Category: General

I HAVE JUST BEEN GUT-PUNCHED BY THE NEWS that a dear friend and intellectual soul mate over the last several years, Iris Chang, was found dead in her car near Santa Clara, California.

THIS NOTE ON ATTORNEY GENERAL-NEXT AL GONZALEZ in from Chris Nelson, who writes the action-packed Nelson Report: . . .the very first new nomination in the Second Bush Administration seems carefully calculated to send a message to everyone…we won, we can do anything we want.

AT THE END OF THIS WEEK, GARANCE FRANKE-RUTA AND I will have an online discussion debating whether Howard Dean would have been a better Democratic presidential candidate than John Kerry. This will be posted on the American Prospect‘s website. She’s with Kerry, and I believe Dean could and would have beaten Bush.

I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO BE ON LINE OVER THE WEEKEND and today because of family obligations, travel, and a conference in the mountains outside of Santa Fe. Tomorrow I’m speaking at a retreat sponsored by Sandia National Weapons Laboratories about the impact of the election on national security strategy.

MATTHEW YGLESIAS JUST BROUGHT AN IMPORTANT WOOLSEY WATCH ITEM to my attention. Whether one supports this American war in Iraq or not, the perverse interests that find cover in this conflict need to be exposed.

CLIFFORD MAY HAS BEEN LOBBYING HARD ON BEHALF OF DON RUMSFELD who seems not to want to leave his job as Secretary of Defense. I have no inside information on whether the Bush team wants Rumsfeld in or out.

SPREADING THROUGH MANY PROGRESSIVE BLOGS AND COMMENTARY are a number of articles, including one by Greg Palast, that the election was actually won by John Kerry.

ONE WOULD THINK THAT ARAFAT BEING ALIVE, BRAIN DEAD, OR FULLY DEAD would be a testable and verifiable condition. I do not mean to make light of the Palestinian leader’s condition at all, but seriously, there seems to be no end to the spin one way or another about issues that should be clear cut….

THE BUSH TEAM NOW HAS SOME VERY HARD DECISIONS TO MAKE. A transition in Palestinian leadership may be the best chance to set in place a credible path to a two-state solution in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The passing of leaders — even ones we may detest — are important staging opportunities.

(ed.