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Ramblings on torture

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Others have written about the fact that Lindsay Graham has his facts wrong about the efficacy of torture, relying as he has on since recanted claims by a person who did not even witness the torture.

In the same exchange with the man who actually interrogated Abu Zubaydah-the guy who got valuable information without torture- Graham asserted that torture must be effective because it’s worked for 500 years. Actually, of course it has “worked” for thousands of years, in the sense that it has elicited false confessions since the dawn of time, or at least the dawn of “civilization”. Did you ever think that a U.S. Senator would be justifying U.S. policy by implicitly citing the Spanish Inquisition? No one could have expected that. Parenthetically, by Graham’s logic, bleeding and blistering must be effective medical procedures.

Graham routinely makes much of the fact that he is a former JAG lawyer, and as a lawyer he should know that you are not supposed to make assertions without evidence. But let’s concede that torture works, if we define “working” as eliciting responses to questions. Usually those responses are the answers the interrogator wants to hear, with the truth content being entirely irrelevant. In the case of our torture, it appears that the whole point was to get just that sort of bogus information. All Cheney wanted was for one of these guys to tell him that Sadaam and Osama were in cahoots. It speaks volumes that they were obviously going to use that information to push that meme, knowing the unreliability of the source. Torture for propaganda, pure and simple.

But isn’t it about time this talk about the efficacy of torture ended? This justification is bottomed on the idea of American exceptionalism, that somehow it is okay when we do it-that we and only we are capable of making these fine moral distinctions. The law against torture presupposes that it may “work” on some occasions. Nonetheless, there are no exceptions in the law for Jack Bauer, or for anyone else.

But let’s go a step further. We’ve heard a lot about the ticking time bomb scenario-the scenario that never happens. You can come up with all kinds of scenarios that pose moral quandaries. The right insists that there may be situations in which morally dubious actions may be justified, even if those actions are illegal. (Odd how a group of people who otherwise deal in absolutes, see. e.g., abortion, stem cell, etc., get all relativistic when the subject is torture) In that case, a morally informed perpetrator should be more than willing to let his or her actions be judged by a fully informed jury of his or her peers.

There was a time when military men of honor demanded courts martial when their actions were questioned. Cheney has half stepped forward. He has insisted that he has done nothing wrong. Indeed, he has insisted that what he did was the only morally correct thing to do. But he hasn’t gone the distance. He should be demanding a court martial or its equivalent. He should be telling the absolute truth about what he did, instead of dealing in half truths and obfuscations. If he feels he can justify his criminal behavior, a courtroom is the place to do it, so long as all the evidence is available to the jury.


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Part of the plan

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Via Firedoglake, this quote from Lindsey Graham:

Now. I don’t know what Nancy Pelosi knew and when she knew it. And I really don’t think she’s a criminal if she was told about waterboarding and did nothing. But I think it is important to understand that members of Congress, allegedly, were briefed by … about these interrogation techniques. And again, it goes back to the idea of what was the Administration trying to do. If you’re trying to commit a crime, it seems to me that’d be the last thing you’d want to do. If you had in your mind and your heart that you’re going to disregard the law, and you’re going to come up with interrogation techniques that you know to be illegal, you would not go around telling people on the other side of the aisle about it.

The blogger (emptywheel) at Firedoglake argues that in fact the Democrats were not being told about the program. I think it was more nuanced than that. Remember, this crime was very well thought out. At every step of the way they took steps to shield themselves both from exposure and from criminal liability. This was part of that plan of action. I think Nancy Pelosi is basically telling the truth, that the subject was alluded to in such a way that alarm bells were not set off in the minds of the cowed Congresspeople, who, recall, were constantly told they could not reveal anything they were told. If the proverbial waste matter ever threatened to hit the fan, the Bushies would be in a position to intimidate those same Congresspersons by threatening to expose their complicity, which they could easily prove by producing memos of the meetings that only they were allowed to keep. Remember, at the time this was happening, the Republicans were operating under the delusion that they had at least a generation of hegemony ahead of them. They weren’t worried about the executive branch investigating them; all they needed was cover; both from their lawyers and from a compliant Congress. What better way to assure that Congress remained supine than by compromising powerful members of Congress? So, in my view, it was precisely because they were committing a crime that the Bush folks broached these subjects with these people. What better way to keep them silent than to ensnare them in your crime?


