The Archives: November 2004

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The Archives: November 2004

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
Police scoff at Ashcroft speech Kevin Johnson USA Today The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) said that cuts by the administration in federal aid to local police agencies have left the nation more vulnerable than ever to public safety threats The Bush Revolution Nicholas D. Kristof The New York Times The real winner in this foreign policy wrestling match is Dick Cheney. One of his former aides, Stephen Hadley, will now be the national security adviser, and Condoleezza Rice was run over so many times by Mr. Cheney in the first term that she'll be docile The Neocons Last Gasp? Not So Fast Jacob Heilbrunn The Los Angeles Times Far from being headed for the political graveyard, neoconservatives are poised to become even more powerful in a second Bush term, while the "realists" — those who believe that moral crusading is costly and counterproductive in foreign policy — are sidelined A Hawk in Bush's Inner Circle Who Flies Under the Radar Paul Richter The Los Angeles Times "He's a get-along guy and, like Cheney, he's very low-key," Mann said. "But on policy, he's very hawkish" Sustaining the mission F. Andy Messing, Jr. The Washington Times The war against al Qaeda is really a macro-counterinsurgency campaign, which, ideally, is fought with minimal violence and is won by addressing the socioeconomic, political and security concerns of the insurgent population Fallouja's Battle Won, but Fighting Continues Patrick J. McDonnell The Los Angeles Times "This is a prime example of what the fight is like now," said 2nd Lt. Bahrns, 23. "It's street to street, house to house." A Victory, But Little Is Gained Daryl G. Press and Benjamin Valentino The New York Times While major operations like the attack on Falluja create the appearance of progress, over the last 60 years major powers have learned repeatedly that there is virtually no connection between seizing territory and defeating an insurgency Sides in Falluja Fight for Hearts and Minds Robert F. Worth The New York Times Military officials do not expect the fall of the city to affect the propaganda flow greatly, partly because many of Falluja's militants escaped before the war For Israelis, the Question: Can Trust Be Restored? Steven Erlanger The New York Times "It's not as simple as returning to Camp David or where we left off," she said. "What's lost is the basic belief that peace is attainable" Editorial: Diplomacy and Darfur The Washington Post The considered judgment of Sudan's rulers is that they can flout international commitments with impunity. Unless that judgment can be changed, the Security Council session in Kenya will not achieve anything	An attack on American tolerance Robert Kuttner The Boston Globe What is uniquely alarming in the United States today, among all the democracies and in our own history, is that a president of the United States is explicitly on the side of antimodernism Editorial: The Friends of George The New York Times Now that Condoleezza Rice has been nominated to be the next secretary of state, the whole world seems to be noticing that George Bush is stuffing his second-term cabinet with yes men and women Who's Afraid of the Club for Growth? Timothy Noah Slate The most fearsome 527 has a bark much worse than its bite Feinstein's moderate Senate posture portends a re-election in 2006 John Wildermuth The San Francisco Chronicle "If you've got a serious problem, you go to Dianne Feinstein,'' said Hoffenblum. "If you want a rally in front of the Capitol steps, you go to Barbara Boxer'' The Dangerous Dollar Robert J. Samuelson The Washington Post A dollar crash, if it occurred, could trigger a terrifying global slump
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Editorial: The Lessons of Fallujah The Wall Street Journal The task now is to build quickly on success in Fallujah by wiping out other insurgent strongholds such as Ramadi	Jeff Danziger Danger and intrigue lurk for brave CIA agents… What Do You Think? Arafat's Death The Onion "If Palestine needs a hard-line religious nutjob to fill Arafat's position, our old attorney general is looking for work"

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
The Peter Principle and the Neocon Coup Robert Scheer The Los Angeles Times With the ravaging of the CIA and the ousting of Powell — instead of the more-deserving Rumsfeld — the coup of the neoconservatives is complete. They have achieved a remarkable political victory by failing upward Nation's flattery of military distorts its role in freedom Pierre Tristam The Daytona Beach News-Journal Soldiers are as much instruments of repression as of protection, depending on how they're used, and by whom. Romanticizing them doesn't honor them Editorial: The Mirage of Colin Powell The Los Angeles Times Powell's ineffectual tenure at State is unlikely to forestall future opportunities, though he will only deserve to be admired if he candidly speaks out when he disagrees with administration policies from now on One Way Lawrence F. Kaplan The New Republic Rice, to be sure, is neither a great thinker nor a great manager. But she is a great lieutenant Colin Powell's Redeeming Failures Walter Isaacson The New York Times There should be an honored place in history for statesmen whose ideas and instincts were right, even though they were ignored Few Foreigners Among Insurgents John Hendren The Los Angeles Times Judging from fighters captured in Fallouja, all but about 5% are Iraqi, U.S. officials say In City's Ruins, Military Faces New Mission: Building Trust Dexter Filkins The New York Times If the engineers do not succeed, then the outrage that is likely to be generated among returning residents at the sight of obliterated mosques, cratered houses and ground-up streets will spread US does not pay back favours, says Chirac Jon Henley, Amelia Gentleman, and Michael White The Guardian (UK) "I'm not sure, the US being what it is today, whether it is possible for anyone, even the British, to play the role of the friendly go- between" In Mideast, Bush gets a rare third chance Thomas Oliphant The Boston Globe Now, with Arafat gone and with a huge push from an ally to whom he is deeply indebted -- Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair -- Bush has decided to make up for his past Editorial: Iran's Nuclear Freeze The Los Angeles Times Sunday's announcement by Iran that it would suspend its program to enrich uranium might generate more enthusiasm if such promises hadn't come to seem like a meaningless annual ritual Stunned Guns Richard Gid Powers The Washington Monthly For at least a quarter century, every signal we have sent to the FBI was that we did not want to be protected, and we punished it whenever it tried Editorial: Hidden dangers Financial Times (UK) By any standard, the incursion by a Chinese submarine into Japanese territorial