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Articles
MAY
2002
Democracy, Soviet Style
May 31,
2002 · Some secrets need to be kept
in name of national security, but this is a very broad category
that is all too easy use as a convenient rug under which to
sweep any and all potentially embarrassing dirt. There is
no doubt; this particular president would more admire Kruschev
than Gorbachev's glasnost. By Patrick
Ennis
Flunking Econ 101
May 31,
2002 · "Conservatives" who insist that
their policies are based upon "sound economic principles,"
conveniently ignore such fundamental economic principles as
"elasticity of demand," "the declining marginal utility of
money," and "external costs." By Ernest
Partridge
An Interview with Mark Crispin
Miller
May 30,
2002 · Mark Crispin Miller, author of
The Bush Dyslexicon, took part in an exclusive online
discussion on the Democratic Underground message board yesterday.
This is a transcript of that discussion.
So Much for Tom Ridge
May 30,
2002 · Where is Tom Ridge? Instead of
that one clear voice of a circus ringmaster directing our
attention to the progression of orderly, orchestrated action,
we are beset by the raucous midway feeding frenzy of carney
barkers. By Sheila
Samples
From Heroes to Scapegoats
May 30,
2002 · FBI agents like Kenneth Williams
and Colleen Rowley should be treated as heroes, just as much
as the people who brought down the plane over Pennsylvania
instead of Washington DC. Instead they are being reprimanded
and their reputations are being trashed. By Richard
Prasad
Beyond Embarrassment
May 30,
2002 · I was under the impression that
the "adults were in charge." The news of the last few days
has been so mortifying and so humiliating that I cannot believe
that anybody, Republican or Democrat, can stand behind George
W. Bush without making faces behind his back. By W.
David Jenkins III
Tom Delay for President?
I'm making a prediction. In 2004 George W. Bush will face
a similar revolt from his one-time core constituency, the
right-wing fundamentalist evangelicals whose Libertarian doctrine
demands it rise up and clobber the Karl Rove dominated resident
of the White House. By Bob
Volpitto
The Story So Far
In a certain large country to the west of one place and the
east of another, an ambitious group of southerners manages
to convince a large minority of their fellow citizens to vote
for their presidential candidate, a compliant cretin with
the morals of a rabid mink. By The
Staff of The Bean Magazine
Health Care at Gunpoint:
Do You Trust Your Governor With Your Life?
May 29,
2002 · Unlike its more famous predecessor,
the USA PATRIOT Act, Model State Emergency Health Powers Act
is being introduced quietly in state legislatures around the
country and would empower the governor of each state to impose
draconian measures on its citizens based solely on his or
her own opinion of what constitutes a health emergency. By Gloria
Hayes
Ich Bin Ein Embarrassment
May 28,
2002 · This week the current resident
of the White House visited the no-longer-divided city of Berlin.
The purpose of his trip was to build support for his war policy,
particularly an invasion of Iraq. Instead of cheering masses
the city fathers marshaled ten thousand security officers
to keep the German citizens away. By
birdman
Patriotic Fictions
May 28,
2002 · At their best, these narratives
have the power to unify us and challenge us to rise above
narrow self-interest and nurture the “better angels of our
nature.” Or they can stratify us with self-serving delusions
that promote the selfish interests of the part above the needs
of the whole. By
Dwayne Eutsey
Boys of the Brass vs. Boys
in the Hood
May 28,
2002 · The commander-in-chief, who has
been totally obsessed with ousting Hussein danced on the international
stage last week, rattling his saber, looking for the Grand
Alliance, while spreading his hands and declaring innocently,
"Really. I don't have a plan to attack Iraq...on my desk
right now. Trust me. Really..."
By Sheila Samples
With Apologies to Fyodor
Dostoevsky
May 25,
2002 · My poem is called "The
Attorney General"; it's a ridiculous thing, but I want
to tell it to you. It is laid in Cuba, in Guantanamo, in the
heady days when it seemed America had routed the Taliban,
and the war to save civilization was already won. In the days
when the enemies of civilization were taken to be imprisoned
forever, whether judged guilty by the tribunal or not... By Rita
Weinstein
Sorry to Crash the Party
May
25, 2002 · We're still out here, George.
We're not sitting down, we're not shutting up, we are never
going to "get over it." We may be poor and we may be disorganized,
and some of us don't have the political instincts of a deranged
mongoose, but even with all that going against us, we still
outnumber you big time, and you've royally pissed off a lot
of us. By Joseph
Vecchio
A Bush in the China Shop
May 24,
2002 · After passing by several blocks
of mostly boarded-up or otherwise deserted-looking storefronts,
I chanced upon a business that might have just what I was
looking for -- Patriotic Pete's Porcelain Emporium. The outside
of the shop was bedecked in American flags of all types and
materials. By
Art Bushwald
Confidential Memo from Kenny
Boy to Georgie Boy: "Welcome to the Club!"
