Pacifist, Humanist, Pragmatist — Trying To Make Sense In Aftermath Of Sensless Virginia Tech Shootings

There are plenty of wonderful tributes to the victims, survivors, and their families on the web, both in the MSM as well as Facebook and Myspace. It’s important to understand the human losses this week. Personal stories of the victims make clear the depth of losses in the tragic shootings on the Virginia Tech […]

Sad For Scooter Libby, Sort Of

The airwaves have been filled with the ubiquitous juror Denis Colins describing the feelings amongst fellow jurors as sympathetic to Libby and how they did not relish the job they had to do. I’m not ragging on Collins: it’s our news culture. He seems bright, careful and sincere. Interviewers and commentators were happy to jump […]

McCain and Obama Apologize Needlessly for Saying Lives Wasted in Iraq

Why do good men fall all over themselves to apologize for telling the truth?
On Letterman Wednesday night John McCain while announcing his run for the presidency said:

Americans are very frustrated, and they have every right to be,” McCain said about the Iraq War. “We’ve wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American […]

Martin O’Malley Calls For End to Maryland Death Penalty

Maryland’s New Governor, Martin O’Malley is seeking an end to Maryland’s Death Penalty. The move is good government policy and is correct from both moral and ethical points of view.
O’Malley is taking good advantage of a change in mood around the country, questioning the death penalty, as we continue to assimilate more data and anecdotal […]

Bush’s Extraordinary Protection of Extraordinary Rendition

According to the Washington Post, the U.S., Britain, Spain, and Italy have refused to sign a long-negotiated accord on secret detentions. The U.N. treaty has 58 other signers. It is hardly surprising as failure to cooperate with other nations is a hallmark of the Bush administration. What would be surprising is if this administration did […]

God Bless Molly Ivins

Read also: Remembering Molly Ivins, John Nichols, The Nation
Molly Ivins was an original. Tonight, the angels in heaven have a new reason to speak truth. Molly will be taking names and setting records straight—with humor, warmth and the occasional devilish barb.
Molly died today, January 31, 2007, aged 62, after a long battle with cancer.
from […]

Is Nothing Sacred Anymore?

The meaning of words is very important to me. As I write, words will flow from my fingertips that seem to express what I want to say, and as a particular word appears on my screen, I’ll question it. I know the word when I see it in context, and the language flows naturally, but […]

Gambling With Our Soldiers’ Lives

A current must-read is “Why Hawks Win,” by Daniel Kahneman and Jonathan Renshon, in the Jan./Feb issue of Foreign Policy. Kahneman was featured today on NPR’s “Weekend Edition.”
If you don’t read the whole article, skim to the end subhead, “Double or Nothing.” What the authors are clear about is that there are psychological biases common […]

Shocked by the horror of hanging Saddam Hussein

It’s amazing how the effect of finding others who share your outrage can change one’s mood. The facts and my opinion have not changed. I’m still horrified by the circus atmosphere in the media, as well as the super-viral spread of the video across the internet. The difference is that I’m encouraged by reading emails […]

Has Saddam Hussein made snuff films culturally acceptable?

The video shows the sordid nature of the Iraqi regime, and although it may be cheered in the White House, most others feel revulsion on watching it.

Auld Lang Syne?

For Old Times sake? I, for one, am ready for new times.
2006 was the year when the winds finally began to shift. It’s been a tough century for progressives — so far. The outcome of the Fall elections may be a blip on the political timeline, but just may be a harbinger of good […]

Who Really Hanged Saddam Hussein?

I began hearing reports that Saddam Hussein would be executed this weekend just a day or so ago. Coupled with that information was speculation that there would be video, either in the mainstream press or on the internet. That such an event might be televised changed the execution from a bad idea to questioning what […]