Category: Media Beat column
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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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Don’t Call It a ‘Defense’ Budget
This isn’t “defense.” The new budget from the White House will push U.S. military spending well above $2 billion a day. Foreclosing the future of our country should not be confused with defending it. “Unless miraculous growth, or miraculous political compromises, creates some unforeseen change over the next decade, there is virtually no room for…
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Democrats Boosting Right-Wing Populism
In his triumphant speech on election night, the next senator from Massachusetts should have thanked top Democrats in Washington for all they did to make his victory possible. For a year now, leading Democrats have steadily embraced more corporate formulas for “healthcare reform.” In the name of political realism, they have demobilized and demoralized the…