Speaking of Racism . . .

couldn't you consider Rush's statement that Colin Powell only endorsed Obama because he's black a racist statement? Funny how Rush's negative statements are cloaked in patriotism but when Sonia Sotomayor makes reference to her background or that Latina women have a better perspective on certain topics than white males she's considered a racist or a biggot.

Yesterday on NPR an interviewer asked John Conyers about statements made by Samuel Alito during his confirmation hearings regarding his Italian heritage that were similar to those made by Sotomayor. Conyers said that he had forgotten that Alito had said those things; how convenient. Also convenient is how no one is mentioning statements made by Antonin Scalia about how courts set policy.

With each passing day the GOP is further marginalizing itself.

Where's the Correlation?

Yesterday, while bashing the President's speech on national security Mitch McConnell said that Mr. Obama never once commented on the fact that since September 11, 2001 there have been no further attacks on this country (meaning, of course, that enhanced interrogation techniques have, by themselves, prevented such attacks). Mitch, buddy, where's the correlation? I haven't smoked any cigarettes since 9/11; maybe that has prevented another terrorist attack. Also, the earth hasn't been hit by any killer asteroids since 9/11; maybe torture has prevented asteroids from killing us all. Also, how can Mitch reconcile his argument with the fact that were weren't attacked before 9/11?

I'm going to digress here. bin Laden has been pissed at United States since we set foot in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and then encouraged Sudan to throw him out of that country. Not being satisfied with simply blowing something up in this country Osama waited until Bush was in office and then attacked NYC knowing that Bush could not resist going after Iraq and settling old scores. Osama knew that we would divert attention from Afghanistan and that Iraq would become what it is today, a quagmire that has served to recruit more fighters for his cause.

Back on topic; what about the boobs in NYC who were planning on blowing up Synagogues and shooting down military aircraft using Stinger missiles? Was that plot interrupted by the use of enhanced interrogation methods? NO! It was good old fashioned police work.

Continuing the tradition of the Bush administration, Cheney and the rest of the GOP leadership ignore evidence that contradicts their arguments and plow on as though they're infallible.

The Case for Torture

The use of torture or "enhanced interrogation techniques" has dominated the news lately with Dick Cheney vigorously supporting such techniques (is anyone surprised by this?) claiming that thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of lives were saved with information obtained by waterboarding, walling and other harsh techniques (ok, let's just say torture). Cheney can make this claim because no one can refute it and any information that supports it is probably classified. However, an FBI interrogator who was involved with the questioning of Abu Zubaida has stated that Zubaida was providing valuable information through the use of traditional interrogation methods and, in fact, shut down once the torture started. So, who do you believe? I'll cast my lot with the guys who were there since Cheney is just covering his ass.

This past Sunday a Washington Post columnist who supports the use of waterboarding used an Israeli example how just how useful it can be. Several years ago an Israeli soldier was kidnapped and Mossad got their hands on the driver of the car that was used in the kidnapping. Using harsh techniques the Israelis were able to discover where the soldier was being held and mounted a rescue operation that was unsuccessful as the soldier died during the operation. This argument seemed counter intuitive to me; the ultimate goals of the torture was to determine the location of the soldier and to rescue him. The mission failed. The real question is whether the soldier's location could have been determined through traditional interrogation methods and whether the location would have been learned quickly enough to effect a rescue. Guess we'll never know. Also, although I tend to support Israel you have to remember that this is the country that destroyed Beruit and much of southern Lebanon after Hezbollah kidnapped/captured three Israeli soldiers. So, no one should attempt to explain this country's use of torture by using Israel as an example.

Recently Jesse Ventura (can't believe I'm using this guy to support my argument) was on Fox & Friends and pretty much emasculated one of the hosts during a debate about the use of torture. Ventura, a former Navy SEAL, stated that during SEER (Survival Escape Evasion & Resistance) training that he had been waterboarded and he believes it's torture. The now-gelded host asked if Ventura is OK now, implying that as long as there is no lasting evidence of the technique it can't be considered torture. So, I suppose that means beatings with rubber hoses (that leave no marks) can now be added to the list of approved interrogation techniques. The best point made by Ventura, however, was when he asked why police departments don't use waterboarding or walling on suspected gang members in order to obtain information on gang activity. Here in Raleigh and Durham we have escalating gang problems that have resulted in increased robberies, murders and drug activity (i.e. a threat to the good citizens of our cities). Ventura answered his own question when he said such techniques are illegal and any information obtained while using them would be inadmissable in court.

