Saturday, July 14, 2007

Broiled Zucchini in the Kitchen

Ben and Sue have a problem. Everything planted in their garden this summer seems to not be growing. There is one exception: zucchini. They write that they have eaten it boiled and fried and are "desperate" for any other recipe.

So let's try this one.

Broiled Zucchini
2 medium zucchini, ends cut off and sliced lengthwise down the middle
1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon seasoned dry bread crumbs

Turn on your oven's broiler. (Those who have never used the broiler and are nervous about it can simply preheat the oven to 425 at this point. You can bake it in the oven. It will be different but it will work.) Place zucchini pieces (two) cut side up. Brush with mayo. If you don't have a brush, you can use a spoon or knife the same way you would with a sandwich although you'll have more mayo on the zucchini than you would on a piece of bread. Sprinkle with bread crumbs first and then cheese. You can use the parmesan cheese that's already grated and in a plastic container (like a spice) or you can use actual paremesan cheese. If you go with the latter, you'll have more of a cheese taste. (That goes for baked or broiled.) Put the zuchinni on a baking sheet (with the crumbs and cheese side facing up) and broil until the crumbs turn golden. Then serve. (Oven users, put zucchini in a baking dish, crumb side face up, turn oven from preheat to bake, and bake until the crumbs are golden.)

You can double the recipe (or triple it). But if this is a side dish, after it's cooked, you can slice each half further down. (Those using a baking dish in the oven can fill the dish up as needed but for broiling, stick to two at a time.)

Ben and Susan usually end up with a huge amount of green beans, bell peppers and squash from their garden. This year, only the zuchinni is producing. That has to be disappointing (we're struggling with our own backyard garden here) but there are many ways to prepare zucchini and fresh vegetables are important. That's the recipe my mother used to use to get us to eat zucchini. I remember her telling me once it was like squash, in order to get me to eat it, and my attitude being, "Well, it hasn't turned yellow yet." I wasn't going near it. Then she prepared the above dish and I was tempted to try it. You can also use zucchini in the place of meat for a vegetarian lasanga. Other than that, I'm honestly at a loss because I usually just slice it up, put it in a pan with fresh tomatoes and some sliced onions and cook it that way. But let me work on it and I'll find another recipe before summer's over. Although, judging from Ben and Susan's e-mail, they'll be having zucchini long after summer is over. Wally's mother had a great recipe for pickled zucchini that I've e-mailed them and I'm not sure about posting that here because I always have this vision of a first-time canner standing in a kitchen after an explosion. That never happened to me (one of the few kitchen experiences I haven't had) but I avoided canning for years out of the fear that would happen to me. Among the wedding gifts we received (years and years ago) was a canner. I used it to boil eggs for the first three years of my marriage only until my aunt (who had gifted us with it) noticed and was kind enough to stand there with me and talk me through. For the same reason, I avoid giving out pressure cooker recipes. With both of those pieces of kitchen equipment, I think you're better off having someone show you how to use them.

I use the pressure cooker all the time. But I will never post a recipe for one here due to the fact that not everyone has one and not everyone knows how to use them. I don't use my crock pot as much these days but I'd have no problem posting a crock pot recipe. I will also note that if you have a crock pot and don't use it during the holidays, you're making a mistake. When everyone brings something with them, your oven and the top of the stove can fill up quickly. You can plug in the crockpot and use it to warm something as easily as the microwave and it will continue to stay warm. If someone brings a vegetable that you would normally warm in a pan on the stove, you can use the crockpot for that.

Thank you to Jess for filling in for me last weekend. As he explained, my daughter-in-law gave birth and I really didn't have time. Since it was a C-section, we knew the due date and I asked him ahead of time if he would mind posting for me? He kindly said he'd do it. And I'm glad so many of you enjoyed his post. Fred wrote to say that he liked it and he wanted to share that "Creole Seasonings" is a spice he regularly uses on vegetables to spice them up. "From a can or fresh and tossed on the grill," he wrote, the spice really makes the dish and covers the fact that "I'm not much of a cook." I'm sure Fred's a far better cook than he knows. But all this food talk is making me hungry. I'm not generally up this early but I've been getting up when my granddaughter wakes up in the middle of the night. I don't hover but I know sometimes you have a question and don't want to wake anyone. So I come down to the kitchen and that way if my daughter-in-law has a question about something, she can ask and doesn't need to fear that she's woken anyone up. (I can be woken up. I don't mind that at all. My mother and my mother-in-law took my crack of dawn phone calls when my first two children were infants.)

