tleeves.net

2003-03-18T11:30:00.000-05:00

The new location for the blog.

No further posts will be made to this location. All new posts will be on the site that actually works.

2003-02-07T19:54:00.000-05:00

2003-02-07T19:53:00.000-05:00

Colin Powell presents his 'evidence.' Bush uses two fallacies to argue for war

In just what way does the U.S. get the right to go to war over something that can be solved in a much less bloody way?

Bush has offered the False Dilemma for the thousandth time. "Either let Saddam bomb us or we bomb him." He knows as well as you and I do that Saddam has been afraid to attack us, or even his near neighbors, since the Gulf War.

And the dilemma itself seems to flow from that old illogical standby, the Irrelevant Conclusion. "Saddam is a liar and a cheat; therefore he is about to attack the U.S."

During the Cold War, the goal was always peace. We didn't always achieve it, but at least we sought it. We did, finally, achieve peace with the Soviet Union long enough for it to fall apart without war. Now, the goal is not peace. War is the goal.

What bloody minded mad man has hatched this idea? Whither the United States of America, land of the free? Does being the home of the brave excuse us from being good?

2003-01-03T13:02:00.000-05:00

Who is barbiegrrrl and why does she have my domain?

2003-01-02T14:09:00.000-05:00

Anti-War Demonstration Jan. 18

Here's an announcement from the International Answer:

WHY WE MUST ACT NOW!

MOBILIZE FOR JANUARY 18:
National March on Washington
to Stop Bush's War on Iraq

"Most United Nations diplomats" believe that the war can
come in "record time" after the weapons inspectors' report
is presented to the U.N. on January 27. "Not
coincidentally," reports Reuters (1/1/03), "the date is an
approximate time when the U.S. military would be ready to
attack."

Intervention by the people of the United States can stop
the Bush Administration from using the report as an
automatic trigger. The Associated Press reports in its New
Year's poll that 2/3 of respondents in the U.S. are
worried that an attack on Iraq will bring an attack on the
soil of the U.S.

Despite the fact that weapons inspectors have found no
trace of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons in Iraq
after unfettered access and 200 searches across the
country, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld has ordered the
doubling of troops near Iraq to over 100,000 by early
January. The Pentagon is sending 11,000 more desert
trained combat soldiers, foot soldiers, armor, aviation
and artillery units, dozens more striker aircraft and two
more aircraft carrier battle groups to the region by early
January as well.

The January 18 National March on Washington DC may very
well be the last opportunity that we have on a national
level to show the breadth and depth of opposition -- the
last chance to stop Bush's scheduled plan to start this
war on Iraq. It is imperative that as many people as
possible fill the streets of Washington DC to show united
and mass opposition and the strength and power of our
movement.

While local actions are the essence of a grassroots
movement and continue to take place everyday, there are
times that require the people of the United States to come
together in the largest possible mobilization.

BUSES ARE TRAVELING TO WASHINGTON DC AND TO THE JOINT
ACTION IN SAN FRANCISCO FROM OVER 150 CITIES IN 40 STATES.
Go to
http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/j18/j18contacts.html
to find the bus from your city!

If you're organizing a bus from your city and it's not
listed on the website, fill out the easy-to-use form at:
http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/j18/j18contacts.html#list
(if this link does not take you directly to the form,
please scroll down)

***************

Help spread the word! DOWNLOAD the NEW FLYER at
http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/resources/index.html
(If you are unable to download it, call 202-544-3389 or
415-821-6545 to have an original copy mailed to you.)

For LOGISTICAL INFORMATION (directions, housing, parking,
etc.), go to:
http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/j18/logistics.html

YOUTH & STUDENT ACTION: JAN. 18-19
http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/j18/students.html

***************

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.InternationalANSWER.org
http://www.VoteNoWar.org
dc@internationalanswer.org
New York 212-633-6646
Washington 202-332-5757
Chicago 773-878-0166
Los Angeles 213-487-2368
San Francisco 415-821-6545

Sign up to receive updates (low volume):
http://www.internationalanswer.org/subscribelist.html

------------------
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list. Anyone can subscribe by sending
any message to
To unsubscribe

2002-12-27T14:09:00.000-05:00

2002-12-27T14:08:00.000-05:00

Make me stop

Looking at the year in pictures made me do this. You can see what I saw at the other tleeves.

2002-12-27T11:26:00.000-05:00

If things ever loosen up . . .

Canadian citizens over the age of 18 can get marijuana delivered to their homes via a new website: http://www.marijuanahomedelivery.ca/main.html

"Quebec Court Judge Gilles Cadieux said authorizing those who are ill to use marijuana in Canada while depriving them of a legal source violates the right to life and liberty under the Charter," according to The Globe and Mail.

2002-12-24T15:41:00.000-05:00

Give us the name, please

Paul Krugman in the NYT makes the astounding claim that last week "One F.B.I. official singled out by Ms. Rowley [an FBI whistle blower] — he blocked an investigation that might have averted Sept. 11 — received a special presidential award."

Is this the same president who wants to build missile bases in Alaska to defend against terrorists?

Please, Mr. Krugman, give us the official's name.

2002-12-18T16:22:00.000-05:00

Nothing to fear

but fear itself. Why would Bush be afraid to embrace a racist? Here's a fairly compact catalogue of other racists, besides Trent Lott, who have endeared themselves to the President of the United States.

As for the President himself? Why, some of his best friends . . .

2002-12-18T14:25:00.000-05:00

Who is harmed by Trent Lott?

Not the Democrats. See left/liberal pundit Robert Kuttner on the topic.

2002-12-18T13:37:00.000-05:00

Why do people fall for this guy?

Thomas L. Friedman in the NYT has nailed our problem with believing George W. Bush:

We desperately want to believe that he knows what he is doing, and that he is always acting in the best interests of the nation — and not on naked political considerations — because if he isn't, we're all sunk.

2002-12-18T13:17:00.000-05:00

Same Excuse, Different Project

How old is this going to get? The Washington Times reports that Dubya has used Sept. 11 as an excuse for his latest project, a missile defense system for Alaska.

I do not exaggerate:

President Bush yesterday said the United States will build a defense system against ballistic missiles, citing the growing threat of catastrophic attack by terrorists and emerging nuclear-missile states.

"I have directed the secretary of defense to proceed with fielding an initial set of missile-defense capabilities," Mr. Bush said in a statement.

A basic missile-defense system will be operating by 2004 and by 2005 will include up to 20 ground-based interceptors in Alaska and Southern California to thwart attacks by intercontinental ballistic missiles. It is the first time since the 1970s that the United States will have deployed a system designed to shoot down incoming missiles.

2002-12-17T15:01:00.000-05:00

Clarence Thomas is Black

Who would have guessed it? He certainly hasn't given us any reason to think so until now. But here he is speaking from the heart about the souls of Black folk — not the book, the reality.

The great silent (in)Justice, Clarence (uncle)Thomas has finally opened his mouth to speak. And Lo! He speaks about race.
reported in law.com

According to Dahlia Lithwick in NYT, he took off in the middle of oral argument to strengthen the case being made by the state of Virginia claiming a right to ban cross burning as a violent act in itself, beyond its quality as symbolic speech.

Concepts of free speech aside, how about that Black man standing up for Black people from his position of power. That's what it means to have someone of some particular type in power. The mere fact is nothing if not attached to the interest of the interest group.

Rice and Powell have so far not offered to say or do anything for Blacks as Blacks. They work for Republicans as Republicans. Therefore, no one has been excited, or even interested, by seeing the White President surrounded by his Black advisors. No one has even commented on it in the press, even when they appear together in photos on page 1.

Thomas was by all odds the least likely to speak out in the interest of anyone other than Clarence Thomas. Yet, his deeply felt and personal comments, which he made in the midst of what is supposed to be a cold analytical process, have summed up the change in attitude that the whole country has accomplished over the last 50 years.

2002-12-16T12:21:00.000-05:00

Women for Peace

They were going up the escalator in my building this morning. I read their buttons and they gave me one. I'm wearing it now. It looks nice. "Code Pink: WOMEN FOR PEACE" It's on a pink background.

The Women's Peace Vigil has ben protesting war outside the White House for the past month. Today they were in the National Press Building handing out press releases to let everyone know about the caroling tomorrow night in front of Donald Rumsfeld's house. "The women will bring food and cider for the Rumsfelds and invite them to come out and engage in a dialogue."

See you all there.

