Unlike, say, during the Tonkin Gulf incident, this administration is under intense scrutiny. There’s enormous distrust of what they say, and they know it. They won’t get the free pass that LBJ did.

What’s more, they know that everything they say is easily verifiable once the war starts. No one ever pressed LBJ for proof of what happened in the Tonkin Gulf, but there will be dozens of countries and dozens more NGOs who will be looking very closely at what we find in Iraq after ground forces move in. It will hardly be possible to fake vast numbers of mobile weapons labs, swimming pools of anthrax, ballistic missiles, and the like, and if those things aren’t found in substantial and convincing quantities George Bush will be lucky to escape impeachment, let alone win reelection.

Not only did he escape impeachment, and not only was he re-elected,  but his supporters at the CPAC this week were heard to chant “Four More Years!” I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.

- Eric Miller, millerec@etown.edu

An Alaska jury hit Exxon with a $5 billion verdict in 1994, but Exxon hasn’t paid a dime of it. Instead, it has appealed the case for so long that 8,000 of the original class members in the lawsuit have since died without seeing the case resolved. 

 Read the whole entry at MoJo.

The worldest largest, most lucrative company, refuses to pay a single cent to atone for its crimes. 14 years, 5,000,000,000 dollars, 8,000 deaths, not one cent paid. Classy.

- Eric Miller, millerec@etown.edu

“If you’re totally satisfied with your life and with how things are going in the world,” says Diener, “you don’t feel very motivated to work for change. Be wary when people tell you you should be happier.”

But there’s very little money in sadness, or even balance. This applies to some important institutions.

- Eric Miller, millerec@etown.edu

Tomorrow’s the day….

- Eric Miller, millerec@etown.edu

- Eric Miller, millerec@etown.edu

– Eric Miller, millerec@etown.edu

Stephen Johnson implies he’s not the President’s puppet, but he won’t go quite so far as to say so under oath. These must be strange times when the head of the Evironmental Protection Agency refuses states the right to clean up their own air.

This issue has nothing to do with any of the excuses Johnson presents. It’s all about influence – if the states demand more efficient cars, US automakers will have to comply, and Bush is dragging his feet on their behalf. I am sympathetic to the view that markets should make more decisions than governments when it comes to business, but the market has already spoken. Now it’s time for leadership to hop on board.

Watch the video. If you only see one youtube clip this year that exposes Stephen Johnson as a complete weasel, make it this one.

– Eric Miller, millerec@etown.edu

Our environmental problems and our oil dependency walk hand-in-hand. Some folks have practical solutions that don’t involve invading Iran.

Watch Lovins here.

– Eric Miller, millerec@etown.edu

1. Escape to Canada (2005). Far from a comprehensive portrait, Albert Nerenberg’s film focuses on Canada’s recent progressive developments on two fronts: in the summer of 2003 – dubbed the “Summer of Legalization” - Canada legalized same sex marriage and marijuana practically at the same moment, through two completely separate court cases. Though the Canadian legislature eventually re-thought its stance on cannabis – largely, Nerenberg suggests, because of pressure from the US – the film highlights this moment in history as an ideal of government-sponsored freedom, at a time when the mighty United States government was in the business of putting liberties on hold. It does not advocate a hedonist state, but simple a country in which government lets people live their lives on their own terms – let’s them pursue happiness. There is a lot of frustration in this film, but it comes with an equal measure of joy. Looking at what Canada is becoming, you are reminded of what the United States could still be.

2. The Yes Men (2003). This one comes from Dan Olman, Sarah Price, and Chris Smith, about a team of activist jokers who start their political work by making satirical websites that resemble their real-world counterparts, such as a mimicry of George W. Bush’s personal site, and a similar one for the World Trade Organization. Surprisingly, their sarcasm is lost on a number of important readers, and the WTO site begins to draw invitation to speak at various high-profile free-trade events. The Yes Men accept, and put on a number of ridiculous presentations, impersonating WTO officials and giving the speeches these men “would give, if they were honest.” Time and again, no matter how ludicrous the subject matter, audiences full of suits receive the imposters with smiles and applause. Whimsical, quirky, and finally frightening, The Yes Men reveal just how absurd our corporate cultural elites can be.

3. Lastly, a couple that sort of work together, and are extremely pressing. A Crude Awakening (2006) from Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack, and The End of Suburbia (2004), directed by Gregory Greene. Both films discuss the imminent threat of “peak oil,” when world oil supplies will begin to taper off. This point has already been reached in many parts of the world, such as North and South America, and may be on the horizon in the Middle East, if it has not been reached already. The growing scarcity of oil situates our ongoing resource war firmly in its appropriate context.

– Eric Miller, millerec@etown.edu