It really is great having my son and daughter-in-law here. I know it has eased my husband's stress considerably. And thanks to the gift from Elaine, Rebecca, C.I. and Ava (Ava as well, Mike noted it but didn't note that Ava went in on it -- an oversight only because he wasn't aware of that, not an intentional omission), my oldest son's student loans are now paid off. That is a huge relief for him. (And a more than generous gift.) So now they're going to use their time here to focus on saving up for a down payment on a house.

That was a very wonderful, very generous gift. While I'm saying thank yous on education, I should also note that C.I.'s covering Mike's tuition. That started before my site did but I have noted it here before and will take this opportunity to say thank you again for that. Mike was going to take out loans (which my husband and I did not know about) and had mentioned that to C.I. and C.I. wouldn't hear of it. I hadn't even met C.I. when I found out about that. C.I. doesn't like thanks but I insisted Mike note it at his site (which he did) because thank yous need to be said.

I don't know if you've already heard or not but at Thursday's NAACP forum, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards had a private conversation in front of open mikes. I'm sure they wish they'd been a little more private. This is from Dennis Kucinich's "Clinton, Edwards overheard planning to eliminate other Democratic candidates:"

Unaware that their microphones were still on following an NAACP Presidential Forum in Detroit on Thursday, Senator Hillary Clinton and former Senator John Edwards agreed to try to eliminate other Democratic Presidential candidates from future debates.
According to the Associated Press, "Fox news microphones picked up Clinton and Edwards discussing their desire to limit future joint appearances to exclude some rivals lower in the crowded field."
"We should try to have a more serious and a smaller group," Edwards was overheard telling Clinton, according to the AP.
watch the abc video
watch the youtube video
Clinton agreed, according to the AP. "We've got to cut the number...They're not serious." Clinton added that she thought her campaign and Edwards' had previously been discussing steps to eliminate other candidates. "We've got to get back to it," Clinton told Edwards.
"Candidates, no matter how important or influential they perceive themselves to be, do not have and should not have the power to determine who is allowed to speak to the American public and who is not," said Kucinich.
"Imperial candidates are as repugnant to the American people and to our Democracy as an imperial President."
The Kucinich campaign will immediately take steps to address the planned actions of the Clinton and Edwards campaigns.


That really is disgusting and goes to the issue that they're afraid of an open forum they can't control. If you can't compete fairly, maybe you should drop out of the race instead of privately scheming ways to eliminate other candidates from being invited.

But Hillary Clinton needs everything pre-planned and when it's not, shows no ability to think on her feet as evidenced by this "Sen. Hillary Clinton's refusal to answer steelworkers' questions both troubling and revealing:"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 06, 2007
CLEVELAND OH -- The Kucinich for President Campaign issued the following statement this afternoon:
"It is deeply troubling, but, perhaps, very revealing, when a Democratic candidate for the Presidency of the United States seeks the support of one of the most important industrial labor unions in the nation but refuses to answer questions from the rank and file union members.
"That's what happened today when U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton addressed the United Steelworkers conference in Cleveland. Not only did she not participate in the question-and-answer portion of the program to which all of the Presidential candidates had agreed, but she also completely ignored one of the major issues that has forced millions of union workers and others into unemployment: the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
"Yesterday, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Senator Joe Biden, and former Senator John Edwards held to their commitment to the USW to answer any and all questions from union members for 30 minutes each.
"It borders on arrogance for a Democrat to deliver pro-union promises and platitudes in prepared remarks, but then refuse to engage in an honest and open conversation with workers whose lives have been profoundly impacted by disastrous trade policies -- especially NAFTA, which was enacted during the Clinton Administration.
"Does Senator Clinton support NAFTA? Will she attempt to "fix it," as former Senator Edwards proposed yesterday? Or will she have the courage to repeal it, as only Congressman Kucinich has proposed? Members of the steelworkers union and other industrialized unions did not get any answers because they weren't permitted to ask the questions.
"Candidates have an obligation to go beyond orchestrated and scripted performances, answer tough questions, and address serious issues. If they calculate that it is preferable to side-step that obligation when they are trying to win votes, voters will be left wondering where those candidates really stand and what they will really do if elected. If anything, Senator Clinton has an even higher obligation to address this issue because NAFTA was enacted during the Clinton Administration. Someone needs to ask where the Senator stands. And the Senator has a responsibility to answer."

