The men on a South Carolina stage last night who assured Americans that the war in Iraq is noble and necessary should try telling that to Andrew J. Bacevich.
Before the war started in 2003, the Boston University professor wrote in the Los Angeles Times that "if, as seems probable, the effort encounters greater resistance than its architects imagine, our way of life may find itself tested in ways that will make the Vietnam War look like a mere blip in American history."
Two months ago, he wrote in the Boston Globe that the war is “not only wrong but also stupid” and “poses a greater danger to the United States than do the perils it supposedly guards against.”
This week, Bacevich learned that his son Andrew, an Army lieutenant, had died while on patrol in Iraq of wounds suffered in a bomb explosion.
A West Point graduate and veteran of the Vietnam wars, the retired Lieutenant Colonel is a professor of history and international relations at Boston University.
Students taking their final exams in his course, The American Military Experience, were not told of the professor’s loss.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Paris Hilton, Paris Hilton, Paris...
This, as they say in those TV and radio disaster warnings, is only a test. In the Los Angeles Times, media critic Tim Rutten writes, “If you inserted Paris Hilton's name into your grocery list and posted it on the web, you'd get tens of thousands of hits.”
As a low-hitting blogger, I will be fascinated to see if Rutten is right, but he actually has a good point about what’s happening to journalism, online and otherwise.
He cites “the traditional arc of celebrity for celebrity's sake. First the tabloid media...make you famous for nothing more than being famous. Then it turns in a fury of righteous indignation and devours you for, well, being famous.”
It’s not just celebrity journalism, however. Coverage of political figures like John McCain and even issues such as Congress’ struggle to end the war in Iraq goes through similar cycles of enthusiasm, disenchantment and disgust. Short attention spans and 24/7 babble distract from serious thought about anything or anyone. It’s all about who’s up or down.
”Changing public tastes,” Rutten writes, “may require the serious news media to give more frequent attention to celebrity ephemera. It ought not, however, be the same sort of attention given by the tabloids or by their hyperactive online spawn. The fact that a story you can't avoid covering takes you into the gutter is no excuse for behaving as if you belong there.”
A well-deserved scolding, but don’t bet on seeing or hearing less about Paris Hilton any time soon.
As a low-hitting blogger, I will be fascinated to see if Rutten is right, but he actually has a good point about what’s happening to journalism, online and otherwise.
He cites “the traditional arc of celebrity for celebrity's sake. First the tabloid media...make you famous for nothing more than being famous. Then it turns in a fury of righteous indignation and devours you for, well, being famous.”
It’s not just celebrity journalism, however. Coverage of political figures like John McCain and even issues such as Congress’ struggle to end the war in Iraq goes through similar cycles of enthusiasm, disenchantment and disgust. Short attention spans and 24/7 babble distract from serious thought about anything or anyone. It’s all about who’s up or down.
”Changing public tastes,” Rutten writes, “may require the serious news media to give more frequent attention to celebrity ephemera. It ought not, however, be the same sort of attention given by the tabloids or by their hyperactive online spawn. The fact that a story you can't avoid covering takes you into the gutter is no excuse for behaving as if you belong there.”
A well-deserved scolding, but don’t bet on seeing or hearing less about Paris Hilton any time soon.
Political Jackie Robinsons
Sixty years ago, when Branch Rickey chose the man to break the race barrier in baseball, his criteria included temperament as well as talent. Rightly or not, the “first” to do anything has the added burden of reflecting on everyone of his or her origins.
The President elected next year may very well be a “first”--woman, Mormon or hyphenated American. Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani and Bill Richardson will be, and already are, bearing the extra scrutiny that comes with that status.
Now with strong hints that he may run as an Independent, Mike Bloomberg adds to the list a possible first Jewish President.
Before World War II, the heavyweight champion of the world, Joe Louis, was called, without irony, “a credit to his race." We may have advanced beyond that kind of stereotype, but prejudices die hard and come in many disguises.
Will Hillary Clinton be penalized for being a former President’s wife, Romney for believing in a religion that once practiced polygamy, Obama for being black or “not black enough,” Giuliani for a family background of Mafia connections, Bloomberg for becoming a self-made very rich Jew, Richardson for hesitating to condemn a compadre, Alberto Gonzales?
In this prolonged campaign, as voters examine candidates closely, everything is fair game. But they may want to keep in mind that the possible election of a “first” is one of the treasures of American democracy and try not to damage that heritage too much while displaying it.
