Working Life

I’m not sure when people in the Administration and pro-war Democrats will stop the charade of “government-making” in Iraq. It’s not working and it’s time to recognize that ad try to save lives by ending the occupation. The newest example is that of the approval of a government of Iraq–but even the rah-rah New York […]

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This is worth repeating and reading: the economic costs of the Iraq war. And weeping about. Everything you want to make happen will be hampered by the waste of $2 trillion.

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It’s a bit out of sight and out of mind–and obscured by the violence in Iraq–but there’s still a war going on in Afghanistan: 10 U.S. Soldiers Are Killed in Afghan Helicopter Crash By CARLOTTA GALL Published: May 7, 2006 KABUL, Afghanistan, May 6 — Ten American soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed Friday […]

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I’m still irate a day after reading Michael Moss’ piece in The New York Times (registration required) about the Pentagon study that found “that as many as 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper body could have survived if they had extra body armor.” My view: […]

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As I pointed out yesterday, the president’s empty “Strategy For Victory” speech has one unintended consequence: it pushed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi a bit further in the direction of sanity, as she declared that she would follow John Murtha’s lead. In today’s Washington Post, Jonathan Weisman writes under the headline, “Democratic Lawmakers Splinter on […]

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My first reaction in looking at the front-page New York Times photo of the president standing above a slogan “Plan For Victory” was, haven’t we seen this before? You all remember how he stood on the aircraft carrier emblazoned with the banner “Mission Accomplished.” The new slogan, clearly a result of some p.r. shop trying […]

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“We have a strategy for victory.” This is what Bush said yesterday in preparation for a much-hyped speech he’s giving today at the U.S. Naval Academy. Here’s what’s clear: this speech is at once a p.r. ploy–they have to say something to blunt the Joe Murtha-inspired calls for quick withdrawal–and also an amazing continuation of […]

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I came upon this at www.bringthemhomenow.org and it made me both laugh–which it’s supposed to do–and feel great sadness. It was taken from an Army Family Readiness program to help understand what it’s like to be on the front lines. One of the things that it reminds you of is how soldiers (and their families) […]

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I just finished reading today’s piece in The New York Times–the same newspaper that was such a cheerleader in the rush to go to war–about the psychological damage the war will have (registration required) on the now 1.2 million men and women who have served in Iraq. The tragedy of the killed, wounded and maimed […]

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The juxtaposition couldn’t be more startling. The president and the Republican House leadership (when it isn’t attacking John Murtha) continue to talk about staying the course until somehow they “pacify” the country. And, on the other hand, the violence increases: Mosque Attacks Kill 70 in Iraq; Hotel Is Hit, Too By EDWARD WONG BAGHDAD, Iraq, […]

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