What’s He Smoking?

What’s He Smoking?

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Maybe it’s a drug problem? Comedian D.L. Hughley may just be on to something. Take Hughley’s recent exchange with neocon Bill Kristol, editor of Rupert Murdoch’s Weekly Standard, on Bill Maher’s “Real Time” on HBO.

Kristol: “We’re not failing in Iraq. In fact, we’ve done an amazing job. If you had said six months ago that we would have a total of 300 American casualties, and rather few Iraqi casualties–I mean under 10,000 probably–no ethnic warfare, no religious warfare, huge parts of the country pretty peaceful, the American military doing really a fantastic job of running the country, parts of the country, that was all good news. Now the bad news is there’s a nasty counter–there’s a nasty insurgency that we need to crush, because there are Baathist remnants, and there are terrorists there.”

Hughley: “You’re high, aren’t you? You’re high! [laughter] [applause] I have a cousin in rehab and he says a lot of the same things, let me tell you. [laughter] [applause]

Kristol does seem to be exhibiting signs of erratic behavior. After cheerleading for Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and other architects of the war, Kristol is now filling his weekly magazine with articles lambasting current Iraqi policy and attacking the Administration for its poor postwar planning. Maybe it’s a form of political rehab?

Become a Sustaining Donor This September

Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.

This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.

We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.

That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible. 

I hope you’ll support our work with a recurring donation today. If you donate $10 or more a month, we’ll send you a brand new “Hands Off the Free Press!” sticker to recognise your commitment to our cause. Please, donate today. 

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x