Pacific Views
You've been had. You've been took. You've been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok. - Malcolm X
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| Pacific ViewsYou've been had. You've been took. You've been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok. - Malcolm X |
The Bush administration has turned our entire governmental apparatus into an exercise in the banality of evil. She quotes from a New Yorker article:
"The C.I.A.’s interrogation program is remarkable for its mechanistic aura. 'It’s one of the most sophisticated, refined programs of torture ever,' an outside expert familiar with the protocol said. 'At every stage, there was a rigid attention to detail. Procedure was adhered to almost to the letter. There was top-down quality control, and such a set routine that you get to the point where you know what each detainee is going to say, because you’ve heard it before. It was almost automated. People were utterly dehumanized. People fell apart. It was the intentional and systematic infliction of great suffering masquerading as a legal process. It is just chilling.'"
[...]
"A former member of a C.I.A. transport team has described the 'takeout' of prisoners as a carefully choreographed twenty-minute routine, during which a suspect was hog-tied, stripped naked, photographed, hooded, sedated with anal suppositories, placed in diapers, and transported by plane to a secret location. A person involved in the Council of Europe inquiry, referring to cavity searches and the frequent use of suppositories during the takeout of detainees, likened the treatment to 'sodomy.' He said, 'It was used to absolutely strip the detainee of any dignity. It breaks down someone’s sense of impenetrability. The interrogation became a process not just of getting information but of utterly subordinating the detainee through humiliation.' The former C.I.A. officer confirmed that the agency frequently photographed the prisoners naked, 'because it’s demoralizing."
This is our government today. Dehumanizing. Demoralizing. An insult to the human spirit. A farewell to dignity. A vast factory for mechanized, forced sodomy.
George Bush fancies himself a Christian. His advisors and political allies make great shows of their piety. He tells us that Jesus is his favorite philosopher. Matthew 25:34-45:
34 Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the righteous 16 will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' 40 And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41 Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.' 44 Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' 45 He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.'
George Bush is a shameful disgrace to America, and to the Christian faith he claims to hold. He's turned our country into a nation that keeps gulags. He was given custody of people who were helpless and wretched, often falsely accused, and he has violated them.
And yet, he still wants to be counted among the righteous. Funny. Ha, ha.
Posted by natasha at August 9, 2007 11:42 AM | War on Terrorism | TrackBack(1) | Technorati links |Next you'll be telling me that Jack Bauer is NOT who we should be molding our counterterrorism policies after.
And let's face it, Bush is just following the base here.
Rudy Giuliani — a man who knows he has a few cross-dressing episodes to live down — didn’t hesitate. “I would tell the [interrogators] to use every method…. It shouldn’t be torture, but every method they can think of.”
“Water-boarding?” asked Hume.
“I would — and I would — well, I’d say every method they could think of,” affirmed Giuliani.
As governor of the State That Dares Not Speak Its Name — at least not in GOP circles — Mitt Romney naturally had to up the ante. “You said the person’s going to be in Guantanamo. I’m glad they’re at Guantanamo…. Some people have said we ought to close Guantanamo. My view is, we ought to double Guantanamo.” I am politician, hear me roar! And, oh yeah: “Enhanced interrogation techniques have to be used.”
Not to be left out, Rep. Duncan Hunter of California boasted that, “in terms of getting information that would save American lives, even if it involves very high-pressure techniques,” he would offer only “one sentence: Get the information.”
And finally, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo: “We’re wondering about whether water-boarding would be a — a bad thing to do? I’m looking for Jack Bauer at that time, let me tell you.”
Your Republican Party, 2008: Objectively pro-torture.
Posted by: rob at August 9, 2007 01:16 PMThe only problem I have is our intelligence agencies are betrayed by liberal anti-American politicians that have no interest in protecting our country.
Tell me - where are all your posts about the Muslims that torture, kill, assassinate - children, women, and innocent people.
You have no interest in protecting the sanctity of life. You're just another liberal whiner.
