“Democracy” is usually my code category for stuff the Bush administration does that pisses me off, usually becuase of the way they make a mockery of whatever the concept “Democarcy” has going for it
I wanted to hear Paul Krugman on AirAmerica, and so went to the airamericasite to see if there was a clip. I found this, however. O’Reilly goes nuts, about Media Matters (which most rightwingers do about anything that “analyzes” approaches taken by the media. I did Media Studies myself, and I guess that explains why I too, am liberal, because Continue Reading
I guess that GOP training is terrific. Got him up to speed on 30 years of Intelligence History in just under 6 months! Brian’s Blog: Michael Moore Strikes Again I couldn’t get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified. I don’t have the language skills. I, you know, my language skills were romance languages and stuff. We’re looking Continue Reading
One of Kos’ observations in the below quote is of interest to me— read it , then I’ll continue on below… Daily Kos || Political Analysis and other daily rants on the state of the nation. Kos:When I first heard Trippi was writing a book, I asked him if it would be a tell-all. He said it wouldn’t. But there Continue Reading
From Joichi Ito in Extreme Democracy Extreme Democracy By direct democracy, we don’t mean simple majority rule, but a system that evolves away from the broadcast style of managed consensus to a democratic style of collective consensus derived from “many-to-many” conversations.
Wendell Berry with some suggestions for the Kerry campaign on “showing Bush the Door in 2004” (the latter is not Berry’s phrase but a bumper sticker I just saw)
Bush really is achieving his claimed desire to be a “great uniter”. He’s offended so many diverse groups, they all want him out. It’s produced a grand collaboration. Journalists (like Bill Moyers and many others), Environmentalists (like Wendell Berry), Economists (like Paul O’Neill and Alan Greenspan), theologians (like all of them not aligned with the Religious Right), and, as a Continue Reading
It would seem that just a few Bush supporters, are smart enough to be embarassed by this pretending not to understand and appreciate “nuance”. It is not uncertainty. But that seems to be the strategy of the Bush campaign, and frankly, I’d be embarassed to have to defend this insistence that “nuances” be eliminated. Another example of the “dumbing down” Continue Reading
Joshua Marshall points to this article by Kevin Drum (Joshua’s article is great as well) The Washington Monthly Drum quotes from Bob Sumersby What is Kerry’s stand on Iraq? Readers, get ready for some real brain-work! Here goes: Kerry says Bush should have had the authority to go to war, but then went to war prematurely. Wow! Have you finished Continue Reading
Heavy hitting memo to Donald Rumsfeld from Steve Clemons, who has the New America Foundation blog just mentioned. Choice quote below. New America Foundation : article -1406- “Responding to the Rumsfeld Memo” “Responding to the Rumsfeld Memo” -1406- Before 9-11, you were keen on weaning generals off of their Cold War era toys. You were on the right track: demonstrating Continue Reading
Via Dan Gillmor, he points to a blog by The New Americas Foundation’s Steve Clemons. I was intrigued to see him mention the same exact three people I had mentioned I have been reading as perhpas the three most credible inside critics and whistle blowers on some of the incredible lapses of ethics and serious thought passing as legitimate politics Continue Reading
I have long thought this, and for manyof the reasons outlined in this book Imperial Hubris, , and echoed by both former Secretary of the Treausry Paul O’Neill, a nd former anti-terrorsist czar, Richard Clarke: that we can fight the terrorist threat by the shher force of might (conventional military, which in modern times, is increasingly dependent on “bombing” our Continue Reading
Finished listening to Richard Clarke’ sAgainst All Enemies (Simon and Schuster Audio Book) read by Clarke. Fascinating, and again, really scary. I wasn’t even aware that after Clarke left, within a year, two more who filled that Anti_terrorism director position also left in frustration. I guess that “liberal media” missed both of those (NOT).
Trippi, in the Foreword to Extreme Democracy: Our democracy is really threatened right now in ways that the American people just haven’t really grasped yet. You cannot have a system that’s all about the big money. When you have powerful interests fighting over the energy bill and fighting over the healthcare bill and fighting over the Medicare bill and you Continue Reading
How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy The Junk Science of George W. Bush Robert F. Kennedy Jr., senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council and president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, is working on a book about President Bush’s environmental policies, Crimes Against Nature, to be published this spring by Continue Reading
Just took notice of this, after reading some preliminary postings about its coming……off to lunch now, but will look at this while on my lunch break Extreme Democracy The Book and Discussion Forum for Networked Activists