Lawrence O’Donnell goes after ex-Shrub speechwriter

On Morning Joe, which is a rightwing nutter-led show, Lawrence starts foaming at the mouth over the lies and obfuscation being spewed by the Bushie Mark Theissen…all the while Joey Scar is backing the Bushie Bullshit. Calm down Larry, you are going to stroke out over these assholes..and it ain’t worth it as they will never tell the truth or admit that The Shrub fucked up.

Sphere: Related Content

Recommending Investigative Journalists

It is hard work but somebody’s got to do it – Today’s post is a roundup of some of the best investigative journalists you might want to follow:  I include where and what they write, along with a couple of samples of their recent work.

TPMMuckraker is one of the features at Josh Marshall’s Talking Points Memo.  Here’s an interesting example of the kind of good work Zachary Roth does: “In Testimony, Rove Hedged On Role in Siegelman Prosecution” (8/13/09).  See also, “Fran Townsend: We Discussed If Raising The Terror Alert Would Hurt Bush” (8/21/09).

Glenn Greenwald’s “Unclaimed Territory” is at Salon.com.  He was previously a constitutional lawyer and civil rights litigator in New York.  On of a number of collaborators on big investigative stories, he is incredible bright and passionate and tells it like it is without blinking.  Here’s a recent good post: “John Brennan’s dangerous national security advice” (8/14/09).  See also,  “Has Obama lost the trust of progressives, as Krugman says?“  (8/21/09).

ACLU Blog of Rights – “Because Freedom Can’t Blog Itself” is from the American Civil Liberties Union.  Posts are about capital punishment, civil liberties, drug law reform, closing Guantanamo, free speech, government spying, human rights, immigrant rights, LGBT rights, racial justice, religion & belief, reproductive rights, torture and abuse, Supreme Court, voting rights and women’s rights.  On August 20, the ACLU headlined, “Court Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutional Spying Law.

Secrecy News is a publication of the Federation of American Scientists.  The FAS Project on Government Secrecy reports on new developments in government secrecy and provides public access to documentary resources on secrecy, intelligence and national security policy. It is written by Steven Aftergood.  Here’s a recent good story: “Information Sharing as a Form of Secrecy” (8/17/09).

Emptywheel (Marcy Wheeler) writes at Firedoglake.  Marcy is the very best at investigative digging, and is a widely respected member of the collaborators that do the major investigative work in the blogosphere.  Here is a typically good piece of work (this time on Dick Cheney): “The crazy man above the garage” (8/18/09).  See also “Scahill on the Blackwater Rent-an-Assassin Service (8/20/09).

Spy Talk at CQ Politics is a daily blog by Jeff Stein.  His slogan is “Intelligence for Thinking People.”  His post, “Interrogator:’Intolerance’ Led to Torture” (8/11/09) is an example of his investigative work using good contacts.  See also, “CIA Furious Over New Secret Site Expose” (8/20/09).

The Washington Independent’s “National Security” section features Spencer Ackerman, one of the most respected sources contributing regularly to the collaborative efforts mentioned above.  His story, “U.S. Prepares for Questions of Legitimacy in Afghan Election” (8/18/09) is subtitled, “United States May Push Winner To Incorporate Losing Factions Into Government.”  See also “Civil Liberties Groups Prepare Delicate Message on CIA Probe” (8/21/09).

Wired: Threat Level is about privacy, crime and security online.  David Kravets often writes the posts.  These are by Kim Zetter is titled “Outspoken Privacy Advocate Joins FTC” (8/17/09).  It is about Christopher Soghoian, an outspoken privacy advocate.  See also, “Guantanamo Defense Lawyers Being Investigated Over CIA Photos (8/21/09).

Suburban Guerilla is by former journalist Susie Madrack.  Her slogan is “Keeping a jaundiced eye on corporate media.” Featured as a moderator at the recent Netroots Nation Convention, she also writes for Crooks and Liars. Her post on Matt Taibbi’s searing article on progressives and health care reform (8/18/09) is worth the read.  See also, ”
The Stress Manifesto (8/20/09).