waters is a matter of justified military and diplomatic concern Still battling for survival Indira A.R. Lakshmanan The Boston Globe Deadly attacks against Colombian Indians have steadily worsened as their land has become a war zone in the battle between the government and left-wing rebels In Sudan, a Sense of Abandonment Emily Wax The Washington Post No Western country has been willing to commit troops to a small peacekeeping mission mounted by the African Union, while aid donors have been distracted by the conflict in Iraq, and U.N. sanctions have been frozen	Congress Over the Past Century The Washington Post The Democratic Party controlled the House and Senate for most of the past century before the Republicans captured and held both chambers in the 1990s Tribal Warfare in America Rick Perlstein Columbia Journalism Review AlterNet A 30 year-old book by a progressive journalist finds that the passions of reformers can sometimes betray a contempt for the common sense of ordinary people. Sound familiar? One justice's vision of role of the courts Warren Richey The Christian Science Monitor Scalia offered a detailed description of his approach to constitutional interpretation Will the Moderates Speak Up? E. J. Dionne Jr. The Washington Post Frank adds: "Moderate Republicans are reverse Houdinis. They tie themselves up in knots and then tell you they can't do anything because they're tied up in knots"
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Editorial: The Powell Lesson The Wall Street Journal Will the State Department now support American foreign policy? Whee Time! William F. Buckley Jr. National Review Mr. Bush has not brought in a specialist whose credentials get validated or found spurious in 90 days. He has personal knowledge of how she winds in and out of critical decisions, and he trusts her judgment and seeks her advice Don't Look Back Brendan Miniter The Wall Street Journal Why do Democrats keep losing? Because they have nothing to offer by way of reform New Threats, Old Weapons Robert R. Monroe The Washington Post To be effective deterrents in the future, our nuclear weapons must have greatly increased accuracy, reduced yields, specialized capabilities (such as deep earth penetration) and tailored effects	EBay Cancels Bids for Virgin Mary Sandwich Associated Press Yahoo! The Internet auction house eBay Inc. canceled bids for half of a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich that its owner said bore the image of the Virgin Mary The Presidential Election in a World of Greco-Roman Morality Kevin Deenihan McSweeney's Did not Mighty Bush crush the Caves of Afghanistan with the Delta Force? I am the Lord Zeus, and I approved this message Bush outsources State Department Andy Borowitz The Borowitz Report World Diplomacy Rerouted to Calling Center in Bangalore

Monday, November 15, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
The Road to Abu Ghraib Phillip Carter The Washington Monthly The biggest scandal of the Bush administration began at the top Trouble Spots Dot Iraqi Landscape Karl Vick The Washington Post As fighting winds down in a Fallujah that has been returned by overwhelming force to the sovereignty of the new Iraq, U.S. forces are turning to the many other cities Editorial: The Larger Battle in Iraq The New York Times Pursuing more inclusive policies toward Iraqi Sunnis is not just a matter of fairness. A new constitution written without credible Sunni participation could become an open invitation to civil war With Capture of Falluja, a Goal Is Met. What's Next? Eric Schmitt The New York Times "The operational lesson is that 'taking' cities is comparatively easy, but that 'holding' them is harder and ultimately decisive," said one Army officer who just returned for a year's duty near Falluja U.S. Commanders, in Iraq, Discuss Military Strategy John Hendren The Los Angeles Times "You never know how close you are to a tipping point," said a senior defense official involved in the talks A Watchdog Follows the Money in Iraq Erik Eckholm The New York Times The Army Corps of Engineers is trying to demote Ms. Greenhouse, 60, or push her into retirement. To the surprise of no one who knows her, she is unbowed The Old Man David Remnick The New Yorker Arafat came to embody something that the Israelis and much of the Western world had cynically dismissed: Palestinian suffering and a Palestinian national identity A recollection of time spent with Arafat Robert Marquand The Christian Science Monitor Landrum Bolling knew Yasser Arafat in the grottos of Tunis and the underground bunkers of Beirut. Mr. Bolling was for years the US "back channel" to the Palestine Liberation Organization, carrying messages for both the Carter and Reagan administrations Overthrow Tehran? Hey, Not So Fast Jeet Heer and Laura Rozen The Los Angeles Times Among Iranian Americans, there's both a fascination and a wariness about neoconservatives like Ledeen — as well as considerable uncertainty about what, if any, role the diaspora itself should play in any democratic revolution Iran Vows To Freeze Nuclear Programs Dafna Linzer The Washington Post European diplomats said Bush's reelection helped the negotiations by limiting Iran's options. Had Democrat John F. Kerry won, Iran might have tried to play for time Turmoil in Ivory Coast: Once Again, Things Fall Apart Somini Sengupta The New York Times The fires that engulf Abidjan today threaten not just Ivory Coast . Virtually all its neighbors are vulnerable A Foreign Policy to Match Bush's Rhetoric? Fred Hiatt The Washington Post An interesting second-term question will be whether the president reshapes his policy to match his rhetoric: whether he really believes that democracy abroad is in the U.S. national interest	Misoverestimated Michael Steinberger The American Prospect For all their success in cutting Powell down to size, Cheney and company have not altered one basic fact: Bush needs Powell more than Powell needs him Powell: A dove among hawks Simon Jeffery The Guardian (UK) The Pentagon's political leadership did not want to deal with the Powell doctrine, or the man whose name it bore Powell Valediction Christopher Hitchens Foreign Policy Secretary of State Colin Powell has always believed in alliances and quiet diplomacy—except when it comes to dealing with his colleagues in the Bush administration November 3 theses Adam Warbach 3nov.com Insanity is continuing to do the same things over and over again and expecting a different result Explain Away Alexander Barnes Dryer The New Republic Below, TNR Online's guide to which explanations of Kerry's defeat are worth taking seriously Why the Democrats Need to Stop Thinking About Elephants Adam Cohen The New York Times The title "Don't Think of an Elephant!" comes from a classic experiment Dr. Lakoff conducts in Cognitive Science 101. He tells his students not to think of an elephant, and he has yet to find one who has managed it The architects of defeat Arianna Huffington Arianna Online WorkingForChange "We kept coming back from the road and telling the Washington team that the questions we kept getting were more about safety and Iraq than healthcare. But they just didn't want to hear it" Axis of evil Dan Kennedy The Boston Phoenix Meet the new Republican senators. Five of them hope to make your worst nightmares come true
