Monday, September 30
Would you favor or oppose taking military action in Iraq to end Saddam Hussein's rule, even if it meant that U.S. forces might suffer thousands of casualties?So ... 66% of Republicans don't mind if thousands of American soldiers die in an invasion, so long as we get rid of Saddam, whereas 35% of Democrats don't. If I were a conservative, foaming at the mouth, spewing anti-liberal, 'the left hates America and American soldiers' rhetoric, I'd have a field day (and my own radio show). But I'll spare you.
Overall — 48 percent favor, but that drops to 25 percent if no allies.
Republicans — 66 percent favor; 20 percent favor if no allies.
Democrats — 35 percent favor; 13 percent favor if no allies.
Independents — 47 percent favor; 24 percent favor if no allies.
Charles Krauthammer . "A pudding with no theme but much poison. Such was the foreign policy speech Al Gore delivered in San Francisco on Monday."And I haven't even bothered reading Fox News or the Washington Times ... The point? Conservative pundits miss Gore because he was such an easy target. Attack politics is what conservatives do. Issue politics is what liberals do. Here's news: attack politics won't win elections.
Ollie North. "Al Gore returned to the political stage last week just as he left it 17 months ago -- as a man who just can't make peace with the concepts of truthfulness and honesty, and has never been able to lasso his wild imagination. "
Michael Kelly. "Gore uttered his first big lie in the second paragraph ... "
Doug Bandow . "Al Gore's selective amnesia."
Andrew Sullivan. "In his pathetic attempt to find a way to attack his nemesis, Gore has actually reverted to the kind of bellicose hysteria we usually associate with the far right."
Newsmax. "Sen. Simpson: Gore Politicized First Gulf War Vote."
If I applied to UCLA today, I'd probably be rejected -- I'm a middle-class Jewish male from a private school. My nearly 16-year-old sister wants to go to UCLA. She'll ace the SATs next year, but it may be futile. I've advised her to write on her application that she is a Hispanic inner-city youngster who hears gunshots every night outside her window; that her classmates are all drug pushers, but she volunteers at a homeless shelter every night; that she has to study in the closet because my parents work in a sweatshop and can't afford electricity. She says she won't do it because it's false. But if she wants to get into UCLA, she may not have a choice.
How come Ben Shapiro wasn't MY college counselor!? If I had used racial stereotypes, I'd be at Harvard!
HITCH LEAVES THE NATION: According to Josh Marshall. Now there really is no reason to read it any more.A non-endorsement from Andrew Sullivan! Better start reading The Nation again.
Undermining Environmental Law
NY Times
HamsterChatter: "The Bush administration has been seeking to ignore or limit the reach of the National Environmental Policy Act, regarded as the Magna Carta of environmental protection ."
Nancy Reagan Fights Bush Over Stem Cells
NY Times
HamsterChatter: "Mrs. Reagan believes that embryonic stem cell research could uncover a cure for Alzheimer's, the disease that has wiped out her husband's memory. She was dismayed, friends say, when the White House took issue on Monday with a new California law that encourages embryonic stem cell research ."
Analysis Of Census Bureau's Poverty and Income Data For 2001
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
HamsterChatter: "Census data issued today show that poverty increased in 2001, while median household income fell, and the income gap between the affluent and the rest of society either tied or set new all-time recorded highs ."
Fighting Street to Street
London Times
HamsterChatter: "After a weekend of intense but largely fruitless lobbying by the United States and Britain to win backing from China, France and Russia for a new ultimatum against Iraq, Hans Blix, the UN's chief weapons inspector, will meet a high-ranking Iraqi delegation in Vienna this morning ."
No Blank Check for Bush War
Americans for Democratic Action
HamsterChatter: "ADA believes the United States should be a leader, not a laggard, in pressing for multi-lateral diplomacy and actions to achieve international peace and security and respect for human rights. Our actions with respect to Iraq and other international situations will have much more credibility if we follow these principles and will decrease the prospects for violence and terrorism in the world ."
New Doctrine Irks Europeans
Washington Post
HamsterChatter: "U.S. policy of preemption seen as ending decades of coalition-building ."
Poll: Support for Iraq Action Drops
AP
HamsterChatter: "Would you favor or oppose taking military action in Iraq to end Saddam Hussein's rule, even if it meant that U.S. forces might suffer thousands of casualties? Overall — 48 percent favor ."
Mink remembered for her resolve, integrity
Honolulu Advertiser
HamsterChatter: "From the suburbs of Honolulu and the Neighbor Islands that Mink represented in Congress to the governor's office to Washington, D.C., political allies, sometime foes, campaign workers and everyday people stopped to remember a woman whose career spanned more than 40 years and directly or indirectly touched so many people ."
