Harry Reid: More troops to Iraq!
This last Sunday, Harry Reid, the incoming Democratic majority leader in the U.S. Senate, went on ABC's Sunday morning show and declared that a hike in U.S. troops in Iraq is OK with him. Here's the evolution of the Democrats' war platform since Nov. 7, 2006, the day the voters presented a clear mandate: "End the war! Get out of Iraq!" and took the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives away from the Republicans.
Is the USA the center of the world?
Some things don’t seem to change. Five years after I wrote this
column in the form of a news dispatch, it seems more relevant than ever:
WASHINGTON -- There were unconfirmed reports yesterday that the United States is not the center of the world.
The White House had no immediate comment on the reports, which set off a firestorm of controversy in the nation’s capital. Speaking on background, a high-ranking official at the State Department discounted the possibility that the reports would turn out to be true. “If that were the case,” he said, “don’t you think we would have known about it a long time ago?”
On Capitol Hill, leaders of both parties were quick to rebut the assertion. “That certain news organizations would run with such a poorly sourced and obviously slanted story tells us that the liberal media are still up to their old tricks, despite the current crisis,” a GOP lawmaker fumed. A prominent Democrat, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said that classified briefings to congressional intelligence panels had disproved such claims long ago.
WASHINGTON -- There were unconfirmed reports yesterday that the United States is not the center of the world.
The White House had no immediate comment on the reports, which set off a firestorm of controversy in the nation’s capital. Speaking on background, a high-ranking official at the State Department discounted the possibility that the reports would turn out to be true. “If that were the case,” he said, “don’t you think we would have known about it a long time ago?”
On Capitol Hill, leaders of both parties were quick to rebut the assertion. “That certain news organizations would run with such a poorly sourced and obviously slanted story tells us that the liberal media are still up to their old tricks, despite the current crisis,” a GOP lawmaker fumed. A prominent Democrat, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said that classified briefings to congressional intelligence panels had disproved such claims long ago.
Announcement of candidacy for President of the United States
Dear Friend,
We are living in a time of great tests of our humanity, which also present great opportunities for transformation. The war in Iraq is a veil that shrouds our creativity and our potential for prosperity. It cuts us off from the world at a time when it is imperative that we acknowledge our interdependence and interconnectedness.
This is a moment with a profound feeling of destiny. America has been an extraordinary international power to manifest that which we focus our energies upon. This power is true of individuals as well as nations.
In a way, when we focus on terror, we bring to ourselves that which we fear. We focused on terror in Iraq and paradoxically helped to create the circumstances, which have propelled Iraq into civil war and chaos.
The prestigious Lancet report on excess casualties in Iraq estimates that the war in Iraq has caused 655,000 Iraqi deaths, and that 20% of those deaths are a direct result of the actions of coalition forces.
We are living in a time of great tests of our humanity, which also present great opportunities for transformation. The war in Iraq is a veil that shrouds our creativity and our potential for prosperity. It cuts us off from the world at a time when it is imperative that we acknowledge our interdependence and interconnectedness.
This is a moment with a profound feeling of destiny. America has been an extraordinary international power to manifest that which we focus our energies upon. This power is true of individuals as well as nations.
In a way, when we focus on terror, we bring to ourselves that which we fear. We focused on terror in Iraq and paradoxically helped to create the circumstances, which have propelled Iraq into civil war and chaos.
The prestigious Lancet report on excess casualties in Iraq estimates that the war in Iraq has caused 655,000 Iraqi deaths, and that 20% of those deaths are a direct result of the actions of coalition forces.
Powell, Baker, Hamilton -- thanks for nothing
When Colin Powell endorsed the Iraq Study Group report during his
Dec. 17 appearance on “Face the Nation,” it was another curtain call for a
tragic farce.
Four years ago, “moderates” like Powell were making the invasion of Iraq possible. Now, in the guise of speaking truth to power, Powell and ISG co-chairs James Baker and Lee Hamilton are refueling the U.S. war effort by depicting it as a problem of strategy and management.
But the U.S. war effort is a problem of lies and slaughter.
