Philosophy

Here’s Matt Taibbi on this today, and me on the same topic in 1999.

By David Swanson

When Americans get “ethical” these days they ponder the great moral mysteries, like “Is public health coverage fair to insurance companies?” or “If we increase the military budget but reduce one section of it, can the whole world still be safe?” or “Would you still oppose torture if it worked?”

Let me suggest a few reasons why I think that last question is the wrong one.

First, torture DID work. It forced false agreement with war lies, read more

By David Swanson

Article VI. of the U.S. Constitution says that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”

The writers of the Constitution knew the recent history of wars of religion and religious persecution in Europe. Many of the thinkers who influenced them associated political freedom very closely with freedom of religion, with the dismantling of state religion, and — in some cases — with the abandonment read more

By David Swanson

Like most Americans, I’m appreciative of all the wonderful people and experiences in my life, and I like the idea of taking a day off from lamenting all the painful, tragic, and humiliating experiences in my life and the many more in the lives of so many people around the world impacted by my government (even if we are now losing an innocent life in Iraq alone at the rate of one every 10 minutes, or 144 in the day I take off to “be thankful”).

And in fact, I never read more

By David Swanson

I’ve often seen Bush compared to a child and Cheney to a monster, which I think is incredibly unfair to children and monsters. The following is a commentary on a blog posting by Digby that compares the Bush-Cheney crime gang to postmodernists and “relativists”, which I think is entirely unfair to postmodernists and “relativists”. In fact, I think the Bush-Cheney gang’s defense of cruel and criminal actions fits seamlessly with their opposition to “postmodern read more

By David Swanson

John Dean, former legal counsel to Richard Nixon, is 95% recovered from a long bout of conservatism, and he doubts that many others can make the same recovery, but I don’t.

Dean’s published two excellent books on the Bush-Cheney administration’s abuses of power. The first was “Worse Than Watergate.” The new one is “Conservatives Without Conscience.” The title is a play on former Senator Goldwater’s “The Conscience of a Conservative,” read more

By Jan Frel
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/frel/38280

I have two people in my close family who are long-time members of some very weird Christian splinter groups. One of them, who I won’t identify, is a Jehovah’s Witness. This relative — an adherent for more than 20 years — walks around, knocks on doors, passes out literature with some of the most laughable illustrations I’ve ever seen in my life. The most common pastiche is one composed of what look like off-duty read more

By Laura Sheahen, Beliefnet
http://www.alternet.org/story/36195/

Sam Harris is not your grandfather’s atheist. The award-winning writer practices Zen meditation and believes in the value of mystical experiences. But he’s adamant in his belief that religion does more harm than good in the world, and has sparked controversy by suggesting that when it comes to faith-based violence, religious moderates are part of the problem, not the solution.

Laura Sheahen spoke with him about his provocative read more

By MELISSA FLETCHER STOELTJE
San Antonio Express-News LINK TO ORIGINAL

SAN ANTONIO — Melissa and Chanse nibble on club sandwiches and french fries at a local coffee shop. To look at them, they’re just another young couple enjoying lunch on a weekday afternoon.

She wears stylish glasses, and her thick black hair is swept up in a ponytail; the only hint of a slightly rebellious streak is the tattoo that peeks from under her shirtsleeve. He is a slight, soft-spoken man with a laid-back read more

By David Swanson

There is a solution that most of us are not seriously considering but should be. We are all increasingly aware of the problem: a world that lacks peace, democracy, an equitable distribution of resources, and practices that can be sustained without risking the viability of human life.

We can shift blame to the powerful, but were we all willing to do a bit more, we would ourselves become the powerful. There are no excuses. We must look at ourselves and our neighbors and ask what read more