Friday, October 24, 2003
thigh strokers of the world unite
bob somerby's daily howler is required reading for anyone who wants to know the depths to which the SCLM "watchdogs" have sunk. he's got some interesting insight on why they were so reluctant to call bush on his obvious tax-cut lies during the 2000 election.
also, eric alterman has a new media column on the center for american progress website that refutes some of the my own arguments about the bush admin's massive $87 million package for iraq
bob somerby's daily howler is required reading for anyone who wants to know the depths to which the SCLM "watchdogs" have sunk. he's got some interesting insight on why they were so reluctant to call bush on his obvious tax-cut lies during the 2000 election.
also, eric alterman has a new media column on the center for american progress website that refutes some of the my own arguments about the bush admin's massive $87 million package for iraq
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
shorter david brooks (again)
Rescuing the Democrats
if the democrats could just find a candidate like george bush--who by stumbling over his words and appearing stupid is capable of deceiving the american people into believing he is an everyman despite the fact that he comes from one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the country--they might finally win an election.
Rescuing the Democrats
if the democrats could just find a candidate like george bush--who by stumbling over his words and appearing stupid is capable of deceiving the american people into believing he is an everyman despite the fact that he comes from one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the country--they might finally win an election.
Monday, October 20, 2003
longer officerblog on shorter david brooks
all kidding aside, however, i unfortunately have to agree with brooks on this one--now that we are in iraq, we must do everything we possibly can to ensure that the country becomes a stable, democratic nation. to do anything less would ultimately create a more dangerous threat in the middle east than saddam ever posed.
of course, this was the bush administration's plan from the start. that's why he started deploying troops to the gulf well before either the u.s. congress or the united nations had approved any military action against iraq. but that's this administration's standard operating procedure: they create an untenable situation in which the only option available is--surprise, surprise--the one for which they were arguing from the beginning.
take the deficit, for example. the federal government is now well on its way to insolvency due to the ridiculous tax cuts that the administration rammed through congress (with nary a peep from the cowed "party of opposition"). but when the economic shit hits the fan--which it inevitably will--the solution will not be to raise taxes. instead, the solution will be to implement drastic cuts in government spending. faced with an economic crisis of staggering proportions, the congress, regardless of party affiliation, will have no choice but to eviscerate all those social programs that the "compassionate" conservatives--like tom delay and grover norquist--so despise.
by manufacturing these crises, the administration creates situations in which the only option is to accept their radical policies. it's a brilliant approach, really, because the immediacy of the crisis precludes any debate and thus makes it difficult to counter the radical solutions put forth by the administration. indeed, the only way to resist such a strategy is to attack the actions that are meant to create the crisis BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATION ENACTS THEM. of course, this requires that the opposition party engage in a spirited debate about the dire consequences of such actions before such actions occur, rather than bending over, grabbing their ankles, and meekly acceding to the admin's radical agenda. because if you don't stand and fight from the beginning it's already too late.
all kidding aside, however, i unfortunately have to agree with brooks on this one--now that we are in iraq, we must do everything we possibly can to ensure that the country becomes a stable, democratic nation. to do anything less would ultimately create a more dangerous threat in the middle east than saddam ever posed.
of course, this was the bush administration's plan from the start. that's why he started deploying troops to the gulf well before either the u.s. congress or the united nations had approved any military action against iraq. but that's this administration's standard operating procedure: they create an untenable situation in which the only option available is--surprise, surprise--the one for which they were arguing from the beginning.
take the deficit, for example. the federal government is now well on its way to insolvency due to the ridiculous tax cuts that the administration rammed through congress (with nary a peep from the cowed "party of opposition"). but when the economic shit hits the fan--which it inevitably will--the solution will not be to raise taxes. instead, the solution will be to implement drastic cuts in government spending. faced with an economic crisis of staggering proportions, the congress, regardless of party affiliation, will have no choice but to eviscerate all those social programs that the "compassionate" conservatives--like tom delay and grover norquist--so despise.
by manufacturing these crises, the administration creates situations in which the only option is to accept their radical policies. it's a brilliant approach, really, because the immediacy of the crisis precludes any debate and thus makes it difficult to counter the radical solutions put forth by the administration. indeed, the only way to resist such a strategy is to attack the actions that are meant to create the crisis BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATION ENACTS THEM. of course, this requires that the opposition party engage in a spirited debate about the dire consequences of such actions before such actions occur, rather than bending over, grabbing their ankles, and meekly acceding to the admin's radical agenda. because if you don't stand and fight from the beginning it's already too late.
shorter david brooks
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
that the iraq war was a war of choice sold to the american people under false pretences is irrelevant to the fact that it is unconscionable for the democrats to refuse to give president bush the funds he needs to rebuild the country that he destroyed.
UPDATE: alternative shorter david brooks
the bush administration's plan to ensnare the country in a dubious nation-building exercise in iraq has worked perfectly--if it weren't for those uppity pelosi democrats.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
that the iraq war was a war of choice sold to the american people under false pretences is irrelevant to the fact that it is unconscionable for the democrats to refuse to give president bush the funds he needs to rebuild the country that he destroyed.
UPDATE: alternative shorter david brooks
the bush administration's plan to ensnare the country in a dubious nation-building exercise in iraq has worked perfectly--if it weren't for those uppity pelosi democrats.
