Just five months before American voters decide who will be appointed to the most powerful office in the world, the US state department said it would no longer allow overseas journalists to renew visas from within the country.

From next week the estimated 20,000 foreign journalists stationed in the US, who used to be able to renew their visas with ease in any major city, will be forced to leave the country to do so.

Rather than applying to renew their visas in Washington or New York, they will be forced to leave the country and re-apply at a US embassy or consulate abroad, delaying their application for between four weeks and six months

It's already a nightmare to enter this country, because of the new security regulations. British journalists have been jailed, humiliated and deported for the most minor of details, immigration officials at the borders now have powers that defy judicial review and act accordingly. Many of my European friends tell me that they simply won't visit the U.S. any more because of the experience of entering what appears to be a police state at the border - and the risk of summary arrest for no good reason. This is bad enough when it affects millions of ordinary people - tourists, business-people (I've noticed a big decline in European tourists on the Cape this summer). But when you target the group that is responsible for conveying what the United States is to the rest of the world, you are only hurting yourself.

posted by FPN 1:01 PM

Showtime for Kenny Boy

With his sealed indictment now open former Enron chairman Ken Lay has a tad less de facto executive privilege than he did last week. This party would have started a lot earlier if vice chairman Cliff Baxter hadn’t self-suicided in his car (a single bullet to the head) when the scandal first broke. Jeez, wasn’t that right about the same time that Obersturmbannfuehrer Karl Rove dumped his Enron shares. Which of the Bushovic retainers got called in to clean up Kenny’s mess? You guessed it… the good guys and gals at Baker Botts where they see the world according to Texas. As we approach a presidential election the probable result of which will be that the only change is regime change, average Americans who struggle to pay their electricity bills and gas credit cards are watching on the sidelines as a legal process of greater magnitude than Watergate is devolving into little more than a Star Chamber proceeding. Wouldn’t it be a pleasant surprise if, somehow, Kerry and Edwards show some cojones and use the octopus that is Enron to their advantage.

posted by Groom 11:15 AM

John Edwards, Pretty Face, Policy Wonk

During the Democratic primaries, John Edwards advanced most of the best policy positions of any of the candidates. His ideas tended to get lost in the born-in-a-mill-town and populist "two Americas" schtick but they displayed an uncommon thoughtfulness about big issues. For example, the Carnegie Endownment for International Peace said his detailed strategy to combat proliferation was "the most comprehensive and far-reaching of the three proposals" advanced by the candidates. In it, he called for a new "Global Compact" to heighten security for existing nuclear facilities and material, toughen international inspections, limit production of nuclear bomb materials and nuclear fuel, and authorize strong, immediate punishment for any nation that violates and then quits the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. He said his plan would "close the loophole that allows civilian nuclear programs to go military." He also promised to triple funding for Nunn-Lugar programs to secure and eliminate nuclear weapons and materials in Russia and to expand the security program to other states.

Even before he selected Edwards as his running mate, Kerry had selected parts of Edwards' plan for inclusion in his own strategy announced on June 1, including toughening inspections, capping production of nuclear weapon material and punishing treaty violators. Edwards' policy ideas were sound and sensible before he was picked as the vice presidential candidate. He clearly planned ahead knowing that his short resume was his biggest liability. That will help when the GOP tries to paint him as all style and no substance.

posted by Jerry Bowles 10:14 AM

Zinger

The following is the conclusion to a UPI editorial by Martin Walker.

Many foreign diplomats in Washington have already sent cables home warning their governments that there will not be any great change in policy if the Kerry-Edwards ticket prevails in November. But Edwards, who emerges from a study of his policy positions as a thoughtful and optimistic internationalist, would be the most persuasive salesman for U.S. foreign policy since the world sadly learned to stop taking Secretary of State Colin Powell seriously as the global voice of the Bush administration.

posted by John 8:50 AM

Bye Bye Vice

Back in November, on these pages, I said that Bush would dump Cheney, and in my recent post about "Why Bush Wins," I reiterated the same prediction. Yesterday Chris Matthews on Hardball raised the issue in his interview with Senator Trent Lott and even former heavyweight New York Senator D’Amato has publicly called for Colin Powell or John McCain to replace the GFY Dickster as a "guarantee" for Bush’s re-election.

