The Torture Report

The Torture Report

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Massimo Calabresi frames the debate over the report:
What effect will assigning blame have? The CIA says it is so burned by the EIT program that it is permanently out of the business of interrogation and Dianne Feinstein, the hawkish head of the Senate Intelligence committee, says that’s fine. The purpose of her report, she says, is to ensure such a program is never again acceptable to Americans. But plenty of others, from ex-CIA officer Jose Rodriguez, to former Vice President Dick Cheney, to former CIA chief Michael Hayden, say the program should be available for use if there is another major attack on the U.S. Even Obama’s CIA chief says only that the EIT program is not now “appropriate,” suggesting it might be in other circumstances. Ultimately, the report’s value lies in answering that simple question: should we ever do it again?
Republicans are for torture. That is what they are saying when they attack the release of the report while at the same time defending the actions of the torturers employed by the US government on the orders of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. And their answer to that question from Mr. Calabresi is "Absolutely." And that is because they have no morals. No conscience. The truly disturbing thing about this report is not the revelations of what they did in our name, but how many Americans will just shrug, or join the Republican critics. Come inside to read the report.
Tuesday Open Thread [12.9.14]

Tuesday Open Thread [12.9.14]

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A new CNN/ORC poll finds 50% of Americans “believe Republican control of both chambers of Congress will be bad for the country, and a majority say it will in fact cause more gridlock in Washington.” Further, 68% of Americans polled say the GOP isn’t cooperating enough with President Obama, while 57% say it’s Obama who’s not cooperating enough with the GOP. And 100% of me is sick and tired of an American public that expects bipartisan cooperation. Liberals and conservatives, represented by Democrats and Republicans, respectively, don't agree on much, and the public either needs to stop expecting them to agree, or they should stop electing divided government.

Monday Open Thread [12.8.14]

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The New York Times revealed yesterday that an “unprecedented, secretive alliance” between Republican state attorneys general and energy companies has been formed to thwart the laws of the United States and regulations imposed on these companies by the EPA and OSHA. This is not at all surprising, and if you are surprised, then you have been criminally negligent in not paying attention. Of course energy companies have Republican elected officials in their pocket, doing their bidding. All the Times report did yesterday was make what was an allegation into a indisputable fact.

I Don’t Know What to Say

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All I know to say involves having no further respect for any law enforcement officer any where until such time as they deal with both Darren Wilson and the scumbag fuck who choked Eric Gardner to death in a fashion befitting their crimes.

Wednesday Open Thread [12.3.14]

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Americans are narcissists. Self centered. Especially when it comes to their income, economic well being. They know how much things cost, and the costs usually always rise. They know how much they make, and that usually doesn't rise, especially in this Reagan Anti-Middle Class Era that began in the 1980's. When they are making enough money to afford things, Americans are happy. See mid to late 1980's and mid to late 1990's and early 2000's for proof of that. When they are not, they are not. First Read: “It’s possible — though hardly a certainty — that lower gas prices over a sustained period of time finally begin to change the public’s perception about the U.S. economy. After all, the economy has produced 200,000-plus jobs in each of the past nine months; GDP for the last quarter was revised up to a healthy 3.9%; and the unemployment rate has declined from 7.0% in Nov. 2013 to 5.8% now. But many Americans haven’t been FEELING that improvement, due in large part to wages not keeping up with the cost of living.” “Politically, an improving economy helps the president and his party. (It also makes it harder to say the health-care law has stifled the economy.) And in macroeconomic terms, lower gas prices serve as a kind of economic stimulus — which Congress doesn’t have to pass or finance. Yet more importantly, they’re an easier way for Americans to ASSESS the state of the economy. The monthly jobs report might not mean a thing to them, but they can see when it costs just $35 to $40 to fill up their tank each week when it used to cost $50.”