Five years ago today, President George W. Bush stood on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln and declared, against the backdrop of a banner that said “Mission Accomplished” that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended.” We have Senator John McCain saying that the United States will be in Iraq for another hundred years.Continue reading “On “Mission Accomplished” Plus Five”
Category Archives: Politics
On Presidential Primary Thoughts
I’ve said very little about the ongoing primary battle between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the past few weeks. The reason’s fairly simple — I don’t have a horse in this race. Maryland voted weeks ago, and I didn’t vote for either candidate. But whichever candidate receives the Democratic Party’s nomination in NovemberContinue reading “On Presidential Primary Thoughts”
On the President’s Shakespearean Tendencies
Will wonders never cease! While other American presidents have quoted from Shakespeare, it appears that George W. Bush is the only president to emulate Shakespeare. So argues Slate. My first reaction? It can’t be. He doesn’t have the cadences. He talks like a gibbering moron when he’s off script, when he’s not being actively petulant.Continue reading “On the President’s Shakespearean Tendencies”
On John Yoo and the Legality of Torture
I don’t like John Yoo. Yoo served in President Bush’s Office of Legal Counsel during the early years of his administration. Yoo was known to have penned two memos outlining the legal basis for detainee confinement at Guantanamo Bay and for coercive interrogation tactics — torture, let’s just say it — that led to prisonContinue reading “On John Yoo and the Legality of Torture”
On the Bush Mosaic
A few short days ago the United States reached the fifth anniversary of its military involvement in Iraq. Yesterday — Easter Sunday, for those of the Christian inclination — another milestone was passed. The four thousandth American soldier fell in Iraq. An artist has commemorated that dubious milestone with a photomosaic of President Bush andContinue reading “On the Bush Mosaic”
On the Tibetan Protests
In a TrekBBS thread on Arthur C. Clarke, I wrote the following: Someday. I loved the film [of 2010], even if it cut out my favorite sequence in the book — the Tsien on Europa. That’s something I loved about Clarke’s work. His near-future science fiction had a cosmopolitan feel to it. That the UnitedContinue reading “On the Tibetan Protests”
On the Five Year Anniversary
Five years ago today the United States invaded Iraq. In that time, four thousand American soldiers have died. In that time, countless Iraqis have died. Some of the casualty estimates I’ve seen are appalling. Despite a speech proclaiming that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended” six weeks after the start of the war, thereContinue reading “On the Five Year Anniversary”
On Securing the Atheist Vote
Are there any Presidential candidates who will campaign for the atheist vote? It’s a question that needs to be asked. Presidential candidates pander to the religious vote. John McCain called Washington, DC, “the city of Satan” yesterday at a campaign stop, explaining that it’s difficult to get “the Lord’s work” done there. “The Lord’s work”?Continue reading “On Securing the Atheist Vote”
On My Grandmother and Politics
Years ago I hated having any sort of political discussion with my grandmother. I won’t say that I was then the raving progressive that I am today; over the past decade my politics have moved steadily — and progressively — to the left. It’s not a reaction to the Bush Crime Syndicate, per se, butContinue reading “On My Grandmother and Politics”
On Pre-Primary Thoughts
Maryland votes today. In what some might consider an ironic turn, I received yesterday my official John Edwards ’08 t-shirt. (The magnetic bumper sticker? Still on back-order.) The order was placed, a donation made, and then… Edwards suspended his campaign. Edwards is still on the ballot here in Maryland. At least, according to the state’sContinue reading “On Pre-Primary Thoughts”