If John McCain were imprisoned at Gitmo. . . .

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/worst-decision-by-digby-if-you-wondered.html

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/14/105732/781/104/535865

Since John McCain seems to always play up his POW status in Hanoi for the sake of political gain, perhaps he might enjoy being imprisoned at Gitmo for years upon years upon years with no hope of justice and no hope of release?

You would think that some old, rusty gears might start turning in McCain's head and say," I remember being a POW. I remember having no hope and singing like a jail bird. Why don't I have more sympathy for these detainees? Why don't I want to see that justice is served on their behalf?"

But, no. . .John McCain can't put himself in someone elses shoes. John McCain has to self-aggrandize himself to score political points even upon the death of a famous figure in U.S. political history.

John McCain isn't about representing the views of his constituents. John McCain is only interested in winning elections for his own personal gain to prop up his bizarre delusions of grandeur.

We need to send John McCain packing in November. He doesn't deserve to represent us. He deserves to be handed a defeat by the voters. Perhaps that might help deflate John McCain's larger-than-life ego.

Have you posted in the SG Liberal Politics group lately?

I think that DailyKos article is really making something out of nothing. McCain famously said those exact words ("I haven't had as much fun...") at the end of one of his many grillings on Meet The Press, And McCain and Russert shared a laugh over it.

Besides, McCain spoke very generously and warmly of Russert in the rest of his statement, and he took the time to appear on the Today show this morning to share memories, and to offer his condolences to Russert's family. He couldn't have been classier, if you ask me.

GITMO is heaven on Earth compared to what McCain went through in Vietnamese prison.

Oh yes, I forgot. In Limbaughsian terms, it is Club Gitmo.

You know I am right.

How do we know that Gitmo is any better than Abu Ghraib?

Have you visited there lately?

Does the press visit there regularly to interview the detainees?

The fact of the matter is that we know very little about the treatment of "enemy combatants" (try POWs) within the confines of Camp Justice (Ha!).

Those prisoners could be being tortured at this very moment with waterboarding.

As far as the current Atty. Gen. is concerned, that's fine by him.

Do you really think that little of your country?

Do we have any reason to think otherwise?

So you think that these "enemy combatants" being rendered to secret prisons by the CIA are having more fun than a trip to Disney Land?

They're being tortured worse than John McCain and you know it. They're probably being tortured to death at this very moment. And we'll really never know whether they are dead or alive because President Bush is too cowardly to treat them as POWs in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

The behavior of Bush has been so ridiculous with respect to the illegal detention of these detainees that the very same Supreme Court who installed him in 2000 has told him to take a fucking hike.

Supreme Justice Kennedy finally got a clue and ruled with the majority against Bush and his blood-for-oil cronies.

And John McSame as Bush is in lock step with his body double in the White House in his criticism of the Supremes.

John McCain is afraid of these detainees the same way the the Republicans were afraid of the controversy at Abu Ghraib.

He's a shaky-kneed, braggadocio presidential wannabe if I have ever seen one.

You may think you're right, but you have proven yourself to be . . . unreliable.

Actually, I am thinking the same way that most of the Democratic world outside of the United States is thinking.

They're thinking that Bush has disgraced this country and waved his fist in defiance of international law for the sake of his own personal gain.

We had the world in the palm of our hands after 9/11 and he squandered the good will of the world away with his illegal war in Iraq--a war based on false pretenses that shed the blood of our brave men and women in uniform to fatten the coffers of his oil baron buddies in corporate America.

I'm voting for Barack Obama because I think that he can do better than McSame as Bush. How could he possibly do worse than the eight years of failed policies of the Bush Administration and the corrupt Republicans in Congress?

Barack could even be a below average president and do better than the worst U.S. president in the history our our great nation.

That's how much Bush is stinking up the Land of the Brave and the Home of the Free. The foul stench can be smelled throughout Europe and the Middle East. It's permeating our own homes to the point that every voting age man and woman is driven from their homes on Election Day to cast ballots for anybody but the Republican Party.

Well yes, considering the folks who performed the acts at Abu Ghraib on one night were being prosecuted several months before the story was leaked to the press. The people who beat John McCain for years are probably considered patriotic heroes of the People's Republic of Vietnam.

I think you're going to be sorely disappointed by Democrats if you think they going to end corruption. Mainly the world hates Bush for exercising a robust defense of American interests. Obama will change that I am sure, and the world will like that, but is the business of the US to win popularity contests or to pursue its interests and ensure its security?

ah yes. now there's a country renowned world-wide for it's humanitarianism. we should be much more like them.

Would you care to comment on these photos?







Was Lynndie England found guilty and sentenced before or after the story was leaked to the press?

You know very well it was after the story was leaked to the press. The press published the photos and caused the military to actually do something about the debauchery being committed against the prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

So do you mean to say that torture is justified in some instances but not others?

