03:00 PM
Politico Just say NO

This is NOT right:

The Sinclair Broadcast Group has ordered its 62 stations to air [the film, entitled Stolen Honor, focuses on Mr. Kerry's 1971 testimony to Congress criticizing the Vietnam War] next week, less than two weeks before election day - November 2.

Broadcast stations should not be attempting to circumvent laws by calling a film a "news event" so they can play partisan politics. It doesn't matter if it's anti-Kerry or pro-Kerry or anti-Bush or pro-Bush or Democrat or Republican, it's not right.

Tell the Sinclair Broadcasting Group what you think of this, email them or call, write or fax them, their phone/fax numbers and addresses are on their contact page. You can also see if they own a station in your area and contact the local station thru the info given there.

You say what abuot Michael Moore's plans to put Fahrenheit 9/11 on TV just before the election? I say it's not the same thing at all - it's labeled as a film, not news and he's trying to get it on Pay-Per-View which means viewers have to want to watch it and pay for it, no different than renting the DVD which is currently available at your local movie rental store. But airing a biased political film as a news show on broadcast (free to the viewer) channels to circumvent the laws designed to prevent this very kind of thing isn't right at all. If Sinclair does air this film, then they should also have to air an opposing viewpoint for the same amount of air time.

Everyone has a right to their political opinion but they don't have a right to force it on everyone else.

02:12 AM
Politico Let's just kill'em all

Arab journalist killed on live TV by U.S. helicopter

I understand the need to keep the military hardware out of the hands of the opposition. But this is ridiculous. Who's making these kind of decisions over there? That's a rhetorical question, I guess. There's so many factors involved in this, extended duties, calling up reservists, the kind of mentality in the Administration that leads to Abu Ghraib, the wrongness of what we are doing to our own people, the wrongness of what we are doing to Iraq, clearly highlighted in this stupid wrong waste of life.

What exactly does Bush think we have achieved? A bright and shining example of a democratic government in Iraq? Can he really be that deluded?

Yes, that's a rhetorical question too.

01:47 AM
Politico Horizontal, not vertical, communication is what's needed

Decentralized Intelligence - What Toyota can teach the 9/11 commission about intelligence gathering. By Duncan Watts

An insightful article about what needs to be done (but I doubt very much that our government can sufficiently dig itself out of politics to actually do it). The solution - horizontal communication, not vertical, is one that's been touted before, mainly in business, it's been shown that encouraging free communication between employees can lead to all sorts of good stuff - for the company.

01:16 AM
Politico Economics lesson for the day

Swapping sales tax for income tax isn't likely soon - Aug. 11, 2004

Sounds enticing, doesn't it? Do away with our annual stress test called April 15th and just pay extra sales tax, sounds simple, doesn't it?

Think twice. Think thrice and realize exactly how much income you'd lose.

Most middle class people pay about 15% to 30% tax on their net income each year. Change that to a 30% sales tax on what you spend, not your net income and suddenly you're paying at least double what you have been. And if you're spending more than you make (thru loans and charging on credit cards, you get to pay more tax on money you haven't even earned yet!

For the poor, who usually pay no tax (this is people making less than $15-20,000 per year), suddenly they're 1/3 poorer than they were last year. People who make minimum wage right now don't make a living wage - minimum wage on a full time job is just over $10,000 a year, you try living on that - and with a national sales tax suddenly they're making only $7,000 a year??? They might as well go on welfare and unemployment, then they'd be able to eat and pay rent.

And guess who makes out like a bandit on a national sales tax? Yep, that's right, good ole boy Bush's fatcat friends - people making tons of money would pay tax only what they spend - rather than their income. Right now, they're paying around 40% on their net income. Rich people don't spend all their money, they sock it away in investments, it's in partnerships and companies, donations to politicians - so they'd get a tax cut, they might end up paying as low as 10% in taxes.

Gee, I wonder why Bush supports a national sales tax instead of income tax?

(and the idea that companies would magically cut the prices on all their products to make up for this national sales tax? pewwwww! That bullshit sure does stink up the joint. My personal favorite is the idea that we'd all work harder to earn more if we didn't have to pay income tax - as if we're all laying about the house goofing off right now - gimme a break.)

Just some food for thought whenever anyone says that a sales tax is better than an income tax.

01:10 AM
Politico 28 years ago revisited

Barbara Jordan's Keynote Address to the 1976 Democratic Convention

This isn't so much about which party you belong to or who you're voting for - it's about the lack of a fundamental belief in doing the right thing - simply because it is the right thing.

