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Readings 2004

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  • Baghdad Year Zero – Naomi Klein
    A country of 25 million would not be rebuilt as it was before the war; it would be erased, disappeared. In its place would spring forth a gleaming showroom for laissez-faire economics, a utopia such as the world had never seen. Harper's Magazine, September 24, 2004

  • 'They hate our policies, not our freedom' – Tom Regan
    The US Defense Department confirmed the contents of a report that is highly critical of the administration's efforts in the war on terror and in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Christian Science Monitor, November 29, 2004, updated Dec. 1

  • The Delusional Is No Longer Marginal – Bill Moyers
    Millions of Americans who literally believe that environmental destruction will hearken the second coming of Christ. Esteemed journalism Bill Moyers understands the despair many of us feel. TomPaine.com, December 10, 2004

  • Faculty Clubs and Church Pews – William J. Stuntz
    The past few months have seen a lot of talk about red and blue America, mostly by people on one side of the partisan divide who find the other side a mystery. It isn't a mystery to me, because I live on both sides. Tech Central Station, 11/29/2004

  • Hyping Terror For Fun, Profit - And Power – Thom Hartmann
    What if there really was no need for much - or even most - of the Cold War? What if, in fact, the Cold War had been kept alive for two decades based on phony WMD threats? What if, similarly, the War On Terror was largely a scam, and the administration was hyping it to seem larger-than-life? Common Dreams, December 7, 2004

  • What Our Troops Want For Xmas: Armored Humvees ... And An Exit Plan – Arianna Huffington
    From now until Congress is asked in January to vote on the next $80 billion the president wants for the war in Iraq, not a day should go by without Democrats shouting from the rooftops that the White House is shamefully betraying the very troops it so vociferously claims to be supporting. Arianna Online, December 15, 2004

  • Peace and the new corporate liberation theology – Arundhati Roy
    The 2004 Sydney Peace Prize Lecture: "It might seem ironic that a person who spends most of her time thinking of strategies of resistance and plotting to disrupt the putative peace, is given a peace prize." The University of Sydney, Australia, 04 Nov 2004

  • On War – Chris Hedges
    Book reviews of two books on the Iraq War, by writers who were there: American War by Evan Wright, and The Fall of Baghdadby Jon Lee Anderson. The New York Review of Books, December 16, 2004

  • Dynamite in the Center of Town – Joshua Karliner
    This week marks twenty years since a huge invisible cloud of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas escaped from the factory and killed more than 8,000 people in Bhopal, India, overnight. It injured tens if not hundreds of thousands more. CorpWatch, Dec 2, 2004

  • Jesse Jackson demands Ohio presidential recount – Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
    Jackson said new findings cast serious doubt on the idea that George W. Bush beat John Kerry in Ohio November 2. At stake is "the integrity of the vote" for which "too many have died." "We can live with losing an election," he said. "We cannot live with fraud and stealing." Also more in a series of articles by The Free Press, November 29, 2004

  • Frame Wars – Michael Erard, Texas Observer
    The conventional view of politics says that people are swayed by words, images, or facts. But that's false, according to Frank Luntz and George Lakoff. They believe that increasingly political forces will clash less over reality than over how it's shaped. AlterNet, November 18, 2004

  • Red States Feed at Federal Trough, Blue States Supply the Feed – TaxProf Blog, Paul L. Caron, Univ. of Cincinnati College of Law, Editor
    The Tax Foundation has released a fascinating report showing which states benefit from federal tax and spending policies, and which states foot the bill.It's the anti-tax red states that benefit the most. the Law Professor Blogs Network, September 27, 2004

  • The 2004 Presidential Election and the Electoral College – Vikram David Amar, FindLaw
    Analysts have been scrambling to understand what the Presidential election really teaches us. In this column, I'll argue that some of the election's lessons relate to constitutional law and structure -- and, in particular, to the electoral college system we use for selecting Presidents. More on the Electoral College. The Center for Voting and Democracy, November 12, 2004

  • Maps and cartograms of the 2004 US presidential election results – Michael Gastner, Cosma Shalizi, and Mark Newman
    Election results maps that show a more accurate picture of the blue and red, and even purple. University of Michigan, November, 2004

  • The Optimism of Uncertainty – Howard Zinn
    In this awful world where the efforts of caring people often pale in comparison to what is done by those who have power, how do I manage to stay involved and seemingly happy? CommonDreams.org, November 8, 2004

  • Ten Reasons Not to Move to Canada – Sarah Anderson
    Ready to say screw this country and buy a one-way ticket north? Here are some reasons to stay in the belly of the beast. CommonDreams.org, November 3, 2004

