The Reaction in review (May 15, 2009)

A week's Reactions that deserve a second look:

Friday

By Capt. Fogg: "Yes we can" -- Fogg writes with singular logic and great passion about the summary discharge of Arabic translator Lt. Daniel Choi from the U.S. military, for telling us he is gay.

By Hamid M. Khan: "Pakistan faces the abyss" -- Another Truman Project guest writer presents a brilliant primer on Pakistan that should be a must-read for everyone interested in foreign affairs.

By Creature: "Jack Bauer had nothing to do with it" -- Creature's great little post lays out a good argument for exposing the real reason the Bush administration tortured; it was to extract false confessions regarding a Saddam-al Qaeda connection. See also, Mustang Bobby's "The ticking time bomb."


Thursday

By Carl: "News alert: Politician tells truth" -- Carl's post is a very well written plea for President Obama to go ahead and release that next batch of torture photos. See also, Michael's equally excellent post arguing for the abuse photo release.

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Worst Democrat of the Day: Ben Nelson" -- This post (on a public option for health care reform) debuts a new Reaction featured series showing that you can and should expect occasional inanity, insanity and idiocy from our side, too.

By Capt. Fogg: "Ugly is as ugly thinks" -- Our Captain illuminates a Republican-Palin brouhaha, about Miss California's rights to free speech being abridged, as mere ugly words mistakenly associated with our constitution (includes several comments).

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Sarah Palin, Alaska chronicler" -- Michael explains why he will not be trying to get on the waiting list for Sarah Palin's "much ballyhooed memoir."

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Foreclosures, way up in April" -- Michael rightly decries the big increase of foreclosures on homeowners, concluding that "there is much, much more to come."


Wednesday

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Quote of the Day: Jesse Ventura on Cheney and torture" -- Michael concludes, "That's some sound, straightforward commentary from a guy known for his unabashed bluntness, as well as for his independence. He was in top form the other night, and he spoke the truth."


Tuesday

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Graham denies torture briefing" -- Michael points out the significance of former Senator Bob Graham's corroboration that both he and Speaker Pelosi "weren't actually told what was going on, that they were intentionally kept in the dark."

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "McKiernan, McChrystal, and Obama's new war in Afghanistan" -- Michael cites Fred Kaplan's piece in Slate, and offers his own insights into the positives and negatives of changing generals in Afghanistan.

By Mustang Bobby: "Nothing new here" -- Bobby's great post makes a convincing argument that shows us columnist William Kristol got no better at punditry, after leaving the NYT pressure cooker for the WaPo monthly gig.

By J.F. Murphy: " 'Enhanced' interrogation undermines American security and violates military values" -- Guest poster Murphy, a vet who fought in Iraq and graduated from the SERE program, writes a wonderful piece that argues very persuasively against using torture to interrogate detainees.


Monday

By Carl: "Another one bites the dust" -- Carl's economic expertise comes forward again, happily for us, to discuss the possibility of strengthening current anti-trust laws.

By Mustang Bobby: "Just an entertainer" -- Bobby's matter of fact assessment of comedienne Wanda Sykes' routine at the WH Correspondents dinner elicited a long thread of lively point and counterpoint comments.