Why Do These Politicians Insist On Lying?

If this was a soap opera this latest saga between Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the CIA and the Republican obfuscation agenda would be called: The Lying Liars and the Lies. If you believe that Pelosi didn't know the methods of interrogation being used by the CIA and others in the government I've got a nice padded cell to recommend to you because you must be crazy! Now having said that, I am fairly certain ALL the elected officials who were in office during the Bush administration had some inkling of the shadiness that went down. It wouldn't be too far fetched to think many of them were directly involved, profited from it in some way or turned a blind eye to it just to get by. 

This is why the President is not going to bring former President Bush, Vice President Cheney or the other war profiteers to justice. The Democrats are up to their eyeballs in the mud just like the Republicans. Perhaps they weren't giving the orders but collectively they did nothing to stop it either. We know the typical politician's first rule of thumb is to self-protect and Pelosi has been at this for a very long time. The art of negotiation and strategizing can be a slippery slope where hanging on may be...difficult. Trying to fight the good fight may mean doing it alone. 

We can look to how Cynthia McKinney has been treated unfairly and hung out to dry as an example of someone who stuck out their neck and got nicked. Had she been cozying up to lobbyists and doing harm to her former constituents she'd still be in Congress and a member of the Democratic party. Nancy don't play that! She had some rather harsh words about how the CIA "mislead" Congress but has since adopted a more conciliatory tone. 

It is no coincidence that as Pelosi is working on a comprehensive health care plan for the country this attack occurs. That's a rabbit hole we'll never emerge from! This ties into why the President wasn't volunteering to release the latest round of photos showing "terror suspects" being tortured. The big picture here is that the Bush administration and its supporters violated terms of the Geneva Convention. Far too many of the general voting public went right along with it after the drum beats of war were sounded post-9/11. Remember that nonsense about changing the name of French fries to Freedom fries? 

So we are all somewhat responsible and we have to learn our lessons so we don't repeat them. We have to stop letting politicians attach a false morality to everything they do - and don't do. It would be so nice if these Republicans would spend as much time being constructive as they are at running these schemes. Some would rather see people in despair, ill, unemployed and left to fend for themselves than seek solutions to problems. From their blocking needle exchange programs in the 90's to slow the spread of AIDS to this latest bully pulpit, denial only makes things worse. 

As our current President seeks to rebuild goodwill around the world and rebuild the infrastructure in this country nothing's going to change unless we work for it. We have to uphold a minimum standard and block obstructionism from members of the political parties, corporations and individuals. Pelosi will more than likely emerge from this latest non-troversy unscathed but will we? 

24 Is A Fun TV Show But Makes For Lousy Gov't

So I'm wondering if everyone has been as riveted as I've been by this latest season of 24. Jack Bauer continues his reign as the anti-hero that could and is now in DC, CTU has been disbanded and he was hauled before Congress to answer for his actions in torturing suspects (who were in fact guilty). The one thing about popular media and entertainment is that is does help shape a discourse. It's just not always positive or well-rounded. With the real-life horrors enacted during the Bush regime there's still great interest in how governments gather intel and respond to threats. 

Watching 24 you know you're getting a nice dose of intrigue that will crescendo in time for each commercial break and the inevitable cliff hanger to keep you coming back. Nothing tops the series' peak which to me was Day 5 (that's Season 5 to the rest of you). President David Palmer was assassinated, Michelle was blown up, nerve gas was released in a mall and horror of horrors the current President Charles Logan was up to his eyeballs in the whole mess. How prescient!

So this season has been interesting to say the least. It's the first female President, played with just the right amount of grit and gravitas by Cherry Jones. She's scrappy like some other real-life counterpart we all know! I'm not sure if this season's plot was the original plot of the shuttered season due in part to the writer's strike, but the nod to current events can't be missed. So far there's a conspiracy worm burrowed so deep we can't tell how far down it goes, but my favorite line from tonight's episode came via the President's daughter who told the Chief of Staff that he should be tendering his resignation for not having a clue and failing to protect her mother! This was after she survived being kidnapped and threatened. 

For once the villains aren't Russian or Middle Eastern - this time they're continental Africans. But wait, they're working with, wait for it, other gov't officials (who are white by the way). They've already murdered the son of the President as well as trying to get to the First Gentleman as well.  The past two weeks the enemies managed to gain control of the White House and took the President hostage. 

