When Conspiracies Come True
If you think national phone call information database that the NSA has been assembling for the last few years is benign (are there really people who think like this?), please think again:
A senior federal law enforcement official tells ABC News the government is tracking the phone numbers we (Brian Ross and Richard Esposito) call in an effort to root out confidential sources.
A Disturbing Trend
It’s not a new trend by far, but phrases such as the one below are good inidcators of the direction our democracy is taking:
[GOP strategists said] the public’s tepid view of Social Security change cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.
For the Love of Allah, Vote!
Lantos went on to describe for the president how the Swedish Army might be an ideal candidate to anchor a small peacekeeping force on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Sweden has a well-trained force of about 25,000. The president looked at him appraisingly, several people in the room recall.“I don’t know why you’re talking about Sweden,” Bush said. “They’re the neutral one. They don’t have an army.”
Lantos paused, a little shocked, and offered a gentlemanly reply: “Mr. President, you may have thought that I said Switzerland. They’re the ones that are historically neutral, without an army.” Then Lantos mentioned, in a gracious aside, that the Swiss do have a tough national guard to protect the country in the event of invasion.
Bush held to his view. “No, no, it’s Sweden that has no army.”
The room went silent, until someone changed the subject.
Legitimizing Torture
The leadership of the House of Representatives is attempting to legalize the torture of suspected terrorists by adding an amendment to the “9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act of 2004”, and this isn’t getting the kind of attention it needs.
Please take a moment to contact your representative and raise your voice against this amendment, and support Rep. Edward Markey’s counter-amendment [PDF] which will revoke this atrocity.
Below is the message I sent to my rep.
Sections 3032 and 3033 of H.R. 10, the “9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act of 2004,” will legitimize the torture of detainees by allowing the United States to deport them to countries which allow and support torture. The sections specifically call for the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue new regulations to exclude from the protection of the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, any suspected terrorist.All of this is buried in a bill to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, which called upon the U.S. to “offer an example of moral leadership in the world, committed to treat people humanely, abide by the rule of law, and be generous and caring to our neighbors.”
Representative Edward Markey will be offering an amendment to H.R. 10 which will strike the pro-torture provisions from the bill. As your constituent I implore you to support Rep. Markey’s amendment and take a strong stand against torture, a stand which will go a long way in lifting the United States above the terrorist groups it fights against.
[via]
Let the Demonstrating Begin!
The wackiness that is modern political demonstration has begun in New York City.
I wish we had ukelele brigades in my town.
Also, apparently you need a permit to use a bullhorn in New York.
The Policy of Preemption
Looks like the idea of a policy of preemptive defensive attacks (funny phrase, that) is spreading like wildfire! First America stumbles across this great idea, and then Iran is all “Whoa, that’s sounds great! Look out, Israel!”
And who said the end times wouldn’t be entertaining?
[via The Morning News]