NewMexiKen

Billmon at Whiskey Bar writes with eloquence on Vietnam, veterans and politics. Key excerpt:

Of course, the vets themselves are still out there — most of them doing fine (or as fine as the any of the rest of us), but some of them mouldering away in VA hospitals or nursing homes, or struggling through the remaining years of ruined lives. I have a dear friend who recently took a job as a VA social worker, working mostly with Vietnam vets. The last time we had dinner together he told me some of his stories: About the guy who’s been crying himself to sleep at night, every night, for the past 35 years; the one who’s driven everyone around him away — wife, kids, friends, neighbors — and who sits in front of the TV drinking himself into oblivion; the one who finally managed to kill himself. Third time was the charm.

But the saddest story, I think, was the guy who can’t talk about anything else but the war, and who wishes more than anything else he could go back, because that time and that place were the only ones in his life where he felt like he belonged.

After awhile my friend and I just sat at the table and looked at each other. I said something about all those poor kids in Iraq who are heading for the same blasted future, and then we sat and looked at each other some more — both of us too angry to speak.

Via the detailed review at The Road to Surfdom, a quotation from Richard Clarke’s Against All Enemies:

By the afternoon on Wednesday [September 12, 2001], Secretary Rumsfeld was talking about broadening the objectives of our responses and “getting Iraq.” Secretary Powell pushed back, urging focus on al Qaeda. Relieved to have some support, I thanked Colin Powell and his deputy, Rich Armitage. “I thought I was missing something here,” I vented. “Having been attacked by al Qaeda, for us now to go bombing Iraq in response would be like our invading Mexico after the Japanese attacked us at Pearl Harbour.”

Dahlia Lithwick updates us on the oral argument before the Supreme Court Monday in the Hiibel case — do you have to show ID?

uggabugga has a couple of interesting timelines on counterterrorism. Take a look.

Late Show Top Ten from March 16, 2004 —

Top Ten Signs Your Supreme Court Justice Is On The Take

10. Begins every case with, “We’ll start the bribing at ten thousand.”

9. His written opinions always have several mentions of the thirst-quenching taste of Mountain Dew.

8. Regularly convenes court at the dog track.

7. Asks, “Does either attorney plan on inviting me on any hunting trips?”

6. For a Supreme Court Justice he certainly is mentioned on “The Sopranos” a lot.

5. All the bling bling.

4. His last article in the “Law Journal” was about finding the right fence for your stolen goods.

3. When you have a meeting with him in chambers, frisks you for a wire.

2. He’s on the Forbes 500 List between Bill Gates and Oprah.

1. Already declared Bush the winner of the November election.

From The Washington Post:

Jon Runnalls won Montana’s “Teacher of the Year” award last year. But even though he has been teaching science to middle schoolers for nearly three decades, he fails to meet the Bush administration’s definition of a highly qualified teacher.

His problem — a common one among middle school teachers, particularly in rural areas — is that he teaches classes in several different subjects. While he has a strong background in general science, he does not have formal qualifications in chemistry, biology and physics, as required by the No Child Left Behind legislation.

Read more.

True Majority.org has an interesting animation starring Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry. The film is an ad for the organization, but NewMexiKen thinks it is a fascinating example of the ways the Internet seems to be changing democracy (whether you agree with Ben Cohen, or not).

Click here to see the animation.

Kevin Drum on John Gray (author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus). It seems “Doctor” Gray takes exception to bloggers questioning the authenticity of his degrees.

CalPundift is now writing as Political Animal and he has some interesting commentary concerning journalism and journalists. Money quote (via Romensko): “a ghastly amount of errors and gross fabrications would be discovered.”