Monthly Archives: October 2010

Is there a Perjurer on our Supreme Court?

Is there a Perjurer on our Supreme Court?

I remember watching the Congressional hearings where Clarence Thomas was a candidate for the Supreme Court.  I remember particularly the unnecessarily abusive way in which Arlen Specter questioned Anita Hill.  I remember hearing Thomas’ life story, his accomplishments and the help he got from institutions and people along the way.  I remember the meanness of the “ABC” taunt he heard as a child.  It was clear that given his education and experience he was clearly not a viable candidate for the Supreme Court.  And sadly that has been clearly proven in the past 19 years.  The color of his skin was why he was there.  Sadly the inappropriate telephone message left on Anita Hill’s telephone by his wife Ginni has helped no one.  We know there was another potential witness at the time of the hearing, Lillian McEwen, who, because of that phone call decided to “end her 19-year silence about Justice Clarence Thomas.” Now there is talk demanding that Thomas be impeached for perjuring himself before the committee. (...

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The George W. Bush Memoir

The George W. Bush Memoir

Admirers of George W. Bush will soon have an opportunity to get inside the head of their dearly beloved neo-conservative icon.  His much-hyped memoir, ‘Decision Points’ is due out in bookstores on November 9th. We’re told that ‘The Decider’ has, “spent almost every day” writing what his publishing house calls, “a strikingly personal and candid account revealing how and why he made the defining decisions in his consequential presidency and personal life.” Oh—the romantic visions this must conjure up in the minds of so many adoring fans.  Can’t you just imagine all of those sleepless nights Ol’Dubyah must have spent burning the midnight oil?  I can just see him now…instructing his house staff that, “I must not be disturbed” before locking the doors to his study and sinking into a big leather chair.  There he sits, alone and reflective, preferring to log his thoughts on paper instead of using a computer because—after all—he’s an old fashioned kind of guy. ...

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The War in Iraq – An Early Retrospective

The War in Iraq – An Early Retrospective

Two weeks into the war… By T. F. Kelley The Daily News Transcript Published on April 4, 2003 In 1981 Richard Helms, Director of the CIA for most of the Vietnam War admitted it was our ignorance of a “complex cultural and ethnic problem” that led to the massive misassessments and their horrific consequences.  We already know, only two weeks into this war, that the wrong questions were asked.  The Administration not only failed to ask the right questions but also seemed to be were unaware of the questions for which answers were needed. In selling the war in Iraq to the American people the Administration made several predictions based wholly on information-free assumptions.   These predictions/assumptions are being tested during the progress of the war and they are failing.  Among the predictions were: the war will be quick, we will be welcomed as liberators and the war will enhance our safety. These predictions came from the highest level of...

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The Long War: Year Ten

The Long War: Year Ten

by: Andrew Bacevich | TomDispatch | Op-Ed In January 1863, President Abraham Lincoln’s charge to a newly-appointed commanding general was simplicity itself: “give us victories.” President Barack Obama’s tacit charge to his generals amounts to this: give us conditions permitting a dignified withdrawal. A pithy quote in Bob Woodward’s new book captures the essence of an emerging Obama Doctrine: “hand it off and get out.” Getting into a war is generally a piece of cake. Getting out tends to be another matter altogether – especially when the commander-in-chief and his commanders in the field disagree on the advisability of doing so. Happy Anniversary, America. Nine years ago today – on October 7, 2001 – a series of U.S. air strikes against targets across Afghanistan launched the opening campaign of what has since become the nation’s longest war. Three thousand two hundred and eighty five days later the fight to determine Afghanistan’s future continues. At least in part, “Operation Enduring...

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