Torture
November 14, 2009
Karl Rove Blames Obama Administration Lawyers “Who Do Not Love America” For Bush Administration’s Failure To Prosecute Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
I don’t know about you but when it comes to matters of terrorism and national security, Karl Rove is not exactly at the top of my list of credible experts. Political experts, maybe, certainly experts on dirty tricks, but it’s hard to forget that this is the same guy who played a role in the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame and who served as the right-hand man of the Bush administration which, despite their posturing about national security, ignored the President’s Daily Brief of August 6, 2001, titled “Bin Laden determined to strike in US” and started a war in Iraq based on faulty evidence. It’s also the same administration that lost New Orleans to Katrina. So why on earth would Fox News put on Karl Rove as the first guest on the O’Reilly Factor last night (11/13/09) to discuss the Obama administration’s decision to try five Guantanamo Bay detainees in federal court in New York City, if not to make political hay? Furthermore, as Rove himself as good as admitted, the Bush administration’s “harsh interrogations” torture of their prisoners is bound to be an issue at trial. Not that Bill O’Reilly brought that up. But he did have a stellar moment when he confronted Rove about the Bush administration’s failure to try supposed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed when they had the chance. Rove, classy guy that he is, blamed it all on liberal lawyers who are now in the Obama administration “who do not love America, who want to undermine our cause in the global war on terror and who will oppose the military tribunals.” Never mind that Attorney General Eric Holder also announced yesterday that five other detainees will be tried by military commission. O’Reilly missed that, too. With video.
September 13, 2009
Bill O’Reilly Accuses American Civilian And JAG Corps Lawyers Of Treason?
Remember when the right wing had their nice, white panties in a bunch over Nancy Pelosi’s remark, in reference to the town hall screamers, that “drowning out opposing views is un-American.” Fox quickly rallied its troops to denounce Ms. Pelosi who was, according to the “logic,” trampling on First Amendment rights. But in yet another example of the glaring hypocrisy of the right wing, one of its talking heads (and a large one at that), Bill O’Reilly, is accusing his fellow Americans of being “seditious.” First amendment for me and not for thee is Bill’s mantra as he, once again, bedazzles us with his knowledge. But as the saying goes, “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” and his recent column shows just how a little knowledge could be dangerous in that it will serve to rile up an already riled up “right American feeling wronged.” Once again, Bill scapegoats his favorite targets, without reporting the whole story. And in so doing he will, once again, generate more divisiveness and hatred in an already divided America in which one group (Bill’s pals) see themselves as “real America” – those, like Bill, who are pure of heart and body and who are fighting a culture war against the forces of evil, librul secular progressive nihilists for whom the First Amendment doesn’t apply. That includes the John Adams Project, a group run by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, which in the spirit of John Adams “seeking justice,” is banding together to assist in the defense of those facing prosecution at Guantanamo.
Continue reading >>September 4, 2009
Laura Ingraham on The Factor: The Notion of Not Torturing is a “Utopian Idea” and an “Ivory Tower Approach”
Damn, it’s been a long week without Bill O’Reilly on The Factor . . . OMG, I can't believe I just said that! But at least his voice doesn’t send shivers down my spine. At least his eyes don’t have that glittering, manic, Thriller look. At least he doesn’t wear a gold crucifix. But this week, we’ve got Laura Ingraham, and on last night's Impact Segment she defended her waterboarding lord, Dick Cheney, with all the vehemence of Eva Braun defending Hitler. With video.
Continue reading >>September 1, 2009
Andrew Sullivan Nails Chris Wallace's Cheney Interview: A Teenage Girl Interviewing The Jonas Brothers
Andrew Sullivan has a must-read article on Chris Wallace's fawning interview with Dick Cheney aired on Sunday (8/30/09). "When it comes to Cheney, one of the most incompetent vice-presidents in the country's history, with a record of two grotesquely botched wars, war crimes and a crippling debt, Chris Wallace sounds like a teenage girl interviewing the Jonas Brothers... When future historians ask how the United States came not only to practice torture but to celebrate it and treat torturers as heroes, a special place in hell among the journalists who embraced and justified it should be reserved for Chris Wallace." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
August 26, 2009
More Comprehension Problems From Hannity: This Time, He Misunderstands The CIA Torture Report And Howard Dean’s Comments About Republicans
Along with Media Matters, we’ve been noting Sean Hannity’s major problems with reading comprehension lately. On last night’s Hannity (8/25/09), he misunderstood what the CIA’s report said about the effectiveness of Enhanced Interrogations Techniques and he misunderstood what Howard Dean said about Republicans opposing Obama’s health care reform. Fox News' Griff Jenkins joined in the incomprehension. He also misunderstood what Dean said and selectively cropped a town hall incident to misrepresent Rep. Jim Moran's handling of hecklers. With video.
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