Riza's Iraq Trip NOT A Boondoggle
A Pentagon panel has cleared Paul Wolfowitz in its investigation of his involvement in his girlfriend's Iraq junket.
Paul Wolfowitz, while serving as deputy secretary of defense, personally recommended that his companion, Shaha Ali Riza, be awarded a contract for travel to Iraq in 2003 to advise on setting up a new government, says a previously undisclosed inquiry by the Pentagon's inspector general.The inquiry, as described by a senior Pentagon official, concluded that there was no wrongdoing in Wolfowitz's role in the hiring of Riza by the Science Applications International Corporation, a Pentagon contractor, because Riza had the expertise required to advise on the role of women in Islamic countries.
The investigators also found that Wolfowitz, now president of the World Bank, had not exerted improper influence in Riza's hiring. Earlier this week, Science Applications International said an unidentified Defense Department official had directed that she be hired. She had been a World Bank employee for five years at the time.
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Fired For Putting the Bad News in Writing
Justen is a Kaiser Permanente HMO cheerleader. I've long regarded him as a stooge and a flak - someone who must be getting paid for constantly spewing Kaiser propaganda. Apparently, though, he's willing to risk his job and put himself through a world of hurt to bring up a severe problem. Justen put his concerns in an email last Friday, and by Monday Kaiser's CIO Cliff Dodd had resigned. At the same time Justen was placed on administrative leave while Kaiser HR schmucks comb through policies to try to find a rule he broke. There is no such rule. Kaiser is retaliating against Justen for putting his concerns in writing.
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The 'Corrupt Bastards Club' , formerly known as the GOP
That difference in approach captures the basic problem with public discourse. We want to talk substance, they want to talk personalities. Like it or not, people prefer their approach. There is no point denying human nature; we need to embrace reality and use it to our advantage.
Fortunately, this election season the Republicans have provided a perfect opportunity for us to beat them at their own game. I'm talking about the Corrupt Bastards Club. Here's the best part... you can play too.
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Rebranding the GOP: The 'Corrupt Bastards Club'
What we call ourselves says a lot about how we view ourselves and how we want others to view us.
We do the same thing with political labels. Democrats become "Liberals" become "progressives" become "reality-based." Republicans have gone from calling themselves "Conservatives" to being members of the "GOP," the "Party of Lincoln," or more recently, the "Corrupt Bastards Club." This is not an epithet I am hurling around like "fascist" or "liar." I wish I had thought of it... but I didn't. This is a term Republicans used among themselves behind closed doors...
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Crashing the Stargate, Progressive Cabals, and What Progressive Wonks Just Don't Get.
Yesterday I was devastated. A friend told me my favorite TV show Stargate, had been cancelled. This was actually announced last week, but I'm not involved in online fandom, so I had to get the 411 the old fashioned way. My friend is entrenched in online fandom, so I guess I'm in the second tier for info propagation from Stargate fandom ground zero. This is approximately where I would put myself in the progressive politics information stream, as well. Not in the room, but an interested party with my nose stuck to the window.
The word "devastated" might strike some as grotesque hyperbole in the context of a cheesy sci fi show. Wouldn't it be more appropriate for me to be devastated over Darfur or the warehousing of the poor in the U.S.? I've been pondering this for the last 24 hours, and I believe I've come up with some insights that may be of use to Kossacks and other people involved in political campaigns.
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The Stained Glass Ceiling: Rankism in Action
...in the marketplace of ideas and values, men matter most and...by definition, women have to take a back seat...
Why do men matter most in the marketplace of ideas?
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How Dignity Could Give Democrats an Electoral Mandate
Fortunately, choosing between these two strategies is unnecessary. There is an alternative to left-right politics and by adopting it Democrats can remain true to progressive principles while attracting millions of voters from the non-ideological middle.
The step beyond the "New Deal," the "Fair Deal," and the "Great Society" is a "Dignitarian Society." The slogan is Dignity For All.
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A Dignitarian Manifesto
What's required for social change, and it could come from either party, is the kind of political realignment we get once every 50 years. Such realignment pulls a sizeable majority from the vast non-ideological, sensible middle of the political spectrum, and creates a real mandate for fundamental social change. Like those that FDR and LBJ presided over. Like the universal health care and campaign finance reform that we need now.
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Dignity--A Unifying Value for American Politics
What core value, what slogan, could move us beyond the toxic standoff that paralyzes American politics today?
The answer lies in a single word--Dignity.
This core value takes wings on the inclusive slogan: "Dignity For All." The bumper sticker reads "Dignity4All," and it will soon begin appearing on cars across America.
The idea of a universal right to dignity may at first seem too simple to pull together the disparate elements of this divided nation, but it's not. Dignity is what people want, on the left, on the right, and most importantly, in the vast, non-ideological middle.
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