Matt Barganier

Pfc. Jessica Lynch survived an auto accident. I’ve been in a nasty one myself, so I won’t splash ice water on her ordeal, but that’s what it was: a car crash. She’s less Alvin York than a lucky Princess Di. If the vultures at Knopf had any style, they would have hired J.G. Ballard to … Continue reading “Survival as Virtue: The Real Jessica Lynch Story”

An interesting report in Friday’s Wall Street Journal looked back at last spring’s Topoff2 drill, which simulated a biological attack in Chicago and a dirty bombing in Seattle. May was a big month for gloating, you’ll recall, and Topoff2 was one of many encores in the Bush apotheosis extravaganza. Where have all the good times … Continue reading “Keep Refighting the Good Fight”

HELL (Fox News) – Satan defended Lt. Gen. William Boykin and U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in a heated press conference Sunday, though he refused to call either man one of his own. “Boykin is doing some great work up there fomenting discord, but more like a dupe than an agent. Heck, he’s probably … Continue reading “Satan Defends General Boykin, Rumsfeld”

anti-Americanism n: a neurosis associated with the followers of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Quincy Adams anti-Semite n: 1 : a person who concedes that Arabs might be human 2 : whomever David Frum happens to be arguing with at any given time Ba’athist n: an Iraqi who favors self-determination for his or her … Continue reading “Dude, You Got, Like, Totally Plamed”

“I want more prominent Jews – people with a profile higher than mine – to at least come out and say publicly that Israel has a right to exist. I feel like the silence tacitly endorses the opinion that somehow Israel is the bully and the Palestinians are the underdog.” – Josh Malina, actor on … Continue reading “Toward a Meaningful Yom Kippur”

A recent essay by Jonathan Turley demonstrates how pervasive, and subtle, government propaganda can be. For instance, few Americans realize how much sway the Defense Department has in Hollywood. The military edits films for negative content, denies access to filmmakers who refuse to be censored, and even writes scripts for television shows. Sadly, our fantasies … Continue reading “What Every Person Should Know About War”

Matt Welch is vexed. According to him, U.S. involvement in Iraq has unleashed a storm of lies. No, not about uranium from Niger, or 45 minute launch times, or vast stores of anthrax, not those little fibs. Welch is referring to "lies" that exaggerate the impact of sanctions on Iraqis, especially children. These "myths" are … Continue reading “Coherent Argument, Meet Matt Welch”

Though the presidential race has yet to even pseudo-simmer, the way it kind-of will once the so-called debates begin, my colleagues at Antiwar.com are already seething. They despise Howard Dean, and if you think peaceniks lack bile, try these quotations on for size: "Aside from Dean’s position on the Iraqi war, I don’t see much … Continue reading “Candidate Dean Is a Warmonger”

It’s been a strange two weeks since I wrote a column. I skipped last Monday’s installment because my girlfriend, O., was due to return the preceding Friday after spending the summer abroad with family. (She’s a legal resident, Mr. Ashcroft, and from a coalition country, no less). After arriving in New York that afternoon, she … Continue reading “In a Blackout, Dimwits Are Easy to Spot”

Listen up, all you grassroots conservatives, those whom Grover Norquist calls the "leave us alone" coalition. You don’t want D.C.’s taxes, its welfare, its gun control, its schools, its regulations, in short, its endless meddling in your affairs. Why do you think anyone else does? For just a moment, avert your eyes from the flag … Continue reading “What if You Lived There?”