As a person of Middle Eastern descent I see the world from a different lens. When the Iraqi war was in deliberation in the U.S., about four to five months in advance, I was already having dreams of aircrafts crashing into my house and people screaming. When the war was declared on Saddam and Iraq - I was trembling.
Jan 24, 2006

Guest Editorials
George and Tony Get their al-Qaeda Fix
Greg Palast writes: "The tooth fairy, Santa Clause, WorldCom profits, the Easter Bunny, al-Qaeda. The cruel, evil jerks who blew up the London subway last week, despite appropriating al-Qaeda's name for their website and T-shirts, have about as much to do with al-Qaeda as a Beatles tribute band has to do with the Fab Four. For all the horror, hoopla and hair-pulling, this was no September 11."
Jul 12, 2005

Guest Editorials
While You Slept
Grace Reid writes: "Dear Readers: Yes, I wrote this and it is all the true story and he did find it when he woke up and he was delighted! I am more interested these days in creating peace than in fighting those who created this war and want it to continue. Exit strategy is most important... but creating peace is vast.... it is about healing.... and that's where I am going. Because my fight against the war in Iraq was a war, when it was not a battle, and I was becoming a used up pawn in the US resistance movement. Now I am interested in strategies that create peace through reconciliation.... I'm going off to study peace, reconciliation and healing."
Jul 6, 2005

Guest Editorials
How to Talk to a Conservative
Kevin Watkins explains, How to Talk to a Conservative (Because You Must) I was recently discussing with my roommate about how so many progressive ideas could be made digestible for conservatives. When you think about it, it’s really true. What’s good for the gander is also good for the goose. So, here are just a few talking points that will help in finding common ground with conservatives on a number of popular progressive issues....
Feb 17, 2005

Guest Editorials
National Council of Churches Refutes "False Gospel"
Theologians Warn of 'False Gospel' on the Environment; Call Christians To Repent of Sin. In an effort to refute what they call a "false gospel" and to change destructive attitudes and actions concerning the environment, a group of theologians, convened by the National Council of Churches USA, today released an open letter calling on Christians to repent of "our social and ecological sins" and to reject teachings that suggest humans are "called" to exploit the Earth without care for how our behavior impacts the rest of God's creation.
Feb 14, 2005

Guest Editorials
Barricaded in the White House
Jane Stillwater http://jpstillwater.blogspot.com compares and contrasts George Washington and George W: "Barricaded in the White House, GWB discovers that Election Fraud is still the issue.... Can you imagine George Washington's inaugural parade? Bet he didn't have a whole battalion of snipers on the roofs of the parade route to protect him from irate citizens! Bet he didn't have to wear a bullet-proof vest because he was terrified of American voters. Bet he didn't have to pay 2,500 troops and officers from 70 police departments to keep hundreds of thousands of unhappy citizens subdued. I bet that George Washington didn't have to cancel tours of the presidential residence because he was afraid of American tourists. We've come a long way, Dubya!"
Jan 23, 2005

Guest Editorials
Bushed or Annoying Conservatives
"Terri" shares a letter she wrote to the editor of the Kernersville Newspaper. It was printed Tuesday 1/18/2005. Enjoy her comments, and write some letters of your own. It's a great way to inform open-minded people and tweak hard core Bushies. Use the contact information here: http://www.democrats.com/media.
Jan 18, 2005

Guest Editorials
How Can We Give So Little to Help But Spend More to Hurt?
Mary MacElveen writes: In one day, Mother Nature herself became the ultimate destructive force taking out the lives of 12,500 innocent people in Sri Lanka, nearly 5,000 in Indonesia, and 4,000 in India as reported by the International Red Cross. These numbers are far greater than the attacks that befell us on September 11th, 2001. A far greater destructive force took out these innocent souls than the planes that attacked us. As it stands right now, the United States is set to send over $15 million dollars aid package to the Asian countries, and the 25-nation European Union promised to quickly deliver $4 million. That is far too little.
Dec 27, 2004

Guest Editorials
Are Democrats the Washington Generals?
Ernie Partridge of the The Crisis Papers describes "The Democratic Party as 'The Washington Generals'" and explains what he means. Read this essay here: www.crisispapers.org/essays/wash-generals.htm Dr. Partridge is a consultant, writer and lecturer in the field of Environmental Ethics and Public Policy. He publishes the website, "The Online Gadfly" (www.igc.org/gadfly) and co-edits the progressive website, "The Crisis Papers" (www.crisispapers.org.
Dec 22, 2004

Guest Editorials
Rumsfeld's Muddy Quagmire
Ivan Eland writes: Triumphant after his "mandate" from the people, President Bush, to date, has announced the retirement of eight cabinet members. Although many of these government officials were lackluster at best, the cabinet's worst performer is still in his seat. Donald Rumsfeld should have been the first cabinet officer fired, but the unflappable Secretary of Defense has been asked back for a return engagement in Bush's second term. During the first seven months of the Bush administration, speculation swirled around Washington that Rumsfeld would be the first cabinet member to be ousted. Everybody in the capital seemingly wanted Rumsfeld's head. Then 9/11 saved the secretary's political life.