Sphere: Related Content

my two cents

anybody else notice how many goppers are ‘retiring?’  anyone else speculating as to why? my thought is that they are moving aside to give a new face and new name to the gop- and the neo cons can put even more crazy extremists in their place. here’s my theory- the gop infiltrates the dems and we get ‘blue dogs’ under that umbrella and the gop gets to feed the base with the crazies. either way, they still control congress. and don’t forget to keep an eye out for the free fall at the state and local government level…

i thought perhaps this newsy bit from glenn greenwald would need more airtime than it will ever get through the msm:

clinton personally intervened to suppress torture disclosure

but really, that’s no surprise since america under a democrat majority is still working hand in glove with the brits to keep information suppressed. felt good for about 30 seconds didn’t it? all of those promises that the democratic republic would be restored. ahh… the power of hope and change. i have learned to be quite the cynic and pessimist when it comes to power. i always believe the worst- and not only am i not disappointed, i get to say ‘i told ya so.’

Sphere: Related Content

Obama might create a new unit for interrogations

The Wall Street Journal reports this, via Jurist:

The Obama administration may create a special unit of interrogators to handle certain terror suspects, the Wall St. Journal reported Saturday, citing unidentified government officials. In creating the unit, the administration would reduce the role of the Central Intelligence Agency in interrogating suspects as the CIA has faced criticism for its interrogation techniques during the Bush administration. It is not clear which agencies the team would draw members from, but it is expected that members of both the CIA and the FBI would be included . The interrogation team would reportedly not use certain controversial interrogation techniques like waterboarding. A spokesperson for the White House refused to comment on the report.

It can’t be a bad thing…right? The WSJ got the exclusive… Wow wee.

Sphere: Related Content

Accusations of Torture in Mexico’s Drug War!

Last week the Obama administration demanded a full report on the actions of federal forces in Mexico’s President Calderon’s war on drugs. The State Department threatened to cancel more than $100 million in funds from the Merida Initiative, a $1.4 billion three-year program of military assistance, if the report is not thorough and convincing.

The State Department’s actions follow an article published in the Washington Post last week which documented abuses by military personnel, including torture, beatings, rape and illegal home searches. Mexicans complain that soldiers have broken into their homes without warrants, made arrests without cause and stolen appliances and food.

Allegations of human rights abuses by federal army troops involved in police activities in dozens of cities around Mexico have increased dramatically. Today, Human Rights Watch, based in Washington DC, added their voice to the cry. In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Washington-based group said Mexico’s military courts have failed to bring to justice troops Human Rights Watch holds responsible for a “rapidly growing number of serious abuses.”

Under the multiyear Merida Initiative aid package, the U.S. government withholds a 15 percent portion of the aid until the Secretary of State reports that Mexico is meeting human-rights conditions. One condition is that civilian authorities are investigating and prosecuting alleged abuses by troops and federal police “in accordance with Mexican and international law.” Mexico says it takes allegations against soldiers seriously but it insists that, under Mexican law, only military courts can try soldiers.

Sources within the Mexican government claim the U.S. State Department is not insisting on a full accounting of illegal detentions, torture and other abuses committed by the army. Mexico’s President Calderon intends to send a delegation to the Washington to clear up any “misunderstandings” the Obama administration might have about his war on drugs.

–written with input from the Mexico Solidarity Network

Sphere: Related Content

US Veterans Urge Release of Detainee Abuse Photos

Three military veteran organizations are calling on the Obama Administration to release photographs that depict the abuse of detainees in U.S. custody. Veterans For Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Common Sense jointly composed a letter to President Obama that states that they believe that releasing the pictures is crucial to U.S. national security, to upholding international law and to safeguarding domestic democracy. They ask veterans to co-sign this letter online before it is sent to the President. The text of the letter is available on the Veterans For Peace website.

Their letter rejects the contention that the photos’ release will do more harm than good. The letter quotes Harith al Obaidi, the head of the largest Sunni Muslim bloc in Iraq’s Parliament and the deputy chairman of the Committee on Human Rights, saying “The people who want to express their opinions through violence are already trying their best to do so. Showing them a few pictures wouldn’t make them any more able to do it.” Al Obaidi continues to say that keeping the pictures secret will augment suspicions that the American government is suppressing evidence of more widespread abuse.

President of Veterans For Peace and former Navy Corpsman, Mike Ferner said, “The biggest threat to our service members and our Republic is that we forget what has happened and do it again.” He continued, “Withholding these photographs makes it more likely that the people of our country can push these horrendous acts to the edge of our collective memory. This will not serve our nation well.”

According to information provided by the three groups, Veterans for Common Sense Executive and Gulf War veteran Director Paul Sullivan asks for the photos to “be turned over to a special war crimes prosecutor. Never again should our nation’s leaders order torture with impunity.”

