Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Random Thoughts

Torture, a gray area?
Just how off course have we gotten that politicians and news pundits are actually defending torture?  Weren't we once the worlds beacon of light?  On top of that there seems to be hesitation on the part of the current administration to prosecute the perpetrators.  Turning a blind eye to a crime makes you culpable.  Investigating and prosecuting might be messy and inconvenient but sometimes doing the right thing isn't easy.

Swine Flu is a Partisan issue
Congress woman Michelle 'CO2 is harmless' Bachman is insinuating President Obama may be to blame for the Swine Flu outbreak because he recently visited Mexico.  She finds it an 'interesting coincidence' that the last U.S. outbreak of swine flu occurred under another Democrat President (Jimmy Carter).  Actually, Republican Gerald Ford was President at the time.  Bachman who believes Intelligent Design should be taught in schools manages to disprove that hypothesis every time she opens her mouth.  (She's a Congresswoman, really!  Shame on you Minnesota's 6th district!)

Missing History
When I was a kid I remember learning about the Bubonic Plague in school.  Yet, I never ever heard anything about the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic which killed approximately 50 million people worldwide making it the deadliest event in recorded history.  Seems noteworthy to me.

Huh, tell me again...
Why is Kim Kardashian famous and how is she entertaining?  It's been explained to me before but for some reason it just never sticks in my head.

6 comments:

Neil Alexander said...

I thought the same thing when I heard about the Spanish Flu Pandemic. weird, isn't it?

and as for kim kardashian, she isn't famous. she just wants to be.

Anonymous said...

This torture thing is nothing but political game. The NoBama adminstration is just using it to Bush and Republican bash. We'll see what happens going forward. NoBama is a wimp and would be the first to give up state secrets with the first squeeze of his nuts.

SashimiMark said...

anonymous, when you make a juvenile post where you use silly childish names like "NoBama" it makes it hard to take your post seriously.

Obama isn't even in favor of investigating the torture allegations. I find that disappointing.

Anyway, don't post here if you're going to act like an immature brat.

Art of Breyette said...

Anonymous,
Beside it being a tactic of cowards and the simple-minded (much like name calling), torture is a crime. It's not just a crime against the individual either, it a grievous offense to the principals of our country and civilization as a whole.

Belittling it by saying "this torture thing is just political game" is a response from someone who is afraid of hearing the truth. Take your fingers out of your ears, stop shouting 'la la la' and be willing to listen for once. If nobody did anything wrong and has nothing to hide, then an investigation and trial should be of no worry.

Calling the President 'NoBama' and 'a wimp' is bashing. Investigating who authorized torture and committed a warcrime, is justice. Learn the difference.

A persons allegiance to their political party should come after their allegiance to truth and country not supersede it.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe the last three postings. Disrespect of the President is outrageous and has no place here or anywhere. And dismissing anothers opinion no matter how presented is all so typical of those who want free speech as long as it is thier own.

Just look at the facts. Were the tortured acting as soilders of a country? No. Was it actually torture? Pouring a cup of water over someones face doesn't seem like tourture to me. At the the time the legal opinion (and may still be) was: No. The real crime would have been if the Bush adminstration failed to prevent another 9/11 attack. Sometimes leadership requires the big picture and can become a dirty buisness especially at a time of war. I think Obama will learn soon and hopefully not without terrible consquences. He has already lowered the veil on his so called open government.

I thought this was a artist's blog? What gives with all the controversial topics?

Art of Breyette said...

Roger, yes, I'm an artist but a conscientious citizen too. This is my blog and am free to post about whatever is on my mind, I named it "LEFT in the dust" for a reason. If someone wishes to post an opposing viewpoint or employ name calling, myself or someone else can exercise free speech as well and reply to that. But I can always delete posts if I wanted...afterall my blog isn't a democracy :-)

About this torture thing...
I am mostly surprised that government sponsored torture is now a controversial issue. Why should investigating it and seeking the truth be controversial? Do we now fear truth too?

As you asked, I looked at 'the facts'. Torturing another human being regardless of their affiliations or alleged crimes is not something any one or any government should partake in. Waterboarding is more than pouring water on someones face and is considered by war veterans, legal experts, military judges and historically by the US governemnt as torture.

My position is this: We do not throw our principals and values out the window because we are attacked or threatened. If we do, then what is it we are fighting to protect?