tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804513671389132165.post7269170517304574323..comments2023-07-25T07:08:51.934-06:00Comments on Bill Longstaff: America and the torture chroniclesBill Longstaffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15883751372039947365noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804513671389132165.post-63942583640058213642014-12-12T12:40:31.198-07:002014-12-12T12:40:31.198-07:00I would not be too hasty, Mound, in driving in tho...I would not be too hasty, Mound, in driving in those nails. The U.S. has faced great moral crises in the past and always muddled through. Prior to its civil war, for instance, the country was practically run by slavers, but it overcame them and their wickedness. I believe it triumphs over its sins because it has at its core, although often obscured by reactionaries, a powerful urge to freedom and decency.<br /><br />In any case, even while I often shudder at its foreign policy, I love the place. How can you not love a people who invented the blues, baseball and hollywood?Bill Longstaffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15883751372039947365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804513671389132165.post-86638131724542453902014-12-11T23:41:34.899-07:002014-12-11T23:41:34.899-07:00Bill, I've been thinking on this for a while a...Bill, I've been thinking on this for a while and I'm left wondering if this sort of atrocity could even happen without our complacency or even tacit support.<br /><br />We've not had our "post-Nazi moment" when the general population abruptly denounces what they have, until then, condoned or willfully ignored. Yet, just like the Germans at Nuremberg, this saga is being watched by the world as it unfolds.<br /><br />America, for much too long, has relied on its supposed "moral authority" to excuse the use of its military dominance despite an extensive body of laws prohibiting it. The reaction of a divided Congress and a reticent White House strips them of that moral authority something being actively exploited by those typically on the receiving end of American morality lectures, especially China and Russia. That reverberates through the Muslim world and Third World nations.<br /><br />It is, perhaps, one of the final nails in America's coffin. I expect the Chinese will use this to reinforce their effort to ditch the US greenback as the world's reserve currency. That would greatly worsen America's current difficulties, especially their already wobbly economy and their largely ignored inequality threats.<br /><br />Will America sacrifice its pride to uphold its honour? I find that very hard to imagine.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804513671389132165.post-58130047355446993892014-12-11T19:21:57.212-07:002014-12-11T19:21:57.212-07:00Hi Bill. Buckdog has a great post about Cheney fi...Hi Bill. Buckdog has a great post about Cheney fingering Bush Jr. as in on it from the start. It seems Cheney fears he'll be left to swing for this and won't go alone.<br /><br />http://buckdogpolitics.blogspot.ca/2014/12/like-rat-fleeing-sinking-ship-dick.htmlThe Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.com