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Articles
FEBRUARY
2003
Mr. Bush's Colonial War
February
28, 2003 · This war is not about UN resolutions
or weapons of mass destruction. It is colonial piracy. This
war will not make Americans safer from any external threat.
It will do little to protect people in the Middle East from
any threat. It will not bring democracy to Iraq. It will not
benefit the Iraqi people. The only people who will benefit
will be Mr. Bush's cronies.
By Jack Rabbit
Life in a Barrel of Oil
February
28, 2003 · The K-8 youngsters that the
American Petroleum Institute is currently targeting will never
learn that the energy business is a filthy one in which US
and European governments - and their militaries - must and
will resort to any tactic in any country to get the oil and
natural gas companies in a position to extract and deliver
product.
By John Stanton
First Iraq, Then the World
February
28, 2003 · The war on Iraq is but the
first step in the plan. The global hegemony that is sought
by the Bush administration is being laid out in steps broad
and intricate. Small pieces of news float out at odd moments,
laying the groundwork for the desensitization of the American
population.
By Bridget Gibson
Disarming the Bush Administration
February
27, 2003 · As the 2000 Presidential Campaign
drew to a close, the Bush Campaign confidently promised that
the grown-ups were going to be back in charge of foreign policy.
What we've seen so far is a foreign policy that is stunningly
reckless, one which may yet cause the United States, the nominal
leader of the free world and sole remaining super power, to
become an international pariah. By Jeff
Ritchie
It's the Economy, Stupid...
Or Is It?
February
27, 2003 · It has long been a goal of
right wing Republicans to bankrupt the federal government
for the purpose of doing away with it. Their ideology sees
the federal government as a gravy train of money for millions
of shiftless people too lazy to get off the couch and make
a living. And that's why Bush and the Republicans don't want
a recovery. By Frederick
H. Winterberg III
Who Cares What Millions
of People Think?
February
27, 2003 · Contrary to Mr. Bush's mistaken
belief, our government and the other democratic governments
of the remainder of Western world comprise more than any one
single person. They are institutions comprised of many men
and women of goodwill, and, as such, they are strong enough
to discern and respond to the true needs and concerns of the
people which they exist to serve. By Dan
DeLisio
Witness to War
February
26, 2003 · It is likely that Bush is
not familiar with the historical accounts of the 'Great War'
and the horrendous slaughter at Verdun, the Somme and numerous
other fields of carnage. It is unlikely that George W. Bush
ever read Barbara Tuckman's The Guns of August. Hopefully,
Condi Rice or Donald Rumsfeld have. By
Christian Dewar
Were the Framers Wrong?
February
26, 2003 · Today, more than at any other
time in our history, an administration, with the support of
a compliant and thoroughly submissive Congress, has tried
to fundamentally change the nature of the Executive Branch
and the composition of the Judiciary, and, in the process,
the laws of the land. By
punpirate
The Bushwald Plan for Conquering
Iraq Without Bloodshed
February
26, 2003 · To hear conservatives tell
it, US president Ronald Reagan singlehandedly brought down
this evil nemisis merely by outspending it on defense. At
first glance, this may seem like a simplistic explanation
of a complex situation, but after long consideration, I thought,
what if the conservatives are right? What if all it takes
to bring down evil enemies is to outspend them on defense?
By Art
Bushwald
Dear Mr. Ridge
February
25, 2003 · I have to tell you, Mr. Ridge,
that honestly, from my viewpoint, you're not hitting the bulls-eye.
In fact, you're not even on the target. So here, to help you
correct your aim a little, is a list of what is, and is not,
helpful to me as a citizen trying to protect myself and my
household. By Tygrbright
I'm Calling you Out!
