War on Terrorism

The Company You Keep

This entry was posted in War on Terrorism on by

Often your actions do a better job of displaying your true character than your words. The same can be said for the company you keep. So if this is an accurate description of one of your allies:

…your great ally, the wonderful President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan is a weak, woman-hating, dreadful coward of a man, a friend of those who would rape to humiliate and scorn, and pillage for power and perversion.

…then what does it say about you?
Via Jaquandor.
Update: Tom Watson has current information on Mukhtaran Bibi here.

Raich and Torture

This entry was posted in Constitution Domestic Terrorism Drug Laws Law Enforcement Libertarianism War on Terrorism on by

Even though it would still not be just in a free society:

To ban marijuana, Congress should have amended the Constitution through the arduous process prescribed by the Framers, just as it did when it banned alcohol. Instead it has amended the Constitution through legislative assertion and judicial acquiescence.

Aand, I think a pretty strong case can be made that the alcohol ban was itself unconstitutional.
On a related note Radley Balko argues that the federal medical marijuana ban may in fact be torture.

Beyond Raich

This entry was posted in Capitalism Drug Laws Federal Government Law Enforcement Libertarianism War on Terrorism on by

Why exactly are the drug terorists waging this war on supposedly free people? Dennis Perrin has a few thoughts in answer:

Still, it seems comical that at this late date we’re dealing with shit like this, esp given the larger and more pressing horrors of the world. But systems of control are self-perpetuating, as are the delusions that keep them humming. And criminalizing marijuana requires massive delusion and lying by those who seek control. To be expected. To paraphrase Bill Hicks, alcohol and cigarettes do nothing creative for you and accelerate your chances for death, yet they’re legal. Weed, on the other hand, opens a door in your mind and lets you see how you are getting royally fucked on a regular basis, yet it’s illegal. Coincidence . . .?

Go read the rest!
Via Arthur Silber.

WAPO VP Deems bush a Reliable Source

This entry was posted in bush Journalism War on Terrorism on by

Yesterday on NPR Michelle Norris interviewed Ben Bradlee of the Washington Post:

As editor during Watergate, Bradlee was responsible for overseeing the paper’s coverage of the scandal and deciding whether to trust his reporter’s sources, including “Deep Throat.”

In a discussion about the number of sources required for a story to go forward this exchange took place:

Norris: I remember from my days1 that reporters generally needed multiple sources. You needed to come back with more than one name to back up your story.
Bradlee: That is the goal, certainly. Many stories we kept out of the paper because tehy only had one source.
But, if you think about it for a minute, if the President of the United States tells you something then you don’t really need a second source. You don’t hear President Bush say this is so and then go check it with somebody. You don’t have to do that.

Hmmm, just when did the president become infallible? Shouldn’t the fourth estate be fact checking everything that government officials say? And, with regard to the current president, it should be pretty clear to the press that disassembling, dissembling and dissimulation are the norm.
We are truly in deep trouble if faith based journalism is now the norm!
1Norris worked for Bradlee at the Washington Post.