  • 6 Months After Abu Ghraib, Conditions for Torture Persist in US Policy – Amnesty International
    Without a comprehensive, independent investigation into the United States' torture and ill-treatment of detainees, the conditions remain for further abuses to occur, Amnesty International warned today as it released a 200-page report cataloguing the United States' three-year descent into the use of torture. October 27, 2004

  • Humanity is not red or blue – Joan Brown Campbell
    The 2004 election has, in fact, divided our "house." American families and friends avoid discussing the election for fear that the inevitable passion of the discussion could create deep wounds that might be difficult to heal.The Christian Science Monitor, October 25, 2004

  • At heart of good political discussion: the idea – Carla Seaquist
    En route to the election, states are divided blue-red... A positive development, however, can be seen in this polarization: Partisanship at the grass roots can be seen, after a long sleep of apathy, as a political awakening. The Christian Science Monitor, October 20, 2004

  • Without a Doubt – Ron Suskind, The New York Times
    "Just in the past few months," Bruce Bartlett said, "I think a light has gone off for people who've spent time up close to Bush: that this instinct he's always talking about is this sort of weird, Messianic idea of what he thinks God has told him to do." truthout, 17 October 2004

  • Framing the Dems – George Lakoff
    "Tax relief" – Think for a minute about the word relief. In order for there to be relief, there has to be a blameless, afflicted person with whom we identify and whose affliction has been imposed by some external cause. Relief is the taking away of the pain or harm, thanks to some reliever. The American Prospect, September 1, 2003

  • Aftermath Of Last Week’s Editorial Endorsement – W. Leon Smith, Editor
    The Iconoclast received considerable criticism after its editors endorsed John Kerry for President... We expected a few readers might cancel subscriptions, and maybe even ads, but have been amazed at a few of the more intense communications, some of which bordered on outright personal attacks and uncalled-for harassment. Crawford TX Iconoclast, October 2004

  • The Nobel Peace Prize for 2004 – The Norwegian Nobel Committee
    To Wangari Maathai for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace. Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment. Maathai stands at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa. 8 October 2004

  • An Un-American Way to Campaign – The New York Times | Editorial
    Mr. Bush is running as the man best equipped to keep America safe from terrorists - that was to be expected. We did not, however, anticipate that those on the Bush team would dare to argue that a vote for John Kerry would be a vote for Al Qaeda. truthout, 25 September 2004

  • The War's Toll on Iraqi Civilians – Jefferson Morley, The Washington Post
    Many news organizations have run stories about civilian deaths in Iraq. But overseas reporters and commentators emphasize the issue more than their American counterparts and play up civilian casualties in ways the U.S. media rarely pursue. truthout, 21 September 2004

  • Despair Is a Lie We Tell Ourselves – Tony Kushner
    This is a moment in history that needs us to rediscover how to be politically active: Maintain the world by changing the world. AlterNet, September 14, 2004

  • U.S. Preparing For Military Draft in Spring of 2005 – Adum Stutz / Bob Keeler / Connor Freff Cochran, Vancounver IndyMedia.org / Newsday / AlterNet
    A re-elected President George W. Bush would reinstate the military draft sometime next spring. Legislation is already on the table in both the House and the Senate...Utne magazine, May 6, 2004

  • Stark Joins Call to Restore Draft – Edward Epstein, San Francisco Chronicle
    He admits co-sponsoring the bill is protest against a war in Iraq Common Dreams, January 23, 2003

  • The Sour Smell of Spoiled Ballots – Greg Palast
    One million black votes didn't count in the 2000 presidential election; this year it could be worse. AlterNet, June 21, 2004

  • The Long Shadow of Jim Crow: Voter Intimidation and Suppression in America Today – PFAW Foundation and NAACP
    It would be good to know that voters are no longer turned away from the polls based on their race, never knowingly misdirected, misinformed, deceived or threatened. Unfortunately, it would be a grave mistake to believe it. People for the American Way

  • If World Could Vote, Kerry in a Landslide - Poll – Jim Lobe
    The survey found that Kerry was favoured over Bush by an average of 46 percent to 20 percent in the 35 countries polled, but by a much larger margin among respondents in traditional U.S. allies in Western Europe. Inter Press Service New Agency, Sept. 8, 2004

  • We’re Not in Lake Wobegon Anymore – Garrison Keillor
    Something has gone seriously haywire with the Republican Party. Once, it was the party of pragmatic Main Street businessmen who decried profligacy and waste, were devoted to their communities and supported the sort of prosperity that raises all ships. In These Times, August 26, 2004