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Re-branding

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Stephen Colbert on Republican rebranding:

Speaking of rebranding, not content with making a mess of their own brand, the Republicans are about to pass a resolution demanding that the Democrats re-brand themselves, by changing their name to the “Democrat Socialist” party. (The just can’t get enough of dropping the “ic” on the end of the adjective. That’s what focus groups can do for you.) They have now reduced themselves to a party that can do nothing but call the other guy names. They’re even having trouble finding names that resonate. The only thing calling Obama a socialist has done is make socialism more popular. The Republicans are so yesterday that they’re even using yesterday’s bogeymen.


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Lobbyists dollars at work

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

I have to pass this along because I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sink of corruption that is Washington so blatantly acknowledged. Via Firedoglake, this is language that a Washington bribery lobbyist firm uses to promote its services:

The C2 Group, recognizing the increasing reliance and need for campaign funds, has stepped into this fundraising void to assist party leaders and specific candidates. Unlike many firms, the partners of the C2 Group, working closely with their clients, host and co-host dozens of fundraising events each campaign cycle raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for select candidates and Members of Congress. Our high profile in this area has secured critical recognition from party leaders and Members of Congress as a “go to” firm that responds on behalf of those Members of Congress that are critical to our clients.

Like a bikini, this doesn’t leave much for the imagination. The thrust of the piece at Firedoglake is that this firm has a very close relationship with the so-called Blue Dog Democrats, a group of politicians who give dogs a very bad name. But the problem obviously goes beyond that group, as grasping as some of them seem to be. There’s something fundamentally broken about a system in which bribery need be so thinly disguised.

We’ve all heard the old saying that “money talks”. It’s both figuratively and literally true. This legalized bribery is hard to stop because the Supreme Court has too often equated the right to speak with the right to spend. Publicly funded campaigns are the only solution, but the corruption is so ingrained that there’s no chance that will ever happen


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Drip, drip, drip?

Monday, May 11, 2009

The Washington Post reports (via the Washington Monthly blog) that the White House is set to disclose more torture materials, which will probably put the lie to the Cheney induced meme that torture worked, so what’s the problem.

Government officials familiar with the CIA’s early interrogations say the most powerful evidence of apparent excesses is contained in the “top secret” May 7, 2004, inspector general report, based on more than 100 interviews, a review of the videotapes and 38,000 pages of documents. The full report remains closely held, although White House officials have told political allies that they intend to declassify it for public release when the debate quiets over last month’s release of the Justice Department’s interrogation memos.

One of my fond hopes, though it is still only a hope, is that Obama is managing the roll out of this material so as to allow pressure for investigations and prosecutions to build up over time. I keep recalling FDR’s admonition to a group of folks pushing him to take action on their behalf: “I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it.” It makes political sense for Obama to seem to come to these prosecutions reluctantly.

So, I ask myself, if I wanted to help that process along, and I were Obama, how would I do it? It certainly wouldn’t hurt to add fuel to the fire every time it starts to smolder. If you want to truly get something behind you, why not dump everything at once and be done with it? On the other hand, if you want to build support for prosecutions, why not give it out in pieces, with each piece of evidence more damning then the next. So I am somewhat hopeful that Obama has scheduled another evidence dump at a time well calculated to keep this issue front and center.

It doesn’t hurt, of course, that Dick Cheney is so eager to keep this issue on the front pages. If he has a lawyer the guy must be having daily heart attacks. Cheney is practically inviting a special prosecutor.


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Mother’s Day Excursion

Sunday, May 10, 2009

This year my wife and I decided to celebrate Mother’s Day by taking a little trip, so Saturday Morning (this is written Saturday night, but the wireless connection in our bed and breakfast went out, so it likely won’t be posted until Sunday) we set out for the Berkshires, slowly wending our way through Northwestern Connecticut. It’s an area of the state in which we’ve never spent much time.

So, because I don’t know what’s been happening and can therefore not comment on current events, having been cut off from the world, and because I feel like it, I’m going to post some pictures of the trip.

