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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
JerryB
Published Letters: 9
I appreciate the last section regarding civil discourse and the criminal actions taken in our name. It's been like living in the Twilight Zone. No outrage from any of the so-called serious people and those of us beating our heads and our hearts against the wall they've built around themselves are treated like a bunch of tin-foil hat wearers.(sometimes starting to feel like it too) Thanks Glenn
Where we didn't see "Bi-Partisanship" was from Senate Republicans after'06. Everything that came down the pike was filibustered. Well, threatened with filibuster and every time a straight party line vote, killing whatever legislation it was. Without regard to how much work had gone into crafting the legislation or how popular or neccessary.
Of course, these would be the same people out in front of the cameras having a hissy fit every time they didn't get their way.
It might be a good idea to pressure the Obama administration to threaten to start pulling liscences if the media refuses to address their many failings of the last few years
I wish I could believe that prosecutions were possible or even likely. Over the last decade or so I have so utterly lost faith in the people of this nation to do the right thing that I have not even the slightest hint of a thought of a possibility that it is even remotely plausible.
Twirl a shiny thing in front of us and we'll forget what we were doing. Scare us with a big bad boogey man and we'll bury our heads and decide we'll get back to this later, maybe.
I never used to consider myself cynical.The election was a nice change from the usual dissapointments but it was not the alpha and omega of the solutions to our problems. Not by a long shot.
I have tried to warn the Right for years, "Be careful of the monster you create. Sooner or later you will lose control of it and eventually it will come back and destroy you".
We really needed this ruling from SCOTUS. I'm don't believe that the Obama adminstration would ever make use of this policy the way Bush did but what about future Presidents? Another Bush or worse, a Huey Long as President and we will be right back in the nightmare.
Of course, with the Court we presently have it's not certain we would have gotten the ruling we would want.
Glenn, Thank you for the question. Let me start off by saying that I am not an idealist. I have been dissappointed by some of Obamas actions on the national security front and I am greatful for your reporting on these issues. I never thought that Obama was the scary liberal that the right tried to paint him as, however it has been my opinion that Obama intends to engage the so called war on terror as more of a legal matter rather that a military one. Lets not forget that the idea of an "Ememy Combatant" was the product of the fevered minds of terrified right wing extremist and agenda driven neo-conservatives that had a fundamentally different view of the world that most sane people. If for example a terrorist is captured and brought to justice through a legal system then he would not be an enemy combatant but an indicted defendant. That negates the need for such labels as enemy combatant. It's also my belief that where we are in the discussion now it would be political suicide for Obama to do this.
I could be wrong about all this, If so I would be the first to admit that. I just don't get a sense of the man that he will continue the more egredious and criminal policies of the Bush Administration. He has no John Yoo or David Addington working for him. At least, not to my knowledge.
I would never expect the "Very Serious People" of the "Beltway Crowd" to say anything negative to power. They are too insular and beholden to "access" to show real courage. It is, as it has always has been, up to us to put the kind of pressure on our government to change what we don't like. As LBJ put it{and I'm paraphrasing} "I agree with you. Now make me". Back then it still took powerful forces to even get to a President. We have a distinct advantage in the present age. We have this powerful tool that we all use every day and it's the peoples voice that is heard here. We just need to find a way to turn our disparate voices into a forceful choir that Washington can't ignore.
I expressed an opinion and you challenged me to defend my position. I did so in what I thought was a reasonable, thoughtful way. Did you miss it or do you have no response?
I know I'm a nobody but I did take the time to respond to your question. Simple courtesy would be to respond even if it's just to tell me to go fuck myself.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
Salon headlines in your mailbox
