Today's Quote from Mark Danner

Military power is good for blowing things up; it's good for destroying things. It's not good for building a new order. It takes a great deal more power, skill, and patience to construct an enduring order in Iraq.

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I've always said when your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. When your only tool is a bomb everything looks like a target.

Matthew Yglesias pisses me off.

Fundamentally, if invading Iraq had proven to be a good idea I doubt there would be all that much concern about the president's honesty. The basic problem is that the war wasn't a good idea. The lying is sort of icing on the cake

And this guy's supposed to be on my team.

War is NEVER a good idea. Even if it might ever be necessary it is NEVER a "good idea". And the lying is The WHOLE EFFING PROBLEM!

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George W. Bush 3% - I know I'm impressed!

Happy Presidents' Day!
Who do you think was the greatest U.S. president that served in the last 30 years?


Jimmy Carter 6% => 588 votes

Ronald Reagan 47% => 4614 votes

George H.W. Bush 1% => 112 votes

Bill Clinton 23% => 2269 votes

George W. Bush 3% => 373 votes

None of them were great 17% => 1737 votes

I'm not sure 1% => 105 votes
Current number of voters: 9798

I comment at Glenn Greenwald

The framers of the constitution understood the corrupting influence of power and did everything they could to guard against it. It doesn't matter whose "team" you're on. Can you imagine the howling that would be going on if it were Janet Reno who was claiming the right to wiretap without oversight?

(Actually we don't need to imagine it, we can remember it.) Anyone remember the "clipper chip"?

This battle is of crucial impoortance because whatever the result, it will affect the stucture of power in this country for decades to come.



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Posted without comment

Generally speaking, do you approve, disapprove, or have mixed feelings about the way President George W. Bush is handling his job? (Related AP article)

Strongly approve 23% => 2382 votes

Somewhat approve 14% => 1512 votes

Have mixed feelings 9% => 929 votes

Somewhat disapprove 5% => 550 votes

Strongly disapprove 47% => 4922 votes

I'm not sure 0% => 17 votes
Current number of voters: 10312

A comment I posted on Glenn Greenwald's site.

Too many people it seems have forgotten the lessons of Kent State and the 68 democratic convention. Violent action against citizens over their politics is a real possibility, if we can't maintain the rule of law.

Quoting from your post yesterday "the Administration has now baldly stated that whatever it is allowed to do against our enemies in a war, it is equally entitled to exercise all of the same powers against American citizens on American soil."

So what happens when the eavesdropping program discovers someone who's a really bad guy but they can't prosecute him because they've tainted the evidence?

We already know what they do if he happens to be in Pakistan.

I am occasionally encouraged that people are starting to get it.

What do you think should be the single most important priority in the federal budget?


Extending tax cuts 9% => 348 votes

Fighting the war on terrorism 18% => 674 votes

Medicare 7% => 265 votes

Reconstructing the Gulf Coast region 4% => 159 votes

Reducing domestic spending 4% => 170 votes

Reducing the federal deficit 23% => 856 votes

Social Security 9% => 354 votes

Stimulating job growth 11% => 403 votes

None of the above 7% => 250 votes

I'm not sure 2% => 92 votes
Current number of voters: 3571

From Glenn Greenwald

In case anyone wonders why I think this stuff is scary....

"Put another way, the Administration has now baldly stated that whatever it is allowed to do against our enemies in a war, it is equally entitled to exercise all of the same powers against American citizens on American soil. "

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From read JDM

I understand that our soldiers are making sacrifices. But I don’t really feel like my freedoms are on the line in Iraq at the moment. Maybe they are. But if so, I’m more concerned with how they got over there in the first place. I mean, they’re my freedoms, aren’t they? Shouldn’t they be over here with the rest of my things? I’m going to need some answers to those questions if “Defending Our Freedom” is going to work as a pro-war argument for me.

Full article here

From the Washington Post

Police escorted Sheehan from the visitors' gallery above the House chamber after causing a disruption, said a Capitol Police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the incident were sketchy. he was lying.


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