A British serviceman, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, talks about his role as part of the US drone program, which was to use satellite imagery to identify targets on the ground. He describes how on one occasion he was about to order a hit on someone whom he thought was planting an explosive device in the ground. At the last minute, a much larger figure appeared on the scene and he realized that the first ‘terrorist’ whose death he had been about to bring about was a child playing in the sand. [Read more…]

The interesting discussion generated by my brief post on Pulpit Freedom Sunday made me decide to look more deeply into the question, to see what the major issues are. [Read more…]

Kevin Drum reports that he and others had the same reaction that I had to the debate and its aftermath, how what seemed during the debate like a marginally better performance by Mitt Romney became transformed into a massive win. [Read more…]

Mitt Romney surprised everyone by saying that his denigration of the 47%, the much-discussed item in the secretly recorded video, was “completely wrong”. [Read more…]

You might think that given the realization that the US was taken to war under false pretenses and the subsequent revelation of all the abuses that occurred during that war, the US public might have at least some second thoughts about the wisdom of the many abhorrent practices that were adopted as part of the generalized war on terror. [Read more…]

Election campaigns throw up wacky distractions from time to time but I never expected Big Bird of all people (or rather birds) to suddenly make a cameo appearance in this one. Mitt Romney’s throwaway remark in the debate that he would get rid of funding for Sesame Street and Big Bird was not his finest moment, considering that by now a couple of generations of people have grown up with fond memories of the giant muppet and want their children to experience the same magic. My own children loved him. [Read more…]