First stop (after lunch) was the Glebe House in Woodbury, which drew our interest because its website boasted that it had a garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll. Apparently the design was not carried out until years after she drew them up, and in truth, there’s not much to the garden. (Portion pictured below).

Turns out the house is somewhat of a shrine to Episcopalians, something we knew nothing about when we went there, since we both must have ignored that portion of the website. Apparently, during the dark days of the Revolution, when the Anglican church was in some disfavor (being almost totally a Tory religion), something was done (I’m still not clear what) that was a foundational event for Episcopalians in America. Among other things they chose a Bishop – Bishop Seabury. That’s a name with which I’m familiar, because the site of his boyhood home is in Ledyard, properly monumented, which I often pass on my bicycle rides. Groton boasts a church named after him, which is one in which the presiding priest is active in the effort to break away from the main church on the grounds that it isn’t bigoted enough against gays. Anyway, the house is worth seeing, even for a non-Episcopalian, because it is an extremely well preserved example, both inside and outside, of an 18th century New England home. The center chimneys, walls, just about everything, are as they were in that period. The people (docent, etc.) were very nice, and seemed frankly amazed that someone had come to look at the place.

Right down the street is the Hurd house, pictured here, which we were told is a good century and more older than the Glebe house, and also apparently well preserved.

Next stop was the White Flower Farm, a well known destination for gardeners. (Full disclosure: of the two of us, only my wife fits that description, but I enjoy looking at them). Herewith some pictures.

Finally, one of the reasons we went back to the Stockbridge area. The first time we ever went there we stumbled on Asia Barong, which is right next to the bowling alley on Route 7 in Great Barrington. The place is full of an incredible variety of Asian artifacts, leavened with some truly weird stuff. The first time we went there, we had almost no time to look around. The owner told us Spring was the best time to look around, since he went on his buying trip in the winter. Every time we’ve returned, the place has been closed, so we figured we’d make a trip up there when we knew it would be open, and we’d have leisure to look around. The owner claims to have the biggest collection of Asian artifacts in the country, and it seems like a believable claim.

As proof of the This is an example, which is displayed on the bowling alley side of the building.

Here’s his brother, on the side of the property across the street from Friendly’s.

A sampling of the stuff on the main floor.


As proof of the aforementioned weird stuff, I submit the following. Notice the artful way I composed this picture to keep the rating to an R.

This is an amazing thing. It’s a sculpture carved from the base of a tree. The face is the base of the trunk; the tresses are the roots.

A lot of this stuff is reasonably priced. We got a Buddha’s head carved from pink marble (they pretty much littered the ground) for about what it cost us to eat for the day.

Finally, I must say a word about our Bed and Breakfast in West Stockbridge, the Shaker Mill Inn. Okay, the wireless kicked out, but the room we had was huge and well equipped. We got a decent breakfast (quiche, bagel, muffin, fruit, juice), which they put in the fridge for you to cook in the supplied toaster-oven or microwave. They even gave us free wine and chocolate, and greeted us by name when we arrived. Cost for the night was just shy of $120.00, which is a bargain in my book. Yes, it is right behind Troy’s Auto Body, but you can’t see Troy’s, and the view through the sliding doors is idyllic.

Anyway, we had a great time. We are one Buddah head richer, quite a few dollars poorer, but well satisfied with the weekend. And I have convinced myself that my Mother’s Day obligation was satisfactorily discharged.


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Friday Night Music-Peter Seeger at 90

Friday, May 8, 2009

I’ve put Pete up before, but how can you ignore a legend’s 90th birthday. Here’s Bruce Springsteen (this is all talking, so skip it if you just want music) talking about Pete at the recent birthday bash.

As Springsteen says, Pete did outlast the bastards, or at least generations of them, including the crop that came to harvest in 2001. Unfortunately, there are always new generations of bastards, and you can’t outlast them all. Pete does have the satisfaction of having lived long enough to see the bastards that he battled recognized for what they were, while he became an American Institution. That’s a form of revenge that must taste awful sweet.

Here’s a gem from the 50s, or thereabouts, Little Boxes. It looks like it was made by someone filming a television set.