Lastly, what does the need for harsh interrogation techniques tell us? The same thing; that for the last 16 years this country has not spent the time and money necessary to develop human intelligence assets (HUMINT) in the Middle East. The bottom line is that if the Clinton and Bush administrations had placed the proper emphasis on Middle East HUMINT September 11, 2001 would have been just another day and we wouldn't be fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While Bill Clinton was spending his time responding to impeachment procedings or Ken Starr's fruitless investigations into Whitewater and Travelgate Osam bin Laden and his network were getting stronger.

Torture is not just wrong, it's illegal and it's a harsh reminder of this country's screw ups.

So much for not having any "gonads"

Last week Rush Limbaugh concluded that the Maersk Alabama was attacked by Somali pirates because it's well known that since January 20, 2009 the United States has misplaced its gonads. Well, it appears that the US Navy SEALS have proven that the United States does, in fact, have a pair. Which begs the question, "Does Rush have a pair?"

Seriously, this guy is one of a long line of GOP Chicken Hawks who has never worn the uniform but has no qualms about putting our servicemembers in harm's way just to prove a point. Rush sits in his sound-proofed studio all day ranting and raving and claiming to be a patriot but has he ever risked his neck for this country? NO.

And for the pirates who now vow revenge - what were you guys thinking? If you want to put on the eye patch and raise the jolly roger that's great but there should be some risk. Apparently that risk now includes a sniper's bullet.

Lead, Follow or Get the Hell out of the Way

This saying is well known and I heard it frequently while in the Army. Simply put, if your purpose is to sow discontent, cast aspersions or just complain then move aside. Like most Americans I'm really pissed about the AIG bonuses; but I'm not really mad about Timothy Geithner's or the President's role in bonus mess. The GOP, however, has seized upon this issue and their leaders (Boehner, McConnell, Kyl, etc.) now want probes into what was known about the bonuses and when it was known. Is this really getting us anywhere? I'm not a lawyer but if AIG entered into contracts that required the payment of retention bonuses then those bonuses have to be paid. Now I suppose Congress could have been clear that bailout funds could not be used to make those payments and if Mr. Geithner knew about the bonuses before hand and didn't make Congress aware then that was a mistake.

My bottom line is that this has become a distraction and so much of one that the Dow is not happy and retreated yesterday and is down by 86 points at the time I'm writing this. Last week and early this week it finally appeared that the market was gaining traction and now this.

So, if all the GOP is willing to do is point fingers and call for probes then my suggestion is that they get the hell out of the way.

Republican Revisionist History

Bobby Jindal's response to President Obama's speech, while predictable, was interesting in that Governor Jindal said that Republicans "had gone along with earmarks and increased government spending" and, as a consequence, had lost the trust of the American people. It was the "gone along with" portion of his comment that struck me as odd. I interpret this to mean that the current mess is all the fault of Democrats in Congress who, apparently, forced their Republican colleagues to spend irresponsibly. Given that Republicans had the White House for the last eight years and controlled Congress (and committee leadership seats) for six of the last eight years I'm not certain how Democratic members of Congress managed to pull that off.

I'm also interested in why the GOP chose Jindal to deliver the response. I suppose he and other Republicans view these opportunities as auditions for the 2012 elections. Also, given the President's popularity and after the stimulus dogfight, I doubt that either John Boehner or Mitch McConnell wanted to be the fly in the ointment last night.

Nancy Pelosi Has No Common Sense

The fact that Nancy Pelosi would take a fun trip to Italy, along with her straphangers, at taxpayer expense while the economy is imploding shows just how little sense she has for the world around her. This is the leader of the House of Representatives and the person who is supposed to take the new President's agenda, transform it into legislation and see that legislation through to law. As with any leader, her actions become the actions of all the persons she leads. If I was a House Democrat I'd be distancing myself from Pelosi poste haste. Pelosi has, since President Obama was sworn in, shown incredibly poor judgement (remember, the Stimulus legislation that was drafted under her leadership failed to get one GOP vote) and she needs to be replaced.