Holy Waterboarding! God Approves Of Torture!

As well as any policy of Donald Rumsfeld.

From Sodahead:

Worldwide Intelligence update Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld used Biblical quotes and pictures to U.S. soldiers and former President Bush to justify was in Iraq. His administration peers are suddenly speaking out.?Seen on MSNBC Channel 46 live, Countdown With Keith Olberman May 18th, 2009. Quoted from document known as The Worldwide Intelligence Update, "On the morning of Thursday, April, 2003, Donald Rumsfeld's Pantagon prepared a top-secret briefing for George W. Bush. This document, known as the Worldwide Intelligence Update. If circulated, it was a daily digest of critical military intelligence so classified that it circulated among only a handful of Pentagon leaders and the President. Runsfeld himself often delivered it by hand, to the White House.

The briefing's cover sheet generally featured triumphant, Color images from the previous days' war efforts: on this particular morning, the picture was of the statue of Saddam Hussien being pulled down in Fridos Square, a grateful Iraqi child kissing an American soldier, and jubilant crowds thronging the streets of newly liberated Bagdad. And above these images, and just below the headline"Secretary of Defense" was a quote that may have some some eyebrows. It came from the Bible, from the Book of Psalms:

"Behold the eye of the Lord in on those who fear him...to deliver their soul from death."

Oh, what a lovely tradition Mr. Rumsfeld had. Now just think of all the passages he could have inserted to suit his feelings at the time:

the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
Titus 1:6-8 (in Context) Titus 1 (Whole Chapter)

Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.
Psalm 5:9-11 (in Context) Psalm 5 (Whole Chapter)

I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.
Exodus 23:21-23 (in Context) Exodus 23 (Whole Chapter)

for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.
Psalm 26:2-4 (in Context) Psalm 26 (Whole Chapter)

(Ooops! That last one was to be saved for the repeal of DADT!)

Seriously: WTF?!? Did Rumsfeld think that Bush needed encouragement to fight Iraq?

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For Every Other Gay Marriage, There's Mastercard!

According to Michael Steele, gay marriage will be detrimental to small business owners (??).

While he wants everyone to know that the Republican Party is the New/Old party concnetrating on fiscal responsibility (read: cut government services), Steele forgets that owning an old, termite-infested, hurricane-battered house will cost dearly in repairs. For instance:

Cost of telling Republicans they have to retool their image to include everybody: $450,000 in speaking engagements.

Cost of flip-flopping from ambiguity about gay marriage ("not going to beat people upside the head about it") then objecting to additional spouses on health care rolls: 10 million votes of fiscally conservative, socially liberal youth because of confusion.

Cost of saying something that's silly: priceless - AND a "WTF" feature on Keith Olberman's "Countdown.

Watch it:

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The Family That Tortures Together...

Dan Savage (Savage Love, and The Slog) pointed me to a very disturbing piece:

Mendoza had custody of the boy at the time, but the boy's mother was partially a witness to the incident. She said Friday that she was delivering pizza to the apartment when she heard her son screaming for help and decided to leave.

"My son was just crying, 'Mommy, mommy, I want to go with you. I'm scared,'" said the boy's mother, calling herself Desirae but not disclosing her last name. "(I'm) just like 'Should I take him or leave him?'" Desirae said she left, thinking the boy was safe with his father.

What was the father doing to the child at the time: PICKING OUT HIS EYES! WITH HIS TEETH! A neighbor called the police. The boy's one eye was never found. The other was damaged beyond saving. Both the parents had been known to take drugs: the mother had a warrant out for her arrest and Angelo Mendoza had had a criminal record involving child abuse.

Senator Dean Florenz:

This outrageous case of child abuse deserves a great deal of scrutiny, and given the seriousness of 4-year-old Angelo Mendoza’s injuries, I think it is fair to question whether child protective authorities let him down.

''A young child living with drugged-out parents deserves extra attention from child protective authorities and it is not clear whether Angelo received the necessary supervision that could have protected him."

