In the 1980s people talked about 'Reagan Democrats.' I think we can now talk about 'Obama Republicans.'
Saying, "I didn't leave the party, it left me," Senator Arlen Spector is switching parties today.
Wow.
You can see me talk about what I think about the issues of the day at www.whitehouse.tv . My show is called 'White House Report.' I am the red head who looks a lot like Casper, the friendly ghost.
As always, if you do watch, let me know what you think.
The problem with torture
It feels strange to have to say this because it seems so obvious but torture is bad. Call it whatever you want – say ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ or whatever – it is still bad. Very, very, very bad. Saying this reminds me of an organization I heard about today (no joke, on NPR) called “People Opposed to Homicide.” Being in DC I have heard of all sorts of associations and whatnot, there is a “Pet Owner Association,” for example, but is there a “People Who Love Murder” group out there? I doubt it.
The idea of moral absolutes can be very tempting. With them you have lots of areas that are black and white rather than grey. My world has only a few of these. I oppose the death penalty. I won’t go into the thousand or so reasons but while making my life easier is NOT one of them (I mean intellectually, it does. Should person X get the death penalty? I don’t care if they are the Green River Killer, Pol Pot, anyone who organized the Rwandan genocide or whoever, the answer is no. I don’t have to think about it anymore.
On face value, the issue of torture is another moral absolute for me. The United States of America should not torture people. Never. Never times ten to the millionth power. We are not the United States of Jack Bauer.
Why?
1. We undermine all the good we do and represent and create nasty precedent at the same time. We are the ‘good guys’ remember? We trot ourselves out as the beacon of freedom and justice and democracy. We are a force of good and light in the world. A force like this does not torture people. We set an example for everyone else. If we can torture people when we like, so can anyone else. Robert Mugabe is doing bad things to his people? If we let this go he can hold his head up high and say “You know, I was worried about our national security and didn’t know what to do and then I heard about what President George W. Bush did to people he thought we threats and said to myself, now there’s an idea.” And, yes I think that is possible.
2. It doesn’t work. VP Cheney, who spent most his time in office in I think a cave or some other place has said that the methods they used provided useful information that protected us from more terrorist attacks like 9/11. Now I cannot prove this is not true but what he didn’t say was that this was the only way to get that same – or maybe better – information. Many, many experts in this have said that torture is not a good way to elicit information because a, some people will admit to anything they think their interrogators want to hear to make it stop (count me in that category) or b, the terrorist groups who would have this vital information prepare to be tortured. Al Qaeda tells its members to expect it if captured. PS to all the “24” fans out there, the military actually sent people to LA to ask its producers to stop showing Jack Bauer torture people to save the say. They said it was hurting morale because soldiers were asking “why can’t we do the things they do on TV?” No, I am not kidding.
3. We don’t torture others to protect ourselves. Let’s not kid ourselves here. We didn’t sign the Geneva Convention because of altruism; we did it because, as Joe Biden put in a Senate Foreign Relations hearing, we don’t want our captured soldiers to be tortured. (ok, I paraphrased)
4. If we can do it to others, we can do it to ourselves. This is not a thought I came up with, it was what Phillip Zelikow wrote in a memo to Condi Rice when he was one of her advisors. He reiterated the point this week and said that once we use national security as a reason to do this against enemy combatants we risk giving our government the right to do it to citizens. Given that the Obama administration may try to reverse a Supreme Court decision that requires police to stop questioning a suspect when they ask for or have a lawyer until that person is present, I am not sure Mr. Zelikow wasn’t on to something.
The more complicated question is what do we do now? Here is where my moral absolute fails me and my world becomes grey again. This question needs more thought but I have time.
President Obama cannot initiate any actions against the people who made this policy. Neither can Congress. To do so would just add partisan crap to an already sensitive subject. Any attempts by the Democrats to do this would just feed the never ending cycle of political retribution that began with Watergate (and if you think I am the only one that thinks this, ask around). This cannot be about political payback.
We need a truth commission modeled after the 9/11 Commission and similar to those held in Rwanda and South Africa. We need to take the politics out of it and put the justice back in. Seriously, it’s the best thing for everyone.
Everyone thought I was paranoid when I …
· Was worried about a global flu pandemic… Granted, when I prattled on about the flu I was talking about the bird flu but I was worried about infectious disease – specifically Dengue Fever and Ebla long before bird flu came along, and now this happens: Mexico City has basically shut down due to a swine flu outbreak. This is scary because this may be the same flu that is circulating around the SW US and is eerily similar to the 1918 Spanish flu that killed millions around the world. This is also scary because flu season should be over, at least in Mexico.
