Rodney, I'll Miss You

Rodney, I'll Miss You

Jacob Cohen, more popularly known as Rodney Dangerfield, left us at 1:20 p.m. yesterday. I'll always see him as Al Czervik, the hilarious role he played in Caddyshack.



My favorite Rodney lines from Caddyshack:

"Oh, this your wife, huh? A lovely lady. Hey baby, you must've been something before electricity "

"Oh, this is the worst-looking hat I ever saw. What, when you buy a hat like this I bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh? Oh, it looks good on you though.."

"Last time I saw a mouth like that, it had a hook in it."

LINK

Rest in peace, Rodney. You brought much joy.

William Rivers Pitt: Cheney's Avalanche of Lies

"These are the facts."

William Rivers Pitt: Cheney's Avalanche of Lies
LINK

Cheney was also every inch the snarling, hunch-shouldered golem that has made him one of the least popular politicians in recent memory. He seldom looked up at moderator Gwen Ifill, or at the cameras facing him, choosing instead to speak into his own chest for the entire night. Cheney appeared, overall, to cut quite the frightening figure, the dark night to Edwards' optimistic day.

The other problem for Cheney, of course, was the way he lied with nearly every word that passed his curled lips. It was a virtuoso performance of prevarication, obfuscation and outright balderdash. On Thursday night, George W. Bush played the part of a man who couldn't possibly defend his record. On Tuesday night, Cheney acted as though that record did not exist.

From Howard Altman: Goodbye, Breck Girl

"Curses, foiled again."


From Howard Altman: "Goodbye, Breck Girl"
or: "Veep Debate No Quayle Hunt"

See Howard Altman's comments on last night's VP match-up. He takes us all the way from Afghanistan back to our own shores to explain why he believes that Senator Edwards won’t be hearing the shampoo pejorative too many more times.


"So long. We'll miss you, Johnny!"


"Mr. Vice President, I don't think the country can take four more years of this kind of experience."

Slate- William Saletan praises Edwards performance

See: VP Debate Wrap-up at Daily Reality Check

NYT- Cheney "Tired...Angry...Dyspeptic," Edwards "Serious And Tough", editorial

NYT- Edwards Proved To Be A Tougher Opponent Than Lieberman, by Adam Nagourney

I wonder whose toes Dick Morris was sucking (or whose ass he was kissing) when he wrote this 'alternative-universe' NY Post schlock?

James Wolcott: "..nearly 44 million Americans watched last night's debate..such intense interest probably spells bad news for the Republicans."

Our Soldiers Speak

Our Soldiers Speak

During the wicked frenzy enveloping this election season, I think we tend to forget the very real experience of the American soldier.

I remind my readers that almost every recent political thought I have is based upon my genuine caring for the individual safety of each of their precious lives.

Often, I realize that I sound irreverent about the Bush administration, and I realize that sort of public behavior is not allowed within the ranks of active American military service. My irreverence is wholly packed with the punch of truth. I am grateful for the fact that our men and women of the armed forces serve our nation trustingly and loyally and to them, I am reflecting that essence for which I know they risk everything. By exercising the right and privilege to speak as a free and honest American citizen, a large part of my goal is to watch over these soldiers and to ensure they are being given a fair shake by the government they serve to protect. I know theiir lives depend upon the stability and wisdom of their commander in chief.

Today, I honor the following websites--all written by members, past or present, of our Armed Forces:

http://www.voiceofaveteran.blogspot.com/-I got to know Vet when we mutually supported Howard Dean's candidacy. He is an important rational voice in the blogging community.

http://cbftw.blogspot.com/ - Colby (aka CB) is stationed in Mosul with the Stryker brigade. He writes with the heart of the philosopher. He was cut off from blogging by the powers that be for a short time, but now he's back.

http://docinthebox.blogspot.com/ - Sean is a Navy medic. He's articulate and his writing is very well thought out. (Even though he dreads what his high school English teacher might think if she were to gaze upon his blog).

http://lt-smash.us/ - Iraq war veteran and war blogger, now he's a stateside citizen. He has a group called Protest Warriors. Go here for a sample of his thoughts and the discourse that follows in the Comments section.

http://sgtstryker.com.cr.sabren.com/ SSDB-A collaborative blog discussing the conflict day-today. Pay Stryker, Kevin Connors, Sgt. Mom, and Sparkey a visit. Good, honest writing.

