The example of Afghanistan

"The 'new era of hope' that Bush pronounced for Afghanistan has not yet come to pass for many there, partly as a result of U.S. decisions. That should be kept in mind, as administration officials and others tout war in Iraq, especially if such a war is to be waged not just to disarm Saddam but to 'liberate' the people of Iraq. If promises made to Afghanistan go unfulfilled, if the United States does nothing to challenge warlord dictators who come to power in the aftermath of its military victory there, what reason is there to believe the United States will do better -- be more engaged and care more about post-war democracy and reconstruction -- in Iraq?"

The rebuilding of Afghanistan is being held up as an example of how the U.S. will be committed to rebuilding Iraq after the war there, but it's not exactly an example that inspires confidence. While we're out supporting warlords, the new police force of the government we put in power is shooting protesting students, and our military grip on things is slipping. This is supposed to convince the rest of the world that we're willing and able to rebuild a post-Saddam Iraq?

Read the whole article here.

posted by Michael Curry at 10:03 PM

More post-election talk

Here are some more thoughts about the recent election. First, from Tom Tomorrow:

"This time around, Democrats simply must wake up and face facts--the party no longer stands for anything. Enron alone should have given them this election on a silver platter, but they were too timid to speak out against corporate corruption-- because, yes, they are equally vested in the system, and because, as I think Joe Lieberman put it, they didn't want to appear too 'anti-business.'"

And then from Ralph Nader:

"Lessons for the future? Don't give your major political opponents a free ride between and before elections. Challenge the corporate takeover of elections, including the sudden surge of political television advertising paid directly by industries like the big price-gouging drug companies. And get down to the neighborhood level with visible stands for the people. Otherwise the Democrats will become even better at electing very bad Republicans."

posted by Michael Curry at 9:52 PM

Lies, damned lies, and privatization

"So GOP candidates everywhere dodged, flip-flopped and just plain lied to convince voters that they’re NOT for privatizing Social Security. 'Conservative politicians with long and specific records of support for Social Security privatization suddenly decided to denounce the whole idea,' wrote Roger Hickey, Hans Riemer, and Adam Luna in a post-election report by the Campaign for America’s Future. 'In race after race, the very word ‘privatization’ -- once used proudly by George W. Bush, the Cato Institute, and other privatizers -- was abandoned almost overnight.'"

Last week's op-ed ad by TomPaine.com took the GOP to task for their attempts to pretend, at least for the length of the campaign season, that they weren't for privatizing Social Security (a plan that would screw both current and future Social Security recipients). In addition to the ad, they also did a couple of features and a question & answer article on the topic.

Read it all here.

posted by Michael Curry at 9:38 PM

We know all about you, citizen

"If the Homeland Security Act is not amended before passage, here is what will happen to you:

Every purchase you make with a credit card, every magazine subscription you buy and medical prescription you fill, every Web site you visit and e-mail you send or receive, every academic grade you receive, every bank deposit you make, every trip you book and every event you attend — all these transactions and communications will go into what the Defense Department describes as 'a virtual, centralized grand database.'

To this computerized dossier on your private life from commercial sources, add every piece of information that government has about you — passport application, driver's license and bridge toll records, judicial and divorce records, complaints from nosy neighbors to the F.B.I., your lifetime paper trail plus the latest hidden camera surveillance — and you have the supersnoop's dream: a 'Total Information Awareness' about every U.S. citizen."

Doesn't it make you feel safer knowing that the government (or, more specifically, John "Iran-Contra" Poindexter and his Information Awareness Office) wants to keep track of everything you do, while at the same time making it harder for you to find out anything about them?

Read the whole piece here [registration required].

posted by Michael Curry at 9:29 PM