The President elected next year may very well be a “first”--woman, Mormon or hyphenated American. Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani and Bill Richardson will be, and already are, bearing the extra scrutiny that comes with that status.
Now with strong hints that he may run as an Independent, Mike Bloomberg adds to the list a possible first Jewish President.
Before World War II, the heavyweight champion of the world, Joe Louis, was called, without irony, “a credit to his race." We may have advanced beyond that kind of stereotype, but prejudices die hard and come in many disguises.
Will Hillary Clinton be penalized for being a former President’s wife, Romney for believing in a religion that once practiced polygamy, Obama for being black or “not black enough,” Giuliani for a family background of Mafia connections, Bloomberg for becoming a self-made very rich Jew, Richardson for hesitating to condemn a compadre, Alberto Gonzales?
In this prolonged campaign, as voters examine candidates closely, everything is fair game. But they may want to keep in mind that the possible election of a “first” is one of the treasures of American democracy and try not to damage that heritage too much while displaying it.
Wolfowitz in Sheepish Clothing
Isn't it pathetic to see Bush's bullies turning into schoolyard cliches?
Today we have Paul Wolfowitz, who couldn't wait to pick on Iraq five years ago, up in the principal's office at the World Bank, trying to hide behind his girlfriend's skirts by blaming her "intractable position" about a salary raise for his breaking the rules. He claims the ethics panel knew she was "angry and upset" and was afraid to confront her about leaving for a new job, so he had to do it.
In coming weeks, there may be more of this at Congressional hearings about the firing of U.S. Attorneys. When and if Monica Goodling and Harriet Meirs testify, Alberto Gonzales and Karl Rove will be ducking behind their skirts to escape blame for the Justice Department fiasco.
Wrongdoing is one area in which the Bushies are equal opportunity employers.
Today we have Paul Wolfowitz, who couldn't wait to pick on Iraq five years ago, up in the principal's office at the World Bank, trying to hide behind his girlfriend's skirts by blaming her "intractable position" about a salary raise for his breaking the rules. He claims the ethics panel knew she was "angry and upset" and was afraid to confront her about leaving for a new job, so he had to do it.
In coming weeks, there may be more of this at Congressional hearings about the firing of U.S. Attorneys. When and if Monica Goodling and Harriet Meirs testify, Alberto Gonzales and Karl Rove will be ducking behind their skirts to escape blame for the Justice Department fiasco.
Wrongdoing is one area in which the Bushies are equal opportunity employers.
Hillary and All That Jazz
The Democrats’ front runner is taking loosening up lessons and, with all due respect, it’s about time.
Sen. Clinton is getting unpaid advice from John Kao, described as a San Francisco corporate consultant but who is, in fact, more of a personal trainer in creativity who uses jazz improvisation as a model for thinking beyond the box.
Spontaneity has not been one of Hillary Clinton’s hallmarks, and it is encouraging to see her trying to change not only public perception of her as a calculating wonk but perhaps the reality of it.
In Kao, she has found a fascinating adviser. His life and work have been the polar opposite of hers. Born to Chinese immigrants, he became a jazz pianist for Frank Zappa, earned an M.D. with a residency in psychiatry from Yale and then an M.B.A. to teach creativity at Harvard Business School.
Along the way, he helped produce the movie, “Sex, Lies and Videotape” and started companies to find ways of attacking cancer cells without harming healthy ones and to grow new skin for burn victims.
Kao’s metaphorical attempt to grow a new political skin for Hillary Clinton will involve what he describes as “the jamming concept” in jazz music.
“At one end,” he says, “you follow sheet music without deviation and the other end is total, random music, but somewhere in the middle is something beautiful, which is a resolution of the paradox.”
This may sound a bit like New Age blather, but Kao’s “Idea Factory” has expanded to Europe and Asia with satisfied corporate clients. If he can help Sen. Clinton find and express her random music, he will be doing the candidate and all of us a service.
Sen. Clinton is getting unpaid advice from John Kao, described as a San Francisco corporate consultant but who is, in fact, more of a personal trainer in creativity who uses jazz improvisation as a model for thinking beyond the box.
Spontaneity has not been one of Hillary Clinton’s hallmarks, and it is encouraging to see her trying to change not only public perception of her as a calculating wonk but perhaps the reality of it.
In Kao, she has found a fascinating adviser. His life and work have been the polar opposite of hers. Born to Chinese immigrants, he became a jazz pianist for Frank Zappa, earned an M.D. with a residency in psychiatry from Yale and then an M.B.A. to teach creativity at Harvard Business School.
