Obama, Osama and the Making of a Martyr

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Monday May 02, 2011 · 12:10 PM PDT

2011/05/02 · 12:10

It is the height of childish naiveté to believe in Evil with a capital ‘E’. There are indeed all manner of imaginable (and as yet unimaginable) evil acts and ideologies; those that inflict suffering and run counter to a generally shared vision of global justice. Yet no serious student of history can conclude that people themselves are ever truly Evil. The very worst villains of our collective global society, from Hitler to Stalin and, yes, bin Laden, were each seeking to actualize a utopic vision of peace and prosperity. Each has been, therefore, motivated by the very same ideals of goodness embodied in our own Judeo-Christian foundations.

urthwalker

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Tuesday June 22, 2010 · 5:22 AM PDT

2010/06/22 · 05:22

Given the lack of ink on the subject, you may have been unaware that the Supreme court has just ruled against nonviolence, free speech, global equality, and common sense in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project. This suit was landmark in challenging the original 1996 anti-terrorist law (and the PATRIOT Act) prohibition of material support to terrorist agencies.

urthwalker

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Wednesday June 16, 2010 · 6:20 AM PDT

2010/06/16 · 06:20

When you fly trans-Atlantic as frequently as I do, the trips tend to blur into one another. One constant, however, is the frenetic and arbitrary suspicion I encounter at the U.S. entry points. Be it drug-sniffing dogs, the Egyptian stamps in my passport, or the general contemptuous stares from under-trained TSA yahoos, there may as well be a sign above the jet bridge reading "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

urthwalker

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Monday May 24, 2010 · 4:07 AM PDT

2010/05/24 · 04:07

Libertarians embrace a worldview trending towards anarchism (or at least government minimalism), a position with which, as a Neo-Gramscian Marxist, I have an abundance of affinity. In fact, on a long enough timeline (where units are measured in centuries anyway), I’ve little doubt that this is where the human condition will trend – presuming we manage not to destroy ourselves in the process. For those of us in the present tense, however, Libertarianism, like Marxism, gets a bad rap for the fact that some of its most visible proponents are either vacuous, dangerous opportunists (Palin being the most obvious example) or else otherwise intelligent individuals who are transparently inconsistent and self-serving.

urthwalker

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Sunday October 19, 2008 · 12:13 PM PDT

2008/10/19 · 12:13

My mother has been working the polls in North Carolina for early voting and has alerted me to something that I think would be important for NC voters to know. If you circle in the choice for a straight Democratic ticket (or republican for that matter), you ARE NOT casting a vote for the presidential race - you MUST fill that in separately.

urthwalker

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Thursday November 15, 2007 · 7:58 AM PST

2007/11/15 · 07:58

Although a federal judge has ordered the White House to backup their emails in compliance with the Federal Records Act, what assurances do we have that the job is getting done? According to one source, the answer is very little.

urthwalker

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Monday July 09, 2007 · 5:44 AM PDT

2007/07/09 · 05:44

Dublin, indeed Ireland as a whole, has a well-deserved reputation for misty, grey skies. Although rain seldom adorns our streets, on any given day one can expect to trudge through a thick cloud that, having imbibed far too much Guiness the night before, was simply too hung over to deign rise above sea level. However, if the past five years have taught me anything, it’s that summer brings a welcome reprieve from our soggy existence. Sure, weather in the land of Eire is fickle and even the most splendiferous morn could find a shower or two lurking behind the next rolling green hill. But for the most part, Irish sheep don’t have to worry so much about the smell of wet wool between the months of May and September.

urthwalker

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Tuesday June 19, 2007 · 12:41 PM PDT

2007/06/19 · 12:41

As far as I can tell, the Hindenburg pilots masquerading as our executive branch have two goals for media management on Iraq. First and foremost, they must convince us that we are facing a viable and imminent existential threat. But of no less importance, they must also demonstrate that they and they alone can guarantee our collective salvation. Of course, one can’t but help notice that such aims are mutually exclusive – with the success of one, our naked emperor loses the other by default.

Yet balanced efficiently, ~~Jonestown~~ the American people have historically proven willing to cede virtually unlimited authority. Anyone caught paying attention will have noticed an administration quite adept at maintaining such an equilibrium. Sure, it was rocky there for a while with Iraq galloping toward civil war, but it seems our darling Machiavelli’s have found a way to accomplish both aims in one swoop – arrest some flaming idiots and call them terrorists (deepest apologies to Signore Machiavelli for comparing him to our president).

urthwalker

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Monday March 26, 2007 · 7:27 AM PDT

2007/03/26 · 07:27

M.J. Rosenberg has an articleon TPM Café chastising certain (unnamed) Democrats for refusing to take war with Iran off the table. As an individual, scholar, writer, and voter I am adamantly anti-war. However, this in no way should imply that I am anti-conflict. It remains to be seen whether this conflict with Iran must turn violent. Yet I am willing to concede that inaction could prove far more costly – especially when such passivity stems not from measured and meritorious arguments, but in significant part from hatred and distrust of the executive branch.

urthwalker

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Thursday February 15, 2007 · 9:52 AM PST

2007/02/15 · 09:52

I heard a rumor a while back that FOX was trying to roll out a right-wing doppelganger for The Daily Show. Well, all the nail-biting and eager anticipation be quelled – The ½ Hour News Hour has finally reared its ugly mug (FNC leaked a clip to drudge). And a virtual torrent of accolades have been flooding the internets all morning:

urthwalker

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Tuesday November 07, 2006 · 6:59 AM PST

2006/11/07 · 06:59

To be honest, I'm far too emotional today to post much of anything. I mean, it's not like I have any piercing insight into the electoral process, nor do I have any prognostication worthy of any substantial consideration. The day has arrived and all I can do is sit on my hands, ride it out, and hope that tomorrow will bring change. I have no sagacious advice. I am overseas and helpless. I am tense and alone. I am nobody. But I am an American and I have hope. Read More

How Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush Sr. and Ronald Reagan helped create modern terrorism

urthwalker

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Tuesday October 31, 2006 · 7:43 AM PST

2006/10/31 · 07:43

I'm in the final months of my dissertation. Damn, that feels good to say. At this point, I've cemented all the actual "work" - in other words, my points of originality constituting my actual contribution to the field have already been written out. Now I find myself going back and writing some of the nitty-gritty background information of the early chapters. It's somewhat arduous in that I might spend an entire day researching minutia for the purpose of simply fact-checking a few paragraphs.

But it is vital work and I'm not complaining. I mention all this only because I spent the entire day yesterday reviewing the history of the Cold War. It's one of those quirky time periods for me because I grew up as a Reagan kid - I remember Carter, but only barely and would certainly have had no interest in politics outside of those funny yellow ribbons everyone had wrapped around their trees. All this is to say that the Cold War was more background than impact for me as I developed my youthful political awareness. Read More

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