2002-12-12T14:01:00.000-05:00

Lotts of Trouble

Trent Lott, Senate Majority Leader to be, has revealed his nostalgia for the good ol' days of segregation, a happier time for white folks when we didn't have "all these problems over all these years."
Lott Apologizes Anew For 'Terrible' Remark
Conservatives led the assault on his anachronistic comments and his insensitivity to the emergence of Blacks as possible supporters of conservative ideology. Oh, don't be so cynical, Tom. People like Charles Krauthammer don't care about anything but principle. Yeah, right.

Anyway, now that even Clarence Thomas has opened his mouth on the subject of race (High Court Hears Thomas On KKK Rite), it seems there's a very real Republican Black constituency that is not keeping silent like "The Spook Who Sat by the Door". It's time that people like me woke up and recognized legitimate Black conservatism for what it is, a viable political force that is not beholden to the Civil Rights movement, but to its own sense of entitlement. The rest of us can thank the Civil Rights movement for this much freedom. Black conservatives can now go ahead and take it for granted. Apparently, Mr. Lott didn't get that either.

2002-11-18T16:36:00.000-05:00

Beaters

Fierce Entanglements
By DEBORAH SONTAG

The Goddess of Wisdom is looking for this report. When everybody takes their own inventory without putting blame on the other ones, people recover. They return to health.

2002-11-14T10:42:00.000-05:00

How do leftists see Iraq?

China Welcomes Iraq's Acceptance of UN Resolution
-- People's Daily

America Wants to Use Biological Weapons on Iraq
-- Pravda

The opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and the organizations that they represent.

2002-11-12T11:49:00.001-05:00

Before they pack the court

any more than it already is, let's try to pick the most valuable justice.

The Most Valuable Justice Contest is really worth $500. It's a fun way to get up to date on the Supreme Court's docket. How do you think these cases will be decided?

More fun, but not worth any points in the contest, how do you think they OUGHT to be decided and why are you mad at Rehnquist, Scalia et al?

Please put your responses in the "Comments" section here.

2002-11-12T11:49:00.000-05:00

2002-11-11T15:52:00.000-05:00

Veterans Day

Go to the parade. Salute. Remember.

Some folks my age fought in the Viet Nam war. Some of us went to jail instead. We all served our country to the best of our ability and with "our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

Whether you have faced foreign bullets or your own country's police in the pursuit of freedom and human dignity, remember your fallen sisters and brothers.

Honor them today.

2002-11-11T15:30:00.000-05:00

Deeply Cynical

Has the Bush crew duped us all? Rumsfeld and the "hard liners" seem to have lost ground with the 15 to nothing UN vote. There may be no war, after all.
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN in the NYT thinks that Colin Powell is the next best thing to a Democrat with guts. After all, the real Democrats clearly don't have any.

But my paranoid delusion is that it was all a set-up from the start. Bush's handlers knew how to engineer the debate and negotiation so that they got exactly what they wanted. Powell's "position" seems to be so much softer than Rumsfeld's that even lefties think they've won. Meanwhile, Bush has Congressional and UN permission to go to war any time he decides he has an excuse.

Dubya to the world: "T'anks, Suckers."

2002-11-06T15:15:00.000-05:00

Election Results

The local results are in.
For complete details, see WP or NYT

In Washington, DC the Democrats won everything, of course. Republicans had the best voter turnout: 100%; all 14 of them voted.

The news from Washington is that the voters have paid attention to national statistics and voted overwhelmingly to approve treatment rather than jail for drug offenders. This will cut the costs of dealing with the same offenders over and over again in courts and jails. Some of them will get the opportunity to become productive citizens. The rest will be tied up in the less expensive and easier to maintain treatment system.

In Maryland, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. won election as Governor. His being a Republican does not bode well. The last Republican Governor we had in Maryland was Spiro Agnew. He was as crooked as Marvin Mandel, the last Democratic Governor of Maryland to be convicted of crimes in office.

The Democrat elected in Maryland's 8th district will not advance liberal causes as well as the Republican he defeated. Ms. Morella was a wolf in sheep's clothing as a Republican. She was as good as a secret agent. She has been sloughed off by faithless, thoughtless 'liberals' cravenly counting Democrats in the House as if control there could be achieved or would be used with the courage Ms. Morella consistently displayed. Her loss is unfortunate because she was one of the few politicians who acted on principle rather than party loyalty or corruption.

Conservatives should be glad. Van Hollen can be swayed.

2002-11-06T10:07:00.000-05:00

memento mori

After the elections, it is well to remember Ramses II. He was the greatest builder of ancient times and the pharaoh that chased Moses to the sea. Shelley's sonnet uses the Greek form of one of his many names: OZYMANDIAS.

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Please do not impute to any bitterness this reminder. I am as pleased with the results of the elections as I expected to be. The poem is sent to those who may be so pleased as to feel hopeful or (bless 'em) triumphant.

2002-11-05T12:11:00.000-05:00

Changes

These two guys

climbed to the top of Mt. Everest when I was six years old.

Now Tenzing Norgay, the one on the left, has been dead since 1986.

Sir Edmund Hillary, the one on the right, is selling cars.

2002-10-28T12:35:00.000-05:00

2002-10-28T12:34:00.000-05:00

A Conservative's Argument

Logical argument has been my favorite academic pursuit since I was in college. It is rare that one finds in the standard media a person willing to rigorously construct a logical argument that faces head on the best counter arguments of opponents. Here Paul W. Schroeder makes his case with historical examples and without the all too typical ad hominem arguments of snide pundits. He gives space to his opponents' views and then systematically refutes them, point by point. Even if one disagrees with some part of his essay, it is instructive to see both sides so clearly presented.
Iraq: The Case Against Preemptive War

2002-10-23T10:39:00.000-04:00

SOOOoooooo . . .

It's not Bush that is acting cynically in regard to Iraq. It's France and Russia. Forbes.com reveals the reason they keep resisting Bush's valiant effort to achieve regime change.

2002-10-22T22:59:00.000-04:00

Peace Now

Peace is a little different now.

This demonstration (Oct.26 in Washington, DC) will be a Father/Daughter affair.

In 1967, my father, a Republican, wouldn't join me in protesting the Viet Nam war. He didn't come along until we protested Nixon's bombing of Cambodia in 1971 or '72.

The problem this time is no less ambiguous. Are we justified in attacking another country? Is it for the reasons stated, or is there some ulterior motive? Can we trust our own government?

My 14 year old daughter informed me tonight that she and her friends were planning to go to the protest this Saturday. They have canceled plans to go to the movies.

Tomorrow morning, I'll be downloading and printing flyers for her on the efficient equipment at work. I'll be arranging transportation for them so that I can go with them.

I won't be leading on Saturday. I'll be listening. I'll avoid giving long, boring history lectures. I'll answer questions briefly if I'm asked.

We will probably have nothing to fear from the police this time, unlike the old days. They were fairly mild mannered during the most recent protest here.

The fear in Washington these days is of the sniper who has killed 10 and critically wounded 3 people in the last 3 weeks. I won't let my daughter go outside for more than a few minutes for any reason. But we'll face that fear together on Saturday.

Our odds will be 1 in 5 million (the population of the Washington Metro area). The odds for anyone in Iraq will be worse. The odds for anyone in any army will be worse. The odds for civilians in Baghdad will be a lot worse.

2002-10-22T13:21:00.000-04:00

Who do you trust?

Ultimately, the question arises: who do you trust?

J______ believes that "liberals" are the least trustworthy group, but he seems open to reasoned arguments.
P______ has no time for leftists. They are all kooks and ignoramuses, according to him. And anyone to the left of Charles Krauthammer is a leftist.
T______ thinks the radical right are God-struck fanatics who will not hesitate to achieve their ends "by any means necessary."
M______ has made it plain that he trusts no politicians whatsoever. "If voting could change anything, it would be illegal," he says.

For me, everyone has something to sell. Therefore, everyone has reason to lie. Not only to lie, but also to use truth in the service of falsehood, a truly demonic skill. Who is cynical? Who is cynical enough?

2002-10-22T12:51:00.000-04:00

Quote of the day

NYT brings us this insight into the character of one of America's most prominent political personalities.

"She is a very congenial colleague," said Senator Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, sounding surprised at his own words.

2002-10-22T12:43:00.000-04:00

Relentless

The Washington Post continues its campaign to discredit George W. Bush.

One reason we have a free press in this country is that the founders hoped the truth might shine forth amid whatever lies there may be. Is anyone listening?

2002-10-21T11:08:00.000-04:00

Liars, Damn Liars, and Politicians

With apologies to Statisticians everywhere.

