New York Times Q&A on Iraq

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Wednesday June 20, 2007 · 6:55 PM PDT

2007/06/20 · 18:55

Iraq-based reporters from the New York Times have been answering questions this week from members of the public about the general state of affairs in Iraq. Reading this Q&A has made it dazzlingly clear just how starved the American people are for certain kinds of information. So many of us have this image of Iraq as a barren killing zone, which makes it hard to imagine that the country can still be functioning even at a basic level. But if that were the case, then the news would be about mass starvation, epidemic disease, and uncontrollable rioting—something we might expect in Darfur. But in Iraq none of these things are happening on a scale to indicate that ordinary life has collapsed entirely. Thus, despite the extreme violence gripping great swaths of the country, it seems as though most people who aren’t specifically being kidnapped, beaten, or killed...are still managing to get by.

But how?

Poll

22 votes Show Results

What can America to do help in Iraq?

22 votes Vote Now!

What can America to do help in Iraq?

Get the hell out!

15 votes

Nothing; it's beyond our ability to help.

2 votes

Something! (Please specify in the comments.)

0 votes

I wish I knew.

5 votes

A Photographic Tour of the Past Six Years (Bandwidth Intense)

The Sinistral

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday May 30, 2007 · 1:59 AM PDT

2007/05/30 · 01:59

Join me on a sightseeing tour of a few of the most iconic moments over the last few years...

The following photos are all copyrighted by their respective owners. They are reproduced here under fair use.

Poll

66 votes Show Results

We're a wounded nation. Will we make it? Where do things go for America after Bush leaves office?

66 votes Vote Now!

We're a wounded nation. Will we make it? Where do things go for America after Bush leaves office?

34 votes

Down

14 votes

Business as Usual

18 votes

The Travesty of Bottled Water

The Sinistral

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday April 21, 2007 · 4:46 PM PDT

2007/04/21 · 16:46

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer put the lid on bottled water today, exposing its typical inferiority to tap water in a number of different ways, especially in terms of ecological responsibility:

America's infatuation with drinking high-priced "natural" water from a bottle rather than from the tap is contributing to global warming and could even qualify as an immoral act.

That, at least, is the position of a number of environmental, social justice and religious organizations.

Join me below the fold for some water sport...

Poll

197 votes Show Results

For the most part, what's your poison?

197 votes Vote Now!

For the most part, what's your poison?

Tap Water

121 votes

Bottled Water (Convenience)

6 votes

Bottled Water (Lifestyle)

1 vote

Bottled Water (Safety / Purity)

17 votes

Bottled Water (No Tap Available)

5 votes

Well Water

34 votes

Rain Water

1 vote

Not Water

12 votes

WA Legislature Needs Help on Bush/Cheney Impeachment Resolution

The Sinistral

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday February 26, 2007 · 6:00 PM PST

2007/02/26 · 18:00

As you might have heard, members of Washington State’s senate are working on a resolution calling on Congress to investigate and consider impeaching President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. The Democratic-controlled state legislature enjoys enough of a majority in both houses that this attempt is credible (although far from certain), and could only be stopped by the state Dems themselves.

The Sinistral

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday February 09, 2007 · 4:37 AM PST

2007/02/09 · 04:37

I was fascinated, and somewhat troubled lately by two diaries on the subject of terminally ill Republican congressman Charlie Norwood (GA-10), who has lost a gruesome battle with cancer and is now living out his final days. His sickness brings to the fore a question that haunts many of us: How do we respond?

Looking at the responses we have already offered, I find the answer is "Too easily." Many of us, having already made up our minds before hearing the question, give little thought to the deeper meaning of it. And that presents an ethical problem to our larger community, whose answer is anything but easy. Have a look at these diaries, if you like, and then join me below the fold:

Rep. Charlie Norwood (R, GA-10) is gravely ill; goes home to die

Please keep Rep. Norwood (Ga.) in your thoughts and/or prayers

The Sinistral

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 08, 2006 · 4:06 AM PST

2006/11/08 · 04:06

This was originally a comment in the morning Victory Thread, but what the heck! I don't see any other diaries saying it, and it needs to be said:

Thank you to the Democrats who ran in this election, and lost. Read More

I want more Daily Kos at night!

The Sinistral

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday October 05, 2006 · 4:53 AM PDT

2006/10/05 · 04:53

Daily Kos has flourished into a cosmopolitan site that features a considerable wealth of new content at any hour of the day. So cheers to all of us for that, and to Chief Boss Pooh-Bah Kos (may his epaulets be orange) for guiding us to the Big Time.

But there aren't enough diaries at night. Read More

On Religious Faith: Good Deeds do not make a Good Person

The Sinistral

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday June 04, 2006 · 6:40 AM PDT

2006/06/04 · 06:40

Darksyde lately writes a plaudit to the devout, praising evangelical conservative religious hospice workers for their service. In this case he has been confounded by a case of bad people doing good things. His conclusion is that these folks are not so bad after all. What has happened here is that Darksyde has mistaken a good deed for a good motive. And if he can make that mistake, anybody can. I want to contribute what I can to dispel that fallacy, and so here is where I begin my tale. Abandon all faith, ye who enter here... Read More

Black History Month and the Classic Liberal Dilemma

The Sinistral

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Thursday December 22, 2005 · 12:43 AM PST

2005/12/22 · 00:43

The Hacker Manifesto pointed us years ago to the Internet's greatest power:

We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias...

That is, if we choose to dispense with such labels. In the real world, we seldom do. Cultural diversity is often heralded as a bulwark against the onset of conformity and social blandness. Yet our human weaknesses blunt this well-meaning ideal; in practice cultural diversity often decays into cultural barriers, and cultural barriers yield nothing but strife. And that brings me to the subject of Black History Month. To put it simply: Yea or Nay?

Ah, it is the classic liberal dilemma! Do we fight social injustice by promoting diversity, or by promoting equality? Read More

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New York Times Q&A on Iraq

A Photographic Tour of the Past Six Years (Bandwidth Intense)

The Travesty of Bottled Water

WA Legislature Needs Help on Bush/Cheney Impeachment Resolution

When Republicans Die

Thank You! to the Dems who ran and lost.

I want more Daily Kos at night!

On Religious Faith: Good Deeds do not make a Good Person

Black History Month and the Classic Liberal Dilemma