...Juvie Hall; Calm Health Care Debate; Jefferson; CIA Interrogation; Kennedy;

Tuesday, 8/25

4 New York Prisons In New York Used Excessive Force
I think I am completely tired of stories like this - although the story of the Investigations into CIA abuse don't bore me...but I think it's more of a matter that we all know, know, not think, that this type of abuse happens at every prison in this country, on every level.

The line that jumped out at me was, "Investigators found that physical force was often the first response to any act of insubordination by residents, who are all under 16, despite rules allowing force only as a last resort." This just gets to me on so many levels, especially the level that understands that kids who are 16 or under, already screwed up enough to have found themselves in Youth Prison, do everything they can to illicit this type of reaction from any kind of superior. It's such a played out and tired story, and the reality is, the laziness of everyone in these kid's lives, starting with parents and moving on to probably 95% of those who have touched their lives, lead them into a place where they get demolished by some 22 year old college-dropout semi-alcoholic prison guard. Yuk.

Calm, but Moved to Be Heard In the Debate Over Health Care
I think this was the single best article I have read regarding anything to do with health care. It was able to look at the reality of what many American's think about the whole deal, and it was the Times going as far Right as they possibly could, which is I think still a little bit Left of center. I urge you to read the article with an open mind and really try to think like it's subject, the Collier family.

From the article, "What prompted the Colliers to attend a Congressional district meeting for the first time was an almost solemn sense of the magnitude of the health care issue, and its place in determining the scope of American government." That really is a powerful line if you stop and think about it - this really is one of those moments in our History that will shape a great deal of policy in the future, and I think the Left maybe has been a little dismissive of that fact, myself included. I am starting to turn a corner, mostly because as news trickles out, the reality is this Health Care plan is going to look nothing like what Obama campaigned on, and it looks more and more like it won't fix anything, nothing at all.

The article continues, "The Colliers are committed conservatives who have voted Republican in presidential elections since 1980. They receive much of their news from Fox News, Rush Limbaugh's radio program, and Matt Druge's Web Site." Am I the only person who votes Democrat, and watches Fox News and listens to Rush as much as he listens/watches any other news outlet? Is that not the only way to start to engage in an intelligent discussion on any issue?

If I was going to debate who was History would say is a better QB, Favre or Brady, would I not go into detailed research on each QB? Would I not study what the possible arguments are, both for and against each particular QB? Listening to Rush over the past few months, in particular, has been completely eye-opening. I don't mean that purely in the, "What the F#$* did he just say?" sense. I mean it in the, "Well, that sorta does make sense, and it sorta does weaken my position - I need to think about that a bit more..."

I am not married to my ideals in relation to Politics, I am married to being honest with myself and other people. I am okay attacking Obama on things like this stupid double-war we have found ourselves in, that he isn't any different than GW in this thing besides the fact that he isn't waterboarding anyone...My point is that getting your news from one place is stupid, its childish and short-sighted and isn't what will prepare you to understand anything. Sorry to preach, but this is one thing where I don't mind preaching.

I am reading this book right now, and there couldn't be a President more amazingly interesting to read about right now, in our political climate, than this guy. Of course, I don't know what I am talking about, but this guy was a "Small Government" guy to the extreme, to a point where he could never operate in our public sphere. As a matter of fact, guys like Ron Paul take a cue from Jefferson, but tone it down a notch, and look at how laughed at he is right now?

The thing that completely kills me is that the US public, particularly the right, is so Jingoistically Pro-America to the point where you cannot criticize any of this countries practices in regards to our choices...we can do no wrong in their eyes. Yet, when those same people elect leaders to the Senate, Congress, the Oval Office, etc, it is okay to dismantle everything the politicians think. In other words, their thinking is: Americans are the greatest, they are never wrong. Except when voting in our leaders, then we are wrong most of the time.

Jefferson felt that the role of the US President was so minimal to the point that he didn't even think the President should have a title that ornate. The reasons why he would be rolling over in his grave about the powers that Obama is taking on are explained nearly on every page of the book, but the most interesting thing was how quickly Jefferson, a completely Small-Government guy, changed his tune when it came to expanding the country and essentially buying the Louisiana Territory (aka, most of this country), without consulting the people, the elected officials, or anyone but his own ego.

There are times when the leader of the Nation has to do something that may be unpopular, unliked and unprecedented. This is clearly one of those times. More power to Obama. Just fix it, cuz I don't mind saying you were wrong if all this doesn't work out.

