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Articles
SEPTEMBER
2002
The Shadow Dictator
September
28, 2002 · He has hundreds of
millions of followers worldwide, yet few recognize his name.
He commands his subjects through a simple logic, and holds
them responsible to it through agents in every organization,
community, and government. He lavishly rewards his most loyal
subjects, turns a blind eye to those who don't share his priorities,
and swiftly impoverishes those who challenge his legitimacy.
By Joseph
P. Firmage
Fury
September
28, 2002 · For the record, I
am an American serviceman of 18 years experience, a soldier
who makes his living at the "tip of the bayonet" - an infantryman,
subject to the rigors and hardships and self-denial that such
a commitment engenders, living, day by day, as I have for
my entire adult life, the brutal realities of a latter-day
centurion. There are few things in life that so incense me
as to be labeled "un-American". By SaintGermane
George W. Bush - Judge,
Jury and Executioner
September
28, 2002 · Since the end of the
Cold War there has stood an eminently reasonable question
posed by a number of boat rocking malcontents: why do we continue
to spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year to maintain
and expand a military infrastructure that was designed to
defeat an enemy that no longer exists? By Michael
Shannon
Pandora's Arsenal
September
27, 2002 · If President Bush
hadn't been required by law to submit his strategic statement
to Congress, he might have continued to play "I've got a secret."
But the National Military Strategy for the United States of
America, released last Friday, finally made it official: the
U.S. wants to control the world. By Maureen
Farrell
How U.S. Counterterrorism
Failed on 9/11, and Why the Bush Administration Can't Fix
It - Part Two
September
27, 2002 · Contrary to repeated
Bush Administration claims since September 11, 2001, US intelligence
had specific, credible and corroborated forewarning that terrorists
planned to use airliners to attack New York and Washington,
DC area targets. By Mark
G. Levey
How U.S. Counterterrorism
Failed on 9/11, and Why the Bush Administration Can't Fix
It - Part One
September
26, 2002 · Contrary to repeated
Bush Administration claims since September 11, 2001, US intelligence
had specific, credible and corroborated forewarning that terrorists
planned to use airliners to attack New York and Washington,
DC area targets. By Mark
G. Levey
Gore: The Voice of the Democratic
Party
September
26, 2002 · When Al Gore delivered
his strong indictment of the administration's Iraq policy
and its preemptive strike doctrine, he did something very
unusual for this day and age. He took a stand. By Monica
Friedlander
Shame On You George
September
25, 2002 · What he was trying
desperately not to say last week in Tennessee was
"Shame On Me." I agree with Mark Crispin Miller, author of
"The Bush Dyslexicon," who believes that Dubbie is incapable
of feeling an emotion such as shame. By Sheila
Samples
There Are No Low Wage
Jobs, and the Poverty Line Does Not Exist
September
25, 2002 · We are supposed to
believe that making hotel room beds, waiting tables, running
cash registers, and caring for the sick and the young and
the old are inherently low-paying professions, whereas assembling
parts on an assembly line is an inherently high-paying profession.
But why? By David
Swanson
The View From Here
September
24, 2002 · If you want to understand
what has been happening in the Middle East for the past few
decades, if you want some inkling of the loathing and violence
engendered there, examine the fury that resulted here in the
United States in the days after September 11. By Pamela
Troy
How They Stole Morality
September
24, 2002 · The so-called moral
outrage of the Christian Right and the Bill Bennett Brigade
has become so much a part of the American culture that the
very words "moral" and "morality" have become associated with
right-wing politics and religion. By Diane
E. Dees
Belgians Lead Push for
Regime Change in America
September
24, 2002 · Spurred by reports
of an aggressive military build-up and failure to reign in
corporate terrorists, the government of Belgium is pressing
for a preemptive strike against the regime of George W. Bush.
By Phil
Lebovits
International Law and the
Right to Self-Offense
September
24, 2002 · The "self-offense"
slur is intended to disparage a martial artist by presenting
him as someone who is learning what is supposed to be an art
for self-defense, but who actually intends to use it to assault
others. By Jeremiah
Bourque
Attack Iraq?
September
23, 2002 · This month, as our
nation mourns the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks,
our armed forces' men and women in Afghanistan appear to be
fighting a war with no definite end in sight. However, President
Bush and the Pentagon already seem to be hammering out new
details and lobbying Congress on a new war - well, sort of
new. By James
Partridge
Wargasms
September
21, 2002 · Never mind that we
still may not have taught Osama bin Forgotten his lesson.
It looks like he not only could run, but he could hide, too
- if he's still alive. We don't know because we never found
him. Heck, most of the time, we don't even know where Dick
Cheney is. OJ will find the real killer before we find Osama.
By Isaac
Bush Knew? How?
September
21, 2002 · On September 11, 2001,
George W. Bush had just concluded a month long vacation and
was at Booker Elementary School reading to the children. When
he was told of the news, he boarded Air Force One and flew
around the country to dodge other terrorist threats. Meanwhile,
Richard Cheney stayed in contact with Bush, and pretty much
got things under control.
