In all the hubbub over Senator John McCain dismissing the Dungeons & Dragons vote, one vital story has been ignored — was John McCain tortured by the North Vietnamese during his captivity during the Vietnam War? John McCain would say yes: Just after his release in May 1973, he detailed his experience as a P.O.W.Continue reading “On John McCain and Torture”
Category Archives: Politics
On Wal-Mart, Politics, and Corporate Lobbying
On NPR this morning there was a story about Wal-Mart. The company had, according to the report, asked its store managers to vote Republican this November. The reason? Unionization. Legislation is pending in Congress that would make it easier for workers to unionize. The NPR report indicated that this was a Democratic-backed initiative, and electingContinue reading “On Wal-Mart, Politics, and Corporate Lobbying”
On Jesse Helms
Former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms died this morning. And as it’s bad form to speak ill of the dead, I’ll leave it at that.
On an Honor Too Awesome For Words
In San Francisco, they want to memorialize President George W. Bush. But this would be no ordinary memorial. Not a school, or a federal courthouse, or a stretch of interstate highway. This would be a sewage plant. The George W. Bush Sewage Plant: [A] group going by the regal-sounding name of the Presidential Memorial CommissionContinue reading “On an Honor Too Awesome For Words”
On Bush and Oil Drilling
There’s a political webcomic I enjoy reading, A Town Called Dobson. Today’s comic is about Bush’s call to Congress to lift the ban on off-shore oil drilling and to open the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. Bush’s argument is that high gasoline prices mean that we need to increase our own production. That will bring downContinue reading “On Bush and Oil Drilling”
On the Supreme Court and Detainees
The Supreme Court issued a stinging rebuke to the Bush Administration and its policy of classifying detainees as “enemy combatants,” stripping them of legal rights. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court says that detainees held at Guantanamo Bay and other military prisons have the right of habeas corpus to challenge their detentions. Also, theContinue reading “On the Supreme Court and Detainees”
On Impeaching the President
Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Congressman from Ohio and former Presidential candidate, is introducing 35 articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush. I’ve long wanted to see Bush impeached and removed from office. Or, even better, Bush extradited to Europe to stand trial at the Hague for war crimes. I know that Kucinich’s resolution will goContinue reading “On Impeaching the President”
On Politics, Energy, and Vision
Something I was thinking about today, while hanging clothes on the clothesline. The United States built the atomic bomb in five years. The United States went to the Moon in ten. What if, in light of skyrocketing energy costs, a Presidential candidate announced, as part of his platform for the fall campaign, that, if elected,Continue reading “On Politics, Energy, and Vision”
On the President’s Abject Disconnect
Times of war are times of sacrifice. In my grandparent’s generation — World War II — resources were rationed for the war effort. People from all walks of life gave up necessities so that the Axis could be defeated. President Bush, in our own Iraqi quagmire, believes in sacrifice. He sacrificed his tee time. HeContinue reading “On the President’s Abject Disconnect”
On Political Geek-Fu
An e-mail I wrote was read on today’s Talk of the Nation! 🙂 Neal Conan asked the question — What state has gone the longest without voting for a Republican in the presidential election? I sent a reply via e-mail: Minnesota would be the state that’s gone longest without voting for a Republican. It wasContinue reading “On Political Geek-Fu”