Mary McGrory accuses Bush et al. of hiding the Korea story until the Congressional resolution passed.
WSJ confirms that the administration knew about North Korea's nukes weeks ago:
"When we told North Korea a couple of weeks ago that we knew that they were participating in the enrichment of uranium, which was in violation of a number of agreements to include [the 1994 pact], they first denied it, then admitted it and said, 'and therefore the agreement is nullified,' " Mr. Powell said on ABC's This Week.

2002-10-20T20:05:00.000-04:00

Predominance . . . or just plain old-fashioned dominance

Who thought that American power would be used only for good? What are we, Spiderman?

American power is just power. It's not in the hands of idealists. It's not even in the hands of kinder, gentler people. It's in the hands of Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, et al. They aren't interested in being nice. They want to wield power in the worst way. And it looks like that's just what they're going to do.

The bad news is that Americans are going along with it.

"We're all hegemonists now," writes Max Boot in his op-ed piece reprinted by The Project for the New American Century, William Kristol's latest organ of propaganda. The New American Century may be a whole lot more totalitarian than the "new world order."

2002-10-19T16:38:00.000-04:00

Death in Washington, DC

"Since the sniper attacks began, there have been 18 "traditional homicides" in the area," says the Washington Post this morning.

Colbert I. King welcomes us to his neighborhood. He grew up in West End-Foggy Bottom between Georgetown and George Washington University in the '40s and '50s.

2002-10-04T21:04:00.000-04:00

still down. still waiting for the repair team to fix blogger. Live Journal doesn't do this.

2002-10-02T14:04:00.000-04:00

Downtime

Many posts didn't make it here because Blogger has been down. Many didn't get written. See my other blog

2002-09-30T11:10:00.000-04:00

been down a long time

2002-09-23T15:23:00.000-04:00

Somebody help me figure this out.

Israel is under attack almost daily by militants in Palestine. Yet, they continue to restrain themselves from attacking their enemies and declaring a war against them.

On the other hand, the U.S. has not been attacked by Iraq, but wants to fight a war against that country.

Doesn't this seem a little odd?

2002-09-21T15:35:00.000-04:00

Questions about war

I sent 3 letters to:
Connie Morella, U.S. Representative from my district in Maryland
Paul Sarbanes, U.S. Senator from Maryland
Barbara A. Mikulski, U.S. Senator from Maryland

I asked them not to vote to give President Bush any extraordinary powers to deal with Iraq. War should not be something that an individual President can begin by shooting from the hip. It is an awesome commitment of people and of power. It is no longer, as it was in the days of Empires, an instrument of personal aggrandizement. Ambition is not a reason for it. To strike first is the policy of a coward or of the power mad.

Senator Mikulski's response arrived by email today:
From: senator@mikulski.senate.gov |
To: tleeves@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: www_email
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002 19:01:46 -0400

September 20, 2002

Dear Mr. Gallagher:

Thank you for contacting me about your
opposition to war against Iraq. I have heard
from so many Marylanders about this important
issue. I appreciate you taking the time to
write.

You made some excellent points -- and I
share your concerns about American military
action against Iraq. We all agree that
Saddam Hussein is dangerous and despicable.
His regime remains a threat to regional
security as it pursues weapons of mass
destruction. He continues to terrorize his
own citizens and violate international law.
However, I do not believe the President has
yet made the case that Iraq poses a direct,
imminent threat to the United States the
kind of threat that justifies unilateral
action.

A number of serious questions need to be
answered before I could consider supporting
the use of force against Iraq:

Does Iraq have nuclear weapons?
How soon could it develop them?

How would Iraq deliver weapons of
mass destruction?

If we invade Iraq, which allies
will we have?

Who would replace the Saddam regime
after a military victory?

How long would U.S. forces have to
remain in Iraq? What is the exit
strategy?

What would it mean for the
unfinished war against terrorism?
What would it mean for the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict?

I will evaluate any proposed military
action based on the answers to these
questions. This is one of the most important
issues I am facing today. You can be sure
I'll keep your views in mind.

Again, thanks for contacting me about
these serious questions and concerns. Please
don't hesitate to get in touch with me again.

Sincerely,

Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator

P.S. If I can be of any further assistance in
the future, please visit my website at
http://mikulski.senate.gov or call my
Washington office at 202-224-4654.

2002-09-13T16:10:00.000-04:00

The con

Even though I was impressed with General Myers's talk this afternoon, I am increasingly uncomfortable with the rhetoric around the impending war with Iraq.

The very ground of argument within the administration and in the press has been bogus. Two false alternatives have been set up so that the expert negotiators could find the middle way. No one has seriously put forward a moral justification for preemptive attack. No one has confronted the historic presumption that such an attack is an act of aggression that is inconsistent with ideals of liberty and justice.

We are left to fiddle with whether we will attack today or tomorrow, whether we will attack alone or with help. Whether we will attack or not is not even debated.

See these three items for the full range of (dis)agreement:
1: The Insiders' Iraq, By David Ignatius
2: Multilateralism, American Style, By Robert Kagan
3: Fictional Rift, By Charles Krauthammer

2002-09-13T15:53:00.000-04:00

A Review of the War on Terrorism

General Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed " A Review of the War on Terrorism" at a Luncheon on Sept. 13 at 12:30 p.m. at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. You can listen to a recording of the talk here.

His sturdy military bearing betrayed no swagger. He gave a no-nonsense update on the country's response to the terrorist attacks of last year. He called it the "first year of our war on terrorism." He gave credit for participation in that war to every aspect of American society and to our "coalition partners" around the world, who have arrested over 2,700 terrorist suspects and interdicted over $112 million of terrorist controlled money.

His insights on the values of our military and our society are worth hearing.

2002-09-11T14:13:00.000-04:00

Karate

After Sept. 11 last year, our next karate lesson was on that Saturday. Sensei Carol Middleton asked the class, which included many children and other beginners, "Why would it be impossible for anyone in this school to do something like what happened on Tuesday?"

The right answer was that our school emphasizes the defensive nature of our art. No one who harbors such evil intent would be allowed to continue studying with us.

This month, as we do every September, we are having an Open House for people to learn about fitness, safety, and the joy of martial arts.

2002-09-11T11:47:00.000-04:00

My daughter

asked me to be sure to wear red, white and blue today. I wore my shirt with the American Flag all over the back. I'm an old flag burner from the '60s. Symbols change. Love of country just gets deeper.

It's the people. It's the principles. It's the immense gift from God. It's not the pride or the property or the prestige.

2002-09-11T11:42:00.000-04:00

Crazy brave

What this guy did on Sept. 11 a year ago brings tears of joy and gratitude and admiration. Read to the end of the story and you'll smile with indulgence, too.

Thanks to FFM for the link.

2002-09-10T21:10:00.000-04:00

What might have been

Generally, I have felt that worrying about who screwed up on the American side is unproductive. There is so much horror on the side of Al Qaeda that there is little room in my heart for anger elsewhere.

Sure, mistakes were made. Who could have predicted the unimaginable?

But Purejuice has put forward an argument that is hard to resist. It starts here and continues here.

Somebody on our side should have known. Some particular people should have done a lot of things that they didn't do. And the problem is that those same people are still in a position to screw up again.

NB:
Purejuice surely meant to include this link to the NYT article she cites. She also cites a Guardian article referring to the possibility that bin Laden has died or been killed.

2002-09-10T13:27:00.000-04:00

Less world domination, please

The way I'd like to see it go is not likely to happen. But here's what we've got to work with to build a fantasy.

These two headlines were on the front of the paper edition of the WP this morning:
U.S. Not Claiming Iraqi Link To Terror

Canada Rejects Strike on Iraq

This news comes from Florida, where the President's brother is running for reelection as Governor:
Police investigate Jeb Bush's daughter

And this slight downturn feeds the hope that Dubya may continue the trend:
President's approval rating drops to 60 percent in new poll

Not that I want to run out and vote for the Democrats, you understand. Liberals that they are, they're likely to sell out whenever it's convenient. So, I don't trust them any more than any other politicians.

Not that your daughter's drug problem is anything other than a personal tragedy. It's not. It's certainly not an imputation of the character of the poor girl's parents.

But all of these things can influence public opinion. And the result may be a weakening of the push for world domination.

Just hoping.

2002-09-10T12:11:00.000-04:00

Weblogs4Hire

Weblogs4Hire is a concept whose time has come. Sign up and tell the world you're available to create weblogs for people who can use your skills. Scan the list of skills and user profiles to see who you might hire to blog for your company.

Dane Carlson invented it and put it together. Discussion of its value continues apace.

2002-09-09T11:25:00.000-04:00

Bin Laden Dead?

Does the CIA know about this?

