Op-Ed
AUSTIN, Texas -- So, Haditha becomes another of the names at which we wince, along with Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and My Lai. Tell you what: Let's not use the "stress of combat" excuse this time. According to neighbors, the girls in the family of Younis Khafif -- the one who kept pleading in English: "I am a friend. I am good" -- were 14, 10, 5, 3 and 1. What are they going to say? "Under stress of combat, we thought the baby was 2"?
"We have a Haditha every day," said Muhanned Jasim, an Iraqi merchant. "Were (those killed in Haditha) the first Iraqis to be killed for no reason?" asked Ghasan Jayih, a pharmacist. Well no, but we Americans don't count collateral damage unless we're forced to. We prefer to ignore collateral damage, especially if they're under 5.
"We have a Haditha every day," said Muhanned Jasim, an Iraqi merchant. "Were (those killed in Haditha) the first Iraqis to be killed for no reason?" asked Ghasan Jayih, a pharmacist. Well no, but we Americans don't count collateral damage unless we're forced to. We prefer to ignore collateral damage, especially if they're under 5.
People who are concerned about the state of the U.S. news media in
2006 might pause to consider those who have lost their lives in the midst
of journalistic neglect, avoidance and bias.
We remember that while TV and radio news reports tell the latest about corporate fortunes, vast numbers of real people are struggling to make ends meet -- and many are in a position of choosing between such necessities as medicine, adequate food and paying the rent.
We remember that many Americans have lost their limbs or their lives in on-the-job accidents that might have been prevented if overall media coverage had been anywhere near as transfixed with job safety as with, say, marital splits among Hollywood celebrities.
We remember that the national and deadly problem of widespread obesity is in part attributable to constant advertising for products with empty calories and plenty of fat.
We remember that despite public claims by tobacco companies, the ads that keep trying to glamorize smoking continue to lure millions of young people onto a long journey of addiction to cancer-causing cigarettes.
We remember that while TV and radio news reports tell the latest about corporate fortunes, vast numbers of real people are struggling to make ends meet -- and many are in a position of choosing between such necessities as medicine, adequate food and paying the rent.
We remember that many Americans have lost their limbs or their lives in on-the-job accidents that might have been prevented if overall media coverage had been anywhere near as transfixed with job safety as with, say, marital splits among Hollywood celebrities.
We remember that the national and deadly problem of widespread obesity is in part attributable to constant advertising for products with empty calories and plenty of fat.
We remember that despite public claims by tobacco companies, the ads that keep trying to glamorize smoking continue to lure millions of young people onto a long journey of addiction to cancer-causing cigarettes.
"We fought the good fight," Jeff Skilling said, standing strong after he
and "Kenny Boy" Lay were convicted of defrauding Enron stockholders. But
what an odd choice of words. I suppose Joachim von Ribbentrop and Attila the
Hun could say the same thing, but fighting to stay out of jail is a small
imperial dream. Skilling and Lay did authorize blitzkrieg-worthy raids on
West Coast utilities, where Enron traders bragged about stealing from
"grandma Millie," and jamming their $250 a megawatt hour power "right up
her ass." And Enron did conquer the venerable Portland General utility, then
leave it a hollow shell-I met a woman who'd lost her entire retirement. So
maybe those were the fights Skilling referred to. But these opponents barely
put up a struggle.
Since Congress won't seriously entertain the impeachment of George Bush, fed-up segments of the American public are taking matters into their own hands and "impeaching" him symbolically. It's part of the phenomenon of the Bush administration's unraveling.
Historians recently joined the fun, with more than half the participants in a recent poll conducted by History News Network ranking Bush on a par with such washouts as James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson and Herbert Hoover, and fully 12 percent - a large number for such a wait-and-see bunch - declaring him flat-out the worst president in American history. A cover story in Rolling Stone last month by Princeton's Sean Wilentz, a leading U.S. historian, announced the ignominious verdict.
Historians recently joined the fun, with more than half the participants in a recent poll conducted by History News Network ranking Bush on a par with such washouts as James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson and Herbert Hoover, and fully 12 percent - a large number for such a wait-and-see bunch - declaring him flat-out the worst president in American history. A cover story in Rolling Stone last month by Princeton's Sean Wilentz, a leading U.S. historian, announced the ignominious verdict.
Remarks in front of White House, May 17, 2006.
Some weeks back, Cindy Sheehan asked me to start a petition opposing an attack on Iran. We posted it at www.dontattackiran.org
It's wonderful that so many people are here as we deliver the petition to the White House. It would be nice if President Bush were here, but I understand he's run for the border in search of his lost 30 percent approval rating.
The other people who should be here, but who are here in spirit, are the 43,000 people who signed the petition on the website. We've brought with us to deliver to the men and women guarding our occupied but temporarily abandoned house all 43,000 names. These stacks and stacks of names are printed double-sided and include people's cities and states, so that our President can be sure he's listening in on the right people's phone calls.
Some weeks back, Cindy Sheehan asked me to start a petition opposing an attack on Iran. We posted it at www.dontattackiran.org
It's wonderful that so many people are here as we deliver the petition to the White House. It would be nice if President Bush were here, but I understand he's run for the border in search of his lost 30 percent approval rating.