http://www.dogtulosba.com/ I got to know Chad when he came to Iddybud to straighten me out on my military terminology. He's the expert, and I deferred to him. I also became a fan. Note: Chad gets my vote for the category of 'Best blogger smile'. ;)

http://www.cimoli.com/blog/cimoli_blog - Gordo is a US Army Aviator. He's been in the Army since August 1988 and has been all over the world from Panama to Canada. In iraq now, Gordo recently expressed concern that his unit's embedded reporter, CBS Bob, is leaving to head back to the states. He was their link to the world--he had the sattelite internet connection and could keep the soldiers up to date on what was going on in the world.

http://livefromiraq.blogspot.com/ -Sorry, folks. He's been shut down and shut up.

http://soldierslifeafteriraq.blogspot.com/ -There is a new blog on the horizon written about a soldier and his experiences by his wife. It's called Reaching Out.

http://scrimshaw.blogspot.com/ -91 Ghost- A literary vet, who recently wrote: "Say a little prayer that our enemies shall be defeated, that our Republic shall flourish in the light of its Constitutional intentions and guidances, and that our leaders, whomsoever they may be, will have the wisdom and discretion to do the right thing, whatever that may be...and say a little prayer that our politicians, on either side of the aisle, will defer to our war chiefs when it comes to making war decisions...because this situation we are in, is not a football game. Say a little prayer, above all, for the soldier walking point tonight, and for the soldier laying up in Walter Reed tonight, and for those whose last sight on earth was of a mzzle flash in some slum in Iraq, and not the fields they called home."

"If the coalition were to just pick up and go would the insurgency stop altogether? I mean these people have some plan right? I only wonder what their objective mission is? Seems to me that they are killing more of their own people then ours. If I take CNN's word for it, they killed 40 of their own and just 1 US Soldier today. So is it about the Coalition being there? Now when I say one of their own, I mean of Arab descendent. We all know that the insurgency is not just Iraqi's.

I couldn't imagine what goes through their thick stinking skulls as they are planning this shit. Do they really justify killing woman and children? Do they chalk it up as a casualty of war and Allah will compensate them when they go to Heaven?

I wonder what would make it all go away? I can bet that if we just left it wouldn't!"

--American Soldier, 30 September 2004

http://www.soldierlife.blogspot.com/ -American Soldier states: "I sacrifice so others may never have to face war or adversity that plagues this nation that we live in."

http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski-arch.html -Karen Kwiatkowski recently retired from the active duty USAF as a Lieutenant Colonel. Her final assignment was as a political-military affairs officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Under Secretary for Policy, in the Sub-Saharan Africa and Near East South Asia (NESA) Policy directorates. Her work can be viewed at Lew Rockwell's website.


http://www.hackworth.com/ -David Hackworth's military career as a sailor, soldier and a military writer has spanned several dozen wars and conflicts, from the end of World War II to the first Gulf War to the present situation in Iraq -- which he describes as “the biggest military miscalculation in our nation’s history.”


http://www.ivaw.net/ -Iraq Veterans Against the War(IVAW) is currently working on a nation wide speaking tour and participated in the October 2nd Vigil in Washington D.C., with speakers including Lila Lipscombe, who was a mother of a soldier who was killed in Iraq. I saw the entire event on CSPAN and found it to be very moving, but it never made the news, most curiously. Other than CSPAN, the media was dead-silent.

My Thoughts: Edwards Won the VP Debate. Here's Why

My Thoughts: Edwards Won the VP Debate. Here's Why.

I believe that Senator John Edwards, with quiet dignity, clarity, honesty, and truth, won this debate.

Why do I call this Edwards' win?

Edwards convinced me he was telling the truth and he convinced me that Dick Cheney, although he might be masterful, is only masterful at distorting the truth.

I can't tell you how many times I detected lies and deliberate distortions from Cheney, who is a master of deception. Where shall I begin?

He totally evaded Gwen Ifill's first question about Paul Bremer's revelation that Bush/Cheney failed to provide proper troop levels to ensure success in Iraq.

When he said, "What we did in Iraq was exactly the right thing to do. If I had it to recommend all over again, I would recommend exactly the same course of action," he may have sounded more coherent than Bush, but I knew, by his words, he was just as dangerous, wrong, and stubborn as his incurious commander in chief.

