Beck and his guest were confusing Twelvers with the Hojjatiyeh. The Hojattiyeh, of which Ahmadinejad is likely a part, feel like they have a closer relationship with the Mahdi. Personally, from what I’ve heard of the Hojjatiye, I find their beliefs a little off the wall–just like many evangelicals in this country.

Bottom line is, regardless of what Ahmadinejad’s religious beliefs are, Khamenei still calls the shots on foreign policy (even after the post-election crisis).

Yet perhaps just as sad is the fact that this is the closest the mainstream media has gotten to looking deeper into Shii Islamic theology. The result is a testament not only to Beck, but also the entire media. The blogosphere is the only legitimate source of new anymore and the media outlets are all jokes.

Truth and integrity mean nothing to people of his ilk, it’s about making outrageous statements and smears, and raking in the dollars – last year it was $23 million.

His style of politics was pioneered by Karl Rove who used fringe groups as political hit men to scare the crap out of the general public with crazy statements, all the while the Rove politicians would be speaking more moderately but the net effect is to hijack discourse to the right.

See most recently: the birthers, the kill grandma/death panels discussion in health-care, the indignation over corruption at ACORN (meanwhile billions of dollars wasted by no-bid-contract Halliburton etc. over the years doesn’t rate a mention).

The nonsense Back spouts in this clip is typical, Repubs in general will be on the invade-evil-Iran warpath for a few months now I think, even if they don’t believe it’s the right thing to do. It hijacks debate and undermines Obama, and that’s how they roll.

On theology… In my opinion, religion is a crutch, a goad, and a lure.

Perhaps it began as a way to explain the world, or to establish a reason for methods of behavior. It frequently asks for blind belief, for things that have no proof beyond words on a page. The proper term is “propaganda”.

Why do we need a heaven? A hell? Call them carrot and stick, it means the same thing. In some ways, priests and clerics are the most powerful people in the world, because simple sense and religion seldom dwell together.

Be they many or be they few, be good to those whose life you touch. No one can tell all that they will do after.

And Ahmadinejad and his clique of the IRGC follow Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi, but their position is significantly different than what’s attributed to them.

Mehrdad