This sums up the US and mainstream media right now in a nutshell. BTW, Digby is a better journalist/pundit than anyone in MSM.
I just saw Jeanne Moos do one of her cute little feature stories on ... waterboarding. Lots of adorable stories of people trying it and timing themselves and laughing about it afterwards. Funny, funny stuff. I only wish they'd put her in a stress position for 48 hours naked so we could see how hilarious that is too.
At the end she did warn people that they could actually kill themselves if they do this wrong, so when you kids are having your kicks trying to waterboard each other keep that in mind.
I think the debate is over, folks. Every time they normalize state sanctioned sadism, from tasering to waterboarding, we are one step closer to fully accepting a police state. That's how they do it. It never happens over night. It happens one taboo at a time.
We are a torture culture, immoral, vulgar and profane. We actually think it's fun. If college boys and reporters can laugh about it, how bad can it be? Thanks Dick and George.
May I Add: CNN is the Caca News Network.
more on the flipside
I sit here and watch as my country is run into the ground and how those I voted for help this happen. I wonder what happened to us that we are now torturers and even our news anchors can laugh about it and wash their hands of it.
If you’re depressed, you’re not alone. The worser news - we are horribly governed. And the on-deck group is not much better.
Just 24 percent think the nation is on the right track, and three-quarters said they want the next president to chart a course that is different than that pursued by Bush.
Concern about the war, the economy and the poisoned political atmosphere have Americans feeling bad about the country in a way that is far worse, far more pessimistic than pollsters have seen in a long time.
Overwhelmingly, Democrats want a new direction, but so do three-quarters of independents and even half of Republicans. Sixty percent of all Americans said they feel strongly that such a change is needed after two terms of the Bush presidency.
The fact that one in four Americans still thinks Bush is not a fiery demon from hell is amazing. The fact that ANY American would stand for the US torturing people is the end of the world as far as I am concerned. I think a lot of people in this country are looking for other countries to live in, imagining how hard or easy life would be in the Bahamas or in Mexico. Because like Kos said on Bill Maher show the other night, the Dems in Congress do not speak for us.
Dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq remains a primary drag on public opinion, and Americans are increasingly downcast about the state of the economy. More than six in 10 called the war not worth fighting, and nearly two-thirds gave the national economy negative marks. The outlook going forward is also bleak: About seven in 10 see a recession as likely over the next year.
Like many Democrats I find that after we finally won the House and the Senate, no amount of Viagra will give our elected representatives the ability to stand up against outright fascism.
Congressional Democrats now fare just slightly better. Only 36 percent of those surveyed approve of the way they are handling their jobs, down sharply from April when, 100 days into the new Congress, 54 percent said they approved.
I heard this in a speech at UNLV once. "Who can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like the Democrats?" Beautifully put. You work your ass off to elect Democrats only to find that they are so out of touch, they can't even get the country to stop torturing.
Poll: http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
ARTICLE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Digy: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/...
What can I say but Oh Canada.