Author Archives: RagBlog

Federal judge dismisses Rumsfeld torture lawsuitLisl Brunner at 4:21 PM ET [JURIST] The US District Court for the District of Columbia Tuesday dismissed [press release] a lawsuit [complaint, PDF; ACLU case file] against former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld … Continue reading →

McCain Checks into Cloud Cuckooland Senator John McCain has contracted Rumsfeld’s Disease. This malady consists of a combination of bad temper, misuse of language to obfuscate reality, and a Panglossian optimism in the face of stubborn, sanguinary facts on the … Continue reading →

What I Did Over Spring Break I saw this flock of cormorants last year at Padre Island, but had no film left. Last week it was like we had an appointment! They came flying up the National Seashore shoreline from … Continue reading →

CRACKED POTS A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect … Continue reading →

Democracy DreamingBy Joel S. Hirschhorn 03/26/07 “ICH ” — — What is this thing called democracy? So easy to talk about, so difficult to make real. Pure democracy is not what our Founders gave us. Who would want a simple … Continue reading →

The Common DenominatorBy Emily Spence 03/26/07 “ICH ” — – Jared Diamond, E. O. Wilson, Richard Dawkins and many other reputable scientists from diverse fields cite human overpopulation as a root cause of many seemingly disparate, catastrophic problems that our … Continue reading →

Hothouses for Hapless Masses on the Rio GrandeBy GREG MOSES Upon the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge where the chachalacas gather in small groups to screech for dawn, John Neck takes Jay Johnson-Castro for a winding-down ride. The two friends have … Continue reading →

The Last Time I Saw Jessica Rich V. 5 Interview of Jessica Rich at Camp Casey/Colorado Springs. She was preparing to enter a treatment facility for PTSD before she died.

Girl on Fire: Confessions of a Former Journalistic Neophyteby Meghann FarnsworthMarch 25, 2007TomDispatch I was the adult, a 25-year old journalism student on my first reporting trip abroad. She was the child, 16 going on 40. I had the translator, … Continue reading →

Music as torture / Music as weaponBy Suzanne G. CusickMar 24, 2007, 06:41 Abstract One of the most startling aspects of musical culture in the post-Cold War United States is the systematic use of music as a weapon of war. … Continue reading →

The Political History of the Car BombBy RON JACOBS There’s a novel by Russian author Ilya Ehrenburg titled The Life of the Automobile that chronicles humanity’s relationship with that form of transportation. As any critical observer knows (whether they drive … Continue reading →

Betrayed!By Cindy SheehanGold Star Families for Peace How the Democratic Congress betrayed American voters, the troops in Iraq and extended the occupation for at least another 18 months. 03/24/07 “ICH” — — THE DEMOCRATS ARE FUNDING IRAQ ESCALATION: The Democratic … Continue reading →