The Bush II and Obama administrations and the transition from American hegemony to the “Post-American world”

This past weekend the Common Root conference was held in Minneapolis. Tom and Christine Sine of Mustard Seed Associates led the first plenary session, and my friend Jordan Peacock wrote the following as a summary statement of one of their points:
The Pax Americana is not necessarily the strongest ‘empire’. It stands together with global capitalism, [...]

The irony of progress

However else it may be defined, it is generally agreed that a (if not the) major feature of modernity is the pervasiveness of the myth of progress. According to the progress myth, progress will be attained in a definite, concrete form as the continuing dialectic (and, in some forms, utopian end) of history if “we [...]

personal update

This weekend my brother, a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army, leaves to deploy to Iraq. His specialty is communications, which means he’ll likely be going out with patrols as a radio man – not exactly a “safe” job.
I must confess as to being somewhat conflicted as to how to pray about this – I [...]

Support our troops?

This morning, my grandfather sent me an email “action alert” from the American Family Association urging protest of the recent Berkeley, California City Council resolution that declared the downtown Marine recruiting office “unwanted” and urged the recruiters to leave town. This article does not respond to that issue, but rather to the subject line of [...]

Guest article: America the Fascist

My friend Steven Kippel wrote this post, and I requested permission to reproduce it here. Just so no one who has a loved one involved with the military will hear this the wrong way, my brother is in the last stages of mission training before going to Iraq – so this is quite a personal [...]

Defense threatens layoffs in war spending standoff

Washington Post article
What do you think? Who’s playing games with whose jobs at this point?
For my money I think the Administration would prompt Defense to encourage layoffs because they’ve already shown so little concern for the average American in all this that… well, what’s buggering a few more?
I think it’s good to see Congress finally [...]

Bush, Pakistan and the Bomb

This article from today’s International Herald Tribune gives an excellent example of what Chalmers Johnson calls “blowback”, from the title of his 2000 book (revised ed. 2004) Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire, in which he essentially predicted a 9/11-like attack as one of the “unintended consequences” of American policy towards so-called “developing [...]

Hidden costs double war bill

Washington Post article
Ignoring for a moment the hypocrisy of the Democrats criticizing the cost of the wars when they overwhelmingly voted for them in the first place and continually approve funding for endless “emergency” appropriations, here’s an excerpt from the article:
The economic costs to the United States of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan so [...]

comments from Friedman and Abizaid at Stanford Forum

Stanford’s annual roundtable this year was on “Courting Disaster: The Fight for Oil, Water and a Healthy Planet.” Here are some comments from neoliberal economic architect Thomas Friedman and Gen. John Abizaid, US Army (Ret.) from the Stanford News Service.
Concerning the Middle East, Friedman blamed the United States for treating the region as a collection [...]

The obligatory 9/11 post

I wasn’t going to do this, I was just going to let the post about Stirling Bridge stand as my statement about 9/11, but I just wrote this for my Livejournal and thought it was worth sharing here.
“Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, [...]

Pentagon draws up plans for air strikes against Iran

I wish I was surprised by this. From Democracy Now.

Report: U.S. Military Planning Massive Air Strikes Against Iran
The Sunday Times in London is reporting the Pentagon has drawn up plans for massive air strikes against twelve hundred targets in Iran, designed to annihilate the Iranians’ military capability in three days. Alexis Debat of the Nixon [...]

the flag of truth

I’m back from Michigan! Don’t forget to register for the Jesus Radicals conference. It’s free!
This is an amazing picture. I got it from Gavin at Make/Shift.

Sergeant Timothy John Westphal, 31, of Denver, 18th Infantry Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. In Tikrit on year-long tour beginning February 2004.
“If Soldiers Came From Another Country And Did This To [...]

America’s image

“Each day the war goes on the hatred increases in the heart of the Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct. The Americans are forcing even their friends into becoming their enemies. It is curious that the Americans, who calculate so carefully on the possibilities of military victory, do not realize that [...]

This may be the best opinion I’ve seen so far on the Libby verdict

Absolution Revolution has moved! You can read this article at http://absolutionrevolution.com/blog/2007/03/07/this-may-be-the-best-opinion-ive-seen-so-far-on-the-libby-verdict/

the Katrina of 2007?

Absolution Revolution has moved! You can read this article at http://absolutionrevolution.com/blog/2007/03/07/the-katrina-of-2007/

Surprise, surprise – Intel twisted to manufacture link between Saddam and Al Qaida

Absolution Revolution has moved! You can read this article at http://absolutionrevolution.com/blog/2007/02/09/surprise-surprise-intel-twisted-to-manufacture-link-between-saddam-and-al-qaida/

and now this

Absolution Revolution has moved! You can read this article at http://absolutionrevolution.com/blog/2007/01/13/and-now-this/

a short comment on Bush’s speech

Absolution Revolution has moved! You can read this article at http://absolutionrevolution.com/blog/2007/01/13/a-short-comment-on-bushs-speech/

Peak oil, alternative energy sources, infrastructure, and the future of America

Absolution Revolution has moved! You can find this article at http://absolutionrevolution.com/blog/2006/09/14/peak-oil-alternative-energy-sources-infrastructure-and-the-future-of-america/

USAmerican self-determination ideals and contradiction

Absolution Revolution has moved! You can find this article at http://absolutionrevolution.com/blog/2006/08/23/usamerican-self-determination-ideals-and-contradiction/