Waterboarding...

Playboy journalist Mike Guy did something I've wondered about: he volunteered to undergo waterboarding to see how bad it could possibly be. I don't mean that I'd volunteer to do this, even as a controlled experiement. I've been convinced from the beginning that waterboarding IS torture, but I've wondered why some of the more outspoken defenders of this "interrogation technique" haven't volunteered to do what Mike Guy did, if it's just a matter of not being a pussy. Mike Guy says in the beginning of this video that he bet he could withstand 15 seconds of being waterboarded, reasoning that anyone can stand anything for 15 seconds. Watch the results. I'm in favor of appointing a special prosecutor.

remaking America...

Illustration by: Matt Mahurin, downloaded from The Washington Independent

NO MORE!

A little over 400 years ago, Shakespeare knew it. In The Merchant of Venice, Portia says: "I fear you speak upon the rack, Where men enforced do speak anything."

Thursday, hitting the ground running, President Obama signed an executive order putting an end to "enhanced interrogation techniques", including waterboarding.

This is a very, very, very, very, very good thing.

And there are more good things to come. I'm sure of it.

At long last...

What a happy day this is, at long last. And oh, how I'd love to be there!

Inauguration Eve...

Tomorrow's the day.

The day we've been waiting for for so long; the beginning of a new era. I wish I didn't have to go to work. I wish I could stay home and watch. This is historic. I have a bottle of champagne chilling in the 'fridge. It's almost time to celebrate. Like so many other Americans, I can hardly wait.

Yes, we can...

...and it makes me proud to be an American...

Today's the day...

Today's the day. If you haven't already done so, get out there and VOTE.

politics

Yesterday I did two things I've never done before. In the afternoon, I bit the bullet, dragged myself out of bed, went to our local library, and voted early. There was a good turnout. At 2:30 the line was long, over half an hour's wait. When I got to the booth, the voting was electronic, with nothing to show for it (no paper ballot), which didn't give me any warm fuzzy feeling about what I was doing and in fact made me a little nervous. I've watched that Homer Simpson video too many times to be happy about electronic voting.

Then last night, late, I made two political contributions online. I don't believe I've ever contributed to a political campaign before. I have no problem contributing to the arts, or to any number of good causes, e.g., Juvenile Diabetes, ALS, Susan G. Komen foundation, etc. But when it comes to politics, I’ve donated time but not cash, not even a dollar on my income tax return. I've never felt a reason to contribute financially, before now. And although I'm weary to the bone of this seemingly interminable campaign season, it was a politician who finally made me see the light, as we like to say in the south.

So who's responsible for my seeing that it makes sense, for me, to contribute some cold, hard earned cash to the cache, so to speak? The answer might surprise you. The person who prompted me to finally take action financially is Minnesota congresswoman Michelle Bachman. Yep, her comments to Chris Matthews on Hardball re anti-Americanism and how she would like to see the news media "do a penetrating expose and take a great look at the views of the people in congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America?" smacked so loudly of McCarythyism that it pushed me over the edge (you can watch the video here). And so although I've lived in Texas for 25 years, last night I found myself looking on the internet to see who is opposing Ms. Bachman in Minnesota for her congressional seat this year. The answer is Elwyn Tinklenberg, and having found that out, I made a donation to him and of course to Obama.

I wasn't alone in having this reaction to Bachman, btw. It turns out that her comments brought in $810,000 to Tinklenberg's campaign in less than 72 hours, in contrast to the year it had taken him to raise $1 million prior to that. And I smile to think, I doubt that was the reaction Michelle was anticipating when she spoke to Chris Matthews. And if things don't turn out as I hope they do in November, and if the time comes when people start drawing up lists of who did what, who contributed to whom...well, I'd be proud to show up as having made those donations.

watching the debate and trying not to barf...

John McCain's favorite color? It's gotta be plaid...

Brain to Nowhere

Ken Lonnquist and Dave Adler pay tribute to Sarah Palin...

Ah, October!

