For me, remembering the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist hijackings and attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon means remembering my friend Chris Atencio. My Newport Beach, California neighbor and close friend at the time, it was he who woke me up that morning to tell me what was happening (he didn't own a television, but … Continue reading Remembering when I first remembered the 9/11 terrorist attacks
Tag: Iraq
Iraq can be fun!
Here's a fun little exercise you can do if you get bored this weekend: 1. Read this, a transcript of President George W. Bush's December 6, 2008 Weekly Radio Address in which he discusses why our occupation of Iraq has lately been so successful that we will soon be able to begin withdrawing some of … Continue reading Iraq can be fun!
‘Outsourcing Intelligence’
Now there is a truly glorious contradiction in terms. In this era when the Bush Administration sees privatization possibilities in every corner of government, and government effectiveness and accountability is at its lowest point since the Hoover Administration, I suppose it makes perfect sense that it would hire L-3 Communications, a New York-based publicly traded … Continue reading ‘Outsourcing Intelligence’
Bush’s Legacy, Part 2 (or 1, I can’t keep track anymore of what I’ve written)
Wow, George W. Bush is really taking this whole "legacy" thing seriously. This kind of amazes me, since he's never really taken anything in his whole life seriously (well, maybe executing people when he was Texas governor). Anyway, this article in yesterday's Los Angeles Times says Bush Administration officials are distributing a two-page "talking points" … Continue reading Bush’s Legacy, Part 2 (or 1, I can’t keep track anymore of what I’ve written)
Dissing the ‘commanders in the field’
Today the Honolulu Advertiser editorial page heartily approves of President-elect Barack Obama's "apparent" choice to keep Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense. "That's a smart move," the unsigned editorial puffs. "With the nation's economic turmoil rightly Obama's top priority, Gates' understanding and proven leadership in Iraq and Afghanistan will help us continue to chart the right … Continue reading Dissing the ‘commanders in the field’
Sometimes I hate it when I’m right
I usually feel good when I find that a certified smart person thinks the same way I do about politics. But in the case of Noam Chomsky's recent 7,700-word take on the election of Barack Obama in Znet, not so much. I've been watching a lot of my left-leaning friends take serious satisfaction in Obama's victory … Continue reading Sometimes I hate it when I’m right
Is it Thanksgiving already?
Laughing over the latest e-mail newsletter from Hawaii Lt. Governor James "Duke" Aiona. He's a busy man, you know, traveling to Asia, opposing teen smoking in all its forms and doing photo-ops with Disney officials building a big resort in West Oahu. Scanning the newsletter, it's painfully obvious that Duke–one of the few elected Republicans … Continue reading Is it Thanksgiving already?
‘People’ vs. ‘Bad Guys’
Watching a rerun of the HBO miniseries Generation Kill right now. Though vivid and compelling in its portrayal of an elite U.S. Marine Corps unit that fought in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as well as surprisingly loyal to its source material–in this case, an outstanding 2004 book of the same name by Rolling Stone … Continue reading ‘People’ vs. ‘Bad Guys’
Anthony Pignataro 