Along the way, he helped produce the movie, “Sex, Lies and Videotape” and started companies to find ways of attacking cancer cells without harming healthy ones and to grow new skin for burn victims.
Kao’s metaphorical attempt to grow a new political skin for Hillary Clinton will involve what he describes as “the jamming concept” in jazz music.
“At one end,” he says, “you follow sheet music without deviation and the other end is total, random music, but somewhere in the middle is something beautiful, which is a resolution of the paradox.”
This may sound a bit like New Age blather, but Kao’s “Idea Factory” has expanded to Europe and Asia with satisfied corporate clients. If he can help Sen. Clinton find and express her random music, he will be doing the candidate and all of us a service.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Friedan to Obama: Lives and Labels
On the 50th anniversary of what started the Women’s Movement, this question appears in today’s Washington Post:
“Are Americans threatened by working wives? Reassured by traditional ones?”
That’s in a column about Michelle Obama by Leslie Morgan Steiner, in which she observes “it stuns me that Ms. Obama's decision to quit her job is front page, national news. The spotlight shined on the work status of first ladies--actual and potential--seems to mirror Americans' obsession with working and stay-at-home motherhood.”
If I am less shocked, it goes back to my involvement in that debate for half a century.
In early 1957, at Redbook, a free-lance writer named Betty Friedan suggested an idea: At her fifteenth Smith College reunion, she would pass out a questionnaire asking classmates how they felt about their lives. I assigned her to do an article about it.
That questionnaire became the Holy Writ of the Women’s Movement, prompting Betty to write ”The Feminine Mystique.” In the following decades, as the last man to edit a mass magazine for women (and often called a “dinosaur”), I worked with Betty and Gloria Steinem as contributing editors and saw the curious ambivalence about women’s changing roles in our society.
The transition from the traditional pre-WWII housewife-mother to today’s independent multi-tasking woman has been remarkable, but it has been accompanied by an odd rhetorical reluctance.
In surveys and studies, Americans of both sexes embrace the realities but resist the labels of feminism and the women’s movement. It’s as if there is some security in clinging to classifications of the past while living out a present that offers so many more choices, particularly to the well-educated.
That may be behind what makes Michelle Obama’s change “newsworthy.” It’s perfectly natural for her to take time out from her career to help her husband seek the most important job in the world. If the situation were reversed, he would do the same for her, but it wouldn’t make headlines.
The persistence of that curious phrase “First Lady” reflects such backwardness. The truth is, if Barack Obama is elected, Michelle Obama will be the President’s wife, just as, if Hillary Clinton is, Bill Clinton would be the President’s husband.
Both spouses would not lose their other identities, but Ms. Obama would have to fight harder to keep hers.
“Are Americans threatened by working wives? Reassured by traditional ones?”
That’s in a column about Michelle Obama by Leslie Morgan Steiner, in which she observes “it stuns me that Ms. Obama's decision to quit her job is front page, national news. The spotlight shined on the work status of first ladies--actual and potential--seems to mirror Americans' obsession with working and stay-at-home motherhood.”
If I am less shocked, it goes back to my involvement in that debate for half a century.
In early 1957, at Redbook, a free-lance writer named Betty Friedan suggested an idea: At her fifteenth Smith College reunion, she would pass out a questionnaire asking classmates how they felt about their lives. I assigned her to do an article about it.
That questionnaire became the Holy Writ of the Women’s Movement, prompting Betty to write ”The Feminine Mystique.” In the following decades, as the last man to edit a mass magazine for women (and often called a “dinosaur”), I worked with Betty and Gloria Steinem as contributing editors and saw the curious ambivalence about women’s changing roles in our society.
The transition from the traditional pre-WWII housewife-mother to today’s independent multi-tasking woman has been remarkable, but it has been accompanied by an odd rhetorical reluctance.
In surveys and studies, Americans of both sexes embrace the realities but resist the labels of feminism and the women’s movement. It’s as if there is some security in clinging to classifications of the past while living out a present that offers so many more choices, particularly to the well-educated.
That may be behind what makes Michelle Obama’s change “newsworthy.” It’s perfectly natural for her to take time out from her career to help her husband seek the most important job in the world. If the situation were reversed, he would do the same for her, but it wouldn’t make headlines.
