I'm listening to KPFK this morning -- an interview with a reporter named Robert Fisk in Baghdad. Besides the chaos of the event in which bodies of foreigners have been dragged from their vehicle and hung from a bridge, he opined that the situation in Iraq generally is getting worse, more violent. This is bad news, obviously. But it's good news, politically.
"I don't think think that reporters should be talking about their own safety. Most of the people being killed in Iraq are Iraqis." ... He went on to point out the disparate media coverage of the deaths of westerns there, as compared to the deaths of Iraqis.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Unspectacular campaign
AirAmerica, the liberal radio network that is due to start in a few markets at noon today is off to a less than awesome beginning. This site lists the stations where it may be heard and says that the website will provide a streaming Internet source, but no link. Maybe tomorrow?
I must say, we here in Santa Barbara are blessed with Pacifica Radio, heard at 98.7 FM, KPFK, and of course other like-minded transmissions on KPFK, which also streams through its site to the world, but I'm going to support AirAmerica too. We've just got to take back America, and we've got to start somewhere, however modest that start appears.
Update: The website of AirAmerica has been spiffed up bigtime since I linked to it this morning. It now shows the programs and the performers. Much good stuff. Log on and hope.
Updated update. Here's a list of sites that may allow streaming audio of the new network.
I must say, we here in Santa Barbara are blessed with Pacifica Radio, heard at 98.7 FM, KPFK, and of course other like-minded transmissions on KPFK, which also streams through its site to the world, but I'm going to support AirAmerica too. We've just got to take back America, and we've got to start somewhere, however modest that start appears.
Update: The website of AirAmerica has been spiffed up bigtime since I linked to it this morning. It now shows the programs and the performers. Much good stuff. Log on and hope.
Updated update. Here's a list of sites that may allow streaming audio of the new network.
Kerry watch
Not in derogation of my immutable opposition to the re-election of Bush/Cheney in November, I'm going to maintain a (sometimes) log of items about John Kerry--his activities and positions--that are troubling to me as a liberal. For starters, there's this position paper about Venezuela on Kerry's website.
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Conditional Condi
If I were still a lawyer, I would insist that Condi Rice give testimony only after all the underlying paperwork is available for use in examining her. There's a wealth of documentation, including Richard Clarke's emails and memos to her, all still "classified," that must be in hand before her testimony can be tested.
Will this happen, or will the examiners' questioning of Condi be wussy and weak? I fear the latter, partly because of the Commissioners' lack of gumption, partly because of their lack of paperwork. Partly, too, because the Commissioners' fear that badgering Condi might be taken as, well, anti-woman, anti-black, anti-both.
I fear, as I noted below, that Condi's gonna carry the day, as a good liar can when unchallenged.
Will this happen, or will the examiners' questioning of Condi be wussy and weak? I fear the latter, partly because of the Commissioners' lack of gumption, partly because of their lack of paperwork. Partly, too, because the Commissioners' fear that badgering Condi might be taken as, well, anti-woman, anti-black, anti-both.
I fear, as I noted below, that Condi's gonna carry the day, as a good liar can when unchallenged.
Another take
There are two sides to every story, especially in international economics. For the side that disputes my preceding post, check here.
Consider the (out)source
A report by the Information Technology Association of America says that foreign outsourcing of tech jobs won't harm the economy, it'll actually create good jobs in America because it will lower inflation and spur productivity. Right.
First of all, inflation could hardly be lower than it is. Second, the productivity gains that have so far been experienced haven't been turned into jobs, but rather to increased profits of corporations. Third, over what time span is all this to occur? Perhaps within the period of unemployment insurance coverage? Hardly. So what do we tell the children whose tech-writing dad or mom is now taking orders for fries?
The report goes on to say that "only" 103,000 tech jobs have been lost to outsourcing so far (this, BTW, at an early stage of the phenomenon), a figure that doesn't approach the loss of tech jobs when the dot-com bubble burst. This figure is 268,00, and 103,000 "so far" sure sounds to me like it's approaching 268,000.
Toward the end of the article we're told who ITAA consists of: Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Amazon.com, outsourcers all. Indeed, whenever I need to fix my H/P Compaq, who do I call? You guessed it: A guy named Pavel or something in New Delhi.
PS. If you want to read past the spin of the news release that's linked to above, you can read the ten-page summary of the report (Adobe Reader required), and you'll find that buried within it are huge assumptions and qualifications that more or less amount to saying this: Trust us--all will be well someday.
