Are we in a dictatorship yet?

"There is a name for a system of government that wages aggressive war, deceives its citizens, violates their rights, abuses power and breaks the law, rejects judicial and legislative checks on itself, claims power without limit, tortures prisoners and acts in secret. It is dictatorship."

-- from "The Hidden State Steps Forward" in The Nation, January issue

Shake and Bake

"Now the use of a ghastly weapon called white phosphorus has raised questions about how careful the military has been in avoiding civilian casualties. It has also further tarnished America's credibility on international treaties and the rules of warfare."

-- NY Times editorial. Read it here or here if you don't have a membership.

Can you believe it? Civilians get killed, and our military calls it "Shake and Bake". Guess there wasn't a single lesson learned from Vietnam. Oh, and can you believe it -- the rationale for that war was false as well.