Yesterday I was in the throes of a political frenzy. Today I’m trying to cool off. So I’ll keep these short.

Dissent. Those who say “if you don’t like it, move” in regards to American policy toward war are contemptible scum. There’s nothing more American than dissent, despite the Ashcroftian efforts to change that truth. I wouldn’t think it takes a college degree to know that.

Parallels. I’ve heard people compare the President to various movie characters/actors. Sometimes it’s funny and well done, sometimes it’s lightweight thinking of the worst kind, as when those weak writers desperate for description cast Bush as various “cool” film characters — some of whom are actually violent criminals.

Clarity. My boy B-don* e-mailed me in reference to the approval poll chart’s baseline. I thought he had a fair point so I added a caption to the chart (which I continue to present un-edited.) He also asked if I was completely against a war in Iraq. The answer: I don’t unconditionally reject war with Iraq, but I require evidence of weapons, U.N. participation, and a respect for the American people’s will, all of which are sorely lacking. I also want assurances that we would be in it for the long haul. This Newsweek piece puts it perfectly.

More reading. Good stories, tipped by TMW.

• “There’s something profoundly immoral about financing tax breaks for today’s wealthiest Americans by borrowing money from the unborn.” — Don’t Call it ‘Conservative’, John Moyers, TomPaine.com
• “The general [Norman Schwarzkopf] who commanded U.S. forces in the 1991 Gulf War says he hasn’t seen enough evidence to convince him that his old comrades Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and Paul Wolfowitz are correct in moving toward a new war now.” — Desert Caution, Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post
• “Will we be safer if we invade? The real answer is that we don’t know. But it’s quite plausible that an invasion will increase the danger to us, not lessen it.” — Iraq War: The First Question, Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times

* Here, “my boy” is used in a strictly heterosexual sense to convey camaraderie. But while I’ve got you reading the fine print, what’s up at B-don.com? Anyone speak Japanese?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 29th, 2003 at 3:23 pm and is filed under Law & Politics.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.