So the debate is ramping up over the latest reports of photos showing serious abuses at Abu Ghraib. If the reports are to believed this could be a very serious problem for the US. As I have said before I frequent the liberal blog ThinkProgress. The release of these photos has been a pretty hot topic of discussion.
Now it has been said by people on both sides that torture has hurt the US and that US Soldiers and the war effort has been hurt by these abuses and the photos which followed. So why would anyone want these new photos released?
I posed this question the other day on ThinkProgress during one of the threads. I said basically why would you release the photos one previous ones have been so damning and what would you hope to accomplish by doing so? The answer given by some to my second question goes along why to explaining the answers given to the first. Most people said they favored the release of the photos regardless of the reaction they cause. And the reason, most people think they can be used against Bush and Cheney.
As I have also said in the past there is little to no chance Bush and Cheney will ever be brought up on charges in the US and absolutely no chance of them be tried in a foreign country. I explained to some that there are too many people in the chain of command between the people who may have actually did this and Bush/Cheney that it would never get to them. Not to mention the fact that they would need proof that Bush/Cheney ordered the rape of these detainees which would be tough to prove. I said the "bad-apples" defense had been used once before and would probably be used again successfully, so there's really no chance that Bush/Cheney would face criminal charges if these photos show what they claim to show.
The thing that disturbs me most is that people would be willing to potentially increase terrorist recruitment and cause our Soldiers further harm just to try and get Bush/Cheney. This blood lust to see them convicted is starting to become a problem in my eyes. The more it seems Obama will not prosecute them, the more anger and reckless the left is getting. If the photos turn out to show everything they have said they do, then use them in a court of law and then lock them away. They don't do anybody any good. If those types of pictures did then we would see photos of rape victims and gun shot victims on the 6 o'clock news. Well we don't and I pray we don't ever.
One final thought on this issue. If these photos do exist, who takes pictures of these acts? And who is dumb enough to lose control of them when they do?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Cindy Sheehan needs help...mental help.
Cindy Sheehan has made a mild come back of sorts. I didn't realize it, but she has a blog on this very site. I'm now a follower of her blog. Not because I agree with what she says, I don't, but just to see what she is saying and how close she is to descending into complete madness.
The last we saw her she was running an unsuccessful campaign to defeat Nancy Pelosi. Well I guess she was on plane the other day right before Memorial Day and the pilot made the comment as they were landing to think about the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our freedoms. Well the best I can tell from her blog Cindy must have heard him say thank Casey Sheehan for defending our freedoms. She talks about how she would have walked up to the cockpit and yelled at the pilot cause her son died for nothing.
I feel bad for her, I truly do. By this point she is so twisted from hate that a simple phrase, something that is said a hundred times around Memorial Day, is enough to set her off. Forget about your feelings towards the Iraq War, what about the millions of other Soldiers who most certainly have died defending our freedoms? Can she not see that this is as much about them as it is her son?
Now what really made me mad is as she continues through her rambling she starts to take very personal shots at those who have served. In one instance she says, "If you watch any one of the cable news networks this weekend between doing holiday weekend things, you will be subjected to images of row upon row of white headstones of dead US military lined up in perfect formation in the afterlife as they were in life. Patriotic music will swell and we will be reminded in script font to "Remember our heroes," or some such BS as that." BS? are you fucking kidding me lady?
She goes to write this gem "A tough, but real, aspect of this all to consider is, how many of the soldiers buried in coffins in military cemeteries killed or tortured innocent people as paid goons for Empire? To me, it is deeply and profoundly sad on so many levels. If I have any consolation through all of this, I learned that my son bravely refused to go on the mission that killed him, but he was literally dragged onto the vehicle and was dead minutes later before he was forced to do something that was against his nature and nurture." So now she is painting all Soldiers who have died in combat with the same broad brush that a few of the people who have been convicted of brutal crimes in Iraq have been painted with. It's this the same MO of war protesters in during Vietnam? Every Soldier is a baby killer? Then she says her son basically refused a direct order. This is a courtmarshall offense. She may think she is portraying her son as brave and standing up for values. To me she is showing him as someone who tried to bail on his fellow Soldiers. That is inexcusable.
