Tag: morality

Friday Night at 8: Moral High Ground

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I’ve been spending quite a while following certain events, news, and writers on the issue of torture.  I’ve written some essays, poems and comments as well, but looking back there’s a real beginning for me on this and that was getting involved in the Special Prosecutor Project and the view I got from that, way more than anything I’ve written.

Seeing Bob Fertik post a question at Obama’s .gov website and then seeing George Stephanopolous ask Obama the question on teevee.  That was quite an amazing experience.

This effort was driven by so many different groups of people, from all areas of the political spectrum.  From my corner of the liberal world, I paid particular attention to the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights, and, of course various bloggers who educated me on not only the facts but the politics and political strategies of confronting the issue of torture.

This week there’s been an explosion of traditional media attention on this issue.  From Nancy Pelosi’s involvement, dragged into the fray by the Republicans and the CIA, to the Whitehouse Judiciary subcommittee hearings earlier this week where I had the interesting experience of seeing Lindsay Graham literally speaking out of both sides of his mouth, to the controversy over Obama deciding to fight the release of the DOD torture pictures, everyone’s chattering now.

I’ve also seen this issue covered very differently in the diversosphere, where torture is not the top story for those who have had to face this kind of behavior by the USA for generations.  That view is stunningly different.

In some ways the moral high ground on this issue is clear — torture is wrong.

In other ways, the moral high ground is bitterly contested.

The single finest scene in the history of Television!

Two quotes for comment

A morality that has within it no room for truth is no morality at all.

Men may dislike truth.  Men may find truth offensive and inconvenient.  Men may prosecute the truth, subvert it, try by law to suppress it, but to maintain that men have the final power over truth is blasphemy and the last illusion.  Truth lives forever.  Men do not.

Bush says WE need Pope talk re “right & wrong”!! xk*%#

He says we need to be told by the Pope that people are precious, that right and wrong matter!

And, it’s just a “tough” patch we’re going through. Bush just said so. here. But worse:

Listen up, you utterly deprived (not-fit-to-be) lying president, because you caused a great deal of the pain and suffering Americans are right now encountering. You have caused a war that was unnecessary that killed hundreds of thousands of people and wounded many more. Millions are refugees because of your war. Talk about precious life? “Sacred” life? You don’t know the meaning of the word.

Famines may occur because you were unwilling to act on climate change because you wanted to help the rich get richer. Don’t tell me the Pope needs to talk to me about right and wrong!!!!!

Don’t you hate being lectured by an idiot?

~~cross-posted at orange~~

Bringing ‘Freedom’ and ‘Democracy’ to the Iraq People!

How many remember this:

“For the vast majority of Iraqi citizens who wish to live as free men and women, this event brings further assurance that the torture chambers and the secret police are gone forever.” – George W. Bush upon capture of Saddam Hussein.

A Discussion for Thought

The following is a short discussion, abit of a long read, by two Vietnam Veterans, on a VFP/VVAW, group board. The first post is a copy of a question asked and answered by another Vietnam Veteran. The two posts following that are a reply to the original than an answer to that reply.

I would hope that it might help our present Brothers and Sisters, serving in Theaters of War and when they return from, to help find the answers to any questions that may be.

With the Mutiple Tours, Extended Tours, ever Changing Reasons For, and the initial ignorance of what type of Conflict they were led into, as this countries military had already had a long running battle with Guerilla/Insurgent warfare and those lessons still aren’t being applied, there will be many more questions that need answering than even we ‘Nam vets have been seeking answers for, to the closed ears of our Government and the People of this Country.

The Devil Quotes Scripture (partial crosspost)

This is a partial crosspost from the ePluribus Media article The Devil Quotes Scripture: The GOP’s Damning Hypocrisy.

Gaeity” is a term denoting joyful exuberance or merriment, but in the hands of today’s Republican party, I would not be surprised to find it reinterpreted to a bastion of misleading and negative connotations almost as confusing as the definition and use of the word  gay.  The “Party of Moral clarity” has demonized the use of any word, term or action that could even hint at homosexuality in order to key into the knee-jerk prejudice of millions of “Christian” voters everywhere.  (Note that I put quotes around “Christian” — I can’t duly insult those who actually practice the teachings attributed to Christ, when I’m only targeting those who simply claim to.) …

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