The Baker-Hamilton report stakes out a position for managerial changes that dodge the fundamental immorality of the war effort. And President Bush shows every sign of rejecting the report’s call for scaling down that effort.
Meanwhile, most people in the United States favor military disengagement. According to a new Wall Street Journal / NBC News poll, “Seven in 10 say they want the new Congress to pressure the White House to begin bringing troops home within six months.”
Four years ago, “moderates” like Powell were making the invasion of Iraq possible. Now, in the guise of speaking truth to power, Powell and ISG co-chairs James Baker and Lee Hamilton are refueling the U.S. war effort by depicting it as a problem of strategy and management.
But the U.S. war effort is a problem of lies and slaughter.
The Baker-Hamilton report stakes out a position for managerial changes that dodge the fundamental immorality of the war effort. And President Bush shows every sign of rejecting the report’s call for scaling down that effort.
Meanwhile, most people in the United States favor military disengagement. According to a new Wall Street Journal / NBC News poll, “Seven in 10 say they want the new Congress to pressure the White House to begin bringing troops home within six months.”
Call me Ebenezer, but Christmas as we know it needs to go.....
Bursting forth with renewed intensity, the “War on Christmas” is back in 2006.
So just what does this alleged war against an impalpable enemy entail?
Have “Islamofascists” captured and decapitated Santa Claus?
Did a US-made IDF “smart bomb” strike Bethlehem and obliterate baby Jesus as he lay in the manger?
Did the Grinch go global with his nefarious thievery?
Actually, the answer can be found amongst the corporate media’s nearly countless obfuscations and deceits.
Divisive, sophistic arguments crafted by “sage” pundits and readily accepted by genuflecting readers admonish that secular forces are determined to eradicate Christmas and its celebrants’ joy with the zeal of a restaurateur exterminating cockroaches. What an ingenious way to divert attention from the ongoing genocide in Iraq and the gutting of our Constitution!
Christmas may not truly be under siege, but our corporate overlords have certainly discovered myriad ways to wield it as a psychological weapon and to administer it as an “opiate of the masses”.
So just what does this alleged war against an impalpable enemy entail?
Have “Islamofascists” captured and decapitated Santa Claus?
Did a US-made IDF “smart bomb” strike Bethlehem and obliterate baby Jesus as he lay in the manger?
Did the Grinch go global with his nefarious thievery?
Actually, the answer can be found amongst the corporate media’s nearly countless obfuscations and deceits.
Divisive, sophistic arguments crafted by “sage” pundits and readily accepted by genuflecting readers admonish that secular forces are determined to eradicate Christmas and its celebrants’ joy with the zeal of a restaurateur exterminating cockroaches. What an ingenious way to divert attention from the ongoing genocide in Iraq and the gutting of our Constitution!
Christmas may not truly be under siege, but our corporate overlords have certainly discovered myriad ways to wield it as a psychological weapon and to administer it as an “opiate of the masses”.
Rules of engagement
What illegitimate secrets lie hidden behind the word "classified"?
"The government is stalling us," Marguerite Hiken of the Military Law Task Force told me. "They're going to be embarrassed and they're scared to death of war crimes charges."
Could it be that some high-level secrets are that tawdry? Could it be that war is waged - not fought, but set into motion - by, well . . . cowards, who feel themselves entitled to protection from the consequences of their decisions? If so, I'm in favor of an anti-smoking-style campaign that deglamorizes militarism by showing the wizards behind the curtain in full CYA scramble.
"The government is stalling us," Marguerite Hiken of the Military Law Task Force told me. "They're going to be embarrassed and they're scared to death of war crimes charges."
Could it be that some high-level secrets are that tawdry? Could it be that war is waged - not fought, but set into motion - by, well . . . cowards, who feel themselves entitled to protection from the consequences of their decisions? If so, I'm in favor of an anti-smoking-style campaign that deglamorizes militarism by showing the wizards behind the curtain in full CYA scramble.
Don't mess with -- or miss -- "CATS"
CATS
Now Playing at the Palace Theater
The legendary "CATS" has opened at the Palace, and it should not be missed. This most successful of all stage musicals has been very nicely brought to Columbus, and if the range of ages among the audience at opening night is any indication, the success should continue here.