First of all, inflation could hardly be lower than it is. Second, the productivity gains that have so far been experienced haven't been turned into jobs, but rather to increased profits of corporations. Third, over what time span is all this to occur? Perhaps within the period of unemployment insurance coverage? Hardly. So what do we tell the children whose tech-writing dad or mom is now taking orders for fries?
The report goes on to say that "only" 103,000 tech jobs have been lost to outsourcing so far (this, BTW, at an early stage of the phenomenon), a figure that doesn't approach the loss of tech jobs when the dot-com bubble burst. This figure is 268,00, and 103,000 "so far" sure sounds to me like it's approaching 268,000.
Toward the end of the article we're told who ITAA consists of: Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Amazon.com, outsourcers all. Indeed, whenever I need to fix my H/P Compaq, who do I call? You guessed it: A guy named Pavel or something in New Delhi.
PS. If you want to read past the spin of the news release that's linked to above, you can read the ten-page summary of the report (Adobe Reader required), and you'll find that buried within it are huge assumptions and qualifications that more or less amount to saying this: Trust us--all will be well someday.
Despair
I've returned from a brief trip to Tucson, where I spent time with my brother John. He, a knowledgeable liberal Democrat, is certain that Bush will carry Arizona (as Republican presidential candidates regularly do), and I sensed in him a profound despair about the upcoming election nationally.
Being from California, I wasn't as fearful of the result, but now that I'm back home and have read the recent CNN poll results, I'm despairing too.
I have this realization. Kerry doesn't fire up his natural electorate of poor, people of color, liberals/progressive/moderate whites. This is most dramatically shown by the spate of anti-Bush banners in various demonstrations, but few pro-Kerry signs. So, the candidate isn't going to pull in the votes, and the positive messages about his programs aren't either, for three reasons: First, because they're not inspiring programs, just rehashed ones; and second, they're delivered without coverage and fine speeches, just ordinary ones; and third because Bush has the money and position to cast stones at each message within hours of its delivery.
So, my despair has two facets. First that Bush/Cheney will likely win the election; and second that the only way for that to be avoided is for some unforeseen, cataclysmic event to occur in the US that will sway voters away from Bush. Neither alternative is desirable to me, but this morning that's how I see it falling out.
Maybe tomorrow I'll feel different, but right now...
Being from California, I wasn't as fearful of the result, but now that I'm back home and have read the recent CNN poll results, I'm despairing too.
I have this realization. Kerry doesn't fire up his natural electorate of poor, people of color, liberals/progressive/moderate whites. This is most dramatically shown by the spate of anti-Bush banners in various demonstrations, but few pro-Kerry signs. So, the candidate isn't going to pull in the votes, and the positive messages about his programs aren't either, for three reasons: First, because they're not inspiring programs, just rehashed ones; and second, they're delivered without coverage and fine speeches, just ordinary ones; and third because Bush has the money and position to cast stones at each message within hours of its delivery.
So, my despair has two facets. First that Bush/Cheney will likely win the election; and second that the only way for that to be avoided is for some unforeseen, cataclysmic event to occur in the US that will sway voters away from Bush. Neither alternative is desirable to me, but this morning that's how I see it falling out.
Maybe tomorrow I'll feel different, but right now...
Be careful what you ask for...
So Condi will testify publicly and under oath after all. Oh perfect. Rove has played the Commission and the public (and most of all the "outraged liberals") perfectly. After all this hulabaloo, the eyes of the press and the masses will be glued to her every word and of course she'll be brilliant. She'll weave a quilt of deceit and dissembling that will dazzle the hapless commission members and not a one, not Ben Veniste, not former Senator Kerrey, none of them, will be able to score any points. As a result, she'll completely cover over Richard Clarke's allegations with smooth phrases and gobbledegook. Indeed, because she's proven herself to be capable of lying, and has a track record to protect, she'll smoothly refute Clarke's charges point by point--which is the benefit of being the last witness.
I saw this coming a week ago and didn't post about it because I thought it was so obvious.
So much for the damage caused by Clarke's allegations. All that the public will remember is how forthcoming Bush has been, how truthful and solid Condi is, how strong the administration is and how secure we may rest in our beds.
We shouldn't have squealed about Condi's refusal to testify after the initial squeal. Now we've allowed Bush to turn this public relations nightmare into a plus.
