Always Positive, Sometimes Right

Several years ago, I wrote of our proclivity to use the term “war” when we really mean focusing our resources to address a societal problem. Thus we have had a “war on poverty”, a “war against drugs”, a “war against inflation” and others. These are not real wars in the conventional sense; no one seriously expects to totally eradicate drugs or poverty, for example but there is no real harm in using the term.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/95042/part_i_wars_are_neither_efficient_nor.html?cat=37

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/92629/part_ii_wars_are_neither_efficient.html?cat=37

The use of the term, “war on terror”, however, causes all manner (more. . .)

In a previous post, I suggested that the way to best challenge and defeat terrorists would be to use well established and experienced civilian law enforcement agencies to investigate, arrest, prosecute, and, if appropriate, punish and incarcerate those convicted through the regular judicial system.

Almost ten years ago, the United States General Accounting Office published a report studying the manner in which Canada, France, Germany, Israel, and the United Kingdom addressed the issues.  Certainly, no one can doubt that the United Kingdom has had years of (more. . .)

Don’t look at the guy behind the curtain.

Those of us of a certain age grew up with the wisdoms of the motion picture, The Wizard of Oz, and the admonition urged by the alleged Wizard not to look at or pay attention to the guy behind the curtain, a plain, regular person who, when he was accused of being a bad man, responded that he was only a bad wizard.  The point was the often quoted question, “Are you going to believe me or your (more. . .)

Based on history, experience and plain common sense, I can reasonably be certain of these future events.

First, it seems likely that, sometime in the future, at a time when it suits them, terrorists will attack the United States and that attack will bring death and loss to civilians;

Second, it is probable that, sometime in the future, the United States will be hit by a major hurricane and that substantial losses will be a result;

Third, sometime in the future, there will be an airplane disaster, in (more. . .)

Among the things I simply do not understand are the claims and counter claims as to whether or when Speaker Pelosi or other Democrats were aware that the Bush administration had authorized or directed waterboarding and other practices constituting torture, including on traditional POW’s. 

Nearly everyone except the former Vice-President and his family acknowledge that torture was in fact used, that it was used after intelligence had been obtained through non-torturous techniques and was used for political purposes not related to terrorists’ threats.  Expanding the (more. . .)