“Being open about our mistakes by releasing these pictures is not only a way to ensure this dark episode in our history will not be repeated, but also a crucial step in our healing process as a nation,” stated Iraq War veteran and Board Chair of Iraq Veterans Against the War Camilo Mejia.

As part of their efforts to have the photos released Veterans For Peace has launched www.picturenomoretorure.org. This initiative asks the public to take photos of themselves with messages indicating their support of ending torture and releasing the torture photographs. The project will deliver these photos to the White House.

Sphere: Related Content

Guantanamo and detainee treatment — truth be told

“Dangerous people, detainees, prisoners of war, terrorists, extremists” – The words we use to describe our adversaries are important. Not only are they important to those people, but they matter all over the world. We must also be accurate when we describe what we have done to detainees says Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com (6/6/09). His post is titled, “The NYT’s nice, new euphemism for torture.” To quote (his links):

. . . according to the NYT, detainees in CIA black sites were merely subjected to “intense interrogations.” That’s all? Who opposes “intense interrogations”? This active media complicity in concealing that our Government created a systematic torture regime — by refusing ever to say so — is one of the principal reasons it was allowed to happen for so long

. . . The steadfast, ongoing refusal of our leading media institutions to refer to what the Bush administration did as “torture” — even in the face of more than 100 detainee deaths; the use of that term by a leading Bush official to describe what was done at Guantanamo; and the fact that media outlets frequently use the word “torture” to describe the exact same methods when used by other countries — reveals much about how the modern journalist thinks.

At the heart of the biggest arguments about what to do about releasing Guantanamo’s is the one about whether they remain security risks. Conservatives have exaggerated their level of dangerousness, it turns out. How often do they return to jihad? The story is headlined, “NYT: We made big mistakes on front-page Gitmo story, but we did not get spun,” and it is reported by Justin Eliot at TPM Muckraker (6/5/09). “The confirmed category in the Pentagon report claims that just one in 20, not one in seven, former detainees returned to terrorism.” To quote further:

The New York Times has published a lengthy “Editors’ Note” rolling back key claims in its front-page story on Guantanamo “recidivism” last month, and the paper’s Washington bureau chief concedes it wouldn’t have been a Page 1 story if the paper realized the errors in the story when it ran.

. . . The editors’ note, which is pasted in full below, acknowledges use of terms like “rejoined” and “recidivism” “accepted a premise of the report that all the former prisoners had been engaged in terrorism before their detention.”

. . . McClatchy and others have reported on evidence that some detainees may have in fact been radicalized while imprisoned at Gitmo.

The editors’ note also acknowledges the story “conflated two categories of former prisoners” — which were broken up into suspected and confirmed categories in the Pentagon report (which we have posted here).

There are very good reasons why President Obama ordered the closing of Guantanamo as one of his first official acts. Given our Constitution, it was not working, not for foreign policy, not for justice, and not for American values. The story of Guantanamo is a tragic one on several fronts, including detainee suicides: “Death by Detention,” by ACLU (6/4/09). “Gitmo detainee dead in ‘apparent suicide,’ “ is from TPM Muckraker (6/2/09). In 2005 the detainee had been on hunger strike and lost down to 86 pounds. This is the 5th suicide at Guantanamo. To quote:

A Guantanamo detainee has died in what the military are calling an “apparent suicide” — and civil liberties groups are calling for action.Guards found 31-year-old Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah Salih, known as Al-Hanashi, unresponsive and not breathing in his cell Monday night, U.S. military officials announced, according to the AP.

“Another Club Gitmo guest kills himself,” was the ironic post written on this same subject by Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com (6/2/09). His firmly held conclusion,

It’s very difficult to know why someone commits suicide, if that’s what happened here. And since he had no trial, one can’t know what Salih did or didn’t do. But what is not hard to see is that it is simply wrong to imprison people for life with no charges. That should not be something that we even have to debate.

Guantanamo Bay’s plan for closing, the story of the torture regime that started there, the Constitution and and detainee treatment — the truth must still be told. Painful as it is, disheartening as it feels as new information comes out, there is no getting around it if we are ever to heal and return to the rule of law.

References to earlier detainee stories:

• Britain responds to the “rule of law” nuisance is by Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com (3/27/09). Regards returned British detainee Binyam Mohamed.
• Britain’s bizarre reaction to war crimes allegations: investigations needed is by Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com (3/8/09).