· Said I have a phobia of velociraptors… You may or may not have read that Florida is considered, by some anyway, to be the ‘Ellis Island’ for exotic species. Recent events like hurricanes let snakes like Burmese Pythons to escape and breed and become a problem (they can grow to 20 feet and have been found with six foot alligators in their stomachs). There are other reasons these animals are now all over, people buy them as pets and let them go. One such friendly critter called the Nile monitor has been wreaking havoc in Cape Coral, FL. According to the 20 April New Yorker, they ‘often hunt in packs, like modern day velociraptors.’ Apparently, they ‘are notoriously aggressive and ill-tempered. When corned, a monitor will stand on its hind legs and hiss, inflating its body and lashing its tail like a bullwhip.’ Nice. They can also travel pretty far though seem to be happy where they are… at least for now.
· Opposed the changes to FISA… Since its creation in 1978, the FISA court has turned down five requests by law enforcement to listen to communications but that wasn’t good enough for the Bush administration, which forced Congress to change the law in 2007. It turns out, our spy agencies were listening in to Congresswoman Jane Harmon (D-CA). If they can listen to her legally, they can listen to you.
I don’t mean to tell you I told you so, but I did. J
Democrats are considering using expedited measures in the Senate to pass health care reform. I am all for that. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/us/politics/23health.html?hp) I like the idea so much that if you think we have waited too long for a better health care system already, I think you should call your Senators (202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121) and tell them you support this.
And to those who don’t and who happen to think President Reagan was a good president, remember the GOP did the same thing to push through his agenda in 1981. More recently the Republican controlled Senate did it in twice under George W. Bush, in 2001 and 2003. Ironically, I don’t think Reagan or Dubya were good presidents. I think the latter was horrible for America (and the planet) but one thing that I said (look back at my post in which I defend his position on ANWR) was that when he took a stand he didn’t back down from it. I don’t think that is always the best plan but health care is one issue we cannot afford to ignore. By afford, I do not even mean the people who don’t have insurance, I mean our country.
Republicans say this will be the equivalent of a ‘declaration of war.’ I think they already brought that when the Obama Administration made concessions to please them and then they all voted against it. That’s how they do bipartisanship? Note to the right (I know again): You lost, get over it. You had the country to run as your own personal whatever for most of the past eight years, now it’s our turn.
First, I know the season started a few weeks ago. I know this not just because as a sentient being I can read the calendar to see it’s that time of year. I also know it because once again my soul is ready for a slow and painful death. Despite the fact that I grew up watching the Mets and having them break my heart year after year after year, the 2007 & 08 seasons may have killed baseball for me. Seriously.
Generally I do not pay much attention to the off season or even spring training. This is not only because I am lazy and the season is long enough already but because I know the Mets. Maybe the new stadium will be different – and I loved Shea – but many great players seem to fall into some malaise when they reach our park. They do well before and after playing for the Mets but, maybe it’s the water?, they flounder with us. Even when they don’t, our classiest-ever front office (that’s sarcasm) will do something to screw things up. I cannot count how many times I have seen talent shipped off elsewhere to do wonderful things with their new team.
Usually I am all about baseball all the time. I check the paper every day, watch as many games as possible and do all the crazy things a fanatic does. If I am at home watching and it seems the team does better when I am paying attention or not, or if I am wearing my old-school jacket or not, I do these things because that’s how superstitious I am.
In 2007, I went to the first game of the now infamous melt down. I wasn’t worried. We had such a strong lead in our division. Surely one loss wouldn’t kill it. No, one didn’t. The others did. Last year I watched the last game at Shea at my apartment in DC and nearly lost my voice screaming at the TV (you know they can hear you when you do that).
I know how this season will play out already. The Mets have a great team – on paper. Their start hasn’t been perfect but they will get better and maybe will be almost in first place by the All Star break. Then they will crash and burn and in August make a run that will get my hopes up just enough to be crushed when they don’t make it to the playoffs, again.
Baseball in a unique sport in a lot of ways. That there is no timer in the game, other than the dates of the season, makes it special. Wake me in October and let me know if we made it.
Or the US today. Every day I see more and more stories of people who lost millions because of Bernie Madoff. As bad as I think that is, letting the US government put people in jail for being poor is infinitely worse.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/opinion/06mon4.html?_r=2
Where's the outrage over this?