Politicians are supposed to be public servants, that is, to serve the public. I know there's always been pols who wheeled and dealed and were there only for what they could get for themselves, for being the big honcho and doling out favors to their friends who then paid them back many times over.

But still --

We used to have politicians that would say things like this:

The citizens of America expect more. They deserve and they want more than a recital of problems.

We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are a people in search of a national community.

We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present: unemployment, inflation...but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America. We are attempting to fulfill our national purpose; to create and sustain a society in which all of us are equal.

Twenty-eight years ago. She said that twenty-eight years ago, long before 9/11, long before the Gulf War, long before the dot-boom and the dot-bust. What has changed? Nothing...except we're short a few Barbara Jordans and all the poorer for it.

What happened to political eloquence? I guess it's been reduced to sound bites and again, we are all the poorer for it. It's become so much about simply winning so that the politician's own agenda can be carried out. I never voted for Reagan or the first President Bush, but I do believe they believed, believed they could do something good for the country. Their idea of good for the country was different than mine, but they were honorable in their intentions. Sure, they had friends and buddies and hangers-on who benefited by their stays in office but on the whole, they were honorable men. But today...

Many fear the future, Many are distrustful of their leaders, and believe that their voices are never heard. Many seek only to satisfy their private work wants. To satisfy private interests.

But this is the great danger America faces. That we will cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups: city against suburb, region against region, individual against individual. Each seeking to satisfy private wants.

If that happens, who then will speak for America?

Who then will speak for the common good?

This is the question which must be answered in 1976.

And still must be answered in 2004. Look how we have not come far at all, still standing in the same place. As I watched Bush the second get elected in 2000, I knew we were going to Iraq, from the moment, he announced he was running, I knew. This isn't me boasting about my foresight, I'm talking about his lack of a belief in doing the right thing for the good of the country. He's had his own agenda for a very long time, long before he became Governor of Texas even.

After Bush the first lost to Clinton in 2002, I read a behind-the-scenes look at his campaign. He may have hated campaigning but he was a good man, an ethical man who did believe in being a public servant in the real meaning of the words.

But his son. Second generations in rich families often have a hard time, it's not restricted to just Bush or Republicans, the Kennedys have had their share of problems in the sons and daughters of John, Robert and Ted who were actually the second generation but their father pushed them so ambitiously, he made them work for something and so it fell to their children, the third generation, to wander about and try to find themselves and give some meaning to their life.

That has afflicted Bush the second as well, so his goal became one-upping his dad. His dad never got Saddam so Bush the second would be greater than his dad by getting Saddam. And of course, enjoying the good life, buddying up with the right people, after all that's how he got elected Governor of Texas, why stop doing something that works? And the good-ole-boy network here in Texas suited him well, pal-ing around with them, watching baseball games from a skybox, taking private jets, vacationing in friends' houses. It's just how bidness gets round here.

Doing the right thing for the good of the country doesn't fit in with any of that. And we are all the poorer for it.

...a collection of interest groups: city against suburb, region against region, individual against individual. Each seeking to satisfy private wants.

Who then will speak for the common good?

I find myself more and more drawn into this election. I will vote, I always vote, but I tend not to get emotionally invested. After all, it's four years, eight at the most, a drop in the bucket of time. And what happens, happens.

But so much of the last almost three years now lays so heavily on me. We suffered a trauma on 9/11, a part of us was chopped off and destroyed when the towers fell. But it seems that much of what has been done by our government since then has only compounded the wound, not healed it. A war that has cost many lives and injured many more, physically and mentally, has dishonered us with images of smiling torturers as our President grandly pronounces that we have made the world safer since 9/11. Safe from what? Saddam's weapons of mass destruction which have now been proven to not exist? Saddam's connection with al-Qaeda which has been proven tenous at best and non-existent at worst?

Even the atrocities that Saddam did perform in his prisons has been overshadowed by what we, the great savior of the world, the great protector of millions of Iraqis yearning to breath free, have done there in Abu-Ghraib. Lyndie England says she's a scapegoat and she's right. She's a scapegoat for the mindset of an administration that fostered the idea that she and her boyfriend should do those kind of things, that it was okay to treat people like that.