May 24,
2002 · Dear Georgie: I thought I was
the only guy facing a political/ethical firing squad. But
you have topped me, my lad. The "I" word is beginning to be
brought out of mothballs. Unless something major happens (another
terrorist attack would help out a lot), you're about to join
Bubba in the impeachment well. By
Bernard Weiner
Our Pride and Our Glory
May 23,
2002 · Military tribunals have been
used before, we are told, and were even used by that greatest
of all Americans, George Washington himself. To those who
have been swayed by this appeal to history it may come as
a surprise to learn that during the first great attack on
the United States - the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 - George
Washington explicitly and firmly rejected the use of military
tribunals. By Joseph
Wayne Gadway
The Switch Brigade
May 23,
2002 · There are senior Americans I
like to refer to as the "Switch Brigade." They are thoughtful,
dignified and their experience in life has taught them to
be very wary of characters like "W" and his gang. And, although
they would never resort to rants and obscenities when referring
to Dubya, they would secretly love to take him behind the
barn, armed with a switch. A very large switch. By W.
David Jenkins III
A Non-Traditional Hijacking
May 22,
2002 · National Security Adviser Condi
Rice, looking eerily like a bobble-head doll with a stretched
spring, spent about 45 minutes last Thursday telling the nation
that, while the Bush administration had advance warning of
significant terrorist activity involving hijacked airliners,
they failed to recognize that these events would be "non-traditional."
By Warren
Pease
Start With Ashcroft
May 22,
2002 · Sen. Hillary Clinton, Jonathan
Alter and Michael Ruppert have all brought up John Ashcroft's
name recently. If I have any luck, concerned Americans who
pay any attention to this essay might start to bring Ashcroft's
name up daily and angrily as well. By
Fritz Lamour
The Bush Legacy: An Historical
Footnote
May 21,
2002 · Okay, to all you folks who
thought Bush was a great guy, someone you'd like to schmooze
with over the fence, have a beer with, and voted for him on
that basis: it's really very simple - is that a good reason
to vote for someone for President of the most powerful country
in the world? By punpirate
A Beginner's Guide to
Presidential Troubleshooting
May 21,
2002 · Of course every President runs
into problems from time to time. With the proper troubleshooting
techniques, however, the implications of bungles and screw-ups
can be kept to a minimum. By birdman
THE
DAILY WHOPPER
Amateur Hour
May 21,
2002 · It has been quite a long time
since I have seen such a spectacular display of political
incompetence on the part of both parties, simultaneously.
As such, the credibility of the entire political landscape
- something that Bush could have avoided by keeping his nose
held high, like Clinton would have attempted to do - is being
further diminished.
By Jeremiah Bourque
Now is the Time to Ask
Questions
May 18,
2002 · As the Middle East crisis continues,
the nation's right-wing pundits have been asking questions
about the administration's lack of moral clarity in its War
on Terrorism. They are not wrong - there is a distinct lack
of moral clarity in the White House - but they are trying
to find it in the wrong place. They should start by looking
at the months leading up to September 11th. By Kevin
Raybould (kcr)
An Unfair Trade
May 18,
2002 · It is time for all citizens
of this country to stand as one in the face of George Bush
and his minions. It is time for all of us to rise and demand
answers and complete disclosure. By Bridget
Gibson
Paint Bush as the Incompetent
Slacker He Is
May 18,
2002 · What most of the recent news
stories fail to point out is the incredible fact that in the
month that Bush was supposedly warned of impending terrorist
attacks, he was on a month-long vacation at his Texas retreat.
Let me put it this way: Bush fiddled while the World Trade
Center burned. By Jackson
Thoreau
Why Didn't Bush Warn
the Airlines?
May
17, 2002 · The White House has now
confirmed that Bush was briefed last August about the possibility
that bin Laden and his operatives were planning to hijack
several U.S. commercial airliners. What did he do with that
information and why didn't he tell the airlines? By Richard
J. Roman
Reality Check III
May 17,
2002 · If September 11th had been nothing
more than a gorgeous late summer day even the most staunch
Republicans would by now be realizing that George W Bush would
be in mortal danger of having One Termer stamped on his resume.
