July 4, 2008

Not the American Way

For over two hundred years any notion that the United States government might officially practice torture was unthinkable, ridiculous. Under George Bush's tyranny, what have we become? Even if Congress has no stomach for a serious investigation, the thinking public must never let culpable officials off the hook. Zero tolerance for torture: it's the only civilized approach. For a sense of how a seasoned British lawyer sees the situation I turned to Philippe Sands, author of the superb, recently published case study Torture Team. Under international criminal law, Philippe explains, the arrest and prosecution of Bush officials when they travel overseas remains a very real possibility, but should shame Americans into taking remedial action for ourselves. I value Philippe's insights tremendously and thank him for talking with me. Total runtime, forty four minutes. Keep fighting!

June 27, 2008

The Gangs of Pentagon Procurement

Politicians practically worship the Pentagon because it carefully, cleverly directs its gargantuan spending across almost every congressional district. And because contractors kick back a hefty tranche to politicians' bank accounts. Not so much of this supports the public good or authentic "defense." Call it the dark side of Keynesianism. Our ruinous military money conveyor can't go on indefinitely but most politicians won't discuss it or give reform the priority it deserves. And the mainstream media won't report the facts. Ordinary people are left to struggle on their own to make sense out of what's happening. So when a former top civilian official at the Pentagon declares that the weapons procurement system is completely broken, that overall spending is out of control, that we should "scrap the whole process," and who agrees an intellectually respectable argument can be made for cutting military spending by half — well, we should pay attention! Formerly the director of weapons testing, Tom Christie was extraordinarily kind to talk with me and explain things. I thank him for his candor. Total runtime an hour and ten minutes. Pass the word.

June 20, 2008

It's not "Defense" Spending

One fact should be tacked on to all discussions of policy priorities: the U.S. spends over half a trillion dollars on its military, more than the rest of the world's military spending combined. To be blunt, that's insane. And it explains why the U.S. lags so far behind other advanced countries when it comes to social programs, public infrastructure, and generally every progressive metric that can be measured. There's no money left. To get at the cultural history behind our prohibitively expensive military fantasies — fantasies that go all too easily unchallenged — I turned to Dr. H. Bruce Franklin, the eminent cultural historian and author of War Stars (recently republished in a revised and expanded second edition after twenty years). It was great to talk again with Bruce, who has clearly found critical pieces of the puzzle regarding where and how American ideas about war went wrong. Total runtime an hour and twenty three minutes. Remember, it's not "Defense," it's military racketeering.

June 13, 2008

Apartheid: For or Against??

The U.S. pays for and protects a system of Apartheid in Israel. The U.S. government routinely lies about this, describing Israel as a "Democracy." Worse, the U.S. encourages Israeli Jews to keep those Palestinians who live in Gaza and the West Bank in a sort of outdoor prison-cum-shooting gallery. Absolutely contrary to what many of the Left have argued, seemingly forever, Jews are the ones calling the shots. It's the most odious, obscene abuse of human beings in the world — precisely because its necessary enabler is a leader among nations but also the greatest hypocrite regarding human rights. To hear further from the Palestinian side I turned to Dr. Saree Makdisi, author of Palestine Inside Out, who seems to be picking up where his late uncle, Edward Said, left off. It was very kind of Saree to talk with me, I learned a lot, and I hope we can do it again. Total runtime an hour and four minutes. Help educate your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and friendly strangers.

June 6, 2008

Millennial Politics

Nobody knows for sure, but it looks like a very strong turn out in 2008 by the young and by African-Americans may well be what puts the Democrats over the top. The young — the Millennial generation — in particular are something of a mystery. Larger than the Baby Boom generation, ethnically much more mixed, and (unlike generation "X") politically active, for a variety of reasons the Millennials strongly tend towards progressive policy solutions. Will this last? For some answers I turn to Dr. David Madland from the Center for American Progress, who is co-author of a recent, fascinating paper (PDF) on the Millennials. It was kind of David to talk with me and I much appreciate his insight. Total runtime forty four minutes. Enjoy!



