Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut. The incursion into Lebanon was one of the biggest debacles of the Reagan administration. Unfortunately, though Reagan eventually recognized his folly and pulled troops out, other presidents did not recognize the tragic lessons of the pointless loss of American troops. […]
Big Anti-Surveillance Rally in DC on Saturday
Folks will raise hell on Capitol Hill on Saturday afternoon to protest NSA surveillance outrages. Weather forecast is encouraging – and it should be a fun time. Among the 100+ sponsoring organizations are Antiwar.com and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. They have a bevy of excellent speakers slated. Last I heard, neither Obama nor Joe Biden […]
Shutdown Bonanza: Plunging Trust in Government
The government shutdown sometimes looked like nothing more than a gambit to give a paid vacation to federal employees. However, a new poll shows that “Just 19% say that they trust the government in Washington to do what is right just about always or most of the time, down seven points since January.” Here’s the […]
More Tragic Collateral Damage from the Govt. Shutdown
The Washington Post has had endless sob stories on the government shutdown. Maybe they should survey federal workers to determine whether the shutdown is also causing a coitus deficit. Regardless, taxpayers are still getting screwed. (The great Weyant cartoon is from the new issue of the New Yorker.)
Revealed: What NSA Believes Terrorists Look Like
This cartoon is from a secret National Security Agency document detailing how the NSA is seeking to destroy TOR – which allows for anonymous Internet use. That purported terrorist looks too well-coiffed for me to ever trust him. [from the Guardian’s excellent expose today on the NSA] On the bright side, at least I have […]
Why Do People Write?
Okay, so most writers don’t do muckraking or op-eds. But for those who do… And then there’s one of my ol’ favorites from Charles Schulz….
Cartoonist Inspiring Obama’s Syria Policy?
Does this great cartoon from last week’s New Yorker reveal Obama’s secret strategy for Syria? With today’s outlawing of the Muslim Brotherhood, this cartoon would not play well in Cairo.