How will we ever see the end of a war that everyone seems to have forgotten—everyone except the families and friends of the wounded and the dead? “We are not dealing with a conventional war. We cannot respond in a conventional manner. I do not want to see this spiral...
Levees Not War
Praying for Change in Egypt
* This photograph of Egyptian Christians joining hands to protect their Muslim fellow citizens bowing in prayer in Cairo is both heartening to see and conveys the support we feel for the democracy movement in Egypt. (Christians in Egypt, known as Copts, are some 10 to...
Sad Farewell to “Countdown with Keith Olbermann”
MSNBC and Keith Olbermann have ended their contract. The last broadcast of “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” will be this evening. MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC’s success and we wish him well in his future endeavors. That is the full text of MSNBC’s...
Rev. King and Gun Violence: “Study War No More”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahI8o9-U7Z0&feature=player_embedded * “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” —Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Declaration...
A Letter from Senator Mary Landrieu
* Landrieu on Her Reluctant Vote for the Republican Obama Tax Deal In December during the fight against renewal of the Bush tax cuts (now the Republican Obama tax cuts) for millionaires and billionaires, we posted a tribute to Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu’s strong...
Now Entering 2011: Wishes + Promises for the New Year
“Here and now I want to make myself clear about those who disparage their fellow citizens on the relief rolls. They say that those on relief are not merely jobless—that they are worthless. Their solution for the relief problem is to end relief—to purge the rolls by...
A Christmas Greeting and Good Wishes
In a year that has held good tidings and ill—the usual ingredients with some new and sometimes startling arrangements . . . We want to take a moment from our Christmas celebrations to wish you and your family and friends a good and cheerful holiday season. We wish you...
Yes We Can Pass Good Legislation
Our last post was illustrated with a big YES and this can do no less. Congratulations to the 111th Congress—especially Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (with emphasis on “Leader”) and the suddenly productive Senate in the last days of this so-called lame duck...
Good Riddance to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
This will make for happier holidays. We applaud the long-awaited, hard-fought repeal of the destructive policy commonly known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by a Senate vote of 65 to 31. It is good for American society and its individuals, and it’s good for the U.S. armed...
Sanctimonious Purists Unite
“People will have the satisfaction of having a purist position, and no victories for the American people. And we will be able to feel good about ourselves, and sanctimonious about how pure our intensions are and how tough we are.” —President Obama, in reply to a...
Mary Landrieu Slams “Obama-McConnell Plan”
“I’m going to argue forcefully for the nonsensicalness and the almost, you know, moral corruptness of that particular policy. . . . This is beyond politics. This is about justice and doing what’s right.” If we had three hats* we’d tip them all to Louisiana Senator...
Is Barack Obama a “Manchurian Republican”?
[ cross-posted at Daily Kos ] Are you a Manchurian Republican? When we sent money to your campaign and went door-to-door to get out the vote and made phone calls for Obama for America, were we helping elect a (soft) Republican? If not, then prove you’re a Democrat....
Writing Against the (American) Empire:
A Tribute to Chalmers Johnson
[cross-posted at Daily Kos] “[Blowback] refers to retaliation for the numerous illegal operations we have carried out abroad that were kept totally secret from the American public. . . . This means that when the retaliation comes, as it did so spectacularly on Sept....
Warm Thanksgiving Wishes to You and All
First we’d like to extend a simple, sincere wish for our readers and their families, and all their friends and communities: good food, good health, pleasant company, maybe a few drinks in good fellowship, and better prospects for the days ahead. As we gather around...
“So Let Us Persevere . . .”
On the anniversary of the assassination of a peace-seeking, war hero president—and at a time when the arms-reduction efforts of another peace-seeking president are being opposed for only political, not strategic, reasons by a few obstinate Republicans in Congress—we...
No “Kumbaya” for Billionaires
$ [ cross-posted at Daily Kos ] Today when the New York Times reports “Tax Cut Timing Is Proving Problematic for Democrats,” we faxed and mailed the following letter to President Obama and sent similar messages to his economic team (Goolsbee, Bernstein, Elizabeth...
A Failure to Communicate—Not a Failure to Govern
[ cross-posted at Daily Kos ] Not Good (at All), But Could Have Been Worse A party that governs well but communicates poorly was set back by a party that obstructs well but is more interested in holding power than in governing. What could have been a hideous wipeout...
Yes We’re Voting Tues. Nov. 2.
Not Voting = Not an Option.
Dear readers: We promised recently we’d soon be getting off our donkey and rejoining the Organizing for America phone banks to help get out the vote for Tues. Nov. 2. Our cell phones are recharged and we’re back in action. Here’s what you can do: Click the Organizing...
When Harry Met a Cover-Up:
Shearer Talks about “The Big Uneasy”
* [ cross-posted at Daily Kos ] We sat down recently with Harry Shearer—that is, we sat down and e-mailed him some questions, and he sat down and wrote some thoughtful replies—to talk about his new film The Big Uneasy, which tells the real story of why New Orleans...
10th Year of Afghan War Begins
America Slogs On, “Dead or Alive” Briefly, sadly noted: Today, October 7, 2010, begins the tenth year of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. How’s that hunt for Osama bin Laden going? How’s that expansion into Pakistan going? How much taxpayer-supplied money has the U.S....