Congressional Democrats do have the power to stop the escalation. They have the power of the purse. Senator Kennedy has introduced a bill which would require Congressional approval for escalation. The Dems could attach such a condition to a new bill funding the war. Bush could veto it and the Dems wouldn't have enough votes to override, but then the ball would be in his court, since his veto will have cut off all funding for the war. In this game, the majority party in Congress always wins, if it has the will.

There is no doubt that, as William Lind, one of the people I quoted, put it, "Headed toward the cliff, [Bush's] course correction is to stomp on the gas." The only thing I wonder (and worry) about now when it comes to America's military adventurism is whether the Democrats are going to have the integrity and sense of patriotism to take the wheel away from him. I am not optimistic. I am also not optimistic about whether a popular movement, with mass demonstrations, could stop further catastrophe in time.

I think the main uncertainty is whether the corporate media is going to continue to coddle Bush. As soon as the media started reporting the actions of the Bush administration accurately and truthfully, it would be over.

A bomb, H bomb, Minuteman / The names get more attractive / The decisions are made by NATO / The press call it British opinion -- The Three Johns