See...you think you're safe as President but the insiders are all plotting for your demise...hmm guess Obama had better watch his back. I have no idea where this season is headed because the first set of betrayals and moles have already been revealed. Jack's been framed again. The one thing that I find increasingly annoying is how the "upstanding" politicians or gov't water carriers try to morally posture about how Jack's techniques are so wrong when they are borderline incompetent. Have you been outraged at slow they are to respond to threats or connect the dots? I mean the daughter has a point and the FBI lead bureaucrat is annoying as all heck!

So we got to see Jack cry for 30 seconds because Bill gave his life by detonating the bomb that killed the evil Black General who dared to slap a white woman! You just knew he was gonna die for that. Tony Todd will always be Candyman. Of course if Jack had done it there'd be no show after all. Next week the brilliant and anti-social Chloe gets to be used as a pawn to get Jack to resurface. Doesn't Agent Moss know that when Jack gives his word to not torture someone he means it?! What purpose does the ego and harshness towards Renee serve? It's like all of this bloviating being done by the Republican mouth pieces on the cable "news". They must use their angry outside voice and speak at a higher pitch than everyone else because they are outraged I tell ya....about....what exactly is news to me. 

All in all we are reminded of the difference between reel and real life by the sheer predictability of one versus the other. I also think the tv characters are motivated by nobler purposes believe it or not. Did I really just say that? For one thing it makes for more entertaining viewing. The tv world is far more cut and dry where they are supposed to be "good" instead of having shades of greys (and blacks) that are prevalent if you'd poll the rest of the world for their input. It's an idealized snapshot of what's supposed to be the best representation albeit with flaws. Some of us may think our gov't is like this, while some of us think we know otherwise. Perhaps the "truth" lies somewhere in between or in an entirely different scenario. Either way it can be fun to speculate.

Beware the Herd Mentality

I watched the documentary Taxi to the Dark Side detailing the approval of torture of detainees (the abducted) by the US military. The Geneva Convention and Habeas Corpus have been thrown out the window. Mass hysteria caused by witnessing the horror of seeing the Towers come down or of seeing people jump from those buildings before its collapse did incite us and conditioned some of us to accept whatever 'solution' was offered just to make it stop. 

The subject of this documentary sickened me and I was reluctant to watch it at all except I know it is my responsibility as a citizen and as a voter to pay attention to what the gov't does. Especially when they claim to do it for my benefit. If others had not been diligent in exposing these atrocities we'd never know how far down the rabbit hole really is. We still don't.

To be clear there are people out there who are dangerous and would be considered terrorists. My question is: which came first, the chicken or the egg? 

The Ku Klux Klan was allowed to terrorize an entire group of people for nearly 100 years unfettered.  Let's just say these people who witnessed, participated in and approved of such treatment and the mentality behind it are seriously lacking in a proper moral compass. 

Now for all the heavy-handed words from gov't officials who've assured us repeatedly every violation was for our good and use of brute force necessary it seems there was something lacking: sound judgement.  It is so easy to treat people like dogs when you see them as one....or less than one in fact.

Which brings us to the latest bit of nastiness on the campaign trail. The McCain brigade has sunk so low he has to reach up for the gutter. There are no circumstances which a candidate for office should allow their supporters to call for harm to come to an opponent. I think McCain forgets that if he'd been treated the way the US treats enemy combatants he might not be here right now. 

He was on World News Tonight and reacted angrily when Charles Gibson asked him about directly confronting Obama instead of being a punk during his Klan rallies. He said he would. I'm looking forward to McCain showing his ass on national television for next week's debate. I hope he does it. Let the people get a glimpse of the real McCain (angry, disrespectful, avoiding eye contact, racist and petty) and imagine how all that negativity would turn off other world leaders. Since he's planning to bomb a zillion countries anyway I suppose it doesn't matter to him.

He knows tying Obama to William Ayers is a gross misappropriation. McCain has plenty of questionable associations and character lapses. This is all he has left because he's on the verge of losing this election. He has to make Obama the 'other'. We see what happens when those with positions of authority (and control of media) accomplish that goal. We also see when it backfires! The lowest road traveled will always appeal to some but most of us chose to aim higher and see the good in people. We've had 8 years of beating up on people and being scared and now we're being robbed of our futures. I know I'm tired of being manipulated - aren't you? It's time for something new.