My all-in-one Home Page of websites where I post regularly: Carol Gee – Online Universe

Technorati tags: news news and politics guantanamo detainee treatment

Sphere: Related Content

In Memorium, May 25, 2009

As long as this republic exists, there will always be those who will stand and defend it, and give their lives for it, do not dishonor those who have served, those who do serve, or those who will serve by allowing cowardly, lying, fear mongering draft dodgers to claim torture is ever justified.

Sphere: Related Content

Obama’s National Security speech- May 21st

I found his speech lacking in a plan. I found myself comparing him to Bush43 in regard to how he skated around several of the issues, all of which are major issues for America. I was disappointed but will of course give him his kudo’s for another grand speechifying moment..it just lacked substance.

Sphere: Related Content

They are not above outright lying to us.

And that fact just totally pisses me the hell off. The obvious, blatant lies being spewed by The Big Dick Cheney^TM, Boss Limbaugh, Michael Steele, Boehner, et. al. are just incredibly disingenuous..and outright fuckery. Cheney used a noun, a verb and 9/11 over 20 times this morning during his stint.

I missed The Big O’s speechifying this morning..but my dumb ass caught TBDC in all his glory. MSNBC showed Cheney’s entire speechifying at that massage parlor known as AEI.

The Ball n’ Chain^TM asked me to find something to do…away from the house for awhile. I was that bitchy after watching Cheney lie his ass off.

So I went out and about for a while, running household errands. But when I got home..Cheney and Obama were still on my boob tube. Tweety is now proselytizing about both of them along with former CIA spook Jack Rice, Lawrence ODonnell and that fucktard Pat Buchanan.

Larry looks like he is gonna have a stroke listing all the lies that Cheney told at AEI this morning. I know that feeling too after watching TBDC this morning. It’s hazardous to one’s health to watch that fucker for more than 60 seconds I think.

I am just not in the mood for these guys today. I am going to find a baseball game to watch until the Lakers game starts.

Because these fearmongering fuckwits just drive me to scream and holler like a mental patient.

Sphere: Related Content

It came from the office of the V.P.

Dick Cheney is probably the biggest bag of batshit in the Republican party, without a doubt. The former Vice President will not shut his piehole and folks inside the Rethug party are freaking out over his grandstanding bullshittery..but they are doing it silently..not publicly. A poll of GOP insiders just released by the National Journal shows that 57% of those folks are pissed the fuck off and say The Big Dick Cheney^TM (TBDC) has hurt the Party Of No.

From the rightwing blogosphere comes totally different set of polling numbers on whether TBDC has fucked them without kissing them first, also from the National Journal. Seventeen rightwing bloggers were polled about what impact Cheney has had, helping or hurting the party, and its pretty friggin freaky if you ask me:

I do not ‘get’ how the numbers can be so opposite of one another. Both groups are party faithful and yet the stunning differences are, well, stunning.

A few quotes from the GOP insiders on how Cheney has screwed the pooch for them:

“Cheney has emerged as the GOP’s most visible spokesman. And you’re more likely to find WMDs in Iraq than independent voters who like the former vice president.”

“As the Republicans try to move beyond the political disaster of the Bush years, Dick Cheney is a surreal public presence that is hurting Republicans very badly.”

“Cheney’s comments about [Colin] Powell versus [Rush] Limbaugh will drive moderate voters even further from the party. Republicans need these voters and spokesmen that will attract them.”

“Cheney’s disapproval rating is 60 percent: He’s so unpopular that he probably couldn’t get a gig on an infomercial. He’s certainly not the right guy to become the face of a revived and repositioned Republican Party.”

“Cheney’s continued presence on the stage makes it harder for the Republicans to turn the page after Bush. And he sucks up all the oxygen in the room.”

“No-brainer: The guy opens his mouth, and he creates problems for the Republicans. They so want the Bush era to slide into history.”

Now, a few quotes from the rightwing bloggers on how Cheney has..lol.. helped the Party Of No:

“Dick Cheney has continued to articulate a coherent conservative vision. Those who loathe him will ignore or ridicule him regardless, but those who are neutral towards, or even like, the man, must appreciate his willingness to speak up.” Bookworm, Bookworm Room

“Dick Cheney has helped the country, immaterial of politics — just as he did as vice president. People who demonize him might just want to reflect that this is someone who could easily have retired in comfort a long time ago — and instead chose to serve the country, something that arguably took years off his life.” Robert Miller, JoshuaPundit

“Dick Cheney calls ‘em as he sees ‘em. The world needs more men like Dick Cheney.” Doug Lambert, GraniteGrok

Seriously, these rightwing bloggers just crack me the hell up! Loyal to the core those fuckers are!

