State Senator Greg Ball (R-NY) is in a bit of political hot water for having tweeted on Friday, “So, scum bag #2 in custody. Who wouldn’t use torture on this punk to save more lives?” So, naturally, he got a friendly platform on Fox & Friends to double down on his torture love – by arguing that most people agree with him. Host Gretchen Carlson seemed as though she were trying to hold back and hide her disapproval.
Ball told a nonetheless sympathetic Gretchen Carlson, “A lot of politicians are, quite honestly, full of crap. They’re scared to say how they feel. I basically said what I believe a lot of red-blooded Americans felt.” He added that he would be “first in line” to use torture if he thought it would save a life. Later, he expanded on that by arguing he had stated “what most people are probably feeling” but politicians are “too scared to say.”
Carlson said, as if it were a plus, “You’re not changing your tune on this.”
Ball seized the opportunity to broaden his brutishness: “How many New Yorkers wouldn’t have appreciated at least 30 minutes alone in a room with Osama Bin Laden. I know I would. It would have been me, Osama Bin Laden and a baseball bat,” he said proudly.
Carlson asked, “On the flip side, have you had people who have supported you in what you said?” She looked like she was choking on the words.
However, she summed up by saying, “I think a lot of people respect your candor. They may not agree with you but they may like what you say about politicians finally saying what they really think.”
Carlson may have damned Ball with faint praise but her tone remained supportive and she never challenged his mindset, although she did make a point of noting that since Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is an American citizen, he would not be tortured. Therefore, while distancing herself from Ball’s outrageous sentiments, she allowed them to pass for legitimate political thought.
You can tweet Ball @ball4ny
He wouldn’t answer Morgan’s questions and he wouldn’t let anybody else talk. At the end, he had a smug self-satisfied “cruising for a bruising” expression, pleased as all get out like a three-year old child trying out some new swear words.
And, being that the Catholics BOR, Daddy Douchey and Hannity are all pro-waterboarding, perhaps they should either rethink their stance on waterboarding or leave the Church? Just sayin’…
http://www.catholic.org/diocese/diocese_story.php?id=27616
the same bunch who also didn’t want to torture McVeigh or other white terrorists upon their arrest; your whole drivel is out of racism
Then, the rot set in and that very same country started violating its own rules.
Today, the politicians are banging the drum of fear and insecurity in order to propose the unproposable. The idea that ANYBODYshould be denied due process of law is totally UNAMERICAN (!!!). That’s precisely why the lady with the scales is blindfolded, you friggin idiots! (I’m talking to the cowering RWingers)
Actually, Greg — it would have been you, a baseball bat, ObL, and an AK-47 . . .
Ball sounds like another wannabe tough guy, and I think I know why. From his wiki:
Ball was commissioned as an Air Force Lieutenant and requested an assignment with the Air Force Academy’s Diversity Recruitment Office, and was posted in Philadelphia for a one year tour working as a Minority Admissions Officer. While stationed there, he created a charity polo event for underprivileged youth known as the Courage Cup, which presented $10,000 to charities in 2004. The Courage Cup was also investigated by the Washington Post after allegations that Ball was diverting funds from the charity to his political campaigns.
Ball was then assigned to the 11th Wing at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. as protocol officer. The Ceremonies & Protocol office was responsible for planning, organizing and developing projects for the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff, as well as coordinating honor guard burial services at Arlington National Cemetery.27
During his time in the Ceremonies & Protocol Office, Ball was a Project Officer for numerous events. The largest may have been the 2003 Global Air Chief’s Conference, the first since 1997, for which he rented a cruise ship for a welcome reception in Washington, D.C. for dignitaries attending the Global Air Chiefs Conference.8
As a lieutenant, Ball was charged with directing National Hispanic Heritage Month in 2002, 2003, and 2004. He organized exhibits and demonstrations to recognize the contributions made by Hispanic countries and cultures, and hosted Alberto Gonzales, then White House Counsel, in 2003.
In 2003, Ball was nominated as “Military Volunteer of the Year” for the 11th Wing. He was awarded an achievement medal for outstanding service by General John P. Jumper and was honorably discharged from active duty in January 2005, with the rank of Captain without ever serving in harm’s way.
When your eight-year military career consists primarily of serving as a diversity/protocol officer, procuring the use of a cruise ship, establishing a polo game, and being a liaison to the White House — without ever serving in combat — its understandable why you claim you would “use a baseball bat” . . .
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