The Radical Veteran

Blogs: I read these every day. They all are highly recommended.

• The Democratic Veteran -- A weblog by a former Navy pilot and liberal activist. Worth a daily visit to see his ruminations on everything from the Bush AWOL drama to the disastrous economy.
  
  
• The Whiskey Bar -- Free thinking in a dirty glass.
  
  
• The Daily Kos -- Political analysis and other daily rants on the state of the nation. Don't let a day go by without reading it.
  
  
• Eschaton -- Always pithy, always entertaining and informative.
  
  
• One Pissed Off Veteran -- Observations, declarations, left-wing rants and accusatory finger-pointing from a Vietnam vet with a bad attitude and too much time on his hands.
  
  
• GWBblows -- A daily reminder of what we have at the top, the worst president ever.
  
  
• Bartcop.com -- Politics, humor, entertainment, revenge and Chinaco Anejo.
  
  
• Jack's "Straight Speak" -- Jack Dalton is a disabled Vietnam veteran from Portland, Oregon. He's a writer and activist who believes that no one wins a war; everyone loses.
  
  
• The Daily Outrage -- Ari Berman for The Nation shines a daily spotlight on the forces that corrupt our democracy.
  
  
• Kicking Ass -- Daily dispatches from the Democratic National Committee.
  
  
• American Constitution Society -- A daily collection of observations and warnings about the right-wing assaults on the constitution.

• Vietnam Veterans for Bush -- Don't let the title fool you. Trust me.
  
  
• George W. Bush -- Christian in Chief -- "With God on our side, how can we fail?" Indeed.
  
  
• Remind Us Again Why We Are in Iraq? -- The Bible says "By their own words shall ye know them" ... or something like that. Take a look at this website and tell me if you can pick up the subtle clues as to why we went to war in Iraq.
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• The winners of the MoveOn.org contest for the best anti-Bush political ads.
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Historians Rate Bush -- Take a look at this article from the History News Network and see why 81% of professional historians consider the Bush Presidency to be a miserable failure.
  
  
• GW Bush Dot Com -- This is the site that the pResident tried to shut up and shut down, but couldn't. Legitimate parody, the courts ruled. Take a look and decide for yourself.
  
  
• The White House -- Don't let the title fool you. This is another parody/satire page. Check it out for a good laugh.
  
  
• Buck Fush at www.buckfush.com -- You can just imagine...
  
  
• George W. Bush - Draft Dodger -- How Bush leaped to the head of a 150-man waiting list to get into a Texas National Guard unit.

  "I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well-placed... managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units...Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal and owe equal allegiance to their country."
  -- My American Journey by Colin Powell, p. 148
  
  

  Unfortunately, I really don't know -- and can't understand -- how Secretary Powell could put aside his own deeply-held convictions and work for exactly the kind of person he decried in his book.

  
  
  
• AWOL Bush -- Documents in great detail the fact that the Deserter-In-Chief couldn't be bothered to even show up for National Guard duty for at least one year, and possibly more. Don't believe it? Fine, but can you PROVE he was there? If so, you have a couple of substantial cash rewards waiting for you -- see here and here.
  Wait! Why mess around with just a few grand? That's chump change... Now, the Doonesbury comic strip is offering REAL money: $10,000 to ANYONE who can prove that The Shrub fulfilled his duty to his country. Get the scoop here. His teeth were there, but where was he?
  
  New! The cash reward for ANYONE who can prove George W. Bush fulfilled his duty in Alabama just went up to $50,000, offered by Texans for Truth. Okay, all you Bushies who are so damn sure he was there, here's your chance to cash in. Find the proof, turn it in, and laugh all the way to the bank.
  And I'll eat my shoe.
  
  
• The Smoking Jet -- Another detailed study of Bush's highly questionable Air National Guard service.
  
  
• Mission Abandoned -- a poignant and timely idictment of our Chickenhawk-in-Chief by the sister of Scott Griswold, a chopper pilot who died in action in 1969. For her and tens of thousands like her, the Vietnam War has NOT been "buried forever in the desert sands of the Arabian peninsula".
  
  
• G. W. Bush Scorecard of Evil -- Compiled by the Wage Slave Journal, this report card scores major Bush decisions based on their degree of evilness, from one black heart to five black hearts.
  
  
• Bush Watch -- Keeping a jaundiced eye on the current occupant of the White House.
  
