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Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory Judging the doctrine of pre-emptive strike: 2 of 28
The concept of a pre-emptive strike against an enemy is not new. In 1837, then Secretary of State, Daniel Webster wrote about the concept of "anticipatory self defense." The qualifier for such an action was that the threat must be "instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation." The thr... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Terrorism Preventing terrorist attacks before they occur: 2 of 16
Terrorists have been very effectively neutralized over the years using good law enforcement both domestic and international. Four days after September 11, President Bush promised to "smoke em out of their holes," and "bring them to justice." In his book "Intelligence Matters," Senator Bob graham related the story of a private... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Party Politics & Ideology Commentary: Neocons and the state of US conservatism: 1 of 5
Virtually none of the conservatives I know recognize the neo cons in and around the George W. Bush administration as representative of the Republican Party they once knew. The neo cons are, for all intents and purposes, a third party in today's politics.They hold an extreme libertarian view that the governments only function ... More..
Arts & Humanities > History (Other) Commentary: Why history matters: 7 of 30
As we moved into the new century, the conservatives gained control of the White House and the Congress. The president and his top advisors from the corporate world began to dismantle industry regulation and appoint supporters and former industry executives to run government institutions. It was record amounts of corporate mon... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory Is the US becoming a fascist state?: 12 of 25
It has been said that as soon as the term "fascism" is used in the debate regarding the crimes of the Bush/Cheney regime, the argument is lost. It would be more accurate to say the argument is not understood. The term invokes visions of Hitler flailing his arms and stomping his feet in an impassioned speech in front of the Re... More..
Sports & Recreation > Sports & Recreation (Other) Getting started with parachuting: 3 of 6
Skydivers like to say, "Skydiving is easy. Just step out the door and gravity will do the rest." While this is true a much better way to start is to go to one of the thousands of small municipal airports around the country that have a skydiving facility. There you will find a very experienced USPA certified instructor willing... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Political Issues Why impeachment should still be considered an option: 1 of 2
July 2008, Congressman Dennis Kucinich's articles of impeachment were read into the Congressional Record. The House then voted to send them to the House Judiciary Committee. The following are statements of some of the republican members of that committee, which are also part of the Congressional Record. These statements may b... More..
Creative Writing > Reflections Reflections: War: 5 of 9
I spent the weekend of September 15, 2007 in Washington, DC with my wife where we participated in the peace march to end the illegal occupation of Iraq sponsored by the Answer Coalition and Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW.org). We watched the media coverage later that evening in our hotel room. We thought we would see the... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Terrorism Exploring the reasons behind terrorism: 23 of 39
In 1928 a twenty-two year old elementary school teacher named Hasan al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in response to the banning of the Caliphate towards the end of the Ottoman Empire after WW I. He was a Sufi Muslim who followed the tenets of Wahhabism. Over the next couple of decades, the Brotherhood, as it i... More..
Politics, News & Issues > News Industry How the media uses scare tactics to portray potentially negative news: 42 of 55
It is difficult to find good news when the media is a wholly owned subsidiary of a handful of multi-national corporations. It is more difficult when we find out that not only is news being influenced but fabricated as well. The good news is that armed with information we can recognize what is happening and fight back.Contrary... More..