It takes a great deal of gall to go to a group seeking their support and refuse to answer their questions. Exactly why should Hillary Clinton be supported? The steelworkers have no idea because she refused to address their issues. Which can be summed up as, "Vote for me because I said so." Because I said so? The new Clinton campaign strategy.

I'm not trying to let John Edwards off, by the way. What he did at the NAACP forum was just disgusting and he needs to be called out for it. But with Hillary Clinton this really does seem to be a pattern and one that many of us noticed when she tried to claim some sort of executive privilege as First Lady with regards to the health care meetings. Kucinich is also mentioned in the snapshot, just FYI. I want to note one other thing before winding down. "Indian Bureau Oppression a Disgrace" is an article that was published in 1927. The Progressive is making selected articles from their archives available online for free. Unlike The Nation which wants you to pay for content decades old (apparently they never paid their writers?) by buying a digi-pack (whatever that is), The Progressive has been opening up their archives and I did want to note that. I actually need to also note one more thing. C.I.'s "And the war drags on . . ." Thursday night is wonderful. It calls out The Nation's nonsense in an article that has many heaping on praise (begging the question of does anyone actually read anymore?). Friday morning, I was going through the paper and having my morning cups of coffee when my husband came into the kitchen, booted up the computer and insisted I read it. I generally do not get online in the morning. I've got to do my make up, get dressed, get ready for the day, go over my checklist of things to do, etc. My one slow moment is in the kitchen when I have two to three cups of coffee while reading through the paper. My husband knows that so I knew if he was saying, "You have to read this now," that I did have to read it now. More cowardice from The Nation on the topic of Iraq.

This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" from Friday:

Friday, July 13, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, another journalist is annouced dead in Iraq -- the 3rd in the last 48 hours, Matthew Rothschild addresses the theft of Iraqi oil law, and more.

Starting with war resistance.
The Progressive's Hidden History Of The United States (available in calander form) notes that on this day in 1863, "Draft riots began in New York City, leaving 1,000 dead over four days." Ehren Watada is the first commissioned officer to public refuse deployment to Iraq. Currently, he is waiting while the appeals process determines whether he will have to face a second court-martial and, if so, whether Judge Toilet (aka John Head) will be allowed to preside over it again. While this goes on, people continue to demonstrate their support for Watada. Last Friday, we noted a rally held in San Francisco in support of Watada. Ryan Baladad (Asian Week) informs, "Members from the various groups, including Aisan Pacific Islanders Resist and the Watada Support Committee, took turns speaking in support of the Japanese lieutenant. Supporters held signs that read, 'Refuse Illegal War,' 'Bush lied, People Died' and showed photos of Watada in uniform. Malcolm Yeung of the Asian Law Caucus called the Army's actions 'frankly reprehensible' and said the case 'chills free speech'." Baladad closes with this statement from Rev. Norman Fong (Chinatown Presbyterian Church), "There shouldn't be another trial; they messed up the first time. We're proud of Lt. Watada."

Meanwhile, who is Steve Yoczik?
The War Resisters Support Campaign explains, "Steve arrived in Toronto on November 25th, 2006. He trained in communications at Fort Gordon, Georgia. After a few months there, he began to realize that the decision he'd made to join the Army was a serious mistake and that trading 4 years of his life for the opportunity to have college paid for was not an agreeable enough trade. Also after seeing pictures of wounded or killed Iraqi civilians (and combatants) as well as stories from soldiers that had been to Iraq and Afghanistan, he knew without a doubt that he did not want to be involved in the war. Halfway through training, the 'job' he'd been signed on for was cancelled, and 'joblees' people in this particular war zone go on patrols and kick in doors, so Stephen prepared a last-ditch effort to come to Canada, as all other attempts to leave the Army 'legitimately' were exhausted. Since arriving in Toronto, Steve has adjusted fairly weel, and is being careful in the decisions he makes in life now, as his Army expereience has taught him that signatures hold a lot of power . . ."

