January 14, 2005
Times Lauds Anti-War Poet
Fighting "Patriotic Jingoism"
"The poetry of C. K. Williams is the antidote to patriotic jingoism, moral
smugness and the imbecility of the easily amused. His fierce, unrelenting moral
spotlight, turned unflinchingly on himself and the world around him, however,
has intensified with war and terrorism."
- From Chris Hedges' "Public Lives" profile of radical anti-war poet C.K.
Williams, January 13.
"Perception" That Cheney Is
Running the Country
"At the same time, [Bush friend Roland] Betts describes a president more
concerned than he lets on about the perception among some critics that Vice
President Dick Cheney is running the country."
- White House reporter Elisabeth Bumiller, January 14.
No Economists Think Social
Security Needs Reform?
"Many Democrats and economists say that Mr. Bush is exaggerating the problem,
and that Social Security could be fixed with modest tax increases and a cut in
benefits. Even without changes, Mr. Bush's critics say, the system would be able
to pay three-quarters of promised benefits four decades from now, when baby
boomers have long retired."
- White House reporter Elisabeth Bumiller, January 12.
"Many Democrats and economists say that the administration is fear mongering and
that Social Security could be fixed with modest tax increases and a cut in
benefits."
- White House reporter Elisabeth Bumiller, January 13.
Social Security Reform Advocates
"Out of Their Gourds"?
"As a reader of the Mutual Funds Report, you may well know that the Bush
administration is making Social Security reform a cornerstone of domestic
policy. After all, you're most likely an investor - someone who knows a thing
or two about long-term goals and risk and the importance of prudent financial
management. Which is why you may think that proponents of the new system are out
of their gourds. For the record, proponents of the plan state that they are not
out of their gourds."
- Reporter John Schwartz in an essay in the Mutual Funds Report section,
January 9.
"True Diversity of Opinion" From
an Anti-U.S. Filmmaker
"Unlike last year's similarly structured documentary 'Voices of Iraq,' produced
by three Americans, in which an apparent plurality of voices slowly converged
into what was essentially a pro-occupation stance, 'About Baghdad,' which opens
today at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater in the East Village, manages to present a
true diversity of opinion."
- From movie critic Dana Stevens January 12.review of the documentary
"Voices of Iraq," made by anti-U.S. Iraqi exile Sinan Antoon.
Faulty on Fatah's Origins
"Fatah was founded by Mr. Arafat. The name means 'conquest,' and is a reverse
acronym for the Movement for the National Liberation of Palestine. It has a
nationalist rather than Islamist foundation, with the stated goal of an end to
Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, leading to Israeli
and Palestinian states side by side."
- Steven Erlanger from Gaza, January 8. Fatah was founded in 1959, eight
years before Israel "occupied" the land in question after the 1967 war.
