Tag Archives: George Bush

Mohamed ElBaradei’s Democratic Revolution in Egypt v. George Bush’s in Iraq

Fox Noisers seem to be directing a lot of cynicism and vehemence toward Egypt’s democracy movement leader, Mohamed ElBaradei, and when I first noticed it, I was a bit stunned. Mohamed ElBaradei, after all, is not an Islamist, but a secular … Continue reading

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Palin-Huckabee 2012 and George Carlin

About 20 years ago, when George W. Bush’s father was president of the United States, George Carlin, in one of his stand-up routines, observed that there are three groups of dismaying people in this world, the first of which are those who are … Continue reading

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Paul Krugman on the importance of bank regulation

At his blog, Nobel Prize economist Paul Krugman succinctly explains the importance of banking regulation and why Barack Obama must fight for it—and win: I’m reading Gary Gorton’s Slapped by the Invisible Hand, which tells us that there were bank … Continue reading

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John Yoo: A War Criminal Who Materially Assisted Torturers is Interrupted by a Guy Named Larry, a Graduate Student at Johns Hopkins University

Larry and his friend stand up to a Bush torture enabler. They are true American patriots.

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The Post Carbon Institute’s Richard Heinberg on Peak Oil

Richard Heinberg’s talk on peak oil is very good. Here’s part 1 of 5: And here’s part 2 of 5:

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Barack Obama and the Long Game

A reader at Andrew Sullivan’s blog today made a profound observation: [T]he New Deal, arguably the most significant change in our government since the revolution, didn’t include healthcare, didn’t desegregate the schools, etc.  Only a George Bush thinks that the … Continue reading

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John Calvin’s Geneva: A Little Reminder of What It’s Like to Live in a World Where Church and State are Combined

I’m kind of weirded out by people who express nostalgia for John Calvin, and call themselves admirers of his. I think it a useful correction to this nostalgia to actually recall what it was like, exactly, to live in John … Continue reading

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The Bush-Cheney Years

Nostalgic? From the just declassified May 2004 inspector general’s review of CIA interrogations: Sometime between 28 December 2002 and 1 January 2003, the debriefer used an unloaded semi-automatic handgun as a prop to frighten Al-Nashiri into disclosing information. After discussing … Continue reading

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One of the Arctic Ice Satellite Photographs That George Bush Was Hiding, and That Barack Obama Recently Declassified

More polar ice retreat images here.

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What Bush Was Trying to Hide: One of the Arctic Ice Retreat Photos President George W. Bush Kept Classified and That President Barack Obama Recently Declassified

“Satellite images of polar ice sheets taken in July 2006 and July 2007 showing the retreating ice during the summer. Photograph: Public Domain.” Notice, in this photo, just how much white reflective surface space has turned to dark sun-radiation aborbative … Continue reading

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Senator Al Franken v. T. Boone Pickens: Remember the Wind Farm Ads—or the Swift Boat Ads?

Wind Farm ads v. Swift Boat ads? Billionaire T. Boone Pickens has recently shifted gears in his political activism, promoting green energy sources (like wind) in ads and at congressional hearings. But Pickens was also a major funder of the Swift … Continue reading

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CIA: Eight Years

Beyond chilling.  The AP reports today that the CIA and the Bush Administration, for eight years, decided not to inform Congress of one of its secret programs (still publicly undisclosed). Eight years. And the CIA didn’t even tell Leon Panetta about the … Continue reading

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Jesse Ventura v. Elisabeth Hasselbeck: Speaking Truth to Stupidity

Jesse Ventura has a clear head on torture. And I thought Elisabeth Hasselbeck was a “Christian.” Isn’t a Christian someone who follows gentle Jesus, meek and mild—a man who was tortured? Wouldn’t Jesus regard the phrase “Christian torturer” to be an oxymoron? … Continue reading

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The Republican Dream Ticket: Limbaugh-Cheney 2012?

Doesn’t that one make your heart go pitter-patter? Paul Begala lets loose: The inimitable Mark Shields says there are two kinds of political parties: those that seek out converts and those that hunt down heretics. Barack Obama – like Ronald … Continue reading

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On Torture, Cheney Implicates Bush

On Face the Nation today: SCHIEFFER: How much did President Bush know specifically about the methods that were being used? We know that you– and you have said– that you approved this… CHENEY: Right. SCHIEFFER: … somewhere down the line. … Continue reading

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The New York Times Finally Uses the Word Torture!

The truth finally, and without Newspeak. Thank you. It’s so good not hearing from the New York Times the Orwellian phrase “enhanced interrogation” in a serious news article, especially when what went on was torture: Col. Harold E. Fischer Jr., … Continue reading

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Sealing Anuses, then Inducing Diarrhea: The Torture and Murder of Gays in Iraq

Andrew Sullivan has been talking about this. Iraqi Shiite’s have been targeting gays. And it’s almost too apalling to report, but this today in Gay City News: As the murder campaign targeting Iraqi gays intensifies, a leading Arabic television network … Continue reading

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Today’s Question: Where Did Waterboarding Come From?

I’ve been reading Jonathan Kirsch’s history of the the Inquisition, titled The Grand Inquisitor’s Manuel: A History of Terror in the Name of God (Harper-Collins 2008), and waterboarding is a gift to George Bush (and the Gestapo and Stalin’s Secret … Continue reading

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On Saturday, I Saw Chris Hedges, One of My Favorite Authors, at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

I admit it. If Chris Hedges had a fan club, and sent its members David Cassidy-like studio photos and groovy stickers for your school folders, I’d join it. And on Saturday, at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at UCLA, he … Continue reading

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Bush Era Torture: Were Top Officials Really Flying Blind?

George Santayana famously said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” According to the New York Times this week, Bush era torture was being authorized by officials who hadn’t even bothered to investigate, historically, the methods they … Continue reading

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