  • Voices from the march to nowhere – Tom Engelhardt
    On a boiling-hot late-August day, on the eve of the Republican Convention, 100,000 to 500,000 upset, angry, anybody-but-Bush marchers, walked up Manhattan's Seventh Avenue... Asia Times, Aug 31, 2004

  • Bush's Foreign Fantasy – Fred Kaplan
    The president thinks the world is safer than it was three years ago. Which world is he living in? Slate.com, July 16, 2004

  • The mask of altruism disguising a colonial war – John Laughland
    Oil will be the driving factor for military intervention in Sudan. Mr Blair has invoked moral necessity for every one of the five wars he has fought in this, surely one of the most bellicose premierships in history. The Guardian Unlimited, August 2, 2004

  • A Nation of Victims – Renana Brooks
    George W. Bush is generally regarded as a mangler of the English language. What is overlooked is his mastery of emotional language--especially negatively charged emotional language--as a political tool. The Nation, June 30, 2003

  • Research details Bush's use of religion to sell war on terror, Iraq – Steven Goldsmith, University of Washington
    A skillful mixing of religion and politics helped President Bush silence critics and sell his policies on terrorism and Iraq to the nation, according to a new book that analyzes hundreds of public communications and news reports. EurekAlert.org, 10-Aug-2004

  • Electronic voting: I'm against it. Here's why – David Coursey
    As a computer professional, I have one word for anyone who'd like to use any sort of electronic balloting system--at least one that can't be easily audited by hand: Don't do it. Why? Because computers can never be totally trusted, especially for something as seemingly simple (yet critical) as holding an election. AnchorDesk, ZDnet.com, March 4, 2004

  • Dissent at the War Memorial – Howard Zinn
    On a panel at the World War II Memorial celebration, the theme would be "War Stories." I told him that I would come, but not to tell "war stories," rather to talk about World War II and its meaning for us today. The Progressive, August 2004

  • Torturing Children – William Rivers Pitt
    The biggest story of the Iraq war is not any of those that have been covered by the American mainstream news media. It has not enjoyed any coverage in America, though it has been exploding across the international news media. The biggest story of the Iraq war is about the torture of Iraqi children. t r u t h o u t | Perspective, 20 July 2004

  • Fiery Hell on Earth, Part 4: God Told Me to Strike – Peter Montague, July 08, 2004
    Part of a frightening and well-documented series of articles that attempts to answer the perplexing question: "Why is the United States promoting the spread of atomic bombs worldwide?" Rachel's Environment & Health News, July 08, 2004

  • The US needs bridges – not fences – with potential allies – David Dickson
    By placing unnecessarily heavy obstacles in front of foreign students wishing to study at its universities, the United States is alienating those whose support it urgently needs to combat radical extremism in the developing world. Science and Development Network, 10 May 2004

  • High school student grilled by US Secret Service over artwork – Clare Hurley
    A 15-year-old high school student was questioned by US Secret Service agents after he turned in drawings for an art class. The assignment had been to keep a sketch journal depicting the war in Iraq, but apparently not to question it. When the student’s drawings called for an end to the war, school officials called the police. World Socialist Web Site, 3 May 2004

  • What My Son Needs – Nicholas von Hoffman
    I support the troops and my son. But what he needs is equipment, training, and the full support of the military that sent him to Iraq. AlterNet, June 15, 2004

  • Feels Like the Third Time – Stephen Kinzer
    Not everyone was shocked by the revelations of the ways American soldiers have abused Iraqi prisoners. Those who have studied techniques that American interrogators taught and used in Vietnam, Latin America, and elsewhere during past decades felt only a grim sense of recognition. The American Prospect Online, June 11, 2004

  • What Do We Do Now? – Howard Zinn
    The United States does not belong in Iraq. It is not our country. Our presence is causing death, suffering, destruction, and so large sections of the population are rising against us. The Progressive, June, 2004

  • Iraq Road Map Op Ed – Phil Steger
    Is this a true transfer, or a sophisticated fake-out? A lot is riding on the Iraq sovereignty transfer. Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 27, 2004

  • Thank You, Michael Moore – William Rivers Pitt
    For the majority of people who will see this movie, in those towns large and small, the experience will be nothing short of a mind-bomb. t r u t h o u t, 25 June 2004

  • Remarks by Al Gore
    George W. Bush promised us a foreign policy with humility. Instead, he has brought us humiliation in the eyes of the world. www.moveonpac.org, May 26, 2004