The Bush Doctrine
September
20, 2002 · Bush's ever-changing
plans always seem to be one step behind public opinion. By Michael
Barry
The Elephant Gun
September
20, 2002 · Before I turned 18,
I was always excited about getting to turn 18 not because
I'd get to buy porn or cigarettes whenever I wanted, but because
I would get to register to vote. How shocking it is for me
to now be old enough to vote and realize that my opinion is
still mostly irrelevent in the political process. By Mark
W. Brown
Are You Ready to RUUUMMMMMBLE?
September
19, 2002 · When it comes to real
insanity - the uncontrollably wild excitement of frightening,
violent hallucinations, no one - not even George Bush - can
hold a candle to the delirium tremens of Larry Kudlow.
By Sheila
Samples
Mickey Mouse and the Diplomatic
Coup
September
19, 2002 · Japanese Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi's historic visit to North Korea on September
17 culminated in what was considered by many to be a diplomatic
coup - the announcement that within a month, Japan and North
Korea would start on the road to normalizing relations. But
overlooked by most of the pundits and experts was the crucial
role that had been played by Mickey Mouse. By Art
Bushwald
How to Change the Subject
September
18, 2002 · I must admit, I'm
very impressed with the Bush administration's ability to change
the subject. I'm not sure if you can call it "wagging the
dog." That's a phrase typically used when a government goes
to war or launches an airstrike to distract the public from
more pressing issues. If we were to torture the analogy a
little, maybe we could call this "giving the dog a new tail."
By mjjoe
What Happened to Moral
Clarity?
September
18, 2002 · The Iraqi invasion
of Kuwait in 1990 gave Poppy Bush the moral clarity he needed
to cobble together an international coalition to oppose Saddam's
forces, under the perfectly plausible guise of Kuwaiti liberation.
Sept. 11 gives his son the moral clarity he desires to wage
war on radical, militant Muslim extremists who despise a western
culture they see as destructive and decadent. By Patrick
Ennis
The Republican Party -
the Case for Treason
September
17, 2002 · I hereby accuse the
Republican Party of committing repeated acts of High Treason
against the United States. I respectfully demand that the
Congress investigate fully, in an open and public way, and
take appropriate action if the investigation concludes that
the accused are guilty. By Anonymous
Why Those Other Terrorists
Hate Us
September
17, 2002 · The people who hate
us don't like our tolerant ways. The fact that we wish to
accept all religions, lifestyles and political differences
drives those who hate us up the wall. By W.
David Jenkins III
Evil, Banality, and the Little
Man on the Podium
September
17, 2002 · Sometimes the greatest
threats to the world can be perpetrated not by the two-bit
dictator in the ill-fitting military suit who schemed and
cheated his way to power. By Mike
McArdle
Of Empire, War, Propaganda,
and Courage
September
14, 2002 ·
Today, the country is in the same grip of propaganda
no different than that promoted during the Viet Nam war. Very
lately, the hawks are even describing any disagreement with
the current administration regarding Iraq as "appeasement."
Those in the administration who never had to consider service,
or actively avoided service, by legal means, are singularly
the most strident and vocal proponents of war. By punpriate
Don't Ask, Because They Won't
Tell
September
14, 2002 · Remember "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell"? Today we have an administration with a similar policy:
"Don't Ask because We Tell Nothing." If you have the audacity
to ask, you will be labeled as unpatriotic and they don’t
have to tell anything about any subject because they have
their magic shield of "executive privilege." By Bridget
Gibson
A Time To Speak
September
14, 2002 · The one-year anniversary of
last year's stunning terrorist attack on America has arrived
and the words from the book of Ecclesiastes seem particularly
apt in describing the tumultuous emotions a majority of Americans
are experiencing in the aftermath of this traumatic event.
By Gloria Hayes
Bush Back On Bottle?
September
13, 2002 · I know that George is born-again,
and sober as he can be. I also know that if you ask any gathering
of recovering alcoholics, they can regale you with endless
tales of how a dedicated drunk can define "sober" in the most
startling ways. By Doug
Pibel
Owen's Rejection a Victory
for Democrats
September
13, 2002 · All is not lost in the American
republic as the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-9 recently
to reject conservative judicial activist, Priscilla Owen.
By Nicholas
Pyeatt
Senate Rejects Bush Pick
for Court
September
12, 2002 · WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 - The
Senate Judiciary Committee rejected President Bush's choice
for a federal appeals court post today, after realizing that
the nominee, Priscilla R. Owen, was in fact Attorney General
John Ashcroft in drag.
Democracy Redefined
September
12, 2002 · Democracy is the recurrent
suspicion that more than half of the people are right more
than half the time. It is the feeling of privacy in the voting
booths, the feeling of communion in the libraries, the feeling
of vitality everywhere. Democracy is the letter to the editor.
By Margie
Burns
The Democratic Underground
9/11 Memorial Homepage
September
11, 2002 · The names of the victims of
9/11.
On 9/11
September
11, 2002 · On the anniversary of the
September 11 tragedy, we are sharing a selection of comments
by our readers - from their feelings on September 11, 2001,
to their thoughts one year later.
