Talking bull 'New Economy theory was less an objective assessment of our situation than a world-class hustle by a political movement that believed it was very close to winning the game. It was the flower of decades of libertarian thought and argument; of lavish irrigation by rightwing billionaires and corporate donors; of careful cultivation by a hundred thinktanks and kept magazines ... The high priests of the New Economy are so entrenched that they continue to occupy prominent positions as commentators, despite their resounding wrongness. Now, though, we are told that none of this was enough; that even the most minuscule challenges to free market orthodoxy are capable of derailing the mighty locomotive of affluence. That we cannot recover until the last doubter shuts up' ( Thomas Frank via Guardian ) See also this article by James Glassman from April, Glassman's Tech Central Station website, and this article by George Gilder and this article by Lawrence Kudlow, both from May 2001LINKS? http://www.hullocentral.demon.co.uk/site/anfin.htm Iraq 2 The sequel. Be very afraid - Bush Productions is preparing to go into action 'What we've been getting is a movie version of reality, a work of fiction to justify the prospect of "war without end". It started, of course, with all the drivel about "crusades" and "war against terror" and "war against evil", the now famous "they hate us because we are a democracy", the "axis of evil" and most recently – it would be outlandishly funny if this trash hadn't come from the Rand Corporation – the "kernel of evil". The latter, by the way, is supposed to be Saudi Arabia, but it might just as well have been Iran, Iraq, Syria or anywhere west of the Pecos' ( Robert Fisk via Independent ) See also this Washington Post article from earlier this month, this transcript of an NBC interview with Condoleezza Rice from June, this Washington Post article from June, this transcript of comments by Donald Rumsfeld in June, this Washington Post article from May, and this column by William Safire from March, all of which Fisk quotes from in his article