Where’s the Outrage?

No duh. The National Intelligence Estimate told us this a while ago. The British have figured out that we need to change direction or lose the War on Terror. I’m wondering if President Bush will read this report.

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From Yahoo.com:

Six years after the September 11 attacks in the United States, the “war on terror” is failing and instead fueling an increase in support for extremist Islamist movements, a British think-tank said on Monday.

A report by the Oxford Research Group (ORG) said a “fundamental re-think is required” if the global terrorist network is to be rendered ineffective.

“If the al Qaeda movement is to be countered, then the roots of its support must be understood and systematically undercut,” said Paul Rogers, the report’s author and professor of global peace studies at Bradford University in northern England. (more…)

 

 Do we torture? [1:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: National Intelligence Estimate, War on Terror by ecthompson
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I’m out of town. I’m at a Surgery meeting. (high speed connection isn’t really high speed.  Therefore, it will be hard to post video until I get back home.)  There was a forum on diversity. Then I found this article. I have to admit that I didn’t know half of the people on the list. I didn’t know that woman is the head of PepsiCo. I need to read more business journals.

Indra Nooyi - All the arrows are pointing in the right direction, with revenues ($35.1 billion), operating profits ($6.4 billion), and earnings per share ($3) all rising strongly last year. The 2001 Quaker Foods acquisition, in which Nooyi played a key role, is working out well, and Pepsi International, a priority for the company and a particular interest for the Indian-born Nooyi, is coming on strong too; its revenues rose 14%, to $13 billion, and operating profits rose 21%, to $1.9 billion. Oh, and in May, Nooyi added the title of chairman to her own portfolio. 

Tags: Domestic Issues by ecthompson
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There are many on the Right that continually say that Bush has gone away from the “traditional” values of the Republican party. Um, NOT. Bush is exactly in the tradition of the Republican party. When you look at Reagan and Bush Senior, George W is in there. Again, look at what they did and not what they said.

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From NYT:

There have been a number of articles recently that portray President Bush as someone who strayed from the path of true conservatism. Republicans, these articles say, need to return to their roots.

Well, I don’t know what true conservatism is, but while doing research for my forthcoming book I spent a lot of time studying the history of the American political movement that calls itself conservatism — and Mr. Bush hasn’t strayed from the path at all. On the contrary, he’s the very model of a modern movement conservative.

For example, people claim to be shocked that Mr. Bush cut taxes while waging an expensive war. But Ronald Reagan also cut taxes while embarking on a huge military buildup. (more…)

Tags: Party Politics by ecthompson
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Normally at this point on a Monday, Errington would have filled you in with some football news from yesterday. Instead, I bet our Dr. Thompson is busy saving lives, or at the very least, doing no harm. (Please click here to read the Hippocratic oath.)

While I’m not a big football fan, I can relate that yesterday my local Houston Texans kicked a last-second field goal to defeat the Miami Dolphins. The team is now 3 and 2 and the people of Houston are shocked to find the Texans with a winning record at any point in the season.

The Dolphins, on the other hand, have lost all five games they have played. ( Please click here for Don Shula’s Football Hall of Fame profile.)

Types of “football” games have been played for a long time. The gentleman in the picture is playing Kemari. This game was played in Japan’s Imperial Court as long as 1,400 years ago. The object was to kick the ball around and not have it touch the ground.

I realize that things that took place 1,400 years ago may not count as much of an update. So as a last (slightly) more up-to-date tidbit, I’ll tell you that in Houston people still have a soft spot for the departed Oilers. Please click here for a good homegrown Oilers link, here for the Oilers in the Astrodome and here for Earl Campbell.

Tags: Sports by Texas Liberal
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A Wall Street Journal poll reports that Republicans by a nearly two-to-one margin believe free trade hurts the American economy.

This is a shift away from previous Republican support of free trade.

These issues are difficult because we can’t pull back from the rest of the world.

I feel the core of the matter is that neither party is being up-front about what free trade really means.

We’ve lived at a level of consumption and debt that the realities of the world will no longer permit.

At the same time we’ve allowed corporations to get the upper-hand with workers.

As citizens we’ve not asked ourselves the tough questions of how should we live and about the well-being of people in emerging economies.

Will any political leader ever step up to the truth and the hard facts on these issues?

It is very difficult for average people to work this stuff out without help.

Tags: Economy, Other Political Thoughts by Texas Liberal
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