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(05/04/05 6:00am)
On June 18, 2002, President Bush said, \I just want you to know
that when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.""
The President, addressing the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, neglected to mention if ignorance was ""really""
strength or slavery ""really"" freedom.
(05/04/05 6:00am)
On June 18, 2002, President Bush said, \I just want you to know
that when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.""
The President, addressing the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, neglected to mention if ignorance was ""really""
strength or slavery ""really"" freedom.
(04/27/05 6:00am)
For more than a generation, the American right has fallen back
on the idea that our federal courts were too liberal and
\activist"" judges were unmaking every aspect of our national
character. As recently as last week, perennial ethics violator Rep.
Tom DeLay, R-Texas, took time out from his impressive spiral into
flaming political oblivion to attack Supreme Court Justice Anthony
Kennedy (a conservative Republican appointed by Reagan) and the
federal judiciary generally, for being too independent. Focus on
the Family's James Dobson has said ""The future of democracy ...
depends on"" confirmation of Bush's most repugnant troglodytes as
federal judges.
(04/20/05 6:00am)
President Bush fired another shot in his ongoing war on
journalism last week by denying investigators access to White House
personnel in the Armstrong Williams scandal. Fortunately, this was
only a metaphorical shot, unlike the shelling of foreign
journalists in Iraq. Nonetheless, it reveals the deep and abiding
commitment of this administration to keeping the public in the dark
and controlling news coverage to promote its policies.
(04/13/05 6:00am)
The Republicans who control the Legislature are hell-bent on
eradicating local control of decision-making in clear violation of
the fundamental conservative position on smaller government.
Wisconsin Senate Bill 147, which was considered by the state Senate
after I wrote this but before you read it, makes that abundantly
clear by proposing to preempt localities' minimum wage laws.
(04/06/05 6:00am)
Last Wednesday, Fred Korematsu, a hero of American civil rights,
died at the age of 86. Mr. Korematsu was an inspiration to all of
us, and the moment of his passing provides a perfect opportunity to
stop and remember how precious our rights truly are.
(03/16/05 6:00am)
When I was young, my mother used to tell me not to believe
everything I saw on TV. It turns out that some folks need to hear
that advice again. The popularity of \CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation"" and its increasingly numerous progeny-doesn't CBS
have any other ideas for new shows?-has spawned what some folks are
calling the ""CSI Effect.""
(03/09/05 6:00am)
Tonight Dan Rather will step down as anchor of \CBS Evening
News"" 24 years after he took over that post from Walter Cronkite.
With his retirement, right-wing pundits will lose their favorite
target for false claims of liberal media bias. Thus, it seems high
time to set the record straight. Let's put this as simply as
possible: There is no pervasive left-wing bias in television news,
from Rather or anyone else.
(03/02/05 6:00am)
What's in a name? Well, for one thing, political success or
failure. It is now commonplace to give every piece of legislation a
positive-sounding name no matter what it does. Consequently, it has
become unexceptional for informed critics to give short shrift to
obviously Orwellian names. Take, for example, President Bush's
environmental policy. Each plan is named for the opposite of its
actual effect. So we have both a Clear Skies Initiative (more air
pollution) and a Healthy Forests Initiative (more clear cutting).
(02/23/05 6:00am)
Those who watched the most recent episode of \The Simpsons""
Sunday night may have noticed that it began with a warning that the
episode dealt with the issue of gay marriage. Those who didn't see
it themselves may have trouble believing it, but take it from me.
The station that regularly brings you reality shows which plumb the
depths of human imperfection is afraid that you might be offended
by a cartoon comedy.
(02/16/05 6:00am)
Given all the recent brouhaha about liberal college professors,
a person could be forgiven for thinking that our college campuses
were dens of communist propaganda affecting the fate of America.
What's so strange about these accusations is that anyone gives them
the time of day when they're so obviously laughable.
(02/09/05 6:00am)
George W. Bush may not be the smartest president, but he's
certainly a clever politician. Many of the policies he has
championed have not just advanced his conservative agenda, but have
also helped earn the GOP electoral success for years to come.