Yosri Fouda, an al-Jazeera journalist quoted in The Guardian , says:

"Khaled [al-Sheikh Mohammed, chief of al-Qaida's military committee] let his tongue run away by referring to Bin Laden in the past tense. Something is not working well in the upper levels of al-Qaida. I used to think there was a 50% chance Bin Laden was alive, now I rather believe he is dead."

2002-09-06T15:50:00.000-04:00

Or we could protest

My friend Susan, who works at the Catholic Worker, tells me there's an anti-war demonstration scheduled for October 26 in Washington, DC.

I really don't want to start that business all over again. It was so tiresome during the Vietnam War to go out and get arrested again and again with no effect.

Nixon finally decided it was more profitable to end it, but he didn't consult me or the thousands who had gone out into the streets to complain. He just did what was best for Nixon. Then Ford brought everybody home but the P.O.W.s., and America promptly forgot about any debts we might have incurred. We still owe plenty to the people of Vietnam and Cambodia and to the young women and men of our own country who were duped into bloody sacrifice for nothing.

I have no doubt that Bush and his puppet masters Rumsfeld and Cheney will do what is best for them without regard to morality or the people's will. Protest will be ineffective as ever. But to do nothing will require an aloofness that may be very hard to maintain.

During Vietnam I became a pacifist, convinced that killing would be wrong no matter what. I still believe that we were killing people that didn't deserve it.

Since then, however, I have become very willing to kill in a variety of circumstances. Killing seems to be the only proper response to 9/11. Yet, killing seems to lead to blood lust, which knows no limits on who deserves it. Bush et al. are poised to kill Hussein just because they want to. Their mission is like their tax cut, justified in their eyes no matter what the circumstances.

We needed the tax cut because the economy was doing so well during the 2000 election campaign. We needed it still more because the economy was not doing well by the time the proposal reached Congress.

Now we need to attack Saddam Hussein because he didn't accept U.N. inspectors 6 years ago. Because he has weapons of mass destruction or because he might get them. Because he is evil. Because he is undemocratic.

Or perhaps, really, because he is the embodiment of the Bush team's dreams of conquest and glory.

Do you want to die for that? Do you want to send your sons and daughters off to die for it? For Dubya's macho manhood? For Rumsfeld's? For Cheney's master plan, whatever that might be?

I once went to jail for my country. I'd be willing to die for it if necessary. I do not want to die for anyone's ambition.

2002-09-06T14:54:00.000-04:00

Far enough?

I find myself sighing and making an entry in my blog. I wonder how the right wing bloggers will react. Cheering?

Everyone knows of examples of each loss enumerated. The collection makes an ugly pile, though. AP has enumerated the freedoms we've given up since Sept. 11, 2001.

2002-09-05T15:19:00.000-04:00

Results not final

I think.

My 14-year-old daughter tells me that there's no more room in her head for sex lectures from me. If she doesn't have it by now, she's not going to get it. I smile and hope she's got the right stuff.

Single fathers were not polled, but this survey of Moms and their kids reveals that a lot of kids don't get the message their parents are sending.

We knew that. Well, some of us knew that. Some parents may still not get the message their kids are sending.

"Teach your parents well,
Their children's hell will slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams,
The one they pick, the one you'll know by
Don't you ever ask them why,
If they told you, you would cry,
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you."
— Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young

2002-09-04T23:12:00.000-04:00

Terrorists and those who support them

I'd like to arrest the profiteers who have gotten rich by supporting Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. I'd like to be on the S.W.A.T. team that goes in after them. Let's see how fair minded I can be when confronted with the bastards who financed and made possible the horror that was Sept. 11. We should put the low life scum under the jail.

This particular criminal sold Saddam Hussein the equipment to get his dilapidated oil fields up and running after the Gulf War, thus enabling him to sell oil to finance the building of weapons of mass destruction. He is well placed, however, and insulated from prosecution. Read the story and decide for yourself if we should tear him limb from limb or let him off with mere hanging.

2002-09-01T22:44:00.000-04:00

Pop Quiz

Take this month's history quiz. You can cheat as you go or let the teacher grade it by pressing the Submit button at the end.

September in History

This quiz is brought to you by those who
don't have to go back to school this month.

1.
September 2, 1945 is V-J Day. World War II ended when the Japanese formally surrendered aboard the ship .
Cheat

2.
On exactly the same day, the country of declared its independence.
Cheat

3.
279 years earlier, on the same date in 1666, in London the started in a wooden house on Pudding Lane.
Cheat

4.
America first celebrated Labor Day on September 5, .
Cheat

5.
The First Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia with 56 delegates on September 5, .
Cheat

6.
On September 7, 1533, Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) was born in Greenwich Palace. She was the daughter of King and . She ascended the throne in the year at age .
Cheat

7.
On September 9, 1945, a "computer bug" is first identified and named by while she was on Navy active duty. It was found in the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator at Harvard University.
Cheat
The operators affixed the to the computer log, where it still is, with the entry: "First actual case of bug being found." They "debugged" the computer, first introducing the term.
Cheat

8.
The first Black person as well as the first gay person to hold a cabinet post was appointed on September 11, 1789. His name was .
Cheat See also Cheat.

9.
On September 13, 1814, Francis Scott Key composed the Star Spangled Banner during the battle of .
Cheat

10.
Members of the Constitutional Convention signed the final draft of the Constitution on September 17, . They voted unanimously to approve it.
Cheat

11.
The first woman to win election to the U.S. Senate, , was elected on September 18, .
Cheat

12.
Park was officially created by the United States Congress on September 23, 1890.
Cheat

13.
The first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice, , took office on September 23, .
Cheat

14.
On September 24, 1957, President ordered the National Guard to in the city of .
Cheat

15.
September 25, , the first U.S. Congress ratified the Bill of Rights.
Cheat

16.
invaded England on September 28, . He declared himself king after he defeated at The Battle of on October 14.
Cheat

17.
September 29, 1789, the American Congress created the .
Cheat

Your Comments:

Your Email Address: if you want the teacher to grade your exam

2002-08-30T13:50:00.000-04:00

Sappho

Everybody needs this book:
IF NOT, WINTER
Fragments of Sappho

Translated by Anne Carson 397 pages. Alfred A. Knopf. $27.50.

Reviewed in the NYT

2002-08-30T10:50:00.000-04:00

Tennis Anyone?

While others in my office are talking about yesterday's WSJ article about muscular women in tennis, I can't help but look at the article in today's WP about Serena Williams. She's muscular, but that's not what's amazing about this picture from AP and the one from Agence France-Presse that's on page C2 in the print edition.

2002-08-29T19:27:00.000-04:00

Philosophical differences

My friend Frank is a libertarian. He posed a few questions concerning my assertion of the possibility that there might be victims of capitalism. The discussion is here.

2002-08-28T00:05:00.000-04:00

Cf. TLeeves' journal

http://www.livejournal.com/~tleeves

2002-08-23T16:13:00.000-04:00

Just War?

That is, would a war with Iraq be a just war? Do we have a moral justification for preemptively striking another country?

People used to worry about such things as moral justification. People who call themselves conservative.

For a clear examination of the question, see kuro5hin.

2002-08-22T23:46:00.000-04:00

Dear Lea

and any other film buffs out there. Here's the ultimate movie lover's list of lists.

You gotta see this:
Slate's Dan Sallitt critiques the list for openers and links to it.

The Sight and Sound Top Ten Poll reports what critics and directors think the best films of all time are. They've been doing this poll for 50 years. Some of the greatest films in history are on the lists.
And you get a chance to vote for your one all time favorite too.

Love,
Dad

2002-08-22T12:39:00.000-04:00

Liberal Democrat Education is Wack

No fooling, that's the title of a new rap piece. (Is 'song' the right word?) This one was written by a couple of white Republican Minnesota businessmen. Rocco Gotti and Keith Roberts, co-founders of CORAD Healthcare Inc., think that Blacks will appreciate their political message. The acronym that forms the name of their company stands for Citizens Opposing Racism and Discrimination. Sound bite here. Thanks, fellas.

Thanks to Tapped for the link.

2002-08-21T16:43:00.000-04:00

Get rid of this dummy

Even the very conservative Michael Kelly is unhappy with the way W. is underachieving.

2002-08-21T14:44:00.000-04:00

My own doubts
about the invasion of Iraq began when I first noticed George F. Will advocating it, as early as Sept. 20, and here, and on and on. Will's history of ulterior motives for his positions is always cause for suspicion. Morally, I am appalled that our country would even consider a "preemptive" attack on anyone. But let the pragmatists give the realpolitik reasons. See below.