"The senator has got his facts wrong. I have not suggested there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11, but there's clearly an established Iraqi track record with terror."
I don't know who Cheney thinks he's fooling. He's spun his web about 9/11 and Saddam's Iraq so many times our heads spin..and then he denies ever saying it. The press should have called Cheney on his lies about these bogus terror connections a long time ago. If they had done their job, perhaps we wouldn't have to look at Dick Cheney still making up more lies today.

When Cheney said, "Gwen, we've never let up on Osama bin Laden from day one," I could envision a multi-color neon sign on Times Square flashing the word "L-I-A-R". It doesn't take a genius to figure that sometime between attacking Afghanistan and Iraq, Dick and George "let up" on making Osama their priority.

When Cheney began to play his distortion harp about John Kerry's lack of conviction, my prayers were answered by Senator Edwards' response. He beautifully pointed Cheney out as the distorter he is. It's all Cheney seems to be good for in this campaign, really. People don't actually like him. He turns them off. He might be a nice fellow in real life, but he turns people off. All he has left is distortion.

For just a moment, when he was pressed by Edwards to justify the war in Iraq, I thought Cheney might actually come out and say "Thank God Zarqawi is out there beheading Americans---because he's all I've got left to try to connect with Saddam Hussein--even though the CIA says it's the weakest possibility!"

Cheney said to Edwards, "The first time I ever met you was when I walked on the stage tonight."
This was a lie from Dick Cheney, disproven quickly at the Kerry/Edwards blog. He didn't fool me. I'm on to his tricks.
Cheney pulled the same trick about "not knowing" Joseph Wilson on Meet the Press last year.

I have absolutely no respect for ABC's Nightline, who used a heavy-laden GOP-participant poll just after the debate to enforce their assertion that Cheney won the debate. In doing so, I was reminded ABC is acting very much like Dick Cheney. I am confident most people believe their own eyes over distortions.

TRANSCRIPT OF DEBATE

Who Will Be the Victor in Tonight's Debate?

Who Will Be the Victor in Tonight's Debate?


Dick from the Black Lagoon?--Or John of Mayberry?



At The Nation, John Nichols has 10 Questions for the Cave Creature

Best of the Headlines

Now cannot see Iraq-9/11 Connection

Best of the Headlines

• More Bush Administration Lies Exposed:
CNN: Rumsfeld: Al Qaeda comments 'misunderstood' and concedes WMD claims about Iraq were proved wrong
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld conceded Monday that U.S. intelligence was wrong in its conclusions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and appeared to back off earlier statements suggesting former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had links to al Qaeda.


• Bush Blog- Spin Desperately Needed
The Bushites are begging their supporters to spread their love for Dr. Doom after tonight's debate with John Edwards. Various message boards are being recommended as the chosen platform for Republicans to spout their spin. They provide us with an easy guide to send our own comments. Check it out.

• ABC News/Reuters- Bremer Says Not Enough U.S. Troops in Iraq
L. Paul Bremer Tells Group U.S. Didn't Have Enough Troops Upon Arriving in Postwar Iraq

• IHT-"Don't Forget Poland"
Poland unexpectedly says troops may quit Iraq in 2005. "Poland is like any other country. The public do not like the war. The government cannot ignore that," said a Polish diplomat, who asked not to be named.

• US Newswire- More than 180 Former U.S. Ambassadors from Republican and Democratic Administrations Endorse Kerry
At a news conference at the National Press Club, members of Ambassadors for Kerry-Edwards issued a letter stating, "We believe it is imperative to our national security that we change the leadership of the nation we all love and elect John Kerry and John Edwards." The statement criticized President Bush for needlessly squandering the good will and support of the world following the September 11 attacks and undermining our ability to win the war on terror by eroding our strong international alliances.

• USA Today- Nice guy vs. The Ice Guy, Tuesday night in Cleveland
Advisers underline that Edwards has an advantage Lieberman did not have: Cheney now has a nearly four-year record that he'll have to defend.


• Christian Science Monitor- How VP debate can help - or hurt
"It's Dr. Doom versus Huck Finn," says Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "Very little rides on this debate, but it's going to be enormously interesting. People will be interested to see this fairly curious matchup."

• Towanda Daily Review- Topic of Bush's Speech to Invitation Only Crowd in PA Will Unexpectedly Change
Bush changes content of planned speech to make up for lost ground in polls
The official said the president might still touch on medical malpractice, but the majority of his speech would be on the war on terror and the economy.
He did not offer a reason why the decision was made.


