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I got a very nice comment from Darren Hutchinson thanking me for my links. Let me say louder what I said in the reply comment. The tag Honorable left is made for a guy like him who doesn’t check his principles at the door when his side is in power.
Dissenting Justice is being added to the blogroll and I would recommend keeping an eye over there. I’m sure we will disagree a lot over the next few years but that’s how you learn and form an honest opinion on things.
You won’t hear me say that about Daily Kos very often but this post deserves it strongly:
To: Anyone who sent his or her resume to my transition team
From: The President of the United StatesPlease pay your taxes. We kinda need them, what with the financial crisis and the massive stimulus spending and whatnot. Thanks.
No Andrea Mitchell or Doris Kearns Goodwin nonsense for Trapper John. No blaming Bush. A straight out do the right thing. Wonderful!
I can’t say the same for Marc Ambinder.
He is very sensitive to public opinion, and his public image has taken a major beating. He was portrayed emphasis mine as a tax delinquent, a guy who lived by a different set of standards.
This is opposed to what it turned out he actually was: A tax delinquent, a guy who lived by a different set of standards.
Via Jules Crittenden who is having an awful lot of fun with this.
Promoting this from this post’s comments:
Ivan says I am wrong about Rendition and writes:
Datechguy,
Read the order:
” “1. No State Party shall expel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
2. For the purpose of determining whether there are such grounds, the competent authorities shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where applicable, the existence in the State concerned of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights.”
It’s pretty clear. And this is pretty much a 180 from the bush administration when we extradited prisoners to places like Egypt and Jordan to be tortured. Even national review and glenn reynolds has had to backtrack a bit on this:
First: Looking at both NRO and Instapundit, NRO mentions the other article while Instapundit says “possibly” not much of a retraction if any.
Second: Reading what you have it would seem to me that the law mandates things be examined but the people doing the stuff decide what weight to give stuff. Plenty of room for interpretation.
Third: This is an administration made of of ex Bill “depends on what the meaning of the word is is” Clinton people. I’m sure they will interpret words by their clear meaning.
Fourth: You have an administration that in only 3 weeks has appointed a Treasury secretary that doesn’t pay its taxes. Whose answer to another potential cabinet officer with similar issues is “Nobody’s Perfect” and who deliberately disabled fraud prevention measures on contributions. Yeah they’re going to respect the law as written.
Fifth: You already have human rights groups twisting into pretzels to defend him and a protective media. Who is going to pursue this stuff if it happens? Why would this administration have any fear of it?
Sixth: Without such pressure how long will it take such cases even if brought to make it through the courts?
Your interpretation isn’t quite the move the mountain into the sea level but in my opinion it isn’t far off.
Hey he could prove me wrong, we’ll see.
Update: Dissenting Justice has my back:
After reviewing much of the pro-rendition liberal pushback, I have collected my thoughts and written a response. Here’s a summary: the liberal defense is strained, dishonest, surprisingly nuanced, and contrary to true progressive politics because it elevates “party” over principle.
Over to you Ivan.
Update: Talk left agrees with Ivan.
I have maintained in the past that although you have to do what you have to do in the war on terror it is important to question what is being done to keep yourself honest.
I have questioned the left’s insistence that Gitmo has needed to be closed and the left has misrepresented the place over and over.
I also maintain Waterboarding is not torture, but I can see why some have said so.
The use of prisons in other western countries is a little more iffy since we may not have control but the various western countries have rules to keep things in check.
Now of all the tactics used Rendition is the most iffy, its the one that leaves me the most queasy. Of the left’s arguments this one was the best of the batch. And Obama has decided to keep it and expand it:
Barack Obama exploited that outrage when he promised Hope and ChangeTM, and the Left squealed with joy over the Brave New Obama World in national security. Now they’ll have to squeal again as Obama has had a sudden revelation as President that renditions are more necessary than ever, if the CIA can’t hold these subjects at Gitmo or its own secret sites:
Moe Lane called out leftist bloggers on this but the most amazing thing is reported at Dissenting justice where he calls out Human Rights Watch:
Now that the L.A. Times reports that rendition will continue during the Obama administration, Human Rights Watch has apparently altered its position. According to Tom Malinowski, the organization’s “Washington advocacy director,” the risk of torture and other abuses does not mandate the prophylactic cessation of rendition. Instead (quoting the L.A. Times)
I haven’t seen such a double standard by a “human rights group” since…well every time any of em deal with Israel.
I give full marks to that blog on the left for doing so and being honest enough to be outraged. I actually liked the outrage on the left over Gitmo because although false it produced an irrational fear of the place to the newly captured that might have gotten them talking but now the choices have been reduced to bad ones.
Don’t you wonder what Obama saw in the briefings that changed his mind on this? I’ll give the last word to the Captain:
Frankly, I think the US does a better job of treating its detainees than anywhere a rendition program would deliver them, but without a Gitmo or CIA holding site, that’s the only way to ensure that we can get any intelligence that will protect the US. I’m not surprised that Obama has reached the same conclusion, now that he has the responsibility to keep the nation secure from foreign attack. It’s amazing how clarifying that responsibility can be, and Obama at least must have a little more comprehension of what Bush went through the last seven years.
Bingo!
Update: Whoa! My first Instalance and I didn’t even notice it. Hi. Take a look around, particularly if you are looking for remote tech support. or if you are a Fan of Morning Joe which I tend to liveblog a bit. See the shock of Iranian rejection and learn the ways of the internet scam. I write a bit about Religion, Israel, my current job search and a tad bit of baseball.
Oh and if you are a Doctor Who fan make sure you check out this blog. It isn’t mine but its awesome.
Update 2: Missed the link to Captain Ed at hotair, thanks to commenter Paul for catching it.
Update 3: I guess he gets an Arthur vote for this. Running total Jimmy Carter 6 Chester Arthur 3. An explanation of the Arthur Carter watch here.
Update 4: A disagreement in comments continues here.
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