The Dish

Joe Gandelman is furnishing news to the blogosphere. But this surely is a story for which television is irreplaceable.

EMAIL OF THE DAY: “You honor A.O. Scott for connecting Barbara Bush’s ill-conceived remarks of a few weeks ago with the similar benevolence of authority figures (such as our beloved Mr. Bumble) in Oliver Twist. Ordinarily, I’d be inclined to give you the benefit (er, Begala) of a doubt — I’m often at loggerheads with Mr. Scott’s reviews, after all — but in this case, having just finished rereading Oliver Twist, I must confess that a similar thought flashed through my mind on several occasions, particularly here:

The members of this board were very sage, deep, philosophical men; and when they came to turn their attention to the workhouse, they found out at once, what ordinary folks would never have discovered — the poor people liked it! It was a regular place of public entertainment for the poorer classes; a tavern where there was nothing to pay; a public breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper all the year round; a brick-and-mortar elysium where it was all play and no work.

True, this…insight lead to “reform” (in the form of the New Poor Laws of 1834, if I’m not mistaken), but its perspective (if not its afflatus) seems eerily similar to that of many leading Republicans, such as Babs Bush and fat fleeser par excellence Tom Delay. If you’re going to give anyone a Begala award, better give it to Mr. Dickens himself.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This president believes government should be limited not in size, Jon, but in effectiveness. In terms of effectiveness, this is the most limited administration we’ve ever had.” – Rob Corddry, the Daily Show, concisely summarizing Bush “conservatism”. And, no, we have never been spotted in the same room.

Just read the latest account of what has happened to some of the U.S. military under this administration. Be sure to compare it with the propaganda put out only yesterday by National Review on this very subject. I have been trying to raise the alarm about what has really been going on for a while. But the abuse and torture claims have been dismissed or ignored. But even the torture-denialists will be unable to ignore this new material. It beggars belief. That this could be America. That this president’s abandonment of the legal ban on inhumane treatment of military detainees has brought us to this:

The new allegations center around systematic abuse of Iraqi detainees by men of the 82nd Airborne at Camp Mercury, a forward operating base located near Fallujah, the scene of a major uprising against the U.S. occupation in April 2004, according to sources familiar with the report and accounts given by the Captain, who is in his mid-20s, to Senate staff. Much of the abuse allegedly occurred in 2003 and 2004, before and during the period the Army was conducting an internal investigation into the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, but prior to when the abuses at Abu Ghraib became public. Other alleged abuses described in the Human Rights report occurred at Camp Tiger, near Iraq’s border with Syria, and previously in Afghanistan. In addition, the report details what the Captain says was his unsuccessful effort over 17 months to get the attention of military superiors. Ultimately he approached the Republican senators.

The Human Rights Watch report-as well as accounts given to Senate staff-describe officers as aware of the abuse but routinely ignoring or covering it up, amid chronic confusion over U.S. military detention policies and whether or not the Geneva Convention applied. The Captain is quoted in the report describing how military intelligence personnel at Camp Mercury directed enlisted men to conduct daily beatings of prisoners prior to questioning; to subject detainees to strenuous forced exercises to the point of unconsciousness; and to expose them to extremes of heat and cold-all methods designed to produce greater cooperation with interrogators. Non-uniformed personnel-apparently working for the Central Intelligence Agency, according to the soldiers-also interrogated prisoners. The interrogators were out of view but not out of earshot of the soldiers, who overheard what they came to believe was abuse.

Specific instances of abuse described in the Human Rights Watch report include severe beatings, including one incident when a soldier allegedly broke a detainee’s leg with a metal bat. Others include prisoners being stacked in human pyramids (unlike the human pyramids at Abu Ghraib, the prisoners at Camp Mercury were clothed); soldiers administering blows to the face, chest and extremities of prisoners; and detainees having their faces and eyes exposed to burning chemicals, being forced into stress positions for long periods leading to unconsciousness and having their water and food withheld.

The full, harrowing report can be read here. This is not enemy propaganda. This is the testimony of decent American soldiers so appalled by what they were witnessing that they felt compelled, after being ignored by their superiors and the administration, to go directly to senators to get their complaints aired. Rumsfeld must resign. Now.