2002-08-21T14:16:00.000-04:00

Top Ten
reasons Not to “Do” Iraq from Ivan Eland, director of defense policy studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

Briefly:

High casualties

Terrorists would recruit more supporters as a result of an excessive, intrusive response

Distraction from al Qaeda

Threat from Iraq is exaggerated

Terrorist groups that Iraq supports do not focus their attacks on the U.S.

Containment policy has worked

Could destabilize or topple friendly governments in the region

Islamic nations -- many of whose territories would be needed to launch any invasion -- and our European allies are almost universally unenthusiastic about a military operation

Could cost billions of dollars, bust the budget and throw the U.S. economy into a tailspin

Could cause the world price of oil to skyrocket

WSJ hosts a discussion on the topic.

2002-08-21T12:58:00.000-04:00

Courage

like this is rare. Does Anne Nivat have some other reason to put her life in danger, or is she looking for a true story to tell? This is what journalism is at its most heroic.

2002-08-20T12:14:00.000-04:00

A Wide Spectrum of Republicans

are outlined by the WSJ on the question of invading Iraq. They've added one Democrat and several of our key foreign allies, but no left wing nuts. Let's hope that the voices of moderation might have a chance to be heard.

2002-08-17T15:12:00.000-04:00

Can Russia save us

from ourselves?

Will we dare to blow up $40 billion worth of Russian built infrastructure in Iraq and then ask Russia to keep trading with us? Maybe not.

The ambition to control the oil in Iraq becomes more nakedly apparent all the time. Will we still do it? Glad I didn't bet a lot of money that we would, but not willing to hedge those bets much yet. Wait. Hope. Pray. Vote.

2002-08-16T13:34:00.000-04:00

Slicker than you think

Tapped thinks it unlikely that any Americans would "ever find themselves arraigned before the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes." Apparently, they missed the behind the scenes maneuvering of the Bush administration. They have reason to be concerned. So do we, if we have a conscience.

2002-08-16T13:06:00.000-04:00

War is good business. Invest your daughters.
Fantasy Sigourney Weaver in the movie "Alien"	Reality Airman Vanessa Dobos of the 58th Training Squadron
Thanks to FFM for the link.

2002-08-16T11:42:00.000-04:00

Hope

Some hope of our not becoming the bully of the world comes with this news:
Top Republicans Break With Bush on Iraq Strategy

E. J. Dionne, Jr. questions the credibility of the Bush/Rice case for war.

Rice makes her strongest pitch.

2002-08-13T14:30:00.000-04:00

'Duh!' Award Announced

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami gets the prize for his statement today at a press conference in Afghanistan accusing the U.S. of pursuing an "angry approach" to foreign policy since the attacks of Sept. 11.

You turn your other cheek, Mo.

2002-08-13T13:53:00.000-04:00

Be very afraid

Israel will retaliate if Iraq strikes

Alan Philps in the London Daily Telegraph examines Ariel Sharon's decision not to stand by idly in the event of a war with Iraq. Bush seems to be building his coalition wherever he can. If he can't get the Arab and European support he wants, he'll take it where he finds it.

2002-08-13T13:49:00.000-04:00

Be afraid

The war with Iraq mania is getting out of hand. Rumsfeld has sent his generals back to the drawing board because he thinks they're being too cautious. He's telling the generals how to fight a war. The arrogance is astounding. The possibilities of mass destruction are overwhelming.

I don't like Saddam Hussein. I don't think General Tommy Franks particularly cares for him, either. Why can't we let him plan the war? Why do we have to minimize the threats? Better to be prepared for the worst and not meet it than not to be prepared and meet it.

Wake up, Rumsfeld.

2002-08-07T11:31:00.000-04:00

Today's Quiz

Who said:

"The first thing is character. Before money or property or anything else. Money cannot buy it."

Clue: It's not any President of the United States, living or dead.

Give up? Read Robert J. Samuelson's column in the WP for the answer.

2002-08-06T14:35:00.000-04:00

Spirit in the machine

"What would a perfect search engine look like? we [Jason Pontin.at Bait & Switch] asked."

To which Sergey Brin, cofounder and president of technology at Google, responded: "It would be the mind of God. [Cofounder] Larry [Page] says it would know exactly what you want and give you back exactly what you need."

Thanks to Dane Carlson for the link.

2002-08-05T14:15:00.000-04:00

When we were young

Bill S_____ and I met in college in 1974. We liked each other's way of cruising through life. I admired his knowledge of jazz. He liked my unpredictablility.

Bill wanted to know why I had spent so many years hitch hiking around the country. I couldn't explain it well. I said I would show him. We decided to hitch hike to California the long way. We started in Washington, DC, where we lived, and set out first for Boston, where I had a brother we could visit.

That trek north has always been the least interesting, most gas strangled part of any trip in the U.S. The New Jersey Turnpike is the most direct route to NYC. It's long and boring. I never thought of going the pretty way. I don't know if there is one.

It's kind of a kick to see a new person get the thrill of seeing the New York skyline for the first time. You're caroming along the NJ Turnpike amid a stream of thousands of cars and big trucks. 60 miles an hour with 2 feet between vehicles. The refineries stink. They stink really bad. They cast their smoky gloom even in the dead of night. The tall buildings across the river are unmistakable from all the pictures that everyone has seen. Oh my god! This is really what it looks like. Yeah. Wow. We're really here.

Yep.

We roll across a bridge while the truck driver we're with explains about the way he makes a living. Bill is curious as I was years ago. He wants to know what it's like to travel all over the country all the time. He thinks it must be exciting.

Going through Connecticut we begin to suspect there's a conspiracy in that state to mess with hitch hikers. Several times cars slow down and even stop as if to give us a ride, but then they speed away as we approach. A frustrating night. Maybe Bill will see that it's not all fun out here.

Next day we blow through Rhode Island and find ourselves in Boston in a few hours. It's wonderful. There's a vibrant city here. Lots of activity, history, scenic and architectural beauty. Everything that anybody travels for. We hook up with my brother and his friends. We spend several days and nights going to bars and clubs with them, failing to pick up girls, talking into the night about everything there is. We might as well be Kerouac et al.

One day we're on Boston's rickety old subway talking about the fact that we both appreciate the purely natural things in life. We don't like all the sham and fakery we see in everyday life in America. As we are talking, a woman gets off the train in our station. She is astoundingly beautiful. We stop talking.

She is wearing makeup and clothing that must cost more than either of us earned last year. Her golden brown hair is perfect. The green dress she wears sways with her walk like music. Jewelry glints in all its silvery and stony glory, yet weakly against the glow of her exquisite skin.

We immediately start hedging. After all, even makeup and clothing can be done especially well. We admire the art, the style, the expertise.

We're so young and full of shit.

2002-08-03T21:38:00.000-04:00

My friend aceyamapola tells me that I should leave politics to the pundits and concentrate on the things I know more about.

I'm getting the feeling that most of the pundits don't know all that much about politics, economics and world affairs either. They're just more opinionated. More opinionated than me? Wow. But maybe they are.

At least I would like to learn what's really going on. The regular suspects (many of whom are listed on my bloglist in the left-hand column) don't really want to know what's really going on. They want to find other people who agree with them or to find idiots who disagree with them. That way they can make juicy attacks and get applause from each other.

If your blog is listed on the left here, you are under suspicion but not proven guilty simply by association. One or two of those folks are as honest and upright as you'll find on the web. Make your own judgments. And check your own shoe size.

Meanwhile, there are some stories that I need to tell. Perhaps I'll start telling them and see how it goes. I wonder who it will attract. Is there an audience for the Adventure of Ardis Waters? Does anyone want to know what I did in the war, Daddy? Who is Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and how does he fit into my life? And last but not least, will any of these tales be told sequentially?

2002-08-03T20:55:00.000-04:00

Uncle (Clarence) T(h)om(as)

WP's Sunday Magazine story for Aug. 4 examines why people hate Clarence Thomas. I must admit, I love to hate him, too. He's such a perfect example of why people sell out. Because they get stuff.

A comment from Leonard Small puts it in perspective. Small went to high school with Thomas but didn't associate with him much then. Small has carved out his own rugged career with some detours. With a PhD in psychology, he is a minister, antidrug counselor and one of Savannah Georgia's leading community activists. Small helped arrange for buses full of hometown supporters to go from Savannah to Washington during Thomas's confirmation hearings. Now he regrets it.

"People don't understand why we call people Uncle Toms," he concludes. "But in the novel [Uncle Tom's Cabin], Eliza ran from slavery and Uncle Tom stayed. While we are trying to run for freedom, Clarence Thomas is not only staying, he's telling."