And then, there is the fucktard known as Mary Matalin. Her pov on TBDC running his yap is priceless. From a WaPo writeup on whether Cheny helps or hurt the Party of No:

“If Barack Obama had come in and done what he said he was going to do and look at the stuff and see what is working, then Cheney would have continued to do what he was doing — working on memoirs, finishing his house,” she said. “He’s got a good life. He’s got stuff going on. He doesn’t care about being on TV. There’s no more politics there. He’s not settling any scores. He just wants people to understand.”

Matalin needs to sit down and shut the hell up too if she truely values the GOP. Over 60% of American’s dislike, if not downright hate, Cheney. She can not ignore that little tidbit of knowledge, or if she does..it’s her funeral..or rather..the Rethugs funeral in 2012.

Taylor Marsh was polled by the National Journal on this question as well. He however is a lefty and I like his take on TBDC and how the bastard can politicize anything, including the issue of torture:

“Dems should be aware that Cheney has succeeded in politicizing torture. However, his real goal was drawing a line when he believes America became ‘less safe,’ which began under a Democratic president. It’s his cynical calculation that when we are hit, he can remind people that it’s Obama’s fault; he’s hoping for a new chapter in the right-wing ‘Dems are soft on national security’ talking point. Too bad you can’t ignore Bush-Cheney policies, including torture, which got us where we are today.”

The fact that people are taking sides on the issue of torture based on politics is scary indeed. My hope is that as long as The Big Dick Cheney^TM keeps talking, the more Americans will distance themselves from the republican party and marginalize the mutha fuckas.

My final thought goes along with the next graphic, filched from The White Weasel on deviantart:

And I really want us all to remember the following line from Cheney the chickenhawk, thanks to 3rdtech also at Deviantart:

May Cheney spend eternity in hell with the rest of his disgusting friends and without any air conditioning. He can’t get there soon enough for me however, because when it’s all said and done…we must remember the demand to waterboard KSM came from the Office of the Vice President:

*Two U.S. intelligence officers confirm that Vice President Cheney’s office suggested waterboarding an Iraqi prisoner, a former intelligence official for Saddam Hussein, who was suspected to have knowledge of a Saddam-al Qaeda connection.

*The former chief of the Iraq Survey Group, Charles Duelfer, in charge of interrogations, tells The Daily Beast that he considered the request reprehensible.

*Much of the information in the report of the 9/11 Commission was provided through more than 30 sessions of torture of detainees.

Where in the blue hell is that Special Prosecutor Mr Holder???? Cheney’s ticker ain’t gonna keep pumping forever dude…

Crossposted with leftwing nutjob pride at my personal rant place.

Sphere: Related Content

weeping jesus on the cross

guess i’ll have to change my saying because apparently, jesus doesn’t weep- and he advocates torture.  i admit- i am stymied.  i have no idea how so called sentient beings can be so very stupid.  i considered myself a christian at one point in my life- in fact, i was raised baptist.  now, as batshit crazy as southern baptists are- and as nazi-ish as they are about what women wear to church- never once heard them say jesus was anything but love.  not once.

my sweet buddy dusty rants about the big dick… cheney and she makes a good point that we should not be giving him any airtime.  i guess the corporate overlords disagree- but take heart- folks are beginning to question that airtime big dick is getting.  more and more folks are beginning to try and tackle the lies and the propaganda but i don’t think it matters.  see, here’s the thing- he isn’t trying to win over anyone- he’s giving the faithful what they need- the strength to carry out what is coming next.

america has a decision to make- and if we dither it may be made for us.  do we fight to retake our democratic republic? or do we decide to scrap the wreck and make a new country?  we have to decide as a nation- are we ready to condone torture- or will we reject it?  it isn’t just that torture doesn’t work- it’s taking a hard look at the bigger picture- the cheney administration tortured people simply because they could.  cheney lied- and continues to lie and twist the truth and pretty much do whatever the hell he feels like- because he can.  folks who get in the way- well, mystery generally surrounds their death.

there is a large number of people in this nation who believe that ‘white is right’ and that anyone who doesn’t think their way- is wrong.  and the disheartening part about the whole thing- the folks are on the left and the right. there is a small number of folks who still believe in the truth- in real history and in facing the past and present with courage despite the fact that it is pretty ugly.  they are the folks who are disparaged by the likes of  lindsey graham.

no matter what happens in the near future- america can never be the same.  we have lost more than our civil liberties- we have lost the essence of who we were and what we stood for.  our illusions have been shattered and even if we made the decision to reclaim what we were- it would be different.  we are no longer ‘the innocents abroad‘ or at home.