The other people who should be here, but who are here in spirit, are the 43,000 people who signed the petition on the website. We've brought with us to deliver to the men and women guarding our occupied but temporarily abandoned house all 43,000 names. These stacks and stacks of names are printed double-sided and include people's cities and states, so that our President can be sure he's listening in on the right people's phone calls.
The Al Gore-inspired documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" opened across America Wednesday to a battery of highly-charged reviews. But whether or not the film gets its props or pans unfortunately depends on which side of the political aisle you're on. You'd think that the concern over the rise in natural disasters, the warming of the planet, and the raping of the environment would be a non-partisan one. Guess again.
Glenn Greenwald's new book "How Would a PATRIOT ACT? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok," lays out a powerful, concise, and well-researched argument that President Bush is a threat to our government's system of checks and balances and to our individual liberties.
Greenwald makes a point of saying that he used to be a supporter of Bush and trusted him as long as he was able. The voices Greenwald quotes are those of conservatives, the group to which he is clearly trying to appeal. He focuses very heavily on Bush's illegal unwarranted spying, but also addresses the use of detention without charge and torture, and touches on Bush's habit of adding signing statements to bills indicating his unwillingness to obey the acts he is signing into law.
Dave Lindorff has argued that a focus on this blatant refusal to obey new laws (and the threat of having a Democratic president behave the same way) is the most effective way to help Bush supporters recognize the threat their leader is to representative democracy. On the other hand, many conservative Americans don't seem to care about the spying.
Greenwald makes a point of saying that he used to be a supporter of Bush and trusted him as long as he was able. The voices Greenwald quotes are those of conservatives, the group to which he is clearly trying to appeal. He focuses very heavily on Bush's illegal unwarranted spying, but also addresses the use of detention without charge and torture, and touches on Bush's habit of adding signing statements to bills indicating his unwillingness to obey the acts he is signing into law.
Dave Lindorff has argued that a focus on this blatant refusal to obey new laws (and the threat of having a Democratic president behave the same way) is the most effective way to help Bush supporters recognize the threat their leader is to representative democracy. On the other hand, many conservative Americans don't seem to care about the spying.
As we stare with sudden revulsion at the apparent cold-blooded murder of Iraqi civilians in Haditha - at least 15, maybe twice that number, killed by Marines avenging a buddy, including a 3-year-old girl, and men shoved into a closet, and a man kneeling in prayer - let us have the wit not to feign shock.
The massacre in this farming town on the Euphrates, about 150 miles northwest of Baghdad, may not be precisely part of Operation Iraqi Freedom's official mission, but neither is it an aberration. Indeed, it is, as Iraq vet Charlie Anderson said to me, a "foreseeable consequence" of an occupation that from day one was clumsy, brutal and clueless. As it grinds into its fourth year, with thousands of GIs caught by stop-loss orders in a tour of duty without end, and with all claims of noble purpose long since abandoned by our government like burned-out tanks in the desert, the frustrations and hatreds generated by our presence continue to intensify.
The massacre in this farming town on the Euphrates, about 150 miles northwest of Baghdad, may not be precisely part of Operation Iraqi Freedom's official mission, but neither is it an aberration. Indeed, it is, as Iraq vet Charlie Anderson said to me, a "foreseeable consequence" of an occupation that from day one was clumsy, brutal and clueless. As it grinds into its fourth year, with thousands of GIs caught by stop-loss orders in a tour of duty without end, and with all claims of noble purpose long since abandoned by our government like burned-out tanks in the desert, the frustrations and hatreds generated by our presence continue to intensify.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Looking at the wreckage of the Bush administration leaves one with the depressed query, "Now what?" The only help to the country that can come from this ugly and spectacular crack-up is, in theory, things can't get worse. This administration is so discredited it cannot talk the country into an unnecessary war with Iran as it did with Iraq. In theory, spending is so out of control it cannot cut taxes for the rich again; the fiscal irresponsibility of the Bushies is already among its lasting legacies.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Last week, Bush visited Yuma, Ariz., to tour a portion of the U.S.-Mexico Border by Border Patrol buggy. Maybe Jorge was doing a little measuring for the $3.2-million-a-mile fence the Senate recently approved, which I guarantee will be really helpful.
Are they insane? As Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano observes, "Show me a 50-foot wall, and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder."
Meanwhile, Republicans in the Senate have constructively declared English the national language. That'll fix everything. Every foreigner at our borders will stop and say: "Gosh, ma foi! English is the national language here. Good thing to know. I'll begin speaking it immediately."
Yes sir, you want a solution, call a Republican.
Of course, I am enchanted to discover that the entire project will be turned over to Raytheon, General Dynamics and other military contractors -- think Halliburton with noncompetitive bids, anyone? Because this outsourcing stuff is just working like a charm. Another Republican solution.
Are they insane? As Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano observes, "Show me a 50-foot wall, and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder."
Meanwhile, Republicans in the Senate have constructively declared English the national language. That'll fix everything. Every foreigner at our borders will stop and say: "Gosh, ma foi! English is the national language here. Good thing to know. I'll begin speaking it immediately."
Yes sir, you want a solution, call a Republican.
Of course, I am enchanted to discover that the entire project will be turned over to Raytheon, General Dynamics and other military contractors -- think Halliburton with noncompetitive bids, anyone? Because this outsourcing stuff is just working like a charm. Another Republican solution.