Politics & War

We’re six years in. This day, this September 11th, always a shitty day for as long as people remember the attacks. No coincidence that Petraeus and Crocker find themselves on the Hill, hocking the president’s wares. Hell, Petraeus may even believe it. If we had gone in with 500,000 troops, and a plan for what would happen after the Iraqi tanks were all gone, Petraeus is the man we should have had at the head. No one is denying that. The man is the poster child for American counterinsurgency. Continue reading “Sand in Your Eye”

Soliciting sex in a public restroom is gross. And it is illegal. That type of lewd behavior has no place in society as a whole, much less the Senate. Although we like to maintain that our public institutions are beacons of upright moral behavior, we all know that our elected and non-elected officials are as fallible as the rest of us, and placed in a position of power, quite possibly more so. When Senator Larry Craig allegedly propositioned a man in a men’s room stall, he betrayed the trust of his constituents to uphold the law, and for that, he should be pilloried, to a degree. But Senator Craig is also in the unfortunate position of living in a time when being a homosexual, and a public figure, means never being given the chance to say you’re sorry. Continue reading “Big Red Elephant Say, “No Gays!””

If ever there were evidence that President Bush has become a lame duck, it would have to be Karl Rove’s departure from his administration. A man Bush has referred to as “the architect,” Rove was exactly that. Where Vice President Cheney wields immense power in the foreign policy sphere, Rove managed what he so lovingly called the “permanent Republican majority” here at home. Alas, that did not come to pass. Continue reading “Turd Blossom Hits the Bricks”

Draft. There’s that word again. From the mouths of generals to the souls of babes, a military draft has about as much weight to it as any other subject in this country. And for good reason. In many respects, being forced to serve in a nation’s military is the most vile form of subjugation. A normally peaceful person can be forced to pick up arms, fight and kill for a cause for which they have no belief. But, in the face of existential threats, a military draft becomes necessary to ensure the survival of the nation. The sacrifices that we demand of the draftee become secondary to the fate of all of us. That’s quite a burden to place on a person who did not sign on the dotted line voluntarily. And that is why there has not been a draft in over thirty years. Continue reading “Bugle Call?”

The most benevolent government on the face of the earth still needs laws and restrictions to prevent it from abusing the rights of its citizens. In a democracy like the United States, these restraints are doubly necessary, due to the transitory nature of our leadership. Successive administrations are subject to the same laws. Removing the levers of power from angels does the same for demons. Continue reading “Do Not Trust Them”

Terrorists set off explosives among a civilian throng celebrating the Iraqi national football team’s semifinal victory in the Asia Cup, and dozens of civilians are killed. American warplanes bomb a suspected terrorist gathering, which turns out to be a wedding reception or any such innocuous event, and dozens of civilians are killed. What is different about these two circumstances, and scores like them over the past years? Continue reading “Collateral Damage”

Let’s recap the past few months of U.S./Russian relations:

President Bush has announced his intention to place ten interceptor missile batteries in the Czech Republic and Poland. The batteries are part of our military’s multi-billion dollar anti-ballistic missile system, which, to put it euphemistically, does not work. Continue reading “The Loony Bear”

Last month, the United States Army missed its recruiting goal of 5,500 new recruits by almost 400. The army cited the war in Iraq, and a strong economy, as reasons they fell short of the goal. It’s understandable that young people would be wary of joining the army during wartime. Even more so while we wage a war that is so unpopular and fruitless. But by citing economic factors in explaining the recruiting shortfall, the army is being refreshingly candid, something that politicians would do well to take note of. It has never been a secret that the United States has depended heavily upon those less fortunate to bear the burden of national defense. Military pay is low, the hours are long, and during a war, the risks are high. We have every reason to be proud of those who sign on the dotted line and put on the uniform, but it is unseemly that so many people take a hard look at their lives and feel getting shipped off to war is a better alternative. That alone is evidence we still have some nation building to do here at home.

I have to admit, when it comes to global warming, I am a pessimist. I have little faith in the ability of mankind to curb its appetite for energy, thereby burning less fossil fuels, the main culprit of global warming. I look at what the United States has managed to accomplish. By becoming the greatest economy on the planet, built on a mountain of coal and an ocean of oil, we have contributed more than any other single nation to the process of global warming. We are far from being the only culprits, but we are without a doubt the glutton at the buffet table. Continue reading “Global Warming, the Unstoppable, World Destroying Force, Bound to Drown Us All in an Ever-Rising Ocean of Suffering”