  
• Bush or Chimp? -- Look at the photos and then you decide.
  
  
• The Smirking Chimp -- Another well-done site that keeps Bush in its sights. Ask not at whom the chimp smirks; he smirks at you.
  
  
• Bush: Nothing But Lip Service for Our Soldiers -- An Army Times editorial, reprinted on the Veterans for Common Sense website
  
  
• Too Stupid to be President -- The title says it all.
  
  
• Remarks by the President to the Press Pool -- I thought this was a joke when I first read it. It reads like a comedy routine from Saturday Night Live, but there it is, right there on the White House website. We didn't really need more proof that the guy is out of touch with reality, but here it is.
• Miserable Failure -- Miserable Failure is an underground movement to "spoof" Google into going to the official White House bio of The Shrub when you type the words into the Google search box and hit "I'm Feeling Lucky". The more places the link appears, the more "popular" the site is assumed to be, and the site with the largest number of links gets the Lucky designation.

• The Daily Howler -- Casting a jaundiced eye on the mainstream media. I always check the Howler before I watch network news.
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Media Matters -- A new website devoted to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. There's a special section on the Loudmouth-in-Chief, Rush Limbaugh, and his daily drivel of drool.
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Media Transparency -- A look at the money behind the media. Another site that explodes the Myth of the Liberal Media.
  
  
• FAIR: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting -- There's at least one "Fair and Balanced" source for news, but it isn't Fox News.
  
  
• AlterNet.org -- A project of the Independent Media Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening and supporting independent and alternative journalism.
  
  
• BuzzFlash -- Providing headlines, news, and commentary for a geographically-diverse, politically-savvy, pro-democracy, anti-hypocrisy web audience.
  
  
• Fox News Channel Bias -- "Fair and Balanced"? Not! Take a look at this list of links before you settle in to watch Fox News again. Everything you've been spoon-fed by the We-Report-You-Decide crowd is a pack of slanted lies. Read these and then decide. This page is on the equally worthy O'Reilly Sucks website.
  
  
• News Hounds -- They watch Fox so you don't have to. Exposes the ways in which Fox News in particular lies and distorts its "news" reporting and spins in favor of the Republican party.
  
  
• Project Censored -- Educating people about the role of independent journalism in a democratic society; telling "The News That Didn't Make the News", and why.
  
  

• Mark Fiore -- Bringing you closer to the animated truth.
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Seeds of Doubt -- Left leaning political toons, conspiracy and commentary.
  
  
• This Modern World -- Tom Tomorrow's look at the world around us.
  
  
• Meyer's Take -- San Francisco's own political cartoonist.
  
  
• Dead Irony -- They say irony is dead. I don't believe it, and neither will you. See for yourself.
  
  
• Doonesbury -- You've read it in the newspaper for years; now you can see it online. Comics, comment and more, housed on Slate.com.
  
  
• Political Humor -- On the About.com website. Check it out for a daily dose of political humor at its non-partisan best.
  
  
• Bartcop.com -- Political commentary and left-wing humor at its partisan best.

• First Amendment Center -- Everything you need to know about your First Amendment rights.
  
  
• Veterans Defending the Bill of Rights -- Veterans working against the so-called flag burning amendment.
  
  
• People for the American Way -- Advocates for the values and institutions that sustain a diverse democratic society.
  
  
• Human Rights Watch -- Defending Human Rights Worldwide
  
  
• American Civil Liberties Union -- Defending the Bill of Rights since 1920.
  
  
• Homeland Security Threatens Civil Liberty -- An incisive look at the so-called "Patriot Act" and how it erodes our liberties. On the Project Censored website.
  
  
• The Bill of Rights Defense Committee -- A Stake in Civil Liberties
  
  
• Patriot Watch -- The watchers in the twilight of civil liberties; making sure that the darkness does not snuff them out.
  
  
• The Civil Rights Project -- Harvard University; dedicated to renewing the civil rights movement by bridging the worlds of ideas and action.
  
  

• Iraq War Casualty Count -- Watch the numbers climb. Needlessly, stupidly, but there they go.
  
  
• Very Pissed Off Combat Veterans -- Another group of vets who have just about had it.
  
  
• Irregular Goods -- A large collection of anti-Bush bumper stickers, caps, buttons, etc. And there's an added bonus for shopping at Irregular Goods: 20% of the profits are dedicated to progressive political campaigns.
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Eriposte -- Another member of the reality-based community, this site has progressive commentary on everything.
  
