From The Garlic: No, the above title isn't from an upcoming Discovery Channel program, nor is it booming out of a trailer of bloody, gore-filled scenes of a Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriguez movie. It is from J. Cofer Black, former CIA veteran and now vice chairman of Blackwater USA, allegedly describing to President Bush the outcome of invading Afghanistan after … [Read more...] about “Flies Across Their Eyeballs”?
A Tale of Two Wars & Two Presidents
And so on the second day of the seventh month of the fifth year of the war in Iraq, the final episode of Ken Burns' The War ran on PBS. This vivid mosaic of World War II at home and abroad was a big hit by public broadcasting standards, drawing the most viewers since an episode of Antiques Roadshow in 2000, although falling far short of prime-time heavy hitters like CSI and … [Read more...] about A Tale of Two Wars & Two Presidents
Carter Gets In Shouting Match With Sudanese Officials In Darfur
Former President Jimmy Carter has never been known to flinch from controversy -- and he has sparked more than a few. He has become an irritant to a host of Presidents who followed him. Above all, he speaks his mind. Now he has shouted it in Darfur -- this time for a cause and in circumstances that many of his critics would likely applaud: Former U.S. President Jimmy … [Read more...] about Carter Gets In Shouting Match With Sudanese Officials In Darfur
Rudy Giuliani
Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant … [Read more...] about Rudy Giuliani
Around The Sphere Blog Roundup Oct. 3, 2007
Our linkfest offering readers links to blogposts from websites of many different viewpoints. Linked posts do NOT necessarily reflect the opinion of TMV or its writers. Security Guards Gone Wild Department The Sequel: No, they didn't taser the student this time, they just broke the 16-year-old girl's arm. Pandagon: In short, this teenage girl spilled some cake, was told … [Read more...] about Around The Sphere Blog Roundup Oct. 3, 2007
Village People
Mike Lester, The Rome News-Tribune … [Read more...] about Village People
Rush Limbaugh Versus Democrats Has Deeper Political Significance
Skirmishes. And more skirmishes. Punch. And counter punch. In Congress. On weblogs. And in the REAL trenches of political activism these days...talk radio. The nation's top progressive talker, Ed Schultz, spent much of his program lambasting top conservative talker Rush Limbaugh for Limbaugh's "phony soldiers" comments -- and playing extensive parts of the tape over and … [Read more...] about Rush Limbaugh Versus Democrats Has Deeper Political Significance
Court Invalidates Portion of Bush Executive Order
D.C. Federal District Court judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has struck down a narrow portion of Executive Order 13233, a 2001 directive from President Bush which sharply limited future access to presidential and vice-presidential records. The ruling [PDF] came yesterday in the case of American Historical Association et al. v. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and … [Read more...] about Court Invalidates Portion of Bush Executive Order
The Other Moderate Voice – New York Times
Andrew Rosenthal, the editorial page editor of The New York Times, answered questions from readers Sept. 24-28. Link Finally, there are issues that the Times editorial board considers of transcendent importance — the nation's security and its global image; the relationship between government and the people, which includes the balance among the branches of our democracy, … [Read more...] about The Other Moderate Voice – New York Times
Examining the Surge: Lynch Speaks at CATO
Marc Lynch, a professor at George Washington University, is one of those must-read commentators on the Middle East. He's extremely knowledgeable, has got a good sense of humor, and he doesn't appear to harbor any particular agenda. Lynch, in a major way, has helped to shape my view of the Iraq debate. Unlike many other analysts, Lynch actually reads Arabic and has an extremely … [Read more...] about Examining the Surge: Lynch Speaks at CATO
Washington’s Response to the Crisis in Burma…
...has been "pathetic." … [Read more...] about Washington’s Response to the Crisis in Burma…
Is Retaliation The Next Roberts Victim?
The Supreme Court is taking aim at one of the most important elements of our civil rights laws. I have a simple solution that will forestall all the expected legal wrangling: preempt the ruling. Nobody seriously believes that retaliation shouldn't be included in anti-discrimination laws. So, although I don't particularly like it when the Supreme Court decides to split with … [Read more...] about Is Retaliation The Next Roberts Victim?
Back in the Former USSR: News from Russia and the Ukraine
(Cross-posted at The Reaction.) I've been doing a lot of international-news-oriented posts recently -- not because I'm turning away from the U.S. -- I'm still mostly U.S.-focused -- but because, well... because there's been lot going on around the world. The situation in Burma is the big story at the moment, and rightly so, and I and others been covering it extensively, but … [Read more...] about Back in the Former USSR: News from Russia and the Ukraine
Bloodshed of Burma
(Cross-posted from The Reaction.) Via Brad Plumer: England's Daily Mail is reporting on the unofficial (if "official" is what the totalitarians are telling us) but likely accurate death toll in Burma, as well as on the nature of the brutality, the mass murder of the regime's opponents: Thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have … [Read more...] about Bloodshed of Burma
Poll: Most Want War Funding Cut And Favor Children’s Health Care Expansion
A new poll contains yet more bad news for President George Bush, the White House, Republicans running for re-election and for Democrats in Congress...but worse for Republicans in Congress: Most Americans oppose fully funding President Bush's $190 billion request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a sizable majority support an expansion of a children's health … [Read more...] about Poll: Most Want War Funding Cut And Favor Children’s Health Care Expansion
(Updated) Erik Prince Defends Blackwater In Face of Critical Report
The publicity-shy chairman of military contractor Blackwater USA told a House committee today that his controversial company is the victim of "negative and baseless allegations" surrounding a bloody melee in Baghdad last month in which his employees killed at least 11 people and wounded dozens more. Blackwater chairman Erik Prince, in an opening statement to the House … [Read more...] about (Updated) Erik Prince Defends Blackwater In Face of Critical Report
A Question for the Day
Paul Marks argues that what's needed in Burma (Myanmar) is some good-old fashioned armed revolt. Andrew Sullivan excerpts the money quote. As someone who has studied (with awe and respect) America's birthing revolution, I'm hard-pressed to disagree with Marks, though his argument makes me wonder, more than ever, exactly what it was that made Gandhi's unarmed resistance so … [Read more...] about A Question for the Day
Democrats Sleepwalking in Washington
Now that the month of decision about Iraq has come and gone in a Petraeus-MoveOn cloud of dust, the United States government has started October in a worse stupor than ever. Democrats who took over Congress in a fever to stop the old war and expose Bush-Cheney lawlessness have just opened the door to a new war and, after months of bloviating about Administration scandals, … [Read more...] about Democrats Sleepwalking in Washington
Setting the Record Straight on S-CHIP
As a parent of now-grown children, there perhaps was nothing more terrifying than wondering if they would be able to get health care should I lose my job. That thankfully never occurred. I had health insurance through my employer and could not be considered to be poor. But it is something that parents have to confront today who also are not poor but whose children are among … [Read more...] about Setting the Record Straight on S-CHIP
Privatized War
Monte Wolverton, Cagle Cartoons … [Read more...] about Privatized War