Sphere: Related Content

have we lost our way?

i have said before that we have to decide what it is america stands for. will we fight for our constitution, or decide that america is old- we need to buy a new model?

Sphere: Related Content

Bloggers deserve kudos for their good work

Much discomfort remains connected to the issue of what to do about Bush administration leftovers. Many progressives are still actively advocating for investigation, truth-telling, accountability and reform. Therefore, we rely on the hard news sources as well as the blogosphere to keep us well informed. I use a news aggregator. I have a section in my Bloglines aggregator called “Investigative faves.” Let me show you why you, too should be reading them. The list is in reverse chronological order:

1. TPM Muckraker for “Report: Top Gossling Pushed to Declassify Info to ‘Embarrass the Democrats’,” by Zachary Roth (5/6/09). The story refers to former Rep. Peter Goss, who served for a time (not very well) at the CIA. Did any of the associated Goss underlings leak the story about Rep Jane Harman and AIPAC? Just below this story is one titled, “Zelikow: I Think Cheney Tried to Destroy My Torture Memo, ” by Zachary Roth (5/6/09). The title is self-explanatory.
2. Firedoglake.com’s emptywheel is mostly written by Marcy Wheeler, who writes today asking “The OPR Report Why No Sanctions for Bradbury?“This post cites the original WaPo story and asks a number of very important questions regarding what should happen to the torture memo lawyers. Yesterday’s post was closely related: “Dougie Feith’s Little Shop of Tortures?” For this she researched Doug Feith’s 2003 testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, and made some fine deductions. Wheeler does perhaps the best investigation online. Blogger bmaz explains (5/5/09):
   

   We started this discussion in earnest a little over two weeks ago when Marcy Wheeler scooped the world by revealing that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Was Waterboarded 183 Times in One Month and Abu-Zubaydah 83 times. Marcy didn’t get handed the information by a governmental press flack and she didn’t print it as a result of a leak from some coddled and conflicted secret source with an agenda. Nope, she did it the old fashioned way, she earned it by doing the tedious grunt work of reading the memos and documents. The very work the traditional press shirked.

3. ACLU Blog of Rights posted a piece titled, “Guantanamo Bay, U.S.A.?” The (5/6/09) story concerns the possibility that the Obama administration will go back to the use of military commissions for some of its detainees. Another big story asks whether the “DOJ Ethics Report [is] coming soon? (5/5/09)
4. Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com wrote, “Someone needs to give Jane Harman an award for this,” (5/4/09). Regarding Harman’s appearance at the AIPAC conference, crusading against domestic surveillance. Another fine post is titled, “UAE ‘torture’ scandal and cover-up sparks outrage in the U.S.,” (4/3/09). You may have seen this disturbing video on television recently.
5. Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood. He recently posted that the “Govt Seeks Dismissal of AIPAC Case,” (5/1/09). This is another article connected to the Harman AIPAC episode. On April 29, Aftergood wrote, “Appeals Court Curbs Use of State Secrets Privilege.” This regards the ACLU vs. Jeppesen DataPlan lawsuit.
6. Spy Talk at CQ Politics is written by Jeff Stein. On May 4 his headline read, “Rice: ‘We were deaf, dumb and blind’ on al Qaeda on Sept. 11, 2001.” The /11.post discusses Rice’s penchant for helping little kids understand what was going on with the grown-ups on 9/11. His question for the April 28 post asked,”What did top spook Blair really say about Harman and the NSA?.” This refers to Adm. Dennis Blair, the Director of National Intelligence.
7. Wired: Threat Level by Kim Zetter: “DOJ Faulted for Failing to Follow Surveillance Reporting Requirements, ” (4/30/09). To quote:
   

   Following the release of an annual report this week about wiretaps requested by state and federal law enforcement agencies comes a complaint from the Electronic Privacy Information Center that the government has been derelict in its duty to report other surveillance statistics having to do with “pen register” and “trap and trace” orders.

