NORMAN SOLOMON: There’s a significant new straw in the political wind for President Obama to consider. The California Democratic Party has just sent him a formal and clear message: Stop making war in Afghanistan.
How Patriotism Can Save America
PAUL K CHAPPELL: As a soldier in the United States army, I have often pondered what it means to be patriotic, what it means to serve our country, and what it means to love America. In Will War Ever End? I described a dangerous misconception of patriotism that I witnessed while deployed in Baghdad.
How Television Affects Our Lives
A C NIELSEN: Approximate number of studies examining TV’s effects on children: 4,000
Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children: 3.5
Number of minutes per week that the average child watches television: 1,680
Percentage of day care centers that use TV during a typical day: 70
Percentage of parents who would like to limit their children’s TV watching: 73
Percentage of 4-6 year-olds who, when asked to choose between watching TV and spending time with their fathers, preferred television: 54
Opium, Rape and the American Way in Afghanistan
CHRIS HEDGES: The warlords we champion in Afghanistan are as venal, as opposed to the rights of women and basic democratic freedoms, and as heavily involved in opium trafficking as the Taliban. The moral lines we draw between us and our adversaries are fictional. The uplifting narratives used to justify the war in Afghanistan are pathetic attempts to redeem acts of senseless brutality.
Obama to Native Americans: You Will Not Be Forgotten
OBAMA: President Barack Obama vowed not to forget American Indian tribes as representatives gathered for a White House conference on native issues.
Beltway Bulletin
The focus of this month’s Beltway Bulletin is “We Are the Climate Catastrophe Deniers”.