The persistence of that curious phrase “First Lady” reflects such backwardness. The truth is, if Barack Obama is elected, Michelle Obama will be the President’s wife, just as, if Hillary Clinton is, Bill Clinton would be the President’s husband.
Both spouses would not lose their other identities, but Ms. Obama would have to fight harder to keep hers.
Rejuvenation of Jane Fonda
Memo to Casting Director
Good work slotting in Mike Gravel and Tommy Thompson! Now male lead: Agent of guy named Romney sent composite, with flyer from sticks that says sensational good looks, one of People’s 50 most, women think he’s hot (Check out C&L).
Hair guy, John Edwards, OK for other spot, but Clinton dame too Jane Fonda for female lead. Could do the Mom, but find out if Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry available, maybe Julia Roberts in pinch if she plays it young.
Don’t forget working title, White House Wackos. Big budget, got to keep it light.
Hair guy, John Edwards, OK for other spot, but Clinton dame too Jane Fonda for female lead. Could do the Mom, but find out if Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry available, maybe Julia Roberts in pinch if she plays it young.
Don’t forget working title, White House Wackos. Big budget, got to keep it light.
Next Week: Abu Ghraib
From AP: "Murfreesboro, Tennessee--Staff members of an elementary school staged a fictitious gun attack on students during a class trip, telling them it was not a drill as the children cried and hid under tables...(S)taff members convinced the 69 students that there was a gunman on the loose. They were told to lie on the floor or hide underneath tables and stay quiet. A teacher, disguised in a hooded sweat shirt, even pulled on a locked door."
After parents of the sixth-graders complained, the school principal conceded that the "learning experience" may have "involved poor judgment."
No comment yet from the National Rifle Association, but they will undoubtedly want to know the caliber of weapons staff members used and whether the kids were told afterward how their right to bear arms could have protected them in such a situation.
After parents of the sixth-graders complained, the school principal conceded that the "learning experience" may have "involved poor judgment."
No comment yet from the National Rifle Association, but they will undoubtedly want to know the caliber of weapons staff members used and whether the kids were told afterward how their right to bear arms could have protected them in such a situation.
The Codger Candidates
In the ’08 Presidential soap opera, casting for the supporting roles is coming along nicely.
The Democrats found their comic relief in Mike Gravel, who turned 77 yesterday, during their first TV debate when he looked at the lineup and said, “And I gotta tell ya, after standing up with them, some of these people frighten me!"
Making a strong bid to be the Republican geezer, although a little under-aged at 65, is former Bush Cabinet member Tommy Thompson. Last month, he remarked to a Jewish audience that making money is "part of the Jewish tradition" and later apologized, blaming fatigue and a persistent cold.
That was only rehearsal for the Republican debate. Responding to a question about firing gay employees, he said, "I think that is left up to the individual business. I really sincerely believe that that is an issue that business people have got to make their own determination...”
The next day, Thompson explained that his hearing-aid battery had gone dead. Later, he amended the excuse by adding that he had the flu and was distracted by an urgent need “to go to the bathroom.”
Thompson’s inappropriate blathering, deafness and incontinence certainly qualify him to be the Republican Gabby Hayes. For the next debate, he might consider wearing Depends.
Now who can they get to play the leading man?
The Democrats found their comic relief in Mike Gravel, who turned 77 yesterday, during their first TV debate when he looked at the lineup and said, “And I gotta tell ya, after standing up with them, some of these people frighten me!"
Making a strong bid to be the Republican geezer, although a little under-aged at 65, is former Bush Cabinet member Tommy Thompson. Last month, he remarked to a Jewish audience that making money is "part of the Jewish tradition" and later apologized, blaming fatigue and a persistent cold.
That was only rehearsal for the Republican debate. Responding to a question about firing gay employees, he said, "I think that is left up to the individual business. I really sincerely believe that that is an issue that business people have got to make their own determination...”
The next day, Thompson explained that his hearing-aid battery had gone dead. Later, he amended the excuse by adding that he had the flu and was distracted by an urgent need “to go to the bathroom.”
Thompson’s inappropriate blathering, deafness and incontinence certainly qualify him to be the Republican Gabby Hayes. For the next debate, he might consider wearing Depends.
Now who can they get to play the leading man?
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Higher Education Gives Bush Low Grades
For a true measure of the President’s unpopularity, forget approval ratings and check that annual cultural barometer, the commencement speech circuit.
This year three safety schools were on his schedule, and two of them reacted badly. In April, Bush addressed graduates at Miami Dade Community College after complaints about the invitation.
