Getting out of Iraq
Thanksgiving week began with the New York Times noting that “all of
Washington is consumed with debate over the direction of the war in
Iraq.” The debate -- long overdue -- is a serious blow to the war makers
in Washington, but the U.S. war effort will go on for years more unless
the antiwar movement gains sufficient momentum to stop it.
A cliche goes that war is too important to be left to the generals. But a more relevant assessment is that peace is too vital to be left to pundits and members of Congress -- people who have overwhelmingly dismissed the option of swiftly withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
On November 17, a high-profile military booster in Congress suddenly shattered the conventional wisdom that immediate withdrawal is unthinkable. “The American public is way ahead of us,” Rep. John Murtha said in a statement concluding with capitalized words that shook the nation’s capitalized political elites: “Our military has done everything that has been asked of them, the U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. IT IS TIME TO BRING THEM HOME.”
A cliche goes that war is too important to be left to the generals. But a more relevant assessment is that peace is too vital to be left to pundits and members of Congress -- people who have overwhelmingly dismissed the option of swiftly withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
On November 17, a high-profile military booster in Congress suddenly shattered the conventional wisdom that immediate withdrawal is unthinkable. “The American public is way ahead of us,” Rep. John Murtha said in a statement concluding with capitalized words that shook the nation’s capitalized political elites: “Our military has done everything that has been asked of them, the U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. IT IS TIME TO BRING THEM HOME.”
Teach our children well
In early January, US District Judge John Jones III is expected to deliver his decision in a lawsuit filed by eleven parents, with the help of the ACLU, against the school board of Dover, a sleepy Pennsylvania town outside the capital, Harrisburg. His decision could establish the basis for how American public school students are taught the origins of life for years to come.
A majority of members of the Dover school board last year voted to mandate a brief disclaimer before pupils are taught about evolution: “Because Darwin’s theory is a theory, it is still being tested as new evidence is being discovered. The theory is not a fact. Gaps in the theory exist for which there is no evidence.” The decision of these eight members, each an advocate of the idea of “intelligent design” (ID) and each voted out of office in November, unleashed a firestorm of controversy that quickly spread across the country. And no matter how the judge decides the flames are sure to grow.
A majority of members of the Dover school board last year voted to mandate a brief disclaimer before pupils are taught about evolution: “Because Darwin’s theory is a theory, it is still being tested as new evidence is being discovered. The theory is not a fact. Gaps in the theory exist for which there is no evidence.” The decision of these eight members, each an advocate of the idea of “intelligent design” (ID) and each voted out of office in November, unleashed a firestorm of controversy that quickly spread across the country. And no matter how the judge decides the flames are sure to grow.
First the lying, then the pardon
When he announced the indictment of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald included a homily on the importance of truth. And, in truth, it sounded a bit quaint, like someone trying to recite the Sermon on the Mount on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. But, of course, Fitzgerald was right. When lying becomes the accepted currency, you haven't got the rule of law but a criminal conspiracy.
All governments lie, but Ronald Reagan and his crew truly raised the bar. From about 1978 on, when the drive to put Reagan in the White House gathered speed, lying was the standard mode for Reagan, his handlers and a press quite happy to retail all the bilge, from the Soviet Union's supposed military superiority to the millionaire welfare queens on the south side of Chicago.
All governments lie, but Ronald Reagan and his crew truly raised the bar. From about 1978 on, when the drive to put Reagan in the White House gathered speed, lying was the standard mode for Reagan, his handlers and a press quite happy to retail all the bilge, from the Soviet Union's supposed military superiority to the millionaire welfare queens on the south side of Chicago.
Which Bush crony will be the next Brownie?
AUSTIN, Texas -- Today's fun challenge is "Spot the Next Brownie." In this fab game for the whole family, review a list of Bush administration cronies in office and see if you can pick the next Michael "Heckuva Job" Brown, another disaster waiting for a hurricane to happen.
Scope out the Bird Flu Czar from Amtrak. Stewart Simonson is now in charge of "the protection of the civilian population from acts of bioterrorism and other public health emergencies," according to his government biography. He is also in charge of ensuring the country has adequate vaccines and antiviral meds to combat an avian flu epidemic. This would be peachy-keen if Simonson had any experience in public health, bioterrorism, epidemics or even management. Unfortunately, he's a political lawyer. As he recently told a congressional subcommittee, "We're learning as we go."
