At the end of the week:
- House passes GOP’s 2012 budget blueprint (WashPost) — And the NYT headline described it this way: G.O.P.-Led House Votes to Cut Trillions Over 10 Years.
- Qaddafi Troops Fire Cluster Bombs Into Civilian Areas (NYT) — Just another little reminder of whom we’re fighting against. Or helping other people fight against. Or whatever.
- Clashes at mass protest in Syria (BBC) — The largest such clashes in a month.
- Greenville plant unveils 1st SC-made electric bus (AP) — Which sounds way cool.
- Whatever Happened To The Anti-War Movement? (NPR) — Hey, I love NPR, but sometimes I get a glimpse of what some people don’t like about it — such as the political/cultural assumptions inherent in raising such a question. I mean, I haven’t noticed a lack of anti-war fervor. Seems like it’s still out there. Matter of perspective.
- Arizona Becomes First State To Pass Birther Bill (NPR) — Of course, when the people who hate NPR are busy doing stuff like this, you sort of don’t care WHAT they think…
Related Posts
The game plan is to knock Obama off as many 2012 ballots as possible. Next, will come “voter literacy” testing like that designed to keep non-white citizens from voting back in the ’50s.
#5: You may not have noticed “a lack” of anti-war fervor, but surely you must agree that it is not at the pitch it was during the Bush years. Partly that is because we are now in Iraq in far fewer numbers before, plus the fact that many who objected to the Iraq venture still felt that Afghanistan was the “correct” war, the original–and appropriate—response to 9/11. But there is no question that many people are giving Obama a free pass because they still cling to the idea that his basic worldview is so different from W’s, though the difference is starting to seem less and less with the passage of time (re the national security apparatus, etc.).
Of course, when the NPR piece starts comparing anti-war fervor now with the Vietnam era, all parallels fall apart. The existence of the draft then is the most obvious example; but the sheer scale of death was totally different then, both in terms of Americans killed as well as Vietnamese soldiers, and civilians. Naturally even one American’s death for a dubious military adventure is a tragedy; but we have to face the reality that numbers do play a role in the scale of domestic political protests.
Speaking of cluster bombing civilians remember the American invasion of Iraq? Seems like that clusterfest has largely been forgotten by the American people and the MSM. Yet it continues to be a problem for the Iraqis. Here’s a link to a report that underscores just how dangerous this situation is for the U.S. and the Obama administration. If we don’t honor our commitment to bring our troops home by December 31 we’ll have a real mess on our hands. Where are those peace protesters when you need them most?
http://www.truthout.org/playing-fire-iraq
But President Obama has already produced a birth certificate, and one which the officials in Hawaii have certified as legitimate. The newspapers also carried his birth announcement. What more will Arizona require. Just out of curiosity, doesn’t our Federal gov’t. have some way of ensuring that people running for prez, senate, etc. meet the age and citizenship requirements thereof?
I’ll be glad when my nephew and his wife leave Arizona and return to Charleston.