And the count of dead American soldiers in Iraq continues. The administration thinks if we don't see coffins, we won't remember them, they won't even exist, it'll be some sort of bloodless war. And the detainess on Guantanamo continue to be held with little or no legal recourse, merely the visible tip of the iceberg that Bush and Ashcroft have created with their Patriot Act and internal orders that overturn years of legal precedents meant to guard our rights and protect us from people like Bush and Ashcroft.

While on the homefront, the terror warnings increase - I thought getting rid of Saddam was supposed to reduce terrorism? And Bush cuts taxes for his friends, his good-ole-buddies who helped him get elected and who are desparately trying to make sure he stays in office for another four years so they can continue to ride on the gravy train he lays out for them.

He is a man without honor. Without ethics. Without truth. Who does not seek the good of the country, but only the good of himself.

Who then will speak for the common good?

John Kerry? Do I think he's some sort of saint, a godsend who will make everything right with one mighty whack of his silver sword from atop his white horse? No. But he is a more honorable man than what we have in the White House now. He's been thru hard things in his life, he's been a public servant for almost thirty years, raised by an activist mother, he's believed in causes and been disillusioned by them too, a good leavening of reality never hurts anyone.

He won't make everything perfect, but it's a start.

A nation is formed by the willingness of each of us to share in the responsibility for upholding the common good.

A government is invigorated when each of us is willing to participate in shaping the future of this nation.

We cannot stand by and let the lies continue. The lies that getting Saddam solves everything, the lies that Americans would never torture others, would never treat prisoners unfairly, the lies that we would never lie about weapons of mass destruction or ties to terrorist organizations. We must participate.

In this election year we must define the common good and begin again to shape a common good and begin again to shape a common future. Let each person do his or her part. If one citizen is unwilling t participate, all of us are going to suffer. For the American idea, though it is shared by all of us, is realized in each one of us.

We must participate.

...what are those of us who are elected public officials supposed to do? We call ourselves public servants but I'll tell you this: we as public servants must set an example for the rest of the nation. It is hypocritical for the public official to admonish and exhort the people to uphold the common good. More is required of public officials than slogans and handshakes and press releases. More is required. We must hold ourselves strictly accountable. We must provide the people with a vision of the future.

A vision of the future -- good, bad or indifferent as long as it's not lies.

It's worth repeating....

But this is the great danger America faces. That we will cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups: city against suburb, region against region, individual against individual. Each seeking to satisfy private wants.

If that happens, who then will speak for America?

Who then will speak for the common good?

This is the question which must be answered in 2004.

---

(Thanks to Dargie for talking about smart, savvy women which got me stumbling across Barbara Jordan's speech. I'd heard excerpts in the past but never read the entire thing before. Congresswoman Jordan was a great speaker, I can hear her distinctive voice rumbling in my head.)

12:55 PM
Politico F---ing Words

I'd have thought Cheney could have come up with a bit more imaginative response...Cheney to Leahy: "f--- off" but I guess it just shows that intelligence (or manners) is not a requirement of the job of Vice President.

02:22 PM
Politico Rose-colored thinking

There's an excellent article at PressThink, There's Signal in That Noise: The White House, the Reality Principle and the Press, on the Bush Administration's disconnection from the reality of Iraq, bin Laden and Hussein. And the blog entry where I found this link, rc3: The dangers of insular thinking, points out why it's important to listen to people and opinions we think are wrong.

03:56 PM
Politico I <3 Molly Ivins!

I take great comfort in the idea that the Pope will decide our policy on stem cell research, not to mention abortion and gay marriage. The Vatican is never wrong on scientific questions. Why, in 1992 the Catholic Church actually apologized to Galileo and said he was right after all — the earth does revolve around the sun, instead of vice versa. And it only took them 400 years to figure it out. Less time than it would take George W. Bush to admit an error. I find that comforting.

Me too! ;)

Read Molly, she's the one sane Texan left in this state!

11:29 PM
Politico Funerals and Coronations

It's an interesting juxtaposition, Reagan's state funeral yesterday in DC and California and tonight the boom-boom of fireworks in the distance as George the Lesser celebrates the birthday of George the Elder, kind of like the British refrain of "The King is Dead, Long Live the King!" - American style...

(Why on earth did I think I wanted to see Master and Commander? aka Life in the British Navy with open air brain surgery for entertainment.)