Yoczik is part of a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Ross Spears, Jared Hood and James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key,
Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.

Yesterday, Bully Boy went on and on, desperately attempting to stretch the definition of progress in yet another attempt to fool the American people. How bad did the spin and lies get?
Kenneth R. Bazinet (New York Daily News) informs, "Even the White House was concerned Bush overstepped with his upbeat war talk, sending spokesman Tony Snow out to talk to the cable news outlets to clarify the President's remarks. 'The President isn't saying we're winning. He says we're in a fight. He says we cannot afford not to win,' Snow told Fox News." Tony Snow need not worry, reality will always Fact Check the Bully Boy upside his face. How are things with the Iraqi Parliament? Joshua Partlow and Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reports, "Iraqi politicians on Thursday struck a more pessimistic tone about Iraq than did the White House assessment, and said the deadlock between warring Sunni and Shiite factions makes major political progress unlikely in coming months." Well, as least those Iraqi troops are coming along nicely, right? Karen DeYoung (Washington Post) informs, "Despite stepped-up training, the readiness of the Iraqi military to operate independently of U.S. forces has decreased since President Bush's new strategy was launched in January, according to the White House progress report released yesterday." And try to find out the hard figures on this from the Pentagon, as DeYoung did, and be informed that's "classified information." Classified, apparently, on the grounds that Bully Boy is an incompetent.

And on the January 20th attack in Karbala that killed 1 US soldier immediately, wounded three and saw four kidnapped (all of whom would later turn up dead),
Gregg Zoroya (USA Today) reveals the army's internal investigation has found:

•Iraqi police suddenly vanished from the government compound before the shooting started.•Attackers, evidently briefed on how U.S. forces would defend themselves, bottled up more than three dozen soldiers in a barracks and headquarters complex using a combination of smoke and fragment grenades and satchel charges to blow up Humvees.•Gunmen knew exactly where to find and abduct U.S. officers.•Iraqi vendors operating a PX and barbershop went home early.•A back gate was left unlocked and unguarded.Investigators recommended several changes to toughen defensive positions, including the installation of closed-circuit cameras to provide better early warnings, "duress devices" that can allow overrun outposts to signal headquarters, and requirements that any arriving convoy provide identification.


Now how do you suppose that got left out of Bully Boy's attempt to sell the continuation of the illegal war? In more reality the Bully Boy Never Told You,
Robert Burns (AP via Los Angeles Times) reports that yesterday's White House progress report "strongly implies that the administration believes its military strategy will take many more months to meet its goals." And really driving home the lack of progress in Iraq, Mike Drummond and Hussein Khalifa (McClatchy Newspapers) tell the story of Nawal Na'eem Karim whose 18-month-child has learned to cry "Talaq inanan! Talaq inana!" ("Bullets here! Bullets here!"). Needless to say, the mother tells the reporters she just wants the US to leave. Of course, Bully Boy would probably get that dopey grin on his face (as when a woman explained she had to work two jobs) and say, "That's wonderful."

Meanwhile, Congressional Dems try to put one over on the public -- again, and it's the same shell game. From Democracy Now! today:


House Iraq Pullout Bill Leaves Thousands of Troops BehindThe House has approved a measure that would begin withdrawing combat troops from Iraq within the next three months. The final vote was two hundred twenty-three to two-hundred and one, mostly along party lines. Before the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged lawmakers to vote "yes."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "Let us pass this bill and those that will follow in the coming weeks and provide the new direction on Iraq that the American people demand and that is so urgently needed. I urge a 'yes' vote on the Skelton bill."Ohio Congressmember Dennis Kucinich was the lone anti-war Democrat to vote against the bill. The measure would remove most combat troops by April of next year but still leave tens of thousands soldiers behind.

As Amy Goodman noted above "leaves tens of thousands soldiers behind." And that's provided Bully Boy doesn't reclassify the ones that would be set to leave. Pushing the non-existant link between 9-11 and Iraq is a thread he picked up again yesterday. He could follow the Pelosi measure (if it passed) and reclassify "combat troops" as troops who will be fighting terrorists ("al Qaeda!") and none have to leave. He could also declare that the illegal war is over and that 160,000 US troops need to remain to maintain "police operations" which would mean no troops leave. It's the con game they pulled in March, credit Goodman with telling it straight and not sugar coating it.