“THIS WAS THE NORM”: “I would be told, ‘These guys were IED [improvised explosive device] trigger men last week.’ So we would fuck them up. Fuck them up bad … At the same time we should be held to a higher standard. I know that now. It was wrong. There are a set of standards. But you gotta understand, this was the norm. Everyone would just sweep it under the rug.” – a decorated army captain in Iraq. Will people open their eyes now?

“LAURA INGRAHAM: If you need someone to be that military spokesperson over in Iraq, I’m happy to give up my microphone any time, Mr. Secretary. Any time you call I’ll be happy to jump over there.

SECRETARY RUMSFELD: You’re terrific, Laura. Thanks so much.” – “journalist” Laura Ingraham, offering to be an official spokesperson for the Bush administration on Iraq. Why pay her, when she’ll do it for free over here?

A year ago, 27-year old quadriplegic, Jonathan Magbie, died in a D.C. jail for lack of a respirator. Why was he in jail? He smoked marijuana to alleviate his suffering. If D.C. residents (citizens is too elevated a word) had the democratic rights of, say, Basra, medical marijuana would be legal and the poor guy would never have been jailed. But jailing a quadriplegic in the first place? In a prison that didn’t have the respirator he needed? The man’s family is now suing the city. D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith E. Retchin, who sentenced Magbie, is an incompetent and a monster.

Just a quick but heart-felt thank you to the Washington Post Opinions Section for reaching out to the blogosphere this past week. Traffic surged and emails poured in. What a contrast with the bunker mentality at the NYT. For all of you who are new readers and enjoyed the site, now’s the time to bookmark it and come back often. Please do. Let the WaPo know you support their experiment – opinions@washingtonpost.com – and maybe suggest a few names for the next guest blogger.

TWO NEW BLOGS: Well worth a visit. The first is libertarian Cathy Young‘s, who’s invariably worth reading. The second is a blog dedicated to covering one the most despicable regimes in the planet – Burma’s. The truth is out there.

It’s very complicated but Marty Lederman’s latest post on the evolution of the Bush administration’s policies on abuse of detainees contains important new details, and glimmers of hope. It now appears that the infamous 2003 pro-torture memo may have had such a damaging effect that Justice Department lawyers [not White House lawyers, as originally posted] managed to repudiate it more swiftly than we previously understood. We still need more information – like the actual critical March 14, 2003 memo from OLC Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo to DoD General Counsel William (Jim) Haynes. Why has the administration not yet given it to the Senate? It may be the smoking gun. Marty says he’s going to work on other stuff now. But his work has been invaluable. I can only hope he will find himself morally obliged to keep tabs and post again if major developments break. We need him.

MALKIN VERSUS GOP PORK: Hats off to her. She’s targeting Alaska Republican Don Young, nominating him as “the Biggest, Oinkiest Jerk in Congress.” The conservative revolt against today’s Big Government Republicans may be gaining momentum. Better late than never.

AN EVERGREEN ALUM WRITES: “I was a Greener from 1994-1998. It’s an amusing little experimental liberal arts college out in the woods started in 1971.
I don’t know what year the official fight song was adopted, but by the time I attended, it seemed pretty dated. Enrollment at the school was nosing toward two-thirds women and probably half of them were lesbians, or at least LUGs (lesbians until graduation). The biggest sporting event at the school was not tennis or soccer, or even hacky-sack, but the women’s rugby team. Need I say more?
The men were all cowed and sensitive or had smoked enough pot that they were impotent — that is, insensitive (one of the faces of the school clock tower was stopped, permanently set to 4:20). The Squirting Geoduck was really the environmentally sensitive equivalent of the red sports car: fantasy projection.
Thanks for the attention to my alma mater. Despite my gripes, it’s quite an undiscovered gem of a school if you know how to find your niche.”

We are told that the Vatican document banning all gay seminarians, regardless of their conduct or quality, has yet to be published. Which means there is still a slim chance it will never be. Which means we have a window of opportunity for resistance. Which leads to the following thoughts …

HOW THEY GET AWAY WITH IT: How does Benedict manage to enforce discrimination that contradicts central tenets of Catholicism itself? Because the existence and nature of gay priests who are not pedophiles are suppressed by enforced silence. Money quote from a new piece in the Catholic newspaper, the Tablet: “Most gay priests, like myself, have been prevented from speaking about our own experiences, and sharing with our parishioners our rewarding lives as celibate men. Most have been formally silenced by bishops or religious superiors on the topic, so the Church can deny our existence. (That is the reason for my pseudonym: I would much prefer to write under my own name.) And many who have not been formally silenced fear reprisals from their bishops and some parishioners. As a result, the only public model of the ‘gay priest’ is the notorious paedophile. So what appears to be the Vatican’s stance is unsurprising. What moral theologians used to call ‘invincible ignorance’ only breeds prejudice, fear and hatred.”

