Torture

My old friend Bob sent me a link to this Esquire article which is a travelogue of sorts written by a soon to be new father who participated in torture as a representative of our government. I had read the article a few weeks back, flying home from Tucson, and was really...really impacted by it. I remember not being sure if I wanted to keep reading at the jump, or whether I should just go back and re-read the bad joke section.

Anyway, I did finish it, and then Bob sent it along today as part of an ongoing, group discussion that I would loosely describe as a friendly debate amongst a group of people who can't believe we are where we are.

I was sending a note back to Bob and the group about the article and I wrote something to the effect of, "We're all victims of torture when it's done in our name..." I'd have to go back and see exactly what I said, but it wasn't something I thought about or considered. It just came out, which is sometimes how truth is revealed. Patty calls it the "cuclunk sound of insight." Some might describe it as epiphany, but it didn't feel enlightening. Just depressing.

That was an enormous pain in the ass

Jesus. Take 10 or so months off and they change the whole world. Perhaps I'm not meant to blog, because it took so long to get through the blogger system and set up new accounts and grapple with the eternally appearing empty sign-in screen I've forgotten what it was I was going to write about after all this time.

But, I guess the work is done, so I'll probably come up with something...

Right and Wrong

I was musing about something to write about this evening and the old James Carville book, "We're Right, They're Wrong" came to mind. Of course, that was back when Carville actually was a "Spirited Progressive" and not a media mogul/whore. I actually liked the book because it argued, as I recall, that fundamentally, progessive ideas are what's best for America and Americans. They also tend to be better for the world.

It got me thinking about the actual arguments about what we're doing as a country, as opposed to the slick marketing and media chicanery that passes for political debate these days. It reminded me of late 2002 and early 2003 as Bush and Company made the case for and then, case or otherwise, invaded Iraq.

In my professional life I am surrounded by conservatives and they uniformly lined up to support the case. I got urgent cell phone calls during Colin Powell's (false) presentation to the UN telling me about the weapons of mass destruction and the mobile labs. Breathless co-workers would race into my office as the war began to report the latest finding (false again) of WMD's. Everyone around me knew that Saddam Hussein was practically sleeping with Osama bin Laden. All work in my office ceased in order to watch as they (in a staged event) pulled down the statue of Saddam, and the consensus was that Bush would be on Mt. Rushmore by the end of 2003.

My conservative colleagues used every imaginable slur- I think they were following some sort of Ann Coulter Talking Points Memo - to malign me and my liberal (you have to say that with contempt) ideas.

Of course, I don't hear much of anything from this group anymore. I was right on every point - not because I'm a brilliant geopolitical thinker, but because I stuck to my progressive instincts and didn't buy the hype. And it wasn't always easy. Because I was too young to really understand Watergate, and a little too something else to get the full measure of Iran Contra, it was hard for me to believe that so many people - our leaders - were just flat lying to take us to war. But as we all know today...

Of course, this is just one of many, many examples of where we progressives have argued - mostly amongst ourselves - that some policy or program espoused by the Bush adminstration was a bad deal. And today, on every point I can think of, we were right.

Which is a very long winded way of recommending this post by Kevin Drum, who addresses this topic from a different angle (and more eloquently) and also manages to get a few digs in at Wal Mart, which always warms my heart.

Sometimes you have to wait for it...

I wrote about instant karma a long time ago here. It really is my favorite form of justice, and there's something much more satisfying about a guy who burns a mouse to death for sport and winds up with the mouse burning his house down than all the trials and punishments in the entirety of the US Justice system.

But, as is the case with most things of value, you usually have to wait for it. If instant karma were a frequent reality, people around me would be bursting into flames daily - at a minimum. It can be worth it, though, and such is the case with Katherine Harris, who laid all the groundwork for the Supreme Court to appoint our current president.

