“How easy to forget that our own war for independence was largely fought by ‘irregulars’ condemned as terrorists by the British because they would snipe from behind scattered trees rather than fight from the tight parade formations that were the civilized form of warfare in those days. Ours is a long history of covert actions, political assassinations, special ops, anti-democratic coups and dirty tricks that are, even today, being used in Iraq. And we claim that the ends of U.S. policy are so noble that even clearly illegal means, such as a preemptive invasion, are justified.” – Robert Scheer, equating Saddam Hussein’s methods with the founding fathers’, Los Angeles Times.
DEAR SALON: I loved this letter to the editors about Anne Lamott’s recent drivel:
Dear Sir:
I force myself to get through these articles because I usually read most of what you put up on your site.
Do you get positive feedback from this kind of writing? Just curious. Knowing that someone actually likes this will make it possible for me to hug myself, buy myself a felt pen or maybe a pair of socks, and begin to love again. That is, unless it’s raining, because that scares me, all the lightning and thunder and big nasty black clouds, but then I feel better because I know someday the sun will come out and warm the earth with its tender golden rays, and then I realize that hey, life is great and if we would all just love each other like I love everyone even though they don’t love me, the world would be this great lovefest and that would be lovely, wouldn’t it?
Until then, I am going to hide out at home with a big bucket of Haagen-Dazs chocolate ice cream until the world comes to its senses.
– Brian Asmus, Taipei, Taiwan
I smell a new as.com reader, don’t you?
The Dish 