By Michael
Shannon
Hitchens' Hatchet Job
May 16,
2002 · On reading Mr. Hitchens' recent
review of David Brock's book, I was struck by three things:
the sloppy, unprofessional manner in which Mr Hitchens attempted
to perform a hatchet job on the book, that his unsubstantiated
attack was a self-serving diatribe against a book that cast
him personally in a non-flattering light, and that The
Nation would really be vastly more credible without him.
By Noel O'Connor
The Meaning of Victory
May 16,
2002 · Even if we defeat the Republicans
in November, the sad truth is that all our initial victory
would give us is the freedom to actually get on with the work
instead of standing on the sidelines watching the fanatics
wreak havoc with the world. But if our history has shown us
anything, it's shown us that we excel at rebounding.
By Joe Vecchio
Hail to the Jock
May 15,
2002 · The country and the world should
demand a higher priority than jockdom from a President. Energy,
trade, environment, taxation, transportation, terrorism -
hold on with those briefings books, the President's in the
gym. By Joseph
Arrieta
THE
DAILY WHOPPER
Fundamentals
May 15,
2002 · Who is the greater madman? He
who believes in controlling others, or he who believes in
freedom from the control of others? Which is the greater madness,
and the greater sanity? From which is liberation the most
necessary: from control, or from freedom? By Jeremiah
Bourque
A Letter to European Friends:
Why is America Behaving This Way?
May
14, 2002 · Dear Jacqueline and Wolfgang,
you say that as Europeans, you can't figure out why the U.S.
is "rampaging around the globe, behaving like an arrogant
bully." So, while we're waiting for the attack-on-Iraq shoe
to drop, let me try to offer a few perspectives that put the
current U.S. government's actions into an understandable context.
By Bernard
Weiner
Real Bushmen Don't Cry
May 14,
2002 · America has come a long way
since George Muskie was forced from the 1972 presidential
race by a forged letter from Nixon's dirty tricks department
that got him so mad he cried during the New Hampshire primary.
Now, television news has turned us into such a nation of weepers
that it's perfectly okay if a fellow wears his feelings mushy
side out. By Jerome
Doolittle
Them That's Got Shall Get
May 14,
2002 · The major tenet of "liberation
theology" was that God supposedly reserved a "preferential
option for the poor." In essence, it meant that God cares
more for the desperate and outcast than for the ones who oppress
or ignore them. I don't know whether or not that's true, but
when I consider how the world really works, I kind of think
it ought to be. By William
R. King
THE
DAILY WHOPPER
The Age
Of Tactics
May 11,
2002 · To go beyond the Age of Tactics,
"the Left" has to come up with a coherent idea of what it
wants to be, and why. It used to be that this could be taken
for granted. I don't think that's a good idea anymore.
By Jeremiah Bourque
What Would Edmund Do?
May 11,
2002 · The seeds of modern conservatism
were planted in the eighteenth century by Edmund Burke. But
conservatives today have betrayed their own principles to
such a degree that they are no longer recognizable as conservatives.
Or, more accurately, the philosophy of conservatism has been
hijacked by pretenders. By Chris
Christensen
God Bless Bermuda
May 11,
2002 · Let's take a glance at what
happens when a company moves to Bermuda. They still can sell
products in America, their offices still have all the benefits
of security provided by the American law enforcement agencies,
the American court system, and the U.S. Military. They can
still do every single thing they could do before the move,
except... By Brian
Balta
Terror Hits the Midwest
May 10,
2002 · A series of pipe bombs were
set off in rural Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Texas and most
recently Indiana. In total, there have been 20 pipe bombs
in these five states, and six people have been hurt. Questions
abound. By Richard
Prasad
The Unfair Litmus Test
May 10,
2002 · The Democratic party prides
itself on being a "big tent" that appeals to everyone interested
in progressive causes. Individuals within the party need to
be unified in our ultimate goal. Differences over specific
policy should not determine who is welcome in the party and
who is not. By J.
Carlos Jiacinto
The Perils of Poor David
Horowitz
May 9,
2002 · It certainly appears that every
week David's loyal readers just can't wait click onto Davids
website or pull up Salon Magazine to see just how badly their
hero has been treated this week by the cabal of elitist liberals
who've conspired to silence him. Like a soap opera the plot
always follows a very predictable line. By birdman
The Neighbors are Whispering
May 9,
2002 · This pleasant, soft spoken woman
was from Switzerland. She and her family have been here for
two-and-a-half years and she was shocked that an American
was against W. She honestly believed that we all loved the
guy. By W.
David Jenkins III
A Pastoral Letter to
the President
May 8,
2002 · When you were running for office
you stated that Jesus Christ was your favorite philosopher.
