I'll be the first to admit that the administration isn't handling this very well and there could very well be something fishier in all of this. However, from a strict national security perspective, there's no reason to delay or reject this deal. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that shooting this down will increase rather than decrease the likelihood of terrorism against American citizens.

Why? Imagine if you're a Muslim Arab in the Middle East right now. The past few weeks have filled with uproar over blasphemous cartoons poking fun at your faith. The West describes this as "free speech." Meanwhile, a holocaust denier is jailed. Add to that all of your normal complaints about the West (e.g. Iraq, U.S. troops, Gitmo, etc.). Now you have the United States, obstensibly the champion of free trade, blocking the sale of U.S. ports to Dupai Ports World (DPW). Meanwhile, no such objections were raised when similar deals were made with the British, the Singaporeans and the Chinese. Note that the latter two are also state-owned. All this despite the fact that the UAE is described as an ally in the war on terror and even donated $100 million for Katrina relief. Not exactly a good way to win allies, is it?

Given that, the burden of proof is on the critics of the deal to show why DPW shouldn't be allowed to go ahead with this. And by burden of proof, I mean a doomsday scenario on how this will enable a terrorist attack. I'll list these attacks and responses after the flip. I'll also try to update based on any comments I get.   Read More »

One of the annoying things about the Iraq debate is that it's often set in very stark black and white terms. On one hand, you could be labeled as "staying the course" -- which implies you supported the war at the outset, still support the war today, believe the war is going great, are fine with keeping the troops there indefinitely or whatever Bush et al decide, and fiercely attack anyone who disagrees with you as being an unpatriotic liberal coward who's supporting the terrorists. Alternatively, you could be in "cut and run" crowd, implying you believe the war was wrong to begin with, believe the war is still wrong today, feel the war never can and never could be won, want all troops out of Iraq immediately or the opposite of whatever Bush et al decide, and fiercely attack anyone who disagrees with you as being a neo-McCarthyite who unjustly accuses anyone who disagrees with him or her of being an unpatriotic liberal coward who's supporting the terrorists.

Which, as always, leaves those of us in the middle feeling very irritated.

Like a great deal of things in life, a viable strategy for Iraq will involve a balance between "staying the course" and "cutting and running." It's not compromising values or principles or anything like that--it's simply what most likely makes the most sense.   Read More »

I disagree with Ezra Klein's piece on withdrawing from Iraq. If we leave immediately, it leaves Iraq vulnerable to an attack from Iran, or at the very least, continue infilitrating insurgents across the border (along with Syria). The United States, if nothing else, is at least keeping some control on the border and buying the Iraqi government time to figure out a more permanent solution.

The counter-argument is that if U.S. troops leave, then insurgents will nothing to fight against and will diminish--but given the lack of legitimacy of the Iraqi government (American puppet?) and the interests neighboring countries may have in keeping Iraq weak and unstable, that's not a guarantee. All in all, a bad deal for the Iraqis.   Read More »

Hi all -- I'm working on an article for what forms of protest and activism generally work and don't work. If you have any interesting stories, experiences, or lessons learned from your life as an activist, please leave a comment. Thanks!

I've finally find some time to collect my thoughts on this whole economic populism vs. the culture wars vs. moderation vs. whatever debate that Mr. Siddique has been going on about. It's been sitting in my mind for a while, but it became a bit clearer while watching Rick Santorum on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart the other day.

I don't agree with Santorum on much of anything, but there are two bits of common gound I've found with him. The first is that "ice cream is a delicious treat. But too much, sir, will spoil the appetite."

The second is there needs to be discussion about where our culture is heading--what is the role of family? What does it mean to be an American? What is the relationship between the individual and the community? Or communities?   Read More »

Andrew Garib offers an interesting article on what it means to be progressive, and I've been tossing it around in my head for a while. My initial thoughts are on comment blog / post:

Progressives believe in maximizing human freedom and helping society (and its individual members) achieve their full potential. To that end, progressives believe that all of society's members must have access to education, health care, and economic necessities in order to fully contribute to democracy, the economy, and society as a whole. Power, wealth, and information must flow freely rather than be concentrated in the hands of a few so that all of its citizens have the means to contribute.

Alternatively, you could say that progressives believe in progress (i.e. change) and oppose anything that makes society rigid--that is, not changing (smash the power!).

But all of that just seemed a little too long winded, so I've gotten it down to a single sentence and I'm interested in feedback:

Progressives believe that society should maximize its potential by helping its individual members maximize their potential.   Read More »

After White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan's stunning performance in evading questiosn about Karl Rove, it appears the administration has decided to apply this tactic to all future press conferences. McClellan announced today that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had opened investigations on a number of different issues including Iraq, President Bush, global warming, why socks disappear in the dryer, and himself.

Below are transcripts from that press conference:

MCCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everyone. I just wanted to begin with a statement from the Administration.

Neener neener.

Any questions?

QUESTION: Does the president stand by his pledge to fire ...   Read More »

I normally don't disagree much with Todd Hill, but his latest post, Who's Your Daddy?, has me a bit riled up, enough for me to make a new post instead of just a comment in fact. The topic is the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation's bid for purchase of Unocal and how this is a threat to American interests. I've posted on Daily Kos about how this is just silly, but I wanted to make three points in response to Todd's post here, namely that China's actions are not overtly hostile once you place them in context, that Americans are really creating a Chinese bogeyman to hide their own problems, and that anti-China sentiment misdiagnoses any threat China may pose.

The thrust of Todd's post, and most of these dire warnings of rising China, is that we can't let China become a superpower. Why? Because China is a threat. Why is it a threat? Because China is trying to become a superpower. Buried beneath that circular reasoning is the assumption that any rising power must automatically be a threat to American interests.

