It is perhaps a measure of the White House’s cockeyed hubris that Russia has seized a moment in history when our armed forces are overextended to bully our ally, neighboring Georgia. Given such hubris, it was inevitable the White House would forget it’s not the only bully on the block.
Read More...I understand the argument for a volunteer army. It’s a powerful argument. Its proof is how very good our army is. But I think ultimately it’s a deeply flawed argument, because if we are to remain a democratic republic the rich should not be sending the sons and daughters of the poor to war. And [...]
Read More...Here’s a modest proposal about the Sunday TV talk shows. Let’s call them the Sunday agenda shows, because, when you study them you see that these pundits aren’t shedding light, examining, dissecting, they’re setting the agenda, they’re telling us what’s important instead of enabling us to understand what is happening.
Read More...John McCain, who knows a thing or two about the Navy, thinks military recruits should be instructed in our foreign policy. But foreign policies fluctuate with our political EKG, while our national ideals, however soiled they may be by scare tactics, hold fast. My most memorable experience in Navy boot camp in the early 1950s [...]
Read More...Sometimes I think the all news all day formula is traumatizing society. The news—if you can call that weird concoction of anchor bonhomie and drivel news—is surpassingly negative, and in the interest of ratings the media rarely lose an opportunity to exaggerate the negative side of the news. News or what passes for it is [...]
Read More...(This is the transcript of Hot Copy No. 42, my regular pod cast for The Student Operated Press). Scott McClellan, the former White House spokesman, has written a book confirming some of the public’s worst suspicions about the presidency of George W. Bush. McClellan (inset) says, among other things, the White House lied us into [...]
Read More...It’s interesting how eager both the left and the right wings are to pull the trigger on Scott McClellan, the former White House spokesman, who has written a book confirming many of our worst suspicions about the Bush Administration. If he knew his bosses were lying about Iraq and Valerie Plame, the CIA undercover agent [...]
Read More...It’s often said our government is a cosmology of checks and balances, and lately it’s often said the Bush Administration has labored mightily to subvert it in favor of executive authority. In nature, too, there seem to be checks and balances that humanity labors mightily to subvert. I have been wondering lately whether advertising has [...]
Read More...—seriously diminished U.S. standing in the world —diverted “manpower, materiel and the attention of decision-makers” from “all other efforts in the war on terror” —severely strained our armed forces —made Iraq an incubator for terrorism —emboldened Iran to expand its influence in the region —Conclusions of National Defense Institute [...]
Read More...(This is the transcript of Hot Copy No. 40, Del Marbrook’s regular podcasts for The Student Operated Press) The most frustrating aspect of journalism is its daily failure to challenge society’s assumptions. When television reporters say General Motors or Ford have decided to downsize, they say something like, “Heavily unionized General Motors announced a plan [...]
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