Hurry Up and War Already!
September
10, 2002 · Bush, Inc. - the current administration
full of ex-Enron executives and Ford/Bush the Elder/Reagan
retreads - is feverishly beating the blood-chilling drum of
war. Or not. Ok, maybe a little. Nope - haven't made up their
minds.
By Prodigal Son
Dialing for Doomsday:
George W. Bush and the End of the World
September
10, 2002 · "What harm can he do in four
years?" I'm ashamed to say it, but that was my initial reaction
to the Supreme Court's selection of George Bush as president.
Attempting to avoid alternating waves of gnawing discomfort
and quiet desperation, I asked myself a question my imagination
dared not answer. By Maureen
Farrell
Hurry Up and War Already!
September
10, 2002 · Bush, Inc. - the current administration
full of ex-Enron executives and Ford/Bush the Elder/Reagan
retreads - is feverishly beating the blood-chilling drum of
war. Or not. Ok, maybe a little. Nope - haven't made up their
minds.
By Prodigal Son
Dialing for Doomsday:
George W. Bush and the End of the World
September
10, 2002 · "What harm can he do in four
years?" I'm ashamed to say it, but that was my initial reaction
to the Supreme Court's selection of George Bush as president.
Attempting to avoid alternating waves of gnawing discomfort
and quiet desperation, I asked myself a question my imagination
dared not answer. By Maureen
Farrell
Stabilizing on the
Upside: A Tale of Oil, Saddam Hussein, and Rotting Fish
September
7, 2002 · This practice is known in the
business as "stabilizing on the upside." The idea is to prop
up prices, and then find ways to keep them at unnatural highs
for as long as possible while oil companies amass windfall
profits. Who does this benefit? Crude oil producers, shippers
and oil refiners. In a word: Texas. More specifically, Bush.
By
Anonymous
No Longer a Paycheck
from Homelessness
September
7, 2002 · How many of us have sat with
friends, family, and co-workers discussing how we are just
one or two paychecks away from being homeless? I've had this
conversation on numerous occasions through the years. In retrospect,
these discussions were half-hearted because I was in control
and knew it would never happen to me. By McGee
Press Whores and Media Prostitutes
September
7, 2002 ·
We hear so much whining and rationalizing from media
pundits and reporters who would do better work but can't,
they say, because the whole system is against them. Radio
and TV station owners and network chieftains want only to
boost ratings and make money, they say. By Vermeer
Are We Brave Enough to Be
a Democracy?
September
6, 2002 · On Thursday, August 22, I went
to Central Point, Oregon, to express my opposition to the
current policies of our government. I was placed in a dirt
compound behind a six foot cyclone fence and had the gate
shut in my face. By Peter
Buckley
Sergeant Schultz's Academy
for Critical Thinking
September
6, 2002 · On a recent trip to pick up
some stationery, Art Bushwald uncovered a shocking secret
about right-wing punditry and conservative critical thinking.
It all happened behind closed doors at Sergeant Schultz's
Academy for Critical Thinking. By Art
Bushwald
Stepford Citizen Syndrome:
Top Ten Signs Your Neighbor is Brainwashed
September
5, 2002 · Not only are we being coerced
into World War III, but at this very moment, unnamed souls
are secretly locked away, the Army's drafted plans for civilian
detention camps and there's a shadow government buzzing beneath
our streets. And yet, we continue to ignore the oily elephant
in the living room. By Maureen
Farrell
Patriotism Through Fear Means
Nothing
September
5, 2002 · Upon opening up my copy of
Newsday one recent morning, I came across a very startling
article, one of the scariest that I have seen published to
date. The title of this earth-shattering article was, "Support
for 1st Amendment Drops." By Mary
MacElveen
Repeating Past Mistakes
September
4, 2002 · Here we are, getting ready
for the media bombardment of 9/11 "anniversary specials,"
and Bush Inc. is working overtime proving to those of us who
can think independently that they haven't learned a damn thing.
By W.
David Jenkins III
The Charnel House Future:
Why Bush and Co. Must Be Stopped Now
September
4, 2002 · I don't want to talk here about
whether a full-scale attack on Iraq is right or wrong. What
I want to do here is to examine whether such attacks - with
Iraq being the most potent symbol of America's unilateral
adventurism in foreign and military policy - will further
or endanger America's national interests. By Bernard
Weiner
Our Gravest Threats Realized
September
3, 2002 · Last November I wrote an article
entitled "Our Gravest Threats," about the shocking
trends forming under the guise of national security and fighting
terror. Not only have those threats failed to subside, they
have been realized as real assaults on our fundamental liberties.
By Eric
Munoz
Explaining Coulter
September
3, 2002 · And so the steady devolution
of American political discourse continues. Apparently Coulter's
output of offensive, borderline-violent pronouncements on
liberals has become so prolific that her fans now feel they
need to explain themselves. By Pamela
Troy
The Parallel Presidency
September
3, 2002 · Mr. Bush was unelected in perhaps
the most contentious election in American history. Yet from
the very earliest days of his administration he has acted
as though he had a clear and decisive mandate. By Mike
Shannon
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