Rumsfeld's aplomb has continued even in the face of the disastrous U.S. military excursion into Iraq - a misadventure that should be laid at the feet of the Pentagon. Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz - along with Vice President Cheney - convinced an inexperienced president that knocking off Saddam and replacing him with a friendly, democratic regime would be child's play. Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Cheney arrogantly made the classic error of the strong: underestimating the adversary. Ironically, President Bush’s seeming reluctance to fire Rumsfeld indicates how badly the war is going. If the president fired Rumsfeld, an American public that slumbered through the election might finally realize the true dismal state of the war. [complete article]

Dr. Eland is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace & Liberty at the Independent Institute: http://www.independent.org/tii/tii_info/centerpeaceliberty.html
Dec 6, 2004

Guest Editorials
Survivor and Fear Factor Election
Mary MacElveen writes: Many Americans watch television programs such as Survivor and Fear Factor which label themselves as reality TV when nothing can be farther from the truth. People escape into these shows where their focus is taken away from many of the issues that do in real life effect them all. Karl Marx once said, "Religion is the opiate of the masses" today, I would say that this equally goes for television as well.

Many will sit glued to their TVs and can tell you verbatim of what is happening to the cast of characters on these shows, but do they know what pieces of legislation are presently in the hands of those that they elected to lead them? In most cases, many Americans cannot. They depend too heavily on a representative government to actually find out how they are being represented. Hang on, Americans, we are in for a rough ride.
Nov 9, 2004

Guest Editorials
Letter to the Red States
A Woman from NYC writes: Sorry, I try not to deluge people with my ramblings. But I had to write this and, having written it, had to send it. Even though I don't know anyone I can send it to (without alienating my Republican in-laws, who are the only "middle country" people I know.) I am writing this letter to the people in the red states in the middle of the country - the people who voted for George W. Bush. I am writing this letter because I don't think we know each other. So I'll make an introduction. I am a New Yorker who voted for John Kerry.... Is your life at stake? Are you terrified? I don't think you are. I don't think you realize what you have done. And if anything happens to me or the people I love, I blame you. I wanted you to know that.
Nov 8, 2004

Guest Editorials
Don't Let Our Enemies Dictate Our Agenda - Ever!
Jodi Schmidt writes: Remember, Kerry won more states than Gore did. Bush's media-pimped "man date" is confined to a razor-thin and questionable Ohio "victory" and a few million votes concentrated in Texas and the whiter parts of the South. Don't let our enemies dictate our agenda. That not only won't win us votes, it just makes us look weak. People want the perception of steadfastness: "Strong and wrong" beats "weak and right" every time. Plus, why should they settle for GOP-lite when they can vote for the real thing?
Nov 5, 2004

Guest Editorials
The Three Faces of Election Eve: Choose Your Future
Bernard Weiner of The Crisis Papers writes: My Silicon Valley inventor friend - the same innovator who had showed me his "B.S. Away!" truth spray ( http://www.crisispapers.org/essays/up-up-away.htm ) - was gently laughing as my jaw dropped. He had just informed me of his machine that could tap into the future. My inventor colleague corrected me: His invention does not reveal "the" future, he said, but clear "future scenarios." He asked me to provide him a time and situation, and - after mixing his chemicals, and then engaging his electronic and laser instruments and such - he would show me the likely views of that future.

How could I resist? "Who will win the November 2, 2004 presidential election in the United States?" I said "And what will be the effects of that victory?" A few minutes later, his computer printed out the following three futures. You choose, by your actions - voting, last-minute activism, talking to your still-undecided friends and colleagues, walking precincts, driving folks to the polls, questioning suspicious or illegal voting processes, etc. - which one you'd like to see occur. [complete article]
Nov 1, 2004

Guest Editorials
Seismic Shifts for Both Parties on November 2
Bernard Weiner writes: Don't know about you, but one week before Election Day, I'm cautiously hopeful and nervous as hell. It looks and feels like Bush&Co. are going down - Kerry's momentum is building, Bush's "favorable" numbers remain stuck in the mid- to high-40s, more and more "Bush states" are in play, so many conservative leaders, writers, newspapers and magazines are abandoning the GOP candidate, etc. But, as P.T. Barnum or some other political scientist must have said, don't ever underestimate Americans' tendency to vote against their self-interests when frightened or in reality-denial.

And Karl Rove still has a week in which to launch his V-2 rockets at the Democrats. Whether he is desperate enough to go maximum will depend on his reading of the GOP internal polls. If he still believes he can pull off an Electoral College victory by energizing his fundamentalist/rightwing base and suppressing the Dem vote -- through slime and sleaze and intimidation and computer-fiddling and reducing the number of new registered Democrats by thievery and threatening poll "monitors -- he'll hold back his major weapons. [Complete article at The Crisis Papers - www.crisispapers.org]
Oct 25, 2004