For example, there is an uprising going on in Iran, with significant developments playing out this weekend when former President Rafsanjani led Friday prayers. There was a bloodless coup in Honduras after the President trying to unconstitutionally abolish term limits. There was a crushed uprising of Uighers in China, and of course, we still need to figure out what to do with the 13 Uighers we have detained in Guantanamo Bay.

Now, none of this mattered over the past few weeks. Joe Biden could have gone on a killing spree and it would have shown up on the CNN ticker below B-roll of Michael Jackson dancing. I get that he was good. Really, really good. Probably the best singer/dancer/performer ever.

But now that the funerals for Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and the careers of John Ensign, Mark Sanford, and Sarah Palin are over, can what get back to actual news. Before the Jackson story hit, I remember watching the Palin-Letterman feud on every news network, including Air America, while people died in Iran. So please, now that this tidal wave of celebrity deaths and political scandals has passed, can the major news outlet try covering actual news? I’m looking at you Wolf Blitzer!

P.S. If you’re like me and feel like CNN, MSNBC, FOXNews, ABCNews, CBSNews, AM 770 “The Truth”, and “Air America” are now indistinguishable from TMZ and perezhilton.com, than I suggest checking out “current_tv”. It’s a weird concept: a new network that covers actual news.

UPDATE: Three hours after this post, the top story on CNN is STILL that some people think the moon landing is fake.

As I’ve been saying for years, Cheney, Bush, Rumself are criminals who belong in jail. This is a debate that will rage until they die or go to jail. Their defense is that torture works and it saved lives. It didn’t, and that appears to be the argument on the “left” (apparently torture is now a partisan issue. Well done, GOP).

But the debate that isn’t going on is the one that should be. Is torture morally wrong, period, and what happens when torture DOES work? We’re really in no danger right now of living under a fascist regime that tortures thousands of citizens willy nilly. Mainly because torture is ineffective and only used by incompetent psychopaths (see Dick Cheney).

But in a few decades, maybe less, brain imaging will allow us to tell if a person is lying or not with near perfect accuracy. And when that happens torture WILL work. Really, REALLY, well.

And if we don’t start debating whether or not we should use torture for moral reasons, taking a stand against it on all grounds, and prosecuting the people responsible for using it (see Dick Cheney), then someday another administration is going to torture people. And it will be an incredibly effective way of extracting information from people. Potentially vital information. And when that happens be much, much harder then to end torture in America, let alone the rest of the world.

Just in case anybody wonders what the treaty on the subject of torture signed by Reagan says:

Article 1.
1. For the purposes of this Convention, torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.
2. This article is without prejudice to any international instrument or national legislation which does or may contain provisions of wider application.
Article 2.
1. Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.
2. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat or war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.
3. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.

This treaty is legally binding. I’m not really sure how there is a question that prosecutions must be forthcoming. Yet, there does not seem to be nearly as much momentum in that direction as I expected. So I would appreciate some reader comments on this subject. Yes or no*, do you agree that
1) America engaged in torture.
2) Torture, in all forms, is morally wrong and illegal, regardless of circumstance.
3) Anyone responsible for committing acts of torture should be held legally accountable. This includes:
a) CIA and military interrogators.
b) Authors of the “torture memos” within the Justice Department.
c) Bush and Cheney.

Again, I would very much appreciate your comments, regardless of whether or not (or how much) you agree with me. Thank you.

*If you have the time to also explain why you said yes or no that’s awesome, but I understand that we’re all very busy.

*Unless you count all the people that we tortured.

In case you somehow have managed to convince yourself that the guy in the YouTube is not a liar up to this point:

The memos, released in redacted form to protect the identity of CIA interrogators, describe acts of torture in clinical detail, always associating these with a threadbare legal defense. Among the forms of torture endorsed by the memos are:
*Walling. “The interrogator pulls the individual forward and then quickly and firmly pushes the individual into the wall… During this motion, the head and neck are supported with a rolled hood or towel… to help prevent whiplash.”
*Water dousing. “Cold water is poured on the detainee either from a container or from a hose without a nozzle… The maximum period of time that a detainee may be permitted to remain wet has been set at two-thirds the time at which, based on the extensive medical literature and experience, hypothermia could be expected to develop… For water temperature at 41 [degrees Fahrenheit] total duration of exposure may not exceed 20 minutes…”
*Facial Slap. “The purpose of the facial slap is to induce shock, surprise, and/or humiliation.”
*Cramped Confinement. “The confined space is usually dark… For the larger confined space, the individual can stand up or sit down; the smaller space is large enough for the subject to sit down. Confinement in the larger space can last up to eighteen hours; for the smaller space… no more than two hours.”
*Stress positions. “A variety of stress positions may be used… they are designed to produce physical discomfort associated with muscle fatigue… In wall standing, it will be holding a position in which all of the individual’s body weight is placed on his finger tips.”
*Nudity. “This technique is used to cause psychological discomfort, particularly if a detainee for cultural or other reasons, is especially modest.”
*Sleep deprivation. “The primary method of sleep deprivation involves the use of shackling to keep the detainees awake. In this method, the detainee is standing and is handcuffed, and the handcuffs are attached by a length of chain to the ceiling… a detainee undergoing sleep deprivation is generally fed by hand by CIA personnel so that he need not be unshackled. If the detainee is clothed, he wears an adult diaper under his pants. Detainees subject to sleep deprivation who are also subject to nudity… will at times be nude and wearing a diaper. The maximum allowable duration is 180 hours…”
*Use of insects. A memo authorizes agents to place an insect in the “cramped confinement box” of a prisoner who interrogators noticed had “a fear of insects.”
*Waterboarding. “In this procedure, the individual is bound securely to an inclined bench…Water is then applied to a cloth [that] is lowered until it covers both the nose and mouth… This causes an increase in carbon dioxide level in the individuals’ blood [which] stimulates increased effort to breathe. This effort plus the cloth produces the perception of ‘suffocation and incipient panic,’ i.e., the perception of drowning… The procedure may then be repeated… [A] medical expert… will be present throughout…”
Based on language in the memos, it is clear that they were the outcome of extensive discussions among the CIA, Justice Department, and likely high-ranking Bush administration officials. For example, the memos refer frequently to face-to-face meetings between Justice Department lawyers and CIA interrogators that had already taken place.

