Going back nigh 30 years, I have always been deeply pained when people accuse me of being cynical about U.S. foreign aid. At least my breakfast was nicely spiced this morning by a Washington Post front page story – “After billions in U.S. investment, Afghan roads are falling apart.” The highways that the U.S. spent billions […]
Tag Archives | Afghanistan
How Many Howlers Will Obama Tell In State Of Union Speech Tonight?
Is anyone else having trouble distinguishing today’s two most popular acronyms – SOTU & STFU? When people ask why I watch Obama speeches, I shrug and admit that that is part of the terms of my parole. What will Obama’s biggest howlers be tonight? I am expecting a burst of candor as much as I […]
My 2008 FFF Speech: Bush’s War on Civil Liberties – Transcript
The Future of Freedom Foundation is producing transcripts from its 2007 and 2008 conferences. Following is the text of my speech at their June 2008 conference, “Restoring the Republic 2008: Foreign Policy & Civil Liberties” held in Reston, Virginia. My opening bit about having lunch with Homeland Security czar Mike Chertoff and getting the scoop on […]
Foreign Aid Breeds Hatred in Egypt
On the bright side, at least Egyptians know the name of the U.S. Ambassador (Anne Patterson). Maybe if we doubled our foreign aid, they would take down at least one of those signs. I have been railing against foreign aid since… hell…. since way back when my beard was red. Here’s a 2011 piece […]
Great Colbert Riff on Bradley Manning Verdict
Stephen Colbert deserves an Emmy Award for this 4 minute segment on the Bradley Manning case and trial verdict. And he beautifully ties in the NSA at the end of the riff. http://youtu.be/_TJDZax426I?t=18s
Bradley Manning Verdict & WikiLeaks Movie
Bradley Manning got nailed today by a military judge for exposing the truth. The folks who committed war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq have almost all walked scot-free. The folks who made the policies that led to the abuses have never faced federal charges. Dreamworks has a movie on Wikileaks that will be coming out […]
Best Puncturing of Obama’s Ludicrous Afghan Victory Tour
Congratulations, Secret Service! No brawls with whores during Obama’s whistle-stop in Kabul. OK, it wasn’t an overnight visit… * It was inspiring to hear Obama invoking the usual idealism during his spiel from Bagram Air Base. The event was nicely managed insofar as there were no blood-piercing screams during his speech from detainees being tortured. […]
