matters of little significance



Saturday, May 08, 2004

Read about John Negroponte, the man who is supposed to be US Ambassador to Iraq.

He is accused of sponsoring terrorism for supporting the Contra insurgency against the left wing Sandinistas, the first ever democratically elected government of Nicaragua. He is also accused of inciting Contra attacks on civilians.

He was confirmed by the senate on May 6, 95 - 3 with 2 not voting.

Kerry was one of the 2 who did not vote.

My senators, Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, both voted in favor.

It is incredible to me that with all that's going on, they still voted to make someone who is notorious for encouraging human rights abuses be ambassador to Iraq.





Friday, May 07, 2004

Yeserday I played hooky from work and went to the Whitney Biennial with Simon.

Today Simon is flying to Japan for a few weeks and then he is moving back to London.

I am gutted.




I've been thinking, for a while now, about all that has happened in this last month or so - from the government admitting to not being "on point" before 9/11, to the lying about why we should invade Iraq, to the colossal mishandling of Iraq after we invaded and toppled Saddam Hussein; in any other government in any other democratic country this would have led to resignations of top officials.

Here it seems to result in nothing more than covering your ass.

"I didn't think that was my job"

"I didn't know about that"

"It's all his fault"

"Actually, everything is just fine"

What about the much vaunted Republican value of accountability?

Son of a bitch! Everything that has happened was predicted! I let no one off the hook! If I knew how this was all going to turn out, and I am just a lowly news junkie, how could the top people in our government not know! F*ing idiots! Damn straight they should all go!

I am happy (and a little relieved) that a main stream US newspaper has the guts to say that, but I wish it hadn't taken them so long.




Newsday They all should go

The reality is that, if Bush is going to clean house, it makes no sense to stop with Rumsfeld. Considering how the Bush administration has made a mess of the situation in Iraq - from the wrong intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to the incredible lack of planning for the post-war situation to the entirely unnecessary alienation of allies - the whole national security team should be fired.





Tuesday, May 04, 2004

NYT Luring the Arts to Politics and Protests

There had been a lot of anxiety about taking a stand or being too political,' said Valentina Fratti, a theater director and organizer for Theaters Against War, or THAW, a group of 200 theaters that formed about 18 months ago to organize protests against the invasion of Iraq. 'That climate has completely changed. Now everyone seems to have a united goal, and the details of the politics don't matter. People want to get rid of Bush.'




From the funeral of dead football hero/soldier Pat Tillman

Tillman's youngest brother, Rich, wore a rumpled white T-shirt, no jacket, no tie, no collar, and immediately swore into the microphone. He hadn't written anything, he said, and with the starkest honesty, he asked mourners to hold their spiritual bromides.

'Pat isn't with God,'' he said. 'He's f -- ing dead. He wasn't religious. So thank you for your thoughts, but he's f -- ing dead.''

*sigh* via Atrios

Boring me. I'm sorry, but that site is like crack to me.





Monday, May 03, 2004

Guardian Unlimited God save America ...

the blogosphere - that cyberforum which nowadays carries the most interestingly paranoid political debate.

I thought I was totally on top of the interestingly paranoid political debate, but I've never heard the term "fundagelism."

According to a Time Magazine poll (which strains credulity but seems to be valid) 59% of Americans trust that St John's prophecies will be fulfilled - probably during their lifetime.

I heard this elsewhere but couldn't believe my ears.

I must admit, I am getting more than a little freaked out by what is going on in this country.



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