Wednesday, 8/26

Records Show Strict Rules For C.I.A. Interrogations
The record needs to be set straight. War=Torture. The two cannot coexist without each other, and the two cannot exist on their own. It is so naive and ignorant to imagine this country in multiple wars in dozens of countries and not think that we are completely kicking someone's ass in a way that doesn't demolish all "rules of war". Rules of war, don't get me started, could anything be more childlike? Literally, like when you played war in the backyard and you couldn't drink your Mom's Iced Tea until you were "dead", those kinds of things. Don't shoot the medic. What? Don't do the thing that may effectively wipe out your opponent, ultimately ending the war. How many medics did we "shoot" when we bombed Hiroshima? How does this rule work, exactly?

The article speaks about how "'The detainee finds himself in the complete control of Americans; the procedures he is subjected to are precise, quiet and almost clinical,' noted one document." I love the use of "almost" in there, it really is just so they can stop short of accusing Cheney's highest ranking torture official of being Josef Mengele.

Again, if you are pro this war, or any war, you have to accept the fact that you are pro torture. Torture of all unimaginable kinds. Pulling toenails is child's play compared to what these monsters come up with now, and all of this is with no direct proof that any reliable information is procured as a result of these processes, on a statistical scale, at least.

Obama needs to do 3 things for me to respect him on this one:
1. He needs to admit that he is Holder's boss, and he is going to tell Holder what to do and when to do it. Holder isn't operating independently on this matter, and shouldn't be. It is okay, Barack. You can hate the things that happened as a result of Bush/Cheney policies.
2. He needs to shut the hell up about how the past is the past, he needs to talk about, show pictures of, and discuss in detail these abuses by our Gov't in time of war. For someone who had everything to say about "teachable moments" when it comes to race relations in the case of a maniac on his front porch in Cambridge, he surprisingly wants to teach very little about the monstrosity of torture and the reasons why the relationship between the US and the rest of the world are so closely tied to the practices.

Thursday, 8/27

Senator Kennedy, Battle Lost, Is Hailed as a Leader
No need to link this one, Boston.com is engaging in 24 hour coverage for the next 72 days, so no need to worry. I understand he is a Kennedy, but I think the amazing thing that is happening is that those who are over 42 or so seem to forget that my generation, and the majority of those out there right now, while we may have respect for Ted, we don't have the reverence for him that news agencies think he deserves.

The real story behind this is the last few days of Kennedy's life, and the political wranglings that were attempted. My thoughts are that Kennedy was not in position to make the kinds of judgments and proposals that came from his camp in the last 10 days. His "people" clearly were behind this, and that makes it worse, not better. "Under current law, a sepcial election could not take place until at least 145 days after a Senate Seat opens." This has been covered completely by news agencies, and we all know this rule came into effect, at Kennedy's urging, when John Kerry looked like the next President of the US in '04.

As the story goes, Romney was Gov. of MA, people were afraid he'd appoint a Republican Senator, and the law was changed by a powerful Dem. legislature in the state. Yesterday's NYTimes editorial (sorta) hit the nail on the head. They spoke about the political reasons why you cannot just change the law, and they also spoke about how all Senators should be elected, stating that as much as 27% of the US Population is represented by a Senator who was appointed, not elected. Scary.

But if the Left wanted to be honest with itself, and I am suprised I am not reading more of this, if Kennedy and the MA Democratic leadership really cared about the future of the state, in a wholesome and altruistic way, Kennedy would have resigned his seat months ago. 145 days ago he could have stepped down, citing that he is "Sick, tired and hopeful the state will elect a Democratic voice to continue with the policies I was so integral in developing and enacting," or something along those lines.

The issue isn't that this state will Democratically elect a Republican to be our Senator, we won't...we will nominate Deval Patrick as Senator before we throw a Republican next to Kerry on capital hill. The issue is that we are now 1 Democrat short of 60, and short of vote-tipping power.

Kennedy and his people were selfish, plain and simple. They wanted their name on this Health Care Bill, they wanted everything associated with it to be pushed towards Ted for his final days, and now the entire Democratic voting population is paying the price.

The Left, the Democrats, in November were up by 3 Touchdowns to use a football metaphor. And since then, they have been taking a knee with the ball and playing Prevent defense, allowing big strike after big strike, which has allowed the Republicans to chip away and chip away. This lead is probably, at this point, barely more than a field goal (to continue the metaphor) and there is no sign of things slowing down. 2010 is the least of the Dems concerns, because right now we are looking like 2012 is a landslide victory for our first Mormon President.

That's enough for now.