Required Reading

Blogger has been playing nasty tricks with my ability to post over the past several months, but I finally found a slow, but do-able, work around. Now, I'm playing catch-up. In case you missed these ... now's your chance to read up.

The War on "Terror"

• ZNet | No “War on Terror”

  "One of the most telling signs of the political naiveté of liberals and the Left in the United States has been their steadfast faith in much of the worldview that blankets the imperial state they call home. Nowhere has this critical failure been more evident than in their acceptance of the premise that there really is something called a 'war on terror' or 'terrorism'..."

Iraq

• Iraq: They Call This Stability?:

  "Life in Iraq, the Pentagon boasts, is returning to normal. But the truth is a very different story...."

• Officers Agree: The Military is in Trouble

  "The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are taking a huge toll on the American military. Who says so? The nation’s military officers, who are in as good a position as anyone to know...."

McCain

• For McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk


• Does the Brownshirt Party have Aces up its Sleeve?
  Paul Craig Roberts writes a nightmare scenario:

  "The Brownshirt Party
  has chosen John “hundred year war” McCain as its presidential candidate. Except for Cheney, Norman Podhoretz, and billy kristol, McCain is America’s greatest warmonger...."

Obama

• Obama's Campaign: An Emotional Escape Hatch from the Bush Era

  When Americans vote for "change," what they're really saying is, "Get us out of here!"

• Making Sense of Barack Obama | The Third Way: Finding Balance In Mideast Analysis

  "While the right wing has been engaging in a shameful smear campaign against Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, the hard left has been slamming him for “kowtowing” to AIPAC...."

• AlterNet: Where Would Obama Take the Nation?

  "We could expect more truth and transparency for starters...."

• The Kennedy Factor - The Opinionator - Opinion - New York Times Blog

  "...Clinton wouldn’t have as easy a time working the legislative bureaucracy as she’d have her supporters believe. And Obama — messy desk notwithstanding — might not do such a bad job of it."

Hillary

• A New Clinton Scandal? Richard Miniter reports:

  "Bill Clinton invited Frank Giustra, a Canadian mining executive, to travel with him to Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan in September 2005. Apparently, they were not simply sight-seeing...."

Universal HealthCare

• The Road to Universal Coverage
  Robert Reich writes,

  "...Mandates are a sideshow, and fighting over them risks turning away voters from the main event...."

• AlterNet: Health and Wellness: 10 Myths About Canadian Health Care, Busted

Iran

• Bush Won't Let Facts Stand in the Way of Regime Change in Iran:

  "Former UN chief weapons inspector Scott Ritter warns that another war is inevitable, unless we defy Bush's attempts to spin the facts about Iran...."

Politics

• Show Us the Money:

  "As the presidential campaign narrows and its costs skyrocket, detailed disclosure of financial resources becomes ever more important. Of the leading contenders, so far, only Senator Barack Obama has released his full income-tax returns — a level of disclosure once routine for candidates after the political corruption of Watergate...."

• Ari Emanuel: My Brother the Superdelegate and Why I Don't Trust Him to Pick the Next President

The Media

• How the spooks took over the news

  In his controversial new book, Nick Davies argues that shadowy intelligence agencies are pumping out black propaganda to manipulate public opinion – and that the media simply swallow it wholesale.

Big Brother

• Exclusive! The FBI Deputizes Business

  "Today, more than 23,000 representatives of private industry are working quietly with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. The members of this rapidly growing group, called InfraGard, receive secret warnings of terrorist threats before the public does—and, at least on one occasion, before elected officials. In return, they provide information to the government..."

• AlterNet: Bush Breaks the Law Again, Gives Himself Line-Item Veto Power

  "In other words, Bush just gave himself the power to decide how the next Administration spends the taxpayers’ money...."

• Secrets and Rights | New York Times Editorial

  "President Bush’s excesses in the name of fighting terrorism are legion. To avoid accountability, his administration has repeatedly sought early dismissal of lawsuits that might finally expose government misconduct, brandishing flimsy claims that going forward would put national security secrets at risk...."

• AlterNet: Key 9/11 Commission Staffer Held Secret Meetings With Rove, Scaled Back Criticisms of White House

  "I smell a rodent...."

The Economy

• Quiz: The Middle Class Squeeze . NOW | PBS

  "Find out how much you know about today's economy and the pressures facing middle-income Americans...."

• The Real State of The Union … Call Bush’s Bluff | OurFuture.org (VIDEO)

Impeachment

• AlterNet: Rights and Liberties: Why Is Impeachment Important? [VIDEO]


• AlterNet: Want to Prevent a Depression? Impeach Dick Cheney

  "Why is it that, since Reagan came to Washington in 1981, "bipartisan unity" has always meant Democratic capitulation to Republicans?..."

Technorati tags: War on Terror, Iraq, Iran, McCain, Obama, Clinton, Universal Healthcare, media, Police state, secretive government, Bush, Cheney, Impeachment, US Economy