One last point. I often wonder in the cases of high-profile casualties like Casey Sheehan and Pat Tillman, are the views that their surviving family members are attributing to these people really theirs, or have they been changed to reflect the views of the surviving family. Did Casey Sheehan really go kicking and screaming into battle? Did he really think the Iraq war was wrong? Did Pat Tillman really turn to his buddies at the beginning of the Iraq war and say that it was illegal as has been written? No one will ever know. I gotta believe they thought differently.
The last we saw her she was running an unsuccessful campaign to defeat Nancy Pelosi. Well I guess she was on plane the other day right before Memorial Day and the pilot made the comment as they were landing to think about the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our freedoms. Well the best I can tell from her blog Cindy must have heard him say thank Casey Sheehan for defending our freedoms. She talks about how she would have walked up to the cockpit and yelled at the pilot cause her son died for nothing.
I feel bad for her, I truly do. By this point she is so twisted from hate that a simple phrase, something that is said a hundred times around Memorial Day, is enough to set her off. Forget about your feelings towards the Iraq War, what about the millions of other Soldiers who most certainly have died defending our freedoms? Can she not see that this is as much about them as it is her son?
Now what really made me mad is as she continues through her rambling she starts to take very personal shots at those who have served. In one instance she says, "If you watch any one of the cable news networks this weekend between doing holiday weekend things, you will be subjected to images of row upon row of white headstones of dead US military lined up in perfect formation in the afterlife as they were in life. Patriotic music will swell and we will be reminded in script font to "Remember our heroes," or some such BS as that." BS? are you fucking kidding me lady?
She goes to write this gem "A tough, but real, aspect of this all to consider is, how many of the soldiers buried in coffins in military cemeteries killed or tortured innocent people as paid goons for Empire? To me, it is deeply and profoundly sad on so many levels. If I have any consolation through all of this, I learned that my son bravely refused to go on the mission that killed him, but he was literally dragged onto the vehicle and was dead minutes later before he was forced to do something that was against his nature and nurture." So now she is painting all Soldiers who have died in combat with the same broad brush that a few of the people who have been convicted of brutal crimes in Iraq have been painted with. It's this the same MO of war protesters in during Vietnam? Every Soldier is a baby killer? Then she says her son basically refused a direct order. This is a courtmarshall offense. She may think she is portraying her son as brave and standing up for values. To me she is showing him as someone who tried to bail on his fellow Soldiers. That is inexcusable.
One last point. I often wonder in the cases of high-profile casualties like Casey Sheehan and Pat Tillman, are the views that their surviving family members are attributing to these people really theirs, or have they been changed to reflect the views of the surviving family. Did Casey Sheehan really go kicking and screaming into battle? Did he really think the Iraq war was wrong? Did Pat Tillman really turn to his buddies at the beginning of the Iraq war and say that it was illegal as has been written? No one will ever know. I gotta believe they thought differently.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Big Floppi
Just a quick on today but it's been on my mind for a few weeks now. Most of the baseball media has been talking about the sudden decline of David Ortiz aka Big Papi. The guy can't hit to save his life at the moment and he has lost just about all his power. Now first off I'm not a Boston fan by any stretch. I liked them when they were the hard luck story of not having won a World Series since 1918. But that has come and gone and now the team and the fans have become almost as arrogant as Yankee fans.
Given the last revelation of Manny and his suspected steroid use I have to wonder if Ortiz was not doing the same and has now stopped for fear of being caught. It has been well documented that steroids make you stronger, but they also sharpen the eye which would certainly help ones ability to make contact with a ball. Big Papi's greatest seasons were with Manny on the team.
Now there are certainly other circumstances that could explain his sudden decline. He did have a wrist injury last year that hampered him. He also doesn't have Manny in the line-up with him anymore which any baseball person would tell you helps any hitter because the last thing a pitcher wants to do is put men on base when a power hitter is coming up. But to drop off this sudden, it's not something I have seen with a major star since I have been following baseball. I hope it's just injury, but all the steroid users have made me quite cynical these days.
Given the last revelation of Manny and his suspected steroid use I have to wonder if Ortiz was not doing the same and has now stopped for fear of being caught. It has been well documented that steroids make you stronger, but they also sharpen the eye which would certainly help ones ability to make contact with a ball. Big Papi's greatest seasons were with Manny on the team.
