Crescendo in Musical Criticism Against Bush

Feels like a tipping point has been reached as more influencial musicians are finally taking a stand against the abuses of the failing administration. Check out this clip from Pink, an amazing song. No artlessly obvious "Bush Lied" diatribe here--rather a blistering indictment of the man's essential obliviousness to the effects of his failures. Dixie Chicks deserve all the props for having the courage to be first, when anti-Iraq Disaster meant anti-America. Now the equation has flipped and their views are the majority. Neil Young's new release is eagerly anticipated, and even Flea has said his piece. This ain't the usual suspects in the Hollywood crowd. Good music's always had an intangible integrity that silences all criticism in a way that film cannot. These people make their living by tapping into the sentiments coursing through both themselves and the electorate. And their latest is a wonderful sign that the country has finally woken up. Late yes, but hopefully not too late.

Cheney Spikes Iran Diplomacy

...according to intelligence officials. A Raw Story article begins with the tale of an Iran-Contra Iranian ex-pat acting as a go-between to get the US and Iran talking. But... These discussions, however, are now on hold for unspecified reasons. Sources close to the UN Security Council and a former high ranking intelligence official say that this latest failed attempt to bring Iran to the table is part of an ongoing attempt by Cheney and Rumsfeld to squash diplomatic activities. The preponderance of the evidence is so heavy there can no longer be any doubt that the administration was determined to invade Iraq, and the diplomatic angle was massaged for public consumption while the preparations were well underway. If the sources are right, now Cheney is showing he doesn't know when to leave bad enough alone. History is repeating itself, as the unaccountable and unremorseful Vice President embarks on a collision course towards more innocent civilian casualties, American war dead and Middle East instability.

Rolling Stone Nails It

In an issue due to hit stands on Friday, Rolling Stone has an article penned by respected Princeton historian Sean Wilentz . RS asks the question:"The Worst President in History?". Hope Wilentz doesn't get too carried away, but judging from the title his sails are so full of conventional wisdom it's hard to see him being blown off course. Serious questions about the President's competence date back to 9/12, but they were always lightly brushed away--Katrina was the seminal moment that dragged the issue out into the daylight. It's never been more important than now to examine the fundamental ability of the man to do his job as he stumbles towards yet another potentially disastrous foray in the Middle East.

Malkin's "Pen Became a Death Threat"

Michelle Malkin--AKA Coulter-Lite in polite company-- has a Longfellow quotation at the top of her website: "The pen became a clarion..". It became exactly that, in the worst possible sense, when her rallying cry unleashed the hounds of hate and ignorance (in other words, her core readership) on students at UC Santa Cruz. Background Military recruiters try to set up shop at a UC job fair, but are dissuaded by a peaceful protest. Kids learn a valuable lesson--their voices, without violence, can make a difference --and the recruiters show commendably good judgement in withdrawing without incident. No problem, right? Wrong. Malkin, to borrow a memorable phrase from James Wolcott, had steam coming out of her ass over the whole affair and launched a series of ugly posts. You can gather the tenor from the titles: UC Santa Cruz hates our troops Seditious Santa Cruz vs. America Cut off tax money for UC Santa Cruz! More thuggery at Santa Cruz Long story short, she published the personal phone numbers of the student leaders on her site. Now they're getting death threats from all across the nation, courteousy of Ms. Malkin. So it seems the students learned another lesson: if you don't care to be solicited as IED bait, be prepared to be face the wrath of tin horns like Malkin. Throw in the racist language of her followers and her respectable facade becomes indistinguishable from their ignorance and hate. In that sense, her pen has indeed become a death threat to kids who were only standing up to an unjust, ill-advised and tragically optional war.

Why the Generals Matter

An interesting article by Stephen Pizzos that explains why the recent "revolt" of the generals against Rumsfeld is so unprecedented, and why they were constrained while on active duty. $Q: I hit Marine Corps bootcamp on July 7, 1965, a wimpy kid from suburbia. The first thing we were told was that we were the lowest forms of life on earth-- and that meant lower than civilians. I was to learn as time went on that this was not just drill instructor blather. It was a genuine, deeply ingrained belief that permeated the highest ranks of the military for civilian control. We were repeatedly told that the lowest civilian we met on the street outranked the highest grade military officer. And that was not show. They believed it, not just as a principle, but a sacred trust. To have a group of distinguished generals collectively break this sacred trust is a screaming alarm that something is deeply awry with the civilian leadership. Even those who don't know the military culture on an intimate level can feel it intuitively, which is why the ludicrous Swiftboating attempts against them from the usual propaganda factories has not found its way into the mainstream discourse.