When he spoke Friday at tiny St. Vincent’s College in Pennsylvania, whose president was on Bush’s staff until recently, there were protests by students, faculty and nuns.
Later this month, he will address graduates of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, presumably without incident.
By comparison, Bill Clinton and ‘08 candidates are a hot ticket. Clinton is making six commencement speeches, including one at the University of New Hampshire where, to add insult to injury, he will appear with the President’s father, George H.W. Bush.
But lest Clinton get too cocky about it, he should know that, at Ohio State University, he was their third choice after Barack Obama and Jon Stewart turned them down.
This year three safety schools were on his schedule, and two of them reacted badly. In April, Bush addressed graduates at Miami Dade Community College after complaints about the invitation.
When he spoke Friday at tiny St. Vincent’s College in Pennsylvania, whose president was on Bush’s staff until recently, there were protests by students, faculty and nuns.
Later this month, he will address graduates of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, presumably without incident.
By comparison, Bill Clinton and ‘08 candidates are a hot ticket. Clinton is making six commencement speeches, including one at the University of New Hampshire where, to add insult to injury, he will appear with the President’s father, George H.W. Bush.
But lest Clinton get too cocky about it, he should know that, at Ohio State University, he was their third choice after Barack Obama and Jon Stewart turned them down.
Giuliani's "Yes, But" on Abortion
On Mother’s Day of all days, abortion is a subject no politician wants to talk about--except Rudy Giuliani, and he is giving Republicans a bad case of pre-primary cramps.
His decision this week to explain his position in terms other than pro-life/pro-choice is inducing his party to rethink the orthodoxy that led all other candidates in their first debate to answer with a flat “no.”
“Ultimately, there has to be a right to choose,” Giuliani told an Alabama audience and followed with what was described as a “rhetorical shrug” over repealing Roe v Wade: “It would be OK to repeal. Or it would be OK also if a strict constructionist judge viewed it as a precedent.”
The Wall Street Journal deplored a possible “intramural abortion brawl,” and the National Review editor called it “a foolish strategic choice.”
But other Republicans, including House Minority leader John Boehner, are not sure that Giuliani’s abortion stance is what Fox News calls a “deal breaker.”
Primary politics aside, Giuliani’s ambivalence reflects public opinion more closely than the ideologues’ certainty. Recent polls show 54 percent of Americans believing abortion should be “always legal” or “usually legal,” with only 22 percent saying they could not vote for a candidate who didn’t agree with their opinion.
The “yes, but” position may be viable after all.
His decision this week to explain his position in terms other than pro-life/pro-choice is inducing his party to rethink the orthodoxy that led all other candidates in their first debate to answer with a flat “no.”
“Ultimately, there has to be a right to choose,” Giuliani told an Alabama audience and followed with what was described as a “rhetorical shrug” over repealing Roe v Wade: “It would be OK to repeal. Or it would be OK also if a strict constructionist judge viewed it as a precedent.”
The Wall Street Journal deplored a possible “intramural abortion brawl,” and the National Review editor called it “a foolish strategic choice.”
But other Republicans, including House Minority leader John Boehner, are not sure that Giuliani’s abortion stance is what Fox News calls a “deal breaker.”
Primary politics aside, Giuliani’s ambivalence reflects public opinion more closely than the ideologues’ certainty. Recent polls show 54 percent of Americans believing abortion should be “always legal” or “usually legal,” with only 22 percent saying they could not vote for a candidate who didn’t agree with their opinion.
The “yes, but” position may be viable after all.
The Iraqing of Louisiana
George W. Bush seems to have an inexhaustible supply of Texas friends to help him ruin America.
The latest winner is Donald E. Powell, a former Amarillo banker and heavy campaign contributor, who has been overseeing long-term aid to hurricane victims, which is now almost $3 billion short and almost two years late in its mission.
More than 20 months after Katrina, the Washington Post reports, “tens of thousands of houses remain vacant, in part because of administrative delays in the aid program, the largest single source of direct federal help for homeowners. To date, only 16,000 of 130,000 applicants have received money.”
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, meeting this week with Powell, was told it is "premature" to decide whether more federal money is needed. "I don't know what the numbers are yet and if there is a gap," he said.
When Powell was appointed, Sen. Ted Kennedy commented, "This...shows that the Gulf recovery is not a top priority for the president. Mr. Powell may be an accomplished banker and political fund raiser, but according to the administration he has no disaster-recovery experience."