Scope out the Bird Flu Czar from Amtrak. Stewart Simonson is now in charge of "the protection of the civilian population from acts of bioterrorism and other public health emergencies," according to his government biography. He is also in charge of ensuring the country has adequate vaccines and antiviral meds to combat an avian flu epidemic. This would be peachy-keen if Simonson had any experience in public health, bioterrorism, epidemics or even management. Unfortunately, he's a political lawyer. As he recently told a congressional subcommittee, "We're learning as we go."
Bonifaz: A candidate for the rest of us
John Bonifaz is seriously considering running for election next year as Massachusetts Secretary of State, or more properly, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A victory for him would be a victory of national importance for election reform and voting rights.
John's Voters' Bill of Rights includes "a guarantee of open and transparent elections with verified voting, paper trails, and access to the source codes for, and random audits of, electronic voting machines [and]…a guarantee that we the people, through our government, will control our voting machines — not private companies."
John is apparently not planning to model his service on that of Katherine Harris or Ken Blackwell.
But John Bonifaz is also not your typical liberal candidate. He is one of the nation's leading experts on voting rights. Further provisions in his Bill of Rights reflect that background. They include:
--election day registration;
--early voting;
--ensured absentee voting;
--publicly financed elections and campaign spending limits;
--instant run-off voting;
--cross endorsement voting (fusion voting);
John's Voters' Bill of Rights includes "a guarantee of open and transparent elections with verified voting, paper trails, and access to the source codes for, and random audits of, electronic voting machines [and]…a guarantee that we the people, through our government, will control our voting machines — not private companies."
John is apparently not planning to model his service on that of Katherine Harris or Ken Blackwell.
But John Bonifaz is also not your typical liberal candidate. He is one of the nation's leading experts on voting rights. Further provisions in his Bill of Rights reflect that background. They include:
--election day registration;
--early voting;
--ensured absentee voting;
--publicly financed elections and campaign spending limits;
--instant run-off voting;
--cross endorsement voting (fusion voting);
Are they stupid, or are they lying?
AUSTIN, Texas -- One of our better political commentators, Tom Tomorrow, has boiled down our entire current political debate to one question: "Are they stupid, or are they lying?" This seems to me pretty much how it goes, each side reduced to accusing the other of living in an alternate reality.
Let's see if we can't find a way to frame the question that would allow an answer from empirical evidence both sides can agree on. When it comes to many actions of the Republican Congress, there is now a substantial track record of results. The evidence is in.
For five years now, the Republicans have promised us that business tax cuts would strengthen the economy, create new jobs, spur growth, foster investment, and bring beer and skittles for everyone. Over five fiscal years, the tax cuts have had a direct cost to the treasury of $860 billion -- with interest, $929 billion.
Let's see if we can't find a way to frame the question that would allow an answer from empirical evidence both sides can agree on. When it comes to many actions of the Republican Congress, there is now a substantial track record of results. The evidence is in.
For five years now, the Republicans have promised us that business tax cuts would strengthen the economy, create new jobs, spur growth, foster investment, and bring beer and skittles for everyone. Over five fiscal years, the tax cuts have had a direct cost to the treasury of $860 billion -- with interest, $929 billion.
The Perversions of Power
In self-fulfilling prophetic bravado, this President creates what he decries. The most dangerous person on the earth is not now Bin Laden, it is George Bush with Dick Cheney embedded in the hunch on his back. Bin Laden knocked off a few embassies, a large boat and the twin towers maybe. Bush, on the other hand ,entirelly blew out a capital (Bagdad), napalmed Fallujah, and bombed and burned many other cities. Entire cities. He took out a regime he didn't like, he laid the foundation for civil war. He started a war in a country that did not attack us. He created mayhem, destruction, flying limbs, burning babies and toppled hundreds of buildings to dust.
What have we become?
AUSTIN, Texas -- I can't get over this feeling of unreality, that I am actually sitting here writing about our country having a gulag of secret prisons in which it tortures people. I have loved America all my life, even though I have often disagreed with the government. But this seems to me so preposterous, so monstrous. My mind is a little bent and my heart is a little broken this morning.