  
• A Strategic Analysis of Unity in the US Anti-War Movementby Virginia Rodino -- a trenchant analysis of the anti-war movement and the preparations for the massive September 24 anti-war demonstration.
  
  
• American Progress Action Fund -- Progress through action. Check them out for their daily progress report and call to action. Activism at its finest. Be sure to see their daily talking points.
  
  
• Americans United for Separation of Church and State -- The name says it all. Keep the wall of separation where it is; freedom of religion includes freedom from religion.
  
  
• On a Mission From God: The Religious Right and the Emerging American Theocracy -- by Buzzflash columnist Maureen Farrell. If you value your freedom, read this!
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Theocracy Watch: The Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party -- This is a companion piece to the story above, an in-depth study of the ways that the fundamentalists have infiltrated the Republican party. Without constant vigilance we will be living under an American Taliban.
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Photographs of Military Coffins at Dover Air Force Base: The casualties from Iraq arrive home. These are the pictures the Bush misadminstration doesn't want you to see. "Exploiting the dead for political gain" is the excuse. I guess that doesn't include the Repugnicans' cynical exploitation of 9-11 for their own re-election campaign. Look at the photographs and then you decide.
  
  
• Faces of Valor -- See for yourself the names and faces of the American men and women who have died in Iraq, whose blood is on the hands of George W. Bush. Part of the MilitaryCity.com website.
  
  
• Mistakes of Vietnam Repeated with Iraq -- A pointed and accurate analysis by Max Cleland, severely wounded and much-decorated Vietnam War hero, former head of the Veterans Administration and former Democratic Senator from the state of Georgia. What he has to say is right on.
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Top 40 Lies -- The Bush Administration's willful and deliberate deceit when it comes to war and terrorism.
  
  
• "Hanoi Jane" Rumors a Blend of Fact and Fiction -- Not a month goes by but I get an email or two or three, mostly slight variations on the theme that "Hanoi Jane" Fonda sold out the American POWs, is a traitor, etc. etc. Spare me the spam, and check out the truth about these rumors at the About.com Urban Legends pages.
  
  
• Hanoi'd With Jane -- Here's another take on the same thing, this one from the invaluable Snopes website.
  
  Read these before you insist on passing on any "I Hate Jane" emails. And don't send any to me. I'm not a gracious recipient of bullshit, and I will not let it slide. You will be publicly skewered.
  
  
• We've Been Neo-Conned -- A speech given by Texas Republican Ron Paul, MD, in the US House of Representatives on July 10, 2003. When even Republicans are disgusted by them, it's time to take a closer look at the amoral Trotskyite Neo-Conservatives who have taken over the party and co-opted the traditional conservative movement in this country. Still think the Republican Party is the party of less government? Think again.
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Veterans for Peace -- Dedicated to, among other things, increasing public awareness of the costs of war and restraining our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations
  
  
• Veterans for Common Sense -- Their mission: To inject the element of Common Sense into debates over war and national security. In an age when the majority of public servants have never served in uniform, the perspective of war veterans must play a key role in the public debate over national security issues in order to preserve the liberty veterans have fought and died preserving.
  
  
• Veterans Against Iraq War -- A a coalition of American veterans who support our troops but oppose war with Iraq or any other nation that does not pose a clear and present danger to our people and nation.
  
  
• Vets for Justice -- Join your brothers in the fight against VA hospital closures, cuts in Veterans Benefits, and the disgraceful conduct of the Bush Administration.
  
  
• Chickenhawk Database compiled by the New Hampshire Gazette, the self-described "nation's oldest newspaper". A Chickenhawk, according to the website, is "a term often applied to public persons - generally male - who (1) tend to advocate, or are fervent supporters of those who advocate, military solutions to political problems, and who have personally (2) declined to take advantage of a significant opportunity to serve in uniform during wartime".
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Who Served? -- A telling list of prominent politicians and other public figures, detailing who served in the military and who did not. A page on the AWOL Bush website, and an excellent companion page to the Chickenhawk Database.
  
  
• Democratic National Committee -- Official website of the Democratic Party.
  
  
• Democratic Underground -- A no-holds-barred website that isn't afraid to take on Republicans, right-wing talk radio, wing-nuts, etc. Of special interest is the "Fair and Balanced" discussion board.
  
  
• Political Strikes -- A collection of useful links for liberals.