While Bush is stupidly loyal—-witness Rummy’s continued reign of incompetence at Defense—-he does not want to continue a family tradition of being a one-term president. He’ll do anything to get re-elected. And dumping Vice gets rid of a lot of baggage and enables him to start “fresh,” with Halliburton, secret energy meetings and other Cheneyisms moot. Bush would then run “as his own guy.”

Going up against either Powell or McCain in a debate would definitely show up Edwards inexperience. It’s not going to be Powell, but 68-year-old McCain has nothing to lose, and being VP would be a nice way to cap his career, giving him a long shot at the presidency in 2008.

Some of us wanted McCain as VP--now we might just get him.

posted by Josh 7:25 AM

Bi-partisanship at work

So you think that "bi-partisanship" is dead? As the Senate Intelligence Committee releases the first phase of its report on US intelligence “failures” connected with 9/11 and the War of Lies in Iraq it’s comforting for the New York Times to remind us that the Democrats earlier this year agreed to a deal with the GOP assuring that the Bush administration’s role in propagating this intelligence clusterfuck will not be examined until after the November presidential vote. Taking this issue away from the Dems is like giving Bushovic a free pit stop in a NASCAR race. If turnabout is fair play Democratic lawmakers ought to think about blocking the probable White House appointment of Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fl) as director of Central Intelligence. The last thing a victorious John Kerry needs is to inherit a lame duck DCI with heavy Bushovic baggage.

posted by Groom 6:39 AM

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

Dog Fight

Amusing to watch the GOP spinsters pretending to relish unleashing their "experienced" pit bull, Dick Cheney, on the callow pup, John Edwards. Some of them may actually believe it but there has to be growing concern among the faithful that maybe the Vice has used the "growl and snarl" tactic a little too often. Just yesterday the 9/11 Commission called his bluff on the comment that he "probably" knew things they didn't. In fact, almost everything Cheney has said since coming to office has turned out to be an exaggeration or an outright lie.

Cheney's "core competency," as they say in Peter Druckerland, has always been his status as an insider with access to information that others don't have and his willingness to peddle that information to win friends, destroy enemies and influence events. That's why he hates the idea of transparency. There is no principle involved; to an incompetent political hack like Cheney insider information is power and the preferred currency of cronyism--the only true "ism" to your end-of-the-bolt military-industrialist.

If, as in the case of those "reconstituted" Iraqi nuclear programs or Saddam's "ties" to al Queda or those cheering throngs welcoming U.S. troops as "liberators," the insider information turns out to be questionable you can just insist you were right or never said it and if you do it loudly and often and obnoxiously enough some people will believe you.

Or will they?

Future historians will almost certainly find that Dick Cheney was George Bush's Rasputin, the true evil force behind the throne. He is certain to be regarded by dispassionate students of history as the most deranged, dangerous and self-deluded idealogue ever to hold the office of vice president in our fair republic.

But, of course, we don't have time for history; the world may not survive another four years of Bush-Cheney. That's why job number one for John Edwards has got to be to reveal Cheney as the toothless old fraudster that he is. I can't wait. In image-is-everything America this dog fight is quickly going to become a cute puppy contest and our adorable little guy is going to kick ass.

posted by Jerry Bowles 4:20 PM

Martial Powers Law in Iraq Is Necessary At This Point

So the new Iraqi government is instituting a martial-powers law giving Prime Minister Allawi the authority to do pretty much whatever he thinks he needs to do to establish security in the country.

I know there's a lot of hand-wringing about this, but I say: Power to him. The country will never get on its feet without improved security. Never. And at this point, even a couple hundred thousand more troops probably couldn't do the job.

The absolute best thing the new Iraqi government could do to help the country is do what the Americans haven't been able to do: establish security. If this law is what it takes to make a realistic attempt to establish security, bring it on.

posted by Vicki 12:16 PM

Boy, This Guy is Good

During the long process that led up to Kerry's choice of Edwards, it must have occurred to someone to ask the standard, "if you get this job, what do you intend to do," question and there is no doubt that Edwards must have responded with something along the lines of "I will help the average, red state, undecided voter understand who John Kerry is."

From their joint appearance this morning: "I grew up in a small town in North Carolina," Edwards added. "This is the kind of man we grew up lucky enough to respect — somebody who believed in faith, and family and responsibility, and having everybody get a chance to do what they're capable of doing, not just a few."