First, he called for government aid to faith-based charities. This
gave money to his religious backers while suggesting that caring
for the unfortunate was not a job for government. Even more
importantly, it gave Republicans inroads into traditionally black
churches. Pleased with Bush's very visible commitment, some blacks
who would normally vote Democrat voted for Bush instead.
(02/02/05 6:00am)
In an amazing show of politics trumping common sense, the
Internal Revenue Service announced last year it was investigating
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People with
an eye toward revoking the storied organization's tax-exempt status
due to allegedly politically partisan remarks made by Chair Julian
Bond.
(01/26/05 6:00am)
In recent weeks a debate has been growing about the future of
Social Security. Watching these arguments, one might conclude that
President Bush believes the program is in imminent danger of
collapse and can only be saved by privatization, while Democrats
believe that Social Security is not in crisis, and therefore
privatization is not needed, or at least not yet. Many young people
have misconceptions about the program and its future, leaving them
without a clear opinion. The truth is that privatizing Social
Security will never help keep it solvent, no matter when it runs
into financial trouble.
(01/19/05 6:00am)
Last fall, CBS ran a story detailing how President Bush leapt
ahead of thousands of more qualified applicants to join the Texas
Air National Guard, thereby-perhaps coincidentally-avoiding service
in Vietnam. That story wasn't new, of course, because London's
Guardian newspaper broke it in 1999, pointing out how political
strings had been pulled to get the sons of several political
insiders into the Guard. Though the Guardian story was thoroughly
sourced and has never been challenged, CBS also reported, based on
the \Killian memos,"" that Bush received special treatment within
the Guard. CBS relied on these documents even though they could not
be authenticated. This show of credulous journalism is sadly not
remarkable, but the reaction to it is both remarkable and
instructive. It reveals not political bias, but bias toward
power.
(12/08/04 6:00am)
An endless stream of commentators have spent the last few years
pointing out that the Bush administration's war on terror, not to
mention its entirely unrelated war on Iraq, are enormous failures
that have alienated Muslims and strengthened al-Qaida. Now the
Pentagon is saying it too. The Defense Science Board Task Force on
Strategic Communication, a Pentagon task force on the \struggle for
hearts and minds"" of the Muslim world in the global war on
terrorism, has reported, ""American efforts have not only failed,
they may also have achieved the opposite of what they
intended.""
(12/01/04 6:00am)
This Friday will mark the 20th anniversary of the worst
industrial accident in history. Shortly after midnight Dec. 3,
1984, 40 tons of toxic methyl isocyanate gas escaped from the Union
Carbide plant in the middle of the city of Bhopal, India. The
cyanide gas washed over thousands of families, burning their lungs,
eyes and skin.
(11/10/04 6:00am)
Though most Americans support equal rights for homosexuals, 60
percent also oppose same-sex marriage. There are no good reasons to
ban same-sex marriage. Arguments in favor of such a ban rest on
either false premises or simple prejudice. On the contrary, there
are several good reasons to support gay marriage, the most basic of
which are simple equality and the practical value of martial
union.
(11/03/04 6:00am)
The constant clamoring this election cycle about voter fraud is
nothing more than partisan politicking. Republicans have claimed
thousands of voter registrations nationwide to be fraudulent,
largely among minority communities. Democrats responded that the
registrations are largely legitimate. Conscientious people should
approach this issue with facts, not ideology. Since it appears most
charges of fraud are exaggerated, supporting a citizen's right to
vote is not a partisan act. Instead, both Democrats and Republicans
should sidestep party lines and stand up for democracy.
(11/03/04 6:00am)
The constant clamoring this election cycle about voter fraud is
nothing more than partisan politicking. Republicans have claimed
thousands of voter registrations nationwide to be fraudulent,
largely among minority communities. Democrats responded that the
registrations are largely legitimate. Conscientious people should
approach this issue with facts, not ideology. Since it appears most
charges of fraud are exaggerated, supporting a citizen's right to
vote is not a partisan act. Instead, both Democrats and Republicans
should sidestep party lines and stand up for democracy.