Tag: War on Terror

Happy President’s Day.

“As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.” – George Washington

“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” – George Washington

“As the sword was the last resort for the preservation of our liberties, so it ought to be the first to be laid aside when those liberties are firmly established.” – George Washington

“Whenever I hear any one arguing for slavery I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.” – Abraham Lincoln

“People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.” – Abraham Lincoln

“It is not merely for to-day, but for all time to come that we should perpetuate for our children’s children this great and free government, which we have enjoyed all our lives.” – Abraham Lincoln

Agents Orange.


Speaking of Orwell (is it Eurasia or Eastasia today, Saddam or Osama?), the Dubya administration capitalizes on terror panic to drum up war fever (and good media coverage.) It’s amazing to me how worried many people here in town seemed about the recent orange alert (status update via Looka.) One friend told me that his out-of-town guests cancelled their flight into the city because of a possible attack, and a handful of other folks I know wouldn’t use the subway. I dunno…I just can’t get too stressed about something that’s so completely out of my hands. Besides, it’s probably true that living in New York City increases the chances that I’ll die as a result of terrorism, but it also vastly decreases the chances that I’ll die in a car wreck, which is still the leading cause of death in America for people under 33. So, it’s basically a wash. Not that I’m ambivalent about perishing in a gas attack or something worse, mind you, but I just don’t see the utility in freaking out every time the US intelligence community decides to cover its ass by issuing warnings based on non-specific “specific information.”

Death from Above.

The depersonalized video game nature of modern war has been noted in a lot of places (Patriot Games, for example), but this video of a US raid on the Taliban from an AC-130 Spectre Gunship really drives it home. A fascinating look at the 21st-century military at work, although a bit unsettling once you realize the white dots fleeing in every direction are in fact enemy combatants.

WE have the body.

Oh, these suspects have very important information…they’re just not allowed to tell it. As the Ashcroft Justice Department leaps at the chance to try out their newly validated surveillance powers, the Post examines their contortion of a 1984 material witness statute to keep terrorist suspects locked up indefinitely. Very sneaky…but how far can you bend a law before it breaks?

Was it Tuttle or Buttle?

Well, that’s that, then. Despite some historic raging against the bureaucratic behemoth by Sen. Robert Byrd, the Senate passes the Homeland Security Act 90-9. Nice to see Feingold voted against it, at any rate. Well, here’s hoping my extra history degree will find me a place in Information Adjustments (and well away from the careerists in Information Retrieval.) Hmm…speaking of which, I wonder what history books out there might suggest “patterns indicative of terrorist activity.” Guess I better buy them earlier rather than later…and in cash.

Homeland (and Corporate) Security.

John McCain joins the Dems in fighting the Homeland Security Bill, mainly because it has swollen 450 pages since election day with ridiculous helpings of GOP pork. Looks like the only entities with security in Dubya’s universe are pharmaceutical companies and the anti-terrorism industry. Update: Despite McCain’s vote, the Dems lose again. (Mary Landrieu, Ben Nelson, and Zell Miller voted with the GOP, as did Wellstone’s current replacement, Dean Barkley.)

The Rollback begins.

An appeal court today approved broadened wiretap powers for John Ashcroft’s Justice Department. (But don’t worry…they’ll only use it on the bad people.) In loosely related news, the Dems are discovering a filibuster won’t work in stopping much of the GOP’s desired legislation, including oil and gas drilling of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. Looks like things’ll be getting worse before they get better.

Speaking of big oil, I was doing some reading between classes in what passes for a student center here at Columbia and ended up sitting next to the undergraduate pro-war-in-Iraq table. (To be honest, I’m always a bit startled by the conservatism of today’s undergraduate community, although I suppose it wasn’t much different in my day – I still remember the drunken revelries all over campus that accompanied the 1994 midterms.) At any rate, I noticed the organization’s name was Students United for Victory, which would make their acronym SUV. Ah well, I presume the irony was lost on these earnest young hawks.

Trial Balloons.

After the humbling defeat of Election Tuesday, Dem presidential hopefuls start taking tentative steps down a more combative course. First Daschle rightfully questioned the terrorism initiative in the wake of the recent Bin Laden tape, and now Gore is outwardly questioning the Supreme Court for its 2000 election decision. Speaking of which, anyone hoping beyond hope for a “new” Candidate Gore in 2004 should just take note of how loudly the gears are grinding here. The Gores have two books coming out – Joined at the Heart (as a friend of mine noted, a truly awful name that conjures up visions of Chang and Eng) and The Spirit of Family – aimed at resurrecting whatever national goodwill Al managed to muster by “The Kiss” at the Democratic Convention. As usual, Gore‘s making his points ham-fistedly.

Suspicion Breeds Confidence.

With full control of Congress, the President declares homeland security his top priority, and will move on the Senate-stymied bill to create the Department of Homeland Security during the lame-duck session. Mmm, security…sounds doubleplussgood. So do I have to get my bar code on the side of my head like 12 Monkeys, or can I put it on the back of my neck or something?