Streisand Helps Raise Money for Democrats and Tells Them to Play Offense
NY Times
HamsterChatter: "Barbra Streisand and much of the Hollywood liberal elite were gathering tonight to raise $5 million for the Democratic leadership and to prod it to be more forceful in opposing President Bush on Iraq and domestic policy ."
Ready. Aim. Fire first
USNews
HamsterChatter: "Earlier this summer, a top aide to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld outlined for his boss a concept for striking North Korea's weapons of mass destruction–a case study in the application of the Bush administration's new doctrine of pre-emptive military action. The hypothetical scenario envisioned a swift attack, carried out without consulting South Korea, America's ally on the peninsula. When word of the briefing spread, administration heavyweights, including Secretary of State Colin Powell and Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, worked to bury the scheme ."
Ours Not To Reason Why
Michael Kinsley
HamsterChatter: "To be sure, the fatuous hypocrisy of the Bush case for war is no reason to let Saddam Hussein drop a nuclear bomb on your head. Iraq may be an imminent menace to the United States even though George W. Bush says it is. You would think that if honest and persuasive arguments were available, the administration would offer them. But maybe not ."
Protests That Make the Grade
Mother Jones
HamsterChatter: "Each year, Mother Jones surveys the state of campus activism across the country. The result is the Top 10 ranking, a view of how the nation's students are reacting to issues of concern, and of what issues seem to be striking a chord on college campuses ."
Russia resists new Iraq resolution: The US is having trouble selling its Iraq policy
BBC
HamsterChatter: "A US envoy has ended talks in Moscow with no sign that he has won Russian support for a tough new draft UN resolution on Iraq. Speaking after the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Moscow "still favours the quickest possible return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq". ."
France to unveil air-powered car
BBC
HamsterChatter: "Engineers in France believe they have come up with the answer that environmentalists and economists have spent years searching for: a commercially viable, 100% non-polluting car, which costs next to nothing to run ."
Weapons of mass distraction
Dan Plesch
HamsterChatter: "President Bush wouldn't want to talk about the many issues which the Iraq crisis is obscuring ."
Nuclear Dangers Beyond Iraq
Michael Levi
HamsterChatter: "In a New York Times Op-Ed, Strategic Security Project director Michael Levi questions the current focus on Iraq. He argues that if we remove the threat of Saddam Hussein while leaving the rest of our nonproliferation policy unchanged, we will achieve only a marginal improvement in our security against nuclear terror
."
War Fever
Bear Left
HamsterChatter: "Remember the Maine? The missile gap? The Gulf of Tonkin? The passion of those clamoring for war does not always mean that their cause is wise, just, or sound
."
Tempers flare in quarrel over Iraq
Int. Herald Tribune
HamsterChatter: "A fierce U.S.-French diplomatic quarrel that has blown up about the next Security Council step against Iraq is centered on two objections by Paris.
."
Oil firms wait as Iraq crisis unfolds
SF Chronicle
HamsterChatter: "The world's biggest oil bonanza in recent memory may be just around the
corner, giving U.S. oil companies huge profits and American consumers cheap
gasoline for decades to come.
And it all may come courtesy of a war with Iraq
."
War critics raise profile in Maine
Portland Press
HamsterChatter: "President Bush apparently has the support of a majority of Mainers for his aggressive policy on Iraq, but the anti-war march that spun out of control in Portland last week — leaving 14 people under arrest — raised the visibility of the state's increasingly active peace movement
."
Friday / Weekend, September 27-29 (Sat Update)
So, Fertik brought up a perfectly legitimate point: Al Gore received more votes than Bush, yet Gore receives poor and often hostile coverage. Fertik also alluded to voter fraud, Supreme Court injustice and a voting system where someone wins the popular vote yet loses the election. Fertik brought up problems. And O'Reilly's solution? You have problems, get out! 
FERTIK: He should have gotten full coverage of the entire speech because it was such an important speech, because this has tied up hours of debate in the British parliament, it is tying up the Congress of the United States. And the man who led the Democratic Party in the last election to victory that was stolen from him...
O'REILLY: All right. Well, that's stupid. Don't get into that. That's just dopey. But...
FERTIK: Perhaps you don't like your votes to be thrown out. But there were 175,000 voters in the state of Florida…
O'REILLY: Perhaps I, perhaps I believe in the Supreme Court, OK, Mr. Fertik? You don't like it here take a bus down to Mexico.
FERTIK: Five votes on the Supreme Court -- all five of whom were appointed when George Bush was the vice president...
O'REILLY: Look, you don't like the country, take a bus to Mexico.
Well …
Let's play the game, 'O'Reilly Logic.' I'll interview Bill. (Note: my following comments aren't necessarily my views on the issue, just meant to prove a point).
O'Reilly, on Supreme Court's virtual porn ruling, August 28: If you're a pervert who is a predator, that you're not going to go for this stuff -- all right. That you're going to go for that stuff in lieu of getting a little boy or girl you don't at that point. So I think the Supreme Court was wrongheaded here, because I think protecting children is a responsibility of the federal government.