07:24 PM
Music· Politico· Rants & Whines More RIAA Whining

From CNN: Music biz seeks digital radio limits (06/11/04 13:58 PM, EDT)
Digital radio broadcasts that bring CD-quality sound to the airwaves could lead to unfettered song copying if protections are not put in place, a recording-industry trade group warned Friday. Read the full story

This just leaves me speechless...you know, we could solve the RIAA's problem, we could just not ever listen to music again. This is so stupid! As all the other stupid stuff they've done, suing kids and having them parade around in commercials parroting the RIAA-authored dialog about how they're so glad they're not stealing music anymore.

Sheesh. I sure hope the digital radio people don't get beaten down by the RIAA into providing lower quality sound. As for me, I'm back to boycotting buying CDs again. I'll stick to buying direct from the artists or stealing it, call it civil disobedience against the Ashcroft-style maneuvers of the RIAA Nazis, I say fuck'em.

06:16 PM
Politico I <3 Molly Ivins!

Molly Ivins: Difficult to see what's really happening in Iraq

snippet: Geraldo Rivera...solemnly announced: "I have a dream. A dream that someday George Bush and John Kerry will stand together holding hands and say that the most important thing is to fight terrorism."

10:04 AM
Politico More idiocy

I've heard Bush make similar statements but had not thought Rice would be idiot enough to say it. "We've increased worldwide awareness of terrorism."

Which is just plain stupid. The rest of the world not only was very aware of terrorism, most countries have been dealing with terrorist attacks on their own soil for years while we sat smugly in our ivory tower, considering ourselves invulnerable, casting pitying looks at those poor peasants and their little problems.

England dealing with the IRA, Europe dealing with Middle East terrorists blowing up their airports, Spain dealing with Basque terrorists, Germany dealing with Middle East terrorists killing Olympic athletes 30 years ago and their own local extremist groups, Russia dealing with various terrorist groups in neighboring countries, Afghanistan, Chechnya, etc., India and Pakistan dealing with their own internal terrorists, Africa dealing with Middle East terrorists blowing up US embassies along with their own civil wars and genocides. And of course, Israel dealing with terrorist attacks every single day for over forty years now and still taking the brunt of the anger at the US.

The world has been very aware of terrorism for a long time.

09:45 AM
Politico "It's someone else's fault"

It's Clinton's fault, it's Newt's fault, it's anyone else's fault that but ours. We were only there 233 days, "they" should have fixed the problem before we came along. That's what Rice is saying. Just because Clinton and Newt told us about the problem in January 2001, it's not our fault we didn't take action, they should have fixed the problem themselves.

Sheeesh. If she hadn't tried to shift blame and simply stuck to "we were working on the problems but didn't get far enough before 9/11" which she does say, but only after some serious attempts at blame-shift. She never actually uses Clinton's name or Newt's name or anyone else's, it's just a general "they" but it's there, that elephant in the room that she keeps walking around.

Sheeesh.

09:59 AM
Politico A plague on all ex-military Republican extremists!

From the other day:

Guess you not a patriotic American? You must be a democrat on the Congressional intelligence committee?

*sigh*

And from the same idiot today (I rejected his political messages on a tech help list):

If by posting this message, [me] would save one American Soldier
from being killed, than Amen.
As you no doubt aware, the internet is not all fun and games.
It is the real world. You ever in the military?
I am also a Vietnam Vet.

People who claim some sort of *special* patriotism by virture of having been in the military piss the hell out of me. I won't even justify that sort of trash by saying whether I or anyone in my family has been in the military just like I wouldn't tell him what my political leanings are in response to his comments about Democrats in his last email. It doesn't matter, his comments are bigoted tripe no matter what my position or background.

But yeah, I'm a Democrat, my grandfather was in the Navy for 30 years, in active combat in the Pacific in WWII and in Korea, my dad was in the Navy too, also in Korea and my brother was in the Navy as well, although he happened to be in between (Republican) wars. And the way *some* Republicans act is enough to make me a "die-hard, ACLU lifetime card carrying member, flaming liberal so far left I'm a commie" just because their righteous, piss on everyone who even slightly disagrees, attitude is so ridiculous.

(And why the hell does this idiot have to email me first thing in the morning so I wake up to his crap before I've even had my coffee or Lexapro???? blechhhhh!)

04:33 PM
Politico Deja-doodoo

North Korea has untested ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. West Coast, CIA director George Tenet says.