Although the downward spiral for her has been fast and violent (and I feel no sympathy at all, unlike the more charitable folks at TPM), I'm not sure there's any fate that could befall her that would even out the karma score. Looking around at the devastation and destruction that Bush has wrought in so many places on so many levels, even I can't come up with a suitable fate.

Line of the Day

From Matthew Yglesias, subbing for Josh Marshall over at TPM:

Ignorance is, if not bliss, at least widespread.

An Unholy Alliance

Driving back to my office today, I caught a little bit of Al Franken's show on Air America. He was discussing the state of the welfare state in America with the head of Catholic Charities. His guest (whose name escapes me) was a priest who spoke articulately and passionately about the sad state of affairs for the poor and working poor in this country.

After one of the commercial breaks (why we have this on subscription satellite radio is beyond me) they had the traditional "bumper music" playing back into the discussion. It was odd to hear a live version of "Franklin's Tower" by the Grateful Dead playing while Franken did his voice over announcement of his guest, the priest, talking about welfare. Cognitive dissonance.

Which matters none to the discussion, which confirmed that, by every objective measure, the poor and working poor are worse off than they were 5 years ago. And although Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress ended "welfare as we know it" in the 90s, everyone forgot to follow through with the health care support and child care support and light rail transportation systems and training that make it possible for welfare recipients to transition into the workforce.

During the Clinton years, those things were less of a priority because the booming economy meant a scarcity of labor. This translated to fast food joints offering signing bonuses and base wages higher than minimum wage, and obviated much of the need for the support systems. But everyone - Clinton included - knew that would end someday (the scope of the massive thud and continuing downward spiral were only understood by those who "saw into the heart" of George Bush) and that the huge migration of people from welfare to work would reverse course.

The problem we're facing today is that the safety net is largely gone and none of the support systems ever materialized. So, welfare as we know it is gone. Poverty, as we've always known it, marches on, leaving the most vulnerable among us with nowhere to go.

"In another times forgotten space,
Your eyes looked from your mother's face..."

Political PTSD

"The great shock to the American system is realizing that no fortress is inviolate, no wall tall enough and no place really safe. Metal detectors, random searches. No toothpaste in that carry-on. Safety is a useful illusion, as modern—and as vulnerable—as a skyscraper."

That's true, and, I believe, the lasting legacy of the September 11 attacks. It's from this column by Anna Quindlen (of course), and it reminds me of how I felt watching the news those first few nights after the attacks - wondering whether my kids would ever feel safe in the post 9/11 world.

But, despite all the turmoil over the British "mix-a-bombers" of late, over Madrid and anthrax and all the rest, my kids feel remarkably safe. In large part it's because they are insulated from the madness, but it's also because those around them haven't fallen for the fear. We are not - at least not yet - Israel, where safety is really an illusion that can be shattered in an instant. Nor are we Palestinians, left without a home and without hope.

But we are vulnerable to that thinking - that fear, and that way of life. Our posture towards the rest of the world has made us more vulnerable, and that's the way our government wants it. There is a documented disconnect in Israel that allows peaceful people who would never thinking of harming a soul to support the foolish response in Lebanon and to vote for those who perpetrate it. They are shell shocked, victims of both real and political Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

It's been five years since 9/11/2001, so those of us away from the immediate impact have largely forgotten those feelings of fear and vulnerability that came with the attacks. But we are very subject to the political equivalent, and each time we fall victim to it, we give more power to those who only make the real situation worse. They manipulate the facts, grab more power, and try to intimidate those who might offer real solutions.

It's a horrible cycle, but we still have a chance to end it without violence and more bloodshed.

And with that bold stroke...

...I find something to say. A pet topic of mine, and yet another microcosm of the world according to lies, half-truths and the rule of anecdotal evidence. The Senate Democrats blocked a bill that would limit pain and suffering awards in medical malpractice cases. Thanks, guys, for standing up for the little guy once in awhile.