Eureka! Kerry is the guy we may not have been able to have a beer with, but that's a good thing! He's the class president, the captain of the football team, the altar boy, the scholaship winner who did not become a party hound (like Bush) or a pussy hound (like Clinton). He's not like us, and that's ok!

posted by Evelyn 12:05 PM

Tooth fairy economics

More Hitler-in-the-bunker propaganda in support of Bushovic. After running their "top 10" rolodex of economic analysts, AP is reporting that US economic growth- measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP)- will surpass not only the high growth rates of the Clinton administration but those of the Reagan administration as well. Time for the AFL-CIO's Committee on Political Education (COPE) to get out the truth squad on this one.

posted by Groom 11:08 AM

Something Completely Different

Those of you who need a break from politics as usual might check out the new personal, non-political blog I just started. It's called Postcards from a Life. I'll be posting some geriatric ramblings there from time to time. I hope you enjoy them.

posted by Jerry Bowles 10:23 AM

Second Thoughts on a “Bad Choice”

The comments on my entry yesterday about Edwards being a bad choice prompted some good exchange, including this clincher from Genevieve: “Bottom-line, it doesn't matter what Edwards brings to the table after the election, if we can't get our guy to the table. Edwards offers the tilt towards the common folk that the two Yalies can't. His style is engaging and upbeat to counter the grim countenance of Kerry. He has optimism about America (something I feel strained to maintain) and a way of making it feel contagious. It's all theatre anyway. I'd rather take my chances with Edwards on stage after that fatally-missed heartbeat than the soulless puppet up there now.”

Jeffer made much the same point. So I have changed my mind. The case for me is now further strengthened by two additional pieces of data that I did not have yesterday. One, 75 percent of the undecided voters do NOT have a college education and while this is a traditionally good demographic for Democrats, most of these undecided voters are in Red States and will vote value issues rather than pocketbook issues as defined in Thomas Frank’s book, What’s The Matter With Kansas, not a traditional winning dynamic for Democrats. Two, in the open primary states, Edwards beat out Kerry and others to win the Independent vote and the youth vote—both critical to a November win.

So if Edwards can appeal to the jury of high school graduates who tend to vote values over the economic issues that would benefit them more, we have a winning ticket on our hands. Count me in.

posted by Josh 7:26 AM

From $200 billion liar to $200 billion lobbyist

Thomas A. Scully isn’t a household name to the retirees at Century Village or up in Parkchester. But if you are one of the 30 million plus getting fucked over by the Bushovic “prescription drug benefit” you might want to buy a few new pins for your voodoo doll. Working under cheesehead Tommy Thomson at Health & Human Services, Scully was the administrator of Medicare. Thomson, at the behest of the White House, took part in a smoke and mirrors campaign to deceive lawmakers and citizens about the huge costs of the Medicare drug "benefit" and its lack of competitive pricing.

Scully, for his part, helped write the Medicare law and withheld information from Congress. An internal investigation reveals that he threatened co-workers if they would not cooperate with him to misrepresent the cost of the program to Congress and the American people. The New York Times reports that nothing Scully did, including his $200 billion lie, appears to be illegal and, furthermore, that he is raking in the bucks as a Beltway lobbyist for the same drug companies the laws he helped write were designed to benefit. Let's hope this develops into a big fat Greek campaign issue.

posted by Groom 5:51 AM

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

What makes Edwards a good choice for John Kerry?

The Carpetbagger has ten great reasons.

posted by John 11:31 PM

There are two things I like a lot about John Kerry's letter

Having signed up at the Kerry website, I was one of the million or so folks who got John Kerry's e-mail announcing his choice of John Edwards as his running mate. The letter impressed me. When I asked myself why, I found two reasons.

The first is the acknowledgment that "You are the heart and soul of our campaign." This pleases me immensely because it picks up the "You have the power" theme that attracted me so strongly to the Howard Dean campaign. But it pleases me even more because it speaks so directly to what we in Democrats Abroad are all about, getting individual American citizens to realize that we are, indeed, the heart and soul of democracy. It is our votes, our activism, and our constant critical involvement with what our leaders say and do that make democracy possible.

The second are the themes announced in Kerry's description of Edwards, "He has shown courage and conviction as a champion for middle class Americans and those struggling to reach the middle class." This speaks to my own conviction that humane, civilized, democratic societies--the kind in which I like to live--require a strong middle class and opportunities for everyone to join or rise above it.

To me, being a Democrat is, above all, about being a pragmatist--not the narrow-minded sort whose instrumental reasoning is only a tool for greed, but the generous pragmatist described by Richard Rorty, "What matters for pragmatists is divising ways of diminishing human suffering and increasing human equality, increasing the ability of all human children to start life with an equal chance of happiness."

