Way back in 2000 when the world was just a wee bit less crazy, Secretary of State-in-waiting Condoleezza Rice was a member of Chevron’s board of directors and head of its public policy committee, which oversaw areas that could be of potential political concern (which is to say embarrassment) for the giant oil company. That makes the news that Chevron was knowingly paying … [Read more...] about Oh That Condi: Rice Almighty What a Pal!
‘Inspiration’
May 6, The Moderate Voice, Jeremy Dibbell: "No Way to Pick a President". May 10, The Washington Post, David S. Broder: No Way to Choose a President. Funny, umh, coincidence isn't it? … [Read more...] about ‘Inspiration’
Tony Blair: In Different Hues
At school he drove his teachers to distraction, constantly questioning their authority. At university, he acted out his rock star fantasies as the lead singer of a band. To read the Blair story - from rebellious schoolboy to global statesman - please click here... The British media provides an interesting fare prior to Prime Minister Tony Blair's expected announcement today … [Read more...] about Tony Blair: In Different Hues
Chaos In Iraq: ‘Of Criminal, Moral, Political & Metaphysical Guilt’
(photo courtesy fearbush.com) "In what sense can the average American be held accountable for the chaos of Iraq?," James Reston Jr. asks this pertinent question in the USA Today. "Between those who manage the war in Washington and those who fight it in Iraq, the American people enjoy a safe middle ground. The country is both at war and not at war. The war machine in … [Read more...] about Chaos In Iraq: ‘Of Criminal, Moral, Political & Metaphysical Guilt’
Iraq Related Political Surge Seems In Wrong Direction
There does seem to be the beginning of a "surge" in the Iraq war...on the political front...in two countries. And it's not positive news for the Bush administration. SURGE ONE IN THE IRAQ LEGISLATURE: Not only do Iraq lawmakers plan to surge away from their desks for a looonnnnnng vacation this summer (two months) while American troops fighting in and for their country won't … [Read more...] about Iraq Related Political Surge Seems In Wrong Direction
“Our Constitution is Colorblind….”
...and neither knows nor tolerates classes amongst citizens." John Marshall Harlan, Plessy v. Ferguson, dissenting. Ruminations on the meaning and the context of America's most famous dissent. … [Read more...] about “Our Constitution is Colorblind….”
Couric’s News Show Gives CBS Lowest Ratings Since 1987
You can now safely say that time is running out for Katie Couric as an enduring CBS evening newscast anchor. She has more than 60 Minutes left (in fact that's where some writers have suggested she will land). But it's hard to imagine CBS keeping the situation intact with this news: It surely wasn't what CBS dreamed about when Katie Couric was hired: the "CBS Evening … [Read more...] about Couric’s News Show Gives CBS Lowest Ratings Since 1987
A Little Early For This Stuff, Doncha Think?
Prominent figures ask MoveOn to Move on Impeachment
To Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org Executive Director: With more than 3 million members, MoveOn plays a vital role not only in shaping public policy, but in educating the American public about the most important political issues of the day. With this power comes a responsibility to engage with these issues in as forthright a manner as possible. Until now, MoveOn has declined to … [Read more...] about Prominent figures ask MoveOn to Move on Impeachment
Is Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani Stumbling?
NOTE: This was posted with the wrong byline but itis now corrected. He's considered the present front-runner. He still has an aura of heroism in the wake of 911 surrounding him. He has enjoyed support from independent voters in the past and from a segment of Democrats. But now, in his difficult task of trying to woo more conservative and ideologically anchored Republicans … [Read more...] about Is Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani Stumbling?
Casually Oppressing Women
“One was a shy, slender young woman who spoke no English when she was brought from Pakistan to enter an arranged marriage with a stranger in Virginia. The other was a self-confident professional, born in Turkey but raised in the United States, who thought she knew what she was doing when she married an educated Muslim man in Maryland.†Life in Maryland, however, proved to … [Read more...] about Casually Oppressing Women
The Republican Calculus on Iraq
"Congressional leaders from both political parties are giving President Bush a matter of months to prove that the Iraq war effort has turned a corner, with September looking increasingly like a decisive deadline," WaPo is reporting. It is then that the deus ex machina known as Gen. David H. Petraeus will "have a handle on whether the current troop increase [i.e., the "surge"] … [Read more...] about The Republican Calculus on Iraq
Oh Theresa, We Hardly Knew Ye
Theresa Shaw, the chief Department of Education official responsible for overseeing the nation’s scandal-plagued $85 billion student loan industry, has decided to spent more time with her family, bringing to 33 the number of Bush administration officials who have been convicted, copped pleas, indicted or otherwise brought down by scandal. For Republicans with short … [Read more...] about Oh Theresa, We Hardly Knew Ye
GOP/KKK: The Ted Poe Affair
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) really, really, really supports the Iraq War. And in really, really, really supporting the war (and the troops) on the floor of the House, he quoted, of all people, one Nathan Bedford Forrest, a "successful Confederate general". Forrest was indeed a Confederate general, and quite a celebrated one, a "wizard of the saddle" (according to this bio), but what … [Read more...] about GOP/KKK: The Ted Poe Affair
Iraqi Christians Flee Baghdad
I am very happy, no delighted, that the surge is working, for if it was not, we would see terrible things by now: daily, big, terrorist attacks would be carried out daily, Cheney would feel forced to pay al-Maliki a visit because the latter would do absolutely nothing to stop the violence and Christians, for instance, would flee from Baghdad out of fear of being murdered. … [Read more...] about Iraqi Christians Flee Baghdad
Center of Attention
Dennis Saunders on gays in the military, John McCain and Mark Bingham, who was a passenger aboard flight 93. Sexual orientation should, in my humble opinion, be considered completely irrelevant in the military. All that matters is whether they want to serve their country (and do it well). David Schraub quotes W.E.B. Du Bois: "'Do you trust white people?' You do not and you … [Read more...] about Center of Attention
Dependence
A great post by Jules Crittenden about the Internet, blogs and print media. The Internet is a thing of great and terrible beauty, the Gutenberg Revolution finally living up to its promise of free exchange of knowledge and information. A tremendous creative force that is also a destructive force. My own business is looking more like a shaky late stage Roman Empire, which was … [Read more...] about Dependence
Iraq: Why September Will Be the Cruelest Month
Vice President Cheney wears a protective vest on arrival in Baghdad today T.S. Eliot famously wrote that "April is the cruelest month," but it may be September for the Bush administration since it increasingly appears that will be when the proverbial finally hits the fan and there is bipartisan agreement that the war in Iraq is lost and it is time to get out. This moment, … [Read more...] about Iraq: Why September Will Be the Cruelest Month
Dutch airline KLM to probe flights for fleeing Nazis
H/t Holly Reuters reports: Dutch airline KLM will probably seek an independent investigation into whether it flew Nazi fugitives to Argentina after the Second World War, the national airline said on Tuesday. Questions over KLM's past surfaced last week after a Dutch television documentary claimed to have discovered archive documents showing the airline played an active … [Read more...] about Dutch airline KLM to probe flights for fleeing Nazis
The Ft. Dix Six: Of Pizzas and Terror Plots
How seriously should the FBI take a bunch of hard-drinking wannabe blue-collar terrorists who ask cops for maps of military installations, have trouble finding lethal weapons, practice jihadist attacks by playing paintball in the Pocono Mountains, go to a Kinko's to have a videotape made of their training sessions made into a DVD, are infiltrated by not one but two informants … [Read more...] about The Ft. Dix Six: Of Pizzas and Terror Plots