Conservatives and the Law

First it was "Watergate", then it was "Iran/Contra" and now it is "CIA Torture memos". Conservatives were responsible for all three; they can't be trusted to protect the Constitution. Within my life time conservatives have trashed the Constitution at least three times. Ford pardoned the Nixon criminals. Bush I pardoned the Reagan criminals and now Obama is giving the CIA criminals a free pass. In order for this pattern of abuse of the Constitution to end, someone must be prosecuted. Conservatives have to be taught that they can't violate the law time after time and get away with it. Hell, Dick Cheney goes on the Sunday talk shows and brags about his violations of the Constitution. Still nothing happens. And Bill Clinton has an affair and lies about it and he is impeached. Something is wrong here.

Taxes and Torture

Two days ago conservatives held nation-wide rallies to bitch about taxes (and President Obama). Yesterday the CIA memos on torture under the Bush admin were released pending a ACLU lawsuit. Where was the outrage over the CIA use of torture against "suspected" criminals; actions that were done in our name and tarnish the reputation and endanger the lives of our armed service members? Torture is not only "crimes against humanity" but are understood by many to be ineffectual. Rallies over taxes; silence over torture. Something is wrong with this picture. On the other hand, maybe those protesting taxes are indirectly saying they don't want to spend money to fund "secret prisons" and costly waterboards. Maybe they think the cost for the water is too high. I guess there is hope.

Defense Spending

The Wall Street Journal, as reported in the Virginian Pilot on 4/14/09, states that a naval fleet of 300 ships is "perilously small". Is there no limit to how much we can spend on defense projects when there are so many people in this country without jobs, homes or enough to eat? What about our education and health needs or infrastructure improvements? There has to be some point at which we say enough already. The defense budget was reported recently at somewhere over $ 500 billion a year. While the Navy wants more ships the Air Force says it is time to change to a new fighter plane. The F-22 is described in a Virginian Pilot op ed article as the "most capable fighter in our military inventory" but they still want a new plane; the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. People are holding "tea party rallies" tomorrow to protest government spending on domestic items but you can bet these rallies will not protest the amount we spend to build new weapons or prop up some brutal dictatorship or build new military bases in Iraq or Guam or some other out of the way place. Lets spend some of that money to repair the damage done to this country instead. The country would be made stronger if problems in this country were addressed with some of this massive funding.

The CIA

Will this agency ever be brought under control? It is noted in the Virginian Pilot on 4/10/09 that the CIA will "completely close secret prisons abroad". Leon Panetta-the director-says that CIA officials "should not be investigated, let alone punished"; the reason being that the Justice Department under Bush "declared their actions legal". Why then did we punish the non-commissioned officers at Abu Ghraib prison for their actions? A number are in jail now, to my knowledge. "Waterboarding" is torture. It was torture when done to John McCain in Vietnam, it is torture today when done to detainees at these secret "black sites" of the CIA. Not all of those we have held are guilty of anything; some most certainly are, but how is one to know if no trial was ever held to determine guilt. Dick Cheney endorsed this "enhanced interrogation procedure" and it is recognized as torture by the US Constitution and international law. Why is he not being tried for his crimes against humanity?

The CIA

Guns

It is claimed in a letter to the editor of the Virginian Pilot on 4/10/09 that there are 200 million "legally owned handguns" in this country and that 50 % of households have a gun. It is also estimated that "2.5 million-3 million" defensive uses of legally owned firearms in the US every year". This, of course, is the reason to allow more guns so that people can defend themselves from madmen who kill for no reason. It seems to this writer that if the actual use of guns to fend off attackers were known the figure would be more definate, rather than one with a half million variable. I would like to know the basis for this claim by the writer from Chesapeake, Virginia.