Those are, indeed, goals worth fighting for, goals which I believe John Kerry and John Edwards share, and the Bushes, Cheneys, Rumsfelds, Tom Delays and John Ashcrofts do not.

Kerry and Edwards are now our champions. But the causes they champion belong to all of us. We are, indeed, the heart and soul of this campaign, and their victory isn't up to them. It's up to us.

Kerry/Edwards 2004!

P.S. Don't miss Arianna Huffington's take on the choice of Edwards on DFA.com.

posted by John 10:12 PM

Cheney drops the soap

Disputing Lord Go-Fuck-Yourself, the Kissinger... oops, Kean Commission investigating 9/11 issued a statement today indicating that Al-Qaida had only limited contact with Iraq. They based their finding on access to the same information Cheney used to fabricate the Saddam-Osama myth.

posted by Groom 6:54 PM

Farenheit CNN?

Tuned into CNN a little bit ago and thought I had gotten Faux News by mistake. One minute of mixed blessing Ted Kennedy saying nice things about Edwards followed by a twelve-minute segment on his presumed "vulnerabilities." The RNC did a great job in getting its opposition research out there in a hurry; the Dims should have had Gephardt, Clark, Dean; hell, even Sharpton, lined up to saturate the networks and cable folks tonight and tomorrow with lavish praise for the new winning team. Instead, the negative stuff is getting the major play. How about a feature on Dick Cheney's vulnerabilities; that would take a 90-minute feature film. Oh, wait. Michael Moore already did that.

posted by Jerry Bowles 6:49 PM

Kerry reaches out to Mexico's Fox

A very presidential John Kerry offered words of praise for Mexico's leader Vicente Fox today. Fox will need them. His conservative National Action party (PAN) was defeated in elections held Sunday to control the governorships of three major states. The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) which controlled Mexico for 70 years, gained control of Chihuahua state and neighboring Durango state by allying itself with the Green Party. The left-leaning Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) won the governorship in Zacatecas state. Reeling from these defeats, Fox had to deal with the resignation of his chief-of-staff, who quit because he was not comfortable with the prospect of having el presidente name Mrs. Fox, Marta Sahagun, as the PAN candidate for president in the 2006 election.

posted by Groom 4:50 PM

Debate Fantasies

Long ago I realized that my fantasies of a romantic nature rarely materialized, so I pretty much gave up the practice. But now my fancies are wandering to another realm, the long-hoped for day when Kerry faces Skippy, and Edwards goes toe to toe with Mr. Happy, Lord Dick.

Edwards vs. Cheney puts me in the best mood. I know there is a question as to whether or not Cheney will be on the ticket, and it may well be that Rove is sending him on the road so much with the goal of blowing up his heart, but after all, this is fantasy anyway.

I see our fresh-faced lad studying into the wee hours on his opponent’s weaknesses, and entering the debating studio with the same winning smile he used to defeat Mercedes-driving anesthesiologists who might have turned up the juice a bit too high. I see Brokaw or Jim Lehrer asking a question about Halliburton and Dick harrumphing to new heights of contempt, perhaps at long last growling “Eat Dick,” which would carry many meanings of course. Perhaps – oh no – he might actually tell Edwards that he doesn’t know “Dick”! I sort of see Dean Wormer here, perhaps blowing the gasket that his now-fired doctor warned him about. (Does anyone else suspect that there was more to that story?) And there’s our boy with that big slithery smile on his face, channeling the Slickster. Hey, maybe we can get Dick’s people to agree to a town meeting format! Then Edwards can pick out the most forlorn and clueless, unemployed young female in the audience and feel her pain, while Dick lectures her about separation of powers. Somebody get Dick a watch!

Then there’s Big John and little Skippy, nose-to-chest and maybe this time the other members of the media will – in advance – disqualify all the Fox commentators who just the day before picked up a six-figure “consulting” fee to advise Skip on his debating points. Lest we forget, Big John was the best debater at Yale, but as we also know, there is debating and there is the dubious reality show called a Presidential campaign debate. But this time Big John knows to hit and hit hard from the very beginning, and by the third or fourth question about WMD’s in Iraq, Skip is starting to do that little who-the-fuck-do-you-think-you-are, “bring ‘em on”, sneer, looking like Jimmy Cagney getting sent to the Big House. This may go over great with the red meat crowd, but during the after-show the same aforementioned unemployed, young unmarried voter who had been “undecided” now thinks that maybe Skip doesn’t look “Presidential” enough.

