Oh, You Mean That War

Still going.

Military officials Friday announced the deaths of six more U.S. troops killed in the recent violence that’s swept Iraq, bringing to 11 the number of Americans slain on the same day. Thousands of Shiites in Baghdad protested the bloodshed and what they claimed was American coddling of Sunni Arab insurgents.

A Marine and soldier died in the attack by a suicide bomber who infiltrated a line of police recruits in Ramadi on Thursday, killing at least 58 and wounding dozens. Two soldiers were also killed in the Baghdad area when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb, the military said Friday.

Keep reading, there's still more.

9/11!!!!!! NINE ELEVEN!!!!!!!!!

I guess Republicans have been so disoriented of late that they almost forgot to use this one:

Vice President Cheney said yesterday that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks might have been prevented if the Bush administration had had the power to secretly monitor conversations involving two of the hijackers without court orders.

They do not disappoint. 9/11 gave them the freedom to do everything.

Hypocrisy

Is a gay bashing preacher getting his gay on.

Link.

If Bush Had a Time Machine

Brought to you by the Poor Man Institute.

Happy New Year! (again)

Such a good way to kick off 2006.

Former high-powered lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty today to three felony charges in a deal with federal prosecutors that helps clear the way for his testimony about members of Congress and congressional staffers in a wide-ranging political corruption investigation.

It's only the beginning.

Paper Tiger

If it has not yet been clear that our foreign policy has in fact had the opposite effect of emboldening states who are not part of the world order and weakening our power, it is now:

Iran said today that it will resume nuclear fuel research, and appeared to toughen its bargaining position on a Russian proposal meant to head off a showdown with the United States and Europe over Tehran's nuclear program

By pouring our resources into Iraq we have left ourselves unable to assert our power elsewhere, and we have also demonstrated how unprepared we are to complete the mission in Iraq.

Republicans: Weak on defense, Weak on the U.S.

The Power of Nightmares

I just began watching a BBC documentary on Islamic fundamentalism and neoconservatism titled "The Power of Nightmares." You can watch it here. It's actually quite good.

I've only watched the first part so far and I really like it. The thesis I've caught about the births of these two philosophies is that they were reactions to the emptiness and moral decreptitude of liberalism and selfish individualism that threatened to destroy society.

I think the absence of morality in liberalism is something that has ultimately lead to its downfall, as is the absence of empathy. Although progressives believe in a degree of moral relativism, not only do we believe that is a moral right in and of itself, but also there are certain fixed morals out there. Furthermore, a progressive's chief value is empathy - the ties that bind us together. I think progressivism is the best answer we have right now to neocons and for the country and the world.

This has also got me thinking about the seemingly inherent contradiction of progressivism - that we are essentially utilitarians (Bentham) but we believe in love thy neighbor (Kant). How exactly are those two intertwined?

The More Things Change...

Stirling's take on natural resources and war.

The More Things Change...

Stirling on the future of resource wars.

In Case You Thought This Was Legal

It was not. Gonzo can make excuses left and right for how anything that impedes Bush's dictatorial powers is bad for the country, and therefore protecting the Constitution, but even their own know better.

The unusual meeting was prompted because Mr. Ashcroft's top deputy, James B. Comey, who was acting as attorney general in his absence, had indicated he was unwilling to give his approval to certifying central aspects of the program, as required under the White House procedures set up to oversee it.

Face it, Republicans have no respect for law.

Link.