• Reuters-Iraq Muslim Clerics Express Doubts Over Elections
"An influential group of Iraqi Sunni Muslim clerics said Tuesday that elections scheduled for January would be a farce unless they were nationwide."

• New York Times- Randal Archibold: Edward Notes Cheney Warned of Getting "Bogged Down" in Iraq
Seizing on a published report that Vice President Dick Cheney warned 12 years ago of getting 'bogged down' in Iraq, Senator John Edwards on Wednesday accused the Bush administration of botching plans for occupying that nation. 'He knew - that's the worse part about this - he knew how dangerous this was,' Mr. Edwards told a crowd here. 'They knew that there were enormous predictors of what would be happening there, and they still didn't have a plan even though they knew what might be coming'.'' (See also Robert Dreyfuss' "Well, Iraq Worked, Right?").

• American Prospect-Robert Reich: Where Are the Rational Greedy Bastards?
"Privately, CEOs and Wall Street bankers fret about the mounting red ink. They remember what happened to the economy under previous Republicans, and they know supply-side economics is bunk masquerading as a free lunch... A rationally self-interested greedy bastard who never thought about the future would far prefer the Clinton years to another four years of Bush, even with Bush’s tax cuts. John Kerry promises to continue Clinton’s economic policies, so the greedy bastard should line up behind Kerry."

• Guardian (U.K.)-Sidney Blumenthal: Retreat Into a Substitute Reality:
By touching on Bush's ambivalent relations with his father, Kerry exposed his delusions about Iraq.

• Vanity Fair (via Make Them Accountable), October 2004 issue- David Margolick, Evgenia Peretz, and Michael Shnayerson: The Path to Florida
Here is a long, detailed examination of the 2000 election fiasco and fraud that was Florida 2000, with questions about how much has changed in Florida since that scandal four years ago. Short answer: Not much. "[The authors zero] in on the frenzied 36 days that followed the 2000 election, investigate the 'Brooks Brothers riot,' Jeb Bush's high-tech felon hunt, and the new voting machines that leave no paper trail, and ask, Could it happen again?

• Independent (U.K.)- Andrew Woodcook: War Planned "Months Before Vote"
Britain was involved in planning for war in Iraq for at least nine months before MPs approved military action, according to a document apparently leaked from the Pentagon. Details from the secret briefing paper, published in London's Evening Standard, suggest that military commanders took part in a war planning conference with US counterparts as early as June 2002. At the time, Prime Minister Tony Blair [along with Bush] was insisting that no decisions had been taken on military action. Today's leak, on the eve of a crucial debate on Iraq at Labour's conference in Brighton, will fuel speculation that Mr Blair agreed in principle to join the US in military action at his April 2002 summit at President George Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas - something the Prime Minister has always denied.

• DON'T MISS THE DNC VIDEO- BUSH: "FACES OF FRUSTRATION"

A Question of Loyalty

A Question of Loyalty
By Ernest Partridge
Co-Editor, "The Crisis Papers."
October 4, 2004
LINK

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil
is for good men to do nothing.

Anon. (Attributed to Edmund Burke)

Senator Lincoln Chafee, Republican from Rhode Island, has decided not to vote for George Bush in November.

"’ll vote Republican," [Chafee] said, explaining that he would choose a write-in candidate, perhaps George Bush the elder, as a symbolic act of protest. Asked if he wanted Senator John Kerry to be president, Mr. Chafee shook his head sadly, as if to say he could not entertain the question. “I’ve been disloyal enough,” he said. (New York Times, October 4, 2004).

With all due respect for Senator Chafee, and that respect is genuine, I submit that he has not been loyal enough.

It all depends upon the what the Senator regards as the supreme object of his loyalty. To Chafee, it is apparently the Republican party.

But that party is not the entity to which he swore allegiance when he took his oath of office. At that time he, and all his Senate and House colleagues, swore allegiance to the United States of America and its Constitution. And that allegiance requires much more of Lincoln Chafee and others who claim loyalty to the Republican party.

For today, institutions and moral principles cherished throughout our history and held in common today by a majority of Americans -- Democrats, Republicans and Independents -- are being threatened, not by a foreign invader, but by a radical faction that has seized control of our government and our media. The shared prosperity of the American people is being undone by a few greedy plutocrats who now effectively control the Republican party. These individuals have caused the honor and reputation of the American Republic in the world community to sink to an all-time low.

