Cheney’s Postgame Cheerleading

Former Vice President Cheney is still on the circuit defending the indefensible. During an appearance on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Mr. Cheney that he had no regrets over policies put in place during the Bush administration and is “absolutely convinced we saved thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of lives.”

I am sick of hearing this crap from a man who should be in prison. First, I do not believe that the pro-torture, warrantless wiretap, spying on citizen policies of the Bush administration saved a single life. And, even if it could be proved that lives were saved using these anti-American, unconstitutional techniques, I would rather be less safe and have my freedom than to live in a fascist state. I am not afraid of Al Quaeda or the Taliban or any other terrorist group, so long as I am given the right to defend myself. I am much safer on a plane where pilots can carry weapons than on a plane where there may or may not be a federal marshal on board. I am safer in a mall where there are people who have a license to carry a concealed weapon than I am in a mall where there are unarmed guards. I am safer in a nation that requires that the government take every precaution to protect my liberty than one where it wants the right to use torture and tap my phone without probable cause. The problem in this country is that we are too comfortable. We do not want to sacrifice time, effort, nor money (let alone life or limb) to protect the liberties we now enjoy. The attitude is: “Let them take some of my freedom, just don’t require me to think or expect me to move from this couch.”

del.icio.us Tags: Cheney,Face the Nation,Bush administration,torture,warrantless wiretap,unconstitutional,fascist,Al Quaeda,Taliban,terrorist,federal marshal,concealed weapon,sacrifice

An Innocent Muslim

Recently I received a “tweet” from a person whom I admire greatly and have been following on Twitter. It went something like this - “who do you think are the ‘coolest Christians’?” The answers that came back from others who follow his tweets were interesting, but not surprising. However, a few of his own responses puzzled me – for this reason. Several of the people whom he considers to be “cool Christians,” I have difficulty giving the title Christian at all. They are people I consider “Bushians” not Christians. By supporting Bush, they encouraged the killing of innocent Muslims, the torture of prisoners of war, the devaluation of our currency to the detriment of our economy, and the destruction of our civil liberties for the sake of a war on an unnamed enemy - “terror.” One of the “cool Christians” mentioned on his list has been quoted as saying that there is “no such thing as an innocent Muslim.” I wish that I could introduce that person to the thousands of Iraqi children burned beyond recognition by “white phosphorus” and then see if he could tell me that there is no such thing as an innocent Muslim.

Senate Republicans Believe Torture Is OK

By delaying the confirmation of Eric Holder as Attorney General of the United States on the grounds that he may prosecute intelligence agents for torture, Senate Republicans are saying, in effect, that torture should be legal. The Republicans are saying that if the agents were following orders and acting within what they believed to be legal guidelines, they should not face prosecution. Really? Whatever happened to "ignorance of the law is no excuse"? Is that not what these same Republicans tell marijuana users and those who partake of alcohol before the legal age - people who are harming no one, except, maybe themselves? Yet, somehow, people who torture other human beings are to be exempt if they are following orders and believe what they are doing is legal. How two-faced and hypocritical can you be? What stupidity! I say, "Prosecute these Senate Republicans for not following nor defending the Constitution of the United States."
Technorati Tags: eric holder, attorney general, constitution, united states, senate republicans, ignorance of the law, hypocritical

Does This Surprise Us?

Pentagon: Ex-Gitmo Detainees Resume Terror Acts

Uh… no kidding? You take a man from his family, friends, and country; accuse him of terrible acts; give him no trial, no access to a fair legal system; (in some cases – torture him); then you release him. What do you think he is going to do? I mean, seriously, if this happened to me – even if I had never committed an act of terrorism in my life – I would certainly be considering committing such an act after being released. We, along with the Israelis, are creating terrorists. We cage these men for years, show them no human dignity whatsoever and then expect them to what? – just let it pass? – forget it ever happened? That’s ridiculous!! It’s insane. Many of us in the United States were asking after 9/11, “why do they hate us?” Now we should be asking, “why shouldn’t they hate us?”

Technorati Tags: detainees, Gitmo, 9/11, Pentagon, terrorism, torture