That’s a joke, the “adversarial” tag, but a story in the New York Times today helps explain the reason so many people see the press as anti-government. Investigative reporter David Barstow uncovered a White House-approved Pentagon operation to use high-profile television and print military analysts, mostly retired general officers, to help sell the Iraq . . . → Read More: How the Pentagon turned the adversarial media into a PR arm
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As regular readers know, the proprietor of this site is at present a somewhat displaced person. Among the contributing causes to that condition is a lack of affordable access to a medication that helps prevent me from living my life in perpetual homage to the last moments of the Wicked Witch of the West. My lack of insurance precludes simply going to a doctor, getting the prescription and filling it, while my continuing possession of some mental faculties precludes getting this state’s Medicaid services. It’s those awkward tween years. Earlier this week I ran across a local not-for-profit social services organization which employs a limited number of social worker types who serve as case managers dedicated to helping their homeless, often mentally ill and even more often addicted clients navigate the maze of available state, county and private services. To access the social workers, one has to arrive at the office no later than 8AM and sign on to the first-come, first-serve list. In practice the supply and demand ratio requires arriving no later than 7:30AM, and a slot isn’t guaranteed even then; there’s usually a long line and the security guards do a form of triage. Continue reading Two reasons why a national health system is a fine idea A Primer on CO2 and Climate, by Howard C. Hayden These are two science-oriented books that that I paired for their controversial viewpoints. Each looks at their respective field from somewhere opposite the consensus, and I’ve found it interesting to contrast their styles and content. In particular, I wanted to avoid an easy dismissal, although I think one of the authors deserves one. Howard C. Hayden is a physics professor (now emeritus) from the University of Connecticut, where I attended grad school, and he has taken up a hobby of climate change denial in the ten years or so since his retirement. I have no reason to believe he’s anything but a qualified atomic physicist, but his dissent to climate change, which is quite unrelated to his field of research, seems to come from a different place. I found his name on the list of academics that petitioned the International Panel for Climate Change, and again as a credentialed speaker classing up a legion of blowhards, think-tankers and non-scientists at the Heartland Institute. (Both of these were pointed out here, by the way.) A shaky pedigree in climatology, but in Hayden’s case I felt obligated to read his pamphlet. Roger Penrose is a mathematician from Oxford University, and may be superficially considered as taking a similar approach. Shadows of the Mind is no pamphlet, but he, like Hayden, is picking at some of the holes he sees in the established theory (in this case mathematical philosophy and quantum mechanics), but unlike the physicist, he’s trying to find new science in those margins. Artificial intelligence is even farther from my field than climatology, but taking only a logical position, I don’t see either author as right, and their positions are certainly controversial within those communities. Yet one of these men is performing a deep and honest speculative exercise, and one is just being a reflexive asshole. I had hoped to provide a detailed breakdown of the various forces operating in Iraq as I understand them, complete with colorful graphics of the sort favored by people testifying to Congress, but that will have to wait until BTC News world headquarters is permanently settled somewhere. (Readers who would like to help advance . . . → Read More: The US occupation of Iraq is, in clinical terms, insane By now you may know that top Bush administration officials, with the knowledge and approval of the president, choreographed torture regimens for terrorism suspects held by the US. You probably haven’t heard much about the reaction from Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. That’s because they haven’t reacted. Like most of the press, Clinton and Obama appear not to see anything particularly unusual or worthy of comment in the news that the president, vice president, secretaries of state and defense, the national security advisor, the attorney general and others operating from the White House situation room personally and in considerable detail schemed to violate US domestic law and the Geneva Conventions, which hold the force of law in the US because this country signed them. In common parlance, people who do that are called war criminals. To repeat: every cabinet official in the Bush administration with national security responsibilities, plus the vice president of the country, with the knowledge and blessing of the president, participated in detailed discussions on how to torture US prisoners. The president has openly admitted to approving a conspiracy to commit war crimes, and neither the press, for the most part, nor either of the opposition party candidates likely to be the next president, seem concerned. Continue reading Presidential candidates blast White House torture conspiracy The news that senior Bush administration officials not only approved the use of torture but actually micromanaged the application of it should be the last straw for dithering Democrats in the House of Representatives. We have known for years that the president and the vice president approved war crimes, including torture, on the . . . → Read More: Conyers should open hearings into torture allegations Political junkies in this campaign season will probably recognize that quote as emanating from Ross Perot’s vice-presidential candidate, the late Admiral James Stockdale, during the vice presidential debate of 1992 between him, Dan Quayle and Al Gore. I bring this up because not long ago I found myself at televangelist Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. Since I’m both Jewish and nontheistic, the experience was a bit odd. Following are a few photos from the visit, along with brief explications of my immediate reactions to the subjects. We begin with proof that Starbucks is indeed everywhere, as witness this sign—”It’s a sign!”—downstairs from the gift shop.  Continue reading “Who am I, and why am I here?” ABC News is reporting that senior Bush administration officials were intimately involved in planning torture regimens for use against terrorism suspects. The officials include vice president Dick Cheney; CIA director George Tenet and his successor, former CIA agent and Congressman Porter Goss; then-national security advisor Condoleezza Rice; former secretary of state Colin Powell; former . . . → Read More: ABC News: Top administration officials conspired in war crimes As of Monday, BTC News headquarters will be whatever streetcorner is nearest an unsecured wireless internet connection. Our current palatial quarters are being reallocated, and we haven’t the funds to secure new ones. If you’ve ever considered donating a dollar or two to the cause, this would be a sterling time to act on . . . → Read More: Our new headquarters boast sweeping views, great ventilation |
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