We are at a crossroad in history, one road leads to disaster and the other to restoration and renewal. Neither road is in any way defined by the traditional political differences between Republicans and Democrats.

We must now look down that dreadful road, before we travel on. For there we find:

Federal bankruptcy, the end of public services including Social Security and Medicare, and an impoverishment of the public schools.


With the decline of our educational institutions, an end of American leadership in science and technology – both the well-springs of prosperity in an industrial economy.


International isolation, as the United States continues to become an international outlaw, initiating wars at times of its choosing, and violating treaties at its convenience.


A loss of media independence and diversity – “the fourth estate,” recognized by our founders as indispensable to a free society.


A loss of civil liberties and the Constitutional guarantees of free press, speech, assembly and religion. A violation of the rights of fair trial, access to counsel, habeas corpus.


An endless “war on terrorism” legitimizing the erosion of these liberties and the abrogation of the Bill of Rights, and furthermore requiring a permanent draft.


Class warfare, as national wealth flows from the producers of that wealth to the very few who own and control the wealth.


The privatization of the technology and tallying of voting – in effect, an end of the citizen franchise and the “consent of the governed.”


Environmental devastation and economic collapse, as petroleum reserves are exhausted with no national provision made for transition to a post-petroleum energy source. (See my “The Oil Trap?").

This is our future unless, together and regardless of our habitual party preferences, we unite and throw out of national office, those individuals who, due to dogmatism, ignorance or the myopia of greed, fail to recognize or feel obliged to lead us away from these perils.

The challenge transcends party. The Republican Party of Lincoln Chafee’s father, Senator John Chafee, is no more. It has been succeeded by a gang of theocrats, oligarchs, and empire-builders who retain, from the Republican Party of old, little more than the name “Republican.” (See my “Letter to a Republican Friend”).

The Republican Party of Dwight Eisenhower, Earl Warren and Nelson Rockefeller stood for fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets, limited government, opportunity for small business entrepreneurs, citizen autonomy, defense of the US Constitution and its Bill of Rights, and international law and order. These principles have been abandoned in practice by the Republican part of today.

Nonetheless, with the entire political spectrum having shifted sharply to the right, there now exists a political organization that upholds and defends these principles of moderate republicanism. It is called the Democratic Party.

So what motivates a moderate Republican or an authentic conservative to vote for George Bush and Dick Cheney? What, other than habit and the names, "Republican" and "conservative."

In a generation, the words "Republican" and "conservative" ("liberal" too, for that matter), once a guide to intelligent political discourse, have become weapons in the hands of greedy and power-hungry opportunists – a “Newspeak” devised by PR wizards who have treated George Orwell’s 1984, not as a warning but as a guidebook.

Thus we are now on a precipice of history, and if we are to draw back and escape catastrophe, Americans of all religious creeds and political persuasions must pause, contemplate the morally legitimate objects of their loyalty, and then follow the demands of that loyalty as they vote to protect their Constitution, preserve the rights and liberties of all citizens, demand a just distribution of the nation’s wealth, and restore the honor of their country among the community of nations.

There are a few key individuals who could, by themselves, take a principled stand and favorably change the course of history. Colin Powell and John McCain come to mind. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that they will do so.

And so it is up to the rest of us to do so – powerless as individuals, but together an irresistible force.

Several significant organizations and individuals have done so already. Among them:

Ten Nobel Laureates in Economics.

4,000 scientists, among them 48 Nobel Laureates.

Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change

Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. And in particular, “The Jersey Girls” – the courageous and determined widows of 9/11, without whom there would not have been a 9/11 Commission.

Iraq Veterans Against the War.

And many more, too numerous to mention.

And yet, the election contest remains close. If there is to be a favorable outcome, the current of dissent and opposition must become a flood.

Daniel Ellsberg, John Dean, Sibel Edmonds, Colleen Rowley, Karen Kwiatkowski and other “whistleblowers” have demanded that still more patriots, within and outside of the government, who are in possession of crucial information, come forth and expose the corruption and malfeasance of this most secretive Administration.

It is also past time for a few prominent journalists to rip open the media curtain, and let the light of truth at last shine forth. Many media celebrities have become independently wealthy through their careers. Now it is payback time. Where are the I. F. Stones, Ed Murrows and Walter Cronkites of our age? Will they be heard in the month that remains?

The time is short. But with the example of Lincoln Chafee, and other newly-dissenting Republicans such as Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar, Doug Bereuter, and former Republicans such as Arianna Huffington, John Dean, Jim Jeffords and Kevin Phillips, the demands of duty and loyalty become ever more compelling.

