Monday, September 29, 2003
Great column by Thomas Freidman in yesterday's NY Times. In "2 servings of Reality, Please," Freidman talks about Bush's missteps on Iraq and their implications for the US as a world power in the future. First his misshyping the situation there as needing a war of necessity rather than a war of choice as a means of remedy and then his misleading of the US public (and Congress) about what the level of the US's commitments there, financially, geo-politically and otherwise, would be once war was waged.
As the attacks on US soldiers there continue on a near-daily basis and a prelim' report saying there's been no evidence of WMD or plans to produce WMD found since the end of the war about to be released, Bush's approval ratings continue to nose-dive. The message is slowly getting through that this war was unnecessary and pretty much a debacle. Between this and the disaster that is the US economy, perhaps Bush can continue in his father's footsteps and spare us a second term of his incompetence, diviseness and mismanagement by getting voted out and becoming a one-termer.
Had a small argument with my girl about whether it made sense for the US to continue subsidizing domestic farmers who grow produce for which there's no market while at the same time putting tarriffs up against the agricutural products of poorer nations for whom this may be there primary source of income and means to climb out of poverty. While I know it's tough for US farmers to make a living today, it's makes no sense for the US to spend tax money propping up unprofitable businesses. Why should farmers be offered this protection when so many other industries have been left to wither and die. At the same time, turning our backs on the plight of poorer nations ferments the kind of hatred and resentment that creates a fertile recruiting ground for terrorist groups intent on harming the US.
Turns out that the NY Times has been running a series of articles in conjuction with the recent WTO talks in Cancun, Mexcio on this topic including one entitled "The Rigged Trade Game" which is an excellent summary of the arguments why the US needs to drop the tarriffs and subsidies.
I've been checking out the new HBO show K Street with some interest since its debut three weeks ago. The show's supposed to be a mix of reality and fiction. Characters at the fictional political lobbying firm at the center of the show, some of whom are actors and some of whom are actual real-life Washington lobbyists, mix freely with real-life political figures in DC disussing issues and stories ripped from the headlines in the news that week. The show is strangely intriguing yet confusing at the same time. There are some dramatic story lines between the show's "headline" themes and topics for the week some of which are being developed slowly and some only hinted at vaguely so far. Actor George Clooney, co-producer of the show along with director Steven Soderbergh, has been pretty upfront about the show being a "creative experiment" but it seems to be driving some critics crazy with it's unorthodox story development techniques and blending of documentary or news-like realism with fictionalized drama. I'll keep watching though because even if it doesn't entirely work it's still a lot more interesting than most of what's on TV currently.
To end, RIP Althea Gibson a real pioneer and black American heroine and also to Donald O'Connor star of one of my favorite films of all time Singin in the Rain. While it's sad when anyone dies I can't say I feel the same for the recent passing of Elia Kazan. It's a shame Kazan had to mar his unarguably incredible artistic legacy as a film and stage director with his shameful betrayl of his peers during the HUAC hearings to save his own career while destroying those of his fellow artists.
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As the attacks on US soldiers there continue on a near-daily basis and a prelim' report saying there's been no evidence of WMD or plans to produce WMD found since the end of the war about to be released, Bush's approval ratings continue to nose-dive. The message is slowly getting through that this war was unnecessary and pretty much a debacle. Between this and the disaster that is the US economy, perhaps Bush can continue in his father's footsteps and spare us a second term of his incompetence, diviseness and mismanagement by getting voted out and becoming a one-termer.
Had a small argument with my girl about whether it made sense for the US to continue subsidizing domestic farmers who grow produce for which there's no market while at the same time putting tarriffs up against the agricutural products of poorer nations for whom this may be there primary source of income and means to climb out of poverty. While I know it's tough for US farmers to make a living today, it's makes no sense for the US to spend tax money propping up unprofitable businesses. Why should farmers be offered this protection when so many other industries have been left to wither and die. At the same time, turning our backs on the plight of poorer nations ferments the kind of hatred and resentment that creates a fertile recruiting ground for terrorist groups intent on harming the US.
Turns out that the NY Times has been running a series of articles in conjuction with the recent WTO talks in Cancun, Mexcio on this topic including one entitled "The Rigged Trade Game" which is an excellent summary of the arguments why the US needs to drop the tarriffs and subsidies.
I've been checking out the new HBO show K Street with some interest since its debut three weeks ago. The show's supposed to be a mix of reality and fiction. Characters at the fictional political lobbying firm at the center of the show, some of whom are actors and some of whom are actual real-life Washington lobbyists, mix freely with real-life political figures in DC disussing issues and stories ripped from the headlines in the news that week. The show is strangely intriguing yet confusing at the same time. There are some dramatic story lines between the show's "headline" themes and topics for the week some of which are being developed slowly and some only hinted at vaguely so far. Actor George Clooney, co-producer of the show along with director Steven Soderbergh, has been pretty upfront about the show being a "creative experiment" but it seems to be driving some critics crazy with it's unorthodox story development techniques and blending of documentary or news-like realism with fictionalized drama. I'll keep watching though because even if it doesn't entirely work it's still a lot more interesting than most of what's on TV currently.
To end, RIP Althea Gibson a real pioneer and black American heroine and also to Donald O'Connor star of one of my favorite films of all time Singin in the Rain. While it's sad when anyone dies I can't say I feel the same for the recent passing of Elia Kazan. It's a shame Kazan had to mar his unarguably incredible artistic legacy as a film and stage director with his shameful betrayl of his peers during the HUAC hearings to save his own career while destroying those of his fellow artists.