February
25, 2003 · Marching orders for journalists,
officials and celebrities who believe in "informed consent
of the governed" - particularly so when we're on the verge
of war. By Dennis
Hans
The Only Thing We Have to
Fear
February
25, 2003 · For the media at least, Dubbie's
a real blow-in-my-ear-and-I'll-follow-you-anywhere kind of
guy. There are those of us, however, who remember the mindless,
casual cruelty of Dubya's twisted snicker as he mocked a helpless
Karla Faye Tucker when, from the grim death row of Texas,
she had begged for her life. We remember the obvious enjoyment
he got from bullying someone too weak to fight back. By Sheila
Samples
Tragic Inequalities
February
22, 2003 · The accidental crashes of
five helicopters and a refueling tanker are no different from
the accidental explosion of the space shuttle with its seven
deaths. The death of combat soldiers is no different nor any
less tragic than the death of seven highly-trained astronauts.
Yet, our nation doesn't mourn, our Congress doesn't question,
and our wars don't cease. By Rosemary
and Walter Brasch
Mr. Fisk's American Working-Class
Dilemma
February
22, 2003 · It's time to put this plainly.
The right in the U.S. isn't interested in alternative views,
or facts. While the left wishes to engage in an intellectual
pursuit of a definitive logical reason for or against war,
and for the current intentions of the present administration,
the right, however, wants nothing more than to assert that
the conservative view is "the truth." By punpirate
Are They Listening?
February
22, 2003 · Does the Bush administration
realize that much of the divisiveness and anti-American sentiment
fomenting around the world is the direct result of the administration's
headlong pursuit of the bin-Laden-morphed Saddam Hussein?
By Gregory
Davidson
Bush Knows the Jig is Up:
So Let's Hurry on to Baghdad
February
21, 2003 · One can almost sense a palpable
shifting of momentum, from an unrestricted Bush war-juggernaut
rolling to its bloody unfolding to an administration caught
between Iraq and a hard place. By Bernard
Weiner
Watching History Unfold
February
21, 2003 · It looks like we're all about
to rue those words we spoke so often while we (at least those
of my generation, born in the mid 70's) were younger - "Man,
I wish that I actually saw some real history unfold." Be careful
what you wish for, it just might come true. By Ed
Hanratty
Fight Back: Civil Unions
February
21, 2003 · The Democrats simply cannot
continue to take heavy hits from homosexual bigotry. There
is no choice in the matter - it's time to actively fight for
Democratic party principles on every front or face four more
years. By Joseph
Arrieta
Generation X(XX)
February
20, 2003 · Chances are if you're a member
of a generation dubbed Gen X, which I suppose means you're
in your late twenties or thirtysomething, at least one person
told you that young people in the Sixties were less apathetic
than your no-good generation. By Stephen
Sacco
A Coming Restoration
February
20, 2003 · On January 20, 2005, a new
administration will take power in the United States. It appears
increasingly likely that the new presidency, and probably
both houses of Congress, will no longer be controlled by Neoconservatives
of the Republican Party. By 2005, the neocons will have failed
both as managers of the economy and as promoters of a greater
American reich. By Andrew
Sarchus
Sympathy for the Devil:
France
February
19, 2003 · Flip through enough channels
right now and you will find somebody making a derogatory comment
about France. From the reflexively Euro-phobic Fox News to
the completely irrelevant "Regis and Kelly" show, which unfortunately
represents the entire spectrum of commentary in America, France-bashing
is de rigueur. By Davis
Sweet
The Umbrella Man
February
19, 2003 · He's back. Yes, the worm-eaten
carcass of Neville Chamberlain has once again been hauled
out the grave by those who desperately need an excuse to go
to war and can't find one that makes even the remotest amount
of sense. By Mike
McArdle
Peace in New York City
February
19, 2003 · An eyewitness report on the
February 15 peace march in New York City, with photographs.