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
The CIA Fights Back Stephen F. Hayes The Weekly Standard The Agency fights back as Porter Goss and the Bush administration push for institutional reform Don’t Send in the Clowns Henry Payne National Review The Daily Show became The Daily Shill U.N. Obstructs Justice William Safire The New York Times If legislative investigators were prosecutors, the name of the game Annan and his enablers are playing would be called "obstruction of justice" And the Nominees Are . . . Melanie Kirkpatrick The Wall Street Journal A conservative dream team is Justice Scalia or Clarence Thomas to replace Chief Justice Rehnquist with Miguel Estrada filling the associate's opening Editorial: Dutch counterterrorism The Washington Times The irony of all this is that the United States has been urging the Europeans to take many of those steps for years	The Boondocks Aaron McGruder Just let it all out The New Microsoft Search Engine Chortler.com You will now be able to run a search on almost any topic just by typing words related to the subject you are interested in learning more about and clicking on a button that says "Search" Straight From the Horrors of D-day: War Is Heck! Jeff Danziger The Los Angeles Times Off camera, a howitzer tears Tom Hanks' friend in two. "Well, double hockey sticks to that," exclaims Tom, speaking from the heart Beavers Make Dam Out of Stolen Money Associated Press Yahoo! A bag of bills stolen from a casino was snapped up by beavers who wove thousands of dollars in soggy currency into the sticks and brush of their dam on a creek in eastern Louisiana

Sunday, November 14, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
White House orders purge of CIA 'liberals,' sources say Knut Royce Newsday The Baltimore Sun The White House has ordered the new CIA director, Porter J. Goss, to purge the agency of officers believed to have been disloyal to President Bush or of leaking damaging information to the media Goss Reportedly Rebuffed Senior Officials at CIA Walter Pincus and Dana Priest The Washington Post Four former deputy directors of operations have tried to offer CIA Director Porter J. Goss advice about changing the clandestine service without setting off a rebellion, but Goss has declined to speak to any of them The Iran Connection Edward T. Pound U.S. News and World Report Iran's efforts to destabilize Iraq have received little public attention. But a review of thousands of pages of intelligence reports by U.S. News reveals the critical role Iran has played Desire for Nuclear Empowerment a Uniting Factor in Iran Robin Wright The Washington Post Iranians cite four reasons for their increasingly fierce determination to acquire nuclear technology: the economics of oil, a population boom that is consuming more energy, regional security, and anger at what many perceive as a U.S. ultimatum Breaking a City in Order to Fix It Edward Wong The New York Times It proved one thing: That the Americans are great at taking things apart. What comes after the battlefield victory has always been the real problem for them during their 19 months in Iraq Hearts, Minds and Fallujah Fareed Zakaria Newsweek Iraq's elections look increasingly unlikely to take place on schedule. The security situation in the rest of the country is getting worse The Real Battle Wesley K. Clark The Washington Post The success of our military efforts in Iraq is thus directly connected to the skill of U.S. diplomacy in the region In Fallujah, Marines Feel Shock of War Jackie Spinner The Washington Post For many Marine and Army units, the battle for Fallujah was only beginning Groups, U.S. Battle Over 'Global Terrorist' Label David B. Ottaway The Washington Post Global Relief is one of three Islamic charities that were forced to shut down before they were formally declared "specially designated global terrorists" as part of the U.S. government's three-year-old campaign to starve terrorists of funds Whitewash as Public Service Benjamin DeMott Harper's Magazine CommonDreams The 9/11 Commission Report, despite the vast quantity of labor behind it, is a cheat and a fraud Bush Is No Emperor Anthony Pagden The Los Angeles Times The U.S. is not an empire. If a new American Empire became a reality, liberal democracy — and the U.S., for all its faults, is still the best representative of this ideal — would be truly at risk PM makes the best of a 'special relationship' Gaby Hinsliff The Observer (UK) Blair knows better than to expect a payback from Bush. The White House values his support, but is not so grateful that it will change its mind on anything important Editorial: Ukraine's Choice The Washington Post The first round of the elections should have sent a message to Mr. Putin, who blatantly intervened in the campaign by channeling hundreds of millions of dollars to the official candidate Soviet-era dissidents despise Putin Betsy Pisik The Washington Times They see alarming similarities between Mr. Putin's police and the infamous KGB he used to command Life after Arafat Dan Ephron and Michael Hirsh Newsweek He promised to forge his people a state through bullets and blood. And failed. But could Arafat's death now bring a new chance for Mideast peace? Secret Strategies . . . David Ignatius The Washington Post In secret, Arafat for the past 30 years allowed his top intelligence officers to maintain regular contact with the agency -- even as he publicly continued his defiant and ultimately fruitless quest for a Palestinian state A Political Opening for Hamas Tracy Wilkinson The Los Angeles Times Arafat's death may spur the radical Islamic group to seek a role in the Palestinian government, which it has shunned for years ‘It Can’t Get Much Worse’ Tom Masland Newsweek Next week, the United Nations will try again to tame the horrors of Darfur	On the trail of Kerry's failed dream Nina J. Easton, Michael Kranish, Patrick Healy, Glen Johnson, Anne E. Kornblut, and Brian Mooney The Boston Globe Now, as Kerry campaign strategists try to fathom his Nov. 2 loss, one word emerges out of the rubble: war Dollar's Decline Is Reverberating David Streitfeld The Los Angeles Times "Sometime soon, the falling dollar is going to show up in rising inflation, rising interest rates and a falling standard of living" Jobs distress trend Paul Craig Roberts The Washington Times America's growing dependence on imported manufacturing goods and knowledge services means a swelling trade deficit that cannot be brought into balance by selling more abroad Losing Its Middlemen, Senate Shifts to Right Janet Hook The Los Angeles Times The retirement of Breaux and several