and Raymond Harris and his family were saying goodbye to their relatives in Northeast Washington, about to head for the car and the trip back to Maryland. Harris ducked into his cousin’s apartment to pick up some bags, leaving his wife and children outside, when he heard the chilling sound.

“Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.

“One or two gunmen on foot had opened fire on a group of chatting adults and game-playing children outside the four-story building, part of the sprawling Edgewood Terrace complex. Four adults and three children were hit, including Harris’s youngest, Jemila.

“My daughter’s 3 years old!” Harris exclaimed yesterday after visiting her at Children’s Hospital, where she was recuperating from the previous night’s attack. Looking weary and dazed, the 35-year-old District Heights resident appeared to be at a loss for words. “I hope they catch whoever did this,” he said. His wife was also one of the shooting victims….

“The shootings stunned city officials, especially because they occurred during a weekend when police presence was high as part of ‘All Hands on Deck,’ a summer crime-fighting plan. All available members of the 3,300-officer D.C. police force were to work two eight-hour shifts this past weekend — many on foot, on bikes, on Segways and in cars….

“Police said they had not established a motive or made any arrests. None of the victims seemed to know the gunmen, they said. “It may be random,” Jennifer Greene, commander of the 5th Police District, said at a news conference.

“Some people at the complex, though, had foreseen trouble. One resident said there was a “beef” between young men living there and another group from Euclid Street NW.

“The gunmen “were supposed to be shooting at some other guys” when they approached the building, in the 600 block of Edgewood Street, Saturday night, the resident said. When the gunmen didn’t see their intended victims, she said, they began “just shooting everywhere.” The resident did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals.

“A security guard at the complex said he had feared more violence after unknown men exchanged gunfire in a parking lot there Friday night, damaging cars but not wounding anyone….

“Edgewood Terrace, a complex of subsidized public and private housing, was nicknamed “Little Beirut” in the mid-1980s for its violence, chaos and dilapidated condition. But after a 10-year, $76 million rehabilitation project was completed in 2003, it was considered a success story. Now, residents say, crime has returned. A year ago, an adult and a 14-year-old boy were shot in a courtyard there. In May, a 15-year-old and three other people were wounded by gunfire on a playground. Last month, police killed a man at the complex after he pointed a gun at them….

“In the latest incident, a group of residents and their visitors were outside the red-brick apartment building late Saturday when two men approached, according to witnesses and police. At least one of the men opened fire, they said.

“Everyone started running. They yelled, ‘Get the kids!’ ” said the resident who did not want to be identified. Adults grabbed children who had been playing on the sidewalk and on a small patch of grass. Harris said his wife, Nikea, threw herself against her 3-year-old. A bullet tore through her thigh and into the girl’s back, Harris said. Malone, the security guard, heard the shooting from a few buildings away. It sounded like a semiautomatic pistol, said the guard, who was a weapons specialist in the Army years ago. He and several other guards raced to the scene.

“It was very chaotic,” he said, with people crying and yelling. “A lot of people were saying, ‘Oh my God!” ….The shooting was so wild that one bullet smashed through the window of a third-story apartment, leaving a hole the size of a dinner plate.”

So, how about it, President Bush? How about a little “stability” in the District of Columbia, sir? How about a “surge” of a few thousand well-armed troops to bring about a “stable” Washington DC? Your neighborhood can be a pilot program. “Stabilize” the District of Columbia and then you can think about resuming your crusade to achieve your “ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world,” as you put it in your second inaugural address. First, today, our nation’s capital; then, tomorrow, the world.