In one of the most calculated, shallow, transparent, and all too successful acts of political pandering I have witnessed, George Bush famously declared his favorite political philosopher to be "Jesus Christ", when asked the question during a debate back in 2000. Of course, he less-famously backpedaled on that declaration during an interview with Tom Brockaw just prior to the invasion of Iraq, and has since said little about how Jesus' teachings affected his beliefs in tax cuts for the wealthy, his administration's advocacy of the use of low-yield nuclear weapons (so-called "Bunker busters"), andits insistent support for torture. These, of course, are all obvious questions, and as the Washington Press Corps (a) knows Bush was lying; and (b) wouldn't know or care what Jesus said about these things, or much else, the wait would be long indeed for a serious challenge during a press conference.
Glenn Greenwald offers this story concerning just one victim to cross the path of our Jesus-following President. To sum up, a graduate student has been held incommunicado for three years - and there is no reason for it, and thanks to the Military Commissions Act (MCA), the government needs to provide no justification for it. A man is stripped of his rights, hidden away, cannot confront his accusers, his family is not notified of where he is, or if he is even alive. This is the essence of tyranny, and must be stopped. More than the ruin that has come upon Iraq and the United States as a result of the past six years of this Administration - hollowing out our infrastructure, destroying the revenue-collection system, gutting the military, the utter lack of concern over serious policy - the case of this one man should be enough to force an end to all the "War on Terror" nonsense we have endured since September 11, 2001. If the 110th Congress has not moved to close Guantanamo Bay prison; if they have not moved for the release of all incommunicado prisoners in South Carolina and Norfolk, VA; if rendition is not ended on January 2 (it would be easy enough to do; as Congress hold the purse strings, it could simply say, "Not a dime for any more of this nonsense") - perhaps the press is correct, and conservatives really have won.
Virtual Tin Cup
