The question is, should I get one of these for when I go to Italy? The most telling sign of the times is that they offer these shirts in a non-English version so the wearer doesn't get harrassed by Patriotic, Freedom-loving, Fox-consuming All-American Citizens (TM) at home.
In his new book, Pieces of Intelligence: the Existential Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld, author Hart Seely has compiled a series of unwitting poems from this surprisingly lyrical administration official. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a brief review with some more examples. Perhaps we can expect a forthcoming volume, "The Te of W"?
The New Republic has a thoroughly damning article about the lies behind the Bush administration's push for war with Iraq. (Thanks to Dave Baer for the link.) It's three pages long but well worth the read; it covers the build-up to war and demonstrates how vital pieces of intelligence were either fabricated, distorted, or ignored as the administration tried to sell the war to the public.
A second TNR article, however, argues that the war in Iraq is justified because Saddam was bad and would have continued pursuing nuclear capability, and ultimately it's a winning strategy to bring an Arab democracy to the Middle East.
My problem with the Iraq War is that regardless whether the latter article's thoughts are correct, such issues were never the topic of debate. Moreover, we have reasonably convincing evidence that the administration willfully, intentionally, and systematically lied to the American public about Saddam's arsenal and nuclear/WMD capability. This is incredibly distressing for two reasons, which I will state as questions:
(1) Does the administration think the American public does not or can not be consulted on critical matters of policy? Perhaps a serious discussion about the future of the Middle East, long-term domestic security, our moral imperative for regime change, etc. was deemed above the heads of most people and unsuited for the soundbyte-based, talking/shouting-head format that characterizes most news TV today?
(2) Did the administration have some third, ulterior motive in pushing for war with Iraq? If not, then why, in the aftermath of the war and in the midst of accusations of misleading the public, doesn't the administration boldly and righteously proclaim the principles cited in the second TNR article as the real reasons for Iraq?
Why were we lied to? Are we still being lied to? These questions sound rhetorical but they absolutely are not. It is the duty of the President to protect the American people and execute policy to that end; if he must conceal information for the purposes of national security, so be it; but if he has waged a campaign throughout the government to misrepresent his policies and motivations to the public, he has an obligation to explain himself.
Humberto Maturana, one of the co-inventors of the term autopoiesis, has a paper entitled Metadesign. Long but interesting.
Although this phrase has been used for many different causes, I just read an excerpt from an essay by Peter Hitchens in The Spectator. This was in the "Readings" section of Harper's Magazine. (Click "Continue reading" to read the full text.)
Read full entry...On Bushwatch, there is an excerpt of Retired General Wesley Clark's interview on Meet the Press. (I have included the full text below in case they update their page.)
Read full entry...A few links for all my disenfranchised left-wing friends:
Top 10 Conservative Idiots
Liberal Slant
Altercation: according to this article, 22% of Americans believe Iraq used chemical/biological weapons... WTF??
The Washington Post has an article about Rand Beers, a former White House counterintelligence aide who quit. He is now volunteering as national security advisor for John Kerry. In his words:
"The administration wasn't matching its deeds to its words in the war on terrorism. They're making us less secure, not more secure," said Beers, who until now has remained largely silent about leaving his National Security Council job as special assistant to the president for combating terrorism. "As an insider, I saw the things that weren't being done. And the longer I sat and watched, the more concerned I became, until I got up and walked out."
Time.com has a long piece about different opinions and attitudes towards Harry Potter across the nation, but the centerpiece is a wonderfully touching story about J.K. Rowling and one of her fans, a young girl with cancer. (For the impatient, the story starts at the beginning of the main article, then resumes halfway through the last page.)
I have started downloading the three unaired Firefly episodes circulating on the net: Trash, Heart of Gold and The Message. As soon as they are complete I will put them on my server and post links here - stay tuned!
The Washington Post has a little byline about how Fishburne and Freeman and their like are playing the roles of "Magic Negroes", at the cost of their souls.
Thomas Friedman writes in the NY Times:
"Finding Iraq's W.M.D.'s is necessary to preserve the credibility of the Bush team, the neocons, Tony Blair and the C.I.A. But rebuilding Iraq is necessary to win the war. I won't feel one whit more secure if we find Saddam's W.M.D.'s, because I never felt he would use them on us. But I will feel terribly insecure if we fail to put Iraq onto a progressive path. Because if that doesn't happen, the terrorism bubble will reinflate and bad things will follow."
Here's a great vi tutorial for the intermediate vi user. Very easy to follow and packed with information.