other Southern Democrats depletes even further the dwindling ranks of lawmakers inclined to work across party lines New Democratic Leader in Senate Is Atypical Choice Adam Nagourney and Carl Hulse The New York Times "I can't picture Harry on the Sunday shows every Sunday. I don't think that's his strength. His real strength is inside baseball, knowing the Senate, knowing the procedures." Can Bush Deliver a Conservative Court? Jeffrey Rosen The New York Times Liberals fear that "strict constructionists" - those who believe the Constitution should be read literally - would ban affirmative action, resurrect school prayer, dismantle the regulatory state and overturn Roe v. Wade Bush vetoes the veto--nothing else Steve Chapman The Chicago Tribune In his entire first term, he hasn't used a power that most presidents have regarded as indispensable: the veto Save us from those who see danger in Saving Private Ryan John Doyle The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) On the day they call Veterans Day in the United States, about 35 per cent of the country did not get to see ABC's broadcast of the Steven Spielberg movie Saving Private Ryan
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Polar bear scare Steven Milloy The Washington Times The Arctic seems to be undergoing a warming phase — similar to one between 1900-1940 — which will likely be followed by a cooling phase — similar to that of 1940-1970	All the news not fit to print Dave Barry The Miami Herald Now in normal times, this would not be front-page news, even in Erie. But of course we do not live in normal times: We live in the Age of Stark Buttpuckering Terror When Will the Red Meat Start to Stink? Brendan Buhler The Los Angeles Times You ate them up before the election. But can you stomach them now? They're the docu-propagandas spawned by the success of Michael Moore's loopy "Fahrenheit 9/11" The Boondocks Aaron McGruder Who know anarchy could be so bureaucratic? Dan Wasserman The Boston Globe Change at Justice

Saturday, November 13, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
Deputy Chief Resigns From CIA Dana Priest and Walter Pincus The Washington Post "It's the worst roiling I've ever heard of," said one former senior official with knowledge of the events. "There's confusion throughout the ranks and an extraordinary loss of morale and incentive" Ashcroft Decries Court Rulings Dan Eggen The Washington Post Attorney General John D. Ashcroft said yesterday that federal courts have endangered national security by ruling against the Bush administration Fallujah 101 Rashid Khalidi In These Times The stench of hypocrisy rises when the United States, a nation supposedly com-mit-ted to democratization and reform, does not hesitate to embrace dictatorial, autocratic and undemocratic regimes like those of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia and now even Libya Die, then vote. This is Falluja Naomi Klein The Guardian (UK) Elections in Iraq were never going to be peaceful, but they did not need to be an all-out war on voters either U.S. Troops Set for Final Attack on Falluja Force Dexter Filkins and Robert F. Worth The New York Times American forces moved into position Friday for a decisive battle with bands of insurgents, pounding some of their last strongholds with airstrikes and repelling attempts by some fighters to shoot their way out Rights Lawyers See Possibility of a War Crime Michael Janofsky The New York Times Human rights experts said Friday that American soldiers might have committed a war crime on Thursday when they sent fleeing Iraqi civilians back into Falluja Cuffing Bush and the FBI Nat Hentoff The Village Voice There are two primary roadblocks to further assaults on our liberties Many French Fleeing Chaos in Ivory Coast Hope to Return Robyn Dixon The Los Angeles Times Some expatriates and Ivorians blame a pro-government group and the president for the outbreak of violence Struggle For the Future of Nicaragua Salvador Stadthagen The Washington Post An epic battle against corruption is being fought in Nicaragua, and its outcome will prove decisive for the democratic future of our small Central American country China Now Test-Flying Homemade AWACS Edward Cody The Washington Post Analysts said the AWACS marks an important step in the government's campaign to develop the modern military necessary to back up its threat to reunite Taiwan Enough Brinksmanship Henry Sokolski The Weekly Standard This, in essence, is the fatal flaw in our approach to nonproliferation: We and our partners are still much more willing to defend the right to make nuclear weapons-usable materials than we are to read the rules so as to deny it	The 10 Regions of US Politics Robert David Sullivan The Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth Each region represents about one-tenth of the national electorate, casting between 10.4 million and 10.8 million votes in the 2000 presidential election Vote Righteously! Brad Carson The New Republic The culture war is real, and it is a conflict not merely about some particular policy or legislative item, but about modernity itself James Dobson Michael Crowley Slate Dobson is now America's most influential evangelical leader, with a following reportedly greater than that of either Falwell or Robertson at his peak It's Democrats Who Can Do Better Anthony B. Robinson Seattle Post-Intelligecer CommonDreams Note the electric response to Barak Obama as well as his capacity to draw on deep communitarian moral themes and biblical understandings of our obligation to one another. John Kerry, on the other hand, kept saying, "I have a plan for that." Not Slackers After All? Sarah Childress Newsweek According to a new analysis of voter data, turnout among the under-30 set shot up 9 percent from 2000 TV Ads Advocate 'Amend for Arnold' Robert Salladay The Los Angeles Times Schwarzenegger backers campaign to change the U.S. Constitution on presidential eligibility Top Billings David Sirota The Washington Monthly How a Montana Democrat bagged the hunting and fishing vote, and won the governor's mansion
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
The C.I.A. Versus Bush David Brooks The New York Times Over the past several months, as much of official Washington looked on wide-eyed and agog, many in the C.I.A. bureaucracy have waged an unabashed effort to undermine the current administration Good Riddance Marty Peretz The Wall Street Journal What a pathetic vessel in which to have placed liberalism's hopes! A senator for two decades who had stood for nothing, really nothing A New Style for a New Mandate David Frum The Wall Street Journal There are a lot of qualified and capable younger Democrats well below cabinet-grade who are now facing a total of eight years in the foreign-policy wilderness. Many of these people have foreign-policy views surprisingly congruent with those of President Bush Leaving us safer Terence P. Jeffrey The Washington Times Unfortunately, statesmen such as John Ashcroft are rare	Bush urges Palestinians to elect easy-to-pronounce leader Andy Borowitz The Borowitz Report Elsewhere, conservative Senate Republicans refused to name Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) chairman of the Judiciary Committee today, instead naming him chairman of the Refreshments Committee

