Greenhouse Hypocrisy

Not that anyone is reading this anymore, but I will keep this up as a news journal:

"First, we should tackle some energy problems. We need to reduce our use of oil, which comes increasingly from unstable regions. This is mainly a security issue, though it would modestly limit greenhouse gases.

Second, we should acknowledge that global warming is an iffy proposition. Yes, it's happening; but no, we don't know the consequences. Third, we should recognise that improved technology is the only practical way of curbing greenhouse gases.

What we have now is a respectable charade. Politicians and advocates make speeches and formulate plans. The media participate in the deception by treating their gestures seriously.

One danger is that these measures will harm the economy without producing significant environmental benefits.

Why should anyone applaud?"

A New Yorker Kind of Guy

Ben Stein details an article of glowing praise written about a Communist Spy for the North Vietnamese who is responsible for the deaths of many Americans:

"He even helped the Communists win large battles by directing Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops against American and South Vietnamese forces. He helped plan the Tet Offensive of 1968, including helping the man who planned the attack on the U.S. Embassy. This was the offensive where thousands of innocent civilians were massacred by the Communists."

"In those days, Americans actually trusted the Mainstream Media. The New Yorker piece by Prof. Bass makes it clear how wrong we were. He's a fine writer but a man whose piece lacks any moral compass at all. And what of the fellow journalists in Saigon cheering him on? Now we know a bit more about why the war turned out as it did."

Amnesty Over the Edge

From powerline, also at instapundit and others. Nice transition from what I previously posted. Amnesty International is calling for the arrest of what they call "high level torture architects" from, you guessed it, the USA.

"Amnesty International’s list of those who may be considered high-level torture architects includes Donald Rumsfeld, ...William Haynes, the Defense Department General Counsel..., and Douglas Feith, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy....Our list includes Major General Geoffrey Miller, Commander of the Joint Task Force Guantanamo... former CIA Director George Tenet..."

As usual, PL sums it up wonderfully:

"In a breathtakingly short time, Amnesty International has declined from being a respectable human rights organization to its current status as a joke and a disgrace."

I agree. AI used to be cool, actually pointing out legitimate stuff. But these are the times in which we live...

The War Against the Torture Masters

Can you believe this happened and it was NOT in America? I am sure the Arab street will rise up to protest the horrible treatment of their Muslim brothers in Iran....right?

"The cheerless creatures who rule the Islamic republic of Iran have developed a particularly wicked use of torture. Not only do they use the full panoply of physical and psychological horrors on their captives, but they then send the victims back into their homes and neighborhoods for brief periods of “parole” or “medical leave,” so that their friends and families can see with their own eyes the brutal effects of the torture. The clear intent of this practice is to intimidate the population at large, to break the will of would-be dissenters and opponents, and to maximize the effects of the victims themselves, for the brief respite from the pain of the prisons is mercilessly accompanied by the certainty that the agony will soon resume."

Military Tops Public Confidence List in New Gallup Poll

"Seventy-four percent of those surveyed in Gallup's 2005 confidence poll said they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the military - more than in a full range of other government, religious, economic, medical, business and news organizations."

"The Gallup organization noted that public trust in television news and newspapers reached an all-time low this year, with 28 percent of responders expressing high confidence in them."

Looks like FoxNews has successfully brainwashed the lot of them!

All these horror stories by the media about how awful the military is by kicking the Koran of a terrorist and other such unspeakable evils, and the American public *gasp* overwhelmingly says they don't trust...the media?

God bless America, I love this country!

10 reasons not to kill George W. Bush

Hi-larious!

4) Any criticisms of the administration will be regarded as more unpatriotic than ever. In the next election, you could expect to see Democratic primary candidates proclaiming that their Republican counterparts aren't "fit to follow in President Bush's footsteps."

And in all seriousness:

"....I don't hate President Bush. I dislike a lot of his administration's choices, but I think he's a good man doing a difficult job. As a leader, you're always going to be hated. I am too often shocked by the vitriolic repulsion many people feel for our leader and America in general, especially because the loathing is often poorly informed. I've met people on this campus who see America as the worst human rights abuser in the world (unlike the angelic paradise of Cambodia) and people who sway liberal not because they actually know anything about issues but because it's popular.

Liberalism has to be more than a college fad or a collection of loudmouths whose idiotic comments stir headlines. The rabid dislike some people feel for a man they've never even met makes me ashamed to be a Democrat."

The military you don't see

Sums it all up for me:

"Maybe reporters and editorial writers think that reporting too often on the many selfless acts our troops undertake will reflect well on an undeserving president who likes to grandstand with our troops in photo ops. But is the truth about the character of our military being accurately, or should I say proportionately, reported? Does the public, which has woefully little personal contact with our military, know that most men and women in our services are not torturers but people like them trying to do the best they can with compassion and honor? Does the public know that acts of kindness are routine and acts of abuse are rare?"

I think the military is about the most honorable group of people out there. The media portrays it otherwise...

What is torture? A primer on American interrogation.

"Every few months a new story of torture by American troops or agents emerges in the media. Usually it is misunderstood, spun for propaganda, or ignored altogether. Yet understanding U.S. interrogation practices is vitally important, now more than ever, because these events (and their coverage) have a decided impact on our national security. Whether through an account of a savage prisoner-killing in Afghanistan or a Quran being desecrated in Guantanamo Bay, the world sees and judges us based on these stories."

c/o Slate