In an OpEd for the Post then, Powell wrote: “If the heavy hand of government impedes the private sector's proven ability to speed the recovery, it will take longer and cost more.”
Banker Powell deflected that heavy hand and now, having taken over where Heck-of-a-Job Brownie left off, he is apparently ready to finish the job of turning Louisiana into another full-blown Iraq-like Bush disaster--after he figures out “what the numbers are.”
The latest winner is Donald E. Powell, a former Amarillo banker and heavy campaign contributor, who has been overseeing long-term aid to hurricane victims, which is now almost $3 billion short and almost two years late in its mission.
More than 20 months after Katrina, the Washington Post reports, “tens of thousands of houses remain vacant, in part because of administrative delays in the aid program, the largest single source of direct federal help for homeowners. To date, only 16,000 of 130,000 applicants have received money.”
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, meeting this week with Powell, was told it is "premature" to decide whether more federal money is needed. "I don't know what the numbers are yet and if there is a gap," he said.
When Powell was appointed, Sen. Ted Kennedy commented, "This...shows that the Gulf recovery is not a top priority for the president. Mr. Powell may be an accomplished banker and political fund raiser, but according to the administration he has no disaster-recovery experience."
In an OpEd for the Post then, Powell wrote: “If the heavy hand of government impedes the private sector's proven ability to speed the recovery, it will take longer and cost more.”
Banker Powell deflected that heavy hand and now, having taken over where Heck-of-a-Job Brownie left off, he is apparently ready to finish the job of turning Louisiana into another full-blown Iraq-like Bush disaster--after he figures out “what the numbers are.”
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Lou Dobbs' Leprosy Watch
With the national Anxiety Indicator at near-panic levels and so much to worry about, contracting leprosy from illegal aliens is not likely to be in anyone’s top ten.
But not to fear, Lou Dobbs has our backs. The CNN anchor, now a pillar of CBS as well, is keeping a sharp eye out for all the dangers posed by border crossers, even if his work is not appreciated by everyone in the media.
On 60 Minutes last Sunday, new colleague Lesley Stahl had pointed questions about Dobbs’ leprosy statistics, but America’s Protector did not back down and, later in the week, counterattacked on what CNN calls his “newscast.”
To the appalling disfigurement leprosy inflicts on its victims, add to the disease’s toll the toxic effect it can have on thin-skinned anchormen.
But not to fear, Lou Dobbs has our backs. The CNN anchor, now a pillar of CBS as well, is keeping a sharp eye out for all the dangers posed by border crossers, even if his work is not appreciated by everyone in the media.
On 60 Minutes last Sunday, new colleague Lesley Stahl had pointed questions about Dobbs’ leprosy statistics, but America’s Protector did not back down and, later in the week, counterattacked on what CNN calls his “newscast.”
To the appalling disfigurement leprosy inflicts on its victims, add to the disease’s toll the toxic effect it can have on thin-skinned anchormen.
God's Long Lunches
This is turning into a weekend of movie flashbacks. Watching Bill Maher and Christopher Hitchens congratulate each other last night on their mutual disdain for religion brings back a line from “Peter’s Friends” in 1992:
“If there is a God, he takes a lot of long lunches.”
Which leads to Mitt Romney’s theological discourse on 60 Minutes tomorrow night: The gist is that Romney retains his Mormon beliefs but has lost faith in George Bush over Iraq.
"I don't think,” he tells Mike Wallace, “we were adequately prepared for what occurred. I don't think we did enough planning. I don't think we considered the various downsides and risks."
As for his candidacy, Romney concedes that voters may be troubled by aspects of Mormon history and he shares some of their feelings: “I can't image anything more awful than polygamy.”
Just put it down as one of God’s ideas after a long lunch.
“If there is a God, he takes a lot of long lunches.”
Which leads to Mitt Romney’s theological discourse on 60 Minutes tomorrow night: The gist is that Romney retains his Mormon beliefs but has lost faith in George Bush over Iraq.
"I don't think,” he tells Mike Wallace, “we were adequately prepared for what occurred. I don't think we did enough planning. I don't think we considered the various downsides and risks."
As for his candidacy, Romney concedes that voters may be troubled by aspects of Mormon history and he shares some of their feelings: “I can't image anything more awful than polygamy.”
Just put it down as one of God’s ideas after a long lunch.
George Tenet and Dr. Strangelove
In Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 black comedy, “Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” an insane military officer starts a nuclear war despite all safeguards to prevent it.
