Argue With My Dad

I don’t know about you, but I had a busy weekend that went by way too fast.  “Mom” and I baby sat for our Grandson and my daughter and son-in-law’s chocolate lab so we had  a great time and kept very busy.  Now that the weekend is over, it must be time for the arguewithmydad.com Monday Musings. There were many stories that hit the internet last week and over the weekend, but there were only two stories that caught my eye.

The first story that just made me sick was the news that our old friend, Mike Huckabee, lied again about the health care reform bill.  Of course, I am getting used to Republicans lying through their teeth about this important bill, but this time Huckabee stated that Senator Ted Kennedy would have died sooner if he was being treated under the proposed health care reform system. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/28/huckabee-kennedy-would-ha_n_271605.html & http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/28/huckabee-kennedy/.   Can you imagine a more insensitive lie that Huckabee could have spewed so close to Ted Kennedy’s death?   Let’s look at his exact words.  “The 2008 Republican presidential candidate suggested during his radio show, “The Huckabee Report,” on Thursday that, under President Obama’s health care plan, Kennedy would have been told to “go home to take pain pills and die” during his last year of life.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/28/huckabee-kennedy-would-ha_n_271605.html.   The amazing part about this fabrication is that Huckabee is a minister and he knows he is lying and desecrating the good name of a recently deceased United States Senator.  This fabrication by Huckabee is related to the now mundane lie about seniors being allowed to die instead of being treated and the so-called “death panel” fiction that Republicans like Sarah from Alaska have been spreading.  These lies are coming fast and furious from the people on the Right that try to claim that they are more religious than the rest of us.  What does it take for the Republicans and the Right to actually tell the truth? 

The next story that really amused me was the news that the Texas Nationalist Movement was marching on the State capital this weekend to demand that Texas secede from the Union.  http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/28/texas-tenthers-rally/.  I just love it when I hear Texans asking to leave the Union.  I will be the first one to tell them, Go Right ahead and get out of our hair.  But, we do need to remind these mental giants that when they secede from the Union (which is not legal, by the way) they also lose all Federal monies.  Any and all military bases now located in Texas will be removed and those jobs related to the bases will leave with them.  I say let’s give Texas the legal right to leave the Union and the rest of us will be better off.  I am not sure Texas will be able to say the same thing, but it will be fun to see the “Tenthers” get exactly what they are asking for.

It is time, once again, for another edition of the AWMD Friday Free For All.  This is the only time of the week when our arguewithmydad.com readers can control the topic(s) for discussion.  All you have to do is get someone else to respond to your suggested topic and then the floor is yours.  Don’t be shy and don’t hesitate.  Get busy and be sure to let us know your views and arguments so everyone can read and react to them.  Right here on arguewithmydad.com.  I will make a suggestion or two for possible topics, but they are only suggestions.  Today is Friday so only you can be the decider.   But you need to tell us what you want to discuss.  So, what will it be?

My first suggested topic is related to the recent disclosure of CIA documents that was mandated by a court ruling pursuant to an ACLU Freedom of Information filing.  One document that didn’t get as much attention as some of the others is the document that details the process of rendition during the Bush torture regime. Here is a link to the full document: http://www.aclu.org/torturefoia/released/082409/olcremand/2004olc97.pdf.  In this document we learn how deeply involved medical professionals and psychologists were in the rendition and subsequent torture of these so-called High Value Detainees.  This amazing document outlines how the detainee is stripped, shackled, slammed into walls, and given a restricted calorie diet in an attempt to control every detail of the detainees environment.  According to an article in Truthout, “The background paper clearly illustrated that the torture of detainees was systematic and micromanaged by the top officials at the CIA, the Justice Department, medical professionals and, likely, the White House.”  http://www.truthout.org/082709I.  This same article also details that the cooperation of the medical professionals in this torture are additional violations of International law and Medical Profession ethics rules.  With all of this evidence in front of  the White House and Congress, why aren’t these matters being investigated in full?  Was there some kind of “deal” between Obama and George W. Bush where Obama agreed to not investigate the torture policy of the Bush Regime?  What do you think?