The reporters Kevin Merida and Michael A. Fletcher do an excellent job of gathering opinions from Thomas's friends as well as his enemies. Their report is scrupulously unbiased, perhaps because Thomas has told them directly of his disdain for the press.

2002-08-02T19:43:00.000-04:00

Note to my own publishers

People pay for content. Find out where and why.
cut on the bias makes it clear.

2002-08-02T12:31:00.000-04:00

Oh, you mean that Canada.

When CEOs claim they didn't know what was happening at their companies with regard to financial shenanigans, maybe we should believe them. Railroad CEO John Snow, testifying before Congress, didn't seem to know even such basic information as where his company operates.

Traffic World reports:

At a July 31 Senate rail shipper hearing, it was pointed out that arbitration is used as an effective means by Canadian shippers to solve disputes with the railroads. When asked by Sen. John Breaux, D-La., what he thought of such a process, CSX Chairman and CEO John Snow replied he wasn't sure what to make of such a process because CSX "doesn't operate in Canada." Look again, Mr. Snow. According to his own testimony supplied at the hearing, CSX operates "in 23 states, two Canadian provinces and the District of Columbia." In fact, one of CSX's customers, Basell North America Inc., which owns a CSX-served facility in Sarnia, Ontario, testified at the same hearing. "You'd think someone would have briefed him on his own lines - or that his company serves one of the shippers that would be testifying at the hearing," said one observer present at the hearing. "Obviously it was some sort of slip up," another observer commented. Or maybe it was the heat - it's been known to cause train derailments as well.

2002-08-01T21:37:00.000-04:00

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

comes from The Palestine Monitor. The lead story today, Aug. 1, is still dated July 29. The quote may have changed when you get there. Here it is:

"Israelis must abandon the myth that it is possible to have peace and occupation at the same time, that peaceful co-existence is possible between slave and master"

— Marwan Barghouti

OK, now let's try to understand why the Palestinians consistently reject offers of an unoccupied Palestinian state.

2002-08-01T20:17:00.000-04:00

Poetry

[29 Jul 2002|11:59am]
aceyamapola says:
I have a new definition for poetry.
Oh yeah?
A wise old man in a velvet gown carrying a violin.
Silence.
Are you going to write a poem about that?
I don't know. It's a wise old man, meaning a human being who appeals to everybody...[music] presented gently. I don't like poetry that wants to blast you. It should have rhyme and rhythm. That's the violin. A solid worthwhile idea dressed up and singing. That's poetry.

2002-07-31T15:19:00.000-04:00

Hamas takes responsibility for
attack at Hebrew Univ. in Jerusalem

Responsibility? Credit? When does someone start accepting blame?

7 people are dead. There was no particular person targeted, no Israeli arch-enemy of Palestine. Whoever was unlucky enough to be eating lunch in the wrong cafeteria at the wrong time got it.

This is not an eye for an eye. It is a random, blind retaliation against innocent victims. They didn't even hurt those who had hurt them.

Maybe I'm being somewhat less than impartial in my commentary. OK, give me another way to view it.

Ha'aretz carries too many stories to select only one. Here's the whole front page. I've got Israel's side of the story.

Palestine Monitor is generally a day or two behind the news. Their lead is a July 29 story about the Israeli settlers riot in Hebron. Electronic Intifada has a dozen links to Western reports on the latest attack and even a link to Ha'aretz.

I haven't found a first hand account from Hamas because there seems to be an interdiction of Hamas sites. This is a frustrating and suspicion engendering development.

Google's first two search results for "Hamas" are from the U.S. Navy and from the Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Israel.

http://www.hamas.org/ is a "reserved domain name." The nearly blank site carries the announcement, "A w e b s i t e m a y b e C O M I N G S O O N !" http://www.palestine-info.com/hamas/ carries the announcement, "Forbidden
You don't have permission to access / on this server."

Is it paranoid to think there's a single reason behind the lack of information here? I really wish the people who were running our "security" apparatus could have a little faith in the principles they are defending.

In fairness to the CIA, FBI, Homeland Defense, etc., perhaps we should distinguish between the defense of principles and the defense of people and property. We can't ask them to believe in America and to keep us safe at the same time. Can we?

UPDATE: A Missed Opportunity

Ali Abunimah writes in Electronic Intifada a criticism of the Hamas attack in terms of its damage to the Palestinian cause. I'm surprised, but encouraged.

2002-07-30T19:15:00.000-04:00

Citizen Corps E-News

No kidding, that's what they called it. I'm not going to post every email they send me, but here's the first one from TIPS and the Citizens Corps, which I signed up for last Thursday:

Citizen Corps E-News - Vol. I, Issue 7 (July 30,2002)

Today President Bush launched the newly redesigned USA Freedom Corps Web site and the new USA Freedom Corps volunteer network while celebrating the six-month anniversary of the USA Freedom Corps. The USA Freedom Corps network brings together the resources of clearing houses – including Citizen Corps programs -- in one place to offer potential volunteers opportunities to get involved with more than 50,000 organizations through a landmark e-government initiative and public-private partnership.

To help make a difference in communities across the country and around the world, the President also launched a new public service advertising campaign designed to start people thinking of what they can do to help others.

The ads send viewers, listeners and readers to http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov
.

Please check out the new web site and the public service announcements and consider passing this information along to friends and family members to offer them a new way to get involved. If you pass it along to five people, you can make a real difference in the life of a child or a senior. If you pass it along to ten, you may start to change a community. And if you keep going, you'll be making a difference in the effort to change America – one heart at a time.

Sounds like a chain letter there at the end, doesn't it? Maybe that's the level of intelligence they're trying to reach.

The real bad news is at the web site they send you to. Wouldn't you know, somebody's making money off of it. Two further links from the Freedom Corps web site tell us 1) that the Corporation for National and Community Service announces first homeland security grants
and 2) that Businesses announce plan to respond to President's Call to Service

If you want to get in on this, you'd better hurry. Executives from some of the largest corporations in America met on June 13 to map out with the President how they'd profit from -- oops how cynical of me -- how they'd help the volunteer effort. Among the corporations represented at the White House meeting were AOL Time Warner and Citigroup, both currently under investigation for accounting irregularities. Wonder how President Good-for-business is going to treat them?

It's also interesting to note in light of Jeb Bush's current campaign for reelection in Florida that Florida is the state where the 2nd largest amount of grant money is being spent: $1.4 million out of a total of $10.3 million for the whole country.

TIPS:
Taking
In
Profits,
Suckers

2002-07-28T18:25:00.000-04:00

A word, but not The Word

Pope Laments Sexual Abuse by Priests but still misses the point.

Saying a few words in defense of "the vast majority of dedicated priests and religious whose only wish is to serve and do good," Pope John Paul II sounded a lot like George Bush II defending the vast majority of business leaders. The 'few bad apples' approach seemed to go over with most of the attendees at World Youth Day in Toronto. It didn't make much of an impression, however, on one young man:

David Clohessy, U.S. national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, called the pope's comments a "missed opportunity,'' saying they seemed to focus more on suffering priests than victims of clerical abuse.

"A few words of apology from someone of his stature could help perhaps hundreds of people to feel some sense of healing,'' he said.

2002-07-28T17:12:00.000-04:00

Bush Biz-isms

Remember Bush-isms? Stupid comments or malapropisms by Dumbya went out of style when it looked like we might need to stand behind him to fight terrorism. Now that Al Qaeda is on the run and it looks like the country is more or less united, we may be able to get along with a Democrat or some more believable Republican in the Oval Office.

So where's the harm? After all, George W. Bush is just about the dumbest president we've had since Warren G. Harding, that other puppet put in place by crooked business interests.

David Corn reports on his recent conversation with billionaire George Soros (who owned a chunk of Harken Oil when it bought out Bush's failing Spectrum 7 oil company):

. . . When I saw the billionaire almost alone, I sidled up to him. "Nice offices," I said. "But can I ask you about some ancient history?" Sure, he said, with a good-natured smile. What was the deal with Harken buying up Spectrum 7? I inquired. Did Soros know Bush back then?

"I didn't know him," Soros replied. "He was supposed to bring in the Gulf connection. But it didn't come to anything. We were buying political influence. That was it. He was not much of a businessman."

2002-07-25T23:15:00.000-04:00

Blogger on Blogging

Find a good idea. . . Use it. Here's how to create an in house blog for your company. Got the idea from . . . Blogger. Where else?

Does this mean I've forgiven them? No. It still takes two or three attempts to get anything posted. I'm still looking for an alternative. Not as easy as I thought, though.

