I keep copies of new stories or commentary that I read on the internet in a file for reasons which I can't entirely understand, as there is always something new and more outrageous to read tomorrow.  Apologies to the authors or hosting sites - I will remove any of these documents upon request - but I think that these views ought to be spread as widely as possible.  I add new things occasionally.

Last updated 2/18/05.

A Corrupted Election: From In These Times, about the Nov. '04 presidential election.  There are only two things which may be said of the last presidential election.  1) The guy who was inaugurated after has been and will be a disaster.  2) We'll never know the true outcome of that election.  That doesn't mean, however, that it isn't worth examining in depth what really went on.  The exit poll disparity is an excellent place to start.

Ted Rall on the Election Aftermath: The view from NYC.  Worth reading just to hear someone sane point out that 1) people in Nebraska have no reason to form an opinion about foreign terrorism, and 2) the victims of 9/11 are STILL unavenged.

The Voting Commons: A very thoughtful article from Thom Hartmann about voting in America.  Our joint ownership of the voting process is our investment, as a people, in democracy.  Consider that when you wonder about whose side Diebold Corp. might be on.

Give Him an "F" in the War on Terror: The Taliban had Osama bin Laden under house arrest, and offered him up to the U.S. Government to be killed, or for extradition, months before 9/11/01.  Our government did nothing about it, then used the pretext of the terrorist attacks in America to launch a war which was already planned.  I don't know whether this is true, or not - so read about it.  And then stop to consider whether the narrative we've be given about September 11th and its aftermath really fits your understanding of the world.

Thom Hartmann on the media, Sept. 2004: Kerry, Bush, Rather, BCCI and Iran-Contra.  There is a sub-text and a history to the race for president in 2004 which has gone almost completely un-remarked upon, and it could hardly be more important.  The Bushes have cozied up to criminals and terrorists for decades while, as a first-term Senator, Kerry fought them with great resolve and success.  Read about it!

Bill Moyers on Journalism, September 2004: "Few days pass now that I do not remind myself that the greatest moments in the history of the press came not when journalists made common cause with the state, but when they stood fearlessly independent of it."  Includes an illuminating section about those wacky, but incredibly important, Rapture Christians - it's worth remembering, when trying to understand American politics, that the far-right 15% of the American electorate which George Bush serves so obsequiously works longingly to bring on the end of the world.