The second suggestion that I have is concerned with the claims that are still being made by former Vice President Dick Cheney that the CIA documents that were recently released “proved” that the CIA torture techniques produced valuable information that saved lives and prevented attacks.  If one reads the document, it is hard to believe what Cheney is claiming.  Probably the most dramatic evidence that Cheney is once again spewing his usual crap can be found in the quote of Frances Frago Townsend, a former Bush Homeland Security advisor who said the following: “It’s very difficult to draw a cause and effect, because it’s not clear when techniques were applied vs. when that information was received. It’s implicit. It seems, when you read the report, that we got the — the — the most critical information after techniques had been applied. But the report doesn’t say that.” http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/torture/top-bush-terrorism-adviser-admits-cia-docs-didnt-prove-torture-worked/.  When you see and read what a close advisor says about Cheney’s ridiculous claim, how can a reasonable Republican agree with Cheney?  Let’s hear what you think of Cheney’s claims.

I have made my suggestions, and they are just that, suggestions.  Let’s hear what you want to talk about.  I will be anxiously waiting to see what You want to talk about.  It is time to get busy and let everyone know what you are thinking about.  Let’s hear from all of you!  Don’t be shy.  Let us know what your opinion is.

The news was expected, but it still hit pretty hard.  Senator Ted Kennedy had passed away at the age of 77 from brain cancer.  After almost 5o years in the United States Senate, he was no longer able to serve the people of Massachusetts. Senator Kennedy will be remembered as a public servant who had personal issues throughout his life, but he never wavered in his support for the common man.  I had the privilege to briefly meet Senator Kennedy many years ago at a fundraiser.  A good friend of “mom” and I was the youngest member of  the Democratic National Committee and she reached through Senator Kennedy’s entourage and grabbed him by the arm and “asked” him to meet her friends.  I thought I was going to get thrown on the ground by bodyguards or Secret Service, but the Senator was gracious and friendly and we were able to meet a historic figure in our country’s history. 

Now that Senator Kennedy is no longer in pain, my thoughts returned to our friend who introduced us to Senator Kennedy on that fateful day.  That friend, Penny Severns, who later became a respected State Senator from Decatur and a candidate for Lt. Governor in Illinois, also died from cancer many years ago.   However, when I think of Ted Kennedy, I will always think of our dear friend, State Senator Penny Severns.  She emulated Senator Kennedy and both of his brothers and I am sure that today she welcomed Senator Kennedy to a better place.  We miss them both.

This makes two weeks in a row that I have posted my Monday Musings article a day late!  I will try my best to do next week’s Musings on time!  Let’s get down to business.  A couple of news stories have caught my eye since our last posting.  But, the one story that we need to discuss is the disclosure of the CIA Inspector General’s report from 2004 that the ACLU was finally able to obtain pursuant to a lawsuit challenging a denial of  a Freedom of Information Act request that was filed in 2003.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/24/AR2009082402220.html?wprss=rss_politics.  The first fact that jumps out at me from this report is that it took over 6 years for this information to see the light of day.  Even though the court ordered this information to be disclosed, the CIA still redacted almost 1/2 of the report for alleged national security reasons.  The next item that was buried in the Washington Post article is the following language concerning the waterboarding program: “The inspector general determined that the repeated waterboarding of Abu Zubaida and Mohammed was inconsistent with guidelines promulgated by the Justice Department. But it noted that the attorney general told investigators that he was “fully aware of the repetitive use of the waterboard.” “The Attorney General was informed the waterboard had been used 119 times on a single individual,” the report states. Mohammed was ultimately waterboarded 183 times, according to Justice Department memos. ” http://www.arguewithmydad.com/wp-admin/post-new.php.  Who was the Attorney General at that time, you ask?  How quickly you forgot our old buddy, John Ashcroft!  So, after 6 long years of litigation with the Bush administration and several months of litigation with the Obama Administration, we finally find out some important information on the Bush torture program.  We found out that the CIA was largely left without supervision in dealing with these detainees.  We also found out that the CIA Inspector General blew this whistle on the CIA in 2004 and yet some of the torture continued.  This information gives the American Public even more reasons why the Obama Administration should be investigating the entire Bush Administration all the way to the top for the violations of U.S. law and International law concerning torture. 