In a mere month, the current of dissent and defection must become a flood, if the usurpers of our liberties, the thieves of our national treasure, and the despoilers of our national honor are to be swept from their ill-gotten offices.

For after November 2, it will be too late, for then we may all be embarked upon the road to disaster from which there will be no return in our lifetimes -- if ever.

Bush Earpiece Rumor

Bush Earpiece Rumor

From Democrats.com:

Rumor of Bush Earpiece Floats around Net
"Raw Story has received numerous e-mails suggesting that Bush wore an earpiece during the Florida debate Thursday with Senator Kerry. While at this point the suggestion is simply rumor, the volume of emails and the demands of our readers required we at least post the information for public review. The crux of the rumor centers around a part of the debate where Bush says, 'let me finish,' though neither Senator Kerry or moderator Jim Lehrer have moved to interrupt him. The video file can be seen here. Viewers also note the numerous pauses during Bush's answers, though some also note that Bush regularly uses dramatic pauses as part of his replies. The final element of the rumor surrounds an alleged wire in the back of the president's suit jacket, the photograph of which appears below."

See "Little Voices" by Digby (and check out the photo).

Bush is no FDR

Bush is no FDR

"...let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things..."

--Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his first inaugural speech

We have more than material things about which to be concerned as we face November's election. We worry about terrorism and we worry about our children being drafted to a liar's war, which is seemingly a war with no end.

We face the election a completely divided nation.

We have had an administration who has played upon our deepest fears in the selfish hope for political gain.

There can be no future trust or support for an administration which has been carelessly exaggerating and misleading in their past public statements about the level of threat posed to us Americans; which has directly led us to an unnecessary war.

"These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.

Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit...."

Will someone please repeat that part to 'Halliburton Cheney' and 'Oil-Made-My-Family-What-We-Are Bush'?

First Monday in October-One Year Ago

First Monday in October-One Year Ago

One year ago at Iddybud, two articles were brought to your attention. Listen to the words spoken back then and consider all that has happened since.

Muslims everywhere know that Putin has been engaged since 1999 in a ruthless campaign against the Muslim population of Chechnya. They know that just yesterday he rigged an election in that rebellious province by forcing every credible candidate but his own to withdraw. When he praises Putin's vision of "democracy and freedom and rule of law in Russia," how can Bush expect anyone to believe that he is any more serious about his own commitment to democracy and freedom in Afghanistan or Iraq?

--Fred Hiatt/WP 10-6-03

THE COLLAPSE in global support for the United States during the past several years is hard to overstate. Numerous polls show that the number of people holding a favorable view of this country has fallen from a majority to single digits in nations ranging from Indonesia to Spain. The damage is worst in the Arab Middle East, the very region where the Bush administration hopes to propagate the American values of liberal democracy and capitalism....much of the damage has been caused by the Bush administration's behavior, ranging from its spurning of allies and international treaties to its continuing insistence on monopolizing power in Iraq.

--WP Editorial 10-6-03

It couldn't be any clearer.
We need new presidential leadership.

Online News Hour: Homefront Battle

"When the army itself admitted they were unable to find the weapons of mass destruction, my son began to question, "Why am I here? Why do I have to continue to be here?" So, I feel a certain amount of responsibility, as his mother, to stand up and say, Why did you send my son to war? Why did you put my son in harm's way?"

--Vicki Monk, whose son is currently with the army's 1st Armored Division in Baghdad

Online News Hour: Homefront Battle

In case you missed the News Hour on PBS tonight, I highly recommend that you see this featured story. It can be read or viewed on Real Audio at the PBS website.

Firebombings: From My Father’s Wars to Mine by Christopher Dickey

"Firebombings: From My Father’s Wars to Mine" by Christopher Dickey

Christopher Dickey, son of poet and novelist James Dickey, gave a thoughtful lecture at Clemson almost a year ago as a part of the Calhoun Lecture series at the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs. It was about his father, the wars of his father's generation and the wars that have followed,the never-ending war on a notion known as terror, about human dignity. I think it should be required reading for every American voter.

On his father's poetry:

"Drinking from a Helmet," written almost two decades after WWII by James Dickey, comes back to the theme of involvement and detachment. The poet is getting water from a truck on a battlefield; a place where the fighting is mostly over. Afraid to take off his own helmet, he picks up another one that has been discarded on the ground. As he drinks from it he comes to think it belonged to another soldier who has died. He sees his own boyish reflection in the water...