Me: Ok, look, this is America. And I believe in America. I believe in the Supreme Court. And if you don't like it, Mr. O'Reilly, go take a bus to Mexico.
O'Reily, July 1, 2002: But this court (9th circuit) is anti-American. I don't care what they do. I don't care what they say about hiding behind the Constitution.
Me: You don't like the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals? You don't like the court system, or the legal system? Well, I have news for you. No one is making you stay in this country, so go take a plane to France..
O'Reilly, July 29, 2002: But Senator Hollings, incredibly, refused to hear the woman, saying the committee didn't have time, even though Mrs. Saracini petitioned for a hearing months ago.
Me: Hey, call me old fashioned, but I believe in the legislative branch of the government. I believe in balance-of-powers. And you don't like the legislative branch, made by our founders? Well, you don't like it and you have a problem with our country, go take a bus to Canada. We don't have room for dissent here in America.
And that's how the game is played. O'Reilly has no room for people who don't think like him (it's called being narrow-minded - a problem if you're a 'journalist'). What, you don't like it? Go take a bus to Mexico.
IS Sen. John McCain going to quit the Republican Party and become the running mate of Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race? McCain's chief political adviser, John Weaver, has become a Democrat and is now working for Dick Gephardt. McCain's new legislative director, Christine Dodd, last worked for a liberal congressman - a Democrat. Now Kerry of Massachusetts, who has made clear his plans to run in 2004, is making overtures towards McCain. A rumored head-to-head between Kerry and McCain is said to be scheduled at McCain's cabin in Sedona, Ariz., next month. And for "Man of the People," the new McCain biography by Paul Alexander, Kerry provided a blurb that reads more like a love letter. After noting that McCain's 2000 presidential campaign "set the standard for honor, dignity, courage, and truth," Kerry declares: "I have had no greater privilege in all my life than finding and then standing on common ground with John McCain, and I look forward to fighting side by side with him on yet another day to make our country stronger."
"Finland? What about Finland? Do we bomb them if they get a desire for nuclear weapons as well?"
"I'd hate for us to break the 'axis of evil' like that. I'd hate for us to be the Yoko Ono."
Hardly a mandate.
Mink's condition worsens, prospects poor, party says
Honolulu Advertiser
HamsterChatter: "Andy Winer, a spokesman for the Democratic Party's coordinated campaign, said he was called at about 11:30 a.m. by a "representative of the family" and told that she had "taken a turn for the worse" and that the chances she will recover are slim
."
Hundreds Arrested at D.C. Protest
AP
HamsterChatter: "Protesters opposed to war, capitalism and global trade policies clashed with police Friday as finance ministers from around the world began a weekend of meetings. More than 600 people were arrested, and one protester was slightly injured
."
Reasons Why We Shouldn't
TomPaine.com
HamsterChatter: "TomPaine.com's collection of reasons why we shouldn't invade Iraq."
In an Effort to Save Salmon, Irrigation Policy Is Reversed
NY Times
HamsterChatter: "Federal officials have reversed an earlier water policy following the death of more than 10,000 salmon in the Klamath River in northern California
."
A Draft U.S. Plan on Iraq Inspections Authorizes Force
NY Times
HamsterChatter: "The Bush administration has drafted a plan for inspections that provides for immediate access to all sites in Iraq and authorizes the use of military force if Baghdad interferes
."
Sen. Kennedy Blasts Bush's Iraq Policy
AP
HamsterChatter: "A leading liberal voice, Kennedy said in a speech war with Iraq could provoke the use of weapons of mass destruction, lead to a wider war in the Middle East and weaken efforts to destroy the al Qaeda network blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States."
Bush cannot justify unprovoked attack
CincyPost
HamsterChatter: "Which country has developed and amassed the most weapons of mass destruction in the world?
• Which country has its troops deployed in more foreign countries than any other?
."
Ashcroft's Baghdad Connection: Why the attorney general and others in Washington have backed a terror group with ties to Iraq
Newsweek
HamsterChatter: "THE 27-PAGE DOCUMENT—entitled "A Decade of Deception and Defiance"—made no mention of any Iraqi ties to Osama bin Laden. But it did highlight Saddam's backing of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), an obscure Iranian dissident group that has gathered surprising support among members of Congress in past years. One of those supporters, the documents show, is a top commander in President Bush's war on terrorism: Attorney General John Ashcroft, who became involved with the MKO while a Republican senator from Missouri
."
Bush Administration Heeds Windbags of War
Joe Conason
HamsterChatter: "The Bush White House is so worked up over Iraq that it is discarding our long relationship with Germany in a tantrum
."
My Government Went to Afghanistan And All I Got Was This Stupid Pipeline
Ted Rall
HamsterChatter: "Plans for a pipeline dated back to the mid-'90s, even before the Taliban seized power in 1996. After the Taliban consolidated control over more than 90 percent of the country, Western oil companies restarted negotiations with renewed vigor; the hardline Islamist regime crushed the warlordism that threatened the safety of a pipeline
."