When the President reminds his military chief of staff that he was told the system was foolproof, the General answers, “Well, I don't think it's quite fair to condemn a whole program because of a single slip-up, sir.”
The scene comes to mind while reading George Tenet’s bizarre pride in looking back at his part in the Colin Powell UN speech that set off the war in Iraq: "It was a great presentation, but unfortunately the substance didn't hold up."
Is it fair to blame him for that single slip-up?
When the President reminds his military chief of staff that he was told the system was foolproof, the General answers, “Well, I don't think it's quite fair to condemn a whole program because of a single slip-up, sir.”
The scene comes to mind while reading George Tenet’s bizarre pride in looking back at his part in the Colin Powell UN speech that set off the war in Iraq: "It was a great presentation, but unfortunately the substance didn't hold up."
Is it fair to blame him for that single slip-up?
Cheney Charges Up the Stairs
The President and Vice President have this thing about aircraft carriers. Four years ago, on a flight deck, Bush declared victory in Iraq. This week Cheney all but declared war on Iran.
The verbal firepower was stunning. The VP wasn’t decked out in a flight suit, as his nominal boss was, but his words were straight out of a Superman script:
“With two carrier strike groups in the gulf, we’re sending clear messages to friends and adversaries alike. We’ll keep the sea lanes open. We’ll stand with our friends in opposing extremism and strategic threats.
“We’ll disrupt attacks on our own forces. We’ll continue bringing relief to those who suffer, and delivering justice to the enemies of freedom. And we’ll stand with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating this region.”
Reviewing Cheney’s performance, an anonymous State Department official told the New York Times: “This is about saber-rattling, and power projection. And who better to do it?”
In a few days, Cheney will be back in his Washington cocoon. The young people who serve on the USS John C. Stennis will still be off the coast of Iran waiting for orders.
On the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003, Airman Bush was equally dramatic:
“Operation Iraqi Freedom was carried out with a combination of precision and speed and boldness the enemy did not expect, and the world had not seen before. From distant bases or ships at sea, we sent planes and missiles that could destroy an enemy division, or strike a single bunker.
“Marines and soldiers charged to Baghdad across 350 miles of hostile ground, in one of the swiftest advances of heavy arms in history. You have shown the world the skill and the might of the American Armed Forces.”
In the ancient movie “Arsenic and Old Lace,” there is a loony character dressed up like Teddy Roosevelt who keeps barreling up the stairs with a sword yelling “Charge!” until he is taken to an asylum.
Bush and Cheney won’t be put away for more than a year and a half. Meanwhile, on aircraft carriers and elsewhere, they will be acting out their martial fantasies with impunity.
The verbal firepower was stunning. The VP wasn’t decked out in a flight suit, as his nominal boss was, but his words were straight out of a Superman script:
“With two carrier strike groups in the gulf, we’re sending clear messages to friends and adversaries alike. We’ll keep the sea lanes open. We’ll stand with our friends in opposing extremism and strategic threats.
“We’ll disrupt attacks on our own forces. We’ll continue bringing relief to those who suffer, and delivering justice to the enemies of freedom. And we’ll stand with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating this region.”
Reviewing Cheney’s performance, an anonymous State Department official told the New York Times: “This is about saber-rattling, and power projection. And who better to do it?”
In a few days, Cheney will be back in his Washington cocoon. The young people who serve on the USS John C. Stennis will still be off the coast of Iran waiting for orders.
On the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003, Airman Bush was equally dramatic:
“Operation Iraqi Freedom was carried out with a combination of precision and speed and boldness the enemy did not expect, and the world had not seen before. From distant bases or ships at sea, we sent planes and missiles that could destroy an enemy division, or strike a single bunker.
“Marines and soldiers charged to Baghdad across 350 miles of hostile ground, in one of the swiftest advances of heavy arms in history. You have shown the world the skill and the might of the American Armed Forces.”
In the ancient movie “Arsenic and Old Lace,” there is a loony character dressed up like Teddy Roosevelt who keeps barreling up the stairs with a sword yelling “Charge!” until he is taken to an asylum.
Bush and Cheney won’t be put away for more than a year and a half. Meanwhile, on aircraft carriers and elsewhere, they will be acting out their martial fantasies with impunity.
Petraeus on the "High Moral Ground"
What’s happening to us when the most forceful appeal for traditional American decency comes, not from the President or religious leaders, but a military commander in a battle zone?