This same Washington Post article also discusses the announcement made by current Attorney General Eric Holder that he has named a Special Prosecutor to investigate some of the CIA interrogators who may have gone beyond the “guidance” given to them by the infamous Yoo and Addington memos.  This narrow mandate does not go far enough to actually follow the law that requires torture allegations to be investigated, no matter how high you have to go.  Hopefully, this career prosecutor will enlarge his reach to include the Bush administration officials that ordered and authorized these torture techniques. 

Even Dick Cheney got into the act by claiming that these CIA documents prove that the torture techniques that he calls “Enhanced Interrogation techniques” actually provided valuable intelligence.  Of course, Mr. Cheney is talking out of his back side.  As you will see in this Washington Independent article,  http://washingtonindependent.com/56344/cia-documents-provide-little-cover-for-cheney-claims, Cheney’s claims are not proven by the release of these documents. “Strikingly, they provide little evidence for Cheney’s claims that the “enhanced interrogation” program run by the CIA provided valuable information. In fact, throughout both documents, many passages — though several are incomplete and circumstantial, actually suggest the opposite of Cheney’s contention: that non-abusive techniques actually helped elicit some of the most important information the documents cite in defending the value of the CIA’s interrogations.”  I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that Dick Cheney has been lying to us, again! 

So what have we learned from this redacted report?  We have learned that the Bush Administration is guilty of Torture.  There is no other way to say it.  The CIA’s own Inspector General’s words are damning and would prove very useful in an investigation of the Bush higher ups who bear the responsibility of ordering this torture.  Now is the time for Attorney General Holder to allow the Special Prosecutor to go wherever the evidence takes him.  Hopefully, this Special Prosecutor will understand how much power he has and how he can use that power to return the rule of law to this country.  The Rule of Law has been missing in action for far too long now.

It is time, once again, for another edition of the AWMD Friday Free For All.  This is the only time of the week when our arguewithmydad.com readers can control the topic(s) for discussion.  All you have to do is get someone else to respond to your suggested topic and then the floor is yours.  Don’t be shy and don’t hesitate.  Get busy and be sure to get let us know your views and arguments so everyone can read and react to them.  Right here on arguewithmydad.com.  I will make a suggestion or two for possible topics, but they are only suggestions.  Today is Friday so you can be the decider, but you need to tell us what you want to discuss.  So, what will it be?

My first suggested topic is related to our last posting.  I have come to the realization that the Republicans have absolutely no intention of being bipartisan on this Health Care Reform bill or on any substantive bill for that matter.  Sen. Grassley is now calling for a 75-80 vote Super Majority in the Senate on the Health Care Reform bill in order to consider it bi-partisan. “Grassley said. “We ought to be focusing on getting 80 votes.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/19/AR2009081904125.html.  Grassley along with Senator Hatch and others are claiming that the public option is dead in the water and one 2012 Republican Presidential hopeful has announced that the Republicans should kill the reform process entirely.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/19/AR2009081904125.html.   But, these guys claim that they are acting in a Bi-partisan manner even though they begin the discussion with comments that only their ideas will be acceptable to them.  I have given you just a few examples of the hypocrisy of these Republicans.  I am really interested in what your take of this issue is.  What do you think? 