Defend the Country, Not the Party
Richard Gephardt
HamsterChatter: "But now there's no denying it. President Bush himself has decided to play politics with the safety and security of the American people. It started in New York two days after the one-year anniversary of Sept. 11
."
Fighting Street to Street
NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
HamsterChatter: "That could be a nightmare. As the last gulf war showed, a bombing campaign can knock out bridges and barracks, but unless we're incredibly lucky, we won't kill Saddam, trigger a coup or wipe out his Republican Guard forces. We'll have to hunt out Saddam on the ground — which may be just as hard as finding Osama in Afghanistan, and much bloodier
."
Sierra Standoff: Was the Forest Service claiming portions of Lassen National Forest were dead just so it could allow commercial logging to proceed?
Sac. News and Review
HamsterChatter: "Hanson means these trees are dead on paper only; dead in a way that gives the Forest Service a good reason to sell healthy trees off to the highest bidder among the many logging companies that do business in this part of the Sierra
."
The Politicization of the Debate on Iraq
Diane Fienstein
HamsterChatter: "Now it is our job - our Constitutional duty - to debate this resolution. We must not, and we will not, be rushed into a vote. The decision to go to war is perhaps the most grave and significant decision that any nation makes. It is a decision that must be made on its merits, with a timetable determined by the cause and the case, and not based on political considerations and upcoming elections. Congress must not rush to judgement before it has had ample opportunity to answer the many questions that still remain regarding why a war - a pre-emptive war - should be fought against Iraq
."
Gore on War
Richard Cohen
HamsterChatter: "So, bully for Gore. He has raised some important issues. This is the solemn obligation of the opposition party and its de facto leader. And the solemn obligation of the president and his supporters is not to shout appeasement but to provide some answers.
We're waiting
."
A New Kind of Race
Newsweek
HamsterChatter: "Minority candidates were once confined to the 'ethnic ghetto.' These days, they are reaching far beyond
."
Reviving the living wage
Sac. News and Review
HamsterChatter: "After long delays that critics dub stalling, Sacramento officials finally could vote on the living-wage ordinance this fall
."
G.O.P. Is Seen Ahead by Nose in House Races
NY Times
HamsterChatter: "With six weeks to go until the midterm elections, Republicans appear to hold a slight edge in this year's fight for control of the House of Representatives
."
Beach banking babylon
Molly Ivins
HamsterChatter: "Zany antics! Extravagant costumes! Offshore financing!
."
NAM Named Clean Air `Villain of the Month':
Lobby Forms `Flying Wedge' to Block for Bush Plan to Weaken Clean Air Act
Clean Air Trust
HamsterChatter: "The manufacturing lobby earned this dubious distinction by "forming the lobbying equivalent of a flying wedge to help the Bush Administration jam through a plan to weaken the Clean Air Act," explained Frank O'Donnell, executive director of the Trust.
"The manufacturers seek to knock aside any effort to stop the Bush plan," said O'Donnell. "This crackback-blocking effort confirms our worst suspicions - that the Bush plan really would be a dirty-air touchdown for the big polluters."
."
Researchers Probe Whether Sonar Caused Deaths of Whales
Los Angeles Times
HamsterChatter: "At least a dozen beaked whales--including eight that died--beached themselves in the Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa on Tuesday following a NATO exercise that involved a cluster of warships and submarines
."
Interview: William Rivers Pitt, Essayist and
Author of "War on Iraq
Buzzflash
HamsterChatter: "This is what I mean when I say that he is our monster. Someone might argue that Don Rumsfeld's embracing of Saddam Hussein happened in ancient history. Because of the Cold War, it was just the way it had to be. But Dick Cheney was dealing with these people right up until the point he became the Vice-president
."
Inouye at center
of political fight
AP
HamsterChatter: "Inouye noted that the Senate appropriations defense subcommittee, which he chairs, unanimously approved $356 billion for defense. This was done in the belief that "in order to avoid war, we should be prepared for war.
"I'm concerned about the security of this country," Inouye said. "I'm concerned about what history will say about this nation 50 years from now. Did we brutalize people, or did we carry on ourselves as civilized people?"
Inouye echoed Byrd, saying, "To attack a nation that has not attacked us will go down in history as something that we should not be proud of."
The Hawaii senator said he supports Bush as his president and was saddened by his criticism of the Democratically controlled Senate."
Bush under fire at home over war with Iraq
Sydney Morning Herald.
HamsterChatter: "President George Bush is fighting on two fronts over Iraq, with critics in the United Nations Security Council and the US Congress arguing that the White House is refusing to accept any compromise that will prevent it from launching an early pre-emptive strike against Saddam Hussein
."
In Israel's Interest?