There are a lot of things to be depressed about right now. The economy and politics are two topics that leap to mind, and there are others as well. But I'm tired of all the gloom and doom, and the moreso because this is my favorite time of year. I went out to lunch with a friend today, and we sat outside in the sunshine (well, actually we sat beneath an umbrella), drinking ice tea and eating our lunch and enjoying the clear blue sky. We talked politics, but instead of moaning and groaning, we talked about Tina Fey's hilarious depictions of Sarah Palin, and of our favorite RedState Update videos (see Jackie & Dunlap's hysterical anticipatory take on the upcoming Palin-Biden debate here).

Comedians have always held a higher place in my world than the masters of the universe could ever hope to achieve.

things we don't think or talk about...

I got this link from Lisa, check it out: This is Your Nation on White Privilege

family values and all that jazz...

I almost never write about politics, but I'm going to make an exception. I'll admit that initially I couldn't decide whether I thought McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate was a gift to Obama or a joke...but then today, Palin announced that her 17-year-old daughter Bristol (the one you see holding 3 month old baby Trig) is herself 5 months pregnant and has "decided" to keep the baby and get married...

Uh-huh. McCain supposedly knew about this before asking Palin to join him on the ticket. If that's true, he's even more of an idiot than I thought. And Palin supposedly knew that Bristol was pregnant before accepting the number two spot on the ticket. If that's true, what was she thinking? Didn't she know the media would have a field day with this, at her daughter's expense? Or didn't she care? She says she's supportive. In fact, in case, somehow, you managed to miss it, here's the statement she issued regarding Bristol's pregnancy:

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support. Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

When's the last time the media respected anyone's privacy? That sentiment is right up there with "size doesn't matter" and "the check is in the mail". But conservatives are not, overall, known for their compassion or ability to empathize. So if Palin did indeed know about Bristol's pregnancy before she accepted McCain's invitation, did she do so thinking Bristol had made her own bed and now could lie in it (no pun intended)? Or is Palin so incredibly ambitious, politically, that she didn't care about throwing her own teen-age daughter under the bus?

This whole mess raises a slew of questions that McCain and Palin will have to field in the days ahead. And Palin, a big proponent of abstinence only education, might want to re-think her views on that topic, since she now has irrefutable evidence that even her own daughter clearly doesn't believe in it...

Lies, damned lies, and the internet...

I'm home sick. I'm REALLY sick. Upper respiratory crud with headache, cough, chills, and fever, 'nuff said.

So I was really in no mood for a *$*#*@! "helpful" email that turned up in my inbox today, bashing Obama, purportedly giving the "real" story on his visit to Afghanistan, supposedly from a soldier serving in Afghanistan. The jist of the drivel was that Obama "shunned the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service" and "really he was just here to make a showing for the American's [sic] back home that he is their candidate for President". The writer finished by saying, "I just don't understand how anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief [sic]". Uh-huh. That may be the only honest statement in the email. And while I'm at it, for what it's worth, Article Two of the Constitution establishes the President as commander-IN-chief of the armed forces, not commander-AND-chief. The icing on the cake was an Einstein quote at the bottom of the email: 'The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who do nothing about them'.

Rrrrrrriiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhhttttttt.

Not wanting to be included in that group, I considered it my civic duty to find the Snopes article pointing out that the report is false and totally outrageous, part of a chain email campaign smearing Obama. The Snopes article is accompanied by photos (one of which I've included here) and a video that belie the accusations.







I cut and pasted the link, with a note asking people to please check it out before disseminating the misinformation any further, and hit "Reply All". And if that ticks people off...well, frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

Katie bar the door...living in a conservative state...

In 2003, the State of Texas enacted a law banning gay marriage. To date, that law has not been challenged in Texas courts. Nevertheless, conservatives voiced fears that "liberal activist judges" might recognize gay unions in spite of the law. For the record, even if the law were challenged and some "liberal activist judges" did recognize gay unions, it’s unlikely that the all-Republican Texas State Supreme Court would do anything to overturn the 2003 law.

But that wasn’t enough for conservative Texans, who proceeded to draft a poorly worded constitutional amendment, Proposition 2, to "defend marriage as a vital societal institution that should not be changed" and to "guarantee that state courts won’t be able to force Texas into recognizing gay unions".

Yesterday, I voted against Proposition 2, but I was in the minority; conservative Texans voted overwhelmingly for it, approximately 70% to 30%.

Katie bar the door.

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

Pastor Martin Niemöller