Promoted -- GH. Originally posted 2008-06-22 15:50:20 -0500.

"I John McCain do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic."

This is the oath John McCain will have to swear if he is declared winner of America's presidential election in November of 2008. Every American president since George Washington has had to take the same oath. It is an American tradition that defines us even more so than baseball and Mom's apple pie. If the Constitution of the United States is not preserved, protected and defended, then this country isn't really the land of democracy that America's founding fathers created and wished to preserve.

However, it would seem that John McCain has no respect for America's founding fathers, or the U.S. Constitution which every president must swear and oath to defend.

It is not typically my style to write editorials or news stories about religion. Religion typically inspires people to emotional reactions rather than intellectual thought, however this time I have a point about America's political and corporate leadership that requires me to examine what the Bible said and how loyally the Republicans and Right-Wingers have followed the dictates of Jesus Christ.

You see, the Republicans of my lifetime (1966 up until present day) have been very fond of claiming that the Christian God is on their side and that they're doing the Lord's work. George W. Bush even went so far as to claim that his favorite philosopher was Jesus Christ. But really, when you read the words of Jesus Christ how well do the Republicans walk the walk? What would Jesus Christ say about Republicans such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush or Rush Limbaugh?

A few tidbits to open the day:

1. 19 dead in Missouri, Oklahoma after new round of tornadoes By MURRAY EVANS, Associated Press:
   

   _____

   A tornado ripped through a 20-block swath of Picher late Saturday afternoon, killing at least seven people. The same storm system then moved into southwest Missouri where tornadoes took the lives of at least 12 others, authorities said.

   [...snip...]

   At least 12 people were killed after severe storms spawned tornadoes and high winds across sections of southwestern Missouri, the State Emergency Management Agency said. Ten of the dead were killed when a twister struck near Seneca, about 20 miles southeast of Picher, near the Oklahoma border.

   [...snip...]

   Tornadoes killed 13 people in Arkansas on Feb. 5, and another seven were killed in an outbreak May 2.
   _____

   Hopefully, the storms will abate soon and give the people a break.
   

2. Pentagon legal advisor is barred from trial of Osama bin Laden's driver
   A judge for the Guantanamo tribunal says Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann lacked independence and must be replaced before Salim Ahmed Hamdan is prosecuted.
   From the Associated Press, 11 May 2008

   This is odd. Seriously.
   

   _____

   SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO -- A Navy judge has barred a Pentagon legal advisor from participating in the war crimes trial of Osama bin Laden's former driver, saying the advisor lacks independence.

   Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Hartmann, legal advisor to the military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, must be replaced before next month's scheduled trial of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Capt. Keith J. Allred ruled Friday.
   _____

   Why is it odd? Well, because it flies in the face of the SOP for the trials, namely the policy that "We can't have acquittals." Either someone blinked, or the replacement of Hartmann is simply more kabuki theater in the Potemkin village known as Guatanamo.¹
   

3. PC Phone Home (or at least send out a tracking beacon, and let the owner remotely access to snap a pic of the theif who stole you). The story is a hoot -- a woman's stolen laptop showed itself as "online" when the thief sat down to use it at his home, and a friend of the true owner gave her a heads-up. Using an online software service, she was able to remotely gain access to her home system and snap a picture of the culprit using the built-in camera.
   
4. The Republican party hypocrisy² of claiming to be the party of "family values" continues to get hammered home as disgraced Congressman Vito Fossella³ hid in his home and failed to attend his goddaughter's First Communion party.

   I feel bad for the little girl, as well as the entire family.

That's a smattering of items -- what have you got?

Footnoted references appear below the fold.

Gee, breaking news from Kossack calipygian about Bush's bestest buddy, Saudi Prince Bandar and family:

...the British Government had launched an investigation into defense contractor BAE for paying bribes to Saudi officials, including Bush family BFF and former Saudi Ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar bin Sultan. As you probably already know,Prince Bandar knew about the Invasion of Iraq before our own State Department.  As it turns out, while Prince Bandar was getting more access to our deepest secrets than our own State Department, he was also getting up to 120 million Pounds a year deposited into a Washington DC Riggs Bank account for facilitating the 43 billion pound Al-Yamanah arms deal between Saudi Arabia and BAE.

The investgation was quashed because Bandar threatened the UK if they didn't stop.

[...snip...]

Why is that significant? Because Bandar's wife was paying some of the 9/11 hijackers:

Findings from an inquiry by the House-Senate Joint Intelligence Committee suggest evidence indicates money from the Saudi Arabian government could have made its way to the two hijackers through two Saudi students when they were in California.

There is some evidence that the students received a payment through the wife of the Saudi ambassador to the United States, according to the inquiry.

Do you get that? Money goes from BAE to bank accounts controlled by Prince Bandar bin Sultan to the 9/11 hijackers in California.

In addition to that, most Republicans probably want folks to overlook other Republican ties to terror. For example, while Reich-wing nuts cry out how liberals are "terrorist-lovers trying to destroy our nation," two Republicans have already been arrested for aiding Al Qaeda and terrorist organizations.¹ The true nature of today's Republicans and Conservatives -- and the Beasties in the White House -- is coming to light; they can be easily found by the company they keep.

And that's not all...

"Gaeity" is a term denoting joyful exuberance or merriment, but in the hands of today's Republican party, I would not be surprised to find it reinterpreted to a bastion of misleading and negative connotations almost as confusing as the definition and use of the word gay. The "Party of Moral clarity" has demonized the use of any word, term or action that could even hint at homosexuality in order to key into the knee-jerk prejudice of millions of "Christian" voters everywhere. (Note that I put quotes around "Christian" -- I can't duly insult those who actually practice the teachings attributed to Christ, when I'm only targeting those who simply claim to.)

Whenever I hear GOP leaders or pundits screech about a "homosexual agenda" and accuse someone of being gay as though it is a crime against humanity (unlike torture, or melting the flesh off children), I wonder why nobody asks them to clarify.

As is often the case in hotly contested discussion, claims of invalid comparisons are often made alongside calls to compare "apples to apples" instead of "apples to ice buckets" or some other such mis-matched scale.

In order to help further along the discussion of why rendition, torture and individual rights to privacy, decency and proper representation in a court of law matters no matter the reason, here's two current stories that both concern the abuse of a man and a tortured penis.

Tattooed privates prove not so private:

PHOENIX - A surgeon faces a disciplinary hearing for snapping a photo of a patient's tattooed genitals during an operation and showing it around to other doctors.

[...snip...]

"Patient privacy is a serious matter, and photographing someone in this manner without a good reason is something we will investigate down to the last detail," said Dr. Joseph Sirven...

The patient/victim stated "The longer I sit here the angrier I get."

Now compare it to this article, Lawyer: CIA Has Photos of Outsourced Torture of Gitmo Suspect:

A lawyer for a Guantanamo Bay terrorism suspect allegedly tortured in Morocco when his interrogation was outsourced by the U.S. says the CIA was present and has photographs of the physical abuse of his client.

Binyam Mohamed, a 27-year-old Ethiopian was sliced in the chest and penis by interrogators during the 18 months he was held in Morocco in 2002 and 2003, according to his lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith of Reprieve, a British human rights group.

So...don't ~both~ men deserve to have their days in court? Do the crimes and offenses committed against one man compare in any way to those committed against the other, or can you justify either circumstance and let the perpetrators off scott-free?

Just a little something to think about.

For a little more to think about, make the jump.