Not necessarily
American Prospect
HamsterChatter: "What's more, says political sociologist Lev Grinberg, head of the Hubert Humphrey Institute for Social Research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, an American victory could spark "desire throughout the Arab world for revenge," as in Germany after World War I or in Egypt and Syria after the Six Day War. "Israel will be the address for that frustration," he says.
."
U. of C. prof says don't overthrow Saddam
Mark Brown
HamsterChatter: "There is no evidence that Saddam is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons, Mearsheimer said, nor is there evidence that he is working hand in hand with al-Qaida.
Saddam is dangerous, Mearsheimer repeats, but certainly not as dangerous as Joseph Stalin or Mao Zedong, two other tyrants who the United States was able to fend off with its policy of deterrence and containment
."
Casualties of War
Matthew R. Skomarovsky
HamsterChatter: "It has been said that the first casualty of war is truth, but truth often dies long before the war begins. This is especially the case when war is painstakingly engineered by our leaders, rather than thrust upon them by the Forces of Evil. Earlier this week, Iraq took a bold step to avoid military conflict by allowing weapons inspectors immediate and unconditional access; but with enough duplicity President Bush should be back on the road to war in no time
."
South Florda Sun Sentinel: Who will stand tall against war machine?
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
HamsterChatter: "We must stop this war and save the lives of tens of thousands of innocent people - men, women and children, who will die in the next few months if Bush and Blair get their way
."
International Starbucks protest comes to town
Berkeley Daily
HamsterChatter: "Under the Fair Trade system, designed to avoid exploitation of farmers, small coffee growers across the globe, organized into collectives, receive a minimum of $1.26 per pound regardless of the international price of coffee, which currently stands at 43 cents per pound
."
Thursday, September 26
Russia nuke Chechnya for posing a threat to the motherland?
North Korea invade South Korea for having weapons of mass destruction (US)?
China invade Taiwan for building defenses?
Iraq invade Saudi Arabia for building military defenses?
Israel remove Arafat from power with force?
India invade Pakistan for building weapons of mass destruction?
The FBI invade US militias for stockpiling weapons?
Why not? Go ahead. The United States is doing the same thing with Iraq.
Isn't it great being the world's superpower?
They should be worried. They hate us? We hate them. Americans don't want to make Islamic fanatics love us. We want to make them die. There's nothing like horrendous physical pain to quell angry fanatics. So sorry they're angry -- wait until they see American anger. Japanese kamikaze pilots hated us once too. A couple of well-aimed nuclear weapons, and now they are gentle little lambs. That got their attention.
And then Ann goes for the kill ….
Instead of obsessing over why angry primitives hate Americans, a more fruitful area for Democrats to examine might be why Americans are beginning to hate Democrats.
Ohhhh!! *takes knife out of chest* Ann is such an angry person. Maybe what she needs is love ...
Ann, what happened to the love? You hit me, I'll turn the check and beg for more. You know I love you. You and Hamster, we're like Sunny and Cher, minus the breakup and the marriage, and the singing. Marry me, Ann, and we'll make love, not war.
Hitchens is finally leaving The Nation. He'll apparently make
the announcement in a column in the magazine's next issue. Hitchens seems to no longer believe the Nation audience is a receptive or congenial one for him, given his hawkish stands on the war on terrorism and Iraq and -- I would imagine at least -- more or less everything he's written for the last half dozen years or so.
Media Whores Online rejoices…
"Hollywood" James Carville and movie mogul Mike Medavoy are in serious talks to co-produce a film remake of Robert Penn Warren's "All the King's Men," the classic novel about a Huey Long-like demagogue in Carville's native Louisiana. Broderick Crawford starred in the 1949 movie version and, decades later, John Goodman played the title role in an HBO version. This time, we hear, the focus will be less on the "king" than on his "men." We hear that Columbia Pictures Chairman Amy Pascal has expressed interest in the project -- Columbia's parent company, Sony, owns the rights to the book -- and that Medavoy is busy trying to line up a screenwriter and nail down a deal. Carville, who has acted in a couple of cameo parts, told us yesterday he's ready to stay behind the camera: "I'm involved because I think it's the greatest piece of literature that has ever been written in the history of the planet. It's about all the stuff that makes for a good story: power, corruption, love."
Daschle: But then I read in the paper this morning. Now, even the president. The president is quoted in ``The Washington Post'' this morning as saying that Democratic--the Democratic-controlled Senate is not interested in the security of the American people. Not interested in the security of the American people? You tell Senator Inouye he is not interested in the security of the American people. You tell those who fought in Vietnam and in World War II they are not interested in the security of the American people. That is outrageous--outrageous.
A whole slew of pundits, like Fox News's Tony Snow, have criticized Daschle's speech. You know what? Who cares. The same people who are criticizing Daschle are the ones who are covering for Bush on Iraqi. -Eric. Link.
