Month: January 2014

Gates’ Memoir Illustrates How Militaristic US Society Has Become

All the hoopla in the media over Bob Gates’ scathing criticism of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in his new memoir, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, has missed the mark. Obama can be criticized legitimately for his deplorable policy of piling up even more bodies of U.S. soldiers in an … Continue reading “Gates’ Memoir Illustrates How Militaristic US Society Has Become”

The Golden Age of Journalism?

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It was 1949. My mother – known in the gossip columns of that era as “New York’s girl caricaturist” – was freelancing theatrical sketches to a number of New York’s newspapers and magazines, including the Brooklyn Eagle. That paper, then more than a century old, had just a few years of … Continue reading “The Golden Age of Journalism?”

The Blind Alley of J Street and Liberal American Zionism

Since its founding six years ago, J Street has emerged as a major Jewish organization under the banner "Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace." By now J Street is able to be a partial counterweight to AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The contrast between the two U.S. groups is sometimes stark. J Street applauds diplomacy with Iran, … Continue reading “The Blind Alley of J Street and Liberal American Zionism”

Sean Wilentz – Court Historian, NSA Shill, and Lickspittle ‘Liberal’

So you thought progressives would rally ‘round Edward Snowden’s and Glenn Greenwald’s crusade to rid us of the NSA incubus that’s attached itself to our computers and our daily lives. Well, you were wrong: dead wrong. With a few notable exceptions, the "progressive" media matrix – the lefty pundits, thinktanks, academics, and activists who make … Continue reading “Sean Wilentz – Court Historian, NSA Shill, and Lickspittle ‘Liberal’”

What Did Our Wars Win?

“He ended one war and kept us out of any other,” is the tribute paid President Eisenhower. Ike ended the Korean conflict in 1953, refused to intervene to save the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, and, rather than back the British-French-Israeli invasion, ordered them all out of Egypt in 1956. Ending America longest … Continue reading “What Did Our Wars Win?”

Obama’s Lies, NSA Spies, and the Sons of Liberty

President Obama has managed, with singular assistance from Congress and the courts, to mangle the Constitution through repeated abuses, attacks and evasions. This is nothing new, as I’ve documented in my book A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State. However, with his recent speech on the National Security Agency—a heady cocktail of lies, … Continue reading “Obama’s Lies, NSA Spies, and the Sons of Liberty”

Anbar Clashes, Baghdad Bombings: 73 Killed, 111 Wounded

Yesterday, the government and allied Sunni tribes implemented a security operation in Anbar province, but they did not release figures until today. Also, a senior official warned of a worsening situation in the Falluja area. Meanwhile, Baghdad saw a number of bombings today, but only a few reports of violence came out of other regions. Overall, at least 73 Iraqis were killed and 111 more were wounded in the latest round of violence.