American Militarism: Part Two (Charles Krauthammer)
In 1990, thirteen years before President George W. Bush made his fateful decision to order an illegal, immoral war of choice in Iraq, prominent neoconservative columnist Charles Krauthammer had helped to pave the way for such wars by writing an article for Foreign Affairs which urged the United States to “unashamedly” lay “down the rules of world order and … [be] prepared to enforce them.” His views were embraced by many influential neoconservatives. In 2001, two years before President George W. Bush ordered an illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq, Mr. Krauthammer blithely asserted, “we are not just any hegemon. We run a uniquely benign imperium.” But, once in Iraq, nearly 4,500 American soldiers died under that so-called “uniquely benign imperium”. And under that “uniquely benign imperium” tens … Read entire article »
Filed under: Bush Administration, Foreign Policy, Iraq War, Media
Republicans and the Iraq War: Ten Years Later
Last October three scholars issued a report, which found that 79% of Republicans were explicit racists (see: http://www.walter-c-uhler.com/?p=666 ). This past January a university poll found that as many as 64% of Republicans could be considered “birthers.” (Most birthers are pathetic racist morons who, obsessed by their need to delegitimize America’s first black president, refuse to accept any evidence which proves that President Barack Obama was born in the United States.) However, both of these morally bankrupt values pale in significance, when compared with the overwhelming support that Republicans continue to give to President Bush’s illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq. Ten years ago this week, President George W. Bush gave the order for American troops to bomb and invade Iraq. From August 2002 … Read entire article »
Filed under: Current Events, Foreign Policy, Iraq War, Media
Fox News, Benghazi and President Reagan
Approximately five years ago I began following Nate Silver’s independent “FiveThirtyEight” blog. Not being a statistician capable of running thousands of computer simulations, I decided to trust a fact-based aggregator of polls whose very reputation rested on making accurate political predictions, rather than rely on a specific poll or the biased estimates of liberal or conservative pundits. Thus, I confidently told a worried African-American friend that, notwithstanding news reports of a tightening race between John McCain and Barack Obama, Mr. Silver was predicting a near landslide victory for Obama. Indeed, Senator Obama trounced Senator McCain in a near landslide. As a consequence, Mr. Silver and his blog were hired by the New York Times, where he eventually directed his poll-aggregating model at predicting the outcome of the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Current Events, Foreign Policy, Media, Politics
Did Mike McQueary Commit Perjury?
On 12 June 2012, defense attorney Karl Rominger conducted a devastating cross examination of Mike McQueary in the course of attempting to defend the indefensible Jerry Sandusky. The actual transcript of that cross examination was not released until 21 September 2012, which explains why virtually nobody, except Barry Bozeman (See http://www.notpsu.blogspot.com/ ), has written about the deliberate deception Rominger exposed. Mr. McQueary was the graduate assistant at Penn State who, according to the 4 November 2011 grand jury presentment, “saw a naked boy, Victim 2, whose age he estimated to be ten years old, with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky” on 9 February 2001. But, in fact, McQueary “saw” no such thing. How do we know? First, because McQueary’s actual testimony … Read entire article »
Filed under: Current Events, Media, Sandusky Scandal
Hitting Penn State’s Board of Trustees Where it Hurts
Judging by the tens of thousands of individuals who have read my articles, as well as the tens of thousands who have turned to http://framingpaterno.com , http://www.notpsu.blogspot.com and http://www.tominpaine.blogspot.com as well as numerous Penn State chat boards, one could hope that the groundwork was being prepared to launch an “Arab Spring” uprising against the Penn State’s Board of Trustees. Evidence of such a spontaneous uprising took a pleasantly surprising turn yesterday when it was announced that “A Rally for Resignations” will be held on the Old Main lawn, starting at 10:00 AM on September 15, 2012. Penn State students and alumni have been invited to participate and Penn State football legend, Franco Harris, will be the main speaker. Participants at the rally will demand the resignations of Governor Corbett, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Current Events, Media, Sandusky Scandal
Former Chairmen of Penn State’s University Faculty Senate Repudiate the Freeh Report and Decry Unjust NCAA Sanctions
The burden of being a full-time graduate student at the Pennsylvania State University during the academic years of 1973-1976 was almost enough to push my frivolous enjoyment of Penn State football completely out of my life. I was spending much time in the stacks of the Pattee Library. Some of that time was spent on Saturday afternoons, occasionally Saturday afternoons when Joe Paterno’s Penn State football team was competing against some other team right down the road from the library. Don’t get me wrong, I was (and remain) a big Penn State football fan, especially because of the pride I took in the belief that Coach Paterno attempted to assure that his players did things right. Education and the building of character first, then the winning of football … Read entire article »
Filed under: Cultural Criticism, Current Events, Media, Sandusky Scandal
Another Media Clown Show Stupifies Minds About Penn State
It started with the grand jury report released in November 2011. First, very few Americans knew that the grand jury report was a summary of testimony, not a transcript of testimony. Second, very few Americans knew that New York State chief judge Sol Wachtler once said: “a grand jury would ‘indict a ham sandwich,’ if that’s what you wanted.” Third, America’s news media did nothing to enlighten them. Thus, very few Americans were mentally equipped to question assertions made by the individual who summarized Mike McQueary’s grand jury testimony. Consequently, too many Americans fell too easily into righteous indignation when they heard or read that McQueary supposedly testified he “saw a naked boy, Victim 2, whose age he estimated to be ten years old, with his hands … Read entire article »
Filed under: Cultural Criticism, Current Events, Media, Sandusky Scandal
The Nation: Editor's Picks
- Pandora's Terrifying Promise: Can Nuclear Power Save the Planet? June 17, 2013 Mark Hertsgaard and Terry Tempest Williams
- Why Investors Must Do More Than Divest From Fossil Fuels June 17, 2013 Dan Apfel
- The Making of a Global Security State June 17, 2013 Tom Engelhardt