Now there are certainly other circumstances that could explain his sudden decline. He did have a wrist injury last year that hampered him. He also doesn't have Manny in the line-up with him anymore which any baseball person would tell you helps any hitter because the last thing a pitcher wants to do is put men on base when a power hitter is coming up. But to drop off this sudden, it's not something I have seen with a major star since I have been following baseball. I hope it's just injury, but all the steroid users have made me quite cynical these days.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Deep down in places...
So the dominoes are continuing to fall, and more and more my theory of what the real feelings of the Obama administration towards torture are. There were rumblings, mostly from the right, that Congress and some leading Democrats at least new torture was going on and did nothing to stop it. The Speaker of the House is not the latest to start back peddling.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/14/pelosi.waterboarding/index.html
The standard defense for Democrats accused of knowing supporting torture is to blame the Bush administration. That defense s going to run out of steam soon. All this may explain why Obama has been cautious when it comes to investigating and prosecuting Bush administration officials for this alleged torture. Obama knows that when it is all said and done, prominent Democrats will fall along with those same Bush administration officials.
I however tend to believe a different scenario. One that is simple and more personal and one that I have claimed existed before. They don't care that these people may or may not have been tortured. Think back to the mindset of the US in late 2001 and 2002. Would there have been any sympathy then if a few terrorists, men who were captured on the battlefield trying to kill American service members, were tortured? I think the percentage of outrage would have been low.
The great line in the movie "A Few Good Men" goes Deep down in place you don't talk about at parties is that you want me on that wall, you NEED me on that wall. I think that holds true here more then ever. Deep down in places that aren't PC, people want to see our enemies tortured.
And a word about some of the examples of "torture" which have been suggested to have been used on detainees. Sleep deprivation, uncomfortable positions. We have a name for this in America, it's called Army Basic Training and Marine Boot Camp. There were many a time I only had a few hours of sleep and was made to march or run or shoot the next day. And let me tell you about the Front Lean and Rest. Better know to you civilian types as the push-up position. The Army loves mass punishment, especially in basic training. So when one guy misplaced his gas mask, we stayed in that position until the drill sergeants checked every man's locker. Between two platoons of guys that was over 60 guys. Needless to say we were in that position for a while. And this is all after basic training had been softened to the point that the drill sergeants couldn't even lay a hand on us. Imagine what guys in the 40's 50's and 60's went through? I wonder how people would feel if they retroactively sued the US Government for abuse? I'm sure some people would say, well you were drafted or you joined so... Why can't the same reasoning be applied to the enemy? Well you attacked American forces so....
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/14/pelosi.waterboarding/index.html
The standard defense for Democrats accused of knowing supporting torture is to blame the Bush administration. That defense s going to run out of steam soon. All this may explain why Obama has been cautious when it comes to investigating and prosecuting Bush administration officials for this alleged torture. Obama knows that when it is all said and done, prominent Democrats will fall along with those same Bush administration officials.
I however tend to believe a different scenario. One that is simple and more personal and one that I have claimed existed before. They don't care that these people may or may not have been tortured. Think back to the mindset of the US in late 2001 and 2002. Would there have been any sympathy then if a few terrorists, men who were captured on the battlefield trying to kill American service members, were tortured? I think the percentage of outrage would have been low.
The great line in the movie "A Few Good Men" goes Deep down in place you don't talk about at parties is that you want me on that wall, you NEED me on that wall. I think that holds true here more then ever. Deep down in places that aren't PC, people want to see our enemies tortured.
And a word about some of the examples of "torture" which have been suggested to have been used on detainees. Sleep deprivation, uncomfortable positions. We have a name for this in America, it's called Army Basic Training and Marine Boot Camp. There were many a time I only had a few hours of sleep and was made to march or run or shoot the next day. And let me tell you about the Front Lean and Rest. Better know to you civilian types as the push-up position. The Army loves mass punishment, especially in basic training. So when one guy misplaced his gas mask, we stayed in that position until the drill sergeants checked every man's locker. Between two platoons of guys that was over 60 guys. Needless to say we were in that position for a while. And this is all after basic training had been softened to the point that the drill sergeants couldn't even lay a hand on us. Imagine what guys in the 40's 50's and 60's went through? I wonder how people would feel if they retroactively sued the US Government for abuse? I'm sure some people would say, well you were drafted or you joined so... Why can't the same reasoning be applied to the enemy? Well you attacked American forces so....