HOW TO FIGHT BACK: There is a solution to this. It’s called courage. I am actually tired of hearing from all these gay priests who refuse to use their names and give blind quotes to the press. Memo to them: your silence is empowering Benedict and the forces of bigotry. You have a choice now: come out to your congregations, explain your lives, stand up for yourselves and the pope, or continue to be scapegoated, exiled, punished. Yes, your vows include obedience. But with this potential decree the Vatican has shown it is willing to break its own vow of precluding “unjust discrimination” against gays, and perpetuating “unfounded and demeaning” assumptions about their lives. If you cannot speak truth to unprincipled power, why are you priests in the first place? This is not just about celibate gay priests; it’s about an attempt to displace the blame for the abuse of children from the guilty to the innocent. It is so manifestly unjust that it cries out for resistance. Don’t quit; come out and fight; force the bishops to fire you in the daylight of the press and the people. If all gay priests did that, up to a third of the clergy could call the Vatican’s bluff. The time for hoping this will blow away or that somehow you can avoid facing it is over. And your time has come.

“Many Republican members of Congress must be asking themselves, ‘Is Nancy Pelosi the best fiscal conservative this Congress has to offer?'” – Tim Chapman, Townhall.com. The revolt continues. And let’s be up-front: pork-busting, however admirable and important, doesn’t cut it. I have one test for Bush’s fiscal realism: will he postpone or scale down his budget-busting Medicare drug benefit?

EMAIL OF THE DAY: “You make out as though a vote for Kerry in 2004 was a vote for competent, sober, middle-of-the-road government. Hogwash. It was a vote for Shrum, Kos, and Chirac. If George W. Bush’s reelection confirmed his worst impulses, a Kerry victory would have proven just as exhilarating to those elements of the Left now talking about “Occupied New Orleans.” That’s why many of us supported the President. Perhaps we conservatives are guilty of loving Bush not too wisely but too well, and I’d say you’ve a very well-furnished room in that glass house.”

Ouch. I’ll take my lumps. But this is yet another variation on the Dems-Would-Be-Worse theme. Ask yourself: if Kerry were president and the Congress were still controlled by the Republicans, would we be more fiscally responsible or less?

Check out this November 5, 2004 Washington Post chat between readers, Peggy Noonan and Donna Brazile. Here’s Noonan’s answer to the following question:

“Cleveland, Ohio: Is there a party for someone who favors small government, fiscal restraint, a strong national defense and a hands-off attitude on social issues?

Peggy Noonan: Smaller government? The Dems will never, ever give you that. Lower taxes? Go Republican. A just and fair tax code? Watch the Republican president. Wedge issues? Blame judges: they distort the system, and the GOP resists their distortion. A strong defense? The whole history of the past 40 years is weak Dems and strong Reps. You may be a libertarian but keep watchin the Republicans: they are the long term hope.”

Yesterday, in the Wall Street Journal, Noonan wrote the following:

“The Republican (as opposed to conservative) default position when faced with criticism of the Bush administration is: But Kerry would have been worse! The Democrats are worse! All too true… But saying The Bush administration is a lot better than having Democrats in there is not an answer to criticism, it’s a way to squelch it. Which is another Bridge to Nowhere.”

Peggy Noonan: somewhere out there, there’s a bridge with your name on it.

BEGALA AWARD NOMINEE: “At every turn [Oliver Twist] is menaced by adults whose grotesqueness, while comical, is also a measure of their moral deformity, and of the ugliness of the society that makes them possible. The worst thing about these villains, who tend to occupy positions of at least relative power, is that they believe their sadism and lack of compassion to be the highest expressions of benevolence. Like Barbara Bush after seeing the “underprivileged” citizens of New Orleans exiled to the Astrodome, they insist on telling Oliver that things are working out pretty well for him.” – A. O. Scott, New York Times today.

“Scratching my head about Rita and the economy at the same time, I came across a revealing picture. Why are oil prices so high? Hurricanes? Iraq? Unrest in Nigeria maybe? Or could it be the fact that every single vehicle but one in this picture is an SUV or a truck?”