The president ought to apologize to Senator Inouye and every veteran who fought in every war who is a Democrat in the United States Senate. He ought to apologize to the American people. That is wrong. We ought not politicize this war. We ought not to politicize the rhetoric about war in life and death.
I was in Normandy just last year. I've been in national cemeteries all over this country, and I have never seen anything but stars, the Star of David, and crosses on those markers. I have never seen Republican and Democrat.
This has got to end, Mr. President. We've got get on with the business of our country. We've got to rise to a higher level. Our founding fathers would be embarrassed by what they are seeing going on right now. We've got to do better than this. Our standard of deportment ought to be better. Those who died gave their lives for better than what we are giving now.
So, Mr. President, it's not too late it end this politicization. It's not too late to forget the pollsters, forget the campaign fund-raisers, forget making accusations about how interested in national security Democrats are, and let's get this job done right, let's rise to the occasion. That's what American people are expecting. And we ought to give them no less.
Daschle Defends Democrats' Stand on Security
NY Times
HamsterChatter: "Senator Tom Daschle demanded an apology from President Bush for saying that Democrats were "not interested in the security of the American people"
."
War is peace?
Molly Ivins
HamsterChatter: "Ignorance is strength in Bush Security Strategy 2002."
Another Oil War
Cynthia McKinney
HamsterChatter: "Before we send our young men and women off to war, we need to really make sure that we're not sacrificing them so that rich and powerful men can prosecute a war for oil
."
W., the Little Corporal
SF Examiner
HamsterChatter: "He thinks he's Napoleon! He's behaving exactly like a corrupt, warmongering megalomaniacal totalitarian. All he needs now is one hand stuffed inside a snappy red, white and blue military jacket. I'm kind of afraid to look in his closet
."
Dry Drunk:
Is Bush making a cry for help?
Alan Bisbort
HamsterChatter: "Whether George W. Bush is or was an alcoholic is not the point here. I am taking him at his word that he stopped what he termed "heavy drinking" in 1986, at age 40. The point here is that, based on Bush's recent behavior, he could very well be a "dry drunk." Of course, he may just be an immature bully who will gladly sacrifice thousands of lives to get his way even against the advice of the most respected and mature members of his own party
."
"Chosen By God To Lead America"
Rick Friedman & Stewart Nusbaumer, Intervention Mag
HamsterChatter: "All of us know that Osama bin Laden is a Muslim religious fanatic hell-bent on implementing his demented version of Armageddon in the Middle East. What we're not sure about, however, is whether or not George Bush is a Christian religious fanatic hell-bent on his demented version of Armageddon in the Middle East. It's this scary thought planted in the air of public consciousness that our timid mainstream media has begun to explore, lightly explore, delicately dancing around the edges to avoid setting off the land mine of religion
."
According To Plan -- But Whose Plan?
Stephen Morgan
HamsterChatter: "After one year in Afghanistan, are U.S. troops close to winning the war or is Al Qaeda about to release a devastating death trap?
."
The Hospice Raid and the War on Drugs
Ethan A. Nadelmann, AlterNet
HamsterChatter: "Last week, DEA agents armed with automatic weapons raided a hospice on the outskirts of Santa Cruz, California, because it grew and used marijuana for its patients, most of them terminally ill. The founder and director, Valerie Corral, who uses marijuana herself to control debilitating seizures as a result of head trauma following a 1973 car accident, was taken away in her pajamas. Suzanne Pfeil, a paraplegic patient suffering from postpolio syndrome, was told to stand up and then was handcuffed in bed when she could not. All the plants were destroyed
."
Carter Says Mistake for U.S. to Attack Iraq Alone
AP
HamsterChatter: ""I think it would be a tragic mistake for this country, for peace in the Mideast region," Carter said during a presentation at his non-profit Carter Center in Atlanta.
"We would have to go into the streets" of Baghdad to capture Saddam," said Carter, who added that the effort could further destabilize the Middle East and cost the United States the support of allies
."
Who cares about the people?
IHTribune
HamsterChatter: "Not only have the people of Iraq continued to suffer at the hands of the government - torture, extrajudicial execution, "disappearances," arbitrary detention and unfair trial - they have also borne the brunt of the United Nations sanctions regime since 1990. Sanctions have jeopardized the right to food, health, education and, in many cases, life of hundreds of thousands of individuals, many of them children.
."
Bush plots war while innocent starve
The Mirror
HamsterChatter: "We must stop this war and save the lives of tens of thousands of innocent people - men, women and children, who will die in the next few months if Bush and Blair get their way
."
Can Israel Also Defy the UN?
CSMonitor
HamsterChatter: "The US also can't help worrying that any excessive use of force by Israel could derail efforts to muster support among Arab leaders for military action against Iraq. Certainly Israeli defiance of the UN resolution will generate new charges of a double standard: Why can Israel violate such resolutions while Iraq can't?