I’ve been saying for years now that Bush and Cheney must be tried for war crimes. This can never happen again. Torture is the first and most important step towards a totalitarian, 1984-style reality, in which good is bad, up is down, tyranny is freedom. Torture is morally reprehensible. It is also tactically and strategically counterproductive. But none of those things matter by comparison. A society in which torture is lawful and those who carry it out go unpunished is no longer a free society.

If you’re wondering how involved today’s youth and the Republicans are today, check out two of the major movements on the right. The first is a grassroots movement of people angry about Obama’s out of control spending and tax increases. This group has been throwing impromptu meetings and protests all over the country that they have been referring to as “Tea Parties,” in reference of course to the Boston Tea Party.

You might think the most ridiculous aspect of the group is that they didn’t protest or complain at all when Bush ran up massive surpluses and Cheney said “deficits don’t matter.” Or that they are protesting Obama’s outrageous tax plan, which just gave me an extra $600 on April 15, and is only increasing taxes on those making so much money that they probably don’t have time to go to protests on Tuesday afternoons. But you’d be wrong.

The most ridiculous aspect of this group is their self-proclaimed name. Teabaggers. Yes, the Republican party is now full of a bunch of people who want to “Teabag” Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Members of this group have even been wearing hats with teabags hanging off, right in front of their faces, wearing shirts that say “I’m a Teabagger,” and carrying around signs warning that, if you’re not careful, the Liberal Democrats just might teabag you.

Meanwhile, another right-wing group has decided to protest the recent string of same-sex marriage legalization throughout the nation by organizing a massive “pro-marriage” group. The name of this group is “2 Million For Marriage.” In effort to appeal, to young, hip kids with their myface accounts, slap bracelets, and Saved By The Bell t-shirts, the group decided to market their name as an acronym. 2M4M. Yes, the right-wing has decided to name their new anti-gay group, 2M4M.

I think it’s safe to say that no one in the Republican party has ever heard of urbandictionary.com, or Google for that matter. I can’t help but wonder what would happen if the Teabaggers met up with 2M4M. Perhaps the two could combine into a new super group, called Glorious Alliance of Your Organized Righteous Guidance from Yesteryear.

*In order to read news about the Republican Party you must be at least 17 years of age(NC-17).

Meanwhile, on-the-clock, I’ve been working insanely hard, and entertaining my co-workers. So much so, that one of my co-workers made a fake twitter account about my office antics and coding travails.

We’ll see how much longer they exist as a major party.

Unfortunately, the bill is unlikely to pass the State Senate, and even if it does the Governor has indicated that he intends to come up with a fake reason to oppose it.

In other same news, it seems people with Internet connections REALLY want to ask President Obama if he will legalize marijuana. On whitehouse.gov’s website, where people can vote on questions they want the President to answer, nearly all top questions in all categories related to marijuana legalization. While the President has yet to directly addresses this, one wonders how long an open and pragmatic leader can ignore the disastrous effects that the war on drugs has had on the world.

First, the Vermont State Senate passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, by a margin of 26-4. As the bill goes to the Vermont State House, Republican Governor Jim Douglas has announced prematurely that he will veto the bill. His reasoning is that the civil unions law is good enough.

As inane as it sounds to veto a law just because a slightly less good law already exists, I’d like to point out that his fake reason for vetoing the bill is at least more plausible than his original reason* for being against the law: that it will waste valuable legislative time.

Ironically, since the state legislature has an obvious super majority and will end up overriding him, his veto will actually probably end up wasting more time than the passage of the original bill took. But I digress: there is a super majority, and gay marriage will be coming to Vermont very soon (along with a new Governor). Sanity.

In other legalization news, sanity has recently hit California and Massachusetts. In California, the new bill AB 390 looks to legalize and tax marijuana. Expected revenues could be as high as a billion dollars, while helping to slightly decrease revenue to the drug cartels that are slowly taking over Mexico.

Meanwhile in Massachusetts, there are House and Senate bills that have just been introduced in the Massachusetts General Court to effectively legalize and tax cannabis. The bill proposes to tax based on the THC concentration of the weed, with proposed taxes of $150/oz for “C Grade” up to $250/oz for “A Grade.” Additionally, growth for personal or non-profit use would be allowed. Revenues is Massachusetts could be in the hundreds of million dollars.

I wrote a while back about the ten main reasons against gay marriage, which are essentially masks for homophobia. I have not been able to find ten reasons against legalization of marijuana. The only one I can find is that it will increase use by minors.

This is of course ridiculous, as the black market for illegal drugs actually makes them easier for minors to purchase. If you ask any high school senior which is easier to purchase, alcohol or marijuana, they will tell you the latter (I taught high school for 3 years, most kids who smoke marijuana rather than drink alcohol do it because it’s easier to get their hands on marijuana then beer). Legalizing and regulating marijuana would actually make it easier to keep out of the hands of minors by removing a black market that does not discriminate based on age.

If you know of any other reasons to legalize marijuana, please comment. I would love to have a sane debate on the topic. Even more though, I would love to see our political leaders sanely debate the topic.

* In a previous post, a commenter mentioned that there are more than ten reasons to oppose gay marriage. I suppose I should add “civil unions are close enough”, and “I’m busy” to the list.