Who's running this show, anyway?
I saw this coming a week ago and didn't post about it because I thought it was so obvious.
So much for the damage caused by Clarke's allegations. All that the public will remember is how forthcoming Bush has been, how truthful and solid Condi is, how strong the administration is and how secure we may rest in our beds.
We shouldn't have squealed about Condi's refusal to testify after the initial squeal. Now we've allowed Bush to turn this public relations nightmare into a plus.
Who's running this show, anyway?
Monday, March 29, 2004
Reporter Apologizes for Iraq Coverage
I would like to meet this guy and buy him lunch.
"The media are finished with their big blowouts on the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, and there is one thing they forgot to say: We're sorry,' Rick Mercier wrote, in a column published Sunday in The Free Lance-Star.
'Sorry we let unsubstantiated claims drive our coverage. Sorry we were dismissive of experts who disputed White House charges against Iraq. Sorry we let a band of self-serving Iraqi defectors make fools of us. Sorry we fell for Colin Powell's performance at the United Nations. Sorry we couldn't bring ourselves to hold the administration's feet to the fire before the war, when it really mattered.
'Maybe we'll do a better job next war."
Reporter Apologizes for Iraq Coverage
"The media are finished with their big blowouts on the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, and there is one thing they forgot to say: We're sorry,' Rick Mercier wrote, in a column published Sunday in The Free Lance-Star.
'Sorry we let unsubstantiated claims drive our coverage. Sorry we were dismissive of experts who disputed White House charges against Iraq. Sorry we let a band of self-serving Iraqi defectors make fools of us. Sorry we fell for Colin Powell's performance at the United Nations. Sorry we couldn't bring ourselves to hold the administration's feet to the fire before the war, when it really mattered.
'Maybe we'll do a better job next war."
Reporter Apologizes for Iraq Coverage
Presidential Poetry
Since Erik is effectively away from his computer today, we have a special treat. It's a "poem" made up of real quotes* from our War President.
MAKE THE PIE HIGHER
by George W. Bush
I think we all agree, the past is over.
This is still a dangerous world.
It's a world of madmen and uncertainty
and potential mental losses.
Rarely is the question asked
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the Internet become more few?
How many hands have I shaked?
They misunderestimate me.
I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity.
I know that the human being and the fish can coexist.
Families is where our nation finds hope, where our wings take dream.
Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society!
Make the pie higher! Make the pie higher! "
*Source: Urban Legends Reference Pages: Politics
MAKE THE PIE HIGHER
by George W. Bush
I think we all agree, the past is over.
This is still a dangerous world.
It's a world of madmen and uncertainty
and potential mental losses.
Rarely is the question asked
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the Internet become more few?
How many hands have I shaked?
They misunderestimate me.
I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity.
I know that the human being and the fish can coexist.
Families is where our nation finds hope, where our wings take dream.
Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society!
Make the pie higher! Make the pie higher! "
*Source: Urban Legends Reference Pages: Politics
Sunday, March 28, 2004
He Who Did Not Know, Knows
Found on antiwar.com:
Senator Jay Rockefeller says his vote in support of war in Iraq was wrong and based on bad intel. The WV Senator is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
"If I had known then what I know now, I would have voted against it."
"I have admitted that my vote was wrong."
"The decision got made before there was a whole bunch of intelligence," said "I think the intelligence was shaped. And I think the interpretation of the intelligence was shaped."
[Shaped? Yeah, we all know what it was shaped out of.]
"We had this feeling we could be welcomed as liberators. Americans don't know history, geography, ethnicity. The administration had no idea of what they were getting into in Iraq. We are not internationalists. We border on being isolationists. We don't know anything about the Middle East."
[Link]
Senator Jay Rockefeller says his vote in support of war in Iraq was wrong and based on bad intel. The WV Senator is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
"If I had known then what I know now, I would have voted against it."
"I have admitted that my vote was wrong."
"The decision got made before there was a whole bunch of intelligence," said "I think the intelligence was shaped. And I think the interpretation of the intelligence was shaped."
[Shaped? Yeah, we all know what it was shaped out of.]
"We had this feeling we could be welcomed as liberators. Americans don't know history, geography, ethnicity. The administration had no idea of what they were getting into in Iraq. We are not internationalists. We border on being isolationists. We don't know anything about the Middle East."