“Our values and the laws governing warfare teach us to respect human dignity, maintain our integrity, and do what is right,” Gen. David Petraeus wrote this week in a letter to his troops. “Adherence to our values distinguishes us from our enemy.”
Gen. Petraeus was responding to a battlefield survey that found only 47 percent of soldiers and 38 percent of Marines believed noncombatants should be treated with dignity and respect. Less than half said they would report a team member for unethical behavior. One out of ten admitted physically abusing civilians and needlessly destroying property.
Add this brutalizing of our young people to the deaths, injuries and billions of dollars as the cost of this insane and endless war. When those who survive come home, the price will keep going up.
"This fight,” Gen. Petraeus wrote, “depends on securing the population, which must understand that we--not our enemies --occupy the moral high ground."
How long can we hold onto it?
“Our values and the laws governing warfare teach us to respect human dignity, maintain our integrity, and do what is right,” Gen. David Petraeus wrote this week in a letter to his troops. “Adherence to our values distinguishes us from our enemy.”
Gen. Petraeus was responding to a battlefield survey that found only 47 percent of soldiers and 38 percent of Marines believed noncombatants should be treated with dignity and respect. Less than half said they would report a team member for unethical behavior. One out of ten admitted physically abusing civilians and needlessly destroying property.
Add this brutalizing of our young people to the deaths, injuries and billions of dollars as the cost of this insane and endless war. When those who survive come home, the price will keep going up.
"This fight,” Gen. Petraeus wrote, “depends on securing the population, which must understand that we--not our enemies --occupy the moral high ground."
How long can we hold onto it?
Friday, May 11, 2007
Poor John Edwards
Next week may bring image problems for the Presidential candidate running as the champion of Americans who live in poverty.
Disclosure forms by Fortress Investment Group will reveal how much former Sen. John Edwards earned by working for them last year. That will compound the difficulties suggested today in a Washington Post story that leads off: “The hedge fund that employed John Edwards markedly expanded its subprime lending business while he worked there, becoming a major player in the high-risk mortgage sector Edwards has pilloried in his presidential campaign.”
In fairness, all candidates turn to Wall Street for financing. But in addition to his salary, Fortress people have provided Edwards’ campaign with over $167,000 in contributions.
The former Senator is somewhat hazy about whether or not he knew that his employers were foreclosing on mortgages held by Hurricane Katrina victims whose homes were destroyed.
In hindsight, Edwards told the Post, he doesn’t regret taking the job. "I did learn something about capital markets that's valuable," he said. "I think it's very important for a president to understand how markets operate."
It’s also important for a president to know what the people working with him are doing.
Disclosure forms by Fortress Investment Group will reveal how much former Sen. John Edwards earned by working for them last year. That will compound the difficulties suggested today in a Washington Post story that leads off: “The hedge fund that employed John Edwards markedly expanded its subprime lending business while he worked there, becoming a major player in the high-risk mortgage sector Edwards has pilloried in his presidential campaign.”
In fairness, all candidates turn to Wall Street for financing. But in addition to his salary, Fortress people have provided Edwards’ campaign with over $167,000 in contributions.
The former Senator is somewhat hazy about whether or not he knew that his employers were foreclosing on mortgages held by Hurricane Katrina victims whose homes were destroyed.
In hindsight, Edwards told the Post, he doesn’t regret taking the job. "I did learn something about capital markets that's valuable," he said. "I think it's very important for a president to understand how markets operate."
It’s also important for a president to know what the people working with him are doing.
CBS Bubble
Compared to the Bush White House, TV networks are models of free speech and dissent, so it comes as a mild surprise that CBS has reportedly fired retired Gen. John Batiste over an anti-war commercial for a veterans’ organization.
The hiring of former Generals to bolster network credibility has always been a dicey question, but dumping one for having opinions seems downright hypocritical. Aren’t those judgments what they’re buying on the Rent-a-General market?
In light of its recent misadventures with inappropriate speech, CBS’ sensitivity is understandable. But they should take into consideration that General Batiste’s criticisms have been respectful. Not once did he refer to the Bush team as nappy-headed.
The hiring of former Generals to bolster network credibility has always been a dicey question, but dumping one for having opinions seems downright hypocritical. Aren’t those judgments what they’re buying on the Rent-a-General market?
In light of its recent misadventures with inappropriate speech, CBS’ sensitivity is understandable. But they should take into consideration that General Batiste’s criticisms have been respectful. Not once did he refer to the Bush team as nappy-headed.
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