good, now they can miss the point, too!

This shows an Iraqi celebration of Christmas in the streets of Baghdad, a public celebration sponsored by the Iraq’s Ministry of the Interior. The wall between church and state demolished.
We came, we saw, we conquered. USA!

A portly German dressed in red, brought to you by the Iraqi government. Merry Christmas, Darling!

The Blackwater Blues: America’s Army-for-Hire gets the boot (or do they?)

Perhaps you remember the robust debate we had here at mr. beale’s about the whole Blackwater deal. In case you don’t check out this and this, the two posts concerning this modern American incarnation of the mercenary mentality. If you check out these posts, make sure to re-watch the answer Pres. Bush gived to the [...]

Proof that half-baked satire can never, ever trump reality: Our privatized military

So I thought it would be kinda funny to imagine the Bush Administration’s (and libertarians’) eternal quest to privatize everything as being consummated in something they never talk about privatizing: the military. When I posted that, I was aware that their were many private contractors in Iraq, but I figured they were American civilians wokring to do [...]

What happened to Reason? Bill Moyers/Jon Stewart interview, part III

Part three of four in Jon Stewart’s interview on Bill Moyer’s Journal. Among other things, at issue in this clip are the population’s access to those who claim to represent us. Check it out.

What happened to Reason? Bill Moyers/ Jon Stewart, part II

Here is the second part of the interview Jon Stewart did on the Bill Moyers’ Journal program. Sorry for the out-of-synchness of it. It wasn’t me!
In this segment they discuss, among other things, Jon’s great interview with Sen. John McCain, and the general feeling of helplessness and disconnect many Americans feel from the world of American politicians [...]

Because the world, after all, is a business, mr. beale: A modest proposal for solutions to the mess in Iraq

The specter of mass privitization is haunting the continental U.S. Indeed, it’s frightening ghost spilled its forboding shadow over our great state of Ohio last year, when former Ohio Secretary of State/right-wing policy hack/”Patriot Pastor” keynote speaker/election profiteer Ken Blackwell was running for governor of Ohio and touting the free market take-over of all things crucial and [...]

waterboarding double feature!! capt. whitebeard’s tales of the whirlpool, part IV

Believe me, I know the horrors of watery graves. Far too many of me fine mateys have gone down into Davy Jones’ locker and never returned. So, I got more than a little interested last fall when I heard that the American government, at the request of VP Dick Cheney, was hoping to approve various “robust interrogation techniques” [...]

Wine for the Romans: Finding a Proper Relationship to Mine Enemies, Thanks to Anne Rice

So I’ve gotten halfway through Anne Rice’s incredible Christ the Lord, and I’ve been stunned by it so far. I can think of no other book I’ve ever read that has painted a picture of what Christ’s life must have been like with so much clarity, depth, and humanity. Rice takes the concept of divine self-emptying seriously, and [...]

Empire, “Manichean Paranoia,” and Monkeys: One Evangelical’s Thoughts on the Absurdities of the Iraq War and the Bush Administration

We are currently four years into the war in Iraq, as of today, and oh, how things have changed in that time. I’ve previously posted here how my worldview has shifted over the four years that have witnessed this war, but I would like to share a few more thoughts here concerning my reaction, as a [...]