But remember, Senator: According to Dr. James Dobson, every child deserves to have BOTH a mother and a father. Child Protective Services clearly wasn't doing their job since Angelo Mendoza had had a criminal record involving child abuse!

Now let's splay "suppose": suppose a male gay couple (with a domestic partnership certificate in place) fell in love with little Angelo, Jr. and wanted to adopt him. What would YOU say, Dr. Dobson? No need to answer, sir, because I think the whole country would know, seeing how you feel about homosexuality. The let's say a straight couple who wished to foster (with the intent to adopt) little Angelo. They seemed, for intents and purposes, a good, straightfoward and Christian family having raised several children of this own.

After receving Angelo, however, the demeanor of the foster parents changed: they were aggressive, rude and manipulative. Child Protective Services were called in and discovered to their horror that Angelo was battered beyond belief and lived in the cold basement! Read Dave Pelzer's gripping true-life story, "A Child Called It" and you will get the entire picture.

Too Many Smoking Guns: Another Day Another Memo...

So How Many Of Them Will It Take?

From Crooks and Liars:

A newly-disclosed 2005 memo, authored by then-State Department counselor Philip Zelikow, then-Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, and then-Deputy Assistant Secretary for Detainee Affairs Matthew Waxman, gave President Bush “clear and unequivocal advice encouraging a detainee interrogation system that followed humane practices that adhered to US and international law.” The memo was authored as the Bush administration was seeking a “fresh approach” handling terror detainee and just weeks after the OLC issued its second round of torture memos.

England, Rumsfeld’s deputy, brought the paper to his boss…Rumsfeld reacted coldy. He had not authorized this. … Rumsfeld directed that all copies be withdrawn from circulation and shredded.

And now we have idiots like Rep. Peter King (R.- NY) who are saying that talking about torture is un-American and that digging into an administration that engendered 2000 photos on torture will be useless. The "few bad apples" defense was a joke and still is a joke.

Methinks the King doth protest too much.

Saddleback and Mysogeny: Go Together Like A Horse and Carriage

"Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage. I was told by mother, you can't have one without the other."

No, I'm not into 50s doggerel music. But some other people believe in those lyrics - waaaay too much. I had heard stories similar to the one featured here, but I had never heard it applied to the Saddleback church and Rick Warren. Yes, he's a inerrantist and Christofascist, but his framing of marriage is almost as bad as his fake love of gays.

From DoubleX:

Does Rick Warren’s Church Condone Domestic Violence?

Sheri Ferber is a petite strawberry-blonde with a pretty, round-cheeked face, and a voice that sometimes sounds hesitant. Four years ago, she approached a Saddleback pastor for protection against her husband, who’d violently attacked her while they were driving home from church. Instead of protecting her, Ferber says, the pastor [Tom Holladay] called her husband to warn him that Ferber had been “gossiping about their marriage.”

Yeah, the pastor ratted on her. When he was confronted with the situation by the media, his response was typical Saddleback Warrenesque back-peddling:

"It’s not like you can escape the pain,” he said, since the “short-term solution” of divorce leaves the “long-term pain” of a failed marriage. Holladay further qualified that domestic abuse meant regular beatings, not simply a spouse who “grabbed you once.”

So it's O.K. to get a divorce if you could prove that he knocked the crap out of you on a daily basis. Since Saddleback, as most Southern Baptist Churches, does not really allow for divorce on the basis of domestic violence, you wonder just how many women in Pastor Rick's ministry are declaring bruises to be household accidents.

And what about Kay Warren? While she certainly looks like a woman who can defend herself, both physically and emotionally, she too is bound by the strict rule of patriarchal authority. Or is Warren, like so many men bound to Fundamentalist rules worried about his ego, but really, inside, is a wuss? What ever Warren's true stance on the matter of domestic violence, his church has certainly shown exemplary forgiveness:

For four years, Ferber pled her case with various Saddleback staffers. But “every door that would seem to open would slam shut.”. Eventually, she left Orange County, but hears from former church fellows that her ex-husband is now an official worship leader.