Meanwhile,
US Secretary of State and Anger Condi Rice remakes Mariah Carey's "Love Takes Time" with new words resulting in "War Takes Time." (CBS & AP, text and video).


In a crimes and violence update,
Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) updates her bank robbery story from yesterday with the information that the bank is revising the figures for the stolen money to "282 million Iraqi diners, equal to about $225,000 and $366,00 American dollars." In some of today's violence . . .


Bombings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a mortar attacks in Baquba claimed 2 lives and left fifteen wounded and a Baquba bombing that claimed 1 life. Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) notes that the Green Zone was "slammed" with mortars today, killing 2 Iraqi soldiers and that "U.S. civilian government employees have been required in the last few dyas to wear body armor and helmets because of the rising threat of rocket and mortar attacks. Reuters notes that 2 children died in Samawa from a roadside bombing, 1 Iraqi soldier died from a Baghdad roadside bombing and 1 police officer died from a Mosul roadside bombing.

Shootings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports five police officers were shot dead in Baghdad, 3 Iraqi civilians were shot dead by the US military (in what appears to be -- me speaking not Hammoudi -- indiscriminate firing) and "Gunmen killed an Iraqi journalist working for New York Times newspaper near Al Saidiyah fuel station south of Baghdad around 9:00 am." John Holusha (New York Times) observes that Hassan joined the paper in 2003 (fall) and that he was the second Times' reporter for the paper to die in Iraq and notes: "Mr. Hassan was shot in the Saidiya district of south central Baghdad while driving to work under circumstances that remain unclear, Mr. [John F.] Burns said. He had called the bureau earlier and said his normal route to the office had been block by a security checkpoint." Executive editor Bill Keller states, "Khalid was part of a large, sometimes unsung, community of Iraqi news gatherers, translators and support staff, who take enormous risks every day to help us comprehend their country's struggle and torment. Without them, America's understanding of what is happening on the ground in Iraq would be much, much poorer. To The Times, Khalid was family, and his death is heartbreaking." Khalid Hassan's death brings to three the number of reporters killed in Baghdad in the last 48 hours. Yesterday, we noted the deaths of Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh, two journalists with Reuters. Today, Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports that in addition to eyewitnesses quoted in the early reports yesterday, Ahmad Sahib, with AFP, arrived on the scene shortly afterwards and he states, "They had arrived, got out of the car and started taking pictures, and people gathered. It looked like the American helicopters were firing against any gathering in the area, because when I got out of my car and started taking pictures, people gathered and an American helicopter fired a few rounds, but they hit the houses nearby and we ran for cover."

Corpses?

Reuters reports 3 corpses discovered today in Sawayra. And Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) noted that 28 corpses were discovered in Baghdad Thursday.


Turning to the theft of Iraqi oil,
Nancy Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) notes, "Earlier this month, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki announced unanimous Cabinet approval of a draft hydrocarbon law. But on Wednesday, Kurdish politicians said they opposed the latest version of the law. The draft law hasn't been published." Steve Kretzmann (Oil for Change) observes, "We have heard conflicting reports, although it seems clear that the annexes are gone. There was an arabic version published two days ago in a Baghdad daily, however we've heard that there has been at least one change since then." AVAAZ.ORG has an online petition entitled "Support Iraqi Oil Sovereignty."

At
Inside Iraq (McClatchy Newspapers), a journalist shares a surreal experience, "The Electricity Minister and the Oil Minister, both being questioned in the Parliament as to the electricity and fuel situation in the country. They were fighting the 'good' fight, back to back, with their sabers flashing. Fact after distorted face spilled forth from their tongues. The Oil Minister, high browed, blue blooded, married to a bluer blood still -- all leaning east, said he hadn't enough power and fuel to work the refineries -- butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. The Electricity Minister, a man of the masses; an excellent technician, worked his way up through the ranks, said he hadn't enough fuel to work the electricity power stations. Wasn't there something strange here -- was it a distortion in my dream?? A Catch 22 situation if ever there was one!!" Hussain al-Shahristani is the Oil Minister (since May of last year) and prior to that post he was the deputy speaker in the National Assembly. Last week, on KPFT's Progressive Forum (Thursdays, 7:00 pm Central), host Wally James discussed the theft of the Iraqi oil with Matthew Rothschild (The Progressive).

