How I learned to start worrying and fear the bomb

I'm a fan of Eric Alterman. And I'm mighty fond of this piece he wrote, "How to Lose a Country in Seven Easy Steps." Like Joe Conason, Alterman is a master of writing even-tempered critiques of political outrages. Also like Conason, he's a big fan of facts-- not innuendo.

Highly recommended. Here's the teaser:

Point one: The Bush administration is, as this piece in today’s Washington Post puts it, working to “consolidate influence in a small circle of Republicans and to marginalize dissenting voices that would try to impede a conservative agenda.” . . .

Point Two: They are doing so with a historically unprecedented, at least in this country, degree of secrecy, and therefore lack of accountability.