   In a letter (.pdf) sent Wednesday to Senator Patrick Leahy (D – Vermont), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, EPIC noted that the Justice Department had failed to report the use of such surveillance as required by federal law.

8. About.com-Civil Liberties is written by Tom Head. Here is an example of his work: “Sympathy for the Devil,” (4/22/09). It begins, “According to memos released by the Obama administration last week, the CIA under the Bush administration tortured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed 183 times in March 2003 alone.”

Those of us who are expecting that these questions and problems are not going to disappear soon, want to see the truth get out. We want justice done and the rule of law return full force to the current administration. We can settle for no less.

[Original post date at S/SW: 5/6/09]

See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

Carol Gee – Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics national intelligence blog news torture APAIC jane harman

Sphere: Related Content

paradox or hypocrisy?

my mom is my partner in crime. i wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her curiosity- and her admirable ability to stomach listening to hate media and christian media. i guess that i am perplexed at the christian right’s incredulity that more and more americans are turning away from their religion. i mean, despite their best efforts, folks are not sheeple to be fleeced. that’s reserved for special morons on the right- those twenty percenters who have difficulty spelling, i imagine.

anyhoo, many right wing christian types have argued that because the founders were largely christian or deist- the intent that america is a christian nation founded on christian principles is there. therefore, we should return to christianity to unite us in the common good through morals and ethics. except that argument falls very, very flat. the constitution may have been created by men who believed that there is a god- but they specifically, and deliberately stated that there will be no state religion. folks can worship as they please- but no one religion will dominate the other at the federal level. period. you can google it- it’s there.

and on the hypocritical end- well, let’s suffice to say- with all of the ‘family values’ scandals and the pious christian leaders succumbing to just about every deadly sin there is- and the fact that they assisted the politicians in ruining this once great country for worldly gain- that they are lacking quite a bit in the moral authority realm.

i guess that the biggest puzzle for me to try and piece together- is how they present christianity versus what they really stand for. i am going to guess that’s why folks are leaving in droves. the christian right alleges to stand for the right to life of all- because your life belongs to god and your body is his temple- and you need to keep it pure and clean for him. you don’t have the right to euthanasia or suicide- because your body isn’t yours to begin with. god will decide when you live or die. uh huh. jesus- and god- are love. they love you despite you being a sinner or a heathen- and flowers bloom and birds sing, yah, yah, yah. how then to explain the christian stance on 1) capital punishment and 2) torture.

so, let’s see- god is love but he sanctions the torture of other people at the hand of the folks who won. mmmmm…. which chapter and verse in the bible sanctions torture? i’ve read it through twice but i may have missed something. i do, however, distinctly remember something about ‘vengeance is mine, saith the lord.’ but it may be different now- i have a king james version bible. and please cue me in as to where god says- or jesus- that it’s ok to kill someone based on a crime they committed.

i am an admitted ‘heathen’- athiest, i suppose to those who must label. i oppose the death penalty and torture. i also would not personally have an abortion but i am completely in favor of contraception. i also support euthanasia- under restrictions and suicide- because it’s a personal choice. now, that’s not to say i advocate either- but each human being is autonomous. they have the right to decide their own fate. they do not have the right to torture and kill other human beings- or other beings- wantonly and at their whim.

i also have a real problem with christians blaming victims for man made disasters. for example, the christian right blaming the victims of hurricane katrina for the army corps of engineer’s failure to make the levees safe. their ’sins’ did not bring the wrath of god down upon them- climate change did. and the levees breaking was most decidedly not the fault of gay folks. get real.

i have a feeling that many run as far away as they can from christianity these days because these folks come off like a band of thugs- forcing their way of life on others and ganging up on minority groups- like gay folks, immigrants, non wasps, etc. they behave like the crazy relative that folks don’t invite to family holiday dinners. and it’s unfortunate because i really believe in the constitutional right for folks to worship as they please- but these folks are turning the houses of worship into extremist group havens where they are tax exempt- and can plot their course with impunity.

the ’say one thing and do another’ philosophy is what is driving thinking folks away from religion- especially christianity. just an fyi. my fervent hope is that religion extincts itself- and i hope i am around to see it happen.

Sphere: Related Content

Next Page »