The NFL playoffs have reached their zenith, and soon will come the Superbowl – the mother of all American Spectacles. Baseball may still be the national pastime, but football is America’s favorite sport now. Though, strangely, no other country on … Continue reading
essays
Afghanistan: Time to Leave
“If you are the 4th-poorest country in the world, you have a long way to go. When you try to train an army, they have an 80% illiteracy rate… It’s gonna take a long time.” Former White House Press Secretary … Continue reading
Posted in essays
Tagged afghanistan, usa, war
Back into the Light
At an alumni function last year, I spoke with a friend I had not seen in over a decade. He had spent many of the intervening years in Afghanistan with the US Army, in an intelligence unit. I asked him … Continue reading
The Fascists at “Homeland Security”
The case of Raquel Williams illustrates the way an insane bureaucracy can change rational, thinking men into lock-stepping foot-soldiers of fascism. Raquel is a Brazilian woman who married an American man, Derek Williams, while she was studying in Florida to … Continue reading
Vote Obama, But Don’t Stop There
Sarah Palin has been traveling around what she calls the Real America – the “pro-America” parts of the country, where they “grow good people” who “fight our wars.” These are the Real Americans, Sarah tells us. Real Americans know that … Continue reading
Posted in essays
Tagged election 2008, obama, usa
Agitating for War
If you haven’t yet read Seymour Hersch’s new article, you need to do that now. Hersch wrote about US military incursions into Iran last year, and this is the latest update. He is a seriously connected, established journalist who consistently … Continue reading
The Backslide Begins
Barack Obama is already letting us down. No sooner than I could get it out into words, he’s already settling into the disturbing patterns that ruined the McGovern campaign. Bad decisions – or worse, indecisiveness – followed by poor message control, … Continue reading
Posted in essays
Tagged election 2008, obama, usa
Fear and Loathing in ’08
Reading Hunter S. Thompson’s fine book on the 1972 presidential campaign today will trigger a case of reverse déjà vu: there is no lack of Fear and Loathing in the 2008 Presidential Election. Like Obama today, George McGovern offered the … Continue reading
Posted in essays
Tagged election 2008, history, obama, usa
She Just Won’t Quit
Two weeks ago, I predicted on Sascha’s blog that Hillary Clinton would do the right thing and quit after the races that are taking place tomorrow. Now I’m not so sure. At first I thought Clinton’s continuing swagger was just … Continue reading
Posted in essays
Tagged clinton, election 2008, usa
Chinese Jingos vs. American Jingos
“America: Love it or leave it.” “China: Love it or we’ll kill you.” That pretty much sums up the difference between the jingoists in my country and the jingoists in my wife’s. Both our countrymen have a tendency to overreact … Continue reading