."
Oil may hit $100 a barrel
The Telegraph
HamsterChatter: "Sheikh Yamani, the former head of Opec who terrorised the West with threats over oil supplies in the 1970s, returned to the fray yesterday when he warned that the price of crude could triple to $100 a barrel if there is a war against Iraq
."
G.O.P. Death-Penalty Feud Sinks to First-Name Calling
NY Times
HamsterChatter: "Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan filed a lawsuit against Gov. George Ryan to halt clemency hearings for all 158 inmates on the state's death row
."
Dicked Again
Philadelphia City Paper
HamsterChatter: "Splashed across the front pages of newspapers across the nation last month was a report that Vice President Dick Cheney was interested in running for re-election with President Bush in 2004, despite his fragile heart condition and the ongoing investigation of Halliburton's business practices while he was the CEO. However, these stories failed to note that there is one person more interested in Cheney running for re-election than Cheney himself: George W. Bush."
We all have AIDS
New Internationalist
HamsterChatter: "There are no more boundaries. AIDS is everywhere and no single nation can stop the spread of the virus on its own
."
Restore Liberty, Peace
Progressive Populist
HamsterChatter: "Iraq is an oilfield to Bush, nothing more. We fight terrorism by supporting freedom -- not just oil companies -- but with an Iran-leaning majority in Iraq the CIA would never risk a free election there. So tell Saddam that his next adventure will be his last, but until his neighbors are willing to gang up on him, leave Iraq alone and let's find Osama instead."
The Right Judge?
Bob Herbert
HamsterChatter: "For those who are concerned about reproductive rights, civil liberties, health and safety issues, the environment, and on and on — it might be a good idea to pay much closer attention to the continuing takeover of the federal courts by the right
."
U.S. Set to Train Iraqi Rebels
Washington Post
HamsterChatter: "Bush could sign off on readying 1,000 Hussein foes to aid in a U.S. attack
."
For Reservists, Reservations:
Prospect of Lengthy Service Worries Many Troops
WPost
HamsterChatter: "The prospect of calling up another 100,000 reservists -- a figure that analysts estimate could be needed as support to fight and occupy Iraq -- is causing anxiety for many of the troops and their families. It is also arousing concern among some military analysts and elected officials, who say the Pentagon is using the reserves inappropriately, risking long-term damage to the morale and viability of the force
."
Economic Downturn Hurts the Working Poor
E. J. Dionne Jr
HamsterChatter: "Perhaps the White House and Congress might take just a little time away from war planning to consider what the economic downturn has been doing to poor Americans, especially the working poor
."
With AIDS Soaring, China Should Welcome Activism
Newsday
HamsterChatter: "If you doubt the adage that AIDS is the world's first political disease, consider the plight of Dr. Wan Yanhai. An activist best known for exposing a blood contamination scandal in China, the doctor disappeared from Beijing's streets on Aug. 25 and was held for nearly a month based on claims that he revealed state secrets. He was released Friday
."
House passes abortion bill;
Senate not expected to act on measure
Reuters
HamsterChatter: "The House backed a bill Wednesday that supporters say would strengthen "conscience clauses" allowing health care providers to decline to perform abortions, but critics said it would severely curtail women's access to the procedure
."
The arrogance of the Bush Doctrine
Robert Scheer
HamsterChatter: "The president's new foreign policy will only anger other countries, and provoke them to take their own "preemptive action"."
In the Northwest: War hero stockpiles ammo for a White House run
Seattle PI
HamsterChatter: "But the man who won a Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts fighting in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam seems to have an ear cocked to hear the cry of "Incoming!" so that he can return fire.
"By trying to define me, they'll give me the opportunity to define myself," Kerry said during an interview. "I'm proud of my state, and its contributions to the country. The last president from Massachusetts served this country well
."
Wednesday, September 25
War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You To Know
"During the seven years that U.N. weapons inspections took place in Iraq, Ritter and other inspectors confirmed that Saddam Hussein's chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons programs had been effectively destroyed. This fact undermines the Bush administration's false premise for waging war on Iraq.
Pitt and Ritter go on to explore the White House's premise for war, demonstrating among many startling revelations, the utter lack of any plausible link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. We learn that Osama bin Laden is in agreement with the Bush administration, and has called for the death of Saddam Hussein. Pitt and Ritter highlight the absurdity of Team Bush's dual aim of bringing down Hussein and forcing democracy on a nation that has been divided for centuries. Ritter enumerates the many ways in which it is impossible for Iraq to pose a credible threat. WAR ON IRAQ closes with a stark forecast for American troops if a ground war ensues and urges the White House to seek a diplomatic solution before it is too late."
Bush, via WashPost: the Democratic-controlled Senate is "not interested in the security of the American people."
Cheney, via WashPost: Vice President Cheney said security would be bolstered if Taff were to defeat Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.). "Cheney talks about Iraq at congressional fund-raiser/ Electing Taff would aid war effort," read the headline in the Topeka Capital-Journal.