Take this bit from Todd's post:

In the next 8-10 years it is expected another 80 million vehicles will be in use just in China alone. Oil is quickly becoming the natural resource China craves most, and the last thing we need are two giants clashing over black gold.

So the way to stop two giants clashing over black gold is to start clashing over black gold?   Read More »

Posts and comments on Daily Kos have a tendency to be shrill (mine included). So it was pretty refreshing to see this diary about "What's Right with Kansas":

Which brings me back to Kansas. While I was there, it rained-- a blessing to the parched farmland. My husband went out to run an errand with another Kansas buddy, and to do the errand, they had to drive on dirt roads. This is no surprise-- there are still a lot of dirt roads out there that lots of people have to drive every day. And, even with their four wheel drive, they got stuck in the mud. This happens frequently, and many people in Kansas simply have to stay home on rainy days. But if you do get stuck, as my husband did, what do you do?

Why, you call a friend, a nearby farmer. And he interrupts his day, brings out his tractor and gets you out. And if he gets stuck too, you call another neighbor with a bigger tractor and he interrupts his day to help get both stuck vehicles out of the mud. And so it goes until everyone is out of the mud or everyone is equally stuck, laughing and shaking their heads and walking home until the rain clears and land dries.   Read More »

Windsurfing
Priscilla Owen: I'm Priscilla Owen and I approve this message.

*Cut to scene of Alberto Gonzales windsurfing*

Narrator: In which direction would Alberto Gonzales lead?

Gonzales voted for torture, opposed it, supported it, and now opposes it again. He bragged about being against abortion before he voted for it. He said he supported Priscilla Owen, before calling her an activist, and then supported her again. He says he respects the will of the people before voting five times to support corporations.

Alberto Gonzales, whichever way the wind blows.   Read More »

Just a friendly reminder about where our movement should not be heading:

Many analysts are hailing the 2004 re-election of President George W. Bush as the capstone of a progressive movement thirty years in the making.  The progressive movement had been coined the "vast left-wing conspiracy" by then first lady Hillary Clinton during the impeachment hearings of Bill Clinton for illegally invading Iraq.

Ken Mehlman, head of the DNC, laughed at the phrase, "Vast left-wing conspiracy?  Come on.  This is coming from the same nutjob who, after the 1993 World Trade Center attacks, said we should invade [Muslim] countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity."

Conspiracy or not however, there is clearly an organized progressive movement.  At its forefront are a host of progressive radio talkshow hosts ranging from Rush Limbaugh to Bill O'Reilly, which critics say are known more for their rude antics than actual contribution to debate.  Take this recent exchange on The O'Reilly Factor:

O'Reilly: "Shut up. Shut up."
Barney Frank: Look, all I'm trying to say about gay marriage--
O'Reilly: You're a bigot. This is a No-Hate Zone ...
Frank: --is that it's not the same
O'Reilly: You are being bigoted—
Frank: —as interracial marriage.
O'Reilly: —I'm not going to—
Frank:—this is not for the courts to
O'Reilly: Cut his mic. That's not even worth responding to. We will be back in a moment with more of The Factor.
Frank: That means we're done?
O'Reilly: We're done.

   Read More »

In the interest of clarity, I'm posting what the president really meant to say in his speech tonight:

My greatest responsibility as president is to protect the Republican party, and that is your calling as well. The troops here and across the world are fighting a global war on terror. No, I have no clue how to define terror. But I do know we face a totalitarian ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance and despises all dissent. Their aim is to remake the United States in their own grim image of tyranny and oppression by toppling the filibuster, driving moderates out of the region and by exporting terror. Which is why you should support the GOP, because the only way to beat this ideology is to fight fire with fire.

Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war. Many terrorists who kill innocent men, women and children on the streets of Baghdad are followers of the same murderous ideology that took the lives of our citizens in New York, in Washington and Pennsylvania. I would know; I brought them there. And there is only one course of action against them: to negotiate.   Read More »

In addition to split decisions on the display of the Ten Commandments in public places, the Supreme Court also handed down decisions on the display of superheros in public places.   Read More »

In response to an angry backlash over the funding cuts for PBS and cries of "Save Big Bird," Rep. Ralph Regula found himself defending the controversial actions, "Look, I have nothing against Sesame Street. I once auditioned to be a character myself. I mean, with a name like Rep. Ralph Regula, you'd think I'd be a shoo-in. But noooo .... Big Bird had to come in first and steal the alliteration game! But yeah, really, I have absolutely nothing against Sesame Street for all of this."

The real reason, it appears, for funding cuts to PBS is that the entire cast of characters have recently have shipped off to Iraq to help fight the insurgency as part of the newly formed 645th Puppet Platoon.   Read More »

One of my best friends from high school called me this weekend from the airport. He's in the Army Reserve and wanted to say goodbye before he flew out to Iraq. It wasn't a terribly comforting conversation. The unit was originally set to head to Kurdistan but was going to be diverted to Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, instead. His role was supposed to be civil affairs (or the we-fix-it-after-they-bomb-it group) but his assignment for the most part is manning the machine gun atop the Humvee.   Read More »

For some reason, conversations with fully indoctrinated conservatives can end up in very strange places. Here are some excerpts from a very one-sided conversation I had at dinner with a bunch of MA Republicans who came down to DC to lobby the White House. How many contradictions can you spot?   Read More »

So apparently, Planned Parenthood arranged for someone dressed as a giant birth control pill to run around Capitol Hill handing out cupcakes to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, the decision that legalized birth control. And people wonder why liberals aren't taken seriously.   Read More »