Why do I feel like it's 1984 and I'm hearing Ronnie Ray-gun talking about the Evil Empire again? I mean, the only point to making statements like that is to scare the crap out of people and get them on board for whatever war Bush feels like waging this week. There's no valid reason for anyone in the government, let alone the CIA director, to make public statements like that other than to terrorize the ordinary folk and to demonize North Korea (who really don't need any demonizing, they're scary enough just as they are, thank you very much). It's not like the general populace should run out and build bomb shelters or kids should start doing the inane "duck and cover" things from the 50's so all it serves to do is stir people up on the evil Commie menace and make them stick little plastic flags in their car windows and puff up their chests patriotically....all of which achieves absolutely zero in terms of getting North Korea to step back and disarm.

Oh, sorry, I forgot, the Bush regime has no interest in doing anything truly productive in foreign policy. Silly me, I forgot it's better to bomb everyone else out of existence.

07:56 PM
Politico Off the Kuff

Created LJ feed for Off the Kuff, Houston blogger, talks about local and state politics and other stuff.

My former boss, Bill White, is running for Mayor of Houston this year. He was also in the Clinton administration, deputy Secretary of Energy, iirc, during Clinton's first term. My mom is really interested and wants us to work on his campaign....I'm not even sure if I'd vote for him! He's not a bad guy and he's not rabidly liberal, he's more of a "making free enterprise and capitalism work for everyone" kind of guy and he's really intelligent and very good at building coalitions of the most unlikely people and he really is honest and ethical.

But the momentum has really been building here to have our first Hispanic mayor. Lee Brown, the current outgoing Mayor was our first black one (and first black Chief of Police some years before that). The last three campaigns or so have been close for Hispanic and other black candidates and this year looks very likely. Plus Bill is sort of real middle of the road guy and he's very bland and colorless looking too so it's gonna be an uphill battle to get him out in front.

And my mom! My goodness, just knocked me over that she wants to work on his campaign, I don't think she's done that in years. But hey, one of the goals me and my therapist set was for me to get out and get involved in some things, I had in mind some volunteer work in more liberal areas where I'd meet some like minded people. I'm not sure I'll see many of those on Bill's campaign, while he's not a real fancy type, I think it'll be very cluttered with wealthy people, most of whom I couldn't figure out a thing to say to. I kind of wonder if Bill will even want many volunteers, mainly it's going to be a media blitz to get him lots of name recognition.

Some of the news articles about him and the owner of the company I used to work were very interesting. Bill was president and ran it day to day, the owner is Lebanese and is now the #3 guy in the government there, representing the Christian party (he's Greek Orthodox). If you're interested, read the Local Politics page on the Kuffs blog and click on the various news articles links, especially the one to the Houston Press article (the Press is our version of the Village Voice in New York, liberal, alternative lifestyle oriented).

09:05 AM
Politico A little talk of war with your cornflakes

The US condemns North Korea's withdrawal from a landmark nuclear treaty, but avenues for dialogue are still open.

We are so naive. We think that the big threat lies with a foolish blowhard in the middle east. It appalls me, how our government rattles its saber at Saddam, such a stupid thing to do and largely a waste of time and resources. Even if we completely overran Iraq and executed Saddam, it wouldn't change a thing, Al-quaeda would still flourish and thrive and blow things up.

And North Korea would still make nuclear weapons and pick out targets.

That's the real threat and our current government is totally unprepared for a return of the cold war which could easily become not just hot, but radioactive. We thought 9/11 was bad? We have no idea what bad can be. Throw in the wild card of Pakistan, an Islamic nation with a great many fundamentalists and nuclear weapons and you've got a pair of really disastrous wild cards.

No, I'm not advocating we build bomb shelters again or teach our kids to hide under their school desks but I sure wish there were some smart people in our government instead of junior intent on one-upping Daddy. In spite of 9/11, we are still a smug arrogant nation that believes we can beat anyone, that we can police the world and make it over in our own image. History can teach lessons but we forgot to do our homework. I think there's a sort of national fantasy, that it would all be like World War II, like the books and the movies, horrendous yes, but still heroic and we would all pull together and be better people for it. A foolish fantasy, we cannot relive the past.

This is why I don't normally talk about politics much, it depresses the hell out of me for the last couple years. So I stick to Doonesbury, Zipper and the CIA intern kid are gonna draft Uncle Duke to run for President! :) And someone should really keep me away from the keyboard before I've had coffee!

11:32 AM
Internet· Politico God 1.0, God 2.0 and God 3.0

An excellent blog entry about Tom Friedman's Commonwealth Club speech from September 25, I have no idea who the guy is and I didn't hear the speech but apparently he said some very intelligent things:

...[Friedman] didn't breathe a word about 9/11 being caused by American imperialistic arrogance or support for Israel. In fact, he said quite the contrary-- al Qaeda is driven by cognitive dissonance arising from a "deficit of dignity", and as Friedman noted, dignity is at the heart of most of what really makes people mad.