Matthew Rothschild: It's amazing that with all that's been going on Iraq with maybes 600,000 Iraqis killed, 3600 US soldiers killed and 2600 US soldiers wounded, that the one thing the Bush administration really cares about is privatizing Iraq's oil. You know, they told us, over and over again, before this war started those of us that were talking about this war being for oil, that we were conspiracy people, but look, low and behold, the first thing that the army did when it got to Iraq was protect the oil fields, the second thing it did was protect the Oil Ministry and now the last thing it's doing is making sure that before all hell breaks further loose that they're going to get something on the books in Iraq that allows Exxon-Mobile and other US corporations to go in there and get their share of the oil there and expatriate the profits from that oil at a much greater degree than oil companies can do in that part of the world. I mean this is a huge sell out of Iraq's sovereign resource and there are, there have been strikes already by Iraqi oil workers and al-Sadr right now is aligning with the Sunnis to oppose this so there's all sorts of domestic opposition over there but this is the one thing that the Bush administration wanted al-Maliki to rail through if he could, railroad it through, he'd be back in the good graces of the Bush administration, back in the good graces of Exxon-Mobile.

Wally James: Well from the beginning you had Bush saying, you know, this is not about oil, we're not trying to get control of the oil. And, you know, but under the surface you have this going on and at the same time the US media just isn't reporting on it. They talk about how this is going to be a good thing if this goes through, how it's going to make for sure that the oil is divided up evenly in Iraq.



Matthew Rothschild: It is almost impossible, you're absolutely right here, Wally, and I think it's a really good point absolutely impossible to read the mainstream media and figure out what's going on with this Iraq oil behind the scenes. It's not about, or simply not just about, the equal sharing of the oil revenues. It's largely about the privatization of the oil industry in Iraq and allowing US and other foreign oil companies in to grab the oil. That's what's going on but you might get that in about paragraph eleven or paragraph fifteen and it won't explain really the benefits that are going to acrue to Exxon-Mobile and the other giants. And it certainly won't tell you that the Iraq oil workers were striking for a week in Basra over this. I mean, this has been one of the worst bits of coverage by the mainstream media in Iraq since what? The cover up or the funneling of propaganda about Weapons of Mass Destruction Prior to the war courtesy of Judith Miller and the New York Times.

Wally James asked Rothschild about the idea that Congressional Democrats might be refusing to impeach because they want Bully Boy around for the 2008 elections (as an issue to run against) and wondered if that was at least part of the reason Congress does nothing to end the illegal war, "they need him around in '08 to beat up" and the Iraq war? Rothschild responded: "Well this is kind of pragmatic politics at its worst, it seems to me. Because I think the same thing happened with the Iraq war vote. They want the Iraq war to go on so they can go against Bush and the Iraq war in 2008. But look at how callous that is. They want a hundred more US soldiers to die every month and 500, 600 to be wounded and what, you know, a couple of thousand Iraqis to die every month just because it's politically expedient and it might help them win the White House? I mean, come on, talk about immorality if that's what they're doing that's disgraceful on the war issue." Next addressed was the issue of impeachment which Rothschild's supported, publicly in his writing, since at least early 2006 and we'll use that as an opportunity to note that
Bill Moyers Journal (begins airing on PBS in most markets today -- check local listings and you can also read, listen or watch online) will explore the topic of impeachment and, among the guests is John Nichols.
Back to Rothschild, he has a new book out entitled
You Have No Rights: Stories of America In An Age of Repression (The New Press, list price $16.99) and he's doing stops across the country to promote the book:

Matthew Rothschild reading and signing YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS
Seattle, WA: 7/16 at 7:00PM San Francisco, CA: 7/17 at 7:30PM Berkeley, CA: 7/18 at 7:00PM Portland, OR: 7/19 at 7:30PMMadison, WI: 7/26 at 7:00PM San Luis Obispo, CA: 8/14 at 7:00PM Santa Barbara, CA:8/15 at 7:00PM Los Angeles, CA: 8/16 at 7:00PM Baraboo, WI: 9/8 all day