Letters to the Editor
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Pow Wow
Thanks, I signed on.
Also read and bookmarked Looseheadprop's post and links.
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Theater!
Gonzalez' speaking engagement was well attended:
His first speech at the University of Florida last November was interrupted by protesters dressed as detainees.
http://tinyurl.com/69vaog
The link is to the NYTimes story. Were you there, Che? ;o)
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This Horrible Time in American History
Your post is right in its analysis of the situation, Glenn. I do believe that Yoo and the others are beyond the pale and that history will treat them harshly, but they are not the prime movers in this affair. No one wants to confront the very unpleasant reality that the leaders of America, her political elite, have made this situation possible. It is very sad.
I read that Alberto Gonzales is having a hard time finding a law firm to associate with. No doubt the same fate ultimately awaits Yoo and Addington. It is a horrible period in American history.
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Definitely.
Maybe I am a fool. -- Gordon
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Run, Gordon, Run.
No, the other way.~>
My name is bah. People call me bah.
bah.
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we lie to ourselves
The problem is you're dealing with mythology: the tendency to create a mythology of a demon race is described in 'Animal Farm' as 'four legs good, two legs bad'. For example, most people would say Churchill was a better person than Hitler but the truth is Churchill wanted to drop anthrax on German civilians and was only prevented from doing it because the air force refused to do it out of fear of infecting their own pilots. The whole narrative of European and American history is in love with its lies and refuses to give them up. That's why the Republicans can present torture as heroic and necessary when commonsense says it doesn't work and is morally indefensible. Commonsense said it wasn't a good idea to fly around with a plane full of anthrax and drop it on Europe but it's a bit like what the Germans say about sex: 'When the penis stands up the brain is in the ground'. The first casualty of war is not truth, it's reason. The Second World War was not a black and white good versus evil war as history contends. It was not the 'good war' that historians glorify. The arms industry made billions out of it and the arms industry worked just as hard to bring about that war as it did to bring about the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq. They don't care which side 'wins' because they always win.It's now common knowledge that Churchill and Roosevelt had cracked the Japanese code and knew about the attacks the Japanese had planned for Pearl Harbour and they allowed them to take place and got America into the war. This was the model for 9/11. Get American troops into the Middle East and fix the Bad Guys once and for all. The Wild West with sand and palm trees. The beauty of declaring you're at war is that morality and reason are thrown away. It's like kindergarten with much better toys. John Maynard Keynes told France after World War I that the the result of the Treaty of Versailles would be economic collapse in Germany followed by another war. No one listened. If you want to get into the head of John Yoo and the torturers themselves, think about Reinhard Heydrich, murderous nutcase, who has been described as 'the golden boy of SS sadism'. Psycopaths sometimes wear very nice suits and have very nice degrees and they can also have very snappy uniforms and chestfuls of medals. Still ya gotta laugh. How I chuckled watching that sad travesty of a woman Matlin on 'Meet the Press' calling Dick Cheney 'brilliant' because he's completely altered the role of the Vice President. The thing is, Cheney IS the President and he likes torture lots. He likes war lots. He likes money lots. From that perspective how could any of it have gone differently? Yoo is just their weapon of choice in that instance. The Democrats on 'Meet the Press' were also helpful: suggesting that the electorate should elect two more MEN and that one of them should be a GENERAL. That's like saying that if you've swallowed poison you should swallow more poison and everything will be okay. No one believes a word these idiots say and Russert's cover has been blown, so it's just more greenhouse gas to no good purpose.
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pow wow's link
Thanks for posting, pow wow. I happily signed on.
In case the link gets burried:
http://restoreruleoflaw.com/
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Some have spoken of fools
That always makes me think of the great Nasrudin:
The people knew that Mulla Nasarudin was generally intolerant of preachers and lecturers, so they asked him to give a sermon. He climbed into the pulpit and said: "Do you know what I am going to speak about?"
"No," everybody answered.
"If you are so ignorant, I am not going to waste time speaking to you," Nasarudin said and climbed down from the pulpit.
The following day he put the same question to them. This time everyone's answer was, "Yes, we know."
"If you know," Nasarudin replied, "then what am I here for?" And he left the mosque.
The third day, to the same question, half of the worshipers said, "We know," while the other half said, "We don't know."
So Nasarudin responded: "Let those who know tell those who don't."
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Jkalos
"Let those who know tell those who don't."
Apologies, but don't we see this several times per thread?
:-/
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Ah, bystander:
do we? Nasrudin teaches us to doubt even ourselves.
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Nasrudin teaches us to doubt even ourselves.
Do we know that for sure?
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Nequals1
18 hands is a tall horse, I agree and I guarantee you that going over a coop astride gives the senstation of a lot more that 18 hands!
You're up so high your nose will bleed!
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No, Gordon
we must doubt even that :)
"One day Nasrudin was walking along a deserted road Night was falling as he spied a troop of horsemen coming toward him. His imagination began to work, and he feared that they might rob him, or impress him into the army. So strong did this fear become that he leaped over a wall and found himself in a graveyard. The other travelers, innocent of any such motive as had been assumed by Nasrudin, became curious and pursued him.
When they came upon him lying motionless, one said, “Can we help you — why are you here in this position?”
Nasrudin, realizing his mistake, said, “It is more complicated than you assume. You see, I am here because of you; and you, you are here because of me.”"
Come join the feast of fools!