Category: Old Dish

John Dickerson explains why the floundering Republicans can still be salvaged from incompetence and extremism. Yes, as usual: it’s the Democrats to the rescue!

Jon Rauch looks at the political aftermath of Katrina.

“Bill Bennett is a hypocrite, a loathsome fungus on the tree of American politics, a man who has worked unceasingly to make America a worse place–when he’s not publishing the work of others under his own name, or rolling the dice at Las Vegas while claiming that America’s poor would be rich if only they had the righteousness and moral fiber that he does. But Bill Bennett is not afflicted with genocidal fantasies about ethnically cleansing African-Americans. The claim that he is is completely, totally wrong.” – Brad DeLong, on his blog. I too was sent dozens of emails calling Bennett out on his alleged racism. But it seemed unfair to me, given the full context of his remarks which are empirically hard to refute and whose immorality he went at length to emphasize. By the way, I differ from the extremity of DeLong’s remarks about Bennett, although I’m not a fan. (Hat tip: Patrick Semmens.) Runner up in this case: Matt Yglesias himself.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Hellerstein should be drawn and quartered.” – a guest on the Bill O’Reilly show last night, referring to Judge Hellerstein who ordered the release of the full Abu Ghraib photos. He was the one defending the notion that commanders should be held responsible for abuse of prisoners! I would have thought Fox News, given recent events, would try not to broadcast violence-laden attacks on judges.

BUSH AND GENEVA: Greg Djerejian notes some delicious ironies.

ANTI-GAY SLEAZE IN MASS: The petition irregularities to ban marriage and civil unions for gays are mounting up. By the way, the polls suggest that, if held today, the initiative would fail. At the rate the Massachusetts polls are moving in favor of equal marriage rights, I can’t see its chances improving by 2008.

SOURCES: RealClearPolitics wants me to clarify the source of those quoting Donald Rumsfeld’s alleged hostility to the revelations of Ian Fishback. They have a fair point, given the gravity of the issue. Obviously, I don’t reveal sources, especially in a sensitive matter like this. But in this case, it behooves me to say that a very reliable source who has consistently provided very accurate information in the past gave me the information that a third party used the words attributed to him about Rumsfeld. I did not speak directly to the third party. Yesterday, I contacted the source again. The source does not retract the quote, which is attributed to a third party. But others I have since been in contact with, who are just as familiar with the situation, and one who is more so, differ and have said that the quote is unfair to Rumsfeld and that while Rumsfeld is following the case very closely, his view is not as extreme as that quote suggested; that he is merely paying very close attention to the case; and concerned about the accuracy of the accusations. By the way, I am trying to find a way to get emails of support to Fishback. I’ll report back if and when I find one.

An emailer makes an interesting point:

If HIV follows the same trend as other epidemic diseases, the outcome will be a little more subtle than a generalized weakening of the virus. In areas where practices to reduce the severity and transmission of HIV are broadly applied, the virus will indeed weaken. This is due to selection pressure on the virus to keep its host alive long enough to successfully pass the virus on to a new host. In areas where little is done to prevent the spread of the disease, it will remain virulent and selection pressure may even favor more-virulent strains. This is because, with hosts dying relatively quickly, aggressive viruses are more likely to make the jump to their next host. A well-studied analog is the cholera parasite. In countries with poor sanitation, periodic outbreaks are characterized by their virulence. In the US, the disease is mostly confined to travelers returning from overseas. However, an endemic strain has developed in Texas and Louisiana which is characterized by mild symptoms and the ability to survive outside the classical human host/contaminated water cycle. References here and here. This divergence of virulence might explain why different studies come to different conclusions on the matter. It also seems a strong argument for extension of first-world HIV prevention/treatment practices to the rest of the planet.

Meanwhile, we have a new U.N. avian flu czar.

EMAIL OF THE DAY: “I’m afraid that, no matter what comes to light in the Abu Ghraib materials, you’re still gonna be disappointed. There is far too much else going on right now domestically for the majority of average Americans (and sorry, but living in Provincetown, MA, you don’t have a clue what we are thinking) to get all excited over something that happened 12-18 months ago thousands of miles away in a country brimming with folks trying to kill American military personnel and innocent Iraqis.
Oh sure, the Dems, the Wa Post, NYT, MSM at large, various bloggers and those predisposed to an anti-military and/or GOP animus will wring their hands, but most Americans will greet it with a yawn.”

Why has the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) been so silent and craven with regard to the Iranian government’s brutal suppression of gay freedom? Principled leftist Doug Ireland wants to know – and he deserves great credit for pursuing this story so assiduously.

You can read it here, by clicking through the site and downloading it. It’s the Southern District of New York, before Judge Hellerstein and the case number is 04 cv. 4151. From a brief review, the judge has allowed a stay of his decision for another twenty days to allow for appeals from either side, which means the actual release may still be months ahead. I’m glad if also chastened that we will eventually get to see the reality of the consequences of the relaxation of Geneva protections – and the confusion down the ranks generated by that policy change. Most interesting is the judge’s decision to order the CIA to release documents emanating from the Justice Department on how to interpret the traditional ban on torture. Hmmm.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Our nation does not surrender to blackmail, and fear of blackmail is not a legally sufficient argument to prevent us from performing a statutory command. Indeed, the freedoms that we champion are as important to our success in Iraq and Afghanistan as the guns and missiles with which our troops are armed,” – U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.

I don’t think most Americans are aware of what really went on at Abu Ghraib, and the depth and extent of the brutality. The reason is that the administration did everything it could to prevent the full record being made public; and its fawning acolytes in the right-wing media did all they could to protray what happened as “frat-house” hazing by “bad apples.” That was patently untrue then; and is patently untrue now. Now, a judge, after months of government delays, has bravely upheld the release of the remainder. His argument? “My task is not to defer to our worst fears, but to interpret and apply the law, in this case, the Freedom of Information Act, which advances values important to our society, transparency and accountability in government.” Maybe now, we will begin to get accountability for what has been done and is being done in our name in Iraq, with regard to abuse of detainees and violation of the Geneva Conventions. I repeat: Rumsfeld must resign.

“Because the interrogators were using coercive techniques, physicians and other healthcare personnel, in some circumstances, could not avoid becoming involved in decisions concerning the intensity and duration of the pain and harm to be inflicted, or whether it was to be inflicted at all. Moreover, the involvement or presence of physicians and other healthcare personnel in the guise of protecting detainees can have the effect of legitimizing the infliction of harm in the eyes of interrogators and security staff … U.S. military officials’ efforts to promulgate ethical guidelines that enable physician participation in coercive interrogation practices are inconsistent with international principles of medical ethics and, if unanswered by the medical community, establish a dangerous precedent. We believe that the vast majority of military physicians support international principles of medical ethics and do not wish to practice under untenable circumstances. The physician’s duty to promote health and human dignity requires unity and action among military and nonmilitary physicians to maintain the integrity of medical professionalsethics and to earn the trust of those served.” – the editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association, September 28, 2005. In my view, military doctors who are being dragged in to the torture and abuse of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere need to resign if they are to maintain basic ethical standards. Just because the administration has abandoned ethics, it doesn’t mean we all have to go along. Resistance is not futile. It’s now vital. (The full editorial can only be read if you pay a small amount of money).

“Art 13. Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention. In particular, no prisoner of war may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest.

Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity … No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind.” – Geneva Conventions, which even Donald Rumsfeld concedes apply in Iraq.

“Why babble about brutality and get indignant about tortures? The masses want them. They need something that will give them a thrill of horror.” – Adolf Hitler.