How We Were Scammed by the Iraq War

Posted on Mar 18, 2013

A military action that was sold to Americans as short and inexpensive may come to cost us $3.7 trillion; Sen. Rob Portman has come out in support of same-sex marriage thanks to his gay son, but doesn’t seem interested in women’s rights despite having a daughter; meanwhile, the hacker who brought you the Bush family’s emails has exposed communications between a White House adviser and the Clintons. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

How the US Public Was Defrauded by the Hidden Cost of the Iraq War
George Bush sold the war as quick and cheap; it was long and costly. Even now, the US is paying billions to private contractors.

My Amazon Bestseller Made Me Nothing
In one more week Patrick Wensink was going to be a millionaire.

Why Won’t the Met Tell the Whole Truth About Gertrude Stein?
When Emily Greenhouse first visited “The Steins Collect” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in late April, she had wondered about the omission of Gertrude Stein’s collaboration with France’s pro-Nazi Vichy government.

What About Rob Portman’s Daughter?
The analogies started rolling out minutes after Ohio publications went live with the news that Sen. Rob Portman now supports marriage equality because of his gay son.

Ecuador Preacher Sentenced for Homophobic Comments
The former Ecuadorean presidential candidate Nelson Zavala has had his political rights suspended for a year and been fined for homophobic comments.

Hacker Targets Clinton Confidant In New Attack
The hacker who has spent the past several months breaking into the e-mail accounts of family, friends, and political allies of the Bush family has crossed party lines and illegally accessed the AOL account of a former senior White House adviser to President Bill Clinton.

Has the Justice Department Learned Anything from the Aaron Swartz Case?
The Department of Justice announced it had indicted Matthew Keys, the deputy social media editor at Reuters, on one count of conspiracy and two counts of computer fraud.

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