There is a lot of buzz on the cable news shows today about this Editorial from yesterday’s Chicago Tribune (hat tip – Rhymes with Right)

Judging the case for war – Chicago Tribune main editorial, December 28, 2005

On Nov. 20, the Tribune began an inquest: We set out to assess the Bush administration’s arguments for war in Iraq. We have weighed each of those nine arguments against the findings of subsequent official investigations by the 9/11 Commission, the Senate Intelligence Committee and others. We predicted that this exercise would distress the smug and self-assured–those who have unquestioningly supported, or opposed, this war.

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After reassessing the administration’s nine arguments for war, we do not see the conspiracy to mislead that many critics allege. Example: The accusation that Bush lied about Saddam Hussein’s weapons programs overlooks years of global intelligence warnings that, by February 2003, had convinced even French President Jacques Chirac of “the probable possession of weapons of mass destruction by an uncontrollable country, Iraq.” We also know that, as early as 1997, U.S. intel agencies began repeatedly warning the Clinton White House that Iraq, with fissile material from a foreign source, could have a crude nuclear bomb within a year.

Seventeen days before the war, this page reluctantly urged the president to launch it. We said that every earnest tool of diplomacy with Iraq had failed to improve the world’s security, stop the butchery–or rationalize years of UN inaction. We contended that Saddam Hussein, not George W. Bush, had demanded this conflict.

Many people of patriotism and integrity disagreed with us and still do. But the totality of what we know now–what this matrix chronicles– affirms for us our verdict of March 2, 2003. We hope these editorials help Tribune readers assess theirs.

Following the editorial, the Tribune lays out the NINE arguments for war (not just one!) that the Bush Administration discussed with the American public before March 2, 2003. This is a remarkable and responsible piece of journalism — a welcome oasis in the midst of the MSM’s Bush bashing Sahara desert.

Read the whole thing!

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Four years ago, after watching Stephen Spielberg‘s movie Artificial Intelligence: AI with my friend Elaine, I didn’t want to leave the theater. I was blown away by the flick and thought it was much shorter than its over two-hour running time. Bored by the same flick that “got” me, Elaine thought it was much longer. Still, given my own experience, I was certain it would do gangbusters business at the box office. I was wrong. Most moviegoers reacted to the film as did Elaine. The movie had a steep second week drop off and was considered a box office disappointment, one of the few Spielberg movies to gross under $100 million (at the domestic box office).

In loving a film that was not well loved by American audiences, I realized (yet again) how one movie (just like a book or other work of art) could move some people while leaving others cold. It seems I’m experiencing the opposite with Brokeback Mountain. While I was disappointed by the flick, nearly all my gay friends have been “blown away” by this story of unrealized love. And it’s not just my gay friends. My friend Tracy was stunned that the movie did not affect me as it had affected her. She was certain that a scene at the end would have moved me to tears as it did her. I acknowledge that such scenes would normally move me, but for some reason, that one left me cold.

Another man with whom I always agree on movies thought it was one of the best movies of the year. When I was up in San Francisco, I met a reader (and fan) of this blog who had already seen it twice, noting how the film, in some ways, paralleled his own coming out, portraying an experience for which he lacked language. He too was “blown away” by the flick. While not blown away, Malcontent “related to it strongly because it reminded me of growing up and struggling with my sexuality in a stoic, repressed ranching town.”

Because so many people I respect enjoyed the movie far more than I, I’m beginning to wonder if I missed something. Perhaps, it was just that I saw it on a hectic day — and was seeing it more because readers were curious to learn what I thought about it. Or maybe it was the hype. Or, for whatever reason, the movie just didn’t hit home for me. As I wrote a few weeks ago, I recognize “certain movies move some of us to tears while leaving others cold.”

Because the movie did not blow me away as it did many of you, I invite you, our readers, to comment and share how the movie affected you — and why you think it blew you away (or why it left you cold). If you would rather share your thoughts in an e-mail, please drop me a note and let me know if I may post them. In closing, I will say that the movie did stir some things up for me and I may blog on that later. But now I want to hear your thoughts. Let me know if it stirred things up for you or if there were scenes which really hit home for you. And if you like, let me know if you think I should give the movie a second chance — and see it again.

-Dan (AKA GayPatriotWest): GayPatriotWest@aol.com

In the Addendum after the (more…), I have included the complete text of Malcontent‘s remarks excerpted in the post and may add on other comments as I see fit.

(more…)

Hey everybody. Sorry for the lack of new stuff here this week. I know Dan is with his family, and PatriotMom has been visiting us in Charlotte this week.

We visited Biltmore, the Vanderbilt mansion in Ashville, on Tuesday. I’ll try to get some of the photos we took posted later today. (We openly wondered if Anderson Cooper has a room at Biltmore?)

There are some interesting pieces of news and opinion I’ve seen in the past couple days that I’m hoping to blather about later today as well.

So this is kind of like a “blog-mark” to hold this space for a bit. But don’t forget…. the Conservative Blogress Diva contest is still going on!! It appears that as of now, supporters of Sondra K and Pamela @ Atlas Shrugs are battling for the lead.

VOTE HERE!

-Bruce (GayPatriot)