Friday, January 27, 2006

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

"Come home, America"

When you get the time, please read this piece about George McGovern. Actually, make the time.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Just so you know I'm not making this up

I recently sent out an email to a bunch of folks I know reminding them of the existence of this blog, a step I don't like to take, but I've received so little response lately, by comment or independent communication, that I thought the folks would appreciate knowing I'm still alive and still have something to say, all negative, about Bush and his wars and his policies.

I admit my bias, but it's fact-based. Just check out this one post, just this one--representing only a portion of the blogger's entries for yesterday (Tuesday) and you'll see just a slice of what's really going on in Iraq. Bear in mind that the author of the blog, Juan Cole, is a distinguished professor, fluent in Arabic, knowledgeable about the Middle East, with no axe to grind.

Eye-opening, eh?

Monday, January 23, 2006

Reaping what we sow

So now it turns out that many of the Shiites in Iraq--and they're the majority--will rise up against the US occupiers if the US attacks Iran. (Recall, Iran is a Shiite nation with a fundamentalist as its president.) So, if Bush (or Israel) decides to take out Iran's nuclear facilities, the US faces reprisals on the ground in Iraq as well as in international forums.

We've boxed ourselves in. Isn't it time we joined the rest of the nations and sought peace in the world? Isn't it time we announced that we would no longer tolerate American corporations exploiting the natural resources of foreign lands (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAR) by paying off the dictators in those nations?

Isn't it time?

What did we expect?

Much blog traffic is being devoted to Bush/Cheney/Rove's hubristic (a word?) effort to justify the NSA eavesdropping regime that (after a year's delay and over Bush's protests) the NYT revealed a month ago. They've published legal memos and hit the stump at full stride, guns ablaze, in an all-out campaign to support the manifestly illegal practices.

They have no choice. They were caught red-handed, without deniability, and so have no choice but to go on the offensive, and Rove's announcement that the 2006 midterm campaign will be waged over the "war on terror" is his signal to Congress (with all of the House and 1/3 of the Senate up for re-election) that the Republican membership had better get on board the administration's bus or be left behind when it comes to support from the White House.

The administration has been given a few weeks to present its case uncontested because any hearings (and we don't know what form they'll take) aren't scheduled until February. By that time, the Republicans may have been brow-beaten enough to authorize only limited inquiry, perhaps classified, to help Bush escape without significant injury, or maybe even with support in some wavering segments of the citizenry, who'll hear only how vital the eavesdropping is to US security. And those lawsuits challenging the practice? They may get a decent hearing, but if so, they'll take place long after Bush/Cheney are in retirement and on the lecture circuit.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

I hate to say I told you so

but remember my post about two months ago about the Iranian Oil Bourse? Well, here's a definitive article, detailing how come the US (or Israel as its surrogate) will find some way to stop Iran from diminishing the dollar's hegemony as the world's reserve currency.

Come March (perhaps even on the third anniversary of our invasion of Iraq), we'll be hearing bombs fall again. Only the last letter of the victim nation's name will change.

Some comfort

My worst nightmare--no hyperbole here--would be a 2008 presidential race between Hillary Clinton and John McCain. I won't explain, because if you've followed this blog at all you know why.

But chances are neither of the will win their party's nomination. Hillary because she's a whore; McCain because he's too much a maverick, as evidence, most recently, by his recent remark that Bush's order for warrantless eavesdropping wasn't authorized. The Far Right doesn't trust him, and without them he can't get their money, their delegates and therefore their nomination, and no doubt the Far Right now controls that process.

A blessing in disguise.