Saddleback is now launching a revamped 30-week domestic violence program for victims. Saddleback’s new policy is to advise unilateral legal separation in any unsafe spousal abuse cases and police intervention, so that, Baker says, “victims [are put] in the position where they have to get help.” Marriage counseling is no longer the first option, and a program for abusers is anticipated by year’s end.

Notice the word "revamped". Evidently the first program didn't quite work out. Anyway, it comes too late for Sheri Ferber. I wonder how Warren is backpedaling on this one. "Why, I have many friends who are battered wives. They've had me over to dinner. I've met with their leaders."

Why We Should All Love And Admire Jesse Ventura

Say What You Will About Him,
He's BRUTALLY Honest!

Larry King Live (last week):
[As preparation for Viet Nam and as a Navy Seal, Ventura went through the SERE program and was waterboarded] Here's what he had to say:

VENTURA: It's drowning. It gives you the complete sensation that you are drowning. It is no good, because you -- I'll put it to you this way, you give me a water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders.

And his opinion about Bush, Cheney, Limbaugh, Obama and Colin Powell?

Priceless:

Stupid Prison Guards: Which Side Of The Bars Should They Be On?

So The Kids Are Acting Up?!

Have Them Take A Tour of This Place!

(Pastors: you might be able to incorporate this in a Halloween Hell House)

HT: Pam's House Blend

Sunshine State sadism: 43 children tased during prison tour

What is this world coming to? Oh, and the prison officer offered up this reason for 43 kids getting blasted with the stun gun -- "it wasn't intended to be malicious, but educational." And this can also go under the tag "Parents Behaving Badly":According to information released Saturday by the Florida Department of Corrections: During "Take Our Children to Work Day" events at three prison facilities, 43 children were hit with stun guns while others were exposed to tear gas.

I guess that it's small consolation that three prison guards were fired, two resigned and 16 more employees were disciplined. An investigation is still going on.

Notice the glaring discrepancy between the prison report and the report by an online news service:

"None of the children in any of the incidents required medical attention or was notably harmed, McNeil [prison official] said. He said the children, who ranged in age from 5 to 17, were all children of prison officials." "The jolt sent at least two of them sprawling to the floor, crying out in pain and clutching at agonizing burns on their arms. One child ended up in hospital," reported the Mail Online.

It wasn't intended to be malicious, but educational," said Schmidt. "The big shock came when I got fired."

Duh! FIVE YEARS OLD?!! He claims he got permission from the parents. Now, this is Tallahassee, FLA country. I explained in a comment to the parallel (in thought) website:

I noticed one of the posting sites is Daily Mail UK. Oh great! Now we have MORE people who will be banned from Britain! I just got finished writing about the shock jock Michael Savage who was banned from Britain along with Fred Phelps and his daughter. That piece was picked up by OpEdNews within several hours. We are now Bush's yearned-for legacy: looked upon as a nation of witless scumbags. Our bodies are armed and dangerous while our brains are unarmed and clueless.

One explanation about the affair: look at the location. Jacksonville Flori-duh! is not attuned with the rest of the world, let alone the rest of Florida. I.E: it's not the most sophisticated place in the universe. To most people in the area, the definition of a double-wide trailer is: mansion. To it's credit, Jacksonville, Fla. contains the largest number of clowns on black velvet as well as Elvises...on black velvet and Jesus' Agony In The Garden...on black velvet. When television burst onto their scene in the early 50s, thousands of antennae could be seen cropping up from the worst hovels. The problem: no electricity.

A guard who cannot understand why he was fired for zapping children with mega-voltage and tear-gassing them as well, merely demonstrates that unschooled (or home schooled) children can grow up to be prison guards.

They are sad, ignorant, but above all, FRUSTRATED people.

Just a thought.