By David
Cogswell
Artistic Sign Language: Symbols
of the Coming Bush Fall
February
18, 2003 · Symbolic shrouds are placed
over art, so that nobody will notice the bad things that are
being done in American citizens' names. But art knows. Art
sees beyond, often before the general public is aware of what's
going on. (Often before the artists themselves are conscious
of what they're revealing.) Art points us in new directions
that make us think and question. By Bernard
Weiner
The Path to Credibility
February
18, 2003 · It is clear that we have a
crisis in this nation wherein we are supporting an Iraq war
based on misinformation. We are told the secular, egomaniacal
Saddam Hussein is connected to the war on terrorism when he
clearly is not. By Kurt
Kurowski
Getting Serious
February
15, 2003 · Cynicism is a perfectly natural
response to the world as we've known it. But if we want to
get out of this mess, we are going to have to find our way
through cynicism, out the other side, and back to sincerity.
We are going to have to start taking Dubya seriously.
By the Plaid Adder
How Not to Build a Fire
February
15, 2003 · Mr. Bush has been trying to
light the fire on Iraq for almost a year now, and in spite
him blowing ‘til his cheeks are sore, pouring buckets of gasoline
and throwing one match after another at it, the darn thing
just won't stay lit. By Michael
Shannon
Did Your Vote Count?
February
15, 2003 · What is it about this fascination
with electronic voting? Various states and municipalities
think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Technology
triumphs, right? Or, maybe, this trend to paperless voting
is the greatest scam ever perpetrated on the voting populace
in the world's history.
By punpirate
Rumsfeld Calls For Preemptive
Strike on Louisiana
February
14, 2003 · In a speech that surprised
even such high-level Republican confidantes as Bill Frist,
Tom Delay and Britt Hume, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld today called on Congress to allow President Bush
to proceed with plans for military action against the state
of Louisiana. By Diane
E. Dees
A Note to Anti-War
Protesters
February
13, 2003 · After grinding my teeth one
too many times in the wake of another right-wing tirade in
the press about peace activists being anti-American or undermining
the war against terrorism, I write to make sure the anti-war
protestors know that they are appreciated. By Geurino
Calemine
The Path to Credibility
February
13, 2003 · It is clear that we have a
crisis in this nation wherein we are supporting an Iraq war
based on misinformation. By Kurt
Kurowski
Lying Us Into War: Exposing
Bush and His "Techniques of Deceit"
February
12, 2003 · President George W. Bush and
his foreign-policy team have systematically and knowingly
deceived the American people in order to gain support for
an unprovoked attack on Iraq. By Dennis
Hans
Let's Make a Deal
February
12, 2003 · It was only weeks ago that
the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, was at best a moderate
if not the nearest thing to a pacifist in the Bush cabinet.
Almost overnight, however, Powell turned from moderation to
all but demanding we invade Iraq by our overwhelming force.
By Bob
Volpitto
The Diversionary War
February
12, 2003 · I would like to find just
one success story from the Bush administration before the
end of his term. So far, the only this administration's only
accomplishments are instilling fear into Americans and labeling
anyone who questions the motives of this executive branch
as un-American. By Casper
Are You Anti-American? Take
This Quiz and Find Out!
February
11, 2003 · Sadly, we live in a time when
being informed is enough to brand you "anti-American." By Maureen
Farrell
Mission Impossible?
February
11, 2003 · Despite much press coverage
in his favor, Bush is off to a bad start in his attempt to
both avenge his father's single term as President, and to
secure for himself another term. In plain terms, what Bush
wants is "Mission Impossible." By punpirate
Reform the Payroll Tax
February
11, 2003 · As the Republicans continue
to push proposals for tax cuts, progressives need to reach
consensus on fundamental tax reforms in order to provide a
unified counter to the Republican proposals. It is one thing
to criticize Republican tax proposals. It is another to offer
concrete alternatives. By John
Mattar
War for Sale
February
8, 2003 · Everyone hates sitting through
a sales pitch. It's practically a modern torture device, reserved
for those unfortunate souls destined for the 7th level of
hell or out shopping for a mobile phone. How much the worse
when the pitch is eight pages long (8-point font! Single spaced!)
and supported by a series of audio/visual aids that would
make Ross Perot proud! By Johnny_Red
Gassing His Own People?
