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![]() Just Above Sunset
September 12, 2004 - Refer to a movie, or to sports, or... ?
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The Army points to the
CIA and says it’s their fault! What are the parents to
do when the kids fight? WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 - Army jailers in Iraq, acting at the Central Intelligence Agency's request,
kept dozens of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison and other detention facilities off official rosters to hide them from Red Cross
inspectors, two senior Army generals said Thursday. The total is far more than had been previously reported. And what team would that
be? The team that makes people disappear? … The new disclosures about unregistered prisoners drew angry criticism from Democrats and
Republicans, and a promise from Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia and the committee chairman, to hold a separate
hearing. I’m not sure what
movie McCain was thinking of, but “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” comes to mind. Remember the scruffy bandit, when his authority is questioned, says this – “Badges? We don’t
need no stinking badges!” Perhaps McCain was thinking of some other film. The guys at the Times should have asked which one. The military has lost key evidence in its investigation into the death of an Iraqi man beaten
by Marine prison guards, throwing into doubt the status of a court-martial of one of the guards. Oops. But no movie title comes to mind here. Some Keystone Cops
thing? No – too benign. This
is from some forties film noir potboiler - the cops protecting one of their own conveniently lose the incriminating
evidence. No, that doesn’t work either. We need Oliver Stone here to direct
one of his conspiracy epics, like his JFK or something. But the bad guys
and the good guys get all mixed up here. Maybe the Cohen brothers could make
something of this. The state of California has decided to sue Diebold, the nation's largest manufacturer of electronic
(touch screen) voting machines because the company lied about the machines' security. The machines have a special feature
that creates fake vote totals when a secret 2-digit code is typed in. The LA Times article about the lawsuit does not specify whether there are separate codes to fake a Bush victory and fake a Kerry victory or whether
one candidate's victory has been programmed in advance or whether election officials can enter any result they want. However,
Diebold's CEO, Walden O'Dell, has said he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes for the president." The suit comes 6 months after the machines failed in the March primary. The machines are used in 19 California counties and
many states nationwide. Well, I suppose I could
use my computer skills, and free time, to hack in and make sure all of California’s electoral votes go to Tommy Chong. Others may have the same idea, of course. Joan
Rivers or Brian Wilson could carry the state. One never knows. These machines
are not that complex. The field is open.
The hackers are giggling. This could be great fun. … In the Bush-Cheney worldview, all foreign adversaries blur into one: "the enemy." All
U.S. options simplify to two: "offense" or "defense." Going on offense shows "strength" and defeats the enemy. If the president
starts running with the ball, and you criticize him, you show "weakness" and invite terrorism. And that about sums it
up. As above, winning this war on terror is all about showing the evildoers that
we are tough. Unless they understand we will break any rule, toss out the rights
of even our own citizens, ignore any law that gets in our way, over there or over here – well, otherwise they will think
us weak and keep attacking us. But what if there's more than one enemy? What if the enemy we're "fighting back" at isn't the
one that struck or threatened us? What if the president turns away from the team that was trying to score on us, and he starts
heading for another team that's sitting in the stands, behind our own end zone? What if his "offense" is losing yards with
every stride? Ah, details, details, details….
Bush says, "The world is a safer place with Saddam Hussein sitting in a prison cell." That's true.
Every arrest of a bad guy makes the world safer. But the world is full of bad guys, and we have limited resources. The arrest
of Saddam has cost us about $200 billion, absorbed our attention, and forced us to pull American troops from other countries.
That means other bad guys have gone unchecked. Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the worst attack on the U.S. mainland, remains
at large. In North Korea, the world's worst proliferator, Kim Jong-il, has built more nukes. Saddam had no nukes and never
attacked the U.S. mainland. And there is much more
of that. ___ Footnote from Bob Patterson
– You
had it nailed when you compared it to "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre." Just
remember how it ended. Some folks were dead but the ones who were still alive
enjoyed the experience. John
Huston won a best supporting actor Oscar for his role as Howard. At
the end Howard says to Curtin (Tim Holt): "Laugh, Curtin, old by, it's a great joke played on us by the Lord or fate or by
nature - whichever you prefer, but whoever or whatever played it, certainly has a sense of humor. The gold has gone back to the where we got it. Laugh, my boy,
laugh. It's worth ten months of labor and suffering - this joke is." A
few moments later Curtin say: "The worst ain't so bad when if finally happens. Not
nearly as bad as you figure it will be before it's happened." A
guy who laughed and partied during the Vietnam War beats McCain, the guy who lost three limbs, and John Kerry based on patriotism
and their war records. Don't you get it?
Come on, at least give us an all-knowing smirk. "Remember
the scruffy bandit, when his authority is questioned, says this - "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!" " Fact
checker's report: that was Alfonso Bedoya playing the role of "Gold Hat." Hey,
if CBS can laugh and be good sports, why can't we all?
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This issue updated and published on...
Paris readers add nine hours....
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