You Too Can Profit From The War on Terra "You’d think with both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars well under way and with the war on terrorism being more than two years old that the share price of any bullet proof vest manufacturer would be fully valued. Not so!
The company that manufactures the amazing life saving bullet proof vests that Sgt. Travis L. McKinney wrote to from the Iraq front line is not only undervalued but is a screaming takeover candidate that is poised to enjoy an up to 450% increase in its stock price." Operators are standing by...
posted by owillis
on Jun 16, 2004 -
10 comments
The First Casualty. The New Republic is one of the few left-leaning political journals who supported the war on Iraq. Now it seems like they've come to their senses and have written a very exhaustive story on how exactly Team Bush manipulated evidence to support the war on Iraq: "Rather, interviews with current and former intelligence officials and other experts reveal that the Bush administration culled from U.S. intelligence those assessments that supported its position and omitted those that did not. The administration ignored, and even suppressed, disagreement within the intelligence agencies and pressured the CIA to reaffirm its preferred version of the Iraqi threat. Similarly, it stonewalled, and sought to discredit, international weapons inspectors when their findings threatened to undermine the case for war."
posted by owillis
on Jun 19, 2003 -
11 comments
Quick, Hide The Body! "...But the Bush administration chose to keep the findings out of the annual budget report for fiscal year 2004, published in February, as the White House campaigned for a tax-cut package that critics claim will expand future deficits.
The study asserts that sharp tax increases, massive spending cuts or a painful mix of both are unavoidable if the US is to meet benefit promises to future generations. It estimates that closing the gap would require the equivalent of an immediate and permanent 66 per cent across-the-board income tax increase."
posted by owillis
on May 28, 2003 -
18 comments
Not All Iraqis Dancing in the Streets. To watch the
neutered embedded reporters, you would think that every Iraqi is overjoyed to see America in his or her country. But the reality seems to be quite different: "Why are you here in this country? Are you trying to take over? Are you going to take our country forever? Are the Israelis coming next? Are you here to steal our oil? When are you going to get out?"
posted by owillis
on Mar 22, 2003 -
35 comments
President To Author: Your Book Is Unpatriotic " "The letter began by thanking me for sending the book," Hudson said. 'Also, I'm from Austin, Texas, and the president touched on the fact that I was a fellow Texan, congratulating me on my book. But he was setting me up for the one-two punch. Because he called the book unpatriotic and ridiculous and just plain bad writing. Beyond that, I've been instructed not to talk about the contents of the letter for the time being.'"
posted by owillis
on Oct 30, 2002 -
31 comments
A Blast from the Past. In 1998, George Bush, Sr. explains why Saddam was not removed in the Gulf War: "Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the U.N.'s mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the U.S. could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different--and perhaps barren--outcome."
posted by owillis
on Sep 12, 2002 -
19 comments
How Al Qaeda Slipped Away "American officials concede that there was a mass escape from Tora Bora—as well as a broader exodus by various routes into Pakistan and Iran—but insist that Al Qaeda now is crippled and too busy running to do much damage. “Perhaps we could have got them wholesale,” says one senior Defense official. “Now we’re doing it retail. In the end, it doesn’t make much difference. We’re getting them.”" We might want to take care of this
before we "invade" Iraq.
posted by owillis
on Aug 14, 2002 -
14 comments
The Coming Democratic Dominance "...ever since the collapse of the Reagan conservative majority, which enjoyed its final triumph in November 1994, American politics has been turning slowly, but inexorably, toward a new Democratic majority. It was evident in Al Gore's popular-vote victory in 2000 (made more significant by the overhang of the Bill Clinton scandals and Gore's ineptitude as a campaigner) and in Bush's and the Republicans' sinking fortunes in the first two-thirds of 2001. It was obscured by the patriotic rush of support for Bush after September 11, which to some extent carried over to the Republican Party as a whole. But it has resurfaced in recent months as Americans have turned their attention back to the economy and domestic policy and away from the war on terrorism. Far from being a temporary distraction from a long-term shift toward the GOP, popular anger at the business scandals and the plummeting Dow heralds the resumption of a long-term shift toward the Democrats. " (via
george)
posted by owillis
on Aug 1, 2002 -
44 comments
High Standards, High Expectations For the Select Few ""We have three or four kids that need to be under control when they do something wrong," Ruben said. "The pressure isn't coming from the coaches. It's self-induced. That should be gone by now. When they are 7 or 8, you can chalk it up and say they are only 7 or 8. 'They are 10' doesn't wash anymore."" Somehow, some of us used to
have fun playing baseball.