  • Collective Amnesia or Collective Alzheimer's: America 'Remembers' Ronald Reagan – Paul Douglas Newman
    To remember Ronald Reagan as one of the greatest Presidents of the twentieth century, to replace FDR on the dime with Reagan's profile as Republicans wish to do, we are being asked to forget too much. CommonDreams.org, June 7, 2004

  • Gorby Had the Lead Role, Not Gipper – Lawrence Martin
    Fiction has its place -- especially at the time of one's passing. And so, the American airwaves glisten these days with tales about how it was Ronald Reagan who engineered the defeat of communism and the end of the Cold War. Globe & Mail/Canada on Common Dreasms, June 10, 2004

  • No Time for Bullies: Baboons Retool Their Culture – Natalie Angier, New York Times
    Researchers describe the drastic temperamental and tonal shift that occurred in a troop of 62 baboons when its most belligerent members vanished from the scene. Forest Conservation Portal, April 13, 2004

  • The Stanford Prison Experiment web site – Philip G. Zimbardo
    A simulation study of the psychology of imprisonment conducted at Stanford University, including parallels with the recent abuse of Iraqi prisoners. www.prisonexp.org

  • The Stanford Prison Experiment: Still powerful after all these years – Kathleen O’Toole
    " was sick to my stomach. When it's happening to you, it doesn't feel heroic; it feels real scary. It feels like you are a deviant." Stanford University News Service, 1/8/97

  • How to Get Out of Iraq: A Forum – Various Contributors
    As the situation in Iraq goes from bad to worse, many Americans who opposed the war, including Nation editors and writers, understand that the country must find a way to extricate itself from the disaster they predicted. The Nation. May 6, 2004

  • The Gray Zone – Seymour M. Hersh
    How a secret Pentagon program came to Abu Ghraib. The roots of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal lie not in the criminal inclinations of a few Army reservists but in a decision, approved last year by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The New Yorker, 2004-05-24

  • Saudi TV host's beating raises taboo topic: domestic violence against Muslim women – Souheila Al-Jadda
    The news about the brutal beating of Saudi Arabian television host, Rania al-Baz, by her husband, serves as a wake up call to all Arab and Muslim women in the Middle East and the West. The Christian Science Monitor, May 12, 2004

  • The graveyard of American militarism? – Rich Broderick
    Don’t think Vietnam in the 60s. Think Afghanistan in the 80s. Fifth Column Mag, April 15, 2004

  • Oiling up the draft machine? – Dave Lindorff
    The Pentagon is quietly moving to fill draft board vacancies nationwide. While officials say there's no cause to worry, some experts aren't so sure. Information Clearing House (Salon, Nov. 3, 2003)

  • Woman loses her job over coffins photo – Hal Bernton
    A military contractor has fired Tami Silicio, a Kuwait-based cargo worker whose photograph of flag-draped coffins of fallen U.S. soldiers was published in Sunday's edition of The Seattle Times. Seattle Times, April 22, 2004

  • Carter's Crusade – Ayelish McGarvey
    Jimmy Carter explains how the Christian right isn't Christian at all. The American Prospect, Web Exclusive: 04.05.04

  • Reaching to the Choir – Ayelish McGarvey
    "Evangelical ... beliefs have already reshaped American politics." ... Except that this year, a considerable group of evangelicals just might swing the vote -- in favor of the Democrats. The American Prospect, 04.01.04

  • Thought Control for Middle East Studies – Joel Beinin, Foreign Policy in Focus
    A band of neoconservative pundits with close ties to Israel have mounted a campaign against American scholars who study the Middle East. AlterNet.org, April 1, 2004

  • Why the Media Owe You an Apology on Iraq – Rick Mercier, The Free Lance-Star
    THE MEDIA are finished with their big blowouts on the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, and there's one thing they forgot to say: We're sorry. truthout.org, Sunday 28 March 2004

  • The Burden of Conscience – Dan Frosch
    J.E. McNeil recalls the Special Operations soldier who couldn't kill anymore after an Afghan child darted in front of his riflescope, or the Marine who vowed he'd never return to Iraq, unable to justify the devastation he witnessed. AlterNet.org, March 24, 2004

  • McCarthyism Watch: Protests, Even Buttons, Verboten in Crawford – Matthew Rothschild
    If you're ever thinking about going down to Crawford, Texas, to protest against Bush, beware. The police do not take kindly to demonstrators there--or legal observers, for that matter. And even if you're just wearing an anti-Bush button, you could get arrested. The Progressive, March 17, 2004

  • In the Name of Peace – John Dear
    Dear friends, today, in the name of peace, on this first anniversary of the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq, ... we join our voices with millions of people around the world and say, “End the occupation of Iraq now, give them food and medicine not more weapons... CommonDreams.org, March 22, 2004