My next suggestion for a topic is the interesting news that former Governor and former Homeland Security chief, Tom Ridge has gone on record and finally admitted that he was pressured to raise the Terror Security alert level just before the 2004 Election in order to sway the election for President Bush.  http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2009/08/19/tom-ridge-on-national-security-after-911.html & http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09221/989665-176.stm#ixzz0OkYNCrV5 .    Of course, Ridge denied this earlier, but now that he is out of office and Bush is out of office, he finally has the guts to admit the truth.  I wonder how much money he got from the publisher for him to garner the courage to stand up to the Republican party and tell the truth?  This is another example of former Bushites coming out of the closet to tell of the abuses of the Bush administration.  What do you think about this story?  Doesn’t it upset you that the President would screw with the Terror Alert level for political reasons?  It certainly honks me off to read this, but I am used to reading about Bush violating the law and mixing politics and governing.  How about you? 

I have made my suggestions, and they are just that, suggestions.  Let’s hear what you want to talk about.  I will be anxiously waiting to see what You want to talk about.  It is time to get busy and let everyone know what you are thinking about.  Let’s hear from all of you!

I know what you are thinking.  How can it be Monday Musings when today is Tuesday?  Well, “Mom” and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary yesterday so I was too busy to post my usual Monday Musings.  I didn’t want to skip our Monday Musings so I decided to move the calendar back a day in order to sneak our Monday Musing article in.  Now that you understand why I am a day behind, let’s get down to business.

There are two stories that jumped right out at me.  The first one involves the continuing saga about the Republicans lying about the health care reform that the Democrats are trying to pass in Congress.  It doesn’t surprise me that the Republicans would lie about anything because they are so good at it.  What does surprise me is that the main stream media has not called them on it.  The latest example of the falsehoods being spread by the Right is the following claim,”“In September or October there will be a hyped up outbreak of the swine flu which they’ll say is as bad as the bubonic plague to scare the bed-wetters to vote for healthcare reform,” said Mr Armey. http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/18/armey-flu-bed-wetters/.  The Armey that is quoted here in the Think Progress article above is the infamous Dick Armey, the former Republican House Majority leader that is also the head of the Freedom Works group that has been intentionally disrupting the town meetings being held by Democratic congressmen.  Can you imagine how the Right would scream if someone on the Left had made this preposterous “prediction”?  Dick Armeyis one of the lowest scoundrels to ever come out of Washington.  Of course, this claim is designed to scare citizens and to flood the airwaves with crap that Armey knows is an outright lie.  Remember, these are the same people who continue to claim that the health care reform bill is going to kill seniors and who can forget that wizkid, Sarah Palin who claimed the healthcare reform would kill her handicapped child.  The only way that you can deal with people who will boldly lie to your face is to call them out publicly for what they are.  Liers.  There is no reason to be politically correct when dealing with scum like this.  Tell it like it is.  Dick Armey is a lying SOB who is in the pockets of the Health Insurance Industry.  The Democrats need to expose these liers and to hammer the point  home  constantly.  There is no time to lose.  Dick Armey is a lier and America needs to here it in those words.

The other story that has intrigued me lately is the numerous news reports of people carrying handguns and assault weapons near  President Obama’s speaking engagements.  Now, I realize that in many of those states it is legal to carry a gun if it is not concealed.  However, how many people were “detained” during the Bush regime by the Secret Service for carrying guns near President Bush?  “So, let’s tally that up: in the Bush years we had two guys detained for obliviously getting too close to President Bush with firearms, and a third given a lengthy jail sentence for threatening the president when he never had a firearm and was mentally ill.” http://trueslant.com/level/2009/08/18/didnt-the-secret-service-used-to-arrest-people-that-got-near-the-president-with-a-gun/  & http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/08/18/guns-atmosphere-danger-obama/.  I wonder why there seems to be a different standard when the President is a Democratic African American?  Hell, the Secret Service during Bush’s regime was arresting and detaining people without weapons who “violated” the law by wearing shirts touting Bush’s poor record or for having bumper stickers on their cars that demonstrated their distaste for the President’s policies. I think I smell a rat.  A big double standard rat.

Since we have made it to another Friday, it would normally be time for our regular Friday Free For All.  However, since today is the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival, I feel that it is important that we reflect back on that important and historic  event.  In August of 1969 a lot of us had heard about the Woodstock Music and Art Festival, but those of us who were unable to travel to the event didn’t realize how immense the event was until the movie about it came out the following year. This festival was a culmination of the political and social upheaval and change that the country was going through at that time.

