Letters to the Editor
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@LWM re email
Just FYI, I did contact you Friday a.m.
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Re; Polls, Schmolls.
They are useful, even meaningful, but you have to look at them in their totality and in the historical context to get a rough idea what was going on. It is a minor quibble I had with F, MD. He's correct that the mood of the country was mor for than against but chose to focus on the stat bump after the SoTU speech.
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Gunga Din
Had I known I'd be sweeping up behind Elephantman's little parade, I'd have mentioned Gunga Din: "The name "Gunga Din" is sometimes used in the musical instrument world; brass instruments, particularly bugles, of low or questionable quality produced in India are often called "Gunga Din" horns, as well as "junkers", or more appropriately, "wall-hangers".
Alberto Gonzales???
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@Mona
Just FYI, I did contact you Friday a.m.
Thanks, Mona. I don't check e-mail regularly. I'm tired of weeding the spam but I'll get around to it tonite. I'm curious to read this. Mostly as a snapshot of history from someone else's camera and vantage point.
;-)
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Che Pasa cherry-picked a rather provocative quote from Scott Horton's blogspot rant. Here's another quote that Che Pasa somehow overlooked...
"But it is also unlikely that a U.S. prosecutor will in the current political environment, take up the criminal issues that exist here. That will more likely occur abroad. So Professor Yoo will want to think twice before boarding a jet for one of those stays on Lake Como of which he is so fond."
Oh, I get it. They are going to prosecute John Yoo, in absentia, in some place like... Italy?
I was laughing out loud the other day, reading that Andrew Sullivan was chastising Rumsfeld, Cheney and Gonzalez, warning them that they ought not to plan on travel outside the United States lest they end up like General Pinochet. As I read, I thought, "Sullivan, I can think of about 10 or 20 muslim nations that you might not want to visit for a vacation, either, if ya know what I mean, big guy."
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L.W.M.
There is no surer way to prove your smarts than by referencing only Wikidpedia in your posts. You've convinced me--you sure know what you're talking about!
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Here's one I chose not to cherrypick, Elephant
I think the fact the the press ignores the hearings is what's news. When John Kerry did this after Vietnam it was news. Perhaps one of these kids will run for office some day.
Thanks to John Wilmerding for passing along this link to a review of the Winter Soldier hearings done by Cynthia and Michael Orange. Even the review of just a small portion of the many hours of testimony is deeply disturbing. Read it all but here's one quote.
Soldiers and vets told how superior officers instructed them on the official ways to torment and beat detainees. Andrew Duffy, a medic who served on the trauma team at the Abu Ghraib military prison, put it this way, "You can't spell abuse without 'Abu.'" They were told to use the term "detainee" because, unlike "prisoner of war," there are no laws protecting detainees. While he rocked back and forth in his seat nervously, Mathew Childess, a Marine infantryman who served two tours in Iraq, referred to beating detainees and "breaking fingers." When a particular detainee begged for food and water, he took the man's hat, wiped himself with it, and stuffed it into the man's mouth.
I recall how they scapegoated the hapless few that were caught in photos at Abu Ghraib as renegade "bad apples" when in fact, as we now know, the top officials of our government orchestrated the torture. They admittedly commited henious acts but it would be wrong to call these troops bad men. They were good soldiers following bad orders.
Meanwhile, Fair reports on the NYT's excuse for failing to cover the hearings...
http://theimpolitic.blogspot.com/2008/04/its-not-over-for-winter-soldiers.html
Good comeback, omooex.
You and che both engage in the same logical fallacies any RWA would.
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Berkeley employs war criminals?
How is Yoo even remotely defendable?
In the good old days, teachers had to pass morality standards.
Do Berkeley staff have no self-respect?
Do Berkeley students have no self-respect?
Do Berkeley students' parents have no moral standards?
What was evil before 9/11, was suddenly transformed into good by 9/11? Strange days.
Hopefully, all this will stimulate people to think more deeply and reignite the spirit of thoughtful enquiry into what is true, what is good, and what is our ultimate goal.
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LWM, I am not even sure what to make of some of your quotes, but...
The "Marine infantryman(!?)" would not have been at Abu Ghraib, which was manned by National Guardsmen.
And as for Marines breaking fingers, I thought that in addition to breaking fingers, the Marines were shooting many of the enemy combatants that they encountered. Indeed, they they were shooting as many of them as possible. Were the Marines supposed to read them their rights first? What are the requirements for Miranda warnings when you are ducking RPG's?
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@Che
We will shortly learn in the mass media that some prosecutors have already reached that conclusion and that the preparation of a criminal case is underway.
That does sound promising. I still don't like to get my hopes up. After more than four years of dahsed hopes I've learned to not to bother. On a side note, I think I have always treated you with respect - and that is not something everyone here can say - because I have always taken you seriously. We may disagree about methods and timetables but not the objectives, although I suspect you may not be as moderate as I try to be. You may or may not you see my point about you devolving into silliness, something I reserve for the silly and unserious. If you now find me silly and unserious, it's news to me that you felt I found you or treated you in that way before.
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@Elephant
The "Marine infantryman(!?)" would not have been at Abu Ghraib, which was manned by National Guardsmen.
You are a clueless moron. I'm not even going to bother explaining this to you, although I think others might benefit. They are probably smart enough to figure it out. Go away you cretinous fuckwit. Saddle up. You might learn something, Keyboard Kommando.
The Battle of Abu Ghraib refers to an April 2, 2005 attack on United States forces at Abu Ghraib prison, which has been called "...the largest coordinated assault on a U.S. base since the Vietnam War...
The US Marine Corps', Echo Company 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines, commanded by Captain Andrew Bone, was stationed at Abu Ghraib and tasked with perimeter defense. Engaging the enemy with a variety of weapons systems from the outer wall defensive platforms, the Marines managed to slow the momentum of the assault...
The Marines were reinforced by elements of the 1-119th Field Artillery, Michigan Army National Guard, the 1-623rd Field Artillery Kentucky Army National Guard, the 524th Military Intelligence Battalion, the 2-111th Field Artillery of the Virginia National Guard and the HHC, 306th Military Police Battalion, United States Army Reserve. These soldiers resupplied ammunition, evacuated casualties for which one soldier, CSM Donohue, 306th MP BN, was awarded an ARCOM with "V", resupplied water to entrenched soldiers and marines, and held various defensive positions throughout the base.
Battle of Abu Ghraib, 2005 - units involved.
Echo Battery, 2nd Battalion 10th Marines
HHB 1-102nd Field Artillery Forward - Rear Area Operations Center (RAOC)
2nd Battalion 111th Field Artillery
115th Field Hospital
1st Battalion 119th Field Artillery
HHC 306th Military Police Battalion
1st Battalion 623rd Field Artillery
HHC 524th Military Intelligence Battalion/JIDC
HHC 327th Signal Battalion
586th ESFS/USAF
National Guard units were doing stockade duty. Camp Security was handled by some "tougher" units.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Abu_Ghraib