Excuse me, folks, but the weather is trying to tell us something. Listen carefully, and you can almost hear a parched, raspy voice whispering, “What part of ‘hottest month ever’ do you people not understand?”
With 66 deaths so far in July, the month will go down as the deadliest yet for U.S. troops in the nine-year-old war in Afghanistan. The July toll brings the 2010 total so far to at least 265 American military personnel killed.
Phew!
What a past few years it has been for the American flag ... embraced throughout the world after the Sept. 11 attacks; denounced throughout the world not long after; subject to a Republican attempt to make it fireproof during the last two national election cycles….
So with flags waving high during this Fourth of July, Truthdig invites its readers to reflect in the comments box on the nature of patriotism and nationalism. Here are some primers from E.J. Dionne, Howard Zinn and John Kerry (more)
As we celebrate our Independence Day, let us thank the Supreme Court for granting us deliverance from the tyranny of a president who tried to fashion himself king.