2002-07-25T14:45:00.000-04:00

S.N.I.T.C.H.

Better than TIPS, the new corps of self-appointed guardians of your every move will be known as
Snooping
Nosey
Invasive
Tattling
Calumny for the
Homeland.

Thanks, Bill C.

2002-07-24T16:43:00.000-04:00

History Lesson(s)

kuro5hin makes history accessible. And impartial.

K5 has published two versions of the history of the land and peoples who inhabit the Middle East. In the absence of absolute certainty (no problem for fanatics), I'll take balance.

2002-07-24T14:56:00.000-04:00

TIPS

I'm trying to join TIPS. Really. I want to do my part to sabotage this unreasonable search of the people by the people. I fully intend to send a large amount of extremely useless information about government officials that I do not like. There are certainly a lot of them.

So, my first move is to go to the TIPS site. There we learn that TIPS is part of your government's "Citizen Corps". Any red-blooded American snitch wants to get the dirt on their neighbors. What a great opportunity this war on terror is for mean little self-serving creeps to cause trouble. Too bad about any real threats to the country.

But it's not as easy as just signing up. You have to be part of a community:

If your community is not listed below, please call your local officials to encourage them to start a Citizen Corps Council soon.
[ Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | Wisconsin | West Virginia | Wyoming ]

Notice anything funny about these communities? They're all states, right? Yeah, but where I work it's not a state. The federal government apparently doesn't want residents of Washington, DC in its Citizen Corps. (Sorry, a pet peeve. DC is often ignored because our status as a federal colony is unusual. They don't really mean anything by it. Do they?) The actual sign-up form does ask for a person's state in the address section and DC is included in the choices. So is Puerto Rico.

Anyway, I did sign up. Easy and painless. You can check off which part of the program you want to be involved in. Some of these sound interesting and even helpful:
Community Emergency Response Teams
Neighborhood Watch
Volunteers in Police Service
Medical Reserve Corps
Operation TIPS
Citizen Corps Councils

The one I really wanted was, of course, Operation TIPS.

The thank you note promises that I'll be contacted at the email address I gave them with "periodic e-mail updates on new ways that you can help make America more secure." Oh boy, I can hardly wait.

2002-07-24T11:56:00.000-04:00

The beat goes on

My boy Dick Cheney is doing what he does, still working hard but saying nothing to the press. Like the consummate corporate manager he is, the Vice President of the United States of America is covering his a** while he hunkers down for the SEC ordeal. Keep your head down, Dick. They didn't get your boss when he had his little dust up. They'll be sure to "thoroughly vet" your situation, too, and "completely exonerate" you.

2002-07-24T11:49:00.000-04:00

Let's bring 'em both to trial

Drudge reports that the Palestinian Authority plans to accuse Ariel Sharon in front of the International Criminal Court.

Yes. I say, let's have Sharon and Arafat in a smack-down face-to-face showdown in front of the whole world. No kidding. Someone get busy and prepare the indictment. It shouldn't be hard.

Should Sharon be worried? After this week, he should. See below.

2002-07-24T11:24:00.000-04:00

What were they thinking?

Today military officials apologize. Like the racing fans in Washington last weekend, the leaders of Israel have acted like petulant children. Do what you want first, then take the slap on the wrist.

From time to time we read a criticism of Sharon's activities based on practical considerations of advancing Israeli interests. That's what I want to read. Sharon satisfies a certain blood lust for those who are angry about the homicide bombers encouraged by the Palestinian Authority. But his behavior and policies are not really advancing Israeli interests in the long run. His actions are counter productive.

He cannot for much longer keep open minded people from agreeing with this view from inside Palestine.

UPDATE: See FFM for a much more vehement commentary from as committed a supporter of Israel.

2002-07-23T15:19:00.000-04:00

Here's how

A real writer does this: acey amapola

Good work, J________.

2002-07-23T10:36:00.000-04:00

'Participatory Democracy' turns 40

Republicans under Richard Nixon have invoked the rhetoric of participatory democracy in campaigns. U.S. Catholics have used the slogan in their current movement to correct serious problems in the Church. Management theorists, various anti-poverty organizations and even the Green Party have turned this idea to good purpose. Where did it come from?

The Port Huron Statement was published 40 years ago at the Students for a Democratic Society national convention meeting in Port Huron, Michigan, June 11-15, 1962.

To see how its authors, Tom Hayden and Dick Flacks, see it after all these years, read The Nation.

2002-07-23T10:08:00.000-04:00

Sexism still sells

No, I don't usually read the Moonie Paper, aka the Washington Times.

This morning's front page caught my eye, though. I was scanning the headlines in the WP and the NYT. All bad news. But WT has a great big picture of two leggy female models in Santa suits. Not on the web site. Tough.

Never mind. The article filling the space at the bottom of the page is the real throwback piece. From the Associated Press, comes a "scientific" study that "proves" Husbands forget spats, wives never do.

This kind of story belongs in the category of urban legend. It's an old canard that has been "common knowledge" for so many centuries that nobody really questions it. When someone claims to have scientific proof, folks just go along. Whether the study was actually done or not is questionable. If in fact someone actually reported these results in a scientific journal, their methodology ought to be questioned pretty thoroughly.

The champion web site for debunking urban legends, Snopes.com, warns us, "Just because you find something printed in a book or a newspaper doesn't mean it's true, and items published on the Internet are even more likely to be spurious." Snopes debunks similar reports related to gender and sex here, here and here.

2002-07-22T17:09:00.000-04:00

Archive 7/4/02 - 7/13/02

This stuff got lost in the recent BLOGGER snafu. In case we never get the archive back, here it is.
[7/12/2002 2:47:45 PM | T Leeves]
Whose side are you on, anyway?

Years ago, I asked a fellow-hippie that question. She said simply, "Mine."
An honest, if disappointing, answer.

Last night, I saw a young woman on the subway in Washington, DC, with this sign on her T-shirt: "Free Palestine". Along with the words was a picture of a young Arab man throwing a grenade over a wall.

She was a young white woman with curly blond hair. She looked a lot like one of my friends from 35 years ago. She didn't look like a crazy person. She had a sweet serene expression on her face while she waited for the train. At first, all I saw was the word "Free" and I thought, "Yes, she seems to be. God bless her and let her celebrate it." But when I saw the rest of the message, I was troubled. Whose side was she on, anyway? She couldn't be just in it for herself.

As politely as I could, I approached her. I'm a man, in my 50's. She was a lone woman, in her 20's at most, in a big city, after 10p.m. You've got to be polite, at least.

"Excuse me. May I ask you about your T-shirt?"

She let go of a smile that showed some relief from the too ordinary fear. An intake of breath and the renewal of the smile within less than a second seemed to indicate a summoning of the courage one needs to speak one's true mind to an unknown audience. Here stands youth with all its inability to keep a poker face.

"Sure," she said.

"I'm an old leftist," I began. "But I don't understand your position. Can you explain it to me?"

At first, she naturally wanted to get my position, perhaps the better to couch her own words in order to get through to me. I resisted the impulse to overwhelm her. I wanted to tell her how stupid I thought her T-shirt was, how insensitively cruel, how insanely misdirected. I spoke haltingly for a minute before I finally made clear what I wanted. "I don't want to give you my position. I really want to know what yours is because I don't understand it," I said.

She told me about genocide. She claimed that Israel was responsible for killing "hundreds of thousands" of Palestinians. Maybe she said "hundreds and thousands". Could she really have used so large a number? Was she exaggerating?

She claimed that the Palestinian terrorists were acting out of desperation to free themselves from a horribly oppressive Israeli occupation. She claimed that the harassment of Palestinians amounted to something equal to concentration camps. She said that the Palestinians were equivalent to the Jews who fought back against Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto.

"If that were true," I conceded, "I would have to support Palestine, as well. But I can't believe it."

"I can't believe you don't believe it," were the words that escaped her gaping mouth. "Do you believe what you read in the American media?"

So, I bought a copy of her "Socialist Worker" newspaper. She happened to have a knapsack-full, which she had picked up in order to distribute.

The train arrived. I gave her a two-fingered v-salute. "Peace."
[edit]

[7/11/2002 2:38:43 PM | T Leeves]
BLOGGER sucks

I don't want to say this, but let me say it again: BLOGGER SUCKS.

Since at least July 8 my internal links don't go anywhere. And links to the sites of others on the same system don't go anywhere either, or they go to the wrong place.

For example, try going to any of the "10 most recently published blogs" on the BLOGGER site.
This link is from The bitter shack of resentment, an all too appropriate name. You can get to the main site, but not the internal link to the particular item.

