Matt Barganier

Salam Pax enchanted the warbloggers for two reasons. First, his account of life under Saddam pricked readers’ hearts in a way that American politicians and PR firms never could, thus helping the case for humanitarian intervention. More importantly, Salam is, well, not like the rest of those people. He’s not only well-educated, but an architect, … Continue reading “A Confederacy of Dunces”

If you need any more proof of how badly the occupation in Iraq is going, look no further than a couple of recent articles in those hotbeds of Bush-bashing, the Weekly Standard and the American Spectator. Neocon Pollyanna Fred Barnes, writing in the former last week, bemoans the enormity of the imperial burden and rattles … Continue reading “An Ally I Can Do Without”

An interview conducted by “Philip Dru.” Check out his other interviews with prominent libertarians and antiwar personalities. Recorded April 3rd, 2004 WMV format (requires Windows Media Player) MP3 format (download requires any MP3 player)Matthew Barganier writes the column Collateral Damage on Antiwar.com, and teaches Junior High in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

So Spain is pulling out of Iraq, and Poland may be close behind. So what? What have Spain, Poland, or any of the other coalition countries besides the United States and United Kingdom done, anyway? This may only be my inner chauvinist talking, but I doubt that Lithuania’s airspace or Tonga’s enthusiasm brought down the … Continue reading “Unilateralism: The Unknown Ideal”

My fellow Americans, I’m angry. My blood started bubbling when I read that our government is still paying $340,000 per month to Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed Chalabi. Chalabi, who calls himself a “hero in error” for spreading distortions that midwifed a war, is pulling down four million a year? Outrageous! After all, the economy’s … Continue reading “Come on Down to the Intelligence Blowout Sale!”

“What does that rude term [chickensh*t] signify? It does not imply complaint about the inevitable inconveniences of military life: overcrowding and lack of privacy, tedious institutional cookery, deprivation of personality, general boredom. Nothing much can be done about those things. Chickensh*t refers rather to behavior that makes military life worse than it need be: petty … Continue reading “Ready for Four More Years? They Certainly Are”

With apologies to Allen Ginsberg America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing. America eightyseven billion dollars January 19, 2004. Go feed your kids with your smart bombs. America when will you be angelic? When will you be worthy of your thousand Trotskyites? America why are your libraries full of cops? I’m sick of … Continue reading “America 2004”

Newsflash: Whoopi Goldberg isn’t Jewish. Neither is Donald Rumsfeld. Whew! Now I can criticize both without being an anti-Semite. Or maybe not. After all, Ms. Goldberg is part of the Hollywood elite, and by “Hollywood,” I obviously mean Jerusalem. Mr. Rumsfeld may be a goy, but he’s also a neoconservative, by which I mean “Jew.” … Continue reading “Note to David Brooks: That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore”

I have enjoyed scribbling here over the past year, jabbing my foil at the bulging gut of the war machine, but it has been tiring. Chronicling the loss of life and liberty week after week can definitely cramp one’s pursuit of happiness. So, I spent the last week of 2003 hounding cheer, swilling spirits, and … Continue reading “Staying Sane by Nixing the News”

The Fox News crew was breathless the morning Saddam’s capture broke. Of course, when I had last been watching, some Fox babe was breathless about Scott Peterson, Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, or whoever was threatening our way of life at the time, so it took me a moment to figure out what was happening. Then … Continue reading “Have a Very Martial Christmas”