Monday, May 11, 2009
Liberals live in a fantasy world
I'm watching Keith Olberman, something I do almost every night. I tried to quit a few months back but I couldn't. It the same with the liberal blog site ThinkProgress.org. They are like a car crash, you try and look away but you can't. I just read/watch them to get mad. I don't agree with about 90% of what is said in either place.
Keith Olberman's latest mission is about torture and what the Bush administration may or may not have done. He's done more then a few "Special Comments" on the subject. Think Progress also covers the topic often. They are obsessed with putting Bush administration people away.
Now for the record I don't support torture, but only because it has been proven to not get results. If torture was proved to be effective then I would be for it.
The left has been u[ in arms since Obama took office that nothing has been down to push for prosecution of Bush. They even look to hope at the Spanish investigation in claims of torture by the US in the hopes that Bush and other will be prosecuted by the Spanish government. Now here is where the left and liberals in general are living in a fantasy world. There is no way that the US would have over a former PRESIDENT to face charges in another country. No way in hell.
We are the most powerful country in the world for a reason. We don't take shit, or threats from anyone else. If the Spanish even get this whole thing to trial, the best they could hope for would be to try Bush officials in absentia. And the worse that would happen to them is that they would be unable to travel to Spain. Big Deal!
The reason I think Obama hasn't moved on the subject yet is the fact that he just doesn't care. I don't think he cares that the US may have tortured. I don't think he agrees with it, but I don't think he cares, that guys taken on the battlefield in which they were trying to kill US service members and innocent civilians, were tortured. I think he's glad that our enemies were treated as such. Of course he can't go on the record and say that. But given everything he has said and how he has deflected direct questions with the well used phrase "we need to move forward" and that he would be opposed by members of Congress and a certain percentage of the population, I don't see indictments happening anytime soon if ever. Obama seems content with the stance that it won't happen on his watch, which will probably go the full 8 years, and as long as the US is still the straw that stirs the drink in the world, there won't be alot of outside pressure. Of course we will have to tread lightly on some human rights issues early on, we aren't exactly cutting limbs off people like in Darfur, and as more and more info is coming out, it looks like we only waterboarded three people all high ranking Al Qaida members. I for one can sleep well at night.
Keith Olberman's latest mission is about torture and what the Bush administration may or may not have done. He's done more then a few "Special Comments" on the subject. Think Progress also covers the topic often. They are obsessed with putting Bush administration people away.
Now for the record I don't support torture, but only because it has been proven to not get results. If torture was proved to be effective then I would be for it.
The left has been u[ in arms since Obama took office that nothing has been down to push for prosecution of Bush. They even look to hope at the Spanish investigation in claims of torture by the US in the hopes that Bush and other will be prosecuted by the Spanish government. Now here is where the left and liberals in general are living in a fantasy world. There is no way that the US would have over a former PRESIDENT to face charges in another country. No way in hell.
We are the most powerful country in the world for a reason. We don't take shit, or threats from anyone else. If the Spanish even get this whole thing to trial, the best they could hope for would be to try Bush officials in absentia. And the worse that would happen to them is that they would be unable to travel to Spain. Big Deal!
The reason I think Obama hasn't moved on the subject yet is the fact that he just doesn't care. I don't think he cares that the US may have tortured. I don't think he agrees with it, but I don't think he cares, that guys taken on the battlefield in which they were trying to kill US service members and innocent civilians, were tortured. I think he's glad that our enemies were treated as such. Of course he can't go on the record and say that. But given everything he has said and how he has deflected direct questions with the well used phrase "we need to move forward" and that he would be opposed by members of Congress and a certain percentage of the population, I don't see indictments happening anytime soon if ever. Obama seems content with the stance that it won't happen on his watch, which will probably go the full 8 years, and as long as the US is still the straw that stirs the drink in the world, there won't be alot of outside pressure. Of course we will have to tread lightly on some human rights issues early on, we aren't exactly cutting limbs off people like in Darfur, and as more and more info is coming out, it looks like we only waterboarded three people all high ranking Al Qaida members. I for one can sleep well at night.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
First Blog
Well after years of resisting, I'm blogging. Not sure how long I will do this, but I will have fun with it while I do.
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