During a break in the reading at around midnight the day of the debate, I battered my keyboard to produce 15 minutes of opening remarks. At midnight, I am about as sharp as a bowling ball, so I went with combative simplicity and the stuff I've repeated until it has become a mantra.
He might red bait me, so I'd just claim my politics up front and take that away from him. Don't get tangled up in arcane minutiae; stick to arguing what the real reason are likely to be for the war ¬ I couldn't argue about specific developments anyway, because I'd been out of touch for a month. Denounce Kerry early and often so he can't turn it into a post-election debate about Bush's "mandate." Don't claim the war is about "stealing" oil (a favored bit of nonsense among liberals that can be easily demolished). Talk about it as a crisis of capitalism, because they never want to discuss this. Hit him in his Zionism because it's basically indefensible any time a couple of actual facts are deployed and if he gives me any shit, bring up the USS Liberty (A low blow I know, but I didn't have to go there, as it turned out). Imply that the re-election of Bush might actually be a better situation than the election of Kerry on account of the Bush administration's propensity to be the bull in the China-shop (Fallujah is proving this yet again), and bait him into defending the list of failures so far in Iraq. Finally, mention Haiti and see if he bites.
He might red bait me, so I'd just claim my politics up front and take that away from him. Don't get tangled up in arcane minutiae; stick to arguing what the real reason are likely to be for the war ¬ I couldn't argue about specific developments anyway, because I'd been out of touch for a month. Denounce Kerry early and often so he can't turn it into a post-election debate about Bush's "mandate." Don't claim the war is about "stealing" oil (a favored bit of nonsense among liberals that can be easily demolished). Talk about it as a crisis of capitalism, because they never want to discuss this. Hit him in his Zionism because it's basically indefensible any time a couple of actual facts are deployed and if he gives me any shit, bring up the USS Liberty (A low blow I know, but I didn't have to go there, as it turned out). Imply that the re-election of Bush might actually be a better situation than the election of Kerry on account of the Bush administration's propensity to be the bull in the China-shop (Fallujah is proving this yet again), and bait him into defending the list of failures so far in Iraq. Finally, mention Haiti and see if he bites.
[...]
I believe that the war in Iraq is symptomatic of a much deeper global crisis, and that it foreshadows a period in which that crisis ¬ a crisis of global capitalism ¬ will manifest itself not only in war but in rapidly widening social destabilization, the further militarization of the world system, and simultaneous economic and environmental collapse.
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Books by Stan Goff:
& nbsp; 
Click graphics to see reviews and to order
If nothing else, read Stan's opening remarks for the debate. He doesn't mince words as he lays out the present and the likely near future under the neo-con agenda.
...or do what you want...you will anyway.
As Irish revolutionary James Connolly said, "The great only appear great because we are on our knees. Stand up."
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