Specifically, it was wrong for the Viet Cong to torture John McCain, but it is OK to torture "unlawful combatants" in Camp Gitmo or secret CIA prisons throughout the world?

I mean, how duplicitous are you Stockula? Are you as duplicitious as every Republican running for office on the McSame as Bush platform?

You may as well go to bed early on Election Eve because it won't take long for Obama and the Democratic candidates to sweep away the remnants of the Bush-Cneney regime. This will be an even bigger ass-whooping than the congressional elections in 2004. Republicans will be afraid to show their face in public after that night is done.

Obama will be sweeping the special interests out of Washington. They are creating the corruption in Washington. Obama will not be beholden to these special interests because they will not have contributed to his campaign.

Obama is going to do business differently in Washington. And he'll have the help of fillibuster-proof Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.

The only way the Republicans will be able to continue their own corruption will be through court decisions--and that may change too with Democratic appointments to the Supreme Court.

How are staggering oil prices, mortage lending crises, a weak dollar, high unemployment and food bank shortages in the best interest of the United States?

How is a war based on false pretenses for the sake of blood for oil going to wean our dependence on fossil fuels from tyrannical governments and reduce carbon-dioxide emissions so that our coastal cities don't capsize into the oceans?

Bush is acting against the interests of the United States. That's the problem.

The solution is the hope and promise of Barack Obama--a man who can draw crowds of tens of thousands of Americans to hear his message of the future of the United States. Compare this to a cranky old man who can't talk his way out of a paper bag--a self-aggrandizing "war hero" who needs to forget about Vietnam and start thinking of the foreign policy quagmire he, Bush, Cheney and the corrupt Republicans have brought upon us.

Apparently McCain's dementia has run full course.

Stockula, your premiere source for unintentional comedy.

The prosecution of England and Graner was well underway by the time this news of these crimes broke in about April 2004 or so. They were leaked by defendants who were trying to shift the blame away from themselves and up the chain of command. The media was enthusiastic about promoting that narrative.

Do YOU think so little of your country?

You wholeheartedly approved of waterboarding torture of detainees just months ago while saying it was vitally important that they be denied any access to judicial channels.

Has your opinion changed since March?

No, of course not.

of course. reason forbid we actually act like it's the 21st century.

You know, I'd like to throw up my hands and say 'OK, let's try it your way', but the thing is that we have tried it your way and we got 9/11. George Bush has changed the way America deals with Islamic terrorism and it has resulted in crappy air travel experiences and criticism from Europeans, leftists and the New York Times, but it has not resulted in more Americans killed in their offices or from flying on planes. So the way I see it, you folks have NOTHING to conclusively show your approach works better, and Bush's approaches were adopted in light of failed past approaches and have objectively kept Americans safer. So unless you have a better approach, please shut the fuck up.

So 9/11 was the fault of namby-pamby liberals who are too squeamish to torture people.

Uh-huh.

Not at all... we don't really mind the USA defending itself. The path that Bush has taken has no hope of defending US interests. It may be good for the interests of some big corporations but not for the average citizen. There are a lot more people around now than ever before that hate the US and want to hurt it and its people.

Actually, you guys really need to win some popularity contests at the moment.

Think about it, if the US had not blasted the shit out of the power stations, water pipelines, and all the other infrastructure of Iraq, the situation would be very different now. Bush demonstrated the power of the US arsenal, but had no thought about the consequences. I remember watching the attacks on TV at the start and wondered why they (the US) were blowing everything up. Most Iraqis were on your side, they wanted to be free, like you. But what did they get, no water, no power, no police, no security, no nothing. They started with high expectations and then sat around in the rubble thinking they were better off under Saddam, and you know what...they probably were.

The US had the capability to take out Saddam without creating the hell that is now Iraq. Imagine if the infrastructure was left alone, the Iraqis would have gone back to work, got on with their lives and they would have been your number one fans. Bush's methods are very, very dangerous to the security of the whole world.

Take Iran for example (actually, you could swap the word "Iran" with "North Korea"), he labels them the "axis of evil" and talks like he is going to invade them as well. So, if you are the leader in Iran/North Korea what are your options? You know you can't defend against an attack from the US. But hey, if you build "the bomb" the US would surely not dare to invade. Yeah that's what I'll do, build "the bomb".

The reality is that successive governments of the USA have failed to use diplomacy in the places where it was most needed. Seriously ask yourself, why do the "would be terrorists" hate you so much?

I want to make it clear that I am not speaking against the men and women of the US military, they are pawns in a crazy game of chess.

I can only hope that Obama gets the job and walks the talk. You will get more from other countries and have more influence over them if you befriend them and maybe try and understand them.

As for John McCain...pfffft more of the same.