You have made a point of proclaiming your Christian faith.
As a Pastor and fellow United Methodist I need to ask you:
Do you know what the values and vision of Jesus are? By Rev.
Rich Lang
A Democracy at War: Farewell,
Ernie Pyle
May 8,
2002 · Why is it that this administration
and the military want to shroud this war in secrecy? It certainly
is not to keep from offending the sensibilities of Americans.
Ernie Pyle has shown that the American people can handle the
graphic, horrendous accounts that are the staple of war. By Christian
Dewar
Waiting For The River To
Catch Fire
May 7,
2002 · In our day the river is our
political system. It's an ugly and polluted river, and while
we certainly talk about it, loudly and quietly, intelligently
and idiotically, we really don't seem to want to do anything
about it. By Joseph
Vecchio
Forgive U.S. Our Trespasses:
A Letter to My Friends Abroad
May 7,
2002 · The debasement of the American
democracy in the November 2000 election, and the decrees and
policies of the illegitimate administration which have followed,
are both a national and an international tragedy. We are joined
in a common cause to contain and then to repair the damage.
By Ernest
Partridge
The Contra Government
May 7,
2002 · How does one describe a government
that is intent upon the destruction of "government?" The word
contrarian comes to mind because it is for all intents and
purposes, an anti-government movement within the government.
By Bridget
Gibson
All Lies, All the Time
May 4,
9:00AM · What happens when the press
and the government function as two arms of the same creature?
The same thing that was feared in the classic case of the
police state: the voice of the press becomes corrupted. By Richard
Mynick aka RichM
How to Beat Ashcroft's FBI
at its Own Game
May 4,
9:00AM · If we study what the real American
patriots - not those Bush-Cheney-Ashcroft thieves and hypocrites
- have done to combat intimidation and suppression, we can
beat these suckers at their own game. By Jackson
Thoreau
Book Review - Spin
Cycle by Howard Kurtz
May 4,
9:00AM · The sick draw of Spin Cycle
is that it's simply a day to day account of non-stop crisis
management and all the petty little offenses involved in the
front lines of a character war. By johnny_red
Seasons of Protest: Lessons
from A20
May 3,
9:00AM · Based on eyewitness reports
from the massive demonstrations in DC and San Francisco on
April 20 (those published in the independent media, anyway),
something spectacular happened in America. By Dwayne
Eutsey
A Peek Inside Colin Powell's
Personal Diary
May 3,
9:00AM · If I jump now, with Karen Hughes
just having left and with Democratic darts starting to hit
the Administration's weak spots, it'll look bad. Like I'm
deserting a ship that's started leaking badly. By Bernard
Weiner
It's the Petroleum, Stupid!
May 3,
9:00AM · In what will hopefully prove
to be the final two years of President Bush's term occupying
the White House, we will undoubtedly witness him being accused
of many things. In all likelihood, being an environmentalist
is not one of them. By politicsgrl
Black Hole of Black Gold
May 2,
9:00AM · When it comes down to it, everything
in Middle East politics is of secondary importance to the
business of oil. By Michael
Shannon
Everday Low Morals
May 2,
9:00AM · It's an advertising gimmick
with a long pedigree: use your employees to create a "just
plain folks" image for your otherwise soulless corporate behemoth.
By Jeff
Ritchie
...But Only When Those
Responsible Are Identified
May 2,
9:00AM · On September 15, 62% of Americans
favored military strikes, "but only when those responsible
are identified." So why did the media report that 90% of Americans
favored unconditional war? By Margie
Burns
Cynical Reality
May 2,
9:00AM · So George W Bush is now an
advocate for expanding mental health coverage. The informed
reader will understand my cynicism. In my humble opinion,
this is both a cynical political maneuver and a covert inside
business deal. By R.
B. Ham
Drug Policy Conundrum
May 1,
9:00AM · Non-violent drug users are
deemed guilty by association for the actions of drug traffickers
overseas. The message might not ring so hollow if gas consumers
were likewise taken to task for providing financial support
to terrorism.
By Monica_L
Texas Justice: Capital
Punishment and the Delk Case
May 1,
9:00AM · The fact that Delk's execution
was allowed to proceed represents a three-pronged failure
on the part of Texas' death penalty system.
By Steven W. Hawkins
The Flip Side of the Energy
Bill
May 1,
9:00AM · While Democrats were in a celebratory
mood for defeating the ANWR drilling provision, as they should
be, the defeat of drilling does not tell the whole story.
By Richard
Prasad
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