Norman Solomon

Deadly Illusions, Rest in Peace

This week’s cave-in on Capitol Hill — supplying a huge new jolt of funds for the horrific war effort in Iraq — is surprising only to those who haven’t grasped our current circumstances. Public opinion polls aren’t the same as political leverage. The Vietnam War went on for years after polling showed that most Americans opposed the war and even saw it as immoral.

Slick phrases about the need to bring our troops home can easily become little more than platitudes on wallpaper in media echo chambers.

No matter how many Democrats are in Congress, they won’t end this war unless an antiwar movement develops enough grassroots strength to compel them to do so.

Read the full column.

"War Made Easy"

www.WarMadeEasyTheMovie.org

Part of the documentary aired on Democracy Now the day after Memorial Day. That program is online.

Norman Solomon's next book, Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America's Warfare State is now available.

Wisconsin Public Radio Interview

Norman Solomon was interviewed on At Issue with Ben Merens on Wisconsin Public Radio on May 3rd.

Listen in real audio.

Download MP3.

On the Media Horizon: ‘We Invest, You Decide’

Predictably, some critics have decried the current efforts by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. to buy the Dow Jones company, which publishes The Wall Street Journal. But let’s imagine the dynamics that might emerge if Murdoch gains control of that newspaper. Like viewers of his Fox News Channel, readers of The Wall Street Journal under Murdoch could look forward to jaw-dropping claims along the lines of “We invest, you decide.”

The Wall Street Journal would need to make some changes in order to be in sync with Murdoch-brand journalism. The Journal’s recent design make-over could provide a tidy framework for spreading the content of the editorial page to the rest of the newsprint pages.

But executives at News Corp. would swiftly face a dilemma. Investors and money managers — prime demographic targets of The Wall Street Journal — are apt to be intolerant of financial news reporting that’s unduly screened through an ideological mesh.

Slanted journalism may be fine for big commercial enterprises when news consumers largely base their outlooks on prevailing media biases. But investors and others who move large amounts of money are apt to be less forgiving when political agendas behind news reports might impede the quest to maximize profits.

Read the full column.

Democrats need to end Iraq war

Nearly three years ago, the front page of the Marin Independent Journal told about the death of a 25-year-old Marin man in Iraq. The story quoted his grief-stricken girlfriend. "Everybody should know he didn't die in vain," she said. "He died as a hero."

In the wake of such tragic deaths, it may seem that persevering for victory - or at least avoiding defeat - is the least America can do. But the trajectory of the war in Iraq resembles the path of the Vietnam War. And an ongoing military conflict based on presidential deception should spur us into active opposition...

Read the complete op-ed.