Friday, November 12, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
CIA agent publicly chides White House for terror war Faye Bowers The Christian Science Monitor Mike Scheuer, a 22-year veteran who works in the CIA's Counterterrorist Center and is a former head of its Osama bin Laden unit, is criticizing the Bush administration for going to war in Iraq and for the way it has conducted the war on terror in general Fallujah's lesson: Don't be fooled by quick win John Diamond, Steve Komarow and Tom Squitieri USA Today It is an old lesson: The Civil War ended not when Richmond fell but when Gen. Robert E. Lee's army surrendered. In Iraq, the toughest challenge of all is maintaining order once the battle is over Misreading Islam Michael Hirsh Washington Monthly Alternet The disastrous war in Iraq is the consequence of a fundamental misunderstanding of Islam and its strong relationship to democracy in the Middle East Signs of US-Iran warming? Daniel Schorr The Christian Science Monitor The rapprochement between the US and China started with an exchange of ping-pong players. Maybe this one will start with an exchange of books Behind the Camp David Myth Robert Malley The Los Angeles Times A third oft-neglected point about Camp David is that the Palestinian positions, though clearly inconsistent with Israel's, nonetheless were compatible with the existence of a Jewish state Editorial: Beyond Arafat on the Road to Peace The New York Times Chances like this aren't likely to come again in Mr. Sharon's lifetime. If he wants to avoid Mr. Arafat's fate - dying as a former hero turned obstacle to his people's progress - he has to take advantage of it A Middle East Opening Brent Scowcroft The Washington Post Iraq, Israel-Palestine, Iran and terrorism are parts of a whole and can only be satisfactorily engaged as such NATO's Chief Backs U.S. Views on Terrorism Warren Hoge The New York Times The secretary general of NATO said Thursday that there was a critical "perception gap" between Europe and the United States on the subject of global terror and that Europeans must move closer to the American view Mongolia Looks Afar in Its Quest for New 'Neighbors' Mark Magnier The Los Angeles Times Two enormous neighbors, China and Russia, surround Mongolia. With a population of 2.5 million, the country would be practically powerless to defend its 5,000-mile border	Materialistic madness Derrick Z. Jackson The Boston Globe A half century in which the early 1960s presidential rhetoric of equality at home and ending poverty abroad faded into an escape from those challenges with Richard Nixon's "law and order" campaign in 1968 Loyal to a Fault? Phillip Carter Slate One set of questions grows out of Gonzales' work for then-Gov. Bush as his lawyer in the Texas Statehouse, where critics allege his work on death penalty cases fell far short Evangelicals Want Faith Rewarded Peter Wallsten The Los Angeles Times Bob Jones III, president of the Christian conservative Bob Jones University in South Carolina, recently urged Bush to purge moderates from the White House Paranoid Past the Fringe Jonathan Chait The Los Angeles Times Michael Moore — who hints at conspiracies between the Bush family and the Saudi royal family in "Fahrenheit 9/11" — does not seriously influence the Democratic Party the way the Wall Street Journal influences the GOP The Faith Factor Barbara Ehrenreich The Nation One last lesson from the Christians--the ancient, original ones, that is. Theirs is the story of how a steadfast and heroic moral minority undermined the world's greatest empire and eventually came to power Down With Fancy Book Learnin' Mark Morford The San Francisco Chronicle What's it mean that the big cities and college towns of America all voted blue? Leftnecks, Get Local Joshua Holland Alternet We'll make inroads with the Republicans' coalition when we stop telling ourselves that social conservatives are too stupid to see past gays and guns to their own interests. The truth is that they have a different idea of where their interests lie
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
The Ironies Ahead Victor Davis Hanson National Review Our grandfathers would have considered all this a miraculous military achievement. We call it a quagmire Why We Must Take Fallouja Mark Bowden The Los Angeles Times The assault was overdue. The war in Iraq has become a contest for the confidence of the Iraqi people Editorial: Appeasing Iran The Wall Street Journal Europe seeks a deal even worse than Clinton's with North Korea 'Moral Values' Myth Charles Krauthammer The Washington Post Ten years and another stunning Democratic defeat later, and liberals are at it again. The Angry White Male has been transmuted into the Bigoted Christian Redneck What Hinges on Fallujah George F. Will The Washington Post So far the performance of Iraq's apprentice military, now working with U.S. units denoted by the blue icons on that screen, permits tentative -- very tentative -- optimism A Second Chance to Unite Peter Berkowitz The Weekly Standard Four ways George W. Bush could reach out to Democrats Saving John Kerry Jonathan V. Last The Weekly Standard Kerry's very real accomplishment: He stood his ground as anti-Americanism and knee-jerk pacifism roiled the base of the Democratic party. He prevented the main body of his party from giving in to the Moores, Deans, and MoveOns	Some Lists McSweeney's Tonto: "Kemosabe, if you don't change ringer from William Tell Overture, I walk."

Thursday, November 11, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
America Must Find Alternatives to Fear Gordon Adams Center for American Progress Three interrelated trends threaten global security over the long term: the inequalities spawned by a globalized economy; brittle or failed governance; and an epidemic of hatred that pits tribe against tribe A Period of Peril, Promise Forecast Laura King The Los Angeles Times The death of Yasser Arafat could help break the logjam in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking efforts and perhaps usher in a political realignment as well, Middle East analysts and officials say Editorial: Yasir Arafat The Nation Yasir Arafat has often been called the father of Palestinian nationalism. Yet if the national liberation movement survives his death, it will be in spite of Arafat's leadership rather than because of it Sharon and the Future of Palestine Henry Siegman The New York Review of Books He has finally realized, in the words of an Economist editorial, that "he cannot erase the national dream of the Palestinians by force." 