The truth is that medical malpractice awards are barely related to health care costs (something like a third cousin twice removed, if I read the statistics correctly) and have an infintismal impact on malpractice insurance premiums.

What has driven doctors out of business is largely two things:

• Bad doctors. Something over 50% of all medical malpractice awards (not cases brought - actual awards) are attributable to less than 5% of the licensed physicians in the US. But the self-policing AMA and the state licensing agencies (run by...wait for it...doctors) won't enforce current standards, let alone toughen up to remove the bad actors. Remove the 5% amongst the ranks who continuously hack up their patients, and you've cut the problem in half.
• A downward (or now sideways) run of the stock market. Insurance companies make their money by investing premiums - not by collecting them. In the nineties, the bull market allowed for a massive marketing push by insurers who slashed rates to attract business - and more premiums to invest. Since the end of that market (which just happens to coincide with...well, hell - that's just too easy), the insurance companies have massively hiked premiums to maintain revenue during a down or sideways market.

Are there frivolous lawsuits? Sure. But is that the reason for increasing healthcare costs or rising malpractice insurance premiums? Not really.

MIA

So, it's been awhile since I've had anything to say here. Lest you think I've run out of opinions...yeah, right. Just a shortage of time and energy. And it also has to do with the sentiment I expressed shortly before it went dark around here; namely, it's hard to get excited writing about the same old stuff.

I haven't written anything in months, but what's new? Scandal, corruption, Bush at 31% (okay, a new low with a 34 point spread between favorable and unfavorable), mayhem in Iraq, fear and loathing everywhere else. I write about it. The bloggers with actual audiences write about it. I make smart comments.

Nothing changes.

Who knows? Maybe the mid-term elections will get me pumped up enough to get back to it. Maybe I'll find the energy to find the stuff that matters - about the hearts and minds - instead of the stuff that, well...doesn't. Or maybe it does matter, but my voice in the debate doesn't seem to mean much either way. As I said, who knows?

Or, as Hunter Thompson said, maybe this is all just jibberish. Maybe, but still...

Where to start

And yet another piece of glory for the old hometown. Because we in St. Louis want to make sure the world knows we are the midwest capital for racism and generally backward thinking, we need to pop into the national consciousness now and then with a bold reminder.

This time it's the local disc jockey who made some sort of Freudian slip and let loose with this little gem about Condoleeza Rice:

"She's been chancellor of Stanford. She's got the patent resume of somebody that has serious skill. She loves football. She's African-American, which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God. I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that."

Yes, well, Dave, we're all sorry for that. So, Dave's been fired from KTRS, the almost un-listenable home of the St. Louis Cardinals. And, he's been suspended with pay from his real job as a teacher of some sort at a local college.

So, here's a few questions:

• Everyone seems to agree it was an accident. Do they know the guy has some racist history that leads them to believe he really meant it? If so, why the hell did they hire him in the first place?
• The local college is "reviewing" the situation before determining the DJ/Professors fate. Reveiwing what? Either the guy is a racist - see above - or he's not. Fire him (and whoever hired him) if he is. Leave him alone if he's not.
• Condi Rice admits to a fact her employers deny each and every day: Rice said Sunday that the incident is evidence that the "birth defect" of slavery infuses even mature democracies with racial tensions that take generations to heal. How come she can't convince anyone else in the White House about this?
• And, just when you start to have a little respect for Condi, she sticks in this little gem: Rice added that she hopes the episode inspires Americans to "be a little bit more humble" about the progress of emerging democracies such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thanks, Condi. Now I get it - the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are really about atoning for slavery in the US 150 years ago. How could I have missed that one?

So, we review. Local station KTRS (who dumped their entire talent roster and brought in - well, the non-talent roster - fires a guy who either made a mistake or never should have been hired in the first place and the US Secretary of State uses it to justify one war we failed to complete and one war we never should have started. St. Louis takes another shot in the national press and the US takes another one internationally.

Did I miss anything?