And this which rings true for me:

[Friedman] mentioned that his travels have indicated that the "70% in favor of war" poll numbers don't appear to have any basis in reality-- but neither would the opposite be true; instead, most Americans are ambivalent and nervous about this war, because right or wrong, imperative or long overdue, this war is seen as one of choice, whereas Afghanistan was a clear-and-present-danger kind of thing.

And on an unrelated note, this entry was just plain funny, absolutely Microsoft, completely correct and totally useless!

12:26 PM
Politico Axis of Envy

Under the heading of Axis of Envy, there's this article that makes some excellent points about anti-US and anti-Israel sentiment in Europe (and is also applicable to the Middle East and other parts of the world as well):

Israel and the United States are the most successful states in their respective neighborhoods: Israel in the regional arena, the United States on the global beat. They boast the most fearsome armies, they command impressive technological infrastructures, and the Israeli economy vastly outperforms those of each of its neighbors while the United States has the world's number one economy. Moreover, both are stable, vibrant democracies. One need not invoke Dr. Sigmund Freud to infer that success breeds envy and resentment. The resentment is compounded by the rampant modernity both countries epitomize. Relentless change, as inflicted from outside, does not sit well with European societies, which obey a very different social contract-one that favors social and economic protection against the effects of the market and rapid technological transformation. The unconscious syllogism goes like this: Globalization is Americanization, and both have found their most faithful disciple in Israel.

And this "rampant modernity", this "relentless change" is something I've never been fond of anyway. There's a lot to be said for continuity, for keeping ties with the past, such as Europe and other countries older than ours. As we relentlessly charge forward, gulping down each new thing with alacrity, we forget who we have been, who our parents and grandparents and five generations before that have been.

I'm not talking about the baby boomers fascination with the 60's and the "good old days when they changed the world" with some rallies and marches and pot and rock and roll. I'm talking about responsibility and history, both personal, familial and societal. A sense of connection with the past, with the people who came before, 20 years before, 50 years before, 100 years before and a sense of responsibility to their lives and the priniciples they valued.

Tom Brokaw touches on it with the book he wrote about the "Best Generation" but I think it goes further than that, back to the immigrants, to the founding fathers and before them, the pilgrims and pioneers who settled here, who struggled to get here and once here, struggled to make lives, to earn a living and not just make a better life for their kids but also to raise them up to be better people, not just richer monetarily.

The United States and Israel may not be unique, but they stand out because of their strong senses of national identity. For all their multiculturalism-indeed, both the United States and Israel are microcosms of the world-these two countries share a keen sense of self. They know who they are and what they want to be. They define themselves not through ethnicity but through ideologies that transcend class and tribe. Or to use a less charged term, they define themselves in terms of documents, be it the Torah or the U.S. Constitution. Their senses of nationality are rooted in the law, as received at Sinai or promulgated in Philadelphia.

Exactly! As we strive to encompass all ethnicities and religions, we also lose those ties that ethnicity and religion can give. And our sense of nationality is too young yet to sufficiently replace those ties as strongly. We tend to be united in our differences which only serves to point up our differences, not to strengthen us as a group.

So we are more ready to use force to prove our unity:

Because Israel and the United States are still national societies, they do not hesitate to back up their interests with force. Indeed, no Western nation has ever used force as frequently as have those two in the last 50 years.

Guns and missiles do not make families, they destroy them.

08:11 PM
Politico Warmongers and peaceniks

While I don't support chip off the old Bush in any fashion and I do think he's warmongering simply because he wants to show Daddy that he can win the war his father lost, I don't always agree with the peaceniks either. The Campaign to Stop the War against Iraq says this in one of their sample letters:

(about various countries including Iraq) Not one of those people ever came over here and bombed us.

And that's not true. People did come here and bomb us, they did bring a war to our doorsteps. And some of those people do have ties back to countries like Iraq and Irag may be funding, may be training them. You drive the getaway car or give the bad guys money to buy guns and ski masks, same dif, your hands are just as bloody.

Do I think bombing the crap out of Iraq will do any good? No. But do I think the leaders of that country are innocent little lambs? Hell No. Do I have any simple answers? No. And the people who think they do are wrong.