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Full Court Press On The Press: Criminalizing Investigative Reporting by Dan Froomkin, Huffington Post | June 20, 2012
This article from Dan Froomkin sets out the diminishing role of free speech and the growing strength of the state - The peoples inability to control the state even if they wanted to through lawful checks and balances. Shutting down free speech by controlling the media is the tried and trusted method of authoritarian regimes through the ages. Dissent has a diminishing role to play in US society, dissent that speaks for the weak to the strong, the just to the wrongdoer. The shadow of fascism is settling gently over your 'fatherlandHomeland' read more »Social Distance And The Tyranny Of Personal Experience by Digby , OurFuture.org | May 30, 2012
I wrote a bit about the Chris Hayes flap over a Mother Jones earlier. I think he was perfectly respectful and thoughtful as always and that his point was well taken. But his apology opened up a new topic that I think is worth exploring. read more »How to Forget on Memorial Day by Tom Engelhardt, tomdispatch.com | May 24, 2012
May is the official month of remembrance when it comes to our war dead, ending as it does on the long Memorial Day weekend when Americans typically take to the road and kill themselves and each other in far greater numbers than will die in Afghanistan. It’s a weekend for which the police tend to predict rising fatalities and news reports tend to celebrate any declines in deaths on our roads and highways. Quiz Americans and a surprising number undoubtedly won’t have thought about the “memorial” in Memorial Day at all -- especially now that it’s largely a marker of the start of summer and an excuse for cookouts. read more »How Much Does Washington Spend on "Defense"? by Chris Hellman and Mattea Krame, tomdispatch.com | May 22, 2012
Recent months have seen a flurry of headlines about cuts (often called “threats”) to the U.S. defense budget. Last week, lawmakers in the House of Representatives even passed a bill that was meant to spare national security spending from future cuts by reducing school-lunch funding and other social programs. Here, then, is a simple question that, for some curious reason, no one bothers to ask, no less answer: How much are we spending on national security these days? With major wars winding down, has Washington already cut such spending so close to the bone that further reductions would be perilous to our safety? In fact, with projected cuts added in, the national security budget in fiscal 2013 will be nearly $1 trillion -- a staggering enough sum that it’s worth taking a walk through the maze of the national security budget to see just where that money’s lodged. read more »Budget Cuts Have Consequences: Ask Andrews Air Force Base by Stan Collender, OurFuture.org | May 21, 2012
Originally posted at Capital Gains and Games. I can't tell you the number of focus groups I've watched and polls I read where the overwhelming opinion was that federal spending could be cut without any decrease in the quantity and quality of what the government does. read more »Get U.S. Troops Out Of Afghanistan by Keith Ellison, OurFuture.org | May 2, 2012
Rep. Keith Ellison is a speaker at this year's Take Back The American Dream conference in Washington, DC. Register today! Early-bird registration expires May 3. One year ago, the enemy that had haunted America for nearly a decade met his end in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat to the United States because of President Obama's leadership and strong national security policies. Good intelligence practices and surgical counterterrorism operations enabled us to kill 20 of al Qaeda's top 30 leaders, including bin Laden. This is an accomplishment by any measure. We have diminished al Qaeda's strength, so for the sake of our economic and national security, we should decrease our military presence and bring our troops home from Afghanistan as soon as is safely possible. The American people agree. According to the latest New York Times/CBS poll, more than two-thirds of Americans think that the United States should no longer be at war in Afghanistan. read more »How America's Security-Industrial Complex Went Insane by Rachel Maddow, alternet.org | April 7, 2012
I had thought about references to "Alice in wonderland" or perhaps "Nutjobs in Washington" to illustrate the top down lunacy of spending $5Bn a month on creating a colony of temples dedicated to the church of latter day military-intelligence-complex in a far off land. It's all so consistently irrational I think I will go with "Alice in wonderland" read more »Spearing Another Sacred Cow by Rep. Keith Ellison, Huffington Post | March 26, 2012
It's happened again: I said something that speared a GOP sacred cow and the Right Wing Twitterverse is losing its cool. The first time this happened was last October after Chris Hayes interviewed me on his MSNBC show UP with Chris Hayes and the topic was jobs. This time is a little different. First, you could say the interview occurred on "their" territory. Second, the sacred cow in question was Iran and how the U.S. should prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. So, the Right Wing's takeaway is that I somehow believe the Nazis bombed Pearl Harbor. The Iranian government is a despicable and violent regime that oppresses its own people and terrorizes other countries. No one wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon. But here is the sticking point: There is no evidence that Iran has even begun building a nuclear weapon and diplomatic efforts aren't even close to being exhausted. read more »Throwing Money at the Pentagon: A Lesson in Republican Math by William Hartung, tomdispatch.com | March 20, 2012