Ho, better stop now, my new sex toys from Passion Parties just arrived. Hey, you never know.

posted by Evelyn 3:02 PM

And, by the Way, Dewey Beat Truman

posted by Jerry Bowles 10:57 AM

Disingenuous, Unaccomplished Liberal And Friend To Personal Injury Trial Lawyers

The pit bulls were just dying to get off their chains.

posted by Jerry Bowles 10:51 AM

The right choice... in the Truman tradition

Harry Truman didn't know much about foreign policy. But he had his old buddy from the senate, Jimmy Byrnes from South Carolina, who did and used it as secretary of state. FDR basically ignored Truman until that fatal day in Warm Springs. And it was Truman who made the call to drop the bomb. The Edwards "trial lawyer" tag foisted by the GOP isn't much different than what Truman had to deal with having been a candidate of the Pendergast machine in Kansas City, Missouri. John Edwards is ambitious, captivating, brings a new style to playing the pit-bull as VP, and he connects with "average Americans." The more we learn about the US intelligence failures in the run-up to 9/11 the less credibility Rudy Guliani has. If he hadn't lucked into 9/11 he wouldn't be Sir Rudy, and he would probably still be in an ego-driven pissing contest with his former chief of police. As for foreign policy, Richard Holbrooke will be around as Secretary of State so not to worry there. At the Pentagon, leaking the name of a hard-nosed conservative Democrat with years of defense and national security oversight like Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri could win votes in another key battleground state. Give 'em hell, John Edwards.

posted by Groom 10:06 AM

Bad Choice

Kerry must know something we don’t. Edwards must have polled well and he does bring youth and a Southern accent to the ticket. But, while Kerry and Edwards enthusiasts have fantasies of going up against Vice, Cheney ain’t gonna be around; Rove is already on the case. Edwards will have his hands full with McCain or Giuliani, and the prospect of a doctor vs. lawyer contretemps with Nurse Frist will be one for the textbooks. What we have here folks is a Dan Quayle who can spill.

How do the Republicans attack the choice? Simple: Edwards is not prepared to be president should that become necessary and Kerry has—once again—put his political interests ahead of what is best for the country. How in the hell can Kerry pick a guy with less than six years experience in elected office from a state where he could not win re-election and convince independent voters that he is prepared to stand a heartbeat away from the presidency?

posted by Josh 8:46 AM

And The Winner Of The Veepstakes Is:

John Edwards.

Discuss. Tawk amongst yourselves . . .

posted by Michael 8:06 AM

In e-mail we trust

Finally, the New York Times has weighed in on a recent federal court decision that makes it okay for internet service providers and others (like the Bushovic regime) to spike and snoop our electronic messages. “The ruling would seem to have little effect on most people…” Timesman Saul Hansell writes, since “most major internet providers have explicit policies against reading their customers e-mail messages.” Hey, but doesn't the US government have explicit laws about internet providers and other companies cooking the books on tax returns, on jacking the price of their stock. That didn’t stop certain internet providers from breaking those laws. When you cover all the news that's fit to print, it's best to be cavalier and make it a tech beat story instead of something more political like constitutional guarantees of privacy. Wouldn't want to turn those ISPs into "victims" now, would we. There could be a real “domino effect” further rolling back civil liberties if other courts use this decision as precedent.

posted by Groom 1:46 AM

Monday, July 05, 2004

Loose Lips Sink Chads

The government needs to establish guidelines for canceling or rescheduling elections if terrorists strike the United States again, says the chairman of a new federal voting commission.

Question: Why does the federal voting commission chairman hate America?

Seriously, I know a good number of liberals who are absolutely furious that a government official is even discussing this issue in the media -- even if it were true.

Look, the right always tries to silence the left on its "incendiary" speech -- isn't this at least an equally worthy example of "encouraging our enemies" -- particularly our domestic enemies on the right, who know Bush can't possibly win a fair electoral fight come November?

posted by Michael 6:58 PM

Who do you trust...