Houston Chron: Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who once led his party's campaign arm in the Senate, said, "I do believe the issue of terrorism and Iraq will be very much on the mind of voters going into Election Day." He noted that Republicans traditionally have a strong lead over Democrats when it comes to such national security issues.
Houston Chron: In recent days, the White House has handed out to key Republicans in Congress a one-page summary of a published poll from its Office of Strategic Initiatives, which is run by Karl Rove, Bush's chief political adviser, to underscore that Bush has wide and growing public support.
"Americans say president acting to protect nation while Democrats playing politics," the document said.
New York Times foreign affairs ace Thomas L. Friedman is obviously well past his Bush White House source-greasing phase. Critiquing President Bush in the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone magazine, the best-selling author says in an interview: "I don't think he is a particularly complex human being, and a lot of the rap on him is true: There is a real, silly frat-boy side to him."
Waxing acidic, Friedman continues: "The Bush people are really good at smashing things. If you've got a wrecking job, they are your guys. They're cold. They're calculating, and they have the potential to be cruel." Cruel, Friedman adds, "in the best sense of the word."
The Timesman goes on: "I think these guys are bought and paid by Big Oil in America, and they are going to do nothing that will in any way go against the demands and interests of the big oil companies. I mean, let's face it. Exxon, Mobil -- I think this is a real group of bad guys, considering that they have funded all the anti-global-warming propoganda out there in the world. And Bush is just not gonna go against guys like that. They are bad, bad guys. I mean, Bush's ranch is going to look like a moonscape in ten years if these trends continue."
The war on Iraq is peripheral to the war on terrorism. If it were linked, the White House wouldn't have given up on its al-Qaeda link. So what does it come down to? The US showing everyone else who's the world's superpower, just like a macho man flexing his muscles
-Eric. Link.
The proportion of Americans living in poverty rose significantly last year, increasing for the first time in eight years
NY Times
HamsterChatter: "The report also suggested that the gap between rich and poor continued to grow.
All regions except the Northeast experienced a decline in household income, the bureau reported. For blacks, it was the first significant decline in two decades; non-Hispanic whites saw a slight decline. Even the incomes of Asians and Pacific Islanders, a group that achieved high levels of prosperity in the 1990's, went down significantly last year
."
Dean says he'll lead Democrats to center
Daily Iowan
HamsterChatter: ""Bush is a big-spending liberal," Dean said Monday night at the IMU. "I am a fiscal conservative who would only spend money on social issues that work."
Dean, the nation's longest-serving Democratic governor, said no Republican president has balanced the budget since Dwight Eisenhower
."
Death Penalty Ruled Unconstitutional
AP
HamsterChatter: "A federal judge declared the federal death penalty unconstitutional Tuesday in the second such ruling in less than three months.
U.S. District Judge William Sessions said the law does not adequately protect defendants' rights
."
WSJ: Is the stock market sending an antiwar message?
WSJ
HamsterChatter: "But the renewed decline in stock prices also appears to correlate closely to the rise in the Bush administration's apparent determination to use armed force against Iraq
."
In Oregon, a bold healthcare proposal
CSMonitor
HamsterChatter: "Nine years ago, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton put together a comprehensive healthcare proposal that crashed and burned – probably a key factor in Republicans taking over the US House a year later. Since then, various attempts to reform national healthcare have also faltered.
Now, states are taking the lead in considering universal healthcare – providing government medical care to everyone. Thirteen states are on this path, with Oregon in the forefront. In November, voters here will consider a revolutionary ballot measure that would use tax dollars to provide full healthcare for every state resident
."
War is a Lousy Way to Win an Election
Minneapolis Star Tribune
HamsterChatter: "Yes, Saddam Hussein is a very bad man. He was when he was the ally of the Reagan and previous Bush administrations and a cornerstone of their regional strategy. He was when he invaded Kuwait and became our enemy. And there is no doubt that he has worked to acquire the most terrible weapons. But we have known all this for decades. There is nothing new here
."
BLAIR WAR DOSSIER 'NOTHING NEW'
The Mirror
HamsterChatter: "But the contents of the report were dismissed as "nothing new" by critics and military experts.
Major Charles Heyman, editor of military bible Jane's World Armies, said: "It does not produce any convincing evidence, or any 'killer fact', that says that Saddam Hussein has to be taken out straight away"
."
IT'S TIME TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP, MR BLAIR
The Mirror
HamsterChatter: "And that is: Don't do it, Prime Minister. Don't follow a right-wing US president who is hell-bent on war. Don't commit our forces if there is no real evidence of a genuine threat from Saddam Hussein
."
Untold Casualties
David Hackworth
HamsterChatter: "Before we commit to another Gulf War, our government must come clean on what happened to our Desert Storm heroes
."