Home FAQ Contact Archive EP store EP Alerts © 2008 ElectricPolitics	July 4, 2008 Not the American Way For over two hundred years any notion that the United States government might officially practice torture was unthinkable, ridiculous. Under George Bush's tyranny, what have we become? Even if Congress has no stomach for a serious investigation, the thinking public must never let culpable officials off the hook. Zero tolerance for torture: it's the only civilized approach. For a sense of how a seasoned British lawyer sees the situation I turned to Philippe Sands, author of the superb, recently published case study Torture Team. Under international criminal law, Philippe explains, the arrest and prosecution of Bush officials when they travel overseas remains a very real possibility, but should shame Americans into taking remedial action for ourselves. I value Philippe's insights tremendously and thank him for talking with me. Total runtime, forty four minutes. Keep fighting! June 27, 2008 The Gangs of Pentagon Procurement Politicians practically worship the Pentagon because it carefully, cleverly directs its gargantuan spending across almost every congressional district. And because contractors kick back a hefty tranche to politicians' bank accounts. Not so much of this supports the public good or authentic "defense." Call it the dark side of Keynesianism. Our ruinous military money conveyor can't go on indefinitely but most politicians won't discuss it or give reform the priority it deserves. And the mainstream media won't report the facts. Ordinary people are left to struggle on their own to make sense out of what's happening. So when a former top civilian official at the Pentagon declares that the weapons procurement system is completely broken, that overall spending is out of control, that we should "scrap the whole process," and who agrees an intellectually respectable argument can be made for cutting military spending by half — well, we should pay attention! Formerly the director of weapons testing, Tom Christie was extraordinarily kind to talk with me and explain things. I thank him for his candor. Total runtime an hour and ten minutes. Pass the word. June 20, 2008 It's not "Defense" Spending One fact should be tacked on to all discussions of policy priorities: the U.S. spends over half a trillion dollars on its military, more than the rest of the world's military spending combined. To be blunt, that's insane. And it explains why the U.S. lags so far behind other advanced countries when it comes to social programs, public infrastructure, and generally every progressive metric that can be measured. There's no money left. To get at the cultural history behind our prohibitively expensive military fantasies — fantasies that go all too easily unchallenged — I turned to Dr. H. Bruce Franklin, the eminent cultural historian and author of War Stars (recently republished in a revised and expanded second edition after twenty years). It was great to talk again with Bruce, who has clearly found critical pieces of the puzzle regarding where and how American ideas about war went wrong. Total runtime an hour and twenty three minutes. Remember, it's not "Defense," it's military racketeering. June 13, 2008 Apartheid: For or Against?? The U.S. pays for and protects a system of Apartheid in Israel. The U.S. government routinely lies about this, describing Israel as a "Democracy." Worse, the U.S. encourages Israeli Jews to keep those Palestinians who live in Gaza and the West Bank in a sort of outdoor prison-cum-shooting gallery. Absolutely contrary to what many of the Left have argued, seemingly forever, Jews are the ones calling the shots. It's the most odious, obscene abuse of human beings in the world — precisely because its necessary enabler is a leader among nations but also the greatest hypocrite regarding human rights. To hear further from the Palestinian side I turned to Dr. Saree Makdisi, author of Palestine Inside Out, who seems to be picking up where his late uncle, Edward Said, left off. It was very kind of Saree to talk with me, I learned a lot, and I hope we can do it again. Total runtime an hour and four minutes. Help educate your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and friendly strangers. June 6, 2008 Millennial Politics Nobody knows for sure, but it looks like a very strong turn out in 2008 by the young and by African-Americans may well be what puts the Democrats over the top. The young — the Millennial generation — in particular are something of a mystery. Larger than the Baby Boom generation, ethnically much more mixed, and (unlike generation "X") politically active, for a variety of reasons the Millennials strongly tend towards progressive policy solutions. Will this last? For some answers I turn to Dr. David Madland from the Center for American Progress, who is co-author of a recent, fascinating paper (PDF) on the Millennials. It was kind of David to talk with me and I much appreciate his insight. Total runtime forty four minutes. Enjoy!