“As a chapter in the continuing history of opposition to dissent, Oppenheimer‘s fate is especially worth re-exploring now. Whether in the closed halls of the intelligence services or in the open sessions of Congress, we need the hard impact of contestation; we need recalcitrant voices ready to challenge the established terms of discussion…Oppenheimer always thought that argued dissent was an inseparable part of patriotism. He was right.” In his review of the recent biography American Prometheus, Harvard’s Peter Galison lauds J. Robert Oppenheimer’s patriotic vision of reflective dissent.
Category: Politics (2005-2006)
It’s not easy being green.
A defeat for medicinal weed is a victory for federal authority under the Interstate Commerce Clause in today’s 6-3 Supreme Court ruling upholding federal laws against marijuana. Wrote John Paul Stevens in the majority opinion, “[t]he Controlled Substances Act is a valid exercise of federal power, even as applied to the troubling facts of this case.” (The losing side consisted of Justices O’Connor, Rehnquist, and Thomas.) This is a tough one. I think prosecutions of sick people seeking medicinal marijuana to alleviate their daily miseries are grotesquely ill-conceived, but, then again, I’m not for rolling back federal power to pre-Civil War levels, either. And, for what it’s worth, “some lawyers who have followed the controversy closely predicted that the ruling, while disappointing, would not bring sweeping changes, since most marijuana prosecutions are undertaken by state and local officials rather than federal authorities.“
When Filibusters Were Bad.
“‘We have to recognize that as a legislative body we made mistakes,’ Sharp said. ‘The responsibility for it weighs heavily on the Senate.’” If all goes according to plan, the Senate will apologize next week for continually failing to pass an anti-lynching law, as per the bill introduced in February by Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and George Allen (R-VA).
The Wages of Sin.
“In what Republican strategists call ‘the DeLay effect,’ questions plaguing House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) are starting to hurt his fellow party members, who are facing news coverage of their own trips and use of relatives on their campaign payrolls.” Under fire from Dems around the country, the GOP begin to understand that their rampant ethical lapses may well carry a heavy political price. Will they cut Boss DeLay loose or sink with him into electoral ignominy come 2006? Either way, it’s a win-win for the Dems, provided they start getting their own house in order and stop their dalliances with crooks like Casino Jack.
Look Ma, No Toilet.
Last Friday, the Pentagon admitted that a Quran — and detainee — were in fact urinated on by a guard at Guantanamo. But, according to the eagerly dismissive White House, there’s no need to court-martial anybody or anything. (Heck, you should hear about Dubya’s crazy pledge days.) In the meantime, Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) took time off from castigating Howard Dean to call for the closing of Guantanamo.
Nuclear Rearmament.
Eager to put the lie to the recent nuclear compromise, Dubya readies a slew of judicial nominations for the Senate, and you can bet dollars to donuts that they’re not going to be moderates. “‘There’s about 20 waiting in the wings,’ a Senate Republican official said.“
McMonticello.
“‘I think there is more significant history in this corridor than in any comparable space in America,’ Moe said. ‘There’s been a lot of encroachment already, particularly in the form of residential development. If this continues, the character of this region will be changed forever.’” Richard Moe of the National Trust for Historic Preservation adds the expansive Tri-State region between Gettysburg and Monticello to its list of most endangered historical sites.
Cox the Corporate Cog.
So, apparently Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA), Dubya’s new pick to head the SEC, is — wait for it — yes, yet another right-wing freakshow, this time of the corporate stooge variety. “Mr. Cox – a devoted student of Ayn Rand, the high priestess of unfettered capitalism – has a long record in the House of promoting the agenda of business interests that are a cornerstone of the Republican Party’s political and financial support. A major recipient of contributions from business groups, the accounting profession and Silicon Valley, he has fought against accounting rules that would give less favorable treatment to corporate mergers and executive stock options. He opposes taxes on dividends and capital gains. And he helped to steer through the House a bill making investor lawsuits more difficult.”
Aigh!! Books!!!
By way of a colleague in the program, conservative rag Human Events lists their choices for the Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th & 20th Centuries (because remember, folks — reading & thinking are dangerous.) The usual rogues’ gallery — Marx, Hitler, Mao — are up front, as you might expect, but then things get kooky. Including Darwin is medieval enough, but Betty Friedan and Rachel Carson? You must be joking. (Well, at least it’s good to see the right-wing fringe still running scared from progressives like John Dewey and Herbert Croly.)
Bolted Shut / Evildoers Everywhere!
“Now in terms of the requests for the documents, I view that as just another stall tactic, another way to delay, another way not to allow Bolton to get an up or down vote.” As per his usual my-way-or-the-highway approach, Dubya announced he’s decided to stonewall the Dems by withholding the requested intelligence documents bearing on Bolton. Given that this UN appointment seems a done deal in terms of votes, you’d think our “uniter, not a divider” prez might’ve relished an opportunity to appear magnanimous and thus replenish some of his squandered political capital. But perhaps he didn’t want to put another feather in McCain’s cap so soon after the nuclear compromise…or perhaps these documents confirm anew that Bolton is unfit for his post. (Video link via Freakgirl.)
Even more troubling, in keeping with the administration’s attempts to make Amnesty International this week’s Newsweek, our president also put the blame for the “absurd” recent Amnesty report about our dismaying recent proclivity for torture squarely on the shoulders of “people who hate America.” As Sidney Blumenthal notes, “It may be of minor ironic interest that before the invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration cited Amnesty International’s reports on Saddam Hussein’s violations of human rights as unimpeachable texts. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld often claimed Amnesty as his ultimate authority.”