'Groundhog Day' in Iraq Thomas L. Friedman The New York Times Rummy has it all under control. He hasn't made any mistakes. Everything is going as planned. The plan was always to fight running street battles in Falluja 20 months after Saddam's fall Hard Lesson in Battle: 150 Marines Meet 1 Sniper Dexter Filkins The New York Times At least a few insurgents are highly trained snipers who do their job with cold precision and know how to survive Four Times Falluja Equals? Mark LeVine TomDispatch Mother Jones Four possible scenarios from our now Fallujanized world and what they tell us about Iraq and ourselves Concern many will regroup elsewhere Thanassis Cambanis The Boston Globe Military commanders on the ground in Fallujah expressed surprise at the light resistance there; but insurgents had expected the assault for months, and some US officers think that many fighters regrouped outside the city Selling the War Danny Schechter MediaChannel.org AlterNet U.S. war strategy in Iraq has been run like a political campaign with key message points and "message of the day" perception management techniques underlying a strategy of "information dominance" What to do about Bush Timothy Garton Ash The Guardian (UK) Houston we have a problem. The problem is Houston. What should we do about it? Mixed Messages Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball Newsweek While a slew of new terror threats have been issued since the election, Homeland Security has lowered the threat level for some targets. Determining the likelihood of a new attack is a vexing exercise	Editorial: Gonzales Is a Disastrous Choice The Los Angeles Times the role he played in orchestrating the war on terror from the White House counsel's office makes him a disastrous choice to lead the Justice Department Cultural Alien Ruy Teixeira The Center for American Progress and The Century Foundation AlterNet Public Opinion Watch: Kerry got killed by the white working class; a majority of voters never even trusted Kerry on the economy; cultural alienation played a big part in the loss The lowest ignorance takes charge Sidney Blumenthal The Guardian (UK) The 2004 election marks the rise of a quasi-clerical party for the first time in the United States. Ecclesiastical organisation has become the sinew and muscle of the Republican party Dancing in the Dark Michael Ventura Austin Chronicle AlterNet American progressives seriously started mass-scale organizing only about a year ago. In just one year we came within reach of victory The triumph of the religious right The Economist (UK) It may look like that, but liberals should think again before despairing On 'Moral Values,' It's Blue in a Landslide Frank Rich The New York Times Received Washington wisdom has it that the only Democrat who will ever be able to win a national election must be a cross between Gomer Pyle and Billy Sunday - a Scripture-quoting Sun Belt exurbanite No Vote Necessary David S. Broder The Washington Post Redistricting is creating a U.S. House of Lords
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
A National Party? Hugh Hewitt The Weekly Standard Beginning a new era with a purge is simply the worst possible politics, a self-inflicted wound, and one the consequences of which could be far reaching and awful Arafat the monster Jeff Jacoby The Boston Globe In a better world, George Bush would not have said, on hearing the first reports that Arafat had died, "God bless his soul" Because Iraq matters Alan Tonelson The Washington Times It's easy to see both why the public has shrugged off the president's individual blunders and why its support for the broader Iraq policy makes sense Editorial: John Ashcroft's legacy at Justice The Washington Times Mr. Ashcroft deserves to be remembered as one of the most important, successful attorneys general	Tom Toles That's it. I'm resigning. The depressed Democrats' guide to recovery Mark Fiore markfiore.com Simple steps to cope with your loss… Tom the Dancing Bug Ruben Bolling Salon.com Nov. 3: The morning Americans woke up and found out who they really are

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
Rebel Fighters Who Fled Attack May Now Be Active Elsewhere Edward Wong and Eric Schmitt The New York Times Insurgent leaders in Falluja probably fled before the American-led offensive and may be coordinating attacks in Iraq that have left scores dead over the past few days After the Fallujah fight, then what? Peter Grier and Faye Bowers The Christian Science Monitor Stomping on Fallujah is, in fact, exactly the opposite of what the US should do if it wants to lure Sunnis into the Iraqi political process, argues a former CIA official with 25 years experience in the region Squeezing Jello in Iraq Scott Ritter Aljazeera.net CommonDreams.org The images from Falluja will only fuel the anti-American sentiment in Iraq, enabling the anti-US fighters to recruit ten new fighters for every newly-minted 'martyr' it loses in the current battle Palestinians Need a Gandhi, Not a New Arafat Eric Weiner The Los Angeles Times The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is ripe for Gandhi-style civil disobedience. That's a fact that Arafat was unable — or unwilling — to grasp. It is one that his successor would be wise to embrace Arab winds blowing against America Youssef M. Ibrahim USA Today At some point, governments will have to choose between joining the anti-American voices in the street or perishing under their sway. As the antipathy builds, U.S. interests in the region will suffer Hong Kong Warned to Drop Vote Idea Mark Magnier The Los Angeles Times China tells legislators in the pro-democracy camp any plan to hold a referendum on direct elections is tantamount to 'playing with fire' A Ugandan Tragedy Jan Egeland The Washington Post The actions of a fanatical rebel movement, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), have displaced more than 1.6 million people in northern and eastern Uganda, a number even higher than in Darfur	Maps and cartograms of the 2004 US presidential election results Michael Gastner, Cosma Shalizi, and Mark Newman University of Michigan We can correct for this by making use of a cartogram, a map in which the sizes of states have been rescaled according to their population Unite To Win Service Employees International Union The following are some of SEIU's proposed principles to build 21st century unions with the strength to change workers' lives Win or Lose, Kerry Voters Are Smarter Than Bush Voters Ted Rall Yahoo! Iif militant Christianist Republicans from inland backwaters believe that secular liberal Democrats from the big coastal cities look upon them with disdain, there's a reason. We do, and all the more so after this election Antiterror Campaign Made Ashcroft a Lightning Rod Eric Lichtblau The New York Times To his many critics, Mr. Ashcroft was a symbol of excesses of the antiterror campaign, a man engaged in overzealous prosecutions and insensitive to civil liberties Our Not-So-Free Press Nicholas D. Kristof The New York Times Protecting