The URL of the competition at Radio Userland is http://radio.userland.com/.
[edit]

[7/11/2002 1:59:12 PM | T Leeves]
Making News

Really making news, creating news, manufacturing news. That's what WSJ seems to have done in the case of the DaimlerChrysler ads.

One person wrote a letter complaining that some new ads "serve to whitewash the history and criminality of the Nazi regime." The headline cites "some Jewish groups," but further on the article mentions only one rabbi. And why did this particular rabbi comment? Because WSJ sent him advance copies of the ads and asked for his comments. We get that information in paragraph 7.

I'm glad that WSJ admits, even as late as paragraph 7, that it had stirred up its own controversy. But why go through the whole exercise in the first place?
[edit]

[7/10/2002 4:43:01 PM | T Leeves]
HalliburtonGate

Dick Cheney is named in a lawsuit to recover losses from Halliburton's Enron-style overstatement of revenues. Judicial Watch filed the suit. Judicial Watch's disdain for politicos left and right seems honest enough. They still have several suits pending against Clinton cronies.
[edit]

[7/10/2002 10:28:58 AM | T Leeves]
Comments on Bush's Speech

Longinus believes the president's heart is in the right place.
Linking is difficult due to some server problems at BLOGGER. The item was the last one posted July 9.
NYT says talk is tough but not enough.

WP coldly claims "Measures Not Likely to End Abuses."

cut on the bias admits the rest of the right is pretty darn quiet about the Harken connection.

WSJ has very complete coverage, including the Harken problem. They even get the award for quote of the day: "As if investors weren't frightened enough, the politicians are now offering to help."

[edit]

[7/9/2002 5:02:59 PM | T Leeves]
Bush's Speech
didn't mention his own record as a CEO, but he did call upon others to do a better job than he did.

Particularly poignant was his decrying abuses like these:

"We've learned of CEOs earning tens of millions of dollars in bonuses just before their companies go bankrupt, leaving employees and retirees and investors to suffer."
Yes, in fact 12 years ago, Bush himself pulled off a nifty little trick (with the help of accountant Arthur Andersen), which created a $10 million phantom profit and allowed him to sell his holdings and escape from Harken Energy just before it went bankrupt, leaving employees and retirees and investors to suffer.
See Balance below.

[edit]
[7/9/2002 3:53:48 PM | T Leeves]
Classic IRS

First, let me say that I am not in favor of more Bush tax cuts.

Now, what about my personal tax problems? They're not very interesting, but I have to straighten them out. IRS has a really cool website at www.irs.gov.

But I need to talk to someone. So, I'm on the phone — right now, even as I write this. The number for questions is 1-800-829-8815. The automated gatekeeper is not too hard to navigate. The people, once you get to speak with them, are polite and informative.

But I'm on hold at the moment. That's ok. It's even ok that the expected time I will have to wait is 10 minutes. I'm glad the robot told me that in the beginning. I just don't know whether to be amused or angry that the music they're playing to entertain me while I wait is Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite."
[edit]

[7/9/2002 2:15:31 PM | T Leeves]
Washington, D.C., Registers Domestic Partners

Congress Blocked Law for 10 Years

Basic human rights and common decency are coming to citizens of the nation's last colony after a 10-year battle to implement a local law over the opposition of the U.S. Congress.

Wash. Post reports that the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992 was finally implemented yesterday. The first couple to register, Thom Metzger, 32, and Vince Micone, 35, had been waiting since the law was first passed.

Political questions surrounding this issue include states' rights, "special rights," civil rights, hospital visitation rights, voting rights, and the right to self determination.

If Washington, D.C., were a state rather than a federal district, it could enact and enforce its own laws instead of being supervised by the paternalists in Congress.

Of course, that might mean that gays, who enjoy some respect here, and blacks, who are in the majority here, might someday gain the freedom that other United States citizens have.

[edit]

[7/9/2002 10:05:17 AM | T Leeves]
Israel to sell El Al

Air Cargo World reports:

Israel will sell its national airline, El Al, to private investors, Israel's Cabinet secretary said in a statement Monday, reversing an earlier decision to keep 51 percent of the company in the hands of the government.

. . . El Al has been losing money for years, and the recent Palestinian-Israeli violence has hit tourism to Israel, cutting into the airline's earnings.

At my synagogue recently we read, "Woe to him who hears the news and thinks only of business."

[edit]
[7/8/2002 5:04:25 PM | T Leeves]
Where's the balance?

Ok, I'm looking for a balanced view on Bush's delicate situation regarding corporate scandals. All the leftists (including Dana Milbank and Mike Allen in the Wash.Post, Paul Krugman in the NYT, Eric Alterman at MSNBC, and of course Bush Watch) have posted snide, or at least smug, assessments of the hot water Dubya will soon find himself in.

Howard Kurtz has dismissed the controversy, but no one else on the right has even mentioned it. WSJ doesn't mention Bush in any context at all on its front page. Is the right ignoring the problem in hopes that it will go away? Or is everyone being responsible little journalists and waiting until Bush opens his mouth on Tuesday?

Personally, it will neither gratify my anti-Bush feelings nor amaze me to find that there have been financial shenanigans at the highest levels of government. Clinton excited both left and right with his amorous affairs. Bush will no doubt get some people upset about his financial affairs. Affairs of state will suffer as a consequence.

N.B.: you read it here first: Bush is involved in politics, which Ambrose Bierce defines as, "A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage." There will be neither shock nor outrage registered here when he is found to be no less self-serving than anyone else in his line of work.

2002-07-22T15:32:00.000-04:00

Another First

I don't know why I like this kind of story. I feel like it's one for "our" side. Whose side am I on, anyway?

WSJ reports that Merrill Lynch & Co.'s board elected E. Stanley O'Neal to replace David Komansky as chief executive. O'Neal sounds like a good Irish name.

Mr. O'Neal will be the first African American to head a major Wall Street firm. Equal opportunity may co-opt civil rights activists. Power to the people.

2002-07-22T11:59:00.000-04:00

Noise Imperils 2003 Grand Prix

The WP reports that the Grand Prix race held in Washington, DC, this weekend created noise that was up to 105 decibels in the surrounding residential neighborhood, 45 decibels above the permissible limit. We feel honored that Grand Prix promoters have chosen our city, but . . .

Yesterday on the subway I overheard three racing fans talking. They knew that the race promoters would be fined for excessive noise. They knew that the fine would be $500. With 70,000 fans coming to the event, that's not a major expense.

They agreed among themselves that putting on the event first and worrying about the fine later was the right way to go. One mentioned that he had used the same tactic as a teenager when he had wanted to do something his parents would forbid.

Another mentioned that if the promoters had been honest about the amount of noise in the first place, "The tree-huggers would have kept it from happening at all."

I don't know what the stereotype of a race fan is supposed to look like, but these three middle aged men were dressed very well. They were in clean, pressed T-shirts with automobile logos. They wore really fine rings and watches. Their hair had been cut in a manner that indicated the hand of a stylist who is used to dealing with executives. As another part of their rambling conversation, they discussed a retreat for corporate executives.

These were men who could afford an expensive sport, men who could laugh about a fine of a mere $500. These were men who should be literate enough to read all the way through today's news article to find the comments of local resident Peggy Turner, 84, who said, "This is ridiculous. I guess we are all too low on the totem pole," adding that her baby granddaughter had been frightened by the noise.

2002-07-21T09:23:00.000-04:00

The irrationality of Clinton hating

Not to blame anything that's happening on Wall Street on GWB, but let's examine the bursting of the bubble economy.

Some would have us believe that Clinton was in no way responsible for the economic good times of the '90s. The boom was supposedly the result of "irrational exuberance" over tech stocks, which turned out to be worthless after the dot bomb bubble burst. Now, we're reaping the consequences. So the market collapse is not Bush's fault; it's Clinton's.

Well, if the bubble wasn't his fault, neither is the collapse.

Be that as it may, there seems to have been more to the economics of the '90s than just dot coms. Some of the actual conditions we enjoyed are outlined in James K. Galbraith's editorial in the Washington Post of July 21. Here's the key paragraph:

But the fact that profits were lower than we thought is not all bad news. Living standards were actually higher than many realized at the time. The '90s were a good time for American workers, who enjoyed full employment, rising wages and unprecedented access to credit. Poverty fell during these years, health improved, crime declined and inequalities in pay (though not wealth) diminished. Home ownership reached record levels. These things, unlike profits, cannot be faked.

So, I return to my favorite mystification: Clinton put more money in our pockets than any president in our lifetime; so why in the world do people hate him?