The War to End all Peace

State of the World Watch

Molly Ivins sums it up nicely.

Clanging Cymbal Watch

Roger Ebert, who is one of the most visible film critics, is also one of my favorites. His love of film, his intellectual bent combined with his love of fantastic image, the fact that he wrote "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", and his impatience with conservative idiots all make him worth reading. In "Public prayer fanatics borrow page from enemy's script", he again makes the distinction between "vertical prayer" (talking to God in private) and "horizontal prayer" (talking to God for the benefit of the people around you) - this was also a topic occasionally on Jesus' mind, according to people who wrote about him 30-40 years after his death. Ebert is responding to Fineman's egregious "Bush and God" article, and is rightly scared by our Attorney General.

After you read Ebert's essay, check out the hilarious commentary concerning it by MWO - it is about halfway down the page (do a find on "Ebert"). They rewrite scripture to bring it a little more up-to-date.

Abraham Lincoln, Prophet Watch

Here is a quote from Lincoln - I haven't been able to confirm it or find out what conflict he might have been referring - can anyone verify it for me?

"Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose - - and you allow him to make war at pleasure... The provision of the Constitution giving the war-making power to Congress, was dictated, as I understand it, by the following reasons: Kings had always been involving and impoverishing their people in wars, pretending generally, if not always, that the good of the people was the object. This, our Convention understood to be the most oppressive of all Kingly oppressions; and they resolved to so frame the Constitution that no one man should hold the power of bringing this oppression upon us. But your view destroys the whole matter, and places our President where kings have always stood."
-- Congressman Abraham Lincoln

Bushkrieg Watch

Joe Conason on the myths and lies being used to incite this war (this is a time-sensitive link, so check it before it changes).

James Carroll's essay "A War Policy in Collapse", notes that things have turned very badly for the administration in the first week in March.

Please see.

Election Watch

More on electronic voting machines and corporate control of elections. This article also contains some fascinating stuff information about how corporations came to be regarded as "persons" in the eyes of the law.

The X-Presidents Watch

You'll enjoy this letter I saw over at Bartcop.