I want to congratulate Harvey Wasserman for a brilliant article on the military defeat in Iraq. I have been reading nothing but concessions to the White House lie that America had a military victory in Iraq. Even writers who are against the invasion are saying, "we may have won militarily but,..." I think Mr. Wasserman's article should be handed out door to door in America.

I am in Amman, Jordan, a volunteer at the human shield office. We have over 500 human shields from over 50 countries who have served in Baghdad. The stories they are bringing out of Iraq are dramatically different than the ones we see in the mainstream media. They are all, to a person, disgusted with the slaughter of Iraqis they witnessed. Call it a turkey shoot, shooting fish in a barrel... it is transparently a huge fat bully slapping the little skinny kid senseless and smashing his glasses, then bragging about his superiority. Shameful and pathetic.

Americans should be mourning the loss of life in Iraq, which is 46% children. Even if they think they had to massacre people to pass along their plutocratic system, they shouldn't be celebrating when thousands of families

Dear Mr. Wasserman,

I just read your fine article (posted at CommonDreams) on "Bush's Military Defeat."

Coincidentally, this morning I heard NPR's Daniel Schorr comment that this was a "brilliant" military victory. (Isn't it a shame about how he's become such a voice of the government -- understandable considering NPR's leadership, which is made up of former Radio Free Europe bosses.)

I'm writing to say that there was no brilliant military victory.

It appears there was a deal made, likely long ago, when Rumsfeld was so confident that 10,000 troops could take the country. Saddam and his generals made virtually no defense of their country at all. No bridges blown up, roads torn up, streets barricaded, surface-to-air missiles fired, few tactical short-range missiles used, none of the at least 100 available fighter jets used. . . . And the Iraqis are courageous people, whose pilots would have risked their lives if they thought it would defend their country and, especially, their honor.

There were few roads available for heavy armorand trucks, all of them easily torn up if the defenders

George W. Bush has fittingly stopped short of declaring victory in Iraq. He doesn't want to claim a definitive triumph because it would legally obligate the US to begin cleaning the place up and enforcing human rights obligations.

But in fact, the US attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan have been shattering defeats.

Let's count the ways:

At least three times US troops have fired live ammunition against angry crowds of "liberated" Iraqis. Far from "dancing in the streets" over the American presence, the people of Iraq have made it clear they want the US out just days after the removal of Saddam Hussein, who most Iraqis understand was put in power by the US in the first place.

US troops have now killed at least twenty Iraqis in demonstrations that appear to be nonviolent. Military claims of self-defense are reminiscent of lies that Kent State students fired weapons during the May, 1970 massacre there. Those four deaths put the US in an uproar; in Iraq, less than 1/10 the size of the US, the equivalent of 20 dead would be more than 200.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Don't worry about a thing! The Texas Legislature is riding to the rescue. Oh, sure, we still have a $10 billion deficit, but the House just outlawed gay marriage. At last, we're safe from the hideous threat of gay marriage, which would have directly ruined our entire lives.

Meanwhile, the House has:

-- Eliminated 10,810 state jobs;

-- Cut 250,000 poor children off the Children's Health Insurance Program and about 365,000 from health insurance through Medicaid;

-- Cut prenatal care and delivery for 17,000 pregnant women and services for 366 women with breast and cervical cancer;

-- Closed one state school for the mentally retarded and one state mental hospital;

-- (This one's my favorite) Cut $22 million from a criminal justice program that provides medication and treatment for mentally impaired offenders who are out on probation or parole. (Isn't that nice? They'll be wandering around the state without their meds.)

But fear not, as our peerless leaders have passed a 24-hour

That GLAAD's campaign against the 'Savage Nation' show on MSNBC has itself generated strident criticism should surprise no one. Though considered by many "an act of faith," as William Fulbright so eloquently referred to it, and as GLAAD apparently grasps it, dissent seems today a much-maligned concept both within our community and nation.

Fear of terrorism, the war in Iraq and one party control of all three branches of the federal government have together helped foster an environment in this nation hostile to dissent--however loyal or reasonable it may be. Those who express unpopular or critical views regarding our nation's policies and actions are oft labeled "unpatriotic," and calls for "unity" are frequently utilized by those in power to bully opponents and suppress dissent.