My Archives: January 2003
Friday, January 31, 2003
On the Political Front:
Poets pose political problem -- possibly pacifist!! Translation: poets *forced* POTUS-spouse Laura, to scrap a planned poetry reading at the White House for fear it would become an antiwar event. It seems too many of the most respected poets in America were writing protest poems for the symposium. What rhymes with Iraq? [more]
Posted by mac @ 09:59 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, January 30, 2003
On the Political Front:
Take the Dove/Hawk Quiz on Iraq and rate your answers. [more]
Posted by mac @ 02:35 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
Bomfog...that is my response to Bush's State of the Union. It is the acronym that cynical journalists -- bless 'em!, bring 'em on -- applied to the speeches of Nelson Rockefeller. It means Brotherhood Of Man, Fatherhood of God. Bomfog. Also known as bomfoggery. [more]
Posted by mac @ 12:05 AM EST [Link]
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
On the Political Front:
Bush's upcoming State of the Union speech is expected to emphasize Iraq's malfeasance (without producing evidence, of course) and the US economy. Added to the mix will be a new "vision" of Medicare. [more]
Posted by mac @ 01:49 AM EST [Link]
Monday, January 27, 2003
Update:
The UN blasts Iraq but asks for more time for the inspections.
And the stock market continues to fall on this seemingly "prowar" news. "The Dow Jones industrial average fell 78.37 points, or 0.96%, to 8,052.64. The broader Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 7.54 points, or 0.88%, to 853.86. And the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index declined 7.31 points, or 0.54%, to 1,334.83."
mac
Posted by mac @ 01:39 PM EST [Link]
On the Political Front:
An interesting two days are unfolding. Later today: the UN report and the US reaction. (Not to mention Iraq's.) Tomorrow: Israel's election which may be deeply influenced by antiwar backlash. [more]
Posted by mac @ 11:02 AM EST [Link]
Sunday, January 26, 2003
No blog of substance today. [more]
Posted by mac @ 09:35 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, January 25, 2003
On the Political Front:
A key piece of evidence used by Bush to argue in front of the UN for war against Iraq is being questioned. [more]
Posted by mac @ 10:39 AM EST [Link]
Friday, January 24, 2003
On the Political Front...
Although I am not an advocate of jobless benefits, the following story on unemployment benefits is a reflection of the economy. I must sound like the voice of doom or "mom"...and I really don't mean to...but I hope everyone is being fiscally prudent. Staying out of debt, buying tangible assets, keeping whatever job security exists. The next few months are not a time to take financial risks. [more]
Posted by mac @ 05:05 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, January 23, 2003
Sloth and wretched idleness, the end of civilization as we know it! Translation...I took a day off. Two of the characteristics I can credit my parents with instilling deep within my psyche are absolute, automatic politeness and a strong work ethic. The latter can be a genuine pain whenever I try to relax.
On the Political Front: [more]
Posted by mac @ 11:02 AM EST [Link]
Tuesday, January 21, 2003
On the Political Front:
I hope everyone is carefully shepherding their resources these days. With inflation of the money supply to finance the War on terrorism and the vast diversion of productive assets (including human ones) to that cause, I fear terrible economic times ahead. [more]
Posted by mac @ 08:47 AM EST [Link]
Monday, January 20, 2003
On the Political Front:
Dirty tactics are what I expect as counter-argument to controversial views these days. [more]
Posted by mac @ 06:02 AM EST [Link]
Sunday, January 19, 2003
A light blog day, as Sundays seem to be. Here are some worthwhile articles without my customary narrative... [more]
Posted by mac @ 10:43 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, January 18, 2003
On the Political Front:
The money grab by all levels of government -- from local police departments to federal agencies -- continues to grow. [more]
Posted by mac @ 05:36 AM EST [Link]
Friday, January 17, 2003
A gracious good morning to all:
On the Political Front:
Thomas Knapp, with whom I had the pleasure of working at Free-Market.Net, asks an urgent question: "When is the anti-war movement going to get serious about being an anti-war movement?" [more]
Posted by mac @ 08:55 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, January 16, 2003
On the Political Front:
A just-released report from the ACLU, entitled "Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains: The Growth of an American Surveillance Society," gives a chilling assessment: [more]
Posted by mac @ 05:40 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, January 15, 2003
On the Political Front:
A blog reader, probably in response to my entry about the major media ignoring anti-war activities, wrote in, "The Los Angeles Pacifica radio station, KPFK, sponsored an anti-war rally Saturday. [more]
Posted by mac @ 03:59 AM EST [Link]
Tuesday, January 14, 2003
On the Political Front:
Katha Pollitt, with whom I often disagree but from whose writings I usually profit, has a wonderful column in The Nation on American surveillance of political activists. Although the article is semi-humorous in revealing the guffaws of police files, it is also chilling -- partly due to those same errors. [more]
Posted by mac @ 09:26 AM EST [Link]
Monday, January 13, 2003
The United States is heading toward a record deficit of $350 billion. As the London Spectator notes, "the cost of tax cuts and increased military spending threaten to unsettle the world's largest economy." [more]
Posted by mac @ 10:58 AM EST [Link]
Sunday, January 12, 2003
A gracious good morning to all:
A light blog day because of family obligations: this time they should be good fun. [more]
Posted by mac @ 08:01 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, January 11, 2003
On the Political Front:
Justin Raimondo's atypical foray into optimism seems to be unjustified. According to Richard Perle, chairman of the Pentagon's Defence Policy Board and a senior Bush advisor, America will not delay a war with Iraq until the autumn and is prepared to launch military action against Saddam Hussein without further United Nations authorisation. [more]
Posted by mac @ 03:57 PM EST [Link]
Friday, January 10, 2003
Political Watch:
Justin Raimondo of antiwar.com actually sounds semi-optimistic on today's "Behind the Headlines" editorial feature. The usually dour (tho' politically solid) Justin writes, "It may be in somewhat poor taste to say 'I told you so,' but I can't resist. My prognosis that the Iraq war, far from being 'inevitable,' as we've been endlessly told, has been postponed if not put on the back burner indefinitely has been all but verified by recent events." [more]
Posted by mac @ 09:45 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, January 9, 2003
Privacy update:
Yesterday, a friend forwarded to me an article on airport "security," written by Penn of Penn and Teller -- the taller half of a wonderfully irreverent comedy duo. The article is a bit dated but it still heartened me to read of someone standing up for his rights against the storm troopers. [more]
Posted by mac @ 10:53 AM EST [Link]
Tuesday, January 7, 2003
Privacy Update:
The INS is planning to collect data on all travellers, including U.S. citizens, who are leaving or entering the United States. The data will be used to detect terrorists and "other criminals." In short, it will be turned over to the IRS, the FBI, Homeland Security... [more]
Posted by mac @ 10:27 AM EST [Link]
Sunday, January 5, 2003
On the privacy front:
Just one of Ashcroft's many incursions against privacy rights is his flaunting of the Freedom of Information Act, by which those who have been placed under government surveillance for their political views are able to document that fact and, so, effectively protest. The secrecy also prevents people from taking government agencies to court because they cannot access the necessary evidence. [more]
Posted by mac @ 11:16 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, January 4, 2003
One of my favorite blogs, Light of Reason, has suspended operation, due to the owner's need to attend to real life, but the site will remain available...tho' a cobweb-site.
[more]
Posted by mac @ 07:00 AM EST [Link]
Friday, January 3, 2003
Good Morning World:
I owe this next item to that saucy wench, Karen De Coster, with whom I have yet to negotiate acceptable terms for us to mud wrestle out our differences. The item: a site on Homeland Security that offers "cookie cutter" tools to oppose the creation of a police state within the U.S. The free tools include wonderful posters.
[more]Posted by mac @ 08:29 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, January 2, 2003
Privacy Watch:
Starting today, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service requires all commercial airlines to submit detailed passenger manifests before planes arrive in or depart from the United States. [more]Posted by mac @ 10:00 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, January 1, 2003
A happy 2003 to all!
For me, the New Year opens with the receipt of an advanced copy of "The Debates of Liberty: An Overview of Individualist Anarchism, 1881-1908," just out from Lexington Books, a member of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 4720 Boston Way, Lanham, Maryland 20706, 1-800-462-6420. The official publication date is February, 2003. The Liberty referenced is Benjamin R. Tucker's periodical, which remains the classic 'zine of individualist anarchism. A link to "The Debates," complete with the scanned cover and a table of contents, should be up on the left-hand side of my home page soon. [more]
Posted by mac @ 02:00 AM EST [Link]