February
8, 2003 · One still cannot tune into
a discussion of Iraq without a neo-con bringing up The Gassing
of His Own People as a reason to go to war. Yes, it was a
terrible thing - but it happened in 1988. So why didn't the
United States react then? By Barbara
O'Brien
Trying to Have Iraq Both
Ways
February
8, 2003 · If the war goes badly Kerry
knows that Bush will get the blame; if it goes well Kerry
can claim that he supported the effort, attempt to neutralize
the defense issue and try to win on the economy. It's ugly
but it's politics and everyone running for President in 2004
has to deal with the war issue. By Mike
McArdle
Powell Offers Proof of Saddam-Osama
Link
February
7, 2003 · Secretary of State Colin Powell
today offered incontrovertible proof of the long-sought-after
link between Saddam Hussein's Regime and the al Qaeda Terrorist
Network. By Gil
Christner
Arrogance: What Is It
Good For? Absolute Disasters!
February
7, 2003 · There is a direct connection
between the Columbia shuttle disaster, the U.S. reaction to
the Twin Towers/Pentagon attacks, and the coming war with
Iraq: the arrogance of power. By Bernard
Weiner
Bush Pledges $3.4 Billion
for Research into Pulley, Inclined Plane
February
6, 2003 · In his State of the Union Address,
President Bush issued a call for massively increased federal
funding into research on two of the six simple machines first
described by the Greek scientist Archimedes and other ancient
scholars. By David
Albrecht
The Danger of Unilateralism
February
5, 2003 · The importance of allies in
every conflict spanning from the Second World War to the Gulf
War cannot be understated. More recently, during the war in
Afghanistan following September 11, allies played a crucial
role in securing early victory. By John
D. Briner
Medical Malpractice
February
5, 2003 · Is there no end to the deception
and blatant manipulation of the Bush administration? Is there
not one issue they will address honestly? Apparently not,
as now they have begun their campaign of obfuscation concerning
medical malpractice. By Ronald
Gerughty
The Un-American Factor
February
4, 2003 · Times of war (even unprovoked,
unnecessary war) tend to turn the O’Reillys of the world into
the patriotism police. So last week with predictable arrogance
O’Reilly turned on Susan Sarandon and others in Hollywood
and academia who object to the coming war on Iraq. By Mike
McArdle
Bush's Best Friends
February
4, 2003 · A political cartoon. By SoCalDem
and Jen6
During Black History Month,
Remember the GOP
February
4, 2003 · Trent Lott is forgotten, but
not gone. There is a sickness within the Republican Party
that profoundly affects all Americans. By Andrew
Sarchus
Anatomy of a Lie
February
4, 2003 · Richard Armitage has grossly
over-simplified and distorted the facts to suggest that Hussein
is a direct supporter of Al-Qaeda. And William Safire of the
New York Times has served to enable the administration's view
on the matter, sometimes disingenuously.
By punpirate
The Box that Bush Made
February
1, 2003 · Of all the lousy reasons to
go to war can there possibly be one lousier than to save face?
Tragically, we may end up in a war that is totally avoidable
for that very reason.
By Mike Shannon
Campaign Rhetoric vs. Reality:
Bush on War
February
1, 2003 · Bush's current push for war
in Iraq looks like a flip flop (conveniently ignored by our
ever-vigilant press corps) when compared to what candidate
Bush said about going to war in the 2000 debates. By Brad
Radcliffe
Digging Our Graves
February
1, 2003 · Have you heard about the latest
plan the Pentagon is considering for bodies of American troops
killed in combat in Iraq? Because of the possibility of biochemical
contamination, those who make the ultimate sacrifice may end
up in mass graves, closed with the loving touch of a bulldozer.
By Bridget
Gibson
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