We know the US Army faked the teardown of Saddam's statue. Now, Time magazine is playing a tape of "foreign fighters" in Iraq on its Mighty Wurlitzer. The voices "sounded Saudi" (what else is new). But nobody knows for sure. If it was from Al Jazeera at least taxpayer dollars would be used to get some CIA "voice experts" to weigh in with their professional opinions. This propaganda imprinting technique is not much different than the Bushovic crew calling the Salafist (wahabi) movement in Algeria "al Qaeda" linked with no hard evidence. Now that Bushovic says we're "safer" at home because we have established a puppet government in Iraq, maybe its time to start connecting the dots from Obersturmbannfuehrer Rove's office to Feith's office and over to the video lab at the Rochester Institute of Technology. And give Cong. Porter Goss (R-FL) a hall pass to follow the leader just in case he forgets the name of the product line.

posted by Groom 6:30 PM

Iran tightens oil noose on “average Americans”

If Bandar Bush helps the White House manipulate oil prices do the Dems need Bijan Kerry for their October surprise? Not Rodeo Drive Bijan… but Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh, who thinks crude prices are just fine and that there’s enough oil on the market. Tehran is flexing its muscles now that it has become #2 in proven oil reserves after Saudi Arabia. But that doesn’t take into account all the “unproven reserves” in Venezuela, which Condi Rice and Eliot Abrams think are secretly owned by Fidel and Raul Castro, Daniel Ortega and Robert Vesco.

posted by Groom 2:55 PM

America the beautiful... America the food desert

Our multi-billion dollar kindergarten of capitalism is teaching Iraqis that markets are all about choice. But what about here at home? Facing convenience store demographics and fast food sprawl more Americans are living in a food desert, finding it difficult to buy healthy food close to home. Is paying $1.49 for a 6 oz. can of tuna at the convenience store a choice when you have to drive 120 miles (round trip at 20 m.p.g. on $2/gallon gas) to pay 69 cents for the same can at a super market chain? What about the 16 oz. box of convenience store rigatoni that sells for 79 cents at the super market? Food prices jumped up 1.5% in May. Not to worry, food prices are not considered one of the key economic indicators by the US gubmint. As we slog through the food desert those poor nations in the pre-school of capitalism are following our example, spending more on war and weapons than on health, food and education.

posted by Groom 2:03 AM

Sunday, July 04, 2004

Health care remains acid test issue

As we munch Freedom Fries this “Independence” Day, the fireworks are just starting in round two of the battle over health care between unionized grocery clerks and management. This issue started playing havoc with the food supply chain on the West Coast last Fall but was hushed up in the old media. One expert characterized it as a “lose-lose” situation. Will it be “lose-lose” during a Kerry presidency? The United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) endorsed John Kerry for president in February for his "real deal" stance on health care. But if Kerry weighs in on this fight- which will set the tone of for other labor-management health care beefs- he could alienate and exclude from both sides of his base. Prospective VP candidate Gephardt is an historic, Rust Belt union guy who gets mixed reviews from the United Food & Commercial Workers. For all his talk about “average Americans,” Edwards is the son of a textile mill worker from Seneca, South Carolina, where they never saw a Duke Power blackleg they didn’t like. Ketchup, mustard and beans don’t know from union or scab hands when they get scanned at the check-out line.

posted by Groom 4:11 PM

Outrage

Mr. Drudge, Take This Picture Down

posted by Jerry Bowles 10:57 AM

Dream Big Dreams

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!

-- from Langston Hughes' "Let America Be America Again"

Happy Fourth.

posted by Michael 4:40 AM

The Madness of Wing(nut) George

On this, our nation's Independence Day, it's helpful to re-read our founding Declaration, to see what depredations, usurpations and abuses of power by a previous unelected ruler named George led us to deem his government illegitimate, and throw off its yoke . . . and here's a little pop quiz of current events you might also find enlightening.

Fight for your nation's ideals. Oppose the current regime. Work to overthrow it. That is all.

posted by Michael 2:47 AM

The Most Terrifying Article I Have Ever Read

While our eyes are focused on the US Presidential race and the battle to return the Resident to Crawford, Texas, we may, too easily, lose sight of what is going on in the rest of the world, in particular those parts of the rest of the world where the overwhelming majority of human beings now struggle to survive. They are young, they are hungry, they have every reason to be angry and turn to the simple but compelling ideas of fundamentalist religions to explain why they find themselves in Hell. (To which, I find myself adding, apparently unlimited access to AK-47s, RPGs, explosives, and even nastier toys.)

Read all about it in Mike Davis' Planet of Slums. This is, I kid you not, the scariest thing I've ever read.

posted by John 12:04 AM