If it were my choice the IC would have total control to do whatever they wanted to get information that would protect our country. I could care less if they are embarrassed or humiliated or cry.
Posted by: JustaDog at August 9, 2007 01:50 PMYay! It's a pseudo-conservative troll. Aw, they're so cute when they're trying to ignore their own intellectual history!
The only problem I have is our intelligence agencies are betrayed by liberal anti-American politicians that have no interest in protecting our country.
Wow, it's the "stab in the back" theory about how all those traitorous liberals are3 undermining the WAR ON TERRA.
Gee, where have I heard that before?
Sorry, bunky, THAT one won't fly. If you want to know why the war the neocons have been fighting according to THEIR strategy has failed, look in the mirror. YOUR side is fucking this up six ways from Sunday, not ours- you've gotten what you wanted from Republicans and a number of spineless Democrats, and now that it's dawning on you you can't bomb terrorism away, it's time to play Blame The Liberals.
To that I say, go play in traffic- or get serious about what the problem is; a number of CONSERVATIVE ideals America was founded on (limited government, universal human rights, avoiding foreign entanglements) have been tossed overboard by your own party leaders, while they've been feeding you jingoistic pap on Fox News.
Tell me - where are all your posts about the Muslims that torture, kill, assassinate - children, women, and innocent people
Assuming that we take your premise on its face value, is your argument that we need to torture just like they do? Or can we say that, mmmmkay, torture is bad, no matter if it's done by Scary Dark Skinned People or Noble American Civil Servants?
You have no interest in protecting the sanctity of life. You're just another liberal whiner.
And you need to brush up on your Burke and Kirk, if you seriously think you're making a conservative rebuttal to liberalism outrage on what our government is doing. Or look up Bob Barr, while you're at it.
Your first clue: George W. Bush isn't a conservative. Just remember- everything you hand over to Bush now could easily be a tool in Hillary's hands come January 2009. You really feel comfortable with that?
If it were my choice the IC would have total control to do whatever they wanted to get information that would protect our country. I could care less if they are embarrassed or humiliated or cry.
"Whatever they wanted", huh?
I guess you DO think Scary Dark Skinned People and Noble American Civil Servants get different standards.
So, are you comfortable with having "enhanced interrogation" in, say, your local police station? Would you be comfortable submitting to it if you were a suspect in a crime?
Oh, wait, you're an American. That couldn't happen HERE, could it? I bet the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus visit your house, too.
Here's the thing: I always thought conservatives disliked relativism and preferred objective standards. Like "Congress shall make no law...", "Life begins at conception" and so on. Oh, and limited government- the kind of government that doesn't get to throw you in a hole and torture you. It's fascinating to see so many of you become so scared that you'd give that up. But you know what they say about those who trade liberty for security, right?
Thanks, Rob.
JD - I'm responsible for my government and country, the one I vote for/in and pay taxes to, more than I am for any other group of strangers on the face of the earth.
I can be repulsed by the bad behavior of other governments or groups, though I feel no particular call to be ashamed by it. But George Bush took my tax dollars and used them to pay to have people tortured. I'm deeply offended by that, but you just want to apologize for it. You want to wait to act right until everyone else in the whole wide world agrees to act right, and you know, I forget where it was in the Book othat Jesus said we got a free pass for our misdeeds if our neighbors were acting badly, too.
You're revolting.
Posted by: natasha at August 9, 2007 08:19 PMAh, but you missed the memo, N; it is necessary to agree with everything our current government does. We must not question, we must not think, we must not disagree in any way, shape or form. Surely, Fearless Leader knows all, and since Jesus speaks directly to him, he is most certainly enacting God's will. Laws are irrelevant. Morality is a nuisance. The Constitution is nothing but a piece of paper written by some oldie guys who were not from Texas. Can't you see the aura of divinity surrounding the president when he speaks on TV?!
Posted by: Scott at August 10, 2007 12:15 PM