confidential sources has been a sacred ethical precept in publishing ever since John Twyn was arrested in 1663 for printing a book that offended the king No, the pocketbook rules Robert Kuttner The Boston Globe The way to repair this inversion is not to join the gay-bashing or the crusade to make America a theocracy. It is to do a better job articulating pocketbook issues as values issues Democrats Gaining a Foothold in Texas Sylvia Moreno The Washington Post Increasing Hispanic Population Is Credited With Diversifying Winners of Local Races Bright Spots Evan Derkacz AlterNet Nov. 2 wasn't a wash for progressive causes. Anti-war senators won by landslides, polluters were voted out of office and progressive initiatives on the minimum wage, education, and drug policy won in states that Bush dominated Too Little, Too Late Robert Parry In These Times In contrast to the right’s media juggernaut, the left relies largely on a scattered network of cash-strapped Web sites, a few struggling magazines and a couple of hand-to-mouth satellite TV networks
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
No Litmus Test Arlen Specter The Wall Street Journal I've backed pro-life judges before, and I'll do so again Editorial: Europe and Iran The Washington Times The Bush administration needs to carefully scrutinize any arrangement the EU reaches with Iran and be prepared to say no if it doesn't pass muster What's bad for the party isn't necessarily bad for America Jonah Goldberg The Washington Times If the goal is to make the Republican Party the majority party by making it the a more "reasonable" big government party, I suspect you won't find it so easy to confuse conservatives and Republicans in the near future Making power palatable Max Boot The Washington Times George W. Bush's re-election represents a thunderous affirmation of his first-term foreign policy	U.S. To Send 30,000 Mall Security Guards To Iraq The Onion Pressed for additional troops to police the Iraqi general elections scheduled for January, the Pentagon announced Monday that it will dispatch 30,000 U.S. shopping-mall security guards to the troubled Sunni Triangle What Do You Think? The Republican Majority The Onion "The fact that 48 percent of Americans voted for a boring placeholder like John Kerry is actually a really good sign for the Left" Yasser Arafat “Not Dead Yet” Kenneth Manboobs The Spoof (UK) Arafat: [singing] I feel happy. I feel happy

Tuesday, November 9, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
Four More Years James Mann Foreign Policy President Bush’s neoconservative “Vulcans” are back for a second term in office. But this time, they will discover they have limited resources and diminished credibility New Scientific Consensus: Arctic Is Warming Rapidly Arctic Climate Impact Assessment The Arctic is warming much more rapidly than previously known, at nearly twice the rate as the rest of the globe, and increasing greenhouse gases from human activities are projected to make it warmer still No Carrots, All Stick Dilip Hiro TomDispatch The net result of Washington's escalating confrontation with Muslim countries and peoples under various guises will only be to widen further the gulf that already exists between the United States and Muslims What the Mullahs Learned From the Neighbors Kenneth M. Pollack The New York Times Looking at the Iraq example, the bottom line for Iran is that we have to act now, while we still have some options left that might persuade the mullahs in Tehran to slow or halt their nuclear program In Hideout, Foreign Arabs Share Vision of 'Martyrdom' Ghaith Abdul-Ahad The Washington Post Dressed alike, the men were as different as their accents, a new generation of the jihad diaspora, arriving in Fallujah from all over the Arab world: five Saudis, three Tunisians, a Yemeni. Only three were Iraqis Urban Warfare Deals Harsh Challenge to Troops Dexter Filkins The New York Times Perhaps strangest of all, the American troops brought in their own "psyops" trucks - for psychological operations - and blared sounds that created a nightmarish duet with the mosques: old AC/DC songs American and Iraqi soldiers will need to adjust their strategy on the fly Matthew B. Stannard The San Francisco Chronicle U.S. and Iraqi forces smashing their way through Fallujah's outer defenses may soon face a wild card -- tens of thousands of noncombatant civilians at dire risk in the war zone -- that could dramatically reshape their strategy US tests new tactics in urban warfare Ann Scott Tyson The Christian Science Monitor In the long run, the central question may be whether physical control of Fallujah equates to its eventual pacification Editorial: The Second-Worst Choice The Los Angeles Times Success in Fallouja — defined as a small civilian and allied death toll, a quick end to the violence and a strong showing by Iraqi forces — could be an important turning point in pacifying Iraq, but there are more cities to rid of insurgents US, Africa team up to help Darfur Abraham McLaughlin The Christian Science Monitor The push by Africans to solve their own problems marks a significant shift, experts say Owning up to past deeds Gen. Juan Emilio Cheyre Espinosa The Miami Herald The Chilean Army assumed institutional responsibility last week for human-rights violations during the 1973-90 dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Below is the statement, written by Gen. Juan Emilio Cheyre Espinosa, Army commander-in-chief	Face The Music Don Hazen AlterNet There is nothing in the voters’ minds that makes them think that John Kerry or the progressives are going to get them that job any more than George Bush, so sticking with their belief system — the man whose religious beliefs they trust — is where they will go It's the Wealth, Stupid Rick Perlstein The Village Voice The people who won the election for him—his only significant improvement over his performance four years ago—were rich people, voting for more right-wing class warfare Moderates, Not Moralists E. J. Dionne Jr. The Washington Post The moderates went 54 to 45 percent for Kerry, good but not enough Dupes and Dopes Of Campaign '04 Richard Cohen The Washington Post So just how, precisely, were all these cultural conservatives duped? It seems to me that they saw through the promises for what they were -- empty -- and voted on what mattered most to them Back to work Molly Ivins WorkingForChange.com Count me in the Hidden Blessing camp on the defeat of Tom Daschle Editorial: Recircling the Democrats' Wagons The New York Times Mr. Reid, a boxer and Capitol corridor guard in his student years, will need that battler's wiliness to deal with the Republican agenda - from Supreme Court appointees to tax-code overhaul Kerry Advisers Point Fingers at Iraq and Social Issues Adam Nagourney The New York Times "I think we have to come to grips with the fact that we are an opposition party right now and not a particularly effective one. I'm out of denial. Reality has hit."