  • The New Pentagon Papers – Karen Kwiatkowski, Salon
    A high-ranking military officer reveals how Defense Department extremists suppressed information and twisted the truth to drive the country to war. Truthout.org, 10 March 2004

  • America and Its Bad Image in the Middle East – Alain Frachon, Le Monde FR
    Right after the Second World War, the United States' relative power in the world was about the same as today: preponderant. At that time, its power was still bolstered by a key element: the United States was loved. That is no longer the case today. America is disliked. Truthout, 10 March 2004

  • Communication Breakdown – Kim Antieau
    I wondered what the perpetrators of this crime had been trying to communicate. Did they actually want to accomplish anything besides murder and terror? How do people get to the point where they decide violence is the only answer? CommonDreams.org, March 12, 2004

  • Stop Hiding the Toll of War – Nancy Lessin and Gordon Clark
    Another truth remains hidden by the Bush administration: the 550 troops who have returned from Iraq in caskets and the thousands returning with severe physical and psychological damage. Alternet.org, March 4, 2004

  • The Vice-President and the Contractor – Jane Mayer
    How Halliburton, the company that Dick Cheney served as C.E.O. before running for Vice-President, became the single largest defense contractor in Iraq and more about Cheney’s past, the privatization of the military, and Washington’s revolving door. The New Yorker Online Only, 2004-02-13

  • The Geneva Accord
    Former President Jimmy Carter said this is the best hope for peace in the Middle East, in his speech at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, Northfield, MN, Feb. 21, 2004. Information Clearing House, posted 10/19/03

  • Statement Regarding Drake University – MN Alliance of Peacemakers
    MAPM stated its awareness of and great concern about the February 4, 2004, serving of subpoenas by the FBI¹s Joint Terrorism Task Force on organizers of an antiwar conference that took place at Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa... www.mapm.org. February 10, 2004

  • Bush Lies Uncovered – Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service
    For those still puzzling over why the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq, two key players offered important, but curiously unnoticed, clues this week. www.AlterNet.org, February 23, 2004

  • Disarm Saddam Hussein – The White House Website
    The gravest danger we face in the war on terror is outlaw regimes that seek and possess nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. www.whitehouse.gov, Feb. 2003

  • 9/11 Families Valentines Letter to President Bush – Colleen Kelly, David Potorti and Kelly Campbell
    Two years ago today, family members of 9/11 victims launched a group called September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. We chose Valentine¹s Day as a symbolic reminder that the American ideals of peace, justice and reconciliation remain vibrant, and did not die with our loved ones. CommonDreams.org, February 14, 2004

  • Quitting America: The Departure of a Black Man from His Native Land – Randall Robinson
    Longtime human rights activist and TransAfrica founder Randall Robinson talks about U.S. foreign policy in Africa and the Caribbean, why he refused an honorary degree from Georgetown after the CIA's George Tenet spoke there, and his latest book "Quitting America" which explains why he left the U.S. to live in St. Kitts-Nevis. www.democracynow.org, February 3rd, 2004

  • An Open Letter to Political Columnist George F. Will of the Washington Post – John Shelby Spong
    ... I am absolutely amazed at the profoundly uninformed positions you have recently offered the public on the questions that are currently the content of ecclesiastical debate in our churches. Scouting for All, January 2004

  • In Search of Reform (pdf) – William G. Mayer
    Few institutions in American national government have been as consistently controversial as the presidential nomination process. The National Voter, September/October 2003

  • Vote, and The Pols Will Listen – Bob Herbert, The New York Times
    One of the biggest reasons politicians continue to trample on issues of crucial importance to low-income Americans — issues like jobs, education and access to health care — is the traditionally poor voting habits of that segment of the population. truthout, 02 February 2004

  • A Global Peace Movement Revival – Tom Hayden
    On this March 20, the first anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, when the White House expected throngs of cheering Iraqis in the streets, there will be masses of jeering protestors around the world instead. AlterNet, January 19, 2004

  • Hat in Hand, Bush Seeks U.N. Help – Jefferson Morley
    U.S. officials asked for the United Nations to help extricate the United States from a country it liberated from Saddam Hussein's thuggish tyranny just nine months ago. washingtonpost.com, January 20, 2004

  • 10 Good Things About a Bad Year – Medea Benjamin
    2003 was a demoralizing year for those of us working for peace and justice...As we greet the new year, let's remember and celebrate some of our hard-fought victories in a time of adversity. AlterNet.org, Jan. 1, 2004