[Link]
Friday, March 26, 2004
Power of Incumbency, or of Big Brother
I'm watching MSNBC at 9:45 a.m. on Friday. They've chosen to cover live and uninterrupted, for an extended period (10 minutes, so far), a straight-up Bush campaign speech delivered in New Mexico. The lead-in to the story was that Bush was going to talk about a housing plan or something, but the speech so far hasn't said anything about that. Instead it was Bush pleading for votes, calling attention to his attack on Iraq as a threat, talking about his forebearance in Iraq and so forth.
This is more than news coverage. It's unadulterated bias in favor Bush by MSNBC, owned, as we know, by General Electric--a major supplier of military weapons to the US and the world.
Meanwhile, Kerry has announced a major economic program. Not a moment is given to his presentation. Not a whisper.
I'm telling you, we've now arrived at Big Brother, sponsored not just by the state, but by a combination of the state, the media and the monied interests.
We who resist this monolith must rally outside of the mainstream. We can't succumb to the urge to quit in the face of all this power. We've got to take America back.
This is more than news coverage. It's unadulterated bias in favor Bush by MSNBC, owned, as we know, by General Electric--a major supplier of military weapons to the US and the world.
Meanwhile, Kerry has announced a major economic program. Not a moment is given to his presentation. Not a whisper.
I'm telling you, we've now arrived at Big Brother, sponsored not just by the state, but by a combination of the state, the media and the monied interests.
We who resist this monolith must rally outside of the mainstream. We can't succumb to the urge to quit in the face of all this power. We've got to take America back.
Soldier Suicide Rate in Iraq Jumps
I'm posting this without comment. What the hell could I say?
Yahoo! News - Soldier Suicide Rate in Iraq Jumps
Yahoo! News - Soldier Suicide Rate in Iraq Jumps
Thursday, March 25, 2004
Democrats, hurrah!
I'm watching the Democrats' Unity Dinner on TV, telecast on C-Span. All the heavyweights were there: Carter, Clinton, Gore, Dean, Sharpton, Kucinich, Braun, and of course Kerry--plus thousands of donors. Carter and Clinton spoke, eloquently, passionately, powerfully. Made me proud to be an American, proud to be part of that portion of the American ideology that tries to make the world a better place for all of us, for the rest of the world, for the future. Truly a moving display of fine principles, of hope for the future.
Unlike Bush's fund-raiser the other day, telecast as primetime news on CNN, Fox and MSNBC, this truly momentous event wasn't shown widely. But it was so powerful that I'm confident, this evening, that Kerry can win in November.
Unlike Bush's fund-raiser the other day, telecast as primetime news on CNN, Fox and MSNBC, this truly momentous event wasn't shown widely. But it was so powerful that I'm confident, this evening, that Kerry can win in November.
Finally a real scandal, a truly willfull lie
The story of the extortionate pressure by the White House on a Medicare actuary to withhold his estimate of the cost of Bush's Medicare law surfaced three days ago in Newsweek Magazine under the title, "The Smell of a Real Scandal." I've read the magazine article, but haven't heard a whisper of this outrageous action on any of the television news programs.
Today, however, the story made it to the NYT, and can no longer be ignored by the popular media. Particularly in view of the estimate that Medicare is going to go broke soon. Can't be ignored. Right?
Today, however, the story made it to the NYT, and can no longer be ignored by the popular media. Particularly in view of the estimate that Medicare is going to go broke soon. Can't be ignored. Right?
Check out these numbers
Sure--589 dead soldiers in Iraq is awful. But check out this list of weekly casualties.
This the Bush/Cheney's war. Nobody else's. These deaths and these life-crippling injuries are on their heads. This must not be lost in the b.s. about blame for 9/11. What needs to be known is that the two executives of our nation have cost us thousands of American lives and limbs, billions of dollars and untold amounts of less tangible, but even more lasting, decline of our standing in the world, and in the history of the world.
I'm sorry to have been a citizen during this time of America's decline and will do my best to make up for it between now and November 2.
This the Bush/Cheney's war. Nobody else's. These deaths and these life-crippling injuries are on their heads. This must not be lost in the b.s. about blame for 9/11. What needs to be known is that the two executives of our nation have cost us thousands of American lives and limbs, billions of dollars and untold amounts of less tangible, but even more lasting, decline of our standing in the world, and in the history of the world.
I'm sorry to have been a citizen during this time of America's decline and will do my best to make up for it between now and November 2.
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