During the Summer of 1969 I graduated from Niles East High School in Skokie, Illinois and I was working in the factory of a local company to earn money to start college in the Fall.  The Vietnam War was raging and the anti-war movement was also raging.  Society was having a a hard time dealing with the cultural changes and the demonstrations.  It was only one year removed from the Democratic Convention troubles in Chicago.  The thought of close to one half million young people massing in one place must have scared the hell out of the authorities.  During the Summer of 1969 I was more concerned about my brother who was stationed a zillion miles away in Vietnam than what was happening in Bethel, New York.  When I did about the event and how many different bands played there, I was amazed and upset that I had missed it.  When I first saw the movie Woodstock in the Summer of 1970 in a downtown Chicago theatre with “Mom”, it was a watershed moment in my young life.  I had just finished my first year of college even though my school and many others around the country shut down early after the student killings at Kent State and Jackson State and the violent demonstrations that followed those criminal killings.  The movie opened my eyes culturally the way the Kent State and Jackson State killings had opened them politically.  After the  I saw the movie, I could not get enough of the music that was at the heart of the movie and the experience.  Whether it was Jefferson Airplane or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Arlo Guthrie or Richie Havens, I was using my hard earned money to buy more and more of their cassette tapes and records.  You younger readers will have to ask you parents what a cassette tape and record was.  The music was an expression of our distaste of the Vietnam War and of authority in general.  We felt that we were untouchable and could not be tied down by anything.  Of course, we were just going to school so we didn’t have the responsibilities that would soon come to most of us.

Our culture has never been the same since Woodstock and my life has not been the same since.  It may not have just been the musical event at Woodstock that altered so many lives.  I am sure that it was the Vietnam War and the anti-war demonstrations and the political activism along with Woodstock that changed this country.  This peaceful congregation of young people did show the country and the world that our kids were looking for change in many ways and they could voice their opinions without burning down buildings.  The event wasn’t overtly political, but the lyrics of the songs in many respects were written to voice a strong anti-war and anti-government sentiment.  To look back on Woodstock now, I can’t help but look at it as part of a cultural and political revolution that culminated in our departure from Vietnam.  Those events helped spawn a generation that was concerned about our environment, civil rights and insistent on being allowed to be part of the political process.

I guess one of these days I will have to take a look at the impact my generation has made on this country.  The Woodstock generation is coming close to retirement age, but our impact on society and our political institutions has been strong and will continue long after we retire.  Someone pass the Strawberry Hil and my heartburn medicine!

I don’t know about you, but I had a busy weekend that went by way too fast.  Since the weekend is over, it must be time for the arguewithmydad.comMonday Musings. There were many stories that hit the internet last week and over the weekend, but there were only two stories that caught my eye. The first one is an article in the San Francisco Chronicle that details the 3 pronged legal actions that the Obama Administration is using in its attempts to prevent the details of the Bush torture techniques that were used on detainee, Binyam Mohamed. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/10/BAHQ195SJR.DTL.  The Bush Justice Department attempted to prevent information about their torture techniques from reaching the light of day and to prevent the lawsuits filed against the companies used by the CIA in their despicable rendition flights. My question is an easy one.  Why does the Obama administration deem that it is necessary to continue this attempt to hide the facts of our governments illegal actions from the American public?  If President Obama and Attorney General Holder really believe that waterboarding is torture, why try to prevent a British court from disclosing how Binyam was tortured by the CIA?  This story came out at the same time that the LA Times ran a story stating that Holder is close to naming a special prosecutor to investigate torture by the CIA officials, but the story claims that it will be a limited investigation and will not go after the officials who ordered the torture. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cia-interrogate9-2009aug09,0,34626.story.  These two stories are interesting and confusing at the same time.