Selected ripples rove through it,
Knocked loose with a touch from all sides
Of a brain killed early that morning,
Most likely, and now in its absence holding
My sealed, sunny image from harm.

He becomes fascinated by a growing sense that he knows the life of this soldier he never knew, whose death he never saw.

I stood as though I possessed
A cool, trembling man
Exactly my size, swallowed whole.

Putting the helmet on, the poet’s mind joins with that of the dead man, who is resurrected – reincarnated— in him."

On dignity:

"...just about the time I was writing this speech, “dignity” started to be a buzzword in U.S. administration rhetoric. J.Paul Bremer, the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, used it some 27 times in his Ramadan address to the Iraqi people on Nov. 7, 2003. President George W. Bush referred to it when he stopped in at Baghdad airport for Thanksgiving. But the standards they set for dignity, unfortunately, are theirs for the Iraqis, not necessarily the Iraqis’ for themselves."

On today's wars and inhumanity:

"...more than fifty years after World War II, and more than thirty years after my father wrote that poem, technology, especially American technology, continued to dehumanize the inhumanity of war until, by the late 1990s, we were able to convince ourselves, at our great distance from the destruction, that such a thing could be waged as a war that was humane. Now, that’s a pretty dangerous concept if you think about it. Because a humane war,especially one waged from a sanitary distance, is implicitly an EASY war. It doesn’t have to be righteous. It doesn’t even have to be memorable....

...You know, history does not end except, perhaps, in academia. But if you ignore the past, ifyou refuse to connect cause and effect, and you start to think that war is without consequences – at least for you in your comfortable suburban home — then war can come to seem perfunctory, eventrivial, except for those who are on the ground beneath the bombs...."

On our great mistake:

As the Yale sociologist William Graham Sumner pointed out in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War, expansion and imperialism are inimical to what, precisely, we Americans think we are. They are “a grand onslaught on democracy,” said Sumner, they are “at war with the best traditions, principles, and interests of the American people.”

Generally, Americans — and their leaders — have understood this, which is why, despite the present administration’s rhetoric about spreading democracy, the heart of its message has been quite different since September 11: not that we will change the world, but that, in the end, the world will not change us.That is why it was so important to get the message out, unofficially and meretriciously, that Saddam Hussein was behind September 11. That is why it’s important that some sixty percent of the public think that’s the case. Because if it is not, then we have embarked on exactly that kind of expansionist and imperialist project our forebears warned us against, and we see that this war in Iraq could change us every bit as much as we’re likely to change the world. The media have played a strange role in all this, becoming technological accomplices in a grand illusion.

(pdf link)
(non pdf link)

US: Divided against itself

US: Divided against itself
The Guardian: If Americans choose Bush over Kerry, it will be from fear, a lack of choice - and a preference for power over safety by Gary Younge

Gary Younge asks what the world should make of America and Americans if Bush wins?

If Bush wins fair and square on November 2, then what conclusions can we draw about a nation that consciously decides this is the course it wants to take? If Americans come away from the plurality of opinions with which they have been presented to back Bush, it will not be because they did not know that other views were out there, but because they chose to believe one set of views over others.
The question is, why?

Younge says:

More than anything else, though, a Bush victory would suggest that when given a choice between leading the world through force or through consensus (the notion that America should not lead the world has not arisen), most of those who expressed a preference preferred force..They will have decided that global supremacy is more important to them than being either liked or respected.

The country is riven on almost every axis possible - between red states (for Bush) and blue states (for Kerry), between the religious and the secular, the metro and the retro. "Not since the civil war has the country been so divided," argues John White, professor of politics at the Catholic University of America. Whether Bush wins or loses, these rifts will endure. America is not just a nation at war with the world; it is a nation at war with itself.

Related: Poles Apart/Baltimore Sun (subsc required)

Secret Service Tosses Message T-shirt Wearers at Wisconsin King George Rally

Secret Service Tosses Those Donning Message T-shirts at Wisconsin King George Rally

Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News blogs about three Racine, Wisconsin, residents who were ejected by the Secret Service from a recent Bush rally, not because they were a threat to the president or because they verbally disrupted the affair, but because they donned T-shirts with the word "liar" on them. Keith Rosenberg, Michael Goebel and James Bremner said they signed the required pledge stating they supported Bush. They said they did not put on the their message T-shirts until Bush appeared on stage to speak. They claim they did not intend to riot, but intended to "hand it to [Bush] because the guy is a blatant liar."

