MATTHEW YGLESIAS: Who Would Jesus Torture? Harold Meyerson asks the question that's on every secular liberal's mind: How is it that the political mobilization of Christianity in the United States seems to have gotten us so much torture, aggressive warfare, and xenophobia? Where [did] the humane, universalistic ethic of the Gospels go?
MOJO BLOG: Thanks to Bush, America is Both Rubber and Glue. From CNN: Torture House, Mass Graves Found in Iraq. Given our own "torture houses," the tapes of which we've illegally (not to mention, immorally) erased, how exactly is an American to process such an article? I feel myself going all Derrida and po-mo: that article is clearly meant to stimulate feelings of shock, awe, horror, disbelief etc... But how can an American legitimately muster such feelings when we, too, now are torturers and propogandists?
RUBBER HOSE: "Please go away!" Quoteth the WaPo: Iraqis of all sectarian and ethnic groups believe that the U.S. military invasion is the primary root of the violent differences among them, and see the departure of "occupying forces" as the key to national reconciliation, according to focus groups conducted for the U.S. military last month. Ever since people started asking, Iraqis have consistently told pollsters that they view the U.S. led occupying forces as part of the problem, not part of the solution, and want them to leave.
TOO SENSE: "I Will Not Be Treated Like A Slave." All the cameras there and the New Orleans police didn't think twice about escalating their use of force against the protesters, who are fighting to keep their homes. I'm all for mixed income housing; it reduces crime and gives people who are struggling something to work towards. But when you demolish people's homes and refused to give them something to come back to, it's really a form of ethnic cleansing.
ACLU BLOG: White House Heavily Involved in CIA Tape Destruction This is just another case of Bush administration officials trying once again to hide their criminal activity. The White House cannot be trusted to investigate itself and at this point, only an independent prosecutor can fully investigate the matter without the Justice Department attempting to influence the process.
BALKINIZATION: Willful Blindness The persistent theme of stories about the CIA tape destruction is that countless government officials "advised" the CIA not to destroy the tapes - but no one actually instructed the CIA not to do so... In the category of "shoes that were bound to drop eventually," we now learn from the New York Times that -- surprise! -- the matter was discussed by not only Harriet Miers, but also John Bellinger (when he was NSC General Counsel), White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and, of course, David Addington.
DOWN WITH TYRANNY: The emperor has no clothes. Well, at least the Washington Post has a columnist pointing out that the emperor has no clothes. "At a year-end press conference this morning, President Bush staved off questions about White House complicity in the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes, refusing even to flatly deny that he was personally involved. Bush also declined to say whether he thought the destruction of the tapes was right or wrong."
PM CARPENTER: The See-It-Yourself Autocracy Kit When I saw the NYT's headline yesterday morning about destroyed tapes, my instant reaction was: Yeah, so what? ... And that's as sad a commentary on our present course as it gets. Just another White House crime, another revelation of autocratic corruption, a few more felonies to be buried under a mound of executive-privilege claims -- felonies soon lost and forgotten amid a vast swirl of executive malefactions and to be swept away by the ticking clock. Ho-hum. Just another morning in America.
BOOMAN TRIBUNE: What If McCain Can't Save the GOP? It's impossible to know whether this story has any legs, but John McCain has lawyered up. And a presidential candidate lawyering up on the eve of the first caucus is certainly a concern: "What is being done to John McCain is an outrage," Bennett said in an interview. Bennett said he sent prepared answers yesterday to written questions submitted by New York Times reporters who have spent weeks investigating questions about whether the senator did favors for a Washington lobbyist or her clients.
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