If the Obama Administration really believes that the CIA tortured detainees during the Bush Administration, why are they trying to prevent the truth from being disclosed?  It would seem counter-intuitive for Obama to try to prevent suits that predate his administration.  He can’t possibly think that his administration  would catch political heat for suits that were already in process and that were caused by Bush regime misdeeds. In the suit in Britain which is trying to prevent the British government from disclosing the torture techniques, the Justice Department is alleging that the torture evidence should not be disclosed because the disclosure would harm National Security.  However, “According to a transcript of the court’s July 29 hearing, Lord Justice John Thomas said there was “nothing in the paragraphs (about the U.S. government’s treatment of Mohamed) that could conceivably identify anything that is of a national security interest.”‘http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/10/BAHQ195SJR.DTL. 

If the Obama Administration really believes in the rule of law, the disclosure of illegal torture activities seems like a no- brainer.  The American public wants to know what illegal activities were undertaken by the Bush administration and the rule of law and our international agreements demand a consequence for illegallity.  Without the higher-ups being investigated and prosecuted, any other investigations are nothing but a whitewash.  It is time for AG Holder and the Justice Department to follow the rule of law that they swore to uphold.  Nothing more and nothing less.  Is it too much to ask our Justice Department to follow the law?

During the past Presidential campaign, I was used to hearing Sarah Palin spew nonsense and lies about Obama’s platform and about her qualifications, but she has now exceeded that disgusting low level by claiming that the Obama health care plan includes provisions for bureaucrats to decide if children like her young Down Syndrome baby will get the treatment they may need to live.  To make sure I have her words correct, here is a quote from her website as reported by MyWay News: “  “The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care . . .Such a system is downright evil.” ‘  http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090808/D99UJ4B00.html.  This statement is not only blatantly false, it is a dangerous lie.  In my opinion it is designed to continue to rev up the wacky far right into taking belligerent action at the Democrats town hall meetings in an attempt to scare legislators into voting against the public option that is so sorely needed. 

The Democrats need to take a stand and tell the American people that these claims by Palin and others are pure fabrications.  Obama and the Democrats can’t sugarcoat their response to this kind of evil lies.  They must call out Palin and the rest of the nutjobs that are infecting the Republican Party for the liers that they are.  Are you listening Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid?  The gloves must come off!  And they must come off now.

Since I was out of town and unable to produce my usual Monday Musing article, I want to discuss an editorial that I read in the Washington Post earlier today. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/04/AR2009080402796.html.  In that editorial, the Post editors make the case for moving ahead the nomination of Indiana University Law Professor, Dawn Johnsen  for a vote in the full Senate.  You may recall that Johnsen was nominated to head the Office of Legal Counsel that John Yoo and others made infamous during the Bush regime.  As the editorial states, Johnsen’s nomination was successfully passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee five months ago.  Since then the Republicans have been holding up the nomination.

This nominee is a highly qualified candidate for the position since she was a top Assistant in the Clinton Office of Legal Counsel and is a respected Law Professor.   ”She served for several years as a top assistant in the office during the Clinton administration and has earned the respect of top OLC lawyers who worked for Republican and Democratic presidents. “http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/04/AR2009080402796.html.  The Republicants are abusing their privilege in the Senate to hold up this nomination.  The Post claims it is because of Prof.  Johnsen’s Pro-Choice standing, but I believe that the real reason why the Republican Senate is afraid of her is because she is one of the strongest critics of the Bush Torture program and appointing her to head the OLC frightens these allegedly pro-rule of law public servants! 

I do agree with the Post editors that Sen. Harry Reid needs to use some of his muscle to push the nomination to a vote and place Prof. Johnsen into her nominated position.  When are the Democrats going to use the mandate that the American electorate gave it in the last two elections and force a vote for Johnsen?  Although Senator Reid probably does not read arguewithmydad.com, let’s hope that he at least does more reading than former President Bush and reads and listens to the Washington Post editors.  Professor Johnsen should receive her vote in the full Senate and it should happen ASAP!   Senator Reid, the ball is in your court.  Get it done.