The erratic behavior in recent days of Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, has raised new doubts in many quarters about our expanding involvement in that country. But new doubts aren't really necessary to reach the commonsense conclusion that it's crazy for us to be there in any significant way, and to see that this is the quagmire of quagmires of U.S. foreign policy … [Read more...] about Our Afghanistan Policy Folly
Reader Reax
I received a couple reader reactions to my post yesterday re: David Brooks' optimism column, and a follow-on reaction to a subject we raised last week (twice) -- namely, warrantless surveillance. Both of the reader reactions to Brooks' column were in the "bah humbug" or "optimism schmoptimism" category. From regular reader DLS ... Just wait until later this decade or … [Read more...] about Reader Reax
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave…
Title 10 United States Code § 654, “Policy concerning homosexuality in the armed forces” says in part: The presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military … [Read more...] about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave…
Civility, Beliefs and America’s Toxic Political Scene
Civility, Beliefs and America's Toxic Political Scene by Peter Orvetti You don’t have to give up your beliefs to respect those with different ones. There is a common misconception in our increasingly toxic political environment that only pragmatists and compromisers can find ways to be civil. How, this argument goes, can those with decidedly conflicting views on stark … [Read more...] about Civility, Beliefs and America’s Toxic Political Scene
Census
David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Star This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Census
Steele’s “2012”
Since Michael Steele has been chairman, a succession of disasters have occurred to negatively impact the RNC on his watch. Contrary to Steele's assertion last week that race is one of the driving reasons behind the scrutiny, I am convinced that race is the only reason why he is still the RNC chair. The RNC simply is afraid of the political fallout of firing Steele so close … [Read more...] about Steele’s “2012”
Nuclear
Barack Obama is trying to do something about the word George W. Bush couldn't pronounce, but his revision to the US stance on nuclear weapons only underscores the near-impossibility of a neat solution to a problem that presidents have wrestled with for more than half a century. In one of his last interviews, John F. Kennedy pointed out that Eisenhower had tried to limit … [Read more...] about Nuclear
The World Belongs To Comcast
Is the business model -- the place where money is made -- IN the wires, or ON the wires? A network 100 times faster than what we have today would make an HD movie downloadable in minutes. Even more interesting are the products and services we can't imagine. Telecom analysts say we don't need a network that fast and wouldn't use it. The telecom business model is about playing … [Read more...] about The World Belongs To Comcast
For Sake of the Terror Fight, Anti-Americanism Must End: Gazeta, Russia
The terrorist attack against the Moscow Metro has triggered some soul-searching about the Kremlin's habit of blaming the U.S. and the West for all of Russia's ills. According to this editorial from Russia's Gazeta newspaper, the renewed battle against terrorism means that Russia needs Western friends and allies too badly to allow this habit to continue. The Gazeta editorial … [Read more...] about For Sake of the Terror Fight, Anti-Americanism Must End: Gazeta, Russia
Karzai and Reform
Michael Keefe, The Denver Post This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. UPDATE: And here's the context, in case you missed it. JG … [Read more...] about Karzai and Reform
Unlawful Killings by U.S. Forces, Cover-Ups, and Media Complicity
Yesterday morning -- earlier on the same day that WikiLeaks released the video of U.S. pilots indiscriminately killing Iraqi civilians from an Apache helicopter -- Glenn Greenwald put up a long, meticulously documented piece about another unlawful killing -- this one in Afghanistan, and much more recently: just under two months ago. Here is the first paragraph: … [Read more...] about Unlawful Killings by U.S. Forces, Cover-Ups, and Media Complicity
Obama Refines Nuclear Attack Policy
In the movie "The Untouchables," the Chicago cop played by Sean Connery told Eliot Ness never go into battle armed with a knife when the opponent brandishes a gun. Whereas Barack Obama earned his political bones in Chicago politics, his new policy called a "Nuclear Posture Review" contradicts the street-wise axiom by announcing the U.S. would not use nuclear weapons in … [Read more...] about Obama Refines Nuclear Attack Policy
D.C. Circuit Court Puts Net Neutrality On The Ropes
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 3-0 earlier today that the FCC does not have the authority to enforce internet neutrality. The case arose out of a situation where the FCC attempted to require Comcast to feed BitTorrent through its service though Comcast claimed the feed slowed its service to customers. The decision is good news for … [Read more...] about D.C. Circuit Court Puts Net Neutrality On The Ropes
Flint and Steel
Or, The Mainstream Media Makes Itself Obsolete What happens when you strike flint and steel? Fire. In this case, lots and lots of fire. Back on March 25, the City of Flint, Michigan made the decision to lay off 23 of 88 firefighters and 46 of 150 police officers. Almost immediately, the fires started. Several fires, every night. Sometimes, 8 or 9 fires. Mostly, they … [Read more...] about Flint and Steel
Civilized Leadership: Obama, Changing Long-Standing U.S. Policy, Wisely Restricts Conditions for Use of Nuclear Weapons
NYT: President Obama said Monday that he was revamping American nuclear strategy to substantially narrow the conditions under which the United States would use nuclear weapons. But the president said in an interview that he was carving out an exception for "outliers like Iran and North Korea" that have violated or renounced the main treaty to halt nuclear … [Read more...] about Civilized Leadership: Obama, Changing Long-Standing U.S. Policy, Wisely Restricts Conditions for Use of Nuclear Weapons
Conservative Republican Tom Coburn Defends Pelosi, Slams Fox News: MUST be a RINO
I'm on the road now and just briefly stopped to get online so I haven't been on the Internet this morning and I have been listening to XM news stations, not talk radio. But I can just hear the chatter about Republican Tom Coburn now: He MUST be a RINO!...I always knew he really wasn't supportive of the party...He just doesn't get it...Let's demand a refund on any … [Read more...] about Conservative Republican Tom Coburn Defends Pelosi, Slams Fox News: MUST be a RINO
Public Addiction In America: Fallen Heroes And Redemption
Tiger Woods will be in the starting field for the Masters golf tournament in two days after months of treatment for what some describe as sexual addiction. Like many before, and no doubt countless yet to come, he got caught engaging in socially disfavored behavior only to announce shortly afterward that he had a “problem” and was seeking treatment. But, are problems like … [Read more...] about Public Addiction In America: Fallen Heroes And Redemption
Truth About July 2007 Killing of Iraqi Civilians and Reuters Photographers Revealed in Video Published by WikiLeaks
Elisabeth Bumiller's article published yesterday in the New York Times does a workmanlike job of conveying the content of the video I wrote about last night, showing a July, 2007, incident in Iraq in which a U.S. helicopter gunned down about a dozen unarmed non-combatants, including two Reuters photographers and two children. The video was the official military footage … [Read more...] about Truth About July 2007 Killing of Iraqi Civilians and Reuters Photographers Revealed in Video Published by WikiLeaks
Strangelove Strategy for Financial Reform
One of the economy's Terminators is back, bringing Ayn Rand and memories of mid-20th century movies with him. Preparing to testify before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, Alan Greenspan reaffirms absolute faith in his mentor's me-first market philosophy in "The Fountainhead" and adds a note from "Dr. Strangelove." Asked if the meltdown disputes Rand's theories, … [Read more...] about Strangelove Strategy for Financial Reform
Enough with the Doomsday Fixation
David Brooks wants us to stop our "on the wrong track" grumbling. According to recent polls, 60 percent of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction. The same percentage believe that the U.S. is in long-term decline. The political system is dysfunctional. A fiscal crisis looks unavoidable. There are plenty of reasons to be gloomy. But if you want to … [Read more...] about Enough with the Doomsday Fixation