America: What’s Next? (Or: The Same Old Song And Dance)

It seems like every presidential election in recent history, America is faced with a stark choice of either voting for change or voting for the end of the world.  In my time following politics, I often felt that these types of stark choices were often overblown.  America, despite its bruises, was doing fine.  The world [...]

Hoover Planned Mass Jailings in 1950 (Or: President Bush, sound familiar?)

The New York Times reported in an article published today that J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the FBI, had a plan to suspend habeas corpus and imprison over 12,000 Americans he believed were a “threat” to the United States. That was over 50 years ago.
What is most disturbing is that those in government who [...]

9/11 Panel Study Finds That C.I.A. Withheld Tapes (Or: No, Really?)

The New York Times reported in an article published today that the 9/11 Panel study found that the CIA withheld tapes of its interrogation program. Although the report did not opine that withholding the tapes was illegal, it certainly underscores a disturbing pattern of conduct by an organization intent on preventing any transparency whatsoever into [...]

Justice Department Seeks Delay on C.I.A. Inquiry (Or: Things That Make You Go WTF!!))

The New York Times reported in an article published today, “Justice Department Seeks Delay on C.I.A. Inquiry,” by David Johnston and Mark Mazzetti, that the Justice Department has sought a delay on the current Congressional Hearings on the CIA’s blatant destruction of videotapes.
Perhaps “sought” or “seeks” is not a good word. The Justice Department, [...]

Waterboarding (Or: What the hell are we doing?)

Waterboarding is a technique used to simulate drowning. A prisoner is put on a board, with his/her head sloping down. The interrogator pours water over the prisoner’s face, which causes water to be inhaled into the lungs. Since humans, as far as I know, can’t breath water or liquid (except maybe in the movie The [...]