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
W.’s U.N. Mandate Anne Bayefsky National Review The differences between the president's and the U.N.'s agenda should no longer be papered over. Success in the war against terrorism requires identifying the enemy. The U.N. has no definition of terrorism Take a Ride to Exurbia David Brooks The New York Times The places I was writing about are so new, and civic life is as yet so spare, there are few lecture series or big libraries to host author talks. The normal publishing infrastructure is missing Second Wind Brendan Miniter The Wall Street Journal If he goes down in history as a significant and consequential president it will probably be because he played a role similar to that of LBJ: giving a second blast of energy to a political movement What now for Democrats? Paul Greenberg The Washington Times The future of the Democratic Party, if it is to have one, lies not with the Howard Deans and Michael Moores, or even with the only vaguely defined John Kerrys and John Edwardses, but with bright young comers like Barack Obama	Pat Oliphant Well, OK then… Obscure Chinese Proverbs Dennis Mahoney McSweeney's A door without handles is merely a wall. Or a hole. Or a weird window This Modern World Tom Tomorrow WorkingForChange A few random reasons George Bush was not defeated in a landslide

Monday, November 8, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
Out on the Street Jon Lee Anderson The New Yorker The United States’ de-Baathification program fuelled the insurgency. Is it too late for Bush to change course? High stakes of taking Fallujah Dan Murphy The Christian Science Monitor Analysts say that rebels have already fanned out well beyond Fallujah to towns like Ramadi and Samarra, fueling a new wave of violence in areas the US thought it had previously pacified The Fallujah gamble begins The Economist (UK) Even if they succeed in retaking the rebel stronghold, it may not quell the Iraqi insurgency—indeed, the operation risks further inflaming the country’s Sunni minority Unsafe for Democracy Andrew J. Bacevich The Los Angeles Times President Bush vows to press on. He has already restated his commitment to securing "the freedom of all mankind." He has seized the opportunity to refresh the camouflage cloaking the actual enterprise to which he has committed the U.S. CIA role inside the USA greater Kevin Johnson USA Today The CIA has assigned dozens of case officers and analysts to work with FBI agents throughout the USA in the most extensive deployment of intelligence officers on domestic soil in the spy agency's history Bush seen as unlikely to alter foreign policy Edward Epstein The San Francisco Chronicle Foreign policy experts forecast few changes in the policies and attitudes toward the rest of the world in a second Bush-Cheney administration, regardless of a potential reshuffling	The optimism of uncertainty Howard Zinn WorkingForChange.com Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware of such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society Business Groups Invested in Races, Now Wait for Returns Tom Hamburger The Los Angeles Times Lobbyists for the nation's leading business groups have been toasting the success of what they describe as an unprecedented effort this year to help elect President Bush and Republican congressional candidates. Now they plan to collect Our Moment Of Truth Van Jones AlterNet All this new and renewed activist energy is barely standing up on little fawn's legs. And yet we almost defeated the right wing's fearsome dragon. Just imagine what we will be able to do in four years, or ten Puritanism of the rich George Monbiot The Guardian ( UK ) So why has this ideology resurfaced in 2004? Because it has to. The enrichment of the elite and impoverishment of the lower classes requires a justifying ideology if it is to be sustained. In the US this ideology has to be a religious one The Risk Society James Surowiecki The New Yorker The ownership society promises freedom, but at the price of a huge shift in risk, away from government and society and onto individual citizens Evangelicals Say They Led Charge For the GOP Alan Cooperman and Thomas B. Edsall The Washington Post Grass-roots activists in Ohio, Michigan and Florida credited President Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove, with setting a clear goal that became a mantra among conservatives: To win, Bush had to draw 4 million more evangelicals to the polls than he did in 2000
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Like a broken record Mark Steyn The Washington Times I've known dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts and other members of Britain's House of Lords and none of them had the contempt for the masses one routinely hears from America's coastal elites The Great Mentioner William Safire The New York Times The first slot eagerly anticipated to be open by the glum 48 percent of voters is secretary of defense. They will be disappointed anew. Donald Rumsfeld should remain as secretary of defense at least until the backbone of the insurgency is broken Hispanics for Jorge Michael González The Wall Street Journal Another immigrant group wanders off the Democratic plantation	On the Utility of Minneapolis-St. Paul as a Base of Operations for Various Well-Known Keith Pille McSweeney's The lack of a single, concentrated downtown area would greatly hinder Spider-Man's preferred method of transportation The Boondocks Aaron McGruder So what if I do?!

Sunday, November 7, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
Spend $150 billion per year to cure poverty Daphne Eviatar The New York Times So the economist Jeffrey Sachs is telling the developed world. But can money really change everything? Falluja can only be won when the battle ends and people have water Lindsey Hilsum The Observer (UK) Marines near Falluja call last year's invasion of Iraq 'the first war'. This, then, is the second. They plan to retake the rebel-held city of Falluja and from there crush the insurgency throughout the Sunni Triangle Exit Iraq Robert Kuttner The Washington Post MoveOn.org tried to help get John Kerry elected. Now it will be reborn as a grass-roots antiwar movement. Unlike the Vietnam protests, this one was mainstream from the beginning Along border, Kurds say, Iran gives boost to uprising Thanassis Cambanis The Boston Globe Iraqi and US officials have grumbled for more than a year about what they perceive as Iranian interference in Iraq. Iran has repeatedly and forcefully denied any such interference The Man Who Married a Cause Dennis Ross The Los Angeles Times Tragically, for Arafat and his people, he could not live without the cause and the claims it embodied. The cause defined him. Ending the conflict with Israel would have meant ending the cause Bitter legacy of a flawed leader Sam Kiley The Observer (UK) 'He completely failed us at that point. I could see the fear in his eyes when the Israelis with the Americans offered him almost everything and he contemplated selling it to his people. He trembled,' said a Palestinian official	How Bush Did It Evan Thomas Newsweek A team of NEWSWEEK reporters unveils the untold fears, secret battles and private emotions behind a historic election Am I Blue? Michael Kinsley The Los Angeles Times At least my values don't involve any direct imposition on you. We don't want to force you to have an abortion or to marry someone of the same sex, whereas you do want to close out those possibilities for us. Which is more arrogant? Rove's Revenge Maureen Dowd The New York Times We're entering another dark age, more creationist than cutting edge, more premodern than postmodern Hicks Nixed Slicks' Pick Sean Wilentz The Los Angeles Times The real electoral division isn't between the coasts and the heartland. It's between cities all over the United States and the rest of the country Bush's `values' got more black voters in his camp than in 2000, but all is not lost for Clarence Page The Chicago Tribune In Florida, 13 percent of the black vote went to Bush, almost twice the 7 percent he received there four years ago Hello, Uranus? Got Any Room? Mark Morford The San Francisco Chronicle It's far from over. The tunnel is just a little darker -- and longer -- than we imagined Four More Years Attributed to Rove's Strategy Dan Balz and Mike Allen The Washington Post "He has proved his point that you can expand the base, and not just among white males, without drifting or modifying either language or policy. I'm not sure it would work with any other candidate, at any other time. But it worked, and he proved the skeptics wrong"
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Triumph of Hope José María Aznar The Wall Street Journal President Bush's re-election gives the free world a second chance Editorial: Hungary's troop withdrawal The Washington Times It's too bad Hungary is poised to opt out of the Iraqi security elements of the relationship. Dropping out of the coalition is no way to show commitment to U.S.-led efforts to promote democracy and prosperity	Feeling Left Out of the Post-Election Punditry Parade? Hart Seely, Emily Oberman and Bonnie Siegler The New York Times Just circle the answers that most closely match your opinions in the following Op-Ed article, and you'll be blathering like an authentic gasbag in no time