posted by owillis
on May 9, 2002 -
4 comments
Right-Wing Bullies Caught in Crossfire "No doubt all of the above qualities irritate the conservatives who follow party instructions to shun Crossfire. What has shocked them is that the new hosts don’t quite fit TV’s stereotypical 97-pound liberal, ready to be worked over like a talking speedbag. Mr. Carville is a tall, rangy Marine veteran, sports fanatic and jock; Mr. Begala is a born-and-bred Texan who grew up with guns and still likes to hunt. Both have expressed their powerful distaste for the Democratic tendency to wilt under attack."
posted by owillis
on Apr 14, 2002 -
46 comments
Media Torrent: ""I think this is one of many weird phenomena that contributes to a national attention deficit disorder."The crawl -- that stream of info-morsels and promotional hooks that seemed so urgent right after Sept. 11, but now seems so annoying and distracting -- seems to carry Gitlin's point with it as it creeps across the screen."
Is this a real problem, or is it just the old guys not hip to the kids' video world? (via
i want media)
posted by owillis
on Apr 1, 2002 -
22 comments
Buying & Selling Babies? "The practice, which is widespread among private adoption facilitators, of charging prospective parents different fees depending on the race or ethnicity of the child they adopt is one that Hutcherson is fighting to change from his Redmond, Wash., church. The Antioch Bible Church has established its own adoption agency, and is lobbying state legislators to change Washington's laws. He said that besides putting a price on children, the practice discriminates against white babies and people who seek to adopt them — an issue he said has been overlooked because white people, particularly those who can afford the high adoption fees charged, are not used to considering themselves victims of discrimination."
posted by owillis
on Mar 13, 2002 -
14 comments
Survivors Healed, but Not Whole "But hearing the story of how Patty crawled out of that room, dutifully dragging her behemoth purse (it weighed a ton, it seemed, with enough odds and ends to supply an army), and this as her colleagues were stripping off their clothes and lapping up water off the floor in a desperate struggle to escape the terrible heat and stay alive -- that was funny.
A half-year after the attack, the reconstruction of the Pentagon is racing along, with crews repairing the broken facade and ready to start roof work today, the six-month anniversary. Harder to mend are the souls of those who were there Sept. 11."
posted by owillis
on Mar 11, 2002 -
2 comments
Multiethnic Barbie. (
picture) ""It would be really boring if there were all white people," says the fourth-grader, who also likes her dolls to portray people she knows - from her half-Asian cousins to classmates of all races." Of course, nobody she knows probably has Barbie's proportions...
posted by owillis
on Feb 19, 2002 -
31 comments
Discarding evidence because of a possible
Miranda violation. Sure, Miranda serves a (good) purpose but are the scales of justice tipped a little too much in favor of the accused when the entire chain of evidence can
be discarded because of a confession of a
possibly dubious nature?
posted by owillis
on Feb 16, 2002 -
16 comments
Consider This, America. The Washington Post has nine editorials from around the world on how America should use it's current bully pulpit: Uganda on tunnel vision,
Germany on "softly flexing" muscles,
Mexico on energy and labor,
Canada on women's rights,
Peru on capitalism/property rights,
Japan against unilateralism,
England encourages being a "real" superpower, while
Pakistan wants us to be balanced. Sage words of advice, or more finger wagging from the global set?
posted by owillis
on Jan 6, 2002 -
19 comments
Emancipator or Oppressor? E.J. Dionne talks about how the global economy may not be as evil or as good as its respective supporters and detractors make it out to be. It seems like a pretty balanced look at a subject that gets horribly slanted coverage.
posted by owillis
on Jan 2, 2002 -
2 comments
Covering for our "oil buddies" It seems there were some choice statements about Saudi support for Osama's terrorism that were removed from last week's "party tape". Wouldn't want to mess with Bush/Cheney's oil pals, now would we?
posted by owillis
on Dec 20, 2001 -
27 comments
A Columnist of the People?: "Many people have told me they consider my writing a breath of fresh air. The question is whether a year of fresh air is worth the price of a music CD. I don't know the answer to that question, but this is my attempt to find out.
My proposal is a modest one. Whereas some Post writers earn $750 per column, I am proposing to write a weekly online column for $600 dollars Canadian (see U.S. dollar equivalents). This means I would be paid, over the course of a year, $31,200 for two days work per week."
I guess this is sort of a twist on the honor model, but wouldn't people possibly be more likely to go with something like a micro-ad, where they get some tangible ROI?
