A truly chilling development, folks.

I apologize for the brevity of this diary but I found this disturbing article on the HuffPost, and as of yet, I’ve not found another source. If it’s true, (and I have faith that it is)... we all have a major problem.

Cross-posted @ My Left Wing

There’s no doubt that a good argument could be made, and often is, that the most famous of American prognosticators is none other than the enigmatic Edgar Cayce, and I certainly would never take anything away from his extraordinary psychic achievements. But, I talk today about another man with the gift of sight, a soothsayer wrapped in the illusory façade of a simple humorist whose intelligence and foresight was both underestimated and underappreciated back in his day. However, today he's proving to be the Nostradamus of American life whose forward vision was leaps and bounds ahead of his own 19th-Century.

Cross-posted @ My Left Wing

Any competent military expert could expound upon the intricacies and vagaries of the reemerging Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. Most will say U.S. foreign policy is to blame and by all counts, they would indeed be correct. The deployment of too few troops in the initial invasion was one of the administration’s fundamental errors of judgment; along with the redeployment of Special Forces, translators, logistics teams and other resources to Iraq that were crucial to the stemming of the initial discontent amongst indigenous tribes .

Ok, folks, this is probably one of the most outrageous things I’ve come across in years. To put these families -- who’ve already given the lives of their loved ones in service to this immoral and illegal war -- through this legal purgatory is an egregious crime in and of itself.

Cross-posted @ Progressive Historians and My Left Wing

If someone would have asked me back in March 1989 if the Supreme Court of the United States would end up deciding the case against the largest oil company in the world -- responsible for the largest oil spill in world history - nearly two-decades later; I would have answered that, ostensibly, the prima fascia evidence of the culpability of Exxon-Mobil was not only overwhelming but also incontrovertible.

Cross-posted @ My Left Wing

“We got 126,000 contractors over there, some of them making more than the secretary of defense. How in the hell do you justify that?” -- House defense appropriations subcommittee Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa)

Cross-posted @ My Left Wing

So, let’s balance it.

And, no, I’m not talking about balancing the budget or the blatant absence of backbone in the skeletal frames of those we choose to represent us.

Cross-posted @ My Left Wing

Perhaps, due to the very tough libel laws in Britain, the editor of the article I’m citing in this diary saw fit to include the following disclaimer. In the interest of CMOA, (coverin’ my own ass) I shall also include it.

Editor's note: This story is shaping up to be a significant scandal in the United Kingdom. It should be noted that Lord Goldsmith has vigorously denied the charges contained in this article.

U.K. Attorney General Lord Goldsmith is presently facing accusations that he told the Army that its soldiers were not bound by the Human Rights Act when arresting, detaining and interrogating Iraqi prisoners. Hmm, sounds vaguely familiar.

Cross-posted @ My Left Wing

It’s never good when the newspaper becomes the story

That said, I consider McClatchy Newspapers (formerly Knight Ridder) one of the last honest newspapers in America. In fact, in my opinion, none of the top five national newspapers, i.e., U.S.A Today, New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times, or the Chicago Tribune even comes close to the level of journalistic integrity consistently demonstrated by McClatchy.

About midway through the first year of the Iraqi occupation; back when Americans still believed the administration’s lies and Dubb’ya’s declaration of, “Mission accomplished,” I was paying particular attention to Kurdistan and its volatile northern border with Turkey. The PKK or Kurdish Worker’s Party was busy back then launching small incursions across the border. They didn’t make much news especially not in the U.S.

Cross-posted @ My Left Wing and Progressive Historians

While the United States demands that other countries end their nuclear programs, the Bush administration is busy planning a new generation of nuclear weapons. Nearly 20 years after the Berlin Wall crumbled, the United States is allocating more funding, on average, to nuclear weapons -- than during the Cold War.

Cross-posted @ My Left Wing

Earlier this month, the FBI announced the capture of six immigrant Muslims in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The six stood accused of plotting a terror attack on Fort Dix in New Jersey, as well as an attack on a Pennsylvania Navy installation.

Cross-posted @ My Left Wing

You were wondering perhaps, how do you completely alienate and infuriate a population under military occupation? Well, this is how.

Last summer, roughly 14,000 Iraqis were being held at detention centers inside the country, in a so-called "legal vacuum," according to separate investigations by the Associated Press (courtesy of Truthout)  and the New York Times. (Times Select)

The majority of detainees were found to have been caught up in neighborhood sweeps, and inevitably were never suspected or charged with anything. Nevertheless, most of the innocent detainees languished in facilities for anywhere from a month to a year or more.

Cross-posted @ My Left Wing and Progressive Historians

"Khhaaaaaaannn..." -- Admiral James T. Kirk – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – circa 1982.

Cross-posted @ My Left Wing, BlueSunbelt and Progressive Historians

As a Floridian, and a longtime resident of Congressional District 13, I’ve fervently followed the Christine Jennings case since last November. I can tell you first hand that it was a most depressing time for Florida progressives – especially knowing that her opponent in the race, Vern Buchanan, has what I’d consider, a dubious past.