“In fact, Fonda was neither wrong nor unconscionable in what she said and did in North Vietnam. She told the New York Times in 1973, “I’m quite sure that there were incidents of torture…but the pilots who were saying it was the policy of the Vietnamese and that it was systematic, I believe that’s a lie.” Research by John Hubbell, as well as 1973 interviews with POWs, shows that Vietnamese behavior meeting any recognized definition of torture had ceased by 1969, three years before the Fonda visit. James Stockdale, the POW who emerged as Ross Perot’s running mate in 1992, wrote that no more than 10 percent of the US pilots received at least 90 percent of the Vietnamese punishment, often for deliberate acts of resistance. Yet the legends of widespread, sinister Oriental torture have been accepted as fact by millions of Americans.” – Tom Hayden, still finding excuses for totalitarianism, the Nation. (My italics.)
EMAIL OF THE DAY: “My brother, Sean, debated Kerry back in 1970-71. Sean was a leader in Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace. He and a colleague lunching with Kerry one time, before or after a debate, believe it or not.
Discussing some moral point or other, Kerry came out with: ‘You just have to understand the higher modalities of the situation.’
This has been a catchphrase in our family ever since.”
SANCTIFYING THE EU: The current Pope has been producing saints at roughly the rate that Nokia produces cell-phones, so it is unsurprising that some candidates shock. But the latest one is particularly odd: Robert Schuman, one of the founders of the European Union. The trivialization of sanctity by this pontiff is only matched by the politicization.
QUOTE FOR THE DAY: “The people in Iraq are learning that…a democracy is also about protecting minority rights.” – Jerry Bremer. Now if only he could persuade the president to feel the same way about America.
BUSH’S FLIP-FLOPS: Kerry’s not the only one. Here’s a list.
WHY CIVIL UNIONS SUCK: An army wife details how practically impossible it is to get equal treatment as a married couple – even with a big fat power of attorney. Money quote:
After dating for two years, my then-boyfriend was deployed to South Korea with the U.S. Army. We made all the necessary preparations so that I could handle his affairs while he was away. I had everything from bank account numbers to a fully inclusive power of attorney notarized by the judge advocate general.
During his deployment, we discovered what many other couples in similar situations (including civil unions) have also discovered: The power of attorney was respected, or rejected, on a whim by banks, insurance agencies, etc. I simply wanted to pay his bills, and was refused. Some companies even refused to take payment from my own accounts!
They subsequently got married. He was severely injured in Afghanistan. It was then that she realized that without civil marriage, she wouldn’t even have been notified of his accident! When I think of all the gay men and women now serving their country in Iraq and elsewhere, it boggles the mind how they must feel now that their commander in chief has turned on their civil rights.
CORRECTION: I was guilty of sloppy terminology Saturday. Martha Stewart wasn’t convicted of perjury, but of lying to federal prosecutors in the course of an investigation. My point about the importance of telling the truth in such a situation stands.
The Dish 