But of course, it wouldn’t be Seeger without This Land is Your Land. Here’s a spirited rendition with Arlo Guthrie (I’ve posted the Inaugural version already). As you will see, Bruce is wrong, he doesn’t always sing all the verses.

Speaking of the bastards, they win elections occasionally, but they’ll never have better music than us.


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Crazy and/or stupid in Georgia

Friday, May 8, 2009

Wow. If you ever needed proof that the people of these states, particularly those in the South, have a habit of electing truly stupid and/or crazy people, check this out. Hendrik Hertzbert reports (I got to him via the Washington Monthly) on a Georgia State Senate Resolution that adopts whole hog the reasoning of the Kentucky Resolutions:

Really, you can’t make this stuff up. You have to read it in full to believe it. Even then you can’t believe it. You thought that “nullification” had been rendered inoperative by the Civil War? Well, think again. You considered secession a pre-Appomattox kind of thing? Well, reconsider. You assumed that John C. Calhoun was a dead parrot? Well, turns out he was only resting.The resolution is written in a mock eighteenth-century style, ornate and pompous. Just two of its twenty sentences account for more than 1,200 of its 2,200 words. But the substance is even nuttier than the style.

The resolution is written in a mock eighteenth-century style, ornate and pompous. Just two of its twenty sentences account for more than 1,200 of its 2,200 words. But the substance is even nuttier than the style.

For those of you not totally up on your history, the Kentucky Resolutions were written in a moment of weakness by Thomas Jefferson (Madison penned the Virginia Resolutions) as a protest against the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Kentucky Resolutions stated that the various states had the right to “nullify” any federal law that the state legislature, in its infinite wisdom, violated the constitution or the rights of the state. Much to Madison’s later chagrin, they formed the intellectual foundation for those who felt that secession was an option.

The vote in Georgia was nearly unanimous, with only one person of brain (and also of color) opposed. This sort of over the top reaction to a government that has behaved no differently than any other federal government since the Depression can, one would think, be explained by only one thing: the color of the gentleman that occupies the presidential chair.

But that’s where sheer stupidity must come into play. After a painstaking search utilizing the vote tally here, and looking at the pictures of the Georgia State Senators you can get to by following the links here, I conclude in amazement that the vote in Georgia was somewhat bi-partisan (a number of Democrats did not vote) and also bi-racial.

Jefferson’s frustrationin 1798 was born out of the fact that he saw no way to redress what was a clearly unconstitutional act. Marbury vs. Madison was about six years in the future, and in any event, the federal judiciary was, at that time, a branch office of the ruling Federalist party. That excuse is no longer operative. Jefferson was certainly aware, as Madison most painfully was, that in practice the theory would render the Union ungovernable.

At least in those days there was an identifiable threat. Where is the threat today, as opposed to a year ago, when we were ruled by a President who made daily incursions into our liberties and who considered the Constitution a technicality? What could possess a black Democrat to vote for a resolution that could have been written by the Confederate Congress? And why is the reaction to this so muted? In 1798 the country went crazy. Okay, maybe the lack of reaction is because we all know that state legislatures are pretty meaningless bodies when it comes to national law.

To all my left-leaning friends who confidently assert that Sarah Palin could never be elected President, consider that the crazies who passed this resolution are not confined to Georgia. Similar resolutions have passed in Oklahoma and South Dakota.

There is nothing you can conceive of that is so stupid that the American people would not do, given the right circumstances.


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Call for Artists

Friday, May 8, 2009

I told Audrey Heard that my roster of readers, being limited, probably contains few artists, but one never knows. Audrey is looking for artists to display and sell their wares at Art on Groton Bank, which will be held this year on July 18th, as you can see below.

The picture is sort of tiny, but if you’re interested, you can download an application at ArtonGrotonBank.com. My wife and I have enjoyed the shows in years past, and bought one of our favorite paintings at one of them.


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Drinking Liberally tomorrow

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

There can’t be good living where there is not good drinking.

Benjamin Franklin

If Ben were alive today, as a good liberal and enthusiastic (if moderate) drinker, he’d be making plans to attend Drinking Liberally tomorrow. As always, 6:30 PM, the Bulkeley House, 111 Bank Street, New London.

Don’t miss it!


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