on civil liberties and occupations

I have a grudging like for Pat Buchanan. I disagree with him on many many issues, but there's a few, most notably the concentration of economic power in this republic, that I stand beside him. In '92, when I was with Jerry Brown in New Hampshire, I met Buchanan on the streets of Concorde, which was having an evening winter parade -- an idea of winter fun in the frozen north. I was literally pushed up against him at the start of the parade. Realizing it was him, I grabbed him and said, "Hey Pat, here's Jerry." He grabbed Jerry's hand and with the biggest shit eating grin said, "Give em hell, Jerry." Buchanan has a love for politics and he played no small role in ending the career of H.W Bush, for which we all should be grateful. That should have been the end of the Bush dynasty, except you can never underestimate Democratic incompetence.

Buchanan is also a tremendous hack and it shows in his most recent piece, "Is America At War?" The short answer to that is no. Mr. Buchanan's piece is boilerplate Cheney scare tactics that kept the Democrats cowering for eight years and the populous frightened. Now, they're trying to use the Obama administration's correct decision to try Kalid Shiek Mohammed in a New York court. That is an excellent decision by the Obama administration and needs to be supported by all. Most importantly, it gives Mr. Obama the opportunity to show some fortitude in defending basic essential principles of this republic which have been trampled upon the last couple decades and took an even darker turn under Bush/Cheney. Mr. Obama stands rightly and firmly on the side of civil rights gained since the Magna Carta. He can unabashedly support both the rule of law and his faith in the American people.

It's an unfortunate and too common hack attack by Mr. Buchanan, who knows these issues, and in 2003 was an eloquent and prescient opponent of the Iraq occupation. What the piece reveals is the desperation of the Republican establishment. Their base is in economic turmoil and their grasping at whatever they can to try and keep what's left from flying to pieces. Buchanan would do better grabbing his pitchfork and working to bring the troops back from places they should have never been sent. Occupation is not war.