Author: ari
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Marin Voice: Angry politics close to home
The political landscape is making a lot of people mad at “elites.” Populist resentments are common these days – even in affluent Marin. When the mood turns bitter and corrosive, appeals for civility are nice. But they won’t accomplish much unless we can address some key underlying causes of distress. Read the full op-ed
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A Bomber Jacket Doesn’t Cover the Blood
President Obama has taken a further plunge into the kind of war abyss that consumed his predecessors — named Johnson, Nixon and Bush. On Sunday, during his first presidential trip to Afghanistan, Obama stood before thousands of American troops to proclaim the sanctity of the war effort. He played the role deftly — a Commander-in-chief,…
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Zero Public Option + One Mandate = Disaster
Not long ago, the most prominent supporters of the public option were touting it as essential for healthcare reform. Now, suddenly, it’s incidental. In fact, many who were lauding a public option as the key to a better healthcare future are now condemning just about anyone who insists that the absence of a public option…
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War in a Box
The event on the House floor Wednesday afternoon was monumental — the first major congressional debate about U.S. military operations in Afghanistan since lawmakers authorized the invasion of that country in autumn 2001. But, as Rep. Patrick Kennedy noted with disgust on Wednesday, the House press gallery was nearly empty. He aptly concluded: “It’s despicable, the…
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War Politics: Numb and Number
Playwright Lillian Hellman said, “I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year’s fashions.” The statement was in a letter to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). The year was 1952. We tell ourselves that the McCarthy era was vastly different than our own – but what about the political fashions of…