(via e-media tidbits)
posted by owillis
on Oct 30, 2001 -
20 comments
Powerpoint invades the NFL: "The way they do it with the PowerPoint, it livens up meetings and makes them more interesting". Imagine the sideline hijinks when all the plays disappear because of SirCam! What kind of coach would Vince Lombardi be if he had a setup
like this? I still miss the
glow puck from hockey, but I could do without the
"virtual billboards" all over the darn field. Should computers and sport mix?
posted by owillis
on Oct 24, 2001 -
9 comments
Is this Saddam's work? CBS News: "United States has received an intelligence report that Mohammed Atta, the hijacker who is named as the pilot of the first plane to strike the World Trade Centers, met early this year somewhere in Europe with the head of the Iraqi intelligence service." CNN is reporting it too.
posted by owillis
on Sep 18, 2001 -
30 comments
Appeasement. Chamberlain sat at a table with Hitler in 1938 signing a treaty and proclaiming "peace for our time". Shortly after, World War II began.
Killing innocent people does not solve the problem, but sitting at a table with your enemy and proclaiming peace (when he just wants to kill more) does no good either.
posted by owillis
on Sep 15, 2001 -
36 comments
England vs. USA Over the death penalty. Initially I felt like saying "butt out" but America tends to get involved in other countries when our citizens are in trouble (like that kid in Singapore way back).
posted by owillis
on Sep 10, 2001 -
7 comments
Selective Service: "Beliefs which
qualify a registrant for CO (conscientous objector) status may be religious in nature, but don't have to be. Beliefs may be moral or ethical; however, a man's reasons for not wanting to participate in a war must not be based on politics, expediency, or self-interest. In general, the man's lifestyle prior to making his claim must reflect his current claims." Why is this opt-out and not opt-in? Isn't restricting it to men sexist? (I support women's right to serve in combat). Isn't the whole idea of America that
you choose whether you want to fight for your country and not who ever happens to occupy 1600 Pennsylvania? You can check on your own registration
here.
posted by owillis
on Sep 8, 2001 -
30 comments
"Dear China,
We want so much to protect ourselves from 'rogue' nations with our impenetrable defense shield (no doubt built by defense contractors who
contributed to my campaign) that we are ready to basically
encourage you to build new nukes, and cause other countries to build up their arsenals as well. What's a few more nukes in the world, even if we have to change US foreign policy - at least star war... er, the "missile shield" will protect us."
Love,
George
posted by owillis
on Sep 2, 2001 -
25 comments
Should Election Day be a holiday? Vote, then do some barbecue and watch fireworks... Will this be the development that could increase voter turnout, or will people just waste the day away? How else could voter turnout be improved?
posted by owillis
on Jul 30, 2001 -
63 comments
These two teachers had the nerve to expose more kids to AP English classes, their reward? Removal from the program by a principal. How can teachers persevere when the parents and/or administration are both set against them?
posted by owillis
on Jul 26, 2001 -
19 comments
GAO to Cheney: "Show us what you got!" Ok, well it wasn't that dramatic, but this "demand letter" is one step away from giving the Veep a subpeona. Even right wing attack dog Judicial Watch is getting in with some hot lawsuit action.
posted by owillis
on Jul 18, 2001 -
4 comments
Rioting in Jamaica. This one hits
very close to home, as it's where my family is from and where I partially grew up. While the immediate effect of people dying is terrible, the long term effects of this news on tourism (Jamaica's top industry) will probably be devastating to an already poor country.
posted by owillis
on Jul 10, 2001 -
7 comments
Webzines. Independent magazines published on the web in the same vein as "old school"
printed ones. Sort of the step between a blog and a full blown Salon (as in
MetaFocus?). I'm thinking about doing one, any you can recommend?
posted by owillis
on Jul 6, 2001 -
16 comments
America @ 225. We're still working out all the kinks, but the "Gang of 50" keeps on chugging along. The
Fourth of July for me is the day where we can extol the virtues of nationalism unabashedly...
posted by owillis
on Jul 4, 2001 -
53 comments
"Red" China? Communist Cuba? No kids, its America! Where the government
has decided for us that we shouldn't listen to music that "contains unmistakable offensive sexual references. In this regard, portions of the lyrics contain sexual references in conjunction with sexual expletives that appear intended to pander and shock". Aren't you glad Big Brother is taking care of
you?
posted by owillis
on Jun 8, 2001 -
28 comments
It's simple: Don't let the blacks vote, your guy "wins". "Florida's conduct of the 2000 presidential election was marked by "injustice, ineptitude and inefficiency" that unfairly penalized minority voters, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has concluded in a report that criticizes top state officials -- particularly Gov. Jeb Bush and Secretary of State Katherine Harris -- for allowing disparate treatment of voters."
"A computer analysis by The Post showed that the more black and Democratic a precinct, the more likely it was to suffer high rates of invalidated votes."
"No inquiry so far has been as broad as that conducted by the commission -- or as specifically focused on the rights of minorities. The commission held three days of hearings, interviewed 100 witnesses and reviewed 118,000 documents."
posted by owillis
on Jun 5, 2001 -
40 comments