We should be very concerned by happenings like this. The recent arrest of the mother of a dead soldier, Sue Neiderer, was probably the saddest example of what's happening out on the campaign trail. What this T-shirt story proves is that Bush is a danger, himself, to the political stability within our own nation. His policies and divisive leadership have apparently caused the Secret Service to have concerns, whether legitimate or not, about the safety of this president and his Loyalty-Oath audiences. It shows us that they believe there is such instability inside our nation that even a fresh-faced American college kid with a message T-shirt is a potential danger to anyone with conflicting opinions while in the same arena with this president. If that sounds ludicrous, it may be because it is. How did we get to this stifling point in American dissent and free speech rights?

I believe, if the overall political discussion was more open in the media and more reflective of the way America really thinks (rather than "rah-rah" Honeymoon Bush), there would not be such public frustration and conflict. I believe, if Bush rallies were open to the American public, regardless of political affiliation, the truth would be naturally and peacefully revealed. We'd hear some 'boos' and healthy democratic dissent. Instead, the Bush campaign is anti-democratic (while Bush spouts off about the value of freedom and democracy on the other side of the barricades). The campaign's Loyalty Oath policy creates confrontation.

He's not a King. He's our public employee.

TPM Reveals Bush Goof on Trained Iraqi Troop Quote

TPM Reveals Bush Goof on Trained Iraqi Troop Quote

Josh Marshall has posted a "Gotcha!" regarding one of Bush's debate comments last Thursday.

The statement:

"There's 100,000 troops trained: police, guard, special units, border patrol. There's going to be 125,000 trained by the end of this year."

The truth:

It's estimated that 22,700 Iraqi personnel have received enough basic training to make them "minimally effective at their tasks," in contrast to the 100,000 figure cited by Bush. LINK

Thomas Friedman Has Returned

Thomas Friedman Has Returned

And he's had plenty of time to think.
Here are some excerpts from his return column:

This war has been hugely mismanaged by this administration, in the face of clear advice to the contrary at every stage, and as a result the range of decent outcomes in Iraq has been narrowed and the tools we have to bring even those about are more limited than ever.

What I resent so much is that some of us actually put our personal politics aside in thinking about this war and about why it is so important to produce a different Iraq.

...from the beginning [Bush] has run Iraq policy as an extension of his political campaign.

Friends, I return to where I started: We're in trouble in Iraq. We have to immediately get the Democratic and Republican politics out of this policy and start honestly reassessing what is the maximum we can still achieve there and what every American is going to have to do to make it happen. If we do not, we'll end up not only with a fractured Iraq, but with a fractured America, at war with itself and isolated from the world.

LINK-Iraq: Politics or Policy?

Stipe and Springsteen rock against Bush

credit: Rusty Kennedy/AP

Stipe and Springsteen rock against Bush

"We’re here tonight to fight for a government that is open, rational, progressive and humane."

--Bruce Springsteen


LINK-Sunday Herald
LINK-Toronto Star, Rock gets political to roll Bush
Story by AP/Patrick Walters
NYT story
SALON.com (need subsc. or one day pass)


"America is not always right -- that’s a fairy tale you tell your children. But America is always true. And it’s in seeking this truth that we find a deeper patriotism. Remember, the country we carry in our hearts is waiting."

--Bruce Springsteen

Dreier Story Making the Rounds

Dreier Story Making the Rounds

The NY Post via Raw Story
Advocate
LA Weekly via Yahoo News
New York Press
Data Lounge
PR Newswire
devtob at Daily Kos

In all fairness, Congressman Dreier did vote against the Marriage Protection Amendment last week.

Happy Birthday, Gore Vidal

Happy Birthday, Gore Vidal

"I'm not sentimental about anything. Life flows by, and you flow with it or you don't. Move on and move out."

Gore Vidal is 79 today. He has been recovering from an operation on his bad knee, which, for five years, threw off his gait, leaving both legs weakened. He lost his longtimes companion, Howard Austen, last year. Despite his weak legs, he maintains an active lecture schedule attended by much younger readers. He recently sold his 5,000-square-foot Italian villa after 30 years and has moved permanently to his other house, which is in Hollywood.

Happy Birthday, Gore Vidal!