The synopses may suffice, for those in a hurry. The first story,
however, proposing something we can actually do in the upcoming
election, is particularly worthwhile to read. The Bacevich piece seems
to me especially remarkable for having been published in The American
Conservative.
New voting strategies for a disenchanted electorate
<http://www.rationalreview.com/content/19550>
CounterPunch
by Sam Husseini
"The dominant political alignment can be described as the
'Cheney-Lieberman' axis. Progressives, libertarians, and authentic
conservatives, as well as others, have been unrelentingly manipulated by
the establishments of the two major parties. They should wake up to the
fact that they can join together, rather than be kept apart by the
establishment party apparatchiks who exploit them to maintain the
duopoly." (10/19/06)
http://www.counterpunch.org/husseini10192006.html
Our rigged elections: Part II
<http://www.rationalreview.com/content/19552>
Washington Spectator
by Mark Crispin
"However they may seek to validate the electoral fraud, the Bush bunch
are now in a superb position to effect it. First of all, computerized
voting and vote-counting are today far more extensive than they were two
years ago, thanks to the relentless efforts of the GOP, the e-voting
manufacturers and not a few compliant Democrats. Although some victories
have been won for democratic practice through tireless bipartisan
citizen activism, most notably in Colorado, North Carolina and New
Mexico, such grassroots triumphs have been overshadowed by the
juggernaut's immense success at reddening blue America. In 2004, 23
percent of the electorate cast their votes on 'direct-recording
electronic' (DRE) machines. Today, according to Election Data Services,
it's over 39 percent. And nearly 41 percent will have their votes
counted by computerized scanners -- a method preferable to using DRE
machines, as it allows for paper ballots, but a risky practice
nonetheless. Thus over 80 percent of next month's vote will be counted
secretly, by private vendors closely tied to Bush's party." (10/15/06)
http://www.washingtonspectator.com/articles/20061015playbook_2.cfm
The bright side of MCA 2006?
<http://www.rationalreview.com/content/19578>
LewRockwell.Com
by Karen Kwiatkowski
"Constitutionalists, liberty lovers, and those who recognize the true
nature of the leviathan state rightfully despair of the latest law of
the land. The Military Commission Act of 2006 is a disaster of epic
proportions, as Keith Olbermann and others have noted. This unfortunate
law is a tsunami originating in the underground statism and overt
imperialism of America in the 20th century. A critical disturbance has
occurred deep below an ocean called 'War on Terror,' with its imagined
fearsome fleet called 'Islamofascism.' It is a tectonic crash that
resonates deeply in the generalized anxiety of Americans who vaguely
sense that the future for their children is going to be very different
than they hoped. Americans should be anxious. The enemy is already
inside the gates. In fact, the enemy now mans the gates." (10/20/06)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski163.html
"Beginning of the end of America"
<http://www.rationalreview.com/content/19554>
MSNBC
by Keith Olbermann
"We have lived as if in a trance. We have lived as people in fear. And
now -- our rights and our freedoms in peril -- we slowly awake to learn
that we have been afraid of the wrong thing. Therefore, tonight have we
truly become the inheritors of our American legacy. For, on this first
full day that the Military Commissions Act is in force, we now face what
our ancestors faced, at other times of exaggerated crisis and
melodramatic fear-mongering: A government more dangerous to our liberty,
than is the enemy it claims to protect us from." (10/18/06)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15321167/
On the offense <http://www.rationalreview.com/content/19585>
The American Conservative
by Andrew J. Bacevich
"Step by bloody step the Iraq War moves toward its denouement. Having
set this tragedy in motion, the United States today finds itself
consigned to the role of bystander, the world's only superpower having
long since lost control of events. As things unravel, the president --
the most powerful man in the world -- is demonstrably powerless to
affect the outcome. Meanwhile, American soldiers fight on, even as it
becomes increasingly apparent that the Army only recently thought all
but invincible will not win this war. For the Bush White House,
September 2006 will be remembered as the month when the roof caved in."
(for publication 10/23/06)
http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_10_23/article2.html
I hereby declare myself an enemy combatant
<http://www.rationalreview.com/content/19532>
Strike the Root
by Bill Losapio
"Come and get me, you sons of bitches! I will not suffer this farcical
disgrace. I will not silence myself in the hope that maybe this evil
machine of injustice, oppression, and horror overlooks me, though I, of
all that is good and decent, expose my family to God knows what."
(10/19/06)