Maybe I should try to get a grip -- after all, it's just this one administration that I had more cause than most to realize was full of inadequate people going in. And even at that, it seems to be mostly Vice President Cheney. And after all, we were badly frightened by 9-11, which was a horrible event. "Only" nine senators voted against the prohibition of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of persons under custody or control the United States." Nine out of 100. Should we be proud? Should we cry?
"We do not torture," said our pitifully inarticulate president, straining through emphasis and repetition to erase the obvious.
Maybe I should try to get a grip -- after all, it's just this one administration that I had more cause than most to realize was full of inadequate people going in. And even at that, it seems to be mostly Vice President Cheney. And after all, we were badly frightened by 9-11, which was a horrible event. "Only" nine senators voted against the prohibition of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of persons under custody or control the United States." Nine out of 100. Should we be proud? Should we cry?
"We do not torture," said our pitifully inarticulate president, straining through emphasis and repetition to erase the obvious.
Did Libby's lies cost Kerry the White House? Answer: No.
How many times can the Democrats get away with saying, "Faked intelligence! We're shocked, shocked! If we'd only known that, why, we might have come out against the war in . in. well, maybe by November 2004"?
The Democrats are now howling in Congress for yet another investigation into the fictions the Bush administration engineered to justify the attack on Iraq in 2003. This follows on their forcing of a "closed debate" in the Senate on the failure of Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas to deliver the second part of his report on intelligence failures before the invasion.
I can understand why the Democrats are spinning their wheels in what must now be the most exhaustively documented chronicle of government deception in the history of the Republic. These endless investigations help them avoid the more challenging question of where they now stand on a war to which over 60 percent of the American people are now opposed.
As a matter of record, by the fall of 2002, the fakery about Saddam's supposed drive from the late 1990s to acquire nuclear weapons and the alleged alliance with Al Qaeda had been exposed as fictions.
The Democrats are now howling in Congress for yet another investigation into the fictions the Bush administration engineered to justify the attack on Iraq in 2003. This follows on their forcing of a "closed debate" in the Senate on the failure of Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas to deliver the second part of his report on intelligence failures before the invasion.
I can understand why the Democrats are spinning their wheels in what must now be the most exhaustively documented chronicle of government deception in the history of the Republic. These endless investigations help them avoid the more challenging question of where they now stand on a war to which over 60 percent of the American people are now opposed.
As a matter of record, by the fall of 2002, the fakery about Saddam's supposed drive from the late 1990s to acquire nuclear weapons and the alleged alliance with Al Qaeda had been exposed as fictions.
The Brownie memos
AUSTIN, Texas -- As those silver-tongued poets at the Pentagon put it, we are in a target-rich environment. One cannot -- honestly, one simply cannot -- pass up the Brownie memos.
The e-mails sent to and from "Heckuva Job" Michael Brown, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency during and after Hurricane Katrina, are too absurd, too please-tell-me-they-made-this-up awful. As Katrina sent a 30-foot wall of water toward Mississippi, Brownie, steeped in disaster relief work at his former job with the International Arabian Horse Association, asked a top aide the burning question: "Tie or not for tonight? Button-down blue shirt?"
Fashion was quite the FEMA priority under Brownie. On the day Katrina hit, his press secretary wrote of his appearance on television: "My eyes must certainly be deceiving me. You look fabulous -- and I'm not talking the makeup." Brownie replied: "I got it at Nordstroms. ... Are you proud of me?"
An hour later, he added: "If you'll look at my lovely FEMA attire, you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god."
The e-mails sent to and from "Heckuva Job" Michael Brown, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency during and after Hurricane Katrina, are too absurd, too please-tell-me-they-made-this-up awful. As Katrina sent a 30-foot wall of water toward Mississippi, Brownie, steeped in disaster relief work at his former job with the International Arabian Horse Association, asked a top aide the burning question: "Tie or not for tonight? Button-down blue shirt?"
Fashion was quite the FEMA priority under Brownie. On the day Katrina hit, his press secretary wrote of his appearance on television: "My eyes must certainly be deceiving me. You look fabulous -- and I'm not talking the makeup." Brownie replied: "I got it at Nordstroms. ... Are you proud of me?"
An hour later, he added: "If you'll look at my lovely FEMA attire, you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god."