The levels of genius in this show are many. The concept of doing an entire musical based on the thin reed of the personalities of a few eccentric cats (aren't they all?) would make a great pitch parody for "The Producers." Add the chutzpah of cobbling together poetry from a long-dead English poet (albeit a Nobel Prize winner), dressing up the cast in feline finery and hanging the story line on a single cat's desire to be reborn, and you've got a formula that should never work.
But there is true magic here, first and foremost that of Andrew Lloyd Weber. The score for this show is magnificent. It's topped off, of course, by the standard "Memories," the classic lament of a creaky, crotchety elder headed to the graveyard, hoping to become somehow young again.
Now Playing at the Palace Theater
The legendary "CATS" has opened at the Palace, and it should not be missed. This most successful of all stage musicals has been very nicely brought to Columbus, and if the range of ages among the audience at opening night is any indication, the success should continue here.
The levels of genius in this show are many. The concept of doing an entire musical based on the thin reed of the personalities of a few eccentric cats (aren't they all?) would make a great pitch parody for "The Producers." Add the chutzpah of cobbling together poetry from a long-dead English poet (albeit a Nobel Prize winner), dressing up the cast in feline finery and hanging the story line on a single cat's desire to be reborn, and you've got a formula that should never work.
But there is true magic here, first and foremost that of Andrew Lloyd Weber. The score for this show is magnificent. It's topped off, of course, by the standard "Memories," the classic lament of a creaky, crotchety elder headed to the graveyard, hoping to become somehow young again.
Hillary Clinton and my Visa bill
I just got my Visa bill for my final election donations-all those
click-and-donate appeals in my email box and on the Web. I gave more than I
thought I had, more than I'd intended to spend, and more than I'd ever given
before. You make enough $25 to $50 contributions, and soon you're talking
real money, a tenth of my annual income.
But I feel just fine about my giving. I'm proud to have helped support Dean's 50-state strategy by donating to the Democratic National Committee early enough to help build key infrastructure, and then again and again as new opportunities emerged. I felt great about giving to Jon Tester six times, including for his final election week push. Between my donations and my volunteering with MoveOn's CallforChange program, I felt like I'd personally helped elect Tester, Jim Webb, Claire McCaskill, Sherrod Brown, Bernie Sanders, Sheldon Whitehouse, and half the Congressional candidates from the NetRoots Act Blue page. I'd have felt proud to do my part even if the close races had gone the other way.
But I feel just fine about my giving. I'm proud to have helped support Dean's 50-state strategy by donating to the Democratic National Committee early enough to help build key infrastructure, and then again and again as new opportunities emerged. I felt great about giving to Jon Tester six times, including for his final election week push. Between my donations and my volunteering with MoveOn's CallforChange program, I felt like I'd personally helped elect Tester, Jim Webb, Claire McCaskill, Sherrod Brown, Bernie Sanders, Sheldon Whitehouse, and half the Congressional candidates from the NetRoots Act Blue page. I'd have felt proud to do my part even if the close races had gone the other way.
Dear Mr. O’Reilly, THIS is culture: the search for the heart of New Orleans, part III
It was early evening when my assistant, Little Red, and I disembarked. Coming into New Orleans I felt like a lost character from the set of the Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Jack Nicholson film romp motorcycle classic “Easy Rider”. The vibe was light despite the abrupt fatal ending of the sixties epic. But these thoughts quickly slipped into the ether as we picked up our luggage and caught a cab to our hotel, The Royal Sonesta, which is located right on Bourbon Street. I was still feeling the ill effects of head congestion which was compounded with wicked cabin pressure and left me hard of hearing. The poor cab driver attempted to have a conversation with me, but I simply didn’t hear most of what was said. Little Red jumped in and tried to discreetly tell me what he was saying so I could respond, but my responses came out in whispers that the driver in turn could not hear. Unfortunately, I believe the man was left with a bad impression, but I tipped him a Jackson so that should assuage any and all slight my unfortunate condition might have caused.