Monday, May 19, 2003
Now the pro-invasion people are beginning to come around to what I predicted was Saddam's best move all along.
Gary Schmitt:
Gary Schmitt, of the pro-invasion Project for the New American Century, said investigators "may well not find stockpiles, because it may well be that Saddam figured out it was better to get rid of the stuff" and start over after inspectors left.
Saddam's major mistake was not the let the inspectors have a freer rein sooner.
Gary Schmitt:
Gary Schmitt, of the pro-invasion Project for the New American Century, said investigators "may well not find stockpiles, because it may well be that Saddam figured out it was better to get rid of the stuff" and start over after inspectors left.
Saddam's major mistake was not the let the inspectors have a freer rein sooner.
What an opening line!
President Bush, of course, is not a junior reporter for The New York Times. So maybe it doesn’t matter if he makes up stories and puts them in the newspaper. After Ronald Reagan, it’s almost a presidential tradition.
President Bush, of course, is not a junior reporter for The New York Times. So maybe it doesn’t matter if he makes up stories and puts them in the newspaper. After Ronald Reagan, it’s almost a presidential tradition.
The law of contraries. The people who talk most about morality probably aren't. If someone says it's not about the money, it's about the money. If someone says it's not about sex, it's about sex. Caplan's problem is that he has been seduced by the hype. The real moral people are not going around tooting their horns about how moral they are. They are busy putting energy into maintaining a high standard in their day-to-day lives because it isn't an easy thing to do.
Fleischer's out. Wonder if the next guy will be as unfazed about lying as he was.
Update. Quote from SLATE.
Fleischer holds the record for most citations in "Whopper of the Week," as compiled by Timothy Noah. As Noah commented in February 2003, "Ari Fleischer's ability to repeat a lie even after it's been shown, repeatedly, to be false is what separates him from the amateurs."
Update. Quote from SLATE.
Fleischer holds the record for most citations in "Whopper of the Week," as compiled by Timothy Noah. As Noah commented in February 2003, "Ari Fleischer's ability to repeat a lie even after it's been shown, repeatedly, to be false is what separates him from the amateurs."
Sunday, May 18, 2003
Eric Schlosser has a new book that nails the new American hyprocrisy. Gary Kamiya reviews it.
...indeed, some of the bravest statements on marijuana have been made by conservatives like William F. Buckley Jr. But the ascension of Bush and Ashcroft has not helped: The sanctimony, ignorance, bad science, rage at the "cultural left," and political cowardice that has kept America benighted seems only to be getting worse.
...indeed, some of the bravest statements on marijuana have been made by conservatives like William F. Buckley Jr. But the ascension of Bush and Ashcroft has not helped: The sanctimony, ignorance, bad science, rage at the "cultural left," and political cowardice that has kept America benighted seems only to be getting worse.
I watched my man Howard Dean on CSPAN today at an Iowa event. He is so impressive because he tells it the way it is and eschews spin. He was talking about achieving universal health care access. He was not an idealogue. He wants to base the policy on what can pass Congress even if it isn't ideal. It's the kind of thinking that will get things done rather accomplish nothing more than melodramatic grandstanding. Such honesty is so rare in political arenas that it makes him look unique.
Thursday, May 15, 2003
The case for evolution continues to get stronger the more we know. Alternatives can not offer laboratory proofs.
Evolutionary design can often solve problems better than we can using our own intelligence.
Evolutionary design can often solve problems better than we can using our own intelligence.
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
Dean vs. Gephardt Medical Plan comparison
Gephardt's is pricey. Dean's is modest, creative, and effective.
Gephardt's is pricey. Dean's is modest, creative, and effective.
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
Monday, May 12, 2003
In American society (and others as well) religion can begin to look very much like the tyranny of the majority. We are all minorities in some sense and we all benefit when the rights of minorities are protected.
Friday, May 09, 2003
The real story on sustainable development may be a mixed bag.
Those who hold that globalization is a disaster for the poor are factually wrong. The living standards of perhaps 3 billion or more people have been increasing over the past 25 years and it is the diffusion of knowledge and technologies that has allowed for this.
On the other hand, there are the three deep negative trends. There is no doubt that there is profound and dangerous ecological stress at every scale of our human society. Significant places in the world face ecological collapse. There is no doubt also that, at the global scale, we are pushing limits of profound risk, whether over anthropogenic climate change, depletion of global fisheries, or loss of biodiversity.
Those who hold that globalization is a disaster for the poor are factually wrong. The living standards of perhaps 3 billion or more people have been increasing over the past 25 years and it is the diffusion of knowledge and technologies that has allowed for this.
On the other hand, there are the three deep negative trends. There is no doubt that there is profound and dangerous ecological stress at every scale of our human society. Significant places in the world face ecological collapse. There is no doubt also that, at the global scale, we are pushing limits of profound risk, whether over anthropogenic climate change, depletion of global fisheries, or loss of biodiversity.
Thursday, May 08, 2003
Friday, May 02, 2003
What are they smokin' now?
"By the year 2002, we can have a federal government with a balanced budget or we can continue down the present path towards total fiscal catastrophe."—Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, 1995
"By the year 2002, we can have a federal government with a balanced budget or we can continue down the present path towards total fiscal catastrophe."—Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, 1995
Saletan.
But don't tell us this was a triumph in the war on terror, Mr. President. Don't tell us the defeat of a secular dictator has turned the tide against a gang of religious fanatics. And don't talk about patience. You inserted a battle that could have waited into a war that couldn't, precisely because you lacked—or thought we lacked—patience for the slow, diffuse, half-invisible struggle against the people who hit us on Sept. 11. You wanted a quick, clear victory, and you got it. But don't flatter yourself. You haven't changed the world in 19 months. You've only changed the subject.
But don't tell us this was a triumph in the war on terror, Mr. President. Don't tell us the defeat of a secular dictator has turned the tide against a gang of religious fanatics. And don't talk about patience. You inserted a battle that could have waited into a war that couldn't, precisely because you lacked—or thought we lacked—patience for the slow, diffuse, half-invisible struggle against the people who hit us on Sept. 11. You wanted a quick, clear victory, and you got it. But don't flatter yourself. You haven't changed the world in 19 months. You've only changed the subject.
This is the place to start the spending cuts. You can run lots of Head Start centers with what you can save on totally unnecessary and some nonfunctional weapons systems. Bush won't do it. Doesn't have the stomach (and other assorted body parts) for it. Dean will.
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