The indifference of so many Americans to Guantanamo, "extraordinary rendition" (what a verbal load of bologna!), the Padilla case, the loss of habeas, etc., has been excruciating to watch. Like being trapped in a slow motion movie where nobody but you realizes we're all falling off the cliff, and you're screaming "Look! Look!" and no one pays any attention.

We attend a Quaker "Meeting" (i.e., church) and, as many of you may know, the Quakers are known for their non-violence, for their peace witness, for their advocacy for the Palestinians, etc., etc., -- yet even at Meeting, it's hard to get people excited about Guantanamo and habeas. Yes, they all decry it, yes, they vote for Dems and talk about how the Repubs have really screwed everything up with some Dem help, yes, most of them do political activism in some way, but this issue is one that doesn't grab them viscerally. They're not EXERCISED about it. They're not UP IN ARMS. I don't understand why - because to me this is the base issue, more important than health care, or housing, or immigration, or abortion, or gun control (as important as those issues may be). Nothing else really matters vis a vis our government, so long as it is engaged in illegal warfare and denying the most basic human and constitutional rights.

But how to explain the near indifference of even committed activists on this issue? Is it because they haven't heard enough gruesome stories in the newspapers and haven't seen enough horrid pictures on the TV? Is it as simple as that? Is it because the "enemy" is Muslim, and Muslims have been demonized in the West now, so that as long as these awful things are happening to "them" it's not that important? Are we just so comfy and cozy at home and so insulated from the carnage that we don't think about what's being done in the dead of night to other humans, in our names?

Truly, I have no mouth but I must scream.

Thanks for making some noise, Glenn.

Yes.

And to Mr. Powell -- I hope you don't not listen to Handel's Messiah, and most of Bach, since they were written for the glory of God. Not to mention so much other wonderful music -- spirituals, Gregorian chant, Mozart's Requiem, oh the list is endless. And what about "ethnic" music dedicated to the Gods of Africa, Bali, Brazil, etc., etc., etc. You deny yourself this richness because of the words (or the composer's thoughts)? What a tragedy. Even if you disagree with a particular religion or the "idea" of religion, can you not recognize and share the universals -- the celebration of joys, of grief, of longing for the sublime. Oh, man, don't limit yourself so.

on God's green earth that Gonzales cannot be impeached now? (Not to mention his boss....)

"How is this not a major scandal on the level of the greatest presidential corruption and lawbreaking scandals in our country's history?"

This is an agonizing question for me as well. I don't not have an answer, except somehow I believe part of the answer lies within the tortured comments posted by Jake007.

-- sajwan

The fact that Rudy and Mitt both got loud applause last night when they declared themselves pro-torture and Mitt wanted to double the size of Guantanamo, makes me really depressed about the future of this country. Half the troops apparently think torture's hunky dory -- perhaps half the American populace does, too. Doubt that same group would object to "spying on terrists" without a warrant.

As I said in a post last week, even many extremely liberal pacifists (aka Quakers) are not particularly riled up about this stuff. I really think we're just all too comfortable -- a classic example of butter keeping the populace calm about the guns.

We simply can't give in and surrender to the forces of darkness that have taken over this country, but, man, it is an uphill battle. Today, I'm tired.

Individual reporters have their strengths and weaknesses, their biases (sometimes recognized, usually unconscious), along with varying degrees of curiosity and courage. There is plenty to disparage -- and encourage -- within the profession. But reporters don't live in a vacuum -- they get paid, promoted (or not) and fired based on how well they serve the people who write their paychecks. Reporters noticed Ashley Banfield get demoted and finally fired for being critical of the Bush administration's war in Iraq, they saw Robert Scheer lose his job at the LA Times to be replaced by Jonah (!!!!) Goldberg, they saw Donahue lose his highly rated show because he criticized the Bush regime, they saw Judith Miller write lie after lie in the NYTimes with no consequences (until much too late). Reporters and editors surely internalized this culture of intimidation, even if they didn't mean to. Some -- who were strong and sure of themselves, or had publishers willing to hang it all out -- bucked the trend, but most either worked for large "don't rock the boat" corporations, or groups who actively backed Bush. They toed the line, many probably not even realizing they were doing so. So, yes, blame them for enabling the rot, but realize where the stench is really coming from.