I'm out of sync with my country

Washington - Politics - Senate - House of Representatives - Rumors - Secrets - New York Times: "IN this era of blogosphere gossip, viral e-mail and infinite YouTube video archives, the open secret — unacknowledged by its keeper, theoretically hush-hush but widely suspected or known — arguably should be a thing of the past in public life."

I found this article interesting for its perspective. The author goes through a number of sex scandals and (at least in my opinion) misses the actual misconduct associated with them. This phenomena is not unique to the author, in fact I think I'm probably the one with the problem.

Let's start with Representative Mark Foley. Congressional pages are supposed to be in their Junior year of high school. Minimum age is 16 years old. Most of the pages will be 17 and some will be 18 years old. Sex with minors is a felony in the District of Columbia. The fact that Mark Foley's preference in partners was same-sex is not nearly as relevant as the fact that his preference was for children. If you have sex with children then you go to jail and all this tittering about homosexuality has nothing to do with the fact that the man is a pedophile and a sexual predator.

Another fun one is Jim McGreevey and his "I am a gay American..."speech after he was caught giving a former lover a government job with a 6-digit salary. I could care less about McGreevey's sexuality. His abuse of power at the expense of the taxpayers? That's a big deal. McGreevey's coming out speech was a brilliant "wag the dog" move.

Senator Craig's current situation is in the same category. First off, what he did was a misdemeanor. I find the whole public restroom-gay meeting place thing hugely annoying. I really don't know where America draws the line on public decency but I'm positive that have sex in a public place is below the line.

Interestingly, Craig was voting just the way he said he would. He ran as a conservative Republican and voted accordingly. Sure, he's a hypocrite but he's a consistent hypocrite. Playing with other men's wee-wees in bathroom stalls doesn't change his voting record. Idahoans got what they voted for.

There's one real victim in the Craig case, Mr. Craig's wife. Her husband has been having sex with strangers which places her at increased risk for venereal disease. Her husband took a vow which he's broken. Those are issues for the Craig family to settle within the Craig family.

If the American public is really this easy to distract, we don't need journalists. We can all go to TMZ and read gossip to our heart's content.

Things you shouldn't bother saying

Idaho Senator Says He Regrets Guilty Plea in Restroom Incident - New York Times: "BOISE, Idaho, Aug. 28 — Senator Larry E. Craig said Tuesday that he regretted his guilty plea in connection with an airport restroom incident, and he accused an Idaho newspaper of hounding him in recent months."

There are some phrases that carry a meaning well beyond the combination of words. One of those phrases is "I'm in charge here." Generally, if you have to say that something has happened that shows you're not in charge and you're trying to gain or regain control. "I'm not gay" is another of those phrases. If Senator Craig hadn't just recently entered a guilty plea to misdemeanor disorderly conduct he'd be holding a press conference on the importance of traditional family values instead proclaiming his heterosexuality.

The article quotes Senate Republican leadership as saying it's "a serious matter." I beg to differ. Iraq is a serious matter. The deficit is a serious matter. The public shaming of a hypocrite is not a serious matter. The public shaming of a hypocrite is more like an entertaining diversion before getting back to business.

Treating the trauma of war – fairly | csmonitor.com

Treating the trauma of war – fairly | csmonitor.com: "Bennington, Vt. - The high incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among soldiers returning from Iraq is one of the many 'inconvenient truths' of this war. Inconvenient largely because it is costly: The most effective and humane means of treating PTSD are time-intensive and long-term.

The military, however, has changed the terms and given many thousands of enlisted men and women a new diagnosis: 'personality disorder.' While the government would be obliged to care for veterans suffering from combat-related trauma, a personality disorder – defined as an ingrained, maladaptive way of orienting oneself to the world – predates a soldier's tour of duty (read: preexisting condition). This absolves Uncle Sam of any responsibility for the person's mental suffering."

I joined back in the 80s. Back then, the understanding was: "Go where we send you, do what your country needs done and your country will take care of the rest." This is still partly true. You still go where you are sent, and you still do what needs done but the country does not take care of the rest.

It is my hope that one day we have a government that deserves the loyalty of the young men and women that do its dirty work.

Hopefully, the Veterans Administration is overturning these diagnoses.

APA Rules on Interrogation Abuse - washingtonpost.com

APA Rules on Interrogation Abuse - washingtonpost.com: "SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 19 -- The American Psychological Association ruled Sunday that psychologists can no longer be associated with several interrogation techniques that have been used against terrorism detainees at U.S. facilities because the methods are immoral, psychologically damaging and counterproductive in eliciting useful information."

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Torture doesn't work. Torture did not work during the inquisition. Torture did not work during the Salem witch hunt. Torture has been the source of demonstrably false information during the war on terror.

A freedom-loving people does not condone torture.

The First Post: bunch of slobs

The First Post: Pic of the Day: food queues in Iraq

I can't tell you why stupid stuff like this pisses me off... but it does. The lazy, incompetent bastards at The First Post have captioned the above picture "US soldiers push back Iraqi women..." Two guys wearing "chocolate chips", carrying Kalashnikovs, one not wearing a helmet and the other wearing a black "fritz" helmet are not US forces. The uniforms and equipment are consistent with Iraqi Police, Iraqi Army and Iraqi National Guard. I really couldn't tell you which, but then again it's not my picture, not my web page and it's not my job to write the caption.

It would be nice if the people writing about Iraq actually knew something about the subject, but that's really too much to ask.

I have a zombie rifle... just in case

This is not a double post

Guilty Plea Entered in Falwell Bomb Case - washingtonpost.com: "LYNCHBURG, Va. -- A Liberty University student who pleaded not guilty last month to charges of possessing a bomb the night before the Rev. Jerry Falwell's funeral changed his plea in federal court."

Gomer started listening to his lawyers and changed his plea. He's looking at up to 10 years federal time. The federal system does not have parole.