If you’ve been fretting about faltering math education and falling test scores here in the United States, you should be worried based on this campaign season of Republican math. When it comes to the American military, the leading Republican presidential candidates evidently only learned to add and multiply, never subtract or divide. Advocates of Pentagon reform have criticized President Obama for his timid approach to reducing military spending. Still, compared to his main Republican opponents, Obama is a T. rex of budget slashers. After all, despite their stated commitment to reducing the deficit (while cutting taxes on the rich yet more), the Republican contenders are intent on raising Pentagon spending dramatically. read more »Discussing The Motives Of The Afghan Shooter by Glenn Greenwald, salon.com | March 20, 2012
Here’s a summary of the Western media discussion of what motivated U.S. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales to allegedly kill 16 Afghans, including 9 children: he was drunk, he was experiencing financial stress, he was passed over for a promotion, he had a traumatic brain injury, he had marital problems, he suffered from the stresses of four tours of duty, he “saw his buddy’s leg blown off the day before the massacre,” etc. Here’s a summary of the Western media discussion of what motivates Muslims to kill Americans: they are primitive, fanatically religious, hateful Terrorists. Even when Muslims who engage in such acts toward Americans clearly and repeatedly explain that they did it in response to American acts of domination, aggression, violence and civilian-killing in their countries, the only cognizable motive is one of primitive, hateful evil. It is an act of Evil Terrorism, and that is all there is to say about it. read more »
The Latest
Robert McNamara, Ex-Defense Secretary, Dies, CNN | July 6, 2009
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, a key architect of the U.S. war in Vietnam under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, has died at age 93, according to his family. McNamara was a member of Kennedy's inner circle during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when the United States and the Soviet Union stood on the brink of nuclear war. more »
Rail’s Hazardous Cargo Debate Back on Track, MSNBC News | June 29, 2009
The derailment of freight trains carrying ethanol, in Illinois, earlier this month highlights the struggle to prevent such disasters along the 140,000-mile U.S. rail network. The pressure is on to tackle outstanding safety issues with hazardous-cargo shipments expected to soar in coming years. Fears that terrorists might view chemical-laden tankers as easy targets adds to the urgency. more »
Report: Easy For Suspected Terrorists To Buy Guns In U.S., Christian Science Monitor | June 23, 2009
Nearly 900 people on the FBI’s terror watch list applied for and received a certificate to buy a gun in the United States between 2004 and 2009, according to a Government Accountability Office report. In all, some 90 percent of the people on the watch list who applied passed the required background check, said the report, which was requested by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) of New Jersey. more »
U.S. Withdrawal Date Approaches In Iraq, USA Today | June 22, 2009
As a June 30 deadline approaches for most U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities after a six-year occupation, much of the country is eager for the change. Vast areas including Baghdad have seen security improve dramatically and, while some tensions linger between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, major combat operations have drawn to a close. more »
Report Blasts Terror Financing Laws and Investigations, ipsnews.net | June 17, 2009
Muslim charities in the United States are subject to unfair treatment by the government under terrorism financing laws, according to a new report which says the effect has been a chill on charitable giving that violates Muslims’ right to freely practice an important requirement of their religion. more »
U.S. To Stick To Iraq Withdrawal Date, USA Today | June 16, 2009
The top U.S. commander in Iraq said that the country's "dark days" of violence have passed, and that improved security will allow U.S. combat troops to withdraw from cities as promised by the end of this month. Gen. Ray Odierno had said as recently as March that U.S. troops might stay in restive areas such as the northern city of Mosul if the Iraqi government requested their help. more »
Travel Freebies For Pentagon Cause Concern, MSNBC News | June 11, 2009
Pentagon employees have received millions of dollars in free travel and lodging from foreign countries, trade groups and companies with an interest in shaping policies or doing business with the U.S. military. Defense officials say the arrangement is legal, saves taxpayers money and is carefully monitored to ensure there are no conflicts of interest. more »
Panel Fines Lax Oversight of Wartime Contracting, Associated Press | June 8, 2009
The Defense Department has failed to provide adequate oversight over tens of billions of dollars in contracts to support military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, says a new report by an independent commission investigating waste and fraud in wartime spending. U.S. more »
U.S. Warns North Korea Over Terror List, BBC News | June 8, 2009
The U.S. is considering reinstating North Korea on its list of states viewed as sponsors of terrorism, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said. North Korea was removed from the list in October 2008 after it began disabling a nuclear reactor, but has since carried out a nuclear test. Mrs. Clinton told ABC News the reason for being removed from the list "is being thwarted by their actions". more »
Economic Crisis Making for More Unstable World, ipsnews.net | June 3, 2009
The world has become a slightly more dangerous place in the past year, said the new Global Peace Index (GPI), which points to the economic crisis as the main factor. more »
